The 2024 NASCAR playoffs are finally here. As the green flag looms at Atlanta Motor Speedway, one question dominates my brain.
What more could you want?
OK, you back there with your hand raised and your threadbare 1998 NASCAR 50th anniversary Chase Authentics T-shirt on, I know what you’re going to say. I want the old championship format back, from when men were men and stock cars were really stock and we determined a champion by nothing more than adding up points!
First, let’s be honest here. The old format wasn’t awesome. Yes, every now and then it was, but there’s a reason we still talk about Alan Kulwicki edging out Bill Elliott in 1992 and Darrell Waltrip upsetting Elliott in 1985 and Richard Petty schooling a much younger DW in 1979. Because most of the other title bouts weren’t bouts at all. Trust me, I was born in Rockingham, and I’ve lost count of the number of times we saw a team celebrating the clinching of a Cup title at The Rock, usually very early in the race — and there were still two whole races left to run!
Second, the old format was last used in 2003. That was four years before the introduction of the iPhone. Beyoncé had just gone solo. Ty Gibbs had just celebrated his first birthday. That system debuted in 1975 and lasted 27 years. The Chase/playoffs era is in its 21st year, so asking for the old system back is like demanding the return of asbestos paneling and downloading songs off of LimeWire. It’s not coming back.
Third, stock cars haven’t been stock since, I dunno, 1966? If ever? Sorry, but it’s true.
And fourthly, can we stop with this idea that today’s racers aren’t tough enough? Martin Truex Jr. grew up being tossed around in the Atlantic while hoisting up gigantic nets full of sea creatures. Daniel Suárez just piloted an exploding fireball down the pit lane at Daytona. Kyle Larson has walked away from more god-awful crashes than Ryan Gosling in “The Fall Guy.” Is that Dale Earnhardt driving bulldozers or Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly banging airplane wings as they raced to the next track? No, but that’s not fair. That’s like comparing the people who build houses now to the ones who built the pyramids. Also, bad news: I miss Dale, too, but he isn’t coming back, and neither is Pops or the Clown Prince of Racing.
So, instead of bemoaning what we don’t have, how about taking a moment to revel in what we do have? Because that is a smorgasbord of storylines, drama and a collection of racing talent that spans multiple generations.
You want old-school cool? Start with Truex, he who was handpicked by the Chosen One, Dale Jr., more than two decades ago to be the face of his new race team and future teammate at Dale Earnhardt Inc. He’s 44 now and will hang up his full-time NASCAR helmet at season’s end. He damn nearly squandered his playoff spot at the Darlington regular-season finale but still squeezed into the field to set up an into-the-sunset run at a second Cup Series title, a fitting final twist for a career that he has twice saved from the brink of extinction.
The Clam Prince of New Jersey is joined by two other quadragenarians, 44-year-old Denny Hamlin, seeking to finally shed his “Greatest ever to never win the Cup?” shadow, and 40-year-old Brad Keselowski, who has led a revolution that many thought was impossible, the turning around of the team formerly known as Roush Racing. BK’s lone title came back in 2012. A dozen-year title comeback would match Terry Labonte’s 1984 and 1996 Cups for longest span between a driver’s two titles.
You want top-of-their-game modern legends? Look no further than Larson, the No. 1 seed, who seeks his second Cup in four seasons, here in the same season in which he has already won Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Then there’s his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, also eyeing his second Cup while he completes his comeback from a disastrous 2023. Ryan Blaney is the defending Cup champ. They are joined by old foe and Blaney’s Penske teammate Joey Logano, who hasn’t missed the postseason field since 2017 and hopes to make a record sixth Championship Four in November. If not for his unbelievable five-overtime win at Nashville, the Artist Formerly Known as Sliced Bread wouldn’t be in line for any of that.
You want scrappy youngsters with ties to racing names you already know who literally raced their way into this postseason? Look no further than Austin Cindric, son of legendary Penske executive Tim Cindric, who finally backed up his 2022 Daytona 500 win with a trophy in St. Louis after teammate Logano ran out of gas in sight of the finish line. Then there’s the past two weeks alone. Harrison Burton, son of Jeff and driver of the iconic Wood Brothers Ford, earned his first win and his team’s 100th at Daytona to earn a playoff spot. Then, just last weekend, Chase Briscoe held off Kyle Busch, who also needed the win to get in, to take the iconic Southern 500. That ensured that his team, co-owned by Tony Stewart, will have a shot at the title before it closes its doors at season’s end. And then there’s Gibbs, grandson of Joe, and one of only two drivers to make the field not via a race win but by consistency (Truex is the other) and desperately seeks his first win to hush those who still say he is only in his ride because of his last name.
You want sleeper picks who actually aren’t sleeper picks? How about Larson and Elliott’s fellow Hendrick Motorsports pilots William Byron and Alex Bowman? Both enter the postseason hoping they had more momentum, but are making their fifth and sixth playoff appearances, respectively. Meanwhile, Christopher Bell continues to be the racer people seem to forget. The Norman, Oklahoma, native has been inconsistent at best — his three wins is second best on the year but his six DNFs is second worst among drivers who started all 36 races — but not only is he in the postseason for third consecutive year but he made the Championship Four in his first two appearances.
“Being under the radar is OK, but only for a while,” Bell, 29, said earlier this year. “I guess the only way to be on the radar is to win the whole thing. That’s my plan.”
Speaking of winning the whole thing, do you want someone who drives for maybe the all-time embodiment for winning the whole thing? How about Tyler Reddick, who won the regular season title by driving the wheels off of his No. 45 Jumpman Toyota that is co-owned by, yes, the Jumpman himself, Michael Jordan? Reddick battled through flu-like symptoms to clinch the title, which reminded a lot of folks of something the boss did back in the 1997 NBA Finals.
You want all of the above? Then take Suárez. At 32, he’s not exactly old, but he’s not young, either. Like Truex, his career appeared to be stalled, but he has revived it. Like Reddick, he drives a car co-owned by a crossover superstar who is legitimately committed to the task, Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull. Like those who had to race their way in and also have ties to motorsports royalty, way back in February he earned his second career victory with a three-wide, .003-second photo finish at Atlanta, the track where the postseason begins this weekend. Earlier this summer he married Julia Piquet, daughter of three-time Formula One world champ Nelson Piquet.
So, I have written all of the above in order to write one more sentence. The answer to the question that we started with. What more could you want from the 2024 NASCAR playoffs?
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replacedRonald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg has agreed in principle to a $1.7 billion deal to sell the franchise to a group led by a Florida-based developer Patrick Zalupski, according to a report from The Athletic.
The deal is reportedly expected to be closed as early as September and will keep the franchise in the area, with Zalupski, a homebuilder in Jacksonville, having a strong preference to land in Tampa rather than St. Petersburg.
Sternberg bought the Rays in 2004 for $200 million.
According to Zalupski’s online bio, he is the founder, president and CEO of Dream Finders Homes. The company was founded in December 2008 and closed on 27 homes in Jacksonville the following year. Now, with an expanded footprint to many parts of the United States, Dream Finders has closed on more than 31,100 homes since its founding.
He also is a member of the board of trustees at the University of Florida.
The new ownership group also reportedly includes Bill Cosgrove, the CEO of Union Home Mortgage, and Ken Babby, owner of the Akron RubberDucks and Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, both minor-league teams.
A year ago, Sternberg had a deal in place to build a new stadium in the Historic Gas Plant District, a reimagined recreational, retail and residential district in St. Petersburg to replace Tropicana Field.
However, after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof of the stadium last October, forcing the Rays into temporary quarters, Sternberg changed his tune, saying the team would have to bear excess costs that were not in the budget.
“After careful deliberation, we have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this moment,” Sternberg said in a statement in March. “A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and some other owners began in March to privately push Sternberg to sell the franchise, The Athletic reported.
It is unclear what Zalupski’s group, if it ultimately goes through with the purchase and is approved by MLB owners, will do for a permanent stadium.
The Rays are playing at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, located at the site of the New York Yankees‘ spring training facility and home of their Single-A Tampa Tarpons.
ATLANTA — Shohei Ohtani will bat leadoff as the designated hitter for the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game at Truist Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be followed in the batting order by left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of the host Atlanta Braves.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes will start his second straight All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced last week. Detroit Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal will make his first All-Star start for the American League.
“I think when you’re talking about the game, where it’s at, these two guys … are guys that you can root for, are super talented, are going to be faces of this game for years to come,” Roberts said.
Ohtani led off for the AL in the 2021 All-Star Game, when the two-way sensation also was the AL’s starting pitcher. He hit leadoff in 2022, then was the No. 2 hitter for the AL in 2023 and for the NL last year after leaving the Los Angeles Angels for the Dodgers.
Skenes and Skubal are Nos. 1-2 in average four-seam fastball velocity among those with 1,500 or more pitches this season, Skenes at 98.2 mph and Skubal at 97.6 mph, according to MLB Statcast.
A 23-year-old right-hander, Skenes is 4-8 despite a major league-best 2.01 ERA for the Pirates, who are last in the NL Central. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year has 131 strikeouts and 30 walks in 131 innings.
Skubal, a 28-year-old left-hander, is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. He is 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA, striking out 153 and walking 16 in 121 innings.