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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — John Hunter Nemechek dominated the Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, denying second-place finisher Brandon Jones the win that would have gotten him into the playoffs and allowing Parker Kligerman to slide into the final spot.

Sheldon Creed finished third, Kligerman was fourth and Austin Hill rounded out the top five.

“I don’t know if this makes us a favorite or not, but super proud of the whole No. 20 team,” said Nemechek, who led 154 of 200 laps. “All the guys made the right adjustments all day. They brought a really fast hotrod.”

It has been a memorable few days for the 26-year-old Nemechek, who swept the first two stages before taking the checkered flag for the sixth time this season. Earlier in the week, Nemechek was announced as the next full-time driver of the No. 42 in the NASCAR Cup Series, teaming with Erik Jones at Legacy Motor Club.

“It’s been an exciting week,” Nemechek said with a smile.

Daniel Hemric clinched his playoff spot on points simply by taking the green flag. Good thing he didn’t need to do anything more, either, because his engine began popping early in the race and he finished 80 laps down.

Kligerman began the day worrying about Riley Herbst, who wound up having to deal with damage from an early wreck the rest of the afternoon. The two started one point apart in the standings, which basically meant that unless there was a non-winner in victory lane, whomever finished ahead of the other would get the 12th playoff spot.

Jones could have been that spoiler, but he could never chase down Nemechek over a final green-flag run.

“I was the biggest Nemechek fan at the end,” Kligerman said. “We executed at a high level and that’s what I’ve seen us do the last 12 weeks. I felt if we could just get into the playoffs and bring that forward, we could compete for a championship.”

Kligerman and Herbst were running near each other early in the race. But on a restart, Kligerman dropped backward through the field and Herbst plowed into his rear, sending the No. 98 car to the pits and ultimately two laps down.

Herbst rallied onto the lead lap and quickly climbed into the top 10. But his front right corner was heavily damaged from his earlier wreck, creating some tire rub, and Herbst had to pit again with 72 laps left to effectively end his playoff hopes.

“I honestly felt like we had one of the fastest cars out there. I felt like we were one of the fastest 12 cars all year,” Herbst said. “We just didn’t execute on that restart. I don’t know what happened. They all got stacked up, or someone missed a gear, but from then on our day was in a big hole.”

CUSTER’S COMPLAINT

Cole Custer is already in the playoffs after a pair of wins earlier this season. But that didn’t make him any less perturbed after NASCAR failed to throw a flag in time for him to avoid a large chunk of tire that was on the track. The debris sent Custer into the the outside wall and caused too much damage for the No. 00 to continue.

“I don’t want to put blame on anybody, if it’s dumb luck or I should be mad at NASCAR. I don’t know how long the tire was out there,” Custer said. “That tire was sitting right where I was washing up into.”

SMITH’S STREAK

Another playoff driver, Sammy Smith, was involved in a wreck for the seventh consecutive race. He was running near the front on the restart for the final stage when Smith was bumped by Creed, sending the No. 18 into Justin Allgaier, who in turn picked up heavy damage by colliding with the outside wall.

“It’s uncalled for,” Smith said. “We just got to keep digging and we’ll have a good start to the playoffs.”

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Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

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Bedard hurt on last-second faceoff, out for Sat.

ST. LOUIS — Chicago star Connor Bedard was injured on a last-second faceoff in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night and will miss the Blackhawks’ game Saturday.

With 0.8 seconds left, Bedard attempted to win the draw to give Chicago one last chance, but he was knocked down by Blues center Brayden Schenn. Bedard grasped at his right shoulder and immediately headed to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer, while his teammates remained on the ice and the bench.

“He won’t play tomorrow,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team’s game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. “I won’t know more info tomorrow, so don’t ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I’ll know more, so I’d probably have more info come Monday.”

Asked whether Bedard’s injury would be only short term, Blashill offered few details.

“I’d hate to say that without knowing the information,” he said. “Until we get the information, again, he’s not going to play tomorrow.”

Bedard ranked fifth in the NHL in points heading into the game, and he assisted on both of Chicago’s goals in the loss. He now has 12 goals and 25 assists.

He was pushed into desperation mode when the Blues iced the puck and a half a second was put back on the clock. Blashill said he’d have to see the play again, but his initial impression was that nothing dirty occurred on the play.

“Honestly, I think it’s a freak accident,” Blashill said, “to be honest with you.”

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Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

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Canucks trade Hughes to Wild for 3 players, pick

Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild, the teams announced on Friday. It was a blockbuster deal in which Vancouver received three roster players — defenseman Zeev Buium, center Marco Rossi and winger Liam Ohgren — as well as a first-round pick.

It’s one of the boldest moves in Wild franchise history, and signals GM Bill Guerin’s hunger to win now after signing Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The Wild have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.

Hughes, 26, is a 2018 first-round pick of the Canucks and considered one of the best defensemen in the league. He is one of six players already named to the Team USA Olympic men’s hockey team. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 when he recorded a career-high 92 points for a first-place Canucks team.

However, a Hughes trade became increasingly inevitable after the Canucks got off to a poor start. Vancouver entered Friday in last place in the Pacific Division at 11-17-3 with a minus-24 goal differential. Late last month, the Vancouver front office sent a memo across the league that it was open to trading any of its pending unrestricted free agents. That did not include Hughes, who is under contract through the end of next season.

However, it empowered many general managers across the league to inquire about Hughes, who did not have any trade protection.

The Canucks got plenty in return. Buium, 20, is a 2024 first-round pick of the Wild and can inherit Hughes’ role as a true power-play quarterback. Rossi, 24, and Ohgren, 21, are also former first-round picks of the Wild.

Though Hughes never asked for a trade, many around the NHL believed he did not want to re-sign in Vancouver after his contract expired in the summer of 2027. The prevailing belief is that Hughes preferred to play for a United States-based team on the East Coast. Hughes spends his offseason in Michigan. His brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the New Jersey Devils.

According to sources, the Devils did make a trade offer for Hughes to reunite him with his two younger brothers. However, New Jersey couldn’t match what Minnesota gave up.

Minnesota began engaging with Vancouver about a week ago, according to sources, and the deal came together quickly. The Canucks received at least six other offers, according to sources, but Vancouver believed Minnesota presented the strongest overall package that can best set the team up for the future.

Hughes is not eligible to sign an extension with the Wild until July 1.

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Kitchens out as OC after Heels offense slumps

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Kitchens out as OC after Heels offense slumps

North Carolina offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will not return next season, with the school announcing the departure of both assistants after a 4-8 season in Bill Belichick’s college coaching debut.

“We want to thank Coach Kitchens and Coach Priefer for their commitment and many contributions to our program and student-athletes,” Belichick said in a statement. “We wish them both nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”

North Carolina’s offense was one of the worst in the country, ranking 119th in the FBS in scoring (19.3 PPG) and 129th in total offense (288.8 YPG).

The Tar Heels had special teams issues coming down the stretch too, notably with Duke running a fake field goal to set up a late winning touchdown and NC State successfully running a fake punt for a first down the following week.

Kitchens, who served as Cleveland Browns coach in 2019, had been with the Tar Heels since 2023 and was the interim coach for their Fenway Bowl loss at the end of the 2024 season. Belichick was hired as the new head coach earlier that month.

Priefer was a longtime NFL special teams coach who followed Belichick to Chapel Hill but lasted just one season on the job.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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