Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr., known professionally as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jr., or just Junior, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and is currently an analyst for NASCAR on NBC. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for his team JR Motorsports. He is the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame member Dale Earnhardt Sr. He is also the grandson of both NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt and stock car fabricator Robert Gee, the brother of Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt, the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, the stepson of Teresa Earnhardt, and the older half-brother of Taylor Nicole Earnhardt-Putnam.
Fernando Alonso Díazaudio (help·info) is a Spanish racing driver and former Formula One racing driver. He is a two-time Formula One World Champion and is often regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the history of the sport. He has contested 17 seasons of Formula One. Outside Formula One, Alonso is currently leading the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He won the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans on his first attempt and also won the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona, after his debut in 2018. He contested the 2017 Indianapolis 500.
Matthew Roy Kenseth is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing. He had stepped away from full-time racing after the 2017 season after a career racing for Roush Fenway Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing.
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton is a British racing driver who races in Formula One for Mercedes AMG Petronas. A five-time Formula One World Champion, he is often considered the best driver of his generation and widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. He won his first World Championship title with McLaren in 2008, then moved to Mercedes where he won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015 before winning back-to-back titles again in 2017 and 2018. Statistically the most successful British driver in the history of the sport, Hamilton has more World Championship titles (5) and more race victories (73) than any other British driver in Formula One. He also holds records for the all-time most career points (3,018), the most wins at different circuits (26), the all-time most pole positions (83) and the most grand slams in a season (3).
The Grand Prix of Long Beach is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It was the premier race on the CART/Champ Car calendar from 1996 to 2008, and the 2008 race was the final Champ Car series race prior to the formal unification and end of the open-wheel "split" between CART and IRL. Since 2009, the race has been part of the unified IndyCar Series. For most of its history, the race has traditionally been held in April. It is one of the longest continuously-running events in Indy car racing, and with its rich history, is considered one of the most prestigious events on the circuit.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion and a two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion; having won the title in 2004 and 2005. His younger brother, Ryan, is a champion in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East division and currently races in the Xfinity Series, while his cousin Curtis raced for JR Motorsports.
David Gene Pearson was an American stock car racer from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Pearson began his NASCAR career in 1960 and ended his first season by winning the 1960 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. He won three championships and every year he was active he ran the full schedule in NASCAR's Grand National Series. NASCAR described his 1974 season as an indication of his "consistent greatness". That season he finished third in the season points having competed in only 19 of 30 races.
Robert Józef Kubica is a Polish racing driver who is currently racing for the Williams F1 team. He became the first Polish driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during 2006. In June 2008, Kubica took his maiden Formula One victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the first Polish driver to win a Formula One race. That season he led the championship at one stage, before finishing fourth overall, his best career position. Kubica drove for Renault in 2010 and was set to remain with the team in 2011. Several years later Kubica confirmed he had signed a pre-contract for the 2012 season with Ferrari, a move that was eventually cancelled by his devastating rally crash in the winter of 2011.
James Dennis Alan "Denny" Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for JGR. He has won over 30 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the Daytona 500 in 2016 and 2019.
Bradley Aaron Keselowski is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 12 Mustang for Team Penske. He was the owner of Brad Keselowski Racing, which fielded two full-time teams in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
The First Data 500 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, the other one being the STP 500 in March, The race has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series, starting with the inaugural 1949 season, making it the oldest NASCAR race still run today. It is the seventh race of ten in the NASCAR Cup Series Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, and the first race in the 'Round of 8' of the current playoff format. Starting 2015, NBC has the rights for the final 20 races of the season, including this race.
Joseph Thomas Logano nicknamed "Sliced Bread," is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang GT for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang GT for the same team. Logano is the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion. He previously drove the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing from 2008 to 2012, collecting 2 wins, 16 Top-5 finishes and 41 Top 10 finishes.
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV and, beginning with the ninth season, VH1. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar." RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. RuPaul's Drag Race employs a panel of judges, including RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews, Carson Kressley, and a host of other guest judges, who critique contestants' progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castroaudio (help·info), known as Carlos Sainz Jr.audio (help·info) or simply Carlos Sainz, is a Spanish racing driver currently racing in Formula One for McLaren. He is the son of former double World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz. In 2012 Sainz raced in the British and European Formula 3 championships for Carlin. He raced for DAMS in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2014 winning the championship before moving to F1 with Toro Rosso. In 2017 it was announced that for the 2018 season he will race for the Renault F1 team on a season long loan, whilst still contracted to Red Bull Racing. An early fulfilment of this arrangement was announced during the 2017 Japanese Grand Prix weekend; Sainz would take Jolyon Palmer's Renault seat beginning with the 2017 United States Grand Prix. Sainz will drive for McLaren starting in 2019, replacing fellow countryman Fernando Alonso.
Sailing as a sport involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among teams. Additionally, there are specialized competitions that include setting speed records. Racing formats include both closed courses and point-to-point contests; they may be in sheltered waters, coast-wise or on the open ocean. Most competitions are held within defined classes or ratings that either entail one type of sailing craft to ensure a contest primarily of skill or rating the sailing craft to create classifications or handicaps.
Lance Stroll is a Belgian-Canadian racing driver, racing under the Canadian flag, currently driving in Formula One with Racing Point. He was Italian F4 champion in 2014, Toyota Racing Series champion in 2015, and 2016 FIA European Formula 3 champion. He was part of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 to 2015. He achieved his first podium finish, a 3rd place, at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, becoming the second-youngest driver to finish an F1 race on the podium and the youngest to do so during his rookie season.
Charles Leclerc is a Monégasque racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. Leclerc won the GP3 Series championship in 2016 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017. He made his Formula One debut in 2018 for Sauber, a team affiliated with Ferrari, for which he was part of its driver academy. With Sauber having finished last the year before, Leclerc led the charge to improve the finishing position in the constructors' championship to eighth, being the highest ranked of the two Sauber drivers.
The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 69th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 46th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 59th running of the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson entered the season as the defending champion, having won his record-tying seventh Cup championship that he shares with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing won the championship, his first in the series. Toyota won the Manufacturers' Championship for the second year in a row.
The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed in twenty-one Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championship titles.
The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 70th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Brickyard 400 on September 9, 2018. The playoffs ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018. Martin Truex Jr. was the defending champion, having won his first in the series.
