Day 864

• A first-time top-level champion as the COVID-ravaged July sumo tournament ends.  Ichinojo, a rank 2 Maegashira, has won his first Makuuchi (top) level sumo tournament outright at 12-3 when Ozeki Takakeisho eliminated Yokozuna Terunofuji with a step-out (both finished 11-4).
• Promotions are going to be real log-jammed.  All of the name-rank (Sekiwake/Komusubi/Ozeki/Yokozuna) wrestlers who made it to the end went kachi-koshi (winning record, usually required to stay up in the lower two of the four ranks and is a component in staying Ozeki.
• Speaking of, much-maligned Ozeki Shodai avoided kadoban demotion (the process by which an Ozeki can be demoted) for the FOURTH TIME, and got his best record, at 10-5, of any tournament as an Ozeki since the first full one he was able to complete a year and a half ago.
• Kadoban demotion is three steps:  Machi-koshi (losing record) in two consecutive tournaments for conditional demotion, then absolute if, at Sekiwake, the wrestler can't go 10-5.  Shodai has now done the first step of that process on four separate occasions in the last two years.
• Which brings us to Ozeki Mitakeumi.  Went kadoban in May, was 2-4 when his heya was removed for COVID, so now what?  Does he go down and has to go 10-5 or he's out?  Especially with what I said above, who knows?
• NASCAR, you have a SERIOUS compliance problem!

1. The 7, 11, 17, 42, and 77 cars all failed pre-race inspection twice and lost a crew member and the right to pit selection for the Pocono race today.
2. The 42 and 43 cars were served major penalties (one race worth of points, suspension of crew chief) for illegal rocker box assemblies before the race.
3. After the race, race winner Denny Hamlin and second-placed driver Kyle Busch were both tossed and disqualified for failing POST-RACE inspection (the 11 and 18).  A front aerodynamic foul called.  It is the first time since 1960 the race winner was tossed after the race.  (To be fair, NASCAR has made it clear DQs will be more common starting this season.)

• NASCAR, PARK THESE FUCKERS.  Stop allowing the corporate sponsors of these fucking rolling billboards to pay for space on the track it is clear their teams have not earned and do not respect.  Throw them off the track and out of the race completely, and maybe the corporate sponsors can finally levy enough pressure to keep these teams in line.
• That is seven different cars failing one or more inspections to create penalty situations for the Cup race this weekend.  There are 36 cars in the race.  Six never should've seen the race today, four should be suspended for at least one race going forward.
• Kyle's brother Kurt was also out of the race, but that was a concussion-protocol issue from a Saturday crash and he was replaced.
• This week is not only the annual summer European Speedrunners' Assembly in Sweden, but next week is the annual summer Zeldathon.