As Jimmie Johnson prepares for his final full season as a NASCAR Cup Series driver, the obvious questions are already being asked.

Who will be the next driver to wheel the No. 48 Chevrolet? And, which drivers are ready to fill his void in NASCAR as a racing legend?

Filling the seat in the No. 48 is the easy part. Replacing Johnson’s legendary status is not.

First things first; who are the likely candidates that are under consideration at Hendrick Motorsports?

“I’ve already picked a guy,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Jeff Gordon is coming back.”

Hendrick’s comment drew a hearty round of laughs because that obviously isn’t going to happen. But it’s obvious the driver who takes over the No. 48 will be reflective of the great young drivers Hendrick Motorsports has developed into champions.

“Listen, we have another year,” Hendrick said. “Our company is really excited; we’re going to put everything we got into all our cars. With Chad (Knaus) sitting as a big part in Jimmie’s career and what he’s done for this company, it’s our goal to get him (Johnson) the absolute best and we want to see him go out on top; winning and getting that championship.”

When it comes to legends, the first homegrown Hendrick legend was Gordon. The driver from Vallejo, Calif., whose family moved to Pittsboro, Ind., when he was a teenager so he could compete in USAC, was among the first of his generation of drivers who came to NASCAR.

Prior to that, the majority of NASCAR’s drivers were from the South. With Gordon, it created opportunities for drivers from the Midwest and California to advance to NASCAR.

Gordon was also among the first of his generation of stars to retire from NASCAR in 2015. Fellow Hoosier Tony Stewart was the next of that group to retire in 2016.

Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. called it a career in 2017 and Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray have also stepped away from the driver’s seat.

The prevailing sense at Hendrick Motorsports as the season begins is to focus on Johnson’s final year, while waiting on the proper time to name his replacement.

“I can tell you right now, we’re not looking,” said Gordon, former racing legend and co-owner of the No. 48 car with Rick Hendrick. “It’s just because we’re just not there yet.

“The most important thing right now is focused on Jimmie going out on top. That he deserves. He wants it. His drive is there,” Gordon continued. “The connection between he and Cliff Daniels (Johnson’s crew chief) is there. We’ve not done a good enough job giving him the equipment in the last couple of years. And we’re very focused on that, so we’ve got some time before we need to think about that, and I think when we get closer to that process, we’ll keep you guys informed as we can.”

Hendrick Motorsports can wait for the right opportunity and the right driver since the team’s primary sponsor, Ally, is signed through 2023.

While Hendrick and Gordon evaluate Johnson’s replacement in the No. 48, Daniels is committed to giving Johnson a winning Chevrolet.

“It’s the man he is,” Daniels said. “There are so many adjectives to throw at that from things he does on track to things he does off track. Obviously, many discussions happened of things he’s done off track, but on track, he races clean, races respectful, races well at a very high level.

“There’s so much to be said for that because we all know many fierce competitors, athletes and drivers that may not always be the cleanest, courteous or most respectful, and to do that and win that many races speaks volumes,” Daniels added. “So, to me, the man Jimmie Johnson, the competitor both on and off the track is his legacy. That’s what he lives out every day. That’s who he is. I’m thankful to just be a part of that and live some of that with him.”

This is an era similar to the late 1980s and early 1990s when NASCAR legends such as Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker and Benny Parsons parked their cars for the final time. They were replaced by a new breed of stars that included Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Gordon.

Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott were part of both of those eras.

What makes the previous generations unique is those drivers raced well into their 50s. Gordon, Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson and others have called it quits in their early to mid-40s.

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AUSTIN, Texas — Finding a suitable location for its annual preseason test is usually pretty easy for the NTT IndyCar Series. Just look for the Southernmost venue that hosts an Indy car race and hold the two-day event there.

In theory, that makes perfect sense. But it’s not always that easy as the weather ultimately has a final say.

That was the case to this week’s preseason test at Circuit of The Americas. The magnificent road course located deep in the heart of Texas normally has very mild winters. But all-day rain on Tuesday limited the track activity to 35 minutes of yellow flag running before it was ultimately flagged just past 4 p.m. local time.

Wednesday saw heavy rain in the morning. Once that moved through, IndyCar attempted to start the session at 10 a.m. local time, before cold temperatures brought out the red flag for 1 hour, 43 minutes and 36 seconds.

Firestone engineers along with IndyCar limit track activity if the surface temperature on the race course plus the ambient temperature fall below 100 degrees combined. With the ambient temperatures in the morning around 43 degrees, teams and drivers had to wait some more.

Finally, at 11:50 a.m. local time, the first green flag of the two-day event was waved allowed the 25 car/driver combinations to test the cars for the first time this year.

It was also the first time all 25 cars on the track were equipped with the aeroscreen. The cockpit safety initiative provides even more protection for the driver. It also weighs 60-70 pounds and that effects the handling of the cars.

Teams used this test to determine what changes are necessary to the setup of the race cars in terms of weight distribution, aerodynamic downforce and drag.

One benefit to running in the rain on Tuesday, however, was finding where water leaks into the cockpit. In order to keep the air cool for the drivers, the aeroscreen includes vents near the bottom of the screen.

Team Penske driver Will Power said that is where water would leak into the cockpit.

“We already saw areas where the water was getting in,” Power said on Tuesday. “It seems like it needs a lip around the top because water drips in as you drive. The windscreen is great. It just clears.

“There was no fogging for me. Obviously, we didn’t run that long, but there was definitely water leaking in the bottom of the screen, up into the inside of the screen. There’s some water dripping in on your steering wheel and on your visor that would be an easy fix.”

Pato O’Ward is preparing for his first full-time season. He will be part of the two-driver Arrow McLaren SP operation and gave his take on the aeroscreen.

“I was pretty impressed with it honestly because it’s a first try,” O’Ward said. “It is an add-on to the car. It’s not like it’s built into it. It was done very well. I think it was done the best way it could have been done.

“I’m excited to see whenever the new car comes out how it really incorporates into a car that’s developed around the aero screen or with the aero screen. But I think safety-wise obviously it’s going to be safer.

“Not that it’s such an issue, but we’ll definitely feel quite a bit of difference whenever it’s hot and humid because it is quite hard to get air into the area we’re at to circulate. We have to be going quite a bit faster to really feel anything.

Usually the sensation when you lift your visor and you’re sweating; you would lift it to clear out the sweat or something. It didn’t seem to be the case when I tested in Sebring. There’s going to be some things we’re going to have to work through.
“I think as a first try, it was pretty remarkable.”

Because Wednesday’s schedule was condensed because of weather, the afternoon session became quite frantic. The track will be open for testing until 6 p.m. local time.

SPEED SPORT will update at the conclusion of Wednesday’s test session.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When it comes to perennial favorites at Daytona Int’l Speedway, drivers who are always in the conversation as far as being successful at the 2.5-mile oval, Denny Hamlin isn’t usually mentioned on the short list.

But whether his name is in that first breath of contenders or not, Hamlin has slowly but surely inked himself in the history books at the World Center of Racing as a master of the Daytona craft.

Think about the Virginia native’s resume for a few moments.

He’s won two of the past four Daytona 500s. He’s won three Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona since 2008. He’s won three Busch Clashes, including becoming the first rookie to win the Clash back in 2006.

And Hamlin even has a NASCAR Xfinity Series win on his resume at Daytona, taking the checkered flag in the second-tier division’s July spectacular at the facility in 2008 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

In short, the driver who cut his teeth on the short tracks and bullrings of the Southeast has found an attitude that works for superspeedway racing and thrived with it.

“People think of (me) a lot of times throughout my career as being a short-track guy, and really, I deem myself a short-track guy who has just adapted really well to superspeedway racing,” Hamlin said Wednesday during Daytona 500 Media Day. “A lot of that has come from watching some of the best do it.”

Hamlin’s categorization of “the best” in superspeedway racing calls to mind two prominent drivers in Daytona’s storied history: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hamlin’s former teammate, Tony Stewart.

When Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 in 2004, Hamlin – not even a thought in the NASCAR Cup Series garage at that time – joined the third-generation star in victory lane that February afternoon.

Of course, Earnhardt Jr. went on to earn 17 wins at Daytona across all series (third all-time), and Hamlin even finished second to the perennial NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver in the 2014 Daytona 500.

Then there was Stewart, who raced with Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing from 2006 through 2008 in the Cup Series and earned 19 career Daytona victories, second only to Dale Earnhardt’s Daytona record 34 wins.

Stewart may not have won the Daytona 500 like Hamlin has, but Hamlin noted he felt Stewart was, at least, in position to do so more often than not.

“He’s the guy that I kind of idolized and looked at the way he did things,” said Hamlin of Stewart. “I feel like over the second half of my career (I) have really been a student of the game on, how can I improve? How can I put myself in a better position to finish these races?”

Hamlin has certainly managed to be in contention over the past five to 10 years in the Daytona 500, masterfully finding ways to stay out of trouble by trusting his instincts over the course of the race.

“I can feel when the level of intensity starts ramping up, and there have been times where I just remove myself from that situation,” Hamlin noted. “I’ll just pull out of the draft, go backwards, say that there’s something about to happen here, and I know (the) odds and statistics are going to say (that) in this position I’m sitting in, there’s a high percentage I’m going to be in a wreck here. So I get myself out of it, get to the finish, and then go from there.

“You just have to continue to adapt and make sure you sense that when you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up, you make sure you get out and put yourself in a position to get to the finish.”

Sunday afternoon, the two-time Daytona 500 champion will chase the Harley J. Earl Trophy for a third time.

If he can successfully win The Great American Race again, Hamlin would join two exclusive clubs in the process: becoming the sixth driver to win the 500 three or more times and just the fourth to stand in victory lane in back-to-back years.

While he knows the feat won’t be easy, it’s one that Hamlin is eager to try and accomplish.

“It’s tough, but there is more confidence,” Hamlin said in regards to chasing a repeat Daytona 500 triumph. “You know that the things you’ve been doing have been successful, and I won’t change any of them until it doesn’t work anymore and I have to adapt.

“I think that it’s been really a great run we’ve had over the last eight years in particular,” he added. “We’ve been a factor to win every Daytona 500, it seems like, for the last decade, so I come here thinking that there’s no reason that should be any different.”

The 62nd annual Daytona 500 takes the green flag Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

ST. HELENA, Calif. – Self Made Racing will continue to support Rico Abreu Racing for the second-straight season.

Self Made Racing is owned and operated by Executive Manager and Partner at multiple Sweeney car dealerships located in northeast Ohio, Derek Snyder. Snyder, a motorsports philanthropist who not only enjoys supporting race teams, but also helps promote major sprint car events such as Justin Snyder’s Salute to the Troops program honoring his late brother, is excited to extend his relationship with Rico Abreu Racing.

“I’m excited to continue this relationship with Rico Abreu and his team. Rico does such a great job interacting with his fans. He makes everyone feel so welcome and it’s easy to want to be a part of that. He’s a great ambassador to sprint car racing and we’re pleased to join his efforts,” Derek Snyder explained, who also plays a major role at Gary Kauffman Racing with Danny Dietrich at the helm. “We have a lot of fun things planned for 2020 including a surprise visit by Rico and his team at one of our Sweeney locations. We hope to have some details ironed out over the next few weeks. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Despite an early season schedule focused primarily on the West Coast, Rico Abreu and Rico Abreu Racing will eventually make their way east and headquarter themselves in the Midwest for much of the summer. Abreu’s weekend schedules will be posted as they become available.

“We’re pretty pumped to have Derek Snyder and Self Made Racing join us again in 2020. He absolutely loves racing and that’s easy to spot. He’s got a lot of passion and we want that level of enthusiasm and love for sprint car racing around our team,” Abreu said. “We have some fun ideas in the works with Derek and I’m sure the fans will enjoy what we have planned. We are ready to get rolling.”

NEW YORK -- Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was fined $5,000 by the NHL on Wednesday for slashing Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Reaves.

The NHL's Department of Player Safety announced the punishment, which is the maximum allowable amount under the collective bargaining agreement.

The incident occurred in the first period of the Golden Knights-Wild game on Tuesday night, when Dumba hit Reaves with his stick in the midsection. Reaves was doubled over in pain for a bit before leaving the ice. Dumba had taken a big hit from Reaves along the boards just before the slash. Neither of those plays drew a penalty.

Reaves took two penalties in the game, roughing and high-sticking, for different incidents. The Wild beat the Golden Knights 4-0.

Jeremy Roenick will not be returning to NBC Sports after his suspension for making inappropriate comments about co-workers.

A network spokesman confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that Roenick will not be back on the air. The spokesman said NBC Sports would have no further comment.

Roenick, 50, announced the end of his NBC Sports tenure in a video posted on Twitter.

"I'm very disappointed and angry today I will not be returning to NBC," Roenick said. "I'm also grateful that I've had the opportunity to share my love, my passion and my knowledge of the game with millions of people, millions of fans."

What a Joke!! pic.twitter.com/Evis1XR2cD

— Jeremy Roenick (@Jeremy_Roenick) February 12, 2020

The longtime NHL player-turned-broadcaster added he won't be gone for long and said he'd be back "better and more motivated to bring you the best entertainment and the best that I have for the game of hockey."

NBC Sports suspended Roenick indefinitely without pay in late December after he made a series of questionable remarks about fellow hockey broadcasters Kathryn Tappen, Patrick Sharp and Anson Carter during a recent appearance on the Spittin' Chiclets podcast.

On the podcast, Roenick discussed a vacation to Portugal with his wife and Tappen where he made repeated references to the NBC Sports anchor's appearance and joked about the possibility of the three of them having sex together. Later in the interview, Roenick called Sharp "so beautiful" and said: "I'd have to think about it if he asked me. ... I wouldn't say no right away" and then seemed to contrast Sharp's appearance with his and Carter's.

Roenick played 20 NHL seasons with the Blackhawks, Coyotes, Flyers, Sharks and Kings before moving into television. He had been an analyst at NBC Sports since 2010.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association have scheduled another round of labor talks next week after concluding two days of negotiations in Toronto on Wednesday.

In an email to The Associated Press, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly wrote he wasn't prepared to comment on what was discussed and whether the additional meetings reflect any signs of progress.

"I'm not sure the fact that we scheduled additional meetings reflects anything more than we have a lot of topic areas to discuss," Daly wrote.

"We look forward to resuming discussions with the league next week." the NHLPA said in a statement to the AP.

The current labor agreement runs through September 2022, after both sides last year elected not to use an opt-out clause that would have terminated the CBA this September.

There remains a sense of urgency in reaching an agreement to extend the current deal through either 2025 or 2026, which would mark the league's longest period of labor peace in decades. The NHL has had seasons disrupted by lockouts in each of the past three decades, most recently in 2012-13, when the regular season was shortened from 82 to 48 games.

One of the more pressing issues, however, is whether the NHL elects to send players to compete in the 2022 Beijing Games after not participating in the 2018 Olympics in South Korea. The league participated in the five previous Olympics.

The NHL continues to be reluctant to reverse course, despite Olympic officials providing assurances of being ready to lift various major stumbling blocks during a meeting that included NHLPA representatives.

On Monday, Daly called the meeting "positive" but said the league continues to have "valid reservations" over how Olympic participation disrupts its schedule by having to shut down the regular season for two weeks once every four years.

"We aren't there yet. In fact, we aren't even close to being there," Daly said. "At this point in time, we continue to believe that the negatives outweigh the positives."

He raised another concern by suggesting the issue of Olympic participation might be resolved easier if it were tied to a labor agreement.

A person familiar with discussions told the AP that the subject of the 2022 Games was not discussed this week and is not expected to be brought up in talks next week. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.

The NHLPA is in favor of going to China, especially after the assurances provided by International Ice Hockey Federation chief Rene Fasel last week.

Among the long-standing issues Fasel addressed included paying for players' travel and insurance costs. Another issue was providing the league and union access to video and still images to allow both to market the players.

NHLPA executive director Don Fehr questioned why the NHL can't address the Beijing Games separately, rather than fold it into labor talks.

"I can't figure out why anybody would not want to go and take advantage of this opportunity because it doesn't come around every day," Fehr said. "We think and have always thought that a matter like this should be addressed on its own merits, and it seems to us that the merits on this one are crystal clear."

Just as the Genesis Invitational is honoring Kobe Bryant this week on the par-4 eighth hole at Riviera Country Club just outside of Los Angeles, a handful of players are honoring the late Lakers legend in their own way, from head(cover) to toe.

Back atop the world rankings for the first time since 2015, Rory McIlroy will sport a few '#MambaMentality' headcovers as he chases his first win of the calendar year.

In addition, Justin Thomas will rock a pair of custom Kobe and Gianna shoes. The kicks feature a few of Bryant's career achievements as well as the three members of the Altobelli family who also died in the tragic helicopter accident Jan. 26 in Calabasas.

NBC Los Angeles reported the Bryant family had a private memorial service Friday for Kobe and Gianna. There will be a public memorial at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 24.

LA Galaxy striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has received his work visa and is set to debut for the MLS club on Saturday, when the Galaxy face in a friendly vs. Toronto FC at Dignity Health Sports Park.

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Hernandez was signed by the Galaxy on Jan. 21, but he wasn't able to train with the team or play in preseason friendlies as he awaited his visa.

Hernandez was immediately added to the Galaxy's roster and is likely to feature both against Toronto and the team's final preseason friendly on Feb. 22 against the Chicago Fire.

The Galaxy open the regular season on the road against the Houston Dynamo on Feb. 29,

Chivas youth product Hernandez made his mark in Europe with Manchester United and went to enjoy successful stints at Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid, in addition to West Ham and Sevilla. He has 52 goals in 109 appearances with Mexico and has played in three World Cups.