TULSA, Okla. – With a fresh car, a fresh engine and a whole lot of gusto in the tank, Brayton Lynch hopes to make a run through the alphabet soup on Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals championship day.

Lynch, the grandson of Chili Bowl-winning car owner Rusty Kunz, was leading his heat race earlier in the week when he had a motor let go on him under the hood of his primary No. 1k midget.

That buried him about as deep as one can be buried for Saturday’s finale program at Tulsa Expo Raceway, but Lynch isn’t worried. If anything, he’s excited for the opportunity to try and make a run.

With the support of RMS Racing, who supplied Lynch with a backup car to be able to compete on Saturday, he’ll have a shot to do just that and leave his mark on the fifth-mile temporary dirt oval.

He’s even got a goal in mind already that he’s chasing throughout the day.

“There’s an award out there (the Rich Vogler Hard Charger Award) where, if you pass the most cars, you get 1,500 bucks. So as of right now that’s my goal, is earning that,” said Lynch. “We start in the O-main, which is the first race of the day, so we’ll be up early and hopefully have as good a shot as any at taking that cash home.

“I’m excited. I’m ready to go for it.”

Lynch was quick to point out that in his heat race, he was actually leading despite having already dropped a cylinder in the engine before things really went south.

“It’s crazy because the motor was laying down from the drop of the green (flag in the heat),” Lynch recalled. “So I figured somebody was going to be there, but I felt good. We led the whole race, even though we were on three cylinders … but then we dropped to two (cylinders), and I knew it wasn’t going to be good from there, unfortunately.

“It is what it is. I wish things would have turned out different, though.”

With a potentially-long day on tap, Lynch is staying relaxed and loose as he prepares to try and pass as many cars as possible, gunning for the Rich Vogler Hard Charger Award.

Past recipients of the honor include Ken Schrader, Jack Hewitt, Sammy Swindell, Michael Pickens, Brady Bacon, Cole Whitt, Chase Briscoe, Thomas Meseraull, Ryan Bernal and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Clinton Boyles is the reigning Vogler hard charger, going from the G to the D in the 2019 Chili Bowl and advancing past 40 cars, while Chris Windom is the all-time honoree with three Saturday hard charges.

“I’m just fortunate that the guys at RMS Racing gave me their backup car so I can actually get my full Chili Bowl experience, so to speak,” Lynch noted. “I know I’ve said it already, but I really am excited. I mean, the pressure is pretty much off at this point being so far deep, you know? So there’s no stress.”

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

LIVE from the Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass
Josh Holt Interview

MyRacePass announced some very exciting news this week during the Chili Bowl Nationals as it relates to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. MyRacePass Co-Founder Josh Holt told us all about it.

How to Watch the Chili Bowl:

LIVE From the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass – Story Index Page
News, analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes and more – updated throughout each day.

LIVE PPV Streaming Broadcast – Racinboys.com
Monday – Saturday coverage

LIVE Television Broadcast – MAVTV.com
Saturday, Jan. 18th at 8:30pm EST

LIVE Timing and Scoring – MyRacePass
https://www.myracepass.com/app

SPEED SPORT’s Chili Bowl coverage is presented by MyRacePass, the official timing and scoring app of the 2020 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. Fans can download the MyRacePass app on their phones to follow all the action during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. For more information on MyRacePass, visit www.myracepass.com and use the hashtag #GetTheApp on Twitter!

POWRi fans, competitors and sponsors will benefit from expanded, easy to access live and on-demand events, as well as increased editorial and news coverage

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — SPEED SPORT announced it has entered into an exclusive three-year agreement to provide production, broadcast and marketing services for Performance Open Wheel Racing, Inc., known as “POWRi.”

Beginning when the Lucas Oil POWRi Midget League launched in 2005, POWRi now sanctions sprint cars, micro sprints, lightning sprints and the newly-added quarter midgets accounting for over 50 racing series and clubs from the Midwest to California. POWRi race winners include Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Logan Seavey, Rico Abreu and many others.

A dedicated POWRi-branded streaming app and website will join more than 30 other affiliates as part of the rapidly growing SPEED SPORT Network, announced in December at PRI.

The SPEED SPORT Network is a joint venture between Turn 3 Media, LLC and the streaming broadcast technology company Riivet, Inc. The network delivers SPEED SPORT’s legendary brand credibility, editorial might and massive audience with a proven, proprietary approach to motorsports broadcasting — creating just the kind of end-to-end media solution POWRi owner Kenny Brown was looking for.

“For POWRi, the decision to go with SPEED SPORT was about much more than broadcasting,” Brown said. “We work hard to be the competitor’s sanction of choice — and to do that we need to showcase personalities and accomplishments, and really tell their stories. SPEED SPORT has been the leader at that for over 85 years. We are also committed to providing great value for our sponsors, our tracks and our fans. SPEED SPORT brings all the tools we need in order to execute our vision for POWRi.”

The SPEED SPORT Network will dedicate production support to cover POWRi, from National Midgets to quarter midgets and everything in between, and will provide equipment, business and customer support services, sponsorship development and marketing. POWRi will start the season with a dedicated app that will be available on Roku, Amazon Fire, Android and iOS, as well as on the web. Additionally, SPEED SPORT, through its editorial division, will provide expanded editorial, news and results coverage of POWRi races and competitors.

Pricing and distribution details have not yet been set, but will be announced before the season begins in March. Riivet founder and the SPEED SPORT Network’s driving force Chris Graner will be working closely with POWRi officials to assure a successful launch that delivers for the sanctioning body, its competitors and fans.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with Kenny Brown to create POWRi TV and help execute his pioneering vision,” Graner said. “This deal represents a rapidly growing trend for promoters in grassroots motorsports. Promoters are now demanding better broadcasting strategies that work in a complementary fashion to promote the sport, promote the sponsors and deliver entertainment at the track.”

POWRi is an important addition to the SPEED SPORT Network, as co-founder and president Ralph Sheheen explained.

“POWRi sanctions some of the most exciting short-track racing in the country and Kenny has done a phenomenal job creating an organization that puts competitors first,” Sheheen said. “We’re thrilled to welcome POWRi into the SPEED SPORT Network and humbled that with all the choices out there, our approach is really starting to take hold.”

About POWRi

Performance Open Wheel Racing, Inc. (POWRi – pronounced power-I) is a touring sanctioning body specializing in national midgets, non-wing sprint cars, and 600cc outlaw micro sprint, lightning sprints and quarter midgets. The marquee classes are the POWRi National Midgets and the POWRi WAR Sprints…but POWRi sanctions many regional open wheel series and is growing.

For more information, contact:

Kenny Brown
8939 Bevo Court
Belleville, IL  62223
(314) 267-4944
http://powri.com

About Turn 3 Media, LLC

Founded in 2011 by motorsports media veterans Ralph Sheheen and Joe Tripp, Turn 3 Media, LLC is the parent company of SPEED SPORT and Sprint Car and Midget Magazine. With a portfolio of award-winning publications, digital media and television under both the SPEED SPORT and Sprint Car & Midget brands, Turn 3 Media has become a leading motorsports media entity, leading the way in creating and distributing credible, authentic motorsports content and marketing solutions.

With its very first publication dating back to 1934, SPEED SPORT celebrated its 85th Anniversary in 2019.

Follow SPEED SPORT:
https://speedsport.com
https://facebook.com/speedsport
https://twitter.com/speedsport

Follow Sprint Car & Midget:
https://sprintcarandmidget.com
https://facebook.com/sprintcarandmidget
https://twitter.com/sprintcarmagz

Follow SPEED SPORT TV:
https://speedsport.tv  
https://facebook.com/speedsportv

For more information, contact:

Joe Tripp
(406) 564-6190
[email protected]

About Riivet, Inc.

The Riivet platform was founded in 2015 with the goal of elevating the sprouting business of grassroots motorsports video broadcasting into an engine for marketing and promotion.

With over 2000 live motorsports broadcasts since 2015 and over 5500 hours of on-demand video, the platform is designed to continuously improve broadcast and marketing efficiency by removing barriers to entry and barriers to execution for motorsports media professionals. Riivet previously operated under the HAMMER.TV and RaceFeedX.com brands and aggregates 15+ production groups into 30+ unique branded deployments. Some of its most well-known clients and brands include: carstour.tv, dirttrackdigest.tv, derbynation.tv, derbytees.tv, dirt2media.tv, darntv.com, dacotahspeedway.tv, watchdrc.tv, legendsnation.tv, lowbudget.tv, advantageracing.tv, dirtovaltv.com, sledknawker.tv, badfast.tv and fullpull.tv.

Contact Info:

Chris Graner
(919) 667-6407
[email protected]

CONCORD, N.C. — A recent conversation with another veteran member of the motorsports industry produced an interesting topic.

We were discussing the look of race cars, particularly the recently revealed Porsche Formula E challenger, when the question was raised: Does it really matter what a race car looks or sounds like as long as it produces an entertaining show?

This question has often been the subject of debate in motorsports circles. Most are of the opinion that a race car has to have a certain look, a certain style per se. On top of that, the cars should sound angry and loud. If you can’t hear the race car in a neighboring county, is it really a race car?

That left me wondering, who cares what the car looks like? As it turns out, quite a few people.

Think back to when NASCAR introduced the Car of Tomorrow in 2007. The car was meant to be NASCAR’s next-generation stock car, but to many it was a laughing stock because of how it looked.

The rear wing and front splitter made the CoT look nothing like the stock car it was meant to be, but then again, NASCAR race cars haven’t been stock cars for a very long time. Still, many fans complained the car looked nothing like the cars in their driveways.

NASCAR listened and over the next few years the bodies of the cars were redesigned. Gone were the wings and the odd-looking front splitter, replaced by something that more closely resembled a modern street car.

As it turned out, NASCAR fans want to be able to identify with the car on the track. Who knew?

Obviously, the Porsche Formula E car — and Formula E cars in general — is a different topic of conversation. The cars aren’t meant to look like modern street cars. They’re meant to be futuristic, next-generation racers equipped with mind-bending technology.

Therein, however, is the next problem. Because Formula E cars are powered by a battery, they don’t sound like the race cars traditional race fans are accustomed to hearing. In fact, they’re mostly silent, which admittedly doesn’t sit well with some longtime supporters of the sport.

I believe the sound of a race car is not nearly as important to its success as the look of the race car. As long as the car puts on a great show, who actually cares what it sounds like?

If you’ve watched a Formula E event recently, you know that the cars, while admittedly sounding a bit out of the norm, can put on one hell of an entertaining race on the street circuits they visit around the world.

Formula E is a far cry from Formula One where on multiple occasions in 2019 one driver led every lap of a Grand Prix. That rarely happens in Formula E.

It’s our belief that electricity is the future of motorsports, at least in some form or fashion. Will batteries replace engines in NASCAR stock cars anytime soon? Not likely. But I think it’s more likely than not that we’ll eventually see more inroads being made into electric motorsports technology across all of the motorsports platforms, including NASCAR.

Will that change the way race cars sound? Most likely, but we’re willing to bet there will always be a way to make sure race cars sound angry and violent. It may not be exactly what motorsports stalwarts are used to, but change is inevitable.

For those who don’t like change and wish for a return to the olden times of motorsports, don’t worry, that’s what YouTube is for.

– It was wonderful to hear recently that American Flat Track will return to The Dirt Track at Charlotte this year after a brief hiatus.

The tour most recently competed at the Concord, N.C., facility in 2017, but the event was marred by tragedy when 21-year-old Jamison Minor died from injuries suffered in an opening-lap crash during the AFT Singles feature.

We highly recommend attending an American Flat Track event. The races are entertaining, the riders are fantastic to speak to and the atmosphere is on a totally different level.

Our hope is that event organizers for the Charlotte race, scheduled for April 4, take the time to honor Minor in some fashion prior to the racing festivities. It’s our belief that it would bring the event full circle and close a difficult chapter on flat-track motorcycle racing at the four-tenths-mile dirt oval.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Florida goalie Chris Driedger will miss several weeks with what's believed to be a groin injury, the latest health issue at that position for the Panthers.

The Panthers announced the diagnosis Saturday, calling it a lower-body injury.

Driedger was hurt midway through the first period of the Panthers' 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. He is 5-2-0 in nine appearances for Florida this season, with a 2.48 goals-against average.

The Panthers have also been without goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for much of January while he recovers from an upper-body injury.

Florida begins a stretch of six consecutive road games Saturday in Detroit. That six-game run also includes the All-Star break and the Panthers' bye week.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Dallas Stars activated Stephen Johns before their game Saturday night in Minnesota, clearing the way for the defenseman's first game in almost 22 months.

Forward Radek Faksa was placed on injured reserve to make room for Johns on the active roster.

Johns has been out since late in the 2017-18 season because of post-traumatic headaches. The Stars have said the condition isn't related to concussions.

Johns, 27, hasn't played since March 29, 2018, at Minnesota. It was the last of a career-high 75 games in his third NHL season. Johns missed the final five games that year before sitting out all of last season as headaches persisted.

He played two games on a conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the AHL before rejoining Dallas on Thursday.

The return of Johns could coincide with the Stars' first game without defenseman Miro Heiskanen. The 20-year-old standout left Thursday's loss to Buffalo with an upper-body injury.

Johns made his debut for Dallas late in the 2015-16 season and played in all 13 of the team's playoff games as a rookie. He has 13 goals, 15 assists and 306 blocked shots in 150 career regular-season games.

Hosung Choi's post-impact animations are getting out of control.

During Friday's second round at the Singapore Open, the 44-year-old Choi, known for his lively and unorthodox follow-throughs, accidentally hit another player in his group with his driver after the club appeared to slip out of Choi's hands after an exaggerated finish.

After the club struck the leg of Choi's playing competitor, who was standing to the right and behind Choi on the tee box, the player was visibly frustrated with Choi.

Choi shot 72-74 and missed the cut at Sentosa Golf Club. The South Korean, who has won four times worldwide, is currently ranked 170th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

American Matt Kuchar leads after 54 holes at 17 under.

Lee Westwood’s Christmas vacation is over, but he’s still feeling quite relaxed.

Westwood barely touched a club since playing the European Tour’s season finale in Dubai last November. He spent the holidays in Thailand and didn’t bring his sticks. When he arrived in Abu Dhabi last Friday, he finally got some decent work in with swing coach Robert Rock.

Yet the 46-year-old Englishman isn’t showing any rust. Through 54 holes of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Westwood leads at 17 under after a third-round, 7-under 65 Saturday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

“I didn't hit as many balls as I'd like [on Friday], but I've done some hard work here on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and been working with Rocky and the swing feels like there's a bit more width into it and I've driven the ball well,” Westwood said. “Putting lovely. Rolling the ball nicely, and you know, not really hitting any bad shots. Not putting myself under any pressure.”

Westwood sits a shot clear of Bernd Wiesberger, who also fired a third-round 65, and second-round leader Francesco Laporta.

On Saturday, Westwood carded six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 eighth hole after hitting a hybrid from 266 yards to 3 feet. He almost had another eagle on the par-5 finishing hole, his eagle lag running just by the hole, before Westwood had to convert a tricky hard-breaking birdie putt.

That was one of few stressful moments for the veteran, who has just three bogeys through three rounds thanks in large part to a recent swing adjustment that he's dialed in since returning from his beach vacation.

Westwood explained that over the years his wrist hinge has become more and more pronounced, and that he and Rock have worked on getting the wrists straighter on takeaway.

“When you've been doing something for 20 years, it's hard to take it out on the golf course, but I managed to take it from the range to the golf course,” Westwood said. “Got a bit of length back because I got some width back and a lot wider at the top, and angle and attack on my iron shots is better.”

After winning in late 2018 in South Africa and another solid year in 2019 that included a T-4 at The Open, Westwood doesn't appear to be going away any time soon.

Westwood currently sits at No. 63 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and his sights are set to get back inside the top 50 in order to qualify for both spring WGC events. He also plans to play the Valero Texas Open the week before teeing it up in the Masters, his first start at Augusta National since 2017. Westwood owns six top-10s, including two runner-up finishes, in 18 career Masters starts.

Further down the leaderboard in Abu Dhabi, Matthew Fitzpatrick is solo fourth at 12 under while Sergio Garcia is another shot back alongside Kurt Kitayama. Americans Patrick Cantlay and Brooks Koepka are 7 under and 5 under, respectively. Koepka bounced back from a second-round 75 to make six birdies and shoot 70.

Arsenal's Brazilian teenager Gabriel Martinelli seized his chance to shine with a goal on Saturday, but Sheffield United earned a 1-1 draw at The Emirates with a strike from John Fleck.

The 18-year-old Martinelli, starting in place of suspended frontman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, struck from close range late in the first half after a whipped-in cross from Bukayo Saka.

Mikel Arteta's side had been hoping to build on an encouraging New Year's Day home win over Manchester United but they were left frustrated again and they have now won only one of the Spaniard's first five league games in charge.

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Arsenal had a good shout for a penalty after the break when Nicolas Pepe went down in the area but VAR ruled in favour of the visitors, who then made the most of the let-off.

Fleck earned them a point late on when he beat Bernd Leno from close range in the 83rd minute as United ended strongly and could have even returned home with the win.

Chris Wilder's side remain four points and three places above Arsenal with 33 points from 23 games.

Arsenal, who enjoyed 61 percent possession but were well-shackled by the visitors, have 29 points and face a tough test at fourth-placed Chelsea in midweek.

Gabon striker Aubameyang has scored 47% of Arsenal's league goals this season and his absence blunted the attack, although Martinelli, in only his fourth league start, impressed.

He had already gone close with a volley from Pepe's cross and fired another effort into the side-netting before pouncing on Saka's looping cross into the area.

"Gabi's gonna be a superstar; not because of the goal because of the attitude energy and mindset," Aubameyang said on Twitter of his replacement's contribution.

Sheffield United have become a tough nut to crack under Wilder, however, and looked increasingly dangerous in the second half after forwards Billy Sharp and Callum Robinson came on.

It was Robinson's cross that was nodded on by Sharp for Fleck to bounce a shot past Leno.

"The result is better than the performance," Wilder said. "When teams don't put you to bed you always have a chance."

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro produced a performance worthy of a top striker by scoring twice in a 2-1 win for Zinedine Zidane's side over Sevilla on Saturday that took them top of La Liga for at least 24 hours.

Sevilla, however, were left fuming by the decision to rule out a first-half header from Luuk de Jong from a corner after a VAR review of a challenge by midfielder Nemanja Gudelj on Real defender

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Brazil international Casemiro, initially deployed as a holding midfielder, broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with an ice-cool dinked finish after a back-heel from Serbian forward Luka Jovic released him in the area.

Sevilla levelled in the 64th with a curled effort from Dutch striker De Jong which was allowed to stand even though the ball had bounced off the elbow of forward Munir El Haddadi in the build-up.

Casemiro dragged Real back in front moments later with a towering header, taking his side first in the standings on 43 points after 20 games, three ahead of champions Barcelona who host Granada on Sunday.

With Real missing a number of key players including Federico Valverde, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard, it fell to Casemiro to drag them back in front moments after De Jong's leveller, with a towering header.

The win took his side first in the standings on 43 points after 20 games, three ahead of champions Barcelona who host Granada on Sunday.

Sevilla stayed in fourth place on 35 points after an unhappy return to the Santiago Bernabeu for coach Julen Lopetegui, who was sacked by Real in October 2018 after a miserable tenure succeeding Zidane.

The coach reacted furiously to the decision to rule out De Jong's goal for the tangle between Gudelj and Militao and could be seen saying "this is shameful" as he walked down the tunnel at half-time.

"I cannot understand how they could rule out that goal, there is no reason at all, for me it was a huge error," he said.

Sevilla's sporting director Monchi also did not hold back in his criticism of the referee.

"It's the type of thing you see all the time, and I refuse to analyse the game after that because that moment was key and it's absurd to try and give any analysis after a goal like that was ruled out. I'm angry and outraged," he told reporters.

"If they had ruled out our other goal, I would have gone down to the pitch and ordered my players to leave."

Gudelj added: "I didn't think it was a foul, I stayed still and Militao crashed into me. After seeing it again I still think it's not a foul and the referee got it wrong."

Real manager Zidane said he thought the referee was right to rule out the goal and suggested Sevilla had little right to complain after their second strike was given despite the handball.

"All I can say is I saw the play and there's a clear block, it's a foul for me, the referee looked at the screen and gave a foul. In the second incident there's a handball and he doesn't rule it out," Zidane said.

"I can't explain anything and I don't like to comment, referees are the ones who decide and it's a tough job. Sometimes decisions go for you other times they go against you.

"For me it's a clear block, it's a foul, it's all very normal. There's no need to complain."