NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon joined Cheddar News this week as the iconic racing league celebrates its 75th anniversary.
Gordon, who last raced in 2015, is now the fulltime owner of Hendrick Motorsports. He first became an equity owner in 1999. He told Cheddar's Kristen Scholer that his transition into ownership was relatively seamless.
"My perspective, now that I take all of that knowledge or experience and put it into being part of a co-ownership with Rick Hendrick and just focusing on the foundation that's been built there," he said.
Gordon said the next phase of his career is about helping grow the sport of NASCAR and exposing it to as many new demographics as possible.
Part of NASCAR's growth will be put on display this coming summer when the league has its first street race in Chicago.
"I think that's going to be a testing bed for what's ahead in the future of what kind of venues and racetracks – not just in the U.S. but broader areas. Maybe in North America. It could be Canada, it could be Mexico or beyond and see NASCAR really go global," Gordon told Cheddar News.
When it comes to overhauling the NASCAR experience with EVs, he said it will probably take some time for the league to get there. He noted that when the shift happens, the league will be ready but its primary goal is to maintain the hype and excitement around NASCAR.
The league launched an initiative aimed at empowering women and girls by partnering with organizations like Planned Parenthood and It's On Us. "This is basically encoded in our DNA and has been for the 22 years that we've been in existence," WNBA President Lisa Borders tells Cheddar.
Germany's hopes of a second straight World Cup came to an end Wednesday with a shocking loss to South Korea. While Germany is considered a perennial powerhouse, defending champions often get knocked out of the first rounds of the event, says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of The Banter.
The component derived from cannabis plants offers an effective alternative for pain relief without causing a "high," said former New York Jets player Marvin Washington, who urges the NFL to change its policy on the substance. "If we don't get our hands around this opioid addiction, we are going to lose a generation."
For the first time since 1980, Iranian women this week were allowed to watch their national team take on Spain at the World Cup. For Iran, soccer is "the one secular institution that really unites the country," says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of World Cup newsletter "The Banter."
The 28-year-old pitcher for the LA Dodgers pitches something else in the off-season: stocks. As a licensed stockbroker, Stripling invests in FANG shares and dabbles in some commodities, he tells Cheddar.
Paul Boyer, a.k.a. sOAZ, the former starting top laner for Team FNATIC, was sidelined with a hand injury during the Spring Split season of the esport League of Legends. But now he's back in action and ready for the Summer Split.
IBM and Fox Sports have teamed up to bring fans an easy way to create their own highlight reels, drawing footage from archives and current matches. "It is a huge opportunity to tap into that fan passion," says Robert Schwartz, Global Leader of Strategy and Design at IBM iX, the company's digital ad agency.
The athletic brand has signed deals with projected number one overall pick in the NBA, Deandre Ayton, and has integrated music and fashion into its marketing. Former ESPN host Bram Weinstein says that could give Puma an edge over competitors.
Video games and esports, which are front and center at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week, have caught the attention of the entrepreneur and CEO of VaynerMedia. "I have been lurking in the grass, as they say," he told Cheddar's Jon Steinberg.
Canada was one of the only developed countries in the world that did not have a premier league for soccer. Until now. The Canada Premier League will kick off its inaugural season next year in the hopes of creating a soccer revolution ahead of the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted in the country, says CPL commissioner David Clanachan.
