NASCAR

Michael Jordan recently made the trip out to Huntersville, North Carolina, to get a firsthand look at 23XI Racing's new "Airspeed" headquarters.

The NBA legend sounded impressed as he was guided around the building and saw some of the amenities.

Airspeed opened in May, and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin laid out the grand ambitions for the project when he told NASCAR.com's Zack Albert he "wanted it to feel like the Google of race shops."

"This is not a race shop. It's a place that we work, yes, we put cars on the track, but it's so much more than that," Hamlin said. "Would you say sitting right here, we're in a race shop? No, it certainly doesn't feel that way. So I think what we were in—in Mooresville, in the old Germain (Racing) building—was a race shop and a garage. This is not. This is something that is different, and so it needs to be named appropriately."

According to Racer's Kelly Crandall, Airspeed features its own cafe and gym, the latter of which boasts a training room, hot and cold tubs, and a sauna.

Jordan's foray into sports ownership with the NBA's Charlotte Hornets didn't go well in a competitive sense. The franchise only had a winning record four times after he took control in March 2010.

The Hall of Famer did turn a massive profit, though, as he turned his initial $275 million investment into a sale with a $3 billion valuation.

23XI Racing, which has Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick racing full time, has fared a little better on the NASCAR Cup Series. The team has one win and six top-five finishes, and it sits sixth in the owner standings with 473 points.

Given the amount of work that was put into Airspeed, Jordan and Hamlin have major ambitions as NASCAR owners.

An unexpected visitor made a cameo during Saturday's Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway.

A coyote briefly ran onto the track before finding safe haven under one of the grandstands.

Coyote sightings aren't all that rare in Portland, Oregon, with the Portland Urban Coyote Project having received numerous reports of the animal popping up around the area. The group also downplayed the danger coyotes pose, saying that "seeing a coyote in the Portland metro area is totally normal and is typically no cause for alarm."

Shane van Gisbergen wound up claiming the checkered flag Saturday to notch the first NASCAR Xfinity Series win of his career.

Maybe the coyote was his good luck charm.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fined $75,000 by NASCAR after fighting Kyle Busch following Sunday's All-Star Race at North Carolina's North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Busch was not penalized.

The altercation occurred in the pits after Busch wrecked Stenhouse's car on the second lap of the race:

Stenhouse's father was suspended indefinitely for his involvement. Two members of Stenhouse's team also faced penalties, as mechanic Clint Myrick was suspended for eight races and engine tuner Keith Matthews for four.

The conflict came after a series of bumps from Busch's car sent Stenhouse's into the retaining wall:

Stenhouse then parked the wrecked car in Busch's pit, where the two argued about who caused the collision.

The argument ended with Stenhouse throwing a punch, and his father also getting involved in the altercation.

Stenhouse said after the brawl that his fight with Busch was the result of "built-up frustration."

"I wrecked him one time at Daytona, and he's been kind of bad-mouthing me ever since then," Stenhouse said, per NASCAR.com's Zack Albert. "I feel like we get along with each other okay outside the race track. I talk to him quite a bit. I'm not sure why he was so mad that — I shoved it three-wide, but he hit the fence and kind of came off the wall and ran into me, and when I was talking to him, he kept saying that I wrecked him."

Busch declined an interview after the fight, per FOX Sports 1 and NASCAR reporter Chris Knight.

NASCAR's decision to fine Stenhouse and penalize his father falls in line with precedent, under which the company generally issues harsher punishments to non-drivers involved in physical altercations, FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass noted.

In the past, NASCAR has declined to fine drivers who started fights just after getting out of their car, Pockrass reported. The fact that Stenhouse waited to meet Busch at his hauler might have contributed to the penalty.

NASCAR will now be keeping a close eye on Stenhouse and Busch during the upcoming Coca-Cola 600, during which Stenhouse said he would wreck Busch. The 1.5-mile race takes place Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After their fight during the aftermath of the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday night, NASCAR Cup Series drivers Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have received an offer to settle their differences in a Celebrity Boxing match.

According to TMZ Sports, Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman went public with the invite Monday, saying: "Come on NASCAR, let's make this the biggest deal in the country!"

While Busch and Stenhouse were jostling for position during the second lap of the All-Star race, Stenhouse hit the wall and was done for the night.

Stenhouse made it clear that he was looking for a fight, as he parked his car in Busch's pit stall and had words with Busch's crew members.

After the race was over, Stenhouse was standing behind Busch's hauler waiting for him, which led to a heated exchange. It was escalated even further when Stenhouse threw a haymaker, leading to a chaotic scene with team members attempting to break it up:

Per TMZ Sports, Stenhouse said following the melee that he would be open to facing Busch in a celebrity boxing match if proceeds were to go to charity, saying: "I would do that. ... That would be fun."

It is fair to wonder if Busch would be interested as well, especially given how frustrating this season has been for him.

The 39-year-old Busch is one of the all-time greats and a future Hall of Famer with two NASCAR Cup Series championships and 63 Cup Series race wins to his credit.

However, the 2024 season has been a struggle thus far, as he has yet to win a race or even a stage over his first 13 starts, and is a pedestrian 13th place in the standings.

Stenhouse, 36, hasn't had a banner year either, as the 2023 Daytona 500 winner is 26th in the standings with no wins and only two top-10 finishes and one top-five result.

Given that NASCAR didn't shy away from showcasing to the world that Busch and Stenhouse got into a fight, perhaps it would have interest in facilitating an eventual Busch vs. Stenhouse boxing match due to the added buzz it would likely create for the sport.

NASCAR could suspend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for punching Kyle Busch following Sunday's All-Star Race.

Steve Reed of The Associated Press noted Stenhouse, his father and members of his crew could all wind up suspended due to the melee. Busch may also wind up facing punishment for causing an early crash that led to Stenhouse's anger.

The feud began when Stenhouse wrecked Busch at Daytona and has simmered for months. The pair battled in the All-Star Race, with Stenhouse driving aggressively against Busch. There are some who thought Busch wrecking Stenhouse was retaliation.

During their back-and-forth, Stenhouse threatened to wreck Stenhouse at next week's race at Charlotte.

"Bring it," Busch said in response. "I suck as bad as you,"

Stenhouse, for his part, said Busch was bitter because he's fallen off among the best drivers in the sport. Busch is 13th in the points standings and does not have a win in 2024.

Joey Logano won the All-Star Race from the pole, leading 199 of the 200 laps. It would have been a sleepy celebration of the sport if it weren't for Stenhouse and Busch adding some excitement in the pit area.

That said, it's unlikely NASCAR looks on the situation fondly.

Tensions flared at the race track Saturday night.

Following the Nascar All-Star race held at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina, drivers Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were caught in a physical altercation.

This comes after Stenhouse showed displeasure with Bush during the race during a pit stop.

He shared some thoughts following the race, which included a reference to the fact that he was going to "handle it" with Busch later and told reporters that they can "watch afterwards" to see what happens.

The altercation stemmed from an earlier event in the race. The two drivers had some contact on the opening lap and Busch followed up by pushing Stenhouse into the wall, ending the latter's night.

Stenhouse missed out on the chance to compete for $1,000,000, an opportunity he had earned after winning the 2023 Daytona 500. He was unable to leave the race until it concluded, so he was forced to sit and reflect on the incident for quite a long time.

Stenhouse finished last in the race and Busch finished 10th. Joey Logano took home the victory.

NASCAR is set to take a page out of the NBA's playbook with a new wrinkle being added to the 2025 season.

NASCAR will introduce a five-race in-season tournament next year with a $1 million prize up for grabs.

The introduction of the new concept coincides with the first season of NASCAR's seven-year media rights deal. The three races to determine the seeding for the tournament will be aired on Prime Video, while the tournament races will be broadcast on the TNT Sports portion of the 2025 Cup Series.

"With the launch of our new media rights partnerships in 2025, we were excited to partner with Prime Video and TNT Sports to collaborate on fan engagement concepts that drive storylines in our sport and innovation from a production perspective," Brian Herbst, NASCAR senior vice president of media and productions, said in a press release. "Having head-to-head driver matchups for each one of TNT's NASCAR Cup Series races will add a compelling fan engagement element across media platforms like TNT, Bleacher Report, House of Highlights and NASCAR digital platforms."

The format will feature 32 drivers being placed in an NCAA tournament-style bracket where the head-to-head matchups determine who advances to the next round. Seedings for the tournament will be decided by the highest result of each driver from the three preceding races. The five races that will make up the in-season tournament have not yet been announced.

"The idea of an in-season tournament has been discussed within the NASCAR industry and as we started to focus on adding promotional elements that drive interest throughout the season, we were excited by the opportunity to leverage the marketing weight of Amazon and TNT Sports to bring this concept to life," Herbst said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is returning to the broadcast booth starting with the 2025 NASCAR season.

TNT Sports and Amazon Prime announced (h/t NASCAR.com) on Tuesday that Earnhardt will work for their broadcast teams next year.

Earnhardt issued a statement in the release about the move:

"It is such an exciting time to welcome TNT Sports back to NASCAR. I remember watching the races on TNT back in the day, and it's so nostalgic to see them return to the sport and to be a part of their team. I'm looking forward to joining their team and also getting the chance to work with Bleacher Report creating content that our fans will enjoy."

Earnhardt most recently worked as a color commentator for NBC's NASCAR coverage from 2018 to '23. The network announced his departure in February with a statement (h/t Greg Engle of Forbes):

"Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beloved in the NASCAR world and has made numerous contributions to NBC Sports, from his work as an analyst on our NASCAR coverage to his experiences as a correspondent at major events like the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl and the Olympics. We thank Dale and we wish him the best going forward."

NASCAR signed its new media rights deal in November, with TNT and Amazon Prime joining traditional partners in Fox Sports and NBC Sports. The seven-year package is worth a total of $7.7 billion from 2025 to '31.

The deal with Amazon Prime marks the first time NASCAR events will be available exclusively on a streaming service. Fox and NBC still hold rights for 14 races each season, with Amazon Prime and TNT each getting five events.

It's unclear at this point which races will air on which networks. Fox has been the exclusive home for the Daytona 500 since 2007.

TNT gained broadcast rights for NASCAR events for the first time since 2014.

Since retiring from full-time competition after the 2017 NASCAR season, Earnhardt has spent most of his time broadcasting. He still races occasionally on the Xfinity circuit, including taking part in two events last year for the first time since 2017.

Earnhardt finished fifth in the Xfinity Series at Miami race in October. His coverage for TNT and Amazon Prime will include on-air analysis and commentary, as well as contributions to B/R's social and digital platforms in collaboration with his Dirty Mo Media productions company.

Kyle Larson earned an extremely narrow victory in the AdventHealth 400 over Chris Buescher on Sunday night at Kansas Speedway.

Larson secured his second win of the 2024 season by just 0.001 seconds, representing the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history.

The close ending drew comparisons to Saturday's Kentucky Derby, which contained a photo finish before Mystik Dan was eventually declared the winner.

Rounding out Sunday's top five were were Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

"That race from start to finish was amazing," Larson said afterward, per NASCAR.com. "That first stage was incredible. The second stage at the end was fun, and then that whole last stage with the wrecks and cautions and then fuel strategy and tires running long and all that was wild."

"You guys got your money's worth today, and I'm just proud to be a part of the show," he added.

Although a rain delay pushed back the original 3 p.m. ET start time, the race was eventually able to get going and did not disappoint. Hamlin initially appeared to be on the verge of his second consecutive win after emerging victorious in the 2023 AdventHealth 400, leading with seven laps remaining.

However, a spin by Kyle Busch brought out the caution flag. In the resulting green-white-checkered finish, Larson passed Hamlin and pulled alongside Buescher before edging him out.

Buescher, who won the second stage, was in disbelief after the result became official.

"I don't know what to say right now," Buescher said, via the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "I haven't seen a replay other than just the picture, and I sure can't see in that picture. That sucks to be that close."

The NASCAR Cup Series will continue on May 12 with the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

For the first time since 1998, Michael Jordan got to hoist a trophy as the winner of an event Sunday afternoon.

Tyler Reddick captured the 2024 Geico 500 on Sunday, marking the first win for Jordan's 23XI Racing with the six-time NBA Finals MVP in attendance.

Jordan co-owns 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin. The team has won six races overall in the NASCAR Cup series since launching in 2021, but the first five came with Jordan not in attendance.

"Denny keeps saying I was bad luck when I came to the track, but today we proved him wrong. ... As you know, this is the NBA playoffs right now. For me, this is like an NBA playoff game. … For us to win a big race like this, it means so much to me.

"Look, I'm all in. I love it. It replaces a lot of the competitiveness I had in basketball. But this is even worse, because I have no control. If I was playing basketball, I'd have total control. So I live vicariously through the drivers."

Reddick has won three races since joining 23XI last season and finished sixth in the points standings in 2023. His win over the weekend will lock him into a playoff spot later this year, and Sunday was his fifth straight top-10 finish and seventh of the young NASCAR season.

If the 28-year-old Reddick can keep up his momentum, this likely won't be the only time Jordan is celebrating in victory lane this season.