AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney paced the first practice session at Phoenix Raceway, where he is among four drivers who will race for the title Sunday.
Blaney in a Ford for Team Penske topped the leaderboard in Friday's 50-minute practice session. He is trying to become the first driver to win back-to-back titles since Jimmie Johnson won five consecutive championships from 2006 through 2010.
A victory by Blaney or teammate Joey Logano would give team owner Roger Penske three consecutive Cup titles. Logano, who was ninth in Friday practice, won the title in 2022. Penske is coming off sports car championships in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, which he won last weekend in Bahrain.
Martin Truex Jr., who was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round and is retiring from full-time competition after Sunday's race, was second-fastest in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kyle Larson, winner of a Cup Series-high six races this season, was third-fastest in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He was eliminated from the championship race last week in the final playoff qualifier.
William Byron, the Daytona 500 winner and one of the title contenders, was fourth in a Hendrick Chevy. Byron made the championship four on points after Christopher Bell's wall-riding move at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday was disallowed.
Tyler Reddick, the fourth and final driver in the championship race, was slowest of the contenders in 21st in a Toyota for 23XI Racing. Reddick is the only driver making his first appearance in the winner-take-all finale. He drives for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, two owners who are suing NASCAR over the charter agreement they and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign in September.
Logano is seeking a third Cup title and Byron is trying to become a first-time Cup Series champion.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Defending NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney paces 1st practice of title-deciding weekend at Phoenix
Ryan Blaney, front left, poses with the trophy in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Defending NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney paces 1st practice of title-deciding weekend at Phoenix
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, police said, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure in the region.
Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku told a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.
The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union's executive commission as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance. Russia's use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
The Eagle S's anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle television reported, relying on police statements.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement that the incident was “the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure” and commended the Finnish authorities “for their swift action in boarding the suspected vessel."
The ship “is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget,” said Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister. "We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet.”
The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.
The Estonian government met in emergency session over the incident. The shadow tankers “are helping Russia to earn funds that will aid Russian hybrid attacks,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal said at a news conference. “We need to improve the monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure both on land and on sea.”
He said repairs to the cable could take as long as seven months.
“Repeated damage to Baltic Sea infrastructure signals a systemic threat, not mere accidents,” Estonia's President Alar Karis said on X. “Estonia will take action to counter this threat, together with Finland and other NATO allies.”
Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November. Germany’s defense minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn't provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.
The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.
Estonian network operator Elering says there is enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.
This photo provided by Rajavartiosto (Finnish Border Guard) on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, shows the oil tanker Eagle S at sea outside Porkkalanniemi, Finland. The Eagle S was sailing at the same time in the area where the Finland-Estonia electrical link was disrupted on Wednesday. (Rajavartiosto via AP)
This photo provided by Rajavartiosto (Finnish Border Guard) on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, shows the oil tanker Eagle S, background, and the Finnish Border Guard ship Turva at sea outside Porkkalanniemi, Finland. The Eagle S was sailing at the same time in the area where the Finland-Estonia electrical link was disrupted on Wednesday. (Rajavartiosto via AP)
FILE - Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, as police investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
Finnish National Police Comissioner Ilkka Koskim'ki attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
