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Politico
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
Donald Trump's wide world of sports
WHAT'S IN A NAME — Donald Trump's weekend fusillade of social media posts may have fallen short in its aim of diverting attention from the firestorm surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files. But it succeeded in advancing what's increasingly looking like the central project of his second term: planting himself at the center of American public life. With his call for the Cleveland Guardians to change back to the team's longtime name, the Cleveland Indians, and his threat to withhold a D.C. stadium deal until the Washington Commanders reverts back to its original Washington Redskins name, Trump signaled that dominion over Washington isn't enough. Every other institution — Wall Street, Fortune 500 companies, Big Law, higher ed, the media — must also bend the knee. That list includes professional sports. As a master of the attention economy and a product of popular culture, Trump knows the traditional understanding of the modern bully pulpit is outmoded. To truly command attention — and to speak to those who aren't engaged in the political process — a president must be everything, everywhere, all at once. To Trump, that means railing about quotidian details of life — the kind of sugar used by Coca Cola; the water pressure in toilets and showerheads; T-Mobile's service — but also establishing himself as a constant presence in the sports world. As president-elect, he made much-publicized trips to an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight at Madison Square Garden and the Army-Navy football game. Since returning to the White House, Trump has attended another UFC fight in Las Vegas, the Super Bowl in New Orleans (where he was the first sitting president to attend), the Daytona 500 in Florida and the NCAA college wrestling championship (marking his second appearance there in three years). A week ago, Trump unexpectedly showed up on stage to present the trophy at the Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he stood center stage amid confused foreign players for English soccer giant Chelsea. While sports has always been politicized by the left and right — and a White House visit has long been a reward for championship teams in all sports — Trump has taken it to another level, He has functioned as a sports fan — recently joining the fray with his thoughts on Shadeur Sanders, among other topics — but also as a would-be commissioner eager to wield the power and prestige of the Oval Office in the realm of pro sports. After Trump said in February he'd pardon disgraced baseball great Pete Rose and criticized Major League Baseball, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred traveled to the White House two months later. Not long after, he reinstated Rose from baseball's ineligible list, making him eligible for the Hall of Fame. Manfred later acknowledged Trump played a role in his decision. Trump has even brought the mighty NFL — one of the world's most lucrative sports leagues and owner of 93 of America's top 100 most watched programs in 2023 — to heel. In May, with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at his side in the Oval Office, the president announced that the 2027 NFL draft would be held in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall. It's a redefinition of the presidency for the modern age, one that reflects Trump's populist bent. And it's a stark contrast with Joe Biden, who twice declined the traditional pre-Super Bowl televised interview, giving up the chance to speak to the nation's largest assembled live audience. He was absent from pop culture, except as the butt of jokes, and he paid for it. Carving out a beachhead in pro sports enables Trump to asymmetrically engage in the culture wars — weighing in on the policing of team names, for example — but without the partisan sheen. He understands instinctually that to project leadership across a fragmented media landscape, familiar political set-pieces, bland social media exhortations and the sit-down broadcast network interview aren't nearly enough anymore. Nor is the occasional lions-den podcast appearance. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at cmahtesian@ or on X (formerly know as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie. What'd I Miss? — Trump installs new GSA acting administrator, sidelines DOGE leaders: President Donald Trump has appointed Mike Rigas as acting administrator of the General Services Administration, effectively layering DOGE-aligned Stephen Ehikian and Josh Gruenbaum atop the agency. Rigas, a Trump administration veteran who has served as deputy secretary of State for Management and Resources and as acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, announced the move in a message to GSA staff this morning. GSA staffers and people close to the Department of Government Efficiency view this appointment as a strategic move by the White House to rein in Ehikian, the former acting administrator, and Gruenbaum, the commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service within GSA. — Trump lashes out at federal judge presiding over Harvard case: President Donald Trump attacked the federal judge presiding over Harvard University's lawsuit against his administration in a social media post this afternoon. Harvard is seeking to restore more than $2 billion in funding from the federal government after the Trump administration launched a review of roughly $9 billion in grants and contracts with the university over accusations that Harvard violated the rights of Jewish students, including during demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama in 2014, heard arguments this morning in the case, the latest in a series of standoffs between the university and the White House. — ICE will 'flood the zone' in NYC: The Department of Homeland Security will 'flood the zone' with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York City after the City Council blocked federal law enforcement agencies from opening an office in the city jails, President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan said this morning. Homan joined DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials to deliver that message at One World Trade Center after an off-duty federal customs officer was shot by an undocumented immigrant in an attempted robbery Saturday night, Noem said. — U.S. senators visit Canada to build bridges as trade deadline looms: With the clock ticking to an Aug. 1 deadline to strike a new Canada-U.S. trade and security deal, four U.S. senators met Prime Minister Mark Carney in search of common ground on some of the thorniest cross-border trade irritants: lumber, digital services taxes and metals tariffs. 'We are bridge builders, not people who throw wrenches,' Sen. Ron Wyden (R-Ore.) told reporters today following a 45-minute meeting on Parliament Hill. Top of mind for the visiting Americans was the successful renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that President Donald Trump once called the 'largest, most significant, modern, and balanced trade agreement in history.' — Judge gives ex-officer nearly 3 years in Breonna Taylor raid, rebuffs DOJ call for no prison time: A federal judge sentenced a former Kentucky police officer to nearly three years in prison today for using excessive force during the 2020 deadly Breonna Taylor raid, declining a U.S. Department of Justice recommendation that he be given no prison time. Brett Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the raid but didn't hit anyone, was the only officer on the scene charged in the Black woman's death. He is the first person sentenced to prison in the case that rocked the city of Louisville and spawned weeks of street protests over police brutality five years ago. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings sentenced Hankison at a hearing this afternoon in which she said no prison time 'is not appropriate' for Hankison. She also said she was 'startled' that there weren't more people injured in the raid. — White House removes Wall Street Journal from Scotland press pool over Epstein bombshell: The White House is removing the Wall Street Journal from the pool of reporters covering the president's weekend trip to Scotland, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told POLITICO. The move follows the Journal's report alleging that President Donald Trump sent a sexually suggestive message to Jeffrey Epstein in has denied the existence of the letter and POLITICO has not verified it. Tarini Parti, a White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal, had been scheduled to serve as the print pooler for the final two days of Trump's four-day trip to his golf courses in Turnberry and Aberdeen, Scotland. But the White House removed her from the trip manifest, Leavitt said. AROUND THE WORLD FARAGE MIMICS TRUMP — Nigel Farage announced today that any future Reform UK government would try to send prisoners overseas to complete their sentences — including to El Salvador. The Reform UK leader said the plan, which echoes one of President Donald Trump's own hardline policies, would see up to 10,000 'serious' prisoners serve their time abroad in countries like Kosovo or Estonia. The governing Labour Party dismissed it as mere 'headline-chasing.' Farage's right-wing party — which is leading the government in the polls — promised 'dynamic' prison places abroad, with the British government renting cells in third countries. Reform argues that pulling Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights would remove a key barrier to this plan. SEARCHING FOR SPIES — Ukraine's SBU state security service launched a series of raids on the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau today as part of a sweeping investigation into suspected collusion with Russian spies. The SBU alleges that one of the top detectives at the anti-corruption agency, Ruslan Magamedrasulov, and another elite officer at the bureau were working as Russian moles. Both were detained. In total, more than 70 searches were conducted. Nightly Number RADAR SWEEP THE BIGGER PICTURE — Between 1907 and 1935, most color photographs were taken using the autochrome process, which used colored potato starch, silver emulsion and glass plates to capture still images. Now, a century later, many of those photos are punctured with tiny holes or stained with purple and orange blotches as they deteriorate from light and heat exposure and their silver bases oxidize. While the original versions are gone, archivists are not mourning the damage done. Instead, they're celebrating the opportunity to study the pictures and learn about the science behind their decay. Katy Kelleher reports for National Geographic. Parting Image Jacqueline Munis contributed to this newsletter. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Automotive
- Washington Post
Denny Hamlin continues climb in NASCAR's career wins list. With 60 in sight, how far can he go?
DOVER, Del. — Denny Hamlin has stood his ground that wins — enough of them to soon earn his place inside NASCAR's career top-10 list — matter more to his legacy than a championship . Easy to say, of course, with 58 race victories to zero titles. The 44-year-old Hamlin, still driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing as he's done since his rookie season in 2006, is motivated to reach the top 10 this season over the final 15 races of the Cup season. Kevin Harvick is 10th on the career list with 60 and Kyle Busch, still active with Richard Childress Racing, is ninth with 63, giving Hamlin realistic numbers to shoot for the rest of the season. Best to take advantage at tracks where he's had success, such as Dover Motor Speedway, where he won Sunday for the second straight year and third time overall, compared with a track like this weekend's race on the Indianapolis oval, where Hamlin is 0 for 16. 'I don't think I've ever wanted to go back to back so bad,' Hamlin said of Dover. '(Indy's) a track that I've just come so fricking close to winning. I just want to cross off all the major racetracks on our schedule.' Hamlin is a driver who thrives in the chaos like few others — if any can — in the series. His win at Dover came days after the race team he owns with Michael Jordan suffered a setback in its court fight with NASCAR . He insisted ahead of the race that the legal issues never caused a distraction for him in the race car, then proved it on the mile concrete track with a series-best fourth win of the season. Maybe more dark clouds — like the ones that opened up Sunday, causing a rain delay just laps ahead of the scheduled finish — can fuel Hamlin at Indy. 'All I can hope is that something happens this week that derails everything and then I'll do better,' Hamlin said. Hamlin then turned to a NASCAR employee and cracked, 'Maybe it'll come from them.' Can Hamlin realistically get to 60 in 2025? He won eight times in 2010, six times in 2019 and seven in 2020, all totals that would get him to 60 this year. 'When you get him in a situation where he's got the ball in his hands and it's time to go win the race, he finds a way to do that most times,' crew chief Chris Gayle said. It's a fitting analogy for a race team owned by a former NFL coach. At his pace, Hamlin remains a contender to cash in this November at Phoenix Raceway and win his first NASCAR championship — even if he lost out on the $1 million prize in the series' first In-season challenge. The idea for the challenge was largely championed by Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who floated the idea of a midseason tournament on his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast. When NASCAR bought into the idea and announced the creation of the tournament last year, Hamlin called the tournament on social media 'such a win for our sport and drivers.' He jokingly added, 'I will collect my 1M royalty next season.' Hamlin earned the No. 1 seed — and was promptly eliminated in the first race by Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed. Dillon faces Ty Gibbs next week at Indianapolis to decide the first winner of the tournament. Hamlin said the five-race, bracket-style tournament overall was a success — but not without a few kinks. Some of the seeding was off, such as Shane van Gisbergen not qualifying for the field, then ripping off consecutive wins on the Chicago street race and Sonoma Raceway during the tournament races. And sure, everyone loves a Cinderella in March. But two in July isn't necessarily making the tournament the NASCAR story of the summer. 'I think it has been unfortunate, right, you probably had a lot of the top seeds get knocked out pretty early in it, but overall, I thought the implementation of it has been good,' Hamlin said. The other side of the argument is this: Would any fan or media outlet really care about a pair of winless drivers such as Gibbs (the sixth seed) or Dillon at this point of the season without $1 million at stake? 'For a team like us, at this point in the season, we're not exactly where we want to be yet, but we're trending in a good direction,' Dillon said on TNT. 'Our story doesn't get told in years past. It's mainly the guys trying to fight for the points position. It's the guys running up front, trying to win the race. But our story and our growth in the year stops getting told. I'm grateful we've been able to show our personality as a team.' Unlike the All-Star race where the winner pockets $1 million, the driver with the best finish earns the cash prize, a ring, jackets and a trophy. Dillon had luck on his side during his run, with his lone top-10 finish coming in the first race in Atlanta. He advanced in that race after Hamlin crashed out and finished 31st. Dillon twice has finished 20th, including at Dover. He has a best finish of 13th in five career races on the Indy oval. Gibbs, the grandson of team owner and football and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, and Dillon have failed to win in a combined 374 Cup races. Dillon has only two career top-five finishes in a career that dates to 2014. The 22-year-old Gibbs has a much better pedigree, winning the 2022 Xfinity Series title, a series in which he was a 12-time winner. He has six top 10s already this season and could make NASCAR's playoffs on points. Gibbs has three straight top 10s in the tournament, including a fifth-place finish at Dover. Gibbs finished 23rd on the Indy oval last season. He's done enough to impress his grandfather. 'There's some people there that we got off to a terrible start, it was awful, (but) I had people on that group that came to me encouraging me, ideas for me, after it. I think they care for Ty. It just was a huge deal,' the 84-year-old Gibbs said. 'This sport will really measure you. But those guys have fought back.' ___ AP auto racing:
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Denny Hamlin continues climb in NASCAR's career wins list. With 60 in sight, how far can he go?
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has stood his ground that wins — enough of them to soon earn his place inside NASCAR's career top-10 list — matter more to his legacy than a championship. Easy to say, of course, with 58 race victories to zero titles. The 44-year-old Hamlin, still driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing as he's done since his rookie season in 2006, is motivated to reach the top 10 this season over the final 15 races of the Cup season. Kevin Harvick is 10th on the career list with 60 and Kyle Busch, still active with Richard Childress Racing, is ninth with 63, giving Hamlin realistic numbers to shoot for the rest of the season. Best to take advantage at tracks where he's had success, such as Dover Motor Speedway, where he won Sunday for the second straight year and third time overall, compared with a track like this weekend's race on the Indianapolis oval, where Hamlin is 0 for 16. 'I don't think I've ever wanted to go back to back so bad,' Hamlin said of Dover. '(Indy's) a track that I've just come so fricking close to winning. I just want to cross off all the major racetracks on our schedule.' Hamlin is a driver who thrives in the chaos like few others — if any can — in the series. His win at Dover came days after the race team he owns with Michael Jordan suffered a setback in its court fight with NASCAR . He insisted ahead of the race that the legal issues never caused a distraction for him in the race car, then proved it on the mile concrete track with a series-best fourth win of the season. Maybe more dark clouds — like the ones that opened up Sunday, causing a rain delay just laps ahead of the scheduled finish — can fuel Hamlin at Indy. 'All I can hope is that something happens this week that derails everything and then I'll do better,' Hamlin said. Hamlin then turned to a NASCAR employee and cracked, 'Maybe it'll come from them.' Can Hamlin realistically get to 60 in 2025? He won eight times in 2010, six times in 2019 and seven in 2020, all totals that would get him to 60 this year. 'When you get him in a situation where he's got the ball in his hands and it's time to go win the race, he finds a way to do that most times,' crew chief Chris Gayle said. It's a fitting analogy for a race team owned by a former NFL coach. At his pace, Hamlin remains a contender to cash in this November at Phoenix Raceway and win his first NASCAR championship — even if he lost out on the $1 million prize in the series' first In-season challenge. $1 million is on the line The idea for the challenge was largely championed by Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who floated the idea of a midseason tournament on his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast. When NASCAR bought into the idea and announced the creation of the tournament last year, Hamlin called the tournament on social media 'such a win for our sport and drivers.' He jokingly added, 'I will collect my 1M royalty next season.' Hamlin earned the No. 1 seed — and was promptly eliminated in the first race by Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed. Dillon faces Ty Gibbs next week at Indianapolis to decide the first winner of the tournament. Was the In-season challenge a success? Hamlin said the five-race, bracket-style tournament overall was a success — but not without a few kinks. Some of the seeding was off, such as Shane van Gisbergen not qualifying for the field, then ripping off consecutive wins on the Chicago street race and Sonoma Raceway during the tournament races. And sure, everyone loves a Cinderella in March. But two in July isn't necessarily making the tournament the NASCAR story of the summer. 'I think it has been unfortunate, right, you probably had a lot of the top seeds get knocked out pretty early in it, but overall, I thought the implementation of it has been good,' Hamlin said. The other side of the argument is this: Would any fan or media outlet really care about a pair of winless drivers such as Gibbs (the sixth seed) or Dillon at this point of the season without $1 million at stake? 'For a team like us, at this point in the season, we're not exactly where we want to be yet, but we're trending in a good direction,' Dillon said on TNT. 'Our story doesn't get told in years past. It's mainly the guys trying to fight for the points position. It's the guys running up front, trying to win the race. But our story and our growth in the year stops getting told. I'm grateful we've been able to show our personality as a team.' Unlike the All-Star race where the winner pockets $1 million, the driver with the best finish earns the cash prize, a ring, jackets and a trophy. How they fared Dillon had luck on his side during his run, with his lone top-10 finish coming in the first race in Atlanta. He advanced in that race after Hamlin crashed out and finished 31st. Dillon twice has finished 20th, including at Dover. He has a best finish of 13th in five career races on the Indy oval. Gibbs, the grandson of team owner and football and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, and Dillon have failed to win in a combined 374 Cup races. Dillon has only two career top-five finishes in a career that dates to 2014. The 22-year-old Gibbs has a much better pedigree, winning the 2022 Xfinity Series title, a series in which he was a 12-time winner. He has six top 10s already this season and could make NASCAR's playoffs on points. Gibbs has three straight top 10s in the tournament, including a fifth-place finish at Dover. Gibbs finished 23rd on the Indy oval last season. He's done enough to impress his grandfather. 'There's some people there that we got off to a terrible start, it was awful, (but) I had people on that group that came to me encouraging me, ideas for me, after it. I think they care for Ty. It just was a huge deal,' the 84-year-old Gibbs said. 'This sport will really measure you. But those guys have fought back.' ___ AP auto racing:
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Denny Hamlin continues climb in NASCAR's career wins list. With 60 in sight, how far can he go?
Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has stood his ground that wins — enough of them to soon earn his place inside NASCAR's career top-10 list — matter more to his legacy than a championship. Easy to say, of course, with 58 race victories to zero titles. The 44-year-old Hamlin, still driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing as he's done since his rookie season in 2006, is motivated to reach the top 10 this season over the final 15 races of the Cup season. Kevin Harvick is 10th on the career list with 60 and Kyle Busch, still active with Richard Childress Racing, is ninth with 63, giving Hamlin realistic numbers to shoot for the rest of the season. Best to take advantage at tracks where he's had success, such as Dover Motor Speedway, where he won Sunday for the second straight year and third time overall, compared with a track like this weekend's race on the Indianapolis oval, where Hamlin is 0 for 16. 'I don't think I've ever wanted to go back to back so bad,' Hamlin said of Dover. "(Indy's) a track that I've just come so fricking close to winning. I just want to cross off all the major racetracks on our schedule.' Hamlin is a driver who thrives in the chaos like few others — if any can — in the series. His win at Dover came days after the race team he owns with Michael Jordan suffered a setback in its court fight with NASCAR. He insisted ahead of the race that the legal issues never caused a distraction for him in the race car, then proved it on the mile concrete track with a series-best fourth win of the season. Maybe more dark clouds — like the ones that opened up Sunday, causing a rain delay just laps ahead of the scheduled finish — can fuel Hamlin at Indy. 'All I can hope is that something happens this week that derails everything and then I'll do better,' Hamlin said. Hamlin then turned to a NASCAR employee and cracked, 'Maybe it'll come from them.' Can Hamlin realistically get to 60 in 2025? He won eight times in 2010, six times in 2019 and seven in 2020, all totals that would get him to 60 this year. 'When you get him in a situation where he's got the ball in his hands and it's time to go win the race, he finds a way to do that most times,' crew chief Chris Gayle said. It's a fitting analogy for a race team owned by a former NFL coach. At his pace, Hamlin remains a contender to cash in this November at Phoenix Raceway and win his first NASCAR championship — even if he lost out on the $1 million prize in the series' first In-season challenge. $1 million is on the line The idea for the challenge was largely championed by Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who floated the idea of a midseason tournament on his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast. When NASCAR bought into the idea and announced the creation of the tournament last year, Hamlin called the tournament on social media 'such a win for our sport and drivers.' He jokingly added, 'I will collect my 1M royalty next season.' Hamlin earned the No. 1 seed — and was promptly eliminated in the first race by Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed. Dillon faces Ty Gibbs next week at Indianapolis to decide the first winner of the tournament. Was the In-season challenge a success? Hamlin said the five-race, bracket-style tournament overall was a success — but not without a few kinks. Some of the seeding was off, such as Shane van Gisbergen not qualifying for the field, then ripping off consecutive wins on the Chicago street race and Sonoma Raceway during the tournament races. And sure, everyone loves a Cinderella in March. But two in July isn't necessarily making the tournament the NASCAR story of the summer. 'I think it has been unfortunate, right, you probably had a lot of the top seeds get knocked out pretty early in it, but overall, I thought the implementation of it has been good,' Hamlin said. The other side of the argument is this: Would any fan or media outlet really care about a pair of winless drivers such as Gibbs (the sixth seed) or Dillon at this point of the season without $1 million at stake? 'For a team like us, at this point in the season, we're not exactly where we want to be yet, but we're trending in a good direction,' Dillon said on TNT. 'Our story doesn't get told in years past. It's mainly the guys trying to fight for the points position. It's the guys running up front, trying to win the race. But our story and our growth in the year stops getting told. I'm grateful we've been able to show our personality as a team.' Unlike the All-Star race where the winner pockets $1 million, the driver with the best finish earns the cash prize, a ring, jackets and a trophy. How they fared Dillon had luck on his side during his run, with his lone top-10 finish coming in the first race in Atlanta. He advanced in that race after Hamlin crashed out and finished 31st. Dillon twice has finished 20th, including at Dover. He has a best finish of 13th in five career races on the Indy oval. Gibbs, the grandson of team owner and football and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, and Dillon have failed to win in a combined 374 Cup races. Dillon has only two career top-five finishes in a career that dates to 2014. The 22-year-old Gibbs has a much better pedigree, winning the 2022 Xfinity Series title, a series in which he was a 12-time winner. He has six top 10s already this season and could make NASCAR's playoffs on points. Gibbs has three straight top 10s in the tournament, including a fifth-place finish at Dover. Gibbs finished 23rd on the Indy oval last season. He's done enough to impress his grandfather. 'There's some people there that we got off to a terrible start, it was awful, (but) I had people on that group that came to me encouraging me, ideas for me, after it. I think they care for Ty. It just was a huge deal,' the 84-year-old Gibbs said. 'This sport will really measure you. But those guys have fought back.' ___ AP auto racing: recommended Item 1 of 3
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Denny Hamlin continues climb in NASCAR's career wins list. With 60 in sight, how far can he go?
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Denny Hamlin has stood his ground that wins — enough of them to soon earn his place inside NASCAR's career top-10 list — matter more to his legacy than a championship. Easy to say, of course, with 58 race victories to zero titles. The 44-year-old Hamlin, still driving the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing as he's done since his rookie season in 2006, is motivated to reach the top 10 this season over the final 15 races of the Cup season. Kevin Harvick is 10th on the career list with 60 and Kyle Busch, still active with Richard Childress Racing, is ninth with 63, giving Hamlin realistic numbers to shoot for the rest of the season. Best to take advantage at tracks where he's had success, such as Dover Motor Speedway, where he won Sunday for the second straight year and third time overall, compared with a track like this weekend's race on the Indianapolis oval, where Hamlin is 0 for 16. 'I don't think I've ever wanted to go back to back so bad,' Hamlin said of Dover. '(Indy's) a track that I've just come so fricking close to winning. I just want to cross off all the major racetracks on our schedule.' Hamlin is a driver who thrives in the chaos like few others — if any can — in the series. His win at Dover came days after the race team he owns with Michael Jordan suffered a setback in its court fight with NASCAR. He insisted ahead of the race that the legal issues never caused a distraction for him in the race car, then proved it on the mile concrete track with a series-best fourth win of the season. Maybe more dark clouds — like the ones that opened up Sunday, causing a rain delay just laps ahead of the scheduled finish — can fuel Hamlin at Indy. 'All I can hope is that something happens this week that derails everything and then I'll do better,' Hamlin said. Hamlin then turned to a NASCAR employee and cracked, 'Maybe it'll come from them.' Can Hamlin realistically get to 60 in 2025? He won eight times in 2010, six times in 2019 and seven in 2020, all totals that would get him to 60 this year. 'When you get him in a situation where he's got the ball in his hands and it's time to go win the race, he finds a way to do that most times,' crew chief Chris Gayle said. It's a fitting analogy for a race team owned by a former NFL coach. At his pace, Hamlin remains a contender to cash in this November at Phoenix Raceway and win his first NASCAR championship — even if he lost out on the $1 million prize in the series' first In-season challenge. $1 million is on the line The idea for the challenge was largely championed by Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who floated the idea of a midseason tournament on his 'Actions Detrimental' podcast. When NASCAR bought into the idea and announced the creation of the tournament last year, Hamlin called the tournament on social media 'such a win for our sport and drivers.' He jokingly added, 'I will collect my 1M royalty next season.' Hamlin earned the No. 1 seed — and was promptly eliminated in the first race by Ty Dillon, the No. 32 seed. Dillon faces Ty Gibbs next week at Indianapolis to decide the first winner of the tournament. Was the In-season challenge a success? Hamlin said the five-race, bracket-style tournament overall was a success — but not without a few kinks. Some of the seeding was off, such as Shane van Gisbergen not qualifying for the field, then ripping off consecutive wins on the Chicago street race and Sonoma Raceway during the tournament races. And sure, everyone loves a Cinderella in March. But two in July isn't necessarily making the tournament the NASCAR story of the summer. 'I think it has been unfortunate, right, you probably had a lot of the top seeds get knocked out pretty early in it, but overall, I thought the implementation of it has been good,' Hamlin said. The other side of the argument is this: Would any fan or media outlet really care about a pair of winless drivers such as Gibbs (the sixth seed) or Dillon at this point of the season without $1 million at stake? 'For a team like us, at this point in the season, we're not exactly where we want to be yet, but we're trending in a good direction,' Dillon said on TNT. 'Our story doesn't get told in years past. It's mainly the guys trying to fight for the points position. It's the guys running up front, trying to win the race. But our story and our growth in the year stops getting told. I'm grateful we've been able to show our personality as a team.' Unlike the All-Star race where the winner pockets $1 million, the driver with the best finish earns the cash prize, a ring, jackets and a trophy. How they fared Dillon had luck on his side during his run, with his lone top-10 finish coming in the first race in Atlanta. He advanced in that race after Hamlin crashed out and finished 31st. Dillon twice has finished 20th, including at Dover. He has a best finish of 13th in five career races on the Indy oval. Gibbs, the grandson of team owner and football and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, and Dillon have failed to win in a combined 374 Cup races. Dillon has only two career top-five finishes in a career that dates to 2014. The 22-year-old Gibbs has a much better pedigree, winning the 2022 Xfinity Series title, a series in which he was a 12-time winner. He has six top 10s already this season and could make NASCAR's playoffs on points. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Gibbs has three straight top 10s in the tournament, including a fifth-place finish at Dover. Gibbs finished 23rd on the Indy oval last season. He's done enough to impress his grandfather. 'There's some people there that we got off to a terrible start, it was awful, (but) I had people on that group that came to me encouraging me, ideas for me, after it. I think they care for Ty. It just was a huge deal,' the 84-year-old Gibbs said. 'This sport will really measure you. But those guys have fought back.' ___ AP auto racing:
