NASCAR playoffs filling fast
The NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid is filling up fast and the dwindling number of spots may lead to more of the aggressive driving that grabbed headlines over the weekend at Darlington Raceway.
Joey Logano sent leader William Byron into the wall on the next-tolast lap and went on to become the 10th different winner in the first 12 races of the season, locking up one of the 16 playoff spots with the victory.
“I did what I had to do,” Logano said. “I had to win the race. It was very important to win and get into the playoffs.”
Maybe more this season than ever before.
It is the second straight season 10 drivers have posted victories by the season's 12th race. But it is only the third time it's happened since NASCAR expanded the playoffs from 12 cars to 16 before the 2014 season.
NASCAR saves a spot for the regular season's points champion if he doesn't have a win.
“Yeah, it's something you think about,” said Erik Jones, who is 16th in points after getting knocked out of Darlington in a 12-car wreck with 25 laps left.
“We're going to keep doing a good job with the points,” Jones said. “But you see different guys winning and you want to be one of them to get in.”
A year ago, there were 14 drivers with wins who made the playoffs, tied for the most ever since the field expanded. The wild card this year is the Next Gen car, which has led to stronger, more competitive races and left even the most powerful programs scrambling to find an edge.
Logano's Team Penske crew chief, Paul Wolfe, said his Ford has has had difficulty matching the speed of the Chevrolets and Toyotas, which had combined for nine of 12 wins this season until Darlington.
Tennis
NADAL AN `OLD MACHINE' >> At 35 and after nearly two decades at or near the top of tennis, Rafael Nadal likens his body to “an old machine.”
A machine that was idle for more than a month recently when the 21time Grand Slam champion was recovering from a rib stress fracture.
After he was injured during a semifinal win over Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells in March, Nadal returned to action at the Madrid Open last week, when he was beaten by the 19-year-old Spaniard in the quarterfinals.
Nadal won his opening 20 matches of the year, which included the Australian Open title, but he said at the Italian Open on Monday that his stretch of good form means nothing now.
“My body is like an old machine. To put this machine on again it takes some time,” Nadal said. “It's not the same when you (are) 19 than when you have almost 36, with all the issues that I went through in my tennis career.
“You need to build again the confidence on your body, on your movements, then you going to start feeling again comfortable with your tennis. It's more about being confident with my movements, recover the speed, recover the way that I have to play on clay.”
Nadal, who turns 36 on June 3, is playing his final warmup in Rome this week before attempting to add to his record total of 13 French Open titles.
The tournament at Roland Garros starts in less than two weeks. FRENCH OPEN INVITES ARRIVE >> Katie Volynets, a 20-year-old Californian, and Michael Mmoh, a 24-yearold who was born in Saudi Arabia and is now based in Florida, earned the U.S. Tennis Association's wildcard entries for the main draw of the French Open.
Play begins at Roland Garros on May 22.
Volynets and Mmoh claimed their berths in the year's second Grand Slam tournament by collecting the most ranking points during recent clay-court tournaments.
The USTA and French tennis federation offer reciprocal wild-card invitations for each other's Grand Slam events.
NFL
RAIDERS SIGN YOUNG >> The Las Vegas Raiders signed free-agent linebacker Kenny Young.
Young started 13 games for the Broncos last season, making 75 tackles and recording two sacks.
The Raiders also announced they released linebacker Justin March, who has appeared in 61 games over the last six seasons.
RIVERA WINS HALAS AWARD >> Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera, who had cancer and made a full recovery, has been selected as the 2022 George Halas Award recipient by the Professional Football Writers of America.
The Halas Award is given to an NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes adversity to succeed.
Rivera, a Northern California native who played collegiately at Cal, has battled squamous cell carcinoma. He's the fourth member of the Washington franchise to receive the honor from the PFWA and the second in as many years, joining Billy Kilmer (1976), Pat Fischer (1978) and Alex Smith (2021).
GIANTS RELEASE BRADBERRY >> The New York Giants have released veteran cornerback James Bradberry.
A starter for the team the past two seasons, including making the Pro Bowl in 2020, Bradberry is a salary cap casualty. He would have been a $21.9 million cap hit, so cutting him Monday will save about $10 million. The team can designate him a postJune 1 release and save another $1.5 million on the cap for 2022.
Colleges
ASKEW JOINS CAL >> Sacramento native Devin Askew is transferring to Cal after stints at Kentucky and Texas. The former five-star point guard recruit averaged 2.1 points and 1.3 assists per game at Texas last season.