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How Dale Earnhardt’s iconic ‘Taz’ Looney Tunes paint scheme returned to the track

2025-08-04T15:11:22-04:00

DAYTONA BEACH, FL — February 20, 2000: Dale Earnhardt (No. 3) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (No. 8) race each other during the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. The younger Earnhardt finished in 13th position, while his dad took home a 2ist place showing. | Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

In the zMAX CARS Tour, the Taz car made its return to the track 25 years after its NASCAR debut in the Daytona 500.

HICKORY, N.C. — He didn’t win in it, but every NASCAR fan remembers Dale Earnhardt’s day-glo red paint scheme that featured Taz from the Looney Tunes.

For the 2000 Daytona 500, Earnhardt’s team ditched his traditional black Goodwrench Plus scheme, painted the car red and slapped Taz on the hood of his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The popular and erratic cartoon character was part of a GM Goodwrench ad campaign at the time. A trailblazer in NASCAR merchandising, there were soon Earnhardt hats and diecasts featuring Taz that his loyal fans flocked to.

The seven-time Winston Cup champion drove well in the Taz car at Daytona that day, running in fourth with about 30 laps to go and even traded some red paint with his son in the rookie’s Budweiser No. 8. But an incident with Jimmy Spencer with about 10 laps to go pushed the Intimidator to the middle of the pack and Earnhardt wound up finishing 21st. The Taz body was cut off Chassis No. 58 and the toy company Hasbro acquired it, chopped it up into little pieces, and included those parts in the Winner’s Circle diecasts that were sold.

Earnhardt died a year later, tragically at the 2001 Daytona 500 in a wreck that changed the sport, and the Taz car was never seen again.

Until this past weekend.

The zMAX CARS Tour — a late model stock car touring series that is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. — held one of its biggest races of the season this past weekend at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway in western North Carolina. The Throwback Classic, billed as the “biggest night in pavement late model racing history,” boasted the richest purse ever for the CARS Tour: $50,000 for the winner of the late model stock race and $30,000 for the winner of the pro late model race.

And the extra layer of coolness and nostalgia to the event is that drivers were encouraged to honor past legends of the sport and memorable cars with throwback paint schemes. For example, Conner Jones drove a white No. 48 car with a Lowe’s ad on it as a nod to Jimmie Johnson. Blayne Harrison and Dawson Sutton both had Darrell Waltrip schemes on their cars. There were also tributes to Jeff Gordon, Alan Kulwicki, Rusty Wallace, David Pearson and Steve Park, among others.

Doug Barnes Jr. always knew that if he got the opportunity to compete in this race, there was only one scheme he wanted his car to have: the Taz.

“I’ve watched this race and seen everyone else’s throwbacks, and I said, ‘If I’m going to do one, I’m going to do the Tasmanian Devil car.’ It’s been on the top of my list. Then we went to (the Dominion Raceway in Virginia) a couple weeks ago and changed the car to red, so then it was cheaper to do it that way,” Barnes told SB Nation. “That’s just been my favorite car ever.”

So, there the Taz was this weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway. The race got pushed to Sunday because of rain, but Barnes ran well in it, finishing fifth in the late model stock competition.

Taz WILL see the track tonight for the @CARSTour race at Hickory Motor Speedway! pic.twitter.com/FXR6WKkEvY
— Doug Barnes Jr (@DougBarnesJr88) August 3, 2025

Looks even better in person ‍ ‍ ‍ pic.twitter.com/BNELXCzYFm
— Doug Barnes Jr (@DougBarnesJr88) July 30, 2025

A 27-year-old from Harford County, Maryland that drives for Lee Pulliam Performance, Barnes doesn’t have a lot of memories of watching Earnhardt race when he was a kid, but became a fan through the merchandise.

“I don’t know if it was the diecasts that turned me on to them, but I could tell you all of Dale Earnhardt’s paint schemes,” Barnes said. “I had my favorites, and always been a fan of Junior too.”

If there were any loopholes to go through to run in a racecar with a Earnhardt paint scheme, Barnes wasn’t aware of them.

“Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” Barnes said with a laugh. “I did text it to Dale Jr., and he said it looked cool. When I texted it to him, it was already halfway wrapped, so, it was kind of at the point that there was no going back. I had seen people do Earnhardt schemes in the past, so I didn’t figure I was going to be breaking any laws. It turned out great. Everybody liked it, Junior liked it — I hope he thought it was cool, throwing it back to his dad. I think a lot about them. Happy we could pull it together.”

For Barnes, the fifth-place finish was his third top-five of the year in the CARS Tour and seventh in the top-10 out of 10 races.

This time, the Taz car won’t be chopped up into little collectibles for a toy company. However, Barnes said he plans to cut the door off and have his team and crew sign it before hanging it in his garage in Florida.

Fantasy football takeaways from rookie performances at the 2025 Hall of Fame Game

2025-08-04T13:59:06-04:00

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rookies got their first NFL snaps in Thursday’s preseason opener between the Chargers and Lions. Nick Simon breaks down the rookie performers.

The 2025 NFL preseason officially got underway last Thursday with the Los Angeles Chargers hammering the Detroit Lions 34-7 in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

To no surprise, fantasy football standouts like Jahmyr Gibbs and Justin Herbert did not suit up as both Dan Campbell and Jim Harbaugh opted to sit most of their respective starters for this early exhibition. Instead, backups like Trey Lance got their chance to showcase themselves as the August 26 roster cutdown date looms large.

The game also allowed for a handful of rookies to get their first taste of action in the National Football League, some being featured prominently throughout the night. While their usage in this game won’t provide a full picture of how they’ll be used in the regular season, they could provide some early clues for curious fantasy managers as draft season unfolds.

Let’s see what we learned about fantasy rookies for the Chargers and Lions in the Hall of Fame Game.

Omarion Hampton, RB, LAC

The rookie running back out of North Carolina got the start for the Chargers, logging two carries for nine yards on the team’s opening drive before being shut down for the rest of the evening. According to Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus, he also ran two routes during his brief time on the field.

As the Chargers’ first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft this past April, Hampton has been shooting up fantasy draft boards with good reason. Harbaugh’s M.O. throughout his career has been establishing a strong ground attack with physical running backs and at 220 pounds, the rookie fits that mold well.

Hampton has also been getting a bunch of run in training camp due to the absence of veteran offseason signing Najee Harris, who has been sidelined with an eye injury due to a fireworks accident on July 4th. Him getting the start over Kimani Vidal is an indicator of the staff’s trust in the rookie and there’s a strong chance that he could assume that role again against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

While it is too early outright to declare Hampton RB1 in L.A., the rookie back could cement himself as such by the end of camp and justify the preseason fantasy hype.

Isaac TeSlaa, WR, DET

Dan Campbell has had an excellent draft record since taking over as Lions head coach and TeSlaa may be his latest hidden gem. The third-round wideout out of Arkansas got significant burn during the Hall of Fame Game, logging 32 snaps with two receptions for 46 yards.

At 6’4” with a 4.43 40-yard dash time, one can see why he’s generating buzz in Lions training camp. The presence of established names like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams will make it difficult for him to get significant looks early on, his reps as a special teams gunner in the exhibition may indicate Campbell’s willingness to get him on the field in whatever capacity. Keep tabs on him throughout the month.

Tre’ Harris, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, WR, LAC

Another pair of rookies that made their debut for the Bolts were wideouts Lambert and Harris, who both logged a handful of snaps in the victory. The former was targeted just once in the exhibition while the latter stood out in his short time on the field, making an impressive 24-yard reception before finding the endzone in the second quarter.

The Chargers are looking to solidify their receiver depth behind Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston, opening the door for both fifth-round rookies to see action during the regular season. While they may not offer up much value in redraft leagues just yet, dynasty managers should keep them on their radars as potential late-round sleepers that they can stash away.

Oronde Gadsden II, TE, LAC

The Chargers have a pair of veteran tight ends in Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly, the latter of whom caught a touchdown in the preseason opener while the former sat. But don’t sleep on the rookie Gadsden, who started alongside Dissly in the contest.

The son of the former Miami Dolphins receiver had just one target for seven yards but as PFF pointed out, he was on the field for the Chargers’ only snap in a non-goal line, 11 personnel grouping. We’ll see if that was just a coincidence or an indicator that the rookie will be L.A.’s top tight end receiving target.

Caleb Williams had the worst weekend in the NFL

2025-08-04T13:15:37-04:00

Welp.

Coaches around the NFL will tell you that training camp is the time for mistakes, but Caleb Williams really stretched that adage over the weekend. Two videos of Williams went viral, as the second-year QB had some absolutely horrendous passes.

The first came during a drill in which the Bears’ QBs worked against a throwing net in a target drill. Williams somehow managed to miss every target from 10 yards away, then miss the net all together on his final pass.

pic.twitter.com/2aEZWWbo0T
— SendDaVideo (@SendDaVideo) August 3, 2025

Williams was noticeably annoyed with himself, and understandably so. This isn’t exactly the kind of thing that makes fans feel confident in a QB they’re banking their entire future on, in a year where Chicago is expected to make a major jump in the NFC North with an upgraded offensive line.

As bad as this clip was, things went worse at fan night as Williams scrambled under duress before throwing up a duck that was easily picked off.

Bro........ pic.twitter.com/OJjzwwpHlo
— CNGPODCAST (@GuyWalk91815793) August 3, 2025

In total Williams went 5-for-17 with three interceptions in his reps in front of fans. Hardly the kind of outing we hoped to see. Now, there are two ways to view this, and neither is particularly incorrect:

This is training camp, where plays are being installed and things are designed to look rough
This is a very bad look for Caleb Williams

The biggest risk in hiring Ben Johnson is that while he’s a brilliant coach, he was a structure-based coordinator now having to work with Williams, a QB who thrives out of structure and improvising a broken plays. It was a bit of a weird fit from the outset, and the worry is going to be that the two just won’t mesh as a head coach and franchise QB.

So it’s okay to be worried about clips like this, while also acknowledging that training camp is made for looking bad — and it’s totally fine to struggle.

What we learned about fantasy football sleepers in the 2025 Hall of Fame Game

2025-08-04T11:28:01-04:00

Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images

The first preseason game is a wrap. Chet Gresham breaks down what we learned for fantasy football purposes.

The first game of the burgeoning 2025 season is in the books, as the Los Angeles Chargers thumped the Detroit Lions 34-7 in the Hall of Fame Game. A Harbaugh-led team in the preseason, be it Jim or John, enjoys winning meaningless games. But unless you bet on this one, you’re more interested in how individuals played, especially those possible fantasy football sleepers.

Omarion Hampton – LAC, running back

The rookie rusher didn’t have much opportunity to show his skills Thursday night, but he did get the start and two carries on the first drive, showing he is currently in the lead for the regular season starting job. That news isn’t surprising, as he is their first round pick and free agency acquisition Najee Harris still hasn’t been able to practice due to an eye injury suffered during a fireworks accident in the offseason.

Hampton is shooting up draft boards as Harris continues to miss time. If he can win the bulk of the work, he’ll be in a good situation to be a strong fantasy back in a run-oriented offense with a strong offensive line. And even if Harris does get back soon, Hampton still has a reasonable chance to hold onto that job. Go with the younger back in this situation until further notice.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith – LAC, wide receiver

Lambert-Smith and Tre Harris are two rookie receivers brought in to help shore up a wide receiver group that has weak depth. On Thursday, both players got starts as Ladd McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Jalen Reagor rested. Harris didn’t do much, but Lambert-Smith made an outstanding 24-yard reception to set himself apart for the night.

He has some sleeper appeal, as Reagor is the main receiver he needs to beat out to be poised for playing time at the X position. But in redraft, he’s still very much a wait to see option. If he can build off this game, he could start getting some real buzz as we close in on fantasy draft season.

Tyler Conklin, Will Dissly, Oronde Gadsden – LAC, tight ends

Dissly was the primary tight end last season, finishing 26th in PPR points per game for the position. The Chargers kept Dissly around, but did add veteran Conklin from the Jets and rookie Gadsden in the fifth round of the draft..

In this first preseason game, Conklin got the day off, while Dissly and Gadsden were the primary offensive tight ends to start. And per Pro Football Focus, Gadsden was in the game during their one non-goal line, 11-man personnel group. That shows that Gadsden might be ahead of Dissly or at least competing with him for snaps.

We know what Conklin can do. He’s reliable and as the primary tight end, he can have some fantasy appeal depending on matchup. But Gadsden has more potential to be a true weapon on offense. He’s the lottery pick at this point, especially if you’re in two-tight end leagues.

Lions offensive players

The Lions starters all sat and even some backups did not play. We also know that their starters, for the most part, are all reliable fantasy players. Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta are all strong draft picks this year. Unless the Lions get stung hard by the injury bug, there aren’t many players you can call sleepers on this team.

Overall, this is just the beginning of preseason and we still have plenty to learn over this next month. But, we can feel good about Hampton right now, while keeping a closer eye on on Gadsden and Lambert-Smith as we move forward

Jeeno Thitikul is the new number 1 in Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings

2025-08-04T11:00:00-04:00

Photo by Cameron Smith/R&A/R&A via Getty Images

Jeeno Thitikul is the new number one golfer in the world.

The final major championship of the season concluded for the LPGA Tour on Sunday and it was Miyu Yamashita who took home the Women’s British Open to tie a bow on it all.

This season brought with it a number of incredible moments on the LPGA Tour and one of them was without question Jeeno Thitikul winning the Mizuho Americas Open. Thitikul had a stable season on Tour and her consistent play saw her finish T30 at Royal Porthcawl.

Everything to this point has been good enough to vault Thitikul to number 1on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. She is the new top player in the world.

From the LPGA:

For the second time in her career, Jeeno Thitikul has reached No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Thanks to her tie for 30th at the AIG Women’s Open, Thitikul moved one spot on the Rolex Rankings, passing Nelly Korda, who had held the top spot since March 25, 2024.

Thitikul first ascended to the top of the Rolex Rankings on Oct. 31, 2022, and held the position for two weeks. She is the second Thai player to reach Rolex Rankings No. 1, along with Ariya Jutanugarn.

“I am very grateful to become the No. 1 player in the world for the second time. This is not just about me – this is about my family, my team and my friends, not to mention the amazing support I feel from my fans in Thailand and all around the world,” said Thitikul. “There are so many incredible golfers competing every week and I will work my hardest to make sure I am a strong representative of our game.”

Overall, Jeeno has eight top-10 finishes this season which is the most of anyone on Tour. While she did not win a major herself she has every reason to be enormously proud of the season that she has had.

As noted Nelly Korda held the post of number 1 player in the world since late March of last year. Nelly had an incredible 2024 season unlike just about anything of us have ever seen before, but she has yet to record a win in 2025.

Congratulations to Jeeno Thitikul.

Brock Lesnar’s WWE return is absolutely disgusting

2025-08-04T10:39:03-04:00

Lesnar’s WWE return is proof Triple H and Vince McMahon are cut from the same cloth.

Warning: This piece contains explicit details of sexual abuse.

Brock Lesnar made his return to WWE on Sunday night, confronting John Cena to close out Summerslam in one of the most disgusting decisions the wrestling giant has made in recent years. It underscores that when it comes to Triple H, the apple doesn’t fall far from Vince McMahon’s tree.

The 48-year-old former WWE and UFC champion hadn’t appeared on programming since 2023, which began as a planned hiatus and transitioned to something completely different. Lesnar was named as a key figure in ongoing lawsuit against WWE by formed employee Janel Grant in January of 2024, but that didn’t stop fans from blowing the roof off MetLife Stadium when Lesnar returned.

BROCK. LESNAR. IS. BACK.
HERE COMES THE PAIN! pic.twitter.com/uR2z9RVoZu
— WWE (@WWE) August 4, 2025

This was the gross crescendo in a shameful 10 days by WWE. Leading up to Summerslam the company forced talent to celebrate the life of Hulk Hogan on live programming, regardless of their personal wishes. The realty show WWE Unreal launched, which veteran wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer saying the show is an orchestrated move to de-emphasize the performers inside WWE, and boost Triple H into a Dana White-esque figure as the focus of the company. Finally WWE ceased all post-event press conferences for independent media, instead saying they would handle their own post-event content — fundamentally pivoting away from the free press into organized propaganda.

After Lesnar appeared at Summerslam the move to cancel press conferences made perfect sense.

Lesnar isn’t just mentioned in Grant v. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc — he’s a key figure. The initial complaint referred to him simply as a “WWE wrestler and former UFC fighter,” but was revised in January of 2025 to name Lesnar directly. This suit alleges that Grant, a WWE employee at the time, was a victim of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and sexually trafficked inside the company.

Grant alleges that she was used as a bargaining chip to try and entice Lesnar to sign a new contract with WWE, with her being objectified as a perk of a new contract. Furthermore, that McMahon organized numerous occasions where Grant was coerced into having a sexual relationship with Lesnar, and trafficked to various states to meet him during their negotiations.

The suit goes on to say that Lesnar explicitly understood that McMahon was using Grant as a bargaining chip, and that Grant was at Lesnar’s beck and call to supply him with sexually explicit photos and videos as he demanded them, in addition to being trafficked to have sex with him. The suit notes on one occasion Grant made Lesnar mad by not supplying him with video of her urinating on demand. Lesnar allegedly said he’d “lost interest with her,” and referred to Grant as a “bitch,” when she didn’t comply with his request.

Lesnar is mentioned a total of 44 times in the lawsuit. This is the man Triple H and WWE brought back on Sunday night. This is the man the company is championing. This is the man who figures into the future of their main event scene.

The Beast is back. #SummerSlam https://t.co/e5xMasT6pO
— Triple H (@TripleH) August 4, 2025

In the wake of the lawsuit Lesnar was removed from various WWE plans. In January of 2024 the company pivoted away from Lesnar returning at the Royal Rumble. He was removed from the WWE Supercard and WWE 2K24 video games. Finally Lesnar’s image was removed from the intro to WWE programming. It was clear the company wanted to distance itself from Lesnar, and this was before he was directly named in the lawsuit and only just referred to.

Fast forward a year and WWE is trying to make everyone forget. They want a cheap pop and another boring Lesnar vs. Cena storyline which has been run into the ground. This is the most Vince McMahon move of Triple H’s tenure in having creative control, but beyond the penchant for trotting out old stars is the absolutely reprehensible nature of pretending the lawsuit doesn’t exist. The suit alleges that Grant was a woman in a difficult financial situation, wracked by grief after her parents passed away — and that McMahon preyed on that weakness to turn her into a sex servant for himself, Lesnar, and other WWE employees.

It should be noted that Grant has supplied dozens of text messages from McMahon and others as part of her evidence against the WWE employees, and all appear to support her version of events.

Yes, the lawsuit is still ongoing and has yet to be ruled on. There are no criminal charges being pursued against Lesnar at this time. However, there is a chasm of difference between someone not being found guilty in court, and championed as a cornerstone of a wrestling company which focuses on marketing to children and boasts a TV-PG rating on Netflix — which suggests it’s suitable for children 10+, and even younger with parental guidance.

The decision to bring back Lesnar, paired with WWE ceasing independent journalism after major shows is proof positive that the company knew this was a grotesque move, but doesn’t care, and instead wants to control the message, rather than hear any criticism. WWE is banking on its broadcast partners and wider audience from not knowing about the Grant suit, Lesnar’s role, and instead accept that fans cheering justify their decision.

WWE has always moved in eras. The Golden Era, The New Generation, The Attitude Era — now they can usher in a new one: The DGAF Era, where people can be accused of the most horrific acts imaginable, and there’s no reprisal — as long as it caters to the whims of Triple H.

Any hopes of turning over a new leaf from Vince McMahon are now gone. Triple H is cut from the same cloth, and could be much worse.

Cameron Young earned his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship

2025-08-04T10:00:00-04:00

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Cameron Young finally broke through for his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham.

Cameron Young is a PGA Tour winner. At long last!

Last week’s Wyndham Championship marked the 94th start of Cameron Young’s career and for so much of it people have wondered whether or not he would ever break through and lift a trophy. All of those conversations are over as he is officially a PGA Tour winner and an emphatic one at that. Young posted a score of 22-under and won by six full strokes.

"I've been waiting for it for a while. I never thought I'd really be that emotional about it."

An emotional breakthrough victory for Cameron Young ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mf0hpA3kyn
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 3, 2025

Cameron entered the Wyndham with seven runner-up finishes over the course of his career which was the most for a PGA Tour player without a win since 1983. It has to feel good for him to no longer be associated with records and statistics like these. He began Sunday’s final round with a five-stroke lead so the win seemed fairly inevitable, but you have to imagine he was nervous given that he had never fully sealed the door before.

Young had a bit of fun in this regard after he officially won the tournament. Good for him.

"Where do I go? I've never done this before." pic.twitter.com/jRzcBtrjly
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 3, 2025

The Wyndham officially capped the regular season for the PGA Tour and next week will officially bring the FedExCup Playoffs. It should be noted that the final regular season event ended in particularly flamboyant style, not just because Cameron won after a career of coming ever so close.

You see, for the last few weeks golf fans have been waiting for the next unique winner on Tour (as in someone who had never won before). This is/was the case because PGA Tour history was sitting on 999 unique winners. Cameron Young had never won before Sunday. That makes him Mr. 1,000!

Meet Mr. 1,000

Cameron Young becomes the 1,000th first-time winner on TOUR. pic.twitter.com/9U3S17kDiO
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 3, 2025

Talk about a way to close the book on the 2025 regular season!

Miyu Yamashita wins 2025 AIG Women’s Open, becomes sixth major champion from Japan

2025-08-04T08:00:00-04:00

Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images

Miyu Yamashita took home the AIG Women’s Open.

Miyu Yamashita was the last golfer left standing at Royal Porthcawl over the weekend and officially won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open.

Yamashita first turned professional back in 2021 and the victory at Royal Porthcawl was her first on Tour. You have to believe that it felt pretty sweet after four years of service.

Adding her first LPGA Tour trophy to the collection pic.twitter.com/LHl1EEBu9w
— LPGA (@LPGA) August 3, 2025

Miyu is the sixth major champion to hail from Japan and amazingly the fourth over the last two years. Interestingly she is only the second Japanese player to win this specific tournament as Hinako Shibuno was the other.

On the subject of Japense players there have been several to record victories on the LPGA Tour this season outside of Miyu. Mao Saigo and Chisato Iwai are the other two to record victories this year with the former winning another major in the Chevron Championship and the latter the Mexico Riviera Maya Open.

With the AIG Women’s Open now over the major championship season for the LPGA has officially come to a close. What a ride 2025 was for all of the players.