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[Music bed under]
TSS HOST: This is The Sweet Spot where we take a closer look at the week’s biggest sports stories in Arizona. I’m Austin Hepola, and thanks for tuning into the show.
[Music fade in/under]
HOST: On today’s show we’ll recap the NASCAR Championship Cup Series race, see how Arizona Football became bowl eligible for the first time in six years, what horse racing in Arizona could look like in the future and how a Queen Creek based high school made the AIA football open playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Swapping paint on the way to NASCAR Championship Cup at Phoenix Raceway
HOST: This last weekend, the NASCAR Championship Cup series finale was held at Phoenix Raceway, where the Championship 4 racers would compete for the Bill France Cup. Benjamin Yates was on pit row in Avondale for the race.
<NAT SOUND: CARS RACING AROUND THE TRACK>
YATES: Four racers…
[ NAT SOUND: QUICK CUT TO CARS ]
YATES: One champion…
[ NAT SOUND: QUICK CUT TO DIFFERENT SOUND OF CARS ]
YATES: One full weekend, at Phoenix Raceway.
[ BUILD NAT SOUND UP, AND CONTINUE TO SPEAK OVER IT. ]
YATES: This last Sunday, the racetrack was roaring with 36 cars competing in the Championship Cup Series Race. While there are 36 racers on the track, only four can win the Bill France Cup. Those four drivers are William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney. This race was full of stories across the track, especially with it being the end of a legendary career for future Hall of Famer, Kevin Harvick. Byron was set to be the in the pole position to start the race, and for 93 laps, he looked set to win the race and the championship … until Harvick overtook Byron to take the lead. If Harvick won, he would be deemed the race winner, but not the cup series champion. Only a Championship 4 racer can claim that title, and Byron was still set to win the cup.
[ NAT SOUND OF PIT CREWS ]
YATES: After a restart that resulted from Chrisopher Bell’s tire caught fire, Ross Chastain used turn one to take the lead from Harvick.
<<Chastain: “That restart side by side with him in his last race, I was actually a little emotional in my car. But then I was like, don’t feel sorry for him. Go past him, like it’s a race. And then I drove off into turn one and be able to get the lead.” >>
YATES: Eventually, Ross Chastain, won the race after making his way through the crowded field
[ pop nat sound of the race ]
YATES: On lap 151, Ryan Blaney came back into the picture, making his attack on his fellow Championship 4 racers. He would take the lead among the four, and get his car right behind the race leader, Chastain. The leader would pull several defensive maneuvers to keep Blaney behind him,. Blaney would not take this lightly, and retaliated aggressively by bumping Chastain in the rear.
<< Blaney: “He blocked me on purpose 10 times, so yeah I hit him on purpose. Did I think he was a little over excessive on the block? Yes, very much so. And yes, did I hit him? Yes, I did, but that’s just part of it.” >>
YATES: Blaney and Chastain would get a little scare, as they and half of the racers pitted with 40 laps to go, and needed a full tire replacement. while Kyle Larson on the other hand, only replaced two tires. he exited the pits fast, and gained a couple of spots over Chastain and Blaney. But about eight laps later, Chastain and Blaney would come back to first and second to continue their duel for the race winner position. Chastain would finish in first place, and get the title of race winner. And Blaney, finished second, but winning the title of Cup Series Champion while Chastain still gets to celebrate his moral victory of overcoming the grit and grind of these 312 laps.
<< Chastain: “Yeah, I know he’s mad, and I don’t care. I do not care. I did not care then; I do not care now. I’m here to race him.”>>
[ BUILD NAT SOUND OF CARS ]
YATES: For the Sweet Spot, I’m Benjamin Yates.
[ NAT SOUND UNDERNEATH, BUILD UP VOLUME AT THE END ]
Wildcats upset UCLA to notch sixth win, become bowl eligible, crack CFP rankings
HOST: Arizona Football has successfully turned around their program, as after their upset win over number 19 UCLA last Saturday, the Wildcats are bowl-eligible for the first time in six seasons. Alex Chenevey has more from Tucson on what the accomplishment means to the team and the school.
CHENEVEY: Arizona Football reached a mark Saturday they hadn’t been since 2017, six wins. Those six victories means that the Wildcats are bowl eligible, and will be headed to a bowl game during their last season in the PAC-12. Arizona welcomed number 19 ranked UCLA into Tucson Saturday night, with the Bruins two and a half point favorites pregame. However, that would prove to be a bad call by the oddsmakers, as Arizona stormed out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, and while UCLA would cut the lead to seven entering the fourth quarter, an Arizona touchdown and a field goal would give the Wildcats a 27-10 upset win over the Bruins, their second straight victory over the LA school. Fans would once again storm the field with the win, after rushing the field last week following their upset win over Oregon State, signaling a change of the guard in Tucson. Arizona Head Coach Jedd Fisch.
<< Jedd Fisch: “We can keep saying that we’re getting better, we’re not content with where we are, our goal is to be better next Saturday at twelve o’clock in Boulder than we were tonight at seven forty-five. But we will enjoy this one, our team enjoying it right now, and then as I said to them, we’ll get back to work and the best thing about this is that we get to do it again next week.” >>
CHENEVEY: The Wildcats have won three straight games over ranked opponents for the first time in school history. Arizona can attribute this to the improvement of both the offense and the defense. Redshirt freshman quarterback Noah Fifita (fuh-FEET-a) has led the Wildcats to 98 total points over their past three games, and the defense has clamped down on potent offenses, allowing 13.3 points per game during that span. The win Saturday was a revenge game for some of the Arizona players, such as defensive back Martell Irby. Irby was thankful to play against his former team with his new teammates.
<< Martell Irby: “It was nothing short of a blessing man I’m out there having fun, football is football you know, I played there coming out of high school and now I’m here, it’s just a part of my journey, so just to have a little full circle moment, it was just a great moment.” >>
CHENEVEY: The Wildcats have now been placed in the college football playoff rankings for the first time since 2017. With three more games left to go for the Wildcats, it is now full steam ahead for the program. For Cronkite News, I’m Alex Chenevey.
Arizona breeders, trainers hopeful for future despite rocky few years for horse racing
HOST: The future of horse racing in Arizona is up in the air — multiple race tracks across the Valley are struggling financially. The uncertainty of when and where to hold races has affected thousands of workers in the horse racing industry. I took a trip to the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Sale at Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre to figure out what the future might hold for the sport.
[nat sound: Auctioneer at Thoroughbred Breeders Sale]
HEPOLA: The Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association hosted an auction in late October. Their goal is to preserve the sport of horse racing in the Valley. Several racing tracks in Arizona, like Turf Paradise and Arizona Downs, have gone through various highs and lows over the last few years — and mostly lows. We’re talking financial issues, ownership changes and developers backing out of deals. Thoroughbred trainer, Stacy Campo, is uneasy about instability in a sport that she’s made her livelihood. She’s been at it since she was 8 years old.
<< Stacy Campo: The uncertainty, the, you know, the fear of something collapsing in front of us is on our minds every single day, especially when we get up in the morning at five o’clock to feed the horses in our backyard. Wondering, you know, when are we going to race?>>
HEPOLA: Those local race tracks I mentioned earlier are EXPECTING to resume horse racing in 2024. Stacy says that’s thanks in large part to the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Sale..
<< Stacy Campo: When we have a sale like this and we’ve got breeders out here and we’ve got people that are determined to keep it alive and we’ve got, you know, people who have tracks that are willing to negotiate, to find a way to be able to run, they’re gonna do it and, and we’re gonna help them.>>
[nat sound: More from auctioneer at Thoroughbred Breeders Sale]
HEPOLA: The goal of the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Sale is to supply “stock” for its members. Horses are put up for auction — obviously, to provide buyers with potential racers down the line… The auction ALSO serves as a fundraiser to help bring the sport back to life.
[nat sound: Sounds of horses]
HEPOLA: Organized horse racing has been a staple in the U.S. dating back to the 18th century. It’s also one of the only sports that truly captures Arizona’s old western roots that run deep among members of the horse racing community. That bond not only motivates them to keep the sport alive now, though. Farm owner and thoroughbred breeder Tosch Keshian [cash-yen] intends to keep the sport going for future generations.
<< Tosch Keshian: The people are willing to go to work every morning at 5 and 6 or 4 o’clock to make sure the horse is taken care of, because it’s their pride. I’m optimistic that things will work out but you have to have a storm every once in a while to kind of clean out the chaff, to bring back the green.>>
HEPOLA: The past few years have been tough for the horse racing industry. Still, the community is keeping its spirits high heading into 2024, when they’ll once again open the starting gates. For Cronkite Sports, in Queen Creek, I’m Austin Hepola.
[nat sound: Sounds of horses]
American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek leads the way to a third playoff in third division
HOST: After the regular season ended last week, American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek will look to make a push in the open division state playoffs. Cronkite news reporter Brandon Tran has more about the Queen Creek Patriots.
[ Nat Sound: Whistle and kickoff ]
TRAN: American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek is back in the open division playoffs for the third straight year. This makes them the first team to make it to the open playoffs from the 4A, 5A and now 6A divisions.
Leading A-L- A is head coach Ty Detmer, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1990 as the BYU quarterback. He then played 14 years in the NFL.
<< Ty Detmer: “It’s been crazy we didn’t expect it from 4A or 5A but however the algorithm worked out and we were in it like I said this year was the goal to come and compete and go to the open.” >>
TRAN: Another former BYU quarterback contributing to the Patriots success is offensive coordinator Max Hall.
<<Max Hall: “To these guys credit they all stepped up and stepped up into their role and like I said they just got a lot of heart and some of our wins is because we finished and we’re resilient and make plays at the end of games to win hopefully we can do that next week. ” >>
TRAN: The player that stepped up for the Patriots is senior quarterback Enoch (E-nick) Watson who transferred from Coconino (Co-coa-knee-no) and is committed to BYU.
[ Nat Sound: Receivers catching, Quarterback hand off ]
<<Enoch Watson: “They just make me better everyday. These guys out here are underrated, have an awesome o-line, awesome receivers. The defense plays well every week so we just chip away and we’re gonna have one goal in mind and that’s to win the state.” >>
TRAN: ALA Queen Creek success isn’t just focused on the offense. Leading the defense is middle linebacker Brody Micheal who leads the team in tackles.
<<Brody Micheal: “We been helping a lot on defense, but offense obviously does a great job. But with the defense holding the team to a little points, it helps a lot, makes the offense not have so much stress on the offense.” >>
TRAN: American Leadership Academy in Queen Creek will be on the road next week on November 17, It will be a rematch of last season’s quarterfinals against the defending open division state champ Basha Bears. For Cronkite Sports in Queen Creek I’m Brandon Tran reporting.
[ Nat Sound: team celebration and jumping ]
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HOST: And this was The Sweet Spot. This show was produced by Alex Chenevey. Special thanks to Alex, Ben and Brandon for their contributions to this week’s show. I’m your host Austin Hepola. Until next time!
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