How should playoff hopefuls navigate Watkins Glen?
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Three Up, Three Down: Drivers in focus leaving Richmond
With a weekend that had plenty of old-school feel to it, Austin Dillon was the one who shined the brightest in a short-track showdown under the lights. The Richard Childress Racing driver guided the iconic No. 3 ride to Victory Lane at Richmond Raceway with ease after leading 107 laps and earning redemption to return to Cup Series Playoffs. RELATED: | With one race left in the regular season, let's take a look at three drivers moving in the right direction and three drivers on their back foot before another Saturday night's thriller at Daytona International Speedway (7:30 ET, NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Peacock). THREE UP ⬆️ 1. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Started: 20th Finished: 3rd What happened: Overall, it was a banner day for Team Penske with the 2023 Cup Series champ carrying the flag, scoring his first top-five finish at Richmond. Blaney was a force all evening, scoring points in both stages and coming alive in the second half of the race to challenge Dillon for the win. In the end, he couldn't make up the gap to catch Dillon in the final stint, settling for his ninth top five of the season. What's next: Blaney has proven to be a master on drafting tracks, and he does have a summer win at Daytona from 2021. With how much pace the whole organization is showing right now, Penske is peaking at the right time before the playoffs and Blaney has a chance to end the regular season on a six-race top-10 streak. 2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford Started: 38th Finished: 4th What happened: The defending champ had a mountain to climb before the green flag dropped, with a tire failure in practice sending him into the wall and not setting a lap in qualifying. He admitted it was a frustrating night post-race, but Logano kept his head down and didn't waste any time as he charged up to fourth by midway through Stage 2. His speed held true once the checkered flag flew, which resulted in his fifth top 10 at Richmond over the last six races there. What's next: With a season that's now only produced seven top-10 finishes through 25 races, this was the perfect tone-setting weekend for Logano and Co. to execute through adversity and build momentum before the playoffs picking up their first top five since Nashville, and we know how dangerous it is to give the No. 22 crew momentum at this point of the year. 3. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Started: 27th Finished: 14th What happened: Van Gisbergen chipped away at spots all night and slowly got more comfortable as the race went on. Plus, the Kiwi stayed clean once chaos did strike in the middle portions of the race. The result ties his best finish on ovals since the Coca-Cola 600 and his sixth top 20 at such tracks. What's next: With the second-most playoff points already in hand, this solid run at Richmond gives a shot in the arm to van Gisbergen as he continues to progress on ovals. The momentum should boost his confidence for the postseason, where every lap of experience matters and each clean finish could mean the difference in advancing. THREE DOWN ⬇️ 1. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Started: 1st Finished: 35th What happened: RFK Racing had a dismal day after showing blazing speed on Friday, highlighted no more clearly than by pole-sitter Preece. Preece appeared to have the car early to sail into his first career Cup Series win and lock into the playoffs. Instead the No. 60 team opted for a different strategy and saved fresher tires for later in the race. The gamble didn't pay off as Preece faded throughout the 400-lapper before being plagued by brake issues. What's next: Some good news is that the Fords show speed at drafting tracks and Preece has had great qualifying efforts two out of his last three visits to Daytona. It's going to take a mighty effort in close-quarter racing next Saturday for the Connecticut wheelman to keep his playoff hopes alive. 2. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford Started: 12th Finished: 30th What happened: Buescher never found the pace to contend and leaned on an alternate strategy to try and gain track position. The move didn't stick, and he steadily slipped back from the top 15 during the race. What's next: He came in as the last driver clinging to the playoff bubble, but Austin Dillon's win pushes him below the elimination line, a full 60 points back of Alex Bowman for the provisional final spot in the 16-driver postseason grid. That effectively leaves Daytona as a must-win with his postseason hopes against the wall. 3. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota Started: 2nd Finished: 34th What happened: Reddick flexed early on, winning the opening stage and leading 41 laps at a track where he only has two top 10s. Unfortunately, contact from the lapped car of Ty Gibbs cost the No. 45 driver a chance to remain upfront and vie for his first win of the season as Reddick spun and never recovered. What's next: His points cushion to the playoff elimination line is still solid, and though he didn't clinch a spot with a race to spare, Reddick just needs to avoid calamity in the final tilt of the regular season and focus on getting off to a strong start in the Cup Series Playoffs.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 22 - Jim Eakins (1976)
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 23rd of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 22, which has has had a total of 31 players wear the number in the history of the team. The 10th of those players wearing No. 22 played in the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, big man alum Jim Eakins. After ending his college career at BYU, Eakins was picked up with the 57th overall selection of the 1968 NBA Draft by the (then) San Francisco (now, Golden State) Warriors. The Sacramento, California native instead signed with the ABA's (defunct) Oakland Oaks. He also played for the (also defunct) Washington Caps/(yes, also defunct) Virginia Squires, (yep, defunct) Utah Stars, and squires again before he was dealt to New York in 1976. His stay with the team would span just 36 games before he would move to the NBA and then be dealt to the (then) Kansas City (now, Sacramento) Kings that same year. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Eakins wore only jersey No. 22 and put up 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
Brad Keselowski Laughs at Connor Zilisch's Hard Fall after Xfinity Victory
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. NASCAR Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski laughed at Connor Zilisch's fall, which occurred when Zilisch was celebrating his victory at Watkins Glen International last weekend. The 19-year-old driver suffered from a broken collarbone and recently underwent surgery to expedite his recovery for a racing return. The incident occurred when Zilisch had just climbed atop his car, only to slip and fall headfirst. The event made headlines over the past week due to its severity. However, Keselowski found humor in Zilisch's fall, stating that he experienced falls in the past. When asked ahead of the race at Richmond if he planned on climbing on top of his car if he won the race, the 2012 NASCAR Cup champion said: "Probably not. I think I'll just grab my American flag and stand outside of it. But man, that was sure scary. I called Adam Alexander [NASCAR commentator] yesterday because now that we know Connor's okay, it is one of the funniest damn videos I've ever seen in my life. And we've all had our, you know, moments. "The funniest part to me was Adam just saying, 'Oh my god, he fell.' And my wife and I, we've had a lot of fun with that. But, you do this sport long enough, you're bound to have a moment that you wish you could have back. And, I've got quite a few of them, and Connor got his first one." Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Castrol Ford, walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico. Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Castrol Ford, walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15, 2025 in Mexico City, gave an update recently after undergoing surgery. Newsweek Sports reported his comments: "Wanted to give everyone a quick update. Had surgery on my collarbone this morning to get a plate and screws to help with the healing process. Been a tough few days for me mentally, but all the love you guys have shown has certainly helped. Thank you." Due to the injury, Zilisch was unable to race the next day in the Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing. It remains to be seen if he can return for the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway next weekend. Addressing the topic of his racing return, Trackhouse's team owner Justin Marks said: "I think it's a discussion that we all have to have. We haven't really talked about much, obviously, since yesterday, but in the little bit that we've discussed in some of the quiet moments over the last 24 hours, it's going to have to be a group decision. "It's going to have to be sponsors, Chevrolet, the team, taking care of his development, taking care of him as a human and as an athlete, and then keeping his motivations high and making sure he knows he's got a group of people behind him that are supportive of him."
