SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — With the dust barely settled from the 2020 edition of the Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway, officials are already busy planning for 2021.

In fact, the dates for the mega miniseries have been set for Jan. 9, 10, 13, 15, 16 and 17, 2021 at the three-eighths-mile oval located just outside of Phoenix.

“We had a banner event in 2020 with great racing, great fans, and great sponsors. With so much great support and momentum, we’re now focused on the 2021 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout,” said event promoter Chris Kearns. “Even though we are roughly 11 months away from next year’s event, I’ve been hearing from countless fans and racers, who are already making plans to join us next year.

“These are exciting times for our whole staff, and we’re working on making the 2021 edition the biggest and best yet.

Over $200,000 in prize money will be on the line during the 15th Annual Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.

The event includes six complete programs for three divisions.

Each night will find the Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars, Mesilla Valley Transportation/Border Tire Modifieds presented by Arizona Differential and RHRSwag.com X-Mods presented by Barnett Harley Davidson in action.

Additionally, an open practice session is slated for both Jan. 8 and Jan. 12.

Last but not least, each division will compete for a mini series points championship and accompanying point fund.

“It’s cool to see how families are starting to make this an annual racing vacation. There’s so much to see and do in the great Phoenix area and typically the weather is fantastic,” Kearns continued. “The event is truly a homecoming for fans and drivers from across North America, and we couldn’t be more appreciative of all of the support that we get.”

HARTFORD, Ohio – Justin Snyder’s Salute to the Troops program, an event honoring one of open wheel racing’s most loyal and dedicated supporters – the late Justin Snyder – will be held outside of Pennsylvania for the first time this year.

The event, which also benefits the Wounded Warrior Project, a charity and veterans service organization that offers a variety of benefits for wounded veterans of the military actions following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will be held at Sharon Speedway on July 12, one day after the Lou Blaney Memorial on July 11.

Both races will be sanctioned by the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and each race will pay $6,000 to the winner.

“After four successful years in Central PA, we are extremely excited to bring Justin Snyder’s Salute to the Troops race back home to Sharon Speedway,” said Derek Snyder, older brother of the late Justin Snyder and the Executive Manager & Partner of Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC. “My family’s passion for racing began at Sharon Speedway. My earliest memories are my brother and I attending our father’s company picnic hosted at Sharon Speedway during the Sharon Nationals, then camping out with our aunts, uncles, and cousins in the parking lot. Our father supported the track with pace cars and sponsorships clear back to the mid-80’s. Snyder Pontiac Buick GMC Cadillac also sponsored Lou Blaney for several years. So, having the privilege to host Justin’s race the same weekend as the Lou Blaney Memorial is an incredible honor.”

Justin Snyder’s Salute to the Troops program was hosted at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, Pa., during its first four editions before making the switch to Sharon Speedway. The All Star Circuit of Champions sanctioned editions two through four with Gerard McIntrye Jr. winning the most recent contest in 2019.

Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart won the event title in 2018, with the late Greg Hodnett winning the first Salute to the Troops event with All Star involvement in 2017. Danny Dietrich earned the inaugural, unsanctioned event victory in 2016.

“It just seemed very fitting for me to keep this going by bringing the race to Sharon Speedway. This is something I believe my brother would be incredibly proud of,” Derek Snyder continued. “I’m so grateful for our family’s relationship with Lou and Kate Blaney over the years. I wanted to be certain that I had Kate’s blessing prior to even considering this move and date. Thankfully, she obliged and here we are. I want to thank Jared of the All Stars for the Series’ support, as well. This race has really taken on a life of its own, especially when you look at the past winners including Danny Dietrich, Greg Hodnett, Tony Stewart, and Gerard McIntyre, Jr. I encourage all of our friends and family, including our Central PA racing family, to join us in keeping Justin’s memory alive as we honor our nation’s bravest.”

SEATTLE — When NHRA introduced the Pro Stock class 50 years ago, automaker loyalty stirred a keen rivalry.

The leaders of the class were men who hauled their cars to the races, worked on them from stem to stern, competed in them and developed relationships on their own for a few sponsorship dollars.

They were one-man bands, these racers, and the ones who shaped the class — Herb McCandless, Ronnie Sox, Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, Bob Glidden, Dick Landy, Warren Johnson, “Dyno Don” Nicholson, Lee Shepherd and Frank Iaconio.

By 2010, money had transformed the landscape. And as the decade came to a close two months ago, a curious phenomenon had entrenched itself. Chevrolet had begun to dominate on the manufacturers’ side and team conglomerates had become the rage.

Gray Motorsports, KB Racing and Elite Performance didn’t necessarily control policy, but they certainly led in the engine-program category. They had multiple drivers and supplementary customers under their tech-development and data-sharing umbrellas.

As the sanctioning body prepares to throw a yearlong 50th birthday bash for the Pro Stock class, Elite Performance’s Richard Freeman has emerged as the power broker. Many credit him for saving the class, which NHRA has thrown costly and constant changes at during the past several years.

Freeman used his Oklahoma common-sense approach to herd the highly opinionated, innately independent team owners into a united front to negotiate with the sanctioning body from a position of strength. What resulted was a compromise that preserved the class’ 16-car fields, settled on a shortened schedule that works for most, recognized the Pro Stock’s right to increased TV exposure and reduced costs.

Freeman’s unapologetic opinions often are positive and encouraging, and his drivers — dominator Erica Enders, icon Jeg Coughlin, energetic Alex Laughlin, second-generation star Aaron Stanfield and newcomers Brandon Foster and Marty Robertson — love him. But if someone doesn’t want to hear Freeman’s authentic attitudes, they shouldn’t have a conversation with him in the first place.

Freeman has been known to administer a digital knuckle sandwich to a rival, texting him and calling him “dumb-ass” and an “idiot.” And Freeman once referred to someone in the racing community he doesn’t particularly care for as “a bucket of poop.”

He didn’t have much good to say about the state of the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes, either: “Don’t get me started on Top Fuel and Funny Car. I love the classes. It was always, ‘Oh, what are we going to do with Pro Stock? They’re in trouble.’ Well, there ain’t nothing in more trouble than those two classes right there.”

And even though he fielded three Pro Modified entries last season and still has standout Steve Matusek in his Elite camp, Freeman isn’t all that keen on the popular class.

“They want that class to be a pro class and it never will be,” Freeman said. “The reason I don’t necessarily like it is there’s too many variables in that class. There are too many obstacles. One thing I don’t like about it is the harder you work to make your stuff fast, the more you’re going to get kicked in the nuts. So it’s not appealing to me at all. That thing is in grave danger because those who spend the money are going to win.

“Pro Stock is just my place. I’ve invested all my money there, so I’m going to spend my time right there.”

Opinionated? Certainly. Abrasive? Maybe. But Freeman solves problems.

His ability to do that is what allows him to be, as Coughlin described, “a man who wears many, many hats — from being in the oil business to the car business to the used-parts business to managing race teams. He tries to surround himself with good, intelligent people he can trust and empower. That’s how he has built such a powerful team.”

Freeman’s team finished first and second in the standings last year, and with Enders, has recorded three series titles in six years.

“I don’t think I saved it,” Freeman said of the Pro Stock class. “I think what I did do was changed the course of how it had been done for many years. The reason that Pro Stock was in the situation that it was — and I don’t think it was in a bad situation — but the reason the fields had gotten shorter is people couldn’t afford to have their own engine. It wasn’t the money.

“They couldn’t afford to fight because they couldn’t get what we had,” he added. “And that’s not the way that class was intended to be. That’s where it transformed to. Now we’ve made parts and resources available.

“We worked really hard to preserve our class. And it’s as strong today as it’s been in years,” Freeman added. “The sanctioning body, they’re trying to run it like a business. They failed miserably, OK? But I believe that (NHRA President) Glen Cromwell and his team are trying. They’re trying to change the course of something that’s been going a direction for many, many years.

“Our sport has a great chance to regain a lot of power. NASCAR is struggling. Drag racing’s something that ain’t going nowhere, for sure. It’s not run by the media. It’s supported by wealthy people,” Freeman continued. “They choose to spend their money on their race cars and they’re going to race. It’s that simple.

“All I can do is worry about mine. And more than likely, we’ll probably win some Pro Stock races. That’s what I like.”

And if Richard Freeman is satisfied, the Pro Stock class is happy.

The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired a couple of forwards for the stretch run.

Philadelphia got Derek Grant from the Anaheim Ducks for forward Kyle Criscuolo and a 2020 fourth-round draft pick. They also got center Nate Thompson from the Canadiens for a 2021 fifth-round pick.

Grant is a 29-year-old journeyman, having played for six teams (Senators, Flames, Sabres, Predators, Ducks, Penguins) in seven NHL seasons. He was traded to the Ducks from the Penguins in January 2019, returning to the team with which he has his longest tenure (146 games in total).

This season, Grant has set a career high with 14 goals in 49 games, connecting on 17.3% of his 81 shots on goal.

The Flyers have gone 7-3 in their past 10 games to pull into third place in the tough Metro Division.

Thompson gives them a fourth-line center who is tough on the faceoff and penalty kill.

Both Grant and Thompson will be free agents after the season.

The Ducks entered deadline season with a number of non-player assets, as they started with more than $15 million in salary-cap space and possessed all their draft picks for the next three seasons, excluding a fifth-rounder this summer and seventh-rounders in 2020 and 2021.

On the same day that the Carolina Hurricanes made moves to bolster their playoff chase, coach Rod Brind'Amour announced that key parts of the existing roster will be out long term.

Goaltender James Reimer, who started in goal Saturday but left 6:10 into the first period with a lower-body injury, and goalie Petr Mrazek, who left in the second period after he collided with Toronto forward Kyle Clifford, are both on the shelf indefinitely.

Brind'Amour said that Mrazek has a concussion issue.

In addition, defenseman Brett Pesce left Saturday's game with a shoulder injury. He is also out long term, according to the coach.

The goalie injuries caused the Canes to play 42-year-old emergency goalie Dave Ayres on Saturday. He saved eight of 10 shots to pick up a win and become a viral sensation. On Sunday, the Hurricanes recalled goaltenders Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic from Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

Forsberg, 27, has posted a 15-9-2 record with a 2.95 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage in 27 appearances with the Charlotte Checkers. The Hurricanes acquired Forsberg in a trade last June.

Nedeljkovic, 24, has registered a 15-10-2 record, 2.51 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage with four shutouts in 28 appearances with the Checkers. The Hurricanes selected him in the second round of the 2014 draft.

The Hurricanes traded forwards Erik Haula and Lucas Wallmark to the Panthers for Vincent Trocheck on Monday.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has acquired speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou from Holland's former team, the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings get forward Sam Gagner and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Detroit also sends left wing Ryan Kuffner to Edmonton.

Holland was named Oilers GM last May after 30 years with the Wings organization. He traded for Detroit defenseman Mike Green on Sunday.

Holland has Edmonton in the mix in the Western Conference, currently sitting in second place in the Pacific Division after missing the playoffs the past two seasons.

The Oilers got their biggest boost when Connor McDavid returned to the lineup Sunday after missing two weeks with a quadriceps injury. But he has needed help for a while.

The Oilers also added center Tyler Ennis on Monday, acquiring him from the Ottawa Senators for a 2021 fifth-round draft pick, according to reports. Ennis, 30, has 14 goals and 19 assists in 61 games this season, his first in Ottawa after signing an $800,000 deal in July.

Athanasiou, 25, has 10 goals and 14 assists this season after having a career year with 30 goals and 24 assists last season.

His regression came amid an ongoing rebuild for the Red Wings, who have crashed to the worst record in the NHL this season (34 points in 63 games) and are in the midst of a four-year postseason drought, their longest since 1979 to 1983.

They have compiled a haul of draft picks, though, entering trade season with nine picks in the first three rounds of the next two drafts.

Athanasiou is a league-worst minus-45 this season, on pace to sport the worst plus-minus since Rico Fata was a minus-46 in 2003-04. Athanasiou will become a restricted free agent after this season, completing a two-year, $6 million deal.

Gagner was the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft by Edmonton and is in his second stint with the team. He also played for Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets.

His best season came with the Blue Jackets in 2016-17 when he had 51 points. He has only five goals and seven assists in 36 games this season while playing a third-line wing role.

He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Kuffner has played 10 games with Detroit and hasn't scored.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has acquired speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou from Holland's former team, the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings get forward Sam Gagner and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Detroit also sends left wing Ryan Kuffner to Edmonton.

The deal:

Oilers get: F Andreas Athanasiou, F Ryan Kuffner

Red Wings get: 2020 second-round pick, 2021 second-round pick, F Sam Gagner

Edmonton Oilers: B+

Captain America made a big move in the latest U.S. Ryder Cup standings.

Patrick Reed's one-shot win at the WGC-Mexico Championship brought with it a seven-figure payday, but it also put the veteran in great position to make his fourth straight Ryder Cup appearance. Reed needed a pick from captain Tiger Woods to make last year's Presidents Cup, but after starting the week in 12th he's now up to third in the U.S. standings.

Reed has been a stalwart on recent American teams, notably pairing with Jordan Spieth in 2014 and 2016 before a less successful pairing with Woods in Paris two years ago. He has a 7-3-2 lifetime record in the biennial competition and has notably never lost a singles' match in either a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup.

Mexico runner-up Bryson DeChambeau also made a significant jump, going from 27th to 13th with his second-place result, while Woods is now on the cusp of the qualification cutoff. Here's a look at the latest U.S. standings, with the top eight after the BMW Championship in August qualifying automatically for Steve Stricker's squad at Whistling Straits:

1. Brooks Koepka

2. Dustin Johnson

3. Patrick Reed

4. Xander Schauffele

5. Webb Simpson

6. Gary Woodland

7. Justin Thomas

8. Tiger Woods

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9. Tony Finau

10. Matt Kuchar

11. Patrick Cantlay

12. Kevin Kisner

The European team standings are split across a European and World Points list, with nine automatic qualifiers joining three additional picks from captain Padraig Harrington. Here's a look at who is currently in position to make the European team, with automatic qualifying running through the BMW Championship in September:

European Points

1. Tommy Fleetwood

2. Jon Rahm

3. Rory McIlroy

4. Victor Perez

World Points

5. Danny Willett

6. Matthew Fitzpatrick

7. Tyrrell Hatton

8. Bernd Wiesberger

9. Graeme McDowell

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10. Lee Westwood

11. Henrik Stenson

12. Rafa Cabrera-Bello

The road to Winged Foot is officially mapped out.

The USGA announced Monday the list of 12 final qualifying sites, the venues whereby approximately half the field will punch their ticket to this summer's U.S. Open. After conducting 109 local, 18-hole qualifiers from late April to early May, the USGA will turn their attention to a dozen 36-hole qualifiers held across four different countries.

Several final (previously sectional) qualifying sites are familiar, and for the second year in a row there will be a qualifier held in Canada ahead of the RBC Canadian Open. But two courses are hosting final qualifiers for the first time: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon and The Club at Admiral's Cove in Florida.

Entry into the U.S. Open is open until April 22 for any professional or amateur with a handicap index of 1.4 or lower. Steve Jones (1996), Michael Campbell (2005) and Lucas Glover (2009) all won the U.S. Open after advancing out of a qualifier, while Orville Moody (1969) remains the last player to win after advancing through both rounds of qualifying.

The U.S. Open will be held June 18-21 in Mamaroneck, N.Y., as Winged Foot hosts for the first time since 2006. Here's a look at the roster of final qualifying sites this year, with specific allocations of available spots not made until the day of each qualifier:

Monday, May 18

Lakewood CC & Royal Oaks CC (Dallas, Texas)

Monday, May 25

Minagi Golf Club (Hyogo Prefecture, Japan)

Monday, June 8

Walton Heath GC (New & Old Courses) (Surrey, England)

RattleSnake Point GC (CopperHead Course) (Milton, Ontario, Canada)

Lake Merced GC & The Olympic Club (Ocean Course) (Daly City, Calif.)

The Club at Admiral's Cove (North & West Courses) (Jupiter, Fla.)

Ansley GC (Settindown Creek Course) (Roswell, Ga.)

Woodmont CC (North Course) (Rockville, Md.)

Century CC & Old Oaks CC (Purchase, N.Y.)

Brookside CC & The Lakes CC (Columbus, Ohio)

Springfield CC (Springfield, Ohio)

Pumpkin Ridge GC (Witch Hollow Course) (North Plains, Ore.)

Four years after he was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy, Morgan Hoffmann has been named as the latest recipient of the PGA Tour's Courage Award.

Hoffmann, 30, joined the Tour in 2013 after a standout career at Oklahoma State and made the 2014 Tour Championship in his second season. He has compiled a trio of top-3 finishes including a runner-up finish at the 2017 Honda Classic, which came months after he was diagnosed with Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD). The disorder is characterized by chronic weakness and muscle loss across the chest, shoulders and upper arms.

Hoffmann has remained competitive since, making 11 starts on Tour last season and four this season, most recently missing the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in October.

"To be recognized alongside the past recipients of the PGA Tour Courage Award is very humbling," Hoffmann said. "Playing on the PGA Tour with muscular dystrophy, I hope to inspire people to follow their dreams, no matter what ailments they have, whether it be a disease or a mental disability."

The Tour's Courage Award is presented to players who "overcome extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant and meaningful contribution to the game of golf." Hoffmann becomes the award's fourth recipient, joining Erik Compton (2013), Jarrod Lyle (2015) and Gene Sauers (2017). The award includes a $25,000 charitable donation, which will be made to the Morgan Hoffmann Foundation later this year at Hoffmann's two-day charity tournament in New Jersey.