
I Dig Sports

SALEM, Ind. – NASCAR Xfinity Series regular and Coke Zero Sugar 400 race winner Justin Haley has filed an entry to compete in the Winchester 400 on Oct. 13 at Winchester Speedway.
This will be Haley’s third time to compete in the Winchester 400. He previously finished in seventh in 2014 and 25th in 2015 after having suspension issues.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of a Super Late Model and racing in the Winchester 400 this weekend,” said Haley. “Being an Indiana native, I grew up knowing all about the Winchester 400 and how prestigious of an event it has become. The Winchester 400 is one of those races that any racer would like to say he won. The names that have been to victory lane in that event is just amazing. It would mean a lot for me to be able to add my name to that list.”
Haley has competed with the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2019, but his biggest win to date in his career came in his third start with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona Int’l Speedway on July 7, when he came away with a surprise victory in the rain shortened event.
Haley won the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour season opening event at Springport Speedway in May of 2014. He was a three-time winner with the ARCA Menards Series in 2016 and a three-time winner in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series during the 2018 season.


PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Port Royal Speedway will return to action Saturday for the eighth annual Blue-Collar Classic featuring the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge hosted by the PASS/IMCA for 305 sprint cars.
The annual race is one of the biggest events for the IMCA 305 Sprint Cars on the East Coast, with the overall purse reaching nearly $16,000, including $800 to win for the feature. There will also be a special Founder’s Cup Non-Qualifier race as well paying $300 to win.
Including bonus money, the winner of the event could take home $1,500.
Along with the hosting PASS division, the challenge race brings together multiple IMCA 305 sprint regions to include the Tri State RaceSaver Region, the Capital Region Sprint Agency, the Virginia Sprint Series and the Laurel Highlands region.
There will be $250 from Beerhill Gang TV and $250 from Penns Valley Meat Market to be split up to heat race winners ($50) and A-Main hard chargers ($200). Also, for the taking will be a $200 Seniority Bonus, a $200 Frequent Racer Bonus and a $300 Travel Bonus. Nonstarters will receive $100 two money.
Past winners of the event are Darren Miller, Kyle Smith, Jeff Miller (2), Jeff Geiges, Jake Waters and Sean Campbell.
Also, on tap for the Blue-Collar classic will be the Mason Dixon Shootout Limited Late Model series racing for $1,500 to win and $130 to start. This will be the final race of the season for the Mason Dixon series.
This will also be the final points race for the Selinsgrove Ford Limited Late Model Series, though points leader Andrew Yoder has already wrapped up the championship at the speedway. However, Derrick Garman, Devin Hart and Kenny Yoder are currently in a tight battle for second and 15 points separate the three drivers.
Last year’s event was won by Trent Brenneman over Justin Weaver, Andrew Yoder, Dylan Yoder and Shaun Jones.
The Juniata Junction Xtreme Stocks will be on hand as well, racing for a $1,000 winner’s share. This will also be their final points event of the 2019 season.
Currently Brad Mitch holds a commanding 165-point advantage over second place Walt Peters with Chuck Bryner (-170), Pete Leister (-275) and Dustin Hoffman (-285) rounding out the top five. Mitch has won three races this season.
Last year Bill Powell captured the $1,000 title and it led to him picking up the 2018 track title as well.
Finally, the Four-Cylinder Pure Stocks will compete for $300 to win. Last year Eric Boozel used a last corner pass to pick up the feature win and he will be looking to back up his win.

SPEED SPORT has been reporting on and covering motorsports happenings from all over the world for 85 years, so we thought it would be fun to take a look back in the archives to see what happened 10, 25 and 50 years ago each week.
So check out what SPEED SPORT was covering 10, 25 and 50 years ago this week in Looking Back!
Oct. 7, 2009 (10 Years Ago): Greg Hodnett stomped the World of Outlaws field en route to a $50,000 victory in the Morgan Hughes National Open at Williams Grove Speedway. Hodnett started on the pole for the 40-lap feature and was flawless, leading every lap and holding off Tony Stewart Racing’s Donny Schatz to collect the victory. It was Hodnett’s third World of Outlaws triumph of the season as Schatz continued to lead the series standings.
Other Happenings: Tony Stewart earned his fourth NASCAR Cup Series win of the season at Kansas Speedway; Scott Bloomquist won the sixth running of the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals; The All Star Circuit of Champions were announced for the 2010 edition of the Winternationals at East Bay Raceway Park; John Donahue won the 47th running of the Milk Bowl at Thunder Road in Vermont; Sebastian Vettel kept himself in the F-1 title picture with a win in Japan.
Oct. 5, 1994 (25 Years Ago): Geoff Bodine decimated the field at North Carolina’s North Wilkesboro Speedway, leading 335 of 400 laps to win the Tyson Holly Farms 400. Bodine finished a lap ahead of Terry Labonte, becoming the first driver since Harry Gant in 1991 to win a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race by a lap or more. Bodine started 18th, came through the field to take the lead on lap 48 and led most of the remaining distance.
Other Happenings: Steve Kinser won the annual running of the National Open at Williams Grove Speedway, taking home $25,000; Jeremy Dale won the IMSA Exxson World Sports Car finale at Phoenix Int’l Raceway while Wayne Taylor clinched the championship; Paul Tracy tested the Mild Seven Benetton Ford at Portugal’s Estoril circuit; John Capels was named USAC Executive Vice President; Page Jones remained in critical but stable condition after a crash at Eldora Speedway.
Oct. 8, 1969 (50 Years Ago): Jochen Rindt drove the Gold Leaf Trim Lotus Ford from the pole to win the United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Rindt earned $53,000 for his first Grand Prix victory after holding off Formula One champion Jackie Stewart before pulling away to a 47-second victory over runner-up Piers Courage. Rindt re-set Stewart’s year-old track record multiple times throughout the race, finally settling on a time of 1:04.84.
Other Happenings: Buzzie Reutimann won the third annual 100-lap All Star Stock Car Racing League Championship race for modifieds at Nazareth National Speedway; A.J. Foyt won a USAC Stock Car race at New Bremen Speedway; Bentley Warren pocketed $10,000 for winning the 150-lap Super Bowl for supermodifieds at Heidelberg Raceway; David Pearson won in NASCAR competition at North Wilkesboro Speedway; Sam Sessions emerged as the winner of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial USAC sprint car race at Salem Speedway.
Bristol Confirms Date For Short Track U.S. Nationals

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Short Track U.S. Nationals will return to Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020 with a similar date and program.
The show will continue to be just two days, May 29-30, and will showcase four classes, headlined by the super late model division. Along with super late models, the event will feature races for the pro late models, street stock and compact divisions.
The two-day format will provide competitors with additional practice opportunities throughout the day on Friday and will be followed by practice, qualifying and racing on Saturday. Vore’s Welding and Steel will also return as the presenting sponsor for the weekend.
“We’ve received tremendous feedback from teams and spectators alike on last year’s two-day schedule of events and look forward to making 2020 even better,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Our collective teams are developing new programs that will help pave the path for future stars of NASCAR to cut their teeth on the high banks of Bristol and this coming year is shaping up to be the best yet.”
Florida-based super late model standout Stephen Nasse won the super late model race this year and he shared victory lane with NASCAR veteran Mike Skinner, who won the 100-lap pro late model race. Chuck Barnes Jr. won the street stock race for the third-straight year while Tom Gossar Jr. won the compact division race.
The sanctioning bodies leading the efforts in 2020 for the Super Late Models are the ARCA/CRA Super Series powered by JEGS, the Southern Super Series and the CARS Tour. The pro late models will be sanctioned by the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance. The CRA Van Hoy Oil Street Stocks will oversee their portion of the show, while the Vore’s Compact Touring Series will handle the sanctioning of the Front Wheel Drive Compacts.
Additional details regarding the event, including new programs for 2020, will be announced in the coming months.
Pens to be without Malkin indefinitely, coach says

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without star center Evgeni Malkin "longer term" because of a lower body injury, coach Mike Sullivan announced on Monday. The coach said that Malkin's season is not in jeopardy.
The 33-year-old Malkin left the second period of Pittsburgh's 7-2 win over Columbus on Saturday after taking a hit to the boards while in an awkward position.
Malkin is the third Pittsburgh forward now out indefinitely with a lower body injury. Nick Bjugstad also was injured in Saturday's game, though Sullivan said Malkin will be sidelined "a little bit longer than Nick."
The Penguins opened the season without Bryan Rust, who was placed on long-term injury reserve after being hit with a slap shot in the final preseason game.
Malkin scored Pittsburgh's lone goal in a season-opening loss to the Buffalo Sabres. He tallied 21 goals -- his lowest total since 2012-13 -- in 68 games last season as the Penguins were a disappointment in the playoffs, swept by the New York Islanders in the first round.
However, a day before Malkin was injured, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford had praised him and projected a bounce-back season. "Geno worked very hard this summer physically and mentally, and he's in a good place right now," Rutherford told ESPN in an interview on Friday.
The Penguins are trying to retool on the fly, seeking to become a younger and faster team and maximize the window they have left with Sidney Crosby, 32, and Malkin. Pittsburgh added five new players this offseason, and six players joined the team last season. One of Pittsburgh's big summer moves was trading away Phil Kessel, who often played on Malkin's wing, to the Arizona Coyotes. Kessel scored 174 points over the last two seasons.
Rutherford said he entered this season looking to change the culture of his team and regain some urgency to win.
"Last season, the team never had that total team togetherness," he said. "I think some of it came from players being content. I don't blame them for being content -- there's been some good success here over the last four or five years -- but you can't be content to be successful going forward. So that had to change."
The Penguins (1-1) host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.
PGA Tour to live stream every shot from The Players Championship

The PGA Tour is expanding its live video coverage of The Players Championship as far as it can go – every shot by every player in every round.
In a first for golf, and most likely the first step toward video access to every player at every tournament, The Players Championship will offer live streaming of all 144 players in the field.
Coverage will be available to PGA Tour Live subscribers on NBC Sports Gold or Amazon's Prime Video channels.
''Our vision is to bring every shot in every PGA Tour golf tournament live and on-demand to our fans,'' said Rick Anderson, the chief media officer for the PGA Tour. ''And this is the first step to making that happen.''
The ambitious production will require about 120 cameras – some stationary, some hand-held and others part of the NBC Sports Group broadcast – to show shots that for the opening two rounds start about 7:40 a.m. and end some 12 hours later.
Augusta National had video coverage of every shot from every player at the Masters this year, though it was available through a catalog of players chosen off its website. The difference at The Players is that every shot will be accessible live.
It's up to the subscribers to choose whom they want to see.
PGA Tour Live for the last few years has had featured groups in the morning and afternoon that have live streaming, often the biggest names in the field that have consecutive tee times to make it easy for cameras to get to them.
That was expanded this season, with all domestic events in the fall having featured pairings for live streaming.
Now it's every player, even those who might not be seen at all during a tournament.
''You'll be able to click on any group and watch that group play, and we do that for every golfer in the field,'' said Luis Goicouria, the Tour's senior vice president of media. ''We're not viewing it from the perspective of who wants to watch a certain golfer. We've known for many years that the future of our sport absolutely involves taking all the content that is happening live and making that available to our audience. In golf, that's a huge amount of content.''
The Tour is using its showcase event for the debut of its latest technology, which is not unusual. It's where the Tour first tried ''Live at 17'' by showing every shot from every player on the notorious island-green par-3 17th hole.
The announcement Monday comes as the PGA Tour already is talking to media companies about a new television deal. The current arrangement ends after 2021, and consumption habits are changing rapidly.
The Masters has the smallest broadcast window of the four majors and The Players – 18 hours over four days – and it has widened the digital coverage with live video channels from Amen Corner, the 15th and 16th holes, and a featured group, but still not the entire round. Augusta National prefers limited coverage.
The PGA Tour is all about wall-to-wall coverage, and its global distribution now includes a 10-year deal last year with Discovery and its GOLFTV arm.
''Those platforms are becoming more sophistical, more ubiquitous and more content hungry,'' Goicouria said. ''Live sports of any kind is extremely valuable to media companies. ... If we create and get all the content out there, it will find an audience. And there's any number of ways to leverage this content.''
Anderson said it could take as many as five years before the Tour can develop a system where live streaming of every player in the field is available and every tournament, though it was not clear if that included the three events it has in Asia.
The starting point is The Players Championship, which is March 12-15.
''We're doing it to showcase a really major advancement at our flagship event,'' Anderson said. ''The idea is absolutely to get to a point where it makes economic sense. That's still some time period away. We wanted to demonstrate it at The Players that we can do that. As it becomes more efficient and the costs come down, it's something we can do every week eventually.''
This week in golf (Oct. 7-13): TV schedule, tee times, info

Here's a look at what's happening in professional golf this week, and how you can watch it:
PGA Tour
Houston Open
Thursday-Sunday, Golf Club of Houston, Humble, TX
Course specs: Par 72, 7,441 yards
Purse: $7.5 million
Defending champion: Ian Poulter
Notables in the field: Keegan Bradley, Cameron Champ, Cole Hammer (a), Beau Hossler, Scottie Scheffler, Henrik Stenson
Tee times: TBD
TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday, 8:15 a.m.- 7 p.m. ET (Featured Groups)
European Tour
Italian Open
Thursday-Sunday, Olgiata Golf Club, Rome, Italy
Course specs: Par 71, 7,523 yards
Purse: $7 million
Defending champion: Thorbjørn Olesen
Notables in the field: Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Matt Wallace
Tee times: TBD
TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 4:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 6:30-11:30 a.m. ET (Golf Channel); Sunday, 6-11:00 a.m. (Golf Channel)
LPGA
Buick LPGA Shanghai
Thursday-Sunday, Qizhong Garden Golf Club, Shanghai, China
Course specs: Par 72, 6,729 yards
Purse: $2.1 million
Defending champion: Danielle Kang
Notables in the field: Marina Alex, Brittany Altomare, Celine Boutier, Brooke Henderson, Jin Young Ko, Cheyenne Knight, Jessica Korda, Nelly Korda, Jennifer Kupcho, Bronte Law, Jeongeun Lee6
Tee times: TBD
TV schedule: Thursday-Sunday, 2-4 a.m. ET (Golf Channel)
PGA Tour Champions
SAS Championship
Friday-Sunday, Prestonwood Country Club, Cary, NC
Course specs: Par 72, 7,137 yards
Purse: $2.1 million
Defending champion: Bernhard Langer
Notables in the field: Angel Cabrera, Fred Couples, John Daly, Retief Goosen, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Rocco Mediate, Collin Montgomerie, Kenny Perry, Vijay Singh,
Tee times: TBD
TV schedule: Friday, 12:30-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1:30-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

Cameron Champ will play alongside a pair of former major champions this week as he helps to headline the field at the Houston Open.
Traditionally played in the spring and often the week before the Masters, the tournament is moving into its new fall date for the first time this week. Prior to a move to Memorial Park near downtown Houston next year, it will be played one final time at the Golf Club of Houston which has hosted the event since 2003.
Champ is two weeks removed from an emotional victory at the Safeway Open, which he dedicated to his ailing grandfather who is in hospice. He missed the cut last week in Las Vegas and this week will be joined for the first two rounds by Henrik Stenson and Jason Dufner. Stenson has been a regular in Houston, finishing second in both 2013 and 2016, while Dufner has played each of the last two years.
Another group featuring a major winner includes Keegan Bradley, who has three top-10 finishes in eight career Houston appearances. He'll play the first two rounds with Daniel Berger, who cracked the top 5 at this event in both 2016 and 2017, and Kevin Chappell who shot a 59 last month at The Greenbrier.
Jim Herman earned the first of two career PGA Tour wins at this event three years ago when he edged Stenson, and he'll be joined by another former winner in 2013 champ D.A. Points. The two will play the first two days alongside Jhonattan Vegas, who lives in Houston and attended the University of Texas. The final featured group will include Sanderson Farms champ Sebastian Munoz, who currently leads the FedExCup. He'll play with Andrew Landry, who is making his tournament debut, and Pat Perez, who finished third last week in Las Vegas.
Exact tee times and full-field groupings are expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon.

MLS announced that Portland Timbers forward Brian Fernandez has voluntarily entered the league's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health ("SABH") Program.
Fernandez will be unavailable for team activities until he has undergone an assessment and is cleared for participation by the SABH Program doctors.
"Our number one priority is Brian's emotional and physical well-being," the Timbers said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with him."
Fernandez, 25, was acquired by the Timbers from Liga MX side Necaxa back on May 6 for a club record fee of just under $10 million. The Argentine made an instant impact, scoring eight goals in his first nine league appearances. But he cooled off thereafter as he was reportedly sidelined by illness as well as a red card he received in the Timbers' penultimate game of the season against Sporting Kansas City. All told, Fernandez scored 15 goals and added one assist in 20 league and cup appearances this season.
Fernandez was expected to play a significant role in the Timbers' push to return to the MLS Cup final. Portland is slated to face Real Salt Lake in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs on Oct. 19, but his participation now seems unlikely.
Fernandez has previously battled substance abuse during his career. In 2015, while on the books of Racing Club, he was suspended for more than a year by CONMEBOL following multiple failed drug tests in which he tested positive for cocaine. Upon his return, he was loaned out to the likes of Sarmiento, Metz and Union La Calera, before securing a move to Necaxa. His time in Aguascalientes proved highly productive, with the Argentine scoring 12 goals in 15 games during the 2019 Clausura. Overall, Fernandez scored 18 goals in 32 league and cup appearances.
The Athletic reported that Portland's transfer agreement with Necaxa included some contractual protections due to Fernandez's past, though it's not clear what those clauses entail.