Truex in ‘terrible spot’ as he faces elimination
A shell-shocked Martin Truex Jr. has slumped into Bristol Motor Speedway fighting for his season.
Truex won the regular-season title, but two bad races to open NASCAR’s playoffs has him on the brink of elimination headed into Saturday night’s race. The bottom four drivers in the 16-driver field will be cut from the championship sprint, and Truex, the winner of three races this season, is below the cutline in 13th.
A cut tire three laps into last weekend’s race at Kansas and an 18th-place finish in the playoff opener at Darlington have Truex in serious trouble heading into one of his weaker tracks. In 32 starts on Bristol’s concrete configuration, a winless Truex has a meager four top-10 finishes.
“It’s obviously a terrible spot to be in,” Truex said Friday. “Last week we didn’t even get a chance to race, which was disappointing. Coming off a tough Darlington race, and then, you know, two laps in [at Kansas] you feel like you’re in trouble and a flat tire. Turns out you ran something over. It’s just terrible bad luck. We’ll do the best we can. But obviously it’s a bad spot to be in.”
Bubba Wallace, Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell are also below the cutline. Kevin Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the season, is seven points ahead of Truex in 12th. Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick have both advanced to the next round with victories in the opening two playoff races.
“It is what it is. You go race as hard as you can, and where it falls, it falls,” Harvick said. “I don’t worry about those things anymore.”
Truex did seem worried — or at least subdued — about the task ahead. Weather is already a potential added headache, and a forecast of rain for Saturday night led NASCAR to decide more than a day in advance to move the scheduled start up by one hour on the half-mile track.
“I know tomorrow night’s a big race, this place hasn’t been our best place by any means, but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Truex said. “It’s going to be what it’s going to be, and we’ve just got to go do our best.”
Stenhouse opened the year with a bang at the Daytona 500, but he has had just one top-five finish since and finds himself likely to be eliminated Saturday night.
He could aim for a miracle, though, and Bristol in April was his only other top-five finish this year. Bristol was covered in dirt when Stenhouse finished fourth; the dirt is gone for this race.
“Our thought process is we’ve just got a really good opportunity to make something happen,” Stenhouse said. “It’s a great racetrack for us, one of my favorite racetracks that we go to. We need a good day to make it into the playoffs. We want to win. We finished second there quite a few times, and yeah, no better time to get the first win than right now.”
Kyle Busch, in his first season driving for Richard Childress Racing, is seventh in the standings with a strong shot at advancing.
He won three races early to start his new career endeavor but was inconsistent leading into the playoffs. He finished 11th at Darlington and seventh at Kansas to give him some breathing room ahead of one of Busch’s best tracks. Busch has eight career Cup Series wins on the Bristol concrete, including three wins in the past nine races.
His 16 short-track wins are the most among active drivers.
Denny Hamlin is in the best position of all drivers who haven’t already clinched. He needs just 12 points to advance into the second round.
Tyler Johnson has announced his retirement after playing 13 NHL seasons and winning the Stanley Cup twice with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Johnson called it a career in a lengthy message posted on social media Monday. Johnson had battled injuries in recent years and is set to turn 35 on July 29.
“As a short kid from a small town, I saw my chances of playing in the NHL as very slim,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “But my family — my parents, Ken and Debbie, and my grandparents — believed in me when doubt clouded my mind. Their unwavering faith turned that dream into reality.”
Listed at 5-foot-8 and 191 pounds, Johnson won at just about ever level, capturing the Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup championships in 2008 with his hometown Spokane Chiefs and the Calder Cup championship with Norfolk of the American Hockey League in 2012.
The NHL brought more success, as he skated in 863 regular-season and playoff games since debuting in the league in 2013, putting up 498 points. Johnson was part of the Lightning’s core when they reached the final in 2015 and helped them hoist the Cup back to back in 2020 and ’21.
Johnson finished with Chicago, playing three seasons with the Blackhawks, and Boston, signing with the Bruins early last season following his training camp tryout.
“After a lifetime devoted to hockey, I’m ready for what’s next,” Johnson said. “This moment is bittersweet, but I leave the game with no regrets.”
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Mammoth re-signed center Jack McBain to a five-year contract worth $21.25 million on Monday.
McBain will count $4.25 million against the salary cap through the 2029-30 NHL season, which was announced a little more than 24 hours since the team elected salary arbitration with the restricted free agent forward.
“He is a big, strong, physical player who competes hard on a nightly basis and brings a gritty toughness to our group,” general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Jack is an important part of the championship-caliber team we are building, and we look forward to having him back on our roster for the foreseeable future.”
McBain, 25, is coming off setting a career high with 27 points and playing all 82 games. He was one of six players to skate in every game of the organization’s first season in Salt Lake City.
“Jack’s versatility as a player, his care for his teammates and his demonstrated willingness to do whatever it takes to win, are all critical elements to our future team success,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said.
McBain has 82 points in 241 games with the franchise, which moved to Utah from Arizona. Since debuting in April 2022, he ranks third in the league with 832 hits.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike