MADISON, Ill. – World Wide Technology Raceway officials unveiled an expansion of that track’s road course on Wednesday.

This expansion, which was designed by Tony Cotman of NZR Consulting, expands the track from 1.6 miles to 2.0 miles in total distance.  In addition, the track enhancement creates a dynamic course configuration for the Formula Drift Series.

“This is a tremendous step to the next level for the future of road racing and drift events in the St. Louis region,” said WWTR Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Blair. “The additional track length, as well as its unique configuration, will enable our venue to attract higher-level, spectator-driven road racing events. For the sport of drifting, our track now will host the series with the best grandstands, the largest suite structure, an expanded pit-and-paddock area and multiple configurations to provide the most entertaining events.”

The first event to be held on the new, expanded configuration will be the Formula Drift Series on August 9-10. The success of the series’ 2018 WWTR debut, which filled the infield paddock of the venue, was the motivation for the facility management and the sanctioning body to work together to invest in the future of the sport in the Midwest.

“Formula Drift is committed to WWTR and the St. Louis region for many years to come,” said Jim Liaw, President and Co-Founder of Formula Drift Holdings. “We are excited to be part of the new course configuration as it will provide fans with more seating, our partners with world class hospitality options, a bigger paddock for the teams, a dynamic festival area as well as a challenging competition course layout.

“The incorporation of the oval track banking, along with the other enhancements, will make this event the most highly-anticipated Black Magic Pro Championship and Link ECU Pro2 Championship events of the season.”

Upon completion of the August event, the track will begin working with existing and new road racing sanctioning groups on schedules and configurations.

WWTR will continue to offer events on the traditional 1.6-mile course, as well as the enhanced 2-mile configuration.

“This addition is already well-received by the local road racing community as well as the karting community,” continued Blair. “This will enable our Gateway Kartplex to expand for multiple Super Track configurations, provide motorcycle groups the opportunity to host novice and pro configurations and enables St. Louis and Metro East area to now host major international road racing events.

“It’s an exciting time to be a motorsports enthusiast in our area.”

WATERBURY, Vt. – The American-Canadian Tour travels to New Hampshire’s Star Speedway for the first time since 2013 on Saturday for the finale to the Summer Kickoff Series.

The Dream Ride 150 will certainly be a dream for at least one driver, with a $5,000 check awaiting the winner.

The month of June has been a big-money month for the ACT Late Model Tour, with two $5,000 winner’s prizes already awarded.

Rich Dubeau grabbed five grand for his first ACT win at Quebec’s Autodrome Chaudiere on June 1 while Jimmy  Hebert took the second $5,000 award at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway on June 15.

The duo now sit first and second in the point standings, meaning both will surely be a threat for another big score on Saturday.

However, plenty of other ACT and local stars are ready to knock them from their perch. While it has been six long years since the Tour has visited Star Speedway, plenty of runners have late model experience and success at the track, meaning it could be anyone’s game when the green flag drops.

“Star Speedway is a tough racetrack to get around,” two-time Star winner and top ACT rookie Ryan Kuhn said. “It’s tight and has a very narrow groove. I think that kind of track really suits my driving style – just wrapping it around the bottom. But just racing there in general is a blast.

“One thing it will help us with is the setup,” Kuhn added of his experience at Star. “Every time we’ve been there, we’ve burned the right rear off the car. But now we know to start off tighter so hopefully it will be better for the long run. And it’s just big turning laps there. We’ve run there three times and won there twice, and that’s a huge help running with some of their weekly guys. Some of them are pretty good and have a lot of experience and success. Running well against them means a lot.”

Kuhn joins a growing list of drivers looking to make a big score as ACT opens the second half of its point-counting season. At least one former ACT winner at Star is expected to be in the field.

Joey Polewarczyk has been running a limited schedule this year, but the 2013 winner has stated that Star is an event where he plans to put his full-season entry to use.

But that means much of the field will be hungry for their first ACT win at Star — or their first ACT win at all. Two-time defending champion Scott Payea has vaulted back into this year’s title hunt after three-straight top-five finishes.

Dylan Payea continues to make strides on the Tour, as do former Série ACT champion Jonathan Bouvrette and sophomore Christopher Pelkey. Any of them could reasonably find themselves onto the podium at Star.

However, some locals have plenty of late model credentials. Three-time ACT champion Wayne Helliwell Jr. has gone two-for-two in weekly features at Star Speedway this season and is going for a third victory. Bryan Kruczek won the ACT Tour season opener at Maine’s Oxford Plains Speedway, while also making multiple starts at Star.

Both have entered the event, as have sixth-place Star late model point man Randy Cole Jr., former ACT regular Matt Anderson, and part-time Rhode Island racer Jason Larivee Jr.

Several others from the growing weekly class are expected to defend their home track from the outsiders rolling in too, making for an action-packed show.

HAUBSTADT, Ind. – Kevin Thomas, Jr. has an opportunity to reach a mark unknown to any driver when the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series and Midwest Sprint Car Series arrive at Tri-State Speedway on Sunday.

Thomas is tied with Daron Clayton in terms of all-time USAC sprint car victories at the quarter-mile dirt oval in southwestern Indiana, with he and Clayton having five wins each.

A sixth Tri-State win would be a welcome sight for Thomas, who resides fifth in the series standings coming into the weekend and is still seeking his first USAC sprint car victory of the season.

Thomas previously won twice at Tri-State in 2013, once in 2017 and twice there last year.

Dave Darland split up the two Thomas victories a year ago, winning in July of last year for the first win of his USAC career at Tri-State.

Like Darland, Chris Windom got his long-awaited first USAC victory at Tri-State in the spring of 2017, leading the final 27 laps en route to a score during his championship season. He’s third in points coming into this weekend’s race, with two wins to his credit.

Chase Stockon, who resides just down the road from the track in Fort Branch, made it home sweet home in the spring of 2016 with his first and only series victory there. Stockon, who’s made 270 consecutive feature starts with the series since 2012, is 4th in the standings with a win in the Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute Action Track in May.

Sixth in points, Brady Bacon finished off a quality weekend in the East earlier this month, where he became the second two-time USAC sprint car winner in the series with his third-straight win at Pennsylvania’s Grandview Speedway. He followed up that up with a first career Silver Crown win at Williams Grove.

The two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champion has won twice in USAC action at Tri-State, in a sprint car in 2015 and in a midget back in 2012.

Kyle Cummins is one of the masters at Tri-State, winning twice aboard a USAC sprint car at Tri-State in 2016 and 2017, and is two-for-two already in Midwest Sprint Car Series features this year at the track.

Carson Short stands eighth spot in the standings. His first and still only USAC National Sprint Car feature win came at Tri-State during Indiana Sprint Week in 2016.

He’s primed for another victory following a runner-up performance at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. in May, one of his six top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season.

Recently crowned Eastern Storm champion C.J. Leary leads the USAC sprint car standings on the strength of 10 top-tens in 10 starts. He’s yet to win at Tri-State with USAC, but did have a fast time in the spring of 2018 plus a runner-up showing in the fall last year.

Defending USAC sprint car champion Tyler Courtney got incrementally better in his three Tri-State starts in 2018, finishing 12th in the spring, ninth in the summer and sixth in the fall. Going back to 2017, however, Courtney had finishes of third and fifth.

Courtney is the lone driver to have won in all three USAC national divisions this season and is second in the sprint car standings coming in.

Justin Grant arrives in the seventh spot of the standings. He earned a fifth at Tri-State as recently as the spring of 2018. Jason McDougal’s Tri-State debut last fall was impressive, as he finished third on the tricky paperclip.

Chad Boespflug finished a Tri-State USAC-best second in the spring of 2017, while Isaac Chapple has eyes on his eighth career USAC sprint car start at Tri-State.

VADO, N.M. — Vado Speedway Park is the nation’s newest dirt track venue, and Jan. 2-5 it will launch the 2020 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series season.

The inaugural four-night Battle at the Border presented by GottaRace.com, Rancho Milagro Racing, Barnett Harley Davidson and Mesilla Valley Transportation promises to be the event everyone is talking about, as not only the opener for the World of Outlaws, but also the first high-profile dirt late model event of the new season.

More than $130,000 will be on the line during the four-night event, opening with a full practice session Thursday, Jan. 2, for teams to shake down their new equipment.

The practice night will be followed by three separate points races, including two $5,000-to-win features, and culminating with a $15,000-to-win, 50-lap main event on Sunday, Jan. 5.

Next year will mark the first time the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series will start a season west of the Mississippi River.

“When you put the World of Outlaws name to anything, it becomes a real show,” said Vado Speedway Park General Manager Rue Stone. “When you come to their events and you see all of the drivers, the haulers, the t-shirt trailers, sponsors, attention and everything else they bring, that’s why I chose to go with the World of Outlaws. It’s a first-class operation.”

Designed in part by 2004 World of Outlaws Late Model champion Scott Bloomquist, the multi-million-dollar facility sits near the base of the 9,000-foot Organ Mountains, delivering the most spectacular view of any dirt track in the country.

Paved fan parking, concrete midways, concrete pit pads, stadium quality suites, modern restrooms and concessions, Musco lighting, aluminum seating with wide aisleways and level camping just a short walk from the pits and grandstands only begins to paint the picture.

Reaction to the three-eighths-mile clay oval — located off Interstate 10 between Las Cruces, N.M. and El Paso, Texas — has been every bit as positive as the staff was hoping for.

“You just really have to see it to believe it,” Stone said.

“Vado Speedway Park is a remarkable facility built by a passionate team of people, and we are excited to open our 2020 season there,” World of Outlaws COO Tom Deery added. “Royal Jones, Rue Stone and their crew have years of experience promoting successful events in the region (Vado had 147 cars for a recent practice night), and we are looking forward to working with them to make the 2020 Battle at the Border a huge race weekend fans won’t want to miss.”

In addition to a full slate of World of Outlaws travelers – including Brandon Sheppard, Chase Junghans, Darrell Lanigan, Ricky Weiss, Shane Clanton and Dennis Erb Jr. – many top drivers from across the country will also be turning their first laps of the 2020 season, including Bloomquist, Jimmy Mars, Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, Scott Ward, Don Shaw and Stormy Scott.

The Battle at the Border will start a seven-race run that includes the DIRTcar Nationals Feb. 12-15 at Volusia Speedway Park, kicking off the season for the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series.

Competitors’ best three finishes from the first seven nights of racing will count toward the overall season championship.

“Adding the Battle at the Border is a very progressive move for our brand and series,” series director Casey Shuman said. “Building an event from the ground up can be a challenging, yet rewarding, experience. I’ve had the pleasure to work with Rue Stone and Royal Jones, and everything they do is top of the line, and Vado Speedway Park is no different.

“They have built an amazing facility and it’s exciting to have the World of Outlaws be part of it.”

Joining the Outlaws in 2020 at Vado will be the Summit Racing Equipment USRA Modified Series and a host of local X-Mod competition.

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah scored his first goal of this year's Africa Cup of Nations to help the hosts to a 2-0 win over Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday which guaranteed them a place in the round of 16.

Ahmed Elmohamady broke the deadlock in the 25th minute, turning the ball in following a corner, before Salah netted a clinically-taken goal two minutes before half-time, sparking delirious celebrations at the Cairo International Stadium.

The result was harsh on the Congolese who twice hit the crossbar in the first half and spent most of the second on the attack in the Egyptian half.

- Africa Cup of Nations: All you need to know
- Full Africa Cup of Nations fixtures schedule

Egypt, with six points from two games, guaranteed a top-two finish in Group A while Congo, who have no points, must beat Zimbabwe in their final match to have any chance of going through as one of the best third-placed teams.

"I want to congratulate our opponents, who played a good match, they played very well, created chances, I think in the second half they were better than us," said Egypt coach Javier Aguirre.

"We scored two, we could have scored a couple more, we have six points."

The match was played in stifling heat and even at half-time, at 23.00 local time, it was still 29-degrees-Celsius.

The Congolese made a bright start as Tresor Mputu's free kick was flicked on by Jonathan Bolingi and Marcel Tisserand touched it onto the crossbar.

They also shut out the hosts but, just as Egypt seemed to be running out of ideas, they went ahead from a set-piece.

A corner was taken short to Salah and he sent an inviting cross into the area. Elmohamady and Christian Luyindula both went for it and it rebounded for Elmohamady to neatly turn into the net.

Congo hit the woodwork again as Bolingi out-jumped his marker, only to see his header bounce off the crossbar.

Throughout all this, Salah looked as if he was in for a frustrating night after his disappointing evening in the 1-0 win over Zimbabwe.

The Egyptian icon had an early chance when he was given a clear run on goal but Tisserand managed to get a foot to his shot and deflected it wide.

Shortly after Egypt's first goal, Salah had a free kick brilliantly saved by Ley Matampi but his frustration ended two minutes before half-time.

Mahmoud Trezeguet charged out of defence and released Salah who cut inside a defender and planted the ball in the net.

Congo dominated the second half and were again unlucky not to score their first goal of the tournament. Bolingi had a header brilliantly saved by Mohamed El Shenawy and Yannick Bolasie sent a free kick centimetres wide of the post.

"Unfortunately, we didn't score but we hit the bar twice and had other chances," said Democratic Republic of Congo coach Florent Ibenge. "I feel bad for the players."

Momentum, confidence, sharpness, cohesiveness; these are chemical-like traits for a team, and they are as desirable as they are difficult to quantify.

Yet it's clear that in the wake of the 6-0 thrashing administered by the United States in Saturday's Gold Cup match against Trinidad and Tobago, these qualities are now at their peak for the U.S., at least in terms of the Gregg Berhalter era. The Americans' spot in the quarterfinals is also assured. This makes the U.S. manager's approach in Wednesday's group finale against Panama trickier than it otherwise might be.

Does he look to make wholesale changes in a bid to get minutes for as many players as possible? Does he keep things the same? Or does he attempt to find a middle ground?

- CONCACAF Gold Cup: All you need to know
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

Following the T&T match, not even Berhalter was sure given that this is the first time he has been forced to make such decisions. At his pregame media conference he wasn't giving much away.

"We talked with the team and we want to try to win the group. That's a priority," he said on Tuesday. "Internally, we spoke with the players and our ambition is to win the game tomorrow.

"We know Panama is a very good opponent. We know we always have difficult games in Panama. We've met them, I think, in the last seven Gold Cups and all the games have been tough games. So we know they're going to out up good resistance, but we're going to try to win."

Winning the group does carry with it some advantages, the biggest being that it will result in a quarterfinal matchup against Curacao -- the surprise of the tournament, but heavy underdogs nonetheless -- on Sunday as opposed to Jamaica, which defeated a makeshift U.S. side 1-0 in a recent friendly.

That, combined with Berhalter's previous comments, it would seem that at least some changes will be made. The compressed schedule of games -- including just two full days between the quarterfinals and the semifinals -- demands as much, and a look at some of the individual considerations point to several alterations.

Berhalter has been intent on getting Jozy Altidore up to full fitness since he arrived in camp. To that end, the Toronto FC forward looked active and involved during his 16-minute stint against the Soca Warriors, and while Gyasi Zardes drew some deserved plaudits for this two-goal performance, there is a general understanding that an Altidore at 100 percent makes the U.S. a better team. Starting him would get Berhalter closer to achieving that end.

A case can also be made to hand Jordan Morris a start. The Seattle attacker's introduction against T&T helped turn a tight game into a rout, with Morris contributing assists on goals by Christian Pulisic and Paul Arriola. That might look like a tough break for Tyler Boyd, but if Berhalter is intent on doling out minutes to some reserves, Morris' performance ought to be rewarded.

Michael Bradley was another player who arrived in camp carrying an injury, and while he now looks close to full fitness, the match seems the right opportunity to give him some rest and let Wil Trapp try to gain some sharpness.

In the back, Matt Miazga seems a prime candidate to get some minutes in case one of Walker Zimmerman or Aaron Long is unavailable later in the tournament.

Weston McKennie finds himself in the unique position of having been the only U.S. player to have been booked in the tournament so far. According to the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition rules, yellow cards are wiped out after the quarterfinals to avoid a scenario whereby a player can be suspended for the final due to accumulation of yellow cards.

A yellow card against Panama would see McKennie suspended for the quarterfinals. Sitting him against Panama runs the risk of him being suspended for the semifinal. It all comes down to how much Berhalter trusts McKennie's self-discipline.

Panama is in much the same position as the U.S, though it must prevail in Wednesday's encounter in order to win the group, while for the hosts a draw will suffice. Will Julio Dely Valdes choose to rest players or go with his first-choice lineup? Either way, Berhalter is mindful that Valdes has an experienced group at his disposal, even if the likes of goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, forward Blas Perez and defender Felipe Baloy have retired from the international game.

"It's a good generation for Panama," Berhalter said. "We think they have dynamic, attacking players. We like how their forwards play together and combine with each other. We like the strength of the wingers, their speed, the one-on-one ability they have.

"We think they have a strong back-line, a good physically strong back-line. The left-back has been playing really well. We know Murillo well from MLS. [Roman] Torres and [Harold] Cummings as well, very strong, physical center-backs.

"Overall, I think it's a good team. Escobar has slid into midfield, we know that's not his usual position, but he's been doing a good job in there. Cooper has a lot of energy and a lot of dynamic ability. Overall, to me, it's a strong team."

For the U.S., it all makes for a delicate balance. Getting it right may well propel the Americans into the knockout rounds.

Leicestershire 273 for 7 (Azad 92, Cosgrove 63) trail Northamptonshire 299 by 26 runs

Hassan Azad's carefully compiled 92 saw Leicestershire build a steady reply to Northamptonshire's 299 on the third day at Wantage Road. Azad batted for over two sessions to help Leicestershire reach 273 for 7 before bad light curtailed the day 15 overs early.

Following a century in each innings against Gloucestershire in his last match, Azad again demonstrated a thirsty appetite for occupying the crease and blunted a game Northants attack who operated with good control throughout the day and found some movement.

The 25-year-old left-hander showed excellent judgement to leave well and was proactive in his defence, often advancing at the bowling to negate the moving ball. There were only three boundaries - one of them a top-edged pull over the wicketkeeper's head - in his 132-ball half-century.

His strike rate was pedestrian but it was a classic case of grinding out a score when timing wasn't particularly easy and the bowling was probing.

After tea, Azad very carefully swept Rob Keogh's offspin for four before an all-run four, via an overthrow, took him to 90. His latest advance down the wicket saw him shimmy out at Luke Procter to drive him through mid-off and take him past 600 runs for the season.

But within sight of a third consecutive century, Azad clipped Procter straight to Matt Coles at backward-square leg. The trap had been set for much of the day and he finally succumbed after a 212-ball vigil.

Procter struck again immediately, trapping Colin Ackermann lbw for a third-ball duck and as the new-ball was taken, Northants sensed a first-innings lead.

The new ball paid prompt dividends as Harry Dearden edged Ben Sanderson to wicketkeeper Adam Rossington, who was wrong-footed and dived to his left to take a sharp chance. Sanderson then swung one into Mark Cosgrove to win an lbw appeal.

Cosgrove had batted with Azad for much of the afternoon in a stand of 115 for the third wicket. The evergreen Australian played the shot of the day by driving Coles with a flourish past mid-off on a day where timing the ball proved difficult and played another flowing cover drive for four off Procter. But after reaching a fifth fifty of the season in 87 balls with six fours, fell for 63.

Dieter Klein was then pinned lbw by Coles after striking three boundaries in his 15 and the wicket was the fifth to fall for 48 runs in 12.2 overs.

The late burst saw Northants finally find reward for a day where they remained consistent with the ball. Initially they were frustrated with only one wicket with the first new ball - Paul Horton edging Nathan Buck to second slip for 29 after an opening stand of 60 - and had to wait until after lunch for a second breakthrough when Neil Dexter was caught in the crease by Brett Hutton and fell for 27.

New Zealand are arguably the best side when it comes to reading pitches in tournament play but on a slow Edgbaston track that turned considerably there were admissions after their loss to Pakistan that they had missed a trick by picking just one frontline spinner and omitting Ish Sodhi from the team.

In the absence of Sodhi's legspin, New Zealand turned to the part time offspin of Kane Williamson to partner Mitchell Santner, as they tried to defend 237 and break up the key partnership between Babar Azam and Haris Sohail. After the match, Santner admitted they were deceived by pitch and thought it would offer more for the pace bowlers.

"Obviously there was a bit of turn out there, probably more than we thought there would be," Santner said. "Obviously at the toss, only going with one spinner, we thought it might be a bit better than that.

"It's the spinner's role to take wickets on a surface like that but I think credit has to go to the way Pakistan batted throughout the middle. That partnership through the middle there was pretty special. There were a couple of chances there but it's about trying to build up pressure from both ends and stuff like that, but the way they were able to manipulate the field, and get their ones, when you're only chasing 230, is the way to go about it.

"I think we fought pretty well to the end and I guess they only got it in the last over. It was obviously a tough surface and we just had to stick at it. If we could put a couple on it, a couple of wickets on throughout that chase it might have been a little bit different."

After New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, James Neesham made an unbeaten 97, his highest ODI score. He was one of eight bowlers used by Williamson, highlighting the desperation with which New Zealand were seeking a breakthrough.

Watch on Hotstar (India only) - Neesham's 97 not out

Before their previous match at Edgbaston, a final-over win against South Africa, New Zealand had spoken to Warwickshire captain and former Black Cap Jeetan Patel for advice on the pitch. Colin de Grandhomme has also played for the Birmingham Bears in the past two seasons.

But Neesham suggested the information they gleaned before playing Pakistan was not especially accurate.

"I think we can only obviously work on what we're told leading into the game," Neesham said. "We probably selected the team based on the information we had. In hindsight, it's easy to say an extra spinner would have been useful, but I think with the balls we had, the quality we had at the bowling crease was enough to defend that total, and unfortunately, it just didn't fall our way today."