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Can Williams win elusive 24th Grand Slam? Australian Open preview

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 06:01

Serena Williams is the firm favourite to win the Australian Open as she again bids for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title.

The 38-year-old American is aiming to match the record set in 1973 by Australia's Margaret Court, who will be recognised at the tournament on the 50th anniversary of her calendar Grand Slam.

Old guard Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are still expected to be the men to beat in Melbourne, while Britain's former world number one Andy Murray is missing because of a pelvic injury.

The first Grand Slam of the 2020 season is set to go ahead as planned, despite the backdrop of raging bushfires that have devastated parts of Australia.

Here is everything you need to know.

Why isn't Murray playing?

For the eighth time in the past 10 Grand Slams, three-time major champion Andy Murray is unavailable to lead British hopes.

Murray, 32, was hoping to make a poignant return to Melbourne - where he tearfully admitted last January he thought his career was coming to an end because of chronic hip pain.

Since then, the Scot has had "life-changing" hip surgery, returned to competitive action and won ATP Tour titles in singles and doubles events.

Now he must wait a bit longer to return to Grand Slam singles competition after picking up a pelvic injury while playing for Great Britain at November's Davis Cup finals.

"Unfortunately I've had a setback and as a precaution need to work through that before competing," said the former world number one, who is planning to be back in action in February.

"I've worked so hard to get myself into a situation where I can play at the top level and I'm gutted I'm not going to be able to play."

Can any of the other Britons mount a challenge?

Britain's best hope of winning a first Australian Open singles title since Virginia Wade did so in 1972 looks to be Johanna Konta - if she is not hampered by a long-term knee issue.

Konta, ranked 13th in the world, reached at least the quarter-finals in three of the four Grand Slams last year.

Although the Australian Open was the only major where she did not compete in the last eight, the 28-year-old does have previous success in Melbourne, having reached the 2016 semi-finals.

The knee problem has disrupted the British number one's build-up, however, ruling her out of this week's Adelaide International and limiting her to only one tournament since September's US Open.

Joining Konta in the women's draw will be Katie Boulter, who is using her protected ranking of 85 to play after an injury-hit 2019 meant she dropped to 317th.

British number two Heather Watson is ranked 101 in the world, and was just outside the initial cut for direct entry, but has moved into the main draw automatically following several withdrawals by higher-ranked players.

Harriet Dart and Samantha Murray Sharan are seeking to join them by coming through the qualifying rounds.

In Murray's absence, British hopes in the men's singles are in the hands of 30th seed Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie.

Evans, 29, is the nation's leading male player after a fine 2019 in which he climbed back into the world's top 50 by getting to his first ATP Tour-level final and playing in the main draws of all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year for the first time.

Now, having reached a career-high ranking of 33 on Monday, he goes into a Grand Slam for the first time as Britain's leading male player and a seed.

Edmund, 25, is hoping a new coach in Franco Davin, who notably helped his fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro win the 2009 US Open, can help him replicate the form that took him to the Australian Open semi-finals in 2018.

The Yorkshireman slid down the rankings during a 2019 where he suffered for form and fitness before ending the year on a high by being Britain's standout player in their run to the Davis Cup semi-finals.

In the men's doubles, Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski will be seeking to build on the promise they showed in their new partnership last year, when they reached the US Open semi-finals.

New decade, same 'Big Three'

It may be a new decade - but just as it was during the 2010s, and the latter part of the 2000s, the same three men are widely considered the main contenders to win the first Grand Slam of 2020.

Defending champion Djokovic, world number one Nadal and 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer remain the players to beat, having won the past 12 major titles between them.

Djokovic is aiming for a record-extending eighth men's singles title in Melbourne and showed just why he is so difficult to beat on the Australian hard courts, having led Serbia to glory in the inaugural ATP Cup.

The 32-year-old, who is aiming for a 17th Grand Slam title to close on Federer and 19-time major champion Nadal, did not drop a set in his six singles matches, including during another dominant win over the Spaniard in Sunday's final in Sydney.

Nadal, 33, was outplayed by Djokovic in last year's Australian Open final and continues to struggle against the Serb, who has won their past nine encounters - and 19 sets - on hard courts.

As the top two seeds, they are projected to meet in the final on 2 February, although players such as Swiss great Federer, Russia's Daniil Medvedev and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas have the capability to stop them.

It remains to be seen whether Federer, 38, was wise to skip the ATP Cup, a decision intended to preserve his body for Melbourne, but one that leaves him short of court time going into the tournament.

Fourth seed Medvedev, 23, pushed Nadal in September's US Open final before losing an epic five-set match and, given his strong hard-court record over the past year, it seems a matter of time before he becomes a major winner.

The same can be said for 21-year-old Tsitsipas, who showed he can beat the best by becoming the ATP Finals champion in November and is looking to at least match his run to last year's semi-finals in a city where there is a large Greek community spurring him on.

Can 'relieved' Serena finally match Court's record?

Williams has not won a Grand Slam title since the 2017 Australian Open, when she was eight weeks pregnant.

Since returning from maternity leave in March 2018, she has reached four Grand Slam finals - two at Wimbledon and two at the US Open - losing them all.

But she goes into this tournament as the clear favourite, having rediscovered how to win a final.

Williams claimed the Auckland International on Sunday, beating fellow American Jessica Pegula in the final, to lift her first trophy in almost three years.

"It's been a long time; I think you could see the relief on my face," she said.

Williams' drought has helped open up the women's game; the past 11 Grand Slams have produced nine different winners, over a period that has seen seven players hold the world number one ranking.

Younger players have grasped their chance over the past three years, with 22-year-old Japanese Naomi Osaka and 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu both landing their first majors by beating Williams in New York, while the more experienced Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, and Simona Halep, of Romania, finally landed elusive Grand Slam titles.

Osaka, the defending champion in Melbourne, is expected to mount another title tilt on a surface that yielded a 14-match winning streak before she lost to Czech Karolina Pliskova in the Brisbane International semi-finals on Saturday.

Andreescu will not be playing in Melbourne, having pulled out with a knee injury sustained at the season-ending WTA Finals in October.

World number one Ashleigh Barty is aiming to become the first Australian woman to win at Melbourne Park in 42 years, while second seed Pliskova, having won the Brisbane title for the third successive year, is aiming prove wrong those who doubt she has the mindset to deliver a Grand Slam title.

Meanwhile, there will be an emotional farewell for 2018 champion Wozniacki, 29, who will retire after the tournament.

Has the tournament been affected by the bushfires?

Bushfires across Australia have killed at least 28 people and an estimated half a billion animals since September, with more than 10.3m hectares of land destroyed and air quality in some areas reaching dangerous levels at various points.

Australian Open qualifying was delayed by an hour on Tuesday and practice was temporarily suspended because of the air quality, while Slovenian player Dalila Jakupovic retired from her qualifier, saying she was "really scared" she was going to collapse because of the "unhealthy" air.

Play was then delayed by three hours on Wednesday because of the air quality before being cancelled for the day because of rain.

Tournament organisers said last week that matches could be suspended after Melbourne's air quality reached "very unhealthy" levels.

However, they were also confident the tournament would not be disrupted by the crisis.

"We don't expect any delays and we've implemented additional measures to ensure the Australian Open will be able to run as scheduled," tournament director Craig Tiley said.

"As always, the health and safety of our players, along with our staff and our fans, is a priority, and we've committed substantial extra resources to analysis, monitoring and logistics to ensure this throughout the tournament."

Court's milestone being 'recognised' rather than 'celebrated'

While Williams seeks to match Court's Grand Slam singles record, the 77-year-old Australian will be marking one of her other milestones - the 50th anniversary of her 1970 sweep of all four of the majors.

Court's opposition to same-sex marriage and her view that transgender children are the work of "the devil" have made her a controversial figure and Tennis Australia has said it plans to "recognise" her as a champion rather than "celebrate" her as a hero.

The governing body has so far been vague on the details of what it is planning for Court, who is now a Christian pastor.

Grand Slam winners Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King are among those who have called for the Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park to be re-named because of her views and the issue could come up again with the Australian invited to participate in a "significant programme of events".

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Turn of the decade: Truls Moregard the answer on Swedish path to resurgence?

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 06:16

Deserved hype

Quickly approaching his adult years, Truls Moregard’s stock is already tremendously high and continues to rise year upon year. The plaudits are not undeserved with the slick teenage ace showing the world what he’s capable of on countless occasions to date; the evidence makes for very promising reading.

Moregard has been tearing up the international scene for a few years now with his runner-up finish in the Under 15 category at the 2016 European Youth Championships signalling the start of something special. While the under 15 title eluded him, Moregard finally retrieved gold at the tournament with his under 18 success last year in Ostrava beating Azerbaijan’s Yu Khinhang to the title.

In 2018 Truls Moregard became the first Swedish player to win the junior boys’ singles title at a Swedish ITTF World Junior Circuit tournament. One year later he retained the crown, won the Elite class at Safir, and beat Mattias Falck and Kristian Karlsson to the men’s singles title at the Swedish National Championships, all in the space of 11 incredible days! Moregard has also accompanied his country’s most elite players on the third step of the medals podium at the 2018 World Team Championships and was under 21 runner-up at the 2018 ITTF World Tour German Open.

However, if there’s one competition in particular that the Swede has really made a name for himself it’s the World Junior Championships. Heading to the Riva del Garda in 2017 as no.17 seed, Moregard negotiated group stage action before overcoming five difficult main draw fixtures as he became the first European to reach the final since 2008! Last month in Korat, Moregard replicated his performance from two years previous to show the world that he’s more than just a one-hit wonder.

Swedish resurgence

Much water has flowed under the bridge since legendary names such as Jörgen Persson and Jan-Ove Waldner bid their farewells to international table tennis, but finally it seems Swedish table tennis is beginning to find its way back to the very top of the sport – a point very much emphasised at the Liebherr 2019 World Table Tennis Championships last April.

Seeded 16th, and very much an outsider in the title race, Mattias Falck defied the odds to become the first Swede to reach the men’s singles final in 22 years and only the sixth player from his country to achieve the feat in the tournament’s history!

Halted by China’s Ma Long at the final hurdle but Falck returned home a hero. A landmark moment for Falck and an encouraging one too for the Sweden table tennis community, who witnessed one of their own falling just short in the hunt for sporting glory.

Kristian Karlsson has also done his country proud on many an occasion with his highlight moment surely coming at the 2016 Men’s World Cup, claiming an impressive fourth position finish in Saarbrücken. Then there’s Anton Källberg, another exciting young prospect with great ambitions and undeniable talent.

How far can he go?

When it comes to the country’s younger generation it’s Truls Moregard who leads the way and with the celebration of his 18th birthday next month, the transition towards the senior game starts to become that little bit more serious.

Moregard looks certain to develop into another fine player from the Swedish ranks over the next few years but what will his career path look like in 10 years’ time?

The sky is the limit when it comes to potential and who knows, maybe we will see his name challenging for the sport’s most sought after trophies in the not too distant future.

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Tremendous together, can they be amazing apart?

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 11:37

Together quite by chance, sensationally in the penultimate round at the 2018 ITTF World Tour Kaisa China Open they beat the host country’s Ma Long and Xu Xin. The chemistry worked, the partnership was formed and success continued; notably they were runners up at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships in Budapest. They have become one of the most potent men’s doubles pairs on planet earth.

A total of 34 outfits named on the entry list, just nine teams qualify for Tokyo, it is on their shoulders responsibility lies as they head teams that are very much of contrast.

Selections

Considering the current world rankings, in the Romanian team, Ovidiu Ionescu, 30 years old, is very much supported by youth; for Alvaro Robles, 28 years of age, it is players for whom veteran status rather than junior level is nearer.

Ovidiu Ionescu lines up alongside Cristian Pletea and Rares Sipos, both 19 years old; Hunor Szocs, 27 years of age completes the selection. Rather differently next in line to Alvaro Robles is 39 year old Carlos Machado and 37 years of age Jesus Cantero. Carlos Franco is aged 26 years.

Both Ovidiu Ionescu and Alvaro Robles have excelled on Iberian Peninsula soil. Notably in Alicante, Ovidiu Ionescu was the men’s singles runner up at the Liebherr 2018 European Championships, one year earlier Alvaro Robles had reached the quarter-final round at the 2017 ITTF Challenge Spanish Open in Almeria.

Now will the best support acts in Gondomar be youth or experience?

Youth

At the European Youth Championships in 2014 in Riva del Garda, Rares Sipos won the cadet boys’ singles title. The follow year Cristian Pletea followed suit in Guimarãres, before in 2017 being boys’ singles runner up; furthermore, at the Europe Top 10, he won the cadet boys’ title in 2014 in Tours and in the ensuing year in Buzau, the junior title in 2017 in Worcester and again in 2018 in Vila Real.

Meanwhile, in the Romanian team, Hunor Szocs has a European Youth Championships claim to fame; in 2010 in Istanbul he partnered Denmark’s Jonathan Groth to junior boys’ doubles gold.

Now how does that compare with the venerable Spaniards?

Experience

Carlos Machado has ITTF World Tour success to his name; he was the men’s singles runner up in 2009 in Rabat and in 2013 in Olomouc. In that respect he is the most successful Spaniard being one of only three from the country to reach such a final; likewise He Zhiwen was the runner up in 2007 in Austria, Marc Duran in 2013 in Egypt.

Equally, Jesus Cantero, the only high level European pen-hold grip player in the traditional style of using one side of the racket only, is a most dangerous adversary; most creditably he was the men’s singles runner up in Tarragona at the 2018 Mediterranean Games.

Not to be left out, Carlos Franco has yet to shine on the ITTF World Tour or at a Challenge Series tournament but in 2017 at the Luxembourg Open, he was a quarter-finalist.

Peak of careers

Most worthy support but it is to Ovidiu Ionescu and Alvaro Robles on whom Romanian and Spanish eyes focus, both players who may well be considered at the peak of their careers; in Gondomar they set the example and with doubles the first match in a fixture, their skills in that discipline could prove crucial.

Just one problem, they are apart, not together.

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Danny Cipriani: Gloucester lose England stand-off for up to eight weeks with calf injury

Published in Rugby

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 09:36

Gloucester stand-off Danny Cipriani has been ruled out for up to eight weeks with a torn calf muscle.

Head coach Johan Ackermann says he must choose from Owen Williams and Lloyd Evans as a replacement for the 16-times capped England number 10 for Sunday's Champions Cup trip to Toulouse.

"It's not nice to lose any player to injury. Especially a quality player like Danny," said Ackermann.

"But we couldn't have asked for better timing in terms of Owen's return."

Ackermann told BBC Radio Gloucester: "We've also got a lot of faith in Lloyd. He's been the understudy and patiently waited for his chance and has learned a lot from Danny.

"I could have picked him at any time over the last few months. The two of them can hopefully carry on keeping the attack going and scoring tries for us."

Gloucester wing Charlie Sharples has also been ruled out for "a couple of weeks to three months" following a knee operation.

Ackermann also faces the potential loss next month of exciting teenage wing Louis Rees-Zammit, who has been called up at the age of 18 alongside Williams for Wayne Pivac's first Wales Six Nations squad.

"It's going to be challenging for us going forward with our preparation but I'm always telling our players you have to grab opportunities when they come in life," Ackermann added.

"You have to grab them when you have the chance and I'm delighted for Louis. he has grabbed that opportunity well.

"But I'm also delighted for Owen. After a long time out to get a call-up. He is extremely professional and keeps himself in the best possible. He will get better as the weeks go past "

Gloucester go to Toulouse second in European Champions Cup pool knowing that they must beat the unbeaten pool leaders to have a chance of going through with the French side.

The Cherry and Whites kept their hopes alive with last weekend's 29-6 bonus-point victory over Montpellier.

Despite losing Cipriani after just 12 minutes, Williams came on to help Gloucester stay in contention for one of the three best runner-up spots thanks to tries from Willi Heinz, Rees-Zammit, Ben Morgan and Todd Gleave.

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Banned Wales prop Carre to miss Six Nations opener

Published in Rugby

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 09:35

Saracens prop Rhys Carre will miss Wales' Six Nations opener against Italy after being handed a three-week ban for a dangerous tackle.

Carre was sent off in the Champions Cup win against Ospreys last Saturday.

The 21-year-old was red-carded after five minutes by French referee Alexandre Ruiz for a shoulder-led tackle on Ospreys full-back Dan Evans.

Ruiz adjudged Carre made contact with Evans' head or neck with no arms used in the tackle.

Wales face Italy at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, 1 February with Carre now missing that game after facing a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday.

The committee upheld the red card decision, finding that Carre had made contact with Evans' head in a dangerous manner.

It determined the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby's sanctions and selected six weeks as the appropriate entry point.

There were no aggravating factors, and taking into account the player's guilty plea, clear disciplinary record and expression of remorse, the committee reduced the sanction by the maximum of 50% before imposing a three-week suspension.

Carre is free to play again on Monday, 3 February and will be available for Wales' second match against Ireland in Dublin on 8 February.

Carre and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) have the right to appeal the decision.

The 21-year-old is one of three loose-head props named in Wayne Pivac's Six Nations squad alongside Scarlets duo Wyn Jones and Rob Evans with Nicky Smith left out.

Carre has won six Wales caps with his starting debut against Ireland in August 2019 followed by five 2019 World Cup replacement appearances in Japan.

For the latest Welsh rugby union news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

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Sexton to captain Ireland as Farrell names first squad

Published in Rugby

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 08:18

Johnny Sexton will succeed Rory Best as Ireland captain after being chosen to lead Andy Farrell's first squad.

The Leinster fly-half is a doubt for the start of the Six Nations having picked up a knee injury last month but is still named in the 35-man squad.

Ulster backs John Cooney and Billy Burns have been rewarded for their impressive form, but Stuart McCloskey misses out.

Lock Devin Toner is also included after his Rugby World Cup squad omission.

Sexton, 34, captained Ireland from the start for the first time against Russia at the World Cup, but has long since held a leadership role within the squad.

With 88 international caps, prop Cian Healy (95) is the only player in the squad to have made more appearances than the new skipper.

With Joey Carbery's injury and Jack Carty's exclusion, Ross Byrne and Burns, uncapped at international level, will jostle for the back-up fly-half spot and could find themselves starting against Scotland on 1 February if Sexton is unable to prove his fitness.

Another big call facing Farrell is at scrum-half, where Cooney's scintillating form at number nine could see him challenge the established Conor Murray for the starting place.

Having failed to cement himself in former head coach Joe Schmidt's plans, Farrell's first squad announcement brings more disappointment for centre McCloskey who was hopeful of a call-up following some impressive club form.

Jacob Stockdale will compete for a starting berth on the wings with Munster duo Andrew Conway and Keith Earls while Jordan Larmour and Will Addison, both enjoying strong seasons for their provinces, are the contenders for the full-back jersey in the absence of Rob Kearney.

Kearney, 33, was omitted from Farrell's pre-Christmas training squad, although brother Dave does make it having scored nine tries for Leinster this season.

Along with Rob Kearney, Jordi Murphy, Sean Cronin, Jack Carty and Kieran Marmion have also failed to make the cut, while John Ryan and Tadhg Beirne are absent.

Fronting up

Former captain Best's retirement has opened up plenty of competition for the hooker's starting jersey, with Niall Scannell holding the role of replacement hooker during the World Cup.

However, Munster's Scannell is not named in Farrell's squad, which means Ulster's Rob Herring will battle with Dave Heffernan and Leinster youngster Ronan Kelleher for the starting spot.

Ulster's Tom O'Toole is a surprise selection among the front row forwards, and the contingent from the northern province reflects the province's strong start to the campaign.

Farrell finds a place for 33-year-old lock Toner, while Jean Kleyn misses out. The former's omission from last year's World Cup squad in favour of the South African-born Kleyn one of the most hotly-debated decisions of the Schmidt era.

There are several new faces in the back row, with a number of youngsters called into the fold.

Highly-rated Max Deegan is set to make his senior bow along with Leinster team-mate Caelan Doris, who have impressed for Leo Cullen's men this season, while Jack O'Donoghe will hope to add to his two international caps.

Ireland welcome Scotland to the Aviva Stadium for their opening Six Nations encounter on 1 February.

Wales travel to Dublin the following week, before a trip to Twickenham to face England with games at home to Italy and away to France rounding out Farrell's maiden campaign.

Ireland's Six Nations squad:

Hooker: Rob Herring (Ulster), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Dave Heffernan (Connacht)

Prop: Cian Healy (Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Andrew Porter (Leinster), Tom O'Toole (Ulster), Jack McGrath (Ulster)

Lock: James Ryan (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Devin Toner (Leinster), Ultan Dillane (Connacht)

Back row: Peter O'Mahony (Munster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), CJ Stander (Munster), Max Deegan (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster), Jack O'Donoghue (Munster)

Scrum-half: Conor Murray (Munster), John Cooney (Ulster), Luke McGrath (Leinster)

Fly-half: Johnny Sexton (Leinster), Ross Byrne (Leinster), Billy Burns (Ulster)

Centre: Bundee Aki (Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Chris Farrell (Munster)

Wing: Jacob Stockdale (Ulster), Andrew Conway (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Dave Kearney (Leinster)

Full-back: Jordan Larmour (Leinster), Will Addison (Ulster)

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Road To Indy TV Returns

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 11:00

PALMETTO, Fla. – Road to Indy TV, the broadcast production arm of the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, will return for its seventh season with an expanded programming platform to provide increased coverage for race fans, competitors and series partners.

The three-pronged video content plan will feature increased live, edited and social media segments covering the three renowned driver development series — Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship — to audiences around the world.

Road to Indy TV is the brainchild of JP Manterola, Founder, CEO and Creative Director of Pro Racing Group — an international award winning, full-service sports marketing agency headquartered in Lithia, Fla. just outside Tampa.

Since 2014, Manterola and his team, including Senior Creative Designer Travis Earnest and Project Manager and Producer Kyran Guild, have strived to bring unprecedented coverage of the Road to Indy across all platforms.

In 2016, the Road to Indy became the first American racing series with a dedicated broadcast channel on demand and also the first open-wheel series to have an official App on Xbox One.

In 2020, all shows will now be available on demand as well as live on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. The shows will also be live streamed on the free Road to Indy TV App (which launched in 2015), on RoadToIndy.TV and its social media platforms and on the respective series websites — indylights.com, indypro2000.com and usf2000.com — and social media outlets.

Road to Indy TV will now be producing full live race shows with over three hours of streaming content daily on race weekends which includes a dedicated pre-race show, and race and post-race coverage of each series highlighted by special segments Paddock Pass, RTI Insider and The False Grid.

For the first time, embed codes for all shows will be available to series drivers, teams, partners and interested media for live streaming use on their own outlets.

“Live content is so important in this day and age,” said Manterola. “In 2020, live streaming is expected to account for 82% of all internet traffic. Our goal with our new expanded live programming is to meet what the numbers tell us in terms of consumption by consumers with quality live programming and behind-the-scenes access. The Road to Indy is a great product with tremendous racing and a host of stories off the track. We are excited about the creative process we have lined up and look forward to engaging more fans this season.”

The social media component of the video content plan will include regular one-minute features with individual Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 race weekend highlights as well as Beyond the Grid, Road to Indy 101, Tech Talk, Story of the Moment and Weekend Recap segments.

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Williams Back With DGM For Full Xfinity Season

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 11:00

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – After a career-best campaign in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last year, Josh Williams will return to DGM Racing for his second full season, team officials confirmed Wednesday.

The highlight of Williams’ 2019 was an eighth-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, the best run of his Xfinity Series career, to go along with seven top-15 finishes during the year.

Those consistent results, combined with staying out of trouble for the majority of the season, propelled Williams to a 17th-place finish in the final standings – among the best of the non-Cup Series affiliated teams in the Xfinity Series ranks.

With another opportunity to be a cornerstone of the DGM Racing program, Williams is optimistic for the upcoming season.

“I’m really excited about coming back again with Mario and everybody at DGM,” said Williams. “We had such a good year last year, and in my opinion, I feel like we had a successful season to say the least. If we can come back and do it again and have me be a little bit better myself, with going back to some of these tracks for the second time and others even for the third time, I think we’ll show a lot of improvement.

“I learned a lot last year and am looking forward to applying that to the 2020 season. I know we’re doing a lot of stuff to get better,” Williams added. “Mario has been working his tail off on getting better parts and pieces for us, so that we can improve our program on the track. We’re really looking forward to 2020 and I’m thankful for the chance that Mario has given me to come back and try this deal again.”

Gosselin is looking forward to having Williams back as one of the leaders of his Xfinity Series organization and building on the successes that he and Williams produced together in 2019.

“It’s a pleasure to be able to retain Josh and have him back with us for another year in the Xfinity Series,” said Gosselin. “Josh’s knowledge of the race cars and ability to get as much as possible out of them week in and week out served us well last year and we hope to improve both in the standings and on the race track throughout the year”

Last year marked Williams’ first time being able to remain with one team for a full season in his NASCAR career, allowing for plenty of seat time and chances to learn and grow as a driver.

Williams is hoping to build on that platform in 2020, grateful for every chance he can get to compete.

“That’s what this sport’s all about, is seat time and constantly finding ways to improve and get better,” Williams noted. “I don’t care how good you are, even Kyle Busch, I’m sure, learns something every weekend. So it’s big for me and has been big for me to be at the track every weekend. It makes me a better driver, because you don’t have to sit out and take weeks off and build up any rust. I think it’s helped me a lot, being able to run full time and focus on one thing and not bounce around as much.

After a “growing year” for his team, which produced a number of high points in Williams’ eyes, the Florida native is hoping for even brighter days in 2020 as DGM Racing continues to improve.

“Last year, we had great success and were hunting top 20s most weeks; we did that a bunch. This year, I think we’re going to hunt top 15s,” said Williams. “We’re going try to stay inside the top 15 week in and week out, and maybe even creep inside the top 10 when we can at some of the shorter tracks and places where we feel like we can shine. Everybody says that speedways provide an even playing field, but I want to win a speedway race. We’ve got three chances (to do that) and we’ve had really good success at both Daytona and Talladega. We’ve always been fast and we’ve always shown good speed.

“I want to win a speedway race. That’s one of the boxes that I want to check off pretty bad in 2020.”

Williams is scheduled to drive the No. 92 for DGM Racing, and will have a guaranteed starting spot in the opening races of the 2020 campaign due to the owner points he accrued last season.

Returning partners for Williams’ 2020 Xfinity Series effort with DGM Racing include StarTron, Sleep Well, Stay Sky Hotels and Resorts, General Formulations, Silverton Casino, IV Bars and Verve Systems LLC.

Williams will also embark on the sixth year of his nationwide children’s hospital tour, highlighted by running a special “handprint” tribute car at the end of the Xfinity Series season.

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Kofoid: Not A Typical Teenager

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 11:00

A typical 17-year-old may spend most of his or her summer hanging with friends, enjoying outdoor activities and experiencing their first part-time job.

Teenage open-wheel racing sensation Buddy Kofoid is far from typical.

During this past summer, Kofoid, who celebrated his 18th birthday on Dec. 2, left his parents — Michael and Jennifer — and home in Penngrove, Calif., to pursue his dream of racing a sprint car in the Midwest.

By the time the calendar turned from summer to fall, Kofoid had recorded his first Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit Champions feature triumph, wheeled a Keith Kunz-prepared midget to victory at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway and captured a sprint car championship at Ohio’s Fremont Speedway.

It was the latest leg of a racing journey that began before Kofoid was old enough to attend school.

“Before I started racing my family always had dirt bikes, and I got my first dirt bike for my second Christmas, which was a little after my second birthday,” Kofoid told SPEED SPORT. “We had a little track in our backyard, but we’d also go camping and riding, and we had friends that rode too. The racing really came along when I was about 5. I started racing outlaw karts a couple of months before I started kindergarten.

“One of our friends, their son was a couple years older than me and he was racing. They had a second car and I ran their second car for my first year,” Kofoid recalled. “After that, we thought maybe we should get our own car and do it more because we liked it and had fun with it.”

Kofoid quickly advanced through the various divisions of outlaw karting at northern California tracks such as Cycleland Speedway, often competing against — and beating — older drivers with far more experience.

“In an outlaw kart, you’ve got to be really smooth on the wheel and there is really tight racing. You’ve got to be smooth and smart,” Kofoid explained. “I raced with a lot of really great people in outlaw karts like Logan Seavey, Rico Abreu a little bit and Tanner Thorson. I was younger than most of those guys, but I got to race with them a little bit. There’s something about outlaw karts that teaches you to race a certain way. They teach you to be really aggressive, smooth and clean.”

Kofoid actually began honing his skills in a sprint car before his age reached double digits.

“In between racing karts, I got in a spec sprint when I was 9 and practiced at Marysville Speedway for a year,” he said. “A spec sprint is a non-winged, limited 360 sprint car. The next year we actually sold that car because we thought it was better to learn with a winged car. We bought a winged 360 and practiced that for another year at Marysville because they had open practices on Monday. That’s when I was 10.

“That’s where Dan Simpson discovered me, if you will. His crew and all of them were there and they were watching me. They were practicing with Danielle Simpson, who is Dan’s daughter and she raced at the time,” Kofoid continued. “At the time, Dan owned the King of the West series, which is now known as NARC and is a traveling 410 sprint car series in California. He also owned, and still owns, Fernley Speedway, which is a sprint car track in Nevada.”

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Busch Eyes Bullring Late Model Run

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 12:00

LAS VEGAS — Two-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will make his return to The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Feb. 20 to compete in the Star Nursery 100 super late model race.

Busch, a Las Vegas native and Durango High School graduate who developed his skills on the three-eighths-mile Bullring track, will compete in the 100-lap race, which will be followed by the Star Nursery 150 ARCA Menards Series West race.

Busch compiled more than 50 wins on LVMS property between 1999 and 2003, as well as a U.S. Legends-Pro season points championship in 2000. He last competed at the Bullring in 2007.

“It’s going to be great to get back to where it all began,” Busch said. “My family and I spent many Friday and Saturday nights racing at the Bullring, and it will always hold a special place for me. I’m really looking forward to racing against a few guys I raced against back in the day as well as some of the new drivers who are cutting their teeth coming up through the ranks.”

Busch has accumulated 208 career wins across all three NASCAR national series including 56 in the NASCAR Cup Series.

His 96 NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and 56 NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoor Truck Series wins rank him first all-time for both series.

Busch, along with all other drivers in both the super late model and ARCA races, will take part in a pre-race autograph session from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on race day.

The super late models race begins at 7 p.m. followed by the Star Nursery 150 at 8 p.m.

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