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Toronto Star
10 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Defending champ Kyle Larson returns to Brickyard seeking turnaround
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson raced to his third NASCAR Cup victory of the season at Kansas in mid-May then turned his attention to his second and perhaps final attempt at racing's double — completing all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Instead, he was hit with a double whammy.
Winnipeg Free Press
10 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Defending champ Kyle Larson returns to Brickyard seeking turnaround
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kyle Larson raced to his third NASCAR Cup victory of the season at Kansas in mid-May then turned his attention to his second and perhaps final attempt at racing's double — completing all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Instead, he was hit with a double whammy. A crash on Lap 92 knocked him out of the 500, relegating him to 24th, and two crashes — the second on Lap 245 — knocked him out in Charlotte, where he finished 37th. Not much has gone right for Lason since then. He posted just one top five finish over the next eight races before finishing fourth at Dover last weekend. Now, the defending Brickyard 400 champion is back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway trying to recharge his season. 'It's great to be back here in Indy and back at the track, hopefully I'll do a much better job than I did in May,' he said Friday. 'It's a privilege to get to run here and I would love nothing more than a good run and hopefully kind of put the bow on the double stuff.' Only three drivers in race history own back-to-back Brickyard wins — Jimmie Johnson in 2008-09, Kyle Busch in 2015-16 and Kevin Harvick in 2019-20. Larson's won last year on Indy's historic 2.5-mile oval instead of the road course used the previous three years. Most if not all drivers including Larson prefer running the oval. 'There's so many people from all over the world here whether it be May or our events or, really for that matter, any events,' Justin Allgaier said. '… It's just there's nothing quite like it;' Larson understands having driven an IndyCar on the oval each of the last two Mays and now back in a Cup car, his fourth start in 14 months at the Brickyard. The difference this year: Larson wants to change directions after some sub-par results. But they haven't dashed his championship hopes. The 2021 Cup champ is tied for second in wins this season, already has accrued 23 playoff points and trails only Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup champ, and William Byron in points. Neither Elliott or Byron has won the 400, though. Neither has Denny Hamlin, who sits just behind Larson in points despite winning a series-best four times including last weekend at Dover. He also signed a two-year contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing on Friday. If he can add a win Sunday to the three he's had in the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 and the one Coca-Cola 600 title, Hamlin would join the short list of drivers who have won all four Cup crown jewel races in their career. 'It certainly would mean a lot to me,' said Hamlin, who has started 16 Brickyards. 'We've come close. We were actually as close on the road course as we were on ovals although I don't know — you could argue whether that (road race) was actually a crown jewel or not. So, yeah, highly motivated.' But things already are off script for Larson, Hamlin and everyone else in Indy. Friday's scheduled practice was rained out, making the second week in a row practice was washed out. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday when temperatures are forecast to be in the mid to upper 80s with rain in the forecast most of the afternoon. The forecast for Sunday looks almost identical to Saturday. That's not what Larson wanted to hear even though race organizers rescheduled a short practice for Saturday afternoon. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'Hopefully, our car is good again,' he said before the scheduled practice. 'I believe it should be fast, if not better than it was last year. So, you know, hopefully we'll have a good practice, good qualifying (Saturday) and execute a good race on Sunday.' Larson's goal is simple — qualify up front, stay up front and stay out of the trouble he's found far too routinely lately. 'When (Christopher Bell) spun (at Dover), I thought I was going to get collected and be like 'Uh, oh, just continuing our bad luck here,' he said. 'So, hopefully, this is the beginning of us to kind turn things around. We'll see.' ___ AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
10 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
49ers' kicker competition between Moody and Joseph draws attention from team stars
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The kicking portion of an NFL training camp practice is often a time when established players take a break or work on something else. That's not necessarily the case this summer for the San Francisco 49ers where the competition between incumbent kicker Jake Moody and offseason acquisition Greg Joseph is catching the attention of even the team's biggest stars. 'I actually have been paying attention to it. I can't lie,' defensive end Nick Bosa said. 'It's kind of exciting.' That's just the kind of focus new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer wants on his kickers as he tries to create as much of a high-stakes environment for his kickers on the practice field to determine who he can trust most once the season starts. 'I think it's cool that everybody's watching and it puts that added pressure on and stuff like that,' Boyer said. 'Because that's where you're going to find out who has the upper leg or not.' Boyer has had both kickers alternate kicks from the exact same spot on the field in camp, to make sure both are getting their opportunities in the same conditions and to put pressure on each. Both kickers had performed well throughout the offseason and the start of camp before hitting a but of a rough patch on Friday when Joseph missed two of his four attempts and Moody missed one. Moody is trying to bounce back from a rough second season in the NFL when he struggled mightily in the second half of the 2024 campaign after coming back from an ankle injury. Moody made some changes to his approach this offseason, going from taking three steps on his approach to just two. He made the change after consulting with his kicking coach and some veteran kickers after seeing on film that his third step had been inconsistent and could have contributed to the inaccuracy. 'What that did, at least in my mind, was keep everything kind of shorter and more consistent as far as less variables of having a third jab step is what I would call it,' he said. 'So just kind of taking that out gets me to the ball a little quicker.' Moody said the new approach might cost him a yard or two in length but should make him more consistent and become the kicker the Niners thought they had when they drafted him in the third round in 2023. Moody had an up-and-down rookie season, making 21 of 25 field goals in the regular season and missing only one extra point. But he missed a potential game-winning kick in a loss at Cleveland and missed field goals in playoff wins against Green Bay and Detroit. Moody then made three field goals in the Super Bowl with two coming from more than 50 yards, but also had an extra point blocked in that game. Moody got off to a strong start last season, making all six field goals he attempted in the season opener and going 13 for 14 before injuring his ankle while attempting to make a tackle on a kickoff return in Week 5. He missed three games and then went 5 for 14 on attempts from at least 40 yards in the final nine games. 'I seen a guy that lost his confidence a little bit, but I also seen a guy that was injured half the year,' Boyer said. 'He's a super-talented kid, and I think that he's just got to get his stinger back so to speak. And Greg is putting all the pressure on him that he can.' Moody said his confidence isn't an issue and that he is using last season as a learning experience that gave him a chip on his shoulder. He said he is going through camp focused on his process more than results and is confident he can get back to being the consistent kicker he knows he can be. 'I want to prove to myself that I deserve to be here, and that I belong,' Moody said. 'It doesn't have anything to do with last year or other people or anything. Just kind of changed my mindset to just focusing on the now, and doing whatever I can do in the moment to help myself best make kicks.' Brock Purdy's day off Brock Purdy missed practice Friday for what the team described as personal reasons. Purdy is expected back at San Francisco's next session Sunday. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. With Purdy out, Mac Jones and Tanner Mordecai split all the reps. Renardo Green leaves injured Second-year cornerback Renardo Green had a strong practice with a few pass breakups before he came up limping late in the session with what appeared to be a sore hamstring. ___ AP NFL:
