SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. — Tyler Courtney romped to his eighth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series victory of the season in the opener of the 52^nd annual Western World Championships presented by San Tan Ford at Arizona Speedway Friday night.

Courtney, the reigning series champion, trimmed C.J. Leary’s point lead to 26 markers with only Saturday night’s finale remaining.

“We came here this weekend to do one thing, and that’s win a championship,” Courtney reiterated. “You’ve got to do that by winning races. We may have fallen into one a little bit here, but you’ve got to be lucky just as much as you’ve got to be good.”

Courtney, the defending Western World champion, started fifth, where he had a front row seat for a 30-lap war of attrition that plagued many of the front runners for a variety of reasons.

Chris Windom mostly dominated from the pole position for much of the first half of the event following a lap one stoppage for fast qualifier and heat race one winner Logan Seavey who slowed with a mechanical issue on the opening circuit and was sidelined for the remainder of the evening.

In reverse of the midget race that proceeded the sprint feature, the groove was up on the fence where Windom led the charge around the third-mile dirt oval while National championship contenders Courtney and Leary ran sixth and 11th, respectively.

Just before midway, second-running Justin Grant had caught Windom, taking a peek underneath Windom on both ends of the track just as the ring of rubber began to take hold on the top side.

Grant successfully made the pass of Windom stick in turn one on the 17th lap with the two making contact, Grant’s rear to Windom’s front bumper. Windom fell back behind Grant, but it didn’t take long for him to fire his next shot in turn one two laps later to reclaim the lead.

On the 21st lap, Grant brought the heat once again with a turn one slider across the nose of Windom to secure the top spot with less than 10 to go. Grant became the locomotive pulling the train with Windom and midget feature winner Kevin Thomas Jr. now closing in rapidly in third.

On the next lap, the unthinkable happened. As the top-three entered the middle of turns one and two, they approached the lapped car of Kyle Shipley, whose right-rear tire was pouring smoke off the corners. As Shipley rounded turn two, he drifted high off the rubber, half-spinning right into the path of not only Grant, but also second-running Windom, third-place Thomas and fourth-place Schuerenberg, who all plowed into Shipley’s stopped car.

Just behind, resting near the outside turn two wall was 10th running Chase Stockon and point leader Leary.

With only nine laps remaining, Leary’s pursuit of a championship seemed to be in peril. However, he restarted and managed to wheel back to sixth at the checkered following a slew of attrition and tire wear that developed down the stretch.

USAC/CRA Sprint standout Austin Williams inherited the lead with Brady Bacon and Courtney now residing in his shadow.

However, Williams bid for a first USAC National feature win came to a bitter end with just five laps to go as his right-rear tire gave way in turn four while a melee involving the cars of Jake Swanson, Thomas Meseraull, Max Adams, Brody Roa and a helicoptering R.J. Johnson ensued behind him.

The restart put Bacon up front ahead of Courtney.  Bacon assumed control, setting the pace until three laps to go when 19th running Chris Gansen slowed to a stop in turn four with a flat right rear of his own.

When racing resumed, fourth-running Damion Gardner and 12^th-place Kevin Thomas Jr. were the next to fall to the wayside with flat tires. Under caution, the cords on Bacon’s right rear became readily apparent, thus placing him in the unenviable role of sitting duck on the lap 29 restart.

Courtney smelled blood in the water and went on the offensive, sliding underneath Bacon in turn one to grab the lead. Just mere moments later, Bacon slowed to a crawl with the plodding sound of flat right-rear rubber entering his ear.

Courtney was now in his Shangri-La for the final restart and where he’d stay for good, encountering no trouble at the end en route to victory over a hard-charging Grant, who returned from the earlier incident to finish second.

Jason McDougal was third ahead of KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Charles Davis Jr. in fourth (from 16th) and Stevie Sussex.

To see full results, turn to the next page.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — American Jason Anderson claimed top honors in the SX1 class during Saturday’s Monster Energy S-X Open in Auckland, taking the point lead in the S-X Open FIM Oceania Supercross Championship.

Anderson didn’t have it easy, however, with a stiff challenge from new Australian Championship points leader Luke Clout, who stood on the podium in P2 with a victory in race two of the Triple Crown format, along with South Australian legend Brett Metcalfe, who took third overall.

“I’m stoked to grab the win here in Auckland, the racing was super intense tonight. It’s always a blast to come over here and race in front of these fans – I’ll look to keep the ball rolling come Melbourne,” commented Anderson.

For Clout, a second place to the 2018 world champion was as good as a win, as he states that he’s ‘back’ after a few turbulent years of Supercross and motocross competition.

“I said to my brother this week; I’m back. There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes that people haven’t seen, and for a while there I didn’t really even want to ride a dirt bike. I’ve got that passion back, and my eyes are back on the United States,” commented Clout.

The racing in the quarter-litre SX2 category was electrifying, with Australian SX2 Supercross points leader Josh Osby taking the top spot, posting the most consistent result through the Triple Crown format. Penrite Honda’s Chris Blose claimed second, with Australian Aaron Tanti rounding out the podium.

“It feels so good to extend my points lead. The crowd here was insane tonight; every time they went nuts, I wanted to know what was happening! I’m keen to get back to work and look to wrap up the Australian Championship in Melbourne,” commented Osby.

In his last FMX competition ever, New Zealand native Levi Sherwood catapulted himself into the Auckland night sky with a double backflip, and subsequently edged Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams for the gold medal, in a fitting end to his Freestyle Motocross career in what was an amazing Freestyle Best-Trick contest.

The ANAZAC vs. USA saw the stars and stripes come out on top when Ricky Carmichael took down Ben Townley in the final race, after Cody Cooper beat Jason Anderson, and Luke Clout topped Joey Savatgy.

Pakistanis 7 for 386 dec (Shafiq 101*, Masood 76, Azam 63, Pope 5-100) drew with Cricket Australia XI 7 for 246 (Merlo 78, Spoors 58, Hope 50*, Abbas 2-22)

Pakistan head into the first Test in Brisbane having only claimed seven wickets against an inexperienced Cricket Australia XI in their final two-day tour match in Perth which ended in a draw.

Just four days after bowling out some of Australia's leading first-class players for just 122 at Perth Stadium, the bowlers struggled to make significant inroads against a very young CA XI batting line-up in 40 plus degree heat on a flat WACA surface. CA XI did slump to 2 for 6 early but half-centuries to Victorian Jonathan Merlo and West Australians Matthew Spoors and Bradley Hope ensured the youngsters survived 79.5 overs before the players shook hands. Merlo and Spoors put on 122 in nearly a session and a half of batting while Hope finished unbeaten on 50.

Back after missing the Australia A game, Mohammad Abbas bowled with typical frugalness taking 2 for 22 from 14 overs, including CA XI's most credentialed player Jake Doran. Muhammad Musa also bowled tidily claiming 2 for 32 from 14 overs.

But after Naseem Shah created a flurry of excitement with his burst against Australia A, he found the going much tougher at the WACA. He went wicketless in 12 overs and conceded 58 runs to be Pakistan's most expensive bowler in terms of economy rate. Spinners Kashif Bhatti, Yasir Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed each claimed a wicket but unsurprisingly did not find much purchase on the day two WACA strip.

Imran Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi did not bowl after their strong performances against Australia A.

England's director of cricket, Ashley Giles, has admitted Kevin Pietersen was "quite right" to request time off during his international career, despite the ECB's resistance to allowing such flexibility at the time.

Pietersen's desire to play in the IPL while asking for time off from international commitments became a cause of strain with team management towards the end of his ten-year England career. But looking back on the situation now, Giles said he believes it is essential such requests are managed with greater sympathy if England are to avoid further episodes of burnout and mental health problems.

As a result, Giles has suggested players and coaches may be rested and rotated more often in future.

ALSO READ: England 'really hopeful' Anderson will be fit for SA

"Kevin was making these points and he was quite right," Giles told the BBC's Test Match Special in New Zealand. "I won't go so far as calling him a visionary, but he was right. He's not as silly as he looks.

"The game has moved on at a hell of a pace and continues to. There are a lot of pressures out there and we talk about protecting Test cricket, but tournaments are getting shorter and faster and getting more regular and they are real cash cows for the modern player.

"There are other tournaments around, too, like the IPL and we have to be realistic. Guys are going to want to play in them so we have to find time in the schedule for them to take breaks. If that means missing international cricket occasionally then I'm afraid we're going to have to suck it up.

"Part of our strategy has to be to develop a bigger group of players who are capable of playing at this level, we're not going to manage otherwise. The same goes for our management. I'd rather have one coach, but that doesn't mean he can't have time of and provide chances for others to lead.

"The schedule brings money and that is why we can sign these big deals with broadcasters. What it doesn't mean is that we play our best players into the ground because we'll lose them quickly which brings us back to that care point again.

"It just isn't fair and many of them have young families now and that puts a different perspective on life."

A recent survey by The Cricket Monthly found that some of England's highest-profile players had the heaviest workloads in world cricket. Joe Root, England's Test captain, played more international days than anyone else between October 2018 and September 2019, with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler ranked joint fifth.

While physical tiredness is one issue, Giles is also keen to prevent his players suffering from the emotional demands of their lifestyle. In recent weeks, there have been three-high profile examples of players in Australia requesting time away from the game, with Glenn Maxwell, Nic Maddinson and Will Pucovski all being encouraged to talk openly about their mental health.

"I'm pleased that players can talk about [welfare issues] publicly without ridicule or any stupid chat that there might have been around it in the past" Ashley Giles

"The mental wellbeing and welfare of our players is crucial," Giles said. "Particularly as we've got a number of players who perform across all formats and their schedules are incredibly busy.

"It looks like a great lifestyle being on the road and being in hotels but these guys are serious professionals and spend a lot of time under stress and it's a really important issue for us.

"The other modern thing around that is different from when I played is camera phones and social media. A picture can tell a thousand words but not necessarily the right ones. A player could be out having a meal and a glass of wine and it could be misconstrued so guys tend to stay in hotels a lot and look after themselves.

"It is a shame if you feel you've got to hide away, especially in a country like this."

Giles hopes the England environment will be improved by the effective promotion of Mark Saxby. Saxby has long been viewed as a vital part of the management team with a brief that extends well beyond his official title as massage therapist. But while his title will not change, the pastoral side to his role has been extended in the hope that he will be able to spot the early signs of problems with any of the team and ensure they receive the help they require. Saxby is also qualified in executive coaching.

"One of the things we've looked at is the role of Mark Saxby who has been around with the team for a long time as our massage therapist, but for years he has been a lot more than that," Giles said. "He's been a shoulder to cry on at times, a mentor and a sounding board on the bed when he's been massaging players.

"He is taking on more responsibility now on the welfare front and with our culture. It is very important to me, tour on tour, that we have some short-term checks on the group. Are there any red flags? Anyone we need to worry about?

"I'm sure these issues have always been around but perhaps in the past it was more difficult to talk about. I'm pleased that players can talk about it now publicly without ridicule or any stupid chat that there might have been around it in the past."

Yuvraj Singh, the former India allrounder, has declared his belief that 100-ball cricket could have an impact on the game similar to the creation Twenty20.

The Hundred is set to be launched in England next year, with the ECB deciding to promote a new format as part of its bid to attract fresh audiences. Although Yuvraj is not due to be involved - only one Indian player, Harbhajan Singh, entered the draft and he subsequently withdrew - he praised it as an exciting concept that may come "close to a revolution like T20".

Yuvraj, who retired from international cricket and the IPL in June, is currently participating at the Abu Dhabi T10, which got underway on Friday. Speaking to Maratha Arabians media, he suggested that 100-ball cricket was of interest to him.

"I think the new 100-ball format will be an exciting format, because it's not T10, it's not T20, it's about 100 balls," he said. "That I feel could be an exciting format, close to a revolution like T20 - but we have to wait and watch."

While Eoin Morgan, England's limited-overs captain who is also playing in Abu Dhabi, has described T10 as cricket's perfect vehicle for Olympic inclusion, Yuvraj said the Hundred could also be an option.

"If the tournament [Olympics] is over about two weeks, I think 100-ball would be perfect," he said. "If the tournament is, say, ten days, then obviously T10 would be perfect. Depending on the time frame of the Olympics. I think Olympic gold is very prestigious, so it has to be something in which an athlete should be able to bounce back in situations, so you have to decide that."

As for the merits of 10-over cricket, Yuvraj said he was uncertain about whether it would spread further, because "you don't have any time to get set and get going". Yuvraj made 6 off six balls in Maratha Arabians' defeat against Northern Warriors as the T10 league opened for its third edition.

"It's definitely an exciting tournament but I'm not sure, in terms of pacing yourself in a match - 50-over, Test match, T20 also you have time to pace yourself, but in T10 you don't have time," he said. "So I'm not sure, is it going to expand or is it not? T10 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai has been very popular, and the crowds have been huge, so I'm sure it's something to look at."

LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James destroyed Nemanja Bjelica with a dunk in the first half on Friday. Obliterated him. Might as well have turned Bjelica's No. 88 uniform on its side and sent him off to infinity, and beyond.

It was a career highlight reel-worthy throwdown for James on the same day he declared at shootaround that he, at 34, is like New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, at 42: timeless.

"Me and Tom Brady are one in the same," he said. "We're going to play until we can't walk no more."

But after the Los Angeles Lakers' 99-97 win over the Sacramento Kings, to bring Los Angeles' record to 10-2, there were no questions posed to James about the jam.

You see, Anthony Davis, whose first-half line of three shots and two rebounds was, well, even less productive than Bjelica's, kind of made everything else that happened in the first 47 minutes and 57.7 seconds of game action somewhat irrelevant when he swatted away Harrison Barnes' potential game-tying shot just before the final buzzer.

"Barnes came to the basket and AD's as good as anybody in the world at making that play," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "Made a terrific play to save the game."

Vogel wasn't being hyperbolic. It was Davis' fourth blocked shot of the game, a tick above his average of 3.0 blocks, which is both a career best and also the best average in the NBA, which happens to be the best basketball league in the world.

"Just try to go straight up, go vertical," Davis said when asked what it's like to be the only guy between the ball and the basket with the game on the line. "Try to make them finish through contact. And once I saw that the ball was low, I had a pretty good instinct of blocking the shot. So I just wanted to make sure I went vertical first and made it tough on him, and if he made the shot, he made it. But the most important thing I wasn't trying to do was foul."

No whistle was blown, even though Barnes appeared to be tripped by James when he made his move on the perimeter and Davis' body looked to come in contact with Barnes before he swatted the shot away.

The NBA's last two minute report could back up several Kings players' claim that the referees got some stuff wrong down the stretch. Guard Buddy Hield went as far to say, "I think it got stolen away from us."

But as it stands, it was the latest in a game in Davis' eight-year career that he blocked a shot that could have either tied the game or taken the lead for the opponent, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. It completed a dominant night for Davis on defense. The Kings shot just 2-for-11 from the field on shots that he contested.

"That's what's special about him," Vogel said. "He can just impact that game, even if he's not going offensively or they're double-teaming him. It wasn't really that he was having an off night, but they were double-teaming him every time he touched it. For him to impact the game the way he did on the other end of the floor, it just shows what kind of special player he is."

On a night when he finished with a season-low five rebounds and scored fewer than 20 points for just the second time since joining the Lakers (he finished with 17 points on 5-for-12 shooting), Davis was still as impactful as anyone on the floor not named LeBron.

"When the shot's not falling, I try to do the other things to help the team win," Davis said. "And the team was trying to get me going, just missed some shots. And tried to take it out on the defensive end, making plays for my team and making sure the other team didn't score. Kind of just make up for it."

James finished with 29 points and 11 assists and went 7-for-7 from the free throw line, including two in a row with 5.5 seconds remaining to give Los Angeles the final lead of the contest.

Of course, James got some love for the first-half dunk from his teammates:

"I was waiting for one of those ... Eventually it was going to happen," guard Alex Caruso said. "When you think about LeBron, you think about dunks. ... He got a crazy one off today," forward Kyle Kuzma said. "Saw a lane and put it on his head ... That's what LeBron does," Davis said.

But James passed on his love for Davis, like Brady finding an open receiver.

"AD can guard the perimeter and in the paint," James said. "He's a hybrid, has the athletic ability to stay in front of guards on the perimeter. His ability to guard bigs in the post, so if they're posting, he can do it all. I believe I take that challenge, as well, being able to guard quicker guards on the perimeter and bigger guys when we get into the post -- being able to just hold my ground and be able to make them take tough shots. Having that luxury is key for our team."

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Austin Hill wasn’t part of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship picture, but that didn’t stop him from stealing a chunk of the spotlight Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Under the floodlights at the 1.5-mile South Florida oval, Hill used a bullet-fast No. 16 Toyota Tundra to carve up the competition en route to his fourth victory of the season.

The Winston, Ga., driver led five times for a race-high 56 laps, passing Matt Crafton for the final time on lap 112 after a round of green-flag pit stops in the final stage and never looking back after that.

Hill drove away down the stretch, taking the checkered flag in front by 1.569 seconds over Crafton.

“I just have to give this one to all to my guys,” Hill said in victory lane. “This is probably the best truck that I’ve had. I know we were really good at Vegas, but man, this thing was good. At Vegas we were on a different tire strategy than other guys, but we weren’t this time and we just showed then how good we actually were.

“I can’t thank everybody on this team enough. We had a great year this year, and we made a lot of noise that I’m really proud of,” he added. “This win locked up the manufacturer’s championship for Toyota, too, so I’m really glad that I could be a part of that and help that out. An awesome way to end the year.”

In a race that only saw one caution aside from the two stage breaks, which came on lap 50 for an oil leak out of Ray Ciccarelli’s ailing truck, Hill made his money running the bottom groove all night long.

It was a strategy that mirrored Brett Moffitt’s race- and title-winning plan from a year ago with Hattori Racing Enterprises, and it paid off with many of the same dividends for Hill on Friday night.

The only prize Hill’s win didn’t bring was a driver’s championship, as he was eliminated from playoff contention following the penultimate race of the season at Arizona’s ISM Raceway on Nov. 8.

“I’m excited for the win, but at the same time it stings a little bit because I know if we would have been a little better in the Round of 6, we could be celebrating a win and a championship,” Hill noted. “We were so close to having a shot at the title, but we can’t hang our heads too far, because we ran so strong tonight and I’m proud of this effort.

“Ending the season on a high is a big deal and I’m excited to work with these guys again in 2020.”

Crafton, who finished second, secured his third Truck Series title by outdueling Championship 4 rivals Ross Chastain (fourth), Brett Moffitt (fifth) and Stewart Friesen (11th) in the winner-take-all event.

The Tulare, Calif., veteran tied Jack Sprague (1997, 1999, 2001) for the second-most championships in Truck Series history with his effort, adding to back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.

Crafton became the first winless champion in Truck Series history and in any NASCAR series since the dawn of the elimination playoffs, with seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 23 races.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Aside from the race winner and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion, there was a third celebratory party at the end of Friday’s Ford EcoBoost 200.

Kyle Busch collected his record-extending seventh Truck Series owner’s championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on the strength of a third-place finish by driver Christian Eckes in the season finale.

Eckes led for 26 laps Friday night, using a strategic pit stop for tires near the end of the second stage to leapfrog the competition when he stayed out during the ensuing stage break to gain control of the race.

The 18-year-old from Middletown, N.Y., assumed the point on lap 64 and then, despite tires that were six laps older than most of his competition, maintained the point for roughly a third of the final stage.

Eckes finally gave up the race lead to eventual winner Austin Hill on lap 90, but remained in the mix all the way through his final pit stop, after which he cycled out third and remained there to the finish.

While he couldn’t track down Hill or runner-up Matt Crafton, the fact that Crafton’s ThorSport Racing team wasn’t in the owner’s playoff mix despite having a driver’s title on the line was to Eckes’ benefit.

That meant that Eckes could pace himself in the final laps, with a comfortable five-second margin over Ross Chastain allowing him to cruise home and deliver Busch a chunk of hardware in South Florida.

“I thought they ran a great race, and Rudy is one of the best at being able to execute some pit calls and some strategies throughout any sort of race,” Busch said afterward. “He’s no dummy; that’s why he’s won this owner’s championship for us four or five times. I know Eric Phillips was a couple of those times, but it’s pretty special to be able to continue to do that.

“Eckes did a really good job of running a smooth race today and being able to keep us in position without getting too flustered throughout the event,” he added. “To come home with a solid third‑place finish will get him some really good feedback and good notes for what he needs to do here next year.”

Despite accomplishing his and the team’s goal for the night, Eckes was still slightly disappointed that he wasn’t able to end the season in victory lane with the No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra.

“I struggled for most of the race honestly. This place is really tough,” noted Eckes, who will drive full time for KBM next year. “It got a little better there when we were out front. Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) made a great call to get us that track position. We were able to lead some laps and come home third.

“It’s awesome to get another championship for these guys, but now I’m just ready for 2020.”

A podium result did little to dampen the overall sweetness of the season for the No. 51 team, however.

Six wins overall, including five with Busch himself and one more with former series champion Greg Biffle, led the series and meant that one of the staple teams of the Truck ranks established itself as the dominant force once again.

“I think it shows our depth,” Busch noted. “I think it shows our ability to be able to go out there and still be successful no matter how many different drivers we have behind the wheel of our trucks. To have Christian Eckes, Brandon Jones, Alex Tagliani, Greg Biffle, Chandler Smith, the Herbst kid from Vegas, and some idiot who drove five races named Busch … and all of us have success is pretty special.

“It’s pretty awesome, in my mind, to have Rudy and those guys do such a good job with that many different drivers and to go out there and get solid finishes with so many of them.”

Busch admitted, however, that out of a roster which included himself, Biffle, Xfinity Series regular Brandon Jones, Canadian road-course ace Alex Tagliani, and young guns Riley Herbst, Chandler Smith and Eckes, he wouldn’t have bet on Eckes as the driver who would give his team another owner’s title.

“We were obviously excited about the opportunity to go race for another owner’s championship this year, but to be able to come out on top is sweet,” Busch said. “It was weird, though. We were looking at the driver lineups and when we were coming down to the final of the season, we were like, ‘well, Eckes is going to be our guy,’ and I said, ‘Eckes is going to be our guy?’

“But he really did a good job executing all night and just ran a great, smart race to keep us in the position that we needed to be in,” he continued. “He ran a good season in the ARCA series and was able to come out (as the) champion over there, but he’s gotten some good experience at the mile‑and‑a‑half tracks and he’s gotten some good experience at Pocono, Talladega, Daytona and bigger speedways like that. I just wasn’t sure how he’d run here, given that Homestead is different than most intermediates.

“He took to it real well, though, and we’re proud of that and proud of this owner’s title.”

KBM won previous Truck Series owner’s championships in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 prior to its seventh title as an organization on Friday night.