Sports
William Sawalich gets breakthrough victory at Rockingham
Mar 28, 2026; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich (18) pit crew try to get their car back into the final laps of the race at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Grabbing the lead and control of the race after a restart on Lap 172, William Sawalich pulled away over the final 79 laps to win Saturday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire at Rockingham Speedway.
The victory was the first in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the 19-year-old Sawalich, the youngest driver to win at the 0.94-mile track in any of NASCAR’s top three series.
Sawalich, who led 80 laps, crossed the finish line 0.863 seconds ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Brandon Jones to end the five-race winning streak of JR Motorsports and preserve the series record of six straight victories for JGR.
“It means everything,” said Sawalich, who gained three positions to 11th in the series standings. “Honestly, it was a tough year last year and a tough start to the year this year. Gosh, it feels good to get it done here at Rockingham in front of an awesome crowd.
“Our Supra was on rails today, obviously. Good in Stage 1 (fifth), Stage 2 (second) and obviously amazing in clean air. Lapped traffic took me out last year (in a 25th-place finish), so that was running through my head a little bit, but, man, I just studied the race last year, calmed down–and everything’s fine.”
With the win, Sawalich earned eligibility for the first Dash 4 Cash race next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. The top four finishers at Rockingham–Sawalich, Jones and third- and fourth-place finishers Justin Allgaier and Rajah Caruth–will compete for a $100,000 bonus in that event, with the top finisher among them claiming the prize.
Caruth, in fact, made a spectacular three-wide pass of both Sheldon Creed and Carson Kvapil with nine laps left to grab the last Dash 4 Cash position. Kvapil finished fifth and Creed sixth, followed by Taylor Gray, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg and pole winner Corey Day.
For the first half of the race, Day appeared to have the dominant car. The 20-year-old led a race-high 118 of the 250 laps and swept the first two stages–the first stage wins of his career.
But Day lost five positions on a slow pit stop during the second stage break and never recovered. On Lap 174, he pitted out of sequence for a loose lug nut and charged from 24th over the final 70 laps to post his seventh straight top 10.
“We had a couple of bad pit stops,” Day said. “We got behind there, and it was hard to dig ourselves out of the hole.”
Jones was pleased with the progress his runner-up finish represents.
“I left Martinsville a little frustrated at myself last week (after finishing 18th),” Jones said. “We weren’t quite aggressive enough at times, so today, I was super adamant on being super aggressive. I am going to take all of the runs I can get. I’m going to put people in bad situations, if I can, and just move forward.
“I think we did a really good job of it. We kept fighting both sides of it with balance today. Sam (McAuley, crew chief) did a great job taking all of my feedback and making a car, I think, capable of winning. It was just a matter of trying to get some track position, and he (Sawalich) got such a big restart on that last restart (after the seventh caution on Lap 206) that it was hard to catch him.”
Allgaier had the consolation of leaving Rockingham with a lead of 126 points over second-place Jesse Love in the O’Reilly Auto Parts standings. Love hit the outside wall after a shove from Caruth, lost track position on a subsequent unscheduled pit stop on Lap 153 and finished 27th, two laps down.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs-Guardians postponed by weather; doubleheader Sunday
Jul 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; A general view of Progressive Field during a rain delay before a game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Colorado Rockies. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images The Cleveland Guardians’ home game against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday was postponed due to inclement weather, with a traditional doubleheader scheduled for Sunday at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Slated to start Saturday for the Cubs, right-hander Edward Cabrera is listed as Sunday’s Game 1 starter. Left-hander Parker Messick is listed as the Guardians’ Game 1 starter. The Game 2 starters have not been announced.
Guardians rookie Chase DeLauter, who entered Saturday tied for the major league lead with five home runs, belted a two-run shot in Friday’s 4-1 victory over the Cubs in the series opener.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers SS Mookie Betts (back) exits in first inning vs. Nationals
Apr 4, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Los Angeles Dodgers star shortstop Mookie Betts exited in the middle of the first inning of Saturday’s game against the Washington Nationals due to right lower back pain, the club said.
Betts apparently was injured while the running the bases. He drew a walk and scored on Freddie Freeman’s two-run double. Betts slowly walked toward the Dodgers’ dugout after scoring.
A further update is expected after the contest.
Betts, 33, is batting just .179 (5-for-28) with two homers and seven RBIs in eight games.
Miguel Rojas replaced Betts at shortstop.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Lakers G Austin Reaves (oblique) out for the regular season
Feb 26, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) reacts against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Lakers continue to get troublesome news in the injury department with star guard Austin Reaves sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, per ESPN.
He has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury. As a result, he is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Reaves came away from Thursday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with discomfort in his oblique area. In the same game, fellow star guard Luka Doncic injured his left hamstring and likely will miss the final five games of the regular season.
“I went back to get a rebound, overextended a little bit and I felt something,” Reaves said after the loss to the Thunder.
Reaves, 27, has averaged a career-best 23.3 points with 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 51 games (45 starts). He missed 19 consecutive games earlier this season with a calf injury.
In five seasons, all with the Lakers, Reaves has averaged 15.8 points with 3.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 331 games (216 starts).
With Reaves and Doncic both out, Los Angeles also could be without guard Marcus Smart (ankle) against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Smart was not a full participant in the Lakers’ practice on Saturday, ESPN reported.
Given the injuries, Redick said he plans to expand the rotation from nine players to possibly 11.
“All hands on deck,” Redick said, adding that Kobe Bufkin, Dalton Knecht, and Nick Smith Jr. will join the team in Dallas after playing for the South Bay Lakers in the G League playoffs.
“Our mission, it hasn’t changed. The rest of these guys and my staff, we’re going after the 3-seed and we’re going to try to win a playoff series. And we’ll see what happens with Luka.”
When asked how he’ll mentally prepare for the challenge ahead in light of the injuries, Lebron James said, “You got to flip the mindset a little bit when your role changes, whatever the case may be, or what’s needed out of [you for] the team. So, the mindset changes a little bit, for sure.”
The Lakers traveled to Oklahoma City feeling good about their playoff prospects while winning 13 of their previous 14 games to reach third place in the Western Conference. But their night against the Thunder has proved costly and not just because of a 139-96 blowout loss.
Doncic leads the NBA in scoring at 33.5 points per game and is also averaging 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds. Doncic was just named Western Conference Player of the Month for March when he averaged 37.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.3 steals.
–Field Level Media
Cubs-Guardians postponed by weather; doubleheader Sunday
Dodgers SS Mookie Betts (back) exits in first inning vs. Nationals
