MALTA, N.Y. – When Brett Hearn lined up in row three, most of the fans at Albany-Saratoga Speedway Friday night figured he’d win in a cakewalk.

He did win, his 136th score at the four-tenths-mile oval, but it was anything but easy as Mike Mahaney, from 11th, and arch rival Kenny Tremont Jr., from 24th, were right on him in the late stages of the 35-lap DIRTcar modified feature.

Jim Nagle took the early lead off the pole but Hearn took advantage of the race’s first restart, precipitated by a four-car melee on lap four, to shoot to second.  It then took him until lap 13 to work under Nagle to take the lead, by which time Mahaney was third and closing. Mahaney grabbed second on lap 15 and was making a run on Hearn for the lead when Keith Flach drew another yellow at halfway in the 35-lapper.

Tremont, who had just gotten to 10th, got a terrific start, blasting to fifth on the green.  He stood fourth when the next caution came, then shot down Peter Britten on the restart to get right on Mahaney’s bumper.

The final restart came with three to go, with Tremont using his trademark low groove to edge Mahaney for second after Hearn, who had restarted on the top all night, chose the bottom. By then Hearn had a small but comfortable lead and Tremont had no time to challenge for the win.

“I felt like I could get into turn one better if I started on the bottom that time,” offered Hearn. “We’ve had this car dialed in for a couple of weeks but had flats and other problems. For sure, we were good tonight.”

Point leader Marc Johnson was fourth, trailed by Britten, Ronnie Johnson, Matt DePew, Matt DeLorenzo, Rocky Warner and Bobby Hackel III.

In supporting class action, Scott Towslee topped Josh Coonradt and Jason Metz after a terrific battle in the Pro Stocks while Pat Jones led Brian Calabrese, Andrew Buff and Jack Speshock  to the checkers in the Sportsman finale.

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Carson Macedo grabbed his third World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory of the season Friday night at Black Hills Speedway.

Macedo banked $20,000 aboard the Kyle Larson Racing No. 2.

“It’s pretty cool,” Macedo said. “To win races was my main goal. I thought if I could get out here and win some races and at least show I could maybe have the speed to contend at one point that my team would get happy and we could all stick together for a few years. I think we can really build something great here.”

Macedo charged from sixth-place to second in his Drydene heat race. Then followed that up with another runner-up finish in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

At the start of the 25-lap feature, Macedo charged after the lead with the aggression of a hungry young cub. Hammering the throttle around the cushion, Macedo stayed side-by-side with polesitter Shane Stewart through the first turn. By the exit of turn two the two left inches between their tires, but Macedo never lifted and launched to the lead down the backstretch.

However, before Macedo could complete the first lap and make the lead change official, the red flag came out for Kevin Ingle flipping on his side in turn two.

When the race went green again, Stewart wasn’t going to let the rookie best him. He shot to the lead in front of Macedo into turn one. Daryn Pittman charged from fourth-place to third down the front stretch and tried a Hail Mary slide job into the first turn to take the lead, but Stewart and Macedo powered by him on the outside.

Stewart then held command of the lead for the next nine laps, putting close to a half of a track distance between he and Macedo. The Oklahoma-native was hungry and determined for a win. His last and only win his year came in June at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. But his joyride out front was cut short by a caution for Ian Madsen cutting a tire and hitting the wall with 16 laps to go.

The field lined back up two-by-two. When it did, Stewart chose the outside line. A mistake. Macedo got the better jump on the restart running the bottom and drove past Stewart down the front stretch.

“I obviously should have picked the bottom,” a dejected Stewart said. “I felt like my right rear (tire) needed to be in grip. I slid my tires a little bit on the initial start and let Carson get a run on me. I didn’t want to do that again. My motor stumbled just a little bit, but it was enough for him to get a run on me.

“We haven’t been worth a crap in a long time and we finally have a good car and I flat just threw it away on the restart. Just can’t thank my guys enough. They’ve stuck through thick and thin and continue to work hard. Just messed up.”

Macedo pulled away from Stewart after taking the lead, but in the final few laps Stewart was putting together better laps than Macedo. On the final lap through the final corner, Macedo slid up the track, almost hitting the wall. That allowed Stewart to cut the lead in half.

But time ran out for the KI Crossbow No. 5. Macedo throttled his Chevrolet Accessories No. 2 past the waving checkered flag with a close to half a second lead.

“I was really struggling to get off of (turn) two,” Macedo said. “Then I’d get tight in turns three and four and I didn’t really know what to do. I know we started to fade there a little bit. I tried to keep my pace as best I could. My guys did a really good job. I say it all the time, this sport is weighed on mechanics and they do a really good job.”

Behind Macedo and Stewart, 2019 Knoxville Nationals winner David Gravel charged his was from sixth-place to third – his third podium finish in-a-row.

“I cost our team a win in the Dash,” said Gravel, who finished sixth in the Dash.

If he was able to start at least fourth in the Feature, he said he felt like he could have possibly contended for the win. However, his podium finished helped him gain points on the top two in the championship point standings.

To see complete results, turn to the next page.

Vincent Kompany faces weeks on the sidelines after suffering another hamstring injury as his Anderlecht team lost again to continue their winless start to his managerial debut.

Kompany limped off with 15 minutes left in Friday's 1-0 loss at champions Racing Genk which left Anderlecht with two points from six matches in their worst start to a season in 21 years.

"It is too early to say how long he will be out but it looks like he'll have to miss at least one or two matches," Simon Davies, who is running the team from the dugout while the player-coach concentrates on captaining the side, told reporters.

Kompany has long battled with hamstring injuries which regularly sidelined him during more than a decade playing at Manchester City.

After the match, Kompany used social media to insist he would stick to his youthful selection.

"We don't believe the hype, we don't believe the drama. We believe in the process. We continuously produce good football, with a very young but talented squad. However, no results, so no excuses. Now there's nothing else to do but work even harder," he said on Twitter.

Anderlecht next meet Standard Liege on Sept. 1 while Kompany has a farewell match planned at Manchester City on Sept. 11.

MANCHESTER, England -- Paul Pogba cannot be expected to carry Manchester United's midfield this season, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Pogba has played a key role in United's positive start to the season -- despite missing a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Wolves -- but Solskjaer has warned that he cannot be Roy Keane, Juan Veron, Paul Scholes and Eric Cantona rolled into one.

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"He expects a lot from himself as well," Solskjaer said. "It doesn't frustrate me. We expect a lot from him but we know that we can't get Roy Keane, Veron, Scholes, Giggs and Cantona in one player. It's hard. He's a top, top player.

"We do expect a lot from our players and we have high hopes this season. "Hopefully we can be consistent and challenge when we come to April and May and Paul plays a big part in that."

Solskjaer has picked Pogba alongside 22-year-old Scott McTominay for the opening two games against Chelsea and Wolves.

The Norwegian's options are limited after failing to replace Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera over the summer but the 46-year-old insists the squad is deep enough to provide Pogba with the help he needs as United look to get back into the top four.

"We've still got Nemanja [Matic] and Fred," Solskjaer said. "Andreas [Pereira] has played more advanced. Some games we'll see Paul higher up the pitch as well.

"I've been very pleased with his performances. There are others who have to step up. We've started well.

"Maybe we should have six points, we probably deserve that, but it's something to build on. We're not going to look too far ahead."

United have rebuffed attempts from Real Madrid to sign Pogba this summer after valuing the midfielder at more than £180 million.

There is, however, still a chance Alexis Sanchez could depart before the European transfer deadline.

Talks are ongoing with Inter Milan and Solskjaer has suggested the Chilean needs a change of scenery after suffering a crisis of confidence since arriving from Arsenal in January 2018.

"I have spoken to him and we have had a good conversation," Solskjaer said.

"Let's see what happens. He is a quality player; I have said it so many times. There are times when you go through spells with injuries.

"He has had so many injuries like niggles and there is no 100 percent fact why this or why that and sometimes it just clicks and you go into a vein of form you score, your confidence grows and it will hit anyone's confidence when you don't really perform."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Groups of supporters of the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders staged a silent protest for the first 33 minutes of Friday's match involving the two teams.

The groups were protesting Major League Soccer's ban on political signage, and in particular the Iron Front symbol, which was used by an anti-Nazi paramilitary organization before World War II.

The supporters groups contend that the Iron Front symbol is intended to promote inclusion, anti-fascism and anti-racism. MLS has stated the symbol is connected to the antifa movement in the U.S. and thus constitutes a link to a political organization.

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As part of the protest, the Timbers Army group did not display any pregame tifo as it normally does and, along with Seattle groups the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC, refused to engage in organized chants, songs, choreography, flag-waving and the playing of drums or trumpets, remaining silent until the end of the 33rd minute. That time was chosen to commemorate 1933, the year the Iron Front was disbanded in Nazi Germany.

As the protest ended, the Timbers Army sang "Bella Ciao," an Italian anti-fascist anthem from World War II.

In a statement released before the game, the three groups called for MLS to rescind its ban on flying the Iron Front flag, as well as to remove the word "political" from its fan code of conduct, calling the use of the word "inherently arbitrary." The groups also asked MLS to work with international experts on human rights to craft language in the fan code of conduct that "reflects and supports radical inclusion and anti-discrimination."

In recognition of the fans' complaints, both teams posed ahead of kickoff for a group photo with small banners that read "anti-fascist" and "anti-racist." The teams' Twitter accounts also posted messages reading, "Bigger than a rivalry. We stand together against fascism and racism."

Bigger than a rivalry. We stand together against fascism and racism. pic.twitter.com/pzZnRIANY9

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) August 24, 2019

The supporters groups' protest was largely observed by the rest of the crowd, with faint chants of "Let's go Timbers" occasionally heard. But when the clock struck 33 minutes, both sets of supporters began cheering and chanting at full volume, with numerous Iron Front flags visible in the Timbers Army section.