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Sairaj Bahutule appointed Rajasthan Royals' spin-bowling coach for IPL 2025
"Joining Rajasthan Royals again is a tremendous honour," Bahutule said in a release. "The franchise's commitment to nurturing talent and playing an exciting brand of cricket resonates with my own coaching philosophy. I am eager to work alongside Rahul [Dravid, head coach] and the rest of the coaching staff to develop our bowling attack and contribute to the team's success. Together, we aim to achieve great milestones in the forthcoming season."
After his stint with RR, Bahutule joined the National Cricket Academy as spin-bowling coach and was part of the support staff during multiple India A series. More recently, he was assistant to stand-in India head coach VVS Laxman when India toured Ireland for a T20I series. He was also India's bowling coach when they won gold at the Asian Games in 2023.
Bahutule has 633 wickets in first class cricket and ten wickets in T20s. He played two Tests and eight ODIs for India and has transitioned into a coaching career since.
"Sairaj's deep understanding of spin bowling and his extensive coaching experience make him an invaluable addition to our team," Dravid said. "His proven ability to mentor young bowlers aligns perfectly with our vision at Rajasthan Royals. Having worked with him before, I am confident that his insights and guidance will significantly benefit our players as we strive for excellence in the upcoming season."
Mo Bobat: 'Virat doesn't need a captaincy title to lead'
"Of course, Virat was an option and that goes without saying and I know that the fans would've probably lent towards Virat in the first instance, but we've seen a lot of love for Rajat too," Bobat said in an event in Bengaluru where Patidar was unveiled as the captain for IPL 2025. "Look, my point on Virat would be that Virat doesn't need a captaincy title to lead. I think leadership, as we've all seen, is one of his strongest instincts. I think it just comes naturally to him. He leads regardless."
Kohli led the RCB franchise from 2013 to 2021 before he stepped down from the role. He led the team for three matches in 2023 when regular captain Faf du Plessis was injured and played as an Impact Player.
Bobat was confident that despite Kohli not being the designated captain, Patidar would lean on him like his predecessor du Plessis did.
"Everybody in the country and everyone in the world knows that Virat's a leader in every sense of the word," Bobat said. "Andy [Flower, head coach] and I lean on him quite a lot. Faf has lent on him quite a lot and we're pretty sure that Rajat will be leaning on him too.
"Even last year with Faf as captain, we saw every bit of that. He leads as an example with the bat, the volume of runs and the strike rate that he scored at last year was so impressive and so important for us. He set the tone, he leads in the field. I can think of two or three specific instances where he's actually created run-out chances and wickets from nothing. Everyone in the field knows that they've got to be up to their standards because of him. He sets the tone with his energy. Everyone has seen how much he likes a fight and a scrap and how much he wants to be the person getting us over the line."
Bobat also said that Kohli was actively involved in discussions surrounding Patidar being named captain.
"Andy and I spent some time with Virat earlier this week actually in Ahmedabad and it was really nice getting some time with him and talking things through with him [about captaincy]," Bobat said. "And what was so obvious was he had so much energy and excitement for this decision and this appointment. He's so pleased for Rajat, like us. He knows how deserving Rajat is of this opportunity and is right behind him."
Kohli was front and centre of RCB turning their season around in IPL 2024. Having won just one out of their first eight games, RCB won six on the bounce to make a miraculous entry into the playoffs. While they went down in the eliminator, Kohli, with 741 runs in 15 innings, won the purple cap. "I think Virat's energy and motivation and drive is really something special to behold in a 36-year-old cricketer that's done everything in the game," Flower said. "I really respect him for it and it's great role modelling for the younger players and younger overseas players to come and work with him as well. It was nice to watch it from within the same dressing room last year.
"My experience with him, particularly in the first half of the last season when we were struggling and he was a huge part of turning that season around for us, in the way that he carried himself in his role modelling of how he works at the day and thinks about the day, that experience with him only made my respect for him grow. And I would say the same thing about our discussions over the captaincy of RCB coming season."
Patidar also said that having had plenty of good partnerships with Kohli over the years, he does not mind leaning on him for suggestions and that it would help him in his leadership role.
"It's a great opportunity for me to learn from one of the best," Patidar said. "I have had a lot of partnerships with him, so I think I know him very well. So yeah, his experience and his ideas will definitely help me in my leadership role."
Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo
Rizwan: 'Babar still contributing valuably if you don't judge him by extreme expectations'
"Babar has scored so many runs for Pakistan that we expect him to score a hundred in each game," Rizwan said. "If we don't judge him by those extreme expectations, you'll find he's still chipping in and contributing valuably for us.
"As a captain, I expect a lot more of him too because of all he has done in the past. There is obviously an additional pressure because of it and I'm sure he feels that too. But if you look at his innings in South Africa, [he is still scoring runs]. It's not as if he has clear technical deficiencies, but he is still being tested. I am confident he'll come out of it."
"When Abdullah Shafique got out early in South Africa, Babar had to deal with the new ball anyway. He was coping with the seam and swing and enabling us to attack at the end. So, we thought why not go for our most technically solid player to open, rather than throwing someone else in at the deep end"
Mohammad Rizwan
"We have other players who can open if we need them to. Saim Ayub was a huge all-round blow for us, including in the field because he was one of our best fielders, opened the batting, and could bowl eight or so overs.
"His absence created a huge disturbance, and we went for the safety of Babar Azam, who's our best batter. At the top, if the ball swings, he can control it. When Abdullah Shafique got out early in South Africa, Babar had to deal with the new ball anyway. He was coping with the seam and swing and enabling us to attack at the end. So, we thought why not go for our most technically solid player to open, rather than throwing someone else in at the deep end."
ITTF African Cup 2025: Africas Heavyweights Descend on Tunis for ITTF World Cup Slots
The bustling capital of Tunisia, Tunis, is set to host Africas top table tennis players for the 2025 ITTF African Cup, a key qualifier for the ITTF Singles World Cup Macao 2025.
From February 25 to 27, the El Menzah Multi-Purpose Stadium will be the venue for this prestigious tournament, which boasts a $25,000 prize pool. Among the competitors are some of Africas finest, including the defending champions in Mens and Womens Singles, Nigerias Quadri Aruna and Egypts Dina Meshref.
This tournament promises an exciting mix of youth and experience, as young talents challenge seasoned players for tickets to Macao 2025. Notable stars like Aruna and Egypts Omar Assar will be competing, drawing all eyes to Tunis for three electrifying days. Assar, who has won the title more times than any other player in Africa, will face a formidable challenge against the star-studded lineup expected in the Tunisian capital.
Local favourite Wassim Essid will also be in action, showcasing his skills against top international players. The 2024 edition, held in Kigali, Rwanda, saw Aruna dominate in the absence of Assar, culminating in a decisive victory over Egypts Mohamed El-Beiali in the final.
Aruna will face tough competition from players like Abdel-Kabir Salifou of Benin Republic and Congo Brazzavilles Saheed Idowu, as well as Tunisias youthful duo of Essid and Myshaal Sabhi.
In the Womens Singles, Meshref, a six-time African champion, will defend her title against top-ranked African player Hana Goda and 2024 runner-up Mariam Alhodaby. Check out the full list of players here.
The tournament will determine the players who will represent Africa at the ITTF Singles World Cup in Macao, with semifinalists in the Mens and Womens Singles expected to secure their spots for the event in April 2025.
The tournament will kick off with the preliminary round on the first day, followed by the knockout stage over the final two days. Semifinalists will earn their tickets to Macao 2025, while the battle for the podium will climax the events in the Mens and Womens Singles. Besides the tickets to the ITTF Singles World Cup, players will also be aiming for ranking points from one of the continents elite tournaments.
Event Essentials:
- VENUE: El Menzah, Tunis
- DATE: February 25-27, 2025
- PRIZE MONEY: $25,000
- LIVESTREAM: ITTF Africa Youtube Channel
Ireland's depth 'pushing everyone forward' - Nash
Ireland wing Calvin Nash believes competition for places has been key to the side's strong start to the Six Nations.
Simon Easterby's side are top of the table with 10 points from 10 available after bonus-point wins over England and Scotland.
The Munster man scored his third Test try in Murrayfield as Ireland secured a 32-18 victory on Sunday.
He had sat out the win over England in round one of this year's competition, but came into the starting side to play Scotland after Mack Hansen was ruled out through injury.
The 27-year-old started every game of the championship last season, as well as both summer Tests in South Africa, but did not play a minute of four games in November.
"Being out of the squad is tough, especially when you're close and training the whole time with them," he said.
"Probably the start of the Six Nations as well, I wanted to put my best foot forward and try to get in and obviously there's a bit more disappointment not getting selected.
"But I think with this team, as long as the competition is pushing everyone forward and the team is going in the right direction, I can slot in or anyone can slot in. It's probably a good sign of the squad."
Nash scored twice in his province's Investec Champions Cup win before the Six Nations and was "confident" he could make an impact against Scotland despite only learning he would start late in the week.
"It's not my first game with the lads and the only thing you have to be over, really, is the moves. Other than that it's just about playing rugby in the system, you just slot in," he added.
"We all know the moves and that's your job. At the end of the day I knew I was travelling and if there was one injury I could have been in, so it's my job to just know everything and slot in.
"I've been confident in my ability being on the pitch, and I suppose the lead up to this camp has given me massive confidence as well. I've just been backing myself a bit more."
HARTFORD, Ohio For the first time since 2017, the Super DIRTcar Series is heading back to the historic Sharon Speedway.
The Beasts of the Northeast return to the track run by NASCAR and dirt racing icon Dave Blaney on Monday, Aug. 11, for a $10,000-to-win event presented by Capital Renegade Custom Coaches. The highly anticipated race also offers a guaranteed starting spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 (Oct. 11) at Oswego Speedway during Super DIRT Week 53.
Along with the event being the Series first time back at the three-eighths-mile dirt track in nearly a decade, itll also be the Series first time back to Ohio since 2019. When the Series last visited Sharon, Peter Britten, of Brisbane, QLD, scored his first career Super DIRTcar Series win.
Sharon is pretty cool racetrack, Britten said. Its really wide and seems to get really slick from top to bottom and has a little bit of a top and a little bit of moisture near the tires at the bottom. Its just a fun track to race on.
It was the scene of my first Super DIRTcar Series win, so obviously, the place is special to me.
Super DIRTcar Series veteran Jimmy Phelps also shared his excitement about returning to Sharon. The Baldwinsville, N.Y. competitor has four career starts at the facility, including three top fives and a Series triumph in 2016.
Its a top-notch facility, Phelps said. It always raced good. But in the last few years, theyve gotten a new surface, and now its even better.
Along with Capital Renegade Custom Coaches, the event at Sharon wouldnt be possible without the help of sponsors like Thermo Supply, Kings Sanitary Service, Russ King Racing, and King Bros. Ready Mix Concrete.
Joining the Super DIRTcar Series on the card will be the tracks 410 Sprint Car division, making it a jam-packed night of open-wheel action.
The Super DIRTcar Series also joins the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and World of Outlaws Late Models as part of five major events at Sharon in 2025. The World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will run there May 24 and Sept. 27, and the World of Outlaws Late Models will be there July 11-12.
Sharons addition to the Super DIRTcar Series schedule brings the tour to 35 races in 2025, 10 Super DIRT Week Qualifiers and helps kick off a two-night swing through two states. After running at Sharon, the Series will make the trek to Ransomville Speedway for the Ron Martin Summer Nationals on Tuesday, Aug. 12.
Sebring Sounds Even Sweeter with New Aston Martin Valkyrie On Track
SEBRING, Fla. One of the distinguishing features of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the variety of machinery spread among the four classes of competition.
That variety brings with it race cars of various shapes and sizes, creating visual and audible differences for race fans to appreciate and root for. Whether its AO Racings Rexy the Porsche 911 GT3 Rawr in Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) or Spike the LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype 2) Dragon which resonate especially with the youngest IMSA fans Pfaff Motorsports various plaid machinery over the years, or the throaty rumble of Cadillacs, Corvettes and Ford Mustangs, many cars have endeared themselves to IMSA fans.
Come the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, theres a good chance the new Aston Martin Valkyrie and its screaming V12 engine will become another fan favorite. The No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Valkyrie was impossible to miss in Wednesdays test sessions at Sebring International Raceway with an easy-to-distinguish sound that could be picked up long before the car came into view on the racetrack.
We made a bit of adjustment to the silencing on the car, and everyone keeps coming up and congratulating me so I think weve moved in the right direction, said Aston Martin THOR Team Principal Ian James. It sounds glorious out there! You dont need the tracker to find where it is on track. GT guys are like, We love it when this car overtakes us.
For driver Roman De Angelis, who is sharing the No. 23 Valkyrie for the remainder of the WeatherTech Championship season with Ross Gunn and with Alex Riberas for the remaining IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds the sound of the Valkyrie takes him back to his days as a race fan watching his father, Max, race in Prototype Challenge.
Im going to go back and say when I was younger, I looked forward to seeing my dad racing in IMSA, De Angelis recalled. I remember Aston has built an LMP1 car, which Muscle Milk was running in IMSA, and that was a V12 Id go to the side of the track, at (age) 10 and 11, just to see that car, because it was the best sounding car, and I think that kind of sparked a love and a passion for IMSA and that style of racing.
My goal was always sports car racing, endurance racing. I think its memories like that that sparked my interest. Kind of taking a step back, for me it was only 10-12 years ago, but I hope theres people in that position that see it and hear it and its a pretty cool story. Obviously, its a beautiful car and its done well in the sport as well Hopefully theres some people and I was in their shoes 10 or 12 years ago and it kind of sparks a passion for sports car racing for them and maybe theyll be in that position.
To be fair, theres still work to be done for the cars pace and on-track performance to match the sound it was some two-and-a-half seconds off the quickest time in GTP on Wednesday but the team is making strides.
We started with one GT3 car in 2020, James said. Our goal was to maybe we get one top five, one podium, and wed be happy. A win wed be ecstatic. Now were a regular contender for wins in GT classes and were respected for that.
Its the same kind of journey (with the Valkyrie). A podium before the end of the year would be awesome. We dont have any set goals in terms of what we have to achieve. Incremental improvements would be the goal.
Jaminet Quickest on Day 2 of Sebring IMSA Test in No. 6 Porsche
Porsche Penske Motorsports momentum from its 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship-winning effort and a 2025 season-opening victory in last months Rolex 24 At Daytona continued in IMSA-sanctioned testing Wednesday at Sebring International Raceway.
Mathieu Jaminet finished the day atop the time charts in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 on the strength of a best lap of 1 minute, 48.465 seconds (124.131 mph) set in the first of the days three testing sessions. Jaminet was 0.592 seconds faster than second-fastest Scott Dixon, who turned in a best lap of 1:49.057 in the second session of the day in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06.
Jaminet was also quickest in night testing, putting up a best time of 1:48.836 in the No. 6 machine hes sharing with Matt Campbell, Kevin Estre and for this test IndyCar star Scott McLaughlin.
It felt good in the car, honestly, straight away in the morning, Jaminet said. When I started, the car felt in a decent window. I think we could go through our program. We had quite a bit test list of items, new things we wanted to try. It was a busy day, to be honest. It was good to give some laps to Kevin, who hasnt been here in two years.
The car feels alright. Obviously, its nice to be on the top of the time sheet, but you never know if the others are playing some games and the programs of the different people. But lets say from our side, yes, Car 6 seems to be working well. Were pretty happy with our car and how the day went for sure.
Overall, the top eight cars in GTP were covered by less than one second on the combined time sheet.
In Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), reigning WeatherTech Championship class champion Tom Dillmann led the way, clocking a best lap of 1:50.065 in the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA LMP2 07 he is sharing with co-drivers Bijoy Garg and Jon Field.
For the second consecutive day, the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class was quickest of the two GT classes led by Maxi Goetz in the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3. Goetz best lap of 2:00.867 came in the Wednesday evening session in the car he shares with Kenton Koch and Seth Lucas.
Jesse Krohn led GTD PRO in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO he shares with Dan Harper and Max Hesse. Krohns best lap posted Wednesday afternoon was 2:02.237.
A total of 39 cars participated in testing on Wednesday with only the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 sitting out the days activities after running on Tuesday. Testing concludes Thursday with two more sessions for only the GTP and LMP2 classes.
In JRMs First Cup Attempt, Team Forced To Race Way In
JR Motorsports long-awaited NASCAR Cup Series debut is in jeopardy following Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday night.
Piloting the No. 40 Chevrolet, defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier ran the 33rd-fastest time, which wasnt fast enough to dethrone the top two non-charter entries of Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.
With Allgaier unable to lock himself into the field on Wednesday, his fate lies with Thursdays 60-lap Daytona Duel where hell compete against other non-locked in drivers in Chandler Smith, J.J. Yeley and Helio Castroneves.
Only one driver from each Duel makes the Daytona 500.
Prior to his qualifying run, Allgaier stressed the importance of team work in order to have a successful qualifying effort at the 2.5-mile oval.
The experience that I have, the experience that Greg (Ives, crew chief) has, my spotter Joey, what he was able to do on top of the spotter stand, those are things I think are very important, Allgaier said.
As Chevrolet, we got a lot of cars in the field that are Chevys. You cannot do this alone. There is no way to superspeedway race by yourself.
Were hopeful that all plays into our favor, but we also know that this is arguably one of the toughest open fields of the last couple years. We picked a heck of a year to try to make this attempt.
When asked whether he felt any pressure in making the field, Allgaier kept it simple.
None, zero, Allgaier laughed.
Now as Allgaier and JRM face a tall task to make the Daytona 500 field on Thursday, the 38-year-olds outlook, regardless of outcome, will remain unchanged as he understands the grind its taken to reach this point.
I think that this exercise of getting here has been significant of what it takes, the time, the energy, the financial side of it, Allgaier explained. Whether this is the first and only or first of many, I couldnt tell you. Five years ago, I would have said that this day would never come. It finally came. Its everything that I thought it would be and then some.
I think that everybody at our shop feels the same way. So Im excited to see the speed we can have tonight, but Im excited to see how the rest of the weekend goes. Im very hopeful.
Anything can and will happen in the Duels. Weve seen it all time and time again. You can have the fastest race car here and it winds up in a box of parts or you can sneak your way in on the last lap. I think Jimmie got in on one of the last laps of the Duels. You never know what to expect.
Im proud of the effort just to get to this point. Were going to do everything we can to make it into the 500.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. When the 67th Daytona 500 begins on Sunday, the field will be chasing Chase Briscoe, who gave Toyota its first-ever pole in NASCARs biggest race.
Briscoe won the pole at 182.745 miles per hour in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
A great way to start our season, unbelievable way to start off the year, unbelievable way to start off with Toyota, said Briscoe, a native of Mitchell, Indiana. To be able to be the guy to deliver them the first anything when theyve already accomplished so much is pretty cool.
Man, to think Im going to start on the front row or on the pole of the great American race with ultimately the great American brand of Bass Pro Shops is unbelievable. I cant thank Coach (Joe) Gibbs enough, the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization. The whole off-season everybody kept telling me the focus was trying to qualify better at superspeedways. Thats something I really struggled at last year. For our 19 group to come here and sit on the pole at the biggest race of the year is pretty special.
I cant believe it. Super appreciative of this opportunity with Bass Pro, Toyota, Joe Gibbs. Unbelievable way to start our season. Hopefully we can carry it on now.
Briscoe will start on the pole for both the Daytona 500 and Thursday nights first Duel.
I dont know if this changes our approach, if we try to just lay back down or what. Truthfully, I would like to race and at least feel my car out.
Its hard to ever know what you have in practice. I felt like in practice, my car was really, really good. To go out there in qualifying and do the lap we did, man, I guess I was right.
Curious to see how its going to race. I feel like our car definitely has speed; its just a matter if its going to race good.
I dont know if this changes our approach for tomorrow night. Its good to start up front and determine our own destiny.
Team Penskes Austin Cindric was the second fastest at 182.463 miles per hour in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford for Team Penske.
Its obviously a huge credit to the guys on the 2 car, building a really fast race car, a lot of fast Fords in the field, really cool, Cindric said. Starting pole would be better. Chase and I havent compared race results in our entire career, just take jabs at each other for qualifying results. This one is going to sting for a while.
Congratulations to him and Coach and those guys. Pretty good to start on the front row with one of my good friends. All in all, a great box checked for the start of this week. I think every single part of this weekend is important to setting up with an opportunity to win this race on Sunday.
Thats another one, pit selection, obviously controlling your destiny at the start of the race. Well try to do the best we can to learn about our car tomorrow night.
Yeah, good start.
Briscoe and Cindric are the only two drivers who are locked into a starting position for the 67th Daytona 500. The remainder of the order will be determined in Thursday nights two Blue Green Vacations Duels qualifying races.
Truex & Johnson Lock In
Former NASCAR Cup Series champions Martin Truex Jr. and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson were the two Open drivers locked into the field based on lap speed.
Truex was 22nd at 181.302 miles per hour in the No. 56 Tricon Garage Toyota. Johnson was 29th in the No. 84 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club at 180.785 mph.
Final Round
In the final round of qualifications, Kyle Larson was first out in the final round and ran a lap at 181.737 miles per hour in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Denny Hamlin was next in the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and turned a lap at 182.138 mph.
Josh Berry took over the No. 1 positions at 182.275 mph in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
That didnt last long as Team Penskes Joey Logano raced around the 2.5-mile Daytona Intl Speedway at 182.341 miles per hour in the No. 22 Shell Chevrolet.
Cindric knocked off Logano in the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford at 182.463 mph.
That left Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe.
Preece wasnt quite fast enough to take the pole with a lap at 182.426 mph in the No. 60 Ford.
But nobody was faster than Briscoe, who gave Toyota its first-ever Daytona 500 pole at 182.745 mph in the No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
By the time it was over, it was Briscoe first followed by Cindric, Preece, Logano, Berry, Hamlin, Austin Dillon, Bell, Ty Dillon and Larson.
Team Penske made up two of the top-four spots in the final round.
Castroneves Unable Lock In On Time
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will start his first NASCAR Cup Series race in the Daytona 500 because of NASCAR waiver an Open Exemption Provisional for World Class Drivers. The Indy 500 legend was hoping to make the race based on speed.
Instead, his lap wasnt fast enough at 179.752 miles per hour in the No. 91 Wendys Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racings Project91 entry to advance on speed among the Open Entries.
This morning, the lap wasnt that bad, so maybe it was different atmospheric conditions, Castroneves said. Man, that is not what I expected.
Were going to race our way in tomorrow night.
The number of cars that will start Sundays Daytona 500 will be determined by Castroneves. If he doesnt race his way into the lineup as one of the two drivers that will advance in each of Thursday nights Blue Green Vacations Duels, he gets the NASCAR provisional and 41 cars will line up for the race. That will be the most to start the Daytona 500 since 2015, when 43-car starting lineups was still the standard.
The caveat, though, is that entry will not receive any prize money or points for Trackhouse Racing.
If Castroneves should advance through the Duels, 40 cars would start, and that entry would quality for prize money and points.
Trackhouse was the only team that field an entry for the Open Exemption Provisional before the 90-day deadline and Castroneves is the only driver that qualifies for it.
When each car completed its qualification attempt in the first session, there were plenty of big-name drivers that missed the cut as only the top 10 advanced.
Those included Alex Bowman (12th), Kyle Busch (13th), Chase Elliott (15th), Brad Keselowski (16th), Chris Buescher (18th), Ryan Blaney (20th) and defending Daytona 500 winner William Byron (21st).
First Round
Chase Briscoe was the fasted in Round One at 182.860 mph in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota followed by Ryan Preece in the No. 60 Ford at 182.349 mph, 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric in the No. 2 Ford at 182.297 mph, three-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano in the No. 22 Shell Ford at 182.183 mph and Ty Dillon in the No. 10 Chevrolet at 181.965 mph.
Positions 6-10 were in order rookie Josh Berry in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford at 181.877 mph, Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet at 181.866 mph, Christopher Bell in the No. 20 Toyota at 181.848 mph, Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota at 181.833 mph and Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 181.803 mph.
Those 10 drivers went out in inverse order to determine the front row for the 67th Daytona 500.
World Cup of Hockey to return in February 2028
MONTREAL -- The World Cup of Hockey is returning beginning in February 2028, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced Wednesday in a joint news conference with NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh.
Both sides reiterated that they are committed to sending NHL players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, meaning hockey will return to a cadence of best-on-best international competition every two years -- with Bettman calling this month's 4 Nations Face-Off between the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden "a sampler."
NHL players have not competed in an Olympic Games since 2014. The last World Cup of Hockey was in 2016. Since then, many of the league's top stars, including Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews, have advocated for the opportunity to represent their countries in the prime of their careers.
"We couldn't be more excited about making a reality: Olympics, World Cups, Olympics, World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries," Bettman said. "We know the full blown World Cup is going to be sensational."
Bettman said the league will begin accepting bids on host locations for World Cup of Hockey 2028 soon, and opened the door for European cities to make pitches.
The tournament's format has yet to be determined, but Bettman anticipates at least eight teams. Unlike the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, there will not be "melded teams" such as Team Europe or a U-23 Team North America, but rather each team will consist of players from one country.
The IIHF is not involved in the tournament, Bettman confirmed, meaning it will be an NHL player-only event and federations cannot tap players competing in European leagues.
The biggest remaining question is whether Russia will be able to field a team. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the country has been banned from international play in all age categories by the IIHF. Earlier this month, the NHL and IIHF extended that ban through 2025-26, citing security concerns.
The NHL made a similar ruling for the 4 Nations Face-Off, excluding a Russia team that would have fielded some of the league's top stars such as Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, Kirill Kaprizov, Artemi Panarin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin.
Walsh said Russian players have told him they are passionate about returning to the world stage. He also said he has not heard of any other players who said they would not participate in an event if Russia were involved.
"I'd love to see our Russian players playing in these tournaments. Again, they're incredible hockey players," Walsh said. "The issues are political and it is not political as far as the NHLPA, it's the world politics that we have to get through and I'm hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, as we get closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing the Russian athletes back in the competition."
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN earlier this season that on the issue of Russia, the NHL often follows the lead and stays aligned with other international governing bodies. When asked what it would take for Russia to be involved in future events, Daly said: "I think the current status quo has to change and it has to change in a material way."
The joint World Cup of Hockey announcement was yet another mark of an improved relationship between the NHL and NHLPA, which will soon begin formal negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The current CBA expires in September 2026, but Bettman said he remains "more than optimistic" that there are not major issues to iron out, and that a new agreement could be announced as soon as this summer.
"All international competition that we do with NHL players is a joint collaboration and partnership with the Players Association," Bettman said. "We now have a partner since Marty has been at the Players Association that has put us in a position collectively to execute these types of events, make these decisions for the long term. That hasn't always been the case."
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