Bubba Wallace becomes the first Black driver to win on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's oval, taking the Brickyard 400
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bubba Wallace becomes the first Black driver to win on Indianapolis Motor Speedway's oval, taking the Brickyard 400.
recommended
Item 1 of 3 in this topic
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Buccaneers star wide receiver Mike Evans eager to 'put on a show' as he seeks record-setting season
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mike Evans streaked into the secondary, cut outside and leaped to catch a perfect post-corner toss from Baker Mayfield. Fans at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' indoor practice facility roared. They're used to Evans making all the plays but No. 13 still manages to impress everyone watching. The six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver makes it look so effortless the way he glides after the ball. His routes are smooth and precise, his hands soft. At 6-foot-5, 231 pounds, he has a powerful frame so he can outmuscle defenders or outfinesse them when he needs to. Evans is the only player in NFL history to start his career with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Only Jerry Rice had that many at any point. Evans is aiming for 12 in a row in a year when the Buccaneers celebrate the franchise's 50th season. There are no signs the 31-year-old is slowing down and his team goals are bigger than his personal ones. 'I'm just happy that we have a really great team and we're using this training camp to put everything together to have one of the best seasons for the 50th,' Evans said Tuesday. 'I'm excited to put on a great show for y'all.' At a position known for players with look-at-me personalities — Tyreek Hill, Michael Irvin, Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson — Evans lets his performance do most of the talking. He's quiet, humble and community-oriented. Evans is a four-time NFL Walter Payton Man of The Year nominee for the work he does along with his wife, Ashli, through their foundation, which empowers youth, encourages education and stands against domestic violence. Evans joined the Buccaneers in 2014 as the seventh overall pick and has become one of the greatest players in franchise history. Evans and Chris Godwin were a big reason why Tom Brady chose Tampa Bay in 2020 and the Buccaneers ended up winning a Super Bowl that season. From catching passes from Josh McCown and Mike Glennon as a rookie to Jameis Winston to Brady to Baker Mayfield, Evans continues to produce. He has 836 career catches for 12,684 yards and 105 touchdowns. Evans missed three games last season due to injury and didn't reach 1,000 yards until he caught a 9-yard pass on the final play of a 27-19 victory over the Saints that the Buccaneers needed to secure their fourth straight NFC South title. The reaction from Evans' teammates and the fans after that catch showed how much he's loved. 'He always has (put the team first),' Mayfield said afterward. 'That's why you love him. That's why we appreciate having him. We're lucky to have him and he's underappreciated throughout the media, the league and he's one of one. He deserves that. Obviously, you saw the stadium erupt, the sideline erupt. You can tell how much people care about him and what that means for everybody around him.' Some veteran players are careful about mentoring young guys who will eventually replace them. Not Evans. Or Godwin for that matter. The Buccaneers drafted wideout Emeka Egbuka in the first round out of Ohio State. They selected Tez Johnson from Oregon in the seventh round. 'It's constant. They're just so fortunate from Tez to 'Mek' (Egbuka) to Garrett (Greene) to be able to learn from them,' Buccaneers offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard said. 'We just had a walk through this morning and we can coach it up, but Chris and Mike were coaching up the concept just as much as myself and (wide receivers coach) 'B-Mac' (Bryan McClendon) were. And that's just on the field — I can't imagine what they talk about off the field on how to be a pro and how to conduct themselves. They couldn't have come into a better environment for people to learn from.'
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Nissan racks up red ink, but the Japanese automaker promises a return to profit later this year
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan sank into a 115.8 billion yen ($782 million) loss for April-June, but promised Wednesday to return to profitability later this year. Nissan Motor Corp. did not give a full year net profit forecast. It recorded a 28.6 billion yen profit during the April-June quarter last year. Quarterly sales for the current fiscal year slipped nearly 10% to 2.7 trillion yen ($18 billion). The maker of the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models said the results were better than expected. But it faces 'headwinds,' including declining sales, unfavorable exchange rates and President Donald Trump's tariffs. Ivan Espinosa, who took the helm at Nissan in April replacing Makoto Uchida, said the company's recovery plan remained urgent. Uchida stepped down to take responsibility for the dismal fiscal results. Espinosa noted the initial steps of the company's revival plan were kicking in, including cutting costs, realigning products, reshaping a market strategy and strengthening partnerships. 'We must now go further and faster to achieve profitability. Everyone at Nissan is united in delivering a recovery that will ensure a sustainable and profitable future,' he said. Nissan, based in the port city of Yokohama, has been struggling but is promising a turnaround under Espinosa, a Mexican with two decades of experience at Nissan. The company said some of its models, such as the N7 in China and the Magnite in Mexico, have been selling well recently. Nissan recently ditched talks with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. to set up a joint holding company. They said they will continue to cooperate on technology development. Nissan is closing its flagship factory in Oppama, Japan, outside Tokyo, by the end of the 2027 fiscal year, moving production there to another plant in southwestern Japan.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Australian Parliament finally honors Olympians who defied boycott of 1980 Moscow Games
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A wait of 45 years ended when a group of Olympians who defied pressure to boycott the 1980 Moscow Games were recognized in the Australian Parliament on Wednesday for their contribution to sports. Australian Olympic Committee President Ian Chesterman said the recognition acknowledged 'the courage and resilience of the Olympians who faced intense public pressure not to compete, and the enduring hurt and pain many of them still feel.' 'In many ways, this recognition will be the welcome home celebration the athletes never got,' Chesterman said. 'Instead of the celebrations our Olympians normally arrive home to, they endured threats, feelings of shame, public condemnation and arrived home to silence.' In 1980, the government pressured the Australian Olympic federation to join the U.S.-led boycott of the Moscow Olympics following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But 121 Australians went to Moscow to compete at the games and the team won nine medals, including two gold. Because some of Australia's sports federations abided by the government boycott, at least 62 athletes didn't get the opportunity to compete in Moscow. Of those, 17 never became an Olympian. 'The whole saga was a disastrous and divisive collision of sport and politics, and it put our athletes, sports and officials in the worst possible position,' Chesterman said. 'But they fulfilled their dream in attending the games and, in doing so, maintained Australia's representation at the Olympics. Because of them we are one of only two countries, along with Greece, to have sent athletes to every summer edition.' Swimmer Michelle Ford won the women's 800-meter freestyle, and the men's 4x100-meter medley relay team also won gold. 'We were preparing to represent our country at the Olympic Games, the world's greatest sporting event, but instead of support we were met with hostility and abuse,' Ford said in a statement ahead of the ceremony. 'We were branded traitors, vilified, shamed and ridiculed. I even received a death threat. 'When the time came time to depart, we were forced to sneak out of the country to avoid media and protestors," she added. "The memories of that time remain tainted by the pain and anguish we experienced and have carried with us for 45 years.' Max Metzker, a swimmer who won bronze in Moscow, said the mental toll on the athletes 'has continued to linger for decades.' 'Our hope,' he said, 'is that the recognition today helps heal those mental scars.' Ron McKeon, who competed in swimming at the 1980 Games, attended the ceremony in the national capital, Canberra, along with his daughter Emma McKeon — Australia's most decorated Olympian with 14 medals before she retired last year — and son David McKeon, who swam at the 2012 Olympics in London. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday acknowledged the Olympic participation of the athletes, and also the emotional pain. 'When you choose to wear the green and gold, you should draw strength from knowing that the whole nation is with you,' Albanese told Parliament. "Yet the returning athletes were met only by cold silence or cruel comments.
