GLENDORA, Calif. – NHRA officials announced Thursday that Racing RVs, an Ohio company that specializes in new and used Semi-style motorhomes, has extended its agreement as the presenting sponsor of the NHRA Top Dragster and Top Sportsman national championships.

Drivers in the Top Sportsman and Top Dragster classes will be awarded points at various NHRA divisional events, the JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals, and at selected NHRA national events toward the annual year-end Top Dragster national championship and the annual year-end Top Sportsman national championship.

In the program, each champion in the Top Dragster presented by RacingRVs.com and the Top Sportsman presented by RacingRVs.com classes earns $5,000 and the series runner-up claims $2,500. The two champions will receive their championship bonus purse, championship jacket, championship Wally trophy and championship ring while being recognized during the annual NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series awards ceremony.

Racing RVs has been working with NHRA to elevate these categories and expand their impact on the sport. This year, for the first time, the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman categories will compete at the iconic 65th annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, thanks in part to the efforts of the team at Racing RVs.

“Racing RVs is proud to be a part of the NHRA,” said Racing RVs owner Joe Fisher. “Our business has been built because of racers and we are blessed to be able to give back in some small way to help our fellow sportsman racers with the Top Dragster and Top Sportsman national championships as well as being able to be a part of the first time Top Dragster and Top Sportsman will compete at the prestigious U.S. Nationals. This is one of the most exciting things we have been able to do with NHRA. Being a Top Dragster competitor myself and having a small part in getting these classes to compete at Indy is a dream come true.”

Additionally, a special Top Dragster Shootout and Top Sportsman Shootout presented by RacingRVs.com is held during the JEGS SPORTSnationals, September 20-22 at National Trail Raceway. In those shootouts, the winners in each class earn $1,000 and the runners-up receive $500.

“We are happy to continue this partnership with Racing RVs,” said Brad Gerber, NHRA vice president and chief development officer. “We look forward to exciting racing action from these two very competitive categories.”

PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Trans-Am Series TA2 powered by AEM class has become a popular choice for up-and-coming NASCAR talent.

Combining the prowess of a purpose-built racing platform, relevant manufacturer power plants, and a rules package that focuses on excellent cost containment, the TA2 class represents an outstanding value platform in racing. With engines capable of lasting an entire season and cost control measures that allow drivers to fully focus on racing, not the financing of it, while showcasing their talents and skill.

Another force driving young talent to TA2 is Mike Cope Race Cars. This season Mike Cope Race Cars partnered with championship-winning NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing. In the last event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the Florida-based team fielded a stable of cars which included several Joe Gibbs Racing drivers behind the wheel.

The Trans-Am event at Mid-Ohio was proof positive of this, as  drivers Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Riley Herbst and Justin Haley, all took part in the event to gain additional road course experience.

“We have a lot of driver training and driver coaching,” said team owner Mike Cope. “We have a lot of young drivers looking for a place to hone their road racing skills as they move up the NASCAR ladder, and they’ve chosen the Trans Am Series TA2 division to do it in. We’ve aligned ourselves with Joe Gibbs Racing and we are doing some good stuff with Ty Gibbs. The cost controlled approach of the TA2 class and the competition among the field is very attractive to these drivers.”

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points leader Sam Mayer made his Trans Am debut earlier this season at Road Atlanta under the SLR/Fields Race banner where he qualified 12th in a very competitive 28-car field. The 15-year-old Midwesterner is a key member of Team Chevy’s Driver’s Edge Development program and made select starts in the ARCA Menards and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck series this season.

In effort to accelerate his career, NASCAR K&N Pro Series driver Derek Kraus joined the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli West Coast Championship TA2 roster at Sonoma International Raceway, winning his debut race after qualifying on pole with Shockwave Motorsports.

Another racer who pushed his development forward with his Trans Am outings was Justin Haley, who polished his road racing skills in the TA2 powered by AEM class with outings in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. Haley claimed his maiden Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona Int’l Speedway earlier this season.

The roster for this weekend’s Ryan Companies Road America Classic is also shaping up to have several NXS drivers join the TA2 field. Bell and Haley will return with Mike Cope Race Cars. In addition, the team added Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brandon Jones for the weekend. NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver Natalie Decker will return to the Tony Ave tent, competing in the TA class.

“We firmly believe that the TA2 powered by AEM class is not only a tremendous value for the competitors, but it is also an outstanding platform from the competition side,” said Trans-Am President John Clagett. “We’ve attracted a lot of different kinds of racers to this class, and it is a testament to the structure of the class that some of the next guard of NASCAR racers are coming here as part of their development.”

For the TA2 regulars like points championship leader Marc Miller, the addition of rising NASCAR talents entering the class only adds to competition. Miller showed his unwavering talents at Mid-Ohio, topping the results.

“The TA2 class is one of the most competitive and challenging in the country,” said Miller. “We have a great mix of very quick young rising stars and pro drivers and at several races each season another crop of young drivers being groomed as future NASCAR champions jump into the fray. It makes the series always feel fresh and challenges us regulars to be pacesetters and not followers. I love the challenges this class brings.”

CONCORD, N.C. — As SPEED SPORT celebrates its 85th anniversary, I wonder…

Had the Internet not popped up and made it so that the breadth and depth of what SPEED SPORT offered on a weekly basis (which is a hoot because you’re reading this on the ‘Net!), where could the publication have gone?

Nobody covered the sport like we did. Sure, others tried, but no one had the reportage, the reach and the cachet that we did. SPEED SPORT went into NASCAR and went toe-to-toe with the old NASCAR Scene empire of Rob Griggs, and we gave as good as we got. We were on even keel with the Indy Car pubs in coverage, the sports-car rags in terms of their myriad classes and races, and even Formula One. Autosport knew we were in the building across the pond, too.

Where no one could touch us was national short-track racing. From Maine to California, Florida to Washington, we had it all. In the old days, when Editor Mike and I would pass out papers at a NASCAR race somewhere, Ken Schrader used to stalk us until we got to his trailer. If you didn’t have at least two copies on Tony Stewart’s hauler, he would send Jeff “Gooch” Patterson out to make sure they arrived.

My father, who was a subscriber from the mid-1960s on, used to leave his copy out where I could see it, and it soon began to be a battle as to who would read it first. He won, of course. My dad was a longtime contributor to SPEED SPORT as well, and he covered the Indy 500, Midwest NASCAR races and other events around our home in Indiana. It was a fantastic time for me, because I grew up working for him and he ended up being one of our reporters. We had some good times on the road, dad and I, and those are among my most treasured memories.

You can’t celebrate 85 years of SPEED SPORT without the man who made it work. Chris Economaki was, in all respects, a force of nature. Always on the move, if there was a rumor floating about his newsman’s nose would find it and have it in the book before anyone else knew it was a rumor. Of course, anyone who was anyone in the sport read his weekly column. When we went to computers, it was hysterical, because Chris would bang out his notes on half-sheets of typing paper and hand it to one of us to enter. That got old in a hurry, but nobody really minded once we got away from the old TRS-80 brick computers.

Once again, none of this was possible without the army (and I mean that!) of people who contributed. Photographers, correspondents, friends of friends…all of them were devoted to getting the news in on time.

The people who worked like maniacs seven days a week — because there weren’t eight, it seemed —were the real heroes. Guys like Ed Muzio and Mike Regina, who ran the cameras at the old base in New Jersey. Like Vince Robertiello and Walter Elliott, who typed thousands of stories and did everything we asked in the weekly slog toward publication. Like Anne Fornoro, who worked for SPEED SPORT before she became A.J. Foyt’s primary representative. When we moved down to North Carolina, the crew changed but the mission didn’t.

Of course, Corinne Economaki had a lot to do with the success of the paper/magazine when she became the publisher. A lifetime spent around the sport and her own qualities as a manager and businesswoman helped us modernize and adapt, and she was the spiritual leader of the group as well.

As the sport changes and adapts so does SPEED SPORT. I can honestly foresee a future in which SPEED SPORT, in some form, is still available in the year 2104, though I have no concept of how that will look (and I most likely won’t be around to see it!). Longevity is a gift, given to quality people and ideas. SPEED SPORT has a lot of both quality people and quality ideas, so I wouldn’t bet against it.

When 2104 comes around, if I’m still kicking, can a former associate editor get a complimentary copy?

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Last season didn't sit well with Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.

Unaccustomed to losing and no longer a rookie, Dahlin told The Associated Press on Thursday he feels better prepared and is far more driven to help transform the Sabres into contenders.

"I'm putting more pressure on myself. We're going to be a winning team and be in the playoffs," Dahlin said. "I think everyone is putting more pressure on ourselves now, and we're ready to go."

The first player selected in the 2018 draft is so eager to put last season behind him, he was among the first Sabres players to hit the ice at the team's practice facility, some three weeks before teams open training camp. He arrived in Buffalo from his native Sweden on Tuesday, and he would have been back in town a few days earlier if not for travel complications.

The Rookie of the Year finalist is motivated after how Buffalo unraveled immediately following a 10-game winning streak that had the team briefly sitting first in the overall standings at the end of November. The Sabres then won just 16 of their final 57 games to miss the playoffs for an eighth straight season, the NHL's longest active drought.

"We played so well in the beginning of the season, so that made you frustrated because we know how good we can play," he said. "Yeah, we're going to get something good going on here."

Expressing unhappiness and acknowledging frustration is new for Dahlin, who spent much of last season looking mostly at the bright side. When asked late last season if Buffalo's 49 losses (including overtime and shootouts) were the most he ever endured in one year, Dahlin smiled and responded by saying the team's 33 wins were also a season high for him.

A year ago, Dahlin was expressing hope he'd simply make the season-opening roster. Now he's begun to find his voice as a key member of the team.

"I feel more prepared. I feel more mature," said Dahlin, who turned 19 in April. "Like that one year of experience, I know what's coming this season. I feel more comfortable in my position."

He said he spent much of the summer adding weight and strength to better handle the rigors of an 82-game schedule and face elite opposition.

Dahlin's rookie season mirrored much of that of his team when it came to inconsistency. He had a goal and eight assists during the 10-game win streak, but he followed that with two goals and four assists over his next 17 games.

Though he led Sabres defenseman and finished third among NHL rookies with 44 points (nine goals, 35 assists), he closed the season with a goal and six assists in Buffalo's final 19 games.

Dahlin showed some rust Thursday when the usually smooth-skating player took a spill -- "Oh, yeah, I slipped," he said -- while being untouched at the blue line. He bounced back a few moments later when he drove in from the right point and converted Jason Pominville's no-look pass for a goal.

Declaring himself ready to go, Dahlin already had his first face-to-face meeting with new coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday.

"He seems like a really good coach and a good man," he said of Krueger, who takes over after Phil Housley was fired following two subpar seasons.

Matchmaking is an inherent part of the human experience, because it combines two things most of us enjoy doing: Helping others find a sense of fulfillment in their lives and pretending that we know what's best for them.

That established, we turn our attention to the remaining members of the NHL unrestricted free agent Class of 2019, which would have been a heck of an All-Star team about 10 years ago: Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Thomas Vanek up front; Niklas Kronwall and Dion Phaneuf on the blue line; and ... well, Cam Ward hasn't retired yet, so we'll just go with him in goal.

These players, and a few more, still need homes for the 2019-20 NHL season. So it's time to play a little matchmaker. Keep in mind these are the matches we'd like to see made, and not necessarily predictions on where they'll end up. Also, we're trying to at least keep a foot on the ground while our heads are in the clouds, and acknowledging some basic cap and player preference restrictions on these potential matches.

Now, please excuse me as I grab my Cupid bow, heart-tipped arrows and large adult diaper to complete the costume. It's time to make matches.

Joe Thornton, C

Best match: San Jose Sharks

At the NHL Awards, Joe Thornton announced he was returning for his 22nd NHL season in that laid-back, Jumbo-esque manner we've come to expect from him. 'No worries, we'll all sit down, we'll figure it out, no problem' ... that kind of thing. So we take the Bearded One at his word. Erik Karlsson's deal, and whatever else GM Doug Wilson is cooking up, have likely left Thornton with a "Here's what's left for you" one-year deal, and that's fine. The Sharks certainly can use him, as Thornton's work on the third line last season was exemplary, and their forward group certainly took a hit this offseason. "Win it for Jumbo," one more time.

Patrick Marleau, C/LW

Best match: Arizona Coyotes

Look, we want that Patrick Marleau reunion with the Sharks just as much as you do, but it's hard to imagine Wilson slotting him in ahead of some of the younger talent he no doubt wants to get a gander at (before adjusting accordingly). Or that all the bygones between Marleau and Wilson are indeed bygones. Keeping in mind that Marleau has stated a desire to be out West, and noting that the other California teams might not be in the market for him, what about the Yotes? It might take a little cap maneuvering, but I like him on the left side down the lineup -- and especially in that room. He lost two sons in Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner; he could gain a weird nephew in Phil Kessel.

Thomas Vanek, LW

Best match: Edmonton Oilers

I'll never forget the "Yeah, can you believe that?" tone when I asked Vanek, of the most traded players in the NHL, about getting a no-trade clause from the Detroit Red Wings. The guy that gave it to him was Ken Holland, who is now the general manager of the Oilers, a team that could use all the offensive help it can get on the left side right now. Plus, Vanek signing in Edmonton would bring it all full circle, as the franchise that offer-sheeted him with a seven-year deal in 2007 gets him 12 years later as a 35-year-old journeyman with a one-year contract. With a no-trade clause, of course.

Patrick Maroon, LW

Best match: Tampa Bay Lightning

The St. Louis Blues are obviously the "best" best match, because I'm a father, and every time I think about Maroon taking less money to play at home to be with his child and then winning the Stanley Cup in the process, the room gets dustier than an abandoned attic. But Maroon on the Lightning is just too perfect to pass up. Think about how they went out with a whimper against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Now think about the way Maroon plays. The way he scores goals. The way his line of grunts could change the momentum with one good shift. This is the kind of player the Lightning, frankly, lack when they're getting punched in the mouth by a lesser opponent. The Big Rig gives them one.

Jason Pominville, RW

Best match: Philadelphia Flyers

Pominville turns 37 in November, and he has settled into a 0.42 points per game guy with reliable shot attempts metrics relative to his teammates. His expected goals percentage of 52.12 was fourth among Buffalo Sabres forwards last season. Having him as a veteran option on the right side down the lineup gives the Flyers a little bit of insurance, and he's a better option than Tyler Pitlick.

Brian Boyle, C

Best match: Pittsburgh Penguins

Lose "Old Man" Matt Cullen, gain "Plays Like An Old Man" Brian Boyle for your fourth line. Boyle is a faceoff ace, a physical presence and would give the team another net-front body for when Patric Hornqvist is on the shelf. Plus, he would keep Boyle in the Northeast (sorta), which is obviously important for his family. Due respect to Teddy Blueger, but I like Boyle here.

Justin Williams, RW

Best match: Carolina Hurricanes

Earlier this summer, I said Williams should bring his particular set of skills to Arizona in order create a "Bunch of Jerks" vibe with the Coyotes. But the truth is that I want the Hurricanes to be the last team Williams plays for in the NHL. His role in the resurgence of the franchise last season was indelible. His performance as de facto player/coach with Rod Brind'Amour was vital. His next uniform should be whatever he wears as a member of the Hurricanes' hockey operations staff after retiring with them.

Jake Gardiner, D

Best match: Buffalo Sabres

I have no idea how the Buffalo Sabres are capped out. True, paying a combined $25 million against the cap to three forwards probably helps, but there's no way a team that bad should have that much money on its cap. Stop stealing the Red Wings' bit! Anyway, Gardiner is clearly biding his time until some team -- the Maple Leafs or the Avalanche or someone else waiting on an RFA? -- settles on their cap number. But Gardiner to the Sabres, where he slide in behind Rasmus Dahlin for the foreseeable future, would be a good fit for both. Provided, of course, that Buffalo can clear the necessary cap space, having committed so much money already to ... that.

Niklas Kronwall, D

Best match: Toronto Maple Leafs

I think it's probably Detroit Red Wings or bust for Kronwall, the 38-year-old defenseman who hit opponents so hard that his name became a verb. But if he did continue on elsewhere, what about a left-side role for peanuts with Mike Babcock in Toronto? He averaged 19:57 per game last season with Detroit and was just a nose ahead of his teammates as far as relative Corsi. His expected goals percentage (44.31) was putrid, but it would improve on a better team. He's Ron Hainsey with Red Wings Cup nostalgia. And hey, maybe he gets one good Kronwalling in on the Bruins in their inevitable playoff series next spring.

Dion Phaneuf, D

Best match: Vegas Golden Knights

Six points in 67 games and a 1.3 shooting percentage aren't exactly the kind of numbers that inspire one to get into the Dion Phaneuf business. Here's a fact that might be more enticing: The buyout money owed to Phaneuf by the Los Angeles Kings for the next two seasons, which would allow the defenseman to take a bargain-basement deal with a capped-out contender like Vegas. The Knights could use another body on the blue line, and especially one with that kind of power-play experience. Now, to find an Elvis jumpsuit that fits ...

Jersey Fouls

Eschewing the usual Jersey Foul fodder, we focus on the new road jerseys for the New York Rang... er, Carolina Hurricanes:

Can't wait to put this on next month. These jerseys are unreal. #canetrain pic.twitter.com/nZeQKwnlcq

— Jordan Martinook (@Martyman17) August 20, 2019

First off, kudos to the Canes for doing the "different styles of home and away" jerseys. Nothing wrong with that. Secondly, kudos to the Canes for finding a way to remove their swirly flushed toilet logo from at least one of their jerseys, because outside of the Colorado Avalanche, no team needs a logo refresh more.

The little Hurricane flags on the "C" are a great touch, and overall it's a pretty clean look. Sure, the diagonal letters thing is being done by the Rangers and has been done by the Avalanche and the Lightning, who were the "BOLTS" before Carolina was the "CANES."

Of course, there were other options:

What could have been though pic.twitter.com/n3hutMZbUi

— Meep (@tw1st3d_w1ll) August 20, 2019

Yes, what could have been.

Oh good, another European threat

Restricted free agents have very little leverage. Which is why, inevitably, their camps start making noise about potentially leaving for Europe in a desperate attempt to pressure management.

David Pastrnak had "multiple offers from the KHL" while negotiating with the Bruins in 2017. Dmitry Orlov fielded a KHL offer when he was working on a new deal with the Capitals. Ditto Rickard Rakell, whom HC Sibir Novosibirsk reportedly targeted as he discussed a new deal with the Anaheim Ducks. In 2014, Ryan Johansen's camp claimed a KHL offer during a nasty contract dispute with the Blue Jackets, one that had Columbus team president John Davidson calling the negotiation "extortion."

Agent Darren Ferris prefers to use Switzerland as the geographic threat of choice. He used it with Josh Anderson in his talks with Columbus. He used it with Andreas Athanasiou in his talks with the Red Wings. And now he's using it in Mitch Marner's stalemate with the Maple Leafs, in a predictable move.

This charade always reminded me of those times as a child when my mother, in a fit of frustration over a messy room or some other youthful indiscretion, threatened to "move to China." (We'd always call her on her bluff, because the farthest past the Mississippi River she ever traveled was to Reno.)

The entire Marner ordeal remains stupefying, and it's getting harder to predict how and when it will end. But it's safe to assume it won't be with him draped in Zurich gear.

Listen to ESPN On Ice

The full season archive of our podcast can be found on iTunes. Honestly, if you're lounging at the pool on the last days of summer, nothing is better than listening to two people that have had it up to here about playoff officiating.

Three things about Bill Guerin

1. I was pleasantly surprised that Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold and his brain trust didn't course-correct after the Paul Fenton disaster. Conventional wisdom was that the Wild were going to regurgitate a Peter Chiarelli-type retread rather than hire another assistant general manager. But Guerin had the goods -- and Team USA teammate Mike Modano as a Leipold confidant -- to earn him the gig.

2. After everything we heard about Fenton's inability to connect on a human level with players and coworkers, as well as his general lack of managerial communication skills, it's pretty easy to see how a charismatic, face-of-the-franchise guy would be seen as the antidote. Fenton didn't connect with veteran leaders like Zach Parise. Guerin is a decade removed from having played against them.

3. Finally, this is the single greatest photo ever used to announce a new hire in the history of the NHL:

"I am thrilled to announce we have hired Bill Guerin, a four-time Stanley Cup champion, as General Manager of the Minnesota Wild." - Craig Leipold

? News → https://t.co/uM3vPSoWqs #mnwild pic.twitter.com/kU0yhA6khQ

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) August 21, 2019

He looks like a colorized photo of a 1920s baseball player. And a little like a post-"Star Trek Generations" William Shatner. And ... moist. You never want your first impression to be so moist.

Puck headlines

You know, I really wasn't one of those guys who complained about Hollywood remaking literally everything until I read that the dude who played Spawn is starring in a reboot of the greatest hockey movie of all-time.

Really interesting piece on Hilary Knight and that "not a boycott" of the NWHL by the best women's players in the world: "I don't think it's sustainable, I don't think it's a viable option, and that's why there are 200-plus women in the world willing to forgo playing in it to build something better. ... When I say that, we're not out there looking to destroy anything - we're just looking to build. We have a grander vision of what the sport should look like, not only from a players' perspective, but also the needs of future generations. So I think that's where the intent is, to really build and cultivate the best group of women to be able to go and do that."

Breaking down the Buffalo Sabres' 50th anniversary jerseys, which are pretty sweet.

Derick Brassard heads to the Islanders.

How New York Islanders arena construction is impacting the horse racing at Belmont.

A North Dakota vs. Penn State men's hockey game in Nashville for 2020 remains on track. Now that would be sweet.

The Golden Knights are planning a Miracle On Ice night. We assume they mean the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and not, like, scoring four goals on a five-minute major to erase a three-goal deficit in a Game 7.

Hockey tl;dr (too long; didn't read)

Corey Pronman is in the process of doing his farm system rankings ($).

In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN

We hope you enjoyed our All-Decade project this week on ESPN. Here are the best and worst teams, the all-decade awards, all-decade teams for all 31 teams and the 10 biggest ways the NHL has changed (and what comes next).