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Carson Hocevar rides the wave to NASCAR Cup pole at Texas

NASCAR OReilly Auto Parts: Andy's Frozen Custard 340May 2, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar (77) is interviewed after winning the pole position in the qualifying session for the 2026 Wurth 400 Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

FORT WORTH, Texas — In a manner of speaking, Carson Hocevar called his shot at Texas Motor Speedway–and wound up on the pole for Sunday’s Wurth 400 Presented by LIQUI MOLY (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Before Saturday’s time trials at the 1.5-mile track, Hocevar said he hoped to capitalize on his last-in-the-order qualifying position–a benefit of his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway last Sunday.

“Hopefully we can roll out last and take advantage of it,” Hocevar said. “Start up front, which is super important here. Pit stops are going to be important. Get a good pit selection and really keep the momentum rolling.”

It took a monumental lap for Hocevar to achieve that objective. Streaking around the speedway in 25.222 seconds (191.240 mph), he edged Spire Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez (191.320 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.003 seconds.

The Busch Light Pole Award was the second of Hocevar’s career, with the first coming at Texas a year ago.

“Maybe going to (sponsor) Chili’s last night it weighed the car down just a little bit more, and I had a little more left-side weight,” joked Hocevar, who also won Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at TMS. “I don’t know where those three thousandths (of a second) are, but I’m glad I had ‘em in the bank.

“My lap felt pretty good. It wasn’t quite key it up on the radio and (say)… ‘If they beat that, they can have it,’ and they don’t get beat. It wasn’t quite doing that, but I was coming off Turn 4, and I was like, ‘If this isn’t fast, I’m going to be disappointed.’ It felt good.”

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher qualified third at 190.981 mph in the only Ford that cracked the top 10. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe tied for fourth at 190.786 mph, with Hamlin getting the nod for the higher starting spot on an owner points tiebreaker.

Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, series leader Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 on the grid. Defending Cup champion Kyle Larson will start 11th.

Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace did not make qualifying attempts and will start from the rear of the field on Sunday. Dillon’s team changed the engine in the No. 3 Chevrolet. Wallace crashed in practice will start the race in a backup car.

“It was on edge, just like Texas is,” Wallace said of the accident. “Just trying to find the right balance for us and our team. So it was going to be a good debrief to figure out if we can get some more speed, but just have to rely on our teammates and go get it tomorrow.

“This is a very unforgiving place. So like I said, it (the No. 23 Camry) was around before I even knew it.”

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying — Wurth 400 presented by LIQUI MOLY

Texas Motor Speedway

Fort Worth, Texas

Saturday, May 2, 2026

1. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 191.340 mph.

2. (7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 191.320 mph.

3. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 190.981 mph.

4. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 190.786 mph.

5. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 190.786 mph.

6. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 190.611 mph.

7. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 190.456 mph.

8. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 190.416 mph.

9. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 190.382 mph.

10. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 190.168 mph.

11. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 190.067 mph.

12. (88) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 189.940 mph.

13. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 189.860 mph.

14. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 189.780 mph.

15. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 189.693 mph.=

16. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 189.427 mph.

17. (67) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 189.341 mph.

18. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 189.228 mph.

19. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 189.155 mph.

20. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, 189.129 mph.

21. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, 188.950 mph.

22. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 188.772 mph.

23. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 188.692 mph.

24. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, 188.686 mph.

25. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 188.442 mph.

26. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 188.403 mph.

27. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 188.311 mph.=

28. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, 188.193 mph.

29. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 187.983 mph.

30. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 187.905 mph.

31. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 187.800 mph.

32. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 187.682 mph.

33. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 187.669 mph.

34. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, 187.285 mph.

35. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 185.350 mph.

36. (66) Chad Finchum(i), Ford, 176.396 mph.

37. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.

38. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.

— By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

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Yankees place Carlos Rodon on IL, reinstate Trent Grisham, Ryan McMahon

Jun 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA;  New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball to relieve pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesJun 23, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball to relieve pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees returned center fielder Trent Grisham and third baseman Ryan McMahon to their active roster prior to Friday’s home game against the Minnesota Twins.

To make room for them on the 26-man roster, left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodon was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation and utility man Oswaldo Cabrera was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Grisham, 29, has not played since June 12 due to a hamstring strain and was on the 10-day IL. The Yankees’ frequent leadoff hitter has posted a .232/.341/.406 slash line with eight home runs, 35 RBIs and six stolen bases in 66 games this season.

McMahon, 31, has not been in the Yankees’ lineup since June 21 due to ear and throat issues and was on the 10-day IL. An All-Star in 2024 with the Colorado Rockies, McMahon has delivered a .210 batting average, eight homers and 23 RBIs in 69 games this year.

Rodon, a three-time All-Star including in 2025, hits the injured list after one of his best starts of the year. The 33-year-old surrendered one hit and no earned runs over five innings on Sunday at Boston. In nine starts this season, Rodon has fashioned a 4-2 record and 3.30 ERA with 52 strikeouts and 26 walks over 46 1/3 innings. He began the season on the IL following offseason elbow surgery and later injured his hamstring in March before making his season debut on May 10.

He was slated to start Saturday against the Twins.

Cabrera, 27, appeared in three games while McMahon was sidelined. He went 0-for-9 with two sacrifice bunts in his 11 plate appearances.

–Field Level Media

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Williams sisters to play doubles Saturday at Wimbledon

Jul 6, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) hug at the net after their match on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn ImagesJul 6, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Serena Williams (USA) and Venus Williams (USA) hug at the net after their match on day seven of The Championships Wimbledon at the AELTC. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

Serena and Venus Williams will play their Wimbledon first-round doubles match on Saturday after organizers gave Serena time to recover from a knee injury.

The sisters, who won the grass-court Grand Slam doubles title six times (most recently in 2016), take on Argentina’s Solana Sierra and Colombia’s Camila Osorio at the All England Club.

Playing her first singles match in nearly four years on Tuesday, the 44-year-old Serena tweaked her knee in the first set of a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 loss to Australia’s Maya Joint.

Tournament director Jamie Baker told the Associated Press the first-round doubles match was pushed back to give Serena “as much time” as possible to recover. All other first-round matches in the Ladies’ Doubles draw were contested Thursday and Friday.

“We want her to play if she … possibly can,” Baker said Friday.

Venus, 46, and Serena last played doubles at the 2022 U.S. Open, losing in the first round to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.

The winner of Saturday’s match will face ninth-seeded Ellen Perez of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the second round.

–Field Level Media

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Tigers' Jack Flaherty, Rangers' Kumar Rocker have momentum after rough starts to season

Jun 28, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA;  Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) pitches in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesJun 28, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty (9) pitches in the first inning against the Houston Astros at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Following a short stint on the injured list, Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty didn’t allow a run in his return. He’ll look to build off that outing when his team plays the middle contest of a three-game series against Texas on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.

Flaherty recorded nine strikeouts in his five-inning start against the visiting Houston Astros on Sunday. The only negative was that Flaherty required 94 pitches to get that far. The Tigers wound up losing 7-5 in 10 innings.

“Still needed a better job to find a way to get some quick outs. Some quick outs, quicker ABs,” said Flaherty, who was on the injured list due to a left peroneal strain, a tendon injury along his lower leg. “They did a good job of getting the two strikes, and fouling some pitches off and making at-bats go a little bit longer.”

It was just the second time this season Flaherty (1-8, 4.97 ERA) had gone at least five innings without giving up a run. He started against the Rangers on May 1 and was pulled after 3 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on five hits while issuing three walks.

In five career starts against Texas, Flaherty is 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA.

After starting their road trip with a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees, the Tigers lost the opener of this series, 10-4, on Thursday. The teams didn’t meet on Friday due to the Australia-Egypt World Cup match played at nearby AT&T Stadium.

Detroit trailed 5-0 before fifth-inning homers by Colt Keith and Hao-Yu Lee cut the deficit to two runs. The Tigers’ bullpen failed to keep them within striking range.

“We’re chasing it from behind. That’s a tough recipe, but we did give ourselves a chance,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “They were able to get out of it and then tack on runs.”

The Rangers’ victory was their seventh in the last eight games and gave them at least a share of the AL West lead for the fifth straight day. Their run total on Thursday matched their season high.

“At the end of the day, everybody in here wants to win,” said Texas outfielder Evan Carter, who went 2-for-2 with a homer off the bench. “I think everybody’s showing up in the field every single day, everybody’s got their own unique skill sets, and we go out there trying to compete and grind and do whatever we can to help the team win every single day. I think that’s a collective thing that everybody here feels. Nobody here is playing for themselves, and I think that shows on the field.”

The Rangers pounded out 17 hits despite not having Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford or Brandon Nimmo due to injuries. The Rangers are hopeful Nimmo can play this weekend. He sprained his AC joint when he slammed into a wall while making a catch on Sunday.

Kumar Rocker (2-6, 3.83) is slated to start on Saturday as fellow right-hander Cal Quantrill (3-0, 3.31), who has spent most of this season in a relief role, was pushed back to Sunday’s game.

Rocker has walked 31 batters and entered Friday tied for the major league high with six wild pitches in 80 innings over 16 games (14 starts) this season. He hasn’t won since May 19.

In his most recent outing on Sunday, Rocker threw six scoreless innings while allowing four hits and one walk and striking out five in a no-decision against the host Toronto Blue Jays.

“He’s on the attack really with the fastball today,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said after the game. “I thought his fastball command was one of the best he’s had in a while. Really kept (the Blue Jays) off guard throwing in and outside to righties and lefties. The slider is real; he can throw at any time to strike guys out.”

Rocker is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA and seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings over two starts against the Tigers. He faced host Detroit on May 2 and yielded five runs on seven hits in two innings in taking the loss.

Texas selected Rocker third overall in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt.

–Field Level Media

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