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Texas Motor Speedway (Fort Worth, Texas) — Carson Hocevar has had the best week. Celebrating his first Cup victory, Hocevar enjoyed an epic celebration Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, a team party that night at sponsor Chili’s and a full week of interviews and appearances. Then he went out Friday night five days later and won the truck race at Texas Motor Speedway. At no point has anyone at Spire Motorsports told him it was time to stop enjoying the win and focus on Texas. Hocevar even tried to duplicate his Talladega celebration Friday night by sitting on the window sill and using his long legs to hit the throttle and drive the truck. “I’m not going to do the whole ordeal, … but it’s so fresh that I feel like I would have disappointed people if I didn’t at least do something remotely to that nature,” Hocevar said in his post-race news conference. Hocevar continued to build on his first Cup win by capturing the pole Saturday for the Cup race Sunday at Texas. And the 23-year-old Hocevar said he will continue to replicate what he did at Talladega — at least until he catches a beer thrown from the crowd. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to have to do this every time,’ and I’m all in on doing it on Sundays,” Hocevar said. “I’m all in until I catch whatever they throw at me, and then I’m done with it. “Because it’s not finished, and I think that would just be super fun. … Throw whatever you want, I’ll be prepared for it. At least be creative about it. Don’t line up and do a chant of 5-4-3-2-1 like it’s a ring toss.” At eighth in the standings, Hocevar knows every point is pivotal as he tries to be as high in points as possible so he can have more points for when the top-16 drivers in the standings have their points reset for the Chase after the regular season. He mentioned that, despite all the fun he’s had this week, he has worked on Texas and is prepared for the race. “They know me well enough [to know], I don’t drink, so they don’t worry about me being hungover walking into the track,” Hocevar said. “So they were all good there. But they know that racing means the most to me, and I’m never going to throw away a race. “I’m tall enough and uncoordinated enough that my head can’t get too big. Otherwise, I can’t walk. Think I’m doing OK right now.” By racing in trucks, he had the fun and freedom to make aggressive moves and not worry about points. “I think we are supposed to win this race for sure, but at the same time, I’m not going to cry myself to sleep if we don’t,” Hocevar said. “I might cry myself to sleep if we don’t win Sunday and think worse of myself. “But these truck races, I just hope it’s a really, really fun race and I get to enjoy it. And if I make 1,000 moves, I might make one wrong, but I’m just glad I’ve made 1,000 moves. … There is no excuse. If you’re a hero, you should take whatever they give you and win with it.” Winning in a truck meant something to Hocevar in addition to the fun. “I look at myself a lot different,” Hocevar explained. “I judge myself a lot differently, but at the same time, this means a lot to me, too, because I think the heroes that I grew up watching, they just win everything. … Ultimately, I just enjoy every little bit of this.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

There is always baseball happening — almost too much baseball for one person to follow themselves. Don’t worry, we’re here to help you by figuring out what you missed but shouldn’t have. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: The Colorado Rockies put up five runs on Atlanta Braves right-hander Grant Holmes in the first inning and led 6-2 entering the eighth inning. Then, it happened. A bases-clearing triple from Mauricio Dubón and a sacrifice fly from Austin Riley tied the game at 6-all in the top of the eighth inning. Following a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth, outfielder Michael Harris II pinch hit for the Braves and put the Rockies out of their misery with a two-run home run to right field, which put Atlanta up for good, 8-6. The homer by Harris capped off eight unanswered runs for the Braves, who improved to 23-10 with the comeback victory and own the best record in the sport. They’re the only team in the NL East with a winning record. On the season, Harris has totaled seven home runs and 22 RBIs, while boasting a .324/.358/.569 slash line. Elsewhere, Braves first baseman Matt Olson hit his team-high 10th home run of the season; he also has a team-high 29 RBIs. Ildemaro Vargas is one of the best stories of the 2026 season. The 34-year-old infielder, who’s in his second season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, finished Friday’s day game at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs 4 for 4 (four singles) and reached base in each of his five plate appearances. By the way, those four hits were all singles. In doing so, he now has a hit in each of the 24 games he has appeared in this season and has a 27-game hitting streak dating back to 2025. On the season, Vargas leads MLB with a .404 batting average and is in an eight-way tie for ninth with 38 hits. He has also driven in 21 runs and recorded just 11 strikeouts. Oh, and Ted Lasso was at the game to see Vargas. Granted, his Diamondbacks lost 6-5. It was a team effort for the Cleveland Guardians to get a road victory against the Athletics. For starters, Cleveland used seven pitchers to get through the game, immediately going behind the eight-ball after A’s designated hitter and 2025 All-Star Brent Rooker hit a two-run home run off starter Joey Cantillo in the bottom of the first. But rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter — who finished the night 4 for 4 and reached base in each of his five plate appearances — leveled the score at two apiece with a two-run double in the top of the second. Three innings later, Guardians designated hitter Rhys Hoskins leveled the score at 4-all with a two-run double and later hit a solo home run as part of a three-run seventh inning for Cleveland. The Athletics had the Guardians on the brink of disaster in the bottom of the seventh, though. Having already scored a run in the inning, the Athletics had the bases loaded with the go-ahead run at the plate. Then, outfielder Colby Thomas lifted a ball to the center field wall, but four-time Gold Glover Steven Kwan made a leaping grab to get Cleveland out of the inning. The Guardians went on to win, 8-5. On the season, DeLauter, who made his MLB debut for Cleveland during the 2025 Wild Card Series and was its 2022 first-round pick, leads the Guardians with 20 RBIs, while owning a .524 slugging percentage. The dramatic win in Sacramento puts the Guardians in first place in the AL Central but with a mere 17-16 record. History was made on the A’s side in the aforementioned game, as first baseman and 2025 AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz drew a walk for a 20th consecutive game, a record that ties Barry Bonds (2002-03) — who hit an MLB-record 762 home runs — for the second-longest such streak in the history of the sport since walks were officially recorded (1910 in the NL and 1913 in the AL) and surpasses Ted Williams, according to MLB.com. Roy Cullenbine has the record with 22 straight games with a walk, achieving the feat in 1947. While he’s hitting just .236 and has 26 hits compared to 46 strikeouts, Kurtz has a .417 on-base percentage through his first 31 games this year. His 34 walks lead MLB. Do you like home runs? We do, too, and Friday night was full of them! In fact, three players across the sport hit two home runs, one of them being the No. 1 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft: Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis, who entered Friday with no home runs on the season and just 17 in his career. While behind the plate for Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller’s gem of an outing (he surrendered just one run and four baserunners across seven innings), Davis, who was in the nine hole, launched a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the third and hit a laser over the left field wall for a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth in what was a 9-1 win for Pittsburgh over the Cincinnati Reds, who entered the series in first place in the NL Central. For the Toronto Blue Jays, rookie third baseman Kazuma Okamoto was the star of a 7-3 road victory over the Minnesota Twins. His first home run came in the top of the fourth, as he launched a pitch over the left field wall. Okamoto reached the batter’s box again in the fifth and homered once more, smacking a home run to left, this one bringing in two runs. A bright spot for the Twins was outfielder Byron Buxton hitting his ninth home run in 16 games. And the third two-homer performance came from Seattle Mariners star Julio Rodriguez, who gave his team a much-needed jolt in the wake of starter Bryan Woo giving up four runs in the top of the first with a two-run shot into the upper level of T-Mobile Park in the bottom of the inning. Later, in the bottom of the seventh, Rodriguez tied the game at 6-all with a two-run blast to center. However, his heroics came in a 7-6 loss for Seattle, which now has a losing record (16-17). On the long ball front, Chicago White Sox rookie first baseman Munetaka Murakami continues to obliterate baseballs. Murakami, who leads MLB in home runs, hit his 13th long ball of the year in the top of the second off San Diego Padres right-hander German Marquez, uncorking a knuckle curve over the right-center field wall. It was a three-run shot that put the finishing touches on a six-run inning for Chicago in an eventual 8-2 win. As for how the White Sox got their other five runs, outfielder Sam Antonacci singled in a run, with a force out and a sacrifice fly accounting for the first three runs of the six-run second inning before Murakami’s three-run shot. Later, shortstop Colson Montgomery hit a solo home run in the fifth and outfielder Tristan Peters drove in a run in the eighth. True, Murakami has 27 hits compared to 46 strikeouts and is hitting just .239. At the same time, he owns a .383 on-base percentage and a .584 slugging percentage, which is eighth in the sport. Moreover, he ranks in the 100th percentile of MLB in hard-hit percentage and in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity and barrel percentage. Not too bad. If this were an AC/DC song, it would be “High Voltage.” In the bottom of the fourth, Tampa Bay Rays star third baseman Junior Caminero torched a fastball above the strike zone from San Francisco Giants left-hander Robbie Ray, sending it 432 feet to left field at 112.9 mph off the bat. Caminero’s long ball was one of two for the Rays, who won 3-0; Yandy Diaz hit an opposite field, solo home run for Tampa Bay in the bottom of the second. Caminero’s fourth inning homer was his ninth of the season; he hit 45 home runs last season. The Rays are off to an impressive start, sitting second in the AL East at 19-12. Add this one to the collection. New Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis threw out the first pitch for the Miami Marlins’ Friday night matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies and the pitch was, well, high and wide. Not quite 50 Cent bad. Still, a rough one to watch, though. Willis signed a three-year, $67.5 million deal with the Dolphins to be their starting quarterback in March after spending the previous two seasons with the Green Bay Packers (2024-25), primarily serving as the backup quarterback to Jordan Love, which was preceded by two seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2022-23). As for the baseball game that transpired, Miami lost the NL East matchup to Philadelphia, 6-5, falling to 15-17 but still second in the division. With each passing day, the New York Mets’ 2026 campaign seems to get worse. Well, Ronny Mauricio gave them something to smile about on Friday night. In the top of the seventh, Mauricio — who struck out to end the Mets’ Thursday afternoon loss at home to the Washington Nationals — blasted a go-ahead, solo home run to center field, putting New York up to stay over the Los Angeles Angels, 4-3. It was Mauricio’s first home run of the season. The previous inning, New York scored three runs to even the scoreboard at 3-all before the shortstop put the Mets ahead in the seventh. Prior to the comeback triumph in Anaheim, the Mets had lost 17 of their previous 20 games, a drought that began with a 12-game losing streak. The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t execute a team no-hitter, but they carried one into the seventh inning on the road against the Nationals. Jacob Misiorowski got the starting nod for Milwaukee, recording eight strikeouts and surrendering just two baserunners (two walks) across 5 ⅓ innings; he was relieved in the sixth inning after throwing 85 pitches. Aaron Ashby took over for Milwaukee in the bottom of the sixth and would pitch through the eighth inning; Washington got its first hit of the game with one out in the seventh. Easton McGee finished off the pitching domination for the Brewers with a scoreless ninth inning. In what was a 6-1 victory for the Brewers, they gave up just two hits. As for Milwaukee’s work with the bats, catcher William Contreras was the star of the show, going 4 for 5 and driving in three runs. Elsewhere, infielders David Hamilton and Tyler Black had two-hit performances. This win came three weeks after the Brewers were swept at home by the Nationals in a three-game series. Should the defending, back-to-back World Series champions be sitting on the panic button? Probably not. With that said, the Los Angeles Dodgers have now lost three consecutive games following their 7-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals; their previous two losses were at home to the Marlins. As for Friday, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman got the action going with a two-run homer off Dodgers’ starter Emmet Sheehan in the bottom of the first, which came after Sheehan balked in a run, and first baseman Alec Burleson turned on a slider for a solo homer in the bottom of the third. The Dodgers were within striking distance for the majority of the night, trailing by two runs in the seventh, but a two-run triple from Jordan Walker — who went 4 for 4 on the night — and an RBI groundout from Nathan Church in the bottom half of the seventh put the Cardinals up 7-2, which would be the final score. St. Louis southpaw Matthew Liberatore pitched through 5 ⅔ innings, with the Cardinals’ bullpen pitching 3.1 scoreless innings thereafter. The win moved the Cardinals to a plausible 19-13 on the season, good for being one game out of first place in the NL Central.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Christian Pulisic’s 18-match goalless streak for AC Milan isn’t good news for the United States men’s national team with the 2026 World Cup just weeks away. But FOX Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas found AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri’s comment about Pulisic’s sensitivity just as concerning. “The last thing that you want to be called by a coach is sensitive,” Lalas said on the most recent episode of his “State of the Union” podcast. “Christian Pulisic, as a soccer player, has certainly developed and matured into what I think, ultimately, is going to be considered the best male American soccer player in history. But he has not become the player that a lot of people envisioned. I also think that outside things can impact him, and maybe he takes them personally, and maybe he’s more emotional than you would like.” Allegri called Pulisic “very sensitive” following a recent match, adding that the United States star lets his scoring droughts “affect him more.” “He’s a player who gets into tackles and struggles more. He suffers more from this,” Allegri said. “I have to try to give the team balance by playing without a true center forward, he struggles more.” Lalas continued to emphasize that Allegri’s comment was far from ideal for Pulisic. “If this is just a recognition of how he sees this player? That’s fine,” Lalas said. “But from a public perspective, it’s just not the thing you want to hear.” Pulisic has been one of USA’s star players over the years, sitting fifth in all-time scorers for the U.S. with 32 goals in 82 appearances. Additionally, Pulisic became the youngest American player to score 10 international goals in 2019. However, Pulisic’s scoring woes have also existed in international play. He hasn’t scored in his last seven matches for the US men’s national team, with his last international goal coming in a friendly against New Zealand in September 2024. But Pulisic did have a moment when he rose to the occasion in the last World Cup. Pulisic pushed the United States into the knockout round with his decisive goal against Iran in the 2022 tournament. Now, heading into a World Cup on the United States’ home turf, the pressure is on Pulisic to deliver again. 2026 FIFA World Cup: How To Watch The World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports apps. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Yes, according to a report by longtime and respected Cleveland Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot, Deshaun Watson has the inside track to earn the starting quarterback job in a three-man competition over second-year pros Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. However, that would be a mistake. Sanders finished his rookie season as the starter for Cleveland and should be the starter again this year. Selected in the fifth round, the Colorado product did not put up impressive numbers, completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Browns finished 3-4 with Sanders under center, though, winning some games down the stretch. While Sanders’ rookie season stats might not jump off the page, new Browns head coach Todd Monken likes the quarterback’s potential to grow. “I think what you see is elite playmaking ability,” Monken said when asked about Sanders at the NFL Scouting Combine. “That’s in him. You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college, you saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go, but what rookie isn’t? I mean, what first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go.” Selected two rounds earlier in the third round last year, Gabriel completed 59.5% of his passes for 937 yards, with seven touchdown passes and two interceptions. Cleveland posted a 1-5 record with Gabriel as the starter, struggling to win games with its other rookie quarterback, making Sanders a clear superior option. The Browns, meanwhile, signed Watson to a $230 million guaranteed contract after a massive trade with the Houston Texans in 2022 amid off-the-field legal issues. He’s woefully underperformed, winning nine games in his first three seasons with the Browns. Suffering two Achilles tendon tears, a shoulder issue and serving an 11-game suspension, Watson played in just 19 games in his four seasons with the Browns. The last time Watson started was 2024, when he finished 1-6 as a starter with five touchdown passes in seven starts. However, Watson is still just 30 years old and the most accomplished quarterback on the roster and the Browns owe him $46 million for the upcoming season, and he’ll count $86 million against the cap in 2027. So, it makes sense that owner Jimmy Haslam would like to get some return on his investment. That’s why it might be an uphill battle for Sanders to get the starting job. “Sanders would have to have full command of the offense and confidence of the team behind him to overtake Watson,” a longtime NFL scout told me. “But Watson might have worn out his welcome there, too.” But if the Browns are serious about continuing to build on consecutive solid drafts executed by general manager Andrew Berry, here are three reasons why Sanders should be the quarterback in Week 1 for Cleveland. The Browns got better on offense through free agency and the draft, providing more talent on that side of the ball that should make Sanders’ job to lead the offense easier. Cleveland took Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano with the team’s No. 6 overall pick, who will slot in as the team’s blindside protector at left tackle. And they drafted two playmakers at receiver in Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion in the first round and Washington’s Denzel Boston in the second round. The Browns signed Los Angeles Chargers free agent Zion Johnson to play left guard and Green Bay Packers free agent Elgton Jenkins to man the center position during free agency. Along with that, Monken provides a shift in philosophy on offense that should put him in situations where he can make quick decisions that keep him out of harm’s way. Sanders was sacked 23 times in seven games last season. Those sack numbers need to come down, which means more decisive reads and getting the ball out quickly. Sanders is set to make a little over $1 million in the second year of his rookie contract. Yes, the Browns have already committed significant financial capital to Watson, but that’s sunk costs at this point. Moving forward, Sanders must show he can be the long-term answer at quarterback, allowing Berry and the Browns to continue to build the team around a young developmental prospect and taking advantage of a quarterback on a rookie deal. The San Francisco 49ers used the same strategy with Brock Purdy with similar success, as did the Seattle Seahawks during back-to-back Super Bowl runs. Both teams had plans to go with other quarterback options – Trey Lance in San Francisco and Matt Flynn in Seattle — but used later-round picks on developmental quarterbacks that blossomed into frontline starters to lead their respective teams to deep postseason runs in the earlier portions of their careers. Cleveland’s eject button out of this dizzying quarterback carousel, which now includes a fourth player in sixth-round pick in dual-threat quarterback Taylen Green, is the 2027 draft. FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang has five quarterbacks selected in the first round of his first 2027 mock draft. The Browns have nine picks next year, so they could make a move for a quarterback if things don’t work out with Sanders or Watson this season. But Cleveland also must consider that it hasn’t exactly set the world on fire drafting quarterbacks in the first round. Baker Mayfield, Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel, Brady Quinn and Tim Couch were all taken in the first round this century and never reached their full potential in Cleveland. Let Sanders cook.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

In Driver’s Eye with James Hinchcliffe, the six-time INDYCAR winner will bring you inside the mind of a racer while breaking down the nuts and bolts of the sport for fans. Spring time in Indianapolis is a beautiful thing. The snow melts, the weather warms, flowers start to bloom. But that has nothing to do with it. What makes spring in Indianapolis so beautiful is the fact we are in the “Month of May” — as we in the sport like to call it. When the calendar flips over to May 1, something in the air changes in Indy. It’s tough to explain but undeniably felt by everyone who resides there. Smells are stronger, colors are brighter and there is an energy in the air that is palpable. For INDYCAR teams and drivers, it’s the most important month of the year. The Indianapolis 500 is the biggest motorsports event on the calendar. In fact, it’s the largest single-day sporting event in the world. There is no non-religious gathering of human beings on Earth bigger than the Indy 500. To be fair, some would argue that the Indy 500 is their religion. So, how do drivers and their teams excel at Indianapolis Motor Speedway throughout the month and the biggest race of the year? 2 KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR THE INDY 500 To be successful in the Month of May and at the Indy 500, there are two things that every team has to focus on more than anything. The first is the three P’s: preparation, preparation and preparation. So much of your fate at the Indy 500 — and the crucial qualifying events leading up to it — is decided before the cars ever come off the trailer. The offseason work back at the shop on engineering and pit stop practice, the hours dedicated to building the cars, the countless runs in the simulator — all these things add up and set the tone for how your Month of May could go. It’s the difference between confidence and speed versus being miserable and frustrated for a whole month. The second thing is, quite simply, execution. There are so many things you have to do absolutely perfectly as a team over the month, and slip-ups can be costly. Throughout 500 miles on the iconic 2.5-mile track, uncontrollables are abundant and can negatively affect your race, so nailing each element you can control is vital to success. Especially when you need a little luck, too. Let’s break down how INDYCAR drivers and teams attack the month leading up to the Indy 500, set this year for Sunday, May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX). WEEK 1: INDY 500 TESTING The first week of the month is all about what we call the Indy 500 Open Test. The Month of May kicked off with the two-day test, which, ironically, was in the last week of April this year. Teams hit the speedway for the first time this season and dusted the cobwebs off before they come back in anger later this month for opening day of official Indy 500 activities. It’s usually to confirm and ensure all the systems on the car are working correctly, so time isn’t wasted when official practice begins. This is also a great opportunity for the one-off entries — cars that aren’t full-time INDYCAR competitors — to get the team all together at a race track for the first time in a year, if not ever. There are only so many meetings and practice pit stops you can do at the shop before you need to go do it for real. [INDY TESTING: Mick Schumacher’s First Time Driving Indy Oval] WEEK 2: INDY ROAD COURSE RACE After the Indy 500 Open Test, the second week shifts to the Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, which lives inside the famed 2.5-mile oval. This year, it’s on Saturday, May 9. Racing on any configuration at IMS is a rush, but when the biggest race in the world is just around the corner, sometimes the grand prix can feel like the annoying little brother to the 500. But it’s not something you can overlook, as it pays just as many points as any other race. It can also give your team momentum heading into the rest of the month. Just ask Will Power, Simon Pagenaud or Alex Palou — all of whom took the confidence from winning the Indy Grand Prix into a 500 victory a few weeks later. But more on that next week… WEEK 3: QUALIFYING AND A LOT OF LAPS Once the Indy road course race is done and dusted, the series makes the teams take a mandatory day off. The garages are closed and all the engineers, mechanics, officials, volunteers and drivers get one last day to rest and recharge before the marathon run-up to Memorial Day Weekend and the Indy 500. Then, the teams get a day with no on-track action to switch the cars over from road course configuration to oval configuration. This is when Week 3 really begins, and it’s all about laps. Practice week has four days with six total hours of practice. That is a ton of track time, but it’s because there’s a ton of work to get done. Teams will prioritize evaluating any updates or changes they developed over the offseason and then start heading down a path on setup. The early days of the week are focused on the setup for the Indy 500 specifically. Drivers will spend a lot of time running in traffic and getting the car comfortable in race trim. Logging as many miles as you can is crucial. On Friday, the horsepower gets turned up to qualifying levels — it’s all speed, speed, speed — and focus shifts to the four-lap qualifying runs that will determine the starting grid and the coveted pole position. Saturday and Sunday are all about going fast and finding out where you will start in The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. The last six Indy 500 pole winners’ qualifying speeds were at least 231 miles an hour. There is no greater thrill — and no more nerve-wracking challenge — for an INDYCAR driver than a flat-out qualifying run at IMS. WEEK 4: THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING Once you’ve survived qualifying weekend and your heart rate comes down, Week 4 is all about strategizing your 500 miles. How you approach this final week and the two last practice sessions — one on Monday and one on Friday, which is affectionately known as Carb Day — totally depends on how the previous weekend went. If you qualify well, you work on dialing in the car to run up front and contend for the win on pure pace. Starting near the back? Well, then you’ve got to throw as much at the car as you can to make sure that you can weave through traffic. Because if you have to pass 30-plus cars, that means you will spend a lot of your day in traffic! After that, all that remains are 800 left turns between you and becoming racing royalty! Easy, right?! [INDY 500: Everything To Know For Busy Month of May in Indianapolis] SOUND LIKE AN INDYCAR EXPERT Having just watched the Open Test, I am so excited about this year’s Indy 500. And I’ve already got my eye on one team in particular: Arrow McLaren. Zak Brown’s team is running four cars — three full-season drivers in Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel, plus a one-off entry for 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay — and each has a very different story heading in. Starting with Lundgaard, you’ve got a driver in his second year with the team, and he’s coming off a seventh-place finish in 2025 — his best in four Indy 500s. He’s got two podiums on the season but has never finished an oval race in the top three. With a year of experience with this squad, he should be brimming with confidence. Plus, he has the benefit of learning off of an Indy expert in… Ryan Hunter-Reay. RHR joining this team is, by far, the most exciting combo of the one-off entries. A previous race winner for Andretti, he nearly took the W last year in a back-up car for a team that only competes in one race — the 500 — each year. Put him in a program with the resources of McLaren, and watch out. Nolan Siegel, who is the focus of the most recent episode of FOX Sports’ docuseries “All In,” has a lot to prove to team boss Tony Kanaan this season, and the year hasn’t started out great. But a strong Indy 500 performance can save a driver’s season. And career. Finally, you’ve got the series’ most popular driver in Pato O’Ward. Pato’s track record at Indy is exemplary: four top-5 finishes in his last five starts. The outlier was a crash with a handful of laps to go while, you guessed it, running in the top 5. Only Alexander Rossi, another one to watch, has been as consistently competitive over the last decade as Pato, who is fueled by the recent memories of bitter defeat. Indy owes nothing to any of the 33 drivers lucky enough to take part in the 500. But if there is one driver you feel is deserving of a career- and life-changing checkered flag, it’s Pato. But deserving doesn’t make you one to watch. The way he was driving and the way his car was handling at the Open Test, however, is more than enough to put him right at the top of the list of favorites heading into the 110th running of this amazing race. MORE DRIVER’S EYE:​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Since joining Chip Ganassi Racing six seasons ago, Spanish driver Àlex Palou has shown to be a generational talent who is quickly working his way through INDYCAR’S record books. For that, Palou has earned a multi-year contract extension on his current deal that runs through the 2027 season. The extension was finalized following this week’s two-day Indianapolis 500 test. Ganassi never publicly discloses contract terms. The reward capped a celebratory week for Palou, who drove into Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the defending Indy 500 winner for testing and saw a larger-than-life banner of himself chugging the traditional winner’s milk. It’s the main banner as you enter the speedway — key placement he’d seen reserved for rival drivers the previous six years. “I took a picture when I was driving by and sent it to my parents,” Palou said. Palou has won four INDYCAR championships in five years, including the last three consecutive titles. He won eight times last season, including the 500, as he’s blossomed in INDYCAR since joining Ganassi in 2021. Ahead of the Long Beach Grand Prix two weeks ago, former Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi was asked if anything had surprised him through the first quarter of the season. His response was immediate: “Yeah, that Alex has only won two races. And isn’t the points leader.” Palou responded by winning Long Beach to give him three wins through five races this year and reclaim the top spot in the championship standings. “It’s incredible, actually amazing,” said rival driver Will Power, a two-time INDYCAR champion and Indianapolis 500 winner. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about the last week or so because, once again, he’s gone out and won three out of five races. I mean [Kyle] Kirkwood’s average finish is like three-point-something, and he’s not leading the championship, which is insane. “So it’s something I’m absolutely, like, how is he doing that week in, week out? Well, it’s one, he’s qualifying well. Two is he executes in the race and three is the pit stops, you know, top-notch, there’s no mistakes in there. And he’s fast. So that’s what it takes when you’re driving out there.” His 22 career victories through 103 starts ranks fifth in 121 years of INDYCAR history. Sebastien Bourdais won 31 times in that span in the diluted Champ Car era; A.J. Foyt won 30, Mario Andretti 27 and Ralph DePalma 26. Palou’s four titles already match Andretti and Bourdais, and in the post-World War II era, Palou’s 61 top-five finishes in his 103 starts trails only Andretti, who had 64. Dario Franchitti, a four-time INDYCAR champion and three-time Indy 500 winner, is now a driver coach and consultant for Ganassi. He believes there hasn’t been a driver this dominant in the series since Alex Zanardi, who won 12 races and back-to-back titles for Ganassi in 1997 and 1998. “Winning one championship is one thing, but then the subsequent ones, it gets progressively more difficult,” Franchitti said. “Just watching what he’s done, and at this early stage in his career, it’s something very special. And the level of domination, that’s the icing on the cake. “You feel sorry for the others. I’ve said to him a number of times, ‘I would have hated racing against you.’ He is the complete package.” At Long Beach last month, rival driver Pato O’Ward conceded his McLaren team has not closed the gap at all on Palou and the No. 10 Ganassi team. “The guy goes into every weekend being able to win. Honestly, it’s impressive to see,” O’Ward said. “The gap is as big as it’s been, and we’re working hard to try to be at the level he is of being able to win every race, but we don’t have that.” Connor Daly believes the domination is a combination of Palou’s flawless performances and the strength of his race team. “Alex is very good, but that team, when they’re called upon, they don’t make mistakes and that is what is so important about this game,” Daly said. “Everything has to be, everyone has to be on the same page, and he is, like without a doubt, one of the best drivers in the world right now.” Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

For nearly two decades, from 2006-22, college football followed a familiar script: Each January, a team from south of the Mason-Dixon Line celebrated a national championship amid falling confetti. Three months later, in late April, a player from that same region crossed the stage and shook hands with the commissioner as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft. Sometimes, in the case of former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, the circles in those two Venn diagrams overlapped. Football down South, people often said, just means more. And yet, just a few years removed from that prolonged period of southern dominance, a new pattern is beginning to take hold atop the sport that nobody can ignore. Three consecutive national championships have been won by Big Ten programs, all of them based in northern locales. And last week, when the Las Vegas Raiders selected Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick, making him their new franchise centerpiece, he finally papered over a statistic that listed Illinois quarterback Jeff George as the last Big Ten signal-caller to be drafted that high — way back in 1990. A day after Mendoza officially became a pro, Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was drafted in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Saturday, the Washington Commanders selected Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis in the seventh round. Just like that, the Big Ten had three or more signal-callers drafted for only the fourth time in the last 22 years. “It’s the hardest position to evaluate,” Raiders general manager John Spytek said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. “So much is required of those guys. Trying to have a vision for how they played and whatever offense they were asked to run in college and how they’re going to fit into ours, and then how they’re going to handle the pressure that comes with being one of 32 in the world is a lot. There’s a lot that goes into it.” Back in 2016, five of the league’s quarterbacks heard their names called in the draft: Christian Hackenburg from Penn State, Connor Cook from Michigan State, Cardale Jones from Ohio State, Nate Sudfeld from Indiana and Jake Rudock from Michigan, all of whom busted. What’s happening now, though, feels much different, especially when considering the potential avalanche of Big Ten quarterbacks that might litter the 2027 draft. The dollar-driven cocktail of NIL, revenue sharing and the transfer portal has transformed the Big Ten into a much more attractive, and viable, option for high-level quarterbacks. All three signal-callers who led their respective schools to national championships in recent years — J.J. McCarthy at Michigan, Will Howard at Ohio State, Mendoza at Indiana — were highly compensated players who went on to be drafted within months of hoisting a trophy on the grandest stage. Allar was the only QB of this year’s Big Ten crop who started and ended his collegiate career at the same program, which reflects the league’s wide-ranging attractiveness in the portal. To put it simply: In an era when Big Ten football is booming like never before, the conference is approaching new heights at the sport’s most important, most influential position. Even though the Big Ten fell short of its recent high-water mark for quarterbacks selected in a single draft — some experts believed Illinois’ Luke Altmyer and Iowa’s Mark Gronowski might have snuck into the seventh round — there’s a strong chance the number reached in 2016 will be matched or exceeded next April. The upcoming season in the Big Ten should be an exceptional one for quarterback play, particularly among conference front-runners, and it’s not unreasonable to think as many as eight signal-callers could factor into draft discussions. The 2027 crop includes two potential candidates for the top pick: Julian Sayin from Ohio State and Dante Moore from Oregon. Both players have enough remaining eligibility to bypass the draft and remain in school beyond this season, but they both flashed enough requisite poise and arm talent during standout campaigns last fall to garner widespread attention from NFL evaluators. [2027 MOCK DRAFT: Five QBs Land In First Round] While guiding their respective teams to College Football Playoff berths, Sayin and Moore finished first and fourth, respectively, in the national rankings for completion percentage last season. Miami’s Carson Beck and Mendoza were the two players sandwiched between them. It’s fair to assume both should improve their stock in 2026, which will include plenty of Heisman talk and NFL Draft chatter alike. “I don’t think you can ever have too many quarterbacks,” Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. “I think that the value of the position cannot be overstated. I think that you have to infuse as much competition into that room every year [as] you possibly can.” Even the general idea that the Big Ten could produce first-round quarterbacks in consecutive years is rare, given the league’s longstanding reputation for ruggedness between the tackles. The possibility of the conference generating back-to-back No. 1 overall picks at that position? Practically unheard of. In 1986, Jim Everett from Purdue and Chuck Long from Iowa were both selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Michigan standout Jim Harbaugh matched them as an opening-round pick the following year. From that point forward, however, nearly 40 drafts would come and go before the Big Ten could finally enjoy something like that again. The drought was finally broken when the Minnesota Vikings selected former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 overall in 2024, one year after the Houston Texans took former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud at No. 2 overall. Only four Big Ten quarterbacks have developed into first-round picks across the last 30 years: McCarthy, Stroud and former Ohio State standouts Justin Fields (2021) and Dwayne Haskins (2019). Prior to that, there was a 24-year gap between Haskins and conference predecessor Kerry Collins from Penn State, which hasn’t seen a quarterback drafted in the first round since. Any chance of Allar, a former five-star recruit, snapping that streak and giving the Big Ten multiple first-round quarterbacks for the first time since 1986 quickly evaporated the moment he broke his ankle in October. Such an outcome is unlikely to be repeated next spring, when Sayin and Moore seem like surefire first-rounders should they choose to enter the draft. They’ll be flanked by a host of other ex-transfer, draft-worthy quarterbacks: Jayden Maiva from USC, Nico Iamaleava from UCLA, Josh Hoover from Indiana, Rocco Becht from Penn State and Aidan Chiles from Northwestern. Strong seasons this fall could vault one or two of those players into early-round conversations next spring, the same way Mendoza’s stock surged throughout a record-setting season for the Hoosiers. Mendoza set a new standard when his name was called last week, and the Big Ten will be hoping that it’s merely the beginning.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

We will admit this from the start: 2025 was a bad year for rookies in fantasy football. Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty came into the league with huge expectations and finished 15th among fantasy running backs. No rookie wide receiver finished higher than 15th — that was Carolina Panthers standout Tetairoa McMillan — and the only rookie quarterback in the top 20 was the Giants’ Jaxson Dart, who finished 13th and was too uneven to start with any hope of winning. But 2026 could be different. We only said “could” be, not “should” or “will” be. It’s exciting to take a rookie in your fantasy draft. It represents the unknown, boundless potential, a chance to land the steal of the draft compared to the big-name returning veterans. So who are the rookies in the best position to play a role big enough to have a real fantasy impact? We’re offering up 10 names, including some obvious names, along with mid-round selections we’re keeping an eye on ahead of minicamp in June. Dallas Goedert had an outlier breakout with 11 touchdown receptions last year — he’d totaled eight in the previous three years combined — but it shows that Jalen Hurts will throw to tight ends in the red zone. The Philadelphia Eagles, even as they likely deal A.J. Brown away soon, have added a ton to their passing game, in rookie Makai Lemon and veterans Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown. Still, we like Eli Stowers as a surprise-stash rookie, someone new to the position and athletic enough to steal snaps, catches and touchdowns from Goedert in what could be the veteran’s final NFL season. The Cleveland Browns didn’t have a receiver with more than two touchdown catches last season, and there’s the ongoing question of who exactly is throwing passes for them. But they put first- and second-round picks into rookie receivers who could easily be their two most productive pass-catchers in 2026. Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion went 24th overall, but keep an eye on Boston, who went 39th but has much more size (6-foot-4, 212 pounds) and caught 20 touchdown passes in his last two years at Washington. Harold Fannin shined as a third-round rookie last year, and if we had to pick a late-rounder from a deep group of rookie tight ends, it would be Justin Joly, who averaged 49 catches and 576 yards over his last three college seasons, with seven touchdown catches last year. The Denver Broncos have an older tight end in Evan Engram, who managed just one touchdown catch last season, so it’s not hard to see Joly stepping into a larger role than, say, Max Klare with the Los Angeles Rams or Sam Roush with the Chicago Bears, joining loaded position rooms. Christian McCaffrey stayed healthy and played all 17 games in 2025, an oasis in an offense mired in injuries everywhere else. Can he do it again in 2026? If not, Kaelon Black could be the beneficiary, a third-round pick from Indiana who rushed for 1,039 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Grabbing a McCaffrey understudy has paid off before — see Elijah Mitchell in 2021 or Jordan Mason in 2024 — and with Brian Robinson signing with the Atlanta Falcons, Black has a chance to step into that high-potential backup role. To be clear, Fernando Mendoza is unlikely to be helping any good fantasy football team in 2026. We got spoiled by Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix in 2024, but Mendoza is closer to Ward and Dart last year — his over-under for passing yards is 2,499.5, via DraftKings Sportsbook. That’s a reminder that the Las Vegas Raiders are paying Kirk Cousins well and may start him instead, at least early in the season. So, taking Mendoza is strictly a late-round dynasty flier, someone you can grab in the 14th round with the hopes that he’s a solid starter in 2027. Tight end was a great position for rookie fantasy impact last year, with the Indianapolis Colts’ Tyler Warren, the Chicago Bears’ Colston Loveland and Fannin all finishing as top-10 tight ends in fantasy. So, it checks out that we would have three tight ends in our top 10. But what’s complicated this year is that most of the top tight ends went to teams that already have good tight ends, like Sadiq, who goes to a New York Jets team whose leading receiver last year was rookie tight end Mason Taylor. It would be easy, however, for Sadiq to surpass Taylor’s modest rookie totals (44 receptions for 369 yards and a touchdown) and for the Jets’ offense in general to be an improved unit as Geno Smith is an upgrade over the three bad quarterbacks who started in 2025. Once the New Orleans Saints traded Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks, there was a glaring need for a strong No. 2 receiver to complement Chris Olave. New Orleans found that at No. 8 in selecting Jordyn Tyson from Arizona State. The Saints have been busy this offseason in surrounding Tyler Shough with offensive talent, from running back Travis Etienne and guard David Edwards in free agency before getting Tyson and tight end Oscar Delp in the draft. They’ll be set up much better to show off Kellen Moore’s offensive mind, and with opposing defenses focusing on Olave, Tyson is in a good position to take advantage of that as a productive No. 2. Jadarian Price, taken by Seattle with the final pick of the first round, is an intriguing prospecthttps://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2026-nfl-draft-meet-jadarian-price-backup-rb-who-rb2-draft-class. He never started a game in college, stuck behind Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame, and never had more than 15 touches in a game. But for sheer value, he’s much more likely to exceed expectations than Love, because Price goes to an amazing offense on a dominant team that will have the lead plenty, one that lost star Kenneth Walker to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency and has Zach Charbonnet recovering from a torn ACL. Fantasy impact is as much about opportunity as it is talent, and Price might go into the year with the best situational opportunity of any rookie. He should have a window in September to show what he can do before Charbonnet is back, and to set himself up to have the larger split of that job share if he can play consistently as a rookie and show pass-catching ability that wasn’t used much in college. His over-under for rushing yards is 750.5 (via BetOnline), which is actually just 150 fewer than Love’s. We’ll open with a caveat: in the last decade, only two rookie receivers have had 1,000-plus receiving yards and 10-plus touchdowns — Brian Thomas Jr. with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024 and Ja’Marr Chase with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021. So to ask for both of those things for a rookie receiver is to set the bar almost unfairly high. Carnell Tate, picked fourth overall by the Tennessee Titans, is the favorite to lead all rookies in receiving yards at multiple sportsbooks, but his over-under is also 900.5 (via BetOnline) and his over-under for touchdowns is just 4.5. For Tate to really shine as a fantasy football star, you need quarterback Cam Ward to take a big step forward. As a rookie on a bad team, he threw for 15 touchdowns all season, and that number should rise in Year 2. Getting to 25 would be a huge step up, and it could happen with better coaching and new receiving targets in Tate and free-agent signee Wan’Dale Robinson. Robinson is still only 25 and has gotten 140 targets in each of the last two seasons, which could be seen as a threat to Tate, but Robinson also has only nine touchdown catches in four NFL seasons, so the red-zone targets are more likely to go to Tate, the latest in a prolific pipeline of star receivers from Ohio State to the NFL. You see a running back taken in the top five, you want to see a Saquon Barkley impact. Barkley had 2,000-plus total yards and 15 touchdowns for the New York Giants in 2018. All you need is Love: That’s what we will hear in our minds as drafts begin, with his 40 touchdowns in his last two years at Notre Dame and a No. 3 overall pick to boot. What complicates things is that Arizona will be a bad team — their over-under is 4.5 wins, matching the Dolphins for the lowest in the league — and teams constantly trailing generally throw more and run less. That wasn’t the problem with Jeanty on a bad Raiders team last year. He got 311 touches, but just wasn’t able to do much with them, disappointing just about anyone who drafted him. Now, Love has a young, offensive-minded coach, and there isn’t a great quarterback to make a compelling case to throw a lot instead of building around the run game. Love’s over-unders for rushing yards (900.5) and rushing touchdowns (6.5) lead all rookie running backs (via BetOnline). He also has an over-under of 450.5 receiving yards, and if he stays healthy, he could cover all three of those easily. One familiar concern: Tyler Allgeier. If you’ve had Bijan Robinson on your team in recent years, you know Allgeier’s ability to cull touchdowns and touches away from an elite running back. Arizona gave him $12 million for two years, so even with a much bigger investment in Love, they’ll want him to be a solid No. 2, the question being at what fantasy expense.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

On Thursday morning, the United States Soccer Federation announced details for the U.S. men’s squad’s hotly-anticipated World Cup roster reveal, which will take place  — and be open to fans — in New York City on May 26 at Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan. (Coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.) That means national team coach Mauricio Pochettino has just over three weeks left to determine which 26 players will be part of his squad for the biggest World Cup of all time, one that will be staged on home soil for the first time in 32 years as the U.S. co-hosts the planet’s’ most popular event alongside North American neighbors Canada and Mexico. Who might be catching the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss’s eye as the clock ticks toward the deadline? Who’s losing steam at precisely the wrong moment? Here’s the latest on how America’s World Cup hopefuls are playing for their club teams as Pochettino whittles down his list: Stock Up 📈 Easily this week’s biggest mover, Freeman made his first La Liga start for the Yellow Submarine and was outstanding in a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo. Deployed on the right side of manager Marcelino García Toral’s flat back four, Freeman showed why he bet on himself by signing in January with Spain’s third-best team; Villarreal leads fourth-place Atlético Madrid by five points with just four matches left to play. The 21-year-old had made just six substitute appearances before Sunday’s breakout. With first-choice Uruguayan Santiago Mouriño still nursing a leg injury, Freeman figures to keep his place at least for Saturday’s match against Levante. That’s great news for U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino. Poch started the former Orlando City standout in the Americans’ final 12 matches of 2025. Despite Freeman’s bedding-in period overseas, he was also in the Argentine’s lineup for last month’s World Cup tuneup against Portugal. If Freeman is playing regularly heading into the main event, bank on him being in the USA’s starting 11 for the June 12 opener versus Paraguay. Cardoso made history on Wednesday, becoming just the fourth U.S. player ever to appear in a UEFA Champions League semifinal. (Apologies for getting this wrong on social media initially.) The 24-year-old New Jersey-born, Brazil raised box-to-box type — who started and went 88 minutes in the 1-1 first-leg tie with Premier League-leading Arsenal— joins DaMarcus Beasley (PSV, 2004), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig, 2020) and Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, 2021). Pulisic, who won the title with the Blues, is the only American to play in a final. Before Johnny & Co. head to London for the decisive second leg of the home-and-home, total-goals-wins series, Atléti travels to Valencia on Saturday. The 25-year-old Californian’s preseason move from wing-back to a more attacking role has been paying off lately. Arfsten has three goals and two assists in his last five MLS matches, including the game-winner over Philadelphia last weekend. That production is hard to ignore. The UC Davis alum has done it at the international level, too; he led the U.S. squad in assists last year. Add in the injury to Germany-based left back John Tolkin, and Arfsten’s World Cup spot is probably secure, even if he’s not the ideal backup for Antonee Robinson in Pochettino’s preferred back four. That’s yet another reason Poch could consider going back to a three-man central defense when the World Cup kicks off. After getting a red card and serving a one-match suspension earlier this month, McKenzie returned to Toulouse’s lineup and helped the Ligue 1 side earn its first point — in part by shutting down U.S. teammate Folarin Balogun — since before the March international break in last weekend’s 2-2 tie with Monaco. It was the 27-year-old’s 25th start of what has been a career-best 2025-26 campaign. It might not be enough to unseat Matt Freese as Pochettino’s World Cup No. 1, but Turner has been the better of the two MLS-based backstops in 2026. The Qatar 2022 starter has allowed fewer goals, made more saves and has stopped a higher save percentage of on-target shots. Turner’s save percentage (78.9) is the second-highest among the American keepers in the domestic league, after projected U.S. third-string Chris Brady of the Chicago Fire. The timing is good for Scally, who last week became the youngest non-German player in Bundesliga history to hit the 150-game mark in a scoreless tie with Wolfsburg. That stat ought to remind Pochettino of the 23-year-old’s quality, not to mention the natural right-back ability to play in the middle or on the left side of the defense. With Arfsten now a dedicated winger, Scally is (and should be) still in the running for his second straight World Cup trip. Reyna has logged more minutes — 31 — in Gladbach’s last two Bundesliga games than he had across the six he was available for before that. That’s an encouraging sign as the 23-year-old, who hit the post after coming on as a sub against Wolfsburg, makes a late push to snare a World Cup roster spot. Gladbach has just three contests remaining, starting Sunday at home against Borussia Dortmund, Reyna’s former club. Stock Down 📉 “Christian is a very sensitive man and this drought is hitting him hard,” Milan boss Max Allegri said after Pulisic failed to score for the 16th straight time — 18 if you count the USA’s two friendlies in March — in Sunday’s 0-0 stalemate with Juventus and Weston McKennie. The USA’s top attacking star has four more chances to find the net in Serie A this season. The Rossoneri visit Sassuolo this weekend before returning to the San Siro to host Atalanta on May 10. Tillman has started just one of Leverkusen’s last eight outings, way back before the March international break. In the club’s five matches during the month of April, the 23-year-old playmaker played just 46 total minutes. The 2023-24 German champs will host Bundesliga rivals Leipzig at the Bay Arena on Saturday. The 38-year-old center back was not in uniform for Tuesday’s 2-0 U.S. Open Cup loss to Atlanta United — the fourth consecutive game Ream has missed for the Crown since limping off the field with a groin injury on April 15. Charlotte faces the Revs in Foxborough on Saturday. Although he just played another entire match at right back in L’OM’s 1-1 tie with Nice on Sunday, his 13th start on the back line this season, Freeman’s re-emergence probably reduces Weah’s chances of starting for Pochettino this summer. Weah can also man the wing, obviously; it’s his natural position and the one from which he scored the Americans’ opening goal four years ago in Qatar. But if Poch still sees Sergiño Dest higher up the field, he could have to choose between the two 2022 vets.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

How would you respond if your bosses told you to finish the year among the top 10 best in your industry, or look for a new job? Many might fold under pressure, but those are the kind of expectations racing legend Tony Kanaan, Zak Brown and Arrow McLaren outlined for relative INDYCAR newcomer Nolan Siegel. And make no mistake: The pressure to win in INDYCAR — and win for one of the most successful and recognizable teams in motorsports — is gigantic. But Siegel doesn’t have to chase that goal by himself. A deep dive into Arrow McLaren’s INDYCAR team, the latest episode of “All In” — a real-time docuseries from FOX Sports, INDYCAR and Shadow Lion — explores the team’s lofty expectations for drivers Pato O’Ward, Christian Lundgaard and Siegel in the fastest series in the world. “When you’re putting together a three-car lineup, you really want to be P1, P2, P3,” McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said in the latest “All In” episode. “So anything short of that is frustrating.” In the fourth episode titled, “The Third Seat,” the series examines Arrow McLaren’s three-car team, how Kanaan and Brown lead execution and how the organization found Siegel, following years-old messy contract litigation over Alex Palou potentially joining the team. Currently the clear INDYCAR driver to beat, Palou almost switched from Chip Ganassi Racing to Arrow McLaren after the 2022 season. Well, depending on who you ask. “You can see the immense talent that he is, so you can see why his team fought so hard to keep him, and you can see why we fought so hard to get him,” Brown explains in “All In.” “The way that landed, I felt it was very important to protect our reputation. It was a difficult, expensive experience for everyone. We move on.” After ending up in court, Palou was ultimately ordered in January to pay McLaren $12 million for breach of contract after he backed out of a deal to switch teams. Instead of Palou, McLaren’s third INDYCAR seat went to Siegel, who’s now in his second full season in the series. “For Zak, having lost the best that there is in the sport, he’s now searching for the guy who can be the next Palou,” INDYCAR on FOX broadcaster Will Buxton explains on “All In.” “Does he have that already in Pato? Does he think he’s found it in Christian?” Or maybe it’s Siegel. And Kanaan — the 2004 INDYCAR champ and the 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner — is pushing hard. “Last year, Nolan had some good races, had some bad races,” INDYCAR on FOX analyst James Hinchcliffe says in the latest episode. “But McLaren shows up to win. And when Tony Kanaan says, ‘Top 10, or you’re out,’ you either rise to the occasion and perform or you don’t.” The newest “All In” episode is set against the backdrop of INDYCAR’s Long Beach race weekend earlier this month, focusing on McLaren’s three drivers. [INDYCAR: ‘All In’ Episode Dives Into Team Penske’s 2026 Rebound] “I wasn’t expecting to be a team principal,” Kanaan says in “All In.” “It was not my intention. I was an INDYCAR driver for 26 years. … Zak put a challenge in front of me to come in as a consultant just to help the drivers on the race weekends, and that developed to coming in full time.” Long Beach is a uniquely challenging track — technically, it’s a street course — as Hinchcliffe recently explained. And unfortunately for McLaren, Palou ended up at the top of the podium. Now, INDYCAR looks ahead to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, followed by the iconic Indy 500, a race win for which many in the sport would argue O’Ward is long overdue. “He’s going to win the Indy 500 and win a championship — or two,” Brown says in “All In.” Featuring INDYCAR drivers and insiders — along with INDYCAR on FOX’s Hinchcliffe, Buxton and Townsend Bell — “All In” examines the biggest challenges, the pressure points and the high-speed competition of racing in the series. But each episode features its own focus on a driver, team or series storyline. Watch “All In” on the INDYCAR On FOX YouTube page, FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports App, FOX One, as well as INDYCAR and INDYCAR on FOX social channels.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports