NASCAR honors 'The Ironman' Ricky Rudd and 'Cousin Carl' Edwards as Hall of Fame inductees
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of the toughest drivers in NASCAR history joined one the most enigmatic drivers of the modern era as the newest inductees into the Hall of Fame in a star-studded Friday night ceremony.
Ricky Rudd, known as the 'Ironman' for his 788 consecutive starts over a 32-year career, was feted for his grit. Following a crash the week before the Daytona 500, Rudd's eyes were so swollen he used duct tape to keep them open so that he could race. In reality, it was injuries to his ribs that bothered him most, for week, but was overlooked because of the tape keeping his eyes open.
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CBS News
10 hours ago
- CBS News
Luzardo returns to form with 10 strikeouts and Philadelphia Phillies bats come alive to end prolonged slumps
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. admired Kyle Schwarber's shot deep into the right-field seats —"that's a bomb!" — and got a thrill when Nick Castellanos came inches away from his own solo homer. Castellanos settled for a triple, showing that in baseball — unlike in Stenhouse's day job in NASCAR — good things happen when a long drive ends with a smack off the wall. Alec Bohm also went deep and teamed with Schwarber and Castellanos to contribute three of the Phillies' five extra-base hits in a win the team can only hope revived an offense that's been punchless this month. Another encouraging sign? Jesús Luzardo put two disastrous starts behind him and struck out 10 in six innings to lead the Phillies past the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Wednesday. The Phillies had lost nine of 10 games overall headed into the Cubs' series and suffered the double whammy of losing first baseman Bryce Harper to wrist soreness and starter Aaron Nola adding a stress reaction in one of his right ribs. They returned home and split the first two games of the three-game set against the Cubs in underwhelming fashion: Of their 26 hits in two games, 23 were singles. Schwarber hit his 21st homer, a Monster Mile — Stenhouse attended to promote the July 20 NASCAR race at Dover Motor Speedway — and Bohm added four RBIs to help the Phillies win the series. Schwarber is averaging one home run for every 10.94 at-bats during June in his career, which ranks third in MLB history with at least 600 at-bats behind Babe Ruth (10.64 AB/HR) and Mark McGwire (10.80 AB/HR). Luzardo handled the rest. The left-hander was an early season success story in his first season since he was acquired from Miami in what looked like the heist of the winter. He struck out 11 in his Phillies' debut and followed in his second start with seven scoreless innings. Luzardo struck out a combined 20 batters in consecutive starts in late May as the Phillies surged to the lead in the NL. Luzardo's next two starts were somehow about as bad as it gets — he was rocked for 12 runs in 3 1/3 innings that skyrocketed his ERA from 2.15 to 3.58 and he gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his last outing in Toronto. Luzardo insisted he was healthy and still hit the high 90s with his fastball, forcing him to study game film with a bit of a detective's eye to find out why his season soured. He came to the conclusion that he must have been tipping his pitches. How about a tip of the cap from Phillies fans instead? "There's a lot of things we tinkered with," Luzardo said. "The biggest thing was attention to detail, attention to where we want to go, pitch selection that comes from me." Luzardo fanned two batters in the first inning to get the gem of a start going. He didn't walk a batter in six innings and allowed his only run with the Phillies up 4-0. Luzardo gave up consecutive singles to open the second inning before he struck out the side. "He studies himself and he wants to address what he's doing wrong," Schwarber said. "That's the impressive thing about him. We were all excited to watch him get out there on the mound today and see what was going to happen. Never a third time." Max Lazar worked two innings of relief and Michael Mercado tossed a scoreless ninth for the Phillies. Luzardo recorded his fourth double-digit strikeout game in his 15th start of the season, the first Phillies pitcher with four or more double-digit strikeout games in their first 15 starts with the team since Steve Carlton had five in 1972. Yes, the Hall of Famer with the 10-foot statue outside Citizens Bank Park. Not all stats, of course, are usually measured against Hall of Famers. Luzardo was the first Phillies left-hander with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in a game since Drew Smyly struck out 10 in 2019 at Washington. Up next, an off day and a home weekend series against a Blue Jays team that outscored the Phillies 11-2 in consecutive losses last weekend. Schwarber was willing to bet the past two weeks were just a blip in a long season for a playoff-tested team rather than the start of a summer swoon. "We know what we have," Schwarber said. "We've been in a little rut and we're finding our way out of it. We know that if we do what we need to do, we're know that we're not going to be losing many games overall."
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Newsweek
Tributes Pour In For NASCAR Legend Travis Carter After Death at 75
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. In sad news ahead of the NASCAR Cup Mexico City, it has been confirmed that Travis Carter, NASCAR team owner and founder of Travis Carter Enterprises, has died at the age of 75. After staying in a hospice towards the end of his life, Carter died on June 10, 2025. NASCAR issued the following statement: "From his early days atop the pit box to his years as a respected team owner, Travis Carter embodied the competitive spirit, integrity, and passion that define NASCAR. NASCAR extends its heartfelt condolences and prayers to his family and many friends." Carter became crew chief for Benny Parsons, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and put a championship win under his belt with the team. NASCAR car owner Johnny Hayes, left, talks with Skoal Bandit team crew chief Travis Carter prior to the start of the 1983 Daytona 500 stock car race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.... NASCAR car owner Johnny Hayes, left, talks with Skoal Bandit team crew chief Travis Carter prior to the start of the 1983 Daytona 500 stock car race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. MoreIn 1990, the North Carolina native put his own car and team into a race. A number of NASCAR personalities and stakeholders have shared their condolences. Rick Mast posted to X: "In 1989 Travis Carter, while in a desperate situation trying to save his team, took a chance on an unproven, unpolished rookie race car driver at @DAYTONA. He was rewarded with running up front, leading, and a 6th place finish. (Could've won had we gambled on fuel like Darrell did). This race propelled me into the spotlight and reaffirmed Travis's place in our sport. That man took a chance on me because he 'saw something.' Travis was a visionary and was hailed with the upmost [sic] respect in our industry. RIP dear friend. 'It's ah dupping'" ESPN writer Ryan McGee posted: "Godspeed Travis Carter. He used to greet me with 'Hey, Cousin McGee' because I was from Rockingham, NC and he was from Ellerbe, NC and 'that's close enough.' What a NASCAR legend and what a damn nice guy." Brett Griffin also added to the tributes: "RIP Travis Carter. Got to see him a lot over the last few years at basketball games. His son Matt coached Bode for several seasons. Great family. Glad I snagged this pic of him last year to send to a buddy of mine." Brian Keselowski said his goodbyes: "Just heard about Travis Carter passing away. If you didn't know him, you missed out on a great guy. When we first moved to NC in 2010 we rented a shop from him. He was so happy for us when we made Daytona in 2011, I'll never forget it. Rest easy my friend."
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sky's Angel Reese shatters Tina Charles' WNBA record by 6 games
The post Sky's Angel Reese shatters Tina Charles' WNBA record by 6 games appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Chicago Sky are off to a nightmare start in 2025, but there are still some silver linings mixed in with all of the losses. On Tuesday night, second-year big Angel Reese continued to set records as she gets off to a torrid start to her career on the glass. Advertisement Against the Phoenix Mercury on Tuesday, Reese eclipsed 500 career points and 500 career rebounds in just 38 games. That passes Tina Charles for the fastest player to reach those marks according to Underdog WNBA. Charles took 44 games to get there, so Reese blew that record out of the water. She has become a double-double machine early in her career and is already one of the best rebounders in the WNBA, so it isn't necessarily a surprise to see her get to this point. Charles is one of the legends of the WNBA, so Reese is already in good company. The 2012 WNBA MVP is a surefire Hall of Fame player, so Reese will be thrilled to be mentioned in the same breath as her. From a team standpoint, things have gone very poorly for the Sky so far this season, Chicago is now 0-4 on the season after blowing a big second-half lead against the Phoenix Mercury in a 94-89 loss on Tuesday night and are quickly slipping behind many others in the playoff race. Advertisement Individually, Reese has had a bit of an up-and-down start to the year. On one hand, she is averaging 10 points and 14 rebounds per game with three double-doubles in four games. However, she is shooting just 13-for-42 from the field despite most of her volume coming in the paint. Reese also has 17 turnovers in four games, which is far too many for a big on the interior. Reese's offensive game is clearly still a work in progress, but she is still a plus player as a rebounder who creates extra possessions for her team on the glass. As she continues to grow, that part of her game will continue to be an asset for the Sky.
