JACKSON, Minn. – NASCAR star Kyle Larson will invade Jackson Motorplex on July 31 during a $10,000-to-win Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions event.

The four-tenths-mile dirt oval has named the race in honor of Larson, who will be joined by many of the top 410ci winged sprint car drivers in the country during Kyle Larson Night.

Larson will pilot the No. 57 sprint car owned by Paul Silva during the event.

“The All Star race has been a big success the last couple of years and we’re excited to add to that tradition this year with Kyle Larson competing,” said Jackson Motorplex General Manager Doug Johnson. “It is always entertaining to watch Kyle come back to his roots and race on dirt, especially when it’s in a top-notch field of drivers like the All Stars showcase.”

The event marks the only All Star Circuit of Champions race in Minnesota this season and will be only the fifth time the series has visited Jackson Motorplex.

Hot laps will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT on Kyle Larson Night at Jackson.

CORONA, Calif. – Factory Connection Racing and Ryan Dungey have mutually agreed to end their relationship which began in December, when Dungey joined the GEICO Honda team as a part owner.

“When we joined with Ryan just under three months ago, we had high hopes for our partnership, and we’re sorry to see it end prematurely,” said Factory Connection Racing founder and owner Richard “Ziggy” Zielfelder. “That said, we understand the significant travel and time commitments that come with team ownership, and we respect Ryan for recognizing that it wasn’t something he was prepared to do long-term. In addition to being a great champion, Ryan is a true professional, and it has been a pleasure to work together during this brief period. We wish him all the best going forward, and we look forward to seeing him at the races.”

Dungey is a nine-time AMA champion, including seven premier class championships. He won 450 Class Monster Energy AMA Supercross titles in 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and 450 class Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motorcross crowns in 2010, 2012 and 2015.

“After months spent with the Factory Connection Racing team and discussions with the teams owners, it’s tough to say we will be discontinuing our relationship,” Dungey said in a statement on social media. “I found this is to be a larger commitment than I can give it at this stage in my life. It’s not in my style to do a job half way, nor is it fair to the team to not get the full efforts that they deserve.

“My overall impression of the team is very high. I’m grateful for the time they gave me and how much Jeff Majkrzak and Rick Zielfelder helped me in my life journey. I hope for continued success for the team and the Honda organization.”

Kevin De Bruyne has said it is not unlike Pep Guardiola to spring a surprise on his players after the Manchester City coach left Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and David Silva out of his starting XI to face Real Madrid in the Champions League.

City came from behind to beat 10-man Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of the teams' round-of-16 tie on Wednesday, with Guardiola also employing an unfamiliar formation in an effort to earn victory..

Striker Gabriel Jesus, who netted the equaliser on 78 minutes after Isco's goal for Madrid on the hour mark, started the match on the left wing, while De Bruyne spent periods of the game up front alongside usual midfield partner Bernardo Silva. Aguero, Sterling and David Silva all started on the bench at the Bernabeu.

"In four years with Pep, he sometimes surprises," De Bruyne said. "Sometimes players aren't told until the game what we need to do."

The City captain assisted Jesus' equaliser before providing the winner from the penalty spot on 83 minutes, moments before Madrid captain Sergio Ramos was shown a straight red -- the 26th of his career at the club.

"There were some good and some lesser moments," De Bruyne said. "In a quality game like this, you'll struggle sometimes.

"It's a very good start. We struggled in the first 15 minutes, but you have to go through the storm.

"It was an even first half. We started the second half really well. Their goal came at a bad moment for us -- we were dominating.

"Our response was brilliant. It was a beautiful goal from Gabriel Jesus."

Madrid travel to Manchester for the second leg on March 17.

"We're only halfway there," De Bruyne said. "We have an important game at home in three weeks. Now we have to recover for Sunday's final [in the Carabao Cup against Aston Villa]."

MADRID -- On Tuesday, Pep Guardiola hailed Real Madrid as "the kings" of the Champions League, and while the dethroning has not yet been confirmed, Manchester City landed a significant blow at the Santiago Bernabeu.

They came from behind to win their round-of- first leg 2-1 and head to the Etihad Stadium in two weeks' time as favourites to progress at the expense of the 13-times winners. It is nights like when City fans will concede they quite like the Champions League after all. This was their first win over Real Madrid and their most significant Champions League result.

It seemed unlikely when Isco gave the hosts a 60th minute lead. But the wheels came off during a frantic final half hour, and after Gabriel Jesus equalised, Kevin De Bruyne scored a second from the spot. Real Madrid ended the game with 10 men after Sergio Ramos was sent off for bringing down Jesus as the Brazilian looked set to score a third.

It is not over and City -- who survived the early loss of Aymeric Laporte to injury -- know all too well about Champions League disasters, but their night in the Spanish capital could not have gone much better.

"I'm happy for the victory and the performance as well," said Guardiola. "It's not over. There's one team in the world who can overcome everything and it's this club, but for our people hopefully we can make a good performance and go through."

Guardiola is often accused of overthinking these big games, and when his team was announced little more than an hour before kickoff, there were shocks everywhere. No Fernandinho, no David Silva, no Raheem Sterling and no Sergio Aguero. All left on the bench.

The travelling City fans high above the goal cheered each starter when his name was read out, but it seemed more out of obligation than genuine enthusiasm for their manager's selection. The first European game since their Champions League ban was handed down, they sang "F--- UEFA" with much more vigour.

Jesus, City's only recognised striker on the pitch, started on the left wing. At times, Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne looked like a front two. Sometimes it was 4-4-2, on other occasions it looked more like 4-2-4-0. It was the type of team that would be hailed as genius if things went right. And for most of a chilly evening in central Spain, they did.

"We had 10 free days, and in those days I watched the most amount of matches of Real Madrid," said Guardiola. "Their defensive game was different. That's why we changed, the space was there to attack, but never since I've been a coach have I gone to defend.

"[Zinedine] Zidane will look at what we've done and the second leg will be different. We have to adapt quickly and try to go there to win the game."

Even before Real Madrid took the lead, City had registered 10 shots to Real's five, Thibaut Courtois forced to make good saves to deny Jesus and Riyad Mahrez. Jesus had another effort cleared off the line and Mahrez whipped a shot past the far post after a driving run forward by De Bruyne. By the end, City had mustered 16 shots to Real's nine and won the on-target count eight to three.

Talk in the Spanish capital ahead of the game was that Zidane's team were not playing well and a run of just one win from their past four games in all competitions appeared to back it up. But when Isco scored, they looked ready to nick another big result in the competition they have made their own.

The goal, when it came, was nothing to do with Guardiola's elaborate system, and he will argue that he cannot account for individual mistakes. In the 60th minute there were three -- a mix-up between Nicolas Otamendi and Rodri and then Kyle Walker's failure to clear -- and when Vinicius Junior sprinted clear he looked up to see Isco on his own in the penalty area. Ederson was required only to pick the ball out of the net.

Then came the chaos that these knockout ties often throw up.

Jesus headed in a vital away goal after fine work from De Bruyne on the left before Sterling, on as substitute in the 73rd minute, ran at Dani Carvajal and was brought down in the penalty area. De Bruyne, the driving force behind the comeback, did the rest. He should probably take spot kicks more often.

At the final whistle the City players, wearing their Hacienda-inspired change kit, went over to salute the away supporters, who were already turning their little section of the Bernabeu into a scene reminiscent of the famous Manchester nightclub. They sang in protest at UEFA and in support of their owner, Sheikh Mansour, but the biggest statement was delivered by their team. Real Madrid's crown is slipping.

"I want you to get a feel of enjoyment rather than think of runs…"

As Harmanpreet Kaur made her way into the nets for a second round of hits at a windswept Junctional Oval on Tuesday, India head coach WV Raman tried to put things into perspective for the captain of India. On the eve of their face-off against New Zealand at the ongoing T20 World Cup, it appeared as though it was not so much the leader of his side Raman was trying to reach; veiled in a veneer of instructions, his words registered as encouragement for a talisman of the Indian batting line-up eager to break out of the funk.

The reminder to enjoy, to play with freedom of mind came from Raman after the first round of shots yielded mixed results for Kaur. Paired up with Jemimah Rodrigues against a pool of bowlers that included wrsitspinner Poonam Yadav, left-arm spinner Rajeswari Gayakwad, pacer Arundhati Reddy and a local Under-14 male medium-pacer, a visible discomfort against Gayakwad had Raman float words of encouragement from the adjacent nets, standing almost parallel to Kaur.

The next four balls elicited greater purpose. Reddy and the U-14 quick were drilled straight down the pitch and towards cover respectively before a typically flighted delivery from Yadav was met with a similar fate as Kaur sashayed down the track to unfurl an exquisite cover drive. Gayakwad followed in from round the wicket only for Kaur to go down on one knee to tonk it towards deep-square leg.

"Kaun bola left-arm spinner ko nahi maar sakte [Who said it's not possible to go after a left-arm spinner?" Raman chimed in, walking towards the nets left of Kaur where Smriti Mandhana, yet to fully recover from a cold, had been taking throwdowns, coughing intermittently.

"She's been looking good in the nets. It's just about that one knock," Mandhana would tell reporters ahead of the session, confirming she had recuperated from the viral fever that had ruled her out in the game against Bangladesh on Monday. "I'm sure she'll go out there and bat and get that big one for us. It's really not a worry because the way she has been batting in the nets, and I hope she gets one [big knock] for us, and gets it tomorrow."

The rest of the session brought Kaur varied luck. Yadav's wristpin - much slower through the air than Gayakwad's left-arm spin - and the mixed pace from the two quicks brought out some of the best of Kaur's belligerence. The lofted drives - over mid-on, mid-off and midwicket - in particular and even those struck along the ground had an air of authority that Kaur herself seemed to be searching for against the only left-armer in the mix. Save for one length ball she lofted over the bowler's head, Gayakwad's dominance would elicit mild grunts every time Kaur stepped out but was beaten by an arm ball, failed to connect a sweep, or found an under-edge that scurried towards fine-leg.

"Sab balance ka khel hain [It's all about getting the balance right]," Raman would remind Kaur as the fourth round came to a close with another straight drive off Reddy. It's advice that may have, in part, got to do with the two times Australia left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen dismissed her at this venue last month during the tri-series, the latter in the final which India lost by 11 runs.

New Zealand do not have a left-armer in their squad, so Raman's suggestion could also be down to the seeming hurriedness that underpinned Kaur's two cheap dismissals in the World Cup so far: stumped in the seventh over and caught at backward point in the 11th against Australia and Bangladesh respectively.

In their first two matches India put on totals in excess of 130 - and ended up on the winning side - despite single-digit contributions from Kaur. It speaks for the welcome sense of security that has buoyed Kaur in a line-up she's no longer the undisputed face of explosiveness. "Nowadays Smriti [Mandhana] and Shafali [Verma], not just me," she would tell the T20 World Cup's social media channels when asked who the 'biggest six hitter' in the team was.

A win over New Zealand could catapult India into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup for a second straight time. There's precedence in the previous two world tournaments how even a semblance of form from Kaur can translate into a match-defining fifty or hundred and catch New Zealand off guard.

Since her blockbuster 103 against the same opponents in the 2018 T20 World Cup opener, though, Kaur hasn't struck a half-century in the 27 limited-overs international innings, 21 of those in the shortest format. The want of consistent runs may have played a part in Diana Edulji, the former India captain who gave Kaur several opportunities early in her career, floating the suggestion that "maybe Harman should give up captaincy and play her natural game. Something seems to be troubling her…"

As the fight for the knockouts berth enters its defining leg, greater coherence among India's batters will be called for; applause for every right move will ring far and wide, every wrong step debated by fans and critics alike. So, while the buzz around the fearless teen brigade continues to gather force, Kaur's focus needs to be to dull the noise in her head and do exactly what her coach asks of the premier match-winner in his side: "get a feel of enjoyment rather than think of runs…"

Three of the country's biggest ticket sellers told a Congressional committee Wednesday that they would support a federal mandate to disclose "all-in" ticket prices, meaning ticketing fees would be revealed up front to fans, instead of only after a fan has entered personal information, the current industry-wide practice.

Ticketmaster's Chief Operating Officer Amy Howe told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee that the total ticket price "should be disclosed from the outset, not at the end of the purchase process" and that there should be "robust enforcement of this requirement."

Her comments came as the committee opened hearings on practices among the nation's largest ticketing companies that some in Congress have called anti-consumer and deceptive.

The hearing centered on three common practices: speculative ticket sales, deceptive websites and hidden fees. The practices came up in a vast majority of consumer complaints between 2012 and 2017, according to a nationwide analysis of reports to state attorneys general conducted by ESPN.

Committee chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said he was particularly concerned about high fees.

"Millions of Americans shop on the internet for tickets," Pallone said. "In some ways, the internet has made this experience more convenient, but it has also led to consumers being ripped off as they try to navigate a ticketing industry that for too long has operated in the dark."

Stubhub and AXS also said they would support "all-in pricing." Stubhub general counsel Stephanie Burns testified that the company tried all-in pricing between 2014 and 2015 but moved away from the practice because consumers found it confusing, as competitors' prices did not include fees and appeared lower in search engines.

Burns emphasized that any federal mandate on fees would need "universal consistent enforcement."

An ESPN investigation during the 2018 season found most of the major ticketing companies required customers to input their personal information, including name, address and email address, before revealing fees ranging from 8 to 40%.

Don Vaccaro, chief executive of Ticket Network, answered questions about resale websites referred to as "White Label Sites." Ticket Network sells secondary-market tickets directly to fans, but also offers its technology and website design to professional brokers. In 2014, the Federal Trade Commission found that some websites using the technology had created the false impression that their sites were the "official" website for event venues, prompting fans to mistakenly buy tickets at marked up prices.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., asked what Ticket Network was doing to protect consumers from deceptive sites. Vaccaro said affiliate sites no longer use the word "official" in their advertising.

Ticketmaster COO Amy Howe testified that her company worked with Google to identify and help shut down at least 30 deceptive websites last year.

Both Ticketmaster and Stubhub agreed that fans are also hurt by speculative ticket sales, or when someone sells a ticket before they actually possess it. An ESPN investigation found Seattle Seahawks fans lost more than $1 million on speculative tickets for Super Bowl XLIX in 2015.

But representatives of the companies testifying butted heads on the issue of transferability - the ease of transferring tickets digitally from one person to another. Stubhub's Burns testified that, for some events, fans who want to buy tickets originally issued by Ticketmaster must create an account with Ticketmaster to receive their seats, even if the resale purchase was made on a third-party site such as Stubhub.

Ticketmaster's Howe said the procedure is aimed at cracking down on fraudulent tickets. But Burns countered that the practice is just a way to prevent competitors from reselling its seats. Vaccaro, of Ticket Network, later noted that the practice also allows Ticketmaster to collect valuable data about the people buying and selling its tickets.

Howe confirmed her company does collect the name, email and phone number of anyone who transfers or receives its tickets, even if that ticket was resold on a third-party website.

Ryan Fitts, vice president of legal affairs at Vivid, said the company was also concerned about transferability as well as "holdbacks," when venues don't release all available tickets to the public but instead release them at a later date or sell them on the resale market. A study by the New York attorney general's office found that, on average, only about 46% of concert tickets are made available to the public.

Stubhub's Burns argued Tuesday that holdbacks create artificial scarcity that drives up prices and harms consumers.

Pallone, whose committee staff has been investigating ticketing industry practices since November, is pushing for passage of a bill known as the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act. The bill appears to have at least some bipartisan support.

"There's a lot of customer angst about what happens" when consumers try to buy tickets, said Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas. "I urge you to look at this from the customer's eyes. If you did that, you wouldn't be in front of this panel today."

LOS ANGELES -- Lakers superstar LeBron James will miss Thursday's game against the Golden State Warriors with a sore groin, the team announced Wednesday.

James, 35, is coming off a season-high 40 points on Tuesday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Last Christmas, he suffered a torn left groin against the Warriors, which was the first major injury of his career. It submarined both his and his team's season.

The 17-year veteran came back a model of good health this season, averaging 25.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and a league-best 10.6 assists per game for the Western Conference-leading Lakers.

He has played in 54 of the Lakers' 56 games this season, with one of those games he missed also caused by groin discomfort.

Lakers forward Anthony Davis is listed as probable for the Warriors game with a sore left elbow.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- George Springer could only stand there all alone and listen.

The Houston Astros leadoff man had no choice when he stepped into the batter's box a bit too early and was showered with loud boos Wednesday at a spring training game against the New York Mets.

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard turned and looked at the scoreboard clock that showed 1:09 p.m. -- he waited for the minute to change so the game would officially reach the 1:10 start time, leaving Springer nowhere to go as the crowd heckled him.

"Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!" one Mets fan along the first-base side chanted at Springer.

The normal tranquility of a February game again was broken as a split squad of Astros continued the team's latest stop on its spring training tour of derisive boos and catcalls, the result of Houston's exposed sign-stealing scheme.

Springer said he's not focusing on the fans when he's at the plate.

"I'm focused on the pitcher. I know who I have to face," Springer said after the game. "Any of that outside [noise], you just have to attempt block it out. At that point in time, it's [focus on] whatever is on the field and you play."

Two days after Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel got jeered for a game at Detroit's park in Lakeland, it was the Mets' turn to host at newly renovated Clover Park.

Vilified this offseason by the baseball world due to their scam, the Astros brought a pedestrian lineup from their West Palm Beach complex to face the Mets. Springer and fellow outfielder Michael Brantley were the top Astros who started.

So it wasn't mainly the names on the backs of the jerseys that angered the small midweek crowd in attendance at New York's spruced-up ballpark, which had $57 million of renovations and additions put in starting a year ago.

It was the logo and colors worn by Houston, ironically a similar orange-and-blue color pattern to what the Mets wore.

Jim Masotti, a Connecticut native who lives in Port St. Lucie seven months of the year, sported a dark New York Yankees T-shirt and deplored the cheating scam. But he stopped short of saying the title should be stripped from the Astros.

"As a Yankees fan, it's extremely discouraging," said Masotti, who followed Springer's career as a star at UConn. "I think it's a travesty for the integrity of baseball. What happened is something that may not go away for a while, unfortunately."

After Springer worked a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series in Houston last October, Altuve hit a walk-off homer off Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman that sent the Astros to their second World Series in three years.

"The Yanks ended up being on the short end of this whole thing. As a Yankees fan, I'm very disappointed," Masotti said.

A native of New Britain, Connecticut, and the MVP of 2017's scandalous World Series, Springer drew the loudest boos. He had three at-bats and departed after a fifth-inning bloop single.

"The only guy I feel for -- I'm a UConn alum -- is Springer. I saw him play in college. I feel bad for him, I really do," Masotti said.

Springer flied out in the first, and Brantley batted next. Brantley grew up playing baseball in this area, starred in high school in nearby Fort Pierce and is an offseason resident of Port St. Lucie.

Despite the local roots, he also drew a heaping dose of boos from his locals, though not like Springer did. Brantley joined the Astros last year and struck out to end the World Series.

The Astros did have a few supporters.

Wearing a dark Astros T-shirt with the No. 1 of Correa on the back, Jeff Edwards traveled from his home in Cypress, Texas, to see the club in spring training.

"I wanted to come over and support them," said Edwards, who was taking in spring training for the first time. "There's joking, but there always is. We knew this was coming."

Edwards questioned why Houston would try to pull off such a stunt -- "It's a damn stupid scheme," he reiterated -- and said many of the Astros on the field receiving criticism don't deserve it.

"Many of these players weren't even part of it, and they're getting the brunt of it," he said. "But the Astros have a chance now to go out and prove how good they really are."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Justin Verlander's spring training debut will be postponed at least a few more days while the Houston Astros ace deals with tightness in his groin.

Verlander had been scheduled to start Thursday against Washington. Instead, he will throw a simulated game at the Astros' complex prior to that exhibition.

Houston manager Dusty Baker said the tightness first appeared "a couple of days ago."

"He said he's doing good, so we'll just have to keep an eye on him and analyze him," Baker said.

Baker added that he isn't worried about the injury lingering and expects that, if all goes as planned on Thursday, Verlander would make his next scheduled start, likely early next week.

"I would think so," Baker said. "It just depends on how he feels."

Verlander won his second Cy Young Award last season by going 21-6 with a 2.52 ERA. His 225 career wins are the most among active players.

The change of plans thwarts what would have been a marquee Grapefruit League pitching matchup.

Washington is still planning to send Max Scherzer to the mound on Thursday. Scherzer tossed two scoreless innings at Houston in the Grapefruit League opener for both teams.

Right-hander Christian Javier is now expected to get Thursday's start for Houston against Scherzer.