CONCORD, N.C. — Chase Elliott proved he still knows how to win an Xfinity Series race.
Running on fresh tires, Elliott held off Brandon Jones on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to win his first race on the NASCAR’s lower circuit since 2016 and his sixth overall. It was a rare cameo for Elliott, who has only run four Xfinity races in the past five years.
“It was super special to win with the 17 on the car for the boss and Linda,” Elliott said of team owner Rick Hendrick. “It means a lot to all of us to be a part of it whenever this car runs, and I appreciate the boss for letting me do it. I’m glad to get him a win. It was a good day.”
It also gives Elliott some track knowledge heading into the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, the longest race on the Cup Series schedule.
Elliott became the 12th different Xfinity winner at Charlotte in the past 12 years.
A call to take on new tires with about 50 laps remaining helped Elliott win the race on a hot, slick track.
“We were in a much better tire situation than anybody else and that is what won us the race,” Elliott said. “We ran ourselves a smart race and that put us in position.”
He started in 30th place after a rough day in qualifying Friday, but he battled his way back through the field.
Jones had car problems all day but continued to battle and finished second. Sammy Smith was third and Sam Mayer was fourth after it looked as though he might have a great shot to win late before falling off the pace.
“Talk about an up-and-down day,” Jones said. “That was really fun to come from the back to the front a few times.”
Justin Allgaier won the first two stages of the race to give him a series-high eight on the season, but his chance to defend his title at Charlotte ended when his No. 7 Chevrolet hit the wall with 25 laps to go, continuing his up-and-down season.
Allgaier had been looking for his second straight win on the Xfinity Series after winning two weeks ago at Darlington.
Mayer seemed in control late in the race and was leading when Cole Custer and Austin Hill were involved in a crash with 17 laps remaining. But Elliott pulled away on the restart, and Mayer quickly faded back and had a tight brush with the outside wall before regaining some track position and finishing in the top five.
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
The Texas Rangers‘ pitching staff took another hit Friday, when right-hander Jon Gray suffered a right wrist fracture.
Gray was struck by a line drive from Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia to lead off the fourth inning that knocked him out of the game.
“Not good news, not good news,” manager Bruce Bochy told reporters. “It’s terrible. I feel awful for him, to be this close to getting the season going. It’s just not good news. I’ll get back in there and find out more, but right now, there is a fracture.”
Gray’s injury is the third setback for the Rangers rotation this week. The team said Thursday that left-hander Cody Bradford would start the season on the injured list because of soreness in his throwing elbow. Tyler Mahle had been scratched from a start with forearm soreness, but the right-hander returned to pitch in a minor league game Thursday.
Gray went 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Rangers last season, when he was shut down in September for a foot injury that required surgery. He is in the final year of a four-year, $56 million deal.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
TOKYO — Japanese star Shohei Ohtani showed off some prodigious power in his return to the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.
In an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants, the three-time Most Valuable Player belted a long two-run homer to right field in the third inning to give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead, setting off a roar from the roughly 42,000 fans in attendance.
The Dodgers put on quite a power display in the third with Michael Conforto, Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández all going deep to give Los Angeles a 5-0 advantage.
The Dodgers are playing in Japan as part of the Tokyo Series. The team is playing two exhibition games against Japanese teams before starting the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have at least 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season in 2024. He played several seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan before coming to the U.S. in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels.