CALLAWAY, Va. – Racing in Virginia will officially kick off on Sunday, March 15 at Franklin County Speedway with a race dubbed the Star City Stunner and promoted by Moonshine Capital Promotions.

The event will be the first official race in the state of Virginia for 2020 and will feature the first Mini Stock Tour race. The new touring series for Mini Stock and modified four-cylinder cars, which have grown to be the largest car counts at many regional tracks. The new series which was created by Moonshine Capital Promotions founder Langley Austin and will be a part of a few events at Franklin County Speedway this season.

The Star City Stunner name for the season opener is a way for the track and race fans to honor the closest city to Callaway, Va., which is Roanoke. Roanoke has several nicknames but the most recognizable, the Star City, is a nod to the Mill Mountain Star which is iconic to tourists and locals alike. Austin says it’s important to recognize the communities around the track.

“Calling our business Moonshine Capital Promotions was the start of us recognizing what this community is all about,” Austin explained. “Everyone knows that Franklin County is the moonshine capital of the world, just like everyone knows Roanoke as the Star City. We’re embracing the community in many ways this season and this is just one of them.”

The Star City Stunner will feature two headline shows with a 60-lap Limited Late Model feature and the previously mentioned inaugural race for the Mini Stock Tour, which will compete for 50-laps and $1,000 to win. Austin knows it’s important to give fans more bang for their buck.

“I think the fans who come to our events know that we’re doing everything we can to put on the best show,” Austin said. “This event will be no different. We looked at how things are in this racing region and felt we could draw a good field of Limited cars and with us launching the Mini Stock Tour this season, we knew it’d be a perfect doubleheader.”

That’s not all the racing that will take place on the high banked three-eighths-mile track on Sunday, March 15 as the Limiteds and Mini Stocks will be joined by four additional divisions which will make for a full evening of racing action. The Chargers, Compacts, Stock4’s and Any Cars will all compete during this event.

This will be the first of several planned events by Austin and his Moonshine Capital Promotions team and Austin says he hopes to release a season schedule in the coming weeks.

“Everyone has been asking how many races we’re going to have this season and I’m excited to finally be able to say that it’ll be more than one,” Austin stated. “We really weren’t sure what we were going to do this year. Running a race track might be my dream job but it’s not the greatest business model in the world. My wife Kimberly and I love Franklin County Speedway though and we’re going to continue to do all we can to put events on what I think is the best race track anywhere.”

RIVER GLADE, New Brunswick – Management of Speedway 660 and Petty Int’l Raceway have partnered to unveil a four-race home and home series for the Late Model Sportsman division.

The four race Petty Int’l Raceway and Speedway 660 Sportsman Challenge presented by Lonnie Sommerville Racing will kick off on Saturday, June 13 at Petty Int’l Raceway. The pair of New Brunswick tracks will each host two 100-lap Sportsman division races that are sure to thrill fans and attract race cars from around the region to compete for the top champion’s prize provided by Lonnie Sommerville Racing.

Petty Int’l Raceway in River Glade, New Brunswick, will host the first and third races in the Petty International Raceway and Speedway 660 Sportsman Challenge presented by Lonnie Sommerville Racing. The green flag will fly with a 100-lap feature on Saturday, June 13 while their second race will be a part of the second annual Petty Int’l Raceway Summer Shootout on Saturday, Aug. 1.

Speedway 660 will host race two of the Petty Int’l Raceway and Speedway 660 Sportsman Challenge presented by Lonnie Sommerville Racing with the Fog City Auto Spa 100 on Saturday, June 27. The series will conclude on SpeedWeekend 2020 with a $2,000 to win, 100-lap finale on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Each race will pay the winner a minimum of $1,250 to win with the finale paying $2,000 to win. Each driver that hauls from their home track will receive an additional $100 in tow money to compete.

For example, if a Petty Int’l Raceway regular races in one of the Speedway 660 events, they will receive $100 in tow money from Petty Int’l Raceway to do so. If a Speedway 660 regular competes in one of the Petty Int’l Raceway events, they will receive $100 in tow money courtesy of Speedway 660.

A point total will be kept and the overall champion of the Petty Int’l Raceway and Speedway 660 Sportsman Challenge presented by Lonnie Sommerville Racing will receive an AR Bodies body and installation courtesy of Lonnie Sommerville Racing. In addition, Hoosier Racing Tire will be giving one team chosen at random a set of tires at each of the four events. More contingency awards will be announced as they become available.

“We’re very excited to see these two tracks work closely together to put this Series together,” said Max Roy of Speedway 660. “Between Speedway 660, Petty International Raceway and Lonnie Sommerville Racing, it shows the racers and the fans that we are all committed to helping grow the sport of stock car racing in the Maritimes!”

“Petty Raceway is excited to be teaming up with Speedway 660 to offer the racers and fans this new event in 2020,” said Ellen Smith of Petty International Raceway. “We are very pleased to have been able to work with Max and Brent Roy to come up with a Sportsman rule package to make this event a possibility for this year and into the future.”

“We’re really looking forward to giving back to the Sportsman class,” said Lonnie Sommerville from Lonnie Sommerville Racing. “This partnership should draw a great car count for both tracks as the drivers battle for a championship prize worth over five thousand dollars! I have a great customer base in the Sportsman class and am always looking for new customers. Hopefully this works out great for the tracks, the teams and our company.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – It was an eventful 24 hours for Kyoung-Hoon Lee at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The 28-year-old South Korean was headed to Bay Hill around noon Wednesday to practice when he was involved in a car accident. Lee’s wife was driving the SUV tournament courtesy car and was turning when an oncoming car hit the passenger side of the SUV, where Lee was seated.

Lee, this week’s first alternate at Bay Hill, said his back and neck were sore early Thursday but that changed quickly when he learned he’d gotten into the event when Francesco Molinari withdrew with a back injury. 

“I couldn’t feel anything after that,” Lee smiled.

Paired with world No. 1 Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, Lee opened with an even-par 72 and was tied for 50th.

Lee’s wife was also sore following the crash and didn’t walk with Lee during the first round, but neither went to the hospital for their injuries.

“Maybe the accident was lucky, kind of like karma that led me to getting into the event,” Lee said.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy made his thoughts clear on the proposed Premier Golf League last month at the WGC-Mexico Championship, but Thursday at Bay Hill he went on to explain his motivation to speak out.

In Mexico, McIlroy said he was “out” when it came to the proposed circuit and added that he doesn’t like how the league will impact a player’s autonomy.

“The reason I said what I said is because, we were in Mexico a couple of weeks ago and some people decided not to go, but that was their choice,” McIlroy said on Golf Central. “That was the freedom they had, they have autonomy over their schedule, and they can pick and choose when and where they want to play. Where, we go to this new league, that’s not going to be the case. You are going to be contracted to play 18 events, they're going to tell you where and when you should be there, and as a golfer and an independent contractor, I didn’t like the sound of that."

A day earlier, McIlroy – who leads the Arnold Palmer Invitational following a first-round 66 – said there were parts of the PGL proposal that he found interesting, like limited-field events and fewer tournaments. Liking some ideas, however, falls well short of an endorsement it seems.

“I didn’t really like where the money was coming from either, and I wanted to be the first one to speak out against it, and I’m glad that I have,” McIlroy said. 

In a podcast last month, PGL CEO Andy Gardiner said that the league now has 60 different shareholders, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

LA Galaxy striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is in no doubt that LAFC's Carlos Vela is the more talented than Mexico legend Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

The 31-year-old played with Vela in Chivas youth teams and at international level with El Tri and left "El Trafico" rivalry to one side to heap praise on Cancun native Vela when asked to compare him to Blanco.

"With full respect to Cuauhtemoc, Vela [is more talented], without any doubt," said Hernandez on ESPN's Ahora o Nunca this week.

Hernandez said it was an easy decision to pick Vela over Blanco, but also went a step further to suggest the LAFC forward is the most talented player Mexico has seen.

"They interviewed me at West Ham and asked the top five or 10 Mexican players of all time, and I put [Vela] fifth, not because of the career that he's had, but because of the talent he has," continued the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward.

However, when it comes who had a better career with the national squad, Hernandez picked Blanco over Vela.

"You're asking me, who played with both of them at different times," Hernandez said. "I watched 'Cuau' a lot on the television, but if you're going to compare what 'Cuau' did in the national team compared to what Vela has done, [then no].

"But we're talking about talent and Vela tops everyone in the history of Mexican football."

Vela was named MLS MVP in 2019 after a season in which he scored 36 goals in 33 games, but he has decided not to play at present for the Mexican national team.

Hernandez's future with El Tri has been the subject of much speculation in Mexico, although the Guadalajara native stressed he is open and available to a call-up for March's friendlies against Czech Republic and Greece.

"I've said that the doors to the national team aren't closed for me and that if they call me up again I'll happily go there," said Hernandez, who admitted he hasn't spoken to Mexico coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino lately.

The former Chivas player, whose grandfather Tomas Balcazar is a legend at the Guadalajara club, also said that retiring at his first club is a possibility, but that he never promised he would retire there.

Odds on which team Tom Brady will take his first snap with this season are up at sportsbooks in a handful of states, a historic moment in American sports betting.

The New England Patriots are consensus, odds-on favorites to keep Brady at each of the sportsbooks offering the prop. The Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers are among the next tier of contenders on select oddsboards in New Hampshire, New Jersey and Nevada.

Limits are low, and the odds vary wildly from one book to the next and can move dramatically -- sometimes even with a single tweet. By all indications, there is little certainty in the betting market about where Brady will play this season.

At some sportsbooks, the betting interest on the Brady proposition has exceeded expectations but remains modest overall. The bulk of the wagers are small, no more than a few hundred dollars at most, and are generally evenly distributed among the teams. At some books, there are more bets on the Titans than there is on any other team. At other shops, the Raiders are attracting the most action.

"We're getting bets on all these teams," Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk management at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, said. "We even have a few wagers on the Vikings at 1,000-1."

A few days after online sportsbook PointsBet posted odds on Brady's next team, they had taken only 80 bets. DraftKings said the Brady prop had attracted about 50% of the number of bets as had been placed on the odds to win the Super Bowl at its books. A few thousand dollars total had been wagered on the Brady prop in the first week it was up at the SuperBook.

On Sunday night, as rumors swirled that San Francisco could be a viable landing spot, a few bets began to trickle in, and online sportsbook PointsBet halted betting on the prop, before moving the 49ers' odds of acquiring Brady from 80-1 to 14-1 and reopening the wager.

The SuperBook in Las Vegas also received recent interest on the 49ers and shortened their odds from a 100-1 to 12-1.

"There's so much smoke and noise out here that every day there's going to be a different twist," Sherman of the SuperBook said Wednesday. "Now, the flavor of the day is the 49ers. We've only got one ticket on the Patriots. It's getting spread out everywhere. It's not like they're zeroing in on one team."

The volatility of the Brady betting market requires constant monitoring of social media, which is part of the reason that, until now, Nevada sportsbooks have not offered such player destination prop bets. Fears of inside information also concerned bookmakers and regulators, but, as the U.S. sports betting market continues to expand, competition is increasing, and bookmakers are becoming more aggressive with the offerings. In New Jersey, FanDuel also is offering next team odds on quarterbacks like Nick Foles and Teddy Bridgewater.

In February, bookmaker William Hill U.S. asked -- and received -- approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board to take bets on "Which team will Tom Brady take his first snap with in Week 1 of the 2020-21 regular season?"

"I know the first four bets were on the Titans after we put it up [on Feb. 25] ," Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill U.S., told ESPN. "No one wants to the bet the Patriots."

With this type of wager now being offered in the U.S., bookmakers are looking forward to offering more player destination prop bets in the future (they would've liked to do it on Kawhi Leonard 's free agency last summer or LeBron James in 2018). For now, though, all eyes are on the 42-year-old Brady, whose Patriots contract expires this month.

Beginning March 16, Brady's agent can negotiate with other teams. According to ESPN's Bill Barnwell, March 18 is a "de facto" deadline for New England.

In the meantime, the betting on where an all-time NFL great will play next will continue.

"Ticket count's high, volume's high," Bogdanovich said of the Brady prop. "We lose with the Raiders and the [Indianapolis] Colts, but everyone else is good. I'd call it a very successful prop, because one, it's got a us a ton of publicity, and two, it's writing bets. That's the two-team parlay in what you're looking for in a prop."

The Kansas City Chiefs, who seem set at quarterback with Patrick Mahomes, are 10,000-1 to land Brady at the SuperBook. No bets had been placed on the Chiefs as of Thursday morning.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry said he will be on a minutes restriction -- likely 24 to 28 -- when he makes his return to game action on Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors.

Curry said he is excited to play after four months of rehab while recovering from a broken left hand. He has played in four games this season, averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds.

"It feels like the first day of school pretty much all over again, which is exciting," Curry said at shootaround Thursday. "So I feel pretty comfortable, pretty confident in where I'm at physically -- and just excited to get back out there."

Curry said that the team arrived at 24-28 minutes in order for him to go full speed for a whole game without burning out.

"I think I can play a lot more than that just based on the work that I've put in, but you gotta be smart about it in that sense," he said. "And you also have to feel the game, too. Obviously, I want to be out there when it matters -- finishing quarters, finishing the game and being available in that respect."

The air of anticipation inside Chase Center on Thursday morning was palpable as Curry and his teammates finished off a morning workout. Curry, who has been out since breaking his hand on Oct. 30, went through his usual post-practice routine by hitting jumpers from all over the floor.

Curry, who initially had surgery on Nov. 1 and another procedure in December to take pins out of the hand, noted after his first contact practice on Feb. 22 that he is still dealing with some nerve damage. He does not expect that to hamper him in any way and has repeatedly discussed his "new normal" for how the hand will feel in a game.

"I have confidence in what I need to do with the ball in my hands and with my shot, and being able to take a hit on it and all that type of stuff," Curry said. "And I just want to get to a point where I don't think about it on the floor, and hopefully that comes back pretty quick."

Curry expects opponents to test his left hand early, but says he isn't concerned about the challenges that might arise. He wants to get over the mental hurdle of being hit in the hand during games.

"Everybody knows my left hand was hurt, so they're probably gonna go after it a little bit, which I welcome with open arms," Curry said. "But it's -- again, two surgeries and you go through all the nerve stuff, and it's been through a lot for four months. And just trying to get to that point where I can go to the basket and take a hit, shake it off and keep moving. I'll go through all that tonight and hopefully come out all right on the back end."

Without Curry, injured guard Klay Thompson and forward Kevin Durant, who left in free agency, the Warriors have stumbled to a 14-48 record -- the worst mark in the league.

How much Curry contributes remains to be seen. He said that he and the Warriors have discussed playing in back-to-backs but a final decision hasn't been made. The Warriors have four sets of back-to-backs remaining on the schedule.

"When I come back, I want to be all the way back, and not have that kind of 'now you see me, now you don't' type of vibe," Curry said. "That's why I had all these checkpoints to get through to get cleared to play, and now I wanna be out there every night, and finish out the year strong. So I got 20 games -- 16, 17, 18 games, whatever it is. Should be fun."

At Caesars Sportsbook, the Warriors opened as 8-point home underdogs against the Raptors. Oddsmakers estimated that Curry is worth anywhere from 3-5 points to the point spread.

"I think [Curry] is as valuable as anyone to the spread in the NBA," Alan Berg, senior oddsmaker for Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN. "He's worth a lot."

Curry isn't just looking at this game. He said that he still wants to play for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics.

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Gerrit Cole gave up homers on consecutive pitches to Detroit's Travis Demeritte and Miguel Cabrera in the first inning on Thursday.

Then Demeritte and Cabrera went deep against the New York Yankees ace on back-to-back pitches in the second.

"Probably pleased with most of the pitches, just got blistered on a handful of bad ones," Cole said. "It's not my favorite day of 2020 so far, but it is just spring training. You just take it for what it is, plain and simple, and we'll learn from it and get better,"

Cole, who signed a nine-year, $324 million contract as a free agent, allowed six runs, six hits and one walk in two innings with three strikeouts. The 29-year-old right-hander threw 33 of 44 pitches for strikes.

After Victor Reyes had a leadoff double in the first, Demeritte hit a two-run drive and Cabrera homered to the back of a grass berm in deep left-center field. Demeritte hit another two-run drive in the second, and Cabrera drove a pitch off the center-field backdrop.

"Miguel's first home run was a poor pitch. Demeritte's homer on a slider in the first inning was a poor pitch," Cole said. "The 2-2 fastball that he hit out the second time got to the top of the zone where we wanted to execute it. I thought he put a good swing on it. And then we went middle in on Miggy. I think we got the fastball in, but for whatever reason, maybe just didn't have quite consistent life on it today."

Cole was ill with a fever on Monday but was back at the ballpark Tuesday.

"Definitely affected the routine, but as far as today, I felt good to go," Cole said.

Cole had pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings over his first two starts. He said he is on target for his expected Opening Day start at Baltimore on March 26.

"We're right on track," Cole said.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said lefty Jordan Montgomery is "very much solidifying himself" as the No. 4 starter behind Cole, Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ.

With Luis Severino out for the year after Tommy John surgery, James Paxton expected to be sidelined into May following back surgery and Domingo German suspended until June under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy, Boone said the Yankees may be creative regarding the final spot.

"I think in the end we could go a lot of different ways, whether we piggyback guys on a given day depending on who's available," Boone said. "The opener always becomes an option on certain days."

JUPITER, Fla. -- Many major leaguers play golf during off days in spring training. Some go fishing. Or just chill.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt has other plans: He's getting married.

"People have been questioning it," said the wedding card, referring to the timing. "For us, clearly it's a no-brainer."

The 51-year-old Shildt will manage both St. Louis split-squad games Thursday, with the wedding party attending the evening game in West Palm Beach against Washington.

He'll trade the crack of bats for the clang of bells on Friday before returning to the ballpark on Saturday to manage again.

"I'm a pretty present guy. I know where I'm going tomorrow and I know where I'm going today," Shildt said. "I show up and be present and enjoy the opportunities in both."

Shildt's bride-to-be, Michelle Segrave, has family in South Florida, one of the reasons the couple chose the date and location.

Holding a ceremony during the baseball season, which can run from late March until early November, didn't make much sense to the couple.

Nor did a November ceremony, a traditional wedding month for people in the baseball community, because it would force friends within the Cardinals community who tend to scatter after the conclusion of the baseball season to reconvene only a few weeks later.

If the impending nuptials are distracting Shildt, his players haven't noticed.

"It's definitely a Shildty thing," second baseman Kolten Wong said. "The guy loves the game. You can tell just how he goes about it every single day. Obviously he loves his fiance just as much because he's doing it right in the middle of what he loves the most."

Throughout spring Shildt has deflected the few questions he's been asked about the impending ceremony. The NL Manager of the Year started having a little more fun with the situation as the big day grew closer.

"I don't need socks," Shildt joked earlier in the week. "I don't have cold feet."

Several members of the Cardinals' organization are expected to attend the ceremony, but Shildt purposefully didn't invite any players.

"These guys know I love them, but one of the ways you show love is not to feel like they've got to, on their day off, go to their manager's wedding," Shildt said. "That was my gift to them."

If St. Louis players as a group are planning something special for the couple, they're keeping it a secret.

Some in the clubhouse were having fun pondering how, if so inclined, they would crash the festivities.

"There's going to be a giant cardinal bird that gets wheeled into his wedding and then we just punch through the feathers of it and all come out dancing around," reliever John Brebbia joked. "A Trojan Cardinal."

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a five-year extension with third baseman Yoan Moncada worth $70 million, a source confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.

The contract includes a sixth-year club option worth $25 million and includes a $5 million buyout. It also buys out two years of Moncada's free agency.

The news was first reported by The Athletic.

Moncada, who was acquired by the White Sox in the trade that sent ace left-hander Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox in 2016, has hit .265 with 50 home runs and 163 RBIs in three seasons with Chicago.

He had a career season in 2019, hitting .315 with 25 home runs and 79 RBIs in 132 games.