Latest news with #Blaney
Fox Sports
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
MLB Speedway Classic At Bristol: NASCAR Drivers Reimagined As Baseball Players
NASCAR drivers are looking forward to seeing professional athletes of another sport competing at one of the most iconic venues in stock-car racing. They certainly look more forward to watching other pros play than if they played themselves. And that's exactly what will happen when the MLB Speedway Classic gets underway on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on FOX. The matchup features the Cincinnati Reds going against the Atlanta Braves at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. It's the first-ever MLB game played in the state and more than 85,000 tickets have been sold for the contest — a major-league regular-season record. "I honestly think it looks cooler than when they did the football game there with Tennessee-Virginia Tech [in 2016]," said 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney. "I think that's going to be a hit. I wish I could go. That place is unique." With NASCAR racing in Iowa this weekend, getting back and forth to Bristol isn't impossible, based on the timing of Cup practice. But a driver would need to really want to make it happen. If any driver can get there, they will get a chance to witness history. Bristol had to knock down some race-track walls and buildings in its infield to make enough room for the baseball field inside the 0.533-mile, high-banked concrete oval. "That is going to be such an awesome moment," said Ty Dillon. Dillon and his brother, Austin, played little-league baseball. Austin Dillon played in the Little League World Series. So if NASCAR were to have a team of drivers playing baseball, those two would likely be on the list. Who are the drivers that Austin Dillon would want to include on an all-driver baseball team? Here's his roster: Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, Noah Gragson, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie. In surveying other drivers, many had similar thoughts. They went for the drivers who are best known for their athleticism. Stenhouse, for example, is a huge fitness buff, and Hamlin has a basketball court (and runs a rec league) at his house. Some would go for height and pick players like the tall Shane van Gisbergen. And if you're looking at drivers who have proven they have superior hand-eye coordination when it comes to something other than a steering wheel, Elliott, Ryan Blaney and others who enjoy golf could be the answer. Blaney would add his Penske teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric. Plus, he thinks the tough Ryan Preece would fill an important role. "Preece would be a good catcher," Blaney noted. The hard part for race car drivers is that being smaller and lighter can sometimes be an advantage. "I just had to throw a first pitch and embarrassed myself incredibly," said Cup driver Zane Smith. "So definitely not me. ... None of us are very good, I feel like, as stick-and-ball athletes." Actually, Zane, another driver mentioned you. "You need somebody athletic at shortstop, somebody quick. Zane looks athletic," Kyle Larson said. "Blaney is athletic," he continued. "Ricky. Ty Gibbs. McDowell? He'd be the manager, I guess. Austin Dillon would probably be the best [player]." Several drivers get asked throughout the season to throw out first pitches at baseball games in racing markets. Those typically happen in the weeks leading up to the race in that market. And the drivers who have this honor have the main goal of not becoming a highlight for the wrong reason. "Briscoe has been throwing a lot of first pitches out at these games, so he's been on the mound a lot lately, so he might be our pitcher. Or he might be in the bullpen," Gragson said. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. recommended Item 1 of 3 Get more from the NASCAR Cup Series Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- USA Today
Which NASCAR driver has the most wins at Iowa?
NASCAR has a short history with Iowa Speedway dating back to the 2024 season. Since that point, the NASCAR Cup Series has competed in one race, with the venue holding only one event per season. So, which NASCAR driver has the most wins in Iowa? Only one driver has crossed the finish line first in the Cup Series. Ryan Blaney has one victory at Iowa, making him the most successful driver at the track in Cup Series history. Blaney won the inaugural Iowa Corn 350 in 2024, becoming the first NASCAR driver to win in a Cup Series race in Iowa. While many other drivers have won at Iowa, none of them have come at NASCAR's top level. As for the other active NASCAR drivers, all of them are looking to win in Iowa for the first time this weekend. NASCAR only comes to Iowa once per year, and with the sport back in Newton for a second straight year, this trophy will be coveted on Sunday afternoon. More: How to watch NASCAR live at Iowa in August 2025, schedule
NBC Sports
5 days ago
- Automotive
- NBC Sports
What to watch for in today's NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
INDIANAPOLIS — The challenges will be immense for NASCAR Cup drivers and teams in today's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A narrow track and high speeds make it tough to pass. That impacts what happens on the track and how the strategy goes. Here's a look at what to watch for today. Cautions breed cautions Last year's race saw half of the 10 cautions come after restarts, including crashes that eliminated, among others, William Byron, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin. Logano was eliminated by a crash on a restart that started behind him. 'It came forward,' Logano said of the accident that ended his race a year ago. 'You don't see that every day, do you? 'I think everyone knows it's hard to pass. If (a restart is) your opportunity to pass, everybody's willing to ship it in there and figure it out later. Unfortunately, it causes accidents. 'If there's ability to pass later on, then everybody probably would have a little more respect for each other, more grace out there, a little more give and take.' The last three Cup races on the Indy oval have seen at least one crash on a restart. 'I think without fuel saving, restarts are kind of one of your only opportunities to pass here,' Bowman said. 'They got super crazy there at the end (last year).' Tight pit road A majority of the fast cars selected pit stalls near pit exit because the width of pit road at Indianapolis (not including the pit boxes) is 24 feet. Only World Wide Technology Raceway has a narrower pit road width at 22 feet. Ryan Blaney knows the challenges of pitting near pit entrance. In the 2020 race at Indianapolis, Zach Price, who remains the rear tire changer for Blaney, was struck on pit road when there was a chain-reaction crash just after pit entrance that blocked pit road. 'I'm like ultra vigilant here,' Blaney said of pit road. 'Let's say I'm done with my stop and I'm cruising down pit road (in the far right lane), I'm always watching those cars on the left who are in their stall. I've got to look at are they about to drop the left-side jack, and what that looks like because you can't bail anywhere. The only way you can bail is to slow down and stop. It makes it pretty tough. Hopefully … you don't see any issues on pit road and guys stay safe.' Dustin Long, Teams pick pit stalls based on how they qualify. The pole winner gets first choice, the No. 2 starter the second choice and on down to the final car. Most teams select closer to pit exit to avoid potential incidents near pit entrance or the middle of pit road. Bubba Wallace will start second and that gives him a good pit stall. He will be in pit stall 5, which has an opening in front of it, allowing Wallace to exit his stall without worry of being blocked in. 'This is probably the sketchiest pit road, for sure,' Wallace said. 'Obviously, we've seen a lot of crashes (on pit road) here, a lot of injuries. So, we can keep ourselves out of harm's way, the better. I'm excited. That's what we want, a good qualifying effort.' Guess the right strategy Crew chiefs will be busy devising the strategy they think gets their car to the finish line first. Brad Keselowski tried to stretch his fuel in last year's race but a late caution sent the race into overtime. As the field headed toward the restart zone, Keselowski, who led, pulled off to pit road because he was out of fuel. Nate Ryan, 'I think we were really aggressive last year and we almost won the race,' Keselowski said. 'I wouldn't expect anything to change there, and we've got no reason not to be very aggressive. I certainly don't want to just do dumb things just to do them, but this is a race that lends itself to aggressive moves on the track and off the track with pit strategy.' Playoff picture Twelve drivers have won this season, leaving four playoff spots open at this time via points. Those in a playoff spot without a victory this season are Tyler Reddick (156 points above the cutline), Alex Bowman (+63), Chris Buescher (+44) and Bubba Wallace (+16). Ryan Preece is the first driver outside a playoff spot. He lost 13 points to Wallace last weekend at Dover and is 16 points back. Kyle Busch is 39 points below the cutline. Ty Gibbs is 52 points below the cutline. $1 million at stake NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Challenge comes to an end at Indianapolis. Ty Dillon, the last seed in the 32-driver event, faces Ty Gibbs. Whoever finishes better will claim the $1 million prize. 'If we execute our race and do the best to our abilities - no mistakes and out execute everybody in the field - we might not have the most speed to win the race, but we're going to do plenty to put pressure on him,' Dillon said of Gibbs. Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson both wreck on a restart in the final stage of The Brickyard 400 after three-wide racing clipped the right quarter panel of the No. 84.
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
N.B. government will apologize to former P.C. minister for firing
New Brunswick's Liberal government will officially apologize to former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Margaret-Ann Blaney over her firing by a previous Liberal government in 2014. Premier Susan Holt confirmed to CBC News that her government will not contest a ruling by the New Brunswick Labour and Employment Board that Blaney's rights were violated by the firing. The province will also comply with the board's order to compensate Blaney at a cost of more than $700,000. "There were errors made in the past. It wasn't the right way to do things, to fire people for partisan reasons," Holt told CBC News Wednesday morning. "Part of why I got into politics was to do things differently, and move away from partisan, petty politics to doing the right thing. So we abide by the ruling, we're going to apologize and things like that won't happen again on my watch." Blaney, a PC MLA first elected in 1999, was appointed CEO of the provincial agency Efficiency New Brunswick by PC Premier David Alward in 2012. The move was widely seen as an example of political patronage. Two years later, the new Liberal government of Brian Gallant fired Blaney and passed legislation that prevented her from collecting severance or from suing. WATCH | 'We're going to apologize,' premier says: This week, the labour board upheld Blaney's complaint under the Human Rights Act, saying the Liberal legislation was "an abuse of power" and that the law, and the firing, amounted to discrimination based on Blaney's party affiliation. "Ms. Blaney was not treated with dignity, was not afforded the protection of the rule of law, and she was subjected to public miseries because of her political belief and activity," the board said. It ordered the government to pay her the equivalent of more than $700,000 for lost salary and vacation, pension contributions and damages. It also ordered the government to issue a written apology "acknowledging that it discriminated against her in violation of the act because of political activity." WATCH | 'An abuse of power': Labour board rules for former minister: The ruling noted that while a Liberal government fired Blaney, "blame cannot be attributed solely to that government." It said the PC government of Blaine Higgs, elected in 2018, "did nothing to rectify the violation of Ms. Blaney's rights" and continued to defend the Liberal legislation and tried to prevent Blaney from pursuing her complaint under the Human Rights Act. The legislature "as a whole" treated Blaney in a disingenuous and callous way, it said.
CBC
22-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Former PC minister fired by Liberals wins legal challenge
The New Brunswick government has been ordered to apologize to Margaret-Ann Blaney and pay her more than $700,000.
