WHEATLAND, Mo. – With rainy and cold weather expected later this week, the schedule for the sixth annual Lucas Oil MLRA Fall Nationals and B-Mod Clash of Champions II at Lucas Oil Speedway has been adjusted.

Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton announced Tuesday that the races will be pushed back a day, with action now set for Saturday and Sunday. He added that starting times will be moved earlier on both race days to provide warmer conditions for race teams and fans.

“We want to get both days of racing in and we think this will be our best option,” Lorton said, adding that Thursday’s scheduled practice session and party in the pits also has been cancelled.

Gates now will open at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with hot laps at 3:30 p.m. and racing starting at 4:05 p.m.

Camping will be open Friday through Sunday with check-in starting on Friday.

The sixth annual MLRA Fall Nationals will feature the MLRA combining with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Presented by Lucas Oil for a 50-lap, $5,000-to-win feature on Saturday and a 40-lap feature for $3,000 to win on Sunday.

The B-Mod Clash of Champions II will co-headline the doubleheader. The Ozark Golf Cars USRA B-Mods will have two sets of heat races on Saturday to help set the lineup for Sunday’s 40-lap, $3,000-to-win feature.

Will Vaught enters the action 88 points in front of Mitch McGrath and 99 clear of Logan Martin in the MLRA championship chase. The COMP Cams Series finds a tight championship battle brewing. Timothy Culp leads Tony Jackson by 28 points.

We’re back with a new edition of the SPEED SPORT Power Rankings and there is a new No. 1 in town! Who took over the top spot this week? Click below to find out.

LEE, N.H. – For the 49th consecutive season, Sammy Swindell can call himself a winner.

Swindell entered last Saturday’s Northeastern Midget Ass’n race at Lee USA Speedway riding an epic 48-year winning streak. However, this year hadn’t yielded a triumph and the pavement winged midget event was his final scheduled race of the season.

“It was something I’d like to get done, but it’s like a lot of things were out of my control this year,” he said in reference to continuing the winning streak. “We didn’t get to race very much. Some of it with the weather the first part of the year and the way things played out later in the year.”

Saturday was the 21st race of the season and the first in seven weeks for Swindell, who was making  his third start of the year in a winged midget for Bertrand Motorsports.

“It was the fifth or sixth race ever that I’ve ran one of these cars and it’s been so spread out,” he said. “Every time you go back it’s almost like starting over. All the tracks were different. This was the first time I went back to the same track with the same car. We had some confidence there. We had a good time the last time, but had one issue that we found after I’d ran it that was off. This time I was making some small changes.”

Swindell won his heat race after starting second. That result didn’t particularly matter as the 25-lap main event was lined up via a handicap system. Since it was Swindell’s second time at the track this year he lined up fourth – the best starting position he’s had in a pavement winged midget feature.

“The key was to get to the lead right away,” he said. “They threw a little bit of a question mark in there because the last couple of laps of the race before some guys had crashed and they put oil down the frontstretch and going into turn one. They were under some curfew issues and they were trying to speed things up. There was some speedy dry on the track. When we first went out it was pretty slippery. Since it was so cold they gave us a couple of hot laps before the race. One guy got in the stuff and spun. After that they blew the stuff off the top, but it was still really, really slippery. My plan was to make a run around the top. Once we got our warm-up laps in I knew there was no way that was going to work.

“On the start the guy on the inside of me didn’t get going so that left me the whole race track. I drove between the two guys in front about halfway, but I figured the bottom would be the best place to be. I was able to get ahead of the guy who started in front of me. Then I was on the guy who was leading, but it was where it was really narrow getting into turns one and two. The only choice I thought I had was to run the outside of him in turns three and four. The way he ran the first couple of laps he stayed out too much. When I took the lead he turned in early and I was able to stay in the gas and get around him.”

Swindell took the lead on lap four and pulled away to a victory by more than three seconds.

“That’s the first time I’ve had a car that drove that well all night and throughout the race,” he said. “The biggest help was going back to the same place and knowing where the racing line was and where the grip was. The last time we changed gears and changed some things. This time all we had to do was fine-tune some things. It made it easier.

“Thanks to Tim and his team for the opportunity. I’m glad we were able to get a win.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Int’l Speedway officials have unveiled the course for the historic 50th annual Daytona Supercross, scheduled for Saturday night, March 7.

The course for the Daytona Supercross, which is the longest continuous Supercross race in America dating back to 1971, was designed by five-time event champion Ricky Carmichael for the 13th consecutive year. Carmichael’s course design features a nod to the history of the Daytona Supercross and includes elements from past Daytona courses such as the over-the-wall jump, the Daytona tunnel jump and grass as a fourth racing surface; the Daytona logo will also be displayed in the center of the extended course.

“It was really important to bring back some of these old-school elements to the 50th annual Daytona Supercross,” Carmichael said. “Think of all the years and talent that has come through Daytona and the DAYTONA Supercross, we had to bring something back that was going to be special.”

Carmichael calls it “an honor” to design the grueling and challenging course for the Daytona Supercross.

“Being a fourth generation Floridian, it’s so special to me to be a part of Daytona Supercross,” Carmichael said. “[This event] it’s always held close to my heart. I love going there. The fans are epic. The event is epic. It’s where the strong survive and I can’t wait to watch these guys battle it out.”

Aaron Stewart was always around golf even when he wasn't heavily invested. Now he's involved in ways he never imagined.

Stewart, the son of late three-time major champion Payne Stewart, has been appointed tournament director of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Florida. The season opener on the LPGA Tour is Jan. 16-19 and features two events in one – 72 holes of stroke play for LPGA winners the last two seasons and celebrities competing in a Stableford format.

''I'm really excited to be with the tournament side of things, back in the golf industry,'' Stewart said. ''And I'm still with the company I grew up with.''

He is approaching the 20-year anniversary – Oct. 25, 1999 – of his father traveling to Texas when the jet lost cabin pressure and flew uncontrolled across the country until crashing in South Dakota. Stewart was the reigning U.S. Open champion. His son was 10.

''I didn't play as much then. I was more into other sports,'' Stewart said. ''I'd always go out to the golf course, and I was around my dad when he was practicing. I was more into the golf cart, driving that around.''

He started playing seriously a few years later and decided if he was going to be good, he would have to put in the time. He went to SMU, his father's alma mater, with every intention of trying to make it to the next level.

''I ended up going a different route,'' Stewart said. ''I didn't have the desire to play professionally. I was a little burned out, to be honest.''

He returned home to Orlando and worked for the Tavistock Group and then was hired by Diamond Resorts through an intensive training program. This job was more about marketing, taking him to Las Vegas and California. He married and took a year off to travel, returned to Diamond Resorts in March as part of the sports marketing team involved in the Tournament of Champions and was elevated last month to executive director.

It was a different path, much like the LPGA tour event he now runs.

The tournament began as a one-day charity event for Brian Gay, geared toward raising money toward health causes. It became an unofficial event for the PGA Tour Champions, and now it offers a unique blend of LPGA winners and celebrities, along with giving the LPGA tour a winners-only event it had been lacking.

Eun-Hee Ji won the inaugural event, with former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz winning the celebrity side.

Stewart always remained connected to tour golf in some capacity. The Payne Stewart Award has become one of the most significant honors on the PGA Tour, and Stewart goes to Atlanta every year for the televised ceremony during the Tour Championship.

He was in Las Vegas last week and got together with Jim Furyk, who played in the 1999 Ryder Cup with his father and won the Payne Stewart Award.

Now it's about running a season opener for the LPGA tour.

''It makes each week really exciting for us to see if we'll have a new person on the roster,'' Stewart said Monday, one day after Cheyenne Knight won her first LPGA tour event to qualify for the season opener. ''It's a great transition into the season. We're thrilled to be in that position.''

As if his ego needed massaging any further, LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was afforded the honor of having a statue of himself unveiled in his hometown in Sweden on Tuesday afternoon.

Fans flocked to the Stadion in Malmo to see the man himself do the honors as the bronze effigy, commissioned by the Swedish football association of the country's all-time record goal scorer, was revealed to the public for the first time.

Waiting for @Ibra_official #Zlatanstatue #legend pic.twitter.com/whJDrsdRig

— Alessandro Alciato (@AAlciato) October 8, 2019

Some four years in the making, the sculpture is the work of veteran Swedish artist Peter Linde and stands nearly nine feet tall (2.7 meters) while weighing approximately half a ton.

As a special nod to his humble roots, Ibrahimovic also granted free access to the unveiling ceremony to all schoolkids from the local area.

However, it wasn't long before Zlatan's gesture was nipped in the bud by Malmo school councillor Sara Wettergren, who was forced to dash plans to attend the ceremony and confirm that the Galaxy striker doesn't have the authority to excuse students from their classes.

.@sr_ekot: Zlatan-statyn avtäcks i Malmö https://t.co/St0EPeHsuU pic.twitter.com/VyH2uFwYFp

— SR Nyheter (@SR_Nyheter) October 8, 2019

Regardless, it didn't prevent hundreds of fans gathering outside the stadium as the statue was unveiled before Ibrahimovic addressed the crowd from the adjacent stage.

It's certainly imposing, but quite why the Zlatan statue has barely any clothes on is a little unclear. Still, the man himself seemed to be happy enough...

"When you come to New York, you have the Statue of Liberty. When you come to Sweden, you have the Statue of Zlatan." - @Ibra_official ? pic.twitter.com/NdGWbtj6U2

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) October 8, 2019

Italy unveil new third kit

Italy added a brand new shirt to their famously stylish catalogue with the launch of a third kit for 2019-20.

In a break from tradition, the jersey is green and pays tribute to the young emerging stars currently helping to usher in a new era for the Azzurri, coming after the previous crop failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

#Italy's new #Renaissance Kit celebrates the #Azzurri's rising talents ??✨

The article ? https://t.co/X6TEUFTUYI@pumafootball drew inspiration from the green shirt worn just once by Italy in the 2-0 win over #Argentina at #Rome's Stadio Olimpico in 1954#NewWaveRises pic.twitter.com/v4F8yafD6E

— Italy (@azzurri) October 7, 2019

Indeed, the latest national squad contains no less than 12 players aged 25 or younger -- the youngest being 20-year-old Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo.

Italy's new "Renaissance" kit is inspired by the only other green outfield shirt they've ever worn in their history - during a friendly against Argentina at the Stadio Olimpico back in 1954.

(Image via @classicsoccerjs) pic.twitter.com/TCrk1bZ6P8

— Who Ate All The Pies (@waatpies) October 8, 2019

The "Renaissance" kit is also directly inspired by the green jersey worn by Italy only once, during a friendly win over Argentina in front of 80,000 fans at the Stadio Olimpico back in 1954.

Whitby through in FA Cup ... with goalkeeper up front

Considerable congratulations are due to Whitby Town, who battled to a win in the FA Cup on Monday night despite the odds firmly being stacked against them.

Due to face Gloucester City in the third qualifying round, Whitby came into the game with just 14 fit players to pick from.

Thus, having found themselves desperately short, the Seasiders were forced to include three goalkeepers in their depleted matchday squad.

FULL-TIME | Wow. What a night.

14 fit players. Three of those goalkeepers. A centre half up front and he scored two. A keeper finishing up front (and his chin wasn't offside miraculously!). Yet we are THROUGH!

GLOUCESTER CITY 1-3 WHITBY TOWN

Now get me a pint!!!!

— Whitby Town FC (@WhitbyTownFC) October 7, 2019

However, the rag-tag team somehow clicked and the auxiliary defender-turned-striker went on to score two goals in a remarkable 3-1 victory despite being joined up front with one of the spare keepers!

And with that, Whitby went sailing through to the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in 16 years. They will now face Stourbridge at home for a place in the First Round Proper, from which stage games can be streamed live on ESPN+.

What a night.

England Women's search for a permanent replacement for Mark Robinson could yet result in the appointment of their first female head coach, according to the ECB's director of women's cricket, Clare Connor.

Speaking at the launch of the ECB's new £20 million investment into women's and girls' cricket, Connor confirmed that Ali Maiden, the interim coach, would lead the side on the pre-Christmas tour of Malaysia, but that a new permanent appointment should be in place by the start of 2020.

That would leave the new incumbent just two months to bed in ahead of the squad's next big assignment, the T20 World Cup in Australia in February, but Connor believes the board is on course for the right replacement following Robinson's departure in August, in the wake of a heavy defeat in this summer's Ashes.

"We have started conversations, slightly informal conversations, but we are pleased with the pool of applicants," said Connor. "We've started conversations with applicants both here and overseas and it will not be an all-male shortlist.

"We are conducting next-stage interviews during the middle of next week with the aim to have the successful candidate in post for January. Regardless of the appointment, Ali Maiden will lead the side to Malaysia pre-Christmas."

Connor's comments come as the ECB set about implementing a new five-year strategy that seeks to make cricket into a gender-balanced sport, and follows on from last week's unveiling of the eight teams that will make up the inaugural season of the Hundred.

Of the seven women's coaches so far confirmed for the new competition, five are women - Lisa Keightley (London Spirit), Dani Hazell (Northern Superchargers), Lydia Greenway (Oval Invincibles), Charlotte Edwards (Southern Brave), and Salliann Briggs (Trent Rockets).

"We've set some measures for success within the action plan," Connor added. "They're around the number of women and girls playing the game, the number of sustainable club sections, the experiences of the girls that are deemed talented and whether they're achieving performance benchmarks through the system.

"More broadly the engagement of women and girls in the sport - buying tickets, watching on television and following the game."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Fox has hired former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski as a football analyst, the network announced Tuesday, and his longtime quarterback had some Gronk-like fun with the news.

"Hard-hitting analysis," Tom Brady said with a smile Tuesday.

Gronkowski will make his debut during Fox's pregame show for Thursday's Patriots home game against the New York Giants

"He'll be good. He's been pretty good at everything he's done," said Brady, who played with Gronkowski from 2010 to 2018. "It's great to see a lot of our guys get a lot of great opportunities like that."

Gronkowski announced his retirement from the NFL in March after a nine-year career in which he won three Super Bowls and was one of the league's most colorful personalities.

Gronkowski had 10 or more touchdown receptions in five seasons, which is the most by a tight end in NFL history. He played in 16 playoff games, with 81 receptions for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns -- all records for a tight end.

"I'm extremely excited to be joining Fox Sports," Gronkowski said in a statement, adding that he looks forward to learning from fellow broadcasters "as I embark on this new chapter in my life."

"He is one of the most popular players to ever play the game and also one of the best tight ends in NFL history," Fox executive producer Brad Zager said in a statement. "His passion for the game and larger-than-life personality make him a perfect fit."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is the latest big name to offer support for the California Fair Pay to Play law that will allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.

Krzyzewski provided a prepared statement at the ACC's 2019 Operation Basketball preseason event on Tuesday, saying he supported the law and encouraged the NCAA to adopt a uniform rule.

"I don't -- and won't -- pretend to understand all the complexities of such a change," Krzyzewski said in the statement. "However, it is a sign of the times that we in college athletics must continually adapt, albeit in a sensible manner.

"While we have made significant progress in recent years, we have not always responded to the needs and rights of our players swiftly, and frankly, we're playing catch-up after years of stagnant rules. I hope and trust that not only will there be a plan to put the student-athletes' best interests at the forefront, but that we'll also have a firm plan for implementation at the national level."

While Krzyzewski's comments on the specific bill in California are new, his support for improvements in player compensation echoes statements he's made in past years, including throughout last season's high-profile campaign with Zion Williamson.

Several other ACC coaches offered similar commentary Tuesday, including Notre Dame's Mike Brey, the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and Louisville's Chris Mack, who said he's changed his perspective on the issue in recent years.

"Four or five years ago I might've sung a different tune," Mack said, "but a lot has changed. The money, the TV contracts, every conference has its own network now. I don't know what it looks like. I'm not an economist. And I think the NCAA has gotten a bad rap for not doing anything for student-athletes. But I am on the side that thinks student-athletes should be able to capitalize on their name, image and likeness."

California's law won't take effect until 2023; however, several other states are pursuing legislation on a more advanced timeline. That, Mack said, is more concerning than the overall rules.

"I just hope that whatever happens isn't ramrodded down the NCAA's throat," he said. "I hope politicians don't drive it so hard and fast that there are unintended consequences without a lot of thought going into it."

Brey said that, while the overall proposal is likely a step in the right direction, he believes the overall value of name, image and likeness rights for most athletes will not be significant.

"I think it's much ado about nothing right now," Brey said. "What's really the marketability of some of these guys? How many jerseys are they really going to sell? It's a great panic thing right now. I just think we can work this out and the market's not going to be as deep for everybody as we think."

Kevin Durant said Tuesday that the New York Knicks can't rely on their "brand" to land the best players, many of whom don't even remember the franchise being good.

"I think a lot of fans look at the Knicks as a brand and expect these younger players in their lifetime don't remember the Knicks being good," Durant said Tuesday in an in-studio interview with Hot 97 in New York. "I've seen the Knicks in the Finals, but kids coming up after me didn't see that. So that whole brand of the Knicks is not as cool as let's say the Golden State Warriors, or even the Lakers or the Nets now.

"You know what I'm saying; the cool thing now is not the Knicks."

The speculation during last season was that the Knicks would make a full-court press to sign Durant once he became a free agent, but he instead signed a multiyear contract with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.

On Tuesday, Durant said he didn't seriously consider the Knicks in free agency.

"I thought about it, yeah, just a thought. But I didn't really do any full analysis on the Knicks," the 2013-14 NBA MVP and two-time NBA Finals MVP said.

The Nets have said they are not planning on the 10-time All-Star playing this season as he recovers from the ruptured Achilles he suffered in the NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors.