Jimmie Johnson’s racing team Legacy Motor Club is set to expand next year, adding a third charter for the 2027 Cup Series season. With the new seat available, it appears that the team’s search for its wheelman is over.

According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Legacy’s year-long search for a third chartered driver is “effectively over” and the team is now focusing on 23XI Racing’s Riley Herbst to get behind the wheel in 2027.

Read more: NASCAR prospects whose stock is rising

Riley Herbst, age 27, became a full-time Cup Series driver with 23XI in the No. 35 car last season. He struggled in his rookie year, failing to record a single top 10 finish, while posting one of the worst average starting positions (26.97) and average finishing position (26.39) among full-time Cup drivers.

He has performed much better in 2026. Through 12 races, Herbst’s average starting position (20.25) and average finishing position (22.67) have improved significantly. Herbst earned his first top-10 finish (Daytona 500) since 2023, and he has finished in the top 20 four times this year.

Herbst also brings other qualities that probably have significant importance to the heritage. First of all, he has proven to be an excellent teammate to Tyler Reddick this season through his work in leading Tyler Reddick to victory at Daytona and in the sim.

Equally important for a relatively new team like Legacy, Herbst also brings funding. The Herbst family owns a vast chain of convenience stores, and Driver has a long-term relationship with Monster Energy. Combine all this with the improvements he has made this year, and it is easy to see why he is a top candidate to join the Legacy Motor Club next season.

The domino effect of joining Riley Herbst’s legacy

All of Legacy’s pursuit comes as it secured a third charter in the Cup Series for the 2027 season, creating a domino effect that will impact many top teams. Both 23XI and RFK Racing are affected by the move.

RELATED: Chase Contender Could Lose Chartered Status in 2027

The above charter is leased to RFK this season and is being used for Ryan Preece. RFK is also in a tough spot as all three of its drivers—Preece, Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski—are in contract years. Even if all three drivers are re-signed, there is currently no viable path for the team to acquire a third charter.

Since RFK deals with the loss of a chartered car, 23XI has its own vacancy. Fortunately for the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, NASCAR’s top prospect Corey Haim is set to replace Herbst next season. Widely regarded as the top prospect in NASCAR, Heim’s arrival should give 23XI a chance to establish itself as the third-best team in the Cup Series.

RELATED: When Corey Heim Can Race Full-Time for 23XI Racing

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In Friday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kyle Schwarber did something that had only been done once before in Philadelphia Phillies history. The slugger equaled the record set by Cy Williams in 1923 by homering 20 times in the Phils’ first 45 games of the season. He has also hit nine home runs in his last eight games. Schwarber is on pace for a ridiculous 72 home runs.

Age remains a concern for Schwarber, as the former outfielder transitions to full-time designated hitter duties after the 2023 season. But his power has only improved since then, hitting a career-high 56 homers in 2025. He is the definition of a true triple output player, someone who primarily walks, strikes out, or hits home runs. Many are questioning whether his power can continue as he ages, so how has Schwarber maintained his ability to throw for power?

History as a slugger

None of this is new to Schwarber, although it has certainly reached a new level recently. He has always been a power hitter. Since 2017, Schwarber posted only one season with fewer than 30 homers (2018), not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season. This is a level of consistent slugging that is simply head and shoulders above everyone else in the game. And it’s that consistency that has established Schwarber as one of the best in baseball.

The slugger has spent time with four clubs in his career, but most of his service time was split between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia. Interestingly, Schwarber has gotten better with age. His time with the Cubs was early in his career, where he hit 121 homers. But during his most recent stint with Philly, the hitter has 207 dingers. In a league where age almost always means getting worse, Schwarber has managed to turn it around.

only getting better with age

They say wine gets better with age, but so does Kyle Schwarber. In the first seven seasons of his career, he never reached the 40-homer mark. But in the four seasons that followed, Schwarber has surpassed 40 home runs three times. The only time he failed to reach there was in 2024, when he scored 38 runs. And even though he surpassed his career high in points last season with 56, it looks like Schwarber is even better in 2026.

His 165 wRC+ is an all-time high compared to last year’s 152. ISO is a statistic that measures pure power hitting, which is calculated by subtracting batting average from the slugging percentage. Schwarber has a ridiculous .384 ISO mark. That production at the plate has equated to 1.5 WAR for the slugger in just 45 games. This puts him on pace for 5.4 WAR on the season. for a player who Only Contributes with his bat, that’s huge numbers.

statistical anomalies

Statcast has some graphs of Schwarber’s plate production that help explain his profile as a player with three true results. The first two (seen below) show his hot zone as a power hitter, with the red color on the image indicating the part where his home runs are hit.

As you would expect, these zones are fairly similar, with the middle of the zone being the primary spot where Schwarber makes quality contact. An interesting metric is the top right part of each figure. These are pitches that are high and inside, given that Schwarber is a left-hander. He’s doing a tremendous amount of damage on those pitches, with 1,500 ISO and 2,000 SLG. His strikeout rate in that area is also attractive (pictured below left). He has not yet hit a pitch in that area of ​​the zone, demonstrating a distinct ability to wait for that pitch and do damage.

Even more shocking are his on-base percentage stats. The four quadrants outside the zone are a helpful way to measure plate discipline and movement. Schwarber has a combined .559 OBP on pitches out of the zone, which means he’s walking in a ridiculous fashion. He is tied for 11th in MLB with 30 walks, giving him a 14.7 percent walk rate.

Schwarber is an anomaly in that regard. Before him, most sluggers known to get better after age 30 were steroid users. The year Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs, a record that has yet to be broken, he had a .863 SLG and a .535 ISO. Schwarber isn’t nearly as good, but is doing something similar without the help of performance-enhancing drugs.

The Phillies’ 2026 season

The year got off to a rough start for Philadelphia, who fired manager Rob Thomson after a 9–19 start. They have since improved to second place in the National League East with a 22–23 record under interim manager Don Mattingly. Much of that success was due to Schwarber’s bat. In baseball it is impossible for a player to carry a team. But it often feels like the team wouldn’t be where they are without Schwarber; he is He Precious.

If he can keep this up, he will establish himself as not only the greatest slugger in Philadelphia history, but one of the greatest in MLB history. While in Philly, he has averaged 47 home runs a season (2022–25). Given this, he is on pace to reach 574 home runs by the time his contract with the Phillies expires in 2030. Only 28 players have ever reached the 500-homer plateau, and Schwarber is poised to become number one. 29.

On Friday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers provided Aaron Rodgers with an opportunity to fine-tune his legacy in his final season in the NFL.

Rodgers would go on to become one of the greatest players to ever take the field wearing a helmet in an NFL game. In his 21 legendary seasons, he went to the Pro Bowl 10 times, earned All-Pro honors on four occasions, and was the NFL MVP four times. And in 2011, he reached the top of the mountain when he led the Green Bay Packers to their last Super Bowl.

His reputation as a football player remains untouched. However, it is things off the field that have made him a divisive figure among many fans. Whether it’s his almost annual retirement threats with the Packers. Mike McCarthy was removed as head coach. His views about the world, or his interest in psychedelics.

He also had a disappointing season with the New York Jets and took several months to put pen to paper with the Pittsburgh Steelers last year. Another standout was how he handled the Packers’ preparation for his postseason when they drafted Jordan Love in Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Although he was not outwardly unhappy about it, he did not accept the future despite receiving similar treatment from Brett Favre 15 years earlier. This was one of many instances during his career where he appeared to be emotion- and me-first rather than team-first.

Well, if he returns to the Steelers this season he has a chance to change a lot of opinions about him. On Friday night, Pittsburgh took a step toward the future when they made Penn State quarterback Drew Allar the 76th pick in this year’s draft.

Aaron Rodgers should embrace graybeard mentorship in final NFL season

The Ellers were promoted in the first round of the 2025 college football season. But a poor start for the Nittany Lions and a serious ankle injury ended his year within a few weeks. He has good size and a big arm that can make all the throws in the NFL. But it needs a lot of work and it’s a complete project. So he is not a threat to Rodgers starting in 2026.

That’s why NFL veterans should guide Elar, as NFL.com’s scouting report claims his “improvement in confidence, poise and recognition should be the foundation of any rebound.”

Barring a spectacular run to the Super Bowl, this is certainly the 42-year-old’s swan song. His place in Canton has been decided. However, changing his story a bit by playing a key role in developing his replacement and a potential long-term starter would be just as close to an illustrious career. This will prove once and for all that he is a better player and person than Brett Favre.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

While this season has been a rough one for the Sacramento Kings, Russell Westbrook, in his 18th year, has continued to work hard and help become a leader for the younger players around him. In the process of doing so, Westbrook has also continued to add to his legacy, and that’s what he did on Tuesday night against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

Westbrook, the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, has added another major feat to his list of accomplishments as he moves past Mark Jackson (10,334) and Steve Nash (10,335) into fifth place on the league’s all-time assist leaderboard with 10,336 career assists and counting.

This puts Westbrook in the all-time top five in assists along with LeBron James (11,090), Jason Kidd (12,091), Chris Paul (12,552), and John Stockton (15,806).

Westbrook recently became the first guard in NBA history to surpass 9,000 career rebounds.

Despite playing with a handful of teams in the latter stages of his career, Westbrook has continued to play at a high level, and the 37-year-old guard is proving that retirement is not on his mind just yet.

Although the Kings are one of the NBA’s worst teams at 18-51 heading into Tuesday night games, Westbrook has had arguably his best season in the last three years.

In 62 games this season, excluding the Kings’ game against the Spurs, Westbrook has averaged 15.4 points, 6.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.8 percent from the floor. His six triple-doubles this year rank fifth among all players, and two of them have come in his last three games.

Coincidentally, the Kings have done well in achieving their triple-double-like identity with Westbrook, as they have won four of their last five games entering Tuesday night’s game in Sacramento.

The records and accolades speak for themselves, and Westbrook has plenty of records that prove he is a surefire Hall of Famer. This is his latest accomplishment that adds a whole new layer to his greatness as one of the best passers in NBA history.

Recently, the NBA world was stunned to learn that famous point guard Chris Paul will be retiring from the game in the middle of the 2o25-26 season. The news came after Starr was released by the Toronto Raptors, ending any possibility of a retirement tour he had hoped to do.

Now, Paul is reflecting on his Hall of Fame career, specifically his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, while taking a ride in a Waymo self-driving car via JD Dyer.

According to “When I think about legacy, I always say if people remember me for what I did on the basketball court, that means I didn’t do much.”

Paul actually spent the prime years of his career with the Clippers during the 2010s, although he also spent several stints with the New Orleans Hornets before that. Paul rejoined the Clippers ahead of the 2025-26 season, but was surprisingly released from the team a few months ago reportedly due to friction between him and head coach Ty Lue.

Paul previously announced that the 2025-26 season would be his last, paving the way for a Kobe Bryant-esque retirement tour, but that ended with his sudden dismissal from the Clippers.

Although his career obviously didn’t end the way he would have hoped, it will never take away from Paul’s standing as one of the greatest point guards of his generation, elevating every team he joined and coming close to winning a championship with the 2021 Phoenix Suns.

This is probably a guarantee that he will be in the Hall of Fame in his first year of being eligible.