I Dig Sports
LOUDON, N.H. — Three-wide racing to the finish on the biggest stage of modified racing.
Patrick Emerling edged two other NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour veterans in a three-wide finish to win the sixth annual All-Star Shootout on Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Emerling became the sixth different winner of the non-points event in its six-year history, and scored his first win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The 26-year-old had come close to winning in the Granite State before, but nothing compares to holding the checkered flag at NHMS. His margin of victory was a mere .022 seconds.
“We have been working on just getting faster here. We’ve always raced well, but we just wanted to come back with a car that was just a little bit better,” Emerling said. “I’m proud of our team. It was definitely a good day for us.”
Into turn three on the final lap, Emerling shot to the bottom of Santos with his No. 07 Sahlen’s Chevrolet and pulled ahead, but Santos wasn’t about to give up. He crossed under Emerling, and drag-raced him down the front stretch, while defending series champion Justin Bonsignore cut to the bottom of both of them and made it three-wide coming down the frontstretch
Emerling led just four of the 35 laps, but, he led the most important one.
“We unloaded today with a new car and a whole new setup, and we weren’t sure what to do for pre-race adjustments,” Emerling said. “There was one point in the race where I was hanging on for dear life. We were lucky to get the right invert and get some clean air.
Santos, who was competing in his first race filling-in for Dave Sapienza, was nearly hoisting the trophy at NHMS once again. The Franklin, Massachusetts, driver has won three of the last four Whelen Modified Tour points races at the 1.058-mile oval.
“I’ve been in that situation multiple times and been lucky enough to be the winner, but this time I wasn’t, which is a bummer,” the 2010 Whelen Modified Tour champion said. “Patrick made the right move going to the bottom, and I had a couple of different options, but I guess I made the wrong decision.”
Bonsignore was third, followed by Jon McKennedy and Ron Silk.
Craig Lutz, who started from the pole and led 15 laps, finished sixth. Ryan Newman, Timmy Solomito, Jimmy Blewett and Tommy Catalano completed the top 10.
The finish:
Patrick Emerling, Bobby Santos III, Justin Bonsignore, Jon McKennedy, Ron Silk, Craig Lutz, Ryan Newman, Timmy Solomito, Jimmy Blewett, Tommy Catalano, Eric Goodale, Doug Coby, Ryan Preece, Calvin Carroll, Andy Seuss, Matt Swanson, Woody Pitkat, Chase Dowling, Bryan Dauzat, Wade Cole.
NEWTON, Iowa – Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud is on a drive to win his second NTT IndyCar Series championship, and he is doing so with excellence at various types of tracks.
A week after winning the Toronto street race from the pole, the winner of the large-oval Indianapolis 500 captured Friday’s NTT P1 Award at Iowa Speedway, the season’s smallest track. Pagenaud will lead a field of 22 cars to the green flag of Saturday’s Iowa 300.
The number of laps in Friday’s qualifying is half of what is required at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but it’s no less intense. The laps are quick and busy, a 17-second blur over 7/8th of a mile. Only Pagenaud completed the two laps at an average speed in excess of 180 mph.
The ability to excel in different disciplines is what Pagenaud is most proud of.
“We do superspeedways, one-and-a-half-mile speedways, short ovals, street courses, road courses,” he said. “To win a championship here, you need to be really complete. It takes a lifetime to be a complete driver, let me tell you.
“But that’s what I enjoy about IndyCar – the diversity in skills, in tracks. I think for the fans, they get everything they want to see throughout the season.”
Pagenaud’s 180.073 mph run produced his third pole of the season and second in four years at this venue. He will receive a bonus point for the effort, drawing him to 38 points of the series lead with six remaining races. As competitive as the series is, each point matters.
Pagenaud still trails teammate Josef Newgarden, the series points leader, and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, who is four points behind Newgarden. Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing is 86 points out of the top spot.
Team Penske drivers swept the top three qualifying positions with Will Power second (179.589 mph) and Newgarden third (179.449). It is the fifth consecutive year one of Roger Penske’s drivers have won the pole, with Power securing the previous two. But nothing will be a given during Saturday’s race, especially with the traffic typically created by short-oval racing. Last year there were 234 passes for position and 955 overall.
Team Penske’s only race win at Iowa came in 2017 with Helio Castroneves. Last year, Newgarden led 229 of the 300 laps, but was forced to settle for a fourth-place finish when three other drivers passed on a late chance to pit for new tires. No pole winner has won the Iowa race.
“You make one mistake (and) you can find yourself a lap behind (the leader),” Pagenaud said. “It’s important to stay on top of your game the whole time. It’s also important not to freak out. When the (car’s) balance goes away, sometimes you tend to get stressed out and gain a sense of urgency. That’s when you make more mistakes.
“Very important to keep your emotions in check, but also you have to be aggressive. You can’t go through traffic without being aggressive. It’s a very fine line. It’s very difficult to find that (proper) rhythm.”
Friday’s qualifying was held amid searing heat, with track temperatures pushing 135 degrees. Conditions figure to be better for the race, which should end a half-hour after official sunset. How competitors manage tires will help determine the outcome.
Takuma Sato of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing qualified fourth (177.646 mph) with James Hinchcliffe of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports fifth (176.200 mph) and Rossi sixth (176.057 mph). Dixon of qualified eighth at 175.725 mph.
NEWTON, Iowa – Chandler Smith backed up his performance in practice by taking his forth General Tire Pole Award of the season for Friday’s ARCA Menards Series Fans with Benefits 150 at Iowa Speedway.
Smith turned a fast lap at 24.182 seconds/130.262 mph to edge his Venturini Motorsports teammate Michael Self by one one-thousanth of a second. In addition to being Smith’s fourth pole of the season, it is Venturini Motorsport’s 13th pole in 14 races so far.
“To say it’s hot is an understatement,” Smith said of the ambient and track conditions at Iowa Speedway. “It’s not in the car and we’re are just slipping and sliding out there on the track. The sun will go down and the track conditions will be totally different for the race, though.”
Current series championship leader Self qualified with a lap of 24.183 seconds/130.257 mph. Combined with Christian Eckes’ lap of 24.325 seconds/129.496 mph, it gives Venturini Motorsports a sweep of the top three qualifers. Corey Heim, who qualified at 24.329 seconds/129.475 mph, and Ty Gibbs, who qualified at 24.403 seconds/129.082 mph, rounded out the top five.
LOUDON, N.H. – Brad Keselowski notched his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season on Friday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Driving Roger Penske’s No. 2 Ford Mustang, Keselowski secured the 14th pole of his career with a 27.927-second lap at 136.384 mph. He edged Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch by .015 of a second to earn the top spot for Sunday’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve had a pole,” Keselowski said after his first pole since 2017 at Michigan Int’l Speedway. “We’ve had really good cars, but haven’t always been able to make the most it with the driver in qualifying, so it’s nice to get one here in Loudon with the Alliance Truck Parts group.”
Kurt Busch, fresh off his first victory with Chip Ganassi Racing last week at Kentucky Speedway, qualified third in the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Erik Jones will line up fourth, followed by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in fifth.
Martin Truex Jr., Matt DiBenedetto, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola and Jimmie Johnson completed the top-10 in qualifying. The top-seven drivers were separated by .081 of a second.
Alex Bowman will start last in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 after breaking a driveshaft during his qualifying attempt. His team has chosen to switch to a backup car.
Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Starting Lineup
1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kurt Busch
4. Erik Jones
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Matt DiBenedetto
8. Joey Logano
9. Aric Almirola
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12. Chase Elliott
13. Daniel Suarez
14. Kevin Harvick
15. Kyle Larson
16. Clint Bowyer
17. Paul Menard
18. Ty Dillon
19. Daniel Hemric
20. David Ragan
21. Austin Dillon
22. William Byron
23. Denny Hamlin
24. Michael McDowell
25. Chris Buescher
26. Ryan Newman
27. Bubba Wallace
28. Ryan Preece
29. Corey LaJoie
30. Matt Tifft
31. Landon Cassill
32. Ross Chastain
33. Reed Sorenson
34. Quin Houff
35. Andy Seuss
36. Austin Theriault
37. Alex Bowman
NEW YORK -- The Rangers have agreed to terms with restricted free-agent defenseman Jacob Trouba, whom they acquired from the Winnipeg Jets in a major offseason trade.
The deal reached Friday with Trouba, 25, is for seven years and $56 million, with an $8 million salary cap hit for the upcoming season. He is expected to anchor the team's defense.
A 2012 first-round draft pick by the Jets, Trouba set career highs in points (50) and assists (42) last season. The Rangers acquired Trouba from the Jets for Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick in this year's draft.
Welcome to #NYR, @JacobTrouba! #LGR pic.twitter.com/QKGBzJdDwx
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 19, 2019
Trouba never could get together with the Jets on a new deal. In 2016, he asked for a trade but eventually backed down. He received a one-year, $5.5 million deal in arbitration last summer, and with the Jets in a salary-cap crunch, they shipped him out.
A 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, Trouba is a workhorse defenseman especially adept at blocking shots. But the Rangers believe he has plenty of upside offensively.
For his six-year career, Trouba has 42 goals, 179 points and a plus-37 rating.
Information from ESPN's Emily Kaplan and The Associated Press was used in this report.
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Xander Schauffele became the first player to have his driver fail a COR (coefficient of restitution) test since the R&A began testing individual player’s drivers at last year’s Open Championship.
Following a second-round 65 that left him tied for 18th place, Schauffele said that his Callaway driver was tested on Tuesday and that he spent the next two days scrambling to find a replacement.
Although he said he has no issue with his driver being tested, he did object to how the R&A only tests random samples.
“I had a little bit of a run-in with them because they only test 30 players. I thought it was a little bit unfair,” he said. “I would gladly give up my driver if it's not conforming. But there's still 130 other players in the field that potentially have a nonconforming driver, as well.”
Schauffele struggled with his replacement driver on Thursday hitting just 6 of 14 fairways on his way to an opening 74 but said more testing late Thursday led to a better version he was able to use on Day 2.
“Yesterday it wasn't really matching my bag, which was a bummer. I was getting a little upset on the golf course,” Schauffele said. “Today I was testing a little bit on the range again with two different heads. But moved a few weights around and sort of found a good setting.”
The R&A began randomly testing individual player’s drivers at last year’s championship but none of the 30 that were tested exceeded the COR standards.
“We offer the testing as a service to players so that they can ensure that their drivers conform,” the R&A said in a statement. “We believe that 30 is a reasonable sample and a practical option for conducting this process in the week of a major championship.”
Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and some other big names are gone, but there is still golf to be played at The Open.
Shane Lowry and J.B. Holmes share the 36-hole lead at 8 under, and they'll play alongside each other in Saturday's final pairing, just behind the penultimate pairing of Englishmen Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood.
Here are the complete tee times and pairings for Saturday's third round at Royal Portrush (all times ET):
4:35 a.m. – Paul Waring
4:45 a.m. – Francesco Molinari, Jason Kokrak
4:55 a.m. – Graeme McDowell, Bubba Watson
5:05 a.m. – Charley Hoffman, Ashton Turner
5:15 a.m. – Yosuke Asaji, Andrew Wilson
5:25 a.m. – Yuki Inamori, Matt Wallace
5:35 a.m. – Nino Bertasio, Tom Lewis
5:45 a.m. – Adam Hadwin, Ryan Fox
6 a.m. – Inn-choon Hwang, Benjamin Hebert
6:10 a.m. – Paul Casey, Kyle Stanley
6:20 a.m. – Eddie Pepperell, Doc Redman
6:30 a.m. – Kevin Streelman, Joost Luiten
6:40 a.m. – Shubhankar Sharma, Louis Oosthuizen
6:50 a.m. – Stewart Cink, Callum Shinkwin
7 a.m. – Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner
7:10 a.m. – Bernd Wiesberger, Russell Knox
7:20 a.m. – Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Mikko Korhonen
7:35 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Branden Grace
7:45 a.m. – Romain Langasque, Sang Hyun Park
7:55 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Lucas Glover
8:05 a.m. – Danny Willett, Aaron Wise
8:15 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Robert Macintyre
8:25 a.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Ernie Els
8:35 a.m. – Thorbjorn Olesen, Thomas Pieters
8:45 a.m. – Rory Sabbatini, Byeong Hun An
8:55 a.m. – Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele
9:10 a.m. – Henrik Stenson, Webb Simpson
9:20 a.m. – Alex Noren, Dustin Johnson
9:30 a.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Kuchar
9:40 a.m. – Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed
9:50 a.m. – Lucas Bjerregaard, Tony Finau
10 a.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Dylan Frittelli
10:10 a.m. – Andrew Putnam, Jordan Spieth
10:20 a.m. – Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose
10:30 a.m. – Justin Harding, Cameron Smith
10:40 a.m. – Lee Westwood, Tommy Fleetwood
10:50 a.m. – Shane Lowry, J.B. Holmes
Lowry, Holmes share lead, but neither the favorite to win The Open
Shane Lowry and J.B. Holmes share the lead through 36 holes of the 148th Open Championship, but neither are the odds-on favorite to capture the claret jug. In fact, according Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, neither is the second favorite or even the third.
Lowry is fourth on the list, at 8/1. Holmes is further down, at 16/1. The favorite, as many might expect, is Brooks Koepka, who is going for his fifth major victory in his last 10 starts.
Here's a look at the odds entering the third round at Royal Portrush.
Brooks Koepka: 5/1
Tommy Fleetwood: 11/2
Justin Rose: 7/1
Shane Lowry: 8/1
Jon Rahm: 14/1
Jordan Spieth: 14/1
Lee Westwood: 14/1
J.B. Holmes: 16/1
Dustin Johnson: 20/1
Cameron Smith: 30/1
Matt Kuchar: 30/1
Xander Schauffele: 30/1
Henrik Stenson: 40/1
Justin Harding: 40/1
Rickie Fowler: 40/1
Tony Finau: 40/1
Patrick Reed: 50/1
McIlroy's emotional charge comes up just short: 'Hit me like a ton of bricks'
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – With fans sprinting down and around the dunes, trying to will their favorite son to the weekend, it sure didn’t feel like a lost cause. That’s what Rory McIlroy feared when he arrived at Royal Portrush on Friday afternoon. That the opening 79 he’d fired here would relegate him to a bit player in what was supposed to be his show.
But on a cool, overcast afternoon along the Causeway Coast, the locals turned out for McIlroy, turned out by the thousands, and by the time he made the turn, all hell had broken loose as they scrambled just to catch a glimpse of the erstwhile Boy Wonder.
Oh, the mistakes to rue: The out-of-bounds tee shot and opening quadruple bogey. The 1 ½-foot miss. The closing triple. But after retiring to his rental house Thursday night, McIlroy didn’t beat himself up for squandering the one and only chance he’ll get to play a Portrush Open in his prime. He didn’t sift through the coverage of his shocking round, or listen to the TV analysts, one of whom opined that his five-year run of slow starts and underperforming in majors was, in essence, “choking.” No, he and wife Erica downed a bottle of wine and blew through the first few episodes of “The Sinner,” just like any other night.
“Just tried to reset,” he said. “Today is a new day.”
McIlroy described that 8-over 79 as a “blip,” and indeed, in the big picture, it was. It was his highest score of the year – by four. It was a startling run of waywardness for the player who leads the PGA Tour in ball-striking. But anomaly or not, it happened, and it was crushing, and it spectacularly ended his chances here in the most important tournament he’ll likely ever play.
Worried about the reaction a day later, McIlroy’s fears were eased by a raucous scene on a first tee that was ringed with fans, all eager to root on the local hero. “I was doing it just as much for them as I was for me,” he said.
And so for them, McIlroy put on a show, going 5 under in his first 12 holes to scare the cut line. A dropped shot was erased with a 20-footer for birdie on 14, and then he threw a dart into 16 to set up another chance to move one closer. By then the fans had crowded onto the hillside, lustily cheering him on as he strutted toward the green, and then they exploded when the 8-footer dove into the cup. McIlroy pumped his fist, and suddenly he was 6 under for the day, just a single shot off the cut line.
“Today was probably one of the most fun rounds of golf I’ve ever played,” he said.
McIlroy would have loved to keep his drive on 17 from drifting right, into the hay, leaving a tough approach over the edge of a bunker. He would have loved to hang his second shot into 18 just a few yards farther right. More than anything, he would have loved to play two more rounds here at Royal Portrush, on the same links where he once set the course record with a sizzling 61. Instead, in front of a packed grandstand at 8:10 p.m., he settled for a standing ovation after he rapped in his par putt, the final stroke of a Friday 65 that left him one measly shot above the cut line.
“It’s a moment I envisaged for the last few years,” he said. “It just happened two days early.”
McIlroy’s major season is over, but one of the busiest stretches of his year is just beginning. He’ll compete in another eight to 10 tournaments until the end of 2019, but never will he feel the pressure or the expectation or the adoration quite like this.
“It’s going to be a tough one to get over,” he said. “It’s mixed emotions. There’s a lot of stuff going on right now.”
He was disappointed, because he won’t be around for the weekend.
He was proud, because of how he responded from his shocking start.
And he was full of gratitude, for the fans who pushed him to the end, but also to the R&A officials who brought golf’s oldest championship back to this divided country, back to McIlroy’s home, after 68 years.
These days McIlroy spends much of the year in the States, in the South Florida compound that he’s built to usher in his 30s, but this homecoming proved deeply emotional, even in defeat.
“It’s been an eye-opener for me,” he said. “Sometimes you’re so far away and you forget about all of the people that are cheering you on back home. Then you come and play in front of them, it definitely hit me like a ton of bricks.”
MacIntyre reportedly confronts Stanley for not yelling fore
For a player who made the cut in his major-championship debut, Robert MacIntyre wasn’t all smiles Friday at The Open.
The 22-year-old Scot was reportedly unhappy with his playing competitor Kyle Stanley and confronted the American for failing to yell fore on two wayward shots – each of which hit spectators – during his second round at Royal Portrush.
“Aye, there were harsh words,” MacIntyre told The Scotsman. “It wasn’t too pleasant. But you’ve got to tell him it’s not right. He didn’t take it well at all.”
MacIntyre said that Stanley hit a marshal on the leg on the 14th hole before striking the mother of MacIntyre’s caddie, Greg Milne, on the 17th hole.
“We’re shouting fore as the ball is coming into the crowd, and he’s just standing watching it,” MacIntyre said. “And people didn’t have enough time to react when we shouted. It hit Greg’s mum, so I told him how it was. I said I wasn’t happy – and he didn’t really like my response. He’s the only one I’ve seen do that. It was straight into the crowd. It was into the crowd from the word go. And we’re expecting him to shout fore. She’s all right, I think, but it’s not what you want.
“… It’s on the [player information] sheets, it’s on everything, you shout fore.”
MacIntyre shot 1-over 72 and will enter the weekend at 2 under. Stanley fired a second-round 67 to also the make the cut at even par.
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