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Nationals set to hire Blake Butera as manager, would be youngest in over 50 years: reports

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Nationals set to hire Blake Butera as manager, would be youngest in over 50 years: reports


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The Washington Nationals are set to go outside the box with their reported managerial hire. 

The team will hire 33-year-old Blake Butera as their new skipper, per multiple reports. Butera would become the youngest person to manage in the big leagues since 1972.

Frank Quilici was also 33 years old in his first season as manager of the Minnesota Twins. 

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Hudson Valley Renegades manager Blake Butera posts the lineup before Wednesday’s game at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill on July 10, 2019. (Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal via Imagn Content)

Butera had previously been the senior player development director for the Tampa Bay Rays. He has named to that role in October 2023 after spending four seasons managing in the minor leagues. 

In his first season as manager in the minor leagues, he was just 25 years old. Over those four seasons, he had a 258-144 record with four first-place finishes. In Butera’s last two seasons managing Low-A Charleston, he won league championships and went 170-82.

Butera transitioned to coaching after spending two seasons as a player in the Rays’ minor league system. Across his two seasons in the minors, he had a .235 batting average.

BLUE JAYS ONE WIN FROM WORLD SERIES TITLE AFTER TREY YESAVAGE’S DOMINANT GAME 5 PERFORMANCE

Blake Butera poses for photo

Blake Butera (10) of Team Italy poses for a photo during the Team Italy 2023 World Baseball Classic headshots at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, on March 4, 2023. (Mary DeCicco/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

He was drafted out of Boston College in the 35th round of the 2015 draft. Butera played four seasons at BC and was the team’s captain. 

The Nationals fired manager Davey Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo in July. The pair had helped lead the franchise to a World Series title in 2019. 

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Blake Butera looks on

Hudson Valley Renegades manager Blake Butera poses at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, New York, on June 12, 2019. (Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal via IMAGN)

Martinez had a 500-622 record across nearly eight seasons at the helm. Interim manager Miguel Cairo had a 29-43 record after Martinez was fired. 

The Nationals hired former Boston Red Sox general manager Paul Toboni in September to replace Rizzo. They hope the combination of Toboni and Butera can help lead the Nationals back to the World Series. 

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NASCAR’s Truck Series and O’Reilly Autoparts Series honor Kyle Busch with moments of silence at Charlotte

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NASCAR’s Truck Series and O’Reilly Autoparts Series honor Kyle Busch with moments of silence at Charlotte


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The NASCAR world is paying tribute to Kyle Busch this weekend, and that includes some classy ones from two series in which the late driver had a lot of success.

While Busch — who passed away Thursday after “severe pneumonia [that] progressed into sepsis” — had been a full-time driver in NASCAR’s top series, the Cup Series, for more than 20 years, he still competed occasionally in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

He was especially known for his dominance in the Truck Series, winning 69 of his 184 races, and at one point owned a team. In fact, the final win of Busch’s career came just under a week before his death in a Truck Series race at Dover.

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Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, is introduced before the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 1, 2026. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

On Friday, the Truck Series was in Charlotte as part of the Coca-Cola 600 weekend for a race that Busch was supposed to take part in.

NASCAR, RACING WORLD REACTS TO KYLE BUSCH’S SHOCKING DEATH AT 41: ‘CANNOT COMPREHEND THIS NEWS’

Corey Day was in the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, the truck in which Busch took his final win, and it was set to start on pole after Friday’s qualifying was rained out.

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch celebrates the final win of his NASCAR career at Dover Motor Speedway. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire)

Before the race was set to begin on Friday evening, teams and fans held a moment of silence for Busch.

Unfortunately, the race never got underway and was postponed until Saturday morning and then again to Saturday night.

The O’Reilly Autoparts Series, which Busch raced in many times and won many times during his career, also took a moment to remember him before their race at Charlotte on Saturday.

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That race was also suspended due to rain.

There will be some heavy hearts on Sunday when the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series’ longest race of the year, gets started at 6 p.m. ET.



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Kyle Busch’s iconic No. 18 will appear in the Indianapolis 500 in tribute to late driver

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Kyle Busch’s iconic No. 18 will appear in the Indianapolis 500 in tribute to late driver


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While Kyle Busch was a legend in the NASCAR ranks, he was incredibly well respected throughout the world of motorsports.

That’s why one of Busch’s NASCAR numbers — the one I’d argue is most iconic — will make an appearance in the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

Busch had a bunch of numbers across NASCAR’s three national series, but in the Cup Series, he used No. 5, No. 18 and No. 8.

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Kyle Busch used No. 18 during his years with Joe Gibbs Racing. (Isaac Brekken/AP)

For many fans, No. 18 is the number they associate with Busch, as he used it for 15 years, including during both of his championship seasons.

NASCAR, RACING WORLD REACTS TO KYLE BUSCH’S SHOCKING DEATH AT 41: ‘CANNOT COMPREHEND THIS NEWS’

You can close your eyes and picture it on the side of those legendary M&M’s paint schemes.

Well, Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern shared that Dale Coyne Racing, which runs the No. 18 Honda driven by Romain Grosjean, will display the classic No. 18 used on Busch’s car during his time with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series.

How about that tribute?

Of course, the numbers are typically trademarked, so as Stern reported, the idea — which came from Fox Sports IndyCar commentator Townsend Bell — required getting in touch with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch never raced in the Indy 500 or in the IndyCar Series; however, he did have a lot of success at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in NASCAR.

Kyle Busch standing in racing suit at Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR star Kyle Busch died on Thursday at just 41 years old. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

His brother, retired NASCAR driver and former Cup Series champ, Kurt Busch, attempted double duty by competing in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day in 2014.

It’s a heck of a tribute from the folks at Dale Coyne Racing with an assist from JGR.

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And while I don’t want to play favorites, wouldn’t it be something to see that No. 18 in Victory Lane?

Grosjean will start Sunday’s race in 24th, which means he has some ground to make up, but anything can happen in the Indy 500.



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Who Are The 10 Test Indy 500 Drivers Of All time?

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Who Are The 10 Test Indy 500 Drivers Of All time?


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The 2026 INDYCAR season has already delivered stellar moments, even before “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” 

That highly anticipated race happens on Sunday, May 24, with the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500.

Coverage for the Indy 500 begins at 10 a.m. ET.

You can watch the Indy 500 pre-race and race broadcasts on FOX and stream the broadcasts on FOX One, FOX Sports.com and the FOX Sports App

Ahead of all the action, we’ve rounded up the best drivers to grace the course.

Here are the 10 best Indianapolis 500 drivers of all time.

10 Best Indy 500 Drivers Of All Time

10. Dario Franchitti

Although he had one of the shorter Indy 500 careers on this list, Franchitti managed to compile some impressive results. He earned three victories at the track between 2007-2012. Moreover, he added three other top-10 finishes to his name despite participating in just 10 races. His best stretch was when he claimed six top-seven finishes in seven attempts from 2005 and 2012.

9. Arie Luyendyk

Luyendyk won the Indy 500 twice, but it was a mixed bag overall. He raced in the event every year from 1985 to 2002 and withdrew in 2003, but he finished outside the top 10 in 10 different races. Still, few can match the success he found, with seven top-10 finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

8. Louis Meyer

The first three-time winner in the race’s history, Meyer is one of the top drivers who isn’t talked about nearly enough. He had a truly remarkable race in 1936, becoming just the second racer in history — and last — to win the Indy 500 from a starting position of 28th or lower. Meyer grabbed first and second, respectively, in his first two tries in Indianapolis.

7. Bobby Unser 

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. Never has that been more true than with Unser, who had just one top-10 finish in his first four tries at Indy. However, Unser would eventually win the Indy 500 three times (1968, 1975 and 1981). In his last four starts, he had three top-six finishes, including winning the event on his last time at the track at age 47. 

6. Johnny Rutherford

Another three-time Indy 500 winner, Rutherford claimed his victories between 1974 and 1980. Rutherford had a bit of a slow start to this race, finishing 18th or lower in each of his first nine times at the track. He then turned in four straight top-10 finishes, including winning in 1974 and 1976 and grabbing second in 1975. 

5. Wilbur Shaw

As good as Rutherford’s three-year stretch was, Shaw one-ups him with his bonkers four-year run. From 1937 to 1940, Shaw placed first, second, first and first. A run like that automatically vaults you into the top five in the history of the Indy 500. Before that, it had been an up-and-down race for Shaw, but you cannot overlook just how dominant he was overall, with three victories and seven top-five finishes.

4. Helio Castroneves

Castroneves is the first of four drivers on this list tied for the most wins (four) at the Indy 500. He earned his most recent victory in 2021, while his previous three wins came between 2001 and 2009. He’s also one of just six drivers to claim back-to-back Indy 500 victories, doing so in 2001 and 2002. Perhaps the most remarkable part of his driving career at IMS is the fact that he owns the record for the longest span between his first and last win — 20 years.

3. Al Unser Sr.

Unser isn’t just tied for the most Indy 500 wins, claiming his four in 1970, 1971, 1978 and 1987. He’s also the oldest winner ever at 47 years, 360 days old, slightly edging out his brother, Bobby. In his second-to-last race at IMS in 1992, Unser finished in third, while his son, Al Unser Jr., was the winner. 

2. A.J. Foyt

Foyt is undoubtedly deserving of one of the top spots on this list as the first four-time winner in the race’s history, finishing in first place in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977. Most impressive about his career in Indy, though, is that Foyt has the most starts there of any driver (35), including racing in every single one from 1958 to 1992.

1. Rick Mears

The other driver tied for the most wins at IMS, Mears dominated in Indy. He started 11 times on the front row, with six of those times coming consecutively from 1986 to 1991 — both of which are records at the track. He has also claimed a record six pole positions at the event and is one of just 12 racers to earn back-to-back pole positions. 

Check out all of our Daily Rankers.



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