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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series’ inaugural Triple Truck Challenge concludes its three-race run Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
If the final event holds true to its two-race lead-in, there will be no shortage of drama and big news.
Brett Moffitt and GMS Racing stand to pick up a $150,000 bonus if the defending series champion wins for the second consecutive week.
The runner-up at Iowa, Moffitt was awarded the victory after apparent winner Ross Chastain’s truck was deemed illegal in post-race inspection. That verdict was upheld again on appeal this week.
Moffitt acknowledged he didn’t lead a lap in his win – the first by a disqualification in the history of the series – but welcomed the victory nonetheless, posting photos on social media of his team celebrating.
“This is a big change of emotions,” Moffitt said after being called to speak to the press following Chastain’s disqualification. “As a race car driver, I got beat on track and that’s not how you want to do it. … but I’ll take a win any way I can get it.
“It is what it is,” he continued. “We finally got a win that we needed and we’ll take it.”
And, he reminded, the big money from the Triple Truck Challenge was a nice companion to his first trophy of the season.
Saturday night’s CarShield 200 presented by CK Power is a sort of reset for everyone, with another huge paycheck on the line. If someone other than Moffitt wins, that driver still earns a $50,000 bonus as part of the Triple Truck Challenge incentive.
With the playoffs looming, it’s go-time for multiple reasons. The big incentive from series sponsor Gander Outdoors is icing on the cake.
Chastain, for example, now needs to win again and break into the top-20 in the standings to make the playoffs. He only declared himself Gander Trucks championship-eligible two races ago (before Texas) and sits 69 points behind the 20th place cutoff.
A victory this week would be a strong statement from his Niece Motorsports team.
Looking especially strong in recent weeks is Matt Crafton, a two-time Gander Trucks champion, who moved into second in the series driver standings last week at Iowa.
Crafton trails championship leader Grant Enfinger by 47 points and holds a slim two-point edge over third place Stewart Friesen.
Crafton drove the No. 88 ThorSport Ford to back-to-back pole positions at Kansas and Charlotte earlier this season. He has nine top-10 finishes in the season’s opening 10 races, including the last seven consecutively.
He was a season best runner-up in Texas in the Triple Truck Challenge opener two weeks ago, but he’s had only one top five in the last five races at Gateway – including three DNFs.
In two previous starts at Gateway, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series point leader Grant Enfinger won the pole position last year and scored a best showing of fifth place in 2017. He’s finished top-10 in nine of 10 races this year – his worst finish is 11th at Vegas.
Enfinger was runner-up at the Daytona season-opener and has finished fourth in the opening two races of the Triple Truck Challenge.
There is plenty of motivation across the Gander Trucks field. Moffitt is the only driver ranked among the top-six in the championship standings with a victory.
There are no former Gateway race winners entered this week, but Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland finished second last year and is still looking for his first series victory.
As far as Moffitt’s concerned, being awarded the victory last week following a competitor’s disqualification is not the same thing as taking the checkered flag after beating the field.
With that said, he remains as driven as ever, if not even more so.
“It’s a place I like and GMS Racing has proven its strong there,” Moffitt said of Gateway. “We’re looking forward to it and winning that 150 grand.”
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PITTSBORO, Ind. – Brian VanMeveren’s quest for the USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Award is off to a good start.
To this point, the St. Paul, Minn. racer leads the rookie-of-the-year standings by 18 markers roughly one-third through the season.
While earning rookie-of-the-year honors is a goal of VanMeveren’s this year, he is more worried about getting more seat time and improving each and every night.
Last weekend, VanMeveren made the trek out east for the Eastern Storm swing with the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars. The five-race swing was trimmed to three due to a pair of rainouts.
VanMeveren was in action Tuesday, June 11 at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Penn., Bridgeport Speedway in Bridgeport, N.J. on Wednesday, June 12, followed by a visit to Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Penn. on Saturday, June 15.
The highlight of the weekend was VanMeveren’s charge from 22nd to 15th in the main event on Saturday.
“The last two were our strongest races. We changed up our setup after the first night and that really helped,” said VanMeveren. “I got some good seat time and I think that was the biggest take away from the weekend.
“It was a good learning experience and a lot of fun,” VanMeveren continued. “The biggest thing we are struggling with right now is finding a consistent crew who are able to come to the races week in and week out. I just need to find that guy I can mesh with and work well with.”
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Whan: ANA-ANWA plan a work in progress, co-existing again in 2020
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Golf
Friday, 21 June 2019 07:53
CHASKA, Minn. – The ANA Inspiration will co-exist on the same week as the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for at least one more year, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said Friday.
The ANA Inspiration will be played April 2-5 at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in 2020 with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur once again overlapping – the final round of the ANWA’s 54-hole event to be played on April 4 at Augusta National.
“Still not ready to commit that that’s the long-term answer to the ANA,” Whan said.
Whan outlined challenges that arise trying to move the ANA dates, with venue conflicts and TV issues complicating change, but the LPGA continues to study its options. The biggest downside in continuing to share the week with Augusta National, Whan said, is the media attention the ANWA diverts from the ANA.
“I still believe, and maybe I’m the one with the rose-colored glasses, but I still believe if we get it right long term, with the Augusta-ANA combination, we are going to create a weekend that’s really going to be a celebration, not that it wasn’t this year,” Whan said. “I think we can continue to live there.”
Whan is working with ANA as the title sponsor, and with IMG as event management, to map out possible new dates, but there are daunting obstacles.
If they move the ANA Inspiration up one week, which means swapping dates with the Kia Classic, the LPGA would be pitted against the PGA Tour’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship. The ANA would lose the beefed-up TV coverage that Golf Channel gives the ANA in its current date.
“We would be tape delayed on three of the four nights and probably have nine or 10 hours of TV instead of 26 hours,” Whan said.
The LPGA won’t move the ANA a week later, because then it’s up against the Masters. If the LPGA moves the ANA two weeks later, it conflicts with the immensely popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, with hotel rates in Palm Springs skyrocketing and with volunteers difficult to find as so many residents make their summer migration away from the area.
Whan said there’s conflict with Mission Hills in trying to play the ANA two weeks earlier.
Whan conceded sharing the date with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and Augusta National’s Drive, Chip and Putt competition divert media focus from the ANA.
“I’ve said to players, I get stuck in my own little world of solving,” Whan said. “But if you had asked me as a fan, before I was the commissioner . . . how can this be bad for anybody? A lot of people were talking about women’s golf all weekend, no matter what they were talking about. Because that’s true, this thing can live together long term. I don’t know that it will from a date perspective. I have to make sure ANA believes that as much as I do. But I think it’s possible.”
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Simon says? More like Stevie says: Day (63) hits range because Williams told him to
Published in
Golf
Friday, 21 June 2019 08:05
CROMWELL, Conn. – After a second-round 63 Friday at the Travelers, Jason Day announced that he was going back to the range.
In the rain.
Just like he did after his round Thursday.
Day began a new partnership last week with caddie Steve Williams, a move meant to refocus the former No. 1 and major winner, who said at Pebble Beach that he has “severely underachieved” in his career to date.
So now, when he walks off the golf course, he might not be done for the day. It’s up to Stevie.
“Yeah, yeah, pretty much when he asks you to do something you pretty much do it,” Day said. “I went and chipped some, I hit balls on the range, and then I putted. So right now I'm not pleased with how things have progressed so far with regards to my year.
“And since having Steve on the bag we've definitely been a lot more disciplined about going to the range and putting green, chipping green after the round and making sure we're staying on top of it, especially with our feels.”
After rounds of 70-63, Day is 7 under for the week at TPC River Highlands, four off the 11-under lead held by Zack Sucher at the end of the morning wave.
In 15 starts this season Day has racked up five top-10s and 10 top-25s, but he hasn’t won in over a year, since last May’s Wells Fargo Championship. While he and Williams would obviously like to put a win on the board before the end of this season, Day says they’re really “focused on 2020.”
So when Williams tells him he isn’t done working, then he isn’t done working.
“He's very black and white,” Day said. “Yeah, we're going to go over and hit some chips, hit some putts, just get out of here. Because it is starting to get a little bit wet. It's raining here now.”
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Spieth (MC) says getting ballstriking under control will 'just take time'
Published in
Golf
Friday, 21 June 2019 08:36
CROMWELL, Conn. – Standing in the rain behind the clubhouse at TPC River Highlands on Friday, Jordan Spieth seemed a little lost.
Following rounds of 73-69, Spieth was wrapping up an early exit from the Travelers Championship, where he missed a cut for the first time since March.
“I mean, just no parts of my game were where I wanted them to be,” he said.
In spite of wayward ballstriking, Spieth had been finding ways to score in recent weeks, putting up three straight top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship, Charles Schwab Challenge and Memorial.
But even he was willing to admit Friday those finishes were smoke and mirrors.
“The results from the other week were strictly really putting,” he said. “It was putting and chipping. I still hit the ball below average for the field those weeks; [I] just made up for it.
“I just really need to improve on my ball striking.”
Spieth this year is 197th on Tour in driving accuracy and 172nd in greens in regulation. If he wasn’t seventh in in strokes gained: putting, his already-well-publicized struggles would be attracting even more attention.
After racking up 14 worldwide wins, including three majors, in his first five years as a pro, he is mired in a nearly two-year drought, dating back to the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale.
Spieth has spent much of that time fighting his golf swing. He’s been optimistic at times that he’s heading in the right direction, but the dynamic he described Friday sounded the same as it has for over a year.
“The things I've been working on are so drastic that it's just really difficult to try and play through it, I guess,” he said.
He anticipates grinding hard on his game ahead of The Open, but isn’t sure whether he’ll play again before the year’s final major.
“I may or may not play the John Deere,” he said. “I'm kind of up in in the air right now. I’m not sure.”
But he is sure of what he needs to work on.
“I need to gain significant control of the golf ball tee to green,” he said. “Fortunately, now I’ve got time to just do reps and overdo the reps and pull the string back together to get the clubs set and tracking right where it's been when I've been the best in the world tee to green.
“So it'll just take time. Just like the putting did last year, and then it came around. You know, it's just a little off and I need to get it back.”
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Romo (back) WDs with three holes left at Northeast Amateur
Published in
Golf
Friday, 21 June 2019 09:18
Tony Romo is on a bit of a streak.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned NFL analyst turned amateur golfer withdrew from his second straight tournament on Friday at the Northeast Amateur.
Romo, who earlier this month pulled out of the Dogwood Invitational after 27 holes of 1-under golf, actually opened strong at short-but-difficult Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I., shooting 2-over 71. However, he followed with a second-round 79 and then only managed to get through 15 holes in 11 over before calling it quits.
According to the tournament’s Twitter account, Romo has been battling a back injury.
“[He] tried his hardest just to finish today but was physically unable,” the tournament wrote. “We greatly appreciate his participation and will welcome him back in the future.”
Had Romo played even-par golf the rest of the way, he still would’ve finished last by five shots. He also has yet to make a cut in three PGA Tour starts, including most recently at this year’s AT&T Byron Nelson.
The Northeast Amateur is considered one of the premier amateur tournaments of the summer. It is highly weighted in regard to Walker Cup consideration and its list of champions include Ben Crenshaw, Dustin Johnson, David Duval and Anthony Kim. Each of the past four champions during Walker Cup years have gone on to make the U.S. team.
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Despite tough day at Travelers, Mickelson (76) likes where game is headed
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Golf
Friday, 21 June 2019 10:22
CROMWELL, Conn. – Phil Mickelson’s first start at the Travelers Championship since 2003 blew up in spectacular fashion Friday morning.
“This was a disappointing day for me,” he said.
Following a 3-under 67 Thursday, Mickelson started his second round with a tee ball hit out of bounds and a double bogey at the par-4 10th.
At the par-3 11th, his tee shot plugged in the bunker, leaving him to splash out across the green and drop another shot.
His second at the par-5 13th went so far left that it cleared the pond that fronts the green and once again left the golf course, leading to bogey.
He three-putted from 6 feet to drop another shot at the par-3 16th.
And at the par-4 17th, he missed wildly to the left, leaving himself more than 208 yards over the water, which he found, en route to another double.
A merciful birdie at 18 saw him make the turn in 6-over 41. Nine straight pars on the back led to him a second-round 76 and a two-day total of 3 over par.
Asked about the state of his game and his energy levels, Mickelson said he believes his game has really been rounding into shape in recent weeks. Stamina was not an issue after the U.S. Open.
“I feel like I've had a couple good breakthroughs and my ball-striking game is much closer than it's been,” he said. “I want to keep playing now because I feel like it's closer. Today was just not what I expected.”
Mickelson said Wednesday that he will not be playing the Scottish Open in the run-up to the year’s final major at Royal Portrush. Following a missed cut here at the Travelers, he will round out his regular season with the 3M Championship, The Open, and the WGC-FedEx Championship.
“It's a little disappointing because I really felt like my game was coming around,” he said. “This is a good golf course for my game, too. Just unfortunately didn't put it together. Had a really rough nine there.”
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The 28 members of the U.S. women's national team who filed a pay discrimination suit against soccer's governing body in March have tentatively agreed to mediation after the World Cup ends, a spokesman for the U.S. Soccer Federation confirmed Friday.
The suit, filed in federal court on March 8, seeks equitable pay and treatment, in addition to damages including back pay for the team, which has won three World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. Among the players involved in the suit are stars Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd.
The women's national team is in France playing in the 2019 World Cup, where it is favored to repeat as champion. The team has wrapped up group play with three wins in three games and without conceding a goal.
The lawsuit alleges "institutionalized gender discrimination" toward the team. It was filed under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It notes that the women's players are required to play more games than the men's team and win more of those games yet still receive less pay from the federation. In addition to the complaints about wages, the suit also notes issues with where and how often the women's team played, medical treatment and coaching.
The suit mirrors the complaints made in a charge filed in 2016 by Lloyd, Morgan, Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and former goalkeeper Hope Solo with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. That complaint said that the women's national team members were paid almost four times less than the men in 2015 despite generating significantly more revenue that year. With that complaint stalled, the players received permission from the EEOC in February to sue instead.
The agreement to mediation after the World Cup was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The final is scheduled for July 7.
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LAFC's Carlos Vela, D.C. United's Wayne Rooney and Orlando City's Nani were all included in Major League Soccer's Fan XI, which was announced on Friday, for the annual All-Star Game on July 31.
Alongside league goals leader Vela and former Manchester United teammates Rooney and Nani in MLS' showcase event are Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jonathan dos Santos from LA Galaxy, veteran Sporting KC defender Graham Zusi and Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
The remaining slots on the MLS All-Star Team, set to face 10-time La Liga champions Atletico Madrid on July 31, will be announced at a later date and be made up of two commissioner's picks from Don Garber with the rest of the side filled out by Orlando City coach James O'Connor.
Last year's MLS All-Stars lost on penalties to Serie A champions Juventus after the match finished 1-1 in regular time.
FULL FAN XI:
Goalkeeper: Brad Guzan (Atlanta United)
Defenders: Leandro González Pírez (Atlanta United), Walker Zimmerman (Los Angeles Football Club), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Midfielders: Ezequiel Barco (Atlanta United), Jonathan dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Gonzalo "Pity" Martínez (Atlanta United), Nani (Orlando City SC)
Forwards: Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy), Wayne Rooney (D.C. United), Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club)
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To reduce the likelihood of them being sent off, goalkeepers at the Women's World Cup will not be booked for stepping off the goal line during penalty shootouts, soccer's law-making body, IFAB, said on Friday.
New regulations brought in from June 1 by IFAB mean that goalkeepers must have one foot at least partly on the line when the penalty is taken and can neither stand behind nor in front of it.
The law currently states that if a goalkeeper commits an offense, the kick must be retaken and the goalkeeper cautioned.
IFAB said that it had approved a request from global governing body FIFA for a temporary dispensation from the requirement to yellow card a keeper who is penalized for the offense.
"Both FIFA and the IFAB ... believe that the requirement to caution an offending goalkeeper in Kicks from the Penalty Mark (KFPM) in matches with Video Assistant Referees is not necessary and risks unfairly distorting the KFPM if a goalkeeper is sent off," IFAB said in a statement.
IFAB added that the presence of VAR increases the likelihood of offenses being detected.
"As goalkeepers are likely to face a number of kicks during KFPM, there is a higher risk that a goalkeeper will be sent off for receiving a second caution if already cautioned in normal time, or two cautions during the KFPM," the statement said.
The issue of keepers being penalized by VAR for coming off the line has been in the spotlight at the Women's World Cup.
Three goalkeepers so far have been shown yellow cards in the tournament for contravening this law. In France's game with Nigeria, Wendie Renard missed her first attempt at a penalty but after VAR intervened, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was cautioned for coming off her line. Renard was given the chance to retake the penalty and scored.
Scotland was eliminated from the tournament after their keeper, Lee Alexander, saved a stoppage-time penalty against Argentina only to be penalized for coming off her line.
Argentina's Florencia Bonsegundo scored on the retake to snatch a draw that sent Scotland crashing out.
Three penalties have been retaken at the World Cup because the goalkeeper did not have at least one foot on the goalline, sparking a debate about whether VAR should rule on the matter.
Goalkeepers will continue to be booked for coming off the line before penalties are taken in "normal time," as IFAB said it would be unfair to those who had already been cautioned for similar offenses if they changed the rule midway through the tournament.
"After the end of the tournament the disciplinary sanction for offenses committed by the goalkeeper at penalties might be further discussed within IFAB's panels," the chairman of FIFA's refereeing committee, Pierluigi Collina, said in a statement.
Prior to the rule change that went into effect June 1, goalkeepers were required to have both feet on the goal line when a penalty kick was taken. But that rule was sporadically enforced, goalkeepers often given leeway to move off the line. When the U.S. won the 1999 World Cup final in a penalty shootout against China, replays showed American goalkeeper Briana Scurry moved forward several steps before saving Liu Ying's shot from the penalty spot.
In an interview with FIFA, Collina alluded to the inconsistent enforcement of the old rule.
"We discussed this matter with players and coaches and eventually decided to help goalkeepers by allowing them to have only one foot on the goal line instead of two," Collina said. "Since that change their job is definitely easier than before, and it is also easier for them to respect the current law than the previous version. Then, if a law exists, referees must enforce it -- particularly when tools like VAR or GLT are available."
The World Cup's last-16 matches begin on Saturday.
Information from ESPN's Tom Hamilton and Graham Hays, as well as Reuters, contributed to this report.
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