DOVER, Del. – Brett Moffitt made sure there was no doubt who the fastest driver in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series qualifying was Friday afternoon at Dover Int’l Speedway.

Moffitt rocketed around the one-mile, high-banked concrete oval in 22.303 seconds (161.413 mph) with the No. 24 ISM Connect Chevrolet Silverado to earn his first pole in his 42nd career Truck Series start.

Not only was Friday Moffitt’s first time topping qualifying in the Truck Series, it was his first pole in any of NASCAR’s three national divisions – something the Iowa native was particularly proud to get off his back.

“It feels good to get this; it’s been a long time coming,” said Moffitt, who was two tenths of a second fastest than his nearest competitor in time trials. “Qualifying was actually our weak point in practice on Thursday, because we were really loose, but Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) and everyone at GMS did a great job of getting this thing tuned up for us.”

Friday’s Truck Series qualifying session also marked the return of single-vehicle qualifying in all three of NASCAR’s national series, a format that the defending Truck Series champion said he already enjoys.

“I love this new style of qualifying, because it really puts a lot of pressure on the teams and drivers to go out and hit it right the first time,” Moffitt noted. “We’ve proven that we’ve had really fast race trucks all year long, but now it’s time to go out and deliver.”

Joining Moffitt on the front row for Friday evening’s JEGS 200 will be former GMS Racing Johnny Sauter, who has won the last two Dover Truck Series races and is back with Sandusky, Ohio-based ThorSport Racing this season.

Sauter was fastest in practice on Thursday and lapped the one-mile Dover oval in 22.511 seconds (159.922 mph) with the No. 13 Tenda Heal Ford F-150 on his qualifying run.

Sheldon Creed and series point leader Stewart Friesen will share the second row of the grid, with ThorSport teammates Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger following in fifth and sixth.

Canadian rookie Raphael Lessard, Brennan Poole, Harrison Burton and Tyler Ankrum made up the balance of the top 10 in qualifying.

Of note, Crafton will drop to the rear for the start of Friday’s race due to an engine change.

The JEGS 200 is scheduled to take the green flag at 5 p.m. ET.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Holding out hope that the forecast would change, Williams Grove Speedway and ASCS officials held out on making a decision regarding Friday’s racing program until after 3 p.m., at which time the decision to pull the plug on the ASCS/URC Battle At The Groves event, was made.

With the area forecast predicting heavy storms and the chance for rain at over 70 percent beginning at 6 p.m. through the midnight hour along with a severe thunderstorm watch being issued for surrounding counties, officials made the call in an effort to prevent any undue hardship on teams and fans that may have traveled to the show only to face rain upon arriving.

Numerous teams contacted the oval expressing unease over a decision to race in the face of the seeming imminent evening rains.

Thus, Williams Grove Speedway now shifts its focus to next Friday, May 10 when Brooks PowerSports will present a World of Outlaws Tune Up event at 8 p.m. featuring the 410 sprints and the 358 sprint cars.

MONTPELIER, Ind. — A tough month of April continues into May for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour and partnering race tracks.

Officials with Montpelier Motor Speedway and the Ameriacn Ethanol Late Model Tour have postponed the Indiana Ethanol Producers 40, originally scheduled for Saturday, May 4, to Saturday, June 1.

Heavy rains throughout the week have caused over saturated grounds at Montpelier Motor Speedway. Officials have determined that there is no foreseeable way to get race car haulers and spectator vehicles on property without incident.

The event will be run Saturday, June 1, paying $4,000 to the winner of the reschedule Indiana Ethanol Producers 40.

The next event for the American Ethanol Late Model Tour is Friday, May 10 at Attica (Ohio) Raceway Park.

Ex-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has said he will not offer his former team any favours when he takes charge of Newcastle United against the Premier League chasing Reds on Saturday.

Benitez spent six seasons at Anfield and is fondly remembered on Merseyside for winning the club its fifth European Cup in 2005 -- but his Newcastle team now stands in the way of Liverpool's first league title since 1990.

- Wright Thompson: What a title means to Liverpool

- Ogden: Liverpool's ex-bosses could decide title

Liverpool must win their remaining two Premier League fixtures and hope Manchester City drop points in their final two games if they have any hope of lifting the title, but Benitez, who fell short of winning the league in 2008-09, said he will not be helping his former team by offering up three crucial points.

"I was clear in [last week's] interviews -- we are professional and have to do our job," Benitez said at a news conference on Friday.

"My relationship with the city of Liverpool, the club and the fans is there. At the same time, I have been to play Liverpool with Chelsea, with Newcastle, and we have to do our job.

"We have 52,000 [fans] in our stadium and it is the last home game of the season. Everyone understands we are professionals -- for everyone here, we want to win the game."

While Liverpool face one former manager in Benitez on Saturday, title rivals Manchester City play another in Brendan Rodgers' Leicester City on Monday night.

Rodgers also came close to ending Liverpool's wait for the title when his side finished 2nd in 2013-14, but City boss Pep Guardiola says he "cannot imagine" either manager not wanting to win their match this weekend.

Guardiola added that he will watch Liverpool's games against Newcastle -- the last team to take points off his side in January -- on Saturday before Leicester City's trip to the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.

"Brendan and Rafa were in Liverpool but they'll want to win," Guardiola said.

"I cannot imagine them not wanting to win the game, I don't have doubts the players and manager will want to win.

"The Leicester players will not come here for their holidays, maybe they have a chance to finish seventh and they will try to make a good game."

ESPN FC's Manchester City correspondent Jonathan Smith contributed to this report.

The next Liverpool manager to win the Premier League title will instantly earn legendary status at Anfield. Rafael Benitez almost did it 10 years ago, and Brendan Rodgers came within a Steven Gerrard slip of achieving it in 2014. Jurgen Klopp might be just over a week away from doing what Benitez and Rodgers were ultimately unable to, but the penultimate games of this season see his two recent predecessors handed a decisive role in either ending Liverpool's title ambitions for another year or giving them the opportunity to beat Manchester City to top spot on the final day.

If Benitez's Newcastle defeat Liverpool at St James' Park on Saturday, City could clinch the title with a win at home to Rodgers' Leicester on Monday. A draw for Benitez and co would virtually end Liverpool's hopes as City would be three points clear with a healthy goal-difference advantage and just one game to go.

Even if things don't go the Reds' way this season and they don't claim their first league title since 1989-90, their fingerprints will still be all over the trophy as it returns to Manchester.

- Wright Thompson: What a title would mean to Liverpool
- Ogden: Liverpool made Messi angry and paid the price
- Premier League sprint to the finish: All the info

However, if Liverpool claim all three points, City will face Leicester knowing that anything but a victory would leave Klopp's men in pole position going into the final round of fixtures on May 12, when Liverpool host Wolves at Anfield and City travel to Brighton. The scenarios thrown up over the next few days offer a delicious late twist to the most compelling title race in years.

Benitez and Rodgers are both still held in high esteem by many Liverpool supporters -- both have their detractors, too -- so would surely not want to be the ones responsible for delivering the killer blow to Liverpool's title ambitions. Though as driven professionals with their own points to prove at their respective clubs, it's hard to know if they would also get a sense of satisfaction in deciding the title race and potentially denying Klopp.

It is a complex story for both Benitez and Rodgers, the two managers of Liverpool's recent past who did the most to get the club back competing for the biggest honours.

Benitez is already regarded as an iconic figure in the eyes of the majority of Liverpool supporters, having guided the club to their fifth, and most recent, Champions League title in 2005, when his team fought back from 3-0 down at half-time against AC Milan to lift the trophy in Istanbul. The Spaniard's image adorns flags on The Kop -- alongside those of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish -- and his bond with the supporters has remained firm despite his sacking in 2010. His family's home is still near Liverpool, the same place he lived when he was the Reds' manager, and he has attended several Hillsborough memorials in the years since leaving.

In 2008-09, Benitez came within a whisker of winning the title, before Liverpool ended up four points adrift of champions Manchester United. But that team of Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso was arguably as exciting and formidable as the one that Klopp has built this season.

Benitez is well aware of his status among the Liverpool fan base, so he could be conflicted if his Newcastle team snuffs out his old club's title hopes. But he is also aware of his presence on those flags, as Liverpool's last major title-winning manager, so there may also be an element inside him that does not want to help elevate Klopp to a higher echelon. Speaking in his Monday news conference, he made it clear: "It's my responsibility to look after Newcastle and if I was on the other side, I would be expecting the opposition to do their best and the manager to try his best.

"You have to remember that all the teams have 38 games to do what they want to do."

It is a different story, and a different situation, for Rodgers. The Northern Irishman could have secured a job for life at Liverpool had his team got over the line in 2014, but Gerrard's slip to let Demba Ba score in a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea proved the crucial switch of momentum that enabled City to claim the title by two points.

History has judged Rodgers harshly, and often with ridicule -- his beatific presence in the "Being Liverpool" documentary, in particular, made him a target for cruel memes -- but he also built an outstanding team at Anfield with Luis Suarez the controversial star. Rodgers' work was pivotal in dragging Liverpool out of their post-Benitez slump and giving the club and supporters renewed belief that success could return. He was sacked in October 2015 and replaced by Klopp, but while a positive result for Leicester at City on Monday would help give his successor a lift onto the pedestal being prepared for him, it might also provide redemption for Rodgers and show his critics that he's worthy of respect at the highest level.

Rodgers had to move to Celtic, after a year off, to prove his ability to win at a big club, but at Leicester he will be focused on proving people wrong in the years ahead. Monday would certainly be the perfect time for him to start: with six wins, two defeats and one draw since Rodgers took over on Feb. 26, he certainly has shown he can motivate and shape a Leicester squad that managed just one league victory prior to his arrival. He's also refusing to act like his Foxes side will aid his former club in their path to glory.

"I haven't given [facing Man City] a great deal of thought," Rodgers said prior to last weekend's 3-0 win over Arsenal. "My job is to do Leicester a favour. Every game is important. Our only concern is ourselves."

Deep down, both Benitez and Rodgers forged positive connections with Liverpool that will outshine the negative, so it is difficult to imagine either of them wanting their old club to fail. But there will be an element of it, no matter what is said in public. Whatever happens, though, you can be certain that one of Klopp's predecessors will get to play a significant hand in the outcome of this season's title race.

Last summer, the Wayne Rooney effect was very real for D.C. United.

With the former England captain on board, the latter part of the season contained a verve and joy akin to an extended summer vacation. The Black and Red went 11-2-4 down the stretch to secure a playoff spot, a feat that seemed beyond DCU earlier in the season. The first-round playoff defeat to the Columbus Crew seemed a mere hiccup in terms of United's ascent back among the league's elite.

Ten games into 2019, the magic, both for Rooney and the team, has been harder to lock down. There have been stretches of dynamic play, mixed with D.C. getting backed into its own half for extended periods. The inconsistency has been such that a look at the Eastern Conference standings causes something of a double take. The rough patches, in particular a 4-0 home shellacking at the hands of LAFC, stick in the memory, and yet there sits D.C. United, tied for first place in the conference alongside the Philadelphia Union and the Montreal Impact. D.C. hosts Columbus on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+) in hopes of remaining out front in the East.

"It's weird that we're still in first place in the East," said DCU defender Steven Birnbaum. "It doesn't feel like that for us because we've had a couple of bad losses. We're in a good position, but we think we can be much further up."

It's worth noting that United has been dealing with a normal schedule instead of the home-heavy slate from which it benefited during the back half of 2018. There have been injuries to the team's complement of outside backs, forcing a formation switch, which has had a ripple effect throughout the team. For that reason, D.C. manager Ben Olsen isn't sweating his team's current state.

"I think if you had asked me in January if I'd take 17 points at this point in the season, I'd probably be OK with that," he said. "It's been a little bit of a grind the last couple of weeks and we've chugged along."

The same has been true for Rooney. Year 2 was always bound to bring some different challenges. The travel will be felt more acutely. Teams are a bit more familiar with how Rooney and Luciano Acosta -- Robin to Rooney's Batman -- operate. But in terms of numbers, Rooney keeps on keeping on, with five goals and three assists in nine appearances. His value in the locker room remains solid gold.

"I think that's what so great about Wayne," Olsen said. "He's not a guy that's different from day to day, or week to week, or season to season. He does what he does. He's a good teammate. He's engaged in the process. He's engaged with his teammates, it matters to him, he's competitive, he shows up whether it's in training or in games. And he makes plays. He's respected by the group. People want to know: Has he changed? It's been more of the same."

Yet Rooney has no doubt suffered as a result of the injury bug claiming outside backs Chris McCann and Joseph Mora. Those injuries forced Olsen to go with three central defenders in the back. The wing-backs have found it more difficult to get into the attack, resulting in Rooney and Acosta getting isolated at times. There's also been a bit of Superhero Syndrome, where Rooney -- and, to a lesser extent, Acosta -- is expected to save the day.

"One of our issues is we need to threaten the space behind so now we can free up Lucho and Wayne," Olsen said. "At times we put too much weight and responsibility on those two being our offensive production. Now we have to find ways to come out in other areas on the field, with other players and positions to be real threats that other teams have to deal with to free up what we think is a very good duo."

There are also other factors. Birnbaum surmised that teams have been more physical with Acosta this season in a bid to disrupt DCU's rhythm, and the numbers back him up. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Acosta has been fouled 2.40 times per game this season compared to 1.97 in 2018. Acosta's contract situation -- his deal is up at the end of the season -- looms as well.

D.C. United has managed to ride out this stretch, although a trade reveals that Olsen is eager to return to the form and style that propelled the side last season, even in the opening weeks of the 2019 campaign. D.C. on Friday completed a deal to acquire outside back Marquinhos Pedroso from FC Dallas. That will allow United to revert to a four-back alignment.

"We certainly view [Pedroso] as that type of player, that's his best spot on the field," Olsen said about the presumptive left-back. "It does give us that flexibility to move back until Joseph [Mora] returns. Then it's also important to have two quality guys in every position. I think that [trade] gives us that."

Yet DCU finds itself in a different year, a different place, a different mindset, even if many of the faces are the same.

"I think we just had more urgency towards the end of last year and knowing that if we didn't win this game we'd be out of the playoffs," Birnbaum said. "So I think that's what's lacking from us: urgency and energy."

Perhaps with those additions, the Rooney effect will make a return.