Motor Racing

Suspended NASCAR driver Noah Gragson has asked Legacy Motor Club to release him from his contract so he can work through the series' reinstatement process. Gragson was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR last Saturday after liking an insensitive meme with a photo of George Floyd's face. Floyd died in 2020 after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes. Legacy already has announced two-time Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller will replace Gragson in the No. 42 Chevrolet for the next two races. Legacy's statement says it's "proud" that Gragson is taking ownership of his actions.

Two-time LeMans winner Mike Rockenfeller has been chosen to replace suspended driver Noah Gragson in the next two NASCAR Cup Series races. Legacy Motor Club announced Tuesday that Rockenfeller will be in the No. 42 Chevrolet this week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and in the following race at Watkins Glen. The team said Gragson has not been released. Gragson was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on Saturday after liking an insensitive meme with a photo of George Floyd's face. Gragson posted on social media that he was disappointed in himself.

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway was suspended due to rain and was scheduled to resume Monday. The FireKeepers 400 began after a 1 hour, 43 minute rain delay on Sunday. And 74 laps later, precipitation pushed the drivers out of their cars during a red-flag stoppage that lasted nearly an hour before the 200-lap race was postponed. Shortly before the race was suspended, Tyler Reddick took the lead after a restart and was followed by Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and points-leader Martin Truex Jr.

Kyle Kirkwood easily held off Scott McLaughlin over a final four-lap shootout and won the Music City Grand Prix on Sunday for his second career victory and second this season. The 24-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, led a race-high 34 laps. He appeared poised to race to the finish for Andretti Autosports after a caution with 10 laps remaining ensured he had enough fuel. A four-car crash off the restart forced a red flag stoppage. Kirkwood drove through the rubber debris on the 2.1-mile course around the streets of Nashville to add another win after taking Long Beach in April.

Jimmie Johnson and former crew chief Chad Knaus, who combined to win a record-tying seven Cup Series championships, have been selected for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. They will be joined by longtime driver Donnie Allison, who was voted in on the pioneer ballot. The Class of 2024 induction ceremony will be held Jan. 19 in Charlotte. Johnson is considered one of the most successful race car drivers in history. 

Max Verstappen's dominance is so total that it already feels like he's won his third straight Formula One title. That's with 10 races remaining following the mid-season break. With a lead of 125 points over his nearest rival the Red Bull driver is already in position to watch a highlights reel of his season and list his favorite wins. There have been 10 out of 12 races so far plus a further two victories when including sprint races. After winning the Belgian Grand Prix with another emphatic drive Verstappen was asked which of the victories this season he likes the most. But he says "it's difficult to choose."

Defending Formula One champion Max Verstappen enters the mid-season break in unstoppable form. He emphatically won the Belgian Grand Prix for an eighth straight win and 10th overall of a crushingly dominant season. Despite starting from sixth place he finished 22.3 seconds ahead of Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to move ominously closer to a third straight world title and his own F1 record of 15 wins from last year. He is 125 points ahead of Perez and can equal Sebastian Vettel's F1 record of nine straight wins with a victory at the Dutch GP on Aug. 27. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished third with Lewis Hamilton in fourth for Mercedes. Red Bull extended its record to 13 straight wins including last year's final race.

Two-time reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen has won the rain-hit sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix to extend his huge lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to 118 points. It was Verstappen's ninth straight win including the two sprint races he was won this season. He collected eight points for the victory and will look to extend his overall lead further in Sunday's main race as he continues his march to a third straight world title. He finished the sprint a comfortable 6.7 seconds ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and 10.7 clear of Alpine's Pierre Gasly. Perez scored no points after retiring. Verstappen had earlier edged out Piastri by just .011 seconds to take the sprint pole.

Runaway F1 championship leader Max Verstappen had the fastest time in qualifying for the rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix. But Charles Leclerc will start Sunday's race from pole position because of Verstappen's five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. The Red Bull driver will start from sixth place. That will hardly bother the two-time reigning Formula One champion considering he won last year from 14th.

Sergio Pérez certainly picked the right moment to secure a Formula One podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix. A third-place finish gave Pérez a 32nd career podium but his first at the Hungaroring. It issued a timely reminder of his ability and also took some pressure off the Mexican veteran’s shoulders. This was only his second podium in the past six races in a dominant Red Bull car that has won all 11 races so far.

Formula One defending champion Max Verstappen needs only a few seconds to stamp his authority on the Hungarian Grand Prix and win his seventh straight race of a crushingly dominant season. Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton started from pole position ahead of Verstappen, who muscled him out at the first corner and never looked back. Red Bull’s 12th straight win included the final race of 2022 and broke McLaren’s record for consecutive wins set in 1988.

Chase Elliott left Pocono Raceway last year as a third-place finisher and learned when he landed in Georgia that he had been declared the race winner. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion said he didn't want to celebrate the victory awarded to him after Pocono winner Denny Hamlin was disqualified when his Toyota failed a postrace inspection.

Lewis Hamilton has taken his first pole position since 2021 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. In doing so he has ended Formula One champion Max Verstappen’s bid for a sixth straight pole. Hamilton pumped his left fist several times after placing just .003 seconds ahead of Verstappen on his last lap to secure a record-extending 104th pole but first since Saudi Arabia in December 2021.

Daniel Ricciardo is celebrating his unexpected return to Formula One at the Hungarian Grand Prix. It's the same track where fellow veteran Fernando Alonso won his first race 20 years ago. Winning is becoming routine for runaway championship leader Max Verstappen. He is the overwhelming favorite for Sunday's race. The 25-year-old Red Bull driver is chasing a seventh straight win and ninth overall this season. 

Martin Truex Jr. mastered another Monday matinee to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first time in 30 career Cup races at the track. Joey Logano finished second. Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. Truex won his second Monday race of the season and fourth of his career. He dominated in the No. 19 Toyota en route to his third win of the season.

Martin Truex Jr. knows he has to make a decision soon on his race future. Truex could announcement his retirement or decide to return for another season with Joe Gibbs Racing. The 43-year-old has floated retirement before, only to be coaxed back to return for another year in the No. 19 Toyota. Truex has two wins after he missed the playoffs last season. JGR would likely look to Xfinity Series drivers John Hunter Nemechek or Sammy Smith to fill the spot if Truex decides to retire.

The SRX series of all-star racing returns to ESPN with the relaunch of “Thursday Night Thunder,” the program that helped make drivers such as Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon famous.