Preece Breaks Through at Daytona

Ryan Preece didn't hear the bell at Daytona, as his No. 60 car slid off track after leading the first stage. Shane Van Gisbergen won the segment instead.

The move caused a significant swing in points, with Preece going from a 31-point deficit to 38 points behind with two quarters remaining in the race. sweetbonanza.qpon

Pete Crow-Armstrong turned two pregame conversations with Sammy Sosa into one of the best days of his career. Crow-Armstrong homered three times and drove in six runs on Saturday, adding to his case for NL MVP and powering the Chicago Cubs to a runaway 17-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. The All-Star center fielder had four hits and scored four times, delighting the crowd of 39,597 at Wrigley Field. "I think Pete’s having a wonderful season," manager Craig Counsell said. "It’s a lot of fun to watch. ... We’re lucky to be a part of it." Crow-Armstrong, 24, saw Sosa in the lobby as he made his way into the ballpark, and the two talked again in the batting cage. Sosa, 57, was part of a pregame ceremony celebrating Chicago's 150 years as a National League franchise. Crow-Armstrong said Sosa told him he wanted to see even more out of him, and then told him he wanted him to hit three homers during the game. "He was like, ‘I want three out of you today. ... I need three,’" Crow-Armstrong said. "And sure enough, I don’t know what he passed down to me there." Crow-Armstrong continued his bid to unseat Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani as NL MVP after the Japanese slugger took home the honor each of the previous two years. Ohtani hasn’t been able to pitch since July 3 because of left knee soreness and a right biceps injury. While Ohtani has been limited to designated hitter with Los Angeles, Crow-Armstrong is one of baseball's top defensive players. And he has turned into a consistent threat at the plate as well, batting .282 with 36 homers, 89 RBIs and 32 steals in 136 games. "Sometimes you feel it in your bones that you got a day like today in you and I did today," Crow-Armstrong said. Crow-Armstrong hit a 435-foot drive to right-center in the first for his eighth career leadoff homer — all this season. He went deep again in the second, sending a two-run shot off the foul pole in right. It was Crow-Armstrong's fifth multihomer game this season and No. 11 for his career. "I think he can change the game in so many different ways," teammate Alex Bregman said. "I think that one day it’s hitting three homers, the next day it's making three diving plays or just running down balls that nobody else can go catch out there in center field. Next day, it’s stealing third and the ball going in the left field and him scoring. It’s just so many different things he can do on a baseball field." Crow-Armstrong got each of his first three hits off left-hander Andrew Abbott. He is batting .315 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs against lefties this season after he hit just .188 with seven homers and 27 RBIs versus lefties in 2025. "It’s getting on the dish and learning the strike zone better," he said. "I’m just, I think I’m getting better naturally as a baseball player overall." Batting with runners on first and second in the seventh, Crow-Armstrong hit a 444-foot drive to center off right-hander Tony Santillan. The crowd chanted "M-V-P! M-V-P!" as he rounded the bases. With Reds catcher Jose Trevino on the mound in the eighth, Crow-Armstrong bounced to second. But the fans cheered anyway, saluting his first career three-homer game with a long ovation. "The relationship has grown with all these fans," Crow-Armstrong said, "so I’m just enjoying my time here more and more every day, walking down the street or in my uniform." Reporting by The Associated Press.