Hamlin holds off teammate Truex to triumph at Bristol
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday, passing Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final laps for his fourth victory at the famed short track.
Hamlin also won at NASCAR’s bullring last September.
This one was much different. Tire issues hampered most everyone all afternoon as only five cars finished on the lead lap — the first time that has happened in the Cup Series in 20 years. The Gibbs cars were the class of the field.
“My favorite racetrack!” Hamlin exclaimed over his radio while taking the checkered flag. “We got another.”
He was booed — no surprise considering Hamlin has become arguably the series’ biggest villain — as he stood atop his No. 11 Toyota following a smoky burnout.
It was Hamlin’s 52nd career win and locks him into the playoffs. Brad Ke- selowski finished third in a Ford, Alex Bowman was fourth in a Chevrolet and Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
“It was weird,” Larson said. “I accidentally finished fifth. I’ll take it. I hope I never have to run another race like that again.”
The other two Gibbs cars — driven by Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell — finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
The race was chaotic from the start, with cars burning through tires at such an alarming rate that NASCAR issued each team an extra set. That gave them 11 sets total, including the one used in qualifying.
Pole winner Christian Eckes held off Kyle Busch in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s NASCAR Truck Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Zane Smith finished third.
Brian McBride scored in each of the first five games of the 1998 season for the Columbus Crew, the only player to accomplish the feat.
Tomas Ostrak won the ball from Riqui Puig and scored his first goal of the season.
In MLS, Robin Lod and Bongokuhle Hlongwane
each scored a goal, and host Minnesota United ended a seven-game winless streak against LAFC with a 2-0 victory on Saturday night in coach Eric Ramsay’s debut for the Loons. LAFC (1-2-1) has been shutout in three straight games. Dénis Bouanga, the reigning Golden Boot winner, is still chasing his first goal of the season. Bouanga’s shot from close range missed to the left in the 54th minute and his shot in the 65th was blocked. He also missed a shot early in the first half . ... Harry Kane is set to join up with the England squad for upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium despite injuring his ankle while playing for Bayern Munich, the German club said.
The Seattle Seahawks solidified a revamped linebacker unit by signing former Miami Dolphins inside linebacker Jerome Baker to a one-year contract . ... The Cleveland Browns agreed to terms on a one-year contract with former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley, adding another veteran to give them more depth and protection behind Deshaun Watson.
Ohio State removed the interim tag from men’s basketball coach Jake Diebler’s title and announced he will receive a five-year contract. Diebler, 37, was in his third year as associate head coach when he took over the team following Chris Holtmann’s firing on Feb. 14.
Milwaukee Bucks center Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Sunday’s game against the Phoenix Suns because of left hamstring soreness. Antetokounmpo missed just his fourth game of the season and first since March 4, when he was out with Achilles tendinitis.
In Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Timon Haugan held on to his firstrun lead to win the men’s slalom at the World Cup finals, giving the Norwegian ski team its first victory of the season. Haugan beat Manuel Feller, the winner of the discipline season title, by 0.40 seconds . ... On the women’s side, Lara GutBehrami secured the overall and giant slalom titles after finishing 10th.