MOTOR SPORTS
Larson wins World of Outlaws race
Fired NASCAR star Kyle Larson won the World of Outlaws race Saturday night in Pevley, Mo., a day after finishing second behind brother-in-law Brad Sweet in the first Sprint Cup event with live fans in the dirt series' return from a coronavirus pandemic suspension. With attendance limited and other safety measures in place at Federated Auto Parts I-55 Raceway, Larson edged Brent Marks by 0.794 seconds -- with Sweet third in the 40-lap feature on the one-third mile oval. Larson has returned to dirt racing after losing his NASCAR Cup ride with Chip Ganassi Racing for using a racial slur during an online race. "This win means so much personally. I can't even describe it," Larson said. Larson earned $20,000 for his ninth career series victory as part of the two-state Drydene Double Down Invitational, with Ricky Thornton Jr. also getting $20,000 for his Late Model victory at Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota in a race run without fans at the track. The Sprint Car series returned last week at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa for a race run without fans. The series also plans to limit attendance next week for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.
Russell captures virtual GP race
Formula One driver George Russell won the virtual Monaco Grand Prix race by a large margin on the day the iconic race would have been held. The 22-year-old British driver, who races for the Williams team in F1, finished 39 seconds ahead of former F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez of Mexico. Charles Leclerc, who is from Monaco and lives near the actual race track's start line, finished in third place. He was 15 seconds behind Gutierrez. F1 has been holding virtual races because the real series has not started this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The first 10 races have been either postponed or canceled outright. Monaco was canceled for the first time in 66 years.
BASKETBALL
Roster cuts for WNBA teams
Even though no training camps have been held to evaluate players, the WNBA and the players' union decided that teams would have to get their rosters under the salary cap by Tuesday so that players could start getting paid on June 1. It's left many teams with tough decisions on who they will cut and little time to figure it out. "It is the worst part of this job," New York Liberty General Managers Jonathan Kolb said. "These are dreams that are suddenly altered and you're a large part of that." Teams usually have to cut their rosters to get under the salary cap before the regular season begins, which would have been on May 14. The WNBA postponed the start of the season in early April because of the coronavirus pandemic and is still focusing on a handful of scenarios that would allow it to play this year. Teams typically would be able to evaluate players by their on-the-court actions. Now it's more based on how quickly they pick things up on Zoom conference calls or how well they understand plays online. "The league office didn't foresee a pandemic," Kolb said. "They are doing the best they can do. It doesn't take away from how difficult this was for us. We wish we could keep everybody or have some contingencies in place."
Sports on 05/25/2020