DOVER, Del. (AP) — Kyle Larson ran into his first speed bump in his busy May.
Larson next month will become the fifth driver in history to attempt to complete “ The Double ” and run 1,100 miles in one day, starting with the Indianapolis 500 in an Indy car and then flying to Charlotte to drive in the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR’s longest race of the year.
But ahead of the milestone attempt, Larson will stay in Indianapolis on May 17 to practice for the 500 rather than travel to North Wilkesboro Speedway to practice and qualify for the NASCAR All-Star race.
He is expected to qualify for the Indy 500 on May 18 before — barring any complications — he travels to North Carolina to compete in an All-Star heat race later that night. The All-Star race at North Wilkesboro is May 21, hours after the top 12 cars on the starting grid is set in Indianapolis.
“Hopefully, I'll be able to run a heat race,” Larson said. “I hope to make it back in time for the race itself. Kind of don't really know yet. Kind of depends on how the week is going in Indy. For sure, won't be able to practice, I know that.”
Larson’s next time on the track at Indy won’t be until May 14, when IMS opens for Indy 500 preparations. Larson is running an entry co-fielded by McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports, his NASCAR team and Rick Hendrick’s first entry into the Indianapolis 500.
“I need to get as much laps in Indy as possible,” Larson said. “The plane will be ready for me to go whenever it's free for me to leave.”
PENSKE PROBLEMS
What in the name of an amphibious-like glove is going on this season at Team Penske?
Cheating has seeped into Roger Penske's teams in both IndyCar and NASCAR.
Two-time NASCAR champion Joey Logano's infraction now seems innocuous — he was fined $10,000 and docked his second-place starting position for a NASCAR race at Atlanta this season because he was wearing an illegal glove during his qualifying — compared to the scandal this week that rocked Penske's IndyCar team.
Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Josef Newgarden blinked back tears Friday as he accepted blame for manipulating the push-to-pass system — essentially a short-term power boost — in his season-opening IndyCar win that has since been stripped.
Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin, who finished third, also was disqualified while fourth-place finisher Will Power was docked 10 points though he wasn’t accused of any wrongdoing. The Penske drivers were fined $25,000 because the manipulated systems were on all three cars.
“They’re grown-ups, they have to deal with their issues," NASCAR driver and 2002 Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric said. “Those are guys that I look up to. A lot of those guys, not just Josef and Scott but a lot of those guys on that team.”
Cindric plainly said “no” when asked if Team Penske had suffered a hit to its reputation. He has reason to defend the team beyond his role as driver; his father, Tim Cindric, is president of Team Penske.
“The only problem I have with the entire situation is, any time Roger Penske's credibility is questioned, I say ignorance,” Austin Cindric said. "And that's what frustrates me with all of it. The rest of it, look, it's racing, people make mistakes. Either believe or don't believe whatever you hear. That's life. But the rest of it, if there's anyone that has credibility in the motorsports world, it's Roger Penske.
“To see some of the very ignorant comments I've seen, it bothers me a lot because I can't think of a better role model, a better leader, and a better person to be in the position than he is than Roger.”
JIMMIE’S BACK
Jimmie Johnson races in Dover for the first time since 2020. Johnson has won a track-record 11 times, and the mile-concrete track remains the site of his last Cup victory in June 2017.
Johnson returned to NASCAR last season with an ownership stake in Legacy Motor Club and only races sporadically each season. He finished 28th in the Daytona 500 and was 29th earlier this month at Texas Motor Speedway.
Dover leaned into the anticipation of his return by selling a ticket package that included a meet-and-greet with Johnson and team ambassador Richard Petty.
Legacy fields cars this season for John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones. Jones is out at Dover with a back injury.
“The reason we run the third car — the reason that I’m out here — is to help our two primary cars,” Johnson said. “It is not to help me. It is upon me to study, learn, ask the right questions, listen in. I don’t want to take anything away from the 42 or 43 programs. I’m really here to help.”
BUILT FORD ROUGH
Tyler Reddick’s win last weekend at Talladega kept Ford out of victory lane again this season.
Logano has just three top-10 finishes in his No. 22 Ford this season while the Stewart-Haas Racing four-car fleet hasn’t won in any of the last 94 races.
“You look at Ford right now, yeah, we need some speed from that department,” Logano said. “You look at your other Ford compadres out there and see how they’re doing. The facts are, we haven’t won yet. We’ve got to keep fighting and trying to find every little ounce of speed we’ve got in that thing.”
Logano joked he gives Ford executives feedback, “kind of whether they want it or not.”
“Usually, if I think it, I’m going to say it,” said Logano, the two-time Cup champion. “Together, we’re going to work together to fix the issues. As a driver, that’s kind of a little bit of your job. You’re the one that’s inside the car and can feel it. So you’ve got to work together with the engineers to try to put the feelings into numbers and start working on it.”
Logano is 0-for-27 lifetime at Dover.
“I’m not putting this whole thing on Ford, don’t get me wrong,” Logano said. “The 22 car has to be better in a lot of areas, as well.”
ODDS AND ENDS
Larson is listed as the 5-1 favorite to win at Dover, according to BetMGM. He won the October 2019 race when Dover still held two NASCAR weekends each season. The 31-year-old Larson has led the most laps at a single track (899) in his Cup Series career at Dover. In 15 starts at Dover, Larson has one win, seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. He has led over 80 laps on five occasions at Dover and has never finished outside the top five in those races. He has run the most laps in the top five this season (1,532) and is in a six-way tie for the most top-five finishes with four.
AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
FILE - Kyle Larson sits on the car that he will drive in the IndyCar Indianapolis 500 after is was unveiled at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. Larson next month will become the fifth driver in history to attempt to complete “The Double” and run 1,100 miles in one day at both the Indianapolis 500 in an Indy car and the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest race of the year. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
BOSTON (AP) — Donovan Mitchell banked in a 3-pointer from a few steps beyond the top of the arc and could only shrug as he backpedaled back on defense. He followed with two baskets in the lane to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 16-point lead.
"Sometimes you get lucky," Mitchell said after scoring 29 points to help Cleveland beat Boston 118-94 on Thursday night. “Shooters shoot.”
Two nights after losing the opener by 25 points, the Cavaliers answered with a blowout of their own, beating the top-seeded Celtics in Boston to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. The teams now head to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.
“We expected them to play better and they did," Celtics center Al Horford said. "They responded and we didn’t.”
Mitchell scored 33 points in the opener but got little help. On Thursday, the Cavs All-Star took just six shots and scored six points in the first half, while handing out five assists. Mitchell had 16 points in the third quarter and hit three straight baskets to start the fourth, including the 28-footer off the glass.
“I hadn’t shot much, trying to find ways to get guys involved early, and picking my spots. I was just continuing to find ways to apply pressure on them,” said Mitchell, who finished with eight assists and seven rebounds.
“In the second half it was scoring,” he said. “Sometimes it’s assists. Sometimes it’s rebounds. Whatever it takes. And when it was time to go, it’s time to go. I knew at some point I was going to have to start, obviously, shooting.”
Jayson Tatum scored 25 for Boston, and Jaylen Brown added 19 points. But Derrick White, whose 25 points in Game 1 helped the Celtics coast to a 120-95 win, managed just 10 points, missing seven of his eight 3-point tries.
With the win, the Cavaliers assured themselves of at least a fifth game back in Boston on Wednesday. And after finally getting their first road win in this postseason, they showed that they can win there.
“When we defend the way we defended and our shots fall, what we do travels,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And we can win anywhere.”
Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double, and his fifth of this postseason. Caris LeVert scored 21 off the bench for Cleveland, hitting a pull-up jumper midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Cavaliers a 20-point lead and started a parade of fans to the exits. Many of those who stayed began booing.
A minute later, after the Celtics missed another 3-pointer – they were 8 for 35 from long distance in all -- LeVert made a layup and drew a flagrant foul from Tatum. It was a 25-point game, and Boston coach Joe Mazzulla emptied his bench.
Bickerstaff followed soon after, getting some rest for Mitchell, who played a game-high 37 minutes on Tuesday night but was on the bench for the 10-2 Celtics run to start the fourth that blew open the game.
Mitchell hit four of his five 3-point attempts in the third quarter to help Cleveland extend its lead to as many as 14 points. And he remained in the game at the start of the fourth and until the game was put away, with Cleveland up 27 and four minutes left.
“At halftime I was just like, ’I don’t plan on coming out.' That was the mindset,” Mitchell said. "He asked me if I needed (a break) and I was like, ‘I’m good.’”
According to ESPN, the 24-point win was the biggest in the playoffs by a double-digit underdog since 1991.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis missed his third straight game with a strained calf muscle. Mobley started at center in place of Jarrett Allen, who has missed five straight games with bruised ribs, and reached a career playoff high in points.
Mobley scored 11 in the first quarter, when the Cavaliers quickly fell behind by nine – giving the vibes of a second straight blowout. But Cleveland ran off 11 points in a row – eight from LeVert. Boston went ahead by eight in the second before the Cavs sent it into halftime tied.
Tatum had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists at the half, and Mobley had 15, seven, and five.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, left, guard Derrick White, center, and center Kristaps Porzingis, right, watch from the bench as the Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Celtics during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) walks to the bench as the Cavaliers trailed the Boston Celtics by more than 20 points during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) looks to pass while pressured by Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots next to Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots as Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) defends during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) tries to pass the ball around Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) shoots as Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet (40) defends during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives toward the basket as Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro (35) defends during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) passes the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) and guard Max Strus (1) defend during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, left, is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus, behind, and forward Evan Mobley during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, center, and guard Caris LeVert, right, and Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet watch the ball get away during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
