Latest news with #Brooks
Hamilton Spectator
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
NASCAR's Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge in Saturday night's Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there's a points race to attend to. Every team's top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven't paid attention to the new race within the race. Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction. 'If there's something to win, you want to go win it,' Logano said Friday. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Briscoe said Friday he felt 'definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders' following last week's win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived. 'I'm expected to win multiple races, not just one,' Briscoe said. 'It's a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.' NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night's race. 'I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,' said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford. 'I think it'll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,' Keselowski said. Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: 'It's cool. I think after this weekend you'll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.' Drawing 'Uncle' Noah Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it's a difficult matchup, in part because 'he's actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son's favorite driver.' Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson 'like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he's with them.' Added Briscoe: 'Hopefully I'll win. If not I'll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.' Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son's bracket . The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father's No. 19 winning every round of the tournament. Racing for Rhealynn Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills' design to highlight his foundation's efforts to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott said the 'Design to Drive' program has raised $500,000 for the children's hospital. 'The only bad thing is I feel like we've crashed every time we've done it,' Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit 'for giving up the car' so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills' design. New name for Atlanta track EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It's the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint 'was different for me. I think it's fine.' Odds and ends Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next. ___ AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
NASCAR's Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge in Saturday night's Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there's a points race to attend to. Every team's top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven't paid attention to the new race within the race. Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction. 'If there's something to win, you want to go win it,' Logano said Friday. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Briscoe said Friday he felt 'definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders' following last week's win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived. 'I'm expected to win multiple races, not just one,' Briscoe said. 'It's a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.' NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night's race. 'I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,' said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford. 'I think it'll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,' Keselowski said. Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: 'It's cool. I think after this weekend you'll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.' Drawing 'Uncle' Noah Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it's a difficult matchup, in part because 'he's actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son's favorite driver.' Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson 'like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he's with them.' Added Briscoe: 'Hopefully I'll win. If not I'll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.' Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son's bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father's No. 19 winning every round of the tournament. Racing for Rhealynn Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills' design to highlight his foundation's efforts to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott said the 'Design to Drive' program has raised $500,000 for the children's hospital. 'The only bad thing is I feel like we've crashed every time we've done it,' Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit 'for giving up the car' so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills' design. New name for Atlanta track Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It's the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint 'was different for me. I think it's fine.' Odds and ends Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next. ___ AP auto racing:
Fox Sports
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
NASCAR's Cup Series to debut In-Season Challenge as $1 million backdrop to points race for title
Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — The debut of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge in Saturday night's Cup Series race in Atlanta generated differing opinions and expectations from drivers. After all, there's a points race to attend to. Every team's top priority is qualifying for the playoffs and trying to win the championship. Some drivers acknowledge they simply haven't paid attention to the new race within the race. Joey Logano says he sees no reason to view the new tournament as a distraction. 'If there's something to win, you want to go win it,' Logano said Friday. Denny Hamlin is the No. 1 seed in the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, is the No. 2 seed. A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT. Briscoe said Friday he felt 'definitely a sigh of relief, you know, just a weight off your shoulders' following last week's win. He said that sense of relief was shortlived. 'I'm expected to win multiple races, not just one,' Briscoe said. 'It's a sense of relief, but also more pressure because now they know you can win.' NASCAR hopes the tournament generates mid-season interest. The single-elimination format cuts the field to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Many drivers expect their interest in the tournament will increase after Saturday night's race. 'I think some of the drivers have been kind of dismissive over the bracket challenge,' said Brad Keselowski, who enters the race No. 30 in the points standings and in need of a win in Atlanta to earn a playoff spot in his RFK Racing Ford. 'I think it'll become a lot more real, whether it be for the drivers or for the media or the fans, as it progresses into the later rounds over the next few weeks,' Keselowski said. Added Ricky Stenhouse, who is 24th in the points race, of the new tournament: 'It's cool. I think after this weekend you'll have a little better idea of what you have. Our main goal in Atlanta is winning and getting into the playoffs.' Drawing 'Uncle' Noah Briscoe is facing No. 31 seed Noah Gragson in the first bracket. He says it's a difficult matchup, in part because 'he's actually probably my best friend on the circuit … and my son's favorite driver.' Briscoe said his 3-year-old son, Brooks, thinks of Gragson 'like that uncle that just you take your kid to, and he has Pop-Tarts and ice cream and everything else when he's with them.' Added Briscoe: 'Hopefully I'll win. If not I'll never here the end of it from Noah or my son.' Briscoe posted a photo on his X account of his son's bracket. The photo shows the smiling Brooks holding a bracket with his father's No. 19 winning every round of the tournament. Racing for Rhealynn Chase Elliott has a special paint scheme on his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet that was designed by 11-year-old cancer patient Rhealynn Mills. Elliott chose Mills' design to highlight his foundation's efforts to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Elliott said the 'Design to Drive' program has raised $500,000 for the children's hospital. 'The only bad thing is I feel like we've crashed every time we've done it,' Elliott said, adding his sponsor, NAPA Auto Parts, deserved credit 'for giving up the car' so the paint scheme could instead feature Mills' design. New name for Atlanta track EchoPark Speedway is the new name for the track that was still known as Atlanta Motor Speedway in February when Christopher Bell won while leading only the final lap in overtime. It's the home track for Elliott, from Dawsonville, Georgia, and he acknowledged seeing the name change and the new green paint 'was different for me. I think it's fine.' Odds and ends Ryan Blaney is the favorite (+800) to win the race, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, each at +1000, were next. ___ AP auto racing: recommended
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Sawdust Festival brings ‘magic' during kickoff event for its 59th season
It was an unmistakable scene as a line of foot traffic weaved its way toward downtown and threatened to overtake the Village Entrance. Laguna Beach's local-focused Sawdust Art Festival reopened its doors for an invite-only preview night on Tuesday, and what played out was nothing short of a family reunion. Just ask Doug Miller, the lively acrylic painter who was sorely missed when a battle against sepsis landed him in a hospital during much of the show last summer. The 78-year-old was treated like a hometown hero, guests lining up to say hello, and in kind, he greeted many by taking their picture. 'I rebounded,' Miller said. 'I came from the dead back, I think. My skin turned gray, somebody said. It was pretty scary. The doctor said it's like an oil spill in your bloodstream, and it has to clear out. It takes about two months to clear that out.' The Sawdust has been a second home to Miller for much of his life. He told a tale of his wedding day, when he married Becky on the grounds in the summer of 1979, long before there was a performance stage above his booth. Miller showed off an assortment of his mini canvas paintings, explaining that he painted for 30 years consecutively without missing a day, amassing a catalog of 20,500 paintings. All the while, he was presented with gifts, one person bringing him a beer and another offering him chocolate. 'This only goes as far as you live, so I want to hang on for a couple more years,' added Miller, who said he has exhibited at the festival for 55 years. As the sun rises on the 59th season at the festival, several creative souls are making their debut. If the sage burning in her booth didn't immediately set her apart, Jennifer Kennedy was quick to express her affinity for the perfectly imperfect. 'What I don't like about perfection is I feel like it's been made by a machine,' said Kennedy, a ceramics and sculpture artist. 'And we're so mechanical now in society that I want to get away from that. I want to get back to nature. 'I took ceramics in high school, and I did the wheel, and I could do it, but I decided I didn't want to do the wheel,' she said. 'It was too mechanical. … It just wasn't my gig, so I got into hand-building, and I fell in love.' Then there was mixed media artist Linnea Brooks, whose artwork included a multi-level, ladder-climbing scene she whimsically referred to as 'Thousand Steps,' after the beach in South Laguna. She also produced sculptures of the Victoria Beach Pirate Tower. 'I had a pile of wood sitting in my yard,' said Brooks, who said she started building her pieces in October. 'I was looking at it one day going, 'What am I going to do with that?'' It's a homecoming of sorts for Brooks, an architect who grew up in Laguna Beach before moving to Hawaii for 31 years. She's been back for three years. New additions to the grounds go beyond the select first-time exhibitors at the summer show. Starfish, an Asian fusion restaurant in Laguna Beach, is debuting a culinary experience at the festival called the Cove. With sand poured out around the dining area and a DJ spinning tunes deep into the night, it kept the crowd coming and energized for more following their meals. A short walk from the Cove down the southernmost aisle, one could find the husband-and-wife duo of Jason and Sarah Hanck exhibiting together. Jason, who said he is in his eighth year as an exhibitor at the festival, added his wife is 'hooked' after he 'drug her into the goodness.' 'We both independently were artists,' Jason said. 'She hadn't done this type of work before, she hadn't been working in oils and doing plein air. John Eagle and I got her going in that direction, and so now she and I go out and paint all over the place together.' An action-packed night was rounded out with musical sets, as well as performances by Cirque du Soleil Echo and an Orange County-based aerial-and-ground act called Palindrome Entertainment. Hannah Lawson of Palindrome indicated the group was also able to tap into the small-town vibe of the evening. 'For the community, it's always more fun because it's so personal,' Lawson said. 'Everybody interacts a lot more. We're local to the area, as well. All of the performers are from Orange County — San Clemente, Dana Point, Laguna — so it's really fun to see our friends and colleagues and neighbors and family when we're performing. It's really fun to give back to the community while having a lot of fun and doing what we love.' A band played its last song as 10 p.m. approached and the dancing had not stopped on the hilltop. When the creatives and locals gathered for the first time in six months since Winter Fantasy, no one wanted the party to end. The Sawdust Art Festival kicked off its summer season, welcoming the public to opening day Friday. The festival will be open through the end of August, with weekend hours from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. It is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children ages 6 to 12. Kids ages 5 and younger get in free. 'You really got to feel that energy to really understand what the Sawdust is,' said Joshua King, president of the board of directors for the Sawdust Art Festival. 'It's not a typical art show. Obviously, the artists are so good, and everybody's there to sell their work, but there's much more there. The experience is so rich. It's different than anywhere else. Our environment underneath the eucalyptus trees and the waterfalls — all of that — it really does bring out some magic.'
Los Angeles Times
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘Girlfriends' celebrates its 25-year anniversary with a free art exhibit in L.A.
Twenty-five years ago on Sept. 11, 2000, UPN debuted a comedy called 'Girlfriends' that followed the lives of four Black women living in Los Angeles. The show's creator, Mara Brock Akil, who'd gotten her start writing on shows like 'South Central,' 'Moesha' and 'The Jamie Foxx Show,' was tired of seeing out-of-touch depictions of Black women on screen. She wanted to raise a mirror to Black women and showcase them in their fullness as fleshed out characters who are ambitious, creative, messy at times and most importantly nuanced. For eight seasons until the show was abruptly canceled in 2008, viewers tuned in to watch the tight-knit friend group that included Joan (Tracee Ellis Ross), Toni (Jill Marie Jones), Lynn (Persia White) and Maya (Golden Brooks) navigate relationships, sexism at work, beauty, classism, sexuality and everything in between. Today, 'Girlfriends,' which was added to Netflix's catalog in 2020, is widely considered one of the most influential TV shows to affect Black culture. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of 'Girlfriends,' DCDG & Co., an L.A.-based fine arts agency, has teamed up with the cast and Loren LaRosa of iHeartRadio's 'The Breakfast Club' to independently curate an art exhibition that pays homage to the groundbreaking series. The showcase, which explores the show's core themes including sisterhood, ambition and self-discovery through photography, sculpture, paintings, an installation and more, will be on display from Friday through Sunday at the Line Hotel in Koreatown. Each artwork featured in the all Black women exhibition was selected by the 'Girlfriends' cast and LaRosa — all of whom are first time art curators. The three-day event will also feature an artist talk led by DCDG & Co. co-founder Delaney George on Saturday, which is open to the public. '[This] show deserves to be celebrated and if we in the culture don't do it, then we're just waiting for the powers that be or networks that are transitioning to a digital space,' says David Colbert Jr., co-founder of DCDG & Co. 'These moments might get passed up on.' 'Girlfriends: A Visual Tribute' is part of DCDG & Co.'s ongoing curatorial series called Iconic Visions, which invites individuals in various creative spaces like TV, film, music, fashion and sports to step into the role of curator. When Colbert brought the idea about doing the exhibit to his friend Brooks — whom he met at Frieze a couple of years ago — her response was an immediate yes. 'I always want to do something special for [these milestones] because it is a bookmark of everything that 'Girlfriends' has done,' says Brooks. 'We are still uplifting communities. We are still entertaining and empowering the daughters of the mothers who watch the show, so we're kind of raising generations of young women.' Brooks, who has been a longtime supporter of the L.A. arts community, says having an art exhibition to celebrate the anniversary was the perfect way to blend both of her passions. 'We are wearable art. We are visual art in the space of a TV show,' she says. 'This also inspired artists to celebrate how they see us as women of color, as women in a space of unity and connection, and what better way to be the springboard and the catalyst to celebrate what sisterhood looks like?' White, who's been drawing and painting since she was a child, had a similar reaction to being a part of the exhibit. 'When they sent me the links to the art, I literally got tears in my eyes,' she says. 'I was just really touched by the women and [their] different experiences.' 'Girlfriends: A Visual Tribute' also features a solo exhibition put together by DCDG & Co. cultural curator Erika Conner, which is a collection of photos of iconic Black women including Rihanna, Lil Kim and Naomi Campbell, taken by renowned photographer Cheryl Fox. While the main exhibition pays tribute to 'Girlfriends,' there's only one artwork — a mixed media piece by Jillian Thompson that uses acrylic, thread and collage — that displays the beloved friends group's actual faces. All of the other artwork draws inspiration from the show's aesthetic, style and themes. Among the artwork, which was made by artists from around the nation, there are multiple L.A.-based artists featured in the show including Brittany Byrd, McKayla Chandler, Tiffany 'Just Rock' Brown, Asari Aibangbee and Tumi Adeleye. McKayla Chandler, a multidisciplinary artist based in L.A., created an interactive installation for the exhibit called 'Mama's Hands Only.' The installation mimics a living room and features a couch, rug, an entertainment center with family photos sprinkled on top and an old school TV that displays episodes of 'Girlfriends.' The focal point of the installation, which hangs on a wall above the couch, is a large portrait of Chandler's mother braiding her hair as she's done since she was a little girl. 'To me it feels like connection. Any young, Black woman or Black kid in general can relate to sitting in their mom's lap and getting their hair braided,' says Chandler. '[The show] is really about these friends going through life together, going through different relationships and even bickering with each other, [then] coming back together. It's a very special bond that they have with each other, so [with] me thinking about showing my mom here and having this place for you to sit down, look through someone's old photographs and watch 'Girlfriends,' it lends to the nostalgic feeling of it all.' Although Tiffany 'Just Rock' Brown, a photographer based in L.A., primarily takes photos of men, particularly male rappers, she decided to submit a few images for the 'Girlfriends' exhibit because she grew up watching the show with her family. Her photo, titled 'In This Light,' that was selected for the show depicts two Black women embracing while on the set of Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' music video, which was shot in Nickerson Gardens. 'These girls are the epitome of what you see when you come to these areas, but they're also the inspiration for high fashion, for all those things that don't get acknowleged,' she says. It reminded her of the void that 'Girlfriends' filled when it debuted. 'I think there's beautiful representation of what [Black people] have done and what we've accomplished, and 'Girlfriends' is a true representation of that,' says Brown. 'Women that were dressed flawlessly. They were beautiful. They were successful. They were just living life and trying to find love, just regular stories. It's very much still a space that's missing [in television], but I think it should definitely be celebrated.' Like Brown, Brittany Byrd, a multidisciplinary artist from L.A., was also introduced to 'Girlfriends' at a young age. 'It was just always on in my house,' says Byrd. 'I just remember seeing Tracee Ellis Ross and I was like, 'Damn, she's beautiful!'' For the exhibit, Byrd created a piece titled 'Episode 17,' which is inspired by an episode in Season 4 titled 'Love, Peace and Hair Grease.' 'It's mostly about Lynn and her exploring her hair through her identity as a Black woman, but whether you're mixed or all Black, hair is something that is at the top of our minds,' says Byrd, who was still putting the final touches on her 6-foot painting. 'Whether it's done or if we're polished, we're always just kind of seeking those questions of validity through societal beauty standards when it's like we're as beautiful as we feel. So I want my piece to just evoke emotion.' As she prepares for opening night of the exhibit, Brooks says she's most excited to meet all of the artists and to see how all of the artwork comes together. One of her favorite pieces in the exhibit is a massive, hyperrealism painting by Alé Reviere. Fittingly titled 'See Through You,' it depicts a young woman's face, staring intensely back at the viewer. 'All of her features were just so us,' says Brooks. 'The texture of her hair and the expression on her face. There was a pain. There was a sadness, but there's also sort of this freedom and unapologetic look in her eyes.' She adds, 'Pieces like that just move me.'
