Land speed racer Danny Thompson dropped by The Ralph Sheheen Show to share his thoughts on chasing land speed records, one of which he set in 2018 using his famous father’s 50-year old Challenger II at an average speed of 448.757 mph.

Thompson’s father, legendary car builder and racer, Mickey Thompson, set records from the Bonneville Salt Flats, to various drag strips, and even at the Indianapolis 500.

Catch this week’s full episode on SPEEDSPORT.com or listen to the audio podcast on popular apps like iTunes, SoundClould, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and more.

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – Don Schumacher Racing drivers Tony Schumacher, Antron Brown, Leah Pritchett, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Matt Hagan and Tommy Johnson Jr. will help kick off the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show as special guests for the Grand Opening Breakfast on Dec. 12.

Offered exclusively for PRI Show attendees, the event features a live talk show-style program served up alongside a catered breakfast to some 3,000 industry professionals in the Indiana Convention Center’s Sagamore Ballroom just prior to the start of the three-day trade-only Show.

Emcee Ralph Sheheen of SPEED SPORT will lead a lively and entertaining discussion with the DSR team that is expected to include personal stories and accomplishments on and off the race track.

“It is an honor to have all seven Don Schumacher Racing drivers join us at the Breakfast and help kick off another amazing PRI Show,” said Karin Davidson, PRI Trade Show Director. “The drivers, along with new host Ralph Sheheen, will make for a very entertaining and unique Breakfast.”

Doors to the Sagamore Ballroom will open at 7 a.m., and the program will begin at 7:45 a.m. PRI attendees are admitted to the Breakfast free of charge, but guests are advised to arrive early, as seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

SEATTLE -- The expansion NHL franchise in Seattle has made its third front-office hire by adding Ricky Olczyk as the club's assistant general manager.

General manager Ron Francis announced the addition Tuesday. Olczyk joins Seattle after spending last season as a pro scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Olczyk has a strong connection with Francis after the pair worked together in Carolina. Olczyk was an assistant GM with Francis in Carolina and before that was the assistant GM in Edmonton for six seasons.

Olczyk's duties in Seattle will include managing contracts and the salary cap and overseeing player transactions. He joins Francis and director of hockey administration Alexandra Mandrycky in Seattle's front office.

Olczyk is the younger brother of Ed Olczyk, who played 16 seasons in the NHL and coached the Pittsburgh Penguins for parts of two seasons. Ed Olczyk now works as a color analyst for hockey and horse racing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams was not troubled one bit by the right ankle she rolled in her previous match. Didn't get much resistance from her opponent, either.

Looking as dominant as can be, Williams moved just fine and powered her way into the US Open semifinals by overwhelming 18th-seeded Qiang Wang of China 6-1, 6-0 in a mere 44 minutes Tuesday night to move closer to a 24th Grand Slam singles trophy.

Williams had rolled her ankle during her fourth-round match but never showed any signs that it was an issue.

"Physically, I'm feeling great,'' Williams said, "and more than anything, I'm having fun every time I come out here.''

Why shouldn't she? When she plays like this, it's hard to imagine anyone else ending up with the championship Saturday.

Williams grabbed the first five games in about 15 minutes. Then, after dropping one game, Williams collected the next 11 points in a row and every remaining game.

Just one indication of how lopsided this was: Williams finished with 25 winners to zero for Wang, who was playing in her first major quarterfinal. One other: The total points were 50-15.

"I've been working on my speed, getting shots," Williams said. "I didn't give her too many chances in the match.

"That's a good stat for me. It's good because I want to be able to move around the court. I move when I want to move. I guess I wanted to move tonight."

Williams collected her 100th singles victory at Flushing Meadows, where she is a six-time champion.

"From when I first started here ... I never thought that I would get to 100. Didn't even cross my mind I would still be out here,'' said Williams who turns 38 later this month. "But I love what I do.''

The American will face No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine for a berth in the final. Svitolina eliminated 16th-seeded Johanna Konta of Britain 6-4, 6-4 earlier Tuesday.

"She's had a great year, as well,'' Williams said. "I feel like she wants to go one further this time, so I have to be able to come out again and play really well.''

With her boyfriend, Gael Monfils, watching in the stands, a day before he plays his quarterfinal, Svitolina got to the semifinals at a second consecutive major tournament after never having been that far before.

"Now,'' Svitolina joked about Monfils, "he needs to step up his game.''

Svitolina and Konta exchanged three consecutive breaks of serve in the second set, before Svitolina ended that streak by holding for a 5-3 lead when Konta dumped a volley into the net.

It was part of a mistake-filled performance by Konta, who was trying to become the sixth active player to reach the semifinals in all four Grand Slam tournaments.

But the British player committed 35 unforced errors to Svitolina's 13, including a whopping 20-5 margin in the second set, and fell to 0-5 against the Ukrainian.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Jared Goff agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension that will keep Goff with the team through the 2024 season, the Rams announced Tuesday night.

The extension is worth $134 million and includes an NFL-record $110 million guaranteed, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Those figures top the ones the Philadelphia Eagles awarded quarterback Carson Wentz in early June. Wentz, who was selected second overall behind Goff in the 2016 draft, got a four-year extension worth $128 million, with $107.9 million guaranteed.

Goff, 24, is entering the fourth season of his five-year rookie deal. He is scheduled to earn $4.3 million this season and $22.8 million in 2020. With the two existing years he had remaining on his contract, Goff is now tied to the Rams for six seasons and $161 million, a source told Schefter.

At the outset of training camp, Rams general manager Les Snead said that it was "not a matter of if but when" a deal would be made with Goff, and Rams coach Sean McVay said that he hoped to be "stuck" with Goff for a long time.

The Rams made a dramatic move up the draft board to select Goff in 2016, trading from the 15th pick to the top overall selection. They have been on the clock to complete an extension with Goff since Wentz signed his extension with Philadelphia.

When asked during training camp what he wanted in a contract, Goff said, "I'm interested in winning games, and whatever the best way to do that is, is what I'm for."

Following a tumultuous rookie season, which included seven winless starts under former Rams coach Jeff Fisher, Goff has flourished.

In two seasons under McVay, Goff has led the team to consecutive division titles, an NFC championship and an appearance in Super Bowl LIII, which was the Rams' first Super Bowl appearance since the 2001 season. He has been selected to two Pro Bowls and is 24-14 as a starter.

Goff has passed for 9,581 yards and 65 touchdowns, with 26 interceptions, and has completed 62.1% of his throws.

The Brooklyn Nets are looking into allegations of domestic violence against Rodions Kurucs after the forward was arrested in Brooklyn and released without bail Tuesday.

Kurucs was arraigned on a misdemeanor assault charge and is due back in court Oct. 21.

The New York Daily News, citing police sources, reports Kurucs allegedly choked his then-girlfriend in his Brooklyn apartment on June 27.

"After learning of the allegations against Rodions Kurucs, we notified and are assisting the League Office as they begin the process of gathering more information," the Nets said in a statement. "The Nets organization takes allegations of this nature with extreme seriousness. While the investigation is underway and as we continue to learn more, we will refrain from commenting further."

Kurucs, according to the Daily News, allegedly put his hand around his then-girlfriend's throat and choked her, later pushing her on his bed, slapping her face and biting her lip. The report states he then picked her up and tossed her on the bed, injuring her ribs.

Judge Gina Abadi issued an order of protection and told Kurucs to stay away from the woman, the Daily News reports.

Alex Spiro, Kurucs' attorney, told ESPN in a statement, "The former couple flew away together arm in arm in the days that followed, and only after an unfortunate breakup did these claims appear -- claims that the misdemeanor hearing revealed were backed by no photographs or objective medical facts."

The 6-foot-9, 210-pound Kurucs averaged 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season.

PITTSBURGH -- Pirates rookie right-hander Mitch Keller was pulled from Tuesday night's game with a bruised right wrist after being struck by a line drive.

Keller was injured in the second inning on a comebacker hit by Miami's Garrett Cooper. Considered the Pirates' top prospect going into the season, Keller was making his eighth major league start Tuesday night. He is 1-3 with an 8.18 ERA.

Keller was struck flush on the outer part of the wrist. The Pirates said initial imaging revealed only a bruise.

Clay Holmes relieved Keller with the game scoreless.

Houston Astros center fielder George Springer left Tuesday night's road game against the Milwaukee Brewers after crashing into the center-field wall while making a catch.

Springer made a leaping catch of a Ryan Braun shot to deep center to end the fifth inning, but his head crashed into the wall as he was landing. Teammates immediately rushed out to him, then called on athletic trainers, who tended to the star outfielder as he lay in pain on the ground.

After several minutes, Springer, 29, was able to stand up with the assistance of Houston manager AJ Hinch and a trainer before leaving the game on a cart that made its way to center field.

There was no immediate word on his condition.

CONCORD, N.C. – On Tuesday Matt DiBenedetto became the first NASCAR driver to shake down Charlotte Motor Speedway’s new ROVAL backstretch chicane.

DiBenedetto joined Greg Walter, the speedway’s executive vice president and general manager, for some hot laps aboard a Toyota Camry XSE pace car around the 19-turn, 2.28-mile road course oval that serves as the cutoff race for round one of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The backstretch chicane’s original layout was 32 feet wide at its widest point, while the new version will be 54 feet at its widest point and will feature additional runoff areas for DiBenedetto and his fellow competitors.

“I was just excited to check it out and be able to give some input on it,” DiBenedetto said. “This one being on a full straightaway is what will create a really hard, straight-line braking zone. It’s going to create an extra passing zone from what we had. It’s definitely going to be be more of a challenge – I’m guessing you’ll be going 30 miles per hour slower – so it’s a drastic change, but it’s better for the race.

“This will create a different opportunity that will change the outcome approaching the last corner of the track. Last year, this wasn’t a passing zone. It was a momentum corner. This year, it’s hard braking and it’ll feel like a parking lot. … It’s not just a small change. It affects our racing and our approach.”

In addition to the time he spent on the track, DiBenedetto gave Walter real-time feedback regarding the newest wrinkle to the first-of-its-kind ROVAL.

“As we were approaching the entrance to the chicane, Matt leans to me and says, ‘Oh yeah, this is going to make a difference,’” Walter said. “Braking equals passing. He confirmed everything we’ve been thinking about and what we’ve been designing. We’re going to see a great race.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – More than two weeks before entries open for the second Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring Int’l Raceway, Riley Motorsports has confirmed its plans to participate with a pair of Mercedes-AMG race cars for the event scheduled for Nov. 9-10.

The four-hour endurance race will feature LMP3, GT3, GT4 and TCR race cars competing for purse money and Michelin tire credits for the 2020 season.

Riley Motorsports currently fields Mercedes-AMG race cars in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class as well as the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport class.

“Right now, we’re going to enter the Encore with the No. 74 Mercedes-AMG GT3 car driven by Gar Robinson and Lawson Aschenbach,” Team Owner Bill Riley said. “We think it’ll be a good way for us to start working with Lawson and Gar getting ready for the 2020 season. The second entry we have, we’re working on that right now on what class we’re going to enter. It’ll be with an AMG, and we don’t know if it’ll be a GT3 or GT4 car, so we’re working on getting that entry secured also.”

The announcement that Robinson and Aschenbach would be racing in the 2020 GTD class with Riley’s team came at Virginia Int’l Raceway last month. Riley acknowledges the Michelin Encore will be a significant opportunity for the new team to work together.

“When you look at the schedule for the weekend of the Encore, it’s pretty compressed, but it’s a lot of track time,” said Riley. “That helps us two-fold. One, it helps us get used to making quick decisions, and getting the car turned around quickly with the driver input. And, with a four-hour race, it lets the drivers get to see how they do over a long run with the setups we’ve been using and see how it all unfolds and what we need to build on going forward to Daytona.”

The benefits of competing at the Michelin Encore will extend past the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, as the WeatherTech Championship, Pilot Challenge and Prototype Challenge all will return to Sebring in March for the iconic Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts event week.

For Riley, whether it’s the Michelin Encore of the Twelve Hours of Sebring, he’s confident in the Mercedes-AMG product at the 3.74-mile circuit.

“We had a strong car at Sebring,” said Riley, who won the 2017 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the GTD class with drivers Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and then-endurance driver Mario Farnbacher. “The AMG is always strong at Sebring, so I’m pretty confident we’ll have a pretty decent car for the Encore and the Twelve Hour. But it does at least make sure the feedback we get from Gar and Lawson is the same direction we’ve had over the last three years with AMG.”

Similar to the inaugural Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring in 2018, teams will be required to field a minimum of two drivers per car and a maximum of three. No Platinum-rated drivers will be allowed to compete and no driver lineup may have more than one Gold-rated driver. Driver lineups will be subject to IMSA approval.

Refueling, tire and driver changes all will be allowed to take place at the same time during pit stops (no timed stops). A maximum of three crew members will be permitted over the wall to provide any service, and only the exiting driver will be allowed to assist during driver changes.

The purse includes $10,000 for the winner in each class, as well as three sets of Michelin Pilot Sport GT tires. Second place in each class will receive two sets of tires while third-place finishers will receive one set.

Should any class have less than five cars, IMSA will reserve the right to modify or exclude the class before the event.