After an eight-week skid marked by frustration, including a double-duty disaster with crashes at both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Larson finally found daylight in mid-July. His $100,000 Joker’s Jackpot victory at Eldora Speedway in the High Limit Racing Series looked like the spark he needed. Riding that wave of confidence into the NASCAR Cup Series, Larson logged back-to-back top-five finishes at Dover and Indianapolis. But Iowa brought him back to earth.

A 28th-place finish, compounded by heated on-track tension with teammate Chase Elliott, who twice bumped Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and nearly sent it into the outside wall, left Larson with more aggravation than momentum.

Just one day later, however, Larson flipped the script. He rolled into Southern Iowa Speedway on Monday night for the Front Row Challenge and took the checkered flag, winning the prestigious event for the fifth time in his career and his fourth in the last five years.

The victory serves as a traditional prelude to Knoxville Nationals week, where sprint car racing’s elite will battle for big money and bragging rights at “The Sprint Car Capital of the World,” Knoxville Raceway.

Larson expressed his gratitude to team owner Rick Hendrick and crew chief Cliff Daniels for letting him keep one foot in the sprint car world. He said, “It caps off with the most prestigious sprint car race in the world. So yeah, there’s a lot that goes into making the Knoxville Nationals the coolest event in the world.

“I enjoy getting to run it. I’m thankful that I get to run it ’cause you know, I could easily not. I could have an owner that wouldn’t allow me to run it. But thankfully, Mr. H and Cliff and everybody there let me run. They know how important it is to me, and yeah it’s cool. We’ve been here since last Wednesday and look forward to the weekend.”

Despite winning three Cup races this season and holding third in the driver standings, Larson still seeks to reclaim his midseason momentum. Monday night’s Front Row Challenge win might be the jolt he needed to get his Cup campaign back on track.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The instant the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Braves cleared the baseball diamond inside the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway, a new clock started.

“The Last Great Colosseum” has to switch from hosting the MLB Speedway Classic and be ready for NASCAR’s return to the historic racetrack hosting a playoff chase race Sept. 13.

“As soon as the last pitch is thrown, the last hit’s hit, teams do their thing, postgame’s taken care of, pads will start coming off the wall, and they’ll work through the night to basically start disassembling so we can reassemble for the NASCAR race,” said Steve Swift, Speedway Motorsports’ senior vice president of operations.

Major League Baseball used BaAM to create everything from clubhouses for the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds complete with showers, strength and conditioning rooms, coach and trainers’ offices and batting cages. Grandstands down both base lines with broadcast booths.

Pit walls taken down to keep the Reds and Braves from crashing into them have to be rebuilt. Swift said pouring concrete walls does take time and then more time to cure properly. Additives can help concrete cure faster, but that’s just one of the reconstruction issues causing obstacles.

Swift said Bristol has had great partners planning for all the details of making this happen. Now it’s time for Bristol Motor Speedway to go from hosting the first MLB regular-season game in the state of Tennessee and setting a record with a paid attendance of 91,032 back to its racing roots.

“It is difficult, but it’s things that we like,” Swift said. “It gives us a challenge and we like challenges.”

The transformation to a baseball diamond in the infield required 17,500 tons of gravel to level the infield, then 340 tons of Pennsylvania clay for the playing surface.

Braves first baseman Matt Olson said Saturday that he couldn’t believe Bristol was transformed all for one game. Well, everything that can be recycled will be used somewhere after the baseball diamond is removed.

Some of the gravel will be used in Bristol Motor Speedway’s parking lots. Swift said they have found groups to help use some of the materials to help people still recovering from the damages left by Hurricane Helene. That includes 2x4s and plywood used for the grandstands.

“A lot of stuff is going to go to good use as far as the rebuild portion,” Swift said. “We just need to get it out of the way so we can put back asphalt and concrete.”

This new renovation schedule has a couple of days built in for protection. The target date for being finished is Sept. 7.

“There may still be some paint drying whenever they roll in with the Goodyear haulers, but we’ll definitely shoot for that (Sept. 7) day,” Swift said. “And at the latest, we’re looking at Tuesday.”

Bristol hosted a college football game in 2016 that drew 156,990. Now the NHL might be in Bristol’s future after Sportico reported Friday that league officials would be checking out how the racetrack handled Major League Baseball.

When asked about possibly hosting an outdoor hockey game, Swift only said a hockey rink would be similar to a football field and that Speedway Motorsports has big dreams for what is possible at places like Bristol.

“We’ve shown with football and now baseball being here, that things can take place and we can do the the things that nobody would even think about,” Swift said.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – When you think of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, you likely picture Main Street Sturgis packed with people and bikes but the fun doesn’t stop there.

“We’re excited to have Honda back doing the factory demo expo here on Exit 61,” said Wade Rice, owner of Rice’s Rapid Motorsports. “They’re here doing demos. They have multiple models, 40 units total so you don’t have to wait long to get on a test drive.”

And while the rally celebrates a monumental 85 years, Honda is also celebrating a monumental 50 years of their Gold Wing motorcycle.

“Seventy-five was the first model,” Rice said. “It was a bare model and now they’re fully decked out with bags and trunks and all that kind of stuff … the new safety ABS, they make one with an airbag, there’s all kinds of different features for the new Gold Wings.”

While the rally is taking place you can stop by Rice Honda and meet the man with the first, 25th and 50th models of the Gold Wing.

“I bought my first Gold Wing in 1978 and I’ve had a new Gold Wing almost every year ever since,” said John Lazzeroni, president of JM Corporation. “So, seeing the 50 years of the Honda Gold Wing from the original 1975 all the way to the new 50th anniversary including this 2025 Gold Wing here is amazing.”

Lazzeroni called his 25th anniversary bike a “time capsule” as everything is in mint condition and the owner’s manual is still in the plastic wrap.

“I had a favorite, and it was this one until I rode my brand new 50th anniversary 2025 Gold Wing and now that’s my favorite,” Lazzeroni said.

Not only has Lazzeroni been enjoying the Gold Wing for years but he’s enjoyed every motorcycle rally since 1985.

“I remember the 50th, I remember the 75th and now here we are at the 85th,” Lazzeroni said. “I’m looking forward now to the 100th.”

Rice said he loves seeing the same people visit the Rapid City location each rally season.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.

• NASCAR 25, the first NASCAR game for home consoles since 2021, will be released on October 14.
• NASCAR 25 features over 190 drivers across the Cup, Xfinity, Truck, and ARCA series, including a 45-driver Cup Series roster.

Gamers know their options now.

NASCAR Weekend at Watkins Glen International is upon us. Three days of racing in the Finger Lakes begins on Friday with the Craftsman Truck Series race at 5pm, the green flag will drop on Xfinity Series Race on Saturday at 3pm and the NASCAR Cup Series Race is set to begin at 2pm on Sunday.   

In anticipation of the weekend, News10NBC Investigative Reporter and NASCAR Fan Jennifer Lewke and her 8-year old son Jett spoke with NASCAR Driver Denny Hamlin.  Hamlin has 4 wins, 11 top 5’s and 12 top 10’s so far this season.

Full interview:

Jennifer Lewke (News10NBC):  “What do you like and not like about Watkins Glen, you’ve won here before but it’s been a while.”

Denny Hamlin:  “Yea, I like Watkins Glen, I think it races almost like an intermediate type track with our cars, it’s one of the highest speed road courses that we have. My favorite thing about Watkins Glen has nothing to do with the racetrack though, it really is kind of the infield there, we’ve seen people come out in huge numbers to hang out in Watkins Glen infield.  The midway there, the fan area is filled with different activations and stuff, there’s tons of stuff to do so, I’ve explored around that racetrack and it’s been a blast.” 

Jennifer Lewke:   “What I also love about Watkins is they let you, as fans, drive the course in your own personal car, I’ve done it with my two sons and my husband and the S’s, we got up to like 80 and then I made them pull back, I was like okay, this is getting a little crazy… the race itself and the track… it’s fast for a road course.”

Denny Hamlin:  “It is, it’s extremely fast.  It’s fast but it’s technical.  Like when you talk about the S’s…that’s probably the most treacherous corner that we enter on all of our circuit.  Is turn 2 there, so the car really unloads and then you’ve got to switch back the other direction into a blind corner, it’s really, really difficult.  And certainly, I’ve only been able to win there one time so it tell you that race track has its own challenges.”

Jennifer Lewke:  “You mentioned the experience of it all, I think that’s what it is for a lot of folks who spend the weekend at the Glen…I mean, we have the Buffalo Bills here, we have other professional sports, but you don’t really get as close to the stars of the sport, I think, as you do in NASCAR, how big of a role do you think that plays in expanding the sport beyond just the hardcore NASCAR fans?

Denny Hamlin:  “Well, that’s the difference in our sport than others, it is the access.  You’re able to more than likely get an autograph or take a picture with your favorite driver just an hour before they’re getting in the race car.  You never get that access to the locker room in any other sports and so the access is what makes us different.  You’re not just going for the event itself, you’re making a weekend out of it with your family or friends and getting to explore all that Watkins Glen has to offer.

Jennifer Lewke:  “Are you ever able to explore beyond the track when you’re in Upstate New York?”

Denny Hamlin:  “I check out the town a little bit, I do try to golf when I’m in that town.”

Jennifer Lewke:  “Denny, if you don’t mind, I kind of have a special guest off to the side, it’s my 8 year-old, he is a huge NASCAR fan and he happens to be a huge, Denny Hamlin fan.” 

Denny: “Hey, my man!” 

Jennifer Lewke:  “This is Jett, he wanted to say Hi, I let him stay home from Summer camp, did you want to ask Denny a question?” 

Jett (Jennifer Lewke’s Son):  “Yes, and by the way… I met you before as you can see in this picture.” (Jett holds up a photo from Watkins Glen in 2023 where he is posing with Denny)  

Denny Hamlin:  “I see that.  Man you got the hat and the shirt and everything!  What’s your question bud?”

Jett:  “At what was the age you knew you wanted to be a NASCAR driver?”

Denny Hamlin:  “I was 8 years-old.” 

Jett: “That’s my age right now!”

Denny Hamlin: “Yea, well let’s see that’s the first time I got into a go-cart.  I went to a race when I was 5 and at that point, I smelled the tires and fuel and saw all the cars that were roaring by and I was like, “oh I love this” right?  And so, at that time, back then, you couldn’t get into a go-cart until you were 8 years-old so, my parents bought me a go-cart when I was 8, I got in, they showed me… this is how you go, this is how you stop, this is how you steer and they sent me around this little dirt track and when I went around there they saw that I was getting it sideways and correcting it, and they’re like… “oh, he’s got good car control” so–like maybe we’ll put him in a race in a few weeks, so they put me in a race and I won my very first race.  You give an 8 year-old a trophy and a go-cart and it’s like… this is what I want to do, I want to be a race car driver!”

Jett:  “And um…What do you think about SVG at Watkins Glen, do you think he’ll be a challenge to race with?” 

Denny Hamlin:  “Yes, I think he’s going to be a challenge to keep up with, more than anything.  He’s just really good on the road courses obviously, he almost won last year and then if you think about it, the team he was with was not as good as the team he’s with now.  So, I think he’s going to be extremely hard to beat, I’ll be lucky, I just want to keep him in sight during that race, that’s my goal at Watkins Glen, I’m going to keep him in sight, get us a top 5 and get out of there.”

Jennifer Lewke: “Thank you so much for your time and for taking Jett’s questions.  He’s always one, when we were at Daytona last year, he’s always one to stick up for you against people in the crowd who throw those boo’s your way.”

 Denny Hamlin:  “I like that!  Yea, you cheer alright!” 

Jett: “Yea!”

A limited number of tickets are still available for NASCAR weekends at Watkins Glen International.  For more information, Click here.

NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt’s family is involved in a bitter dispute over a planned $30billion land development in North Carolina.

Teresa Earnhardt, third wife and widow of the late racing superstar, wants to use 400 acres of land she owns in Mooresville for a massive project to build a new business park.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series star set to drive for new team as official statement released

The 66-year-old has requested rezoning of the land to industrial to allow the project to go ahead.

Denver-based developer Tract claims the proposed Mooresville Technology Park would create 277 “recession-resistant” jobs, including some 195 paying $125,000 a year.

It also claims hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues would be generated for Mooresville, Iredell County, and local public schools over 20 years.

Earnhardt vs Earnhard as battle ramps up

But neighbors, including some Earnhardt family members, are fighting hard to stop the plan. Opponents have even set up a website to rally support against it, and the bad blood is ramping up.

The whole things is now a very public Earnhardt family feud, with Dale’s son Kerry (Teresa’s stepson) coming out in strong opposition.

Writing on Facebook, he said his father – who was tragically killed in an accident at the Daytona 500 in 2001 – would be “livid”.

“Frankly, I’m ashamed our family name is involved in the request to rezone a community that is thriving as a rural residential/agriculture zone to be changed to Industrial.

“Infrastructures like this don’t belong in neighborhoods where people’s natural resources will be depleted, wildlife will be uprooted, and the landscape and lives of the people that call this area home will forever be changed. I’d rather see homes built with people loving the land we live on…. the way this area was intended to be!”

READ MORE: NASCAR team in show of defiance after driver handed major Iowa penalty

Date officially set for public hearing

Per the Charlotte Observer, Kerry’s wife Rene spoke at a packed public meeting Monday night, describing the project as a “monstrosity of a complex….gobbling away resources”.

She requested that the rezoning proposal be rejected, pleading: “We hope you will preserve the last sliver of agricultural land in the area”.
​​
The bitter dispute is now expected to reach a conclusion on Monday September 15 after commissioners settled on that date for a formal public hearing.

A decision on rezoning will likely be taken that same night.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series star puts family first as retirement decision confirmed

Related