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NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

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NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule
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NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

2024-07-30 23:39 Last Updated At:23:40

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NASCAR CUP SERIES

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The checkered flag is waved as Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, right, crosses the finish line to take first place followed by second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, center, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt, Pool Photo via AP)

The checkered flag is waved as Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, right, crosses the finish line to take first place followed by second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, center, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt, Pool Photo via AP)

First place, Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, center, celebrates on the podium with second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

First place, Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, center, celebrates on the podium with second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

Kyle Larson, front left, walks with Rick Hendric, front right, after Larson won a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Kyle Larson, front left, walks with Rick Hendric, front right, after Larson won a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

NASCAR, which had last weekend off, has another free week for the Olympics before resuming at Richmond on Aug. 11.

Fast facts: 2021 Cup Series champion Kyle Larson got to “Kiss The Bricks” at Indianapolis after winning there on July 21. ... There are four races left in NASCAR’s regular season with Michigan, Daytona and Darlington coming after the run at Richmond. ... Larson leads the NASCAR standings with 2,043 points, 15 ahead of Denny Hamlin. Christopher Bell is third and Larson's Henrick Motorsports teammate William Byron is fourth. ... It has not been a good break for Corey Lajoie, who announced he's leaving Spire Motorsports. No word yet on his replacement. ... Lajoie had signed a multi-year contract extension to stay with Spire last year.

Next race: Aug. 11, Richmond, Virginia.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

The Xfinity Series has two more weekends free before racing at Michigan on Aug. 17.

Fast facts: Stewart-Haas Racing has a lot of momentum, winning the previous two Xfinity races before the month-long break. Cole Custer won at Pocono on July 13 as the defending series champ ended his winless drought this season. Teammate Riley Herbst won at Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 20. ... Custer continues to lead the series with a 55-point edge of Justin Allgaier. ... There are six more races left in the Xfinity regular season. After Michigan, comes Daytona, Darlington, Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Bristol. The 12-driver playoff starts at Kansas on Sept. 28.

Next race: Aug. 17, Brooklyn, Michigan.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

The Truck Series is also off until Richmond, returning to the track on Aug. 10.

Fast Facts: Richmond is the final race of the regular season with the playoffs starting at the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 25. ... Christian Eckes leads the driver standings by 50 points over Corey Heim, even though Heim has five victories this season to Eckes' three. ... Five drivers (Eckes, Heim, Nick Sanchez, Ty Majeski, Rajah Caruth) have clinched playoff spots through wins. ... Two more drivers, Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger, have enough points to lock up their spots.

Next race: Aug. 10, Richmond, Virginia.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

F1 is off for most of August, returning with the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug. 25.

Last race: Lewis Hamilton took the Belgian Grand Prix last Sunday when Mercedes teammate George Russell was disqualified after crossing the line first for an underweight car. Mercedes acknowledged a “genuine error” by the team. Russell had held off Hamilton, despite the past series champion coming close to passing for the lead over the final laps. Oscar Piastri had finished third behind Russell and Hamilton, but was moved up to second. Fourth-place Charles Leclerc was declared third after the disqualification.

Fast facts: Series leader Max Verstappen missed out on the podium despite moving from fifth to fourth after Russell's DQ. Verstappen has not won since taking the last of seven victories this season in Spain on June 23. ... Verstappen’s drought has not dented his championship chances as he heads into Belgium with a 76-point lead over McLaren driver Lando Norris. Leclerc sits in third, 97 points behind Verstappen. ... Hamilton, who had earned his 200th career top-three finish in Hungary two weeks ago, followed that with his record 105th F1 win.

Next race: Aug. 25, Zandvoort, Netherlands.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

IndyCar is also off for the Olympics, returning in mid-August from its last race on July 21.

Fast facts: Only five races remain in the IndyCar season. After visiting World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis in two weeks, the series runs in Portland, Oregon, and then two races at the Milwaukee Mile before finishing up at the Nashville Superspeedway on Sept. 15. ... Alex Palou has a 49-point lead over Will Power. Scott Dixon is in third, four points behind Power.

Next race: Aug. 16, Madison, Illinois.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

Drag racing's top series takes the next two weeks off before returning with the NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Last event: Antron Brown won in Top Fuel and Bob Tasca III won in Funny Car at Sonoma, California, on July 28.

Fast facts: Brown defeated Brittany Force in the semifinals before besting three-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers champion Tony Stewart in the finals. ... Force was back on the track after her father, 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, had improved after his horrific accident on June 23 in Virginia and was transferred to continue his recovery closer to home. ... Doug Kalitta has a 125-point lead over Shawn Langdon in the Top Fuel race while Austin Prock leads the Funny Car standings by 211 points over Tasca.

Next event: Aug. 15-18, Brainerd, Minnesota.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Last events: David Gravel won weekend events at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and Weedsport, New York, to win his 100th and 101st sprint car titles on Saturday and Sunday. Gravel missed his first chance at triple digits on Friday night in Pennsylvania, losing to T.J. Stutts before taking the checkered flag in the next two races.

Fast facts: Gravel became the eighth World of Outlaws driver to reach triple-digit victories. ... After racing in Missouri this weekend, the series heads to Knoxville, Iowa, for four events. ... Gravel has 13 wins, 31 top fives and 37 top 10s this season, all leading totals. ... Gravel tops the points standing, up 110 points over Donny Schatz. Carson Macedo is third, 142 points behind Gravel.

Next events: Friday and Saturday at Pevely, Missouri.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The checkered flag is waved as Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, right, crosses the finish line to take first place followed by second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, center, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt, Pool Photo via AP)

The checkered flag is waved as Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, right, crosses the finish line to take first place followed by second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, center, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (Simon Wohlfahrt, Pool Photo via AP)

First place, Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, center, celebrates on the podium with second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

First place, Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain, center, celebrates on the podium with second place Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, left, and third place McLaren driver Oscar Piastri of Australia during the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa, Belgium, Sunday, July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

Kyle Larson, front left, walks with Rick Hendric, front right, after Larson won a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Kyle Larson, front left, walks with Rick Hendric, front right, after Larson won a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, July 21, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 all off during Olympics in light, mid-summer motorsports schedule

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing the United States to again withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement, dealing a blow to worldwide efforts to combat global warming and once again distancing the U.S. from its closest allies.

Trump's action, hours after he was sworn in to a second term, echoed his directive in 2017, when he announced that the U.S. would abandon the global Paris accord. The pact is aimed at limiting long-term global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels or, failing that, keeping temperatures at least well below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) above pre-industrial levels.

Trump also signed a letter to the United Nations indicating his intention to withdraw from the 2015 agreement, which allows nations to provide targets to cut their own emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Those targets are supposed to become more stringent over time, with countries facing a February 2025 deadline for new individual plans. The outgoing Biden administration last month offered a plan to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% by 2035.

Trump's order says the Paris accord is among a number of international agreements that don't reflect U.S. values and “steer American taxpayer dollars to countries that do not require, or merit, financial assistance in the interests of the American people."

Instead of joining a global agreement, “the United States’ successful track record of advancing both economic and environmental objectives should be a model for other countries,'' Trump said.

Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation and a key architect of the Paris accord, called the planned U.S. withdrawal unfortunate but said action to slow climate change “is stronger than any single country’s politics and policies."

The global context for Trump's action is “very different to 2017,'' Tubiana said Monday, adding that “there is unstoppable economic momentum behind the global transition, which the U.S has gained from and led but now risks forfeiting."

The International Energy Agency expects the global market for key clean energy technologies to triple to more than $2 trillion by 2035, she said.

“The impacts of the climate crisis are also worsening. The terrible wildfires in Los Angeles are the latest reminder that Americans, like everyone else, are affected by worsening climate change,” Tubiana said.

Gina McCarthy, who served as White House climate adviser under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, said that if Trump, a Republican, “truly wants America to lead the global economy, become energy independent and create good-paying American jobs," then he must “stay focused on growing our clean energy industry. Clean technologies are driving down energy costs for people all across our country."

The world is now long-term 2.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.3 degrees Celsius) above mid-1800s temperatures. Most but not all climate monitoring agencies said global temperatures last year passed the warming mark of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and all said it was the warmest year on record.

The withdrawal process from the Paris accord takes one year. Trump’s previous withdrawal took effect the day after the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Biden.

While the first Trump-led withdrawal from the landmark U.N. agreement — adopted by 196 nations — shocked and angered nations across the globe, “not a single country followed the U.S. out the door,” said Alden Meyer, a longtime climate negotiations analyst with the European think tank E3G.

Instead, other nations renewed their commitment to slowing climate change, along with investors, businesses, governors, mayors and others in the U.S., Meyer and other experts said.

Still, they lamented the loss of U.S. leadership in global efforts to slow climate change, even as the world is on track to set yet another record hot year and has been lurching from drought to hurricane to flood to wildfire.

“Clearly America is not going to play the commanding role in helping solve the climate crisis, the greatest dilemma humans have ever encountered,″ said climate activist and writer Bill McKibben. “For the next few years the best we can hope is that Washington won’t manage to wreck the efforts of others.”

About half of Americans “somewhat” or “strongly” oppose U.S. action to withdraw from the climate accord, and even Republicans aren’t overwhelmingly in favor, according according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults “somewhat” or “strongly” in favor of withdrawing from the Paris agreement, while about one-quarter are neutral.

Much of the opposition to U.S. withdrawal comes from Democrats, but Republicans display some ambivalence as well. Slightly less than half of Republicans are in favor of withdrawing from the climate accord, while about 2 in 10 are opposed.

China several years ago passed the United States as the world's largest annual carbon dioxide emitting nation. The U.S. — the second biggest annual carbon polluting country — put 4.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide in the air in 2023, down 11% from a decade earlier, according to the scientists who track emissions for the Global Carbon Project.

But carbon dioxide lasts in the atmosphere for centuries, so the United States has put more of the heat-trapping gas that is now in the air than any other nation. The U.S. is responsible for nearly 22% of the carbon dioxide put in the atmosphere since 1950, according to Global Carbon Project.

While global efforts to fight climate change continued during Trump's first term, many experts worry that a second Trump term will be more damaging, with the United States withdrawing even further from climate efforts in a way that could cripple future presidents’ efforts. With Trump, who has dismissed climate change, in charge of the world’s leading economy, those experts fear other countries, especially China, could use it as an excuse to ease off their own efforts to curb carbon emissions.

Simon Stiell, the U.N. climate change executive secretary, held out hope that the U.S. would continue to embrace the global clean energy boom.

“Ignoring it only sends all that vast wealth to competitor economies, while climate disasters like droughts, wildfires and superstorms keep getting worse," Stiell said. “The door remains open to the Paris Agreement, and we welcome constructive engagement from any and all countries.”

Associated Press writer Linley Sanders contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

AES Indiana Petersburg Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Petersburg, Ind., on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

AES Indiana Petersburg Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant, operates in Petersburg, Ind., on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

FILE - Wind turbines stretch across the horizon at dusk at the Spearville Wind Farm, Sept. 29, 2024, near Spearville, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Wind turbines stretch across the horizon at dusk at the Spearville Wind Farm, Sept. 29, 2024, near Spearville, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

President Donald Trump gestures during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

President Donald Trump gestures during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

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