JOLIET, Ill — Former Chicago-area midget racer Roger West passed away on Saturday, May 4 at the age of 78.

Suffering from health issues in recent years, West was the 1967 United Auto Racing Ass’n champion before going on to United States Auto Club midget competition and a try at the Indianapolis 500.

In 1967 West won the UARA title, defeating Bob Richards and Bill Kollman for the championship.  West won two UARA compact sprint features along the way.  He jumped into Dick Herath’s No. 22 at Joliet Memorial Stadium on July 15 and won a 75-lap championship race.  Later in the season, West was behind the wheel of his regular Bob Corson-owned ride, scoring a victory on the dirt at Peotone, Ill., on Aug. 25.

West finished 43rd in UARA points standings in his rookie year in 1963. He was 25th in the standings in 1964 and 11th in 1965. Highlights of the 1965 racing season were two trophy dash victories at the Mazon Speed Bowl over the Labor Day weekend in Joe Mogis’ Falcon-powered No. 95. West ended up sixth in UARA points in 1966, scoring his first career feature win on the flat, quarter-mile, Joliet oval on July 23, 1966, besting Willie Wilson and George Kladis.  West would win three straight at Joliet in Bob Corson’s Chevy-powered No. 15 midget.

West won six career USAC midget feature races – winning for the first time in 1968 at Chicagoland’s Santa Fe Park Speedway driving for former Indianapolis 500 competitor and Chicago area midget champ Eddie Russo. On July 19, 1968, West wheeled Russo’s Richmond Tire Co.-sponsored No. 97 to a 50-lap victory at the quarter-mile dirt oval.

In 1969, West won twice, scoring wins at Wisconsin’s Hales Corners Speedway, driving for Ed Loniewski, and again at Santa Fe, winning a 50-lap chase on August 8, 1969 behind the wheel of Dink Cornell’s black No. 8.  He won again in 1970, capturing a USAC main event in Lawton, Oklahoma and at Fairbury, Ill., both times driving the George Middleton Pizza Hut Special No. 15.  His final USAC victory came on June 4, 1972 as he piloted Gene Willman’s No. 71 Sesco-powered car first to the checkered flag in a 50 lapper at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis., besting Mel Kenyon and Lee Kunzman.

During West’s busy USAC midget years, he finished 11th in the standings in 1968, 10th in 1969, 8th in 1970 (competing in 35 races), 19th in 1971 and 16th in 1972.

West made two USAC Champ Car starts in 1968, competing at Springfield, Ill. and at The Milwaukee Mile driving for Joliet car owner Tim Delrose. West finished 10th at Springfield at the wheel of Delrose’s Offy-powered No. 58 dirt champ car.

West went to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1969 as a rookie.  Making his first appearance on the track on Monday, May 19, West was driving the Ford-powered Marathon Special No. 75 and had completed the first two phases of his rookie test..  West was working through the 150 mph segment of the test when he spun in turn one and tagged the outside wall.  West was not injured, but his car was damaged ending his quest to make the Indianapolis 500 classic.

West’s racing career pretty much came to a close by the mid 1970s although he made a few midget starts in the late 70s and early 80s.

West is survived by his wife of 52 years, Rosemary; children, Roger J. (Susie) West and Jeffrey G. West; grandsons, Tyler D. West and Nicholas W. West; siblings, Royce (Sharon) West, Brian (Denise) West, and Douglas West; special friend, Cheryl Nolden; many nieces and nephews also survive.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, David West.

Visitation will be Thursday, May 9, from 4 until 8 p.m., at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black at Essington Rds., Joliet, Ill.  Funeral Services will be Friday, May 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home chapel.  Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Joliet.  Memorials in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://act.alz.org/site/Donation) would be appreciated.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Steven Drevicki has conquered championships in the Eastern U.S. in midgets twice as an ARDC champ and as a titlist in the inaugural Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car season in 2018.

Now, the Reading, Pa. driver has plans to enter the fray on the National level when the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship arrives for the 13th edition of the Eastern Storm on June 11-16, driving his own No. 19 Maxim chassis, utilizing a Rider engine from Gene Franckowiak and technical assistance from Clauson Marshall Newman Racing.

“Gene called me a couple weeks ago,” Drevicki recalled. “He threw an offer out to team up with him and CMNR for an Eastern storm deal. It’s going to be my car and crew all that stuff, Gene’s motor and technical assistance from CMNR. From my end, it’s a pretty neat opportunity for someone from the East Coast to have the opportunity to work with a national team like that. I’ve been trying for the last two years to put a deal together, but last year, the pieces didn’t all fall together. This deal came together, and it was something I couldn’t pass up.”

Drevicki, a graduate of Penn State University and a project engineer in the industrial crane business, leads the USAC East Coast Sprint Car standings following a season-opening victory with the series at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa. He won twice on the East Coast trail a year ago and has competed on the National stage in USAC’s NOS Energy Drink National Midget division, racing at Eldora during the “4-Crown Nationals” as well as “Pennsylvania Midget Week.”

Franckowiak has fielded front-running cars during Eastern Storm for a number of years, winning the Eastern Storm round at BAPS Motor Speedway in 2013 with driver Shane Cottle. CMNR had Franckowiak’s Rider-power under the hood en route to 11 victories and a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car crown in 2018. With that kind of championship pedigree in his corner, Drevicki relishes the opportunity.

“It’s about as exciting as it can get really,” Drevicki said. “We’ve raced on the national level with the midgets the last few years during Pennsylvania Midget Week.  It’s a little bit of a different level than it is on the East Coast.  Not to take anything away from the East Coast, but you’re racing with the absolute best there is.  To get to do that in front of the home crowd, it’s definitely an exciting opportunity.”

Tim Clauson of CMNR is thrilled with the opportunity to put this program together for Eastern Storm, something of which could become an annual reward for the USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion on a yearly basis in the future.

“I think we’ll take it one year at a time and see the first year goes,” Clauson said.  “Our partner, Gene Franckowiak, normally runs a car of his own and we talked about running a second car.  Gene actually had the idea to give the East Coast champion a chance and try to figure out something to do with them to help as a reward for that.  I thought it was a great idea!”

USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series Director Curt Michael is pleased to see the champion from the East get to go to battle on the big stage.

“It’s a great deal,” Michael said.  “I’m glad those guys are helping and working with us.  “The series is really going to give us a boost to show Drevicki is a really good racer. I think Drevicki is going to do a really good job.  It’s going to be a challenge to run up front, but he’s a smart racer and I think he’ll do really well at the racetracks they go to that he’s been to before.

“To have CMNR back our series like that is really going to help,” Michael continued.  I think you just might have people wanting to come run the series to try to catch that deal.  It’s really excellent the way CMNR helps racing.”

With a focus on defending his East Coast Sprint Car title in 2019, Drevicki stated that he’d like to do more 410 racing in the future, with a possible trip to the Midwest in the works later this season if all comes to fruition.

First up for Drevicki will be Eastern Storm, with five USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car races in six nights, beginning June 11 at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., followed up on June 12 at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J., June 13 at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, Pa., a Silver Crown race on June 14 at Williams Grove Speedway in Williams Grove, Pa., June 15 at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa. and June 16 at Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, N.Y.

GREENVILLE, Texas – Officials from five Texas dirt ovals and the United States Modified Touring Series have jointly announced that this week’s USMTS events are being postponed to a later date.

With most of the region already rain-soaked, more wet weather and bitterly cold temperatures are forecasted for the May 7-11 swing. In fact, weather experts are calling for severe weather conditions and the possibility of tornadoes on Wednesday when the series was scheduled to be at the 82 Speedway in Petty.

The following events have been canceled for this week:

Tuesday, May 7, at the Superbowl Speedway in Greenville
Wednesday, May 8, at the 82 Speedway in Petty
Thursday, May 9, at the Monarch Motor Speedway in Wichita Falls
Friday, May 10, at the West Texas Raceway in Lubbock
Saturday, May 11, at the Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo

All five Summit USMTS Southern Series will be rescheduled for a later date, likely sometime in June.

Next up for the USMTS will be a four-night Memorial Day Weekend trip through Wisconsin, Minnesota and Northern Iowa. The swing begins Thursday, May 23, at the Spring Lake Speedway in Unity, Wis., and then heads to the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis. On Saturday, May 25, the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., hosts the rabid USMTS road warriors before the Upper Iowa Speedway in Decorah, Iowa, wraps things up on Sunday, May 26.

The Philadelphia Flyers added former NHL head coaches Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo to Alain Vigneault's staff on Monday.

The announcement was made by executive vice president and general manager Chuck Fletcher. Vigneault voiced his approval for the moves.

"I am excited to add Michel and Mike on our coaching staff to work alongside Ian Laperriere, Kim Dillabaugh and Adam Patterson," Vigneault said in a statement. "Both men have enjoyed success at all levels throughout their coaching careers, including working together at the NHL level. Each brings a considerable amount of experience and knowledge to our group, which I have no doubt will help lead our team to immediate success."

In addition, Scott Gordon, who served as the interim coach last season after Dave Hakstol was fired, will return to coach the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Fletcher announced. The Flyers finished 25-22-4 in Gordon's 51 games as the interim coach.

The Flyers named Vigneault the team's new head coach last month.

Therrien, 55, has a record of 406-303-23-82 in 12 seasons as a head coach, most recently with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2016-17 season. He led the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup final in 2008. Yeo, 45, is 246-181-55 in eight seasons as a head coach, most recently with the St. Louis Blues last season.

Assistant coaches Kris Knoblauch and Rick Wilson will not return for the 2019-20 season.

The Detroit Red Wings have hired Pat Verbeek as assistant general manager to work with Steve Yzerman.

Verbeek joins Yzerman, the longtime Red Wings captain who was recently named general manager, after working for him with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yzerman stepped down as Lightning GM before the season.

The departure of Verbeek led Tampa Bay to promote Al Murray, Jamie Pushor and Stacy Roest to assistant GMs under Julien BriseBois. The Lightning also added Mathieu Darche as director of hockey operations.

Yzerman's hiring in Detroit moved Ken Holland upstairs as president of hockey operations. Holland has since been linked to the Edmonton Oilers' GM vacancy.

The Vegas Golden Knights last week promoted assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon and made George McPhee president of hockey operations in part to keep a sought-after executive. McPhee said it was his idea to make McCrimmon the day-to-day point man, which is different than the moves of Holland, Jim Rutherford with Carolina and Lou Lamoriello with New Jersey in recent years that caused those veteran GMs to seek jobs elsewhere.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek was back at practice Monday after leaving a playoff game early with a lower-body injury.

Coach Rod Brind'Amour said Monday there were "no limitations" on his goalie and Mrazek said he felt "120 percent, to be honest."

Mrazek, who has stopped 210 of the 230 shots he's faced in the playoffs, was hurt early in the second period of Game 2 of the Hurricanes' second-round series with the New York Islanders on April 28.

Backup Curtis McElhinney closed out that victory, then won Carolina's next two games on home ice to polish off the first four-game playoff sweep in franchise history.

Brind'Amour said it's "not that imperative to make any decisions" with at least a few days before the Eastern Conference final begins.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When coach John Tortorella first came to Columbus four years ago, he wasn't sure Nick Foligno could lead the Blue Jackets. Foligno was too nice.

"I basically told him after my first year that I don't think he can be a captain," Tortorella said. "[That] I don't think he understands totally what it takes. I said I'm going to give him another opportunity when the season starts, but I'm going to watch him very closely."

Tortorella's biggest concern: "He's one of the better people I've met in the game. I thought he was just too good a guy."

Eventually, Tortorella noticed what Blue Jackets players also saw in the left winger: Foligno developed a sense of when to be chummy and supportive with teammates, and when to push them. He began finding a knack for the right moments to speak up in the locker room: When to raise his voice, and when it was appropriate to joke around.

When reminded of his blunt conversation with Tortorella four years ago, Foligno said: "That was so many years ago, I haven't really thought about it since. I think my reaction is everything I've done up to this point ... I think I've just learned that it really is who you are. You can't pretend to be something you're not."

When the Blue Jackets host the Boston Bruins on Monday night in Game 6 to fend off elimination, they'll once again count on Foligno -- their captain -- to lead. But teammates say they've already learned valuable lessons this season from Foligno, ones about love, strength and resiliency.

Twice during the regular season, Foligno took leaves of absences to be with his sick children. Foligno and his wife, Janelle, have been candid about their family's tribulations. Weeks after their first daughter, Milana, was born in 2013, she underwent a procedure to replace a heart valve. Milana has a rare congenital heart disease called mitral valve arcade, which has presented complications since.

In December, Foligno announced to the team after a practice that Milana was undergoing another procedure in Boston, and he would be there. According to those at practice, the players gave Foligno stick taps on the ice, then converged together for a big 25-person hug.

"When I first got here, I heard about everything with his daughter, but to see it firsthand, to get to know his family, to see him have to miss time, that's some scary stuff," defenseman Zach Werenski said. "We play a sport for a living, and sometimes people say it's pressure on us. But that's pressure stuff he went through. What he went though is pretty unbelievable, and it made us a little closer as a team."

As teammate Cam Atkinson added, "I have a 9-month-old, and when my kid gets a cold, I feel like it's the end of the world. So, I don't know how he and his wife do it."

Foligno, 31, would miss four games, and teammates grappled with how to show their support. Many athletes choose to play through trying times, believing the normalcy of routine can be used as a coping mechanism. The NHL also welcomes a culture of understanding and a humane approach when it comes to family situations. There have been several examples over the past two seasons of NHL players taking time away to deal with hardship, from Erik Karlsson to Johnny Gaudreau to Jordan Staal.

"You text him when you can, but you know a lot of people are probably reaching out to him, and you want to give him his space," teammate Boone Jenner said of Foligno. "When he came back, after 10 days without him, it was special just to see him again."

In March, Foligno would take time off again. This time, his 2-year-old son, Hudson, battled pneumonia so severe that his right lung collapsed at one point. After Hudson's health improved and he left the hospital, Foligno would return to the squad.

Foligno's production has dipped from his career-high 31 goals and 73 points in 2014-15 (he tallied 17 goals and 35 points in 73 games this season), but he plays his best when he is physical and adds energy to the Blue Jackets' lineup.

He is part of a small core of players, along with Jenner, Atkinson, forward Brandon Dubinsky and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who have been with the Blue Jackets over the past six seasons and whose playoff performance this spring -- advancing to the second round for the first time in franchise history -- is most meaningful.

"He scores big goals for us, he hits, he fights, he does everything for us on the ice," Werenski said. "Off the ice, he's a guy everyone listens to and gravitates to. He's a guy we all want to win for."

As Atkinson added, "I can't imagine anyone else being the captain here."

The St. Louis Blues struck early and often in a critical Game 6 against the Dallas Stars, meaning we'll have at least one Game 7 on our slate this week.

Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day

About last night ...

Game 6: St. Louis Blues 4, Dallas Stars 1 (series tied 3-3)

Just when you want to count the Blues out, they come roaring back. In a do-or-die Game 6 on the road, St. Louis looked as confident as ever. The Blues are now 5-1 on the road in these playoffs, the best record of any team. Perhaps more impressive? They're outscoring opponents 11-2 on the road in the third period.

Some controversy stemmed from whether the refs should have blown the whistle when Ben Bishop got hit in the collarbone, went down in pain, and the Blues scored while he was down. The NHL's supervisor for the series, Kay Whitmore, defended the official's decision. "The puck hit him in the shoulder and they didn't deem it serious," Whitmore said, per a pool reporter. He added: "It wasn't a long duration of time. But the rule is pretty clear in that situation." The Stars say they expect Bishop to be fine for Game 7.

Three stars

1. Alex Pietrangelo, D, St. Louis Blues

With his team on the brink of elimination, the captain set the tone. Pietrangelo scored just 63 seconds into the game, which rattled the Stars.

Pietrangelo opens the scoring just 63 seconds into the game. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/q6b9FkYB4s

- NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 5, 2019

2. Jaden Schwartz, LW, St. Louis Blues

Schwartz had a goal and an assist, upping his total to a team-leading 11 points these playoffs. His eight goals trail only Logan Couture.

3. David Perron, RW, St. Louis Blues

Perron's no-look shot proved to be the game winner, and he provided the most quotable moment from the locker room after the win (see below).

Play of the night

Not only was it a beautiful shot, but this was Sammy Blais' first career playoff goal -- in his first career playoff game. He hadn't seen game action since March 12.

.@blais_19 winds up and scores his first career #StanleyCup Playoff goal. pic.twitter.com/LIubK4p39O

- NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 5, 2019

Dud of the night

OK, so it's a dud from two nights ago. But we can't stop thinking about that poor trash can.

Here's the metal trash can JT Compher just smashed a few minutes earlier. #Avs pic.twitter.com/c7AaRAdxmu

- Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) May 5, 2019

On the schedule

Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 6, 7 p.m. ET (Bruins lead the series 3-2)

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella guaranteed that his team would return to Boston for a Game 7. Why? "Because we will," he said. When asked to react to that bulletin board material, most Bruins players didn't bite. It's smart not to get into a war of words when the action has been so entertaining on the ice. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron are sizzling right now (11 points in the past two games, accounting for six of Boston's eight goals). Blue Jackets forwards have scored only six even-strength goals in the five games so far in this series, which is not ideal.

San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche, Game 6, 10 p.m. ET (Sharks lead the series 3-2)

We've finally learned a bit more about what Joe Pavelski has been enduring since his injury in Game 7 of the first round. The Sharks captain suffered a pressure cut that required staples, and he experienced concussion symptoms. But he has been skating and training every day and will join the team on the trip for this game, meaning he could be in for Game 6. The Avs will need more big stuff from goalie Philipp Grubauer, who is coming off a playoff career-high 37 saves in Game 5. The Avs hope Nathan MacKinnon can spark things; the center mustered just one shot and no points in Game 5 following an eight-game point streak.

Social post of the day

What is this wizardry?

Reddit has reminded me that I wrote this back in January and I'm going to bring it to my next job review. https://t.co/A8BrdKJMmd pic.twitter.com/IOe2J8UFV7

- Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) May 5, 2019

Quotable

Nous comprenons, David.

Perron on Berube making another bold lineup move that paid off: "He's got some balls. I know you don't like to hear this word, but I didn't think of anything else. Sorry, I'm French." #stlblues

- Lou Korac (@lkorac10) May 5, 2019