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TimesLIVE
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Ross Chastain chases down William Byron to win Coca-Cola 600
Ross Chastain kept a streak alive and won his first crown jewel race in the process. The Trackhouse Racing driver ran down William Byron over the final 37 laps to capture the NASCAR Cup Series' longest race, Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Chastain became the ninth different winner in the past nine races at the sport's home track. After fending off a battle with Denny Hamlin, Byron withstood a charge from Chastain until the No 1 Chevrolet suddenly closed a three-tenth's gap and got by with six laps to go to beat Byron by 0.673 seconds for his first win this season in the 66th running of the event. The Alva, Florida, native started last in the 40th spot at the 2.41km speedway after going to a backup car after a wreck in practice on Saturday. He led only eight laps in his sixth career win, while Byron managed a race- and career-high 283. "To drive on that final run in the (600) and pass two cars that had been way better, we just won the (600)," yelled Chastain, whose last win was at Kansas last September. "My team built me another car. We stayed in it. I passed them because my team went and built me a car all night." A Charlotte native, Byron was bidding for his first victory at his nearby track but could not deny Chastain, who in trademark fashion smashed a victory watermelon on the front stretch before eating a giant chunk. "I was defending," Byron said. "I was getting a little bit tight. He got a run on me and was able to get to the bottom and clear me off of (turn) 2. It's disappointing to lead that many laps (and not win)." Pole-sitter Chase Briscoe, AJ Allmendinger and Brad Keselowski completed the top five. In attempting "The Double", Kyle Larson struggled to a 37th-place finish after wrecking out at the midway point of the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day. He finished 27th in that race. Larson passed Briscoe on Lap 9 but fought with his car and soon tagged the wall hard. The 2021 Cup champion then spun by himself off Turn 4 on Lap 42, forcing him to pit road for a long stop. Running ninth with three circuits left in Stage 1, Alex Bowman's No 48 banged the wall off Turn 4 and slid through the front stretch grass. Byron won the second segment during the second caution period, while Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell trailed him. Byron held an 8 1/2-second lead as Stage 2 neared its end. The two-time Daytona 500 champ then eased to the segment win over Hamlin and Reddick with Carson Hocevar continuing his strong run in fourth. The 400-lap race's biggest melee was on Lap 246 after a restart. Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney and Briscoe made contact, and Larson and Justin Haley were involved in the sixth caution on the front stretch. Hamlin led 34 laps in Stage 3, but Byron worked his way past the No 11 Toyota in the closing circuits to sweep the first three stages and pocket the maximum bonus points.
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
NFL Draft's stunning tumble continues, plus the NHL's surprising villain
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Find some late-round value today. The Florida Panthers have become what they set out to destroy. The Panthers' road to their first Stanley Cup win last June was long and full of disappointments, many of the latest at the hands of their Floridian rivals, the Lightning. Tampa Bay's 2021 Cup win, its second in a row and third of the century, had included a first-round triumph over the Panthers. That was the first time the two met in the playoffs, which was mainly because the Panthers were almost never in the playoffs before then. Advertisement Now, the Panthers aren't just the reigning champs. I declare them the unambiguous casual fan's villains of these hockey playoffs. The historically woebegone Florida Panthers have the trophy the rest of North America wants, and as they tussle with Tampa Bay for the fourth time in five playoffs, it is the Lightning who seem like the sympathetic side to root for. Florida leads 2-0 ahead of today's Game 3, starting at 1 p.m. ET on TBS. How did the Panthers reach this treachery? I say it's three things: I was wondering if it was just me feeling this way. Fortunately, Sean McIndoe ranked the Panthers dead last on his list of playoff teams by rootability, confirming all my priors. All my apologies to the delightful and sportsmanlike Finnish center Aleksander Barkov. If the Panthers make another deep run, I predict many hockey fans will be ready to march on Sunrise, Fla., to stop them. They'll just have to first establish where that is. (Directly across the street from a mall about 40 miles north of South Beach, if you wondered.) Shedeur's stunning slide Shedeur Sanders entered the draft as a potential top-three pick. Now, against all odds, the Colorado quarterback son of Deion Sanders will be a day-three pick. The freefall down the NFL Draft board continued during last night's rounds. A quick recap of the latest: Before the draft, Dane Brugler predicted Sanders would slide, but the extent of the slide is a massive and complex shocker. Day three commences at noon today. Sanders, of course, headlines Dane's updated best available list. In the meantime, we have grades on every pick from Rounds 2 and 3 here. Buckets and brawls Five NBA and NHL teams entered last night trailing 2-0 in their respective series. All five avoided falling into 3-0 holes. Let's start on the hardwood: Speaking of physicality, playoff hockey! The Canadiens and Capitals got into it as the second period came to a close, with Tom Wilson and Josh Anderson spilling into the benches in the middle of the brawl. Wilson poked some fun at the Canadiens after the skirmish: Unfortunately for Wilson and Washington, it was virtually all Montreal from that point on. Alex Ovechkin tied things up shortly after the teams came back out for the third period … and then the Canadiens scored three unanswered. The Capitals still lead the series 2-1. Elsewhere on the ice, the Devils picked up a double-overtime winner from Šimon Nemec to trim their series deficit against the Canes to 2-1. Meanwhile, the Oilers trailed the Kings 4-3 in the third period until Edmonton scored two goals in a span of 10 seconds. Connor McDavid's squad is suddenly very much alive. Advertisement Eight more games of playoff action today. Onward: More news: Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Derrick Harmon's mother died shortly after he was drafted Thursday night. Heartbreaking. The judge in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial declared a mistrial just two days after opening statements were made. More details here. Alijah Arenas is no longer in an induced coma after a car crash Thursday morning. The five-star basketball recruit and USC commit has reportedly made significant progress in recovery. The Tennessee Titans are unretiring Warren Moon's No. 1 jersey for No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward. Moon personally passed the torch. 📺 MLB: Blue Jays at Yankees 1:05 p.m. ET on MLB Network or (free) As the NFL Draft continues, here's a nice pitching matchup for a mostly suspenseful sports Saturday: Kevin Gausman for the Jays, Max Fried for the Yanks. Fried carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning last weekend, sort of, before the official scorer took it away. 📺 NBA: Rockets at Warriors, Game 3 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC The Warriors seized home-court advantage by winning in Game 1, as the rare No. 7 seed to be favored in a series against a No. 2. But the Rockets struck back nicely Wednesday and really gave Steph Curry a ruckus. This series is shaping up like a brutal physical test. 📺 NHL: Stars at Avalanche, Game 4 9:30 p.m. ET on TBS The Stars lead 2-1 in one on the strength of two overtime wins in a row. The Avs got an awesome emotional boost from the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog in Game 3, after a three-year injury absence. It's an amazing comeback story, and it will get cooler if the Avs can get a bounce or two and strap in for a long series. Get tickets to games like these here. The Athletic's weekly sports news quiz. Tillamook's 'campfire peanut butter cup' ice cream. It's marshmallow-flavored with peanut butter and chocolate. They only release it a couple times a year, and it's out now. — Levi Weaver Richard Deitsch's nine takeaways on the TV coverage of Round 1 of the NFL Draft. Just in time for the Kentucky Derby, Netflix dropped a new sports docuseries, 'Race for the Crown,' following last year's Triple Crown hopefuls (including the 2024 Derby winner!). Could be an episode or two shorter, IMO, but a great deep-dive into the glamorous and grueling world of horse racing — right when everyone will be talking about it! — Hannah Vanbiber Advertisement If you haven't read it yet, read this story by Sam Blum about the Angels' sketchy move to schedule night games on 'getaway days.' The players' quotes are something. – Alex Kirshner 'Everybody's Live' with John Mulaney. Very fun, very unhinged, very L.A. This week's episode with Conan O'Brien, Ayo Edebiri and Tina Fey focuses on dinosaurs and Christmas, which somehow undersells it. — Alex Iniguez NFL Draft picks got a chance to pick their own walkout songs. Here's why each song is a perfect fit for the respective athlete. Reformer pilates — I love the 45-minute classes vs. having to dedicate an hour-plus block, and my mom recently started and swears she's gotten taller! — Jenna Winchell Going to the beach in spring when it's 75 degrees. Sure, the water is ice cold, but for someone with a fair complexion, I'll take cold water in exchange for being able to exist outside for more than 30 seconds. — Chris Branch Making multiple quesadillas at once on a sheet pan in the oven. — Torrey Hart Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our pick-by-pick grades for the first round of the NFL Draft. Most-read on the website yesterday: Zak Keefer's NFL Draft winners and losers file. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
