The 37-year-old divorced father's Twitter feed and Instagram account were a loving tribute to 5-year-old Charlie Dean, his only child. There were photos of the first day of school, the two eating ice cream together, playing on the floor, hanging out at a race track, wearing matching sunglasses and, last month, Charlie's kindergarten graduation. "Jason Leffler was a good buddy of mine and it's neat to see how the racing world and the fans and his friends and everybody has supported him for the last four or five days," Kahne said. On Monday, Leffler's girlfriend, brother and representatives at Spire Sports discussed his financial situation to clear up growing misconceptions and rumors about the estate he left behind for Charlie. [...] it's not that simple and some believe that was a deliberate attempt to solicit donations to an account that had been established for both Charlie and Leffler's ex-wife. The reality is that disability and life insurance for race car drivers are expensive and difficult to get — usually issued only by Lloyds of London — and the premiums are substantial. Leffler's last full Nationwide season was in 2011, and he'd run just 12 NASCAR races in 2012. [...] Leffler still invested specifically with his son in mind, his loved ones say, and took steps to ensure his son would be cared for before his death and in the event of his death. Leffler, Charlie and Patterson had planned to move into a new apartment this weekend, and Charlie had been so excited for his new bed and the flags that were going to be hung in his new room.

Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had promising rides derailed by car problems, and Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon's shot at winning at Michigan International Speedway ended less than 10 laps in because of a crash. Throw in a cut tire that left Kasey Kahne 38th, and none of the racing giant's four entries cracked the top 25. Greg Biffle took the lead after a late restart and pulled away for his first Sprint Cup victory of the season and second straight at MIS. Johnson, whose points lead shrunk to 31 points after he finished 28th, was chasing Biffle in the closing laps, but a tire gave way. Earnhardt led for 34 laps, but a blown cylinder took him out of contention.

The tribute paint scheme was Hamlin's idea and approved by Joe Gibbs Racing and sponsor FedEx following Leffler's death Wednesday in an accident at a dirt track in New Jersey. Leffler drove 19 Sprint Cup Series in 2005 with JGR as it launched the No. 11 as its third team, and FedEx Senior Vice President of Marketing Laurie Tucker hailed him as "an integral part of the formation of the No. 11 team." J.J. Yeley drove the car for four races that season and Hamlin closed out the year behind the wheel for the final seven events.

(AP) — It took Will Power nine races to finally grab his first podium finish of the IndyCar season. An aberration for a road and street course specialist? In the past years it's always been something really unusual that's happened to me on ovals whenever I'm in a good position. Mired in a 20-race losing streak dating back to Brazil last season, the Penske Racing driver said Saturday there's "not as much expectation" on him to win these days. Power heads into next Sunday's race at Iowa — another oval — ranked 11th in the IndyCar standings.

Whenever NASCAR's top series comes to Michigan, Earnhardt is at the center of attention. [...] concussion problems derailed his chances in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and although he began 2013 with five straight top-10 finishes and briefly led the points standings, he's slipped to fourth since then. Earnhardt took a step in the right direction with a third-place showing at Pocono last weekend, but the pressure is mounting for him to take advantage of a return to Michigan. There are no bumps or bad transitions, there is nothing really that you are out there fighting or worried about or dreading. Jimmie Johnson has never won a Cup race at MIS, but he enters Sunday's 400-mile race leading the standings by 51 points over Carl Edwards. Johnson has three victories already this year, and another spot in the Chase looks like a formality. Earnhardt qualified 12th, and defending Cup champion Brad Keselowski was 16th, one spot ahead of Johnson. [...] even though that long losing streak is a thing of the past, Earnhardt realizes the pressure to win never really subsides — especially for a driver whose performance over the last couple years has raised expectations.