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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Shane van Gisbergen earned his fourth victory this season, blowing out the competition again at Watkins Glen International.

The Trackhouse Racing driver joined 2020 champion Chase Elliott and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon as the only drivers to win four consecutive Cup races on road or street courses.

Unlike his prior wins at Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma, van Gisbergen was unable to qualify from the pole position after he was nipped by Ryan Blaney. The Auckland, New Zealand, native bided his team after starting second, taking his first lead on Lap 25 of 90 and then settling into a typically flawless and smooth rhythm on the 2.45-mile road course.

The rookie made his final pit stop with 27 laps remaining and cycled into first place on Lap 74 of a clean race with only three yellow flags. Cruising to a big lead while leading the final 17 laps, van Gisbergen beat Christopher Bell by 11.116 seconds. Chris Buescher finished third, followed by William Byron and Chase Briscoe.

With five victories in only 38 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series, van Gisbergen trails only Elliott (seven wins) and Kyle Larson (six) among active drivers on street or road courses.

The win validated the decision by Trackhouse to sign van Gisbergen to a multiyear contract extension last week.

Feisty Gibbs

It was another frustrating race for Ty Gibbs, who spun John Hunter Nemechek late in Stage 2 and then complained about the handling and strategy of his No. 54 Toyota. Joe Gibbs Racing competition director Chris Gabehart, who recently began working as a strategist and consultant to Gibbs’ team, radioed the driver to “stay in the game” after the Nemechek wreck and later took issue after Gibbs questioned his team’s strategy.

“I’m sure you’ve got a real good understanding from inside the car,” Gabehart told Gibbs on the radio. “So you can call the strategy if you want, or we can keep rolling.”

Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished 33rd and remained winless since moving into Cup after winning the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. Teammates Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Bell each have qualified for the playoffs with victories this season.

Up next

The Cup Series will race Saturday, Aug. 16 at Richmond Raceway, which will play host to its only NASCAR race weekend this season. The 0.75-mile oval had two annual races on the Cup schedule from 1959-2024.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Rangers’ struggling García to IL with ankle injury

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Rangers' struggling García to IL with ankle injury

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers put struggling slugger Adolis García on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle and activated outfielder Evan Carter.

Texas, which is chasing an American League wild-card berth, made the moves their series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Another outfielder, Wyatt Langford, was held out of the lineup because of forearm stiffness, but manager Bruce Bochy said he could be available to pinch-hit.

García is hitting .224 with 16 homers and 64 RBIs in 116 games. He hit .176 (6 for 34) during the nine-game homestand that ended with Wednesday’s game.

Carter, who turns 23 later this month, missed 10 games because of back spasms. He was in a 4-for-34 slump when he was placed on the IL on Aug. 2. He hit .238 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 55 games before then.

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D-backs’ DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

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D-backs' DeSclafani to IL after turn as starter

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Arizona Diamondbacks placed right-hander Anthony DeSclafani on the 15-day injured list Wednesday because of right thumb inflammation after he made three starts.

DeSclafani (1-2, 4.36 ERA) has been primarily a reliever for the Diamondbacks but made the starts this month after Merrill Kelly was traded to the Texas Rangers at the deadline on July 31.

Arizona made the move with DeSclafani before the series finale at Texas, when Kelly was starting for the Rangers. The Diamondbacks recalled right-hander Casey Kelly from Triple-A Reno.

“We’re hoping for the minimal time. He’s going to get some imaging just to make sure that everything’s OK,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “This is something that popped up a couple days ago. We all felt that he was going to be able to take the baseball and go out there and compete, which he did. We saw the stuff in the first couple of innings, and we decided it was time to take him off the field.”

In the three starts this month, DeSclafani is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA, allowing six runs in 9⅔ innings. He threw three innings Tuesday night, allowing two runs in a game Arizona won 3-2 on a homer by Ketel Marte in the ninth.

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Twins no longer for sale; owners eye investors

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Twins no longer for sale; owners eye investors

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins are no longer for sale, executive chair Joe Pohlad announced Wednesday on behalf of his family.

After exploring a variety of options over the past 10 months, the Pohlad family will remain the principal owner of the club and add new investors instead. Carl Pohlad, a banking magnate and the late grandfather of Joe Pohlad, purchased the Twins in 1984 for $44 million.

“For more than four decades, our family has had the privilege of owning the Minnesota Twins. This franchise has become part of our family story, as it has for our employees, our players, this community, and Twins fans everywhere,” Joe Pohlad said in his announcement. “Over the past several months, we explored a wide range of potential investment and ownership opportunities. Our focus throughout has been on what’s best for the long-term future of the Twins. We have been fully open to all possibilities.”

Pohlad said the family was in the process of adding two “significant” limited partnership groups to bring in fresh ideas, bolster critical partnerships and shape the long-term vision of the franchise that relocated to Minnesota in 1961 after originating as the Washington Senators. Details about the new investors will be kept private until Major League Baseball approves of the transactions, Pohlad said.

The Twins are on track for their lowest attendance total in 16 seasons at Target Field, and an ownership-mandated payroll reduction last year, among other factors, has contributed to a dissatisfied customer base. The Twins traded 10 players off their roster leading up to the July 31 deadline, furthering the frustration. Word that the Pohlads are staying put certainly won’t help the morale of Minnesota baseball fans, who’ve been waiting for another World Series title since 1991.

“We see and hear the passion from our partners, the community, and Twins fans. That passion inspires us,” Pohlad said. “This ownership group is committed to building a winning team and culture for this region, one that Twins fans are proud to cheer for.”

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