Martin Truex Jr. wins NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix Raceway
AVONDALE, Ariz. โ Joey Logano has won a few times at Phoenix Raceway and knows a good restart when he feels one. Truex blew past Logano on the final restart and pulled away for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and 28th overall. Logano โ who led 143 laps โ won the second stage after leading the final 35 laps during a long stretch of green-flag racing. But he couldn't hold back Truex, who won his ninth race with JGR. Hamlin was fast early in the race, leading for 31 laps until the competition caution midway through the first stage.
MLB has 0.3% positive COVID-19 rate during intake testing
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)NEW YORK โ Thirteen of 4,336 tests for COVID-19 were positive during intake for Major League Baseball's spring training, a rate of 0.3%The commissioner's office said Friday that nine positive samples involved players and four involved staff. After the intake screening, there were no new positives among 2,298 monitoring test samples. All players on 40-man rosters and players with minor league contracts invited to big league training camp are screened. In the final figures released last year, MLB said it had collected 172,740 samples and that 91 had been positive, or 0.05%. Fifty-seven of 91 positives have been players, and 21 of the 30 teams have had a person covered by the monitoring test positive.
AP source: MLB slightly deadening ball amid HR surge
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)NEW YORK โ Major League Baseball has slightly deadened its baseballs amid a years-long surge in home runs. The makeup of official Rawlings baseballs used in MLB games has come under scrutiny in recent years. AdA four-person committee of scientists commissioned by MLB concluded after the 2019 season that baseballs had less drag on average than in previous seasons, contributing to the power surge. In an effort to better center the ball, Rawlings has loosened the tension on the first of three wool windings within the ball. AdThe memo did not address the drag of the baseball, which remains a more difficult issue to control.
Cactus League asks MLB to delay spring training due to COVID
The Cactus League and Arizona community leaders have asked Major League Baseball to delay the start of spring training due to coronavirus concerns just over three weeks before pitchers and catchers are supposed to report. The Cactus League made the request in a letter to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)The Cactus League and Arizona community leaders have asked Major League Baseball to delay the start of spring training due to coronavirus concerns just over three weeks before pitchers and catchers are supposed to report. The Cactus League made the request in a letter to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred obtained by The Associated Press on Monday. The Cactus League hosts 15 MLB clubs.
AP Exclusive: MLB suspends political donations after DC riot
The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them. โWe are re-evaluating our political giving policies through the Gridiron PAC,โ NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the AP in a statement Wednesday. Others, like MLB, have postponed political giving to both political parties altogether. The Office of The Commissioner of Major League Baseball Political Action Committee has donated $669,375 to Senate and House candidates since the 2016 election cycle, with 52.4% of that money going to Republican candidates, according to The Center for Responsive Politics. Since the 2016 election cycle, MLB has made contributions to two senators and nine representatives who were among those opposing certification of Biden's victory.
Elliott too fast for Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski
Brad Keselowski (2) and Denny Hamlin (11) race side by side through Turn 4 during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Phoenix Raceway, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2020, in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)AVONDALE, Ariz. โ Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski got a big head start on Chase Elliott. Hamlin, Logano and Keselowski never got the caution flag they needed to catch up, with Keselowski finishing second, Logano third and Hamlin fourth. โI would have liked to have one of those late-race yellows like we saw in the Truck race and the Xfinity race,โ Keselowski said. Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500 and had seven victories this year โ two behind leader Kevin Harvick. โAs an organization we have got to get a little better, especially on the short tracks,โ Hamlin said.
Elliott drives from back of the field to first NASCAR title
The Elliotts joined Lee and Richard Petty and Ned and Dale Jarrett as just the third father-son combination to win a NASCAR Cup title. Elliott passed Joey Logano with 42 laps remaining and pulled away in a race Elliott controlled even as the four title contenders ran 1-2-3-4 most of the afternoon. Elliott had charged through the field during the first stage to clump the four contenders in the winner-take-all season finale. Elliott's win at Martinsville last week not only locked him into the final four, but eliminated regular-season champion Harvick. On the cool-down lap, Johnson pulled up alongside Elliott and fist-bumped the new face of Hendrick, of Chevrolet and of NASCAR.
Avondale schools start remotely, but aims to switch to in-person
Some are teaching remotely, some in-person and some doing both. The Avondale School District was planning to have in-person learning until recently moving to virtual instruction. Going to a hybrid model is no more convenient for a parent where youre in school part of the week, youre at home part of the week," Schwarz said. In October, Schwarz and a school committee will re-evaluate the situation to see if a return to school can happen. "The apparent conflicting executive orders when it comes to schools versus businesses, restaurants.
Chase Elliott's title hopes end with crashed car at Phoenix
Elliott had to win to earn a berth in next week's title-deciding finale after a disastrous third round of the playoffs. NASCAR's most popular driver had a mechanical problem at Martinsville, crashed last week at Texas and crashed Sunday when he appeared to have a tire issue that caused him to spin. Elliott had been hoping to claim one of the remaining two berths in the Nov. 17 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Elliott, Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney were the four drivers trying to move back into title contention outside of Phoenix. ___More AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports