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'Fame is a real high price' - Becker on success and celebrity status

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 22:08

Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker says he often found it hard to cope with fame during his career and has warned modern players of the price of being in the public eye.

Becker was thrust into the spotlight when he won Wimbledon in 1985 aged 17.

His rise to stardom has drawn comparisons with American Coco Gauff, who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon this year at the age of just 15.

"Once you're famous, you're famous. But it's a real high price," Becker said.

"You're sitting having a coffee with someone and you're headline news the next day.

"Just to compare it with the craziness we are witnessing now with Coco Gauff and she only reached the fourth round."

Becker, who won six Grand Slams during his career, was one of the biggest sports stars in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s.

Now 51, he says he found it daunting to carry the hopes of a nation, particularly when competing for his country at the Davis Cup.

However, he thinks things are much harder now for modern players with the added pressure of social media and the internet.

Speaking to the Don't Tell Me the Score podcast, Becker said: "I was still very young and felt intimidated by the scale of it, carrying a whole country. What happens if I fail? Have I disappointed all of you? And so expectations got out of hand a little bit.

"If I lost in the final it was like somebody died and people would criticise you on a personal level.

"You are walking down the street and big newspapers followed you every step of the way.

"But in those days we had no internet and no social media, I couldn't imagine what it would be like.

"It's so easy to post something on social media without any truth in it and yet you have to prove otherwise. That's not right."

Becker also questioned the rise of celebrity culture and the impact it has on young people.

"We're living in strange times, celebrity culture is at an all-time high, but it is not the truth," he said.

"I am a celebrity because I've done something unusual but a lot of people are celebrities these days because they are a celebrity. They've never done anything in their life that is extraordinary other than being famous.

"So it is very difficult for young children. Do you want to be famous and successful? If so how is it defined?

"If you have 10 million followers on Twitter does that mean you are successful? We are living in dangerous times of value and what means what."

Despite the pressures of fame, Becker says he had no regrets and that being a celebrity does have its upsides.

"You always get a seat in a restaurant. You can bend the rules a bit if you're famous," he added.

"Some of the old stories haunt me, but I smile about it. For me winning tennis matches was far more important.

"If someone said 35 years ago that I would have the success I had now, I would sign straight away."

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Andy Murray column: Hard work starts now for possible singles return

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 22:20

In his regular BBC Sport column, Andy Murray talks about hitting the gym as he tries to move closer to a singles return, what he enjoyed most about playing again at Wimbledon and the complicated world of setting up doubles 'dates'.

Now my Wimbledon is over, my focus will switch to doing a lot of physical work over the next four to six weeks to improve the strength in my hip.

That means a lot of heavy weightlifting in the gym, which is a part of training that I don't particularly enjoy doing.

During a hip resurfacing operation, where the head of the femur is capped by metal, a lot of muscles are severed and stitched back up so it takes a lot of time and needs hard physical work to recover properly.

That strength is not going to come back in just three or four months, it could take nine or 12 months.

I need to get those muscles back to a certain level before I can go on a singles court and try to play best of five sets, otherwise I could do damage if the strength isn't there.

I'm happy to be pain free and want to get my hip as good as it can be, then once it is strong again I can get back to competing.

That means doing lots of lifting exercises with a hex bar and an Olympic bar - they are the type of barbells you see in the weightlifting areas of your local gym and used for dead lifts, squats and other strength-building exercises.

The Olympic bar weighs 20kg with weights on either side so I do a lot of work with those, but I don't do loads of machine-based work.

Weightlifting is something which I find quite easy to do psychologically because you can either lift the weight or you can't.

Cardiovascular training is different because if you're not strong enough then you can stop and give up. That's what I like about it, you have to push yourself to do better, run a little bit further or go a little bit faster.

If you're not quite into it mentally then you're not going to get as good a result so that side of training helps you improve psychologically too.

Last year, before I had the hip surgery, I went to Philadelphia to do some reconditioning work and there aren't any plans to go there again.

But if I'm going to be here in London for a few months, then I will try to break it up a little bit and go somewhere, because it can be boring doing the rehab in the same place every day for a few months.

I was just glad to play Wimbledon after tough year

Of course I wanted to go further than the second round in the men's doubles and the third round in the mixed, but considering how tough the past year has been, it was good to just get out there and play.

As I reflect on my return to Wimbledon, my overriding emotion is enjoyment.

I was practising here about six or seven weeks ago, hitting on the clay courts and not knowing if I'd be playing during the grass-court season or not.

They were starting to paint the lines on the court, prepare all the backdrops around the grounds and put all the hospitality tents up - it left me thinking how disappointed I would be if I had to miss the tournament again.

I was excited to be back playing here and, although I felt nerves and I felt pressure, it was not to the same degree as I usually would playing in the singles.

What I particularly enjoyed was being around the locker room and having that camaraderie with the other players and the support staff.

I know a lot of them really well having been on the tour together for years and it was great to be part of that again.

Doubles was fun - but finding a partner can be awkward!

Doubles is a competitive environment and the players want to win, obviously, but I found it is little more sociable because the players are chatting and interacting that bit more.

It was also interesting to learn how doubles works - when you're trying to find partners it can get a little complicated!

I ended up playing with Pierre-Hugues Herbert after he decided not to play with Nicolas Mahut and in the mixed doubles I asked a few players, including Ashleigh Barty and Kristina Mladenovic, who said 'no'.

When I mentioned I had been turned down by some people I started getting messages from a number of different players and then you wonder how you're going to decide who to play with.

That was tricky but luckily I got to play with one of the all-time greats in Serena and it was an amazing experience.

Being part of a duo again was great because I've always enjoyed playing doubles.

I've had the opportunity to play a few matches with my brother Jamie in great atmospheres at the Davis Cup and people enjoy watching it.

It is a different set of skills to singles and the communication between the two players is so important.

You can never have a perfect partner but you need to complement each other's games well and that is the secret to having a good team.

When I played with my brother, he is brilliant at the net and I set him up when I return. You need to work together which is not what I'm used to as a singles player.

I've enjoyed it a lot and could play more doubles in the future but ultimately my goal is returning to singles if I'm able to - and that's my focus over the next few months.

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Semi-final preview: Fearless Strycova bids to halt Williams and Halep v Svitolina

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 13:10

Unseeded Barbora Strycova says she will have no fear when she bids to halt Serena Williams' charge towards an 11th Wimbledon singles final on Thursday.

The Czech, at 33 the oldest first-time Grand Slam women's semi-finalist, takes on the seven-time champion after Simona Halep plays Elina Svitolina.

"Of course, I don't have as much power as Serena, but I have other weapons," said Strycova, who beat Briton Johanna Konta in the quarter-finals.

"I have really nothing to lose."

Among Strycova's arsenal is an effective serve-and-volley game, honed in a way that will be familiar to many who loved the tennis of previous generations of players.

"I was playing at home against the wall, against the house, so I was kind of like playing with it," she said.

"I love to play volleys, especially on grass. It's working very well. When I'm confident, I like to play a lot of balls from the net. It's my territory."

Williams 'feeling good' after injury-hit season

Strycova is, though, the overwhelming underdog against Williams, who is chasing a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title and her first as a mother.

And, ominously, the American declared after her quarter-final victory over Alison Riske that she is feeling the best she has since January after being troubled by injury in recent months.

"This is the first time since Australia that I actually felt good," said the 37-year-old, whose high-profile mixed doubles partnership with Andy Murray ended with a last-16 defeat on Wednesday.

"It's been a really, really long year for me already, and hard year, because I'm usually not typically injured.

"I don't know where I am. I do know I feel good. Now that I feel good, I can actually focus on training and technique and practice, something that I just literally haven't been able to do a lot of."

The pair have met three times before, with Williams winning every time including in the first round at Wimbledon in 2012.

But Strycova, who says her granddad took her to see the Wimbledon trophies in the museum as a two-year-old, is not dwelling on that record or Williams' success here.

"When you go out there, you just focus on yourself and you focus how to beat that opponent, the way you want to beat her," she said. "So I am not really scared to play her. I just really will try my best and I will fight as much as I can."

Svitolina chasing first Grand Slam final

Ukrainian eighth seed Svitolina will be seeking to forget about the only other time she has met Halep, 27, at a Grand Slam.

The Romanian triumphed in three sets - taking the third 6-0 - in the French Open quarter-finals in 2017 with Svitolina having held match point in the second.

Svitolina, who is coached by Briton Andy Bettles, says a lot has changed since then.

"I think I'm a little bit different player now," said the 24-year-old, who is appearing in her first Grand Slam semi-final after a major breakthrough last year when she won the prestigious end-of-season WTA Tour Finals.

"I'm playing free, I'm playing decent tennis. It's the first time that we play in a semi-final, it's going to be interesting for both of us."

Halep, meanwhile, is banishing memories of her own, having lost her only other Wimbledon semi-final in straight sets to Eugenie Bouchard in 2014.

"I'm a different person," said the 2018 French Open champion and former world number one.

"Everything changed. I have a lot of experience now. I'm more confident. I love grass - it's first time that I have said that.

"I think it's a big challenge for me, the next match. But I will take it like I took every match since I'm here. I'm relaxed. I'm happy. I'm motivated to win.

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Cho Daeseong: five things to know

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 13:15

Australia is already his best result, though this is not his first dance. The youngster, seen already this year on the ITTF World Tourt in Qatar, China and Japan, was fearless against Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting, overcoming a 2-1 deficit to turn the tables 4-2 (11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-2). As the main draw begins in Geelong, Cho will face England’s Liam Pitchford for the right to oppose either Tomokazu Harimoto or Wang Chuqin in the round of 16.

He’s beaten big names before. That includes Ho Kwan Kit, who suffered a 4-0 loss at Cho’s hands back in March at the ITTF World Tour Qatar Open. Doha was also a name-making event for Cho. He fought his way through three preliminary round opponents before falling to Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura at the doors of the main draw. Nevertheless, his stock shot way up after his performance in Qatar.

He respects his elders. Faced against 22 year old Wong Chun Ting, the top seeded player in qualification in Australia, Cho had already resigned himself to the probable outcome. “Before the match, I knew that I would play against a strong player so I thought I will take this match as a learning opportunity,” he remarked. “I tried to follow the advice from my coach during the game when I was under pressure, as I am young and don’t have much experience in this kind of big event.”

The result may even have surprised him: “I was able to win three sets in a row afterwards and won this match with the support from my coach Lee Jeoungwoo,” he said.

He has lofty goals. Cho, a 2018 Youth Olympian and part of the new Korean wave in table tennis, aspires to the very top of his sport. “I dream about being an Olympic champion, just like my idol, my compatriot Ryu Seungmin,” he said in 2017. By becoming a member of the Korean national team, he has already accomplished one of his major objectives.

He doesn’t like to fly. Airplanes have been known to make him nervous in the past, but keep your eye on this young man, who may be about to take off.

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Innovative but simple, the World Veteran Tour Ranking scheme

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 13:29

Furthermore, it is a tournament with notable innovations; in the men’s singles and women’s singles events, ranking points being a most significant feature.

A player secures five points for a win at any stage of competition; in addition in the main draw bonus points are awarded last 32 (100 points), last 16 (200 points), quarter-final (300 points), semi-final (500 points), runner up (600 points), winner (750 points). In the consolation events it is lower, last 32 (30 points), last 16 (40 points), quarter-final (50 points), semi-final (70 points), runner up (80 points), winner (100 points).

Thus, if in an event the winner plays eight matches, he wins the event; he gains 750 points + (8 x 5 = 40 points) 790 points.

After a two year period, the player only keeps the best two bonus points but retains all the five points won at any stage of competition; when moving to the next age group category the points gained are carried forward.

Also, if for any reason a player competes in a more senior category; points are attributed to both the player’s own category and the one higher.

On the concluding day, the winners in each age group will compete in the “Champions of Champions”; play will be organised in a knock-out basis, matches best of three games, except for the final, best of five games.

Furthermore, if time permits and there are sufficient tables, extra events which combine age groups may be staged. There are no ranking points for doubles.

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Day One: Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 16:55

Long games, big wins

The hardest fought matches of the women’s singles round of 32? Austria’s Yui Hamamoto and Japan’s Shiho Matsudaira each escaped endurance runs with 4:3 wins over their opponents. Hamamoto had the most heart-pounding time of it: she was down 3-0 against Australia’s Lay Jian Fang and worked her way out of the do-or-die situation with four fantastic final games (8-11, 3-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4).

Matsudaira, meanwhile, seesawed with Romania’s Bernadette Szocs before delivering the deciding points in game seven (12-10, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11).

Here come the Suns

Game on between Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha, one of the day’s most highly anticipated matchups. Historically Wang had the advantage, though not by much — the two have met seven times in ITTF play, with Wang coming away with four of those matches, including at the 2019 Worlds in Budapest.

You got a feel for how this one was going to go when they drew even and kept pushing each other from game one, which Sun finally took 14-12. She got the next two as well, drawing a 3-0 lead before Wang took a game from her. Overall though, Sun outshone Wang, going 4:1 (14-12, 11-5, 11-5, 7-11, 11-2) for the win. The two are now 4-4 against each other.

It’s a good day to be a Sun, as Sun Mingyang showed in overcoming Zhu Yuling 4:1 (11-9, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 11-8).

Sato, Ishikawa take the honors

The women’s singles round of 16 will have one all-Chinese matchup (Chen Meng vs. Mu Zi) and now one all-Japanese battle, between Hitomi Sato and Kasumi Ishikawa. Sato dropped her first game to Germany’s Nina Mittelham before rallying to a 4:1 win (10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 11-1, 11-6), while Ishikawa, faced off with 14-year-old sensation Miyuu Kihara, admirably answered with the younger generation’s challenge, 4:0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5).

Chen vs. Chen

Victorious in women’s singles at last week’s Korea Open in Busan, Chen Meng had no trouble dispatching Chinese Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu 4:0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7). The World #1 has been a fixture in late tournament play all year, beginning with her win at the Hungarian Open in January through to last week’s triumph in Busan.

It took Mu Zi only a few minutes more to advance 4:0 over Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong, though Doo kept pace with the 30-year-old Chinese veteran in games two and four, pushing things into extra points (11-6, 12-10, 11-2, 12-10).

Possible upsets and a European rivalry

When you have two Chinese pairs losing their opening games, the smell of an upset (or two) gets stronger. Add to that the Swedish pair of Mattias Falck and coach Kristian Karlsson being irresistible against Germans Benedikt Duda and Qiu Dang (11-6, 11-7, 11-6), then you have a super afternoon stew.

Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin’s pairing were the first to drop a game against Hong Kong’s Lam Siu Hang and Ng Pak Nam. On another table, Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan synced up to be 8-11 down versus Japan’s Togami Shunsuke and Uda Yukiya. In the end, the Chinese elite duos rolled up their sleeves for 3:1 and 3:2 wins respectively-but it came as an early warning of the fierce competition in Geelong.

No (quarterfinal) place at home

Today might not go down as a happy day for most Australians, as yet another host pairing perished in the first round of the main event. David Powell and Kane Townsend could not win a game against Indian duo Amalraj Anthony and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (11-7, 11-3, 11-8).

Meanwhile, the Korean men followed the women’s lead and moved on the next round with spirited showings. Joeung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu had the easier time, with a swift 3:0 win over Czech pair Pavel Sirucek and Labomir Jancarik. Compatriots Jang Woojin and Lim Jonghoon had a tougher time negotiating past Slovenia’s Darko Jorgic and Belgian Florent Lambiet in a 3:2 thriller.

No sweat for Korean pairs

Fan favorite Jeon Jihee and her partner Yang Haeun had a straightforward afternoon, as they won 3:0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-5) against Thailand’s Jinnipa Sawettabut and Suthasini Sawettabut.

Powerful service shots were on display from Jeon and Yang, pushing the Sawettabutt sisters into defensive strokes throughout. The match concluded in 25 minutes, which was still longer than the walkover victory for Choi Hyojoo and Lee Eunhye who benefited from Chinese Liu Shiwen’s withdrawal due to injury yesterday.

European qualifiers unable to march on

French qualifiers Laura Gasnier and Audrey Zarif were unable to step into the quarterfinals, as they came up short against the Japanese duo of Hirano Miu and Shibata Saki.

The speed of Miu and Saki’s backhand-forehand combination turned out to be too hot for the Europeans to handle, meaning a 3:1 win for the Asians. Elsewhere, another European duo exited the tournament as Slovakian Barbora Balazova and Czech Hana Matelova lost out to Japan’s Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki in similar fashion (11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9).

Spanish duo turn up the heat, but can’t make it count

Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao brought some Spanish flavor to morning proceedings here in Geelong, as they were involved in a fiery match-up with Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem.

With both pairs playing their first game of the tournament, the higher intensity was very welcome. The match swung both ways consistently before the Asians got a foothold in the tie and never let go, winning 3:2 (7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8).

Difficult start for home favorites

It was an extremely difficult start to the main event for the hosts, as the Aussie pairing of Kane Townsend and Jee Minhyung lost in straight games to France’s Tristan Flore and Laura Gasnier (11-6, 11-4, 11-1) in just 15 minutes of game time.

On the only other live table, it took Chinese Taipei duo Lin Yun-Ju and Chen I-Ching 18 minutes to see off Indian doubles partnership of Archana Girish Kamath and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (11-4, 11-6, 11-8).

Day one commences!

It’s time for day one of the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open – Here’s the fixture schedule for the day ahead and make sure to watch along live with itTV:

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Women's Rugby Super Series: England 20-18 France

Published in Rugby

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 23:11

Emily Scarratt's late penalty saw England beat France 20-18 to maintain their 100% record and move top of the Women's Rugby Super Series table.

After wins over USA and Canada, England started badly when Cyrielle Banet touched down after just over a minute.

Kelly Smith's try got England back in it but Caroline Boujard's try helped France to an 18-5 half-time lead.

Scarratt scored two tries and with eight minutes left, her penalty secured a lead for the first time - and a win.

After the victory in San Diego, England are thre points clear of New Zealand, who they play in their final game of the Series on Sunday.

A win would ensure Simon Middleton's team officially become the world's best side.

Reacting to his side's ninth win in 2019, Middleton said: "We showed the character in our team to come back from a tough position. We knew we could as we've got a lot of belief in being able to close games out - we did it against Canada and we've done it again today with some monumental efforts on the field.

"Scarratt is a bit special isn't she? There is nothing she cannot do really.

"New Zealand will be hurting from their defeat against France. They're world champions and it's always going to be a tough game when you play against them. We're going to have to regroup and dust ourselves down, but one thing we won't be short of is spirit."

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Rain Postpones USAC’s Chad McDaniel Memorial

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 12:54

CONCORDIA, Kan. – Overnight storms and saturated grounds have forced the postponement of Wednesday night’s scheduled NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series event at the Concordia High Banks.

The 10th annual Chad McDaniel Memorial will now be held Thursday night, July 11, marking the series debut at the quarter-mile dirt oval in Kansas.

Thursday at Concordia, the NOW 600 Open Class micro sprints are also in action.

The drivers meeting takes place at 6:15 p.m. CT, followed by engine heat at 6:45 p.m. and hot laps at 7 p.m. Adult general admission tickets are $25 for fans age 13 and older, while those 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for all ages.

Past winners of the Chad McDaniel Memorial include Brad Kuhn (2010), Scott Hatton (2012), Christopher Bell (2013, 2017), Bryan Clauson (2014, 2016) and Kevin Thomas Jr. (2015, 2018).

Logan Seavey won the Mid-America Midget Week opener Tuesday at Red Dirt Raceway for his second series victory of the year.

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Marks Brings Momentum Into WoO Doubleheader

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 13:00

WILMOT, Wis. – A year after the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race at Wilmot Raceway, Wisconsin natives are still talking about the event.

They’re continuing to talk about the driver who picked up his first win with a seven-second lead, as well as came close to putting eighth-place Donny Schatz a lap down.

That driver was Myerstown, Penn., native Brent Marks, and he’s hoping to keep people talking with another win at Wilmot on Saturday.

“I think I pulled up a pretty big fan base after that weekend,” Marks said. “It seems like every time we come back to Wisconsin people are still talking about that.”

Marks’ first win at Wilmot led to two more victories last year. He’s been winless since his last win at Eldora Speedway in September, though.

This year has been filled with highs and lows for Marks. He came close to picking up his fourth career World of Outlaws victory at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in June, but a late-race mistake forced him to settle for second.

He’s failed to transfer to four features this year, but at the start of July got two more provisionals to use for the remainder of the season. And lately, he’s been building momentum with strong runs.

Marks originally hadn’t transferred to the feature for the final night of the Jackson Nationals, but due to a car being disqualified before the start of the race, and Marks being the first alternate, he was able to get on track before the initial start.

He made the most of that opportunity by charging from 24th to 14th.

Marks then backed that performance up with two fourth-place finishes in-a-row – earning the Hard Charger award at Cedar Lake Speedway for going from 16th to fourth.

Now, Marks is looking to turn his good runs into wins. Before returning to Wilmot, Marks’ next shot at another victory will be at Hartford Speedway in Hartford, Mich. on July 12.

“I’m excited to head there and see what it’s all about,” Marks said. “We don’t get to race in Michigan too often, so any time I get to go there I think it’s good for us drivers and the Series.”

The World of Outlaws have raced on the current three-eighths-mile configuration of Hartford Speedway once in 2017. Marks fared well, though, finishing fourth.

He enjoys going to new tracks and ones the series hasn’t been to in a while. It puts everyone on an even playing ground, he said.

“When I first started racing with the Outlaws, it was kind of nice (going to a newer track) because you don’t have to one up yourself from the year before,” Marks said. “Kind of start with a clean slate and go from there. That showed this year with some tracks we haven’t been to in a while or new ones like Nashville this year. Just kind of evens everybody up.”

He’s had success recently on new tracks and ones the series hasn’t been to in a few years with his fourth-place finish at Brown County Speedway and runner-up finish at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

His first start at Wilmot Raceway was also kind to him, with a 10th-place run.

“I’ve actually always enjoyed Wilmot, even though I haven’t raced there that much,” Marks said. “It just seems to fit my driving style a little bit. It’s fun. It’s kind of tight. You can maneuver around. Close quarters racing. I think it’s a fun track and I enjoy racing there.”

After securing the win at the third-mile track last year, the weight of the world fell off his shoulders. He could finally check winning his first World of Outlaws race off his list of goals.

“It meant everything, really,” Marks said. “I had been working on getting an Outlaw win for a long time. I always figured it would happen on my home turf in Pennsylvania, but to be able to do it outside of PA and just be able to do it in general is pretty amazing.”

Racing with the World of Outlaws requires patience, Marks said, both patience and smart decisions on track. Those two traits led him to his first win last year, and he’s hoping they will lead to his first win of the season this year.

“It always seems to be harder to get that first one out of the way,” Marks said. “And that’s every year. It seems really hard to get that first win and after that they seem to, not really come easy, but it seems to happen more often. It’s the same thing we’re doing this year.

“We’re trying to get that first win of the year and see what we can do there.”

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HEADLINES: Petty Finally Gets Win No. 200

Published in Racing

Wednesday, 10 July 2019 14:00

SPEED SPORT has been covering auto racing for 85 years, and over that time, tens of thousands of stories from all forms of motorsports have been told in its pages, as well as online.

Last week, Richard Petty celebrated the 35th anniversary of his historic 200th NASCAR premier series victory. We look back at that race in this week’s edition of Torn From The Headlines.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Richard Petty reached a threshold July 4 at Daytona Int’l Speedway that may never be equaled in professional stock car racing.

Petty won his 200th NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in a thrilling showdown with longtime rival Cale Yarborough, topping the Firecracker 400 in front of an estimated crowd of 80,000 spectators.

The seven-time Cup Series champion led 53 of the race’s 160 laps in his iconic STP-sponsored No. 43, but it was the third-to-last tour of the 2.5-mile Florida superspeedway that had the fans on their feet.

As the leaders were coming around to complete lap 158, Doug Heveron crashed his No. 01 Chevrolet in turn one, necessitating a caution period for cleanup. Petty and Yarborough found themselves nose-to-tail at that point and began a thrilling duel for the win which continued all the way around the track.

Exiting turn four, Petty got a burst of speed inside of Yarborough and managed to nose ahead at the start/finish line, leading the final two laps under caution for the victory.

Yarborough passed Petty going down the backstretch before the yellow flag, but it was Petty’s response to that move that ultimately gave him the spoils of victory in the end.

“When Cale was following me on that last green-flag lap, I didn’t have the foggiest idea what I was going to do,” Petty said. “It was a circumstance where he would act and I’d react. We touched two or three times, but not enough to upset either car.”

Wednesday’s victory was Petty’s second Cup Series win of the season. His prior win came at Dover Downs Int’l Speedway on May 20.

The race was even more notable, not just because of Petty’s milestone victory, but because President Ronald Reagan was in attendance to see Petty make auto-racing history in the closing laps.

Ronald Reagan (left) in the press box with Ned Jarrett during the 1984 Firecracker 400. (NASCAR photo)

Reagan gave the command to start engines from Air Force One, which later landed at nearby Daytona Beach Int’l Airport.

He is the first sitting president to attend a live NASCAR event.

After his arrival, Reagan went to the radio booth and called a brief portion of the race alongside the Motor Racing Network’s Barney Hall, Ned Jarrett and Eli Gold before Petty made history.

Prior to going to victory lane for the customary celebration, Petty went up to the press box to meet with the president, then later joined Reagan for a Kentucky Fried Chicken picnic with drivers and teams.

Harry Gant was credited with the second-place finishing position after Yarborough pulled onto pit road a lap early and was passed by Gant’s No. 33 Skoal Bandit Chevrolet. Yarborough finished third.

Bobby Allison and Benny Parsons completed the top five, with Bill Elliott finishing sixth as the last car on the lead lap.

Petty earned $43,755 for his victory. He averaged 171.204 mph over the 400-mile distance, with only three caution flags slowing the pace and 28 lead changes occurring among eight drivers.

The finish:

Richard Petty, Harry Gant, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons, Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Neil Bonnett, Joe Ruttman, Tim Richmond, Geoff Bodine, Phil Parsons, Tommy Ellis, Ricky Rudd, Trevor Boys, David Pearson, Dave Marcis, Jody Ridley, Rusty Wallace, Dean Roper, Mike Alexander, Dale Jarrett, Tommy Gale, Clark Dwyer, Ken Ragan, Connie Saylor, Doug Heveron, Ronnie Thomas, Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Dean Combs, Sterling Marlin, Ron Bouchard, Steve Moore, Buddy Arrington, Bobby Hillin Jr., Dick Brooks, Greg Sacks, Morgan Shepherd, Buddy Baker, Lake Speed.

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