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PEVELY, Mo. — Sheldon Haudenschild displayed strength and endurance en route to winning Saturday night’s Ironman 55 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
On the 70-degree night with 90-percent humidity, Haudenschild led 45 of the 55 laps in the caution-free feature, sprinted to the finish with an unprecedented 10.3-second lead over runner-up Donny Schatz and lapped up to fifth-place — including point leader and Friday night’s winner Brad Sweet.
“That right there was just a great car, me feeling comfortable and having a lot of fun,” Haudenschild said.
The fun started for the Wooster, Ohio-native and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team Friday night with a runner-up finish to Sweet in the Night Before the Ironman 35-lap event. Haudenschild then backed up his performance with a second-place finish in his Drydene Heat race, coming to the finish side-by-side with Daryn Pittman. He then charged from fifth to the win in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash — a victory he initially didn’t want.
“I wanted to win the heat race to get a better draw,” Haudenschild said. “Once I didn’t win the Heat my mindset kind of changed starting in the back of that dash. I really didn’t want to win the dash. I was thinking a third-place start would be good to see what they (the leaders) were doing.
“But after the track prep, I think winning the dash was a good move.”
The entire third-mile track was worked on before the 55-lap feature, creating a new tacky racing surface.
When the 55-lap Feature went green, Schatz rocketed around the outside of Haudenschild on the exit of the first corner to take the lead. Tim Shaffer did the same the next corner, moving Haudenschild to third.
Five laps into the race – which saw lap times in the low 11-second bracket for the majority of it – Schatz caught lap traffic. At the same time, Haudenschild found his rhythm and charged his way back by Shaffer for second.
Then, in the time it takes to snap your fingers, the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 was on Schatz’s bumper. No matter where Haudenschild placed his car on the track he found grip. The 10-time series champion was prey with no protection.
On lap 10, Schatz covered the high side into turn one, while Haudenschild launched his car to the middle lane. Haudenschild’s tires held the better relationship with the clay surface and powered him by the Toco Warranty No. 15 car.
“I was really worried once [Shaffer] and Donny got by me,” Haudenschild said. “I didn’t quite know what to do. Once we got into traffic, I had the mindset I was going to get around them and run consistent laps.”
From there, Haudenschild showed his strength. Showed his endurance. And showed his will power. He was the man without fear. His charge through lapped cars looked more like a game than a challenge. Whether it was a slide job to drive by several cars at a time or going three-wide between two lapped cars, Haudenschild didn’t hesitate to make the move.
Once he lapped his way to the top-10, Sweet gave him his biggest challenge of the night. The two dueled for laps, with Sweet aggressively charging his way back by Haudenschild several times to remain on the lead lap. However, no one could match the No. 17 car.
Haudenschild eventually slid his way by Sweet with 17 laps to go and continued his hunt through the field. Schatz and Pittman’s battle for second-place was quickly going from being a battle behind Haudenschild, to one in front of him.
The two series champions dueled for the position throughout the race, but Schatz prevailed with Pittman never finding a strong enough run to get by the reigning champion. However, with Haudenschild out of sight, they thought they were potentially battling for the win.
“I thought I actually won; I couldn’t see him,” Schatz said. “I thought maybe he had run out of fuel or pulled off or something. I can’t believe it went green to checkered.”
He added all he could do was commend Haudenschild on his performance and applaud him.
“That was a whoopin’ right there,” said Schatz, who is now two points behind Sweet in the point standings.
Pittman also stated he thought he was battling Schatz for the win at the end. He was happy with the result, though, after a few weeks of undesired finishes.
Haudenschild’s victory earned him a $20,000 payday and his second win of the season – seventh career World of Outlaws win overall. After some struggles in the first half of the season – missing five features – he and his team have been building momentum in the summer months.
“It’s huge,” Haudenschild said about the win. “Just to get it for our guys. Build a little bit of confidence. Put another win on the calendar and just keep working on it. I feel like we still have work to do on different kinds of tracks. Definitely this track is kind of my style.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle the beginning of the year. We’re not quite where we want to be win wise, but we’re working at it and I feel like we’re doing it at the right time.”
To see full results, turn to the next page.
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Coyotes sign goalie Hill to 1-year, 2-way contract
Published in
Hockey
Saturday, 03 August 2019 19:25
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes signed goalie Adin Hill to a one-year, two-way contract Saturday.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The 23-year-old Hill was 7-5 with a .901 save percentage, 2.76 goals-against average and one shutout in 13 games for Arizona last season. He was 16-19-2 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.61 GAA in 36 games for the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League.
"We are pleased to get Adin signed," general manager John Chayka said. "He's a big, talented goaltender who has improved each season. We look forward to watching his development this year."
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J.Y. Ko looks to join exclusive group that includes Tiger, Hogan
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 10:50
WOBURN, England – Jin Young Ko put herself in position to make a Sunday run at joining legendary company.
With a 4-under 68, she sits tied for fourth at the AIG Women’s British Open, four shots behind Hikano Shibuno, a young Japanese player sleeping on a 54-hole lead in the first major championship she has ever played.
Ko won the ANA Inspiration in the spring and the Evian Championship last week. The Rolex world No. 1 is looking to join Babe Zaharias, Ben Hogan, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Tiger Woods and Inbee Park as the only players to win three professional majors in a year. More than that, she is looking to join Betsy Rawls as the only players to win back-to-back majors in back-to-back weeks.
“I’m trying to focus on my game, because I don’t want to try to think about other things, like No. 1 or having to win,” Ko said.
Ko was in a similar position going into Sunday last week. She four shots back. She won the ANA Inspiration protecting a one-shot lead through 54 holes.
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Spieth (77) implodes to MDF at Wyndham: 'Man, I don't know what's going on'
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 11:10
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Things went awry quickly for Jordan Spieth during the third round of the Wyndham Championship, and they did not get any better.
Spieth made a sloppy double bogey on the opening hole, hit a ball out of bounds for the third straight day and failed to make a single birdie on a course softened by rain where shooting 66 largely meant keeping pace. Instead for Spieth it was a disastrous, 7-over 77 that marked the highest score shot by any player through three rounds at Sedgefield Country Club.
“It was just a bad day,” Spieth said plainly. “Overall, just didn’t play well.”
Spieth started the day in a tie for 12th and just four shots off the lead, but he tumbled all the way into a tie for 78th and missed the 54-hole cut which trimmed the field once again to the low 70 players and ties.
Spieth went out in 3-over 38, but his round took another ominous turn on the 10th tee when his tee shot sailed out of bounds down the right side. He also added a double bogey on No. 13 after hitting his tee ball behind more trees and having to pitch out sideways.
“On the front nine I actually had decent looks at birdie on a lot of holes,” he said. “And then No. 10, when I hit that one out of bounds, it was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what’s going on.’”
Spieth had relied on a red-hot putter to move into contention at the halfway point, but his magic on the greens dried up before he was able to solve the shoddy ball-striking that plagued him throughout the week and led to lengthy post-round range sessions after each of his first two rounds.
“I mean, I putted my ass off for two days to be able to be where I was at,” Spieth said. “You can’t exactly fix your ball-striking in a day, from being a negative three or something strokes gained to trying to gain positive. It’s just too much to try and force it.”
This round continues a troubling scoring trend for Spieth, who ranks 18th on Tour in first-round scoring this season and second in second-round scoring. But when it comes to Saturdays, he’s 149th in third-round scoring average and will only drop further after struggling around Sedgefield.
Spieth started the week 67th in season-long points, but after his abrupt finish he is projected to drop to 70th. It means he’ll have work to do next week at The Northern Trust at Liberty National, with only the top 70 players in the points race advancing to the BMW Championship the following week. Last year, Spieth missed the Tour Championship for the first time as a pro.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Paul Casey is forging a unique path toward the FedExCup Playoffs.
Casey is the only player in the field at this week’s Wyndham Championship among the top 10 in the season-long points race, eager to improve his position in the Wyndham Rewards and potentially snag a seven-figure bonus with a second win of the season. But he’s also notably absent from the field at next week’s Northern Trust, the first of just three postseason events.
That was a conscious choice by the Englishman, who was otherwise looking at a run of six starts in as many weeks from The Open to the Tour Championship. But it’s also rooted in a bit of gamesmanship, as Casey believes the prudent play was to fight for the tangible bonus payout offered this week and then take his chances at East Lake, where the starting scores for the 30-man field will be staggered from even par to 10 under based on players' positions in the points race.
“With our system, I think there’s more volatility this year,” Casey said. “I know the mathematicians say that’s not the case, but I think they have no idea about what’s going to happen at East Lake. It’s exciting stuff, so I was willing to sacrifice maybe a position or two because I really feel I need as much energy going into that Tour Championship.”
Among the players already qualified for the 125-man Northern Trust, only Casey, Henrik Stenson and Sam Burns failed to commit by Friday’s deadline.
Casey entered the week eighth in points, a position that come Sunday would translate into a $600,000 bonus in the Wyndham Rewards. He could drop to ninth depending on what Webb Simpson does, but Casey could also jump as high as fourth with a victory Sunday. He’ll start the final round in a tie for fifth at 14 under, two shots behind Simpson and three behind leader Byeong-Hun An.
“I fancy my chances, but there’s a lot of great players near the top of that leaderboard,” Casey said. “It’s certainly going to be a fun Sunday. It’s going to be a bit of a shootout.”
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An (66) remains consistent to take 1-shot lead into Sunday at Wyndham
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 12:06
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The rounds are starting to repeat for Byeong Hun An: No bogeys, a bunch of birdies and more time atop the Wyndham Championship leaderboard.
An shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday for a one-stroke lead after three rounds at the PGA Tour's final event before the playoffs.
An, who was at 17-under 193, has held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds and has yet to play a hole worse than par. The 27-year-old South Korean with three international victories has put himself in position to claim his first win on tour.
"It feels similar to yesterday, to be fair," An said. "I had some nice shots here and there, but scrambled well today. Another bogey-free (round). I'm quite happy with it - a 66 out here, and I have a lead."
Former Wyndham winner Webb Simpson and Brice Garnett were tied for second, with Simpson shooting a 65 and Garnett a 66. Ryan Armour was 15 under following a 65.
"One shot is basically nothing," An said. "It's not that big of a lead. It's just one shot."
Overall, it was yet another low-scoring day at Sedgefield Country Club. For a while midway through An's round, six players were tied for the lead at 13 under.
"I wouldn't be surprised if somebody shot 8, 9, 10 under, a guy who's within striking distance," Simpson said. "I've got to keep the pedal down, and if I don't shoot a low one, I'm not going to win."
An started to get some separation from the crowd with three birdies in the four-hole span from Nos. 5-8, moving to 16 under.
Then came his best shot of the day, a 50-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th. He closed with four straight pars.
Simpson - a native North Carolinian who named his daughter Wyndham after his first career victory came here in 2011 - strung together three birdies around a bogey midway through his back nine to move to 16 under.
If nothing else, he's in good position to claim his fifth top-10 finish in six years at this tournament.
Garnett made the turn at 15 under following back-to-back birdies, then rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th to pull even with Simpson and saved par on the 18th after rolling his third shot from a greenside bunker to within 3 feet from the flagstick.
"I was just trying to get the putt (on 17) somewhere around the hole," Garnett said. "Fortunately, the putt had some eyes and drifted in. Huge momentum going into tomorrow."
Armour climbed into contention with six birdies in a 10-hole stretch midway through his round that put him two strokes back.
And Viktor Hovland finished his season-best round with a birdie on the 18th after landing his 150-yard approach shot some 3 feet from the flagstick. He was tied for fifth with J.T. Poston and Paul Casey at 14 under.
After winning the U.S. Amateur last year, Hovland turned pro two months ago after tying for 12th at the U.S. Open.
"I just try to tell myself that I don't have anything to lose," Hovland said. "I'll be on the Korn Ferry Tour no matter what happens kind of unless I play really well tomorrow, and to be in the spot where I am right now after college, that's a pretty good spot to be in."
It wasn't a low-scoring day for everyone, though: Jordan Spieth had three double-bogeys and a bogey during a birdie-free 77 that left him at 2 under for the tournament. It came two days after he flirted with a career-best round, putting just 23 times during his first-round 64.
"I putted my (butt) off for two days to be able to be where I was at, and you can't exactly fix your ball striking in a day," Spieth said. "It's just too much to try and force it. So this extra day could serve me really well through the playoffs."
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Don't forget about Hovland as he eyes Tour card, win at Wyndham
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 12:02
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Viktor Hovland would like to remind folks that the depth of the Class of 2019 extends beyond two of the most recent winners on the PGA Tour.
Hovland was low amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open this year, the first to pull off that feat since Matt Kuchar in 1998, and he has been quietly solid since turning pro after Pebble Beach with three finishes of T-16 or better. But he’s been somewhat lost in the shuffle with peers Matthew Wolff (3M Open) and Collin Morikawa (Barracuda Championship) snagging maiden victories shortly after turning pro.
Hovland could add his name to their company this week at the Wyndham Championship, where he surged into contention by playing his first seven holes in 5 under en route to a third-round 64 that left him at 14 under for the week. He’ll start the final round in a tie for fifth, three shots behind leader Byeong-Hun An.
“Five under through seven is a good start,” Hovland said. “I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to keep that going because I was thinking something special was out there. But after birdie on 18, it was nice to kind of give myself some confidence going into tomorrow.”
Hovland would gain entry into the FedExCup Playoffs only with a win, which would also make him fully exempt on Tour through 2021. But he could also earn his 2020 card with a second-place finish, a result that would allow him to bypass the upcoming Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
For a player who won the U.S. Amateur nearly a year ago, it’s all upside heading into the finale at Sedgefield.
“I try to tell myself that I don’t have anything to lose,” Hovland said. “To be in the spot where I am right now after college, that’s a pretty good spot to be in. I’ll just try to take advantage of it.”
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PASADENA, Calif. -- A month after pledging to double the prize money for the 2023 Women's World Cup to $60 million, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Saturday that he believes the organization will exceed that goal.
"We have until 2023 to discuss about the prize money," Infantino said. "I think we need to market it as well in a certain way. I'm very confident, I'm sure we can go higher than doubling."
On vacation in California, Infantino spent Saturday as part of the largest domestic crowd to watch the United States women's national team play since 2015. The back-to-back World Cup winners opened their five-game celebratory tour with a win against Ireland in the Rose Bowl in front of 37,040 people.
After taking photos with U.S. coach Jill Ellis and others after the game, Infantino spoke glowingly of the reaction to the recently concluded World Cup in France that he's experienced. He said that the event was a frequent subject of conversation on recent trips he made to Africa and the Middle East, even among people previously unfamiliar with women's soccer.
"This last World Cup in France has really marked a before and an after for women's football," Infantino said.
Infantino also repeated his desire to implement further women's events, including a Club World Cup for professional teams and a world league for national teams. He pointed to last week's fast-tracked ratification of an expanded Women's World Cup field as the first step.
On Wednesday, the FIFA Council approved Infantino's plan to expand to 32 teams in 2023 and reopen the bidding process to host that event.
"I was ecstatic that they increased the number of participants," Ellis said this week. "I think that's a big step. I think with that, you sometimes will get lopsided scores, in terms of teams growing. But we've just seen the velocity at which the women's game has grown over the last four years. ... I think it was a real eye opener to them just to see how marketable, how fan friendly, how exciting the women's game is, in terms of being able to promote it and gain sponsorship."
The issue of equal pay remains a sticking point for both FIFA and U.S. Soccer.
As was the case after the World Cup final, when Infantino was on the field to award medals, fans in the Rose Bowl chanted "equal pay" on multiple occasions during Saturday's game.
Even a substantial increase in the prize money for 2023 would leave the women's event lagging well behind the men's event. The next edition of that tournament in 2022 will feature prize money of $440 million, up from $400 million in 2018. Were FIFA to only double the prize money for the women, the disparity between the two tournaments would actually grow.
In an open letter to his organization's members on Monday, U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's host Saturday, placed some of the blame for the pay disparity between the American men's and women's teams on the slow-to-narrow gap in FIFA prize money.
"Of course the U.S. team, the way they performed, the way they won, the way they come over contributed greatly to the success," Infantino said Saturday of the World Cup he views as such a catalyst for the sport. "Now up to us, together with them, to build something sustainable and meaningful for the future."
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The United States women kicked off their World Cup Victory Tour with a 3-0 win over Ireland in front of a rowdy crowd in Pasadena, California, on Saturday night.
Fresh off a World Cup-winning campaign in France this summer -- adding a fourth crown to the Americans' trophy case -- the U.S. wasted no time taking an early lead when Tobin Heath connected with a Christen Press cross at the back post to head the hosts in front.
Lindsey Horan doubled the U.S. lead in the 31st minute, ghosting in for another back-post goal to tap home with another assist going to Press and Carli Lloyd heading in a third to send Jill Ellis' team into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
The scoreless second half was fairly uneventful for the U.S., but Ellis -- who announced she would be stepping down as coach after the Victory Tour -- drew applause more than once with substitute moves like Rose Lavelle coming on and for Lloyd when she was withdrawn from the match.
The U.S. continues its five-game tour with a match against Portugal on Sept. 3 at Allianz Field in Minnesota.
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England winger Jadon Sancho starred for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday to help his side beat rivals Bayern Munich 2-0 to win their sixth DFL Super Cup and claim early bragging rights in the curtain raiser for the German Bundesliga.
The teenager was the key man, assisting one goal and scoring the other in front of the Dortmund faithful against a Bayern side looking a little lost without departed greats Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
Lucien Favre's side tailed off in last season's title challenge, finishing runners-up to Bayern who clinched a record 29th league trophy and the DFB Pokal. However, they showed their determination to put that right, captain Marco Reus forcing a diving save from Manuel Neuer in the very first minute.
Neuer was then lucky to not be beaten or force the referee to show him a red card when he ran out halfway into his own half after 15 minutes to dive at Paco Alcacer who knocked the ball past the goalkeeper, but it trickled past the open goal.
Alcacer made amends for his miss shortly after halftime. Sancho dazzled the opposition with his footwork on the right before teeing up the Spanish striker on the edge of the box who found the bottom right corner.
Some last-ditch defending stopped Bayern from equalising 10 minutes later, with Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski all denied from close range in a matter of seconds.
But it was Sancho who stole the show, doubling Dortmund's lead after collecting the ball and sprinting from almost the halfway line to slot it expertly past Neuer.
Bayern tried to find openings but were unable to find a way past a stubborn yellow wall, which will this season feature Mats Hummels after his return from Munich. The veteran defender was not able to face his former side due to a knock in training.
For Niko Kovac's men, the result was a reminder that they have areas in their squad to improve and they will no doubt increase their efforts to land young winger and long term target Leroy Sane from Manchester City.
Dortmund, meanwhile, go some way to make up for their 5-0 capitulation to Bayern in April and go into the new Bundesliga season buoyed by winning the first silverware of the campaign.
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