EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The American Flat Track season concluded at Saturday’s Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys Meadowlands with the crowning of two new champions on the undercard and a statement performance from the outgoing AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion.

While Briar Bauman (No. 14 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) already clinched the 2019 AFT Twins title, the man he dethroned still had bragging rights in his sights. Jared Mees(No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) went wire-to-wire in the AFT Twins event to complete a perfect sweep of the season’s six Miles and end the year with a class-leading eight victories.

Mees was pushed throughout the shortened main by long-time rival Bryan Smith (No. 4 Crosley Brands/Howerton Motorsports Kawasaki Ninja 650), who was desperate to extend his streak of scoring at least one Main Event victory per season dating all the way back to 2006.

But while Smith closed on Mees late, he ultimately ran out of laps, coming up 0.766 seconds short at the checkered flag.

After the race Mees said, “I want to give another big shout out to Indian Motorcycle. Those guys are a phenomenal group of people to work for and work with, and I enjoy every minute of it.

“It feels good to come in and win the last couple races and end the season strong, and also to go into the offseason with a little bit of homework to do.”

The runner-up result was Smith’s second in succession, finishing up an otherwise difficult year in strong fashion.

Behind the battle for the win, Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) fought his way past the works Harley-Davidson of Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Harley Davidson/Vance & Hines XG750R Rev X) to not only claim the final spot on the podium, but also put the finishing touches on a championship 1-2-3 for the Indian Wrecking Crew.

Henry Wiles (No. 17 Bandit Industries/DPC Racing/Wilco Racing Indian FTR750) edged Jeffrey Carver Jr. (No. 23 Roof-Systems of Dallas/Indian of Metro Milwaukee FTR750) by a scant 0.008 to round out the top five.

Dalton Gauthier (No. 122 D&D Cycles/Gobert Smash Husqvarna FC450) completed his remarkable comeback season with an uncharacteristically quiet ride to 14th at Meadowlands. But sometimes quiet is good, as that was more than enough to lock up the 2019 Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys championship.
“I don’t think a lot of people saw me as a champion in this class coming into the season opener,” Gauthier said, “‘Robby-Bobby’ McLendon and me worked together all year. There was a lot of stress and a lot of ups and downs, but we worked through it. I can’t thank him enough as well as my parents and everyone else who supported us.”

2018 AFT Singles champ Dan Bromley (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) gave a valiant effort in hopes of repeating. He gave his all in a three-way tussle for the race win with Mikey Rush (No. 15 RMR Honda/Red Riders Rewards Honda CRF450R) and Ryan Wells (No. 94 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F).

Bromley, who needed to win to have any chance at the crown, finished a close third with Rush out-dueling Wells on a thrilling final lap to claim the victory.

The win was Rush’s fourth of the season to equal Gauthier for most in class on the year. It was also his third win in four attempts on a Mile in 2019, and actually bumped him ahead of Bromley in the final championship order (Gauthier 286, Rush 280, Bromley 277).

Rush said, “My Honda CRF450R ran on point tonight. American Honda came on board with the Richie Morris Racing team this year and helped build me awesome strong engines for these Miles.”

Cory Texter (No. 65 G&G Racing/Holeshot Powersports Yamaha MT-07) jumped out to a huge early advantage — both in the AFT Production Twins championship fight and Saturday’s season finale — and ultimately needed every last inch of that initial momentum to coast to what turned out to be a dramatic championship triumph.

After pulling nearly a second clear on the opening lap, Texter was overhauled around the outside by primary title rival Kolby Carlile (No. 136 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07) on lap 2. However, Carlile broke just two laps later, handing the lead, and a seemingly easy path to the championship, back to Texter.

Incredibly, with just two laps to go, Texter encountered mechanical issues of his own. He was left helpless as the field, led by Chad Cose (No. 49 Parkinson Bros Racing Kawasaki Ninja 650) and including title hopeful Ryan Varnes (No. 68 Varnes Racing/RoyBuilt Kawasaki Ninja 650), blasted past.

All Texter could do was continue forward at a snail’s pace, but that pace proved good enough to finish ninth and cap off a successful three-win, five-podium championship campaign.

Newly-crowned 2019 AFT Production Twins champion Texter said, “I had some tough years and for the G&G team to take a chance on me means everything… I stayed loyal to the team, and I couldn’t be happier with the bike they put underneath me. So many people sacrificed so much to make this happen. It feels good for a Texter to finally win a professional title. This is for all the times Shayna got close and for all the sacrifices my dad made. I can’t even tell you how much he sacrificed to get us where we’re at.

“I’ve been going to these races since I was two weeks old. This is my life. For me to finally getthis is a dream come true. It’s never been about making money or any of that stuff. It’s just been a lifelong goal for someone who grew up in this sport since they were a baby. This is awesome.”

Race winner Cose picked up Texter and took him on his victory lap. He said, “We’re brothers — it’s one big family and it’s great to see. Cory deserves it and his team deserves it. They worked really hard to get where they are.

Varnes finished second vent to end up just eight points short of Texter (190-182) on the strength of his own two-win, five-podium season.

James Rispoli (No. 71 Black Hills Harley-Davidson XG750R) rounded out the podium in third.

LOVES PARK, Ill. — Dale Nottestad “got the monkey off his back” as they say, scoring the victory in the 108-lap Big 8 Series late model stock car special during the 54th annual National Short Track Championships at the Rockford Speedway Saturday night.

Nottestad, the 41-year old driver from Cambridge, Wis., wheeled his Glass Wax/Take A Chance Construction/Smithback Farms/Fast Signs-sponsored Pathfinder Chassis Chevrolet SS to the victory at the high-banked, quarter-mile, paved oval.

Starting seventh in the 23-car field, Nottestad, the race leader from about the 36th lap, stayed out front in a race that was slowed by 10 caution flags and raced to the checkered flag with a slim lead over veteran Tom Gille.

Austin Nason, Brody Willett and series points leader and three-time Big 8 champion Michael Bilderback rounded out the top five.

In the past, Nottestad has been oh-so-close to a Big 8 victory during Rockford’s annual NSTC.  Nottestad, a five-time champion at Wisconsin’s Jefferson Speedway, had finished in the “top three” five times in the last six years without a win.

The day’s third fastest qualifier, Nottestad became the first driver to be a repeat series winner as he had won at Wisconsin’s Madison Int’l Speedway in June.

Coming from his front row pole starting spot, Tom Berens led the first few laps with Jon Reynolds Jr. moving to the front quickly.  Reynolds, a two-time Rockford late model champion as well as a four-time winner of the Big 8 Series event during NSTC weekend, led the way until Nottestad came up to challenge and eventually grab the lead.  Reynolds’ night ended with mechanical ills at about the halfway mark.

Nottestad seemed to be able to race away from the rest of the field during green flag runs only to see the yellow flag fly – four within the last 26 laps. Nottestad held on to the top spot with Gille making a run for the lead on the last lap.

“I was just driving and trying to hit my marks,” said Nottestad. “My spotter kept telling me that they (Tom Gille and Austin Nason) were battling pretty hard back there. I just wanted to make sure I hit my marks there (on the last lap). I kind of got in there too easy in the corner and got loose off of (turn) two. I knew I could drive off and beat him (Gille) to the line. The car was strong all night.  It never fell off.”

Gille, a veteran of Rockford late model action, turned in a strong performance after setting fifth fast time.

“We had a little issue with the 17 car (Nason),” said Gille. “Apparently he thought he needed to be where I was at on every restart.  It took about four laps for my car to really take off. The yellow at the end (with 15 laps to go) just killed us. If we would have had maybe three more laps, I think we could have made it real more interesting. I think we were the quickest car since about lap 80 on. I just ran out of laps.”

Young Jacob Nottestad, this year’s late model champion at Wisconsin’s Slinger Speedway, grabbed fast time honors with a lap of 13.506 seconds. Nottestad’s racing ended with a mechanical problem.

Rain washed out Friday’s opening night of the NSTC with a lot of racing packed into Saturday.  Other feature winners during the night included Robert Hansberry Jr. (sportsman), Kelly Evink (Midwest Dash Series), Max McNamara (Legends) and Bill Schott (roadrunners).

Earlier in the day, Michael Bilderback posted fast time for Sunday’s National Short Track Championships 250 presented by Crazy Times Pub & Grub with a lap of 12.789 seconds, pacing a field of 22 super late models.

LOCUST GROVE, Ark. — Picking up where he left off Thursday evening, Ricky Thornton Jr. cruised to the Race For Hope 71 title on Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway.

Thornton started in the middle row of the three-wide, 30-car start and grabbed the lead on lap one over Jordan Grabouski.

“I knew we had to get a good start. Kyle (Strickler, last year’s event champion) beat me on the start last year and I think that’s what killed me. We got out front and just kind of rode around and saved our stuff,” said Thornton.

Thornton Jr. went relatively unchallenged through the first 40 laps until the mandatory fuel stop. Grabouski, Terry Phillips, Tom Berry and Jason Hughes rounded out the top five at the break.

As the race resumed, Thornton jumped out to a comfortable lead once again. Meanwhile, Jordan Grabouski Racing teammates, Grabouski and Phillips, battled hard for the runner-up position.

In the closing laps, Thornton was mired in lapped traffic, which allowed Phillips to close the gap. Phillips came within two car lengths of Thornton with three laps to go, but he wouldn’t be able to mount a serious charge on the driver of the No. 20RT.

Thornton Jr. went on to lead all 71 trips around the high-banked three-eighths mile oval en route to becoming the first repeat champion.

“This track just fits my driving style,” continued Thornton. “You’ve got to be up on the wheel, yet conservative at the same time. We aren’t really a big team so to win this $15,000 here really helps us for sure.”

Phillips, Grabouski, 17th place starter Jake O’Neil and Tanner Black rounded out the top five.
The finish:

Feature (71 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, [2]; 2. 75-Terry Phillips, [6]; 3. 30G-Jordan Grabouski, [1]; 4. 0-Jake O’Neil, [17]; 5. 44T-Tanner Black, [14]; 6. 11X-Tom Berry Jr, [12]; 7. 12-Jason Hughes, [3]; 8. 5L-Cody Laney, [15]; 9. 62-Hunter Marriott, [24]; 10. 5T-Jeff Taylor, [9]; 11. 18Z-Zane DeVilbiss, [8]; 12. 35-David Stremme, [5]; 13. 77T-Tripp Gaylord, [4]; 14. 175-Ethan Dotson, [21]; 15. 01A-Drew Armstrong, [18]; 16. 7M-Peyton Taylor, [28]; 17. 02X-Jack Sullivan, [27]; 18. 8-Kyle Strickler, [16]; 19. 2A-Casey Arneson, [20]; 20. 3B-Eddie Belec, [13]; 21. G1X-Tony Anglin, [7]; 22. 7X-Mikey Bell, [19]; 23. (DNF) 6M-Wendell Wallace, [23]; 24. (DNF) 601-Curtis Cook, [11]; 25. (DNF) 32-D.J. Shannon, [29]; 26. (DNF) 83-Kellen Chadwick, [26]; 27. (DNF) 12J-Jason Ingalls, [10]; 28. (DNF) 31M-Travis Mosley, [25]; 29. (DNF) 96T-R.C. Whitwell, [30]; 30. (DNF) 2T-Tyler Stevens, [22]

FONDA, N.Y. — When Brett Deyo took the promotional reins at Fonda Speedway this season, one of his goals was to bring the dormant Fonda 200 back bigger and better than ever.

Stewart Friesen, who left the venerable speedway with a $53,000 check early Sunday morning after dominating the rain-delayed event, will be the first to tell you he succeeded.

“The money here beats what I got for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series win at Eldora by a lot but that was a whole different feeling than winning here at home,” Friesen said. D

Almost as happy were Rocky Warner, who inherited second’s $20,000 payday when apparent runner-up Matt Sheppard came up light at the scales and third-place finisher Mike Mahaney, who collected some $10,000.

Friesen, who won a Friday night qualifier to earn the pole, led most of the race, at times building up a huge lead, but Sheppard, while not as good in the open, nearly got around him a few times in traffic and finally managed to edge ahead briefly on one of the never-ending restarts.

“Being out there in clean air helped, so all the restarts were great for me,” said the winner.  “I thought I’d really screwed up when I let Sheppard by on the bottom late in the race, so once I got the lead back, I parked it on the bottom whenever I got to lapped cars.”

The first half of the 200 looked more like a sprint, as everyone knew a storm front was approaching from the west and wanted to be on the point when it hit, hopefully right after halfway.  Friesen led off the initial break, with fifth-starting Andy Bachetti shooting to second by lap ten and drawing in on Friesen.

But Bachetti began to fade in the 20-lap range and by the time the third yellow flew on lap 26, the third-starting Warner stood second and began challenging Friesen.

They ran that way through traffic until a lap 45 restart that saw rookie David Schilling dive under Warner to take second. By then it was sprinkling but luckily the downpour did not appear until the field was under caution on lap 72.

The race was then red-flagged and the cars sent to the pits to await the restart, which finally came at 10:50 p.m. after the intermittent rain finally quit, allowing the track crew to blade and then run in the racing surface.

Friesen, Mahaney and a number of other contenders took advantage of the caution laps run before the green reappeared to short pit, handing the lead to Warner, who promptly lost it to Sheppard.

But by the time the “make a choice” halfway break came, Friesen had climbed back to the top 10 with his major pit stop done.

He and Mahaney joined the dozen cars that elected to go to the infield and get fuel, tear offs and an air pressure adjustment while the remainder of the field went to the hot pit, where they could do anything to their cars on the ten minute break but had to go to the rear of the field.  Some, like Sheppard, did major work and when he returned to the speedway, he was faster than ever.

Matt DeLorenzo led the field to green for the second half but two laps later Friesen, who lined up sixth for that restart, split Mahaney and Danny Varin to snare second and after five more trips around the big half mile he was back in the catbird seat.

Sheppard flew from the rear to second after making his adjustments and even got the lead away from Friesen on a lap-177 restart.

But yet another restart two laps later gave Friesen another chance and that time he not only prevailed, he cranked it up and drove away from Sheppard, whose only hope was a last lap dive into turns three and four when they hit traffic again but it came up short.

They took the checkers that way with Warner third ahead of Mahaney, Billy Decker, Hearn, Brian Pessolano, Anthony Perrego, Bryan Gleason, Schilling and Bobby Varin.

“I didn’t want the track to rubber up,” tipped Warner, the 2019 track champion. “Once that happens, you can’t pass these guys, though I did get by Sheppard at the scales.”

“I got tight when it locked down,” said Mahaney. “Then you have to be in the right place unless you’re Friesen.  He can run anywhere here.

Tim Hartman notched a $1,500 win in the sportsman feature, topping Chad Edwards, Joe Williams, Mark Mortensen and Brian Borst with a flag to flag run after picking the pole in the redraw.

SHANGHAI — Lin Yuxin struggled so much with the par-5 18th hole at Sheshan International that he thought it cost him in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

But he played it to perfection in the first sudden-death playoff in the 11-year history of the tournament, and his birdie on the second extra hole gave Lin the victory over defending champion Takumi Kanaya of Japan and allowed him to join Hideki Matsuyama as the only two-time winners of the Asia-Pacific Amateur.

In a playoff between the last two winners of Asia's biggest amateur event, Lin made a 7-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole at the 18th to extend the playoff, then won when he blasted out of a greenside bunker shot to 3 feet and made the putt.

The victory sends Lin to the Masters and the Open Championship next year.

''I'm happy to win this trophy back,'' said Lin, who won in 2017 when the tournament was in New Zealand. ''Just being able to get back to Augusta and [The Open], it's a great feeling. I can't wait to get back to those two amazing championships.''

He won by three shots in 2017. This one was up for grabs until the final hole, with as many as six players in the mix on the back nine.

Lin had a one-shot lead going to the 72nd hole when he found a fairway bunker left of the fairway and pulled his second shot into the water, trying to lay up. That led to bogey and a 4-under 68. Lin had also made double bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday, and bogey on the 18th hole in Friday.

''It was not my friend for most of the rounds, in the hazard three days in a row,'' Lin said. ''It turned out pretty good in match play.''

He was fortunate just to get into a playoff. His bogey dropped him to 10-under 278, tied with Kanaya and Yung-hua Liu of Taiwan. Kanaya had a 7-foot birdie putt to win in regulation, but it missed on the left side.

Kanaya made an 18-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, forcing Lin to make his 7-foot birdie putt to extend the playoff. Lin finally hit the fairway on the 18th on the second playoff hole, and his length allowed him to go for the green and put his second shot in a bunker left of the green to set up the birdie.

Lin becomes the third player to win in his home country. Antonio Murdaca of Australia won at Royal Melbourne in 2014, while Matsuyama won his first Asia-Pacific Amateur at Kasumigaseki Country Club - the course that will host next summer's Olympics competitions - in 2010.

Even with a four-way tie for the 54-hole lead, none of the overnight co-leaders made it to the playoff.

Liu had the best chance. He birdied four of the opening five holes to seize control, only to make double bogey on the ninth, when his approach rolled over the back of the green and nestled against a collar of thick rough. He stubbed his chip, hit the next attempt feet by the hole and missed.

Even so, Liu had a chance to win it on the par-5 18th until he three-putted for bogey, missing a 5-foot par putt that would have put him in the playoff.

Lin took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 14th, and he looked to have the winning touch down the stretch. From a collar just above the bunker on the reachable 16th, he hit a punch-and-run away from a pot bunker and onto the green to 7 feet, making birdie to reach 11 under. Then, he saved par with a 7-foot putt on the par-3 17th.

But from a fairway bunker on the 18th, he was too aggressive and pulled the shot into the water. Lin reached the front of the green and two-putted for a bogey.

Lin's victory means Chinese players now have four titles in 11 years at the Asia-Pacific Amateur. Along with his two victories, Guan Tianlang won in 2012 and Jin Cheng won in 2015. Japanese players have won three times.

The 120-man field featured players from 39 countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region.

SHEFFIELD, England -- In the encyclopaedia of sporting truisms, the section about luck will be bigger than most. Fortune will be explained away with sayings like "you make your own luck" or "the more I practice, the luckier I get" etc, and so on, and so forth.

Luck is obviously a difficult thing to define -- something the ESPN Luck Index tries to do -- but however you characterise it Liverpool were lucky to maintain their perfect start to the season in their 1-0 win over Sheffield United. This was probably their worst performance of the season, partly of their own making and partly thanks to United doing what they have done for the last few years under Chris Wilder.

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Liverpool had been lucky long before Dean Henderson let Georginio Wijnaldum's moderate volley squirt through his grasp with 20 minutes remaining. Lucky that various basic mistakes hadn't been punished. Lucky that groggy performances all over the pitch ultimately didn't matter. Lucky that the Blades missed a selection of glaring chances, most notably by substitute Leon Clarke in the closing stages, hoofing the ball over the bar after a fabulous low cross by John Fleck.

"Winning on the cloudy days is important," Jurgen Klopp said afterwards, reluctant to say that his side were poor but at the same time admitting that Sheffield United would have deserved a draw. But really he carried the look of a man who won't be lingering over this performance for very long.

This was a classic lunchtime kick-off, players on both teams making errors you'd expect to see in a Sunday afternoon park game, the circadian rhythms of the teams perhaps thrown by having to play when they can still taste the toothpaste.

The wind swirled into the Kop in the way it often does at Bramall Lane, in a way that if this was a nondescript game in League One a couple of years ago it would make things all the more grim. But as this kicked off a Premier League weekend against the European champions, it only added to the atmosphere.

There's something about Bramall Lane when it's full that very much gives the feel of a big game, but resolutely not 'Premier League': it's old-fashioned, rough around the edges, a bit cramped and probably not fit for purpose in some respects, but it's great to have it back in the top flight.

Maybe all of that combined to throw Liverpool off a little. The Premier League leaders played a little like their alarms hadn't gone off and someone had burst into their hotel at 11:30 and said "Lads! The game starts in an hour!" before leading to the whole squad tumbling onto the bus, discombobulated, hopping as they pulled their socks on.

"We started well then lost the rhythm a little bit," Klopp added. "We didn't accelerate in the right moments, our angles were not right. Half spaces were open pretty often, and we had moments -- but not often enough."

The first half was slightly curious, in that it was an absorbing watch but not a huge amount actually happened. Moves started but didn't really create proper chances, until a long Virgil van Dijk pass over the top set Sadio Mane clear on goal: he encapsulated Liverpool's performance by dithering and slicing an effort that, with a clearer mind, he might have taken with more poise. Mane also hit the post and from the rebound, Roberto Firmino hesitated and allowed his effort to be blocked.

After the break Liverpool improved slightly, but not by much. They attacked but without much penetration, and in response Klopp brought on Divock Origi for Jordan Henderson meaning they were essentially playing with four forwards, but it wasn't any sort of tactical switch that led to the goal.

Of course it adds a pinch of spice to the whole thing that Henderson is a Manchester United player, on loan in Sheffield for a second season. Wijnaldum's effort was straight at him and all looked safe, before the ball rattled between his arms and dribbled between his legs and over the line. He made a similar mistake for England at the Under-21 European Championship in the summer, but it's an indication that those two mistakes aren't representative of his overall play that the home fans gave him a standing ovation as he walked off at the end.

From that point, Liverpool seemed to acknowledge their luck, happy hang onto the 1-0 win, stuff three points into their bag and get out of town quickly. Adrian was booked for some pretty flamboyant time-wasting with about ten minutes remaining. Firmino tried the old trick of wandering towards the far touchline when he knew he was about to be substituted, only to belatedly be reminded that subs can now simply depart the pitch at the nearest point.

Afterwards Wijnaldum said Liverpool would have lost a game like that a couple of years ago, which all fits in with the idea of them being Klopp's "mentality monsters," a team that win games through force of will as much as their own skill. Of course they're bound to say that, but deep down they will probably recognise this win was more down to fortune than fortitude.

This was a game to breathe in and forget, a slack performance they were lucky to get away with, but ultimately nobody at Liverpool will care. It was their 16th win in a row, only the second time in their history that they have won their first seven games of the season and a victory that put them eight points clear at the top of the table.

Lucky or not, they'll happily take that.

Hours after she was asked to explain a conflict of interest charge against her, former India woman's captain Shanta Rangaswamy resigned from the BCCI's cricket advisory committee (CAC). Rangaswamy told ESPNcricninfo that she sent in her resignation to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) late on Saturday evening, after all three members of the CAC had been served the conflict notice by BCCI ethics officer Justice (retired) DK Jain.

Rangaswamy said she has also resigned as the director of the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA), the formation of which was one of the key recommendations of the Lodha Committee that was tasked with scripting structural reforms at the BCCI.

The charge against Rangaswamy questioned her dual roles in the CAC and the ICA. Rangaswamy, 65, said her intention was to serve Indian cricket but the rules did not permit her and so she was stepping down. "I didn't want any needless controversy," Rangaswamy said. "Even for serving the game if there is a controversy, I felt I should steer clear and hence I have quit those positions."

The three-person CAC is headed by former India men's captain Kapil Dev, and former India batsman and coach Anshuman Gaekwad is the other member alongside Rangaswamy. This CAC was formed by the CoA to replace the original panel that was disbanded after Justice Jain upheld conflict of interest charges against two of the old panel's three members - Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman - while the third member, Sachin Tendulkar, stepped down.

The complaint against both CAC panels was filed by the same individual - Sanjeev Gupta, a life member at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. In both instances Gupta said that each of the CAC members was holding more than one position in Indian cricket, which was a clear violation of the conflict of interest rule that permitted only one post per person.

Queensland 9 for 322 (Khawaja 138, Heazlett 88, Pattinson 3-56) beat Victoria 168 (Sutherland 66, Steketee 4-25) by 154 runs

Usman Khawaja made a commanding start to his season with 138 off 126 balls as Queensland secured a handsome bonus-point victory over Victoria in Melbourne.

Khawaja and the in-form Sam Heazlett added 185 for the first wicket in pristine batting conditions although the Queensland innings was hauled back from 1 for 239 in 36th over to 9 for 322 as James Pattinson claimed 3 for 56 in his first outing of the season.

However, Victoria's top order was blown away in the chase as they slid to 5 for 37 in the 14th over with Mark Steketee picking up the impressive trio of Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson for single figures.

Bat dominated for the first part of the game as Khawaja and Heazlett laid into the Victoria attack. It was Khawaja's first innings of the season after the Ashes series in which he was dropped and he looked in excellent touch as he struck 16 fours and a six with his century coming off 94 deliveries.

There was some collateral damage during the opening stand when a strong sweep shot by Heazlett struck umpire John Ward on the foot at square leg. Initially Ward tried to shake it off but a short while later needed to leave the field with TV umpire Donovan Koch taking his place.

With Heazlett on track for a brisk century, to follow his half-centuries in Queensland's opening two matches, he edged a drive against Pattinson to give Victoria their first opening. Marnus Labuschagne started in fine style, timing the ball effortlessly, before getting a rough decision when he was given out caught off the arm playing a reverse sweep.

Matt Renshaw picked out long-on cheaply and when Khawaja departed the middle order couldn't quite take advantage of the foundation offered.

The total was soon looking huge, however, with Marcus Harris being caught behind off the third all of the innings then Steketee scythed through the middle order. Ben Cutting, playing his first one-day match for nearly two years, added the wicket of Glenn Maxwell and Victoria's hopes were gone.

Aaron Finch and Will Sutherland stopped the rot before Finch become Steketee's fourth. From 8 for 106, Sutherland's second half-century in consecutive innings prevented Queensland claiming a double bonus-point victory, which would have been theirs by keeping Victoria below 160, so that was a small consolation for the home side.

Tasmania 5 for 229 (McDermott 103, Jewell 64) beat South Australia 9 for 228 (Ross 82*, Lehmann 50, Faulkner 3-28) by five wickets

Ben McDermott struck an unbeaten 103, his fourth one-day hundred, to lead Tasmania to a convincing five-wicket victory against South Australia.

McDermott, the second-highest run-scorer in last season's tournament, and Caleb Jewell added an opening stand of 132 to break the back of the chase after Tasmania's quicks had done early damage. Alex Ross struck an unbeaten 82 to rescue the innings but South Australia could only post 9 for 228.

A flurry of late wickets made the margin look a little closer, but there was no repeat of the dramatic collapse that cost Tasmania victory against Victoria last week.

McDermott reached his hundred off 136 balls shortly before the end having anchored the innings impressively. Matthew Wade made 20 in his first innings of the season before being caught in the deep off Adam Zampa.

The victory was set up by the early inroads with South Australia's big three names at the top of the order dismissed in the first two overs. Callum Ferguson received an excellent delivery from Jackson Bird before Travis Head dragged on against James Faulkner who then nipped one through Alex Carey to leave South Australia 3 for 8.

Jake Lehmann struck a half-century as he and Ross added 65 for the fifth wicket and there was a 50-run stand between Ross and Cam Valente. When South Australia lost their eighth wicket in the 46th over it appeared they could be bowled out, but Kane Richardson helped squeeze out 36 runs alongside Ross.