WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Brandon Ward left with the trophy on Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium, but Jonathan Brown was smiling just as big.

Ward qualified seventh – and when the entire modified field randomly drew for starting position, he was set to start fourth. Frank Fleming drew the pole for his start and shot out into the lead, with Ward quickly moving up to second.

Jonathan Brown  and John Smith elected to take on the Fans’ Challenge after qualifying in the top four: they would start in the rear and win $3,000 if either of them were to make it back up to top-four finish.

A few double-file restarts allowed Ward to challenge Fleming for the lead, completing the pass on lap 17. The double-file restarts also allowed defending champ Burt Myers of Walnut Cove to make his way forward up to second – where he began pressuring Ward.

Ward defended his territory until lap 74 when Myers completed a smooth pass for the lead on the outside row. It seemed like the race was over for Ward, but he battled back to reclaim the lead on lap 90. Myers delivered some stiff shots to Ward’s bumper, but Ward held strong and grabbed the checkered.

“We had a really good car early, and it just went away on me. It got way too free getting in, but these guys don’t give up on me – I can’t give up on them,” said Ward. “I just felt like if I could get a good start and get back to the front, get some laps under us, get some bite back in getting into the corner, we’d be okay.”

Jonathan Brown flew from 22nd up to 4th to win the $3,000 in Fans’ Challenge bonus money. But just as exciting as the prize money for Brown was the performance of his car – and what that means for the future.

“The $3,000 is a nice bonus, but the main thing I’m happy about is building the car and making it better. I came last week after only having the car for two days, and we qualified seventh and got two top-fives,” said Brown. “We took it to the shop and completely rebuilt it – we finished up about one o’clock this morning. We came over all day long and busted our butts to make it better.

“Tonight we qualified fourth, so we’ve gained on it,” said Brown. “I know we were as fast as or faster than the leaders. We had something to win with, for sure.”

Burt Myers finished on Ward’s bumper in second, with brother Jason Myers finishing third.

In the McDowell Heating & Air Sportsman Series, Justin Taylor slipped past Kyle Southern to win in the first 20-lapper. In the second 20-lap race, Dylan Ward claimed victory.

Billy Gregg won for the Law Offices of John Barrow Street Stock Series after spending all day struggling to fix his car. He got it race-ready just minutes before the green flag and held on to take the win.

In the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series, Chuck Wall and Chris Allison each brought home a victory.

MADISON, Ill. – Redemption was on the mind of Ross Chastain Saturday night at World Wide Technology Raceway and that’s exactly what he got.

One week after Chastain and his Niece Motorsports team were disqualified after winning in NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series competition at Iowa Speedway, Chastain and company rebounded in the best way possible with a victory in the CarShield 200.

“These guys went home and we were mad. We felt like we had one taken away from us,” Chastain said about the disqualification last week at Iowa Speedway.

The victory was the result of a gamble by Chastain’s crew chief Phil Gould, who called for a fuel-only pit stop during the final round of pit stops. At the time Chastain was chasing Kyle Busch Motorsports rookie Christian Eckes, who had driven by Chastain to take the lead shortly after a restart with 75 to go.

Eckes pitted with 29 laps left and took two tires and fuel, with Chastain following one lap later for his fuel-only stop. That allowed Chastain to cycle out in front of Eckes and inherit the race lead with 18 laps left.

“I didn’t want to take tires. It was up to me to freaking hold them off. I don’t know how,” Chastain said.

Chastain was still the leader when the final caution flag of the night waved with 14 laps left when Harrison Burton and Sheldon Creed made contact, sending Burton around and into the outside wall in turns one and two.

The resulting caution period allowed Eckes and the rest of the field to close the gap on Chastain, who now had to survive a restart if he was hoping to make it into victory lane.

“That was the last thing I wanted to see,” Chastain said of the caution.

The race resumed with seven laps left and Chastain spun his tires, but a big push from third-place Todd Gilliland allowed Chastain to hold serve and pull clear of Eckes coming out of turn two.

Eckes stayed glued to the bumper of Chastain for the next several laps, never letting Chastain get more than a car length ahead of him. Gilliland and Stewart Friesen were also in the mix as the top-four closed in on the white flag.

Coming to the white flag out of turn four Eckes slipped up the track, opening the door for Gilliland to move to his inside and take second. That allowed Chastain to build a gap on his pursuers with one lap left.

In turn one Eckes tried to make a crossover move on Gilliland to regain second, but contact from Friesen sent Eckes spinning. All of that happened well behind Chastain, who crossed the finish line .704 of a second clear of Gilliland to earn his second victory of the season.

“I buzzed my tires like crazy (on the restart). I’ve got to thank Todd (Gilliland) for pushing me and not wrecking me,” said Chastain, who also earned a $50,000 bonus for winning the final race of the Triple Truck Challenge. “We didn’t have the fastest truck today, but we executed and we believed in each other. Man, that feels really good.”

Chastain is now playoff eligible, but must make it into the top-20 in Truck Series points if he hopes to qualify for the playoffs. He is currently 38 points outside of the top-20.

Friesen ended up third after the contact with Eckes on the final lap. Chandler Smith, who started 25th, came through the field to finish fourth. Brett Moffitt completed the top-five.

Eckes, who led a race-high 57 laps, ended up 14th after the spin on the final lap.

For complete results, advance to the next page.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The 2019 NHL draft is in the books. From Jack Hughes to Jeremy Michel, 217 players have a new team, but that's hardly the only news to come out of the event.

We break down our favorites from the first round to the last, along with thoughts on the wild P.K. Subban trade that kicked off Saturday, our choices for the best weird draft thing and of course, our picks for the best name in the 2019 draft class.

What was your favorite first-round pick?

Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer: Bowen Byram going to the Colorado Avalanche at No. 4. For a minute there, it appeared that Byram wouldn't make it past the Chicago Blackhawks at No. 3, but he was there for GM Joe Sakic to draft. He's a terrific offensive player who needs to grow defensively, but as our own Chris Peters said, "he's the best defenseman in this draft by a fairly large margin." Putting him in the same blue-line corps as Cale Makar and Samuel Girard gives the Avalanche a foundation on which to build some great things. The draft pick they snagged from Ottawa didn't end up netting them Jack Hughes, but this is still a stellar pickup for the Avs.

Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: Cole Caufield to the Montreal Canadiens at No. 15. Maybe the playoff obsession with heavy hockey skewed this draft, because I'm shocked the 5-foot-7 Caufield made it to No. 15. (Other shorter players like Nick Robertson, Bobby Brink and Kirill Slepets also slid.) Caufield is the best pure goal scorer in this draft. Alex DeBrincat scored 69 goals over his first two years in Chicago, and he's a good comparison for Caufield.

Were you impressed by the P.K. Subban trade?

Wyshynski: I think the word is "fascinated" more than anything. I was fascinated that the Devils were the ultimate destination for Subban, but it makes sense. When Taylor Hall is noncommittal about his future with the franchise ahead of unrestricted free agency next summer, and says the team doesn't have enough talent, then one can read the combination of drafting Jack Hughes and acquiring Subban as GM Ray Shero's response to that. I was fascinated by the weaponizing of cap space, as the Devils were the only team among the four teams with whom GM David Poile was speaking that was willing to take the full freight of the defenseman's $9 million cap hit through 2022. (I was also fascinated by there being only four teams after him.) Mostly, I'm fascinated with how Subban fits with the Devils, and how the Predators plan to wield this financial flexibility, with the assumption that it's to re-sign Roman Josi and sign free agent Matt Duchene.

Kaplan: I love it for the Devils, who transformed the complexion of their franchise with two huge moves in 16 hours. I like it for the Predators, who cleared cap space and made a much-needed change, but took on inherent risk by parting with an elite defenseman still near his prime. The Devils didn't give up much: a depth defenseman in Steve Santini, a decent prospect in Jeremy Davies and two second-rounders. New Jersey had stockpiled picks lately, so it won't miss those picks as much as most teams would. The Devils now have two marquee players who will sell a bunch of jerseys, and also made a decent pitch for Taylor Hall to re-sign as they keep up with the Joneses in the suddenly competitive New York-area market. As for the Predators? It's worth it if they sign a marquee forward free agent -- ahem, Matt Duchene -- with all of that new cap space. If not, I don't like this move as much.

The Devils-Rangers rivalry is back alive! Who is going to win a Stanley Cup first?

Wyshynski: Based on previous history, the Rangers aren't scheduled to win until 2048, so ... just kidding. The Devils are going to be better, and are slowly putting together the essential DNA of a championship team: two elite centers and a foundational defenseman, although there's still work to be done in goal. I really like what the Rangers are doing, and will forever be impressed that they publicly declared they were rebuilding and then actually rebuilt. But if Hughes is what we think he is, Hall comes back and Subban has at least three more great years left in him, look out.

Kaplan: On paper, the Devils are better right now, contingent on Taylor Hall returning 100 percent healthy. That's the 2018 NHL MVP, plus a solid one-two punch at center in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, and an elite defenseman in Subban. But the Rangers -- whose roster is already fortified this offseason with Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko -- have ample cap space they're willing to spend. (Nobody would be shocked if Artemi Panarin ends up there.) Then there's the issue of goaltending. It's a huge question mark for New Jersey, while New York has it solidified. All of that leads me to believe the Rangers are better built to win over the next three to four years.

The Columbus Blue Jackets didn't pick until the middle of the fourth round due to a number of trades. Was it worth it?

Wyshynski: The bar was set at "make it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history," and they not only did that, but swept one of the best regular-season teams in NHL history in the process. So yeah, it was worth it.

Kaplan: Yes. This was a franchise stuck in neutral and the Blue Jackets needed to do something to get over the playoff hump, and that meant going all-in with the group they had last season, even if it meant their own marquee UFAs would walk this summer without the team getting any return. For the record, I love what they did with their first pick in the fourth round: Erik Hjorth, a bit of a sleeper considering he played in only four games this season. As my colleague Chris Peters pointed out, if you don't have much to work with, why not swing for the fences? I admire general manager Jarmo Kekalainen's conviction.

What was your favorite weird draft thing?

Wyshynski: My favorite goof was when Dallas Stars senior owner Bob Gaglardi read No. 18 overall pick Thomas Harley's name as "Harley Thomas," leaving everyone completely baffled for a moment. But my favorite discovery of the draft was that each pick was able to select his own walk-up music. The tie for most amazing choice: "Shallow" by Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper for Peyton Krebs and "Donald Trump" by Mac Miller as the secondary choice for Samuel Poulin, with the emphatic caveat of "INSTRUMENTAL ONLY!!!"

Kaplan: The draft floor is a spectacle. All 31 teams are crammed into one square pen, their tables just inches apart from each other. Any time a GM gets up to talk to somebody, journalists begin buzzing about what it could possibly mean. (Usually, it's nothing substantial.) However, there's a particular optic that happens every year, but for me it never gets old, or less bizarre: the GM working two phones:

Kyle Dubas really working the phones pic.twitter.com/pZriQPE1mb

- Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) June 22, 2019

What team did you think would be more active over the weekend?

Wyshynski: Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon was working the room like a party host during the draft, including a long conversation with Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell. There was talk before the draft that the Golden Knights could have had Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty on the block. I still think they make a big push for an upgrade on defense. But as every general manager pointed out, the lack of a definitive salary cap from the NHL and the NHLPA -- which was set at $81.5 million about 20 minutes after the draft ended -- kept those phones from ringing too much.

Kaplan: Minnesota Wild GM Paul Fenton has made some interesting moves in his first year-plus on the job, and I thought he'd make at least one trade on draft weekend. Really, I was expecting one player to be on the move: winger Jason Zucker, who has been the subject of two failed trades and seems to now have a fractured relationship with the club (check out this clapback from his wife, Carly, on Twitter). I still believe there's a good chance Zucker gets moved, it just hasn't happened yet.

Best name in the draft class?

Wyshynski: Arsen Khisamutdinov for the Canadiens, for the "ARSEN TORCHES LEAFS" headlines alone. Unless, of course, you prefer Devils pick Arseny Gritsyuk of the same genre.

Kaplan: The Rangers picked a kid named Hunter Skinner. That's all.

OK, which team did the best overall this weekend?

Wyshynski: The Carolina Hurricanes. So smart. So shrewd. For a playoff team to have 12 draft picks is a heck of a thing. For a team with 12 picks to nail as many of them as the Hurricanes did -- especially Ryan Suzuki at No. 28 and Patrik Puistola all the way at No. 73 -- is exemplary. Then there's the trade: Essentially paying $6.5 million for Toronto's first-round pick in 2020 (unless it's in the lottery, and then it's 2021) and, if they can convince him to play in Raleigh, Patrick Marleau. (But don't count on it.) I'm really excited to see what the Hurricanes do in the summer, starting with what one source said is their priority: a goaltender.

Kaplan: I loved what the Los Angeles Kings did in the first two rounds. It's no secret the Kings need to get faster and younger. They landed Alex Turcotte (a player many projected to Chicago at No. 3) with the No. 5 pick. Turcotte is a smart, two-way player, lauded for his work ethic and coachability, but also his high offensive upside. They also got a defenseman (with the pick acquired from the Jake Muzzin trade) in Tobias Bjornfot, the organization's first blueliner taken with a first-round pick since 2010. Add in Arthur Kaliyev, one of the best scorers in the draft, and this team is starting to stockpile well for the future.

We can finally close the scouting notebook on the 2019 NHL draft. Two hundred and seventeen names were called, and all 31 teams walked away from Vancouver with some new prospects to develop. But not everyone navigated the draft board the same way, and while some teams should be ecstatic about their classes, others ... should not.

With that in mind, let's grade each team's draft class. Who aced the draft? Remember, there's a long way to go in player development, so don't view this as a final assessment but rather the initial impression. And learn more about the class with our extensive draft content:

Every pick | Takeaways | Day 1 recap
Top 100 | Best by skill

Here are my draft grades for every NHL team, listed from the best class to the worst (teams with the same grade are in alphabetical order).

Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI
COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ | STL
TB | TOR | VAN | VGS | WSH | WPG

Carolina Hurricanes: A

Favorite pick: Patrik Puistola

Considering this team was just in the Eastern Conference finals, the Canes had an absurd amount of picks -- seven in the top 100, and even added a 2020 first-rounder in the Patrick Marleau trade -- and I loved the value they got. It starts with Ryan Suzuki and his elite passing slipping to them at No. 28. He has elite vision and anticipates exceptionally well. They got the No. 2-ranked goalie on my board in Pyotr Kochetkov at No. 36 and two highly-ranked prospects in Jamieson Rees and Puistola at Nos. 44 and 73. Puistola drives offense with skill and creativity. A pair of high-risk, high-reward defensemen in Anttoni Honka and Domenick Fensore, along with a raw talent in big Cade Webber at 99th overall, gave Carolina even more depth.

And I know I was way higher on Kirill Slepets than the consensus, putting him 50th on my board, but Carolina got him at No. 152. He's got wheels. Blake Murray, selected at No. 183, was one of my favorite sleepers to top it all off. There is a good physical frame and compete level there, and he can score. The value added to their prospect pool was exceptional.

Read more analysis on the Hurricanes' first-rounder, Ryan Suzuki.

Los Angeles Kings: A

Favorite pick: Arthur Kaliyev

Just look at the first three picks the Kings made. Alex Turcotte looks like a top-six talent for their future. Tobias Bjornfot has some limited offensive upside but is an incredibly poised and mature defender who should challenge for minutes in a couple of years. And the Kings were fortunate enough to have the second-best goal scorer in the draft slide to them in the second round with Kaliyev. Complaints about the consistency of his effort contributed to him dropping all the way to Day 2, but let's not forget Kaliyev scored 51 goals last season and is fantastic when shooting off the pass. Not too shabby for the Kings.

Samuel Fagemo was a second-year eligible who really come on strong this season. Lukas Parik is a really solid goaltending prospect with great size and athleticism. Jordan Spence at No. 95 gives some really nice value as a defenseman who can get the puck up ice quickly. Andre Lee looks like a really sneaky smart pick in the seventh after an excellent postseason for USHL champion Sioux Falls this season. There were a lot of potential home runs here.

Read more analysis on the Kings' first-rounders, Alex Turcotte and Tobias Bjornfot.

New Jersey Devils: A

Favorite pick: Jack Hughes

Nigeria players are staging a sit-in protest, refusing to leave their hotel in France until all of their outstanding bonuses are paid, following the team's elimination from the Women's World Cup on Saturday.

Players told ESPN they are owed bonuses from two games, against Gambia and Senegal, from as far back as two years ago, amounting to 2 million Nigerian naira (about $5,600 U.S.), but they have been paid only half of that. They also say they are owed five days of daily allowance while at the World Cup.

"They paid us 1 million [naira] and said that is all. We want them to pay the balance," one player told ESPN. "Part of that money is from two years ago, the other is from three years ago. And they are also owing us five days' daily allowance here in France.

"Before the World Cup, we asked them for a meeting so that we could discuss our World Cup bonuses, like they did with the men's team last year. They ignored the letter and nobody said anything about it until now."

- Norway beat Australia on pens, reach last eight
- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule

The players are also demanding their share of the World Cup participation fee from FIFA, even though the tournament's organisers are not scheduled to pay those until September.

Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick told ESPN that all the outstanding allowances have been paid.

"We have paid them everything they are being owed," he said.

"The only thing outstanding is the participation fee from FIFA, which is not expected to come until after the tournament. But they insist that they want to get paid, as they have spoken to players from Cameroon and France, who told them they have already been paid."

It is not the first time Nigeria's women team has staged a protest over bonuses. After winning the 2016 African title in Cameroon, the squad returned home and staged a public demonstration on the streets of the capital, Abuja, to demand payment of their outstanding allowances.

In 2004, the team also sat in for three days at their hotel in South Africa after winning the African title until the allowances were settled.

Nigeria reached the knockout stage of the Women's World Cup in France before losing 3-0 to Germany in the round of 16 on Saturday in Grenoble.