Chase Elliott was named NASCAR’s most popular driver for the seventh consecutive year at the sport’s season-ending awards ceremony Friday night.

The only major NASCAR award determined solely by the vote of fans, Elliott earned 266,363 votes to beat out Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, per results released by the National Motorsports Press Association.

The Elliotts are no stranger to the award.

Chase’s father Bill Elliott, nicknamed “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville,” was named NASCAR’s most popular driver a record 16 times before removing his name from the ballot.

Tennis

Man who ended Nadal’s career lifts Netherlands to finals >> The last man to face — and beat — Rafael Nadal in professional tennis, 80th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, converted his 10th match point Friday to finally close out a 6-4, 6-7 (12), 6-3 victory over Daniel Altmaier and help the Netherlands reach its first Davis Cup final by sweeping Germany.

Tallon Griekspoor, who is ranked 40th, sealed the 2-0 win for the Dutch in the best-of-three-match semifinal by hitting 25 aces and coming back to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4. When it ended, appropriately, on an ace, Griekspoor shut his eyes, dropped to his knees and spread his arms wide.

Golf

Smith moves into lead in Australian PGA >> Former British Open champion Cameron Smith birdied three of his first four holes Saturday for a 6-under 65 and was tied for the second-round lead at the rain-shortened Australian PGA championship at Royal Queensland.

Heavy rain showers and an unplayable course on Friday forced the second round to be abandoned and made the joint Australasian PGA and European Tour event a 54-hole tournament scheduled to end Sunday.

Smith, the 2022 British Open winner at St. Andrews, had a 36-hole total of 10-under 132, level with first-round leader Elvis Smylie, who shot 67. Smylie is the son of former Australian tennis pro Liz Smylie.

Smith’s LIV tour mate and fellow Australian Marc Leishman, who shot 66, was in third place and a stroke behind the leading pair.

Soccer

Red Bulls advance >> Dante Vanzeir notched an assist on a first-half goal by Felipe Carballo and then scored nine minutes later, and Carlos Coronel made them stand up by posting his seventh career clean sheet against New York City FC in the New York Red Bulls’ 2-0 victory in an Eastern Conference semifinal at Citi Field.

The seventh-seeded Red Bulls will play the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between No. 9 seed Atlanta United and fourth-seeded Orlando City for the conference championship and the right to play for the MLS Cup.

Man City suffers fourth straight loss >> It started as an evening of celebration for Manchester City. It ended with the four-time defending Premier League champion conceding four goals and falling to a fifth-straight loss in all competitions as it faces a deepening crisis in a season that is threatening to unravel.

A 4-0 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday left City five points behind league leader Liverpool, having played a game more, and with manager Pep Guardiola questioning whether he could get its title challenge back on track.

Two goals from James Maddison inside 20 minutes at the Etihad Stadium stunned the home crowd, which had been treated to a light show before kickoff to mark midfielder Rodri winning the Ballon d’Or award for the best soccer player in the world.

Arsenal routs Nottingham Forest >> Mikel Arteta celebrated his 250th game in charge of Arsenal in style with victory against Forest.

It was his 147th win in all competitions — more than any Arsenal manager after the same number of games. Club great Arsene Wenger won 136 of his first 250 games.

Bukayo Saka put Arsenal ahead in the 15th and Thomas Partey added a second seven minutes into the second half.