CONCORD, N.C. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spoke publicly Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time since finding out he would not return to Roush Fenway Racing in 2020.

Roush Fenway Racing announced earlier this week that Stenhouse, the driver of the No. 17 Ford Mustang for the last seven years, would be replaced by Chris Buescher next season.

Stenhouse’s departure ends an 11-year relationship with Roush Fenway Racing that saw the Mississippi native earn two NASCAR Xfinity Series championships and two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victories for the team.

“It was unfortunate, for sure,” Stenhouse said Friday afternoon. “Definitely tough timing for myself and my group to try to find another option, but, all in all, I’ve got to look back on the 11 years that I had with Jack and winning races and championships and getting my first Cup win and being competitive – not as consistent as what we wanted, but the end of it all I’m very thankful that Jack took a chance on a dirt racer from Mississippi to come drive his car.

“It was fun, a little emotional with the relationship Jack and I have.  It’s the only team I’ve ever been at, so I’m looking forward to see what’s next.  Like I said, there’s a lot of work to do on that, but, all in all, I’m definitely looking forward to these last eight with the great partners that we have, everybody on the 17 team.  I’ve worked with a lot of them since my Nationwide (Xfinity Series) days, so it will be tough, but it will be a fun eight races with them.”

Stenhouse explained that he found out about Roush Fenway Racing’s decision to part ways with him Wednesday morning.

“I got a text on Tuesday night to say, ‘swing by the shop tomorrow at 11.’  I’ve gotten plenty of those texts before, so I didn’t really think anything of it and then my agent called me, I was drinking coffee at 7:30 Wednesday morning getting ready to go work out and he was like, ‘Hey, they called me to come to the shop,’” Stenhouse recalled. “So, when he said that, I was like, ‘that’s probably not very good.’  We went in the shop at 11, so I found out just soon before everybody else did.

“I didn’t really have any knowing (idea) that it was coming, but that’s part of it.  I know people get fired every day from their jobs and I can’t feel sorry for myself.  I’ve got to make sure that we look forward, like I said, to these eight races and what can we land to showcase what I’ve got for 2020.”

Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway will be Stenhouse’s 249 NASCAR Cup Series start. In his NASCAR Cup Series career he has two wins, both coming in 2017, as well as 15 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes.

However, he’s failed to finish 25 races because of crashes or crash related damage. This year he’s failed to finish on the lead lap 15 times in 28 races. His replacement, Buescher, hasn’t finished on the lead lap in 11 events this year. Buescher currently sits 20th in the NASCAR Cup Series standings while Stenhouse is 23rd.

Stenhouse admitted he felt blindsided by the team’s decision to replace him so late in the season, making it harder for him to find a competitive opportunity for 2020.

“Yeah, pretty blindsided.  Obviously, eight races left or whatever we have left is pretty late in the game,” Stenhouse said. “Halfway through the season would have been a little nicer to be able to go look for something else to do, but it’s their business and I’ve got to go with it.  Like I said, no hard feelings.  I’ve been angry at times, but, for the most part, I look back on all of it and I’m super thankful.”

As far as next year is concerned, Stenhouse has had little time to think about it. He said he’s leaving that to his management team.

“My agent has been talking to everybody. He’s trying to figure that out,” Stenhouse said.

CONCORD, N.C. – Michael McDowell’s day didn’t start off very well Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

McDowell found himself in a great deal of pain prior to Friday’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice. The pain was so bad, in fact, that he ended up at the hospital.

“I’m really thankful I feel as good as I do,” McDowell said. “I felt like this morning I was very close to death. Now this afternoon I feel pretty good. Unfortunate, but I’m thankful I’m at home in Charlotte and thankful I was able to get to a place where I feel pretty good.”

McDowell said he initially had no idea what was wrong with him before he was finally diagnosed with and passed a kidney stone.

“I had no idea, that was the problem,” McDowell said. “I was hurting and in pain and not feeling well and nauseous and throwing up. But what it was was just a kidney stone and fortunately I was able to pass a kidney stone and immediately felt 85 percent better. But getting up to that process was close to death.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Austin Cindric practiced McDowell’s car Friday afternoon. McDowell returned to the track and was able to qualify his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford 22nd for Sunday’s race.

– Ryan Blaney is the defending winner of the Bank of America ROVAL 400, a fact that hasn’t been lost on him in the lead up to Sunday’s race.

“Coming back here, it’s nice coming back to a place you’ve won at no matter how you do it,” Blaney said. “Honestly, I was kind of more excited to come back here to see the new chicane. I think that was pretty unique, a lot different from what we had last year. We’re actually talking about adding more braking markers because there are only six of them and we’re braking at like the hypothetical seven, so I think we’re gonna add a couple more.

“But yeah, it’s nice to come back. That’s kind of all I’ve heard this week was last winner and I don’t really think about that stuff too much. I kind of think about the next one coming up.”

– Kyle Larson, who led the most laps in last year’s inaugural race on the ROVAL, qualified seventh and expressed confidence that his No. 42 team was capable of competing for a win Sunday.

“I’m pretty confident,” Larson said. “We led the most laps here last year and had the best shot to win until we all drove into the wall. If it’s going to be like last year, I’m definitely confident.”

– Roush Fenway Racing co-owner Jack Roush was asked during a press conference whether he’d ever consider fielding an Indy car team.

“I believe first and foremost that race cars have doors,” Roush said.

He would go on to say that Indy car racing lacked the manufacturer identity that NASCAR has with its race cars, making it less appealing to him when compared to his NASCAR program.

“If you don’t have the prospect of tying a manufacturer to the prospect of winning on Sunday and selling on Monday, you’ve really missed an opportunity to market what you’re doing with the race car that’s hard to overcome,” Roush said. “I’ve never felt diminished nor have I missed anything by not racing Indy cars or open-wheel cars.  I drag raced full-bodied cars.  I road raced full-bodied cars, and I look forward to racing my stock cars for a long time to come.”

– After sharing his displeasure with Austin Dillon over his team radio last week at Richmond Raceway after Dillon spun him out, Alex Bowman doubled down on his displeasure with the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet Friday afternoon.

“I was obviously frustrated with that situation but I think it hurt his day more than it hurt mine,” Bowman said. “We kind of ran where we were going to run anyway. It’s just frustrating. I got ran all the way to the inside wall down the front straightaway and then just turned. It is what it is.

Bowman noted he wasn’t remotely concerned about dealing with Dillon during Sunday’s race, saying, “You typically don’t see him at these places anyway.”

– Martin Truex Jr. is one of only a few active drivers in the NASCAR garage area to have raced with the late Mike Stefanik, who died in a plane crash on Sept. 15.

Truex remembered the late NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Friday.

“Just his success over the years and how long he went winning races and championships was amazing,” Truex said. “I can remember watching him as a kid. Growing up, watching my dad race and then moving up through the ranks and getting to race with guys like Mike (Stefanik). Just an awesome competitor. A true champion, a great guy off the race track. Obviously a tough thing for especially the Modified guys, just the Northeast racing scene in general. He was a hero up there. Pretty tragic how it all happened. We were all thinking about his family.”

– Several NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers had issues during Friday’s first day of practice. Michael Annett, Noah Gragson, Cody Ware and Preston Pardus all crashed at different points during the two NASCAR Xfinity Series practice sessions.

The incidents weren’t limited to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with Denny Hamlin and Parker Kligerman both finding the wall in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice. Hamlin’s crash was bad enough to require a backup car.

MADISON, Ill. – Robert Hight put on a show during qualifying on Friday, racing to the provisional No. 1 spot in Funny Car during the eighth annual AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Billy Torrence (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the second of six races during the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Gateway is also the 20th of 24 events on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.

Returning to the site where he broke his collarbone during a crash just past the finish line in the final round a year ago, Hight put together an outstanding run of 3.877-seconds at 334.90 mph in his AAA Missouri Chevrolet Camaro SS on Friday.

The defending event champion, Hight is racing for his ninth No. 1 qualifier of 2019 and 69th in his standout career as he looks to regain the points lead in St. Louis.

Bob Tasca III is currently in the second spot thanks to his run of 3.904 at 324.98, while John Force is a spot back after going 3.911 at 329.18.

Points leader Jack Beckman is in fourth with a run of 3.916 at 329.99.

“We had high hopes,” Hight said. “We made four really good runs testing, and (crew chief) Jimmy Prock was not going to let this thing slow down. That’s not how you’re going to win a championship and it’s not what you need in the Countdown. It was pretty exciting and to do it in AAA country and at my sponsor’s race, that’s a good way to shine and show off. We need to keep gathering up those little qualifying points.

“That’s going to put us back in the ballgame.”

Top Fuel’s Billy Torrence put together a blistering pass of 3.699 at 321.88 in his Capco Contractors dragster to move into the top spot. It would be Torrence’s second No. 1 qualifier this season and third in his career if it holds.

A spot behind sits his son, Steve, who is the defending race winner and world champion.

The younger Torrence, who won eight races in the regular season, went 3.711 at 325.85, while Top Fuel rookie Austin Prock’s 3.726 at 328.94 has him third.

Points leader Doug Kalitta is fifth after his run of 3.743 at 323.58.

In Pro Stock, Enders continued her impressive performance in qualifying during the Countdown to the Championship, going 6.580 at 207.15 in her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro.

Enders is aiming for her second straight No. 1 qualifier and 21st of her career. The two-time world champ is also after her first win of the year.

Deric Kramer is second with a run of 6.585 at 209.20 and Bo Butner is third with his 6.586 at 208.17. Points leader Jason Line sits sixth with a 6.593 at 209.14.

Pro Stock Motorcycle veteran Johnson raced to the top spot on his Slick 50 Suzuki, going 6.838 at 196.02 to set a commanding statement to open the weekend. It would be Johnson’s first No. 1 qualifier since 2013 if it holds, and the fourth in his career.

Johnson also put considerable distance between his next competitor, as Andrew Hines is currently qualified second with a 6.879 at 195.85. Eddie Krawiec is a spot back with a 6.884 at 196.70.

Points leader Jerry Savoie is seventh after going 6.908 at 196.62.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Lance Dewease scored his 98th-career Williams Grove Speedway sprint car win on Friday night in the World of Outlaws tune up race for 410 sprint cars.

Dewease took home $8,000 for his fifth win of the year at the track, after overtaking Freddie Rahmer for the win.

The initial start of the 30-lap outlaws tune up race was red flagged for a vicious crash just before the first lap could be completed, when Tyler Reeser and Cody Keller tangled just as they exited turn four.

Reeser’s car was destroyed, with the front end of the mount totally torn away.

The restart saw polesitter Rahmer jet into the lead over second starter Brian Montieth, with Dewease racing third at that point.

The only caution flag of the race unfurled with four laps complete, regrouping the field.

Dewease began challenging Montieth for second on the restart, and took the low lane underneath him in the first and second turns to net the second spot on the sixth loop.

Rahmer began working traffic with 20 laps to go, and by the halfway point, both he and Dewease seemed to be struggling to work through the field.

At times Rahmer would slip over the third turn cushion, while Dewease would burst off of the second turn but then slide around in the third and fourth corner.

Dewease took his first swipe at the lead with 11 laps to go in the first turn, when he caught Rahmer as he came up on a backmarker.

Dewease took the opportunity to go three wide through the turns, racing in the middle groove and drawing even with Rahmer, who was to his outside.

However, Rahmer pulled ahead onto the backstretch and Dewease regrouped.

With six laps to go, Dewease had again run up on Rahmer in traffic, and he bolted underneath him in the third turn to drive up across the track, catch the cushion and take control. However, Rahmer turned his car off of the cushion and reclaimed the top spot at the line, although the naked eye had trouble seeing who got to the line first.

Dewease then mashed the brakes and turned the car from the outside lane to the inside as he and Rahmer set their cars into the first turn.

As Rahmer swept across the cushion Dewease throttled his No. 69K across the bottom to bite fast low in the second turn and take the point.

Once in front, Dewease threaded his way through traffic to get the win by 1.281 seconds.

“I think we need to be better than that,” said Dewease about his chances against the outlaws in the National Open next week, comparing his just-completed run to the win against the competition he’ll face in the Open.

“The track was tricky tonight.”

Rahmer was second followed by Brian Montieth, who won the 2019 Diamond Series title by taking the podium spot.

Brian Brown rode home fourth and Matt Campbell was fifth in the Westbrook No. 1W.

Sixth through 10th went to Danny Dietrich, T.J. Stutts, Ryan Smith, Cory Haas and Anthony Macri.

In the 358 sprint feature, Doug Hammaker put an exclamation point on his 2019 track title in the division by claiming the final race of the year.

Hammaker led all 20 laps of the 358 sprint main to claim his third feature win of the season at the track and ninth of his career at the Mechanicsburg oval.

Rich Eichelberger trailed Hammaker for the win the entire distance, with Kyle Denmyer, Matt Findley and Troy Wagaman Jr. completing the top five in that division.

The finish:

1. Lance Dewease, 2. Freddie Rahmer, 3. Brian Montieth, 4. Brian Brown, 5. Matt Campbell, 6. Danny Dietrich, 7. TJ Stutts, 8. Ryan Smith, 9. Cory Haas, 10. Anthony Macri, 11. Chad Trout, 12. Alan Krimes, 13. Lucas Wolfe, 14. Kyle Moody, 15. Dylan Cisney, 16. Jared Esh, 17. Jeff Halligan, 18. Nicole Bower, 19. Brett Michalski, 20. Troy Fraker, 21. Mark Smith, 22. Todd Zinn, 23. Cody Keller, 24. Tyler Reeser.

NAPA, Calif. – Cameron Champ’s shoes belie a heavy heart this week at the Safeway Open.

Champ strolled the fairways Friday in a pair of white Nikes, having written across the bottom “POPS Champ” with a marker. The inscription is an ode to his grandfather, Mack, who taught him the game at a young age and is currently in hospice while battling terminal, Stage IV stomach cancer. 

The quick deterioration of the illness has thrown Champ’s schedule upside down this week in Napa, which sits about an hour away from his hometown of Sacramento. Rather than stay on-site early in the week at Silverado Resort and Spa, Champ skipped Wednesday’s pro-am and has opted to make the commute each day in order to maximize his time with family. He’ll stay on-site Friday night but remains undecided about his plans for Saturday.

“We didn’t know how severe the cancer was. About 10 days ago, he wanted to go to hospice, so that’s what he wanted,” Champ said. “He hasn’t eaten in 2-3 weeks. Basically from there, it’s just timing. We just want to make him as comfortable as possible and just spend as much time with him as we can.”

Champ has used the situation to fuel a run into contention at Silverado, where he sits in a tie for third after rounds of 67-68. Known for his prodigious length off the tee, Champ has birdied seven of the eight par-5s this week and trails leader Bryson DeChambeau by three shots heading into the weekend.

Mack Champ, a 78-year-old Vietnam veteran, battled racial discrimination to learn the game in Texas in the 1940s and 50s. He passed that knowledge on to Cameron, who began hitting balls in his grandfather’s backyard at age 2 and last fall earned his first PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Champ’s rookie season didn’t pan out as he had hoped following that breakthrough triumph, with just one top-25 finish since early January. But he picked up some life lessons along the way that he’s planning to put to use this week as he keeps part of his energy and thoughts with his grandfather a few miles away.

“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes with a lot of us. But I think it just frees me up to realize that there’s a lot more to life than golf. It’s just golf,” Champ said. “I think last year I put way too much pressure on myself with that, thinking that it defines me or that if I shoot this, people will think that. But it really doesn’t matter. I think with this experience, I have a better outlook on things.”

NAPA, Calif. – Tony Romo is heading back to his day job.

The former NFL quarterback turned television analyst became the early story at the Safeway Open, shooting a 2-under 70 in the opening round while playing as an amateur on a sponsor exemption. The score left Romo in a tie for 28^th and it beat the likes of Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama among others at Silverado Resort & Spa.

Romo had aspirations of making the 36-hole cut in his fourth career Tour start, a result that would've required him to cancel plans to broadcast the Sunday game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. But those hopes quickly faded as Romo struggled to a 6-over 78 in the second round.

A tumultuous opening nine that included six bogeys and only one par left Romo chasing the field, and at 4 over for the week he ultimately missed the cut by six shots.

“I got off to a rough start. A little bit of that I can attribute to nerves,” Romo said. “I came back strong with a couple of birdies and got myself back into it, but then I had a loose swing that just kind of made it difficult to self-correct on the course. Kind of got it a little bit late.”

Romo excelled on the greens during the opening round, holing 122 feet of putts, but admitted that the putter “let him down” Friday as he made less than a third of that total. Despite the regression, Romo’s 36-hole total still beat 12 players including Byeong-Hun An and Tour winners Chris Stroud, Ben Martin and Kevin Stadler.

Romo plays off a plus-1.1 handicap, and he maintains long-term aspirations to play more golf at a high level having entered Korn Ferry Tour Q-School last year. His Safeway opener was his first PGA Tour round under par, and despite a rocky follow-up he leaves wine country with an added dose of confidence as he prepares to return to the NFL announcing booth this weekend.

“There’s no question that I’ve improved a lot,” Romo said. “I think today obviously didn’t show it as much, but I think just being able to do it one day, you need to do that at least to start. Then you start to get more comfortable in the environments each time.”

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea says he and his teammates will "fight to the death" for struggling boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Pressure is mounting on the Norwegian manager, as United have won twice in the league this season and needed penalties to beat League One side Rochdale in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

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"The most important thing is that everyone is behind him," De Gea told DAZN when asked about Solskjaer. "We are with him. We will fight to the death for him. He is a good coach, and we will be with him until the end."

Solskjaer replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho on an interim basis in December and picked up 25 points in his first nine Premier League games in charge. He signed a three-year deal to continue at Old Trafford back in March, but fortunes have turned since. De Gea still has confidence Solskjaer is the right man for the job.

"You could see that since the first day he arrived, we won 10 or 12 [eight] straight games," De Gea said. "He took over at a difficult time. He is part of this [United] family, he's been here for many years, and he knows the club well and the people who work here."

This month, De Gea, who joined United in 2011 from Atletico Madrid, signed a contract extension with the Red Devils, thus ending speculation regarding his future.

The Spain international had been linked with a return to La Liga over the summer but put pen to paper on a contract until at least June 2023.

"It is a special club, the biggest in England, and it gives me great pride and pleasure to have been at this club for so many years," De Gea said of United. "I am happy, I've been here for a long time and I'm really happy. It's a wonderful club with extraordinary fans.

"We have had some tough years, but that is why we're here, to try and help. I hope we can achieve big things in the years to come."

St Lucia Zouks 169 for 6 (Cornwall 51, Viljoen 32, Imran Khan 2-34) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 165 for 7 (Dwayne Smith 58, Williams 3-24, Santokie 2-31) by four wickets

Rahkeem Cornwall's blistering 25-ball 51 followed by sensational hitting from Darren Sammy ensured St Lucia Zouks came up trumps to knock Jamaica Tallawahs out of the playoffs race for CPL 2019. A 38-ball 58 from Dwayne Smith had headlined Tallawahs' 165 for 7 and even though they made the hosts huff and puff towards the end of the chase, Zouks' 11 sixes were too much to handle for them.

Zouks are now only one point behind third-placed St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, with both teams left with a match each. Barbados Tridents, on fifth spot, still have two games in hand and could also make the playoffs, being only one point behind Zouks.

With rain looming in Gros Islet on Friday night, Zouks needed 35 off 30 with five wickets in hand. Sammy had yet to get off the mark while his partner Chris Barnwell adopted a cautious approach, tip-toeing to 5 off seven deliveries. A six-run over from Springer - the medium-pacer's third - did little too alleviate the pressure in the Zouks dressing room.

The Khans - Zahir and Imran - tightened the screws further around the hosts as the next two overs gave away only 10 runs without a single boundary and fetched Zahir a reward for his persistence with the around-the-off stump line, in Barnwell's wicket. The momentum, however, swung Zouks' way decisively as Springer strode in to bowl his last.

Sammy sizzles in the nervous 19th

With 19 needed off the last 12 balls, Shamar Springer began the penultimate over with two wides down leg to the left-hander Krishmar Santokie. Springer came over the wicket to bowl the first legal delivery of the over, which Santokie nudged to point for a risky single as Sammy put in a desperate dive at the wicketkeeper's end to survive a missed run-out opportunity.

Back on strike, Sammy swung the next ball over cow corner for a six to bring the equation to 10 off 10. Springer followed it with a full toss breaching the waist-high mark, meaning the slog-sweep that Trevon Griffith pouched at deep midwicket came off a no-ball. Sammy, however, decided against taking a single to keep strike for the free hit, although the yorker the next ball ended in a dot ball.

Two singles off the next two deliveries preluded the defining six of the innings as Sammy bludgeoned a waist-high full toss over the roof beyond midwicket. Scores level, the first ball of the 20th over had Sammy get down on his knees as the most successful bowler on the night, Kesrick Williams, struck a powerful drive over extra cover for four to seal the game.

Full report to follow...