Randy Covitz

Sprint extends NASCAR sponsorship through 2016

Last updated Saturday, December 3, 2011 - 7:30pm

Even before NASCAR's most dramatic finish to a season, negotiations were underway to extend Sprint's title sponsorship of the Sprint Cup series.

But the culmination of the new points system implemented in 2011, the stirring Chase for the Sprint Cup championship won by Tony Stewart in the final race of the season, and the "Have at it, boys" mentality encouraged by NASCAR a year ago, made it an easy decision for Overland Park-based Sprint to continue the partnership.

That's why Dan Hesse, chief executive officer of Sprint, announced late Friday night at the Sprint Cup awards banquet in Las Vegas that the company agreed to extend its title sponsorship of NASCAR's premiere series through at least 2016. The original 10-year, $750 million agreement was to expire after the 2013 season.

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For the nitty-gritty on 'dirty,' go to Conrad Dobler

Randy Covitz McClatchy Newspapers

Last updated Saturday, December 3, 2011 - 7:16pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The framed Sports Illustrated cover hangs on a wall in Conrad Dobler's office in Overland Park, and each week, he receives requests from fans asking him to sign their copies of the magazine.

Fan mail has picked up recently as comparisons are being made between Dobler, who in July, 1977, was crowned by SI as "Pro Football's Dirtiest Player," and the game's newest villain, Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.

Don't even go there.

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NASCAR's real athletes are on pit road

Randy Covitz McClatchy Newspapers

Last updated Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 3:59pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- During a typical pit stop, NASCAR crew members hoist two 11-gallon, 80-pound cans of fuel, haul 50-pound tires and carry a 20-pound hydraulic jack from the pit wall and set it under the car.

It takes quick, strong, poised and sure-handed athletes to perform those duties in 14 pressure-packed seconds.

And that's exactly who NASCAR teams are scouting, recruiting and signing -- former college athletes, notably football and hockey players -- to execute jobs that mechanics and former drivers once handled.

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Joey Logano looks to continue his Kentucky success

Randy Covitz McClatchy Newspapers

Last updated Friday, July 8, 2011 - 2:52pm

Call NASCAR's Joey Logano the King of Kentucky.

Logano is three for three at Kentucky Speedway, having won the last three Nationwide Series races there, all from the pole.

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Wild card might create NASCAR drivers gone wild

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Saturday, June 4, 2011 - 5:40pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Four-time champion Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon finds himself in a NASCAR no-man's land.

This is the first year of NASCAR's awarding two wild-card berths for the 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

And Gordon is sitting a distant 16th heading into Sunday's STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.

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Things should be heating up for first spring race at Kansas Speedway

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - 5:48pm

NASCAR's Carl Edwards has one request for the weatherman in Kansas City this weekend.

Make it hot. The hotter the better.

"I hope it's just a sun-beat-down, 90 degrees, hot and slick because that race track is so wide and fun to race on," Edwards said of Kansas Speedway, site of the STP 400 at noon CDT on Sunday.

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NASCAR star voices support for tornado victim

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - 4:39pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jamie McMurray no longer lives in Joplin, Mo., nor does he have family there anymore. But McMurray's thoughts and prayers were with the tornado-stricken city where he was born.

"My heart goes out to all the people that have been affected by the devastating Missouri tornado," McMurray said in a statement on Monday.

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Big Daddy still pedaling down the drag strip at 79

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Sunday, May 22, 2011 - 4:17pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- His hands are gnarled from 61 years of steering rocket ships on wheels down a quarter-mile drag strip. His fingernails are permanently darkened from tearing down and rebuilding engines in an hour's time.

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NHRA's Enders looks for luck to go with speedy dragster

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Friday, May 20, 2011 - 2:52pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- There's an old saying in drag racing that a driver needs to have at least one lucky round each week.

Erica Enders is still looking for that elusive round of good fortune.

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Kyle Busch on verge of becoming Nationwide's all-time winner

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Friday, May 13, 2011 - 2:52pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mark Martin knows it's inevitable. His run as the all-time leading winner in the Nationwide Series is about to end.

It may happen Saturday at Dover. Or next week at Charlotte.

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Bowyer gets caught up in excitement of NASCAR

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Tuesday, May 10, 2011 - 2:56pm

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Clint Bowyer had a front-row seat for the fender banging and postrace confrontation between teammate Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, both before and after he careened into the wall at the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Aside from the fact the crash denied him a top-five finish, Bowyer saw the positives in what's turning out to be NASCAR's version of the Saturday night fights.

Two weeks ago, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman traded wrecks and words at Richmond, and after Saturday night's race, Harvick walked up to Busch's car and tried to throw a punch through the mesh window only to see Busch restart his car and ram Harvick's driverless car into the wall.

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As NFL draft nears, teams are bullish on Missouri's Blaine Gabbert

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Monday, April 18, 2011 - 3:55pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert's timing couldn't have been better.

Gabbert's decision to declare for the NFL draft after his junior season has put him on the verge of becoming a top-five, if not the first overall pick in this month's NFL Draft, thanks in part to some timely coincidences:

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, generally acknowledged as the No. 1 overall pick, elected to remain in school.

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Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick eager to race at Talladega

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Friday, April 15, 2011 - 4:26pm

No one seems to have Talladega Superspeedway figured out better than Richard Childress Racing.

A year ago, Kevin Harvick won the spring race at Talladega, while teammate Clint Bowyer beat Harvick for a 1-2 finish in the fall race.

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NASCAR chief ushers family business into modern era

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Sunday, February 20, 2011 - 4:36pm

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR Chairman Brian France has the impossible job of keeping everybody happy.

He has to please, in no particular order: three different national racing series, dozens of race teams and sponsors, more than 100 drivers, five television networks, 27 racetracks and millions of fans.

"That might be the hardest job of all," France chuckled Friday in an 30-minute interview in his office on the eighth floor of NASCAR's sparkling new, environmentally friendly headquarters across the street from Daytona International Speedway, site of Sunday's Daytona 500.

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The Road to Dallas: How the Steelers and Packers made it to the Super Bowl

McClatchy Newspapers, Randy Covitz

Last updated Tuesday, February 1, 2011 - 4:24pm

STEELERS: Pittsburgh showed its mettle in its AFC playoff game against Baltimore two weeks ago when the Steelers overcome a 21-7 halftime deficit and beat the Ravens 31-24. The Pittsburgh defense took over the game in the third quarter, forcing turnovers on three consecutive Ravens possessions, allowing the Steelers to take a 24-21 lead. After the Ravens tied it 24-24, and the game appearing headed for overtime, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, from his 38, found rookie wide receiver Antonio Brown streaking down the sideline for a 58-yard completion that set up Rashard Mendenhall's game-winning 1-yard touchdown run. The Steelers limited Baltimore to just 126 yards, the second-lowest total in franchise postseason play.

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