Hamlin leads JGR drivers to Martinsville as favorites
All the momentum is with Denny Hamlin headed to Martinsville Speedway for the opening race of the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs.
Hamlin, a five-time winner at the Virginia short track, need not look far for worthy challengers, including two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
JGR moved into the round of eight with three of its four drivers still racing for the Cup Series title and a reasonable shot at advancing the trio into the season finale shootout next month. Kyle Busch was the regular-season champion and holds a four-point lead over teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the standings before Sunday’s race. Truex leads the series with six wins, including two in the first round of the playoffs.
Hamlin is third in points and coming off his fifth win of the season, giving Gibbs and Toyota a tremendous 1-2-3 attack for the title. It’s only fitting the Gibbs group is in this position — the team has won 16 of the 32 races so far this season — but snagging three of the final four spots in the Homestead-Miami Speedway title-deciding race will be a tricky navigation inside the organization.
“Right now, we have very good chemistry,” Gibbs said after Hamlin won at Kansas Speedway last Sunday. “It’s not going to buy us anything next week. I get so nervous. I was all excited about (Hamlin), then somebody mentioned next week, and I almost threw up. I said ‘You mean this doesn’t get us to Homestead?’”
No, the road to Homestead begins at the shortest track on the circuit, a tricky paper clip-shaped 0.526-mile oval. The middle round is at Texas Motor Speedway and then the championship field of four is decided at ISM Raceway outside Phoenix.
Busch, a four-time winner this season but mired in a stretch of 18 races without one, is ready for this nail-biting round. He has just two top-five finishes through the first six playoff races and is eager to get back up front.
“I feel like it’s our best round. We run well at all three of those places and we’ve won a few at Texas, we won Martinsville twice and Phoenix has been getting better for us, too,” Busch said.
Truex has never won at Martinsville but his performance has picked up the past several years. He has finished eighth or better the last four races, was runner-up to Busch in 2017 and third last October.
A win at Martinsville gives any team breathing room to focus on the Nov. 17 finale and not worry about earning a slot in the final four. FERRARI’S VETTEL LEADS THE WAY AT MEXICAN GRAND PRIX >> Sebastian Vettel set the pace with the fastest lap in Friday’s second practice at the Mexican Grand Prix as Ferrari showed the power that has made it the favorite for pole position for Sunday’s race in Mexico City.
Two-time defending race champion Max Verstappen was 0.115 seconds back in his Red Bull. Ferrari’s
Charles Leclerc was third.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton led the morning practice but was fifth in the afternoon.
Hamilton can clinch the season championship Sunday if he finishes 14 points ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas, the only driver still mathematically alive in the title chase.
Golf
RAIN CREATES PROBLEMS FOR FIRST PGA EVENT IN JAPAN >> The PGA Tour’s first tournament in Japan will take the unusual step of closing the course to spectators for the second round and extending the tournament until Monday because of torrential rainfall and flooding in the area. Rain washed out the second round of the Zozo Championship in Inzai City on Friday. Torrential rain caused flooding and mudslides Friday in towns east of Tokyo, leaving one dead and two missing and expanding damage in areas still recovering from recent typhoons.
More than six inches of rain was recorded at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on Friday.
Tiger Woods was tied with Gary Woodland after both players shot 64 in the opening round Thursday. KANG STAYS ON A ROLL >> Danielle Kang shot a second consecutive 5-under 67 for a one-stroke lead at the Buick Ladies Championship, putting her in a strong position to win her second tournament in two weeks on the LPGA Tour.
The American, who won last week in Shanghai, had seven birdies and two bogeys for a 10-under 134 total on the LPGA International Busan (South Korea) course.
Hee Won Na (67) birdied two of her final three holes and was tied for second place with Seung Yeon Lee (68).
WNBA
MVP WILL MISS STANFORD EXHIBITION WITH TEAM USA >> Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne, the league MVP, will not join the U.S. women’s national team in its game Nov. 2 at Stanford because of a back injury she suffered during the WNBA finals, USA Basketball announced. Coaches have added Dallas Wings guard Allisha Gray to the roster for a four-game November exhibition tour to prepare for the Tokyo Games next summer.
Women’s college basketball
CAL CANCELS OPEN PRACTICE >> Because of anticipated power shutoff on campus this weekend, the Cal women’s basketball open practice and tipoff event scheduled for today has been canceled. The status of Sunday’s exhibition against Beijing Normal will be determined at a later time.
Skating
JAPAN SKATERS LEAD SHORT PROGRAM >> Double Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu scored a season’s best to win the men’s short program at Skate Canada in British Columbia while Japanese compatriot Rika Kihira won a battle of triple axels on the women’s side. Hanyu, who finished runner-up in his three previous Skate Canada appearances, earned 109.60 points. Kihira (81.35) outdueled South Korean You Young (78.22) to win the ladies short program as both teenagers landed triple axels.
Tennis
TSITSIPAS SETS UP SEMIFINAL AGAINST FEDERER >> With Roger Federer getting an unexpected day off, his next opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas had to work hard to advance to the Swiss Indoors semifinals. Third-seeded Tsitsipas rallied to beat Filip Krajinovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals in Basel.
The other semifinal will pair unseeded Reilly Opelka and wild-card entry Alex de Minaur.
WTA FINALS: U.S. OPEN CHAMP ANDREESCU
FACES HALEP FOR FIRST TIME >> U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu and Wimbledon winner Simona Halep will meet for the first time at the season-ending WTA Finals at Shenzhen, China. In the draw on Friday, the fourth-seeded Andreescu will play No. 5 Halep on Monday in the Purple Group.
The WTA Finals, which ended its five-year stay in Singapore last season, starts a 10-year run in Shenzhen.
Soccer
RAMOS HIRED AS COACH OF HOUSTON DYNAMO >> Tab Ramos has been hired as coach of Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo and has quit as coach of the U.S. under-20 team. Ramos was hired Friday to replace Wilmer Cabrera. Ramos had eight goals in 81 international appearances and played for the U.S. in the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, the 1995 Copa America and the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He was inducted into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005.
Horse racing
HORSE DIES AFTER TRAINING TRACK INCIDENT AT SANTA ANITA >> A fifth horse has died at Santa Anita this fall, the 35th overall fatality since Dec. 26 at the Arcadia racetrack. G Q Covergirl injured both her front legs Friday on the training track. The 5-year-old mare was euthanized on the advice of the attending veterinarian.
G Q Covergirl had six wins in 16 career starts and earnings of $200,730.