GAFFNEY, S.C. — In the midst of a rain-filled week, DIRTcar Racing and Cherokee Speedway officials decided to move this Saturday’s Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series event to next Sunday, Jan. 26.

The move creates a huge weekend with a previously scheduled event on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Georgia’s Cochran Motor Speedway.

The Cherokee feature will remain a 40-lap, $5,000-to-win race for the Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series and the day will still include $1,000-to-win 602 Late Model, $1,000-to-win Stock Outlaw RWYB, $600-to-win Thunder Bomber and $500-to-win Extreme 4 FWD races.

“With all the rain we’ve received and are continuing to receive it just makes sense to postpone this Saturday’s race to next weekend,” said DIRTcar Racing’s Tom Deery. “Plus, it makes for an exciting weekend with the previously scheduled race at Cochran Motor Speedway.”

The event on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Cochran is also 40 laps and $5,000-to-win. It will include Crate Late Models in a $2,000-to-win feature and 602 Late Model Sportsman in a $1,000-to-win race.

Gates at Cochran will open at noon with hot laps at 2:30 and racing to follow. Grandstands are $20, kids 6-10 are $10 and kids 5-and-under are free.

LIVE from the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Presented by MyRacePass

T.J. Smith Interview

Fresno, Calif., native T.J. Smith turned some heads Tuesday night at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals. As a relative unknown, Smith – in his Mitch Elliott-owned No. 11s – earned an impressive sixth-place finish in Tuesday’s qualifying race.

While not locked into Saturday’s A-main, he will be one to watch later this week to see if his momentum can earn a transfer into the big show. Tony Bokhoven spoke with him earlier today.

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!

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Reigning USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series champion C.J. Leary has been selected as the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll driver of the year.

The announcement was made Wednesday night in Tulsa, Okla., during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.

The voting panel, consisting of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers, selected Leary based on his strong season that saw him capture the USAC National Sprint Car title, the Indiana Sprint Week crown and the Oval Nationals title at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway.

Leary earned seven of the 13 first-place ballots cast by voters. Tyler Courtney received five first-place ballots and Kyle Cummins received one.

Courtney was ranked second in the poll, followed by Brady Bacon, Cummins and Kevin Thomas Jr. Justin Grant, Chris Windom, Damion Gardner, Thomas Meseraull and Chase Stockon rounded out the top-10.

The Reinbold Racing/Underwood Motorsports No. 19AZ team that Leary drove for last year earned team of the year honors for the first time.

Courtney (his second) and Cummins will share the Wild Card Award for their exciting non-winged sprint car performances, while Dustin Clark will receive the 2019 non-winged sprint car rookie of the year award.

Richie Murray of USAC and Patrick Sullivan of Sprint Car & Midget Magazine (his fifth) were named the recipients of the North American Non-Winged Sprint Car Poll media member of the year honors. Joe Spiker of Lincoln Park Speedway and Paragon Speedway received promoter of the year honors for the first time.

John Godfrey of Spike Chassis received the builder/manufacturer of the year award for the fourth time.

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!

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson’s 28th season on the PGA Tour may come with the toughest decision of his professional life.

Mickelson turns 50 on June 16, the Tuesday of U.S. Open week, and will qualify him to play the PGA Tour Champions, although at this stage in his career a new competitive outlet doesn’t seem to interest him.

“I haven't thought too much about it and I won't until I see how the first six months [on the PGA Tour] of this year go,” Mickelson said Wednesday at The American Express. “It’s nice to have the option to move over to another tour, but it's also nice to have the challenge of competing out here.”

Mickelson said one of his main goals this year is to qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team after missing his first team event since 1994 last year. He’s also less than a year removed from his last PGA Tour victory at Pebble Beach and sounded optimistic following an intense offseason that included a new diet and a renewed focus on fitness.

“When I stop hitting bombs I'll play the Champions Tour, but I'm hitting some crazy bombs right now,” he joked. “No, I still have speed, there's no reason I couldn't play out here. I hit the ball every bit as far.”

Depending on how he plays the first six months on the PGA Tour, Mickelson would be eligible to play in three of the over-50 circuit’s major championships, including the U.S. Senior Open, Senior Players Championship and Senior Open Championship.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Just 26 LPGA pros are teeing it up at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions this week, but the star power will be unrivaled on tour this season.

Ask veteran Angela Stanford.

She froze in her tracks after stepping out the back door of the clubhouse at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando on Tuesday when she saw Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander posing for a photo. He won his second Cy Young Award last season.

“I don’t get star struck, I didn’t think,” Stanford said.

But . . .

“Couldn’t move,” she said.

Stanford, whose six LPGA titles include the Evian Championship, is a lifelong Texas Rangers fan. She checks scores religiously during the season. She has thrown out the ceremonial first pitch three times at Major League Baseball games. She has visited every MLB ballpark in the country.

Verlander is among a legion of stars and former sports greats who will be playing with LPGA pros in the celebrity pro-am format beginning Thursday. Josh Donaldson, the third baseman who signed a four-year $92 million contract with the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, is here. So is Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who trails only Jerry Rice on the NFL’s all-time list for receptions and receiving yards. Fitzgerald also signed a contract extension this week to return for his 17th season.

Hall of Famers Reggie Jackson and John Smoltz are here.

Roger Clemens is here, too, as are country singers Cole Swindell, Lee Brice and Colt Ford.

“They’re all just so happy to be here, and they just have so much fun with it,” Stanford said.

Ariya Jutanugarn took advantage of the collective experience last year, picking the brain of former NBA star Ray Allen, who advised her about the importance having trusted people on her team. 

Actually, the learning process went both ways.

“I learned so much playing those four days,” Smoltz said of winning the celebrity division last year while playing alongside LPGA pros. “I love playing with great players, because I watch their swing, and I try to take something from their swing and apply it to mine. So, that was a real cool thing, to watch not only how straight, but how incredibly 'on' they were with their distances.”

Smoltz, who has played in a few PGA Tour Champions events, said the mental skills required to close out in baseball is similar to closing out in golf, but he mastered them better in baseball.

“That's so unique about great players winning a tournament, is they understand that they're managing their emotions, managing their doubt, and they have no memory,” he said. “I remember No. 10. Every single day, I couldn't wait to play No. 10, to atone for how bad I played it, and I never played it well. I need to learn how to eliminate that from the golf game. Baseball, I could do that. I put enough reps in, and I loved that part of the game. But closing [in baseball] is the same as trying to close out a tournament. You literally have to have amnesia, as fast as you can, about whatever didn't happen well.”

There will be plenty of light moments this week, with the nature of the format different from week-to-week golf in LPGA events. The 18th hole at Tranquilo Golf Club is a party hole, with music accompanying players to the tee. Even some LPGA pros broke out in dance on the tee there.

Still, come Sunday down the stretch, the action will grow more serious.

Smoltz remembers.

“I'd rather be in my field, bases loaded, nobody out, 3-2 count on every hitter,” Smoltz said. “I really would. I think that's what I was primed to do. I know what my strengths were in that sport. This, intuitively, is all self-pressure, and there's a lot of doubt. Golf exposes your doubt really quickly. So, you may have a weakness, and you try to hide it for a couple of days, but it will show up.”

In the end, though, there will be more than a trophy won in this format.

“Some real cool friendships with the LPGA players,” actor Jack Wagner said.

Tommy Gainey birdied his final three holes to capture the first Korn Ferry Tour event of the year and earn his first worldwide victory in more than seven years.

Gainey started the final round of the Bahamas Great Exuma Classic with a one-shot lead, but he was tied with John Oda as he played the 16th hole. There Gainey rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt and added another birdie on the next hole to reach 10 under and essentially put the tournament away.

This marks his first Korn Ferry win since 2010 and his first win anywhere since the 2012 RSM Classic, which remains his lone PGA Tour victory. It also gives the 44-year-old a leg up on regaining full-time PGA Tour status for the 2020-21 season, which he last held in 2014.

The victory also comes one month after Gainey was arrested for solicitation in Florida as part of a widespread prostitution sting. He tied for 76th the following week at Korn Ferry Tour Q-School.

"With the injuries that I've been through, the other troubles that I've had, I'm very lucky and very blessed," Gainey said. "This means everything."

Gainey finished four shots clear of Oda and Dylan Wu, who led by seven shots through 36 holes but ballooned with a third-round 76. Veteran Sean O'Hair tied for fourth while Ollie Schniederjans headlined the group tied for 11th at 2 under.

This is the first of two straight Korn Ferry events in the Bahamas, with the scene shifting to nearby Baha Mar next week for another Wednesday finish.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Angela Stanford is going to squeeze a marathon into her schedule this season.

Yes, she’s going to train to run a 26-mile race between events in the spring.

She believes it’s going to help her golf.

“I didn't feel very strong mentally last year,” Stanford said. “I felt pretty weak, in general. I thought, you know what, I'm going to figure out how to beat this. I have to be stronger mentally out here, and I guess the best way to do that is to train for something.”

So, she is training for the Los Angeles Marathon, which is scheduled for March 8. It will be her first marathon. She ran 16 miles on a treadmill a couple weeks ago as part of her training regimen, when rain kept her from running outside.

“My legs have never hurt like that,” Stanford said.

Stanford, 42, broke through at Evian two seasons ago to win her first major championship, her sixth LPGA title, but she struggled to follow up on that success with a rib injury plaguing her later that year, and with complications spilling into last season. Her 2019 season ended early when she didn’t qualify for the fall Asian swing events.

“You can't appreciate the good unless you have the bad, and I've never been one to shy away from how bad things can get when you play this game,” Stanford said. “But I've just never gotten a dose like that.”

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Seung-Yul Noh returns to the PGA Tour this week at The American Express following two years of mandatory military service in South Korea.

“It’s exciting because I feel like I just started as a pro (when he began his military service). Getting to see a lot of friends on Tour, it’s just exciting right now,” said Noh, who played twice on the Korean Tour last fall to prepare for his return.

Noh last played a Tour event in October 2017 and is playing this season on a major medical extension with 26 starts to earn 359 FedExCup points and retain his Tour card.

Noh said he was able to stay at home in Seoul during his two years of service and spent his days training with the military. “I did everything, winter training, summer training, shooting training, walking all day,” Noh said.

Each day after training he would go to either the practice range or the gym in order to be prepared for when he was able to return to the Tour.

Sangmoon Bae returned from his two years of military service in South Korea in 2018 and failed to keep his Tour card, but Noh is confident his extracurricular work the last two years will give him an opportunity to pick up where he left off.

“The swing feels pretty good, and the body is definitely getting better,” he said. “When I hit the ball on the range or during the practice rounds the swing feels pretty good. I know how to control the ball, but for two years I was mostly on the range and not the course, so it feels different but it’s getting close.”

LOS ANGELES -- New England Revolution manager Bruce Arena said that he doesn't feel Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez would be the best player in MLS, should he sign with the LA Galaxy.

Reports continue to swirl that the Galaxy are poised to sign the Mexico international from La Liga side Sevilla FC. Hernandez would certainly create a massive marketing opportunity given the large contingent of Mexico expatriates in the area.

"I think [Chicharito] would be a great addition to the league," Arena told ESPN during MLS Media Day. "The commitment that [the Galaxy] make financially is their business and all, but I lived in the LA market for the last 10 years. They've wanted Chicharito here for a long time, and he's going to be a natural in this market."

But in terms of ability, Arena feels lots of teams have their own Chicharito.

"We have a lot of good players [in MLS]," said Arena. "[LAFC's] Carlos Vela would probably have an argument there. I have an excellent player, Carles Gil, in New England. But if you think about it, just about every team in the league has outstanding players. I think Chicharito would be a good addition. I wouldn't think that he'd be the best player in the league."

Arena managed the U.S. men's national team on two occasions, leading the U.S. to the World Cup in 2002 and 2006, but failing to get the team to the 2018 edition of the tournament. With MLS now heading into its 25th season, Arena feels the league "has helped" the trajectory of the national team, but can do more.

"We have to grow our domestic players better than we have," he said. "If we can do better with our academy programs, developing our young players, positioning them to play for our first team, it will only help the national team program. Right now, it needs to get better, and hopefully, it does."

Yet many teams in MLS seem to be relying even more heavily on foreign players to fill attacking positions, a sentiment that Arena acknowledged.

"I think there's a lot of pressure on clubs to be successful, make the playoffs," he said. "Most of the time, it hurts the development of young players."

In terms of the current state of the U.S. men's national team, Arena said it was "not great, but it's not terrible."

Yet Arena is highly confident that the U.S. will qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

"I have no doubt in my mind that they'll qualify for the next World Cup," he said. "I think the way the format is set up for qualification, I think they'll be positioned to qualify."

Arena acknowledged that the last two years have been difficult for the U.S., but says the focus should be on looking forward.

"It really doesn't matter what the last two years have been like," he said. "What's important is how they play in 2020 and 2021 to qualify for the World Cup."

MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted his gamble in bringing on Marcus Rashford against Wolves "backfired" after the Manchester United forward was forced off with a back injury.

- Stream replay of Manchester United's win over Wolves on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Rashford lasted just 15 minutes of the 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Wednesday after a clash with Wolves defender Matt Doherty and is now a doubt for the trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday.

After coming on in the 64th minute, the 22-year-old was replaced with Jesse Lingard in the 79th minute and headed straight down the tunnel.

"It backfired," said Solskjaer, whose team will play either Watford or Tranmere in the FA Cup fourth round after beating Wolves for the first time since 2012.

"You have got to take them [risks] once in a while.

"He'll be tested in the next few days -- we have to see for Sunday. He couldn't run. He struggled a little bit with his back and got another knock. It didn't help."

Doherty appeared to knee Rashford in the back and after being substituted, he left Old Trafford unaided but walking gingerly.

"I didn't want to play him," said Solskjaer. "We needed the win, he was involved in the goal, but it backfired. We will do everything we can to keep him fit."

Rashford, United's top scorer with season with 19 goals, will be a big miss for Solskjaer's team if he is not passed fit to play at Anfield. Liverpool are yet to lose in the Premier League this season and United remain the only team to take points off the runaway leaders after Rashford's goal earned a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in October.

After the game Rashford tweeted: "Never want to feel like I've let my teammates, the club and most importantly the fans down, so did my very best to carry on tonight and was gutted to come off. Top work from the lads to get into the next round."