ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – On Sunday morning, all involved with Mazda Team Joest were thinking they’d have a third-place finish at best in the two-hour, 40-minute IMSA Road Race Showcase at Road America.

After all, Acura Team Penske – and specifically the No. 6 ARX 05-DPi shared by Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya – had been the class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Daytona Prototype international field throughout the weekend.

The No. 6 led all three pre-qualifying practice sessions and Cameron took the Motul Pole Award on Saturday afternoon to lead a front-row qualifying sweep.

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The No. 7 Acura DPi shared by Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor led another 1-2 sweep in the Sunday morning warm-up. And when the green flag dropped on the race shortly past 1:30 p.m. local time Sunday, it was again the pair of white and dayglow orange Penske Acuras showing the way for most of the first half of the race.

But long, green-flag runs happen to be the Mazda RT-24P’s strong suit. And as luck would have it for the Mazda team, this race would run its entire distance without a full-course caution.

Harry Tincknell took the lead for the first time an hour and 14 minutes into the race in the No. 55 Mazda DPi he co-drives with Jonathan Bomarito. He did it in turn one, sweeping past Montoya – who combined with Cameron to lead 20 laps of what would be a record 83-lap race – in the No. 6 Acura.

Tincknell’s move turned out to be a turning point in the race. Once he got the lead, he only surrendered it two times for two laps each time as the DPi pit-stop sequence played out.

Tincknell had his hands full in the final two laps of the race, with Cameron hot on his tail. Tincknell even ran wide exiting turn five on the final lap, briefly opening the door for Cameron to pull alongside. There was slight, side-to-side contact between the two cars heading into turn six, but Tincknell kept the lead.

He then won a final drag race uphill to the finish line, taking the checkered flag just .227 seconds ahead of Cameron to secure Mazda Team Joest’s third consecutive WeatherTech Championship victory.

“Fantastic race,” Tincknell said. “I couldn’t believe it. On the cooling down lap, I had tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe we had done it. All weekend we had been there, or thereabouts, but never the ultimate pace. I think we saw that a little bit in qualifying. Honestly going into the race today, I thought P3 would be a really a strong result, but it was very clear very early on the Penskes weren’t pulling away. Once we got into third and on the back of the Penskes, I thought maybe there was a chance.

“We came in right behind them when I jumped in the car. I saw the one car had an issue and we were up to second. We were both saving fuel. Obviously, we knew there was going to be quite a lot going for a splash at the end. We tried to minimize that as much as possible.”

It was the second win of the season for Tincknell and Bomarito in the No. 55, as they scored the first victory for the Mazda DPi program two races ago in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen along with endurance co-driver Olivier Pla. It was the team’s third straight win, as Tristan Nunez and Oliver Jarvis won the most recent DPi race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 7.

“It was just a flat-out race, no cautions,” Bomarito said. “It was managing traffic, managing rear tire wear, managing fuel numbers. And pushing like crazy the whole time trying to keep pace with Penske, build gaps in traffic.

“We had no AC in the car at one point. It was super-hot and very physical. Just a tough race. We really had to work for that one today. To come through again on top, we were talking about it on the way (to the post-race news conference). This one almost feels more special because (at) Watkins we had the pace, and it was kind of ours to lose. We just had to fight so hard. It’s almost a little more of a rewarding feeling in the end. What an amazing day.”

While they narrowly missed out on winning the battle at Road America, Cameron and Montoya may have taken another crucial step in winning the season-long WeatherTech Championship war. Their runner-up result was their sixth consecutive podium finish, helping extend their lead in the DPi championship standings to seven points, 239-232, over defending champion Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani with two races remaining on the season.

Nunez and Jarvis combined to deliver the third straight double podium for Mazda Team Joest with a third-place showing in the No. 77. The consecutive podiums have helped them vault from eighth in the DPi standings following Round 5 at Detroit’s Belle Isle in late May to third following Sunday’s race.

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R co-drivers Nasr and Derani came home fourth, keeping them in contention for the DPi championship. Renger van der Zande and Jordan Taylor rounded out the top five with a fifth-place run in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.

In the LMP2 class, the No. 52 PR1-Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA co-driven by Matt McMurry and Patrick Kelly scored the victory by 31.356 seconds over the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA shared by Cameron Cassels and Saturday’s LMP2 Motul Pole Award winner, James French.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – The final laps of Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen held a certain sense of déjà vu for both Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr.

Elliott was the leader, Truex was the pursuer, and the fans in attendance at Watkins Glen Int’l watched on with bated breath to see which of the two drivers would end up hoisting the trophy in victory lane.

In the end, just as he did one year ago when he won his first-career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, Elliott held off a hard-charging Truex to go back to back at the 2.45-mile New York road course.

“Wow. That was freaking awesome,” said Elliott, who started from the pole, swept both stages and led all but 10 laps for his fifth career Cup Series win. “I’ve never been so far from home, but this crowd makes me feel like I’m at my house. I love this place. What a day; we had such a fast NAPA Camaro. These guys called a great race and we just had to stay mistake-free the whole way.

“Martin was a little quicker than I was, I felt like, those last two runs … but the track position was king,” he added. “I didn’t mess up (going) into (turn) one this time, either, so that was good. Just a great day.”

The margin between the top two was .454 seconds, nearly identical to the winning gap for Elliott in 2018. He even ran out of fuel before making it to victory lane, just as he did last year at The Glen.

That didn’t matter, though. Elliott’s job was accomplished, and he was cool as ever in victory lane.

“I have to apologize to the fans; my third burnout was about a C-minus,” Elliott said with a chuckle. “We ran it clean out again, but we got to the finish line first … so that’s what’s important, right?”

Notably, Elliott’s 80 laps led on Sunday were the most by a race winner since Tony Stewart led a record 83 laps en route to victory in 2005, 14 years earlier.

Truex stalked Elliott for virtually the entire race, but could never quite get to the back bumper of the race leader to be able to force his way alongside the Dawsonville, Ga., native down the home stretch.

“I tried to do all I could there, but Chase did an excellent job,” lauded Truex. “He just didn’t make any mistakes, and all I could do was get to about two car lengths back of him … maybe one and a half at the closest, under braking, before he got back away from me. I was trying to force mistakes, but he hit his marks and his car was fast in the key areas that it needed to be to hold us off there at the end.

“I just couldn’t get a run on him; I felt stuck,” Truex added. “We passed a lot of cars today, but just couldn’t pass that last one we needed to.”

Denny Hamlin finished a distant third, 11.229 seconds in arrears, with Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney completing the top five.

Matt DiBenedetto took his fourth top-10 of the season for Leavine Family Racing in sixth, followed by Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch.

Kyle Busch rebounded from a spin in turn one in the opening laps to cross the line in 11th place.

Including the stage breaks, the race was slowed four times by caution, with five lead changes among four different drivers.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series moves to Michigan Int’l Speedway for its next race on Aug. 11.

INDIANAPOLIS – In what turned out to be a four-lap shootout to the checkered, TA2 powered by AEM points leader Marc Miller wheeled the No. 40 Prefix Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger flag to flag in the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli TA2 class at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Fastest in every session, Miller beat out 21 other hopeful drivers, crossing the iconic yard of bricks to claim his first win of the season in the most dominant fashion.

Driving the No. 77 Liqui-Moly Prefix Ford Mustang, Dillon Machavern claimed his third runner-up result of the season to give Stevens-Miller Racing its first one, two finish of the year. Tony Buffomante rounded out the podium in third with the No. 34 Mike Cope Racing Ford Mustang.

“It all started in the shop,” Miller said. “These guys unloaded the trailer exactly how we talked about it. The car was good on the first lap, and good on the last lap. I said before I got here that I wanted a car that was good on a one-lap run and good after 30 laps, and that’s exactly what I got. Dillon (Machavern) is wily. He’s a fast kid. I was worried on the restart. I thought he would have something at the end because we were both saving tires. It wasn’t until the third lap of the run that I finally relaxed and thought I got this.”

Miller started pole position for the 100-mile, 42-lap TA2 feature and pulled a gap from defending TA2 champion Rafa Matos and second-row starters Scott Lagasse Jr. and Machavern right from the drop of the green flag. Not putting a wheel off all weekend, no one had an answer for Miller at the Brickyard as he sailed away to a near 18-second lead.

After battling for podium positions, the race ended prematurely for front-runners Matos and Lagasse, both retiring from the race early with mechanical issues.

Clicking away positions as top contenders faded, Machavern took second place.

With six laps to go, Keith Procuik and Curt Vogt made contact heading into turn two, causing the first and only full course caution to group up the remaining field and eliminate the advantage that Miller had built.

Miller handled the restart with poise, out pacing Machavern to the finish line.

“The No. 77 Liqui-Moly Prefix Ford Mustang started to come together there at the end, but by that time Marc had such a large lead I couldn’t do anything about it,” said Machavern. “We saved some tires and brakes for the end of race and I’m glad we did. The restart gave us a chance to get back in the race but Marc was just dialed in this weekend.”

Buffomante drove a near perfect race, storming from a fifth-place start to finish third.

“Thought we could get two consecutive wins here at Indy, but the car just wasn’t there,” Buffomante said elevated in the air above the crowd on the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway podium. “There will be seven Mike Cope Racing cars at Mid-Ohio, they’ll be coming for these guys. I won’t make Mid-Ohio, but I will see everyone back at Road America.”

Charging from a 20th to finish the race in 12th, Tim Gray in the No. 60 Ryan Companies Ford Mustang won the TA2 Masters Class.

“That was one hot race,” said Gray after competing in nearly 100-degree weather. “There’s so much history here in Indy and I’m glad we could add to it.”

The drive of the race was from series newcomer Max Nufer in the No. 59 Manufacturing News Chevrolet Camaro, finishing the race in fifth after an 11th-place start. Nufer pressured Prociuk from behind for more than 10 laps, trying to insert himself into the top-five. The pressure got to Prociuk as he bobbled on a turn, gifting Nufer the fifth-place position he was hunting. The drive from the back to his first top-five finish earned Nufer the Cool Shirts Cool Move of the race.

“It’s a privilege and an honor to race with Trans Am,” said a jovial Nufer. “I wouldn’t be here without my team and my parents.”

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is poised to join Club Brugge in a deal worth up to £8 million, sources tell ESPN FC.

The 31-year-old, who was part of the squad for the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, said his goodbyes to his teammates at Wembley before boarding a private plane from London to Belgium.

- When does the transfer window close?
- All major completed transfer deals

He has agreed a long-term contract, with a medical and the formalities of the transfer set to be completed on Monday.

Mignolet's fee is an initial £6.4m, rising to £8m with achievable add-ons.

Thumbs up, Big Si is in the house ??? @SMignolet pic.twitter.com/q4chRpMPXv

— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) August 4, 2019

Jurgen Klopp had hoped to keep the Belgium international as deputy to Alisson, saying in June that he expected the keeper to remain at Anfield.

However, Liverpool always maintained that if there was a good proposal on the table that would benefit Mignolet, they would consider it, as was the case when Lucas Leiva left for Lazio in the summer of 2017.

That has presented itself with Club Brugge offering him a starting position as well as good contract terms, while the Reds will recoup nearly all of the £9m they paid Sunderland to secure his services in 2013.

Mignolet was prevented from leaving for Napoli last year, on a loan-to-buy agreement, so Loris Karius could rebuild his career at Besiktas.

The club could not deny him another opportunity and the Belgian, who made 204 career appearances for the Reds, departs on good terms at Anfield.

Liverpool are expected to bring in a new backup keeper and were interested free agent Adrian, released from West Ham, earlier in the summer.

It's been a little over three months since our first check-in on Inter Miami CF, the new Major League Soccer franchise that's co-owned by David Beckham and set to debut in the 2020 season. With the clock ticking until their opening game, there's still a lot to be completed but progress is happening on all fronts including the announcement of their first two players.

ESPN FC's experts Tim Vickery, Tom Marshall and Jeff Carlisle look at what's going on in South Florida this summer.

Who are their first signings?

Inter Miami have gone international with their first two signings, picking up two youngsters from Argentina whose acquisition pays tribute to the excellence of the new club's scouting network.

The pair are a study in contrasts when it comes to attacking talent, and both have the potential to continue the fine record of Argentine imports to MLS. Matias Pellegrini (from Estudiantes) and Julian Carranza (from Banfield) are a pair of 19-year-olds who have been rising through the ranks in South America. They made brief appearances in last year's Copa Libertadores, South America's Champions League, and they both play for teams that who finished the 2018-19 season in the bottom half of the table.

Pellegrini is a left-footed "support striker" capable of operating off the main centre-forward all across the attacking line. He has worked on both flanks with Estudiantes and may well be at his best down the left corridor some 10 yards in from the touchline. Strong on the ball, he can drive forward at pace, isn't limited to his left foot and has a mature awareness of the game around him. The fact that his goals have included strikes against Boca Juniors, Independiente and Racing hints at a big match temperament but outside of his set-piece savvy, it seems more likely he'll be setting up more MLS goals than he scores.

The beneficiary of his approach play could be Carranza, a stocky, penalty area operator with good acceleration and the ability to take his chances first time on either foot. Carranza has a little more first-team experience than Pellegrini and the pair could work well together to give Inter Miami's new fans a happy season in 2020. -- Tim Vickery

Who else have Inter Miami been linked with?

Ever since the Miami MLS franchise was confirmed, expectations have been sky high with regard to the stars and big names who'd be eager to ply their trade in South Florida. The intersection of celebrity and culture in Miami makes it an appealing target and to accomplish that goal, the club have hired a ton of experience in their front office to help build the first squad.

Paul McDonough, Inter Miami sporting director, a former agent and previously Vice President for the successful Atlanta United, isn't green when it comes to putting together rosters for Major League Soccer clubs. He's also been keeping his cards close to his chest, although he did tell the Miami Herald on July 20 that the idea is to have "between four and eight" players signed up by September.

It's assumed that the Miami franchise will go for a megastar, but much of the speculation around big names like James Rodriguez, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Theo Walcott, Mario Balotelli and Radamel Falcao is just that: speculation. Equally, talent will be scouted to manage the squad and one report even suggested that Diego Maradona could end up on the sideline of the team McDonough is putting together. (It seems unrealistic despite Maradona's success in his last stint as coach with second division Mexico side Dorados de Sinaloa.) Much more likely is a coach with vast experience in Europe, along the lines of Laurent Blance, even if the Frenchman's name hasn't yet been linked.

Will Miami continue to actively recruiting in South America? Of the aforementioned big names, a pair of Colombian stars, James and Falcao, is perhaps fueled by Beckham's visit to Colombia in June, as well as his subsequent comments about the duo and their respective qualities.

Yet bringing in a star name isn't a simple process. The fact Miami starts MLS play in March 2020 means that the new signings need somewhere to play for the next six months, just like Carlos Vela did when he moved from Real Sociedad to LAFC ahead of the 2018 season. Sources tell ESPN FC that Falcao had some interest in coming to MLS, but his current situation at Monaco appears untenable given his desire to leave Ligue 1. Yet it's unclear whether he'd want to spend another six months in France or go on loan until Inter Miami is ready to begin play, even though he only has one year left on his current contract and would be available as a free agent next June.

"Obviously the sporting project is always the priority, but having a family like ours it's obvious that family factors have to be taken into consideration," said Falcao in Colombia on July 19.

A source told ESPN FC that the other name regularly linked to Miami was Mexican international Hector Moreno. There was a degree of interest around a player who recently bought an apartment in the city, but that particular rumor was quashed when the 31-year-old signed for Qatari side Al-Gharafa late last month. Of the other bigger name Mexican players connected to Miami, Guillermo Ochoa and Andres Guardado look set for stays in Europe as does Javier Hernandez.

One player who is likely to join Miami is Atletico de Rafaela and Argentina youth international striker Matias Godoy. The 17-year-old wouldn't be able to move to Miami until he turns 18 in January, thanks to FIFA rules regarding the transfer of minors, but the Argentine club's president, Ricardo Castro, is quoted in Sin Mordaza as saying that there is a verbal agreement with Miami.

Only the dates about when he is to join is left to be ironed out, according to Castro. A report in the same publication suggests Miami will buy 50 percent of his rights for between $900,000 and $1 million. -- Tom Marshall

The latest on Inter Miami's stadium

On the business side, it's been a tale of two counties for Inter Miami CF.

In Broward County, everything seems to be moving ahead as planned. The team's training facility and temporary venue in Fort Lauderdale has been approved by the city. Ground has been broken and the construction of the foundations for the canopy and seating have begun. More than 8,000 non-refundable season ticket deposits have been made, including 2,000 for premium seating, which is far more than managing owner Jorge Mas anticipated.

"I think that that complex, with the stadium and the training center and the fields, will be one of the first-class facilities for soccer in the U.S.," Mas said.

What's happening in Miami-Dade County has been much more of a slog. A lease for the team's permanent home, Miami Freedom Park, must be approved by four of the five Miami city commissioners. Manolo Reyes and Willy Gort are on record as opposing it. There's also a resolution stating that the lease must be approved by Sept. 15, though Mas insisted that it isn't legally binding.

Gort is the swing vote, and Mas said Inter Miami has done what it could to address the commissioner's concerns. What's more, he's visited more than 600 homes in the district to win over residents. The First Tee golf program for the area's youth has been relocated, satisfying another Gort request. Mas is hopeful to bring the finalized lease before the city commission on Sept. 12 and that once the lease is presented, Gort will be won over.

"I'd like to get this done in September, and I'm confident that Commissioner Gort will get there," he said. "And I'm not giving up on Commissioner Reyes. I've always aspired for 5-0."

Even though the on-field project is starting to take shape, much still needs to happen on the business side in order to get the Inter Miami franchise into its impressive eventual home. -- Jeff Carlisle

A female fan seated in the 25th row down the right-field line in Globe Life Park was struck in the head by a Willie Calhoun liner in the first inning of the Rangers win over the Tigers on Sunday.

Calhoun waited for a few minutes and watched as the fan was tended to at her seat before returning to the batter's box.

The fan eventually walked out of the seating area accompanied by stadium personnel and was transported to a hospital for further evaluation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.