SAPULPA, Okla. – Sam Hafertepe Jr. led from start to finish during Saturday’s John Christner Trucking Fall Fling to earn his ninth victory of the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series at Creek County Speedway.

Hafertepe’s 46th career National Tour victory tied the Sunnyvale, Texas, driver with Tim Crawley for fourth on the all-time ASCS win list.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been out of the front straightaway, I don’t even remember what it feels like,” chuckled Hafertepe who reclaimed the National Tour point lead by 14 markers.

Taking lessons from the COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tire, Hafertepe was able to put his J&J Chassis anywhere he needed too throughout the 30-lap feature.

“This was an awesome Racecar. I don’t think there was a better car here all night,” Hafertepe said. “We didn’t touch it, we just left it alone, and we definitely got the balance back in this thing. It’s back to a dominant race car and going to Devil’s Bowl next week, that’s one of my favorite tracks in the world. I can’t wait for that.”

Taking the lead from the right of the front row, Hafertepe was trailed by Tucker Doughty for the opening lap before Matt Covington shot in second. Opening his lead to nearly two seconds, Hafertepe’s advantage dropped quickly as the leaders hit traffic on lap seven.

Caution working lap nine for debris, Covington looked for a way around Hafertepe but with no success. Opening his advantage again, lapped traffic was of little issue for the Heidbreder Foundation No. 15h.

Under caution working lap 28, slower cars in the mix shook things up behind Hafertepe as Roger Crockett moved by the No. 95 for second. With clean air to his advantage, Hafertepe raced to the finish with a 2.224-second advantage over Crockett’s Route 66 Chevrolet No. 11.

Battling a shower of power steering fluid over the final few laps that kept the No. 95 off the cushion, Matt Covington managed to hold on for his seventh podium finish of the season. Tyler Thomas in fourth was followed to the finish by Jordon Mallett.

The finish:

Sam Hafertepe Jr., Roger Crockett, Matt Covington, Tyler Thomas, Jordon Mallett, Howard Moore, Seth Bergman, Blake Hahn, Robbie Price, John Carney II, Alex Sewell, Scott Bogucki, Sean McLelland, Harli White, Brad Bowden, Garet Williamson, Lance Norick, Fred Mattox, Noah Harris, Avery Goodman, Tucker Doughty, Kyle Clark, Alex Hill.

SAPULPA, Okla. – Craig Carroll won the finale while Brett Wilson wrapped up his second consecutive USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma driver championship Saturday night at Creek County Speedway.

Carroll drove to the front of the pack at the midway point of the 30-lap feature after Jeffrey Newell paced the opening 15 laps. Carroll carried on to his first
USAC Wingless Sprints Oklahoma victory of the season over Wilson, Newell, Ty
Hulsey and Danny Smith.

With his second-place finish, Wilson collected the series title by a 118-point margin over Johnny Kent.

The finish:

Craig Carroll, Brett Wilson, Jeffery Newell, Ty Hulsey, Danny Smith, Brian McClelland, Alison Slaton, Ben Frey, Johnny Kent, David Baxter, Waylon Weaver, Kevin Cummings, Kyle Admire, Len Larkin, Ross Moore, Roy Larkin, J.C. Wilson, Zach Campbell, Travis Ashwood,Taylor Peterson.

WHEATLAND, Mo. – Ryan Gustin unloaded for Saturday night’s opener of the MLRA Fall Nationals with a brand new Rocket XR-1 and proceeded to put together a dominant performance, picking up the win in his first MLRA series start of the season.

A strong field of 38 cars rolled through the gates of Lucas Oil Speedway, in the second MLRA co-sanctioned event of the season with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series. In qualifying, Tyler Bruening set the quick time in his first visit to Wheatland. Bruening used his quick time to pick up a heat win along with Payton Looney, Brian Rickman and Tony Jackson Jr.

For the second time on the season Bruening rolled from the pole alongside Jackson. On the races first circuit, contact between Looney and MLRA Point leader Will Vaught sent Looney spinning in front of the field from his row two starting position. Terry Phillips ended up making contact with the spinning No. 15 of Looney, resulting in Looney landing on his top in the middle of a nine car parking lot in turns three and four.

Looney was able to climb from his car unhurt, and was the only car unable to continue the duration of the 50 lapper.

With the track clear, Bruening jumped out front to a comfortable lead over Jackson until a lap eight yellow was displayed for a slowing Phillips. Back under green, on lap 10, Jackson jumped the cushion in turn one and looped his No. 56 surrendering the second position.

Bruening again restarted from the top spot with Brian Rickman and Gustin in tow with 40 laps remaining. Gustin used the long run and lapped traffic to his advantage, chasing down Bruening by running the treacherous top side of the speedway.

Exiting turn two, Gustin use the top side momentum to steal the lead from Bruening. Both drivers continued to pressure one another over the balance of the race, diving in and out of lapped traffic.

At the end it was Gustin pulling off the surprise win, his seventh all-time under the Lucas Oil MLRA banner. Bruening scored his second runner-up finish of the season in his fourth start while defending MLRA champion Chad Simpson capped off the podium. MLRA Point leader Will Vaught all but locked up the series title finishing fourth, while Rickman completed a strong night in the fifth spot.

Gustin’s win pocketed him $5,000, plus an additional $750 bonus on behalf of the family of Ron Jenkins, the original builder of Lucas Oil Raceway.

“Hats off to these guys, this Rocket was just on a rail. Tri Star Engines, without them none of this would be possible,” Gustin said. “It was especially (tricky) getting down there into one if you were down just a little bit you could get your right front in a brown spot and bottom out and push. If you were above it you would go off the race track, so it was a fine line up there for sure.

“It feels good man-I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined we would come back and win like that. This XR-1 was just on a rail and it don’t get no better.”

The finish:

Ryan Gustin, Tyler Bruening, Chad Simpson, Will Vaught, Brian Rickman, Jason Papich, Mitch McGrath, Timothy Culp, Jake Neal, B.J. Robinson, Logan Martin, Mason Oberkramer, Steve Drake, Morgan Bagley, Colton Horner, Terry Phillips, Gavin Landers, Tony Jackson Jr., Ryan Johnson, Hunter Rasdon, Scott Crigler, David Payne, Joseph Gorby, Payton Looney.

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – Jagger Jones finally sealed the deal on Saturday night, earning his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory at All American Speedway.

“It feels awesome,” said Jones, the grandson of Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones. “Just how close we’ve gotten, I’ve been close multiple times from the first race we did to this last one, to finally get the first one just feels so special, so awesome. This is what racer’s live for.”

With two runner-up finishes and five top fives coming into the 12th event of the season, confidence was still high for the Scottsdale, Ariz., native. He knew his victory was on the way.

“I never really doubted,” he said. “It was more when the first win is going to come, not if.”

Hailie Deegan rebounded from an early-race spin in the first 30 laps to come home second for the first time this season and third time in her career.

The spin did not cause a caution flag to wave, dropping her to last in the running order as she then worked her way through the field.

Jones’ Sunrise Ford teammate Trevor Huddleston came home third for the second race in a row.

Championship leader Derek Kraus rebounded from a flat tire while leading and falling off the lead lap to finish fourth, his ninth top five of the season.

Coming off his season-best second-place run at Meridian, Todd Souza completed the top five.

The finish:

Jagger Jones, Hailie Deegan, Trevor Huddleston, Derek Kraus, Todd Souza, Brittney Zamora, Buddy Shepherd, Travis Milburn, Derrick Doering, Keith McGee, Bridget Burgess, Dylan Garner, Takuma Koga, John Wood, Josh Fanopoulos, Jack Wood.

HUMBLE, Texas – As fans arrived at the Golf Club of Houston and walked through the merchandise tent on Friday, they were handed a free souvenir.

“Awesome! I’m putting it in my room!” screamed one excited youngster.

The figurine features a baseball base as the base with an attachable replica of the Houston Open’s new logo. Fitting, right?

The connection between golf and baseball runs deep now in Houston, from the Astros Golf Foundation taking over the event beginning this year all the way down to the logo, which is Astros-themed with its vibrant red, orange and yellow color palette.

“Everybody’s really excited about [the logo],” said Giles Kibbe, president of the Astros Golf Foundation. “Of course, it’s a throwback to our rainbow jerseys with the Astros, which are some of our best-selling jerseys.”

Like its inspiration, the logo, created by Astros senior vice president of marketing and communications Anita Sehgal and her team, has been a big hit since its debut in mid-January. Houston Open merchandise sales began at Minute Maid Park at the start of the MLB season and have continued on a much larger scale this week at the Golf Club of Houston.

“As many people as can come in and buy it, we’re seeing stuff fly off the shelves,” said Jason Wooden, vice president of marketing for the Astros.

Added Morgan Jewell, head pro at The Floridian in Palm City, Fla., and head of merchandising for the tournament: “It’s an Astros town and it’s good to have that feel.”

Astros pitcher Justin Verlander sported the Houston Open logo, which couldn't use any official Astros or MLB trademarks, when he played in the pro-am for the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. This week, it seems as if everyone is sporting the new insignia in some way, shape or form – there are four versions of the logo, including the main shield logo, two Houston area-code logos and a minimalist flag logo similar to what one would find at a high-end golf club.

“The biggest thing is we wanted to create something new and fresh,” Wooden said. “Something with a clean, color palette that popped. Something that looked good on a trophy and on apparel. We wanted something that city of Houston would really want to wear and brand themselves throughout the entire week.”

Added Kibbe: “As soon as we saw it take shape, we knew that it was phenomenal.”

Some people on social media are equally impressed, already comparing the logo to some of the most popular on the PGA Tour. The Tour's players have noticed, too.

“I’ve actually thought about [the logo] a bunch,” said Peter Malnati, the tournament’s 36-hole leader. “For the first year of a new sponsorship group, you would never know it. They could have spent years trying to get it right, and this is what they would have come up with.”

HUMBLE, Texas – Beginning in 2013, Harris English had four straight seasons in which he finished inside the top 50 of the FedExCup standings. He won twice in his first three seasons on the PGA Tour. He played in every major in 2014 and ’16.

But in the past three seasons, English has failed to crack the top 100 in points, including finishing a career-worst 149th last season.

The main culprit?

“I made a ton of cuts and didn’t have any top finishes,” English said. “Out here you have to finish in the top 10 a good bit, and I was finishing in that 30th to 40th range and not getting a whole lot of FedExCup points.”

After failing to keep full status via this year’s Korn Ferry Tour Finals by 21 points, English is playing out of this Nos. 125-150 reshuffle this season. Yet he’s already amassed the same number of top-10s as his previous two seasons combined.

English entered this week’s Houston Open with two top-10s in three starts – a T-3 finish at the season-opening Greenbrier and T-6 showing at Sanderson Farms.

“Those top-10s were massive,” said English, who figures to get about eight fewer starts this season unless he can improve his status. “After the Korn Ferry Finals, I sat down and said, ‘OK, when I’m playing, I’m going to be fully into it. I know I’m not going to get as many starts as I did the previous eight years but I’m going to give it my all.’ Those two top-10s were huge to build my confidence.”

English is showing that improved self-assurance this week at the Golf Club of Houston, where he shot 3-under 69 Saturday to climb to 5 under, just a few shots outside the top 10. He’s also showcasing better ballstriking. He missed six greens during a windy Friday but only five combined in Rounds 1 and 3.

Last season, English finished No. 171 in strokes gained: approach after spending his best years around the top 50. Through three starts this season, he is No. 21.

English credits a return to basics with coach Justin Parsons, whom English started working with out of Sea Island in April.

“I’m hitting it better, no wild shots,” English said. “I’m dialing in my irons and giving myself more chances. … We haven’t recreated the golf swing, but I’ve gone back to what I did well.”

English also hopes to get back to playing full-time on Tour and in the big events. He’s made just two major starts in the past three years.

“I know I can do it,” he said. “I know it’s in there. And it’s nice to see the results finally show up the past few weeks.”

HUMBLE, Texas – Brandon Wu isn’t afraid to travel.

The Stanford grad took four transatlantic flights this summer to play tournaments – one for Open Qualifying, another for The Open at Royal Portrush, a third for the Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool and most recently to make his first pro start, at the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland.

Sure, he racked up a bunch of Delta miles, but Wu’s last trip likely resulted in a sponsor exemption into this week’s Houston Open. While he missed the cut, Wu teamed with Astros owner Jim Crane over the three days in the pro-am format. 

Through 54 holes at the Golf Club of Houston, Wu has backed up Crane’s decision to extend an invite. After a 3-under 69 Saturday, Wu is tied for sixth at 8 under, just three shots off the lead.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Stanford coach Conrad Ray, who was back home watching the coverage on television. “He maybe has been a little under the radar with what guys like Matt [Wolff] and Collin [Morikawa] have done by winning Tour events, but he’s been very competitive.”

After going 3-0 in match play to help Stanford win the NCAA title, Wu qualified for both Opens this summer, grabbing low-amateur honors at Pebble Beach. He fared well in his amateur events, too, and earned a spot on the U.S. Walker Cup team. He went 3-1 at Royal Liverpool to help the Americans to victory.

Wu then turned pro, deciding to make his pro debut on the European Tour rather than stateside. He struggled the third day with a 76 at Carnoustie and missed the cut by four.

“I’d been playing really well and felt really confident, and then, I’m not gonna lie, that last round at Carnoustie at the Dunhil felt like I got hit in the mouth,” Wu said. “I basically hadn’t played that many bad rounds all summer, so I had to take a step back after that and kind of like, ‘Ok, be confident, do what you’ve been doing and you can go play well.’”

Wu’s second drive of the tournament Thursday in Houston found the rough and led to bogey. His next drive splashed in the water. But Wu, known for his high golf IQ and ability to stay calm through adversity, got up and down to save his par and responded with three straight birdies.

He made just one bogey Saturday as he’s continued to play to his strengths: Hit it straight and make putts.

“He knows where his ball is going. He’s really good at playing away from trouble. That’s where he really matured as a player the last couple years at our place,” Ray said. “When you watch him hit it, you’re not like overly impressed with his ball flight, but it’s consistent and he putts well.”

Wu currently doesn’t have any status, but he will play second stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School next month in California. He’s seen his peers have instant success, but he doesn’t regret taking his time in making the pro jump.

“I felt like I turned pro right when I was ready,” Wu said.

Wu’s former teammate Maverick McNealy sees no reason why Wu can’t soon join he and the likes of Wolff, Morikawa and company on Tour in the near future.

“If he can continue to move the ball consistently one way and control that, and putt well, that’s a great recipe for success,” McNealy said.

Ray sees a future star, though not the flashy kind.

“He does have the ability to go low. He’ll get on a hot one and he’s not scared of that,” Ray said. “But he’s going to be the guy that’s super consistent, shows up every week and has a chance to make some money.”

Wu is showing that ability this week in Houston, and he could get used to it.

As he said Saturday: “This is where I always saw myself.”

HUMBLE, Texas – Lanto Griffin recovered from a rain-delayed double-bogey finish to his second round earlier Saturday to post a 7-under-65 – the day's best score – and secure a single-stroke lead through 54 holes of the Houston Open.

Mark Hubbard is alone in second place at 10-under par after shooting a 69. The 36-hole leader, Peter Malnati, is one of three players two shots back. Malnati shot a 73, including bogeys on two of his first three holes and two of his last three.

Both Griffin and Hubbard are seeking their first PGA Tour titles as are Beau Hossler and Brandon Wu. Hossler fashioned a 68 and Wu a 69 to join Malnati at 9-under.

Six players are tied at -8, including first-round co-leaders Austin Cook and Talor Gooch.

The winner will receive $1.135 million. Griffin's earnings over 32 previous Tour starts - two back in 2011, 26 more in 2018, when he missed 13 cuts, and four this season - total $837,333. He has never led a Tour event through three rounds. However, he has played consistently well this fall and is the only player with four top-20 finishes.

Griffin, who shot 66 on Thursday before stalling to a second-round 74, said of the double-bogey finish on Saturday: "It was just cold and windy this morning and (the hole) played tough. I was frustrated and kind of (angry), but I turned it into a positive. It freed me up pretty good.

"My game the best it's ever been for sure. I'm playing really smart and my short game has improved a ton. That's always been my Achilles heel."

Griffin recalled a conversation he had with Greg Norman recently at a pro-am dinner "that really stuck in the back of my mind. He made the comment that he doesn't look at the guys that are winning and missing three cuts. He looks at the guys that are finishing 10th, 15th, 20th consistently. It's been a goal of mine this year. You don't have to be a hero necessarily to have a good, solid week."

The highest-ranked player in the field when the tournament began, Henrik Stenson at 37th, failed to make the even-par cut. Only two of the top 11 players on the leaderboard, Malnati and Cook, have even one Tour title.

HUMBLE, Texas – Rafael Campos arrived at VCU in 2006 as a college freshman from Puerto Rico, not knowing anybody. He was assigned a roommate from Blacksburg, Virginia, named Lanto Griffin, who didn’t eat red meat and was raised by hippie parents who named their son after a spiritual lord. The two first-year teammates shared a tiny apartment in Richmond, near campus, and soon bonded over golf, poker and Qdoba.

Campos looks back on those memories and smiles, but he still can’t get over one thing.

“LG was honestly the best player we had on our team, and I felt so bad for him that he never won a college event,” Campos said. “He would go out there and shoot 63, 64 as if it were nothing and then have some tough days after that.”

Griffin still amassed 12 top-5 finishes during his four-year career at VCU but just couldn’t finish the job. Unlike Campos, though, he wasn’t shocked.

“Mentally, I just wasn't comfortable in the lead,” said Griffin, who vividly remembers lipping out a 2-footer on aerated greens to lose VCU’s home event as a junior.

“But that was a long time ago,” he added.

Roughly a decade later, Griffin finds himself with the 54-hole lead at the Houston Open, where he shot 7-under 65 Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Mark Hubbard – and no longer is Griffin uncomfortable with winning.

Back in 2015, Griffin slept on a lead at a PGA Tour Latinoamerica event in Uruguay. Coincidentally, he was tied with Campos, whom Griffin ended up edging by two shots after a final-round 68.

“Getting a win down there was pretty emotional,” Griffin said. “That was probably one of the happiest days of my life.”

The good times continued two years later when Griffin won on the Korn Ferry Tour, his victory in Nashville spurring him to earn his PGA Tour card for the first time. But Griffin struggled in his rookie year on the big tour, posting just one top-25 in 26 starts and finishing No. 171 in FedExCup points. He lost his card after just one season.

“Honestly, out here you're a bad week away from feeling like, ‘Is this what I want to be doing?’” Griffin said. “But luckily, those are usually temporary, a couple hours’ thoughts. You wake up the next morning and you're hungry and you want to be better than you were the day before.”

Griffin won again this year on the Korn Ferry Tour and earned a return trip to the PGA Tour. Already this fall, he’s played four times and finished T-18 or better each time.

That consistency, believe it or not, was inspired by Greg Norman. When Griffin played in the Bahamas at the beginning of the year, Norman attended the pro-am dinner and talked about how he preferred the top-20 machine over the player who contends a few times but misses a ton of cuts.

“That really stuck in the back of my mind,” said Griffin, who had 11 top-25s on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. “I think about it all the time, and it’s been a goal of mine this year. … You don't have to be a hero necessarily to have a good, solid week.”

Yet when Griffin arrived at the Golf Club of Houston this week, he kind of felt like one. Campos ran into Griffin on the range earlier this week and Griffin told him, “I’m riding the wave right now. I’m really feeling it.”

Added Griffin: “My game's the best it’s ever been, for sure.”

After opening the tournament 66-74, Griffin jumped back on his board and caught the wave again Saturday. The Tour’s leader in birdies entering the week poured in nine, including six on the back nine.

No birdie was more impressive than his holed bunker shot on the difficult par-4 17th, where Griffin short-sided himself badly but somehow managed to pull off the seemingly impossible by holing out.

“I told my caddie, I was like, ‘Let's not get cute with it, give ourselves a look,’” Griffin said. "I didn't expect it to go in, but that was a big bonus.”

With all the talk about consistency, Griffin was asked whether he’d trade it all for a victory Sunday. After explaining the merits of both, Griffin settled on one.

“I would rather have the win,” he said. “Winning out here if life-changing.”

Campos knows how much a victory Sunday would mean to his friend. He watched years of winless moments in college. He witnessed periods of struggles in the pros. And though he’s seen Griffin break through a few times, his pal still hasn’t done it at the highest level, the level they used to only dream about while hanging out in their apartment as college freshmen.

“He deserves it so much,” Campos said.

Which is why, despite Campos teeing off nearly four hours before Griffin on Sunday, he plans to stick around.

“I really want to be there,” Campos said. “I’m definitely going to wait to see him lift the trophy because I know he’s going to win.”

A late Josh King penalty earned Norway a deserved 1-1 draw against Spain in Euro 2020 qualification at the Ullevaal Stadium on Saturday night in Oslo.

The loss breaks Spain's streak of 14 Euro qualifying wins and delays the Group F leader's efforts to clinch a spot at next year's European Championship final.

- Euro 2020: Who will reach the finals?
- Euro 2020 qualifying: All you need to know
- Miss It? Stream the Spain-Norway replay here

Norway did well to hold Spain scoreless in the first half, but the group leaders would find their opener soon after the restart when Saul pounced on a poor clearance and smashed a volley off the fingertips of an outstretched Rune Jarstein in Norway's goal to take the lead.

Spain gave Norway plenty of chances throughout the second half and it came back to bite them in stoppage time when keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga clattered into Omar Elabdellaoui and referee Michael Oliver pointed directly to the spot.

King stepped up and cooly slotted home past Kepa to earn his team the point and keep Norway's hopes of qualifying for next year's finals alive.

"It's a real shame we couldn't win the game but it's very difficult to play against a team that knew they were almost out of contention if they lost," said Spain captain Sergio Ramos.

"They played to their strengths in the final stages, putting their biggest players in the area."

Next up for Spain in Group F is an Oct. 15 match against Sweden, who sit second after beating Malta on Saturday, a match that Ramos will miss due to card accumulation after picking up a yellow against Norway.