PARIS – Giorgio Maggi and Vittorio Ghirelli were fierce rivals last year, both chasing the EuroNASCAR 2 title, but the Swiss and the Italian will team up this year in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series to drive the No. 18 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang.

While Maggi will step up to the EuroNASCAR PRO championship, Ghirelli will be among the strongest candidates for the EuroNASCAR 2 title.

Maggi made an impressive debut last year with Hendriks Motorsport, winning his first NASCAR race in Valencia. The Swiss went on to score three wins, four pole positions, eight podium finishes and eleven top-five results in 13 starts, coming nine points short of the title in the last race of the season.

With Hendriks Motorsport expanding to a three-car lineup, Maggi will take the next step and move to the EuroNASCAR PRO championship to compete against the best NASCAR drivers in Europe for a place in the NASCAR Hall Of Fame. The goal: conquer both the drivers and teams championships.

“I am very excited to put myself to test at the highest Level of NASCAR in Europe. It will be a tough challenge, I proved I can put down lap times worth of the EuroNASCAR PRO but being fast is just a small part of racing. Any Mistake will be punished much harder, so I used the off-season to go over my whole EuroNASCAR 2 campaign and analyze where I can improve myself. I’m feeling very confident,” said Maggi. “The special thing about EuroNASCAR is that each event has its own charm, its own audience and its own track characteristics. I’m looking forward to Valencia the most at the moment and I can’t wait to go back racing.”

In 2019 Ghirelli belonged to one of the strongest rookie classes in series history. The Italian – a former Auto GP champion and GP2 driver – grabbed a sensational win at Venray in what was his first oval race. With four podium finishes and eight top-fives, he ended up third in points. With one year of experience, the 25-year-old Fasano native will definitely be one of the favorites for the EuroNASCAR 2 championship in 2020.

“I only have one result in my mind and that’s winning. I start to score the best possible result in each and every race and win the championship. Last year we gained precious experience and now I’m confident to be in a condition both physically and mentally and to have the potential to contend for the title. With Hendriks Motorsport I am sure to have all the tools to deliver and I want to thank them for this opportunity, my family and my fans for their amazing support,” said Ghirelli, who is particularly looking forward to the new event at his home track of Vallelunga. “Vallelunga is where I started my career, there will be plenty of fans cheering for me. It will be really special.”

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Newman was back at a race track on Friday for the first time following a violent crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

Newman walked through the garage area at Phoenix Raceway and spoke briefly to members of the media, saying, “It’s great to be alive. If you looked at my car, it’s a miracle.”

The crash that took place on the last lap of the Daytona 500 resulted in Newman being hospitalized for two days before leaving the hospital hand-in-hand with his two daughters. The driver of the Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 Ford Mustang later confirmed he suffered a head injury in the crash, but escaped without any broken bones.

Ross Chastain has driven the No. 6 for Roush Fenway Racing since Newman’s crash and he’ll be back in the car again this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

Newman acknowledged that he feels fine, but he has no idea when he’ll be back in action.

“I have no idea about anything,” Newman said. “I’m here to spectate and have some fun.

“I’m just really here to support the 6 team and stay integrated with what I can do with the team and have some fun, obviously,” Newman added. “I want to see Ross do well. I’d rather be in Ross’ seat. Just want to make sure we’re doing everything we possibly can for our sponsors and for myself to have a good weekend.

“I got a chance now to watch not just the 6 but the 17 (Chris Buescher) and how they work and the teamwork that goes into that. That is equally as important to me to have the opportunity to see them and watch them perform while I’m not in the race car. I feel I should take advantage of this crazy opportunity.”

“It’s great to be alive.”- @RyanJNewman at Phoenix

(Video via @bobpockrass) pic.twitter.com/bTwH8ZapiM

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 6, 2020

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Blaney never wanted to leave Team Penske, so the announcement Friday that he had signed an extension to remain with the team was essentially a formality.

The 26-year-old racer confirmed in a media availability at Phoenix Raceway that contract talks between himself and Penske had been going on since the offseason. The three-time Cup Series race winner is now locked into a multi-year deal with Penske and he’s hoping it’s the start of a big year in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“I am really excited to get that out there,” Blaney said of the contract extension. “It is something that we have been working on for a little while through the offseason. It is nice to finally announce it and all that stuff. I am really excited to continue with the Penske group for years to come. They have been a great group to me. Mr. Penske, I don’t know that I could ever thank him enough. It is nice to continue with that whole team. I have met some great people along the way and I look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

Blaney has been a part of the Team Penske family since he was 18 years old when he made a handful of NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with the team. Since then he’s become one of NASCAR’s most popular competitors and is currently the Cup Series points leader after three events this year.

The North Carolina native, who ran his first two full Cup Series seasons for Penske affiliate Wood Brothers Racing in 2016-17, noted that he couldn’t imagine himself driving for another team owner at this stage in his career.

“I love the people I am around and working with all the teams. I feel like I owe so much to Roger (Penske) for what he has done for me,” Blaney said. “I just didn’t really see myself, right now, anywhere else. There are a couple doors open, a couple seats open with other teams but I didn’t talk with any other teams. If I was approached by another team I don’t even know if I would want to talk to them because I am so happy with where I am at and so loyal to Roger. My mindset was if they would have me back I would love to be back. It was great that both of our minds were set on that.”

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kaulig Racing’s Ross Chastain paced the opening round of NASCAR Xfinity Series practice on Friday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway.

Chastain, who will also race in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in place of injured driver Ryan Newman for Roush Fenway Racing, led the way with a 130.610 mph lap around the one-mile track in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro.

Austin Cindric was second fastest in his Team Penske Ford at 129.992 mph, followed by RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Auto Club Speedway race winner Harrison Burton.

Kyle Busch, making his first Xfinity Series start of the season, was 11th fastest in the session in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

After firing a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Matt Every kept things real.

“It’s going to be alright either way," he said Thursday, "no matter what I shoot tomorrow."

A day later, after a disastrous 83 that dropped him from first to a likely MC at Arnie's Place, the two-time champion at Bay Hill struggled to keep that same perspective.

"Today was rough," Every told GolfChannel.com as he stood outside an essentially empty scoring area, a far cry from the scene less than 24 hours ago when Every was a hot commodity, even making a trip to the media center.

"I really didn't feel like I played that bad, I just just didn't make anything and then you miss the fairway here ... I just played bad, that's what it is."

Every carded four double bogeys on a slightly chilly morning in Orlando, about an hour from Every's hometown of Daytona Beach. He was 4 over through nine holes with a double bogey at the par-4 fifth, where he rinsed he tee shot right. He then doubled Nos. 10 and 11, splashing his approach at the latter. His fourth and final double came at the par-4 finishing hole, where he three-putted from 18 feet.

In his last three rounds, Every has gone 85-65-83.

"Last week, I sucked the whole week," said Every, who finished dead last at the Honda Classic. "Today was just kind of gradual sucking all day."

Every has now missed four of his past five cuts and hasn't notched a top-10 since sharing runner-up honors at last summer's AT&T Byron Nelson. He also is set to unseat his former college teammate Camilo Villegas, who had previously been the last outright leader to miss the cut on Tour, doing so at the 2013 Honda Classic.

"It stinks for me because I really wanted to play well and I really didn't see this coming, to be honest," said Every, who also noted that he may take some extended time off following next week's Players Championship to rest a back injury.

"It happens, it just happens to me a lot."

ORLANDO, Fla. – Those expecting to hear Phil Mickelson publicly declare his stance on the Premier Golf League will have to wait a little longer.

Mickelson told reporters at last month’s Genesis Invitational that he planned to have a “pretty good opinion” about the possible PGA Tour rival by next week’s event at TPC Sawgrass. But after missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Mickelson backed off that self-imposed deadline and hinted that it might be a while before he speaks in detail on the matter.

“I’m probably not going to talk publicly on that. I probably am going to refrain. I thought I might have an opinion by next week. I don’t know if I will, but I probably won’t talk too much about it,” Mickelson said. “Until there’s a little bit more to talk about, I really don’t have much to say about it right now.”

Mickelson has been perceived as one of the players who might consider jumping to the PGL, stating earlier this year that he was “intrigued” by the concept and playing with key PGL figures during the pro-am at last month’s Saudi International. On the other side of the coin is world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, who has stated that he doesn’t plan to leave the PGA Tour and explained Thursday that he “didn’t really like where the money was coming from” for the rival circuit.

When asked about the notion that the PGL could become a mechanism for enacting policy changes within the PGA Tour, Mickelson made it clear he doesn’t share McIlroy’s public relations strategy.

“Well, I wouldn’t come out and say I’m not going to it right away, and lose all your leverage,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson needed a birdie on his final hole of the day to make the 36-hole cut at Bay Hill, but instead plugged his approach into a bunker and made double bogey. After rounds of 77-72 left him at 5 over, he’ll miss the cut in Orlando for the second straight year.

While he has a pair of third-place finishes this year, Mickelson has now missed the cut in four of his last six starts and remains in search of some momentum.

“I thought it was a really hard golf course, and I enjoyed the challenge of trying to play in these types of conditions,” Mickelson said. “I’m a little frustrated that I haven’t gotten off to the start this year that I would have liked. But I’m not discouraged, I don’t feel like I’m that far off. But yesterday’s score was a little disappointing.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational four holes into his second round on Friday. It’s the second consecutive year he’s been forced to withdraw from the event with a back injury.

Last year the Australian played only six holes on Day 1 before withdrawing and he drew some criticism on social media when he was spotted the next day with his family at Walt Disney World.

Day later explained that he’d been advised by his doctors to remain mobile and walk to keep his back loose.

The bigger issue for Day is next week’s Players Championship, which he won in 2016. If last year is any guide, Day finished tied for eighth place at TPC Sawgrass, and was alone in fourth place through three rounds, following his early exit from Bay Hill.

Day’s manager, Bud Martin, said in a statement, “Jason had some stiffness in his lower back on the putting green before the round. He tried to play through it but it stiffened up again later on the golf course.”

At his 2020 debut at Torrey Pines Day explained that his periodic back issues aren’t necessarily the result of a single swing so much as they are random. “I'll just go bend over and pick something up, my back will go out and then I'm done for two weeks,” he said in San Diego.

Let the hand wringing intensify.

Tiger Woods won’t be playing The Players Championship next week.

Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, informed ESPN Friday afternoon.

“Back just not ready,” Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, informed ESPN. “Not concerning long term, just not ready.”

Even with that, speculation promises to escalate over how serious his back issues are becoming again, with questions growing over how ready he will be to defend his title at the Masters in a little more than a month, or whether he will be able to defend his title at all.

Woods has not played since the Genesis Invitational in the middle of February, when he struggled with back stiffness, putting up a 76 and 77 on the weekend to finish 68^th, dead last among players who made the cut.

In the ensuing weeks, Woods, 44, skipped the WGC-Mexico Championship, passed on his hometown Honda Classic and then more alarmingly skipped this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he has won eight times.

After winning the Zozo Championship last fall, finishing fourth at the Hero World Challenge and then leading the Americans to victory with his dominant effort as a playing captain at the Presidents Cup in December, Woods hasn’t been able to build on the momentum. He has made just two starts this calendar year, played just eight competitive rounds, with his T-9 at the Farmers Insurance Open in January his only other start.

In a Masters conference call last week, Woods spoke of lessons learned collecting his five green jackets.

“To try and have everything peak together for just an incredible week, it’s hard to do,” Woods said.

And likely harder to do with less preparation, though Woods just showed he can still win after long breaks, taking the Zozo Championship after being off for two months.

With four back surgeries and four knee surgeries behind him, Woods is still learning what his body will and won’t allow.

“That’s the fun part of trying to figure this whole comeback,” Woods said at the Genesis Invitational. “How much do I play? When do I play? Do I listen to the body or do I fight through it? There are some things I can push and some things I can’t.”

After The Players, there will be just three viable options left for Woods to play before the year’s first major convenes at Augusta National. There’s the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla., the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Woods won The Players Championship in 2013, but this will mark the fourth time he has missed the event due to back issues in the last seven years.

Notah Begay, a Golf Channel analyst and friend to Woods, said Wednesday that Woods is dealing with the "ripple effect" of a busy finish to last year, when he flew directly from his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas to the Presidents Cup in Australia. 

“This is something that he’s going to battle with over the next few years,” Begay said. “It’s just the ebbs and flows of dealing with the physical challenges in his back. I mean, how many surgeries he’s had and just to recover the mobility. More importantly, trying to get enough days in a row where he’s feeling good and getting some reps in. If you’re not able to put the practice in, you’re certainly not going to be able to show up at a place like TPC Sawgrass and have the requite skills to go out and defend yourself on a golf course that exposes everybody.”

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Tiger Woods is skipping next week's Players Championship, raising major concerns about his ability to prepare for his Masters title defense next month and, more importantly, the overall state of his fitness in the wake of four back surgeries.

Woods complained of back stiffness three weeks ago in Los Angeles, where he finished last among players who made the cut at the Genesis Invitational and elected to skip the WGC-Mexico Championship.

But he didn't figure to take a pass on the Players Championship, the PGA Tour's flagship tournament, unless something is amiss.

"Back just not ready," said Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, in a text to ESPN. "Not concerning long term, just not ready."

Woods did not offer any public comment. Last week, Steinberg said that Woods was "not quite ready" to play at this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Now what?

Since playing a heavy schedule in 2018 after coming back from April 2017 spinal fusion surgery, Woods has maintained that he would be limiting the number of tournaments he plays. Last year, he played just 12 events during the 2018-19 season and then played three times in the fall, winning the Zozo Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour victory. He also finished fourth at the Hero World Challenge and went 3-0 at the Presidents Cup.

Everything seemed fine in January at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he tied for ninth. And at the Genesis, a tournament Woods hosts, he opened with 31 over his first nine holes and shot 69, but there were warning signs when he did not practice Monday or Tuesday on site and then decided not to commit to the Mexico event.

"I feel stiff, but I have weeks like that, especially in the cold mornings like it was the other day," Woods said after the third round of the Genesis three weeks ago. "Don't quite move as well, and that's just kind of how it's going to go."

Woods downplayed it at the time, and even suggested his issues were worse at the Presidents Cup in Australia, where he elected to sit out both Saturday sessions because he did not want to push it. He came back to win his Sunday singles match.

Now the speculation will continue. Will Woods enter the Valspar Championship, where he tied for second two years ago? Will he wait another week and go to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship, where he tied for fifth last year? Will he play both? Neither?

"That's the fun part of trying to figure this whole comeback -- how much do I play, when do I play, do I listen to the body or do I fight through it? There are some things I can push and some things I can't," Woods said at the Genesis. "And so I had a theory this year that I may play about the same amount. What did I play, 12 times last year, and so that's kind of my number for the year.

"I won't play a lot more than that just because of the physical toll and I want to stay out here for just a little bit longer."

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers, a vocal opponent of the collective bargaining agreement, isn't sure whether it will pass the full NFL players vote that is underway because he isn't sure how many of the rank-and-file in the league care enough to consider all the provisions.

That's the sentiment he expressed Friday during an interview on ESPN Wisconsin radio's Wilde & Tausch.

Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers' representative to the NFL Players Association, said he sent multiple electronic messages to his teammates about the talking points of the CBA ahead of the vote and "got next to no responses."

"That's probably the most disheartening thing," Rodgers said on the show. "This is a society we live in now that's so distracted by the swiping world of apps and social media. I don't know. Do guys really care about this stuff? Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you look at it, for the people wanting to push this deal through so badly that's kind of a win because nobody's critically looking at this or thinking about it. They're just like, 'Oh, what's my salary going to be? Oh, OK, cool.' Not like, 'Are we taking care of former players? What kind of additional player risks are we taking on? What are we getting in return for that?'

Rodgers previously explained his decision to vote against the deal by saying it was "based off conversations I have had with the men in my locker room that I'm tasked to represent."

"There's not a lot of critical thinking going on," Rodgers said Friday. "There was a ton of information out there. I sent out the large e-mail and you e-mail 73 guys. How many responses you think you're getting back on this 2,000-word e-mail that goes out? You'd be really disappointed to hear the actual answer. That's the problem. I think we just haven't had a chance to look at this critically and it's kind of been pushed through, pushed through, pushed through, pushed through, and it's bullet-point highlights in quotations with this deal that's like, 'Well, no, that's not the whole deal' and also 'understand what you're signing and what this means for the future of this game.' I'd like to hit the pause button, but I'm not sure that's even going to be a possibility. We'll find out in a few days if this goes through or not."

Rodgers was most vocal against the addition of a 17th game and the limits on long-term health-care benefits for retired players. He said early discussions among players indicated that they were against the 17th game.

"A lot of us are wondering how the hell that even got into the conversation," he said, "because nobody wanted it."

Although he's one of 32 elected player reps, he said he felt his "involvement was more under the show-pony guys. Just bring in the guy with the name who's going to be in the room. I don't think they realized maybe my ability to speak in those environments and what I really was passionate about.

"The point that I was trying to make in that meeting and as we talked to the PA afterward was, 'Tell me what I can go back and tell my veteran players. What are we getting in return for this 17th game?'" Rodgers said. "To me, it just wasn't substantial enough to go back and tell those young players and older players, 'Hey, look, this is what you're going to be getting.'"

Rodgers tried to caution the younger players who would see their minimum salary increase under the new CBA to think longer term, but he admitted that there could be a significant divide between the highly paid veterans and the younger players.

"It'll be interesting to see the numbers on who actually votes," Rodgers said. "I know there's a lot of us who have or will vote 'No' on this and believe that there's a better deal to be made, but I know there's guys who want to do it and see the minimum jump and are OK with 17 games, which again I don't relate to that. But I understand there are some good things in it. I really don't have a feeling. I thought when we voted, post the meeting with the owners, I was looking around the room, kind of counting up the 'Nos' and I thought we were going to be at seven or eight and it was basically 15 because the one abstained vote was a no vote. I was surprised it was 15.

"I think it's going to be a lot closer than people think. Obviously you know [Eric] Winston and [DeMaurice] Smith are gung-ho trying to push this thing forward, which again I don't quite understand the necessity for speed in pushing this through and the information that's being put out there, but I do think it's going be a close vote and hopefully we make it public."

Rodgers also said the players are undervaluing themselves by accepting provisions such as limits on training camp and offseason practices and relaxed marijuana testing.

"To hang our hats on some of these things that to the owners are a nothing, to me lessens our value," Rodgers said. "And I think we should've stood firmer on revenue and player safety instead of trying to get some of these concessions where we don't have, again, we don't have lifetime health care. I've seen a lot of former players talking about that. I don't know, that obviously wasn't one of the main things negotiated.

"I think some of the gains we made on player safety, we take a step back if this gets ratified and goes through and there's 17 games and another game on wild-card weekend, and we didn't adjust any of the playoff pay, which is already significantly less than regular-season pay. I really don't understand the major, major points that people are trying to sell this to."

While most of Rodgers' appearance on ESPN Wisconsin was devoted to the CBA, there was a pertinent on-field topic discussed. General manager Brian Gutekunst admitted recently that the Packers could draft Rodgers' eventual replacement soon. Rodgers was asked whether that would bother him, given that the team could use help at other spots in order to get over the NFC Championship Game hump.

"Well look, I'm realistic; I know where we're at as an organization and where I'm at in my career," Rodgers said. "I still feel like I have a ton of years left playing at a high level. I'm confident enough. I've always felt like it doesn't matter who you bring in, they're not going to be able to beat me out any time soon. I feel really confident about my abilities and my play.

"We've drafted guys over the years. I think my first year starting we drafted two quarterbacks in 2008. We've drafted various guys over the years. I understand the business and the nature of it, obviously love to bring guys in that are going to be able to play and compete right away. I understand it's a business. I wouldn't have a problem."