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LE MANS, France — Kamui Kobayashi, one of the best sports car drivers in the world, will make his NASCAR debut on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with Toyota in August.

Kobayashi will drive for 23XI Racing, the team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan that opened this season by fielding a Toyota for action sports star Travis Pastrana in the Daytona 500.

Kobayashi will become only the second Japanese driver to race in NASCAR’s top Cup Series and only the fifth to race in one of NASCAR’s top three national series. He will be the first Japanese driver to race in the Cup Series in a Toyota, which entered NASCAR’s top series in 2007.

“It’s my dream, actually,” Kobayashi told The Associated Press. “It’s such a big sport in the United States, and racing in Europe, I never had the chance or opportunity to race NASCAR. I think the opportunity will be challenging for myself because it is such a different category.

“But if I have success, I think it will make more opportunities for Japanese drivers. Toyota has been in NASCAR a long time, but there has never been any Japanese drivers for Toyota. That’s also why I say I appreciate this opportunity for myself.”

Wednesday’s announcement had several top NASCAR executives in attendance, including chairman Jim France, as Toyota found Le Mans to be the perfect backdrop to spotlight the one-race deal.

Kobayashi will drive the No. 67 Toyota in the Aug. 13 race.

“It’s truly an honor to have Kamui want to participate in our NASCAR Cup Series program, and we’re thrilled that we could work with our partners at 23XI Racing to give him a competitive Camry TRD for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course event,” said David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A. “Kamui shares the passion for motorsports that all of us at Toyota and TRD, U.S.A. live every day, so it will be exciting to show him our NASCAR program with him behind the wheel of one of our TRD Camrys.”

Kobayashi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Toyota in 2021 and hasn’t finished lower than third since 2018. He has six podium finishes in eight appearances in the iconic endurance race, and his two-car Toyota Gazoo team has won the overall race title the past five years.

In 2021, after winning Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship title driving for Toyota Gazoo, Kobayashi was named team principal. Toyota Gazoo has two cars entered in the race that begins Saturday as Kobayashi oversees the team’s attempt to win a sixth consecutive title.

Kobayashi started his racing career karting in Japan but was discovered by Toyota while racing in Europe. He was named one of Toyota’s reserve Formula One drivers and made his debut during the 2009 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He raced in F1 through 2014 with one podium finish in 75 career starts.

Following his F1 career, Kobayashi returned to Japan and switched to the Supra Formula Series, a class he still actively competes in. He has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona twice and was the anchor on an IMSA endurance sports car team in the United States for two seasons that was formed by seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

Kobayashi loves racing in the United States, but IMSA’s adoption of new regulations to make its top class eligible to compete at Le Mans created a conflict of interest between Kobayashi’s Toyota responsibilities and continuing to race in IMSA, where Toyota is not represented in the top class. Toyota does field a Lexus in a lower IMSA division, and Kobayashi raced for Vasser Sullivan Racing last June in Canada to get a feel for the GT car.

Many consider NASCAR’s Next Gen car to be very similar to the GT Lexus sports car that Kobayashi drove in IMSA last year, and that is his closest experience to driving a stock car. He will be permitted to test with 23XI at a small track in Virginia ahead of the Indianapolis race and expects some time on the simulator.

Either way, he isn’t worried about seat time.

“I think I’m a guy who doesn’t need much practice, to be honest,” the 36-year-old Kobayashi told the AP. “I think once we jump in the car, we will be OK in a couple of laps. So I’m not really concerned about form.”

Toyota had initially felt jilted when NASCAR blindsided the industry last year by announcing it would bring its new Next Gen car to centenary Le Mans in a specialized category that showcases innovation, but the project was with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. Toyota was the first rival NASCAR manufacturer to complain, and NASCAR has since tried to include all its partners in this weekend’s celebration and France signed off on holding the Kobayashi announcement at Le Mans.

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Mets demote struggling catcher Alvarez to minors

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Mets demote struggling catcher Alvarez to minors

The New York Mets have demoted struggling catcher Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, the team announced Sunday.

Catcher Hayden Senger was promoted to the majors in a corresponding move to become the backup to now-primary catcher Luis Torrens.

The moves come after Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a home run in the Mets’ 11-4 Saturday night victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, which snapped New York’s seven-game losing streak.

Alvarez, however, has struggled at the plate this season, hitting .236 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 35 games. He has an OPS of .652 with 38 strikeouts.

Alvarez, 23, was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2022 and hit 25 home runs as a rookie in 2023. In parts of four seasons with the Mets since debuting in 2022, Alvarez is a .223 hitter with 40 homers and 122 RBIs in 263 games.

Senger, 28, made his major league debut this season with the Mets, appearing in 13 games and hitting .179 in 28 at-bats.

The Mets (46-31) enter Sunday night’s game against the Phillies (46-31) tied for first place in the National League East standings.

Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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Shoeless Jazz: Yanks star loses both cleats, scores

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Shoeless Jazz: Yanks star loses both cleats, scores

NEW YORK — Shoeless Jazz crossed the plate, a century after Shoeless Joe.

Both of Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s cleats flew off his feet as he scored from second base in the New York Yankees‘ 4-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles in an unusual morning start Sunday.

“I was so sweaty. My socks were wet. Everything had just slipped straight out,” he said.

Chisholm doubled twice, including a go-ahead, two-run drive off the right-center-field wall in the eighth inning, then slid into catcher Gary Sánchez for the final run as New York put the shoe on the other foot, so to speak. The AL East-leading Yankees won their second straight after losing seven of eight in a game that will be remembered for Chisholm’s size 10½ Jordan 1 spikes.

Shoeless Joe supposedly was given his nickname on June 6, 1908, playing semipro ball for the independent Greenville Spinners against the Anderson Electricians. New cleats had caused blisters, and he took them off and hit a long home run in the seventh inning.

Jackson won a World Series title with the Chicago White Sox in 1917, then was among eight players on the so-called “Black Sox” who were banned for life after they were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 Series to Cincinnati in exchange for money from gamblers. He finished with a .356 average in 13 major league seasons.

Asked whether he should be called Shoeless Jazz, Chisholm responded: “Wow. Is that how Shoeless Joe got his name? He ran out of his shoe?” When told Jackson earned the nickname in the 1910s, Chisholm quipped: “Oh, so he wasn’t wearing shoes.”

“I saw a lot of firsts,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. “11:30 game to a guy losing both his shoes. I’ve seen one cleat kind of running but not both like that. That was awesome.”

Chisholm is hitting .350 (21-for-60) with 11 RBIs since returning from a strained right oblique that caused him to miss 28 games. He raised his average to .242.

“That’s what I live for. That’s how I grew up playing baseball in high school, little league,” he said. “I don’t feel like it’s no need to change.”

New York trailed 2-0 when Chisholm hit a two-out double off Dean Kremer and headed for home on DJ LeMahieu‘s single to left.

“They say he’s the best shoe tier. I didn’t understand it until he actually did. It took me like a minute to take off my shoes just now.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. on asking rookie Jasson Domínguez to tie his laces after putting on fresh socks and his spikes

Chisholm’s left shoe popped off between third and home. Seeing rookie catcher Maverick Handley move to his left for Colton Cowser‘s throw up the third-base line, Chisholm tried to veer to avoid contact. He caught the catcher with his right arm as Cowser was spun to the ground and the ball popped out of his mitt. Chisholm fell past the plate as the right shoe was jarred off and from his knees slapped a hand across the plate.

“He had dirt all over his face when I walked out there to get him. Looked like glitter on his face,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We were all kind of screaming.”

After he reached the dugout, Chisholm stretched out with his stockinged feet on the bench. He put on a fresh pair of socks and then his spikes, and Chisholm asked rookie Jasson Domínguez to tie the laces.

“They say he’s the best shoe tier,” Chisholm recalled in the postgame clubhouse. “I didn’t understand it until he actually did. It took me like a minute to take off my shoes just now.”

Baltimore led 2-1 in the eighth when Ben Rice singled leading off against Bryan Baker for his third hit. Giancarlo Stanton singled to put runners at the corners, and Paul Goldschmidt pinch ran for his fellow former MVP — the first pinch-running appearance of Goldschmidt’s big league career, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Baker fell behind 3-0 in the count and left a belt-high fastball over the plate. Chisholm drove it 384 feet off the middle of the wall.

“I wasn’t going to swing if it wasn’t a fastball,” he said.

Goldschmidt, 37, slid in just ahead of Sánchez’s tag. Chisholm was a minor leaguer in Arizona’s system when Goldschmidt starred for the Diamondbacks.

“He was the guy that everybody really watched doing baserunning,” Chisholm said. “Even when I got to Miami, he was still the blueprint of how to run the bases.”

Goldschmidt took pride in his baserunning.

“It’s something that wasn’t secondary behind hitting and defense,” he said.

Chisholm took third on the throw and LeMahieu followed with a chopper to shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who threw home. Chisholm slid headfirst and was at first called out by umpire Jansen Visconti, who didn’t realize Sánchez dropped the ball as he applied the tag.

His first run, however, was the one that will live on in replays for the flying footwear.

“Go out there. Keep playing like that,” Stanton had told him. “You don’t need them.”

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M’s star Raleigh caps torrid series with 31st HR

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M's star Raleigh caps torrid series with 31st HR

CHICAGO — There is no stopping Cal Raleigh at the moment.

Raleigh has a major-league-leading 31 homers after he helped the Seattle Mariners take two of three against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend. The switch-hitter went deep four times and drove in six runs in the series.

“Just trying to have good at-bats, really,” Raleigh said. “Trying to stay consistent. Really just trying to home in on my approach and not worry too much about what the pitcher is trying to do to me.”

Raleigh had two hits, walked twice and scored three runs in Seattle’s 14-6 victory Sunday. He is batting .327 (37-for-113) with 16 homers and 34 RBIs in his past 29 games.

Raleigh was the designated hitter for the series finale after being behind the plate Saturday. He hammered the first pitch of his at-bat against Colin Rea — a 93.8 mph fastball — for a two-run shot in the top of the first on a hot afternoon at Wrigley Field. The massive drive to center had an exit velocity of 105 mph.

The DH walked in the third and singled and scored in the fifth. After popping out softly for the final out of the sixth, he walked again in the eighth and scored on Randy Arozarena‘s two-run double.

“Thirty-one home runs, he just continues to march through history here,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “It’s fun to watch. … He’s a smart player, so later in the game, not getting too anxious, not trying to out of the zone, not trying to get away from his identity as a hitter and who he is. Just staying right where he needs to stay.”

The 28-year-old Raleigh, who agreed to a $105 million, six-year contract with Seattle in March, is the first switch-hitter to mash at least 30 homers before the All-Star break. He needs four more homers to match Ken Griffey Jr. for the most before the break in Mariners history.

“I think a lot of people don’t watch to pitch to him, and then if you do and fall behind, he hits a lot of homers, obviously,” Seattle pitcher Logan Gilbert said. “He can beat you in a lot of different ways, and it seems like he’s doing it every game, too.”

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