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Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps for his fourth victory at the famed short track.

Hamlin also won at NASCAR’s bullring last September.

This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.

“My favorite racetrack!” Hamlin exclaimed over his radio while taking the checkered flag. “We got another.”

He was booed — no surprise considering Hamlin has become arguably the series’ biggest villain — as he stood atop his No. 11 Toyota following a smoky burnout.

It was Hamlin’s 52nd career win and locks him into the playoffs. Brad Keselowski finished third in a Ford, Alex Bowman was fourth in a Chevrolet and Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.

“It was weird,” Larson said. “I accidentally finished fifth. I’ll take it. I hope I never have to run another race like that again.”

The other two Gibbs cars — driven by Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell — finished ninth and 10th, respectively.

The race was chaotic from the start, with cars burning through tires at such an alarming rate that NASCAR issued each team an extra set. That gave them 11 sets total, including the one used in qualifying.

It made for four hours of tire management that put gave control to drivers and crew chiefs. It also led to the most lead changes (54) in NASCAR’s short-track history, breaking the previous mark of 40 set in 1991 at Bristol.

JGR handled it better than the rest of the field.

“Our Toyotas are really working well right now,” Truex said.

NASCAR returned Bristol to “normal” for the first time in four years for the spring race. The track added red clay each of the last three years. Reviews were mixed, and as the novelty wore off, sub-par racing inside the high-banked oval overshadowed any excitement that came with the series running on dirt for the first time since 1970.

In an effort to improve the racing and make sure the track had two equal lanes, workers put down a resin-based traction compound through the turns. It was far from perfect.

GOODYEAR RESPONDS

Goodyear felt the need to make a rare statement during the race. Greg Stucker, the tire manufacturer’s director of racing, said a test at Bristol Motor Speedway last year was intended to find a setup that led to more tire wear.

But he called Sunday’s outcome “too drastic.”

The rubber that was supposed to leave tires and adhere to the racing grooves came off in chunks that looked like shredded cheese. Those loose pieces called “marbles” create a slippery situation around the 0.533-mile track.

Part of the culprit may have been the tracks’ decision to put down a new and different traction compound.

“Now we’re trying to understand what’s different,” Stucker said. “Why is the racetrack behaving differently this weekend than what it did a year ago? It’s the same package. It’s the same tire combination.

“Obviously, the difference is resin was place on the lower groove instead of the (previous substance). Yet I still think the racetrack should be taking rubber as it did last fall; it took rubber immediately during that race.”

UP NEXT

The series moves to its first road track of the season, with a Sunday race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Tyler Reddick won the 2023 race there.

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White Abarrio wins $3 million Pegasus World Cup

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White Abarrio wins  million Pegasus World Cup

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — White Abarrio won the $3 million Pegasus World Cup with a dominant performance at Gulfstream on Saturday.

He ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.05 under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who earned his third career Pegasus victory.

Sent off as the 5-2 favorite, White Abarrio paid $7.60, $3.80 and $3.

Locked returned $3.20 and $2.40, while Skippylongstocking paid $4.40.

White Abarrio hit the apex of his career in 2023, when he won the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic as well as the Whitney at Saratoga for trainer Rick Dutrow. The horse won the Florida Derby at Gulfstream in 2022.

The horse had been transferred when his Florida-based trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. was barred from racing at Churchill Downs and in New York after two of his horses died suddenly 48 hours apart in races at Churchill in the weeks leading up to the 2023 Kentucky Derby.

White Abarrio’s owners wanted to run him in the Met Mile at Belmont, so they chose the New York-based Dutrow to oversee him. The horse went back to Joseph’s barn in June 2024.

“Today he was spectacular,” a teary-eyed Joseph said. “I’m just thankful.”

In the $1 million Pegasus Turf, Spirit of St Louis edged Integration by a neck.

The 6-year-old gelding ran 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:44.50, just off the track record of 1:44.45 set by last year’s winner Warm Heart. He paid $17.80 to win at 7-1 odds.

Spirit of St Louis was ridden by Tyler Gaffalione and trained by Chad Brown, who won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding trainer earlier in the week.

Chasing the Crown was third.

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Sanders unsure if he will throw at NFL combine

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Sanders unsure if he will throw at NFL combine

FRISCO, Texas — Former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders said Saturday he is unsure if he will throw at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis next month.

Sanders is attending the East-West Shrine Bowl but will not participate in practice or in the game Thursday. He was at the West team’s first practice at the University of North Texas on Saturday morning but stood on the field, watching the other prospects.

While Sanders won’t conduct any on-field work at the Shrine Bowl, he reiterated his belief that he’s worthy of being the top pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He has been training in the Dallas area with former Miami‘s Cam Ward, another top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft.

“We changed the program at Jackson [State University],” Sanders said. “We went to Colorado, changed the program. And we did everything people didn’t think we were able to do. So, that’s why I know I’m the most guaranteed risk you can take.”

Sanders met with multiple teams Friday, including the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and New York Giants, who hold the first three picks in the draft, respectively. The Titans met with Sanders for 45 minutes.

“I like that I’m able to get in the forefront of everything and they’re able to understand me and ask me whatever questions they want,” Sanders said. “I’m not ducking. I ain’t hiding. I’m right here, live in the flesh and able to answer whatever questions are out there.”

While Sanders is confident in his worthiness as the first overall pick, he said he would be “thankful for whatever situation and whoever drafts me. I know I’ll be able to change their program.”

Asked what he will bring to a team, Sanders smiled and said, “A lot of wins.”

Shedeur’s older brother Shilo, a safety, is also in Texas for the game. Colorado is also represented by wide receivers Will Sheppard, LaJohntay Wester, Jimmy Horn Jr. and cornerback Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig.

ESPN’s Turron Davenport contributed to this report.

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Mets’ Cohen: Alonso negotiations ‘exhausting’

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Mets' Cohen: Alonso negotiations 'exhausting'

NEW YORK — The New York Mets held their first winter event for fans in five years at Citi Field on Saturday, and there was one notable absence. Pete Alonso wasn’t in attendance because, for the first time since the 2016 draft, he isn’t a member of the Mets’ organization.

The homegrown star first baseman remains a free agent and, though a reunion remains possible, he might have played his last game as a Met.

Owner Steve Cohen bluntly said as much Saturday after taking the stage for a fireside chat with fans to chants of “We want Pete!”

“Personally, this has been an exhausting conversation and negotiation,” Cohen explained. “I mean, [Juan Soto’s negotiation] was tough. This is worse. A lot of it is, we’ve made a significant offer. I don’t like the structures that are being presented back to us. I think it’s highly asymmetric against us and I feel strongly about it.”

Alonso, along with third baseman Alex Bregman, is one of the two best position players left on the free agent market. The first baseman, who is represented by Scott Boras, originally sought a long-term deal, but he is open to returning to the Mets on a three-year contract and the Mets have been open to such a deal, according to a source. The obstacle has been money.

“I will never say no,” Cohen said. “There’s always the possibility. But the reality is we’re moving forward and we continue to bring in players. As we continue to bring in players, the reality is it becomes harder to fit Pete into what is a very expensive group of players that we already have and that’s where we are.

“I’m being brutally honest. I don’t like the negotiations. I don’t like what’s being presented to us. Maybe that changes. I’ll always stay flexible. But if it stays this way, I think we’re going to have to get used to the fact that we may have to go forward with the existing players that we have.”

The Mets recently re-signed outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker to a one-year, $7.5 million contract and added left-handed reliever A.J. Minter on a two-year, $22 million deal. They’ve also signed Soto (15 years, $765 million), Sean Manaea (three years, $75 million), Clay Holmes (three years, $38 million), and Frankie Montas (two years, $34 million), among other moves, this winter.

Preparing for life without Alonso, the Mets recently instructed third basemen Mark Vientos and Brett Baty to work out at first base. Vientos and Baty both confirmed the organization’s request Saturday.

“We all love Pete, and we’ve said that many times,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “And I think, as we’ve gone through this process, we’ve continued to express that. We also understand that this is a business and Pete, as a free agent, deserves the right and has the right and earned the privilege, really, to see what’s out there. We also feel really good about the young players who are coming through our system who have the ability to play at the major-league level.”

Vientos, 25, enjoyed a breakout season as one of the best hitters in the National League after solidifying himself as the Mets’ every-day third baseman in May and helping fuel the team’s run to the NL Championship Series. Baty, a former top prospect, was the club’s opening day third baseman last season. He struggled after a hot start before he was demoted to Triple-A and didn’t return to the majors.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza also named veterans Jared Young and Joey Meneses, both of whom signed this winter, as other options at first base if Alonso doesn’t return.

“Pete’s been here since I’ve been here,” said Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who has starred for the franchise since 2021. “He was here before me. So, yeah, it would be different if he goes somewhere else. Yeah, it would be different. But I think he should take his time. I think he should make the best decision for himself and not feel that he’s rushed.”

Alonso, 30, became a fan favorite while becoming a franchise cornerstone over his six seasons in Queens. He’s hit 226 home runs since making his major-league debut — the second-highest total in baseball behind only Aaron Judge. His 53 home runs in 2019 set a rookie record. He’s been a reliable everyday presence; he’s never missed more than nine games in a season and played in all 178 games, postseason included, in 2024. He’s made four All-Star teams and won the Home Run Derby twice.

But he rates as a poor defender and baserunner whose offensive production has declined over the last three seasons, creating a free-agent market that hasn’t been as fruitful as projected when he declined a seven-year, $158 million contract extension in 2023.

“Listen, he’s a special player,” Hall of Famer and former Mets catcher Mike Piazza said Saturday. “Guys that can hit 40 home runs are not walking on the street. So when he’s really in his game, he’s a special player. I hope, from a personal standpoint, I hope they work something out.”

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo, the longest-tenured player on the roster after debuting in 2016, signed an eight-year, $162 million contract to remain with the Mets two offseasons ago. Like Alonso, Boras is his agent. Unlike Alonso, he reached a resolution in December, not with spring training around the corner.

“I would love to see Pete back with us, but I also understand that I don’t make those decisions,” Nimmo said. “And that’s between Pete and our front office and David [Stearns] and Steve [Cohen]. And from what I understand, there’s been a lot of talks between them. I’m still hopeful that we’ll sign him.”

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