Sports
Buckle up: Cup Series 'roller coaster' travels to Texas
May 4, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) celebrates in victory lane with the winner’s trophy after he wins the Wurth 400 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Talladega’s fast-paced action gave fans a thrilling finish last week with Carson Hocevar recording his first win, and the Lone Star State will try to match or eclipse that this weekend.
With 10 races in the books, the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway for Sunday afternoon’s Wurth 400 in Fort Worth, where Joey Logano is the defending race winner after taking the checkers last year in overtime.
In his No. 22 Ford, Logano pulled away from Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney and held off Ross Chastain for his first victory in a season in which the defending Cup champ had achieved no top-five finishes and just one top-10.
“It’s crazy how you can just ride these roller coasters,” Logano said of the ups and downs in the 36-race schedule.
Looking over the post-COVID races at TMS — the track was scaled back to just one points-race weekend starting in 2021 — the 1.5-mile speedway has been quite the thrill ride itself.
In the subsequent five races, the caution flag has waved 66 times, an average of 13.2 yellows, forcing the field to dodge mishaps and crew chiefs to reconsider multiple race strategies.
While Logano’s Ford was the first to the checkers last season, TMS has been a fantastic track for Chevrolet, which is riding the momentum from a pair of firsts last weekend in Alabama.
On Saturday, 20-year-old Chevy driver Corey Day won for the first time in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in just his 22nd start by starting third and leading only the final lap.
Day was aided by new pit crew member Jason Kelce, the seven-time NFL Pro Bowler and Super Bowl winner with the Philadelphia Eagles. The former center transported tires for the No. 17 team.
Of course, Hocevar stole the spotlight the next day by handing the manufacturer its second win this season by driving away from Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Ford down the long frontstretch for his first Cup victory in his 91st start.
He became the 12th different winner at Talladega in the last 12 races at the giant superspeedway.
It was an impressive showing for the Portage, Mich., product, who has been knocking on the door of a win — plus knocking on some rear bumpers as well — and eventually was going to find Victory Lane at NASCAR’s top level.
Would it be surprising to see Hocevar’s No. 77 win again in Texas? Absolutely not.
He finished fourth at the similarly shaped Atlanta Motor Speedway this year and second in the spring race there last season. The Spire Motorsports driver also won the Texas pole one year ago.
The biggest advantage for the third-year driver, eighth in points and 192 behind leader Tyler Reddick, might be what’s underneath him.
The Bowtie Bunch has notched a series-best 18 wins in 45 Texas starts, including five of the past seven races and a track-best four consecutive from 2021-24.
Kyle Busch leads the active drivers with four wins at TMS and Denny Hamlin has three, though neither has won there since 2020.
Sunday will be a mad dash to see who can hop in the lead car on the Cup Series roller coaster.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Minnesota QB Drake Lindsey arrested on fake ID, alcohol charges
Dec 26, 2025; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) against the New Mexico Lobos during the Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Minnesota starting quarterback Drake Lindsey was arrested Friday for allegedly using a fake ID and for possessing alcohol as a minor.
The arrest took place in Lindsey’s native Arkansas, where Fayetteville police responded to a call from a bar in town about a possible fake identification.
Per a preliminary police report, the 20-year-old Lindsey admitted to owning the ID and said he drank alcohol before going to the bar.
He spent about seven hours in the Washington County Detention Center and posted a $470 bond, according to outlets that viewed detention records. He has district court hearings set for June 1 and June 29.
A Minnesota spokesperson told ESPN that the university is “aware of the situation and will address it internally.”
Lindsey was the Golden Gophers’ starting quarterback as a freshman last season and set a program record for wins by a freshman QB with eight. He threw for 2,382 yards and 18 touchdowns with six interceptions on 63.2% passing.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryan Reynolds displays his dominance of Reds in Pirates rout
May 1, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds (10) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Justin Berl-Imagn Images Bryan Reynolds continued his dominance of Cincinnati pitching with a tape-measure homer and an RBI triple in support of seven strong innings from Mitch Keller as the Pittsburgh Pirates routed the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 Friday night in Pittsburgh.
Henry Davis, who came into the game batting just .154 in 20 games, broke out of a season-long slump with two homers and three runs scored from the ninth spot in the order. Marcell Ozuna added a two-run shot and Nick Gonzales went 3-for-4 to raise his average to .333 for the Pirates, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
Cincinnati, which entered with a major league-best 10-3 road record, fell for just the fourth time away from home.
Keller (3-1) allowed only three hits and one run in seven innings, striking out six and walking just one on a season-high 104 pitches.
The Reds were held to three hits, two of which came off the bat of TJ Friedl. The Cincinnati outfielder collected the first hit off Keller in the third and doubled to open the sixth and scored on an Elly De La Cruz groundout.
The game, which was delayed 91 minutes at the start by rain, was played in raw conditions with temperatures hovering around 40 for most of the night.
In the Pittsburgh first, Reynolds crushed a fastball from Cincinnati starter and loser Brady Singer an estimated 443 feet to the shrubs beyond the centerfield wall for his fourth homer of the season.
Reynolds now has two home runs this season against Cincinnati pitching and 19 lifetime, the most against any opponent in his career.
Singer (2-2) was roughed up for four runs and seven hits over just 3 1/3 innings, striking out just one while walking two.
Pittsburgh has taken three of the first four meetings between the two clubs this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cards grab early 3-run lead, add on to put away Dodgers
May 1, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman (16) hits a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson each hit home runs, Jordan Walker had four hits and the host St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to five games with a 7-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
Matthew Liberatore (1-1) gave up two runs on five hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings as the Cardinals returned from a four-game sweep at Pittsburgh to win in the opener of a three-game series and six-game homestand.
Walker capped his third career four-hit game with a two-run double in the seventh inning as St. Louis improved to 11-5 since April 14. Relievers George Soriano, Gordon Graceffo and Matt Svanson held Los Angeles scoreless over the final 3 1/3 innings.
Max Muncy had an RBI double and Kyle Tucker brought home a run on a sacrifice fly as the Dodgers lost their third consecutive game and fell to 5-8 since April 18.
Emmet Sheehan (2-1) gave up four runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings as he pitched at St. Louis for the first time.
Trouble arrived early for the Dodgers as Sheehan balked in a run during the first inning when he failed to inform umpires that he was switching from the windup to the stretch position during the same at-bat.
Six pitches later, Sheehan gave up the two-run home run to Gorman, his fifth of the season, as the Cardinals took a 3-0 lead.
The Dodgers got a run back in the second when Muncy’s double to the wall in left-center scored Andy Pages from first base.
St. Louis made it 4-1 in the third when Burleson hit a home run to right field, his fifth.
Los Angeles cut the deficit in half on Tucker’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.
The Cardinals took complete control in the seventh, getting Walker’s two-run double and a run-scoring ground ball by Nathan Church to take a 7-2 advantage.
The 12-hit game from the Cardinals came after they had 14 hits in a 10-5 victory over the Pirates on Thursday.
–Field Level Media
Minnesota QB Drake Lindsey arrested on fake ID, alcohol charges
Bryan Reynolds displays his dominance of Reds in Pirates rout
