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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, building a big lead in the final stage and keeping Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott at bay over the final laps.

Elliott was seeking his third straight victory at The Glen but was relegated to the back of the field before the race when his No. 9 Chevrolet failed inspection twice. He made a gallant charge in the final segment but couldn’t overcome Larson’s big lead and crossed the finish line 2.45 seconds behind.

Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Larson also held off Elliott in overtime to win on the road course at Sonoma in June.

“It’s awesome,” Larson said after his series-leading fifth victory of the season. “It really shows just how good the organizaton is.”

It was the first Cup race after a two-week break for the Tokyo Olympics and there was no practice or qualifying.

Larson took the lead from Truex in the pits on lap 67, and the two were back together at the front of the field with 20 laps to go in the 90-lap race around seven-turn, the 2.45-mile layout. Kyle Busch in third was nearly 10 seconds behind and just ahead of Elliott.

Larson had a lead of nearly three seconds on Truex as the laps began to wind down, but Elliott continued to charge. The grandstands were sold out and the cheers for Elliott grew as he continued his surge. He passed Truex for second at the top of the esses with eight laps to go and set his sights on his teammate just over five seconds in front with lapped traffic ahead.

Elliott’s surge fizzled over the final five laps and Larson negotiated a gaggle of four lapped cars, overcoming a mistake in the first turn, and cruised to the finish.

Elliott had flat-spotted his tires in turn 1 and dropped to 36th near the end of the second stage before rallying.

“I just hate it. I made too many mistakes to win,” Elliott said. “It was too late in the race to recover from it.”

Elliott was dealt a blow hours before the start. Instead of starting 11th, he was relegated to the back of the field when his No. 9 Hendrick Motorports Chevrolet failed prerace inspection and crew chief Alan Gustafson was ejected as part of a penalty issued by NASCAR. Christopher Bell‘s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota received the same penalty.

Truex, Bell and Larson were in a three-car breakaway early on the 50-lap final stage. Bell challenged Truex for the lead with Larson on lap 48 but couldn’t make it stick and backed off.

Eight laps later, Larson took out Bell entering the first turn, a downhill 90-degree right-hander, dropping Bell to eighth as Elliott continued to make a strong comeback from last. Bell rallied to finish seventh.

NO LUCK

Brad Keselowski, who finished second three straight times at The Glen nearly a decade ago, is still looking for his first road course win and had perhaps his best shot at a breakthrough when he landed the pole for the race. He led the first nine laps ahead of Team Penske teammate Joey Logano before his day began to unravel. He spun out on his own heading to the competition caution at lap 10, flat-spotted all four tires and was forced to pit again because he was struggling with rear grip. Keselowski finished 35th, two laps down.

MICHAEL’S WATCHING

Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan, partners with driver Denny Hamlin in 23XI Racing, was watching his driver from the pits. Wallace finished 23rd.

ANOTHER SELLOUT

WGI president Michael Printup said before the race that the grandstands were sold out for the sixth time in seven years. NASCAR did not race at The Glen last year because of the pandemic.

UP NEXT

The Cup series heads to the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday.

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Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

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Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.

Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.

Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.

The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.

Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.

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Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

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Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

Jake Allen, one of the top goaltenders available entering free agency, is not heading to the market after agreeing to a five-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Allen’s average annual value on the deal is $1.8 million, sources told ESPN. That AAV allows the Devils to run back the same goaltending tandem for next season.

Jacob Markstrom has one year remaining on his contract for $4.125 million. Nico Daws is also under contract for next season, before becoming a restricted free agent next summer.

Several teams were interested in the 34-year-old veteran, whom sources said could have made more money on the open market. However, the deal with the Devils gives Allen long-term security. Allen has played for the Blues, Canadiens and Devils over his 12-year-career. He has started in 436 career games.

Last season, Allen started 29 games for the Devils, going 13-16-1 with a .906 save percentage, 2.66 GAA and four shutouts.

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Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, $42M extension

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Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, M extension

Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.

Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.

He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.

Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.

It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.

That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.

But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

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