INDIANAPOLIS — We think we know what makes them special, but that’s only true to a degree.

There are a lot of fine details that make great race car drivers interesting and most of us don’t get close enough, for long enough, to absorb them all.

Want some insight into a top-shelf driver? Ask a mechanic. Nobody sees a racer like the men beside him in the trenches.

The motorsports world best knows Parnelli Jones as the winner of the 1963 Indianapolis 500 and Bud Moore as a NASCAR Cup Series team owner. But in 1969 they were hired by Ford to attack the SCCA Trans-Am Series and Moore spent two seasons tuning the Mustangs that Jones muscled to seven victories and a title.

That’s exactly how the old stories record it, too; the press loved Parnelli’s slashing, physical style. But what stuck with Moore was something gentle — the extraordinary feel Jones had for his equipment.

“I’ll give you an example,” said Moore. “I worked a lot on acceleration and deceleration, playing with carburetors. I had one particular carburetor that gained us six or seven horsepower on the dyno. But everything about it — the floats and things like that — was the same as what we’d been running, so it should have been impossible for a driver to tell the difference. Impossible.”

Without mentioning a word to Jones, Moore decided to give that trick carb a tryout at the next event on the schedule.

The result? “Parnelli didn’t run more than two laps before he came in and said, ‘I don’t like this carburetor.’”

It was in 2012 that Bud Moore told me this story, but he smiled as if it had happened just that afternoon. Moore knew Parnelli Jones, the race car driver, better than most of us ever could.

Another mechanic, another tale of a driver with heightened senses: It was the spring of 1996 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Team Menard was conducting a private test. At the wheel was a kid named Tony Stewart, prepping for his first 500.

Also on the Menard roster was veteran crewman Bill Martin, who watched Stewart veer into the pits after just one lap and report to team boss Larry Curry that he’d spotted debris in the third turn.

“In a private test, the team has a radio to contact the track crew,” Martin recalled. “So Larry told those guys what Tony had said. Now, the speedway has an excellent safety crew; they inspect the track really closely and if there’s anything out there, they’ll find it. But they looked for a long time and they didn’t see anything. Finally, they came back with a No. 10 screw about a half-inch long. It had been laying right in the groove, but because it was painted black it took them a long time to see it.

“Good drivers are a special breed and in Tony we had one who was exceptional,” Martin added. “But that day he was like Superman, seeing things nobody else could.”

You had to be there, and Bill Martin was.

Three decades before Martin’s first exposure to Stewart, another Indy car wrench got an up-close look at a comet streaking into view. This was in 1964, when Jim McGee, apprenticing under distinguished chief mechanic Clint Brawner, grew close to 24-year-old Mario Andretti, rookie driver for their Dean Van Lines team.

That year’s final race came on the Phoenix mile, where Andretti qualified third and was having what McGee described as “a really good run” until a broken chassis component left him on the sidelines.

Brawner and McGee loaded the car onto its open trailer, stowed their tools and climbed into their tow rig — a pickup truck topped by what McGee called “an old camper shell.”

The Arizona sun was setting as they eased out of the infield and Andretti was quietly reliving his last few months.

“Clint was driving,” McGee remembered. “Mario and I were in the back of the truck, bouncing around. And Mario said to me, ‘Jim, I can beat those guys. Now I know I can win.’”

McGee’s eyes still dance when he tells that story. He witnessed something special that afternoon and he knows it.

Between 1973 and 1985, Richie Evans won nine NASCAR modified championships on his way to becoming the first non-Cup Series driver inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Evans’ typical season consisted of 75 races on quarter- and half-mile ovals, but for three straight Februarys he lit up Daytona Int’l Speedway during NAS­CAR’s short-lived “superspeedway modified” experiment.

In 1978, Evans finished second to Darrell Waltrip after a caution flag thwarted the last-lap slingshot pass he’d carefully set up. Soured by that experience, Evans vowed to never again play the waiting game. In 1979 and ’80, he won by simply outrunning Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Bobby Allison, Harry Gant and everyone else.

From a distance, Evans made Daytona look easy. But Ray Spognardi, who worked with Evans for years, knew better.

“Before the first warm-up, he’d be as nervous as anybody else,” Spognardi said. “I mean, it’s Daytona. His temples would be twitching. He’d go out for a few laps and when he came back in he’d still be the same way, high-strung. But after he went out the second time, he’d be as relaxed as if we were running at some half-mile.”

Thousands saw what a relaxed Richie Evans did at Daytona. Only his mechanics saw those temples twitching.

VINTON, Iowa – One era in IMCA late model racing is ending while another one is beginning.

The IMCA’s Deery Brothers Summer Series will become a part of the Omaha, Neb.-based Malvern Bank Super Late Model Series, owned by Joe and Steve Kosiski, next season.

“It has been a great 33-year ride for this series and our traveling late model drivers,” IMCA President Brett Root. “The growth in late models sanctions, however, in 2019 demonstrated that we needed to commit our time and resources to further developing national and weekly race programs for that division.

“I firmly believe late model touring series across the Midwest need unification,” Root added. “The Malvern Bank Super Late Model Series has rules that accommodate IMCA late model members and this is a positive step in the right direction for those drivers who want to be part of touring events.

“I can’t adequately thank the many drivers and track promoters who have supported this series for so many years. Summer Series events have been season highlights at a lot of tracks for a lot of years,” he concluded. “That same thanks goes to the Deery Brothers Automotive Group, the title sponsor for the series the last 28 years.”

The longest running late model series in the Midwest, the Deery Brothers Summer Series was launched in 1987 as a way to give the weekly competitor the opportunities to race at different tracks they might not get to otherwise.

The series sanctioned 499 events throughout its history.

The first Summer Series event was held on April 11, 1987 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, which has now been the site of 50 tour races, more than any other venue.

The series traveled to 42 different tracks primarily in Iowa and Illinois, with occasional visits to speedplants in Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. A typical car count of 35 entries vied at the average of better than 15 events held each season.

One hundred and two different drivers won Summer Series features and 18 different drivers won the series title at least once. Jeff Aikey lead the way in both career categories, with 70 feature wins and seven series championships.

The most notable series achievement, however, can be credited to Darrel DeFrance. DeFrance competed at every event in tour history, arriving late to the track on several occasions while winning 14 features.

TORONTO -- Matt Stajan retired Tuesday after 14 seasons in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames.

The 35-year-old two-way center announced his decision in a statement through the NHL players' union.

He had 413 points (146 goals, 267 assists) in 1,003 NHL games -- more than five seasons in Toronto and more than eight in Calgary. He spent last season with the German club EHC Red Bull Munich.

Stajan is from Ontario and rooted for the Maple Leafs, who drafted him in 2002. He scored for Toronto in his first NHL game in 2003. In the 2009-10 season, he had a career-high 57 points with Toronto and Calgary.

"As a kid growing up in Mississauga ... it was my dream to one day play in the NHL," Stajan said. "To have had this dream come true and have been able to play the sport that I love so much for so many years is something I feel extremely fortunate and grateful for. The memories that I have made will truly last a lifetime."

Off the ice, Stajan and wife Katie have deep ties to Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre following the death of son Emerson shortly after birth in 2014. The hospital renamed an emergency unit in honor Emerson, and the Emerson Stajan Foundation was created.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Seven tournaments from the six largest tours over the next three weeks could shape the field for the Masters, and perhaps pave the way for the largest gathering at Augusta National in more than 50 years.

Augusta National invites the top 50 from the final world ranking of the year, and then the top 50 one week before the Masters.

Among those on the bubble are former PGA champion Keegan Bradley, hanging on at No. 48, and Presidents Cup player Cameron Smith at No. 52. The Australian gets two more tries to get into the top 50.

The Masters already has 77 players who have qualified and are expected to play. From this week's world ranking, 12 players in the top 50 are not yet eligible, meaning the size of the field could swell to 89 players going into the new year. Still to come are 12 events on the PGA Tour that offer Masters invitations to the winner, along with the top 50 from the April 5 world ranking and the Latin American Amateur champion.

Tiger Woods won against a field of 87 players this year for his fifth green jacket.

The Masters is all about providing the best experience for the players, one reason it has the smallest field of the four majors. It has not had more than 100 players since 103 played in 1966.

Why the increase?

Some of it has to do with the increased fall schedule on the PGA Tour.

A year ago, seven tournaments offered full FedExCup points, three of them limited fields in Asia. Only two of those seven winners were outside the top 50 in the world – Kevin Tway at the Safeway Open and Charles Howell III at the RSM Classic.

This year, the PGA Tour had 10 tournaments in the fall that offered a Masters invitation. Six of the winners were outside the top 50. Five of them were not among the top 150 in the world.

The Tour had two new tournaments in the summer (between the last two majors), won by Nate Lashley in Detroit and Matthew Wolff in Minnesota. With one fewer event in the FedExCup postseason, 11 players who reached the Tour Championship – which comes with a Masters invitation – did not win. Five of them would have made the Masters field through other categories.

The Masters had a strong emphasis on amateurs in 1966, awarding invitations to the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur champions from the previous 10 years, the top eight and ties from the last U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Walker Cup team. That meant 26 amateurs were in the field.

Now there are six.

THOMAS SCARE

Justin Thomas playing a practice round in the warmth of the Bahamas revealed a scare - illustrated by a 3-inch scar just below the back of his knee - after the Tour Championship.

A visit to his dermatologist revealed melanoma that was removed.

''He said I was about eight months away from being one of his patients,'' Thomas said.

Thomas, who already makes regular visits to the dermatologist, says he was told to get checked once every three months for the next year.

DIVOTS

Jon Rahm has been voted European Tour golfer of the year by a panel of golf media. Rahm won three times on the European Tour, including the DP World Tour Championship to win the Race to Dubai and become the first Spaniard since Seve Ballesteros to end the year as Europe Tour's top play. ... Graeme McDowell will be host of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open the next two years, starting at Mount Juliet in May. McDowell says he hopes the 2021 event can move to Northern Ireland. Mount Juliet was site of a World Golf Championship in 2002 and 2004. ... Players at the Hero World Challenge are donating $500 for every birdie, $1,000 for every eagle and $2,500 for a hole-in-one to the ONE Bahamas Fund to help with rebuilding from Hurricane Dorian. Net proceeds from the event are going to the Bahamas Fund and the TGR Foundation.

STAT OF THE WEEK

Ariya Jutanugarn, who began the year at No. 1 in the world, finished the LPGA season outside the top 10.

FINAL WORD

''I know that he does not want to go down there and not come back without the cup.'' - Rickie Fowler on Tiger Woods as U.S. captain of the Presidents Cup.

Doug Ferguson is a golf writer for The Associated Press.

Former Liverpool owner Tom Hicks has said his greatest mistake when he bought the club was choosing the wrong partner.

Hicks took over at the club with co-owner George Gillett in 2007 after buying David Moores' shares, and the American cites his relationship with his former business partner as the main reason for his failure at Anfield.

Speaking about his time at Liverpool, which ended in 2010 with John Henry's acquisition of the club, Hicks told Sky Sports: "Absolutely I made some mistakes. I did some things that were very good also, but the biggest problem I had was I picked the wrong partner.

"I should've known better. I knew George Gillett from previous business deals that we'd ventured into together, where my firm owned 85 percent and his 15, and he was impossible to deal with. So why would I then go and do a 50-50 deal with the guy? Shame on me.

"It was very frustrating, because George had personal financial issues, he had other things going on -- he just didn't look at things the way I would have liked to have looked at things. So in a 50-50 deal, you have to agree or you default to a negative position.

"We actually agreed to part ways, but every time I tried to get the money to buy him out something would happen, and he was also trying to do the same to me. It was just a very poor partnership."

Hicks also said a disagreement between himself and Gillett about the role of former chief executive Rick Parry proved problematic.

"I wanted to get rid of Rick Parry from the very beginning and George protected him for way too long, and I think we lost a lot of momentum then," Hicks said.

Among the missed opportunities under Hicks' partnership with Gillett was a stadium development in Stanley Park.

"I think across the board we modernised things, the approach to the commercial side of the club, and we designed a fantastic stadium that should have gone in Stanley Park," Hicks said. "That was a victim of the financial crisis, too, but it would have been the best stadium in world football."

But Hicks said he believes Liverpool are now heading in the right direction, especially with coach Jurgen Klopp's presence at Anfield.

"Obviously Klopp is a great manager," Hicks said. "The last two years especially Liverpool have been impressive.

"They have sure got the right manager, the team plays really hard for him. They haven't lost a game all season, so he's doing something right."

Nearly a month has passed since the Seattle Sounders' MLS Cup triumph, and while the city still may be working to remove Rave Green from any nook and cranny in town, teams around the league already have their sights firmly set on the 2020 season. As front offices discuss incomings and outgoings in hushed tones, we bring you the latest gossip from across Major League Soccer in this edition of the MLS Hot Stove.

Cristian Espinoza to San Jose: 75%

The 24-year-old winger made a splash in MLS last year after he was acquired on loan from La Liga side Villarreal.

San Jose Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda has a strong relationship with the former Argentina U20 international, who had two goals and 13 assists in 30 matches last year for the Quakes. Sources tell ESPN FC that San Jose in talks with Villarreal to make the move permanent, a deal that Espinoza is on board with.

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez to MLS: 45%

OK, this one has been rumored for a while, but there is something to this.

The Mexico international recently said that MLS is a very real possibility for him, but would the Sevilla striker actually make the move at this point? Moving to the league could potentially be a very big pay day, and El Tri teammates Carlos Vela and Jonathan dos Santos have thrived in Los Angeles.

Sources tell ESPN FC that Chicharito's interest in MLS is "more than just lip service" and that one team has already talked to him about a move that would make him the highest-paid player in league history. Commissioner Don Garber is also said to be keen on this transfer, possibility as it would do wonders for television ratings and attendance.

As for landing spots, one person close to the situation said that the re-branded Chicago Fire are a very real possibility given their move to Soldier Field and need to fill up the venue. Inter Miami has been in the mix in the past as well and could be a potential destination to watch.

Tyler Miller to Europe: 55%

The LAFC goalkeeper, out of contract, might be on the move.

Multiple sources tell ESPN FC that Miller has a couple of suitors within MLS that could be interested in making a deal, including one Eastern Conference team eyeing a goalkeeper. In addition, Miller has garnered significant interest from "clubs in Portugal, Belgium and Germany," according to one source.

Lucas Cavallini to Vancouver: 45%

The Canadian international, on the books in Mexico with Puebla, is looking for a move to MLS. The 26-year-old striker could help any number of MLS teams and was recently linked with a move to Sporting Kansas City.

Other teams are in the mix here, however. The Chicago Fire have some interest, but the one to watch here are the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Cascadia club has the discovery rights on the striker, giving them the right of first refusal. And one source says that the club has an interest in signing the goal scorer, which would be an ambitious swoop for the club that finished last in the West in 2019.

Miguel Ibarra to Houston: 50%

Minnesota United declined to pick up the winger's option, and the thrice-capped United States international is drawing some interest from within the league.

Ibarra has generated some looks from the Houston Dynamo as well as New York City FC, sources say. A good technical player, Ibarra would add some pace and creativity down the wing for either club, but Houston is likely the best bet here given the need on the wing..

Josh Sims to the Red Bulls: 60%

The loan player from Premier League club Southampton is looking more and more likely to return to the Red Bulls. A source said that the Red Bulls are actively engaged in trying to bring Sims back and that there is "optimism" that a deal for 2020 can be worked out. If this deal is a loan or a permanent transfer is unclear at the moment.

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What is known is that Sims is open to the move per one source and sees it as a good step for his development. A former England U20 international, the winger has good pace and work rate, making him an ideal fit for the high-pressing Red Bulls. With a full preseason, he could become the type of impact player that the club has been looking for the past couple of years.

Kelyn Rowe to be traded: 70%

Now with Real Salt Lake, Rowe could be moving to his fourth team in 12 months. Last December, he was traded from the New England Revolution to the Colorado Rapids, who then immediately shipped him to Sporting Kansas City. RSL acquired Rowe in August, and the midfielder hasn't settled at Rio Tinto.

Salt Lake is looking to move Rowe, who has four caps with the U.S.. One sporting director told ESPN FC that RSL is seeking "around $300,00" in allocation money for the 28-year-old.

Thiago Santos to Dallas: 95%

The Brazilian midfielder soon will be heading to FC Dallas, leaving last year's Brazilian champion Palmeiras for Major League Soccer.

He turned down Brazilian clubs such as Gremio, Atletico Mineiro and Athletico Paranaense to come to North America. One source says that the 30-year-old will be a TAM signing.

Mickey Arthur is set to take over as Sri Lanka's head coach. SLC has agreed a two-year contract with Arthur, the former South Africa, Australia and Pakistan coach, with a formal announcement to be made shortly. Joining his backroom staff will be Grant Flower as batting coach, David Saker as bowling coach, and Shane McDermott as fielding coach, in what is a complete overhaul of the team's coaching setup.

"They will all be joining on two-year contracts," SLC CEO Ashley De Silva confirmed.

ESPNcricinfo understands that Flower will only work with Sri Lanka's white-ball teams, and will not travel to Pakistan for the two-match Test series later this month.

Arthur is the 11th head coach of the Sri Lanka men's team in the last eight years, and his first challenge will be a return to Pakistan where he had been head coach from 2016 until the end of this year's ODI World Cup in July. It is understood interim head coach Rumesh Ratnayake will also be on tour to help with the transition.

Pakistan removed Arthur as head coach earlier this year, following a string of poor results, but the team also achieved some notable highs during his tenure, including winning the 2017 Champions Trophy and gaining the No. 1 ranking in Tests, briefly, and in T20Is.

Flower joins Arthur's backroom staff having vacated the head coach role at Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) side Rangpur Rangers. Flower has a good working relationship with Arthur, having worked with him as Pakistan's batting coach before he too was let go earlier this year.

Saker has worked as bowling coach for both England and Australia over the last ten years, before he took up the role of bowling coach with USA earlier this year - one he has now left.

McDermott was the first of the four new appointments to have come on board, with SLC securing his contract earlier this month on the recommendation of Cricket Australia. He had earlier served as the South Australia Cricket Association's high-performance coach.

Despite the new appointments, however, previous Sri Lanka head coach Chandika Hathurusingha remains under contract with SLC.

Fresh off its 48-45 win against Alabama this weekend, Auburn secured another win in the state when 2021 ESPN Junior 300 defensive tackle Lee Hunter announced his commitment to the Tigers on Tuesday.

So blessed to be committed to the university of Auburn it's crazy how a dream came to reality #WARDAMNEAGLE#gotigers#wareagle pic.twitter.com/lR0yhjAPo3

— Lee_hunter52 (@The_Fridge7) December 3, 2019

Hunter is the No. 47 prospect in the class and the No. 2-ranked recruit in the state of Alabama. He chose Auburn over Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and other elite programs making up his top 12.

The 6-foot-5, 290-pound recruit is from M.T. Blount High School in Prichard, Alabama, and is now the highest-ranked commitment in the 2021 class for Auburn. He joins ESPN Junior 300 running back Armoni Goodwin, the No. 75 prospect overall, and quarterback Aaron McLaughlin, ranked 78 in the class, as well as four-star athlete Brandon Perry.

Auburn has gotten off to a fast start in the 2021 class and also has the eighth-ranked class in 2020. With 10 ESPN 300 commitments on board in 2020, Auburn could hold on to a top-10 class and is well on its way to having a successful cycle in 2021.