ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – A.J. Allmendinger hopes history repeats itself.
On Saturday morning, Allmendinger qualified on the pole for the 10th annual CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America.
In 2013, Allmendinger won the pole and went on to win the race. He is one of three former winners at Road America in the race – Justin Allgaier (2018) and Jeremy Clements (2017).
There has not been a repeat winner in the Xfinity Series at Road America in the previous nine runnings. Carl Edwards won the inaugural race in 2010. Other winners include Reed Sorenson, Nelson Piquet Jr., Brendan Gaughan, Paul Menard and Michael McDowell.
Driving for Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger’s pole-winning time was 2:12.731.
Matt DiBenedetto, driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was second quickest at 2:13.229. Austin Cindric was third at 2:13.286, followed by Cole Custer (2:33.648) and Noah Gragson (2:33.607).
Allgaier was eighth quickest at 2:14.203 and Clements was ninth at 2:14.411.
Cindric has won the last two road-course races. He’s trying to become the first driver to win three-straight NASCAR road-course races since Terry Labonte did it in 1994-96 at Watkins Glen.
It is Allmendinger’s fourth Xfinity Series race in 2019. He was disqualified from his first two starts (Daytona Int’l Speedway and Watkins Glen Int’l) and finished third at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
SILVERSTONE, England – Marc Marquez outran Valentino Rossi to earn his fourth-straight MotoGP pole on Saturday at the Silverstone Circuit.
Marquez set a new track record en route to the pole, with his 1:58.168 lap resetting the track record set on Friday by Fabio Quartararo.
“With the first tire I felt really, really good and I just tried to find a good lap and I did my first lap alone,” Marquez said after his 60th premier class pole. “When we went out with the second tire there was a fair bit of traffic, I was on top in the results so I did not want to push first. We were then waiting a bit and playing with our strategy and then on the last lap the tires were ready and we made a really good lap. Valentino was ahead, maybe a little too far because I couldn’t profit fully from the slipstream. I think we can be strong in the race tomorrow, but for sure there are many rivals for tomorrow.”
Rossi ended up second aboard his Monster Energy Yamaha, .428 seconds behind Marquez. The duo will be joined on the front row by the impressive Jack Miller for Pramac Racing, who was only .006 seconds behind Rossi on the stopwatch.
Quartararo qualified fourth for Petronas Yamaha SRT, followed by Alex Rins and Maverick Vinales on row two. Andrea Dovizioso qualified seventh for Ducati, followed closely by Franco Morbidelli and Cal Crutchlow.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Rafa Matos drove like a man on a mission in Saturday morning’s Ryan Companies Muscle Car Challenge at Road America, leading flag to flag to score his third Trans-Am by Pirelli TA2 powered by AEM victory of the season.
Driving the No. 88 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro, Matos beat Marc Miller in the No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger to the checkered flag by 6.751 seconds. Misha Goikhberg completed the podium in the No. 10 BC Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro to claim another TA2 podium.
Matos was able to hold off Miller, Goikhberg and Scott Lagasse Jr. in a spirited battle during the early laps of the race on the 4.048-mile circuit. But once his Pirelli tires got up to pressure, Matos was able to pull away for his first triumph since winning the opening two races of the season.
“Today was a great day – our team has battled really hard since early in the year,” Matos said. “The beginning of the race was a bit of a struggle – Marc had a great pace. We sacrificed our performance at the beginning, because we had our tire pressures set for the end of the race. I also had to keep working on the brake bias. As the tire pressure went up, the car kept getting better. I was able to keep him behind and open a gap, and bring it to victory lane. But it was a very mentally tiring race, because we’re going so fast around this place, and the minimal error can cost a lot. It was very difficult, and now I’m definitely looking forward to the final stretch of the season.”
A second-place finish was not the birthday present Miller was looking for, although he managed to retain a comfortable lead in the championship with four races remaining.
“The car was pretty good, but I just didn’t have enough for Rafa,” Miller said. “We were battling it out. I thought I had him on the start, but he might have been toying with me a bit. He drove a great race. Once he had a lead, he controlled the pace. Lagasse and Misha were battling pretty hard and were breathing down my neck. But they got together and that settled that, and I was left to my own devises out there.”
Thomas Merrill took fourth in the No. 81 Big Diehl Racing Ford Mustang, while NASCAR driver Brandon Jones took fifth in the No 26 Mike Cope Racing Cars entry after a spirited battle with the No. 77 Liqui-Moly/Prefix Dodge Challenger of Dillon Machavern.
“It was fun racing, and hopefully it did something for the Xfinity side,” said Jones, who will also run in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity event at the circuit. “Running in the Trans Am teaches you how to pass, teaches you what places to pass at on the track. I learned that driving harder in this car helped me make up time at the end, so hopefully that will work on the Xfinity car as well. I enjoyed running the Trans Am and getting more laps with Mike Cope.”
Jones won the CoolShirt Systems Cool Move of the Race award for his pass on Lap 18.
After challenging early, Lagasse had a spin on lap 13 that dropped him down in the running order, leading to a 12th-place finish in the No. 92 SLR/Fields Racing/M1 Racecars Chevrolet Camaro.
“For a car with no practice, it was a rocket ship,” said Lagasse, who had issues with his primary car in practice and opted to run a new car in the race. “I lost power steering and ended up losing the brakes, and wound up trying to survive from there. I hated that I ran up into the back of Misha, and hated not having the chance to run more with these guys, we’re creeping up on them. We had a good-handling race car, our team put a real good setup under it. The M1 guys are good, and I think we can run with them.”
Doug Peterson won the Masters Cup with a 13th-place finish. He lost ground in the early laps with a pit stop for the No. 87 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro.
“I thought it was either a flat tire or the diff,” Peterson said. “It turned out the rear tires were cold after running behind the pace car, and it got better once it built up pressure.”
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Haley had an engine misfire from the start of the race and completed only six laps before parking the No. 99 Mike Cope Racing Cars. The upset winner of the recent Monster Energy Cup Series race at Daytona made two pit stops only in an attempt to correct the problem, but the misfire only got worse.
A lap-one incident back in the pack resulted in the damage that led to the retirement of Patrick Utt in the No. 49 RaceQuip Chevrolet Camaro; Barry Boes in the No. 32 AccioData/SampsonRace/HarrisHill Ford Mustang; Keith Prociuk in the No. 9 HP Tuners Chevrolet Camaro; Brian Swank in the No. 12 Berryman Products Chevrolet Camaro; and Lawless Haley in the No. 14 Mike Cope Racing Ford Mustang. Utt attempted to continue but hit the tire barrier in Turn 10, bringing out a full-course caution.
MANCHESTER, England -- Patrick van Aanholt scored a stoppage-time winner as Crystal Palace recorded their first league win over Manchester United in 28 years with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
Daniel James looked to have rescued a point for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side with an 88th-minute equaliser before a mistake from David De Gea in the third minute of injury time handed Palace their first win of the season and their first in the league over United since 1991.
Jordan Ayew had given the visitors the lead in the first half -- their first goal of the season -- after another error, this time from Victor Lindelof. Marcus Rashford was given the chance to equalise in the second half but saw his penalty cannon back off the inside of the post just five days after Paul Pogba's miss from the spot denied United victory at Wolves.
Palace had not scored a league goal at Old Trafford in 15 years before Ayew's goal and a late second from Van Aanholt, which should have been saved by De Gea at his near post, condemned the home side to their first defeat of the season.
Positives
Solskjaer said in the summer that Mason Greenwood would get chances and he's backed up his words. It would have been easy in the second half to leave on the more experienced Jesse Lingard as United went looking for a goal, but Solskjaer was quick to throw on Greenwood instead. The 17-year-old was on before the hour mark -- a show of faith in a young player at a crucial stage of the game.
It's not only that Palace's opener was so soft -- a long punt upfield, a flick-on and a finish -- it was the way in which United reacted after it went in. They were in complete control and the goal came out of nothing. But for the 10 minutes before half-time they were all over the place and Palace could have inflicted more damage before the break. It was the same against Wolves after their equaliser. United aren't a team that deal well with setbacks.
Manager rating out of 10
6 - It wasn't a surprise that the Norwegian named an unchanged XI from the one that drew with Wolves on Monday night and he could do nothing about Lindelof's lapse that allowed Palace to score in the first half. Solskjaer was quicker to change things around than he was at Molineux and his decision to leave James on looked to have worked before Van Aanholt's late winner.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK David De Gea, 5 -- Spent most of the game watching and then made a terrible error in stoppage time when Van Aanholt's shot squirmed underneath him at the near post.
DF Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 6 -- Playing against the club he left in the summer and didn't do much wrong despite the miserable result.
DF Luke Shaw, 6 -- Set up a chance for Scott McTominay from a corner, blazed over from the corner of the area, then went off with a hamstring injury all before 35 minutes were on the clock.
DF Victor Lindelof, 5 -- At fault for Palace's opener. Out-jumped by Jeffrey Schlupp from Vicente Guaita's long ball forward allowing Ayew to have a clear run at De Gea.
DF Harry Maguire, 6 -- Stepped into midfield to send Rashford through with an inch-perfect pass. Won't be happy with his positioning for Ayew's goal but it was Lindelof's error first.
MF Scott McTominay, 7 -- Had the first chance of the afternoon when he headed over from Shaw's corner and it was his run that won the penalty in the second half.
MF Paul Pogba, 6 -- Was having a quiet game until he did brilliantly to win the ball back in midfield to start the move from which James scored the equaliser.
MF Jesse Lingard, 6 -- Led the press from midfield but was sacrificed early in the second half when Solskjaer sent on Greenwood as United went looking for an equaliser.
FW Daniel James, 7 -- Struggled with his end product against Wolves but scored a beauty here. Sorted his feet out so quickly and flicked his finish into the top corner.
FW Marcus Rashford, 6 -- Had the chance to equalise but hammered his penalty off the inside of the post. Wasted a couple of free kicks in good positions.
FW Anthony Martial, 6 -- Caused Palace's defence problems and probably should have had a penalty when he spun Martin Kelly in the box with a clever turn.
Sussex 172 for 2 (Evans 52*, Wright 48) beat Middlesex 171 for 5 (Morgan 47, Hafeez 48) by eight wickets
Laurie Evans' second half-century of the T20 campaign saw Sussex canter to an eight-wicket victory over Middlesex at Uxbridge.
Evans plundered three sixes and four fours, reaching his half-century from 25 balls when depositing the winning hit into the crowd, as the visitors chased down a target of 172 with four overs to spare.
Sharks' skipper Luke Wright, who had scored a century against Middlesex at Lord's in the Royal London Cup back in May, had earlier blasted 48 in 27 balls, while Alex Carey was unbeaten on 41.
The victory all but clinched Sussex's quarter-final place, as they sit three points clear in the standings, and was the fifth time this season they had put one over today's opposition.
Middlesex remain fourth, at least for a few hours, but this is the first time in the competition this season they have lost back-to-back games. Dawid Malan had no hesitation in choosing to bat first and he and Paul Stirling got the hosts off to a strong start.
Stirling struck a maximum in the first over as he finally found some form in the format this season.
Malan was even more fluent at the other end, striking some sumptuous trademark cover drives as they rattled up a stand of 57 before Stirling skied one to Laurie Evans at cover off Ollie Robinson from the final ball of the powerplay.
Sadly, for the hosts, Malan followed soon afterwards, hitting Will Beer's worst delivery of the day straight down the throat of deep square.
Eoin Morgan kept up the momentum, England's one-day captain clearing the players' pavilion with one maximum off Danny Briggs.
Mohammed Hafeez also applied the long handle on his way to 48, just clearing the ropes with successive sixes off Beer.
At 141 for 2 off 15 overs, 200 looked within reach, but Morgan holed out at long-off from the bowling of Reece Topley and from there the innings lost all impetus, as just 30 runs were scraped off the last five overs.
A total of 171 looked short of par, especially when Sharks openers Phil Salt and Wright took three boundaries from Tom Helm's first over.
Toby Roland-Jones was greeted with similar disdain, Wright pulling the former England quick for six over cow corner and successive fours as the 50 came up in four overs.
Hafeez spurned a tough caught and bowled chance to reprieve Wright on 27 and he celebrated by smashing Nathan Sowter for six over mid-wicket in the following over.
It was Stirling who made the breakthrough when Salt lofted him to George Scott in the deep, the allrounder juggling the ball before clinging on.
Wright continued to plunder the home attack until he miscued another big hit and was caught and bowled by Steven Finn.
His dismissal did little to stop the carnage, Evans and Carey sharing a stand of 81 in just seven overs as they sped to victory.
NEW YORK -- Coco Gauff and Caty McNally will get a chance to play doubles at the US Open and add to their winning streak as a team.
Gauff, the 15-year-old based in Florida who announced herself to the world at Wimbledon, and McNally, a 17-year-old from Ohio, were granted a doubles wild card by the U.S. Tennis Association on Saturday.
Each previously was given a wild card for the singles main draw, too. The tournament begins Monday.
A year ago, Gauff and McNally won a US Open junior title in doubles. They then picked up the first WTA trophy for each by winning the doubles title at the Citi Open in Washington this month.
McNally also reached her first tour-level semifinal in singles at that hard-court tournament.
Gauff's big breakthrough in singles came at the All England Club this year. She became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history, then beat Venus Williams in the first round and made it to the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Inside linebacker Paul Worrilow abruptly left the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, one day after signing with the team.
Worrilow decided to go home to his wife, who is eight months pregnant and bedridden, a source told ESPN. He will reevaluate his future in the NFL after she gives birth, the source said.
On Friday, Worrilow passed his physical with the Ravens and signed a one-year deal. He then wasn't present for Baltimore's Saturday morning practice.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh spoke to Worrilow on Friday night.
"He was all ready and excited to go, so I'm surprised," Harbaugh said after Saturday's practice. "I assume he's trying to work and figure some things out, what he wants to do, he and his family. Every person has the right to do that. So, we'll see what he decides. We'll respect it, whatever it is."
The Ravens were hoping Worrilow would provide experienced depth at inside linebacker as well as on special teams.
Worrilow, 29, was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He was coming back from a torn ACL, which ended his 2018 season.
After going undrafted out of Delaware, Worrilow led the Atlanta Falcons in tackles in 2013 and 2014. Over his five NFL seasons, he has made 52 starts and totaled 415 tackles.
England produced a dominant performance as they continued their preparations for the World Cup by hammering Ireland.
Eddie Jones's side ran in eight tries at Twickenham to register their largest winning margin against the visitors.
Ireland crossed first through Jordan Larmour but Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly and Manu Tuilagi all scored as the hosts built a 12-point half-time lead.
England added further tries from Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Tom Curry, Cokanasiga and Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Itoje capitalised on a loose Ireland line-out shortly after the break and the rampant hosts continued to increase their advantage as Kruis and Curry crossed in quick succession on a sweltering afternoon.
Cokanasiga's converted second took the hosts to the 50-point mark as England, beaten by Wales in a lacklustre display last week, laid down a marker with less than a month to go before their World Cup opener against Tonga in Japan.
Ireland centre Bundee Aki finished a well-taken solo consolation try, but England replacement Cowan-Dickie dived over late on to complete the hosts' win.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — This time of year in the Midwest is when the harshly cold winds of winter turn into the brutally hot and humid days of summer.
But as the calendar flips to August in the state of Ohio, it means two things: racing season is coming to a close and its time to start practice for the Ohio State University football team, which afflicts the native population with the same near-insanity that high school and college basketball impact its next-door neighbors in Indiana.
This is where it gets interesting for 19-year-old Colton Herta, a Southern California kid from Valencia, far removed from the cold autumn winds of Ohio.
There is this college football game played every November that pits the Ohio State Buckeyes against “that school up north,” as former coach Woody Hayes used to call the University of Michigan.
At times, it has become a Herta family battle because Colton Herta’s father, Bryan, attended Ohio State and Colton’s grandpa went to Michigan.
“They are so against each other,” Colton Herta said. “They are always placing bets on all the different football and basketball games. Whenever there is a game, he (Bryan Herta) is cheering for Ohio State.
“I don’t really care who wins, it’s just whoever I want to wind up more that day — my dad or my grandfather.”
Bryan Herta began his racing career driving for Ohio-based teams, such as Tasman Racing and Team Rahal, when it was based in Hilliard, Ohio. He also made a lot of laps at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Bryan Herta is a Honda team owner in the NTT IndyCar Series. He is one of the team owners of the No. 98 Honda driven by Marco Andretti. Herta is also a two-time Indianapolis 500-winning team owner.
The first was in 2011 when the late Dan Wheldon won the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500. Five years later, rookie driver Alexander Rossi was at the wheel for Herta in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Back when Herta’s career started as a driver, Ohio played a major role in his career and his life.
“I lived in Ohio for the better part of six or seven years,” Herta explained. “We made a life there. My daughter was born there. From a personal standpoint, I have an affinity for the area. When we used to race in Cleveland and at Mid-Ohio, we did a lot of racing in and around that area. I feel like there are a lot of great Indy car fans there and that raises the event when you have really, dyed-in-the-wool Indy car fans coming out like we do at Mid-Ohio, that makes things that much better.”
Although he was born in Warren, Mich., and his father attended the University of Michigan, Bryan Herta chose Ohio State, where he majored in economics.
“I went to Ohio State, I was a full-time student at Ohio State, I was born in Michigan and my dad went to Michigan,” Herta said. “Definitely, when Michigan plays Ohio State, I’m rooting for the Scarlet and Gray.
“I was an economics major. I did not make it to the finish line on that one. I was still enrolled at Ohio State when I started racing in IndyCar. All through Indy Lights and then into IndyCar, I realized I could no longer do both.
“If I had gotten my degree, maybe I’d be a great economics professor.”
Although Herta fell just short of getting his degree from Ohio State, his college years have had a lasting impact on his career as a driver and team owner.
“There is a discipline to learning that benefits you, no matter what you do,” Herta explained. “Whether you use your degree, or not, there is a discipline to learning how to study, how to apply yourself, how to meet deadlines for tests, how to meet deadlines for projects. All of that is the same in any business venture. I think the educational experience really helped me a lot on the business side of racing, even though the particular subject I studied wasn’t directly related to racing.”
As an Ohio State student, Herta started third and finished fourth in the Indy Lights Series race at Mid-Ohio in 1992. The next year, he won the race at Mid-Ohio after starting from the pole for Tasman Racing.
Herta became a test driver at Newman/Haas Racing, then joined A.J. Foyt Racing in 1994. The following year, he moved to Chip Ganassi Racing. He won his first pole at Phoenix in 1995.
In 1996, Ohio-based Team Rahal hired Herta to drive the Shell car in CART. He finished fourth at Mid-Ohio that year and drove to victory at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in 1998 for his first triumph. It was the first of two consecutive Laguna victories for Herta.
He joined team owner Michael Andretti’s operation in 2003 and scored a victory at Kansas Speedway. He won again at Michigan Int’l Speedway in 2005.
These days Bryan Herta is better known as the father of 19-year-old Colton Herta. But his time in Ohio brings back special memories to the man and his family.
“Ohioans still have the Rahal home team to root for and maybe a little bit, the Hertas, too, because we did spend time there,” Herta noted. “Even though we live in California now, it was our home for many years and we still feel a great fondness toward the area.
“I’m humbled to be claimed as a hometown guy for so many races.”
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