Sports Highlights: NASCAR Driver Swap, WNBA Fever, and Ohtani's Historic Feat

This summary covers recent sports news including NASCAR driver swaps, the Indiana Fever's WNBA playoffs entry, Shohei Ohtani's historic 50-50 season, Alex Bowman's pole position win, Troy Fautanu's knee injury, Team World's Laver Cup lead, Dylan Guenther's contract extension, the Phillies’ playoff clinch, and Beatriz Haddad Maia's wins at the Korea Open.

Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports will swap drivers Corey LaJoie and Justin Haley after the Bristol Motor Speedway race, preparing for the 2025 season. LaJoie will debut for RWR and Haley for Spire at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 29.

The Indiana Fever have sportsbooks on edge as they enter the WNBA playoffs against the Connecticut Sun. Despite a rocky end to the season, a championship win by the Caitlin Clark-led team would be a costly upset for bookmakers.

Japan celebrated as Shohei Ohtani became the first Major League Baseball player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star's achievement was praised by fans and the Japanese government.

Alex Bowman secured the pole position for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, edging out teammate William Byron by just 0.003 seconds.

Pittsburgh Steelers' tackle Troy Fautanu will miss Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers due to a knee injury from practice.

In tennis, Team World took an 8-4 lead over Team Europe in the Laver Cup as Ben Shelton and Alejandro Tabilo defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud.

Utah Hockey Club's Dylan Guenther signed an eight-year, $57.1M contract extension, starting the 2025-26 season.

The Philadelphia Phillies clinched a playoff berth with a decisive 12-2 win over the New York Mets.

Brazilian tennis player Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated both Kudermetova sisters on the same day at the Korea Open to reach the finals.

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue to captivate fans, as the race to Phoenix heats up.

(With inputs from agencies.)