TAMPA, Fla. – Tim McCreadie came away with another early-season Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory Wednesday night at East Bay Raceway Park.

McCreadie inherited the lead with five laps to go after misfortune befell race leader Jonathan Davenport, then led the remaining distance in the 40-lapper for his second win in four races to open the season.

Davenport appeared to be on his way to victory, but hooked a rut in turn four, folding his nosepiece under and causing his car to come to a halt on the front stretch.

Kyle Bronson was an unfortunate victim of circumstance in the incident, as he didn’t have time to slow his car down. Bronson made heavy contact with the back of Davenport’s car, eliminating both from competition.

McCreadie was second at the time of the race-changing incident, then picked up the lead and held off Brandon Overton and Brandon Sheppard for his 17th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win and his fourth at East Bay Raceway Park.

The Wells Motorsports Longhorn driven by Brandon Overton raced to its third runner-up finish in the first four series events of the year with a second-place result, while Tuesday night feature winner Brandon Sheppard finished a close third to Overton.

Tyler Erb came from 22nd starting spot to place fourth, while Brian Shirley closed the top five and earned his first top-five series finish of the year.
McCreadie and Davenport made up the front row for the 40-lap main event. Davenport led the first three laps of the race in a tight battle with McCreadie. McCreadie gained the lead briefly on lap four, but a lap later Davenport forged his way back to the point.

Dennis Erb Jr. stepped up to battle with McCreadie for second as they both trailed Davenport. Erb grabbed the second spot for two laps, but McCreadie fought back as the two had a spirited race for second.

At the halfway mark, Davenport was still in front, but by this time Overton had overtaken McCreadie for second after starting in fifth.

A caution on lap 23 bunched the field up as McCreadie charged back to second, this time around Overton. A caution on lap 28 again set up a restart, this time with 12 circuits left.

On the ensuing green, Davenport started to stretch his lead back out as a torrid race for second went on between McCreadie and Overton.

With five laps go Davenport entered turn four, hopped in the air and when he came down, the right front of his nose piece folded under his car.

At that point, he couldn’t steer the car and was forced into the frontstretch wall. Both McCreadie and Overton dived underneath the disabled car of Davenport, but fourth-running Bronson did not have time to react and smashed into the back of Davenport’s car.

From there, it was all about McCreadie’s No. 39 to the checkered flag.

“It’s exciting. I love winning, but you want to get it by passing the best. Tonight, we had some luck, and we’ll take it and go on to tomorrow,” said McCreadie. “It’s such a pleasure to race with JD (Davenport). We became real close last year and I was fully prepared to shake his hand here, because it looked like he had us just covered enough. It looks like there’s just such a bad hole off (turn) four and the bumper drug it or something. I think the worst part about it is that you can’t see (the hole). It’s covered up with fine crumbs, so you don’t really know where it is until you get there.

“I hate what happened to J.D., (because) his team has helped us tremendously,” McCreadie added. “I would also like to thank Gena and Donald, and my team. Gena went home earlier, and our prayers go out to her for her mother.”

Overton, like McCreadie, is driving for a new team owner this year and has remained consistent with his start to the season.

“If we stay up here with these top-three runs, the wins will come. The first one’s the hardest to get,” said Overton. “I probably didn’t have a second-place car tonight, for sure. I couldn’t get through the holes and I’d get to bouncing and the thing was kind of shutting off and blubbering … just lucky to hang on to second.

“I hate that for J.D. and Bronson; that didn’t look too good.”

Sheppard fought and clawed his way to third at the finish.

“It was getting better the longer the race was going. When the track was faster, (the car) was a little bit snug, especially in traffic; we were slicing and dicing,” said Sheppard. “The top was the most dominant and the bottom went away in a hurry, so we got stuck down in the bottom on about every restart, which really hurt us a lot, especially early in the race.

“Hats off to my guys. I put us behind in qualifying a little bit and we managed a second place in the heat race,” he added. “But with six heat races, that still started us 12th, so we’ve gotta try and win the heat race tomorrow and get up there in the top six.”

The finish:

Tim McCreadie, Brandon Overton, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Erb, Brian Shirley, Jimmy Owens, Devin Moran, Shane Clanton, Mike Marlar, Mason Zeigler, Dennis Erb Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Billy Moyer, Chase Junghans, Tyler Bruening, Trever Feathers, Josh Richards, Shanon Buckingham, Stormy Scott, Ken Monahan, Earl Pearson Jr., Logan Roberson, Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson, Tim Dohm, Johnny Scott, Boom Briggs, Jadon Frame, Allen Murray, Billy Moyer Jr.

BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Kyle Strickler powered to the lead Wednesday at Volusia Speedway Park, survived several restarts and cut off defending DIRTcar Nationals UMP modified champion Nick Hoffman in the final corner for a hard-earned victory.

“The car was really balanced on the top or the bottom so I could move around a little bit,” said Strickler, of Mooresville, N.C. “But clean air is so important here, so we went up to the top like we do sometimes, and we were able to stay out front.

“The worst thing you want to see here at Volusia is that blue nose (Nick Hoffman) creeping up on you. But we were able to stay out front, stayed up top and here we are.”

It was the seventh DIRTcar Nationals victory of Strickler’s career, moving him into a tie for fourth all-time in career event wins with 2007 champion Steve Arpin.

Opening night winner Michael Long and Strickler brought a stacked 28-car field to the green flag in the 20-lap feature.

Long maintained the momentum on the inside lane to edge out ahead of Strickler at the start, but Strickler never let Long stray too far out front and on lap five took the lead.

Strickler brought David Stremme, who started third, with him and the battle was on between the two rivals.

Strickler stuck his machine on the cushion left behind by the Sprint Car Feature earlier in the evening, and as he has done so often throughout his career, utilized that top lane to his advantage and began pulling away from Stremme and the rest of the field.

Four-time and defending champion Hoffman, who started eighth, was able to slip past Stremme and set his sights on Strickler, but Strickler had built up a big enough lead to keep Hoffman and the rest of the pack safely behind him.

Hoffman settled for second as Stremme crossed third, Long was fourth and Jason Hughes completed the top five.

Zeke McKenzie had to come through a Last Chance Showdown for the second night in a row, and after starting 25th, worked his way up to an eighth-place showing.

The finish:

Feature (20 laps): 1. 8KS-Kyle Strickler [2][$1,000]; 2. 2-Nick Hoffman [8][$600]; 3. 35-David Stremme [3][$400]; 4. 18L-Michael Long [1][$350]; 5. 12H-Jason Hughes [6][$300]; 6. 23-Ryan Cripe [15][$275]; 7. 25-Tyler Nicely [11][$250]; 8. 24-Zeke McKenzie [25][$225]; 9. 17TE-Tyler Evans [12][$200]; 10. K19-Will Krup [21][$200]; 11. 36-Kenny Wallace [10][$175]; 12. 5-Curt Spalding [16][$140]; 13. 49-Brian Ruhlman [4][$130]; 14. 67-Garret Stewart [20][$125]; 15. 6A-Ryan Ayers [13][$125]; 16. 75-Terry Phillips [28][$125]; 17. 95-Michael Altobelli [18][$125]; 18. 11H-Spencer Hughes [7][$125]; 19. 3L-Jeff Leka [24][$125]; 20. 22-Dale Kelley [9][$125]; 21. 65-Todd Sherman [22][$125]; 22. 31G-Stephen Pedulla [14][$125]; 23. 19-Chad Bauer [26][$125]; 24. 99M-Mike Mullen [19][$125]; 25. 96M-Mike McKinney [17][$125]; 26. 21-Taylor Cook [23][$100]; 27. 7JA-Justin Allgaier [27][$100]; 28. 7-Drake Troutman [5][$100].

KSE Hard Charger Award: 24-Zeke McKenzie (+17)

BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Brad Sweet started his sprint car season in the United States the same way he ended last year, standing atop the podium over the rest of his challengers.

Sweet, who won last year’s World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championship, kick-started the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions campaign with a victory Wednesday at Volusia Speedway Park during the first of five nights of sprint car racing at the annual DIRTcar Nationals.

The Grass Valley, Calif., native took the Kasey Kahne Racing-owned, NAPA Auto Parts-backed No. 49 past Ian Madsen on the 14th rotation of the half-mile dirt oval, then held Madsen off down the stretch to notch his fifth-career All Star win.

Wednesday night’s triumph was worth $5,000 to Sweet, who led the final 12 laps of the 25-lap feature.

“Any time you win, it’s fun,” said Sweet. “That was a great race. I was really searching for a line in (turns) three and four. The grease would go away, and then someone would hit the water … so it would really change the complexion of the race down there. You really had to be mindful of which lines you were taking and what was happening with the race track.

“My car could run well up top, but it was definitely better on the bottom,” Sweet added. “I’m just happy to come out here … obviously it’s a title defense for us this season, and we feel like we’re the best team, and we want to win a lot of races this year. It’s pretty neat to start off the week (in Volusia) like this.”

Though Madsen started on the pole, it was Cory Eliason who opened up the lead at the start of the feature, jumping out to the point as Tim Shaffer slid into second and the rest of the field gave chase.

A lap got in the books before a slowing Sam Hafertepe Jr. brought out the only caution of the night, but that didn’t slow Eliason’s roll on the restart, as he jetted out to the lead while Madsen retook second from Shaffer.

Meanwhile, Sweet found himself locked in a torrid battle for third with KKR teammate James McFadden, a position Sweet finally took just moments before Madsen wrested the point from Eliason on lap seven.

The lead duo began to go at it in and out of traffic for the next several laps, allowing Sweet to close in up top before diving to the bottom of the fast half-mile on the 13th revolution and taking second from Eliason.

A lap later, the bottom lane paid more dividends for Sweet, as he took command from Madsen on lap 14 and never looked back after that.

Madsen hung on for second, noting that he was a little short compared to Sweet in the closing laps.

“This was an awesome night to kick off the year,” Madsen said. “With a brand-new crew – Tyler Swank and Adam Clark – I can’t thank those guys enough. They worked really hard during the offseason to get us prepared as best as they could for this year. We got close; you can never hang you head running (second) to Sweet.

“It’s definitely a hard one to give away at the end; I just got tight in traffic behind a couple cars (that) took my line away,” he added. “I wasn’t able to move around as much as Brad was in (turns) three and four, but we’ll take (second). Hopefully we can go one better tomorrow.”

Eliason completed the podium, followed by Kyle Larson, who charged from 14th to fourth in the Silva Motorsports No. 57.

McFadden crossed fifth, followed by Tim Shaffer, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Brock Zearfoss and Donny Schatz, who raced into the feature from the B-main.

As the leaders were taking the checkered flag, Shane Stewart endured a vicious flip in the Sides Motorsports No. 7s in turn two. Stewart climbed out under his own power and walked away.

The finish:

Brad Sweet, Ian Madsen, Cory Eliason, Kyle Larson, James McFadden, Tim Shaffer, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Brock Zearfoss, Donny Schatz, Jacob Allen, Chad Kemenah, Logan Schuchart, Carson Macedo, Danny Dietrich, Kerry Madsen, Daryn Pittman, Shane Stewart, Paul McMahan, Parker Price-Miller, Kraig Kinser, Lucas Wolfe, Brian Brown, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

New Zealand women 120 for 5 (Devine 61, Khaka 2-24) beat South Africa women 119 all out (Du Preez 40, Tahuhu 2-10) by five wickets

Lea Tahuhu and Sophie Devine were in outstanding form for New Zealand, securing the team a 2-0 lead over South Africa in the ongoing five-match T20I series. Having slumped to a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI leg of the contest, this five-wicket victory to follow the equally convincing one on Sunday must taste all the more sweeter.

It was set up by a bowling performance that allowed only three South African batters into double-digits. Tahuhu was crucial, her four overs going for only 10 runs while also yielding the wickets of the captain Dane van Niekerk for 25 and the big-hitting Chloe Tryon for a duck. Mignon du Preez provided the only resistance to New Zealand, hammering 40 runs off only 26 balls. South Africa slumped from 94 for 3 in the 14th over to 119 all out.

After a wobbly start to the chase - 27 for 2 - opener Devine took control with a rapid half-century - 61 off 43, with five sixes and three fours. Her efforts ensured New Zealand were in sight of victory by the 13th over and though a few more wickets fell after that, it was more of a footnote.

DALLAS -- On the night he agreed to a three-year, $35 million contract extension, Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Dillon Brooks got another wish granted.

The Grizzlies agreed to trade Andre Iguodala to the Miami Heat, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday, ending the 36-year-old former Finals MVP's mutually agreed-upon absence from Memphis.

Sources said 23-year-old forward Justise Winslow will be part of the package received by Memphis in the trade, which could be expanded to a three-team deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder that would also deliver forward Danilo Gallinari to the Heat.

"Now we have a player that we're getting that actually wants to play with us and thinks we're good," Brooks said, referring to Winslow.

On Monday night, Brooks declared that he was eager for the Grizzlies to officially part ways with Iguodala, who never reported to Memphis after being acquired in the summer along with a 2024 first-round pick from the Golden State Warriors, the price for absorbing his $17.2 million salary.

The Grizzlies made it clear that they would not give Iguodala a buyout because they intended to get more value by trading him. After Memphis did not find a deal the franchise considered suitable before training camp, the Grizzlies agreed to allow Iguodala to train on his own while the front office searched for a trade partner.

Brooks and other Memphis players felt disrespected by the perception that the Grizzlies weren't good enough for Iguodala. The rebuilding Grizzlies have been one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises, sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference standings with a 26-25 record after Wednesday's 121-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

"A guy that's on our team doesn't want to be on our team," Brooks said Monday. "I can't wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him, and I can show him what really Memphis is about."

A couple of Brooks' teammates seemed to co-sign his comments, as Rookie of the Year front-runner Ja Morant posted a shouting emoji along with Brooks' quote on Twitter, and reserve guard De'Anthony Melton posted a shrugging emoji.

Morant, however, downplayed his interest in Iguodala's situation on Wednesday night.

"I didn't care," Morant said. "That's in the past. It's over with, and we're looking to play with the players that are on the floor. We're handling business, so we're fine."

The downside of the deal, as far as the Grizzlies' players are concerned, is that highly respected veteran forwards Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill were informed minutes before Wednesday's win that they would be traded. Crowder and Hill were pulled out of the layup lines to be given the news.

"I honestly didn't know until starting lineup," Morant said. "Normally, I have a handshake with Jae and Solo is always wrapping us up at the beginning. So I didn't know. I don't know what's going on. I can't speak on it. I can only control what I can, and that's just go out and play the game of basketball."

The 29-year-old Crowder and Hill, 28, both of whom could end up in Oklahoma City, are the oldest players to appear in a game for the Grizzlies this season. Morant said Crowder and Hill should "get a lot of credit for putting us in the position that we're in right now" because of their contributions as key role players and mentors for Memphis' young players.

"I love those guys," Brooks said. "They helped us build what we got now. They're going to do great over there. It hurts a little bit because we got close with Jae and Solo, but we still got to move on, still got to handle our business on our end. We're getting a good player too in Justise. I can't wait for him to come in and get acclimated to the next gen and keep the ball rolling."

LOS ANGELES -- LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley left Wednesday's 128-111 victory over the Miami Heat after reaggravating a nagging right groin injury. He will be reevaluated on Thursday.

Miami forward Jimmy Butler also left Wednesday's game, after straining his right shoulder. The Heat announced that Butler wouldn't return.

It's the third time this season Beverley has been sidelined with the issue, as he missed a game in December and three games last month dealing with a sore right groin. He also recently dealt with a sprained wrist that caused him to miss three games.

Beverley, who committed Wednesday to taking part in the Skills Challenge over NBA All-Star Weekend, scored five points before leaving in the third quarter.

The skidding Philadelphia 76ers made a move Wednesday to fortify their bench, landing forward Glenn Robinson III and guard Alec Burks in a trade with the Golden State Warriors, a league source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Philadelphia is sending Golden State a 2020 second-round pick via Dallas, a 2021 second-round pick via Denver and a 2022 second-round pick via Toronto, a league source said.

Robinson and Burks will give the Sixers some much-needed scoring off the bench.

Robinson, a sixth-year player out of Michigan, is averaging 12.9 points in 31.6 minutes this season, shooting 48.1% from the field and 40% from 3-point range. Burks, a ninth-year player out of Colorado, is averaging 16.1 points in 29 minutes, shooting 40.6% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range.

Both players took advantage of extra minutes on a depleted Warriors team this season. Each was held out of Golden State's lineup Wednesday against the Nets in Brooklyn, with the team opting to play it safe as it worked on potential deals.

"Tough night to go out and play," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the trade was announced. "Two of our leaders, elder statesmen, guys who are really beloved in the locker room. For the team to find out those two guys are most likely going to be traded is pretty tough. ... Not a good way to prepare for a game when something like that happens."

The Sixers are mired in a three-game skid that has dropped them to 31-20 this season and had star center Joel Embiid acknowledging to reporters that the team doesn't have an offensive identity right now.

Philadelphia's roster was at 15 before the trade, which means it will need to waive or move two players as part of the deal.

Golden State, meanwhile, cuts costs with the trade. Its tax bill drops from $9.3 million to $3.4 million, and the team is now $1.38 million above the tax threshold. Barring a trade to clear out additional salary, that number will increase because the Warriors have only 11 players under contract.

ESPN's Malika Andrews and Bobby Marks contributed to this report.