Dillon edges Reddick to win NASCAR Cup Series race in Texas
Austin Dillon stayed in front after a restart with two laps to go and beat rookie Tyler Reddick to the checkered flag at Texas Motor Speedway, giving Richard Childress Racing a 1-2 NASCAR Cup finish on a scorching Sunday.
Dillon raced to his third career win and first since Daytona at the start of the 2018 season. He stayed in front on three late restarts, the first after an incident with 29 laps left that shuffled the fast car of Ryan Blaney to a lap back.
“Not bad for a silver spoon kid, huh?,” said Dillon, the grandson of Childress. “Tyler Reddick, he raced me clean. 1-2 for RCR. This has been coming. We’ve had good cars all year. I’ve got my baby Ace back home, my wife. I’m just so happy.”
On the final restart, Dillon got a good jump and raced to the checkered flag ahead of his rookie teammate and some veteran drivers.
Joey Logano finished third, with Kyle Busch coming in fourth a day after he finished ahead of the field in two races — having an Xfinity Series victory taken away after his car failed a post-race inspection before winning the Truck Series race at night. Series points leader Kevin Harvick was fifth.
There were an estimated 15,00020,000 spectators at the track, where it reached 97 degrees late in the first summertime Cup race at Texas — it was supposed to be a spring race nearly four months ago, before the coronavirus pandemic postponed and then shuffled NASCAR’s schedule. Inside the cars, it was 130-140 degrees.
After leading six times for 150 laps, both highs for the race, Blaney finished seventh.
Blaney, who had given up the lead when he pitted on Lap 287, fell a lap down after the field got shuffled with 29 laps to go when rookie Quin Houff crashed hard out of Turn 4. That also put pole-sitter Aric Almirola and Chase Elliott a lap down.
HAMILTON TIES RECORD >> Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix, in Budapest, for the eighth time to equal Michael Schumacher’s single-venue record and take the championship lead.
Hamilton’s latest victory from pole position was as comfortable as the nearly 9-second margin over secondplace Max Verstappen suggested. The British driver’s 86th GP win moved him just five behind the German great Schumacher’s F1 record of 91.
Schumacher won the French GP eight times when it was held at Magny-Cours. Hamilton first won here in 2007 and his first success with Mercedes also came at the Hungaroring
track in 2013, the year after replacing Schumacher on the Silver Arrows team.
NHRA RAINED OUT >> Rain washed out the final rounds of the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. The event will be completed during the NHRA U.S. Nationals at the track Sept. 3-6.
NBA
JAMES TRADING CARD AUCTIONED FOR $1.8M >> A rare LeBron James trading card sold for a whopping $1.8 million at an auction. Saturday’s sale at Goldin Auctions nearly doubled the previous record for a modern-day card of $923,000 set in May for a card of Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout, according to Yahoo Sports.
Upper Deck produced only 23 copies of this particular card, which was signed by James during his 2003-04 rookie season with the Cavaliers.
Correction
This item is a correction on Saturday’s horse race, necessary because the AP sent an earlier version with the wrong winner.
AUTHENTIC WON HASKELL STAKES >> Authentic gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his record-extending ninth victory in the $1 million Haskell Stakes on Saturday, holding off late charging Ny Traffic by a nose at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.
Jockey Mike Smith put the Santa Anita Derby runner-up on the lead at the start and they covered the 1 1/8mile Grade 1 stakes in 1:50.46. The win was the third in four starts this year for the colt.
Belmont runner-up Dr. Post finished third under jockey Joe Bravo.