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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Seven-time is officially back.

Jimmie Johnson, making his return to stock car racing after a two-year dalliance in IndyCar, topped the first practice session for the Daytona 500 on Friday.

The two-time Daytona 500 winner and seven-time Cup Series champion reached a top speed of 194.25 mph around the 2½-mile superspeedway. He edged fellow Chevrolet drivers Chase Elliott — his former teammate at Hendrick Motorsports — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and pole-sitter Alex Bowman, the driver who replaced Johnson when he left NASCAR after the 2020 season, to create a feel-good moment for the bowtie.

It was Johnson’s first extended stint behind the wheel in the Next Gen car at Daytona International Speedway. He did take part in a one-day practice session at Phoenix last month.

“I honestly think it’s too early to read far into this. It is plate racing, and that was just a practice session,” Johnson said. “We didn’t make any mistakes and did some things right to end up where we did.

“Anything can still happen. But I’m glad to be in here, I’m glad we’re at the top of the board and not the bottom. I’m sure the headlines would read a little differently if we were on the other end of it.”

Johnson returned to NASCAR in November as part-owner of what is now called Legacy Motor Club, an organization that began as Petty Enterprises nearly 75 years ago. He has so far as a driver entered the Daytona 500 — Johnson will start 39th on Sunday — the street course race in Chicago in July and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of NASCAR’s Garage 56 project.

How’d the new car feel?

“It drives like a stock car,” he quipped. “It doesn’t drive like an IndyCar, thank God. We know how that went.”

Johnson drove the No. 48 for his entire career but will be behind the wheel of the No. 84 when he competes in NASCAR this year.

Aric Almirola and Joey Logano, both winners in Thursday night’s qualifying races, led a train of Ford drivers behind the Chevy leaders. Almirola and Logano were fifth and sixth and followed by Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Kevin Harvick, Zane Smith, Chris Buescher and Harrison Burton.

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest Toyota driver in 17th.

The fast lap capped a big day for Johnson, who earlier flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds before turning 34 laps in the one-hour practice session. He blacked out in the jet but didn’t get sick.

“Never felt anything like that, the adrenalize, the acceleration,” he said.

Thirty-seven of 40 drivers turned at least one lap in Friday night’s practice. Kaulig Racing teammates AJ Allmendinger and Justin Haley sat out along with Riley Herbst of Rick Ware Racing.

There’s one practice remaining for the 65th running of “The Great American Race,” and several drivers are expected to skip the final session because they don’t want to risk any damage before the season opener.

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Van Gisbergen wins for fourth time this season

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Van Gisbergen wins for fourth time this season

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen earned his fourth victory this season, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen International.

The Trackhouse Racing driver joined 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive Cup races on road or street courses.

Unlike his prior wins at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to qualify from the pole position after he was nipped by Ryan Blaney. The Auckland, New Zealand, native bided his team after starting second, taking his first lead on Lap 25 of 90 and then settling into a typically flawless and smooth rhythm on the 2.45-mile road course.

The rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and cycled into first place on Lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising to a big lead while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds. Chris Buescher finished third, followed by William Byron and Chase Briscoe.

With five victories in only 38 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen trails only Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses.

The win validated the decision by Trackhouse to sign van Gisbergen to a multiyear contract extension last week.

Feisty Gibbs

It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter Nemechek late in Stage 2 and then complained about the handling and strategy of his No. 54 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart, who recently began working as a strategist and consultant to Gibbs’ team, radioed the driver to “stay in the game” after the Nemechek wreck and later took issue after Gibbs questioned his team’s strategy.

“I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding from inside the car,” Gabehart told Gibbs on the radio. “So you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling.”

Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished 33rd and remained winless since moving into Cup after winning the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. Teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Bell each have qualified for the playoffs with victories this season.

Up next

The Cup Series will race Saturday, Aug. 16 at Richmond Raceway, which will play host to its only NASCAR race weekend this season. The 0.75-mile oval had two annual races on the Cup schedule from 1959-2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Yankees’ Boone ejected for 5th time this season

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Yankees' Boone ejected for 5th time this season

NEW YORK — Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected from a game for the fifth time this season in the third inning Sunday against the Houston Astros.

Boone thought Jason Alexander‘s sinker to Ryan McMahon was a low called strike. He argued with plate umpire Derek Thomas, who replied, “I’ve heard you enough, Aaron,” and tossed him out.

Boone continued the argument for about another minute while third base umpire Jordan Baker interceded, and the at-bat continued with McMahon flying out to center field.

Boone was ejected six times last season. His last ejection was by Manny Gonzalez on July 23 in Toronto during the seventh inning for arguing a called third strike on Anthony Volpe.

Since becoming manager in 2018, Boone has been ejected 44 times. Last season, he was tossed by Thomas in the seventh inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves following a walk to Marcell Ozuna.

The Astros held a 2-0 lead when Boone was ejected and went on to win the game 7-1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Zilisch on scary fall: ‘Grateful to be walking’

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Zilisch on scary fall: 'Grateful to be walking'

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Sporting a smile with his left elbow in a black sling draped around his neck, Connor Zilisch was back Sunday at Watkins Glen International, recounting his scary fall in victory lane.

After winning Saturday’s Xfinity race at the road course, Zilisch took a nasty tumble while attempting a celebratory perch on his No. 88 Chevrolet in celebration. Zilisch, 19, was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a broken collarbone. Trackhouse Racing withdrew the No. 87 Chevy that he was scheduled to drive in the Cup race Sunday at Watkins Glen.

“First of all, I’m doing OK,” Zilisch said during the USA broadcast of the Cup race. “Very grateful to be able to walk away from that, and I guess I didn’t walk away, but I’m very grateful to be walking today and to just be all right. Thank you to all the medics who took care of me, and everybody who reached out and wished me well. I do appreciate it a lot.”

After his series-high sixth victory, Zilisch realized he was in trouble immediately after the chaos began in victory lane, which typically is a frenzied scene of winning team members cheering and tossing beverages as their driver exits the car.

“Yeah, I was climbing out of the car and obviously the window net was on the door, and as soon as they started spraying water, my foot slipped,” he said. “And the last thing I remember was being halfway down and falling, so I’m glad it wasn’t any worse, and that the collarbone is the extent of the injuries, but hate I couldn’t make it to the race today.”

The question now turns to whether Zilisch will be ready for the next Xfinity race on Aug. 22 at Daytona International Speedway.

“We’re still working out with all the doctors to figure out what’s going to be the next steps,” Zilisch said.

He already has shown to be a quick healer this season. After a one-race absence at Texas Motor Speedway because of a back injury from a crash at Talladega Superspeedway, Zilisch had posted 11 consecutive top-five finishes and five wins since his return.

He noted that Trackhouse teammate Shane van Gisbergen “had a place put in once and raced the weekend after. So I don’t know if I’ll be that quick, but hopefully my young bones will heal fast, and I’ll be able to get back in it as soon as possible.”

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