Larson clinches first spot in NASCAR’s final four

Published

3 years ago

October 19, 2021

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6:51 PM ET

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Larson claimed the first of four championship-contending spots in NASCAR’s season finale with a dominating victory at Texas on Sunday to start the round of eight in the playoffs.

Larson led 256 of 334 laps at the 1 1/2-mile track and got his eighth win this season, staying in front through seven restarts in the final stage. Three of those restarts came after incidents involving other playoff contenders in the closing laps.

“This is unreal. I knew we’d have a good shot to win and our car was amazing. That was probably the best 550 package, intermediate package we’ve had all year,” Larson said. “We’re going to race for a championship. This is crazy.”

This was the first chance for anyone to guarantee a shot at racing for the Cup title in Phoenix on Nov. 7.

Already with a significant points lead, and coming off a win on the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway a week earlier to close out the second elimination round, Larson left no doubt about the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet being part of the championship four.

There were two laps remaining on the final restart, and Larson was able to stay out in front of teammate William Byron.

“Kyle really deserves it, they’ve been awesome all year, flawless on pit road and they do everything right,” Byron said.

The seven remaining playoff contenders leave Texas with two more chances to get into the championship four, with Kansas and Martinsville left before the finale. Texas had always been the eighth of the final 10 races, and the middle race of the third and final elimination round, before this season.

Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch are above the cutline going to Kansas, where Busch won earlier this year. Defending Cup champion Chase Elliott is fifth, ahead of Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano.

Larson’s first appearance in NASCAR’s championship four comes in the same season that Rick Hendrick gave him an opportunity to get back into the Cup Series. He also won at Texas in the $1 million, non-points All-Star race in June.

The 29-year-old Larson, who made his Cup debut in 2013, also won in his previous All-Star race, in 2019 with Chip Ganassi Racing. But he missed the 2020 big-money exhibition and the rest of that season while serving a six-month suspension. He was suspended after using a racial slur during a livestream while in a virtual race when NASCAR was on pause during the pandemic. That cost him nearly every sponsor, his seat with Ganassi and nearly his career before Hendrick signed him before this season.

Keselowski, whose fourth-place finish was the best among the other playoff drivers, provided the push from behind for Larson on the final restart.

“Well, we didn’t need all those yellows,” Keselowski said. “We needed the long runs to be able to keep them honest. We had long-run speed, but the 5 and 24 were just blistering fast on the restart and drove away from me. I just wanted some laps to let their stuff wear down.”

Hamlin was on the outside of a three-wide situation with 20 laps remaining when Blaney made contact with the No. 11 Toyota. The tire rub eventually blew and sent Hamlin into a spin, though he was able to get to pit road and stay on the lead lap. Hamlin had more contact later that damaged his splitter.

“We just didn’t have a fast enough car, I thought we were probably fifth at best, honestly, and then two wrecks at the end,” Hamlin said. “This car is destroyed.”

Truex, the Joe Gibbs Racing teammate of Hamlin, was later done after contact with Daniel Suarez that sent him hard into the wall.

Logano, who was already eighth in points, was the first of the playoff drivers out at Texas, when his engine blew with 34 laps to go.

“Now we know what we have to do the next two weeks. … We’ve got to go find a way to win,” said Logano, 43 points under the cutline.

Busch was the only playoff contender in the vicinity of a huge backstretch crash only 31 laps into the race, though he took only some minimal contact on the back of the No. 18 Toyota when scooting through the melee. He was back in the field after serving a penalty for speeding on pit road during the competition caution. He took more new tires as a precaution, then went on to win the first stage.

“I mean we probably missed four or five points there at the end of the day, but we missed four or five points at the stage as well too. So that’s what we missed out on,” Busch said. “Certainly the 5 and the 24 were the class of the field again. You know, we’re just slow.”

A BIG ONE IN TEXAS

Bubba Wallace was in the middle while three-wide going onto the backstretch when he got loose and went sideways, triggering a big crash. NASCAR listed 12 cars being involved, not including Busch, on a the restart from the competition caution. The 12 cars were among the most ever involved in a single incident at Texas, which hosted its 41st Cup race, since the 1997 debut with a 13-car crash at the start of the race.

UP NEXT

The middle race in the round of eight at Kansas, where Logano was the winner last October when that was the opener in the round of eight. Eight of the last nine Kansas races have been won by one of the remaining playoff contenders, with six of those drivers combining for those wins.

Sports

NHL draft lottery scheduled to take place May 7

Published

2 hours ago

April 27, 2024

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NHL draft lottery scheduled to take place May 7

Field Level Media

Apr 26, 2024, 03:06 PM ET

The 2024 NHL draft lottery will take place on May 7, the league announced Friday.

The San Jose Sharks own the best odds to land the No. 1 pick with an 18.5% chance.

The Sharks fired head coach David Quinn earlier this week after finishing an NHL-worst 19-54-9.

Boston University forward Macklin Celebrini, the Hobey Baker Award winner, is the projected No. 1 pick.

The lottery will be held at NHL Network’s studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.

2024 NHL draft lottery, odds of landing No. 1 pick:

San Jose Sharks, 18.5%

Chicago Blackhawks, 13.5%

Anaheim Ducks, 11.5%

Columbus Blue Jackets, 9.5%

Montreal Canadiens, 8.5%

Utah, 7.5%

Ottawa Senators, 6.5%

Seattle Kraken, 6%

Calgary Flames, 5%

New Jersey Devils, 3.5%

Buffalo Sabres, 3%

Philadelphia Flyers, 2.5%

Minnesota Wild, 2.0%

Pittsburgh Penguins, 1.5%

Detroit Red Wings, 0.5%

St. Louis Blues, 0.5%

Sports

Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, game previews for the NHL’s postseason

Published

8 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, game previews for the NHL's postseason

The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs are here! The NHL’s 32 teams are down to just 16 in the postseason, with the first round well underway.

Will the New York Rangers parlay their success in winning the Presidents’ Trophy to a championship — thus breaking the “curse” of that award?

Can the Vegas Golden Knights repeat, despite starting the postseason as the underdog in their initial series?

Read on for the full playoff coverage from every first-round series all the way through the Stanley Cup Final.

More: Playoff schedule
Megapreview
Lapsed fan’s guide
Wyshynski’s bracket
Top 50 players
Cup contender comps

First round

Atlantic Division

Regular-season records:

Panthers: 52-24-6, 110 points
Lightning: 45-29-8, 98 points

Leading scorers:

Panthers: Sam Reinhart, 94 points (57 G, 37 A)
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov, 144 points (44 G, 100 A)

Consensus pick: Panthers

Schedule: (FLA leads 3-0)

Matthew Tkachuk’s 2nd goal secures Panthers win

Matthew Tkachuk scores into an empty net to seal a 5-3 win for the Panthers.

Regular-season records:

Bruins: 47-20-15, 109 points
Maple Leafs: 46-26-10, 102 points

Leading scorers:

Bruins: David Pastrnak, 110 points (47 G, 63 A)
Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews, 107 points (69 G, 38 A)

Consensus pick: Bruins

Schedule: (BOS leads 2-1)

Brad Marchand immediately reclaims the lead for Boston

Brad Marchand gives the Bruins a 3-2 lead late in the third period after the Maple Leafs tied it up.

Metropolitan Division

Regular-season records:

Rangers: 55-23-4, 114 points
Capitals: 40-31-11, 91 points

Leading scorers:

Rangers: Artemi Panarin, 120 points (49 G, 71 A)
Capitals: Dylan Strome, 67 points (27 G, 40 A)

Consensus pick: Rangers

Schedule: (NYR leads 2-0)

K’Andre Miller gives Rangers’ 4-2 lead with shorty

K’Andre Miller rips a shot into the goal and puts the Rangers ahead by two goals after a shorthand score against the Capitals.

Regular-season records:

Hurricanes: 52-23-7, 111 points
Islanders: 39-27-16, 94 points

Leading scorers:

Hurricanes: Sebastian Aho, 89 points (36 G, 53 A)
Islanders: Mathew Barzal, 80 points (23 G, 57 A)

Consensus pick: Canes

Schedule: (CAR leads 3-0)

Sebastian Aho restores 2-goal lead for Hurricanes

Sebastian Aho scores to restore the Hurricanes’ two-goal lead vs. the Islanders.

Central Division

Regular-season records:

Stars: 52-21-9, 113 points
Golden Knights: 45-29-8, 98 points

Leading scorers:

Stars: Jason Robertson, 80 points (29 G, 51 A)
Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault, 69 points (42 G, 27 A)

Consensus pick: Stars

Schedule: (VGK leads 2-0)

Noah Hanifin puts Knights on top before third period

Noah Hanifin scoops the puck and makes a nice shot to give the Knights a 2-1 lead heading into the third period versus the Stars.

Regular-season records:

Jets: 52-24-6, 110 points
Avalanche: 50-25-7, 107 points

Leading scorers:

Jets: Mark Scheifele, 72 points (25 G, 47 A)
Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon, 140 points (51 G, 89 A)

Consensus pick: Avs

Schedule: (Series tied 1-1)

Josh Manson scores goal vs. Jets

Pacific Division

Regular-season records:

Canucks: 50-23-9, 109 points
Predators: 47-30-5, 99 points

Leading scorers:

Canucks: J.T. Miller, 103 points (37 G, 66 A)
Predators: Filip Forsberg, 94 points (48 G, 46 A)

Consensus pick: Canucks

Schedule: (Series tied 1-1)

Colton Sissons finishes the rebound for Predators’ 3rd goal

Nashville extends their lead to 3-0 over the Canucks thanks to this Colton Sissons goal.

Regular-season records:

Oilers: 49-27-6, 104 points
Kings: 44-27-11, 99 points

Leading scorers:

Oilers: Connor McDavid, 132 points (32 G, 100 A)
Kings: Adrian Kempe, 75 points (28 G, 47 A)

Consensus pick: Oilers

Schedule: (Series tied 1-1)

Kopitar’s OT winner helps Kings even series

Anze Kopitar finds the back of the net early in overtime to lift the Kings to a Game 2 win over the Oilers.

Sports

Leafs’ Nylander nears return with game Saturday

Published

8 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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Leafs' Nylander nears return with game Saturday

Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterApr 26, 2024, 01:51 PM ET
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William Nylander is closing in on his debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Boston on Saturday.

The Leafs trail the Bruins 2-1 in the best-of-seven.

Friday, the winger spoke with reporters for the first time since being sidelined by an undisclosed injury two weeks ago. The mystery ailment has held Nylander out of Toronto’s lineup for the first three postseason tilts against Boston and he’s been diligently working to get back in.

Nylander was a full participant in the Leafs’ practice on Friday, skating on a regular line with Pontus Holmberg and Calle Jarnkrok and taking reps on Toronto’s first power play unit. Both are signs that Toronto is preparing to have Nylander for Saturday’s game.

“We’ll see,” Nylander surmised of his potential availability. “I don’t know [for sure].”

Coach Sheldon Keefe remained optimistic Nylander was finally ready to go after an engaging practice session.

“He looked great to me on the ice,” said Keefe. “In terms of his status, we’ll have to determine that [on Saturday].”

Details of Nylander’s injury have been strictly guarded by the Leafs so far. Nylander followed suit when asked to confirm media reports he’s been dealing with migraines.

“That’s just personal, so I’m not going to get into that,” he said.

Nylander wasn’t worried either about stepping back into a series that’s been in full swing for a week either, citing there was “nothing” difficult ahead for him in a potential return on Saturday.

“I’ve been skating and everything; I’m fine,” said Nylander. “It is what it is. There’s nothing to really stress about. You can’t force yourself back into the game, so I’ll be ready when I’m ready.”

Toronto could use a boost like Nylander coming back heading into Game 4. He was a 40-goal scorer in the regular season with an impressive playoff resume (having collected 40 points in 50 previous postseason outings). Adding an offensive weapon like that to the mix can help the Leafs solve their scoring issues. Toronto’s managed six goals in the first three games against Boston and their misfiring power play is 1-for-11.

Having Nylander as an option makes the Leafs immediately more dangerous at both 5-on-5 and special teams. That’s paramount for Toronto’s hopes of tying the series again before it goes back to Boston for Game 5 on Tuesday.

The Bruins have been changing things up in their crease throughout the playoffs to date, rotating between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark as they did with good success in the regular season.

Boston coach Jim Montgomery wouldn’t confirm his Game 4 goaltender after Swayman backstopped the Bruins to wins in Game 1 and Game 3, but there’s a chance it’ll be Linus Ullmark getting the call despite Boston falling in his last Game 2 start.

“We’re following the plan we had in place,” said Montgomery, while confirming the decision has already been made.