NASCAR

If NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson wins a record-setting 8th championship next year ... he'll be spraying Monster Energy drinks instead of champagne.

A close family friend of Robby Gordon's father called 911 after entering the house and seeing 2 dead bodies, and immediately said it looked like a murder-suicide.

The friend was very calm during the call -- he says he's a retired firefighter -- and says "Baja" Bob Gordon's body was in the bathroom and his wife, Sharon, was in the bedroom. He says he could see a rifle next to Bob's body.

As we reported ... a butcher knife was found near the wife's body. Police are investigating all angles of the case.

NASCAR's Hall of Fame suffered heavy damage when the Charlotte protests turned into rioting and looting.

Police put the area on lockdown after the crowds shattered windows in several buildings in Charlotte's NASCAR Plaza. The riots also hit the Charlotte Hornets team store.

Steve Harvey says he has NO DESIRE to own a NASCAR team ... despite allegations in a new lawsuit -- saying straight-up, "I don't even like fast ass cars!"

We broke the story ... a racing exec is suing NASCAR and nearly all of its racing teams for more than $500 MILLION -- claiming he tried to team with Harvey to start a team last year, but NASCAR shot them down. The exec, Terrance Cox, claimed racists at NASCAR blocked the move.

But Harvey says the whole thing is B.S. -- claiming he NEVER tried to start a NASCAR team ... and says Cox is lying about the whole thing.

In fact, Harvey went on his radio show and says his relationship with Cox was only supposed to be about helping underprivileged youth ... but things turned weird, so Harvey backed away.

Steve Harvey's bid to start a NASCAR team crashed and burned ... and at least one racing exec thinks it's because stock car racing honchos are racists.

Cops investigating the possible murder-suicide of NASCAR superstar Robby Gordon's father say they've recovered a butcher knife near the body of Sharon Gordon ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... the knife was collected as evidence from the scene. Cops say the significance of its discovery is unclear at this moment.

The Gordon family's attorney, Steve Nichols, tells TMZ ... the family believes the knife played an important part in what led to Bob taking his own life.

Sources tell us the knife is a strong sign there may have been mutual combat between Robert "Baja Bob" and Sharon before their deaths.

Police have said Gordon strangled Sharon and then killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Nichols tells us there's never been a history of violence in the Gordons' long marriage.

The father of NASCAR superstar Robby Gordon strangled his wife, Sharon, and then shot himself in a murder-suicide at their Orange County, CA home ... officials say.

The bodies of 68-year-old Robert "Baja Bob" Gordon and 57-year-old Sharon Gordon were discovered Wednesday afternoon.

The Orange County Coroner’s Office describes the death of Robert as being consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the death of Sharon was a result of strangulation.

Cops say a rifle was recovered inside the house.

We're told cops are conducting ballistics tests on the weapon to see if it was, in fact, the gun used in the murder-suicide.

1:55 PM PT -- The Orange County Coroner's Office says both autopsies are complete.

An emotional Robby Gordon broke his silence on the death of his father and his father's wife in an apparent murder-suicide ... saying he's devastated and vows to get to the bottom of the deadly incident.

"This is devastating," Gordon told The Orange County Register ... "[My father] taught so many and I want everyone to know what a good man he was."

The bodies of Robert "Baja Bob" Gordon and Sharon Gordon, were found at a home owned by the NASCAR driver Wednesday night. Cops say a rifle was found at the scene.

Cops are not saying what they believe happened inside the home -- but Gordon told The OCR, "The truth will come out."

Gordon also held a news conference and thanked his friends in the racing community for the support.

The father of NASCAR superstar Robby Gordon was found dead along with a woman believed to be his wife ... inside a Southern California home owned by his son.

Officials say 68-year-old Robert Gordon -- aka Baja Bob -- was discovered inside the home on Wednesday. The body of 57-year-old Sharon Gordon was also found inside the home.

Baja Bob was a famous off-road racer.

Cops told CBS2 in L.A. they believe they are dealing with a murder-suicide. Investigators say they found a weapon inside the home.

UPDATE -- Officers say a rifle was found inside the home.

NASCAR legend Tony Stewart just fired a huge shot at Colin Kaepernick -- calling him a "dumbass" and an "idiot" over his National Anthem protest.

"I'm sorry but @Kaepernick7 needs to learn the fact about police before running his dumbass mouth," Stewart said on Twitter.

"He has no clue what they go thru! #idiot."

Stewart is essentially echoing the sentiments of the San Francisco Police Officers Association -- which claimed the QB showed an "incredible lack of knowledge."

So far, Kaepernick has yet to respond to Stewart or the SFPOA.

3:04 PM PT -- Dolphins running back Arian Foster saw Tony's tweet and has responded -- saying, "How about attempting to educate him via your views instead of fueling hatred."

Bryan Clauson -- one of the top short-track dirt-car drivers in the world -- died Sunday following injuries sustained in a bad crash from a race on Saturday ... officials confirm.

The 27-year-old was racing in the 39th Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas when he made contact with another car and flipped several times. His car was then slammed into by another car.

Clauson was airlifted to a nearby hospital -- but died from his injuries the following day.

Clauson's family issued a statement saying, "Our Bryan fought to the end with the same desire that he demonstrated behind the wheel of all the various race cars he would park in victory lane."

"However, we were more proud of our Bryan that took a moment to make a young fan's day, or demonstrated his uncommon kindness and appreciation toward his friends, family and fans."

Clauson had made 26 starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

You're about to watch the greatest sack of NFL player Marcell Dareus' career ... his total takedown of a TMZ employee using his superior NASCAR knowledge.

Dareus appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and opened up about his newfound love of NASCAR ... when our resident TMZ NASCAR know-it-all jumped in and began to riff with him.

Here's the problem ... dude didn't know what he was talking about and Marcell called him out on it HARD in front of the entire newsroom.

NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. just revealed to the world he happily eats mayonnaise and banana sandwiches ... and the world responded with appropriate disgust and shock.

Dale took to his Twitter account moments ago and posted a picture of the half-made mayo and 'nana monstrosity, with the caption "Making my favorite sandwich. I swear it's delicious. @Hellmanns."

Obviously no one believed him ... and the reaction in the Twittosphere was swift with Dale getting clowned mercilessly in his comments section. Here are some of the best.

"@DaleJr is this a cry for help?"

”@DaleJrIs this some sort of sick joke?"

"@DaleJr Perhaps South Carolina or Tennessee will welcome you and your shenanigans with open arms but that will not be tolerated here."

Add this to the "Seriously, Like For Real Bro?" file ...

2015 Daytona 500 champ Joey Logano just made a bombshell admission ... one that really makes you feel for a guy that makes his ENTIRE LIVING behind the wheel of a car ...

He actually gets car sick.

We got Joey out in Fontana getting ready to burn some rubber competing in NASCAR's Auto Club 400 Sunday when we asked about his driving habits away from the track.

That's when he dropped it on us ... saying he never lets his wife -- or anyone -- drive him around because the world class speedster gets an upset tummy if anyone else has the wheel.

All famous jacked white dudes look the same ... at least to some people in Thailand where NASCAR superstar Carl Edwards says he was once mistaken for the greatest swimmer of all time.

Edwards admits he was at a pool at the time (and fun fact: they're both super ripped) ... but the way he tells the story is pretty hilarious.

We also talked racing with the speedster -- who admitted he once zoned out behind the wheel because he couldn't get that FarmersOnly.com theme song out of his head.

Can't really blame the guy ... it's super catchy.

Kurt Busch is firing back at the clothing company that sued him ... saying he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars into a brand that operated like a Ponzi scheme.

Busch is countersuing Panic Switch clothing line, saying he gave them a ton of big time exposure and money and never got it back. Kurt claims the company used his $375k investment to help pay off a $500k loan they had already taken out.

He says he introduced Panic Switch execs to other big name NASCAR drivers, who cut deals with the company but ended up backing out after PS didn't pay royalties or show proof of sales.