Austin Dillon: 'Feels really darn good' to earn Richmond redemption
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Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Winners, losers of NASCAR Cup race at Richmond won by Austin Dillon
RICHMOND, Va. — Here's a look at the winners and losers from Sunday's Cup race at Richmond. WINNERS Austin Dillon — He snapped a 37-race winless streak with his second consecutive victory at Richmond — and did it without the controversy of last year's race. Dillon led 107 laps (he had led only eight laps all season). That also marked the most laps the No. 3 car has led in a Cup race since Dale Earnhardt led 107 laps in the 1998 Daytona 500. Long: Austin Dillon's win gives Richard Childress something to celebrate in challenging year Richard Childress has been vocal about his organization's performance, but Saturday night he rejoiced in his grandson's win. Dustin Long, Team Penske — Ryan Blaney's third-place finish marked his series-best fifth consecutive top 10. Blaney also led a Penske contingent that saw its three cars place in the top five — the first time the organization has done that since July 2021 at New Hampshire. Joey Logano finished fourth after starting last and Austin Cindric placed fifth. William Byron — His 12th-place finish was good enough to clinch the regular season championship after Chase Elliott was involved in a crash and finished last in the 38-car field. Alex Bowman — His runner-up finish marked his sixth top-10 finish in the last eight races and kept him in a playoff spot with one race left in the regular season. LOSERS Tyler Reddick — Richmond was a 'worse-case scenario' as Reddick described it. Daniel Suarez got into Ty Gibbs, causing Gibbs to come up the track and hit Reddick, sending him into the wall. Reddick went on to finish 34th. With Austin Dillon taking the win and a playoff spot, the cutline moved up. Reddick is only 29 points ahead of Alex Bowman for the final playoff spot. If there is a new winner at Daytona and Bowman outscores Reddick by 29 points, Reddick will miss the playoffs a year after being the regular season champion. 'Worst-case scenario' puts Tyler Reddick's playoff hopes in jeopardy Tyler Reddick finished 34th after his car was damaged in an incident at Richmond. Dustin Long, Joe Gibbs Racing — The organization had won 10 of the last 18 Richmond races before Saturday but didn't lead a lap this time. Denny Hamlin was the top-finishing JGR car in 10th on a night that slow pit stops saddled him. Chase Briscoe was involved in a crash and finished 13th. Ty Gibbs had brake issues and two pit road speeding penalties before he placed 18th. Christopher Bell had a commitment line violation and finished 21st. RFK Racing — Austin Dillon's win knocked Chris Buescher out of the final playoff spot heading to Daytona. Buescher finished 30th. Ryan Preece started on the pole and placed 35th after braking issues. Brad Keselowski, who must win to make the playoffs, placed ninth. RFK Racing must have a driver win next week at Daytona or it won't have any driver in the playoffs.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
U.S. Open mixed doubles lineup is loaded, but awaits Cincinnati Open results
The first edition of the new U.S. Open mixed doubles tennis tournament has its final field — at least for a day or two. After announcing 14 teams late last month, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) has given the last two wild card spots to Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils, and Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova. Advertisement Yes, indeed, the world's top-ranked men's singles player has ended up with one of the world's best doubles players — who is also a multiple Grand Slam winner and Olympic champion — at the last minute, immediately placing them among the favorites to win the $1 million first prize. Both the direct-entry field and the wild-card entries had last-minute changes. Sinner lost his original partner, Emma Navarro, who withdrew. When he ended up with Siniakova, their combined singles ranking was not high enough to receive direct entry, so they needed a wild card. Jasmine Paolini withdrew, and her previous partner, Lorenzo Musetti, re-paired with Caty McNally. They needed a wild card, too. But Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys no longer needed one. So there was room for everyone, including Osaka and Monfils, and even Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova, who got in on direct entry. Here's the field. World No. 2 Coco Gauff is missing due to scheduling commitments, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is opting out, too. The draw is filled with enticing first-round matchups. Alcaraz and Raducanu against Pegula and Draper. Swiatek and Ruud against Keys and Tiafoe, to name just two. The tournament begins Aug. 19, the day after the Cincinnati Open singles finals, and concludes Aug. 20. The winning team will receive $1 million. Doubles players have criticized the USTA for devaluing a Grand Slam trophy by introducing a new format and holding the tournament in the same week as singles qualifying, rather than alongside the tournament proper. USTA executives have responded that not enough people were watching or even thinking about mixed doubles. Nothing, they argue, devalues an event more than that. So out went the 32-team tournament played alongside the singles events. In came first-to-four-games sets, with no-ad scoring and a match tiebreak at a set apiece, with ESPN interviewing players between the sets. The business will get done well ahead of the singles, giving players a competitive warm-up and the broader tournament a promotional boost, or so the theory goes. The start of the U.S. Open proper on Aug. 24 should not take anyone by surprise. Advertisement But the biggest question — whether all the players who raised their hands to play will actually play — remains an unknown. The biggest complication might be the singles finals of the Cincinnati Open, which will take place on Monday, Aug. 18, the day before the mixed doubles start. Alcaraz, Świątek and Paolini are all playing that day, leaving no turnaround time. The USTA will have a few teams in reserve as injuries and scheduling conflicts arise. Maybe the actual doubles players of renown, people like Marcelo Arévalo, who had offered himself up with Siniakova, before she grabbed the chance to play with Sinner, will enter the mix. Or Desirae Krawczyk and Evan King, or Hsieh Su-wei and Jan Zieliński. $1 million is $1 million after all, and the actual doubles players think they have a built-in advantage against even the top singles stars. Olympic results from last year go some way toward proving that point: Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek eliminated the feted Rafael Nadal / Alcaraz partnership with a clinic in court geometry and rally tolerance at the net. But the loudly unspoken priorities of this new event — selling tickets and thrilling fans with an extra chance to see the biggest stars in the sport — have been met by this all-singing, all-dancing cast. The question is how many of them will make it from the poster to the stage. (Photo of Jannik Sinner: Dylan Buell / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
NASCAR playoff projections, points with one race left in 2025 regular season
The NASCAR Cup Series playoff field will be officially determined following the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Aug. 23. The NASCAR Cup Series playoff field is nearly set with just one race remaining in the 2025 regular season. Austin Dillon became the 14th driver to clinch a berth in the playoffs and earned a measure of redemption with his victory under the lights at Richmond Raceway on Aug. 16. Including Dillon, 14 drivers have earned wins this season, leaving just two spots remaining in the 16-driver playoff field. The series now heads to its most famous venue, Daytona International Speedway, for its regular-season finale. The Daytona summer race has produced its share of surprises in recent years, with a number of first-time winners that shook up the playoff field. That includes Erik Jones in 2018, Justin Haley in 2019 and Harrison Burton in 2024, who each celebrated their first NASCAR Cup Series wins at the legendary track. For winless drivers this season, Daytona serves as the ultimate wild card, providing hope that even someone ranked well back in the standings can claim victory and a berth in the playoffs. And should a previously winless driver take the checkered flag in primetime on Aug. 23, that would leave just one spot available to the top-ranked driver without a victory this season. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing and Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports are ranked 15th and 16th, respectively, in the driver standings and would be the final two drivers to make the 10-race playoffs if no new winner emerges. The other side of the 16-driver cut line features two RFK Racing drivers and a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion: No. 17-ranked Chris Buescher, No. 18 Ryan Preece and No. 19 Kyle Busch, the 2015 and 2019 champion and now Dillon's teammate at Richard Childress Racing. Here's a look at the top 20 drivers in the standings following Saturday night's race at Richmond ranked by playoff seeding as of now: NASCAR driver standings — Projected 2025 playoffs A look at the top 20 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, ranked by projected playoff seeding with one race remaining in the regular season. Includes rank, driver, wins (playoff points in parentheses), regular-season points, and points above or below 16-driver cut line, where applicable: Next NASCAR Cup Series race Daytona International Speedway will host the final regular-season race on Saturday, Aug. 23 before the 10-race NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin. Watch NASCAR Cup Series races on Fubo
