MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Much like Layne Riggs did a year ago at Martinsville Speedway, Taylor Gray didn’t take long to impress in his ValleyStar Credit Union 300 debut.

Driving the No. 17 Toyota for DGR-Crosley, Gray timed in 15th-fastest among the 68 drivers attempting to make the late model stock car special with a lap of 20.146 seconds (93.994 mph) on Friday night.

Gray’s qualifying place tied that of former NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series standout Timothy Peters, who is driving a Nelson Motorsports-prepared entry this weekend, and assured the teenager a place in the starting field for Saturday night’s feature.

The top 20 drivers in qualifying were locked into their positions ahead of the 200-lap main event.

“That was good; that was definitely the goal for us,” Gray told SPEED SPORT. “It let me get a better night’s sleep than if I would have had to race my way in, that’s for sure. We just have to execute now. It’s a long race and we know, if we make the right adjustments, that we can run well even starting 15th.

“It’s about being there in contention at the end and surviving, and that’s what we intend to do,” he added. “It’s been pretty positive so far. My DGR-Crosley crew has done a really good job of improving in each and every run. We were just a tick tight in qualifying from where we needed to be.

“I’m happy, though, and it’s going to be a fight to the end tomorrow, though, for sure.”

Gray was solid right off the trailer during Friday practice, even though this weekend is his first racing appearance at the .526-mile Virginia paper clip.

A top-20 speed in the afternoon had him believing he could lock in, but Gray was more focused on the strategy he’ll need to employ in the ValleryStar Credit Union 300 itself than merely on sheer speed.

“We just wanted to survive and get through it,” Gray said of what he learned on Friday. “Just being smooth for the race was, and is, a big thing. We know that we need to all four fenders on it at the end of the race, because it’s a 200-lap race and anything can happen. You saw that last year. I’m not sure where C.E. (Falk, defending race winner) started … but I know he wasn’t up front, and he ended up winning the race cause everyone wrecked each other out. You just have to be smart all night long.

“Our goal is just like everyone else’s here: to try and come out with that clock. Survival will give us a chance.”

Much like other rookies making their first starts at Martinsville, Gray admitted that nowhere he’s raced in his short late-model career compares to it, though he did have one track in mind which emulated some characteristics of “The Half Mile of Mayhem.”

“Ace Speedway is kind of close,” Gray noted. “We struggled there really bad, though. Ace has long straightaways and pretty tight corners, but I mean … nothing really compares to this place at all. The closest thing I can think of is Ace though.”

As for his goals for Saturday night’s race, Gray has just one in mind, considering that his teammates on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East side – Tanner Gray, Todd Gilliland and Drew Dollar – finished second, third and fourth at Dover Int’l Speedway on Friday evening.

Particularly given the fact that his older brother was the runner-up at the Monster Mile, the younger Gray smiled before offering his take on any expectations at Martinsville.

“I always want to beat him, and we saw where he finished, right?” Gray quipped. “There’s only one spot that I can be better than he was, and that’s what I’m gunning for.”

AUSTIN, Texas – Adam Andretti conquered Saturday’s multi-class Trans-AM Series TA/SGT/GT 100-mile feature at Circuit of The Americas.

Andretti delivered on his post-qualifying promise to be respectful of Ernie Francis Jr. and Chris Dyson’s championship, but still managed to move himself into the winning position.

Driving the same Pancho Weaver-built car that Boris Said drove to Trans-Am victory just two weeks ago, Andretti reeled off a series of fast laps late in the race, closing nearly an eight-second gap in an all green race. The drive secured his first win at Circuit of the Americas since 2015 and his maiden victory in the TA class.

In a race-long battle for position, all three major manufacturers were represented on the podium as Chris Dyson and Tomy Drissi finalized the TA class top-three.

“This race was for my wife and brother John,” said a teary-eyed Andretti. “There was a lot of good stuff going on this weekend, a lot of good vibes, all the people who support us made this possible, without you, none of this is possible.”

Battling extreme heat and handling, Dyson kept his championship hopes alive with a second-place finish.

“We were hoping to capitalize today after Ernie (Francis) had some troubles to get a win out of it, but we had some issues with the car and it’s been a frustrating season in that respect,” said Dyson. “I personally got as much as I could out of the car today. I was just glad to get to the end and try to win it all at Daytona.”

Drissi started on the outside of row two. Entering into turn one he and Amy Ruman made contact, sending the pair spinning. Both were able to continue but Drissi lost precious ground on the leaders, falling back to ninth. Drissi recovered speed lap after lap, until he was finally able to overtake Francis with five laps left in the race for the last podium spot.

Starting from pole position, Francis looked to have the race in the bag. Taking a commanding lead early, the championship leader built an eight second gap by lap 10. Then disaster struck for the Breathless Racing driver as he lost power steering with just 10 laps to go. Muscling through the 20-turn circuit, Francis lost speed and the lead he worked so hard all race to build faded. Francis Jr. managed to hold on to finish the race in fourth.

“We had a really good race going there,” Francis said. “We’ve been the fastest car all weekend and that was true in the race too.  We are really pushing hard for this championship and pulled out a big lead but we lost the power steering. I was fighting all the hydraulic fluid in the rack. It was definitely tough to have it happen here, I was having to really muscle through there and it felt like turning a wheel through concrete!  So to get a fourth place finish is better than we could hope for given what happened. It keeps our championship lead and hopefully we can get to Daytona and bring this thing home.”

Kerry Hit was awarded the TA Masters Class award after finishing the race in seventh.

The SGT class race was just as exciting. From the start, pole-starter Cindi Lux, Ken Thwaits and Aaron Pierce battled three-wide through turns and straightaways for multiple laps, until Pierce experienced mechanical issues and was forced to retire the race early. Adrian Wlostowski was there to take Pierce’s place, inserting himself into the mix.

Thwaits paid back Lux from qualifying using her drafting move to take first. He was able to hold on to claim his first win of the season. Lux took second and Wlostowski rounded out the SGT class podium in third. Milton Grant received the Masters Class Award for his seventh-place finish in the SGT class.

Stakes were just as high in the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli West Coast Championship as the championship’s third season came to a close on Saturday.

Simon Gregg clinched the TA class West Coast Championship one round early, leaving Michelle Nagai and Michael Fine to a shootout for second place in the championship. Nagai brilliantly tackled the Circuit of the Americas circuit on her way to her first win of the season.

“It’s super special to win here at COTA,” Nagai said. “We had mechanical failures one way or another all season, a lot of should ofs and would ofs, but you know what, we did it here today. We got rookie of the year in the West Coast and second in the championship. We are ready to come back next year.”

Carl Rydquist dazzled fans in his FFR GTM No. 4 MyRaceShop.com Teltac prototype to take first in the SGT West Coast class.

In an all West Coast GT field, Joe Bogetich went flag to flag for the win. However, it was Roger Eagleton who claimed the overall GT West Coast Championship with his second-place finish. Beau Boarders completed the GT podium in third.

“It’s really a great honor to win the West Coast Championship in the GT class,” Eagleton said. “The team Dig Motorsports is only in its third year of existence and to win a pro-level championship is really amazing. A lot of thanks goes to Trans Am to make this possible. We got to race at world famous race tracks at a level of affordability that doesn’t break the bank, that works for us and works for our sponsors. It’s a great stepping stone for us as we want to work up to TA2.”

MADRID – Jon Rahm shot an 8-under 63 on Saturday to match the course record and take a five-shot lead entering the final round of the Spanish Open.

The defending champion had a back-nine 28 to charge to the front at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. The crowd favorite hit eight birdies, two bogeys and an eagle in an eventful third round, putting him at 17 under for the tournament.

Fellow Spaniards Rafa Cabrera Bello (70) and Samuel del Val (69) were tied for second place at 12 under.

Jens Dantorp of Sweden (65) is fourth, six shots off the lead.

"I've never teed up with such a lead," said the 24-year-old Rahm. "Every time I've teed off it's been a one-shot lead or tied for the lead so it's going to be a little bit of a different story."

Rahm, seeking his fifth European Tour win, had consecutive bogeys after starting with three birdies in his first seven holes. He had birdies on Nos. 12-15 and then eagled the par-4 16th.

"It's just one of those days where everything was going good for me on that back nine," Rahm said.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury to "calm down" after his "dangerous as hell" challenge on Mohamed Salah.

The Egypt forward will have scans on Sunday after limping off with an ankle injury on 89 minutes in the 2-1 victory at Anfield on Saturday following a late and wild tackle from behind by the Leicester man.

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Klopp was furious with the reckless contact, which he believed should have resulted in a sending off instead of just a yellow card.

"It's just a challenge which I really don't understand," Klopp said.

"How he can do it, because the ball is far away. The player is full sprint to bring him down without the ball around, for me there is only one colour card.

"I see in your eyes that I am probably the only one who sees it like this.

"It is dangerous as hell. I don't want to cause the boy any problems, but he has to calm down. He has to calm down."

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers disagreed with Klopp's analysis of the situation.

"I don't think it was an overly bad challenge," Rodgers said.

"Salah is coming inside and the speed he travels and Hamza is coming back, there is a clash.

"I'm not sure if it is a dead leg or whatever? I have tried to look at it but the camera is quite a way away. The emotion of the game, it might seem worse than it was. He is an honest boy, Hamza. He makes challenges, he's aggressive, but I don't think there was anything malicious."

Choudhury has a reputation of being too rash in duels and was sent off during England Under-21 duty for an awful challenge on France's Jonathan Bamba in June.

Two months later, Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce was seething with the 22-year-old, who injured Matt Ritchie with an "over-the-top, awful, horror challenge" in the Carabao Cup defeat to Leicester at St. James' Park.

"This is not the first situation like this," Klopp said. "He is a super player, but these kind of challenges -- no.

"From a football point of view, if you are quick, you need to make sure that somebody can't do everything to bring you down. I don't need to be a football manager to know this can cause serious injury. I only need two eyes!"

Chris Silverwood would appear to be back in contention for the role of England's head coach, as the ECB continues to examine at its options to replace Trevor Bayliss.

Silverwood has always been a strong candidate. As the team's current bowling coach, he has developed an excellent relationship with the current crop of players and has a good history as head coach having led Essex to the Championship title in 2017. But he remains somewhat nervous around the media and was, at the start of this recruitment process, seen as the next-but-one choice for the role.

But with Alec Stewart, the preferred candidate for the role, having pulled out of the process in recent days, the ECB has been forced to look again.

Gary Kirsten, who enjoyed great success as head coach with India and South Africa, was thought to be the favourite, but is understood to have given an underwhelming presentation during his interview on Wednesday. There may also be some reservations about Kirsten's initial ambivalence - he originally notified the ECB that he would only be interested if the role was split between red and white-ball coaches - and the fact his enthusiasm was revived only after he was sacked from his coaching position in the IPL.

The decision ultimately lies with the director of England men's cricket, Ashley Giles. He has previously admitted he would prefer to appoint an English candidate and has referenced the importance of understanding team culture and reinforcing the sense of pride and unity inherent in representing the side.

Silverwood, as a former England player and an important figure in recent improvements in team culture, is therefore looking a stronger candidate than ever. Kirsten, having taken India to a World Cup and South Africa to No. 1 in the Test rankings, remains a persuasive candidate, however, leaving Giles with a tricky decision to make over the coming days. An appointment is anticipated within a week or so.

Stewart is understood to have informed the ECB last weekend that he was unable to pursue his interest in the position having decided the commitment to touring was incompatible with his family responsibilities. He remains as Surrey's director of cricket.

Former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin will avoid prison time after reaching a plea deal Friday on charges related to a threatening post on his Instagram account in February 2018.

As part of the agreement, three felony charges against Martin will be dropped in two years if he attends scheduled psychotherapy sessions, alcohol counseling and psychiatric appointments.

The image on the post showed a shotgun and ammunition and tagged four accounts, including those belonging to former Dolphins teammates Richie Incognito and Mike Pouncey. It also included hashtags for Harvard-Westlake, where Martin went to high school in the Los Angeles area, and the Dolphins.

The caption read: "When you're a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide, or revenge."

"I am thankful that this matter has finally come to a conclusion. I want to apologize to my high school alma mater for my reckless and selfish actions," Martin said in a statement Friday. "I am eager to put this matter fully in the rear view mirror and to continue forward with my life. I plan to eventually speak more candidly about mental health, substance abuse, and selfishness, and ultimately about perseverance & personal triumph."

A prosecutor said the people named in the post supported the plea deal's terms.

At the time of the social media post, Martin, 29, was detained for questioning and released, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department told ESPN. Nine days before the post, a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

Martin accused Incognito and Pouncey of bullying him in 2013, when they were teammates in Miami, which resulted in an NFL investigation. The investigation found that Incognito, Pouncey and John Jerry created a hostile working environment for Martin, who left the team in the middle of the season.

The NFL suspended Incognito for eight games after the investigation was completed.

Martin hasn't played in the NFL since 2015.

American thrower takes narrow victory in classic contest at IAAF World Champs in Doha

It was the most sensational and exciting and best quality shot contest in history.

Poor Darlan Romani threw 30 centimetres further than the previous championships record with a  22.53m throw and was not even close to the three medallists!

Olympic champion Ryan Crouser was first to break the championships record of 22.23m by Werner Gunthor way back in 1987 when he opened with a 22.36m but that did not even last the round as defending champion produced a stunning 22.90m to seemingly end the contest.

It was the longest throw since 1990 and moved him to fourth on the world all-time rankings.

Romani moved Crouser down to third with his 22.53m and Crouser’s third round response was another 22.36m but then the American moved back up to second with a 22.71m.

At this stage the 2015 world champion Joe Kovacs was having a solid series but was not a contender after throws of 20.90m, 21.63m, 21.24m, 21.95m, 21.94m but then incredibly with his last throw he launched the shot to 22.91m, a near metre improvement on his previous throws in this competition and nearly half a metre up on his PB.

Not only was it a championship record by all of a centimetre it moved him to equal third all time and dropped Walsh to fifth.

That was not the end though as Crouser had an amazing response and with a big roar his throw was sensationally measured as 22.90m to fall a centimetre short of Kovacs but level with Walsh but ahead on count-back.

Walsh had one chance of a comeback with the very last throw of the competition but despite it being another huge throw he could not remain in the circle and it was his fifth successive no throw. A few minutes earlier he was seemingly a stunning gold medallist and now he was having to settle for bronze.

Darrell Hill made it five Americans in the top five with a 21.65m throw.

Kovacs said: “It’s time to celebrate. I was hoping for a PB and then I saw Ryan and the others throwing far. I cannot be happier to win the gold medal. This is definitely the final which made history.”

Crouser said: “It was an unbelievable competition with fireworks in round six and I am happy to be part of. I wanted gold but to see Joe throw a PB with the last throw I can’t complain. A throw of 22.90m is unbelievable for me but I would not have thrown 22.90m if Joe had not thrown 22.91m.”

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Layne Riggs proved a point after qualifying on the outside pole for Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway: he’s very much “for real.”

After listening to detractors claim that his strong performance in his Martinsville debut last year was “a fluke” or “good fortune” before a late-race incident, Riggs came back determined to set the record straight.

He did just that during two-lap time trials, posting a best time of 19.959 seconds (94.874 mph) in the No. 99 Puryear Tank Lines/Romeo Guest Construction Ford that was second only to polesitter Josh Berry.

Now, Riggs hopes he can convert that grid spot into a $32,000 victory in his second Martinsville start.

“It was a pretty sporty lap,” said Riggs. “We were happy with it, even if it wasn’t quite enough for the pole. It doesn’t matter where you start here, though. You just need some luck here and to be within striking distance at the end. We haven’t had much luck all year … a lot of freak things that have made it really rough.

“It took a toll on my confidence, but we’re starting to run well again and I think we can make something happen here under the lights. I’ve never gone a year without a victory, so hopefully we can keep that streak alive.”

Riggs was one of seven drivers Friday night who broke the old track record of 20.100 seconds, set by Stacy Puryear during qualifying for the 2018 edition of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

It was a display of speed that had Riggs grinning after what he called a “pretty fun” qualifying session.

“I think we just had a really good piece,” said Riggs. “We worked hard in the shop all week. I knew the rules had changed a lot the past couple of years; that’s opened up a whole lot more horsepower ranges. The cool conditions really help everybody just stay up on top of their game and be pinpoint accurate.

“The times are really close, but we were happy with our lap and we’ll see what we can do.”

Though Riggs had solid speed in testing last week at the Virginia paper clip, he said his car this weekend still behaved much differently than how it did in that practice, largely because of an engine change.

“It’s been a change, for sure. Last week I feel like our car was a lot different,” Riggs noted. “We had a different engine in it. We didn’t bring our fastest and sharpest bullet to that one … but we got our fresh engine in it, so we couldn’t really base anything from the test speed-wise with our car. We could just base handling and things like that. So we put our best motor we could in there, and it ended up shooting off with pretty fast speed.

“At the test, we ran a 20.05 and backed it up in practice earlier today with a 20.02, so I was pretty happy with those times.”

With qualifying in his rear-view mirror, Riggs now turns his focus to Saturday night’s 200-lap feature and how he’ll survive to be in contention at the end.

The 17-year-old son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs doesn’t have a major race win on his young resume yet, but he fully recognizes what walking out of Martinsville with a grandfather clock Saturday night would do for his stock.

“(Winning) this race would mean everything for me,” Layne Riggs said. “I’m not really a veteran, but I’ve been around a couple of years. This is my second-ever race at Martinsville Speedway. We had a pretty good piece last year and I feel the same this year.

“You can’t say I’m the winningest driver there is, so something like this would make it all worth it.”

And as for those who doubted him despite last year’s performance, Riggs had a message for them, too.

“We’re for real here. The car’s been good, surprisingly good. We’re going to be able to contend.”

DOVER, Del. – One week after earning his first NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL, Chase Briscoe earned his second.

Briscoe topped NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying Saturday at Dover Int’l Speedway to earn the pole for the Drive Sober 200, the final race in the first round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

The driver of the No. 98 Ford Mustang circled Dover’s one-mile concrete oval in 22.894 seconds for a speed of 157.246 mph to claim the pole.

However, it wasn’t all good news for the Indiana native.

During his qualifying attempt Briscoe’s car was underpowered because of an engine misfire, with his Stewart-Haas Racing team believing an electrical issue to be the cause. The team was unable to fix the problem easily, forcing them to make unapproved adjustments to the car.

As a result, Briscoe forfeited his pole starting position for Saturday’s race and will start from the rear of the field.

“The motor was running once we got going, but it was under load over here. It was just missing a little bit,” Briscoe explained. “I’m not sure. It’s probably something electrical we think. Just a testament to all the awesome motors that Roush Yates brings that we weren’t even under full power and were able to get the pole.

“Hopefully we can find something little like a wire loose or something, but if not we’ll probably have to go to the back.”

Austin Cindric qualified second for Team Penske, with Briscoe’s teammate Cole Custer giving Ford a sweep of the top-three positions in qualifying. Custer will move up one row and start on the inside of row one as a result of Briscoe start at the rear.

Tyler Reddick and Harrison Burton completed the top-five.

Saturday’s Driver Sober 200 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

Drive Sober 200 Starting Lineup

1. Chase Briscoe (Must Start At The Rear)
2. Austin Cindric
3. Cole Custer
4. Tyler Reddick
5. Harrison Burton
6. Christopher Bell
7. Noah Gragson
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Brandon Jones
10. Zane Smith
11. Justin Haley
12. Landon Cassill
13. Jeremy Clements
14. Ross Chastain
15. Ryan Sieg
16. Michael Annett
17. John Hunter Nemechek
18. Dillon Bassett
19. B.J. McLeod
20. Garrett Smithley
21. Brandon Brown
22. Bayley Currey
23. Stefan Parsons
24. Joe Nemechek
25. Gray Gaulding
26. Vinnie Miller
27. Timmy Hill
28. Ray Black Jr.
29. J.J. Yeley
30. Chad Finchum
31. Stephen Leicht
32. Carl Long
33. David Starr
34. Matt Mills
35. Josh Williams
36. Kyle Weatherman
37. Joey Gase
38. Mike Harmon