NASCAR files appeal against 23XI and Front Row just 1 hour before Daytona 500 qualifying begins

NASCAR filed a 68-page appeal Wednesday night — roughly one hour before the start of Daytona 500 qualifying — arguing a federal judge erred in recognizing 23XI Motorsports and Front Row Motorsports as chartered teams for 2025 as the two organizations sue over antitrust claims. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina in December issued a preliminary injunction that allowed 23XI and Front Row to receive the same rewards as a chartered team while the lawsuit wades through the court system. 23XI Racing is co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, while Front Row Motorsports is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

NASCAR’s lone Black Cup driver Bubba Wallace ‘couldn’t care less’ if Trump attends Daytona 500

Bubba Wallace said he “couldn't care less” if Donald Trump attends the Daytona 500 on Sunday, nearly five years after the president accused the NASCAR Cup Series’ only Black full-time driver of perpetrating “ a hoax ” when a crew member found a noose in the team garage stall. Trump suggested in July 2020 that Wallace should apologize after the sport rallied around him following the discovery of the noose in his assigned stall at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. NASCAR and the FBI have referred exclusively to the rope — which was used to pull the garage door closed — as a noose.

Denny Hamlin paces opening Daytona 500 practice

Denny Hamlin paced the NASCAR Cup Series field during Wednesday\\\"s opening practice session at Daytona International Speedway, turning a lap of 187.480 mph in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It\\\"s the first of three scheduled practice sessions for Sunday\\\"s 67th running of the Daytona 500. Bubba Wallace (186.915), Ty Gibbs (186.370), Chandler Smith […]