MADERA, Calif. — Madera Speedway, Naake-Klauer Motorsports and Race Face Brand Development officials have jointly announced the inaugural Junior Late Model Challenge Camp, for drivers between the ages of 10 and 15.

The camp will give 12 drivers an opportunity, free of charge, to compete for the chance to drive a Naake-Klauer Motorsports-prepared junior late model during 51FIFTY Championship Weekend at Madera on Oct. 5.

Applications will be accepted through July 12 at noon ET. To apply, visit jrlatemodelchallengecamp.com.

The Junior Late Model Challenge Camp is an extension of the highly-successful 51FIFTY Junior Late Model Series, which was created by Madera Speedway owner Kenny Shepherd in 2016 to give younger drivers the chance to grow their skills in full-size race cars, with national television exposure on MAVTV.

Graduates of the 51FIFTY Junior Late Model program at Madera include NASCAR K&N Pro Series winner Hailie Deegan, JR Motorsports CARS Tour regular Adam Lemke and Toyota Racing Development midget driver Jesse Love.

“The goal with our Junior Late Model Series is to create the sport’s next superstars,” noted Shepherd, “And the Junior Late Model Challenge Camp is a nationwide talent search that I’m extremely excited about, as this leads us closer to a real farm system to ensure we are propelling the best talent to the top of the sport.”

Drivers for the Junior Late Model Challenge Camp, which will be held Aug. 16-17 at Madera, will be selected by a five-person panel based on factors including racing accomplishments, history and experience.

The pool of applicants will be narrowed to 50 prospects on July 13, before 12 finalists are selected from that group three days later.

Once the 12 finalists are determined, six drivers will take to Madera Speedway on Aug. 16, with the other six drivers getting their turns behind the wheel on Aug. 17.

Each driver will have the chance to have 90 minutes of on-track time, as well as participate in off-track training seminars during their time at the camp. The 12 finalists will be graded on both on-track and off-track potential, and on-track speed will not be used as a deciding factor.

The camp winner will be announced on Aug. 30, earning a ride with Naake-Klauer Motorsports during the Madera junior late model finale at no cost, with no crash clause due for the opportunity.

The Junior Late Model Challenge Camp will be taped for broadcast on MAVTV as a one-hour special, as an offshoot of the successful Junior Late Model Series television package on the network.

It has been five years since the KRAVE Group took over America’s top motorcycle road racing series and Wayne Rainey, three-time world champion and successful team owner, has learned a lot.

“Being a racer, I thought the guys that ran the sport didn’t know what the hell they were doing most of the time. I quickly figured out they knew more than I thought,” Rainey said. “This side of the fence has been a lot of work. As a team owner or a racer, you are working for yourself and what it takes to be competitive. Representing 130 or 140 racers, each with their own situation, has been eye opening for sure.”

Half a decade in, the series thought to be near death’s door when Rainey’s group took control, has survived and even seen some marked improvements. The competition level of the series has vastly improved and Rainey’s group has its best TV deal yet for 2019. There is more progress to be made, but the foundation of the series is much stronger. “It’s taken five years to get to this point,” he said. “We’re excited.”

MotoAmerica, as the series was rebranded when Rainey’s group took the helm, had plenty to improve upon back then. Motorcycle road racing in America was in total shambles, with no TV, a limited schedule of a half-dozen events and a dwindling number of teams. There was no real post-recession recovery for the motorcycle industry and the Daytona Motorsports Group was ready to give up on road racing.

Rainey and his partners had numerous philosophical differences with the previous series organizers. While DMG wanted to make the series insular and uniquely American and perhaps a two-wheeled version of NASCAR, MotoAmerica wanted to realign with the world championships to help Americans contend on an international level.

“We had to do something to try to give our riders an opportunity to race in the world championship, if they wanted, and to get international riders to come into our championship and have a competitive ride,” Rainey noted. “In our case, how we ended up in the series and the partners I am with, there was a real need to get the championship and get it stable and get it where our racers and teams can be competitive — not just here but abroad. That was our main point. I think, in general, it worked.”

Changes seen throughout the motorsports landscape also meant a new reality in motorcycle road racing. MotoAmerica couldn’t just change course and go back to doing what had been done in the past.

“What we didn’t see coming was racing 10 or 15 years ago was a heck of a lot different than what it looks like now,” Rainey explained. “Back then, there was a lot more manufacturer participation in the series, there were more riders and teams, there were more international riders. Twenty years ago, the American championship was very competitive. A lot of the international riders came through our championship. The rest of the world started getting their (national) championships under control and that worked well for them. For us, it went a little stagnant.”

With four factory bikes left in the premier class and only a handful of “real” Superbikes remaining to augment them, the first obstacle was to boost those numbers. It was no surprise that Rainey, with his ties to world championship organizer Dorna, looked to the World Superbike championship for a rules package. The goal was to make things competitive and bringing the machines the rest of the world uses back to America.

“The way our rules work, we follow the FIM World Superbike rules,” Rainey said. “There are spending caps put on the electronics, so this keeps the factory teams from running away. The competition in every class has been the part we haven’t had to mess with much. It seems every race, somebody’s duking it out for the lead. It’s going well.”

Privateer J.D. Beach and Attack Performance scored a surprise victory at Virginia Int’l Raceway earlier this year.

“It was massively popular in our series, not just because J.D. is a popular rider and Attack Performance is one of the teams coming on the past coupe of years. The way the rules are laid out, it shows you can be competitive on a privateer team and a privateer bike against the factory teams,” Rainey explained. “A good example of that was J.D. winning at VIR. It was mixed conditions, half-wet, half-dry and they were able to put together a package and he won the race. They have been knocking at the door, along with the Westby team and Mathew Scholz. They are right there as well. Kyle Wyman has brought a Ducati to the series and he led when it was really wet in that race. BMW is there, Kawasaki has some bikes in the series, Jake Lewis on his Suzuki with John Ulrich’s team and also Jake Gagne coming back from World Superbike and riding the BMW. He’s been injured a bit but I think when everyone is healthy, it is very competitive. It shows the rules are working.”

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STATESVILLE N.C. – GMS Racing has announced that Digital Ally Inc. will sponsor John Hunter Nemechek in two NASCAR Xfinity Series races this year.

The company, which develops, manufactures and markets advanced digital technology products for law enforcement, homeland security and commercial security applications, will sponsor Nemechek Friday at Daytona Int’l Speedway and Aug. 3 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l.

Nemechek has one Xfinity Series start at Daytona with GMS Racing in the season opener in February and collected a top-10 finish after finishing eighth. The Mooresville, N.C., native will make his first Xfinity Series start at Watkins Glen in the Zippo 200.

“I am really excited to have Digital Ally on board the No. 23 at both Daytona and Watkins Glen,” said Nemechek. “They are a great organization and to represent their brand on the track is an honor. We will do all we can to try and park the No. 23 Digital Ally Chevrolet in victory lane.”

“Digital Ally is extremely excited to sponsor John Hunter’s No. 23 Chevrolet at Daytona and Watkins Glen,” said Stan Ross, CEO of Digital Ally. “John Hunter is one of the best young, up and coming stars in the Xfinity Series and we are confident he will continue his success in the No. 23 Digital Ally Chevrolet.”

INDIANAPOLIS – IndyCar has consolidated its Marketing and Communications teams into one department while adding two award-winning motorsports veterans.

IndyCar named Mike Zizzo as Vice President of Communications and Kate Davis in the newly formed position of Director of Communications as part of a reorganization to create an integrated and strategically aligned Marketing and Communications department.

Zizzo and Davis will join Vice President of Marketing S.J. Luedtke, who joined IndyCar in February after serving as a Nike executive for nearly the past decade, in developing and executing a comprehensive marketing communications plan.

“Mike and Kate provide IndyCar with a tremendous amount of motorsports knowledge and communications experience, especially from sanctioning body and promoter perspectives, and they are highly respected both inside and outside the industry,” IndyCar President Jay Frye said. “They will complement SJ on the marketing side and provide INDYCAR with a stronger, more integrated Marketing and Communications department.”

Zizzo, who had been serving as a PR consultant for IndyCar since February, is an award-winning communications executive with 23 years of motorsports experience in his field. He has served in management roles for two sanctioning bodies – CART and NASCAR – and most recently spent the past 13 years as Vice President of Communications for Texas Motor Speedway.

Zizzo is the only two-time recipient of NASCAR’s national series track public relations representative of the year award and also received the sanctioning body’s “Best Youth Marketing Initiative” honor for his Speeding To Read educational program at TMS. He also is a previous winner of the esteemed Jim Chapman Award for motorsports PR excellence.

His motorsports career began with CART from 1996-2002 and the tenure was highlighted by serving as Vice President of Competition Public Relations for the open-wheel sanctioning body. He then joined NASCAR from 2002-2005 as a Senior Public Relations Manager with an emphasis on competition before moving to Texas Motor Speedway later in ’05.

Davis is a veteran communications and content executive who has spent the past 17 years with NASCAR in various broadcast or digital-related capacities. She joined NASCAR in 2001 and served as the Senior Manager of Broadcast Communications before spending the last 12 years with NASCAR Productions and NASCAR Digital Media.

In her most recent role as Senior Director of Content, Davis oversaw the development and production of content that was distributed to NASCAR’s television; radio and digital partners; third-party clients; and television and radio affiliates throughout the country. During that tenure, she was part of a team that produced an Emmy Award-winning documentary.

In related moves of the restructuring, Curt Cavin will shift to the role of Senior Manager of Digital Content Editorial while Communications colleagues Kate Guerra and Arni Sribhen continue in the department in similar or redefined roles.

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues have re-signed restricted free agent Sammy Blais to an $850,000, one-year contract.

Blais, 23, had a goal and two assists in 15 playoff games to help St. Louis win the Stanley Cup. The forward had two goals and two assists over 32 regular-season games for the Blues and spent part of the season with the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. The Canadian made his NHL debut during the 2017-18 season, scoring one goal and having two assists in 11 games.

St. Louis drafted Blais in the sixth round of the 2014 draft.

The Carolina Hurricanes took less than 24 hours to declare they'll match the offer sheet signed by restricted free agent center Sebastian Aho, which was tendered by the Montreal Canadiens on July 1.

Aho, 21, signed a five-year, $42.27 million contract. The deal runs through the 2023-24 season and carries an average annual value of $8.454 million. If the Hurricanes had let him walk, the Canadiens would have handed over first-, second- and third-round picks in the 2020 NHL draft.

The Hurricanes had a week to match the offer sheet, and announced on Tuesday their intention to match it, without specifying when they'd match. In theory, they could keep the Canadiens' compensatory draft picks tied up in this offer sheet for the full week before matching, preventing them from utilizing the picks in another offer sheet.

"This was an easy decision," GM Don Waddell said in a statement. "Sebastian is one of the best players in the league and the centerpiece of what we're building here. We've spoken to him throughout this process and he's made it clear that he wants to be in Raleigh and be a part of this organization. It's our job to manage our cap space as our players develop and hit free agency. There was no concern at any point that we would not be able to match this contract. Once again, the Carolina Hurricanes should not be underestimated. We have a plan and all the resources to win a Stanley Cup."

The Canadiens tried to lure away Aho, the Hurricanes' leading scorer, with the first signed offer sheet in the NHL since 2013. The offer sheet featured $11.3 million in signing-bonus money in the first year, and then $9.87 million in signing-bonus money in the second year -- the idea being that the Hurricanes would bristle at having to ante up $21.17 million to Aho in the span of a year.

The other aspect of the offer intended to scare off Carolina was the term. By giving Aho five years, the contract walks him right up to unrestricted free agency.

Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon said that he wasn't concerned that Montreal had tested his franchise's ability to financially handle an offer sheet.

"It was so ridiculous in terms of probability of succeeding. If it was a test, it was quite an easy one," he said. "Everyone's trying to make their team better. We've looked at all the way to make our team better, and never came to the conclusion that the offer sheet was the best way. Your probability of succeeding is almost zero. It was proven that it was a waste of time."

Montreal GM Marc Bergevin had explored other options among restricted free agents, including Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning, before targeting Aho.

"I looked at the options of what was available and that's what, as an organization, we looked at the closest and we identified that Sebastian Aho was the player. After the window opened we were able to talk, and he wants to be here," Bergevin said on Monday. "He agreed to this. He believes this is a really good offer for him and he wants to be part of the Montreal Canadiens."

But the Hurricanes clearly intend to have him remain in Raleigh.

The remaining questions after this offer sheet drama: If there's any lingering animosity toward Aho for signing it; and why the Canadiens didn't go higher with their offer, as the immediate reaction to the contract was that it wasn't lucrative enough, nor was the draft pick compensation compelling enough, to dissuade Carolina from matching.

Dundon downplayed the idea that Aho preferred to play in Montreal rather than Raleigh, saying that agent Gerry Johannson was the one making that claim.

"The question is do you think you should believe an agent, and you guys can figure that out," Dundon said. "If [Aho] said it, it would be different. But he didn't. The fact that an agent said it means there's no credibility to it."

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Dylan Cozens, the Buffalo Sabres' top draft pick, needs a "procedure" to repair an injured left thumb.

The Sabres provided the update Tuesday, a day after Cozens was scheduled to visit a specialist. Cozens will have the procedure Wednesday.

This was Cozens immediately following the hit heading to the locker room #Sabres @WKBW pic.twitter.com/3BonvhW2bd

— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) June 29, 2019

He was hurt Saturday during a three-on-three scrimmage on the final day of the Sabres' developmental camp. A video showed Cozens leaving the ice with his thumb appearing dislocated.

Afterward, the Canadian said he was confident his thumb wasn't broken.

The 18-year-old center was selected with the No. 7 pick in the draft last month.

Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has joined Tottenham in a club-record £56.5 million deal with the potential for a further £8.5m to be paid in bonuses.

The 22-year-old France international has signed on until 2025.

- When does the transfer window close?

Ndombele made 49 appearances for Lyon last season, including eight Champions League starts, scoring three goals.

? Bonjour, @TanguyNdombele! #WelcomeTanguy ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/moRjwty317

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 2, 2019

Ndombele signed for Lyon last summer from SC Amiens for €25m, going on to be named in the team of the year for both the Champions League and Ligue 1.

Champions League runners-up Spurs, who didn't spend a penny last season, previously set their transfer record with the signing of Colombia international defender Davinson Sanchez for £36m in 2017.

Earlier on Tuesday, Spurs announced Leeds United winger Jack Clarke had joined the club in a deal worth a reported £10 million.

Clarke, 18, passed a medical last week and will be loaned back to the Championship side for next season.