The BulleTin • Sunday, May 9, 2021 B3
MOTOR SPORTS | NASCAR CUP SERIES
Harvick looks to jump-start winless year again at Darlington
perspeedway with its throw-
back weekend. The festivities
at Darlington started in 2015
and have grown in popularity.
Spectators, competitors and
teams often dress up in vin-
tage clothing while cars are
adorned with paint schemes
of the past.
The event shifted this year
to May from it’s Labor Day
spot when Darlington was
given two race weekends on
the NASCAR schedule.
BY PETE IACOBELLI
Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. —
Kevin Harvick is hoping his
winless start to the season will
end at Darlington Raceway —
just like last year.
Harvick hadn’t taken the
checkered flag in 2020 until
winning at the “Lady in Black”
last May 17 in NASCAR’s re-
turn to racing after more than
two months away because of
the pandemic.
Eight more victories fol-
lowed, including a win at the
Southern 500 on the old coun-
try track last Labor Day week-
end.
Once again, Harvick comes
to Darlington without a vic-
tory, looking to jump-start an-
other season at the Goodyear
400 on Sunday.
“It’s been a lot of fun to have
been able to win there a few
times now,” said Harvick, a
three-time Darlington cham-
pion.
The last two wins there
were particularly significant
for Harvick. His 50th career
NASCAR Cup Series came at
Darlington last May, without
fans, in the sport’s return to
racing from a COVID-19 sus-
pension.
Four months later, Harvick
won the Southern 500 in front
of about 7,000 spectators and
soaked in the cheers from
grateful fans happy to see live
racing.
“Winning the Southern 500
and being able to go back to
Victory Lane and celebrate in
front of some fans was differ-
ent from the first time of dead
silence,” Harvick recalled.
These days, Harvick is
ready for to win again. He’s
had eight top-10 finishes, in-
cluding his best placing of the
year — second to Kyle Busch a
week ago at Kansas.
Harvick savored his Dar-
lington victory a year ago be-
Brynn Anderson/AP file
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick arrives before a race at At-
lanta Motor Speedway on March 21 in Hampton, Georgia. Harvick,
who led all Cup Series drivers with nine victories in 2020, has yet to
win in 2021. Last year, his first win came at Darlington, South Caro-
lina, the site of Sunday’s race.
cause of the its significance
amid a pandemic.
“It was, ‘OK, you can’t race
anymore, and you don’t know
when you’re going to race
again.’ Being able to go back
to the racetrack and go back
to Victory Lane and get back
to work was pretty much a re-
lief,” Harvick said.
That showed the rest of
the year as Harvick zoomed
through the NASCAR sched-
ule, winning twice at Michi-
gan and succeeding on short
tracks like Bristol and big
tracks like Indianapolis.
That success hasn’t carried
over. Harvick said this month
he understands that winning
in bunches one season pro-
vides no guarentees.
“Last year, everything went
our way,” he said. “This year it
hasn’t really gone our way.”
He believes that can change
at Darlington.
Things to watch at the
Goodyear 400 at Darlington
Raceway:
champion Chase Elliott are
also without victories in 2021.
Hamlin has three wins at
Darlington, including the
second of two May races in
NASCAR’s return to action.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver
has struggled the last two
starts, ending 32nd at Talla-
dega and 12th at Kansas.
“Obviously, the last couple
of weeks haven’t gone the way
we’ve wanted them to, but
Darlington is a place where we
can bounce back and maybe
even get into Victory Lane,”
he said.
Elliott has finished second
at the Daytona 500 and Mar-
tinsville. He’s also posted a
38th at Atlanta and a 24th at
Talladega two weeks ago.
“We definitely can be bet-
ter, but I was pleased with our
speed last year” at Darlington,
Elliott said.
“We had some really good
runs and were certainly solid,
so we have something good to
build off of.”
Still searching
Points leader Denny Ham-
lin and defending series
Throwing it back
NASCAR once more cele-
brates its past at its oldest su-
Hi, mom
The Goodyear 400 will be
run on Mother’s Day, a rar-
ity for NASCAR, which had
run only seven times before in
its 73-year history on the day
honoring mom.
The last time came in 2007
at Darlington when Jeff Gor-
don won a race delayed from
its scheduled Saturday night
start.
Expect lots of honoring of
moms, both in the pits and
in the stands, and the role
they’ve played in helping their
racing children.
Odds and ends
Kyle Larson, driving the
No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick
Motorsports, is the 4-1 favor-
ite to take the Goodyear 400.
Denny Hamlin, the winless
points leader this season, is
right behind Larson at 5-1.
Kevin Harvick and Martin
Truex Jr. are next at 7-1 while
last week’s winner at Kansas,
Kyle Busch, is 8-1. … Truex
is the only multiple winner in
the Cup Series this season. …
Busch’s older brother, Kurt,
has the distinction of finish-
ing second at Darlington to
Ricky Craven in 2003 by 0.002
seconds, the closest margin in
NASCAR history. … Darling-
ton will allow some fans into
the pits for Sunday’s race, al-
though health restrictions will
still be in place.
Beavers
Continued from B1
Smith said it became appar-
ent by midweek they wouldn’t
be able to cut loose during Sat-
urday’s spring finale. Among
the absentees were nearly half
the receiving corps, includ-
ing Zeriah Beason and Si-
las Bolden, and quarterback
Ben Gulbranson. With only
five healthy receivers and two
quarterbacks available, Smith
decided to pare the 11-on-
11 competition down to five
red-zone series, and a couple
two-minute drills.
The 65-minute workout also
included warmups, several
one-on-one drills and special
teams competition.
Fans may have learned little
from what they saw, but it was
meaningful to Smith.
“I was pleased with the
physicality of the defensive
front. I thought we tackled
well,” Smith said. “I thought it
was competitive and I was ap-
preciative of the effort of those
guys flying around.”
Sophomore Chance No-
lan and freshman Sam Vid-
lak took turns at quarterback.
Both had moments.
Nolan threw the day’s best
pass, a 25-yard laser to Mus-
grave for a touchdown on the
first red zone series. Vidlak,
playing with the second and
third units, completed 8 of 13
passes for 85 yards. Though
he was sacked twice, Vidlak
showed some poise and elu-
siveness, and an arm with zip
and sometimes drops down to
Thorns
Continued from B1
Christine Sinclair’s bending
strike in the eighth minute gave
the Thorns an early lead. It was
her second goal of the tourna-
ment.
The Canadian forward be-
came the NWSL’s active leader
with 60 career goals. North
Carolina’s Lynn Williams has
59. Sinclair holds the record
for most career international
goals, among men or women,
with 186.
Portland’s Lindsey Horan
had a free kick from a danger-
ous spot out in front of the goal
Karl Maasdam/OSU Athletics
Oregon State’s Isaac Hodgins proposes to girlfriend Taylor Lawson, a senior on the Stanford women’s gym-
nastics team, after the Beavers’ spring scrimmage on Saturday at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.
a sidearm motion.
“You could see today how
comfortable he was with some
of the progressions, managing
the game with the clock run-
ning,” Smith said of Vidlak,
who graduated from Hidden
Valley High last December.
“He’s gotten better from prac-
tice one to 15. He’s got a great
opportunity to make a nice
jump now in the summer be-
cause he’s been exposed to
these 15 days of practices.”
The highlight for Nolan,
who completed 3 of 6 passes
for 45 yards, was the TD pass
to Musgrave. The sophomore
tight end beat a double team
in the 39th minute, but it hit
the post after going over the
wall.
Gotham broke through in
the 60th minute on a header
from Carli Lloyd. It was the vet-
eran’s second goal of the tour-
nament.
The Thorns had an oppor-
tunity in the 72nd minute, but
Simone Charley’s shot from
close range was cleared off the
goal line by defender Mandy
Freeman. It appeared Charley
had a goal some five minutes
later, but she was ruled offside
and the game went to penalties.
Portland outshot Gotham
26-8 in regulation.
to pull in the 25-yard scoring
pass just over the goal line.
“A great, great pass, and
great protection,” Musgrave
said. “I was able to get the ball
and Chance was able to throw
the ball where only I could
catch it.”
While the offense had mo-
ments, the defense probably
won the day given the limited
reps. In five red zone series,
the Beaver defense stopped
the offense twice on downs,
and forced field goals on two
other series. The defense also
stopped one of the two-minute
drives on downs, and forced a
field goal on the other.
“I did think the game should
have been wrapped up way
much earlier. And look, we got
away with it today because that
could have snuck up and gone
the wrong way, and that would
have been a really harsh lesson
for us,” Thorns coach Mark
Parsons said. “The goal is not
to do that again in the future.”
Franch stretched to make the
one-handed save during the
shootout and was named the
game’s MVP. She was sidelined
all last season because of injury,
and missed Portland’s success-
ful fall series.
“Outside of the rehab, every-
body struggled with 2020. It
Five weeks of spring prac-
tices were capped when
Hodgins got one knee at mid-
field and proposed to Lawson.
The team celebrated as if they
had landed a bowl berth.
“A lot of dudes were sur-
prised,” Hodgins said.
Over five weeks of prac-
tice, Smith confirmed what he
thought about his team.
“We’ve got a tight-knit
group. They compete, day in
and day out. They got after
each other, but with a mutual
respect,” Smith said. “We’ve
got some great leadership on
this team. We were more phys-
ical defensively.”
was a rough year for everyone.
The way this team performed
last year, that’s what got us
here today,” Franch said. “The
growth that got us here today
started last year.”
The match, broadcast na-
tionally on CBS, had an early
start at 10 a.m. local time.
When the match was finalized
last week, it appeared that fans
would not be allowed in Prov-
idence Park. But Gov. Kate
Brown reduced the coronavi-
rus threat level in the county on
Tuesday and some 4,000 spec-
tators attended the game.
The league’s regular season
opens next week.
Tracie Cone/AP file
Half Dome and Yosemite Valley in a view from Glacier Point at Yosemite
National Park, California, in 2011.
Yosemite
Continued from B1
Climbers will need to secure
free permits before they can
attempt multiday climbs on El
Cap, Half Dome, the Leaning
Tower and other big climbs be-
ginning May 21.
The long-rumored plan will
inevitably cause grumbling
in the birthplace of American
climbing and among a culture
that embraces freedom. But it
could help limit the number of
climbers on classic routes that
have become more crowded as
the sport has grown exponen-
tially in popularity.
“I think we’re going to have
a lot of climbers whining and
complaining because they
were gifted this thing that they
think is a right and it was re-
ally a privilege,” said Hans Flo-
rine, who with 170 ascents, has
climbed El Cap more than any-
one. “We were given incredible
rag-tag Wild West privileges
for the last 40 years in Yosem-
ite. All they’re asking is to let us
know you’re there.”
The two-year pilot program
will put climbers on par with
backpackers who have been
required to get wilderness per-
mits for decades to spend the
night in protected backcoun-
try areas of national parks and
forests. Unlike hikers, though,
the climbing permits will not
at first be rationed on a quota
basis that limits how many
people can be on a designated
route each day.
Jeff Webb, the wilderness
manager for Yosemite, said the
program will measure for the
first time how many people are
doing overnight or multiday
climbs to see what areas are
getting the most use and could
eventually lead to limits on cer-
tain routes, such as The Nose
on El Capitan.
The park will seek volun-
tary compliance but could fine
climbers who break the rules,
Webb said.
Yosemite is not the first park
to require permits for multi-
day climbs. Zion National Park
in Utah and the Black Canyon
of the Gunnison and Rocky
Mountain National Parks in
Colorado also have permit sys-
tems.
Daniel Duane, a climber and
author of “El Capitan: Historic
Feats and Radical Routes,” said
there was a certain sadness to
the development because it
was a reminder of an era when
Yosemite’s signature climbs
weren’t crowded.
Some climbers used to camp
for months in the park and
climb every day. City dwellers
could call a friend on Thursday
to plan a last-minute trip, drive
all night from San Francisco or
Los Angeles and hit the rock
on Friday morning.
“One of the kind of weird
and wonderful mysteries of
Yosemite forever has been that
you could just show up there,”
he said. “You could drive up to
the base of El Cap … and start
climbing. And the Yosemite
“Climbers are not crazy to
have felt that some really
substantial part of park
culture just wishes they
would go away.”
— Daniel Duane, a climber and
author of “El Capitan: Historic
Feats and Radical Routes”
Valley climbing lifestyle has
been kind of a miracle in that
way.”
But the rise of climbing
gyms has created a huge gen-
eration of new climbers that
has led to the sport being in-
cluded in the summer Olym-
pics this year for the first time.
Films about the feats of a few
rock stars on El Capitan have
captured the imaginations of
moviegoers and put them on
the edge of their seats as if they
were standing on sliver-width
ledges and gripping tiny cracks
on the sheer monolith thou-
sands of feet above the valley.
“Free Solo,” which portrayed
Alex Honnold’s climb up El
Capitan’s “Freerider” route
with no rope or protection,
won the best feature documen-
tary Oscar in 2019. “The Dawn
Wall,” documenting Tommy
Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson’s
epic 19-day ascent without any
aid — using only ropes to catch
their falls — similarly riveted
audiences.
When Duane was plan-
ning an overnight climb with
this daughter last year on the
south face of Washington Col-
umn, friends warned that they
wouldn’t be alone. He heard
stories of five parties being on
the route and five waiting in
line to start the climb.
Although he canceled the
trip because of the coronavirus
pandemic, he said that type of
situation “sucks for all parties
involved.”
While he’s not opposed to
the change, Duane said permit
reservations required four to
15 days in advance will remove
the spontaneity and will be
seen as another slap by climb-
ers who have often been odds
with the park administration.
“Climbers are not crazy to
have felt that some really sub-
stantial part of park culture just
wishes they would go away,”
he said. “This little step, as be-
nign as it seems and, frankly, as
sensible as it seems, definitely
raises those concerns for all us.”
Corey Rich, cinematogra-
pher of “The Dawn Wall,” who
has spent his professional ca-
reer hanging off the side of
Yosemite’s largest cliffs as an
adventure photographer, said
the move would be polarizing
among climbers.
The loss of freedom is a
bummer for him but it seems
like a necessary evil as the sport
evolves and grows and will help
protect the walls they love.
“I’m also one of these old
dogs that will have to learn the
new trick of how to apply for a
permit the next time I go up El
Cap,” Rich said.
Serena Morones/The Oregonian via AP
Portland Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna Franch (24) joins the celebration
after the Thorns defeated NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL Challenge
Cup final at Providence Park on Saturday.