Sports
Red-hot Carson Hocevar tops Kyle Busch to win Truck race in Texas
Mar 22, 2026; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; Spire Motorsports Carson Hocevar (77) comes out for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kinser-Imagn Images FORT WORTH, Texas — The glass slipper still firmly on his foot from last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega, Carson Hocevar mashed the gas in overtime on Friday night and ran away to victory in the SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Beating runner-up and Spire Motorsports teammate Kyle Busch to the finish line by 0.730 seconds in overtime, Hocevar notched his sixth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at the 1.5-mile intermediate track that gave him his first in the series in 2023.
The triumph reversed a 1-2 finish from earlier this season at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta, where Busch beat Hocevar to the stripe by 0.114 seconds.
“It’s unbelievable — what a fun race,” Hocevar said after climbing from his No. 77 Chevrolet on the frontstretch. “We had to reverse the order, obviously the 1-2 with Kyle. I watched him win a lot of truck races, and it’s finally good to put an end to his Texas streak.”
Busch had won his last four Truck Series starts at Texas, but an early brush with the outside wall forced him to regain a lost lap as the beneficiary under caution for Cole Butcher’s crash in Turn 2 on Lap 51.
Busch fought through the field and challenged for the lead in the late going but failed to add to his record 68 Truck Series wins.
“We had an eventful night,” Busch said. “We didn’t start off very well. We were really, really loose and made a lot of adjustments to get it close. When we put the last set off tires on, we were really fast, felt really good.
“I was struggling with grip all night long, but (crew chief) Brian (Pattie) and the guys made a lot of good calls to get us dialed back in. It would have been nice to be in Victory Lane, but it’s good to have a teammate in there and have him get his shot. I got one, he got one, so now we’re even there.”
After the second stage break, Hocevar thought he might have a loose wheel, but that didn’t prevent him from going all-out during a succession of restarts late in the race.
Gio Ruggiero led the field to the overtime restart on Lap 171, but he lost impetus in the middle of a three-wide situation on the white-flag lap, as Hocevar charged into the lead and opened a gap of 10 car-lengths.
Kaden Honeycutt finished third, right behind Busch’s Silverado, with Brandon Jones and pole winner Ben Rhodes in fourth and fifth, respectively, as Ruggiero fell to 14th. Layne Riggs, Daniel Hemric, Christian Eckes, Ty Majeski and Chandler Smith completed the top 10.
Though Honeycutt left with the series lead — by 14 points over Smith — he remained frustrated with his inability to close out a victory.
“I’m proud to be able to drive a truck like this,” said Honeycutt, who is winless in 66 Truck Series starts. “It’s disappointing that I just keep failing. There’s no excuse for it. As soon as I got the lead (on Lap 149), I didn’t protect it right. I didn’t do the right things and ultimately that’s what led us to lose.
“Just got to figure out how to get restarts done. I’ve got to figure out how to win races. It’s eating me alive, I can promise you that.”
Ruggiero likewise missed an opportunity. He had passed Hocevar for the lead on Lap 165 of a scheduled 167, but a violent, five-truck accident on the frontstretch caused the eighth caution, necessitated a red flag for cleanup and forced the overtime.
Hocevar won the second stage and led a race-high 76 laps to 41 for Rhodes, who won the first stage wire-to-wire.
*****
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race – SpeedyCash.com 250
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Friday, May 1, 2026
1. (11) Carson Hocevar(i), Chevrolet, 172.
2. (6) Kyle Busch(i), Chevrolet, 172.
3. (10) Kaden Honeycutt, Toyota, 172.
4. (18) Brandon Jones(i), Toyota, 172.
5. (1) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 172.
6. (34) Layne Riggs, Ford, 172.
7. (14) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 172.
8. (12) Christian Eckes, Chevrolet, 172.
9. (20) Ty Majeski, Ford, 172.
10. (8) Chandler Smith, Ford, 172.
11. (19) Parker Kligerman, RAM, 172.
12. (23) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 172.
13. (17) Brenden Queen #, RAM, 172.
14. (3) Giovanni Ruggiero, Toyota, 172.
15. (13) Tyler Ankrum, Chevrolet, 172.
16. (22) Dawson Sutton, Chevrolet, 172.
17. (21) William Sawalich(i), Toyota, 171.
18. (27) Toni Breidinger, Chevrolet, 171.
19. (7) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 171.
20. (30) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 170.
21. (28) Mini Tyrrell #, RAM, 170.
22. (31) Josh Reaume, Ford, 169.
23. (32) Frankie Muniz, Ford, 168.
24. (33) Caleb Costner, Chevrolet, 168.
25. (25) Corey LaJoie, RAM, 165.
26. (29) Clayton Green, Ford, 165.
27. (24) Justin Haley, RAM, Accident, 164.
28. (5) Tanner Gray, Toyota, Accident, 164.
29. (2) Jake Garcia, Ford, Accident, 163.
30. (15) Andres Perez De Lara, Chevrolet, Accident, 163.
31. (26) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 163.
32. (9) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, Accident, 156.
33. (16) Conner Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 155.
34. (35) Cory Roper, Toyota, Suspension, 123.
35. (4) Cole Butcher #, Ford, Accident, 51.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.924 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 17 Mins, 5 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.730 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 39 laps.
Lead Changes: 14 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B. Rhodes 1-41;C. Hocevar(i) 42;B. Jones(i) 43-58;C. Hocevar(i) 59-75;D. Sutton 76-77;M. Tyrrell # 78;C. Hocevar(i) 79-121;L. Riggs 122-127;T. Gray 128-129;D. Sutton 130-132;G. Ruggiero 133-148;K. Honeycutt 149-151;C. Hocevar(i) 152-164;G. Ruggiero 165-170;C. Hocevar(i) 171-172.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Carson Hocevar(i) 5 times for 76 laps; Ben Rhodes 1 time for 41 laps; Giovanni Ruggiero 2 times for 22 laps; Brandon Jones(i) 1 time for 16 laps; Layne Riggs 1 time for 6 laps; Dawson Sutton 2 times for 5 laps; Kaden Honeycutt 1 time for 3 laps; Tanner Gray 1 time for 2 laps; Mini Tyrrell # 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 99,77,17,11,38,52,9,34,88,45
Stage #2 Top Ten: 77,11,17,26,18,14,9,15,38,4
–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
Sports
Kazuma Okamoto's first 2-homer game guides Blue Jays past Twins
May 1, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Yohendrick Pinango (24) catches a fly ball hit by Minnesota Twins right fielder Austin Martin (16) in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Kazuma Okamoto hit two homers and drove in three runs as the Toronto Blue Jays pulled away for a 7-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Yohendrick Pinango finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Toronto, which evened the series at one win apiece. Lenyn Sosa went 3-for-4 with a double.
Byron Buxton went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to lead Minnesota. Ryan Jeffers tallied the other RBI for the Twins.
Blue Jays left-hander Patrick Corbin (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5) gave up six runs (four earned) on nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and fanned two.
The Blue Jays started the scoring in the second inning.
Daulton Varsho and Sosa hit back-to-back singles with one out, and they advanced on a wild pitch by Woods Richardson. Pinango hit a ground ball moments later, and Twins first baseman Josh Bell fired an errant throw past home plate that allowed the Blue Jays to take a 2-0 lead.
The Twins pulled even at 2-all in the third.
Brooks Lee led off the inning with a single, and Buxton followed two batters later with a home run just past the wall in left field. The shot was Buxton’s fourth home run in the past five games and his ninth of the season.
Toronto quickly responded to grab a 4-2 lead in the fourth.
Okamoto put the Blue Jays on top with a leadoff homer to left. Sosa hit a one-out double and scored the second run of the inning on Pinango’s single to center.
In the fifth, Okamoto struck again, this time with a two-run homer that increased the Blue Jays’ lead to 6-2. The blast gave the 29-year-old rookie from Japan his first career multi-homer game and seven long balls on the season.
Pinango hit another RBI single in the seventh to put Toronto ahead 7-2.
Jeffers pulled the Twins within 7-3 on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh.
–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
Kazuma Okamoto's first 2-homer game guides Blue Jays past Twins
Minnesota QB Drake Lindsey arrested on fake ID, alcohol charges
