Tyler Reddick’s victory in the 2026 Daytona 500 scored massive ratings for Fox Sports, which saw an 11% increase over last year’s race.

The 7.489 million viewers for the race out-paced every non-prime Winter Olympics window on broadcast and cable and was the most-watched NASCAR race since the 2023 Daytona 500 (8.173 million). The peak viewership from 5:30-5:45 p.m. ET on Sunday drew 9.154 million viewers.

They tuned in to see Reddick score a victory for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing by passing leader Chase Elliott on the final turn.

The 30-year-old Corning, Calif., native went high and swooped low off Turn 4 to beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.308 seconds as the lead group wrecked wildly before reaching the flagstand.

Joey Logano finished third, followed by Elliott and Brad Keselowski.

“Last year was really hard for us, hard for me,” said Reddick, who became the fourth Daytona 500 winner not to lead until the last lap. “When you’re a Cup driver and you get to this level and drive for Michael Jordan, you’re expected to win every single year.”

Elliott settled for his second Top 5 finish in 11 starts at Daytona.

“This really sucks to be that close,” Elliott said, “come off Turn 4 with the lead and not finish it off.”

–Field Level Media

Ny’Ceara Pryor and Fatmata Janneh had double-doubles and Texas A&M upset No. 21 Tennessee 82-74 on Thursday night in Knoxville, Tenn.

Pryor finished with 22 points and 10 assists, Janneh produced 17 points and 12 rebounds and Lemyah Hylton scored 12 for the Aggies (11-11, 4-9 SEC), who took command with a 16-2 spurt to start the third quarter that generated a 63-44 lead.

Texas A&M scored the first 10 points of the game, but held just a five-point halftime lead before the blitz that triggered a 22-9 scoring edge in the third quarter.

Senior forward Janiah Barker posted a career-high 29 points with 10 rebounds, Zee Spearman scored 14 and Talaysia Cooper had 11 to pace the Volunteers (16-9, 8-5), who never led while losing their third straight game.

No. 22 North Carolina 66, Virginia Tech 63 (OT)

Nyla Harris had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Tar Heels over the Hokies in Blacksburg, Va.

Harris made two free throws to give North Carolina (22-6, 11-4 ACC) the lead for good with 1:27 left in overtime as it bounced back from a 72-68 loss at Duke on Sunday that ended an eight-game winning streak. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points, Lanie Grant scored 12 and Indya Nivar had 10.

Carys Baker had 15 points and eight rebounds, Samyha Suffren scored 15 and Carleigh Wenzel added 14 for Virginia Tech (20-8, 10-6), which had two game-tying 3-point attempts blocked in the waning seconds before missing a third at the buzzer.

No. 11 Oklahoma 71, No. 24 Georgia 67

Aaliyah Chavez scored 27 points and the Sooners never trailed in holding off the Bulldogs in Athens, Ga.

Sahara Williams added 11 points for Oklahoma (20-6, 8-5 SEC), which scored the first nine points of the game and built a 37-27 halftime lead.

Mia Woolfork had a career-high 29 points with nine rebounds for Georgia (20-7, 6-7), which shot just 2 of 15 from 3-point range. Dani Carnegie scored 14 points and Trinity Turner added 10.

–Field Level Media

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Aaron Rai of England held a one-shot lead at the Genesis Invitational on Thursday at Riviera Country Club despite being unable to complete his round during a rainy and windy day.

Rai was at 6 under par through 16 holes before the rain-delayed opening round was halted by darkness. He can still pad his opening-round advantage Friday morning when play resumes at 7 a.m. local time.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under-par 66 and was tied with Jacob Bridgeman for second place. Ryan Fox of New Zealand was alone in fourth place at 4 under as the tournament, hosted by Tiger Woods, returned to the Los Angeles area.

The signature event was relocated south to Torrey Pines last year following a devastating wildfire in Pacific Palisades in January 2025.

A morning rain shower delayed play three hours, with many in the field unable to finish their opening rounds. Windy conditions proved to be a challenge the remainder of the day.

McIlroy, a 29-time winner on the PGA Tour, opened his round at 3 under through four holes before the rain delay. He moved to 5 under with a birdie at No. 11, lost a shot with a bogey at No. 16 and moved back to 5 under with a birdie at the par-5 17th.

“I’ve started to just really enjoy this style of golf,” McIlroy said about the wet, windy and cool conditions. “If you had asked me 10 years ago, I didn’t enjoy these conditions, but it’s been a shift in mindset and maybe just a continuation of trying to build upon the skill set that I have. Then when it does get to conditions like this, I’m a lot more prepared.”

Bridgeman, who is in his third season on the PGA Tour without a victory, had an erratic start to his round with an eagle 3 at No. 1 and a double bogey at the long par-3 fourth hole. He then went 5 under through a stretch of 10 holes starting at No. 8.

“I’ve never really had any success on the West Coast in my career, but I think I’m starting to understand more of how to play out here and be a little more confident with it,” said Bridgeman, a South Carolina native. “We never played out here in college, I never played in junior golf out here. So really my (first time) coming out for the West Coast was as a pro. I’m starting to get a little more comfortable.”

Collin Morikawa, a Los Angeles-area native who won last week at Pebble Beach, opened in a seven-way tie for fifth place at 3 under.

“Nice to get off to a good start and kind of be around the lead,” Morikawa said. “This course is going to play very different, I think, the next three days, not quite with the softness and speed of the greens but just score-ability with the wind being down.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler struggled in the opening round for the third consecutive week and was at 5 over par through 10 holes.

Defending champion Ludvig Aberg of Sweden opened tied for 44th place at 1 over par, while Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was tied for 12th place at 2 under. Matsuyama won the tournament the last time it was played at Riviera in 2024.

–Field Level Media