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SPORTS Tuesday 25 OcTOber 2022

7 desperate drivers have NASCAR season on the line

By JENNA FRYER Wallace’s car, wrecked El-
AP Auto Racing Writer liott once at Martinsville to
Joey Logano has little stress trigger a heated post-race
headed into Martinsville exchange. After the mes-
Speedway, where his results sage sent by NASCAR the
won’t make a difference in last several weeks, drivers
his march toward the NAS- will have to carefully con-
CAR championship. sider what’s acceptable
The rest of the field? this Sunday.
Well, expect chaos. “They drew a very good
There are still three spots line,” Hamlin said of NAS-
open in the title-deciding CAR. “They did the right
finale and seven drivers thing. Now it’s about can
head into Sunday’s race we be more consistent with
at NASCAR’s smallest and that for the future? What is
oldest track with a chance. the determining factor of
Only 58 points separate crossing that line?”
Ross Chastain in second Blaney, who led five laps
from Chase Briscoe in at Martinsville in the spring
eighth, and a victory can but still thought he had a
earn a driver an automatic car capable of winning, sits
berth into the winner-take- sixth behind Hamlin below
all finale at Phoenix Race- the cutline along with Chris-
way. William Byron puts on his helmet during NASCAR cup series qualifying at Homestead-Miami topher Bell and Briscoe. Bell
Logano is already locked Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in Homestead, Fla. William Byron puts on his helmet during and Briscoe both believe
into the championship NASCAR cup series qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, in they are in must-win situ-
Homestead, Fla.
race via his victory at Las Associated Press ations to advance to the
Vegas two weeks ago. Phoenix finale, but Blaney
The remaining seven play- Elliott, who finished a per- So what does it mean? clear over the last three believes he can qualify on
off drivers will be fighting plexing ninth as he stalled Track position is crucial and weeks that it is watching points.
for every point possible out in traffic the rest of the the Next Gen car, created closely and won’t tolerate He also knows now he
on a 0.526-mile track that race. in part to level the playing any sort of race manipula- must do it within NASCAR’s
proved in April to be impos- In fact, only four total driv- field, has left little separa- tion or retaliation. Bubba boundaries.
sible to pass on. ers led laps in the Next Gen tion from the front to the Wallace was suspended “I personally think it is good
“Nobody’s passing any- car’s debut at Martinsville, back of the grid. The new for Sunday’s race at Home- that NASCAR is putting the
body at Martinsville, so bet- and Ryan Blaney and Aus- 18-inch Goodyear tire on stead-Miami Speedway for law down, the hammer
ter bring it,” said 2020 NAS- tin Dillon combined to lead the cars has created even deliberately crashing Kyle down on things that they
CAR champion Chase El- a whopping six of the 403 more grip, which has allevi- Larson a week before, and think are wrong and that
liott. “It’s gonna be tough.” laps. The show belonged to ated the potential for driver Cole Custer and Stewart- they want to act,” Blaney
Elliott knows firsthand. He Byron and Elliott, who com- mistakes. Haas Racing have a Thurs- said. “That is the only way
started from the pole at bined to lead the remain- With the chance to race day appeal scheduled of you can kind of police
Martinsville in the spring ing 397 laps (98.5%). That for the Cup championship their $200,000 fines for al- it. You have to do those
and led 185 laps. But he lost pushed Hendrick Motors- on the line, drivers are go- legedly assisting Briscoe’s things. At the end of the
the lead to Hendrick Mo- ports to 10,000 laps led at ing to have no choice but advance into the third day, it is their call.
torsports teammate William the track in Rick Hendrick’s to be very, very aggressive. round of the playoffs. “If they see something that
Byron and that was it for home state of Virginia. But NASCAR has made it Denny Hamlin, co-owner of they don’t like,q

Russian runner stripped of 2012 Olympics title for doping

MONACO (AP) — Russian ered from a Moscow test- alist 10 years ago, Zuzana
runner Natalya Antyukh ing laboratory database Hejnová of the Czech
was disqualified on Mon- further disqualified An- Republic should be up-
day from her 400-meter tyukh in all of her events graded to silver, and the
hurdles win at the 2012 from July 15, 2012 through bronze is set to go to Ka-
London Olympics for dop- June 29, 2013, track and liese Spencer of Jamaica.
ing, and Lashinda Demus field’s Athletics Integ- The AIU did not specify
of the United States is set rity Unit said. At the 2012 evidence against Antyukh
to be upgraded to the Olympics, on Aug. 8, De- from the Moscow data-
gold medal. mus finished 0.07 seconds base that was part of a
Antyukh was already serv- behind the Russian winner. years-long standoff be-
ing a four-year ban in a Now aged 39, Demus is in tween the World Anti-Dop-
previous case judged by line to become an Olym- ing Agency and Russian
the Court or Arbitration pic champion for the first authorities.
for Sport last year that time and get a gold med- The latest case was pros-
Russia’s Natalya Antyukh, right, powers ahead of United stripped her results from al from the International ecuted at national level
States’ Lashinda Demus to win gold in the women’s 400-meter
hurdles final during the athletics in the Olympic Stadium at the 2013 to 2015. Olympic Committee to in Russia and can be ap-
2012 Summer Olympics, London, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012. The new ruling based on add to her world title won pealed, the Monaco-
Associated Press historical evidence recov- in 2011. The bronze med- based AIU said.q