If there's one crucial ability that every racecar driver needs to have, it's the ability to close out races.
Racing is unique in the sense that no lead is insurmountable, and no matter where you're running, a good or bad result is never guaranteed until the checkered flag flies. For drivers who struggle to close out races, the three-and-a-half-hour slugfests of the NASCAR Cup Series often provide a reminder that finishing out good days is the most important thing a driver can do.
For Bubba Wallace, the Richmond Raceway has served as his adversary when trying to close out races in the top five. In the last two races at the track, Wallace has collected at least 12 stage points but has finished outside of the top 10 twice.
Last July, Wallace led 80 laps in what was one of 23XI Racing's best short track performances to date. He also earned 16 stage points, but after he and crew chief Bootie Barker failed to keep up with the changing track, he eventually faded to 12th.
On March 31, Wallace led two laps and collected 12 stage points, and was running inside the top-five in the closing laps. However, contact with Kyle Larson sent Larson around, and on the ensuing round of pit stops, Wallace's pit crew made a mistake, leading to a disappointing 13th-place finish after one of the best performances of Wallace's career.
In a crucial race for Wallace in the heat of the playoff bubble battle, both driver and crew must go into Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Richmond with one goal in mind: Finish the race.
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The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is expected to be similar to its 2025 iteration, but there will be a few significant changes. On Tuesday, The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi reported a first look at what is believed to be the final version of NASCAR's 2026 schedule. Per Bianchi, The Clash and first five races of the season will stay put, with the 68th running of the Daytona 500 kicking things off on Feb. 15. Darlington's spring race will shift from its date on Mother's Day weekend to March, with Kansas' spring race moving to April from May. The first street race in San Diego will take place on June 21 at Naval Base Coronado. There will be a total of five road/street courses on the Cup Series schedule in 2026, down from six in 2025. Watkins Glen, which has traditionally been held in August, will move to May, while Dover Motor Speedway's lone date on the calendar will also be in May. The 'Monster Mile' will host the NASCAR All-Star Race for the first time, but the one-mile track will not host a Cup Series points race in 2026. The Chicago area will still host NASCAR on Fourth of July weekend, but not on the streets of the 'Windy City.' Instead, Chicagoland Speedway will return to the schedule for the first time since 2019, with the 1.5-mile track hosting the Cup Series on July 5. North Wilkesboro, N.C., which has hosted the All-Star Race since its return to the schedule in 2023, will trade places with Dover, DE, and receive its first Cup Series points race since 1996 on July 19. The Cup Series will, of course, be off for Easter weekend in April, but a second off week has been added to the schedule following the Brickyard 400 on July 26. That off-weekend will lead to Iowa Speedway hosting a third Cup Series race on Aug. 9. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which will host a Cup Series playoff race this season, will return to the regular season in 2026. The 'Magic Mile' will host the second-to-last race of the regular season on Aug. 23, 2026, before the regular season concludes at Daytona for a seventh consecutive year. The Cup Series playoff schedule features several shake-ups. Darlington, Gateway and Bristol will once again make up the Round of 16, but Las Vegas Motor Speedway will move into the Round of 12 as a substitute for New Hampshire. Talladega Superspeedway will remain in the Round of 8, with Martinsville remaining as the season's penultimate race. Meanwhile, Phoenix Raceway — which has hosted the championship weekend since 2020 — will move into the Round of 8, with Homestead-Miami Speedway hosting the championship race for the first time since 2019 on Nov. 8, 2026. Mexico City, which hosted its inaugural Cup race in June, will not return to the schedule. Nor will the aforementioned Chicago Street Course, though NASCAR is reportedly hopeful that both races will return to the schedule in 2027.
LeBron James is addicted ... to golf, that is. The Los Angeles Lakers star said so himself, and he continues to show just how obsessed he is with the sport. After the Lakers' failed playoff run during the 2024-25 season, James has spent a huge chunk of his offseason playing golf. There have been a lot of comments about James' golf swing, with Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum even saying he needs to "loosen up a little bit." LeBron James Gives Himself a New Nickname Sure enough, James has shown significant improvement as he continues to work on his golf game. In fact, James was on a golf course along with plenty of friends recently, when he produced a highlight moment. Apparently, he pulled off a bunker chip-in, which his friends attested to. The Lakers forward called it "the highlight of the weekend" for him, adding that he "couldn't believe it." James was so hyped that he even gave himself a new nickname. "I mean call me LeScottie Scheffler," he wrote on his Instagram Stories, referencing the PGA Tour's current No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler. It remains to be seen how Scheffler will react to James' self-proclaimed nickname, although it's not a surprise why the four-time NBA champion was inspired by the golf star. LeBron James' 'Cold' Message for Scottie Scheffler It's worth noting that James was among the first to celebrate Scheffler's latest victory at the BMW Championship. In the contest, Scheffler entered the final round trailing Robert MacIntyre by four strokes. However, he turned things around on the last day of the competition in Maryland and secured a two-shot victory to claim his fifth tournament title this year. During Scheffler's comeback, James was tuned in and even posted on X how "crazy" his performance was. "Scheffler so damn COLD out there!!" James exclaimed. James is obviously a huge fan of Scheffler, and with the Lakers star not afraid to show it, maybe fans would see the real Scottie Scheffler play LeScottie Scheffler in the future.
A first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he decides to hang it up, Russell Westbrook has long been revered as one of the NBA's premier point guards, both with his aggressive play and infectious energy. Despite the former MVP's impressive resume, though, he remains unsigned nearly two months after free agency opened on June 30. It's no secret that Westbrook is no longer an All-Star-caliber player, but it's certainly jarring to see his name alongside the summer's other leftovers. Over the last two seasons, Russ has willingly accepted a bench role and shown his ability to contribute even without being the offense's focal point. He finished top-10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting with both the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24 and the Denver Nuggets in 2024-25. The Nuggets may have been Westbrook's most seamless fit since the 36-year-old left the Oklahoma City Thunder, which brings us to the key mistake he made this offseason: He decided to bet on himself when his career was trending south. It's understandable why Westbrook decided to decline his player option with Denver. $3.5 million is pocket change relative to today's NBA salaries, so it's possible the nine-time All-Star expected to land a bigger payday on name brand alone. But that's no longer the case with Westbrook. The Nuggets, like several teams before them, took a chance on Westbrook, whose play has been nothing short of a wild card in recent years. Alongside Nikola Jokic, though, he found success operating off-ball by utilizing his natural explosiveness, a sensible calling card for one of basketball history's most athletic playmakers. It seemed like the perfect spot for Westbrook to finish out his career. Instead, he has continued to seek out a more lucrative deal with a team that is looking to give him more offensive freedom. While the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks are both reportedly interested in adding his services, neither team can offer both a higher salary and an expanded role. It also seems unlikely that Westbrook will find a more seamless fit for himself than what he had in Denver. Whether it's due to his erratic offensive tendencies or his relentless determination to involve himself in every action, it's easy to see why teams have to talk themselves into Westbrook at this point in his career. It appears that Russ will finally be picked up soon, but the damage has already been done. The two-time scoring champion already gave up his best chance at winning a title once he departed from Denver.
When you talk about the last 20 years of the Las Vegas Raiders and even the Oakland Raiders, it’s hard not to talk about how much they have come up short on their quarterback decisions. You have to mention the position while focusing on the last two decades. The Raiders have maybe the biggest draft bust of all time in JaMarcus Russell, and Derek Carr, while he was a franchise guy, was never good enough to win a postseason game, let alone get them there more than twice. So, it’s a position that has been pretty polarizing over the last two decades, but not for the right reasons. Getting Geno Smith is about as smart a thing as the Raiders could have done this offseason, considering what the QB market was in free agency and the NFL Draft. However, he’s getting up there in age. Sure, his body may not have a ton of wear and tear on it, but the body still does age. Smith can’t play forever, so while he may be the guy this year and next year, the Raiders will eventually have to address the position again. And that could end up being next offseason, or the one after that, for all we know. And when that time comes, do we really know if the Raiders will be bad enough to have a top pick in the draft to get their next quarterback, and do we want them to continue to get older quarterbacks that we be gone in 2-3 years? The answer is no. So, they could, and should, be a candidate to trade for a quarterback who is in a very unique situation right now, and just needs a new start. Raiders should trade for Colts QB Anthony Richardson I already know what everyone is thinking – don’t you think I know he can’t throw the ball and has made some very questionable IQ plays over the last few years? Yes, I know that, but I’m not asking the Raiders to trade for a guy who is going to come in and be the starter right away. I’m asking them to trade for a guy who needs to sit behind a veteran guy and learn some more. Anthony Richardson was the former No. 4 overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts. He started four games in his first year after getting hurt for the year, and started 11 games last year before, ultimately, getting benched, and he was banged up a bit, too. But, he was taken that high for a reason, and anyone in their right mind can see the potential he has, but everyone should also be able to see the work he needs to do. But first, how did we get here with Anthony Richardson in the first place? And, will the Raiders even be able to trade for Richardson? The Colts made a puzzling decision by naming Daniel Jones the starter over Anthony Richardson ahead of the 2025 season. Now the question everyone around the league will ask is: "Will Anthony Richardson be made available via trade?" It's a good question, and I think normally the player would be, the Colts don't seem to want to do that, though. Richardson could force their hand, though, by requesting a trade. If he does, I think the Colts would have to at least listen to teams around the league. The Raiders would make a lot of sense as a destination with Pete Carroll being someone that many believed was very high on Richardson during his draft process. I think it would still take more draft capital than people realize, just due to the stubbornness of the Colts' decision makers. If I had to guess a fourth-round pick and maybe a player at a position of need, such as S, LB, or a depth offensive lineman. - Destin Adams, A to Z Sports Indianapolis Hear me out: The Raiders want to trade Aidan O’Connell, and he has shown that he may have some potential that hasn’t been tapped yet. But, he is also probably going to be a career backup, and it seems like that is a position the Colts usually need – a backup quarterback. Maybe you test the waters with O’Connell so they are still getting a backup in return, along with another player of sorts, and then a pick, not one too high, though. And, doing this trade makes sense from the standpoint of everything I have already explained about needing a future franchise guy, letting him sit and learn, but also that Pete Carroll is a huge fan of Richardson. And, he has a track record of turning guys around and finding that untapped potential. Now, if the asking price is too outrageous, of course, you don’t do this trade. But if it’s just right, I see no reason why John Spytek shouldn’t pull the trigger on it. Richardson played a handful of college football games at Florida, and he still needs some time to develop. He’ll get to do that behind one of the best pure passers this game has in Geno Smith.
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