Tag: Explainers

NASCAR playoff picture: Which drivers enter the next playoff round already in trouble?

Breaking down the NASCAR playoff picture ahead of the first race in the Round of 12.

Kyle Larson won his sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series season and the first elimination race of the playoffs Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, and he did it with a big assist from his teammate, Chase Elliott — much to Kevin Harvick’s displeasure.

Late in the race, Elliott got in Harvick’s way and hindered his race, allowing Larson to pass Harvick for the lead with three laps left and ultimately the win on the .533-mile Tennessee short track.

Larson’s win and the contentious drama between Elliott and Harvick aside, the Bristol race ended any championship hopes for four drivers. Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell were eliminated from the playoffs at the end of the Round of 16, as the field dropped down to 12.

NASCAR playoffs guide: Everything you need to know about the postseason format

Going into Bristol, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson had already clinched their spots in the Round of 12. Hamlin and Truex, respectively, won the first two races in the Round of 16, while Larson locked himself into the next round based on points before winning Saturday.

Here’s a breakdown of the current NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture after the first elimination race and what’s to come.

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5 things to know about Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s upcoming lone race of the 2021 season

Dale Jr. is back on track this weekend at Richmond Raceway.

It’s that time of year again when Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the track as a driver for one race during the second-tier Xfinity Series season.

The 46-year-old soon-to-be NASCAR Hall of Famer will compete at Richmond Raceway on Saturday in the Go Bowling 250 for his lone race of the year for his own team, JR Motorsports. And it’ll be a very busy day for him.

There’s no way of knowing if this will be his last race ever or if he’ll continue with this one-off tradition. After finishing fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in his one race of the 2020 season, Earnhardt said he needed to evaluate whether he’s helping his team or not by jumping back behind the wheel. He said he still enjoys race, but he’s “certainly” not interested in running more than one race a year.

Well, the good news for JR Nation is he’s back for at least this season, so here are five things to know about Earnhardt’s one race of 2021.

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NASCAR playoffs guide: Everything you need to know about the postseason format

A refresher on how the NASCAR playoffs work ahead of the 2021 postseason.

“Win and advance” is the mindset for the 16 NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders as they enter the first race of the 2021 playoffs, which begin Sunday with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN). But that’s easier said than done.

The 16 playoff drivers will compete in in the 10-race postseason, which consists of four rounds, three sets of eliminations, a lot of points and one winner-take-all championship race in November at Phoenix Raceway.

“Every point is gonna matter, every detail is gonna matter,” 2018 champion Joey Logano said. “Ten weeks is a long time; it’s a long playoffs if you think about it. You’re gonna have to go through some serious adversity. At some point you’re gonna have to overcome something, and that’s part of it.”

But for casual NASCAR fans or those who need a refresher on how everything works, it’s a lot to keep track of. So here’s a breakdown of how the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs work.

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Tyler Reddick and his team were NASCAR’s real Daytona winners after finishing with this mangled car

And Tyler Reddick qualified for the NASCAR playoffs in this thing.

Welcome to FTW’s NASCAR Feud of the Week, where we provide a detailed breakdown of the latest absurd, funny and sometimes legitimate controversies and issues within the racing world.

Our last NASCAR Feud of the Week of the 2021 regular season is an incredible and goofy one with a really clear winner.

The regular season ended Saturday night with Ryan Blaney winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, and the 16-driver playoff field was set. Now, after a typically chaotic and unpredictable Daytona race, we could talk about how Kurt Busch made contact with Daniel Suárez and triggered a massive wreck, or Bubba Wallace’s annoyance with his Toyota teammates, or how several of the Rick Ware Racing drivers wrecked with each other.

Instead, however, let’s talk about the absolute beating one car took at Daytona in a feud of Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 team versus Daytona International Speedway.

By the time the race ended, Reddick’s car was a mess, especially after being involved in a wreck with about 15 laps to go in the race’s scheduled distance. The wreck left Reddick and the No. 8 car smoking and without a functioning oil cooler, per NBC Sports.

But the team pushed on and made some miraculous repairs to get the car back on track and up to speed, as Reddick raced for the lone playoff spot remaining at that point.

(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

After another late wreck — which didn’t involve Reddick toward the back of the field after the repairs — sent the race into overtime, the No. 8 driver pulled off some magic moves. On the last lap of overtime with Blaney out front, the field behind him started wrecking in a massive way, but somehow Reddick missed most of it before getting dinged by Justin Haley in the No. 77 Chevrolet.

(James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Not only did Reddick manage to avoid getting taken out in the last-lap wreck, but he also finished fifth and earned his first playoff berth. Amazingly, this is the car he did it with.

LOOK AT THIS DISASTER:

Both ends of the car are destroyed, there’s grass in the grille, the nose is dented and this thing was a mess. But Reddick made the most of it and qualified for the playoffs, which begin Sunday with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

“It feels incredible,” Reddick told NBC Sports after the finish. “But I’m not going to lie to you, my emotions were shot as soon as we took the green on the last green-white-checkered. I couldn’t believe we finished seventh. The getting through that last crash coming to the line, it was a lot, I’m not going to lie. …

“What a roller coaster it is to be on the [playoff] bubble going into Daytona and running into the back of somebody and have all the issues we did at the end there. Almost felt helpless there, but we didn’t give up, and we fought through it.”

We don’t often have a winner of the NASCAR Feud of the Week, but when it comes to Reddick and the No. 8 team versus Daytona, the Richard Childress Racing team clearly won big.

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Katie Ledecky’s grueling Tokyo Olympics schedule could have her racing at least 6,000 meters

Katie Ledecky is about to swim an absurd amount at the Tokyo Games.

Katie Ledecky is now a three-time Olympian with six Olympic medals — five gold and one silver — but her most daunting lineup for the Games is ahead of her.

The 24-year-old American swimmer is the still the powerhouse athlete fans will remember from the 2016 Rio Games. But with the addition of her best event, the 1,500-meter freestyle, to the Olympic program this year, she’s about to swim a ridiculous amount in just seven days.

Individually, Ledecky qualified for her third Olympics in the 200-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle, the 800-meter freestyle and the 1,500, also referred to as the mile. With relays, she could also become the first American woman to win five gold medals at a single Games.

Based on her individual events alone, she could end up racing 6,000 meters if she advances to the final in each event — which is very likely. To put that in perspective, a total of 6,000 meters is about 3.7 miles and not too far from the marathon swimmers who compete in the open-water 10K.

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That’s an enormous amount, even for a distance swimmer but especially when compared with the sprinters, who swim no more than a few hundred meters total at most. But it highlights her versatility, as many swimmers cannot compete in both the mile and the 200 free.

“It’s a lot of training and a lot of practicing those races and that racing load,” Ledecky recently told For The Win, pointing to the Olympic Trials in June when she most recently competed in this lineup.

“It was good to just go through that and kind of remind myself of what that feels like and what the different races feel like in the context of swimming all of those races. … I really just kind of try to take it one race at a time, and I think I did a good job of that [at trials]. And I’ve done that in meets in preparation for the trials, so I feel like I have a good amount of experience behind me to lead me forward to the Games.”

With so many distance events, Ledecky sort of lucked out. The 200 free is her only individual event with a semifinal, while the 400, 800 and 1,500 go straight from the prelim heats to the final.

But Ledecky could actually end up swimming more when you factor in relays. It’s a safe bet she’ll be part of Team USA’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, but she also could be in the final for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.

“I never set medal count goals or anything like that because I feel like that’s out of my control,” Ledecky said. “I can’t control if someone has some really fast swims and beats me and things like that. So I just tried to focus on my goal times and how I want to swim each of my races.”

Swimming fans know of Ledecky’s unbelievable dominance — though she will have some serious competition in the 200 and 400 freestyle events — but her lineup for the Tokyo Olympics is outrageous. Sunday, July 25 will be her first day of competition, and Monday, July 26 is probably her most grueling day.

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Here’s a look at Ledecky’s likely individual schedule for the Games in both Japan Standard Time and Eastern Standard Time, which is sometimes the day prior.

Sunday, July 25
400 free heats — about 8 p.m. JST (7 a.m. ET)

Monday, July 26
400 free final — about 11:20 a.m. JST (10 p.m. ET, Sunday)
200 free heats — about 7 p.m. JST (6 a.m. ET)
1,500 free heats — about 7:50 p.m. JST (6:50 a.m. ET)

Tuesday, July 27
200 free semifinals — about 10:30 a.m. JST (9:30 p.m. ET, Monday)

Wednesday, July 28
200 free final — about 10:40 a.m. JST (9:40 p.m. ET, Tuesday)
1,500 free final — about 11:50 a.m. JST (10:50 p.m. ET, Tuesday)

Thursday, July 29
800 free heats — about 7 p.m. JST (6 a.m. ET)
*The 4×200-meter freestyle relay final is Thursday at about 12:30 p.m. JST, which is 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

Saturday, July 31
800 free final — about 10:45 a.m. JST (9:45 p.m. ET, Friday)

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Breaking down Tokyo Olympics’ COVID-19 protocols and what happens if an athlete tests positive

Here’s a look at the COVID-19 rules the International Olympics Committee has in place for the Tokyo Games.

Despite the Tokyo Olympics being postponed a year, they’re still being held during the global COVID-19 pandemic and while Tokyo is in a state of emergency.

The International Olympics Committee, to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus and keep athletes and those around them safe, outlined several protocols that people at the Games will be required to follow. However, those regulations and procedures are already being challenged, with several athletes testing positive for COVID-19 at the Games.

Athletes are working with specifically assigned COVID-19 Liaison Officers while at the Olympics, and they had to identify their regular contacts during this time and complete an activity plan, which includes permitted destinations that are considered critical for their participation in the Games. They’re also only allow to leave the Olympic Village or their hotels to go to those destinations.

The 70-page playbook is detailed and a lot to keep track of, so here’s a breakdown of the key points for athletes, including how they’re tested for COVID-19 and what happens if they test positive while at the Olympics.

All information is according to the IOC’s playbook for athletes and officials, and the latest and final version was released in June.

Breaking down the new and returning sports in the Tokyo Olympics, from baseball to sport climbing

MORE SPORTS!

The lineup for Summer Olympics this year in Tokyo is going to look a bit different compared with the Rio Games in 2016. Several new sports have been added and a couple are returning, and some existing sports have had new events added.

For the Tokyo Olympics, athletes will compete in 41 sports with 339 medal events, an increase this year thanks to the new events.

After a brief hiatus, baseball and softball are returning for the Tokyo Olympics, and surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and freestyle BMX have been added to the mix.

Additionally, basketball is expanding with 3-on-3 matchups, and karate has been added to this year’s Games.

Here are a few more details about the new sports added to the Tokyo Olympics lineup…

MORE OLYMPICS: Meet some of the world’s best athletes ahead of the Summer Games

Why swimmer Jake Mitchell raced by himself at trials for a shot at the Olympic team

In a rare moment, University of Michigan swimmer Jake Mitchell raced alone to try to make the Olympic team.

Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Team USA’s Olympic Trials for swimming are happening this week, and you may have noticed one moment with a swimmer racing alone. If that doesn’t make much sense and you’re curious about why, we’re here to help.

Jake Mitchell’s spot on Team USA’s swim team for the Tokyo Olympics this summer isn’t official yet, but he did everything he could and increased his chances of qualifying at Olympic Trials on Tuesday in Omaha.

And that included the University of Michigan sophomore swimming the 400-meter freestyle by himself, making it very likely that he’ll compete this summer in Tokyo. Let’s break it down…

Breaking down 7 things to know about the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas

What you need to know before the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR is headed to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, but it’s taking a break from its traditional points races that count toward the regular season championship and playoff standings.

Instead, Texas will host the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race — a fun and generally fast mid-season exhibition event with a large purse (but more on that later).

Compared with previous All-Star Races, this year’s event got a bit of a makeover, from the format to the host track. And between the changes and the various ways drivers are able to qualify for the exhibition race, it’s a lot to keep track of.

So here’s a breakdown of seven key things to know about the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race.

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The ultimate guide to the 2021 Indianapolis 500

Everything you need to know ahead of the 2021 Indy 500.

Fans didn’t have to wait a whole year between Indianapolis 500s this time.

After Takuma Sato won the second Indy 500 of his IndyCar Series career in August (after the race was pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic), the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is back to Memorial Day Weekend.

One of the biggest and most anticipated races on the planet, the 105th running of the Indy 500 is Sunday, May 30 at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval, and the green flag is set to wave at 12:45 p.m. ET.

We here at For The Win have put together a bunch of preview content for the race, from a beginner’s guide to the Indy 500 to the latest odds to an interview with pole winner and 2008 Indy 500 champ Scott Dixon.

Here’s all of that content in one place for you to enjoy before the green flag waves on Sunday.

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