LOTS OF STUFF ... STARTING WITH 'IT'S ABOUT TIME'

 

Let’s hear for the late RAY HENDRICK, Richmond 

stock car racing icon who on Tuesday was named to 

NASCAR’s Hall of Fame Class of 2026. What took them 

so long? … Joining Hendrick were drivers KURT 

BUSCH and HARRY GANT as well as promoter

 HUMPY WHEELER. They will be inducted January 23 

at the hall’s headquarters in Charlotte, N.C … “Mr. 

Modified,” Hendrick won more than 700 races and 

dominated Friday nights at Southside Speedway in the 

60s, driving the familiar Flying No. 11 for  JACK TANT.

(We will have more on Hendrick. Look for it soon.) 

Now it’s Journalism, winner of the May 17 Preakness 

Stakes, that is playing hard to get. Trainer MICHAEL 

McCARTHY said Tuesday that, while the 3 year old son 

of the great Curlin was still under consideration for the 

Belmont Stakes June 7, there was no guarantee he would 

compete in the third (and final) leg of the Triple Crown 

… Sovereignty, which barely beat favored Journalism to 

win the May 3 Kentucky Derby, was withheld from the 

Preakness after trainer BILL MOTT decided two weeks 

between races was not good for his horse and, instead, 

would get him ready for the Belmont, which will be held 

this year (possibly next) at renown Saratoga Race Track 

in upstate New York while Belmont Race Track, in New 

York, N.Y., gets a much-needed facelift … A good sign 

Journalism would take on Sovereignty, as originally 

planned, was that McCarthy shipped him from Pimlico, 

site of Preakness 150, to Saratoga on Monday … 

According to one report, if Journalism skips the Belmont, 

he “will run’ in either the July 19 Haskell Stakes at 

Monmouth Park or July 26 Jim Dandy Stakes at The Spa 

… No matter where he goes Journalism almost assuredly 

will be the morning line favorite.

Formula 1 driver MAX VERSTAPPEN for world’s 

best/most successful athlete …certainly no worse than top 

3. What do you think? The Dutchman won his 65^th grand 

prix Sunday … while McLaren teammates (and closest 

pursuers) LANDO NORRISand OSCAR PIASTRI

 came close to wrecking near the end … when Norris 

barged by Piastri to finish second in the Emilia Romagna 

held in Italy. Teammates, indeed … Piastri, who had to 

settle for third, won the circuit’s previous three races. He 

still leads the 27-race season but second-place Norris 

closed to within 13 points while No. 3 and Red Bull’s 

defending champion Verstappen now trails by 22.

,,, and you thought New York was No. 1 for treating 

hometown teams badly when they don’t live up to 

expectations. Toronto took the lead (by a wide margin) 

when the Maple Leafs rolled over and lost 6-1 to 

defending NHL champion Florida … to tie a league 

record by going 0-for-7 in playoff Game 7 … Saturday 

night in Toronto where their so-called fans threw beer 

cans and team jerseys onto the ice after the Panthers 

pulled away with a three-goal second period … Among 

the primary targets was MITCH MARNER, who has 

spent his entire career (9 years) with the hometown Maple 

Loafs and said, “I’m devastated” … not so much by the 

treatment he received but by his inability to make a 

positive difference … going minus 2, with one point … in 

the final game after regular-season personal highs of 75 

assists and 102 points … The veteran winger, who 

refused a swap (allowed by contract) that would have 

brought scoring machine MIKKO RANTANEN from 

Carolina at the trade deadline, now is considered sure-fire 

to be suiting up elsewhere next season. Rantanen, who 

began the season with Colorado, wound up in Dallas, 

with the Stars who play Edmonton in a best of seven 

(starting tonight) for a spot opposite Carolina or Florida 

in the Stanley Cup finals … Also likely to be moving on 

is Toronto boss BRENDAN SHANAHAN, said to be a 

candidate for a similar position with the New York 

Islanders who still haven’t replaced LOU 

LAMORIELLO (fired).

Until next time ...