Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for NASCAR on NBC. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for his team JR Motorsports. He is the son of Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He is also the grandson of NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt, the brother of Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt and the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt.
The 800 metres, or 800 meters, is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of the track and has been an Olympic event since the first games in 1896. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200-metre track, therefore requiring four laps.
Dale Arnold Jarrett is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series championship in 1999. He is the son of 2-time Grand National Champion Ned Jarrett, younger brother of Glenn Jarrett, father of former driver Jason Jarrett, and cousin of Todd Jarrett. In 2007, Jarrett joined the ESPN/ABC broadcasting team as an announcer in select Nationwide Series races. In 2008, after retiring from driving following the 2008 Food City 500, he joined ESPN permanently as the lead racing analyst replacing Rusty Wallace. In 2015, Jarrett became a part of the NBC Sports Broadcasting Crew for NASCAR events. He was inducted in the 2014 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. This is assessed by race judges. Typically held on either roads or running tracks, common distances range from 3,000 metres (1.9 mi) up to 100 kilometres (62.1 mi).
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American professional auto racing driver who competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 48 Honda on a part-time schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competed full-time in the series from 2002 to 2020, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet with Hendrick Motorsports, before transitioning to open-wheel racing. Johnson's seven Cup championships, five of which are consecutive, are tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all time; his successes have caused many analysts and fellow drivers to consider Johnson as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time.
Kevin Michael Harvick, nicknamed "The Closer" and "Happy Harvick," is an American professional racing driver. A veteran of stock car racing, he competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. He is the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, as well as the 2001, and 2006 Xfinity Series champion and 2007 Daytona 500 winner. Harvick holds the all-time record for Cup Series wins at Phoenix Raceway with nine wins. Harvick's 119 combined national series wins currently rank him third all-time in NASCAR history, behind Richard Petty and Kyle Busch respectively, while his 58 Cup wins are the ninth most in series history. He is the second longest tenured active driver in the Cup series in terms of career starts, behind Kurt Busch.
Kyle Thomas Busch is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. As of 2021, he competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Supra for JGR, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports. KBM runs multiple trucks in the Truck Series and a Super Late Model team. Busch is the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and the 2015 and 2019 Cup Series champion.
Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger is an American professional racing driver and television commentator, working as an analyst for IMSA on NBC and NASCAR America. He also competes in the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series for Kaulig Racing, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro on a full-time basis in the former and part-time in the latter.
James Dennis Alan "Danny" Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Supra, both for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has won 44 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500 in 2016, 2019, and 2020. In 2020, he became the fourth person to win the race in back-to-back seasons, joining Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Sterling Marlin.
The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers or approximately 15⁄16 miles.
The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that took place at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. The race was first held during the inaugural season for the Xfinity Series in 1982 as a 150-lap event. The race was removed from the schedule after 1984. It returned to the series starting in 1990 as a 200 lap race. It was expanded to 250 lap distance in 1994. In 2016, as part of an overhauling of the Richmond spring race weekend, including the new Dash4Cash format, the total of 210-laps and had two 35-lap heat races and a 140-lap feature. In 2017, the heat races were discontinued, and the race returned to its 250-lap distance with the new stage format: stages 1 and 2 were 75 laps long, and stage 3 made up the remaining 100 laps.
Joseph Thomas Logano, nicknamed "Sliced Bread", is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang GT for Team Penske. Logano was the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion. He previously drove the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008 to 2012, scoring two wins, 16 top-five finishes and 41 top tens.
Jeffery Michael Gordon is an American former professional stock car racing driver, currently an announcer for Fox NASCAR, and a top executive for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Sprint Cup Series, and also served as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in select races during the 2016 season. He is regarded as one of the most influential drivers in NASCAR history, helping the sport reach mainstream popularity.
Austin Reed Dillon is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the son of former driver and Richard Childress Racing (RCR) general manager Mike Dillon, older brother of Ty Dillon and grandson of Richard Childress. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for RCR.
Trevor M. Bayne is an American professional stock car racing driver and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, driving the Nos. 40 and 45 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports. He is the youngest person to ever win the Daytona 500, the largest event in NASCAR, doing so a day after his 20th birthday in 2011. The win came in only his second race in NASCAR's top series, and was his only victory in 187 total Cup Series starts.
The 50 kilometre race walk is an Olympic athletics event. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight until the raised leg passes it. Fifty kilometres is approximately 31 miles.
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship, becoming the first rookie to win a national series championship in NASCAR and the youngest champion in that series.
Ryan Michael Blaney is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. He is the son of NASCAR driver Dave Blaney and the grandson of modified dirt track legend Lou Blaney.
William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing. Previously, Wallace was signed as a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing where he competed in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He also raced in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang of Roush Fenway Racing, from 2015 to mid 2017. Wallace is noted for being one of the most successful African American drivers in the history of NASCAR.
The 2021 Daytona 500, the 63rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 14 and 15th, 2021. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. In one of the biggest surprise upsets in The Great American Race's history, Michael McDowell, driving for Front Row Motorsports, won his first career NASCAR Cup Series race after Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked battling for the lead on the final lap. McDowell was a 100-1 underdog, making his 358th Cup Series start and driving for one of NASCAR's most prominent small-market teams.
Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
Erik Zabel (GER)
Robbie McEwen (AUS)
Viatcheslav Ekimov (RUS)
Víctor Hugo Peña (COL)
Fabian Cancellara (SUI)
Rik Reinerink (NED)
Óscar Freire (ESP)
