Sammy Sessions came along a decade too late to make the impact on the Indianapolis 500 that was indicative of his talent.

One who excelled in every form of racing he attempted, Sessions followed the traditional route to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He shot through the USAC short-track ladder but stepped into the speedway scene just as car owners were turning to road course racers because of the rear-engine revolution.

He struggled to find rides and settled for spots with under-funded teams. Characteristic of the short-budgeted teams he drove for, Sessions started in the last row three times and his best starting spot was 23rd.

Nevertheless, he qualified for seven Indianapolis 500s and managed two top-10 finishes — a ninth in 1968 and fourth in 1972. In 1972, he also raced to top-five finishes at Ontario (Calif.) Motor Speedway and Michigan Int’l Speedway.

Unquestionably, Sammy Sessions knew how to get around a race track.

Born Allen Dale Sessions in Nashville, Mich., in 1935, his first taste of speed came racing powerboats when he was 14. He eventually made his way into the jalopies at Hastings Speedway.

It was when he graduated to supermodifieds, however, that his talent became obvious. He claimed the Grand Rapids Speedrome track championship in 1962 and won a series of prominent national supermodified events.

In 1964, he jumped into the furiously competitive supermodified racing at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway and won three consecutive features. Racing toward a fourth consecutive win, he suffered a horrendous crash that hospitalized him for a month. It was during that sheet time that Sessions decided to move to USAC for 1965.

He succeeded in all three USAC major open-wheel divisions. He won 22 USAC sprint car features and the 1972 USAC National Sprint Car championship. That performance put him in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame. In midgets, he won the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix in 1968. Sessions earned 21 top-10 finishes racing championship dirt cars.

In addition to his canny driving talent, Session’s fierce determination and calculating desire to race at all costs also fueled his success.

Fellow driver and friend Gary Irwin recalls a humorous incident during a USAC midget race in Davenport, Iowa, that illustrates that well. Driving the Shannon Brothers midget, Sessions experienced a nasty flip during a heat race.

“He had a bad cut above his right eye,” Irwin recalled. “So they loaded him in the ambulance and headed to the hospital with the sirens screaming.”

With only one ambulance at the track, all the action halted until it returned. Officials, competitors and fans expected a rapid turn around. They waited and waited. No ambulance.

As it turned out, Sessions knew they couldn’t run the feature without the ambulance in place and convinced the driver to wait until he was examined, treated and released before returning. He even insisted the doctor sew him up without pain medication. He didn’t want to be impaired. He planned to race.

By the time Sessions got back to the track, his eye was swollen completely shut. He ducked officials so they wouldn’t notice and climbed quickly in his car. Bob Higman, serving as chief mechanic, had the car repaired. Sessions started fourth and was quickly leading.

“He must’ve passed a hundred cars that night,” laughed Irwin. “With his eye swollen shut, he had no depth perception. He was OK as long as he was following someone, but when he took the lead, he’d slide off the track and have to restart in the back. He’d pass everyone again and spin off. He must’ve done that three or four times. He finally finished second.”

By 1976, Sessions had returned to his supermodified roots, running with the TRI-Sac series. TRI-Sac competed throughout Michigan and neighboring states. Drivers had to race both supermodifieds and winged sprint cars to score points. It fit Sessions perfectly and he won the series championship in 1976.

Continually searching for ways to satisfy his competitive urges, Sessions turned to snowmobile racing with the SnoPro series. As a surprise to no one, he won on them.

But they also proved tragic.

At a meet in Alexandria, Minn., on Dec. 17, 1977, Sessions suffered a heart attack and his snowmobile pounded off course and into a tree. He died instantly.

MONZA, Italy – Charles Leclerc, fresh off his first Formula One victory, paced both practice sessions for the Italian Grand Prix on Friday at Autodromo Nazionale Monza.

The day proved to be a chaotic one, with rain and the resulting wet track causing several drivers issues throughout the day.

One driver who didn’t have a problem was Leclerc, the winner of the most recent Grand Prix in Belgium. Leclerc paced both practice sessions aboard his Ferrari, with his best time set during the second practice at 1:20.978.

Leclerc set his fast lap on soft tires during a brief period where the track was dry and the rain stopped, but the rain returned and drivers retreated to the garage until late in the session.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were among the fastest once drivers began returning to the track, with Hamilton using a slipstream from Bottas to go second fastest on the day at 1:21.046.

Sebastian Vettel was third fastest overall thanks to his lap in the second practice, followed by Bottas and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

The speeds in the first practice were considerably slower since the track was soaked with rain water. Leclerc was still fastest, but with a considerably slower lap of 1:27.905.

The McLaren duo of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris impressed with strong laps late in the first session as the track began to dry. Hamilton and Red Bull’s Alexander Albon followed.

Several drivers had issues in the first practice, with Sergio Perez’s Force India suffering major damage after a spin and contact with the wall. Kimi Raikkonen also spun, bouncing off the wall and getting stuck in a gravel trap. A few other drivers spun, but Perez and Raikkonen were the only competitors whose cars suffered any damage.

PORTIMAO, Portugal – Jonathan Rea stood tall on the opening day of World Superbike practice Friday at Algarve Int’l Circuit.

The Northern Irishman put down the fastest lap of the afternoon at 1:41.931, but he was shadowed by his closest rival in the race for the championship. Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista ended the day second fastest, .078 seconds behind Rea’s Kawasaki.

Alex Lowes was third fastest for Pata Yamaha, .120 seconds behind the pace set by Rea. Toprak Razgatlioglu put in a solid lap to go fourth fastest for Turkish Puccetti Racing, with the second Pata Yamaha with Michael van der Mark fifth fastest.

There were two crashes in the first practice, with Jordi Torres crashing early in turn three and Tom Sykes crashing later in turn 14. Both riders escaped injury.

READING, Pa. – Steve Torrence made history a year ago en route to his first NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series world championship.

The road to perfection in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship started at Maple Grove Raceway, where the Top Fuel standout sent a strong opening message that only got louder with each playoff race.

Torrence became the first driver in NHRA history to sweep all six Countdown to the Championship races, a streak that started with an impressive performance in Reading. Torrence isn’t worried about perfection to open the 2019 playoffs, but he would like to start his title defense on a strong note at the 35th annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals presented by Pennzoil, Sept. 12-15 at Maple Grove Raceway. Torrence will again enter the Countdown to the Championship as the points leader, but he knows the road to a second world title won’t be easy.

“It’s still just a six-race shootout,” said Torrence, a 35-time Top Fuel winner. “Yeah, we had a great regular season. We won eight times and my dad (Billy Torrence) won twice, but when we go to Reading, I’ll just be 20 points ahead of Doug (Kalitta). We’ve got a great team, a great car and a great track record, but that’s just history. You still have to perform in the playoffs.”

Torrence (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners of the event. Both Torrence and Todd used that momentum last year to win their first world titles, and it’s a scenario Torrence would like to repeat at the 19th of 24 races in his 11,000-horsepower Capco Contractors dragster.

He was dominant during the regular season, winning eight times and advancing to 11 final rounds. His father also won twice and went to four finals, earning his first berth in the Countdown to the Championship. That means Torrence will have help from a teammate during the playoffs, but he’s fully aware of the job his team has done for the last several years.

“I’ve got a really good team, a really good group of guys,” Torrence said. “They are the reason for the success that we have. When you see teams that go out and do well and continually win, it’s usually because the guys have been together for years and they just work well together. That’s what we have with these Capco cars.”

Torrence has been dominant since 2017, winning 27 times during his remarkable run. He had an incredible stretch this year, too, winning eight of nine races. It’s another example of Torrence reaching an unbelievable level when things start clicking, something that was evident last year when he won all six races in the playoffs. But Torrence will face challenges from every angle, including from Indy winner Kalitta, who starts the playoffs in second and seeking his first world title.

Other championship contenders include 2017 world champ Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Clay Millican, Leah Pritchett, Richie Crampton, Mike Salinas and rookie Austin Prock, but Torrence will stay confident knowing his team has performed well in these pressure situations before.

“(Crew chiefs) Richard Hogan and Bobby Lagana Jr., they’ve made all the right moves,” Torrence said, “and the guys putting my car together, they just don’t make mistakes. It’s an exceptional group. I’m very blessed and very thankful to be the guy in the car. It’s been an awesome ride.”

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Erik Jones has signed a contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing to remain in the No. 20 Toyota Camry for the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

The news comes less than a week after Jones earned his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory during the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

“I’m so happy to finally have my plans for 2020 confirmed and to talk about it,” said Jones. “I’m excited to be staying with Joe Gibbs Racing and the 20 team and to continue the success that we have built over the last two years in the Cup Series. I put my heart and soul into this and this race team. This is my living and how I want to make a career and what I want to do. I’ve been racing with JGR since 2014 and it’s really cool to be able to continue with the foundation we’ve built over the years and hopefully win more races and contend for championships together.”

In his third full-time season in the Cup Series, Jones has two wins, 23 top-five finishes and 45 top-10 finishes in 100-career starts in the series. Jones captured his first win at Daytona Int’l Speedway on July 7, 2018 after battling current teammate Martin Truex Jr. for the win.

“Erik has accomplished so much in our sport already and yet, he really is just at the start of a long career,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He’s been a part of Joe Gibbs Racing for almost his entire professional career and we’re excited to see what the future holds for him.”

“All of us at Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) are thrilled to have Erik extend his relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing and the No. 20 Camry,” said David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A. “Erik has been a part of the family since 2013 and we’ve been fortunate to see him advance and develop as a race car driver and a person. From a Truck Series champion to a Playoff contender and race winner in the Cup Series, we’re honored to be a part of his journey. Without a doubt, we know his recent Cup Series success is just the beginning of what is sure to be many more wins and championship-contending seasons to come.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Joe Thornton is coming back for another season at age 40, signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the San Jose Sharks on Friday after briefly contemplating retirement at the end of last season.

Thornton decided in the offseason that he wasn't ready to hang it up after 21 seasons in the NHL, saying he'd only play in San Jose. The Sharks were eager to bring Thornton back, but it took until a week before training camp for the finalized contract.

"Words cannot equate the impact that Joe has had on this franchise since his arrival in San Jose in 2005," general manager Doug Wilson said. "Joe is a generational player who seemingly blazes past an existing Hall of Famer with each game he plays. His leadership and dedication to the organization and his teammates is inspiring. He has the rare ability to make the players around him better and we're excited to see him healthy and back wearing the Sharks crest."

Thornton arrived in San Jose in a franchise-altering trade from Boston on Nov. 30, 2005, turning the Sharks into a perennial Cup contender that never quite wins it all.

He quickly became the face of the franchise, winning the Hart Trophy as MVP in his first season, leading the team to back-to-back conference finals appearances in 2010-11 and a run to the Stanley Cup Final three years ago before a loss to Pittsburgh.

The Sharks hoped to give Thornton a championship last season when teammates and coaches openly talked about wanting to "Win for Joe." But San Jose lost in six games in the conference final to eventual champion St. Louis.

Thornton hurt his groin in the first game of that series and his play suffered for it, despite his two goals and one assist in a Game 3 win. The Sharks then lost the final three games to end the season.

Despite that late injury, Thornton was mostly healthy after undergoing major reconstructive surgery on both knees the previous two years. He played the final 71 games of the regular season and didn't need rehab this summer, which contributed to his decision to return.

Thornton's role diminished last year as he played mostly as a third-line center and often wasn't part of the top power-play unit. But his line with Kevin Labanc and Marcus Sorensen was San Jose's most effective down the stretch and he finished the season with 16 goals and 35 assists.

Thornton had 10 goals and 23 assists in his final 39 games, ranking third on the team in points during that span.

He has always been a leader in the dressing room for the Sharks and his role could be more important this season after captain Joe Pavelski left for Dallas in free agency.

Thornton has 413 goals and 1,065 assists in 1,566 career games with Boston and San Jose. He ranks 14th all time in points and needs just 22 to reach 1,500 for his career. He's eighth in assists and needs 15 to pass Adam Oates. Thornton will move into the top 10 in games played in a career with 49 this year.

The NHL for the first time has selected four female officials to work on the ice at several prospect tournaments being held this weekend.

Katie Guay and Kelly Cooke have been selected as referees, while Kirsten Walsh and Kendall Hanley will work as linesmen, the league announced Friday. The four were selected out of group of 96 officials, including 11 women, who participated in the league's annual officials exposure combine in Buffalo, New York, last month.

This will mark the first time women have officiated at the pre-training-camp prospects-tournament level, and marks the next step in the league's bid to have women officiate at the NHL level.

Without providing a timeline, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman previously said he envisions a woman officiating at the league level.

Guay is the most experienced of the four, having refereed women's games at the Winter Olympics last year. She has been assigned to work the Anaheim Ducks-hosted tournament in Irvine, California.

Cooke, who this past year officiated at the women's world hockey championships, has been assigned to work the Predators' tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hanley, who has spent 11 seasons officiating at the NCAA Division III level, will work the Detroit Red Wings' tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. Walsh just completed her collegiate playing career at Robert Morris, and will work at the Sabres' tournament in Buffalo.

The San Jose Sharks have gone out of the box in looking for front-office talent, adding former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti as a scout.

"Ned has an extensive background working in professional sports and talent evaluation and he will bring a fresh perspective to our organization's evaluation process," Sharks GM Doug Wilson said in announcing the move. "This was a unique opportunity to add someone of Ned's experience to our staff."

Colletti, 65, had a 35-year career in baseball, working in the Cubs front office and as an assistant GM for the San Francisco Giants before being named general manager of the Dodgers from 2006-14. He later left to join the Dodgers broadcasting team.

But before that, Colletti covered the Philadelphia Flyers as an NHL writer for the Philadelphia Bulletin in the early 80s. Bobby Clarke was the captain of those Broad Street Bullies, and Billy Barber, Reggie Leach and Rick MacLeish were all on the squad. Colletti says he has maintained close connections with several key figures in the sport. A native of Chicago, Colletti grew up as a Blackhawks fan.

"It was the Original Six era, and Bobby Hull and Mikita and Glenn Hall, Kenny Wharram, Doug Mohns, I remember most of the team to this day," he told LAKings Insider in 2013. "It just became something that I loved doing. I loved watching and playing and played into my later years, for a long time... I played in leagues really into my late 30's, early 40's."

There are few sports that provide as rich and diverse a development pool as hockey does. As a global sport, there are so many routes for players to take on their way to the NHL. There's no real "right way" to get to there. If a player is good enough, it's almost impossible for him to slip through the cracks, and if someone is not found in his draft year, there's always free agency for the late bloomers. One way or another, the best players get there.

But what are the most-traveled routes? Which leagues and teams produce the top prospects? We looked at 15 years of data to find the most common prospect tracks for NHL talent. To get a pool of players to look at, we first eliminated anyone draft-eligible before 2005. Then we set the following criteria for inclusion:

• A forward who registered at least 0.5 points per game in his career (minimum 82 games)

• A defenseman who averaged 19 or more minutes (minimum 82 games)

• A goaltender who made a minimum of 62 career appearances

That provided a list of 286 players -- from Sidney Crosby to Rasmus Dahlin -- with only a few who I'd subjectively term as outliers. The goal was to provide a snapshot of players you could easily say provided a measurable impact to their team, as a relatively consistent offensive producer, top-four defenseman or starting goalie. Let's look at where those top NHL talents came from.

Note: As a caveat to all of this, players move around after their draft, so there is room for debate for which teams get to lay claim for actually developing the talent. Statistics come directly from the NHL's website, and the teams and leagues utilized in this report are those provided by the NHL's draft records database.

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It's not shocking that 148 players, or nearly 52% of 286 players who meet the criteria, were first-round draft picks. Nearly 41% of the players (117) were selected in Rounds 2-7, and 7% (21) were never drafted. It's perhaps less shocking that 121 of the 286 players are Canadian, leading the way in nationalities.