Sports
Quick final pit stop helps Alex Palou win Long Beach Grand Prix
For two-thirds of Sunday’s Long Beach Grand Prix, Alex Palou bided his time … waiting for the one break he needed.
It came in the form of a caution on the 58th lap, allowing him to overtake front-runner Felix Rosenqvist exiting pit lane and hold the lead the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag by 3.96 seconds for his third triumph in five IndyCar Series races this season and his first at Long Beach.
Right after being showered with applause and confetti at victory lane, the 29-year-old Spaniard thanked his crew, whose quick work on the last pit stop proved to be the difference.
“Everyone was coming in on that yellow and they did an incredible job,” he said. “We were either going to win it or not win right there.”
Rosenqvist settled for second and Scott Dixon, Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, was third.
It was the 11th win over the last 22 races dating to 2024 for the Barcelona native and the 22nd win of his career, tying Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi. It also vaulted Palou to the top of the series standings as he chases his fourth series championship in a row and fifth overall. Palou won the opener March 1 in St. Petersburg (also a street course) and the fourth race March 29 in Alabama.
Palou led for only 32 of the 90 laps Sunday and acknowledged it would have been difficult to catch Rosenqvist if not for the stoppage.
“I wasn’t giving up but it would’ve been tough to get him today,” Palou acknowledged. “He was already three seconds ahead. I was happy with my car but I was struggling more on the soft tires than the hards so I’d say my chances were low. The feeling was great seeing all the open space coming out of pit lane because when you spend 60 laps behind a car it disturbs you. I tried to match him on soft tires but it wasn’t working.”
Alex Palou speeds through a curve of the track.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
In six starts at Long Beach, Palou never has finished lower than fifth.
There is little room to maneuver on the 1.968-mile course with 11 tight turns, but after starting in the third position next to defending champion Kyle Kirkwood, Palou managed to sneak past Pato O’Ward into second place heading into the first turn on Lap 2.
“Making that move on the straightaway was big because I knew it was one of our only chances to get a pass on Pato,” Palou said. “I got that good run on that last corner and he didn’t expect it.”
This year marked the 51st edition of the longest-running major street race in North America, which started in 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 Series, switched to the CART/Champ Car World Series in 1984 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2009.
The top four qualifiers started on softer, high-grip “alternate” tires to establish position while the rest of the grid started on harder, more durable “primaries” to manage degradation on the 110-degree track surface. Of the 25 starters, 24 completed the 177.12 miles.
“We were going to make the two-stop strategy work but didn’t know if it would be doable or not,” Palou added. “As soon as I saw I couldn’t get Felix it was all about patience, fuel and waiting for the right time. I owe this win to my team. Without that pit stop I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. It only takes one mistake to go from second to seventh, but they’re great under pressure.”
Cars make their way down a straightaway during Long Beach Grand Prix.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Past winners Will Power and Josef Newgarden moved into the top two positions after Rosenqvist pitted, but the Swede regained the lead when Newgarden pitted for the first time on Lap 37 and dropped back to 14th.
The first 45 laps were caution-free as Rosenqvist, Palou, Kirkwood, David Malukas and O’Ward held the top five spots. Newgarden’s chances declined upon discovering a flat spot on his left front tire, and he dropped back to 14th.
Rosenqvist’s three-second lead was erased when debris on the track exiting the Aquarium Fountain drew the only yellow flag all afternoon and narrowed the gap. Capitalizing on favorable pit position, Palou emerged from the lane just ahead of Rosenqvist.
Rosenqvist. who won the pole position with a lap time of 1 minute 7.4625 seconds in qualifying, had mixed emotions as the runner-up after leading for 51 laps with no win to show for it.
“You want to win when you have an opportunity, but I’m proud of today,” Rosenqvist said.
“We weren’t as good as Alex on the blacks … the last pit cycle was the defining moment. We had to come around 14, he had more of an opening, and his crew nailed it. That happens.”
Kirkwood, who was vying for his third win in four years, finished right where he started in fourth.
“I had a good cushion and figured even with a bad stop I’d probably stay ahead but I knew there’d probably be a yellow at some point and there it came,” Rosenqvist lamented. “Considering Alex had primary [tires], also I think we would’ve been able to hold him off. It’s definitely disappointing when you can’t wrap it up.”
Dixon, who started in the sixth position, was third and earned his first podium this season and the 136th of his career.
Fans watch with two laps left in the race.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
“The race itself was a bit blah — I sat in the same position for most of it,” Dixon said. “Luckily for us we had it easy out of that last stop.”
Al Unser Jr. holds the record for most wins at Long Beach, chalking up six in eight years, including an unmatched four in a row from 1988 to 1991.
Tom Sargent is becoming a fan of street circuits after two wins this weekend. Driving the Porsche 911 Cup for GMG Racing in the Mobil Pro Class, the 22-year-old Australian led from start to finish in Race 1 of the Carrera Cup North America on Saturday. In Race 2 on Sunday morning, he again started from the pole and claimed a 0.965-second victory over Aaron Jeansonne to complete the double.
In his last bid at Long Beach three years ago, he hit the wall on Lap 2 but still finished second.
“Momentum in sports is critical and the past few weeks have been really cool for me,” Sargent said. “I didn’t do any street circuit racing before I came to the States. Maybe it fits my driving style.”
Sports
NFL owners unanimously vote to bring Super Bowl LXIV to Nashville’s new $2 billion stadium in 2030
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The soundtrack of Super Bowl LXIV will have a Nashville, Tenn., twang because the NFL on Tuesday awarded the place known as Music City its biggest event — the championship game set to be played in February 2030.
The announcement was made at the NFL Spring League Meeting in Orlando following a review of the proposal by the NFL’s Fan Engagement & Major Events Committee and a vote by full ownership.
Owners voted 32-0 to approve the Music City Super Bowl.
BEHOLD NFL 2030S: PLAYING 18-GAME REGULAR SEASON, EVERY TEAM VISITS OVERSEAS, TWO PRESEASON GAMES
“The 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville was one of the great fan events in our history,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Super Bowl LXIV at the new stadium is the next step in this remarkable football journey. The vision of Amy Adams Strunk and the Tennessee Titans helped make this moment possible, along with our great partners at the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. We can’t wait to put on an unforgettable show in 2030.”
This could be the biggest thing for Nashville sports since the Music City Miracle in January 2000. And that happened because the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville in 1997.
The place has come a long way since then.
Nashville and the renamed Tennessee Titans are in the process of building a new $2.1 billion stadium, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2027 season. The new Nissan Stadium will be in operation for its third season when it is slated to host Super Bowl LXIV to culminate the 2029 season (played in February 2030).
During what was billed as the Steel Topping Out ceremony at new Nissan Stadium in November, Goodell was very complimentary of the franchise’s facility, and even dropped hints that a Super Bowl could be headed to Nashville someday.
Now we know it’s happening.
“Hosting the Super Bowl is a defining moment for Nashville and Tennessee and reflects years of work to build Music City into a globally recognized destination for music, entertainment, and live events,” Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. President & CEO Deana Ivey said in a statement.
“This event is an incredible opportunity to showcase the dynamic and creative character of Nashville to a global audience and to deliver a Super Bowl experience that is distinctly Music City, where music, sports, culture, and hospitality come together in a way few cities can match.”
TITANS HIRE ROBERT SALEH AS THEIR NEW HEAD COACH
Super Bowl LXI is set for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Feb. 14, 2027. Super Bowl LXII will be played at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Feb. 13, 2028.
And then Las Vegas will host Super Bowl LXIII in February 2029 with a date to be set later.
NFL owners on Tuesday also voted to approve holding the 2028 NFL Draft in Minneapolis.
The view of construction at the 200 level looking south at the new Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on March 3, 2025. (Mark Zaleski/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK)
The Minnesota bid was focused on the major event at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Twin Cities will hold other portions of the draft’s festivities at the Mall of America and other sites.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
After leaving New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and Marriott Marquis before that, the draft was in Chicago twice, and then in Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Detroit, Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Next year’s draft will be in Washington, D.C.
Pittsburgh set a record for NFL Draft attendance in April when 775,000 people attended the three-day event. The draft next year in the nation’s capital is expected to set a new record.
Sports
Tennis great Billie Jean King graduates from Cal State L.A. 65 years after enrolling
Long before Billie Jean King won dozens of Grand Slam tennis titles, founded the Women’s Tennis Association, became part owner of the Dodgers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she enrolled in what was then called Los Angeles State College.
Three years later in 1964, King left without a degree to devote full attention to her burgeoning tennis career.
Failing to earn the degree bothered her, and King would correct anyone who said she had graduated.
“I said, ‘Don’t ever say ‘graduated.’ I haven’t earned it — yet,’” she said.
“Yet” became a reality Monday when King, 82, received her bachelor’s degree in history from the same school she attended more than 60 years ago — now called Cal State Los Angeles — walking across the Shrine Auditorium stage with the rest of the Class of 2026.
King also served as a commencement speaker, telling the roughly 6,000 fellow graduates, “It is a privilege for me to be here.
“Yeah, baby, only 61 years!”
King mentioned that “like many of you,” no one in her immediate family had graduated from college.
She noted that her lifelong fight against discrimination began when she realized at age 12 that nearly everyone at tennis clubs was white.
“I asked myself, ‘Where is everybody else?’” King said. “From that day forward, I committed my life to equality and inclusion for all. Tennis is a global sport and it became my platform, but equality was my dream — to make the world a better place.”
“We can never understand inclusion unless we’ve been excluded.”
Known then as Billie Jean Moffitt, she chose Los Angeles State because tennis coach Scotty Deeds trained men and women together. She soon became an international star, winning a Wimbledon doubles championship at 18 with Karen Hantze, who was only 17.
She married her college sweetheart Larry King in 1965 and they divorced in 1987. Afterward, King and Ilana Kloss, an accomplished tennis player in her own right, were a couple for decades before marrying in 2018 in a secret ceremony in the apartment of former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.
“You’re finding your truth, and it doesn’t have to stay the same,” King told People magazine at the time. “I only liked guys when I was young. I didn’t think about girls. And then all of a sudden I’m like, ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?’ My truth was changing over time. It took me forever.”
King became a trailblazer for LGBTQ+ and women’s civil rights and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 in part for her advocacy for equality. King and Kloss co-founded the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to promote inclusive workplaces and gender equality.
Shortly after they married, King and Kloss became part owners of the Dodgers and the Sparks, acquiring undisclosed minority stakes in the franchises through an invitation from controlling owner Mark Walter.
“We believe all professions, and professional sports, need to be more inclusive and equitable,’’ Walter said at the time. “It’s going to be wonderful to have a role model like her in both clubhouses from time to time.’’
King returned to Cal State L.A. in the 2025 spring semester. She also earned course credit for her interaction with fellow students enrolled through the university’s Prison Graduation Initiative.
“They have made a commitment to improving their lives through education,” she said, and “getting their degree will be life-changing for them.”
King now knows the feeling firsthand. At the graduation ceremony on Monday, she wore a gold stole embroidered with a multicolored tennis racket and the letters G.O.A.T — greatest of all time.
“It means a lot more to me than I thought,” she told reporters. “I am so glad I did it. My hope is that one other person will go back to school.
“It’s never too late, whatever age you are, whatever your abilities are, go for it if you want it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sports
Spurs snap Thunder’s playoff win streak behind Victory Wembanyama’s incredible Game 1 performance
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Oklahoma City Thunder came into Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals having not lost an NBA Playoffs game since Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year.
But they hadn’t faced Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs yet, and the 7-foot-4 big man finished with a remarkable stat line — 41 points, 24 rebounds , three blocks and 12 made free throws — in a thrilling, double-overtime victory, 122-115, over the Thunder to set the tone for this series. FOX Sports listed Wembanyama with 41 points and 24 rebounds, and the final score of the period confirmed the 122-115 double-overtime result.
Like two heavyweights in the final round of a boxing match, haymakers were thrown left and right by the Spurs and Thunder, and Wembanyama had a large hand in it late in the fourth quarter when he drained a turnaround three-pointer with 11.5 seconds left on the clock to give San Antonio a 101-99 lead.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs reacts during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player before the start of the series, came through in the clutch on the opposite end. With 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, his sprint to the basket ended with a tying layup to force overtime.
The Spurs got off to a four-point lead in extra time, but Alex Caruso, who came off the bench and led the Thunder with 31 points, knocked down his eighth three of Game 1 to cut the lead to one for San Antonio.
STEPHEN A SMITH FIRES BACK AT JAYLEN BROWN AFTER CELTICS STAR CALLED HIM THE ‘FACE OF CLICKBAIT MEDIA’
The Thunder used that momentum, as Jalen Williams had a dunk to take a 106-105 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander added to it with a dunk of his own. “Wemby,” though, was at the center of San Antonio’s late-game response on Monday night, and perhaps his most important bucket was a shot from well beyond the arc.
Wembanyama took the ball from Stephon Castle and added to the guard’s assist total with a 27-foot three near the Oklahoma City logo to tie the game at 108 apiece with 27 seconds left. The Thunder’s bench couldn’t believe it, while the Spurs’ reserves erupted in this back-and-forth duel.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
Williams couldn’t hit a three-pointer on the other end, and despite drawing up a great play, Caruso knocked down Dylan Harper’s attempted alley-oop to Castle with just 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime to keep the score where it was.
Needing one more extra period, Wembanyama took the game into his hands. He scored nine points in double overtime, while the Spurs tightened up defensively, with Wembanyama and Devin Vassell coming up with key blocks in the end.
Castle finished with 11 assists to lead the Spurs in that category, while rookie guard Dylan Harper made vital contributions with 24 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a game-high seven steals in the win. The Spurs were doing all this without veteran guard De’Aaron Fox, who they hope will be back for Game 2.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs during the first quarter of Game One in the NBA Western Conference Finals at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City on May 18, 2026. (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Williams had 26 points for Oklahoma City, while Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting with 12 assists and five steals.
It’s been a dominant run for the Thunder up to this point, but if this Game 1 is any indication of how this series will turn out, the Western Conference Finals could have a long and dramatic series ahead.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Wisconsin3 minutes agoThe Best Small Towns In Wisconsin To Chill Out
-
West Virginia9 minutes agoAmerica 250 celebration to be held at W.Va. Capitol Complex July 2-5
-
Wyoming15 minutes agoInfluencer who caused outrage in Australia for snatching baby wombat faces jail time in Wyoming for hunting violations
-
Crypto20 minutes agoNew Cryptocurrency Pepeto Crosses $10M as Minnesota Banks Get Green Light for Crypto Custody
-
Finance27 minutes agoAustin financial staff propose delaying bond to 2028
-
Fitness33 minutes agoDavina McCall, 58, on the tough but transformational exercise regime she swears by
-
Movie Reviews45 minutes ago‘Ben’Imana’ Review: Rwandan Women Confront National Wounds and Family Secrets in a Searing Drama
-
World57 minutes agoNato ships in Hormuz if the Strait does not reopen by July