NASCAR's Cup playoff race in Texas was postponed Sunday night after 52 laps on a misty day that slowly deteriorated to drizzle while it never actually rained before the event was called off.
The delay was just over four hours, and the restart planned for Monday morning. But the forecast isn't promising with a 90% chance of rain overnight and the forecast high temperature barely reaching 50 degrees.
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Trucks dry off the track during a red flag delay due to inclement weather during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
Trucks dry off the track during a red flag delay due to inclement weather during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
Brad Keselowski (2) pits during a caution at a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
Kevin Harvick (4) drives down the front stretch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
The pandemic-reduced crowd watched Clint Bowyer emerge as the leader with Jimmie Johnson second in the last Texas race as full-time drivers for both veterans.
Trucks dry off the track during a red flag delay due to inclement weather during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
The cars kept running for eight laps after the weather caution first came out as jet dryers circled the track. The cars sat uncovered on pit road for about half and hour before the tarps came out and the drivers and crews headed for cover.
It was fitting that Bowyer and the seven-time series champion Johnson were leading when the race was stopped. Both were honored before the race, with victory lane being named after Johnson. His seven Texas wins are the most on the 1 1/2-mile, high-banked tri oval.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott named Johnson an honorary Texan. The 45-year-old is planning to run part time in IndyCar next year.
Trucks dry off the track during a red flag delay due to inclement weather during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
The 41-year-old Bowyer, a 10-time winner in 16 Cup seasons and twice a runner-up in Texas, plans to move into the broadcast booth next season.
“Jimmie and Clint are tremendous ambassadors of our sport, both on and off the track, so we wanted to do something special for their final time here,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said.
Martin Truex Jr. was moved to the back of the field because of an illegal spoiler, and crew chief James Small was ejected. But Truex, also fined $35,000 and docked 20 points in a blow to his championship outlook, was all the way up to fifth when the race was stopped.
Brad Keselowski (2) pits during a caution at a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
Joey Logano is the only driver guaranteed a spot in the final four after winning the first of three qualifying races last week in Kansas. The last qualifier in the round of eight is next week at Martinsville before the championship finale in Phoenix.
Kevin Harvick, who has won the last three fall races in Texas and is a nine-time winner this season, is in the best shape among the other seven playoff contenders.
Harvick brushed the wall while leading on Lap 29 as the track conditions worsened and came away with some damage to his right side. But the No. 4 Ford was running when the 334-lap race was halted, one lap down in 36th.
Kevin Harvick (4) drives down the front stretch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020. (AP PhotoRichard W. Rodriguez)
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Tre’Davious White arrived in Buffalo in 2017 driven to be the best and began entertaining visions of one day wearing a Hall of Fame gold jacket before two debilitating injuries stopped the cornerback's rising trajectory.
It took time, bouts with depression and spending a year away from Buffalo for White to find peace and discover what matters most in life upon rejoining the Bills this season.
"Football means a lot, but it’s not the end-all and be-all. Good game, bad game, my people still gonna love me,” White told The Associated Press as Buffalo (12-5) prepares to open the playoffs at Jacksonville (13-4) on Sunday.
“I feel I’ve got so much life to give other than what I can do on the football field. And that freed me up,” he added. “I just think this game has given me that perspective on life. And I wouldn’t have got it nowhere else if I wouldn’t have went through those dark times."
The limits of White's resolve were tested after he tore a left knee ligament in 2021 and then his right Achilles tendon in 2023. There were days during his recovery when members of the Bills training staff had to visit his home to coax the player out from his basement.
White’s new-found perspective has been reflected nearly every day this season in how he greets everyone with a beaming smile and happily skips each time he takes the field. This wasn’t always the case in 2022 and ’23, when White turned inward by declining interview requests to the point he faced potential NFL fines for not following the league’s media policy.
“I didn’t have much to cheer or be upbeat about,” White said, reflecting back. “But I’ve learned over time that I can’t let the game dictate my attitude toward life. ... Because at the end of the day, when I stop playing, nobody is gonna care how many tackles I had.”
On Thursday, White was giddy upon being voted the Pro Football Writer’s Association’s Buffalo chapter Kent Hull Stand-up Guy, an award given to a player best demonstrating respect, thoughtfulness and cooperation with reporters.
"Ain’t no way,” he said, with a laugh upon accepting the plaque. “My teammates have to be as mean as (stuff) if you all are giving me this award.”
White, who turns 31 next week, has made a bigger impact on the Bills with his play, willingness to share his wisdom and upbeat demeanor.
“He brings so much joy, so much positivity, so much energy. It means so much to have him back,” cornerback Christian Benford said. “I’m so proud and thankful God has uplifted his spirit, his mind to allow him to bounce back and fight through a lot of this.”
Sean McDermott grows emotional nearly each time he speaks of the player from Shreveport, Louisiana, who starred at LSU before becoming Buffalo's first draft pick upon the coach's arrival.
“I can’t say enough good things about Tre’ and what he means to me, personally, and what he’s meant to our football team,” McDermott said. “I just believe in my heart that there’s something deeper behind all of it with Tre’ because I know what this place means to him.”
If not for his injuries and contract, White wouldn’t have departed Buffalo in the first place after being cut in March 2024 for salary-cap reasons. Upon splitting last season between the Rams and Ravens, White was so eager to re-sign with Buffalo, he told his agent to not call unless he had a deal done with the Bills.
“When I go to sleep at night and when I envision myself making plays, it’s always in red, white and blue,” White said, referring to the Bills' colors.
“This is where I want to be. This is where I’m supposed to be. This is home,” he added. “When I take my last snap as a football player, I want it to be in red, white and blue and No. 27, rightfully so. Hopefully.”
However uncertain his future is beyond the playoffs, White gained closure in a season during which he reestablished himself with 16 starts and an interception. The production might pale from the days White was regarded as one of the NFL’s top shutdown cornerbacks and earned first- and second-team All-Pro honors in 2019 and ’20.
But what are numbers to White, who wondered why it takes someone having to reach their lowest point to find themselves.
“We shouldn’t let extreme circumstances turn us into a person that's going to help others or see life this way now because this happened to me,” White said. “No, let’s see life for what it is right now, and not wait until bad things happen.”
It’s a lesson he's imparting to his three sons.
“I’m so happy that I was able to go through what I went through, to get that callous and come out the man that I am now,” White said. “I feel like maybe as a player, it may not have been what I wanted. But as a person, I’m better going forward.”
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Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) remains on the field to watch a tribute video after the Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
