The Associated Press covers the biggest day in motorsports, from Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix to the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600. The latest from the tracks:
10 p.m. ET
Denny Hamlin is hoping to become the eighth Sprint Cup driver to win the All-Star race and Coca-Cola 600 in successive weekends at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
To do it, he’ll have to battle through a migraine headache.
Hamlin radioed into his crew that he needs some medication at the next pit stop to get through the race.
Hamlin passed Martin Truex on lap 333 and led the race with 50 laps remaining.
The last driver to accomplish the Charlotte double was Kurt Busch in 2010.
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9:35 p.m.
Martin Truex Jr. is looking to snap a 67-race winless skid in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series.
Truex leads the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 300 of the 400 laps complete. Truex is second in the Sprint Cup standings with 10 top-10 finishes in 11 races this season.
His last win came at Sonoma in 2013.
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9:06 p.m. ET
Ryan Blaney will not be helping Roger Penske win “the double.”
Blaney’s was running in 17th place when his engine blew up on lap 281 of the Coca-Cola 600, ending his night and bringing out a yellow flag. Blaney becomes the first driver to have his engine go up in smoke. That’s a fairly common occurrence at this point in NASCAR’s 600-mile race.
Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day for Team Penske. Penske’s hopes now rest largely on the shoulders of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano.
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9:01 p.m. ET
This time Jimmie Johnson couldn’t save it.
Johnson spun out in turn four for a second time Sunday night, hitting a pit road SAFER barrier on lap 273. He took his car behind the wall, ending his chances to winning a fifth Coca-Cola 600, which would have tied Darrell Waltrip for the most ever.
NASCAR’s six-time Sprint Cup champion had saved his car from body damage during the first spin. This time he wasn’t as fortunate.
Afterward, Johnson said he had a loose car all day. It was fine in clean air, but “wicked, out of control and unpredictable” when driving in traffic. He managed to solve that problem and win in Kansas, but not at the track where he is the most dominant.
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8:13 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup drivers at NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 are paying tribute to fallen military members close to team members’ hearts this weekend by listing the names of heroes on their front windshield.
That space is normally reserved for the names of the drivers.
As part of the series’ “600 Miles of Remembrance,” the No. 38 Ford Fusion driven of David Gilliland features a decal for “The Unknown Soldier,” dedicated to the common memories of all servicemen and women who died in action.
The idea comes from the team’s truck driver, Charles Sampson, who served multiple tours of duty as a Marine. He has lost a number of friends during his time served and felt that was the best way to honor all of them, along with others who were unidentified or never made it back home
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8:04 p.m. ET
The sun is setting at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which means the track will begin to cool forcing pit crews to make adjustments to the cars.
“The track typically goes through changes here, especially if the sun is out from the beginning of the race,” Matt Kenseth said earlier this week.
One of the best at handling those changes through the years has been Jimmie Johnson, who has won this race four times. Still, Johnson said it was one of the hardest tracks to adjust to due to the changes in track temperature.
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7:20 p.m. ET
Kurt Busch, who had the fastest car in the two practice sessions on Saturday, has moved up to take the lead at the Coca-Cola 600 after 100 of the scheduled 400 laps.
Busch took the lead on lap 95.
Matt Kenseth, the pole sitter, is struggling with his car’s handling and has dropped back to 13th place.
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6:47 p.m. ET
Brad Keselowski was sent to the back of the field on lap 26 at NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 when he pulled out of his pit stop with the gas can still in the car.
As Keselowski left his stall, he swung his No. 2 Ford sharply to the right to get around the car in the pit stall ahead of him, which sent the can tumbling out of his car and into the stall ahead of him, drawing the mandatory penalty.
Keselowski, who has never won the Coca-Cola 600, entered the pits in seventh place. The penalty put him in 41st place.
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6:38 p.m. ET
Carl Edwards, who was running second early at NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, called to let his pit crew know that he has some sticky feet.
Yep, sticky feet.
Edwards apparently stepped on something sticky before the race and complained 20 minutes after the green flag that his foot was sticking to the gas pedal. He asked for something to wipe off his feet and was given a rag to try to clean it off after NASCAR threw a caution flag after 25 laps.
The caution was planned to allow teams to check their tires after the track was washed down in the first two turns on Saturday night.
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5:25 p.m. ET
Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are among the favorites to win NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They have combined to win the last seven Sprint Cup races on mile-and-a-half tracks.
Johnson has been particularly strong at CMS, where he leads all active drivers with seven career wins, including four at the Coca-Cola 600. Johnson won last year’s race, leading 164 laps and has led a staggering 1,733 career laps at Charlotte. He already has wins at Atlanta, Fort Worth and Kansas this year.
Harvick has won three times at Charlotte, including last October’s Bank of America 400.
Matt Kenseth was on the pole.
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2:53 p.m. ET
Rival owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi shared a hug after an Indy 500 duel for the ages.
Four cars separated from the rest of the field in the closing laps Sunday, the two Penske cars of Juan Pablo Montoya and Will Power and the two Ganassi cars of Charlie Kimball and Scott Dixon.
Montoya, Power and Dixon took turns swapping the lead several times after a restart with 15 laps to go, but it was ultimately the Penske cars that won the day.
Montoya was chased across the line by his teammate to give Penske his 16th victory in the Indianapolis 500. Kimball wound up third, followed by his teammate Dixon.
“Great day for Team Penske,” the team owner said.
Graham Rahal finished fifth, a solid run for the team part-owned by David Letterman. Marco Andretti was sixth, followed by Helio Castroneves, JR Hildebrand, Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud, who was strong all day before a wing problem shuffled him back late.
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2:42 p.m. ET
Juan Pablo Montoya held off Penske Racing teammate Will Power over the final two laps Sunday to win his second Indianapolis 500.
After watching Power jockey for the lead with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon for several laps, Montoya went high into Turn 3 to take over second place, then darted right past Power on the front stretch to take the lead. He pulled away from there to win IndyCar’s showcase race.
Montoya rallied after a bizarre start to the race. Following an early caution, Simona de Silvestro ran into his rear, causing damage to his wing. Montoya’s crew managed to fix it under caution, and the 2000 Indy 500 champion methodically worked his way back to the front.
Power finished second, followed by Charlie Kimball. Dixon was fourth and Graham Rahal fifth.
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3:20 p.m. ET
Another high-speed wreck has knocked three more cars out of the Indianapolis 500.
With just 25 laps remaining, midway back in the pack, Jack Hawksworth appeared to make contact with Sebastian Saavedra and both backed into the wall. Saavedra started to slide back down the track when rookie Stefano Coletti launched over the front of his car.
Hawksworth and Coletti quickly got out of their cars, but it took several minutes before the safety crew was able to get Saavedra out of his damaged machine. He was carried by the safety crew and placed in the ambulance, never putting any weight on his legs.
Pieces of his yellow car were littered across the track exiting Turn 4.
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3:10 p.m. ET
The leaders have pitted for what could be the final time in the Indianapolis 500.
After a caution came out for debris from the car of Takuma Sato, a long line of cars came down pit road with 31 laps remaining. That is within the window to make it on fuel.
Will Power was first among that group off pit road, taking advantage of a fast stop by his crew. Juan Pablo Montoya followed him ith Scott Dixon close behind.
Meanwhile, one of the two Dale Coyne Racing crewmen hurt earlier in the race on pit road has been taken to Methodist Hospital for further evaluation of a right ankle injury. The other injured crew member was examined and released from the infield care center.
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2:45 p.m. ET
Tony Kanaan crashed hard into the wall with just under 50 laps remaining in the Indianapolis 500, ending his hopes of adding his name to the Borg-Warner Trophy for the second time.
Kanaan had just pit along with the rest of the leaders and made a slight change to his front wing, hoping to add some downforce. He appeared to be fine coming through Turn 3, but his car began to slide away from him and it wound up backing into the wall.
Kanaan popped out of the car and waved to the fans before heading to the care center.
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2:20 p.m. ET
Ed Carpenter, the hometown boy and stepson of IndyCar Series founder Tony George, crashed out of the Indianapolis 500 when he attempted to pass Oriol Servia entering turn one just past the midway point. Servia came down and clipped Carpenter’s nose, sending both of their cars into the wall — and out of the showcase race.
One week ago, Carpenter lost the rear end of his car and backed into the wall in a violent wreck. His car spun around, went airborne and landed upside down before skidding to a stop.
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2:05 p.m. ET
Charlie Kimball has worked his way to the leading group at the Indianapolis 500. Kimball is a diabetic who tracks his sugar levels during the race with a special monitor inside his No. 83 car. If his levels need adjustment, he can switch from drinking water to juice during the race. He was sixth shortly after the race passed the halfway point.
Also stalking the leaders is three-time winner Helio Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya, who had to have his rear wing replaced when he was run into by Simona de Silvestro under caution.
Graham Rahal was also in the top 10, leading the charge for Honda.
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1:05 p.m. ET
Two young American drivers made early exits from the Indianapolis 500.
Both were hoping good results Sunday would help them find IndyCar opportunities later this season.
They never got a chance.
Conor Daly, a 23-year-old Indy native, pulled off before taking the green flag after the exhaust system on his car caused a fire. His crew could not repair the damage.
Then, 20-year-old Sage Karam was knocked out when Japan’s Takuma Sato tried to make it three-wide in the first turn of the first lap. Karam didn’t expect Sato to be on his outside when he went high, making contact with Sato before hitting the wall. Karam was checked and released from the speedway’s infield medical center but he was not happy with Sato’s decision.
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12:40 p.m. ET
The Indianapolis 500 got off to a rocky start.
After the No. 43 car of Conor Daly caught on fire during the parade laps, the race went green under sun-splashed skies. But before the first lap was complete, Takuma Sato attempted a risky pass on the outside of Sage Karam, causing damage to both cars.
Sato went high between Turns 3 and 4 and Karam didn’t see him coming along the wall. The 20-year-old driver for Chip Ganassi Racing hit hard into the SAFER barrier, his car eventually sliding to a stop with heavy right-side damage.
Ryan Briscoe was hit by James Davison as he tried to avoid the wreck, but the fill-in for James Hinchcliffe managed to keep his car out of the wall.
Even before the parade laps, there was trouble. Alex Tagliani couldn’t get his car into gear, leaving him sitting on the front stretch as the field pulled away. He finally got the car going.
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4:15 p.m. Monaco
Lewis Hamilton vows to fight back after being denied his fourth win of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix following a crash involving Max Verstappen.
Hamilton was on his way to a victory when Verstappen’s crash led to a safety car going out on track. After being called back to the pits by his Mercedes team, Hamilton found himself behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who won the race.
Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff told broadcaster Sky that it was a mistake to call him into the pits.
“It was a complete misjudgment. I’m just so sorry,” Wolff said. “There’s nothing to do but apologize.”
Asked how he will respond, a dejected-looking Hamilton said: “Come back to win the next one.”
“It wasn’t the easiest of races, but the team has been amazing all year long and we win and lose together,” Hamilton said. “I’m sure we’ll sit down after this.”
Rosberg was modest in victory, saying: “I know that I got lucky today, so I’ll just enjoy the moment now. But I need to work hard because Lewis was a bit stronger today.”
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3:52 p.m. Monaco
Nico Rosberg has won the Monaco Grand Prix for the third straight year after a late crash involving teenager Max Verstappen undid Lewis Hamilton’s bid for a fourth win of the season.
Hamilton was cruising toward his 37th career win until the 17-year-old Verstappen rammed his Toro Rosso into the back of Romain Grosjean as he tried to overtake the Lotus driver. That meant a safety car had to come out at the start of the 64th lap, and when it did Hamilton suddenly found himself behind both Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
When the safety car left, Hamilton had only a few laps to try and get past Vettel and Rosberg on the most difficult track to overtake a driver on F1. Instead, Vettel was second and Hamilton a disappointing third.
It was Rosberg’s second win of the season following his win two weeks ago at the Spanish GP.
He joined a very special group in winning the Monaco Grand Prix for the third consecutive time: Ayrton Senna of Brazil, Frenchman Alain Prost and Briton Graham Hill all did it.
Rosberg, who grew up steeped in Formula One folklore as the son of 1982 F1 champion Keke Rosberg, was raised in Monaco and knows its surrounding streets better than anyone.
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9:15 a.m. ET
The hive of activity surrounding Oriol Servia’s garage in Indianapolis? It isn’t for the driver.
David Letterman has arrived at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, just days after calling it a career after more than three decades in late-night television. Letterman is part owner of the team that will field a car for Servia alongside Graham Rahal in Sunday’s race.
Letterman was born and raised in Indianapolis, spending his formative years in the Broad Ripple section of town. He went to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and early in his career served as a pit reporter for ABC — search on YouTube for his interview of Mario Andretti after the former champion crashed out of the 1971 race.
Letterman got into team ownership in the 1990s with former Indy 500 champion Bobby Rahal, and businessman Mike Lanigan came aboard to form what is now Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Servia’s yellow car was dressed Sunday in “The Late Show” regalia, while Rahal also had a tribute to Letterman on his car. Team members wore gray T-shirts with their own “Top Ten” list of reasons they love Letterman, such as: “He still calls A.J., ‘Mr. Foyt.'”
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3:14 p.m. Monaco
Lewis Hamilton looks well set for victory at the Monaco Grand Prix after a clean pit stop for new tires.
Hamilton waited until the 40th of 78 laps to take his stop, with his Mercedes teammate and rival Nico Rosberg pitted for his two laps earlier.
With 30 laps remaining, Hamilton leads Rosberg by 10 seconds, a huge margin on a track so notoriously difficult to overtake on. It will likely take an accident now to stop Hamilton from winning his fourth race out of six this season and 37th of his career.
The top three positions from qualifying looked likely to stay the same, too, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel trailing Hamilton by 12 seconds.
Behind them, Russian driver Daniil Kvyat was in fourth place and driving smoothly for Red Bull, and Fernando Alonso retired for the second straight race after his McLaren let him down again — just like it did in Spain two weeks ago.
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2:40 p.m. Monaco
Drivers communicate with their team engineers throughout the race weekend over radio, and it sometimes makes for some colorful conversations under the stress of racing.
Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen told his former Lotus team to leave him alone when they gave him advice, and this season Nico Rosberg barked at his Mercedes crew after just missing out on pole position in qualifying.
Conversations have been polite so far at the Monaco GP, with Lewis Hamilton politely asking “What can I do to save those brakes, I’m having to drive so slow right now” and Rosberg’s race crew urging him to close the gap on Hamilton as he started to drift further behind.
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2:10 p.m. Monaco (1210 GMT)
Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton made a clean start from pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, holding off Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
It’s a relief for Hamilton, who was starting from pole for the first time in Monaco and was coming off a poor start at the Spanish GP two weeks ago.
Rosberg, meanwhile, held his spot well under pressure from Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who started from third on the grid and tried to squeeze past him.
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