SALT LAKE CITY -- Wataru "Wat" Misaka, the first player of Japanese descent to play in the league that was the predecessor to the NBA, has died. He was 95.

The University of Utah athletic department said in a news release Thursday that Misaka died Wednesday in Salt Lake City. He grew up in Ogden, Utah.

"We are saddened to learn of the passing of Wat Misaka," Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said. "He was a part of the Utah teams that won national championships in the 1940s, but Wat was bigger than the game of basketball, blazing trails into places nobody of his descent had gone before. He was such a kind and thoughtful man and will be missed by so many. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and Utah fans, who all mourn his passing."

Misaka was the point guard on the Utah team that won the NCAA tournament in 1944 and the NIT in 1947.

Misaka played three games for the New York Knicks during the 1947-48 season in the Basketball Association of America.

A 2008 documentary called "Transcending: The Wat Misaka Story" told the story of what Misaka went through as a trailblazing athlete.

Misaka attended a 2013 Utah Jazz game to watch Jeremy Lin play.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CONCORD, N.C. – Veteran NASCAR and sports car competitor Justin Marks has decided to retire as a driver.

Marks, 38, made the announcement Thursday in a post on his personal Twitter account.

After 20 years, 400+ professional starts, 20+ wins, and the experience of a lifetime, I’m hanging up the helmet. Deeply appreciative of the amazing friendships I’ve made. I have not deserved this journey. Onwards and upwards. Time to reinvent. pic.twitter.com/vpTybtt5Pz

— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksDG) November 21, 2019

Marks began his career in sports cars, competing in SCCA events before transitioning to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. By 2005 began to make the transition from sports car racing to stock cars

He started by making his ARCA Menards Series in 2005, eventually running two full seasons in ARCA over the next six seasons. He earned one ARCA victory, which came in 2010 at Florida’s Palm Beach Int’l Raceway.

Eventually Marks began competing in NASCAR, making starts across all three of NASCAR’s National divisions beginning in 2007. He made 38 Truck Series, 35 Xfinity Series and six Cup Series starts from 2007 to 2018.

His lone victory in NASCAR came in 2016 when he won a rain soaked NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. His best finish in the Cup Series was a 12th-place finish in 2018 Daytona 500.

In 2018 he contested the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule for Michael Shank Racing, but scaled back his involvement to include just endurance races this year. He was part of the race-winning GT Daytona team during the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen Int’l earlier this year alongside with Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman.

In addition to his career as a driver, Marks has also been involved as a car owner. He was co-owner of Larson-Marks Racing, which fielded sprint cars in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, before being bought out by team co-owner Kyle Larson.

Marks has also been involved as a car owner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and also owns the GoPro Motorplex karting facility in Mooresville, N.C.

LOS ANGELES — Volkswagen will return to the SCORE Baja 1,000 next season with the  Atlas Cross Sport R race truck, which will be entered in the in Class 7 Open Production Unlimited division.

The truck was unveiled Thursday at the LA Auto Show. The prototype race truck is the first look at the vehicle that will compete in the SCORE Baja 1,000 next November.

“Racing as a sport has historically been limited to a very privileged group,” said Saad Chehab, Senior Vice President, VW Brand Marketing. “However, Volkswagens competed at the very beginning of Baja racing, and we’re excited to help keep the fun, youthful spirit of the competition alive by way of our Atlas Cross Sport R.”

Developed in conjunction with Volkswagen driver Tanner Foust and Baja race veteran Rhys Millen, the Atlas Cross Sport R will be the first four-wheel-drive vehicle to enter Baja Class 7 competition. Power will be distributed to the wheels from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, first developed by Volkswagen Motorsport for use in its WRC and Rallycross programs. Capable of running up to 600 horsepower — or 300 hp per liter — the engine will be detuned to roughly 480 horsepower for an optimized balance of performance and reliability. Currently in concept form, the vehicle is being tested for further development and finalization before the 2020 race.

Fresh off his ARX Rallycross championship, Foust helped introduce the Atlas Cross Sport R during Volkswagen’s LA Auto Show press conference. Foust will be one of the drivers sharing the wheel of the truck during the 2020 Baja 1,000.

“I know what this combination of engine and drivetrain is capable of,” Foust said. “I’m really excited to see this bit of Beetle DNA live on in the Atlas Cross Sport R and am itching to get behind the wheel.”

Volkswagen will invite designers from schools and colleges nationwide to participate in the design of the Atlas Cross Sport R’s race livery. Full details on the competition will be released in early 2020.

CONCORD, N.C. – Throughout Jimmie Johnson’s nearly hour-long press conference Thursday detailing his decision to retire at the end of next season, there was a prevailing theme throughout: family.

It began when Johnson’s two daughters – nine-year-old Genevieve and six-year-old Lydia – were called to the stage by NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley to introduce their father and his team owner, Rick Hendrick.

It came full-circle at the end of the media availability, when Johnson choked up talking about his racing family and the emotions he has going into his final full-time year of NASCAR Cup Series competition.

In between were a myriad of touching moments, all cementing Johnson’s character, class and commitment as he prepares to chase a record eighth Cup championship one final time in 2020.

Johnson opened the presser by noting that while his decision to retire from full-time racing after 2020 is one that he’s been thinking over for some time, he didn’t actually tell his team about the decision until Wednesday morning, shortly before the news broke to the general public on social media.

That aspect – Johnson’s racing family – was another variation of the word that intertwined itself into Thursday’s proceedings.

“It’s been interesting, because I worked through my headspace before I came to see Rick and spend some time with Jeff (Gordon) … that was all three weeks to a month ago, if not a little longer,” he explained. “Now I’m a little further down the road and so excited to be where I am today and talking about what my plans are. At the end of it all, I’m just very excited and ready to get 2020 started.

“The process has been interesting, telling friends, telling my team and sitting all of them down … people that have worked on the 48 from the beginning,” Johnson noted. “That was probably one of the harder moments I think that I had. When I went to dinner the other night, Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) … I’m not sure he completely thought it was coming out of left field, but I did catch his attention when I mentioned it to him. But it’s been an interesting process and a day that you never really plan for, but it’s here and I’m just thankful to be with family and friends and this man right here (Hendrick) and all that he’s done for my life.

“We’re gonna have a good time this next year, I’m already sure of that.”

Johnson was quick to note that there wasn’t a specific reason that he made this decision to retire at the end of 2020, but that it just “felt right” for him to step back and prepare to spend more time with his family.

“It was just a strong feeling in my stomach, like, ‘wow, this is what I want to do,’” he explained. “So I, of course, talked to (wife) Chandra about it and then some time went on there before I spoke to Rick and Jeff, and then I just thought it through a bit more. But I feel very, very good about my decision and it’s just … it’s time and it showed up, and I feel so fortunate that it showed up to me in that way.

“I’ve talked to greats like Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Jeff, Dale (Earnhardt) Jr., and everyone’s had their own journey, and some of those guys set a date and left before their heart really wanted to leave, or with a lot of other athletes, their time is called and they don’t have that opportunity to pick their moment,” he added. “And you know, I feel very blessed and fortunate to have this opportunity.

“When you roll that all up, it just feels right and I’m ready (for that step).”

To continue reading, advance to the next page.

ENSENADA, Mexico — For the third time in the history of the SCORE Baja 1,000, SCORE race officials have been forced to delay the start of the event by 24 hours to Saturday morning because of inclement weather.

“Ensenada and the surrounding areas of the Northern part of the Baja California peninsula have been inundated with more than four inches of rainfall over the last three days which has forced us, in the interest of safety, to delay the start of the race by 24 hours,” said Jose A. Grijalva, SCORE president and race director. “With the storm having passed through, we want to give our racers the opportunity to pre-run on Friday to make their final preparations for the race.

“The course is rugged enough without all of the rain this week making several parts impassable because of flooding and standing water. We have numerous crews out on the course identifying the worst sections that we will bypass or repair as best we can. This will be one of the most challenging races in the history of the world’s greatest desert race.”

Because of this weather situation, SCORE race officials have moved the pre-race driver/rider meeting to 7 p.m. PT on Friday at the Hotel Lucerna in Ensenada.

CONCORD, N.C. – The 2020 season may be the last time Jimmie Johnson will run the full NASCAR Cup Series schedule, but he is adamant that doesn’t mean he’ll be done racing.

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who announced on Wednesday he planned to retire from full-time NASCAR competition following the 2020 season, met with the media on Thursday to elaborate on his decision to retire.

One point he wanted to make perfectly clear was that he fully intends to continue competing once he wraps up his full-time racing career next November at Arizona’s ISM Raceway.

“This is not a retirement from driving race cars. This is slowing down from 38 weekends a year,” said Johnson, a winner of 83 NASCAR Cup Series races during his career. “Nineteen years in Cup and two in the Xfinity Series, plus everything before that. I want a little bit more balance. It’s been a heck of a run and we’re going to keep going.”

Johnson has plenty of experience in other avenues of racing. He started his motorsports career racing dirt bikes before transitioning to racing off-road trucks, which included competing in the grueling Baja 1,000 in Mexico, before he moved to stock car racing in the American Speed Ass’n.

Even during his NASCAR career Johnson dabbled in other forms of racing. He made several sports car starts, competing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona Int’l Speedway on seven occasions with a best overall finish of second twice.

When asked by SPEED SPORT’s Ralph Sheheen what other forms of motorsports he might be interested in experiencing, Johnson said he’s open to anything.

Well, almost anything.

“All options are on the table honestly, except Indy cars on fast ovals,” Johnson said.

“I knew that was not going to happen,” Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick quickly chimed in.

What that leaves is a multitude of options for Johnson to explore. Could he return to the Rolex 24? Could he jump in a dirt late model for the World 100 at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway? What about a run in the Chili Bowl in a midget? What about a return to his roots in an off-road racing truck?

Anything is possible according to Johnson.

“I really look forward to what is going to develop 12 months from now and see what opportunities might be out there. I wouldn’t mind getting dirty again. I know we have a history of off-road racing in the dirt,” Johnson acknowledged. “Lets just kind of wait and see.”

VIDEO: Does Jimmie Johnson Have Any Bucket List Races? from SPEED SPORT TV on Vimeo.

Johnson did note that a number of motorsports’ series reached out to him via Twitter with invitations to compete. He said they didn’t go unnoticed.

“I haven’t talked to anybody, but I saw them all pinging me on social media, like, ‘Hey, dibs, come race here,’” Johnson said. “Even the World of Outlaws sent me a tweet.”

Before he makes any decisions on what comes next after he wraps up his Cup Series career next November, Johnson said it’ll be important for him to take a break and catch his breath for the first time in more than 20 years.

“Most importantly, I feel like I need to take a deep breath and see what kind of comes from there and put my family first instead of racing first for once and take it from there,” Johnson said.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- New Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe spent a decent chunk of a 30-minute morning skate on Thursday teaching instead of running drills.

There's a lot for his new team to learn and not much time to do it.

The 39-year-old Keefe is now in charge of the Maple Leafs after veteran coach Mike Babcock was fired Wednesday with the team mired in a six-game losing streak.

Keefe was officially introduced Thursday morning as the 31st head coach in Maple Leafs history. He has a long history with general manager Kyle Dubas, who hopes Keefe is the right choice to help Toronto bounce back from a disappointing 9-10-4 start.

Keefe believes it can be done.

"We've got a lot of talent and the ability to make life hard on the other team in a lot of ways," he said. "Focusing on that, we believe, will produce positive results. Because the players are good enough for that to happen."

Keefe inherits a roster that includes talented forwards like Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

Tavares said there were "many mixed emotions" because Babcock was so dedicated and committed to the team. Tavares said the team feels a burden because it hasn't played up to expectations but is "turning the page" and moving forward.

"Sheldon's got a great mind for the game," Tavares said. "We're excited about the energy and the things he's bringing and trying to improve from where we're at."

Keefe will make his coaching debut during Toronto's game against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

Dubas said the franchise must show patience as Keefe, a first-time NHL coach, embarks on the difficult task of taking over a team midseason and trying to quickly turn things around.

Dubas is confident the players understand there will be ups and downs. He's also aware that outside perception might be a little less forgiving.

"It's all part of what makes working and playing in Toronto great," Dubas said. "You can't go anywhere in Toronto without people caring deeply about the team. I read the greatest quote this morning on the way here: 'You can look at it as a burden or look at it as a trampoline.'"

Toronto is a team that needs quite a bounce.

The 56-year-old Babcock went 173-133-45 in his four-plus seasons with Toronto and made the playoffs the past three years, though the Maple Leafs lost in the first round each time. When the team started slowly this season, Dubas and team president Brendan Shanahan knew it was time for a change.

Shanahan flew to Arizona on Wednesday to break the news to Babcock, whom he hired in 2015.

Shanahan acknowledged it was a hard day. Some more hard days may follow as Keefe tries to quickly implement his system, though the franchise is confident it's headed in the right direction.

Keefe was in his fifth season as head coach of the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies. He was 199-89-31 with the Marlies and helped the franchise win its first Calder Cup championship in 2018.

Several of the Leafs' current players were coached by Keefe when he was with the Marlies, which is the franchise's top minor-league affiliate.