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AVONDALE, Ariz. — Jimmie Johnson‘s NASCAR retirement and IndyCar experiment lasted all of two seasons.

The seven-time NASCAR champion is returning in 2023 to the series that made him a global motorsports star as the part-owner of Petty GMS. He’ll also enter about five Cup races.

Johnson announced that his first race will be the season-opening Daytona 500, where he’s a two-time winner.

“I’ve had a watchful eye on the ownership part and what’s happening with NASCAR, and the opportunity that I have here, the business structure and the model with NASCAR charters is just so different from than anything else in motorsports,” Johnson told The Associated Press. “I want to be part of it. We certainly watched Michael Jordan join, what the Trackhouse Racing folks have done, and there’s all these rumors of people who want to get into the sport.

“I’m honored and thankful that I’m going to be part of it.”

His car number and sponsors — and maybe even the current Petty GMS name — are all a work in progress for Johnson, who turned 47 in September.

On his bucket list are the Coca-Cola 600, a race he’s won four times, and he’d love if NASCAR made him eligible for the 2023 All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina.

Johnson also said he still wants to do “The Double” of the Indianapolis 500 and Coke 600 on the same day, but he’s on hold as Chip Ganassi shapes the organization Johnson left after two seasons. But, even if an Indy 500 ride materializes, the All-Star race would conflict with Indy 500 qualifying. And, he’s now part owner of a Chevrolet team, so that would theoretically prevent him from racing with Ganassi, a Honda team.

Johnson made his Indy 500 debut in May and although he proved decent on the IndyCar ovals — he skipped them his first season — the road and street courses were a struggle and he admitted to being burned out at the end of the full season. He said he’d step back from full-time racing and was eyeing a bucket list of about 10 events, most likely including the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a NASCAR representative.

When he came to that late-September decision to step away, Johnson insisted he had no idea what he wanted to do next.

It took about six weeks for Johnson to get back into NASCAR through conversations initiated by the management firm shared by Johnson and Erik Jones, the Petty GMS driver he just inherited.

Johnson said he had no talks with Hendrick Motorsports about ownership opportunities as the GMS deal came together out of the blue. He told the AP alerted Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon of his plans. Johnson drove 20 years for Hendrick and won 83 Cup races in the No. 48 Chevrolet.

“This is a tremendous day for our sport. Jimmie is one of the all-time great champions on the racetrack, and I know he’ll apply the same mentality to his role as a team owner,” Hendrick said in a statement. “… Seeing Jimmie in a firesuit with his name on the roof of a Chevrolet at the Daytona 500 is going to be very special for a lot of people. Competing against him will certainly be a change, and a big challenge, but we welcome his return to NASCAR and look forward to the next chapter of a truly remarkable career.”

Johnson’s seven championships ties him with Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt, both Hall of Famers. He made his announcement with GMS founder Maury Gallagher on Friday at Phoenix Raceway, where he retired from NASCAR after the 2020 season finale. The Hendrick Motorsports torch was passed that day when Chase Elliott won the Cup title – Johnson finished fifth, best of the non-title contenders – and Johnson began chasing his IndyCar dream. He had not been to a NASCAR race since that 2020 finale.

Now he wants back in and with a bigger piece of the action. He gets it with Petty GMS, an upstart two-car team funded by Gallagher, chairman of Allegiant Air, and fronted by Petty.

Jones in September gave “The King” his 200th win in the famed No. 43 car, and before this deal was struck, the team had already decided to dump Ty Dillon for firebrand Noah Gragson next season.

The speed in which the deal was completed was astonishing to both Gallagher and Johnson, and Gallagher told the AP that Johnson, like Brad Keselowski at RFK Racing, financially purchased his stake in the team and won’t be a figurehead.

“Jimmie is just a tremendous guy and in my older age, I value relationships as much as anything,” Gallagher told the AP. “I’m more of a background guy. I want Jimmie and Richard to be the faces of the organization, help on the economics and the operations is just a big bonus.”

GMS has in about a decade has grown from a Truck Series team into a first-year Cup organization that acquired Richard Petty Motorsports and its 85-year-old Hall of Fame namesake. Even though Jones has been competitive and won at Darlington, it didn’t qualify for the playoffs and Gallagher said GMS has been overshadowed by Justin Marks, who in his second season as owner of Trackhouse Racing has driver Ross Chastain in Sunday’s championship race.

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Rays place 1B Aranda on IL with fractured wrist

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Rays place 1B Aranda on IL with fractured wrist

TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays placed All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda on the 10-day injured list Friday with a fractured left wrist.

Aranda was injured Thursday in a collision with New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton.

Aranda said the injury did not feel “catastrophic” and he’s hopeful he’ll return this season, although the Rays cautioned he won’t be able to use the wrist for approximately three weeks.

Aranda’s wrist has been immobilized in an air cast and he’s scheduled to undergo more imaging at the three-week mark. At that point, the Rays will reassess his return timetable.

“Let’s see how the bone heals,” manager Kevin Cash said before Friday night’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “I think he has re-imaging in about three weeks, but we will continue to remain optimistic.”

Stanton hit a soft grounder in the fifth inning to third baseman Junior Caminero, who charged in on wet grass to field the ball. Aranda reached for Caminero’s wide toss that sailed into the runner, and his left wrist appeared to hit Stanton’s left shoulder.

Aranda, a first-time All-Star, is batting .316 with 12 home runs, 54 RBI in 103 games this season. He has a .394 on-base percentage, and an .872 OPS, making him one of the majors’ most dangerous hitters.

Cash shifted Yandy Díaz to first base in Aranda’s absence.

The Rays reinstated Ha-Seong Kim from the IL and recalled Tristan Gray from Triple-A Durham.

Trade deadline acquisitions Griffin Jax and Hunter Feduccia were active for Friday night’s game.

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Twins look to regroup after trade deadline ‘reset’

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Twins look to regroup after trade deadline 'reset'

CLEVELAND — A full-fledged meet and greet was the first order of business for the Minnesota Twins upon their arrival at the ballpark Friday.

Making nine trades and jettisoning nearly 40% of their team before the deadline the previous day meant there were plenty of new faces in the visiting clubhouse when the Twins began their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Minnesota traded players including standout shortstop Carlos Correa, closer Jhoan Duran and four high-leverage relievers several years away from free agency, among them St. Paul native Louis Varland.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow, but maybe a reset was needed,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “We were curious to see how far the front office would go, and they decided to go really far.

“The dominos just kept falling. It just kept coming. It felt like it never ended.”

Just two years ago, the Twins won the American League Central title and advanced to the division series. It turned out to be the high point of their post-pandemic era as they missed the playoffs in 2024 and are currently six games out of the final AL wild-card position.

“A lot of guys who were on our ’23 run aren’t here anymore because of the trades, so that hurt,” pitcher Bailey Ober said. “The business side of baseball sometimes shows its ugly face sometimes. It was surreal watching what happened.”

Ober was one of 10 players who spent Thursday together in a room in the team’s downtown Cleveland hotel, keeping track of the leaguewide activity. The upbeat mood changed when several of them received phone calls from Twins president Derek Falvey telling them they were on the move.

Manager Rocco Baldelli and Ober said no one took the news worse than hometown product Varland, an emerging reliever who was under team control through 2030.

“It was hardest on Lou, and I don’t think it’s close,” Baldelli said. “He loves the organization, and he loves being close to his family. Yeah, he took it hard.”

To field a full roster against the Guardians, the Twins recalled six players from Triple-A St. Paul and selected the contracts of two more Saints. Baldelli held a team meeting as soon as everyone arrived at Progressive Field, then spoke individually with many of his remaining veterans.

All-Star center fielder and unquestioned team leader Byron Buxton, who is on the 10-day injured list with left ribcage inflammation, also joined the Twins in Cleveland.

“Just having him here is huge,” outfielder Matt Wallner said. “That gives us some sense of normal.”

Starting pitcher Chris Paddack, one of six impending free agents, was the first to go Monday to the Detroit Tigers.

Duran, who had a 2.47 ERA with 292 strikeouts over 233⅔ innings in four seasons, was dealt Wednesday to the Philadelphia Phillies in the first sign that the Twins were serious about trading veterans. Duran fetched Triple-A starting pitcher Mick Abel and High-A catcher Eduardo Tait.

“It’s hard, but it’s about making sure that you’re constantly trying to find a way to not just sit on your heels, hope that it all goes better and keep your fingers crossed,” Falvey said. “It’s a way to actually go invest in the future of the team, hopefully the short-term and the long-term.”

Outfielder Harrison Bader followed Duran to the Phillies, and reliever Brock Stewart was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Reliever Danny Coulombe went to the Texas Rangers. First baseman Ty France and Varland were packaged to Toronto for Triple-A outfielder Alan Roden and Triple-A starting pitcher Kendry Rojas.

“I was in uniform, ready to play for the Buffalo Bisons when it happened,” Roden said, chuckling. “It was a pretty normal day until it wasn’t.”

Popular multiposition player Willi Castro went to the Chicago Cubs and reliever Griffin Jax was sent to the Tampa Bay Rays. Then came the headliner. Correa went back to his original team, the Houston Astros, in what amounted to a salary dump while also bringing back High-A starting pitcher Matt Mikulski.

“It was sad that Carlos left,” catcher Christian Vázquez said. “It was a hard day yesterday. We’re like a family in the clubhouse, so it was hard. It was a fun ride with all of them.”

Less than 22 months ago, the Twins were celebrating at a packed Target Field after Duran closed out a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays in the wild-card round for their first playoff series win in 21 years and the end of their record 18-game postseason losing streak.

Since then, they’ve been in ownership-ordered payroll purgatory in light of the hefty hit they took in regional television revenue after the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy that affected several other clubs from midsize and small markets.

Even the most aggressive scenarios the Twins envisioned prior to the deadline didn’t include Correa, who signed the richest contract in club history as a free agent after the 2022 season. But the Astros wanted him back and were willing to eat most of the roughly $103 million remaining on his deal through 2028, and Correa was willing to waive his no-trade clause to return to the team that drafted him. The Twins agreed to cover $33 million, due in four installments each Dec. 15.

Falvey was adamant that the Twins aren’t trying to bottom out with this rebuild as other clubs have done with varying degrees of success. The Twins kept both of their All-Stars: Buxton and starting pitcher Joe Ryan, who had plenty of suitors. They’re still confident in third baseman Royce Lewis, who has followed a series of injuries with inconsistency at the plate this season. Starting pitcher Pablo López, whose shoulder injury preceded a skid in June the Twins never corrected, will be back sooner rather than later.

“We’re here to win, let me be clear,” Baldelli said. “The locker room looks different, the team looks different, the lineup is different, but let’s go to work.”

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Phillies’ Harper: Ejection for arguing ‘warranted’

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Phillies' Harper: Ejection for arguing 'warranted'

PHILADELPHIA — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper was ejected in the seventh inning of Friday’s game against Detroit for arguing a called third strike on a check swing.

The Phillies scored three runs in the seventh to tie the score at 3-3 and had two runners on base with two outs when Harper faced Tigers reliever Will Vest.

Harper tried to check his swing on a full-count changeup from Vest, but third-base umpire Vic Carapazza rang up Harper, who ripped his helmet off his head in an outburst and shouted as he waved his arms at Carapazza.

Harper was promptly ejected and kept his helmet with him as he walked into the dugout.

“I left the batter’s box walking toward him, so I think it was warranted,” Harper said.

Harper said after the Phillies beat the Tigers 5-4 that he had yet to see the replay, which seemed to indicate he went around with his swing.

“Can’t get thrown out in that situation, especially with the ninth inning possibly coming around and my at-bat coming up,” Harper said.

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