CONCORD, N.C. — Kyle Larson qualified 10th for the Coca-Cola 600 following yet another busy day of travel between Indiana and North Carolina.
Larson is attempting to join Tony Stewart on Sunday as the only drivers to complete all 1,100 miles on the same day as part of running the Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 double.
The biggest question might not be whether the highly talented Larson is up for the task, but if the weather will afford him the opportunity.
Rain is in the forecast for Indianapolis, which has the potential to delay his arrival in Charlotte.
He will start fifth at Indy in Arrow McLaren’s No. 17 car in a race that begins around 12:45 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Immediately after, Larson will be flown to Charlotte for a race that is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. He will start 10th in the night race.
“Sure, yeah, it’s stressful because weather is always unpredictable,” Larson said earlier in the week. “But you just don’t really know until it’s happening. So it’s hard to plan for weather. You can have all these plans and backup plans and backup plans for the backup plan. But you just can’t really do anything or react until it’s kind of the moment. That’s what’s a little bit stressful.”
Last week, NASCAR made accommodations for Larson by pushing back the start of the All-Star Race 16 minutes to ensure he made it to North Wilkesboro Speedway in time for $1 million exhibition race after spending the day qualifying at the Indianapolis 500.
He arrived at the track more than an hour before the start of the race by helicopter as fans cheered.
It’s unclear how long NASCAR would postpone the start of one of its crown jewel events — one that former President Donald Trump plans to attend — if the Indianapolis 500 runs long.
Joey Logano said he’s OK with NASCAR delaying the green flag start for the Coca-Cola 600 again on Sunday — as long as it is within reason.
“Pushing it back a little bit, I’m sure, doesn’t really affect much,” said Logano, who won last week’s All-Star Race. “Pushing it back a lot does affect it a lot. Are we willing to give up ratings to get somebody here that chose not to be here to go race the Indy 500?”
Logano said it is really cool that Larson is attempting the double, but added, “I don’t think we should wait very, very long by any means because I don’t want it to hurt the rest of our sport for somebody that showed up late for the race. I don’t think I can call in and say, ‘Hey, I’m stuck in traffic because I left my house late. Can you wait for me?’ It’s not gonna happen.”
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.