Motorsports

The state of AI in the sports industry

Published

4 months ago

August 19, 2025

Nearly three years after the public launch of ChatGPT catalyzed a groundswell of generative artificial intelligence adoption, levels of AI maturity within the sports industry vary widely.

Where most organizational leaders agree, however, is that reconciling this transformative and constantly evolving technology is a core business priority, particularly in investigating ways it can streamline operations. And this emphasis comes from the top down.

“One of [our five biggest company objectives] is master AI to boost efficiency and impact,” X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom recently told Sports Business Journal. “That is a leg on the stool, it’s not a peripheral goal or an afterthought.”

Internal efficiency-focused AI use cases are not always flashy, nor directly revenue generating. They run the gamut of areas such as segmenting fan data, drafting communications and employee onboarding, and are increasingly tapping agentic workflows, a class of artificial intelligence that is more autonomous — meaning minimal or no human intervention — and layered in its decision making than large language models, and can act on behalf of users.

The empirical benefits of AI in these contexts remain theoretical in some cases, but tech leaders center their efforts on increasing productivity and freeing understaffed departments to focus on big picture priorities, rather than mundane daily tasks.

Everyone is different

Enamored with the potential impact of AI on the sports industry, Josh Walker, co-founder and CEO of data firm Sports Innovation Lab, earlier this year launched a sports-focused AI education program called AI Advantage. With two of four planned sessions completed, the program has assembled hundreds of industry professionals — split evenly among teams/leagues, brands/agencies and media/technology companies, in Walker’s estimation — to learn more about AI and investigate potential use cases through presentations and product demos.

The biggest trend he has noticed with how sports teams and leagues are adopting AI?

“There is no pattern,” Walker said. “It would make perfect sense for the leagues to centralize the services that they are building for AI and roll it out to the teams. The teams never wait for that. You have some enterprising data science team or some enterprising CTO at the team level — they’re going to try stuff faster than the leagues do.”

Professional basketball is a hotbed of such enterprising teams.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, according to Michael Conley, the team’s executive vice president and chief information officer and president of Rock Entertainment Sports Network, began their generative AI discovery 3½ years ago. This started by consulting tech experts on the potential impact of generative AI and forming a cross-departmental generative AI committee. Eventually, they even transitioned one of their data quality analysts, Ben Levicki, into a full-time AI solutions architect, a first in the sports industry.

Cavs Rocket Arena — Ticket, food and beverage and retail data are among the areas the Cavaliers have deployed generative AI insights over the past 3 1/2 years. Cleveland Cavaliers

Since then, the Cavs have found success in initial use cases, such as building a semantic search function for the team’s basketball operations manual and a generative AI insights layer for their real-time ticket, food and beverage and retail data platform. At the direction of their C-suite, they are now focused on automating elements of their external communications, streamlining the processing of internal fan data and personalizing fan interaction.

During the NBA’s first Data Strategy Forum in July, the team presented the working prototype of a custom-built product that leverages a network of AI agents and fan information to distribute individualized emails to subscribers, down to details such as color scheme and emoji usage. After further testing using real fan profiles in September, the Cavs’ plan is for the product to be a part of email workflows by the start of the 2025-26 NBA season.

“Our goal is to be able to increase the amount of engagement that comes off a click action for those emails, to be able to eventually lead to better results down the funnel,” Conley said. “Is the messaging more effective, where we’re seeing greater open rates? Are we seeing greater engagement?”

Elsewhere, the Indiana Fever have seen potential in deploying AI agents (via Salesforce’s Agentforce platform) to comb through and segment internal fan data, which Joey Graziano, Pacers Sports & Entertainment executive vice president of strategy and new business ventures, said will help the team deliver personalized offers, content and experiences to fans and eventually be a resource for partners as well.

This is a massive potential use case in sports, given the multifaceted nature of fan data and ability for AI to scale the capabilities of understaffed data engineering departments.

“We are getting more sophisticated every day,” Graziano said. “And it’s not just the sophistication, it’s the speed and it’s the volume of segments you can create.”

The San Antonio Spurs, as a unique example, are using OpenAI to train models on previous years’ travel calendars (and other custom rules) to ingest the NBA’s overarching schedule and create deliverables such as team-specific master calendars, flight charters and email templates for outreach to preferred hotels and practice facilities on the road.

Human oversight is required, of course, but Charlie Kurian, the team’s director of business strategy and innovation, said tests have shown that first iterations of the deliverables can be produced in about 20 minutes, with the end-to-end, manual process of inputting information into Excel block-by-block distilled from three weeks to, at worst, one. He anticipates a version of the technology will aid the Spurs’ schedule-making as early as this season.

“This came directly from our CEO,” Kurian said. “[The message was], ‘Our people need to be focused on the higher ROI items. How do we use AI to deal with some of these tasks we’re bogged down with?’”

Culture matters

Kurian, at the head of the Spurs’ AI adoption effort, often says the first step of building a company’s “AI muscle” is enabling an AI-empowered workforce.

“We still believe we are very, very early on in the AI revolution. It’s hard to tell who is going to win, and what is going to stick,” Kurian said, comparing the current marketplace of competing AI platforms to the early days of social networking. “But what we can undoubtedly say is this technology will absolutely stick for the foreseeable future. [We’re] making sure we have invested in the most important thing we have — which is our people — so that, agnostic of what tool it comes to, we will still win.”

The team put this focus into action last year by piloting a generative AI learning program using ChatGPT, which has led to 90% of the 150 participants adopting the technology on a week-to-week basis, according to Kurian.

“We’ve crossed a threshold in people broadly using AI tools,” he said. “Now we’re doing discovery across every single department in our organization, understanding workflows, and, in the most positive way, blowing up the workflows to be able to integrate where AI can add value so that the real human beings can focus on the best use of their resources.”

Across its properties, TKO also is undertaking a hands-on approach to AI discovery and education, according to Alon Cohen, executive vice president of innovation. He and Melanie Hildebrandt, TKO and WME Group’s CIO, brought in an advanced prompt engineer for hands-on AI training with “natural early adopters” (e.g., TKO’s innovation and IT teams), and are now looking for other areas the technology can provide business value.

“The next version of almost every business application that we use has a heavy AI component to it,” Cohen said. “So, every team is identifying places where they think they can be successful, and when they go through their next upgrade cycle — or we consolidate to a new tool that’s also a good moment for an upgrade cycle — those tools become available.”

Jeremy Bloom X Games — X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom said the property’s employees are encouraged to spend 10% of their working hours experimenting with AI tools that could increase productivity. AP Images

X Games encourages its staff to dedicate 10% of their working hours to experiment with AI tools that could boost productivity, Bloom said. One particularly effective use case has been in training a model on droves of internal data to be a resource for new hires on everything from finding sales deck templates to signing up for benefits.

“The company that I founded before [joining X Games], we had 600 employees, so we had really big and built-out functions across all these specific areas,” Bloom said, referring to the software startup Integrate. “[At] X Games, we have like 30 full-time employees. Necessity is the mother of invention for us.”

Reason for optimism

Across virtually all corporate industries, there is palpable and understandable anxiety about the potential for AI to replace certain job functions.

Bloom, for one, noted that the AI startup he recently launched, Owl AI — which offers AI-powered competition judging, data processing and broadcast commentary capabilities, including for X Games — is leveraging AI agents for market research, effectively substituting for an internal team or expensive third-party consulting firm.

However, he views live sports as not just insulated from automation, but potentially a benefactor of it.

“AI is going to disrupt so many jobs and so many industries,” Bloom said. “But I think the tailwind for us, and for any sport, is humans are still going to want to watch humans play football, and not want to watch robots play football. I think that is a huge tailwind for X Games, for the NFL, for Major League Baseball, basketball. I think it’s one of the big reasons we’re seeing so much private equity want to get into sports.”

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Motorsports

Plane Crash in North Carolina Claims Life of NASCAR Veteran Greg Biffle – Speedway Digest

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

A small jet owned by former NASCAR star Greg Biffle crashed during a landing attempt at Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, North Carolina, early Thursday morning, claiming the lives of all six people aboard. The Cessna Citation C550, registered to Biffle’s company GB Aviation Leasing, had taken off moments earlier but turned back and crashed near the runway at approximately 10:15 a.m., bursting into flames upon impact. Federal investigators from the FAA and NTSB are on-site, with a full investigation underway.

“We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words. Greg and Cristina were devoted parents and active philanthropists whose lives were centered around their young son Ryder and Greg’s daughter Emma (mother – Nicole Lunders).” Family Statement

“Emma was a wonderful human being with a kind soul who was loved by many people. Ryder was an active, curious and infinitely joyful child. Dennis Dutton and his son Jack were deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them. Craig Wadsworth was beloved by many in the NASCAR community and will be missed by those who knew him. Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives.” Family Statement Continued

Greg Biffle, 55, was a celebrated figure in NASCAR history. His career began in the late 1990s in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he quickly made a name for himself by winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1998 and capturing the series championship in 2000. He then moved to the Busch Series (now Xfinity Series), earning the championship in 2002 after a dominant season. These early successes paved the way for his full-time Cup Series debut in 2003 with Roush Racing.

Biffle went on to secure 19 victories in the Cup Series, with his best season coming in 2005 when he scored six wins and finished second in the championship standings. Known for his versatility and aggressive driving style, he became one of the few drivers to win titles in both the Truck and Busch Series, cementing his reputation as one of NASCAR’s most accomplished competitors.

After retiring from full-time racing in 2016, Biffle remained active in motorsports and aviation. He also gained attention for his humanitarian efforts, including using his piloting skills to deliver supplies to hurricane-stricken areas in 2024.

“All of us at RFK Racing are devastated by the heartbreaking news involving the Biffle family. Greg Biffle has long been a cherished member of our racing family. As a person, family man and driver, his accomplishments helped form a cornerstone of our organization. We extend our deepest condolences to the Biffle family and to all of their loved ones and friends during this incredibly difficult time.” RFK Statement

Local reports suggest Biffle’s wife and two children were among the victims, though official confirmation is pending.

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Motorsports

U.S. 131, Baby Gators events added to NHRA Top Alcohol schedule

Published

2 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NHRA has announced exciting enhancements to the 2025 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series schedule in the Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car categories. The addition of the NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park will also mark the debut of the alcohol classes under the NHRA banner in Michigan, Sept. 18-20.

In the East Region, the addition of Gainesville Raceway’s iconic Baby Gators event, March 12-14, marks a major expansion of competitive opportunities for Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car teams, giving teams another high-profile stage to begin their championship campaigns to kick off NHRA’s 75th Anniversary season.

The event at U.S. 131 will fall under the Central Region banner, moving Summit Motorsports Park’s national event into the East Region.

The season launches in iconic fashion as teams converge in Gainesville, Fla., for one of drag racing’s crown jewels. The NHRA Gatornationals sets the tone for the year, offering early-season intensity and a massive fan turnout. Top Alcohol teams begin their regional campaigns on one of the sport’s quickest surfaces.

Just one week later, Gainesville Raceway becomes the center of attention again as the Baby Gators take on new significance. This back-to-back Gainesville stretch gives teams a rare early-season doubleheader and a chance to build momentum before the tour heads north.

The tour shifts to the unique spectacle of four-lane competition at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, followed by the NHRA Potomac Nationals at Maryland International Raceway.

A fan favorite and one of the most polished facilities in the country, Summit Motorsports Park hosts a pivotal pair of events, kicking off with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, followed by the track’s regional event, which will count as a home race for both the East and Central Regions.

The tour heads to the Northeast for a Fourth of July weekend classic at Lebanon Valley Raceway, followed by a trip to New England Dragway.

The schedule culminates on drag racing’s biggest stage, the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals, which will serve as a home event for all regions, bringing together the best of the best for the most prestigious race of the year.

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Motorsports

Retired NASCAR driver among seven killed in North Carolina plane crash | Motorsports News

Published

3 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Greg Biffle’s plane caught fire after crash-landing at a regional airport, state authorities said. Other victims have not yet been identified.

Published On 18 Dec 2025

A former NASCAR driver has been identified as one of seven people who died in a plane crash in the southern United States.

Authorities said Greg Biffle and members of his family died when a private jet crashed on Thursday while trying to land at Statesville Regional Airport, north of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jeff Gordon’s wife shares emotional message after family announcement – Motorsport – Sports

Published

3 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Jeff Gordon’s wife and longtime model, Ingrid Vandebosch, has shared a touching message after their eldest daughter, Ella Sofia Gordon, was offered her dream college placement for the Class of 2030.

Ella shared a behind-the-scenes video on TikTok showing the moment she read her acceptance letter from Michigan, while wearing a Wolverines sweatshirt, with Ingrid and her younger brother Leo Benjamin beside her, while NASCAR legend Jeff watched on virtually.

In the video, captioned: “Hopes were definitely up! Go blue baby!” Jeff could be heard saying prior to the moment of truth: “We weren’t supposed to get our hopes up too much, but I think that’s gone.”

Upon reading her email, Ella and her mom both screamed with excitement as Jeff could be heard saying: “Oh my God! Congratulations. Oh my God, that’s amazing! Wow!”

The tear-filled video was swiftly reshared by Ingrid, who added a moving message in support of her daughter in the caption. “No matter where this journey takes you, always remember: you are capable of amazing things, you are deeply loved, and I will always be cheering for you,” she wrote.

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“Congratulations on this incredible achievement. I’m so proud of you…today and always. I love you, Mama.”

Both posts quickly prompted a flood of congratulatory messages from around the NASCAR and collegiate world, with Michigan commenting, Get ready to live the Wolverine dream! Congrats!” While Dover Motor Speedway reshared a photo of a young Ella and Leo celebrating their dad’s win at the track in 2014, along with the caption, “We’re so proud of her!”

Jeff, who did not attend college as he was busy working toward a Hall of Fame NASCAR career, currently serves as Hendrick Motorsports’ vice chairman, having last raced part-time for the team where he spent his entire Cup Series career back in 2016.

The four-time Cup Series champion will be hoping he can help guide Hendrick to a 16th driver’s championship in 2026, with the new-look Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Leading the charge will be reigning two-time champion Kyle Larson, who snatched the title from within Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin’s grasp in the final laps at Phoenix Raceway in November, courtesy of a late race caution and differing pit strategies.

The 2026 season will look a little different, however, as not only have the road courses in Chicago and Mexico City been dropped from the schedule, but in their places an entirely new street course has been added in San Diego at the Naval Base Coronado, to help celebrate the Navy’s 250th anniversary. What’s more, Chicagoland Speedway is set to make its long-awaited comeback, having last hosted a Cup Series race in 2018.

Furthermore, the NextGen cars will see an increase in horsepower from 670 to 750 on tracks under 1.5 miles in length, as well as on all road courses in 2026, as NASCAR works to address some of the rampant criticism lobbied at the Gen-7 offering.

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Motorsports

Joint Statement from the Biffle, Grossu, Dutton & Lunders Families – Speedway Digest

Published

3 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words.

Greg and Cristina were devoted parents and active philanthropists whose lives were centered around their young son Ryder and Greg’s daughter Emma (mother – Nicole Lunders).

Emma was a wonderful human being with a kind soul who was loved by many people. Ryder was an active, curious and infinitely joyful child.

Dennis Dutton and his son Jack were deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.

Craig Wadsworth was beloved by many in the NASCAR community and will be missed by those who knew him.

Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives.

We ask for privacy, compassion and understanding as we grieve and begin to process this unimaginable loss. We are grateful for the kindness and support that has been extended to our families during this incredibly difficult time.

At this moment, our focus is on honoring their lives and supporting one another.

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Motorsports

Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, family among 7 dead in plane crash

Published

3 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

By Dominic Aragon and Jonathan Fjeld

STATESVILLE, N.C. — Former NASCAR competitor Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, two children, Craig Wadsworth, and Dennis and Jack Dutton were killed in a plane crash Thursday morning (Dec. 18) in Statesville, N.C., an official with the N.C. State Highway Patrol confirmed.

The National Transportation and Safety Board is investigating a deadly crash at the airport. The airport confirmed there was a crash at around 11 a.m. ET.

The tail number, N257BW, belonged to GB Aviation Leasing, LLC – managed by Biffle, according to records.

FlightAware data showed the plane took off from the airport at around 10 a.m. ET and then was reported to be on the ground near the airport, 32 minutes later.

“NASCAR is devastated by the tragic loss of Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, son Ryder, Craig Wadsworth and Dennis and Jack Dutton in a fatal plane crash,” the sanctioning body said in part in a statement Thursday.

“Greg was more than a champion driver, he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many. His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.

“On the track, Greg’s talent and tenacity earned him championships in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, as well as numerous wins and accolades in the NASCAR Cup Series. Beyond his racing career, he gave of himself for the betterment of our community. Most notably, Greg spent countless hours of his time helping the citizens of North Carolina during the disasters that followed Hurricane Helene. His tireless work saved lives.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to Greg’s entire family, friends, and all who were touched by his life.”

Additionally, Jack Roush, Biffle’s former car owner across his decorated NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, issued the following statement:

Statement from Jack Roush on today’s tragedy. pic.twitter.com/DpuCgGr70N

— RFK Racing (@RFKracing) December 18, 2025

Pictures circulated on social media, showing the fiery crash. Officials briefed the media at around 12:30 p.m. ET, confirming the jet crashed at the end of the east runway. They confirmed the airport was closed to allow the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the incident.

Officials did not have a cause of the crash. They also could not identify anyone who was onboard the plane – and did not take any questions.

Garrett Mitchell, the social media content creator-turned-racer known as Cleetus McFarland, who has been mentored by Biffle, posted the following on social media:

“Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us. We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this.“

Further details are limited. We will provide updates when they become available.

Background on “The Biff”: Greg Biffle

Biffle stepped away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing in 2016 after 14 seasons in Roush-Fenway Racing’s No. 16 Ford. He earned 19 wins, 92 top-five finishes, 175 top-10s and 13 poles in 510 career Cup Series starts – with a best points finish of second in 2005 when he led 1,322 laps and won six times.

Biffle shot to stardom in July of 2003 when 20 million viewers saw him earn his first Cup win in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. His “wild-style” No. 16 embodied a new era of NASCAR, dominated by high banked turns and high speeds:

Four wins at Michigan
Three wins at Homestead-Miami
Two wins at Texas, Kansas, Darlington, Dover each
One win at California, Pocono, New Hampshire, Daytona each

Credit: Photo by Jeff Curry/NASCAR via Getty Image

Biffle is the closest anyone has ever come to winning a championship in NASCAR’s top three national series – as the 2002 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion and the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion. He earned 20 NOAPS wins and 17 NCTS wins, totaling 56 wins in his NASCAR career.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame nominated Biffle for possible induction in 2024. He told TRE he was “overwhelmed, excited” about the nomination, adding he wouldn’t rule out running another Daytona 500.

After stepping away from full-time racing, Biffle has come back to race five times in the NASCAR Cup Series, twice in the NCTS, and three times in the ARCA Menards Series West. In his first race back, a June 7, 2019 NCTS race at Texas Motor Speedway for Kyle Busch Motorsports, he led 18 of 167 laps and won.

The win was a big deal but has been a footnote in the life Biffle has lived after retiring from full-time NASCAR racing. In the wake of Hurricane Helene in 2024, he offered his helicopter to help with relief efforts and went on to help with relief efforts in Jamaica.

Biffle spoke to WFMY News 2 about his work in a sit-down interview: