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MORE INFO: Android users | IOS users

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Digital games publisher and developer 704Games has announced the worldwide release of NASCAR Heat Mobile, the first authentic NASCAR racing game on mobile to feature 40 stock cars racing simultaneously. NASCAR Heat Mobile is available globally today on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, as well as Google Play for Android devices.

 

704Games tapped veteran developer Firebrand Games, creators of NASCAR Unleashed, to build this exciting new casual mobile racing game. NASCAR Heat Mobile combines the thrill of 200 mph stock car racing with the ability to build a NASCAR empire in the Fan Zone. The free-to-play game is the first licensed NASCAR mobile racing game to feature 40 stock cars racing simultaneously across 23 NASCAR sanctioned tracks. Using cutting-edge technology and fun interactive gameplay, NASCAR Heat Mobile immerses players in the world of NASCAR.

 

"NASCAR Heat Mobile is a lot of fun," said Joey Logano, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Seriesu2122 driver for Team Penske and 704Games investor. "I can take a few laps in my #22 Ford Fusion in NASCAR Heat Mobile anytime I want. It’s a great pick-up-and-play racing game for fans."

 

Take the Wheel Against the Biggest Names in NASCAR

 

From the hills of Sonoma to the short-track spectacle of Bristol, NASCAR Heat Mobile features all 23 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series-sanctioned tracks. Players can start their own career or choose their favorite NASCAR driver to compete. As players race through a season, they’ll complete challenges to help them improve their stock cars for better on-track performance.

 

Build the Ultimate NASCAR Empire in the Fan Zone

 

NASCAR Heat Mobile features two distinct worlds to play. Not only can fans race as their favorite Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers, NASCAR Heat Mobile also features a world-building component called the Fan Zone. Players can invest their race winnings into their Fan Zone to enhance their stock car or build their fan base to generate even more earnings for their race program. From blimps to hot dog carts and fuel stations, players can customize their Fan Zone with over 35 buildings and decorations. Each building has a special reward to help players improve on-track performance.

 

NASCAR Heat Mobile is available to download today for free in the App Store for iPhone and iPad and Google Play for Android devices. To learn more about NASCAR Heat Mobile, visit the game’s social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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READ MORE: Dale Jr. announces retirement after 2017 season


Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday that 2017 would be Junior’s final full-time season. Here’s how the NASCAR community paid its respects. This story will be updated throughout the day.


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MORE: Junior announces retirement after ’17 season | Reactions 

 

Amy Earnhardt, wife of Dale Earnhardt Jr., released a statement via Twitter on Tuesday about her husband’s decision to retire from full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition following the 2017 season.

 

 

NASCAR’s 14-time Most Popular Driver unveiled the news with Hendrick Motorsports on Tuesday morning.

 

MORE: Earnhardt’s wedding gallery | Every Dale Jr. win

 

The pair wed on New Year’s Eve before Junior’s return in the 2017 Daytona 500 after missing the final 18 races of the 2016 season. During his recovery from a concussion, Junior often cited the positive influence Amy had on him to get healthy and get back in the car.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Junior to step away after 2017 | Drivers react


Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced via a team press release Tuesday that he would retire following the 2017 season.



Earnhardt Jr. and team owner Rick Hendrick will have a joint a press conference at 3 p.m. ET to discuss the driver’s decision. NASCAR.com will live stream the press conference.


Stay tuned to NASCAR.com for complete Earnhardt Jr. coverage, and bookmark this link for the live stream at 3 p.m. ET: www.nascar.com/presspass.



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RELATED: Junior announces retirement after ’17 season | Reaction to news

 

The pressure was probably there from the first time he slid behind the wheel of a race car.

Before that, he was just "Dale’s kid." No real burdens, few expectations. Hanging out at the track on occasion, playing with the kids of other competitors. He was a child, the son of a racer for sure, but just a child and nothing more.

But once he became Dale Earnhardt Jr., racer, everything changed.

Once he became a racer, he became the son of a seven-time champion, the son of one of NASCAR’s most legendary figures. Once he became a racer, nearly every single thing took on an entirely different meaning.

Expectations didn’t grow, they exploded.

He raced and he won and his popularity grew, in part because of folks that were also fans of his father, but maybe more because he was new and fresh and cutting edge, and younger fans in the sport found someone with whom they could relate.

He listened to Nirvana. He was featured in "Rolling Stone" and "Playboy." MTV featured him on its popular "MTV Cribs" show.

He was the new face for the sport.

And then the horrific 2001 accident took the life of his father and fans of his dad flocked to Earnhardt Jr., hoping to keep the memory of their hero alive, hoping to keep "their" sport alive through the son.


MORE: Dale and Dale: Pictures of father and son


Earnhardt Jr. never, ever discounted those who came to him as fans of his father. He embraced them, understood them and welcomed them. They were old school and as Earnhardt Jr. matured and grew and became more and more involved in all aspects of the sport, he became old school, too.

Maybe he didn’t "become" old school as much as he began to embrace it. You want a history lesson on NASCAR? Earnhardt might not be a professor, but his depth of knowledge and his love of the sport’s colorful past are unrivaled.

Now he’s stepping out of the driver’s seat after winning two XFINITY Series championships in 1998 and ’99, 26 career races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and two Daytona 500 victories.


RELATED: Recap every win | Full Dale Jr. stats


It’s been an incredible journey for Earnhardt Jr., who in addition to his duties as driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports is also co-owner of an XFINITY Series operation — JR Motorsports — that fields four full-time entries.

But it’s been an incredible journey for his fans as well, who have voted him the series most popular driver for 14 consecutive years.

Most saw him win for the first time in the top series at Texas in 2000 and then weeks later when he got the big ol’ bear hug from his father in Victory Lane after winning the series’ All-Star Race at Charlotte. Fifteen years later he was still winning, and who knows, perhaps his winning hasn’t stopped just yet.

His father’s passing and the eventual surprise move to Hendrick Motorsports, and through it all the winning and contending for wins and his fans yearning and hoping and wishing for a championship that has yet to arrive.

He’s been a kid and a son and a racer and a champion and fan favorite. And now a husband and he’s talked about children so yeah, he may be a father some day, too.


MORE: Dale and Amy through the years | Wedding album


He’s a brand and a spokesperson and there are many in the garage that share their time and talent and resources with those less fortunate, but Earnhardt is among those at the top of the list.

And the entire time he’s let everyone in, let ’em come along for the ride, because the kid who used to change oil in cars at his father’s dealership knows race fans about as well as he knows himself.

He’s traveled his own path and enjoyed a racing career and at the end of the day you look back and say, well, that’s life.

One chapter ends and another begins.

 

Posted on by Staff Report

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wears his heart on his sleeve, a fact that has endeared him to fans, competitors, NASCAR industry insiders, sponsors and possibly the toughest crowd of all: NASCAR writers.

 

Junior’s announcement Tuesday that he will give up full-time driving duties after the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season brought accolades and emotion from the press corps. Here’s a sampling of what they’re writing.


"As Junior wheels his final laps, we’ll all spend the next seven months recalling the good times — the victory at that 2001 Daytona summer race, for instance, or the way he became the most accessible athlete on Twitter. But let’s not forget one simple fact: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the toughest athlete in sports history." — Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports | Read more

 

—–

 

"There is no question — none — that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility. On numbers alone, Earnhardt should get in." — Tom Jensen, Fox Sports | Read more

 

—–

 

"On a personal and professional level, I’m really going to miss covering Earnhardt. There’s something about his combination of candor, wit and humility that makes him the best interview in sports (at least that I’ve seen), and you really can’t replace a guy like that.

 

"Dale Jr. is a normal dude trapped in a superstar’s life, and his fans identify with him because he acts and talks like they would if they found themselves in a similar situation." — Jeff Gluck, JeffGluck.com | Read more

 

—–

 

"Dale Earnhardt, Jr., you continue to defy convention, and define yourself. Born into advantage but forced to earn every opportunity and hone every inherited skill by a demanding father and namesake, you took up the family vocation with the scrutiny that comes as part of the deal. You were Elvis’ boy who took up guitar and knew that comparison was inevitable." –Brant James, USA Today | Read more

 

—–

 

Thanks to Stef Schrader at Jalopnik for bringing back a late-night TV gem: Junior doing donuts on a New York street as a segment with David Letterman. | Read more

 

 

This story will be updated

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RELATED: Junior announces retirement | Reaction | Analysis

MORE: Junior as a kid, a son, a racer, a fan

"Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among the most recognizable athletes in the world, unequivocally serving as the sport’s most popular driver for more than a decade. His passion for the sport will leave an impact on NASCAR that will be felt over its entire history. Over his 20-plus year career, Dale has proven himself a leader with a deep commitment to so many areas of the sport — all the way to its roots. We’re excited about the next chapter of his NASCAR career and wish him success for the remainder of 2017."

 

Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Blaney on Dale Jr.’s influence on him


CONCORD, N.C. — High-profile departures have been a recent trend in NASCAR’s top division, a development that began with transcendent four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s retirement at the end of the 2015 season.



Popular three-time champ Tony Stewart followed after 2016, then fellow star Carl Edwards stepped away just before this season. That list will include the most popular of all — Dale Earnhardt Jr. — at the end of 2017, a move he signaled in a Tuesday announcement at the Hendrick Motorsports compound.



But instead of sounding an alarm about a possible void, Earnhardt issued a strong vote of confidence for the sport’s future with positive remarks about the stock-car racing’s recent influx of spellbinding talent, a group of young stars that have the potential to dazzle fans for future generations.


RELATED: Larson, Elliott top point standings


"We definitely have tons of talent. There is no question, but I love the people they are," Earnhardt said, naming 21-year-old teammate Chase Elliott and current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson, 24, as two brilliant examples. Being marketable, approachable and having a level of savvy with social media certainly hasn’t hurt.



"These guys are effortless at it," he added. "So once they start to pick it up and understand the power of what they have at their fingertips, the sky’s the limit for NASCAR.  I’m super excited about the future."



MORE: Dale Jr. announces retirement | Vote: Favorite Junior win

Earnhardt has done plenty himself to help cultivate the next crop of stock-car prodigies, fielding JR Motorsports’ four-car effort in the NASCAR XFINITY Series as a developmental program for next-gen stars. Among those is 19-year-old William Byron, a product of the NASCAR Next youth initiative and a top prospect for success at the sport’s highest level.



It’s why team owner Rick Hendrick was quick to echo Earnhardt’s sentiment.



"I’ve never seen so much young talent," the 67-year-old team owner said. "I can remember when the question was all of our drivers are in their 40s or they’re going to be, what are we going to do when they retire? I think we’ve got the answer. They’re here, they’re young, they’re aggressive, they’re fun."


RELATED: Hendrick: Dale Jr. is ‘like a son’ to me


The current group of 20-somethings — or younger — includes a diverse group of Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates in the Monster Energy Series. Erik Jones, 20, was the first to throw his hat into the rookie race with a full-time jump hitched to a newly expanded Furniture Row Racing operation. Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez, both 25, followed with their offseason announcements.



Their task now: To become better acquainted with fans who have long-running associations of support for Gordon, Stewart, Edwards and Earnhardt. Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, said that transition and exposure to a broader stage will come in time.



"It’s something that evolves," O’Donnell said. "That’s you getting to know them more, them being in Victory Lane more. People like winners. … As they win and compete for top fives and are exposed more, we have no doubt that people will see their personalities and then it’ll be up to them as well to take those personalities outside the sport also."


Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Race lineup | Monday schedule

 

When the skies clear and the green flag drops today (1 p.m. ET, FOX), Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will face a different type of Bristol.

 

Pounded by rain over the past 24 hours, all of the rubber that accumulated onto the track, giving it grip, has been washed away. All of the resin-based VHT applied to the bottom of the track in an attempt to create a full-blown groove on the bottom? Who knows?

 

What we do know: Some drivers and teams will adapt better than others.

 

We studied the results of last year’s four races that were delayed a day due to rain — both Pocono races, the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Bristol Night Race, which ran Sunday afternoon rather than the typical Saturday night. Some drivers excelled a day later more than others.

 

With those results in mind, here are our six drivers to monitor today as you watch the race on FOX or as you make final tweaks to your Fantasy Live lineup. | Full fantasy preview here

 

RELATED: Fantasy Live homepage

 

1. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing. He tops the list because of his win last year at Bristol in a rain-delayed race run the following day in overcast conditions … the exact forecast for Monday, as it turns out. Harvick also notched a fourth and a ninth at Pocono. He is one of just three drivers who finished in the top 10 in three of the four delayed races from 2016.

 

2. Brad Keselowski, Team Penske. Two top-five finishes at Pocono plus a seventh at Charlotte in the fall equal a team that understands how to adapt to ever-changing conditions. Crew chief Paul Wolfe is one of the sport’s best strategists.

 

3. Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing. In addition to winning Pocono last year in the summer, Busch finished 10th at Pocono in August and eighth at Charlotte. Given his Bristol history and a veteran crew chief in Tony Gibson who’s done this delayed race thing a time or two, this year’s Daytona 500 champ makes the list.

RELATED: Go deeper on driver stats

4. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch finished in the top 10 in two of last year’s four postponed races — sixth at Charlotte and ninth at Pocono-2. We’re giving him additional credit for his Bristol performance last year, though, where he led 256 of 500 laps but had to take his car to the garage with a broken suspension.

 

5. Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne’s top-10 performances in last year’s delayed races came at the bigger tracks (Charlotte, Pocono), but they were strong finishes — third and sixth, respectively. Plus, his 10-consecutive lap averages during Saturday’s practices were among the best in the field.

 

6. Chris Buescher, JTG Daugherty Racing. Yes, a wild card. Buescher’s Pocono-2 win was based off great strategy and intuition, but don’t discount that he finished fifth at Bristol while driving for Front Row Motorsports.