Auto Racing – Winnipeg Free Press

Tyler Reddick drives on the track during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Hampton, Ga. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Tyler Reddick wins at Atlanta to give Michael Jordan second straight NASCAR Cup victory

The Associated Press 5 minute read Updated: 7:40 PM CST

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Whether on or off the racetrack, all Michael Jordan does is win in NASCAR.

For the second consecutive Sunday to open the season, the basketball great and co-owner of 23XI Racing celebrated in victory lane with driver Tyler Reddick. This time, after a thriller at Echo Park Speedway.

Jordan’s team now has the top two drivers in the Cup Series points standings with Reddick and Bubba Wallace. The six-time NBA champion already added a ring last week with Reddick in the Daytona 500, the crown jewel of stock-car racing.

Oh, and Jordan also settled a federal antitrust lawsuit with NASCAR in December, a major legal victory that secured a permanent franchise-style model and ensured his team would remain in business for the long-term.

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NASCAR star Chase Elliott returns to Atlanta comfort at home track after Daytona 500 disappointment

Nate Ryan, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

NASCAR star Chase Elliott returns to Atlanta comfort at home track after Daytona 500 disappointment

Nate Ryan, The Associated Press 6 minute read Yesterday at 12:49 PM CST

After an emotionally draining and physically punishing Daytona 500 finish, Chase Elliott is back in his happy place — for the most part — this weekend at Echo Park Speedway.

NASCAR’s eight-time most popular driver lives about 80 miles from the track south of Atlanta, so the Dawsonville native can sleep in his own bed if he pleases.

That’s if he chooses to deal with the traffic.

“I say it all the time, but I enjoy coming down here,” Elliott said a day ahead of Sunday’s 400-miler in suburban Hampton, the second race of the 2026 Cup Series season. “It’s nice to have the option to go home. I’ve still got to deal with Atlanta traffic, but that’s OK and worth it.”

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Yesterday at 12:49 PM CST

Chase Elliott celebrates winning the second of two NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

North Carolina fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s father ruled accidental; cause unknown

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

North Carolina fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin’s father ruled accidental; cause unknown

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina house fire that killed NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin's father and injured his mother has been ruled accidental but it's still unclear what started it.

A report released by Gaston County Emergency Management & Fire Services said the Dec. 28 fire at the two-story home originated in a bedroom, but the “cause of ignition” is “undetermined.”

Otherwise, the investigation determined the fire as accidental, Gaston County spokesperson Adam Gaub wrote in an email Friday.

Hamlin's parents, Dennis and Mary Lou Hamlin were found outside the home the evening of the fire suffering from catastrophic injuries, officials said. Dennis Hamlin, 75, later died, while his wife survived.

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Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

FILE - This photo provided by Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department shows firefighters battling a house fire, Dec. 28, 2025, in Stanley, N.C. (Brian Lee Weyeneth/Lucia-Riverbend Fire Department via AP, File)

A quiet NASCAR owner risked it all in the antitrust lawsuit and came out on top

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

A quiet NASCAR owner risked it all in the antitrust lawsuit and came out on top

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bob Jenkins risked his entire race team — a Daytona 500-winning team — when he refused to sign NASCAR's revenue-sharing agreement and Front Row Motorsports joined 23XI in suing over antitrust violations.

Michael Jordan was the face of the suit settled in December, while Jenkins was the quiet team owner in the background presumed to be riding the global icon's coattails.

“People thought Michael Jordan was bankrolling this — no, no, no. I had to pay my half,” Jenkins told The Associated Press.

Jenkins, the sole owner of Front Row, said he split the fees of the case equally with 23XI, which has three owners to divide the costs. Had NASCAR not settled the suit, both teams would have ceased operations.

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Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

Front Row team owner Bob Jenkins stands near the driver meeting before the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Nigel Cook)

Leclerc fastest on last day of F1 testing in Bahrain

The Associated Press 2 minute read Friday, Feb. 20, 2026

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was the fastest on the final day of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain on Friday.

McLaren's Lando Norris was 0.879 seconds behind Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen trailed by 1.117 seconds.

Mercedes' George Russell was fourth and Alpine's Pierre Gasly fifth.

Leclerc's pace backed up the belief that Ferrari will be a leading contender this year when the season begins in Australia in two weeks.

F1 CEO Domenicali dismisses Verstappen’s retirement hint over 2026 rule changes

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

F1 CEO Domenicali dismisses Verstappen’s retirement hint over 2026 rule changes

James Ellingworth, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali has dismissed Max Verstappen's suggestion that new F1 regulations could influence the Dutch driver's future in the sport.

The four-time champion has been a vocal critic of the sweeping changes to F1 regulations for 2026, calling the cars, which rely more on electrical power than before, “no fun” to drive and likening them to all-electric series Formula E “on steroids”.

In comments on an episode of the “Up to Speed” podcast released Thursday, Verstappen also said the regulations wouldn't help the “longevity” of his career.

“I met yesterday Max, because as you know Max is incredible and he has a way of saying something that could be sometimes interpreted in a certain way,” Domenicali told reporters during preseason testing in Bahrain on Thursday.

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands waits in his car on the third day of Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Joe Gibbs Racing sues ex-director Chris Gabehart, alleging a ‘brazen’ trade secrets theft

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Joe Gibbs Racing sues ex-director Chris Gabehart, alleging a ‘brazen’ trade secrets theft

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Joe Gibbs Racing on Thursday filed suit against former competition director Chris Gabehart for allegedly embarking on “a brazen scheme to steal JGR's most sensitive information” for the benefit of rival NASCAR team Spire Motorsports.

The suit filed in the Western District of North Carolina — the same court that heard last December's antitrust suit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR — claims Gabehart violated his contract and stole confidential team trade secrets when “his demands for additional authority were rebuffed by JGR's owner.”

The suit alleges Gabehart caused more than $8 million in damages to JGR. The filing did not request an injunction preventing Gabehart from working for Spire.

JGR was founded by Joe Gibbs in 1992 after he won three Super Bowls as Washington's football coach.

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

FILE - Joe Gibbs watches a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, July 27, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

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Kyle Busch won all the time until the checkered flags dried up. Can he find NASCAR success again?

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press 8 minute read Preview

Kyle Busch won all the time until the checkered flags dried up. Can he find NASCAR success again?

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press 8 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch’s feisty spirit surfaced late at the end of another empty Daytona 500 for the perennial race loser. The Daytona pole sitter, Busch was running outside the top 20 in the final laps when he let off the gas and faded to the back of the pack as wrecks up front started to muddle the running order. His crew chief radioed Busch and asked if he slowed because the Chevrolet was out of fuel.

Busch’s retort was blunter.

“What the (heck) am I going to rush into the wreck for,” Busch said. “We’re running (expletive) 30th.”

Busch finished 15th, another middling result as he ran the longest active Daytona 500 losing streak to 21 straight races. Whatever spark winning the pole may have provided never materialized with only 19 laps led. The optimism of racing for the first time in a points race with a new crew chief faded early, and Busch was left to chew on the fact that a Daytona 500 win remained the lone void in a career that will eventually see him join big brother Kurt in the Hall of Fame.

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Kyle Busch prepares for a photo during NASCAR Daytona 500 qualifying, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Daytona, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Visa locks in a 4-year Red Bull F1 extension through 2030, expanding branding and access

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Visa locks in a 4-year Red Bull F1 extension through 2030, expanding branding and access

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Visa entered Formula 1 in 2024 with Red Bull Racing its first new global sports sponsorship agreement in 15 years. But it was a bumpy launch as its entry came with a name mocked as one of the worst in motorsports history.

Didn't matter to Visa, which on Thursday announced a four-year contract extension through 2030 that expands its partnership with Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.

Some fans call it VCARB, others call it Racing Bulls, and some even say Visa Cash App.

“When people embrace what you’re doing, people will find a way to talk about your name in positive light,” Frank Cooper, chief marketing officer of VISA, told The Associated Press. "Names become affectionate names once people find some kind of close connection to the company, the drivers, the team, and so people have gotten comfortable with it.

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand steers his car during a Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Russell outpaces Piastri and Leclerc at Formula 1 testing in Bahrain

Associated Press, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Russell outpaces Piastri and Leclerc at Formula 1 testing in Bahrain

Associated Press, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

SAKHIR, Bahrain (AP) — Mercedes driver George Russell was fastest on the first day of Formula 1's final testing event ahead of the new season, edging McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on Wednesday.

In the afternoon session at the Bahrain International Circuit, Russell had a time of 1:33.459, surpassing Piastri’s 1:33.739 achieved in the morning. Leclerc finished 0.28 behind the leader.

“Overall, it has been a productive day," Piastri said. "My running in the afternoon felt solid and we made good progress. I am feeling more comfortable with each lap, so I am looking forward to getting back out on the track tomorrow afternoon.”

World champion Lando Norris was half a second back in fourth place.

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Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car on the third day of Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

From antitrust fight to victory lane: Michael Jordan’s 23XI grabs a Daytona 500 win

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

From antitrust fight to victory lane: Michael Jordan’s 23XI grabs a Daytona 500 win

Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Michael Jordan inherited the racing bug from his late father, who routinely packed everyone into the car and drove from North Carolina to a handful of tracks every year as attending NASCAR races became Jordan family vacations.

Decades later, Jordan is now a Daytona 500 winner.

He was an ecstatic team owner during the victory celebration, which he joined seconds before winner Tyler Reddick was presented the trophy.

Reddick paused the party and was enveloped in Jordan’s arms before the Basketball Hall of Famer gave high-fives to the No. 45 crew from 23XI Racing. A stream of well-wishers soon followed, including NASCAR chairman Jim France, who warmly congratulated Jordan with a smile and a handshake.

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Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

Tyler Reddick celebrates with the team his win of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Nigel Cook)

Alternate dates with Spa offer Barcelona reprieve on F1 calendar

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Alternate dates with Spa offer Barcelona reprieve on F1 calendar

The Associated Press 2 minute read Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

BARCELONA (AP) — Barcelona will carry on staging Formula 1 races for another six years after an agreement was made for it to alternate with the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Circuit de Catalunya has been replaced by Madrid as host of the Spanish Grand Prix this year but will continue on the calendar and become the venue for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in June.

Under the terms of the agreement with F1, Barcelona will continue to stage a race in 2028, 2030 and 2032, alternating with Spa-Francorchamps.

“Barcelona is an incredible city, and the Formula 1 fans there always welcome us with such passion, so I am delighted that we will continue to race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for years to come," F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said.

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Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

FILE - F1 chairman Stefano Domenicali speaks during a news conference at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Oct. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, file)

Denny Hamlin wants to increase speed to improve racing at the Daytona 500

Mark Long, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Denny Hamlin wants to increase speed to improve racing at the Daytona 500

Mark Long, The Associated Press 4 minute read Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has a plan for improving racing at Daytona International Speedway, and it involves going faster.

He already has spoken to NASCAR executives about it, too.

Hamlin shared his idea for fixing the Daytona 500, which has become a fuel-mileage event since the debut of the Next Gen car in 2022, with everyone else after celebrating his first victory as a team owner in “The Great American Race.”

“There’s a way, but we’re going to have to increase the speeds by a lot,” said Hamlin, who finished 31st in the 500 on Sunday but made it to victory lane with Tyler Reddick at 23XI Racing. “You’re going to make it where handling matters. That’s going to spread the field, that’s going to make it to where … it’ll look a little more like racing from the past.”

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Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

Denny Hamlin, (11), Bubba Wallace, (23) and Chase Briscoe, (19) run during the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Tyler Reddick enjoy spoils of Daytona 500 win with family, infant son who battled a tumor in chest

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Tyler Reddick enjoy spoils of Daytona 500 win with family, infant son who battled a tumor in chest

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Reddick had trouble corralling his young son on a Disney cruise and then inside a cramped motorhome in the days leading into the Daytona 500.

Rookie Reddick turns 9 months old later this month and he's ready to stretch his hands and legs and start crawling.

“He's been like a speedster,” Tyler Reddick said.

Kind of like dad.

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Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026

Tyler Reddick, (45) and his son Beau celebrate with the team after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Chase Elliott had 1st Daytona 500 title in sight before losing out in last-lap wreck to Reddick

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Chase Elliott had 1st Daytona 500 title in sight before losing out in last-lap wreck to Reddick

Dan Gelston, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Chase Elliott climbed from his car and sat on the outside wall of the track in stunned disbelief that the Daytona 500 victory that was his — his first one, only a few feet from the finish line — was wiped out in a wreck.

NASCAR's most popular driver, Elliott needed a moment to collect his thoughts outside the No. 9 Chevrolet. Fireworks exploded behind Elliott for race winner Tyler Reddick. Elliott could only think of how close that celebration — and the victorious pool hall siren in Dawsonville, Georgia, being sounded— was to being for him.

“We were leading the Daytona 500 off (turn) four coming to the checkered flag," Elliott said, "and didn’t win.”

About the only Daytona 500 victory that could have been more popular than an Elliott winning the race would have been a checkered flag for team owner Michael Jordan. Jordan co-owns 23XI Racing and certainly his team's victory infused NASCAR with splashy headlines and needed buzz coming out of the sport's version of the Super Bowl when Reddick emerged from the wreck Sunday to top Elliott.

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Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026

Chase Elliott signs autographs during practice at the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto races at Daytona International Speedway, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

William Byron races for the lead late but comes up short in Daytona 500 threepeat bid

Mark Long, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

William Byron races for the lead late but comes up short in Daytona 500 threepeat bid

Mark Long, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — William Byron climbed out of his mangled Chevrolet on pit road, looked up at the nearby scoring pylon and shook his head.

For the first time in three years, Byron and his No. 24 weren’t on top at the Daytona 500.

But Byron was as surprised as anyone that he had a chance — even briefly running up front — in the waning laps Sunday.

Winning the NASCAR Cup Series opener for the third consecutive year would have taken even more luck than anything Byron enjoyed in 2024 and 2025 at Daytona International Speedway. His car wouldn’t even drive straight for most of the day. Yet there he was with a shot at history down the stretch.

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Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026

February 22, 2026

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