With a trip to the semifinal on the line in Philadelphia, the United States defeated Curacao 1-0 in game marked by disjointed American play and the surprising confidence apparent from the Caribbean nation.

Positives

The win and little else. This is a tournament, after all, and the point is to advance. A singular moment from Christian Pulisic gave the Americans the goal they needed and the defense managed to hold on to the advantage. Not only would losing have ended their Gold Cup, it would have been a traumatic blow to any sense that Gregg Berhalter's program is progressing.

Negatives

A lack of energy and aggression from the U.S., as evidenced by a press that was haphazard and disconnected. Curacao's ability to not only put together long periods of possession, but to bypass the American midfield with ease made the game a much more tense affair that it should have been. Whatever progress Berhalter has made with his system, it was not on display in Philadelphia. Players all over the field played with a tentativeness indicative of a group still not sure where to be and when.

Manager rating out of 10

4 -- Berhalter got away with making 11 changes for the final group-stage match against Panama, but that choice might have affected the rhythm of the team for the quarterfinal. The Americans won, but never looked comfortable. Even the goal seemed to be an anomalous moment rather than indicative of the performance as a whole. Berhalter was more lucky than good on the night.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 the best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Zack Steffen, 5 -- Made a pair of necessary saves in the last 15 minutes to preserve the win. Guilty of some nervy moments in the first half that put the U.S. goal under threat. Kept the Americans' string of clean sheets at the Gold Cup going.

DF Nick Lima, 4 -- Aside from a few moments, was invisible going forward. Pushed back from a high position as the game wore on and the Americans struggled to keep the ball.

DF Aaron Long, 5 -- Made clear errors with the ball and appeared flustered at times. Slow to apply pressure in front of goal.

DF Walker Zimmerman, 6 -- Passable on a rough night for everyone in the back. Defended well at times, was sloppy in others.

DF Tim Ream, 3 -- Turnover prone. Too passive in one-vs.-one defensive situations. Adding nothing going forward.

MF Michael Bradley, 6 -- Asked to do a lot of work. Hit-and-miss with passing going forward. Covered ground, slowed down Curacao as he could, aided in recovery.

MF Tyler Boyd, 3 -- Wasteful, committed numerous turnovers. Lacked a consistent first touch. Combined with Paul Arriola and Pulisic on the left side but was otherwise a non-factor.

MF Weston McKennie, 5 -- Scored the goal, but struggled in possession in the midfield. Turned the ball over numerous times across both halves.

MF Christian Pulisic, 6 -- Created the lone goal with an inch-perfect cross to the back post. Made some things happen on the dribble, but missed a couple of chances to put the ball on goal.

MF Paul Arriola, 4 -- Industrious with defending, otherwise did little in the attacking end of the field.

-- When is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
-- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

FW Gyasi Zardes, 4 -- Good off the ball, bad on it. Ineffective when dropping in to provide an option in midfield. Provided no goal threat, missing on the best opportunity.

Substitutes

MF Jordan Morris, NR -- Energetic, tracked back to help in defense with the U.S. absorbing pressure in the final half hour.

DF Omar Gonzalez, NR -- Brief cameo with the U.S. pushing to the final whistle.

Three years ago, the Brooklyn Nets were as dead as any NBA team has ever been. They had just wrapped a 21-win 2015-16 season. They had no young players of consequence. They had few draft assets; the Boston Celtics owned most of them through 2019 thanks to a trade that was and is considered one of the great heists in basketball history.

If Rondae Hollis-Jefferson signs with another team this summer, there will be zero players remaining from that 2015-16 outfit.

Just after the All-Star break that season, the Nets hired Sean Marks to be their new general manager. The team's Russian-based ownership group had been leaning until the very last minute to Bryan Colangelo. At All-Star Saturday night in Toronto, R.C. Buford, the San Antonio Spurs GM and then Marks' boss, approached Dmitry Razumov, then the Nets chairman, at a private event and told Razumov he might not even grant the Nets permission to interview Marks unless the Nets guaranteed Marks carte blanche to do the job the way he wanted, sources have told ESPN. Several other executives, including Bob Myers, the Golden State Warriors' president of basketball operations, chatted with Razumov that night about Marks' credentials. Brooklyn changed course.

The Nets had no first-round pick in the 2016 draft. Even so, Marks especially wanted to meet with one young player at the draft combine: Caris LeVert. Marks peppered LeVert with tough questions about his foot injury and how he might respond to Brooklyn's intensive sports science program. At the draft a few weeks later, Marks traded Thaddeus Young to the Indiana Pacers for the right to select Levert 20th overall.

It was the first move in the gradual reinvention of the Nets -- a remarkable story with very little precedent of a team that had nothing, worked every fringe avenue possible to find players and a measly three years later has somehow ended up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. (They also are signing DeAndre Jordan, i.e., the big man version of Jarrett Jack in that his primary value at this point appears to be that he is friends with better players.)

Unless free agency guts the Toronto Raptors, the Nets with Durant recovering from an Achilles tear will probably enter next season in the second tier of Eastern Conference playoff teams -- ironically, right next to the Celtics, who pillaged the Nets in that 2013 Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade only to watch Brooklyn swipe a good chunk of their carefully planned rebuild today.

Irving is significantly better than D'Angelo Russell, but he does not by himself elevate a 42-win team into title contention. The hope is that the mega-leap comes with Durant's return in 2020-21.

And it is a hope, not a lock. Durant might never be the same player again. We all hope he is, because Durant before crumpling to the court in Game 5 of the NBA Finals was on pace to be (at worst) one of the 10 greatest players ever -- with an outside shot at breaking the all-time scoring record.

We just don't know. If Durant is 90 percent of his old self, a four-year max deal that might cap out the Nets going forward will be good value. If he's 70 or 75 percent or whatever figure you'd like to attach to "doesn't look the same," there is a downside to this contract that is unpleasant to think about. But even if he hits that 90 percent, it is hard to know what that missing 10 percent represents -- if it is the difference between an All-NBA player and a guy who can function as the best player on a championship team.

Being 7-feet tall with an untouchable feathery jump shot helps. That alone will make Durant a fun pick-and-roll partner for Irving, the way he was with Stephen Curry for three seasons -- only the Nets figure to lean on that action more than the Warriors did. Ever since the rumblings about Durant and Irving joining forces burbled up, there has been noise within league circles that perhaps they will not fit all that well together -- that they will suffer from the "only one ball" problem.

Nah. They are both elite shooters who carry immense value away from the ball. The defining quality of Durant's on-court career is his ability to play alongside superstar teammates without sacrificing any of what makes him great or taking away anything that makes those teammates great. He is in some stylistic ways -- namely, time spent controlling the ball and the offense -- the greatest second option of all time.

Joining with a ball-dominant point guard dashes any dreams of seeing Durant fully unleashed as the undisputed No. 1 option. There will be no permanent Slim Reaper posting 33-9-9 lines over full seasons. Working with Irving might resemble his partnership with Russell Westbrook on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And that's fine. Durant as he recovers from traumatic injury and ages into his 30s will need a younger All-Star to carry chunks of the offense the way LeBron James needed Irving to win a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They will form a lethal, switch-proof, pick-and-roll combination that works both ways: Durant screening for Irving, and vice versa. Remember: Irving has a long history working that action with James.

But that is a year away. How Brooklyn builds out its team around its new stars will be intriguing. The Nets can retain all of LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, Jarrett Allen, Rodions Kurucs and whoever else is leftover once they make room for Durant and Irving. They have agreed to sign Garrett Temple, per reporting from Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. They still need frontcourt depth; they might bring back Jared Dudley, sources say.

Look at those names. The Nets got Dinwiddie and Harris for nothing. Any contender would welcome them now. They selected Allen with the pick -- No. 22 -- they received from the Washington Wizards in exchange for a half-season of Bojan Bogdanovic. At 27, Harris is the oldest among the younger foundation. Together with Russell, they comprised the core of a feisty postseason team.

Reaching that status in the East is not some crowning achievement. But the Nets did it with young players they could sell as long-term pieces of a good team. They could credibly look Irving and Durant in the eyes and say: See what Russell and these guys did together? Imagine what you might do.

Brooklyn selected good character players and built a culture of work, selflessness and fun around them. The Nets could feel it coming together in 2016-17 -- the first season for both LeVert and Kenny Atkinson, the head coach charged with the league's toughest rebuilding challenge. At a team dinner before their last game that season, Irina Pavlova, then president of Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holding and liaison between the team and its Russian owners, fought back tears as she stood to give a toast, players and coaches recall. "In my seven years here, this is the first time it feels like a team," she said, "and not just 15 players on a roster."

The Nets weren't perfect. No team is. They got lucky when other teams matched their grandiose offer sheets, then inexplicably spat in the face of that luck by trading for Allen Crabbe on the same toxic deal Brooklyn had foisted upon the Portland Trail Blazers.

But the Nets hit way more than they missed. They built a cutting-edge practice facility in Brooklyn and housed it with one of the best sports science staffs in the league. They encouraged players and coaches to bring their families along. They resisted the temptation to microwave a 45-win team by splurging on veterans. They refused to tank, even this season, when they finally had their pick back. They would play hard and try to win.

"Once they win, they will get everyone they want," Luis Scola told me in the summer of 2017, after playing part of just one season in Brooklyn. "But all those other things don't matter until you have a good team."

They built a good team. Now they have a chance for something more.

LeVert has a chance to grow into a championship third option, which is probably his appropriate NBA ceiling. He is still just 24, with potential to become an All-Star, two-way wing. His jump shot -- he is a career 32.9% shooter from deep -- might be the swing factor. The presence of Irving and Durant ensures Levert will not be overburdened as a primary on-ball creator.

LeVert is eligible for an extension now, and the salary attached to it will be big. But if he improves, it will be at worst a movable contract. Dinwiddie is on a bargain deal. Allen has two years left on his rookie contract. Harris is a free agent after next season, but his market will go only so high. Even if the Nets don't have much (or any) cap room in the Durant-Irving era, they will have the flexibility to pivot in other directions -- including chasing a third star.

Irving will have to prove he is not toxic to team chemistry. It helps that even while injured, Durant will hover over him, the true franchise alpha. The Nets are betting Atkinson's fearless, sometimes loud style will work better with Irving. Atkinson will not back down.

Regardless of what comes next, this is a historic day for the Nets. It is the transformational point of one of the most stunning reconstruction projects in recent sports history.

It is obviously a gut punch for the New York Knicks, who traded their own franchise player to unlock cap space -- and, sure, for lots of other reasons -- and have no major player to spend it on. Their buffoonish owner, James Dolan, took the unusual and bombastic step of boasting during a radio interview in the middle of the season about how the Knicks would "have a very successful offseason when it comes to free agents" -- how players and their representatives had told them so.

Perhaps when you have almost zero record of competent team-building over two decades, you should hold off on the premature braggadocio. Just a thought. Our Adrian Wojnarowksi and Ramona Shelburne reported late Sunday that New York would not offer Durant a max contract due to concerns about how he might recover. Fair. Where was this caution in 2010 when the Knicks signed Amar'e Stoudemire?

The Knicks will spin about how they are well-prepared for the future with RJ Barrett, some other young players who might or might not amount to much, extra picks from the Dallas Mavericks via that Kristaps Porzingis deal and cap space they might theoretically use at some point on someone better than Stoudemire (or, you know, Porzingis). (Julius Randle, New York's big Day 1 signing on a three-year, $63 million deal, would have made for a nice fit next to Porzingis.)

They're not entirely wrong. But they are stung at Madison Square Garden -- and embarrassed. They were not able to show Durant or Irving proof of concept the way the Nets did with Russell and Brooklyn's young team. So on we go, to do this again next summer and the summer after that.

The Warriors hurt too, and they will forever have to contemplate how they handled Durant's final chapter with the team -- from Draymond Green deriding him in that infamous November game against the LA Clippers to the fateful decision (made in conjunction with Durant's doctors) to clear him for Game 5 of the Finals.

But they knew this was in play when they signed Durant three summers ago -- that he might win with them, then seek his own path. The Warriors were never going to be his team. He knew that. They felt it. Durant went through periods when he was distant and quiet. A lot of people within the organization were convinced in the middle of the 2017-18 season that he would leave that summer, sources have said.

Golden State can never come close to replacing his talent. The Warriors did get more wiggle room filling a roster that looked perilously thin in the Finals without Durant (and then Klay Thompson). (Again, there is downside to Durant's new contract.) Using it to turn Durant's departure into a sign-and-trade for D'Angelo Russell -- on a max contract -- was a bold and risky asset play.

It cost them Andre Iguodala, a cultural touchstone. His departure, almost more than Durant's, marks an end to an era. The Warriors will never look the same without him. More importantly: Golden State had to attach a lightly-protected 2024 first-rounder to dump Iguodala's contract onto Memphis, as reported by Wojnarowski. That pick has some upside for Memphis. Golden State has time to acquire a replacement, and they will need picks to transition into the post-Splash Brothers era.

Russell will have to prove he is worth this, and the proof may be in whether the Warriors can flip him for value once Thompson returns. In the meantime, he fills a hole and allows for Steve Kerr to scale back Stephen Curry's minutes. But Russell's fit with Curry and Thompson is not clear. He is making too much to come off the bench.

Yeah, the Warriors are getting both weirder and older. They haven't exactly killed it in the draft since 2012, which is really not a fair criticism considering where great teams draft. Green is up for a massive extension that would vaporize a lot of that cap-and-tax flexibility. Thompson might not be the same until the 2020-21 season after tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the Finals.

But count the Curry/Thompson/Green trio out at your own peril. Their record when Curry played and Durant did not was a sterling 34-4 over three seasons, before the Finals against Toronto. And even against a great Raptors team, the Warriors went 2-3 in games Thompson played -- including Game 6, when he left late in the third quarter with that knee injury. Who knows: Had Thompson stayed healthy for the duration, the Warriors might have won the whole damned thing in Game 7 in Toronto.

The Warriors will be good, even amid a Western Conference in which the Utah Jazz, the Los Angeles Lakers and a few other teams are loading up to take a run at their throne. They might even contend again once Thompson recovers.

But the Warriors' ceiling will never be the same without Durant. They have to restock the depth they jettisoned to get him.

It was worth it, though: two titles and heavy favorite status for a three-peat until Durant's calf betrayed him. Now Brooklyn gets its chance -- sooner than anyone could have reasonably expected three years ago, when Durant signed with Golden State. What a turnaround.

Golden State and Brooklyn are trying to finalize a sign-and-trade deal, delivering All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell on a four-year, $117 million maximum contract to the Warriors, league sources told ESPN on Sunday.

To create the salary-cap flexibility to turn Kevin Durant's free-agent deal with the Nets into the acquisition of Russell, the Warriors would trade three-time champion Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies with a protected 2024 first-round draft pick, league sources tell ESPN.

Memphis would get the 2024 pick protected Nos. 1-4 in that year, protected to No. 1 in 2025 and unprotected in 2026 if the pick still hasn't been conveyed, league sources told ESPN.

The departures of Iguodala and Durant would end an era with the Warriors, who'd retool their roster with a Russell-Stephen Curry backcourt until Klay Thompson returns from a torn ACL injury sometime next season.

Russell has become the object of a fierce recruiting battle in the aftermath of Kyrie Irving joining Durant with the Nets. The 23-year-old is a restricted free agent who would likely soon be renounced in Brooklyn and become an unrestricted free agent. The Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves -- who wanted to engage Brooklyn with a sign-and-trade -- have also been aggressive in pursuit of Russell in a deal.

Russell enjoyed a breakout fourth NBA season, putting up the type of numbers many expected when the Lakers took him No. 2 overall in the 2015 NBA draft.

The point guard helped lead Brooklyn to 42 wins while making his All-Star Game debut. He did so by averaging career bests in points (21.1 per game) and assists (7.0) as the Nets reached the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

He made 234 3-pointers, the most in a season in Nets history. And according to Second Spectrum data, the Nets set 3,225 picks with Russell as the ball handler, which trailed only Trae Young and Kemba Walker for most in the NBA.

But Russell offered more to the Nets than just numbers. Teammates and coach Kenny Atkinson alike lauded him for his leadership, improved conditioning and professional approach to the game.

Russell had said his desire was to remain in Brooklyn, but after the Nets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers, he acknowledged much of what happened in the offseason was out of his control.

"I definitely want to be here," he told reporters. "But I also know it's a business, too. So I'm not going to play that role like I don't know what could possibly happen."

Russell has career averages of 16.5 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 41.9% from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range over four NBA seasons.

Anthony Rendon is an All-Star. Finally.

Once again, the fans did not vote Rendon to be the starting third baseman for the National League (he finished fifth at his position). However, in a shocking break from tradition, the powers that be actually selected him to be a reserve. To paraphrase a 2017 quote from former Washington Nationals teammate Daniel Murphy, they must have finally gone to FanGraphs. As such, they knew that heading into Sunday's announcement, Rendon ranked 12th in the majors in WAR among position players, and second among NL third basemen. In other words, Rendon has been one of the best players in baseball this year. Still, he gets no love from the electorate. This should come as no surprise.

Since the beginning of 2014, his first full season in the majors, Rendon has established himself as one of the best all-around players in the bigs. During that time, he has amassed a total of 27.9 WAR, which ranks seventh among all position players. The top 30 players on that list have combined to make 78 All-Star appearances over the past five seasons, and every one of them has been to the Midsummer Classic at least once -- except for Rendon. Until this week, he was basically MLB's version of Glenn Close.

If you're a baseball fan, you probably know Close from the classic 1984 flick "The Natural." She played Iris Gaines, Roy Hobbs' hometown girlfriend, a role that earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination from Academy Award voters. It was the third time she was nominated, and the third time she lost. Since then, Close has received four more Oscar nominations (including earlier this year for "The Wife"), and all four times she's whiffed. If you're scoring at home, she's now 0-for-7 lifetime and is arguably the greatest actress who has never won an Academy Award.

Unlike the Oscar voters' repeated snubbing of Close, the fact that All-Star balloters have never voted in Rendon is only mildly surprising. After all, the fan balloting is typically dominated by players whose teams draw really well and/or have an intensely passionate following, and the Nats don't really fit into either category. Plus, stat-stuffer guys like Rendon -- versatile players who do a bunch of things well but don't have one obviously eye-popping stat -- tend to get lost in the shuffle. Especially when they're pathologically quiet, like a certain Nats third baseman.

Having said all that, the fact Rendon had never been named a reserve -- an honor not determined by the masses and therefore considered to be significantly more meritocratic than the fan vote -- was a whole lot harder to swallow. But not impossible. Here's how it happened:

2014: The Nobody Really Knew Who He Was Yet Year

The fans messed this one up royally by voting Aramis Ramirez as the NL starter, despite a first half in which Milwaukee's third baseman posted a relatively ho-hum .795 OPS and accounted for an even ho-hummer 1.3 WAR. St. Louis manager Mike Matheny then chose Cincy's Todd Frazier (deserving) and Cardinals corner man Matt Carpenter (questionable) as the NL's reserves.

Fun fact: Rendon's 3.8 WAR at the break that year was the best among all National League third basemen, just ahead of Frazier's 3.6 WAR.

Bonus fun fact: In his first full season, Rendon went on to finish fifth in the MVP voting.

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale*: 5.5. It's tempting to go higher here based solely on the data, but like it or not, it takes time for young players to penetrate the collective subconscious of both fans and managers alike. That said, it takes less time today -- the Interwebs being what they are -- than it did five years ago. If 2014 were 2019, Rendon probably gets in.

2015: The He Was Hurt Year

Rendon suffered a sprained MCL in spring training and played only 18 games in the first half. Frazier was the deserving starter in his home park, where he also won the Home Run Derby. And skipper Bruce Bochy got it right by tabbing Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado as the reserves (although Justin Turner had a legit case, too).

Fun fact: Bryant entered the All-Star Game as a sub, but not at third base. Instead, he played left field, where he'd made one career start previously.

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale: 1.0. Nothing to see here.

2016: The He Had A Meh First Half Year

Rendon was healthy this time around, but his numbers weren't. He went into the break hitting .254 with nine homers and a 103 OPS+ that wreaked of averageness. Bryant (starter), Carpenter and Arenado all deserved their nods.

Fun fact: Even though Rendon didn't make it, the Nationals sent five players to the Midsummer Classic, tied for their most ever (Bryce Harper, Murphy, Wilson Ramos, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg).

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale: 1.0. It's not called the All-Average Game.

2017: The Daniel Murphy FanGraphs Year

Rendon finished the first half with 4.0 WAR, best among all MLB position players and significantly higher than the 2.6 WAR of Arenado, who won the fan vote. Arizona's Jake Lamb (2.3 WAR), who hit a mess of homers early in the season, was named a reserve. When the Final Vote candidates were announced, Rendon was one of three third basemen on the NL ballot, along with Bryant and Turner. The following day, when asked why Rendon should be an All-Star, Murphy said simply: "Do you go to FanGraphs?" Despite Murphy's rhetoric, Turner won the Final Vote.

Fun fact: Just because Rendon lost out, that doesn't mean the fans completely ignored FanGraphs. Among position players, Turner (3.8 WAR) ranked third at the break behind Rendon and Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager.

Bonus fun fact: Rendon, who ended up placing sixth in the MVP balloting, was one of four players who finished the season with more walks than strikeouts.

(Glenn) Close but no cigar scale: 7.0. One of the most egregious snubs in modern, data-informed All-Star history.

2018: The Timing Is Everything Year

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Sunday was finally Mazda’s day.

Mazda Team Joest dominated Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, with the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P DPi shared by co-drivers Harry Tincknell, Jonathan Bomarito and Olivier Pla earning the program’s first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory.

The No. 77 Mazda DPi shared by Oliver Jarvis, Tristan Nunez and Timo Bernhard finished second, with Jarvis crossing the stripe .353 of a second behind Tincknell.

The scene in the Mazda Team Joest pits was sheer pandemonium, with screams, hugs and high fives all around. It was the culmination of six years of hard work and dedication amid struggles, close calls and heartbreak.

The pair of Mazdas were the class of the field throughout the six hours, but entering the final hour, they both were trailing Juan Pablo Montoya – winner of the previous two consecutive WeatherTech Championship races in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi – who grabbed the lead through pit strategy.

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Tincknell spent the better part of the next 30 minutes pressuring Montoya and looking for any opportunity to pass. He finally took his shot with 45 minutes to go, diving to the inside going through the heel of the famed Watkins Glen Int’l boot section and came away as the leader.

“I had to attack and it was difficult to pass,” Tincknell said. “I tried once around the outside and he kind of had a little bit of rubbin’ is racin’ and kind of pushed me off, so I knew it was going to have to be a super-bold move. In those circumstances you’re better off committing 100 percent. It’s the 95 percent commitment move that causes the crash, so I think I was probably 110 percent committed going into that corner, a little bit of rubbin’ is racin’ at the apex, and luckily we came out unscathed.”

Jarvis got past Montoya and into second a few minutes later, and both Mazdas then pulled away from the field as they’d done for most of the race. But that didn’t mean the ending was without drama.

With less than 20 minutes to go in the race, the cover on the left side of the No. 55’s engine dislodged and came to a rest on the car’s sidepod, wreaking havoc on the car’s aerodynamics and allowing Jarvis to close up and potentially overtake Tincknell for the victory. But with little to no pressure from behind, the pair of Mazdas elected to remain in formation where they finished.

“It sounds like it was more terrifying outside the car than it was in it,” said Tincknell of the bodywork damage. “I certainly started to feel the car was a little bit freer on the rear, a little bit more loose, but I just thought it was the tires, to be honest. I didn’t quite realize it was the damage that was there. Where that was caused and why, I’m not 100 percent sure.”

“Me and Olly (Pla) were way more nervous, I can tell you that,” added Bomarito.

It was the first overall IMSA race victory for Mazda since the American Le Mans Series Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 3, 2011, when Humaid Al Masaood and Steven Kane co-drove the No. 20 Oryx Dyson Racing Mazda-Lola to the win. It was Mazda’s first IMSA win of any kind since Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long co-drove the diesel-powered No. 70 Mazda 6 GX to the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GX class victory at Lime Rock Park on Sept. 28, 2013.

“It’s been an amazingly long journey,” said Mazda Director of Motorsports John Doonan. “All we wanted to do was to reach the top step for all the Mazda fans, all the Mazda owners, all of our Mazda racers, our dealers, our employees, it was trying to have a Mazda day and we finally got there. We didn’t quit. There was plenty of times where faced insane challenges, so many close calls. We almost thought we had it so many times.”

It was Tincknell’s first IMSA victory and the third for Pla. It was Bomarito’s seventh IMSA win (three WeatherTech Championship, four Grand-Am) and first since a GTLM class win at Circuit of The Americas in 2014. The No. 55 led 106 of the 291 total laps in the six hours, with the No. 77 leading – appropriately enough – another 77 laps.

“Oh man, it’s so amazing, so amazing,” said Bomarito, who rejoined Mazda’s WeatherTech Championship Prototype team prior to the 2015 season and is a graduate of Mazda’s driver development ladder system. “A Mazda 1-2, this has been a long, long time coming. I’ve been with this program for so long, seen so many ups and downs, but both cars, both crews, amazing job. It’s just as important for the 77. We’ll share it all together tonight.”

In addition to winning the race, the No. 55 team also was the Round 3 winner of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup as the DPi team that scored the most points in the race.

It was a huge points day for Montoya and co-driver Dane Cameron, who finished third in the Six Hours. After qualifying second on Saturday, Cameron noticed the No. 6 car had a flat tire on the starting grid, forcing the team to change tires and start the race from pit lane.

They battled back from the early setback and Montoya led 19 laps before taking the team’s fourth consecutive podium result, and second consecutive third-place run at Watkins Glen. That result coupled with a seventh-place result by the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R shared by Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani and Eric Curran moved the No. 6 driving duo into the DPi championship lead by one point, 177-176, over full-season co-drivers Derani and Nasr.

In the LMP2 class, No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA co-drivers Matt McMurry, Gabriel Aubry and Eric Lux took the class victory by 20 laps over the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA squad of Cameron Cassels, Kyle Masson and Andrew Evans.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Brian Campbell bested Johnny VanDoorn and Kyle Crump to win Sunday’s ARCA/CRA Super Series JEGS 100 at Toledo Speedway.

Campbell continued his dominating runs at the Glass City oval, taking the lead after race leader Harold Fair Jr. was collected in a turn four incident early on. Campbell survived a mid-race battle with VanDoorn and Crump during the 100-lap event before earning his trip to victory lane.

The trio diced back and forth, with each driver leading at some point. Campbell broke loose and sailed to the win over fast qualifier Travis Braden, VanDoorn, Cody Coughlin and Crump.

Sixteen-year-old Albert Francis won the companion 50-lap ARCA Late Model Gold Cup Series race after taking the lead during a lap-48 restart.

The race was dominated by Cayden Lapcevich, but his car faltered with and he coasted into the infield. That left Brian Bergakker and Mike Mazzagatti to battle for the lead, only for Mazzagatti to spin with two laps to go.

That set up the two-lap dash to the checkered, which saw Francis steal the lead and pick up the victory over Bergakker, Mike Root, Mazzagatti and Joe Hawes.

DODGE CITY, Kan. – Four racers remain perfect atop the seventh-mile Little DCRP clay oval at Dodge City Raceway Park following Sunday’s fourth round of competition for Micro Sprints and Karts.

Since the opening round of features fell victim to rain in May, Tanner Johnson (Winged A Class), Trey Zorn (Restricted A Class) and Deekan McRoberts (Novice Junior Sprints) have each gone three-for-three in the Micro ranks while Caleb Berthof (Junior Karts) has duplicated the feat in the Karting ranks.

While those four each ran win streak to three, another four drivers notched their first Little DCRP triumph including Jayce Caldwell (Advanced Junior Sprints), Randle McRoberts (Open Outlaw Karts), Daniel Williams (Adult Karts) and Chad Garrison (Outlaw Cage Karts).

Zak Moore, who won the first Little DCRP feature on May 19, added his second win in the Non-Wing A Class ranks.

JOLIET, Ill. – After three runner-up finishers in a row earlier this year, Alex Bowman knew his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory was right around the corner.

On Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, Bowman finally kicked down the door to victory lane.

The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet fended off a late challenge from Kyle Larson, holding on for his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Camping World 400.

“I feel like this is a lot of validation for a lot of people who said we couldn’t do this,” Bowman said moments after earning his first series victory. “My guys have worked so hard. We struggled so bad last year and the beginning of this year. I had questions if Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) was going to let me keep doing this.

“Winning a race in the Cup Series just means so much.”

Bowman ran near the front most of the day, but he didn’t take command for the first time until lap 171 when he drove by Larson shortly after a restart. Once out front Bowman seized command of the race, at times leading by more than three seconds.

After the final round of pit stops Bowman cycled back into the race lead with Larson, fresh off a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series triumph Saturday night, still chasing him.

With a little more than 20 laps left things began to change for Bowman as he got stuck trying to overtake the lap car of Paul Menard. That allowed Larson to close the gap to Bowman significantly.

With 17 laps left Larson closed the gap to Bowman to one second and four laps later Larson was within half a second of Bowman. Two laps later Larson was there and looking for a way around Bowman.

Larson continued to chase Bowman for the next few laps, sizing up his opponent before making his move. That move came with eight laps left when Larson when low in turns one and two, getting alongside Bowman as they exited turn two down the backstretch.

They stayed side-by-side down the backstretch before Larson pulled clear into the lead in turn three. Bowman stayed on the gas and quickly got himself focused on chasing Larson back down.

With six laps left Bowman got a run on Larson entering turn one and managed to get to Larson’s inside at the exit of turn two. They side drafted down the backstretch, with the pair briefly banging fenders before Bowman pulled clear of Larson as they entered turn three.

Larson was unable to mount another challenge, falling a little more than half a second short of Bowman when the checkered flag waved.

“I just am tired of running second. I don’t want to do that anymore,” said Bowman, who earned his first series victory in his 134th start. “I can’t believe it. There are so many people capable of doing this. So thankful that I got the opportunity.

“I didn’t change anything from running 35th every week. I might work out a little harder and study a little harder, but I didn’t change much. To go from doing that to doing this is pretty incredible.”

One year after a dramatic finish saw Larson spin on the last lap while battling Kyle Busch at Chicagoland, the California native was again on the losing end of a great finish at the 1.5-mile track.

“I could see him struggling when I was getting to him. When I got by him I was like, ‘OK, good. Now he’ll be in my dirty air and get loose,’” Larson said. “He could get big runs on me down the straightaways and I think that allowed him to get that run into one.

“He got to my inside and I got a little bit tight. I don’t know if him putting air on my spoiler got me tight. I had to kind of breath it a little bit and then we side-drafted on the backstretch. I wish I would have done some things different going into three.”

Joey Logano finished third and was chased to the checkers by Jimmie Johnson, who earned his best finish of the season in fourth. Brad Keselowski completed the top-five in fifth.

The race was stopped for more than three hours after the completion of 12 laps because of a rain storm that brought severe lightning to the area.

For complete results, advance to the next page.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On a somber day at the summit of Pikes Peak, Robin Shute emerged as the overall winner of the 97th edition of the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb on Sunday afternoon.

Shute, competing in the Unlimited class in his 2018 Wolf TSC-Honda, reached the summit of Pikes Peak with a time of 9 minutes and 12.476 seconds. That was enough to give him the overall victory by a little more than 11 seconds over Time Attack 1 division winner Raphael Astier.

Several competitors in the car divisions were unable to make the full assent up the mountain when a storm forced officials to move the finish line to Geln Cove, guaranteeing Shute the fastest time on the full course.

Astier ended the day second overall and first in the Time Attack 1 class with his time of 9:23.721 in his 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Turbo. The next three finishers were all competing in the Pikes Peak Open class, with RealTime Racing’s Peter Cunningham claiming the class victory and the final place on the overall podium aboard his 2019 Acura TLX GT with a time of 9:24.433.

The excitement of the day at Pikes Peak was overshadowed by a tragedy near the top of the mountain. Ducati motorcycle rider Carlin Dunne was ejected from his bike near the finish line and fell down the mountain, suffering fatal injuries. Click here for more.

David Donohue was fourth overall and second in the Pikes Peak Open class, more than eight seconds behind the time set by Cunningham. Layne Schranz was fifth overall and third in the Pikes Peak Open division. Paul Dallenbach was sixth overall, which was enough to give him the Open Wheel division triumph.

Seventh overall went to the fastest bike on the mountain this year, with Rennie Scaysbrook shattering the motorcycle record with a time of 9:44.963 aboard his 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. The time easily gave him the class victory in the Pikes Peak Heavyweight division and made him the fastest motorcycle rider in Pikes Peak history.

Clint Vahsholtz was eighth overall and second in Time Attack 1, with Greg Tracy ending the day ninth overall and second in the Unlimited division. Lucy Glockner finished 10th overall to win the Exhibition Powersport class.

Another notable result during Sunday’s Hill Climb included the run by Rhys Millen, who reset the production car record up the mountain aboard a 2019 Bentley Continental GT with a time of 10:18.488.

X-Games star and former NASCAR competitor Travis Pastrana also came away a winner Sunday at Pikes Peak, taking the Porsche Trophy by Yokohama division victory for the second year in a row.

Other division winners included Chris Fillmore (Pikes Peak Lightweight) and Rafael Paschoalin (Pikes Peak Middleweight).