‘My goal is the same as it was at the start of the season’
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egypt’s World No.5 Nour El Tayeb says that she is finding her form again as she prepares to kickstart her title defence at next week’s Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family, which takes place in the picturesque Cathedral Hall of the University Club of Chicago between February 27 – March 4.

The enigmatic 26-year-old began the 2019-20 season with victory at the China Open, and followed that up with two runner-up finishes at the Oracle NetSuite Open and U.S. Open.

A loss of form following a family bereavement shortly after October’s PSA World Championship led to a premature exit at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champion last month but, after beating England’s Sarah-Jane Perry to win the Cleveland Classic two weeks ago, El Tayeb says that her performances are getting back to the standard they were at the outset of the campaign.

“I’m getting back to a good level of squash,” said El Tayeb. “I still think i was playing better at the beginning of the season than I did in my last few events. However, going into the Windy City Open with a title is a definitely a good thing that makes me excited to go out there and hopefully play my best squash this season.

“My goal at the beginning of the season was to play better than last season which will automatically improve my ranking. I still have the same goal and I’m trying to play better, win more matches, and the ranking will take care of itself.”

El Tayeb’s victory at the 2018 Windy City Open was a remarkable one given she fought through four successive five-game battles to get her hands on the PSA Platinum title. She ousted Tesni Evans, then World No.1 Nour El Sherbini and Perry to reach the final, where Kiwi Joelle King awaited after upsetting current World No.1 Raneem El Welily.

Despite taking the opening game, El Tayeb soon found herself 2-1 down before facing two championship balls. However, the Egyptian came back from the brink to halt King and get her hands on only the second major title of her career.

“I think that week was the best performance of my squash career so far,” El Tayeb reflected.

“I reached new levels of perseverance and confidence in my physical ability. So I’m definitely very proud of that tournament and it always gives me a big boost knowing that I’ve done it.

“I’ve got the best memories here in Chicago. I think we all love the atmosphere here and the cosiness of the event. I definitely enjoy it very much and cant wait for it to start.”

El Tayeb came within a whisker of making it a Chicago double last year when she reached the final of the 2018-19 PSA Women’s World Championship – the sport’s first $1,000,000 event thanks to the support of Mark and Kimbra Walter – which replaced the Windy City Open on the PSA World Tour calendar.

El Tayeb ultimately fell to El Sherbini inside Union Station’s Great Hall, but is hoping that going back to the University Club of Chicago instead of Union Station will help her to look past that defeat.

She said: “The defeat in the final of a World Championship will always be on my mind. But it’s a different venue from last year, so hopefully i’ll only take the memory from the 2018 title.”

El Tayeb appears in a women’s draw containing El Welily, El Sherbini, King, Tournament of Champions winner Camille Serme and United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy.

Mo back to defend men’s title
Meanwhile, the men’s draw is headed up by World No.1 and defending champ Mohamed ElShorbagy, and he will be joined by younger brother and 2018 runner-up Marwan, compatriots Ali Farag, Tarek Momen and Karim Abdel Gawad, as well as two-time winner Gregory Gaultier, who makes only his second PSA appearance since returning from a 15-month spell on the sidelines.

The Windy City Open is the most lucrative tournament on the PSA World Tour outside of the World Championship, with $500,000 on offer split evenly across the men’s and women’s events. The winner will also qualify for June’s PSA World Tour Finals.

Tickets for the 2020 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family are available for purchase at windycityopen.com.

Action from the glass court at the University Club of Chicago will be streamed live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan).

For more information on the 2020 Windy City Open, visit the tournament’s official website

Pictures courtesy of PSA

Luxembourg ladies learn and improve
By TONY GRIFFIN – Squash Mad Correspondent

I first meet Sandra Denis in September 2019 when Xavi Blasco, Bertrand Tissot and I started working together with the Luxembourg national teams. She has been the national champion 21 times, which must be one of the longest winning records in European squash.

Over these few months I have been slowly learning about and coming to appreciate her feats though the occasional comments from different people in the Lux squash community but never from her.

When we talked, she was always asking about things she could improve, the training she was doing or about something that had happened in a recent match…

Her interest in training hard impressed me. She often prefers to train with the men because they push her more.

At the end of January 2020 she lost in the final of the national champs for the first time since 1997. She had missed the tournament twice during that time because of injury.

I knew that it takes a special type of person to be on top for so many years but it was the words of new champion Iulia Bucur that motivated me to share her story.

Iulia told me: “Seven years ago when I met Sandra I was so impressed with the way she played I thought to myself – I want to play that well! My journey to try and become as good as Sandra has included many sports psychology sessions, improving myself physically and even understanding and changing my diet. So, over this time, I have made many changes in my life and I have learnt a lot, so I thank Sandra for inspiring me along this path.”

I asked Sandra few questions for Squash Mad:

How do you feel after not winning the title this year after so many years?

“Quite strange and it’s bit of shock to the system. The losing is not the shock, that could always happen, it’s the not being the champion that´s different. But I’m still training so who knows what the future will bring.”

How has squash in Luxembourg changed since you won your first title in 1997?

Back then we only had one club and one coach in the country. Now we have a few clubs and various coaches. This diversity is a good thing for wome’s squash

The federation in the last few years has also been working hard to bring in different coaches, which is also having a positive influence on squash here. The diversity of ideas is good for us all.

And Luxembourg?

We have a wonderful little country. I love representing it at the Europeans and just to be clear we have our own language – it is not German….

Picture courtesy of Tony Griffin 

LAS VEGAS – Four NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series teams were hit with L1-level penalties Friday for infractions found during opening-day inspection at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Ten driver and owner points were deducted from the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 and driver Johnny Sauter, the No. 26 GMS Racing Chevrolet Silverado and driver Tyler Ankrum, the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 and driver Matt Crafton and the No. 98 ThorSport Racing Ford F-150 and driver Grant Enfinger.

All four trucks were found to be in violation of Section 20.9.3.2 of the NASCAR Rule Book, pertaining to the engine oil reservoir tank.

Specifically, each of the four teams broke section 20:20 of that rule, which reads that “aerodynamic panels (are) not permitted/engine oil reservoir tank mounting brackets/supports.”

The points deductions reduce Enfinger’s championship lead over Austin Hill from 11 to one, while Sauter drops from third in the standings down to ninth.

Ankrum falls from 11th in points to 20th, with Crafton losing five positions down to 22nd.

Qualifying for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET on Friday.

LAS VEGAS – Christian Eckes took Kyle Busch Motorsports to the top of the charts in the lone practice session on Friday for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

Eckes toured Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 30.363 seconds during the 80-minute practice session, for an average speed of 177.848 mph with the No. 18 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota Tundra.

The reigning ARCA Menards Series champion’s best time came on his sixth of 33 laps turned during the session.

Johnny Sauter, who was one of four Truck Series drivers penalized for a technical infraction found during opening inspection Friday, shook those issues off to end Truck Series practice second (30.396/177.655) among the 35 teams in attendance at Las Vegas.

Sauter’s first career Truck Series win came at Las Vegas with ThorSport Racing back in 2009, when he led 62 of 146 laps en route to victory in the fall event at the facility.

The Wisconsin native also won the Truck Series championship in 2016.

Another past series titlist, Brett Moffitt, ranked third in practice speeds (30.418/177.526) with the No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing.

Ty Majeski and Moffitt’s teammate, Sheldon Creed, completed the top five ahead of defending series champion Matt Crafton, rookie Tate Fogleman, Ross Chastain, Daytona winner Grant Enfinger and defending Las Vegas Truck Series winner Austin Hill.

All-time Truck Series wins leader Kyle Busch, making his first of five scheduled starts in 2020, was 14th in single-lap speeds turned during practice on Friday.

Canadian Raphael Lessard led the 10 consecutive lap average speeds at 173.013 mph, also turning the most laps of anyone in the field during Friday practice with 51.

Qualifying for the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Strat 200 is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports 1.

To view complete practice results, advance to the next page.

SHELBY, N.C. – John Gaydosh Jr. is returning to the NHRA’s Pro Stock division with Beaver Motorsports at the NHRA AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals on March 12-15 in Gainesville, Fla.

Gaydosh recently sold his racing operation and has been out of the driver’s seat for nearly a year.

Beaver Motorsports is making their Pro Stock team debut with the support of Strutmasters.com, Beaver Bonding, T Parke Services, MB Auto, Gaydosh Performance, RacerDirect.com, Norwood Towing, and a technical alliance of Kenny Delco Racing and engines from Frank Iaconio Racing Engines.

“I have always wanted to run Pro Stock,” said Beaver Motorsports owner Mark Beaver, “I have run Stock and Super Stock for years with both NHRA and IHRA. We have 200 plus NASCAR Truck and Xfinity Starts, but drag racing is our home. We have been trying to put a pro stock program together for a couple of years. It all just fell in to place this season.”

“I didn’t want to leave the sport in 2018, and I had hoped I would be back,” explained Gaydosh. “Mark (Beaver) had helped as he could on my team before, and so we just came together put the necessary people and pieces in place once he took a step back from the NASCAR world.”

The Beaver Motorsports team plans to run select races in 2020 to prepare for a full-season run in 2021. The current schedule consists of 10 races starting at the Gatornationals, with the primary locations being on the east coast.

“I can’t wait to get back in the car and let out the clutch,” stated Gaydosh, “I’ve missed it quite a bit. Anyone would! We have a good car and good power. Our alliance with Kenny Delco and the Iaconio power is great for a new one-car team. Strutmasters.com and the rest of our partners have made this comeback possible.”

MODOC, S.C. – Three different winners in its first four races sets the stage for the Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series championship next week.

Chris Madden carried the momentum from his incredible 2019 run into the winter, winning the first two races to lead the championship standings into Modoc Raceway on Saturday, Feb. 29. With a 16-point lead, Madden will not only be chasing the $7,000-to-win checkered flag, but he’ll also be trying to hold off Ross Bailes, Zack Mitchell, Kyle Strickler and Trent Ivey to capture the $20,000 series championship check.

Madden won at Cherokee Speedway and Volunteer Speedway, and has experience at Modoc, where he’s won three times on the four-tenths-mile dirt oval since 2005.

However, since winning the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series opener in January at Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, Madden hasn’t returned to victory lane. He’s confident he and his team can get the job done in front of his home-state fans next Saturday.

“We definitely started off hot,” said Madden, who drives a Drydene-sponsored car for Scott Bloomquist Racing. “We haven’t won one in the last couple of weeks, so we definitely need to pick up a win. It’s been a great series for us, and it would be nice to pick up $20,000.”

“I think it’s pretty awesome for [Drydene] to support dirt racing,” Madden said. “To have more corporate industries come in and support our series is definitely big. Our sport is on the upside and definitely growing, and we appreciate those guys for everything they’ve done.”

In retrospect, the 2019 season was quickly turned into a 2019-2020 campaign for each driver who decided to compete with the Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series, especially those who also made the trip south for Georgia-Florida Speedweeks. Madden and Strickler, who is fourth place in points, both chose that route, forcing them to ramp-up their work to prepare for the coming races.

“For us guys that run as many races as we do during the season, it makes it difficult for us to get prepared for DIRTcar Nationals and what not, stopping and building new cars, because we had to continue racing,” Madden said. “So, it’s been tough on us, but on the good side of it is we [could win] the series … so we’ll just keep on digging.”

Strickler, Lavonia Speedway winner Mitchell, Ivey, Pearson Lee Williams and Tim Vance will have the chance to join Madden in the perfect attendance club at Modoc, worth a $1,000 bonus.

While Madden is the heavy favorite to be crowned champion, he hasn’t locked it up for sure yet. Positions two-through-five have also yet to be decided, as only five points separate those drivers. With his one victory, Bailes has 37 points while Mitchell trails with 35, Strickler has 34 and Ivey has 32. Each are still within reach of the championship with the maximum number of points available to them should they qualify for Modoc’s $7,000-to-win feature.

INDIANAPOLIS – The history and heroes of the Indianapolis 500 will come alive through a variety of activities leading into Legends Day presented by Firestone on Saturday, May 23 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Some of the milestone events to be celebrated include the 50th anniversary of the first of Al Unser’s four victories in 1970, the 40th anniversary of Johnny Rutherford’s third Indy 500 victory in the famous Yellow Submarine car in 1980, the 100th anniversary of Gaston Chevrolet’s win on a single set of Firestone tires in 1920, the 55th anniversary of Jim Clark becoming the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 with a rear-engine car in 1965, the 15th anniversary of Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to lead the race in 2005 and many more.

Two new series at IMS.com will shine a spotlight on these events and drivers.

The first series, which starts Friday, Feb. 21 and then will run weekly on Fridays through early May, will showcase some of the great moments of the Indianapolis 500 that are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year. These pieces will focus on well-known events, such as Wilbur Shaw becoming the first back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner in 1940, to more obscure events such as Mario Andretti’s test with Firestone in 1970 that led to the introduction of slick tires to the race.

A second series, called “My Favorite Car,” will feature interviews with Indy 500 race winners and legends choosing their favorite car they drove in the race, with memories and anecdotes about those magnificent machines. This feature, which also will include photos of the car, will run weekly on Mondays starting Feb. 24.

Video content that includes historical clips, IMS Museum footage, and narration from IMS Historian Donald Davidson, will also be featured on IMS social channels and the IMS YouTube page throughout the spring.

This content will help build anticipation for the full schedule of fan activities on Legends Day presented by Firestone on Saturday, May 23, the day before the 104th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

Legends Day activities include the public drivers’ meeting, autograph sessions with the 2020 Indianapolis 500 starting field and legendary veteran drivers, and more. Tickets are $10, with children 15 and under free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

Country music superstar Luke Bryan and rising star Morgan Wallen will perform that afternoon at the Firestone Legends Day Concert in the IMS infield, a rousing conclusion to a full day of fun at the track. General admission tickets start at $35 and include admission to all other Legends Day activities at the track, with children 3 and under admitted free to the concert with a ticketed adult.

As the official tire of country music and the official tire of the Indianapolis 500, Firestone has served as the presenting sponsor of Legends Day since it debuted in 2014. The partnership brings together two platforms – racing and country music – that have played significant roles in the rich history of the time-tested Firestone brand.