CONCORD, N.C. – Venturini Motorsports has revealed the throwback schemes the team will utilize at Salem Speedway when the ARCA Menards Series returns to action Sept. 14.

Celebrating the team’s patriarch and two-time ARCA champion (1987 & ’91), the team unveiled a pair of Bill Venturini retro paint schemes for the upcoming race at Salem Speedway.

Honoring Venturini’s first of two ARCA Series championship, Christian Eckes’ No.15 JBL Audio Toyota will carry the iconic 1987 white with blue striped paint scheme.

“It’s a great honor to run Bill’s championship colors – especially at Salem,” says current championship contender Christian Eckes. “I’ve known Bill and his family since I broke into the series back in 2016. He’s done so much for me personally and so many others over the years. It’s just a really cool deal. Hopefully we’re able to put this JBL Audio Camry in victory lane for him!”

Going further back in time, six time ARCA series winner Chandler Smith, driver of the No. 20 Craftsman Toyota, will pay homage by featuring Venturini’s 1978 United States Auto Club colors and wheel a black car featuring eye popping orange and blue stripes with gold numbers.

“It was a so cool to see all the old school paint schemes at Darlington,” said Smith. “But nothing will compare to driving this throwback car under the lights at Salem. Salem has a rich history. The ARCA Series has been racing there almost forever and Bill and the Venturini family has been running there since the 80’s. I can’t think of another track or paint scheme I’d rather run.”

Both Eckes and Smith have each won at Salem. Eckes, won his first of six current ARCA victories in 2018 at Salem and Smith duplicated his winning effort the same year during Salem’s fall race.

The longtime ARCA team has recorded nine wins at Salem Speedway of its 64 all-time series wins and team co-owner, Billy Venturini, scored his only ARCA win at the southern Indiana track in 2006.

INDIANAPOLIS — He had been everywhere and won everything, so upon hanging up his helmet he had a right to stop and smell the flowers. Or, in his case, to grow them.

But what none of us ever expected was that Merv Treichler, after 20 years in the spotlight, would vanish upon retirement.

But here’s the thing about heroes: You can search out the reluctant ones. Which is what sent me up U.S. 62 out of Buffalo, N.Y., toward rural Sanborn and one of the finest racers I’ve ever known.

He led me toward a small office in a huge greenhouse, one of many at H.A. Treichler & Sons. The family business has been around since 1854, first as a major supplier of potatoes and later as, well, a flower power. Merv and his brother, Gary, ran it for decades; now Gary’s son, Terry, is in charge.

“But I’m here 350 days a year,” said Merv.

We sat down, each of us older — he is 75 — and probably grayer than we’d guessed. For a moment, Treichler just grinned.

“What’s it been, 30 years?” he asked.

That was in the ballpark. We hadn’t spent time together since 1987, when he called time on one incredible career.

In 1970, at Pennsylvania’s Langhorne Speedway, Treichler won the Race of Champions, the premier event on the asphalt modified calendar. In 1981 and ’82, at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, he topped the Schaefer 200, America’s marquee race for big-block dirt modifieds.

That versatility was his hallmark. It went back to the two local half-miles where he’d honed his craft: Ransomville Speedway, dirt, and Lancaster Speedway, paved. Well into the ’70s, long after technology confined most modified teams to one surface or the other, Treichler had a dirt car and a blacktop car, and won track championships with both.

And anytime he hit the road — north to Canada, east to New England, south to wherever — a track’s composition never factored into his travel plans.

“Wherever they paid the most,” he said, “that’s where we went.”

On dirt, he squared off weekly against Will Cagle, Davey Moore and Alan Johnson; when he roamed, he’d tussle with Jack Johnson, Dick Tobias and Kenny Brightbill. His regular asphalt foes included Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer and his own fast cousin, Roger Treichler; at distant NASCAR gatherings, he faced Ray Hendrick, Bugs Stevens and Fred DeSarro. He beat them all.

Someone nicknamed him “Marvelous Merv,” and it fit.

In February 1975, he entered a road-course modified race at Daytona Int’l Speedway with a homebuilt Monza. He outran Bobby Allison and 38 others to grab the pole, then dominated the Permatex 200. That September, he and the Monza led every lap of Watkins Glen’s first modified race. Add road racing to the list of things that didn’t trouble Merv Treichler.

By the end of the ’70s, his focus shifted almost entirely to dirt. Actually, to DIRT, which sanctioned several tracks and, importantly, Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds. Treichler loved the spooky mile, but its autumn classic eluded him until trucking executive John Jackson furnished a Troyer Mud Buss in 1981. For two straight Octobers, Treichler ruled the Schaefer 200.

He loved the big spring and fall specials, the revelry common to places like Syracuse and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. “We partied quite a bit,” he chuckled. But once the checkers fell, he’d be out the gate, bound for Sanborn.

“We were expanding. We went away from farming potatoes and got more into the greenhouses and we were just so busy,” Treichler explained

He and Jackson hit upon an idea: What about a limited schedule with the NASCAR Busch Series? It was a new challenge and with a set number of dates, this faraway fling might paradoxically allow Treichler more work time. Today, you get the sense that nine Busch Series races in 1985 and 11 in ’86 reminded Treichler that he’d won too much to be happy flirting with a top-10 finish.

Three races into 1987, on a flight home after breaking a crankshaft at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he had a clear thought: “I said, ‘That’s enough.’ The next day, I told John I was done.”

Any second thoughts? “No. None.”

He disappeared into his work and H.A. Treichler & Sons rolled on. The old potato fields, 227 acres, are rented to farmers who grow wheat, corn and soybeans. Meanwhile, the greenhouses annually yield 250,000 potted plants — a quarter of a million — in addition to 30,000 trays of flowers and 55,000 mums.

Most of that goes to wholesalers, but there’s a retail store on the property.

I asked if the return shoppers know about his racing life.

“Some do,” said Treichler, “and some don’t.”

And the employees?

“A lot of them know, but I don’t talk about it and they know not to bring it up.”

He paused. “Honestly, I don’t look back and I don’t have anything from those days.”

I said, “Not even the trophies?”

“I’ve only got a few,” Treichler said. “I kept the Langhorne trophy; it’s one of those nice silver cups. I’ve got the Daytona trophy and the one from Watkins Glen.”

Imagine that? If those three pieces are all that’s left, his trophy collection would still be the envy of just about anyone he ever raced against. Marvelous, right?

Outside the customers came and went and the greenhouse workers loaded flower trays. Merv Treichler sat there, smiling. Life goes on. His sure did.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — SPEED SPORT and WISSOTA Auto Racing have announced the 34th running of the Speedway Motors WISSOTA 100 will air to a national television audience on Thanksgiving night (Nov. 28) in a two-hour special of SPEED SPORT Presented by Hendrick Automotive Group on MAVTV.

The long-running dirt-track event will be run Sept. 10-14 at I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn. This is the second consecutive year the three-eighths-mile track has hosted the premier five-day event, which typically rotates among various WISSOTA-sanctioned venues. It is also the second consecutive year SPEED SPORT will broadcast the event to a national television audience.

Eight WISSOTA classes will be showcased during the five days of racing — Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Midwest Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mod Fours, Pure Stocks, and Hornets.

“We are very excited to showcase the 34th annual Speedway Motors WISSOTA 100 on SPEED SPORT,” said WISSOTA Auto Racing Executive Director Carson Gramm. “This partnership with SPEED SPORT has given us the opportunity to grow as an organization and we expect to continue this great working relationship for years to come. Our drivers display great professionalism, both on and off the track, and we want the entire world to see these great competitors. The staff at I-94 Speedway has created a great facility and while we work closely with our local and corporate sponsors, we will bring fans an experience they won’t want to miss.”

“After introducing our SPEED SPORT television audience to WISSOTA’s extremely competitive and entertaining form of short-track racing last season, we couldn’t wait to come back and do again this year as part of our 85th anniversary celebration,” said SPEED SPORT President Ralph Sheheen. “Showcasing the famed WISSOTA 100 in a two-hour special format on Thanksgiving night is a great way for us shine an even brighter light on the event, as well introduce our new partner, WorkAtHendrick.com, to the series.”

The broadcast will be anchored by Sheheen and veteran short-track racer and commentator, Derek Pernesiglio.

For fans wanting to attend this year’s Speedway Motors WISSOTA 100, please visit WISSOTA.org for additional information. Racing begins at 5 p.m. local time each night. LIVE streaming will be available at RacinDirt.com.

CLERMONT, Ind. — Doug Kalitta had tried 22 times to take home a Wally from the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, but every year luck didn’t go his way.

Finally, on Monday at Lucas Oil Raceway, luck was on the 55-year-old veteran’s side.

Despite it being a relatively mediocre run, Kalitta’s 4.144-second pass at 212.43 mph was enough for him to defeat Billy Torrence in the final round of Monday’s Top Fuel eliminations to take home his first U.S. Nationals trophy.

“I’m a real persistent guy, so I never give up,” Kalitta said after the 46th NHRA national event victory.

Kalitta’s run to the final was no cakewalk. First, he had to get past the always-fast Clay Millican, which he did via holeshot. He then had to dispatch No. 1 qualifier and track record holder Brittany Force in round two before facing off with Force’s rookie teammate, Austin Prock, in the semifinals.

“When we got by Clay, I was thinking this is going to be a good opportunity,” Kalitta said. “We try not to worry about who’s in the other lane, but Brittany’s car has been on a rail. She qualified first, so we knew we had a tough run there and it was a close race.

“We raced another JFR car in the semifinals. They’ve got quite an arsenal over there. Austin’s doing an awesome job and I think all of us are trying to keep up with how hard he’s hitting that tree. He left on me by a little bit, fortunately we were able to get by him.”

Force and Prock both fell to Kalitta’s Mac Tools dragster, leaving just Torrence to face him in the final round.

“We came out of the semifinals and had to stop to do a quick interview with FOX and I got back just in time to warm up my car,” Kalitta recalled. “I was glad I was able to be the one to warm up my car because I didn’t want to change up anything the way our day was going.”

The final against Torrence was, in Kalitta’s own words, “kind of ugly.” Both cars had issues on the run to the finish line, with Kalitta getting their first to collect his first U.S. Nationals Wally.

“At 800 feet, it seemed like my car was just coasting with no power,” Kalitta said. “It just started spinning the tires and I’m not sure if it threw the belt off or what happened. It pretty much died out there.

“I thought it was over, but the win light came on.”

The victory lined up perfectly with the 25th anniversary of his team owner and uncle Connie Kalitta’s U.S. Nationals triumph in 1994. A U.S. Nationals victory is special, but for the Kalitta family, that made this U.S. Nationals mean just a little bit more.

“I just can’t say enough about everyone that’s been working on my Mac Tools Toyota,” the U.S. Nationals Top Fuel winner said. “They were busting their butts — and Connie (Kalitta) was right there with them. Having him in our corner is awesome. What a day. It feels great to win a big race that Connie won.”

DETROIT -- Niklas Kronwall is retiring after 15 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The hard-hitting defenseman announced his retirement in a video Tuesday on the team's Twitter account, saying he would be taking a new role within the organization. Kronwall played 953 games in his NHL career and was part of the Detroit team that won the Stanley Cup in 2008.

Kronwall had three goals and 24 assists in 79 games last season.

The rebuilding Red Wings are in their first offseason since the return of Steve Yzerman as general manager. They've missed the postseason three straight years.

Kronwall's future was uncertain when 2018-19 ended, but he'd shown over the past couple seasons that he could stay healthy. The Swede said in his retirement video that it was an honor to wear the Red Wings' jersey, and that Detroit has become home for him and his family.

Alexis Sanchez has said he has no regrets over his decision to join Manchester United last year.

The Chile international signed for Inter Milan on a season-long loan after 18 months at Old Trafford where he managed only five goals in 45 appearances.

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The forward has joined up with Romelu Lukaku at Inter after the Belgium international also joined the Nerazzurri this summer.

"I'm very happy I went to Manchester United," he told BBC Sport. "It's the club that's won the most in England.

"When I went to Arsenal it was fantastic -- I was happy there -- but United were growing at the time, they were buying players to win something.

"I wanted to join them and win everything. I don't regret going there."

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Sanchez could feature for the club after his loan spell in Serie A but the forward said he needs regular minutes on the pitch to feel happy.

"I think that I'm happy when I play for my national team," he added. "I was happy at Manchester United too, but I've always said to my friends I want to play.

"If they would let me play I'll do my best. Sometimes I'd play 60 minutes then I wouldn't play the next game -- and I didn't know why."

Meanwhile, Inter have confirmed Sanchez will wear the No. 7 shirt at the club this season.