WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Lapeer Int’l Dragway underwent a complete ground-up renovation last year, and now the improvements keep coming.

Among those, the track has entered into a sanctioning agreement with the International Hot Rod Ass’n and will participate in the IHRA Summit SuperSeries program, the largest and most prestigious program in bracket racing.

Located in rural Northeastern Michigan, just 15 minutes outside the city of Lapeer, the quarter-mile track is also relatively close to the major metropolitan areas of Flint and Detroit.

Track owner Bill Jennings, who bought the track prior to the 2018 season, spent over $2.5 million in renovations to the over half-century old track.

It included tearing up the old racing surface and replacing it with concrete through the eighth-mile and asphalt for the other eighth-mile.

With a diamond-polished racing surface, Lapeer is called the “Fastest Pass in Michigan.”

It’s for good reason, as Lapeer Int’l Dragway director of operations Matt Vakula explained many racers have achieved personal bests.

“We had everything measured and set up to spec under IHRA supervision,” said Vakula. “We constantly have people go down the track and when they pull in, they set a fastest pass, a best 60-foot. They find a lot of firsts out there.”

Other upgrades included a repaved return road, new pavement in the pits and concrete retaining walls all the way down the track.

New fencing, lighting, and electrical, including an upgraded Accutime timing system, have been installed, with some construction projects still ongoing.

“The amount of work that’s been done to update the facility in the timeframe in which it’s been done is astonishing,” IHRA Division Director Jon O’Neal said. “Bill Jennings has a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude toward getting things done at the facility and it shows. The deep roots at Lapeer combined with the new look on safety should lead to great things to come.

Beyond the drag strip, work is scheduled for camping areas and future plans include a BMX bicycle track for the kids once it’s approved by the township.

Jennings is a racer himself and set goals of making it the most racer-friendly track around.

“We want to turn it into a community area, especially where the campground is for the racers,” Vakula said. “There are intentions to put in a BMX track for the kids on the race weekends where they can bring their bikes out.

“You look at our community and it’s a family-type atmosphere. From the old track, we have our core group. We also have people who have said they’re going to make Lapeer their home track. It’s a very family-friendly environment where people come to have fun.”

Vakula has a special connection to the dragway and it’s a part of his family’s heritage.

Mike Vakula and his brother Ed built the track, which opened in 1968, and operated it for 49 years before Jennings acquired the track in April 2018.

“Personally, I’ve spent 30 years at the track,” Matt Vakula said. “Historically, it was a grassroots track and it was originally sanctioned by AHRA. Then, it turned into an outlaw track in the late 70s. Over the course of time, it was known throughout the area as a top grassroots track, a place popular for people getting their feet wet in drag racing.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – If Helio Castroneves is comfortable heading into this weekend’s Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio – and the Brazilian driver says he is – that could make many of his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors somewhat uncomfortable.

Last year, Castroneves and his No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 Daytona Prototype international co-driver Ricky Taylor partnered to lead a one-two sweep for the team in the first IMSA race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course since 2013.

Castroneves also took the Motul Pole Award in a one-two sweep of qualifying.

That weekend turned out to be the highlight of the first season for the Acura Team Penske program in the WeatherTech Championship and stands as the lone series victory so far for the team.

But for as much history as Team Penske has, both Castroneves and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya – who co-drives the No. 6 Acura DPi with Dane Cameron – were newcomers to the series last year.

That’s why Castroneves is even more comfortable heading back to Mid-Ohio – where he also won back-to-back Champ Car races in 2000 and 2001 – this week.

“Every time you have one year under your belt, it helps a lot,” Castroneves said. “It doesn’t mean – just because of that – we know everything now. We’re still learning. It’s new tires and that changed a little bit of the setup that we had from last year.

“However, it’s the same for everyone. I do feel that knowing the cars, the teams, the competitors, it definitely helps you understand the strategy that you’ve got to play. We’re second in the championship, only two points behind first, and that’s our goal. We’ve got to execute this championship.”

As Castroneves mentioned, he and Taylor are right in the mix in the WeatherTech Championship DPi standings.

They trail the leading No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi squad of Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani by two points, 92-90, and are one point ahead of the third-place duo of Filipe Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi.

Sitting in fourth place, two points behind Castroneves and Taylor, are No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi teammates Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande. All three of those teams have a victory this season.

Jordan Taylor and van der Zande teamed with two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi to win the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, while Nasr and Derani co-drove with Eric Curran to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts in March.

Albuquerque and Barbosa won the most recent WeatherTech Championship race, the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach on April 13.

But Castroneves and Ricky Taylor have been solid so far, with podium results of third at Daytona and second at Long Beach sandwiching a fourth-place outing at Sebring.

“We feel that the beginning of the season’s been very favorable, very strong,” Castroneves said. “My goal is to take the lead from Mid-Ohio and hopefully never look back.”

He knows that will be easier said than done, though.

“The competition is hard,” Castroneves said. “Cadillac and Mazda, they stepped up their game from last year. I mean, last year Cadillac was really strong, but this year, they seem to be even tougher. But Mazda definitely got in the mix. And Nissan, there’s only one car, but those guys and Mazda and the Cadillacs, obviously, it’s pushing us to the limit.”

Castroneves has made a career out of pushing to the limit. He’ll do it again this May.

For the second consecutive year, he’ll add to his full-time IMSA commitments by competing in the IndyCar Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 11, followed by the 103rd Indianapolis 500 on May 26.

He’ll once again go in search of his fourth Indianapolis 500 victory, which would tie him with A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of the prestigious race.

Castroneves was in the Indy car last week for a day of testing. He was comfortable there, too.

“It helps a lot when you have a team like Team Penske,” he said. “It’s like I never left. My seat’s the same, the position is the same, it makes it so much easier when you jump in.”

He believes that racing both the Acura DPi and the Indy car make him better in both disciplines.

“I think driving a different car, driving with different tires, expands your ability to understand the car in so many different ways,” Castroneves said. “I mean, after 20 years driving Indy cars, sometimes you create habits. Obviously, technology changed over the years, tires changed over the years, power changed over the years, but you’re still in the same window of that scenario.

“So you expand your sensibility a little more about what the car does. I do feel it helps. Every time you’re behind the steering wheel, it does help.”

And he’s obviously looking forward to getting back behind the steering wheel at Mid-Ohio again this weekend.

“That track, several things happened,” Castroneves said. “For me, it’s very special. I won there in IndyCar, I won there last year, so defending and coming back is awesome. Also, it’s the backyard of one of the Acura manufacturing (plants) where they build the NSX. So, when you start putting all those together, it’s like, ‘Man, this is a big weekend for us.’

“We’re looking forward to it very much.”

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing received the first major post-race penalty of the NASCAR season on Tuesday for violations from the GEICO 500 weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR officials issued Dillon’s No. 3 team an L1-level penalty for a rear deck lid that did not comply with the NASCAR rule book, discovered prior to Busch Pole Qualifying on Saturday.

Competition officials determined that body filler, colloquially known as Bondo or repair putty, was added to the deck lid and confiscated the illegal part as a result.

Dillon has been docked 10 driver points and car owner Richard Childress has been docked 10 owner points as part of the penalties issued by NASCAR.

Crew chief Danny Stockman was also fined $25,000 and car chief Gregory Ebert has been suspended for one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points event.

Pending a potential appeal, Ebert could sit out for this weekend’s Cup Series event at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway, the next event on the calendar for NASCAR’s top division.

Dillon ended up 14th in Sunday’s rundown, and despite his pole starting position, never led during the 188-lap event.

NASCAR also fined crew chief Jeremy Bullins $10,000 after one lug nut was found to be “not safe and secure” on the No. 12 Ford of driver Ryan Blaney following Sunday’s GEICO 500.

Blaney finished 15th in Sunday’s Cup Series event.

We got only one game Monday night, but it sure was a thriller, as the St. Louis Blues edged past the Dallas Stars with a goal in the final two minutes of regulation.

Here's a recap of Monday night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for Tuesday night, 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 3: St. Louis Blues 4, Dallas Stars 3 (Blues lead series 2-1) Just as the Stars had taken over home-ice advantage in this series, they let it slip away. And just as the Blues looked like they were going to let this game slip away, they bounced back with resiliency. The third period was symbolic, but mainly just wild, with a four-goal outburst occurring in a five-minute stretch.

It was the Blues who prevailed -- despite three rallies from the Stars -- as Patrick Maroon scored the game winner with 1:38 left (about two minutes after Tyler Seguin had tied it up ... again). The Blues have been road warriors this postseason, going 4-0, and all in one-goal games. We have a feeling this series has plenty of more twists in store.

Three stars

1. Patrick Maroon, LW, St. Louis Blues

There have been plenty of "local boy comes home, does good" moments in these playoffs (see: John Tavares, Charlie Coyle), and Monday night belonged to Maroon. After joining his hometown team at a discount last summer, Maroon scored the game-winning goal with 1:38 remaining.

2. Tyler Seguin, C, Dallas Stars

If Maroon didn't play spoiler, Seguin could have been the hero Monday. His game-tying goal with 4:08 remaining sent the crowd into a frenzy. The top line was once again terrific in this game; they've now combined for 10 goals and 56 high-danger chances in these playoffs.

3. Jaden Schwartz, LW, St. Louis Blues

After finishing the season with just 0.16 goals per game (the second-lowest rate of his career), Schwartz bounced back in a big way in these playoffs. The team leader in goals (six) is averaging 0.67 per game, including the opening tally Monday. And once again, Schwartz responded positively to a lineup change.

Jaden Schwartz has six goals in nine post-season games after scoring 11 in the regular season. pic.twitter.com/i8tigIpFmo

- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 30, 2019

Play of the night

A periodic reminder that Jason Spezza still has it. Look at this setup.

Spezza finds the opening to get it to Radulov and Rads beats Binnington up top.#GoStars | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/DPZQ4pn7Sr

- Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) April 30, 2019

Dud of the night

We'll just leave this here.

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME!!! pic.twitter.com/CfcvwcZVAK

- Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) April 30, 2019

On the schedule

Boston Bruins at Columbus Blue Jackets, Game 3, 7 p.m. ET (series tied 1-1)

When fans show up at Nationwide Arena, they will receive free shirts that say: First-round victory is not the goal. That's the mantra for the Blue Jackets, who are hosting their first second-round game in franchise history. Columbus comes in with momentum after rediscovering its offense and taking home-ice advantage away from the Bruins. It sounds like Bruce Cassidy is mixing up Boston's lines again; David Pastrnak could start to get going once he's on the third line with red-hot Charlie Coyle (and facing off against bottom-six defensemen).

San Jose Sharks at Colorado Avalanche, Game 3, 10 p.m. ET (series tied 1-1)

Nathan MacKinnon is arguably the most dominant forward remaining in these playoffs. The top center has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in his past six. Linemate Mikko Rantanen also is riding a six-game point streak. As the series shifts to Colorado, the Sharks no longer get the last change and the chance to match up Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic against them. San Jose is still likely playing short-handed, as it's unclear when captain Joe Pavelski will return to the lineup.

Social post of the day

This is absolutely amazing... this kind of stuff is the biggest reason I am blessed to do what I do.... this was me as a kid watching Sakic and Forsberg. Thank you so much for sharing https://t.co/6BAnNyhbWm

- Matt Duchene (@Matt9Duchene) April 30, 2019

Mini 95 has a bright future ahead.

Quotable

Pietrangelo: "These playoffs. Just keep playing. You never know." #atlblues #WeAllBleedBlue

- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) April 30, 2019

Nedum Onuoha has labelled Zlatan Ibrahimovic a "thug" and called on the Major League Soccer to punish the striker after the two players clashed during La Galaxy's 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Sunday.

Ibrahimovic threw the former Manchester City man to the ground sparking an angry reaction from the defender and the confrontation continued into the dressing room after the match.

Following the altercation, Onuoha said that he would refuse to accept an apology from the Swedish striker and now he has criticised Ibrahimovic's aggressive behaviour on the pitch.

"He didn't affect the way that I played, it just motivated me more really," he told Love Sport Radio. "But after the 60th minute, he got booked and he started saying 'right that's it then, keep watching that clock, I'm going to do you, just you wait.'

"These are words I've probably heard twice or three times in all my career, usually by people who are complete thugs. It's one thing to be competitive but it's another thing to be threatening harm against another professional.

Ibrahimovic is one of the biggest names in the league since joining from Manchester United last year and Onuoha believes that the authorities will not punish the striker due to his star status.

He added: "The sad thing about it is that based on who he is and the league that he's playing in, nine out of 10 people will happily just go and shake his hand and say 'no problem,' even though from start to finish it's been about him and the way he's been.

"He's not going to get anything done to him. It will get spun into a story about how he's really competitive and this is what gets him going, this is why he's one of the best of all-time. That's just the way that it works. I'm not the type of person to say that the better MLS players get preferential treatment but from what I've seen so far, it's a lot easier to be Zlatan than it is to be the striker for Real Salt Lake."

Two people have been arrested after an image of deceased footballer Emiliano Sala's body had been posted on social media.

Dorset police announced on Saturday an investigation would be launched following the discovery of the image online.

- Borden: In search of Emiliano Sala

"On Feb. 7 2019, a post mortem examination of Emiliano Sala was conducted at Holly Tree Lodge Mortuary in Dorset," a police statement read. "On Feb. 13, Dorset Police became aware of an image on Twitter purporting to show the post mortem of Emiliano, and an investigation was launched.

"The image had been swiftly removed by Twitter, but unfortunately it had been circulated extensively on various social media sites by this time. As part of the enquiries by Dorset Police, a warrant was obtained for an address in Wiltshire and, on Feb. 18, this warrant was executed by officers from the Digital Investigations & Intelligence Unit within Wiltshire Police.

"A 48-year-old woman from Corsham was arrested at the scene on suspicion of unauthorised access to computer material [an offence under the Computer Misuse Act] and malicious communications, and is currently released on conditional bail.

"As the police investigation continued, a 62-year-old man from Calne was also arrested on suspicion of unauthorised access to computer material, and is currently released under investigation."

The single-engined Piper Malibu aircraft carrying Sala, 28, disappeared over the English Channel when flying him from previous club Nantes to Cardiff on Jan. 21.

Wreckage was found on Feb. 3 following a privately-funded underwater search and a body was recovered three days later. Later that month Sala's body was flown back to Argentina for his funeral.

It has been a very difficult period for the Sala family with Emiliano's father Horacio passing away following a sudden heart attack on Friday.

Cardiff and Nantes remain in a dispute over Sala's transfer after the Premier League side refused to make the first scheduled payment for the Argentine.

The Bluebirds argue the agreement struck with Nantes regarding Sala's purchase was not legal as the French club failed to fulfill conditions they set.

FIFA has granted Cardiff City and Nantes extra time to submit full details of the transfer of Sala as the clubs look to schedule face-to-face talks.