Washington Nationals right-hander Anibal Sanchez will start Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Friday night, facing right-hander Miles Mikolas of the St. Louis Cardinals, the teams announced Thursday.

Nationals starters Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin both pitched in Wednesday's Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Max Scherzer started a Game 4 win Monday.

Sanchez started Game 3 of the series on Sunday, giving up one run on four hits and two walks, recording nine strikeouts over five innings with no decision.

In Game 2, the Cardinals will start Adam Wainwright, followed by ace Jack Flaherty in Game 3 and Dakota Hudson in Game 4.

With the Nationals' stunning comeback and the Cardinals' rout on Wednesday, the National League Championship Series is set. Now it's time to see who'll meet the Yankees in the ALCS as the MLB playoffs continue on Thursday with a third winner-take-all Game 5.

Will the Rays' momentum carry over from their two wins in St. Pete -- or will the Astros continue to rock Minute Maid Park?

What's on tap

Thursday's schedule

7:07 p.m. ET: Rays-Astros Game 5

The most important thing of the day: The Astros entered the postseason as the favorites to win it all. The Rays? They weren't even the favorites to win the wild-card game. In an unexpected Game 5, MLB's hottest pitcher, Gerrit Cole, is on the mound for the home team in Houston. Either we get the Astros-Yankees ALCS everyone expected, or the Rays' remarkable run will take them to the Bronx this weekend.

The view from inside the ballpark

HOUSTON -- It seems like everyone is trying to convince those incredulous over Tampa Bay's presence in a Game 5 against the 107-win Astros that the Rays are, in fact, really good. That goes for both sides. During the Rays' bullpen game in Game 4, Kevin Cash staggered his pitching changes so that no pitcher faced a Houston batter more than once. But AJ Hinch suggested Thursday that might have a similar effect to the one everyone is alluding to with Astros ace Cole facing the Rays for the second time in less than a week: The Astros saw Cash's high-leverage pitchers just two days ago. In other words, whatever happens in Game 5, there will be no surprises between these teams. -- Bradford Doolittle

A stat to impress your friends: The Rays are looking to become the fourth team in postseason history to win five straight games when facing elimination on the road. Their streak includes two games in the 2010 ALDS, the 2013 AL wild-card game and this year's AL wild-card game. The other three teams to do this (1952-60 Yankees, 2005-12 Cardinals, 2012-16 Giants) won multiple World Series during their respective spans.

Predictions

Rays-Astros

The Astros are just too good, and Cole is just too dominant. Look for the Astros to nick up Tyler Glasnow early, then ride the energy of the Minute Maid crowd into the ALCS. Astros 7, Rays 1. -- Doolittle

The Rays are showing everyone how good they are and how deep that bullpen is. I cannot, however, pick against a pitcher who has won 17 consecutive decisions, including a dominant outing in Game 2, and against a team that won 107 games and is playing at home. Cole went 7⅔ innings and threw 118 pitches in Game 2. If he's a little more efficient, he could go all nine innings. Astros 3, Rays 1 -- David Schoenfield

About last night

Stud of the night: Nothing says "stud" like hitting a grand slam in extra innings of a winner-take-all game. Howie Kendrick, take a bow.

Dud of the night: Can we go with co-duds of the night? Mike Foltynewicz, the Braves' Game 5 starter, recorded just one out (on a sacrifice bunt, no less) and gave up seven runs (six earned) en route to a record 10-run St. Louis opening frame. By the time that first inning was over, so was the game -- as well as Atlanta's season. And as bad as Folty's Game 5 went, it's hard to ignore the 106-win Dodgers seeing their season end via first-round knockout here.

Highlight of the night:

Off the diamond

Social media says:

The @nationals got that bubbly.

they got that bubbly.

THEY GOT THAT BUBBLY.

THEY GOT THAT BUBBLY. pic.twitter.com/jyR02JY5nW

— Cut4 (@Cut4) October 10, 2019

Quotes of note: "I love that we're here. And the way we got here is nerve-racking just because you don't want to get to a Game 5. We fought all year to have a better record and to win our division to get this particular game at home. And they've got to come into our house and beat us again. With Cole on the mound, I don't know who could be more confident than us." -- Astros manager AJ Hinch

"It was a very calm flight over. We left at noon. I watched a movie and passed out. Other guys were playing dominoes. It was just very chill. And then the bus ride was very calm as well. We're ready to play. And I think this moment is where we thrive best. But we're very calm and relaxed, and I think that's what makes it even more exciting for us." -- Rays pitcher Blake Snell

Best of the playoffs so far ...

Our running postseason MVP: Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto have better overall numbers, but we've got to go with the Nationals' Howie Kendrick. A game-winning grand slam in extra innings of an elimination game is hard to beat.

The play of this October: We're going to cheat and make this "plays": the back-to-back home runs by Rendon and Soto off Clayton Kershaw in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the NLDS. Kershaw in the wake of Soto's game-tying bomb could end up as the lasting image of these playoffs.

Game of the postseason so far: Nationals-Dodgers, Game 5 of the NLDS. The Dodgers' ambushing Stephen Strasburg, Strasburg settling down and keeping the Nats in it, Walker Buehler's mastery, Kershaw's big strikeout before his eighth-inning implosion, Kendrick's 10th-inning slam, questions for L.A. manager Dave Roberts. There's a lot to unpack here, and this was a true postseason classic.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Ursula is happy about the Rays. She is Australian and drives for Uber. Her Wednesday morning was a busy one, as visiting baseball fans headed for the airport in Tampa to catch flights back to Houston. Many of them wore orange Astros T-shirts and were unhappy, but they think everything will be fine at home.

Ursula hopes for the best in Game 5, but one way or another, she sees the two glorious days at Tropicana Field as bittersweet. She lives on the Tampa side of the bay, and people there were excited that the Rays planned to construct a new ballpark in Ybor City. Then they were crestfallen when Rays owner Stuart Sternberg declared those plans dead last December at the winter meetings in Las Vegas.

"We don't have necessarily Plan B right now," Sternberg said in that Vegas ballroom. "We tried with this sincerity back in 2008. We've done it now over the past three years. Using a baseball term, you could say we've had two strikes. We've got two strikes right now."

Many Rays fans, Ursula feels, have simply given up. To them, the Rays are as good as gone -- probably to Montreal. Still, it was fun to see the ballpark full. It was a glimpse of what could have been. What Ursula apparently did not know was that Jane Castor, the mayor of Tampa, had taken the opportunity presented by the Rays' stirring success to extend an olive branch to Sternberg and his partners.

"I really feel like we should probably maybe just start over again," Castor told the Tampa Bay Times. "Everybody just come back to the table and start over again. Finding out what the Rays want and need, and then which community can best fulfill those needs."

The Times also reported that the city of St. Petersburg won't stand in the way if the Rays want to reopen talks with Hillsborough County. All of this is very sudden.

When I landed in Tampa for Game 3, with the powerful Astros holding a 2-0 American League Division Series lead and future Hall of Famer Zack Greinke lined up to finish the series, it figured to be a short trip. Houston had bigger fish to fry, so to speak, and with the Yankees handling their business against the Minnesota Twins, the Astros needed to wrap things up and get their pitching staff aligned for the brutal New York lineup. Two days later, the landscape of this ALDS matchup has fundamentally shifted.

Greinke struggled. So did Game 4 starter Justin Verlander, working on short rest. The Astros' bats fell silent. The Rays played long ball while flashing dazzling defense. Their vaunted, many-pronged pitching staff stifled Houston, with every hurler called on by manager Kevin Cash doing his part. The Trop was rocking. Yellow towels were waved en masse. Ji-Man Choi's name was chanted. A tight end caught a foul ball.

After all that, the Rays and Astros head back to Houston even at two games apiece.

"We made it this far," acrobatic Tampa Bay center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said. "It's pretty safe to say, but we're not content with this. We want to win one more and keep this thing going. We plan on doing just that."

At the airport, a smiling TSA agent is seated at her podium, which has two places to stand. She has taped two pieces of paper onto it. One says "Rays," and one says "Astros." This is the kind of thing you see in a community abuzz about a sports team. The bandwagon is rolling, and everybody is jumping on.

But there is a mighty big speed bump lying in front of it: a big, right-handed fireballer named Gerrit Cole.

"Look, you get there in funny ways," glass-is-half-full Astros manager AJ Hinch said. "Sometimes it can create a little drama for you. Sometimes it can create a little bit of stress. I'd rather be here than at home and not playing.

"A lot of people hate and say Houston's the powerhouse team. They're a powerhouse team, that's for sure, but we got a team that can fight and fight, and we don't stop."

Rays lefty Blake Snell

"We'll take another opportunity to win a game with Cole on the mound. I certainly feel very comfortable with that. Anybody would, putting him on the mound."

Despite what has transpired the past two games, much of the external focus concerning the Astros remains on their potential matchup with the Yankees, which still, somehow, feels inevitable. Houston's pitching plans are scrambled. The Verlander-on-short-rest gambit didn't pay off. It's not that Hinch made the wrong decision. He, Verlander and catcher Robinson Chirinos all said the ace's stuff was fine. Velocity readings bear that out. But Verlander's control and command wavered. By his own admission, his slider was as bad as it has been all season. He sensed a media horde bent on laying blame on his three days' rest and called it "low-hanging fruit."

It doesn't matter whether the short rest is to blame. Hinch tabbed Verlander for Game 4, and the Astros didn't win the game. Now Cole has to face the Rays for a second time. If he falters, Hinch will have to empty the bullpen in hopes of surviving. If Houston wins, it will face a quick turnaround against a Yankees squad that has had plenty of time to get warm after surviving the autumn chill of Minnesota. Greinke would likely start Game 1. Most likely, Verlander would go in Game 2, on normal rest this time. We wouldn't see Cole until Game 3, and to get a second start from him, Hinch would have to start him on short rest for a Game 6 or hope for a Game 7 to let him go at full strength.

But that's for us to think about. The Astros can't afford to go to that place now because if they do, the Rays will roll right over them. Tampa Bay has been playing the disrespect card, and you can't blame the Rays for doing it. Outside of the local media, no one has treated them as an equal to a Houston club the Rays have outplayed through four contests. They have built momentum, and everyone from Hinch to Rays leader Kiermaier has remarked that the Rays are a momentum team.

"A lot of people hate and say Houston's the powerhouse team," lefty Blake Snell said after collecting his first save in Game 4. "They're a powerhouse team, that's for sure, but we got a team that can fight and fight, and we don't stop. To get it to 2-2 is amazing, but we do know we gotta go to Houston and face Cole in that tough environment. That's exciting for us to see if we're up for that."

That seems to suggest that the wisest path forward for the Astros is to not allow the Rays to get the early lead. It's a simple plan but not one a manager can simply will into existence. A lot goes into scoring runs in baseball and preventing them from being scored. Still, Hinch recognizes what it would mean at Minute Maid Park if the slumping Houston offense got going early, as Tampa Bay did on Tuesday, with three first-inning runs off Verlander.

"In an elimination game, look what happened from the Rays when [Tommy] Pham homered in this place. [The fans] opened up and got loud, and their dugout was jumping all over the place," Hinch said. "When [Willy] Adames takes the [Verlander] slider and goes deep, that creates that energy.

"Sure, when you have it on your side, it would be excellent. Cole goes out and goes one-two-three in the top of the first, our building will be awake. We'll be ready, and our fans will be ready."

The Rays have tough Tyler Glasnow lined up, and he will be fully adrenalized to bring his 100-plus heat. The Astros can gear up for that, but Glasnow also has a nasty high-spin curveball to contend with, and Cash, pitching coach Kyle Snyder and the Rays' analysts will concoct a game plan that doesn't necessarily involve Glasnow trying to throw the ball through the brick wall behind home plate. He has only two pitches, but they are both elite, and he can diversify his sequencing and location, depending on how his arsenal matches up with the Astros' tendencies.

Given the Astros' thirst for momentum and the fact that their collection of elite bats can't be silenced forever, the Rays can't count on another low-scoring game, even if that might be their preference. The problem is they will have to solve a pitcher who for months has looked increasingly unsolvable.

Cole has not lost a start since May 22. In that time, he has gone 17-0 in 23 starts, including the postseason, with a 1.69 ERA and 241 strikeouts, which he has piled up at a rate of 14 per nine innings. Verlander noted that few pitchers have ever gone on this kind of a roll, and he's right -- you can't really do much better than Cole has done since before Memorial Day. He shut down the Rays in Game 2, throwing 7 2/3 scoreless frames with 15 strikeouts. He gave them nothing -- well, almost nothing. What Cole gave the Rays during his outing is the same thing Verlander gave Tampa Bay and its legion of nerds with his Game 1 gem: information.

"I've seen a lot of good at-bats," Cole said. "I've seen a lot of fight. A lot of credit to them for their preparation and putting themselves in this position. I certainly think they've earned it. And [they have] played really good defense. They've played calm, cool and collected."

Although Verlander didn't think the three days' rest thing was a big factor in his struggles, the Rays thought the short break between encounters worked to the benefit of their hitters. Cash said some of the pitches were "replayed." Will the same thing happen to Cole, or is he just too dominant right now?

"He's a great pitcher," Pham said. "We have a tough task ahead of us. The thing we can do is control the strike zone to have the best chance of success."

For Cole and his teammates, everything is on the line. They were one of the greatest regular-season teams we've ever seen, they have won more than 100 games three years in a row, and they entered the postseason tournament as prohibitive favorites to win the World Series for the second time in three seasons. The word "dynasty" has been thrown around -- with justification.

But for the Rays, we might be seeing even higher stakes emerge. With a dormant baseball community jolted to life over the course of two magical days and a mayor across the bay talking about long-term prospects that felt all but dissipated, is it a stretch to say the Rays are playing for the future of baseball in the region? Can a team that thrives on momentum really generate that much of it?

"What a team we have here," Kiermaier said. "It's amazing. It's so motivating to be around these guys. We all have the same attitudes, thought processes about everything. We can play, and we know that."

Few who landed in Tampa a few days ago thought they might return next week to see the Rays play the Yankees. Suddenly, that door looks very open, as do a number of others that looked closed only last weekend.

It hasn't been a bad couple of days for Rays baseball. And if you do return to the area for the American League Championship Series and need to get across the bridge back to St. Pete, ride with Ursula. She'll be happy to take you.

World number three Naomi Osaka has said she will give up her US citizenship to represent Japan at next year's Olympics in Tokyo.

Osaka was born in Japan to Japanese and Haitian parents before the family moved to New York when she was three.

The 21-year-old told Japanese broadcaster NHK it was a "special desire" to represent her birth country at a home Games.

Osaka represents Japan on the WTA Tour and in the Fed Cup.

"It is a special feeling to aim for the Olympics as a representative of Japan," she told NHK. "I think that playing with the pride of the country will make me feel more emotional."

Japanese law states those with dual citizenship must select one before turning 22. Two-time Grand Slam champion Osaka turns that age on 16 October.

According to Japanese news agency Kyodo, Osaka has started the process of obtaining Japanese citizenship.

CONCORD, N.C. – Greg Anderson is no stranger to performing well in pressure situations.

The four-time Pro Stock world champion knows he needs something great at this weekend’s NTK NHRA Carolina Nationals at state-of-the-art zMAX Dragway to stay in contention for another NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world title.

Anderson will be the first to admit the start to his Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship has not gone as planned in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro, as the veteran has just one round win through the first two playoff races. It’s dropped him to seventh in points, 107 behind teammate and points leader Jason Line, but good news for Anderson is he usually rises up when the pressure is on, and he’s always felt good racing in Charlotte, the home track for KB Racing.

“This race is probably the cutoff point for me and we’ve got to make it happen this weekend,” Anderson said. “We definitely got off to a bad start to open the Countdown and we got ourselves in a hole. We’ve got to make some hay and there’s a lot of pressure this weekend, but it seems like we sometimes need that extra drive or motivation to push us. Hopefully that wakes me up this weekend because we certainly can’t wait any longer.”

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event. It is the third of six races in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship, and the 15th of 18 races during the Pro Stock season. It’s also the first time the Pro Stock class will race in Charlotte this year, as their new 18-race schedule didn’t include the four-wide race in the spring.

That means even more motivation for Anderson, who has three career wins at the Bellagio of dragstrips. His teammate, Line, won the fall race at the track last year, which only adds to the confidence level of the KB Racing team heading into Charlotte. Anderson, who has 93 career wins in the class, hopes that drives him to be at this best during a critical race weekend.

“This is the home track for us, we know this place well and we’re itching to get out there,” Anderson said. “We probably have the most laps of anybody at this track. Bottom line, we have no excuses going into the weekend. We should be able to do well, we just have to execute. My car has been finicky and I haven’t done a great job driving, either. We’ve been an easy out the first two races of the Countdown and we cannot be that this coming weekend.”

Anderson could turn things around in a hurry, much like he did earlier this year when he posted back-to-back wins in Denver and Sonoma. He’s hoping for another hot streak at an important time, but he’ll have to go through the likes of Line, St. Louis winner Erica Enders, who is just 11 points out of first, KB Racing teammate Bo Butner, who is 22 points out of first, Matt Hartford, Indy winner Alex Laughlin and Jeg Coughlin Jr. The difference between winning and losing continues to be razor-thin in the class, and that’s just the way Anderson likes it, especially in his current situation.

“I said this when we started the Countdown that of all the cars in it, you couldn’t really pick one favorite,” Anderson said. “The field is just so deep and any one of us could string together wins. Anybody can knock out anybody and that’s what you need in my case. In that regard, it’s the perfect scenario and hopefully we can get hot. The stakes are high right now and you just can’t make mistakes. That’s the way it should be and it’s pretty doggone cool to be part of.”

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Stewart-Haas Racing has renewed its sponsorship agreement with Smithfield Foods Inc., maintaining Smithfield’s status as the lead brand on the No. 10 Ford Mustang driven by Aric Almirola in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Smithfield, a provider of high-quality pork products, joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018, along with Almirola. The 35-year-old from Tampa, Fla., has represented Smithfield since 2012, his first full season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The 2020 season will mark Almirola’s ninth full season in the NASCAR Cup Series and third with Stewart-Haas Racing. Almirola has made the NASCAR playoffs in each of his two seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing.

“The Smithfield brand has enjoyed great success with Aric Almirola and Stewart-Haas Racing,” said Michael Merritt, Senior Marketing Director for Smithfield Foods. “It’s a true partnership that performs on the racetrack, with retailers and our consumers. Aric resonates well with them because he’s genuine and, overall, a great ambassador for the company. He has worked incredibly hard to get to where he is today and we’ve been a part of that journey for nearly a decade, and the payoff from all that hard work has been amplified by Stewart-Haas Racing.”

Almirola had a career year in 2018 with four top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, highlighted by a victory at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Almirola qualified for the NASCAR playoffs for the second time in his career and advanced into the Round of 8, just missing the Championship 4 cutoff. He ended the season fifth in the championship standings to earn the best points finish of his career.

“I said when I first came to Stewart-Haas Racing that this is the opportunity every driver wants, and I’m obviously very proud to have it continue,” said Almirola, who in less than two seasons at SHR has scored more top-10 finishes (27) than in his five previous seasons (2013-2017) combined. “Our relationship with Smithfield is strong. From the customers, to the retailers and all of the employees, we take a tremendous amount of pride in representing the Smithfield brand. They’re our biggest supporters and it’s what drives us every time we hit the racetrack.”

Almirola has won races in each of NASCAR’s top-three national touring series. He has two NASCAR Cup Series victories, three NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series triumphs.

“Aric is one of the most focused and determined drivers I’ve ever met, and he’s got the skills to match,” said Tony Stewart, who co-owns SHR with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas. “He’s taken the opportunity here at SHR and seized it. Keeping him as the driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang was a priority and we’re very happy to have it continue.”

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Rick Ware Racing has announced that Manscaped has joined the team to sponsor Spencer Boyd and the No. 52 team in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Founded in 2017 and featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, Manscaped is a brand dedicated to men’s grooming and hygiene below-the-waist.

“We are excited to have Manscaped join us as a marketing partner this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway,” said Rick Ware Racing general manager Bryan Clodfelter.

“Talladega is a very exciting race and one of those tracks that we really look forward to. “Our No. 52 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Spencer Boyd is going to be an awesome looking race car and we are thrilled to debut Manscaped on the car.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Rick Ware Racing at the legendary Talladega Superspeedway,” offered Joey Kovac, director of paid media at Manscaped. “Their racing team places the highest importance on driver safety at extreme speeds.

Boyd will make his third Cup Series start, all for Rick Ware Racing. Previously he has started at Michigan Int’l Speedway and Richmond (Va.) Raceway, respectively, this season. The 24-year-old will also compete in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Sugarlands Shine 250 for Young’s Motorsports.

“We had a solid run in the Cup car at Richmond the last time out,” explained Boyd. “The finish didn’t show the progress we made during the race, so hopefully, we’ll get a chance to improve on that this weekend. I’m honored to represent all of our partners at Talladega including Manscaped.”

BRASELTON, Ga. – The ultra-successful history of Corvette Racing in IMSA competition is set to take a new turn in 2020, with the introduction of the mid-engine C8.R for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

First, though, comes the farewell race for the vaunted front-engine C7.R this weekend at Motul Petit Le Mans.

The C7.R, which debuted in 2014, continued the winning legacy of the Corvette Racing program begun 20 years ago that has included victories in the major sports car events around the globe and culminated in WeatherTech Championship GT Le Mans championships the last three years. While those involved are eagerly looking ahead to new horizons and challenges with the C8.R, those thoughts are tempered realizing that the legacy of the C7.R is reaching its conclusion.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” admitted Ben Johnson, team manager for Corvette Racing that fields the No. 3 driven by Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller and the No. 4 with Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler this week at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“Everyone looks to the future and we’re excited about the C8.R and how revolutionary that design is, and all the opportunities it provides to put us in a competitive spot,” Johnson said. “But ultimately the C7 and that front-engine, rear-drive architecture has been so successful starting with the C5 up to now. That does make it sad to see it go.”

The Corvette C7.R race car was co-developed with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 street car, creating a direct link from the racetrack to the roadway. The cars share chassis architecture, including an aluminum frame, as well as engine and aerodynamic technologies. The C7.R made that connection a winning proposition, with 16 WeatherTech Championship race wins since 2014 – including back-to-back Rolex 24 At Daytona victories in 2015 and ’16 – and an emotional class triumph at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015.

On the eve of its final race, Gavin fondly reminisced on those highlights. His mind raced first to Le Mans four years ago, when he, Milner and Jordan Taylor carried the Corvette banner alone after the second car was withdrawn following Magnussen’s qualifying incident.

“The 2015 Le Mans victory was very, very special because of the way team all pulled together and really showed that amazing spirit that we’ve seen throughout all the years – particularly after what happened with the sister car,” Gavin said. “That was quite a remarkable victory for us.

“Then the 1-2 victory we had at Daytona in ’16, the two cars racing wheel to wheel, super hard, super fast,” Gavin added, referring to the thrilling finish that saw the No. 4 edge the No. 3 for GTLM honors by .034 seconds. “I think that’s one of the victories that (team co-owner) Gary Pratt is most proud of, competitive racing for 24 hours, for both of his cars to come to the line that close. It was just like the perfect finish for Corvette Racing.”

As proud as they are of the iconic race achievements, it’s the three straight GTLM driver and team championships that provide longer-lasting satisfaction. A Corvette driver since 2002, the 47-year-old Gavin said the three-peat against intense competition cemented the legacy of the C7.R.

“It has been an amazing job for Corvette Racing and the brand. It’s been quite remarkable,” said Gavin, who’s claimed 45 IMSA wins under the Corvette banner. “We’re coming off the back of three championships in a row – ’16, ’17 and ’18. Many victories; many, many hard-fought victories as well as some hard-fought podiums as well.

“The GTLM category has been sort of the high-water mark really over the last number of years, and for us to be able to come away with those three championships in a row, I think is a real testament to the car, the team, all the personnel – everybody who’s been behind this car. It all goes back to the base chassis we get from the road car guys. They sort of laid the foundation for us to have such a great race car.”

There will be no Corvette GTLM championship four-peat in 2019. Both cars have been eliminated from contention heading into Saturday’s 10-hour marathon, though the No. 3 is just three points out of second in the standings heading into the race. The program is also in danger of going winless for the first time in an IMSA season since its maiden 1999 campaign. On top of that, a Corvette hasn’t won at Michelin Raceway since 2010.

But that hasn’t deterred those involved in striving to send out the C7.R with another signature victory. It would add to the lore of the program since it would also be the 100th Corvette win in IMSA competition. The script appears to be set, only the final lines need be written.

“We know there’s one more to go, we know there’s this great race at Petit Le Mans,” Gavin said. “It would be great to get the 100th win in IMSA there this coming weekend. We are going to give it absolutely everything. There’s been a lot of preparation, there’s been simulator work, there’s been all kinds of stuff behind the scenes just to make sure that we’re there ready to go.

“It would be extra, extra special.”