ALVA, Fla. – Ross Chastain has switched gears, announcing he will now pursue the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship with Niece Motorsports.

Chastain, who has competed in 34 events in NASCAR national competition this year, initially declared for NASCAR Xfinity Series points. However, after a strong start to the Truck Series season that saw him earn his first Truck Series win at Kansas Speedway, he has decided to adjust his plans.

The Florida native is the first driver since NASCAR began requiring drivers to declare for points in a single series to switch divisions mid-season.

“After much consideration and many conversations, I’ve decided to pursue championship points in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series, effective immediately,” said Chastain “My Niece Motorsports team has been very fast all year, and we have a tall order ahead of us to get both in the top 20 in points and win a race before the playoffs start. But that’s a mountain we’re willing to climb. This shift will allow me to be in the truck race this weekend in Texas, and I’m grateful to everyone at Niece Motorsports for giving me this opportunity.”

Chastain and his Niece Motorsports team must win again between now and the end of the regular season (Aug. 10) in order to be playoff eligible He must also be inside the top-10 in series points. The 26-year-old’s Kansas Speedway win did not lock him into the Truck Series Playoffs because he was competing for Xfinity Series points at the time.

Chastain will compete at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend in the No. 38 Chevrolet Silverado for Niece Motorsports. He will not drive in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend at Michigan Int’l Speedway, which will be the first missed Chastain has missed in any of NASCAR’s top divisions this year.

Driving a split schedule for JD Motorsports and Kaulig Racing, Chastain sits 13th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series rankings prior to changing his points declaration.

“I’m thankful to everyone at Johnny Davis Motorsports and Kaulig Racing for their efforts this year,” said Chastain. “I will continue to run races for each organization where sponsorship for 2019 has been solidified. We have some wonderful partners at both organizations, and I’m fortunate they stand behind my decision, as well. I’m still going to go out and fight as hard as I can for wins.”

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Carson McCarl has taken the lead in the race for the $20,000 Priority Aviation Sponsorship.

The race is still tight and every driver wishing to get involved is still in the running.

The opportunity benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum for a $20,000 sponsorship from Priority Aviation is available to any driver competing at Knoxville in August at either the 360 Nationals or 410 Nationals.  The competition will continue until a winner is announced on July 31.

Currently, 18 drivers have taken advantage of the contest.  Carson McCarl leads the current standings ahead of Pennsylvania’s Lance Dewease, Wisconsin’s Bill Balog, Iowa’s McKenna Haase, Tennessee’s Sammy Swindell, Oregon’s Tanner Holmes, Indiana’s Tyler Courtney, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild, Connecticut’s David Gravel, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild, Wisconsin’s Scott Thiel, Iowa’s Austin McCarl, Indiana’s Parker Price-Miller, Minnesota’s Craig Dollansky, South Dakota’s Clint Garner, California’s Mason Daniel, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah and Iowa’s Joe Beaver.

All that sprint car teams need to do is have their prospective members or donors visit www.SprintCarStuff.com and order a membership there, or contact the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and request membership packets or make a donation.  If ordering online, specify your driver or race team in the “Notes” section on the final page.

The museum can ship membership and donation information out for the drivers and teams to pass out at their races throughout the season. The driver or team with the highest amount of donations returned to the museum before July 31, will receive the $20,000 sponsorship funding.

All funds collected will go towards paying off remaining construction costs on the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower. Memberships start at only $25 per year, but any donation amount will be accepted.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Marc Crawford as an assistant coach on Jeremy Colliton's staff.

The 58-year-old Crawford was the interim head coach for Ottawa at the end of last season. He also has served as the head coach for Colorado, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Dallas, leading the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup title in 1996.

Crawford's son, Dylan, is an assistant video coach for Chicago.

Colliton is entering his first full season as Blackhawks coach after taking over for the fired Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6. Crawford says Colliton "has an extremely bright and innovative mind," and he thinks his experience "should benefit the entire coaching staff."

The Blackhawks announced the move on Tuesday. Colliton's staff also includes assistants Sheldon Brookbank and Tomas Mitell, goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and video coach Matt Meacham.

U.S. men's goalkeeper Zack Steffen will join Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf on loan from Manchester City, a source confirmed to ESPN FC's Raphael Honigstein.

Steffen's transfer from the Columbus Crew to City becomes official on July 9, and from there is expected to join the German club.

The Athletic initially reported the loan deal.

It would be Steffen's second stint in Germany. He spent 2015-16 with Freiburg, but was limited to 14 appearances with their reserve team. He joined the Crew in 2016 and won the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2018.

Manchester City signed the 24-year-old in December for a fee between £7 million and £10 million -- which would constitute a Crew and MLS record for a keeper. He remained with the Crew with last week's draw with NYCFC being his last with the club.

As the presumptive No. 1 keeper for the U.S. ahead of the Gold Cup, Steffen said he was nervous and excited for his move from the MLS back to Europe.

"There's a lot of nerves, a lot of excitement, a little bit of sadness leaving the chapter in Columbus," he said following Monday's training session on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. "But I'm really focused on the Gold Cup and doing well here, and raising the trophy here, and then I'll focus on what lies next."

The U.S. play Jamaica in a friendly in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and then host Venezuela in Cincinnati on June 9. They begin their Gold Cup campaign on June 18 with group stage matches against Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thanked both Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno ahead of their departures from Anfield on free transfers after their contracts expired.

Sturridge joined the club from Chelsea in January 2013 and scored 105 goals in 306 appearances in all competitions, while Moreno arrived from Sevilla in 2014, playing 141 games and finding the back of the net on three occasions.

- When does the transfer window close?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thanked the pair, describing Sturridge as "one of the best finishers I have ever seen in my life."

"The most important words to say to these two remarkable players is: 'Thank you,'" Klopp told Liverpool's website. "They were here when I arrived as manager and during that period they -- as much as anyone -- helped to establish us as a team that would be heading in the right direction. Without them we wouldn't be the team and club we are in this moment.

"Alberto is a person whose personality is reflected in how he plays. Full of life, full of energy, always positive. How he was in training kept the entire group on their toes.

"Daniel has earned the right to be considered a modern-day Liverpool great, I would think. He came to the club while we were trying to rebuild and re-establish ourselves. Some of the goals he has scored for Liverpool were so, so, so important.

"He is one of the best finishers I have ever seen in my life. He scores goals you think could and should not be possible."

Former England international Sturridge's first full season with the club was his most productive, when he scored 24 Premier League goals as Liverpool took the title race until the final day of the season before losing out to Manchester City. Sturridge was named in that season's PFA Players' Team of the Year alongside strike partner Luis Suarez.

Meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri said he will stay at Anfield despite his recent lack of opportunities at the club.

Speaking ahead of Switzerland's Nations League semifinal clash against Portugal, Shaqiri said he knew when he joined Liverpool from Stoke City a year ago that he would face a battle to get regular minutes on the field.

"The manager has many good options and has to decide who can play. I knew before my transfer that the competition here is very tough," he said.

The former Bayern Munich midfielder was restricted to the bench for the bulk of the Premier League run-in and the final stages of the Champions League, although he helped Klopp's side reach the final with a key assist in the 4-0 win in over Barcelona in the last four.

"I have a long-term contract and I definitely will stay. It's a special moment for me standing here with the gold medal again," he said.

"I'm just proud and happy. I think I contributed my part to the title," added the 27-year-old who has another four years on his deal at Anfield.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

Sri Lanka 201 (Kusal Perera 78, Nabi 4-30) beat Afghanistan 152 (Najibullah 43, Pradeep 4-31, Malinga 3-39) by 34 runs (via DLS method)

As it happened: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka

Two teams, both doing a lot of things wrong. In the end, Sri Lanka did just about enough right and got on the points table with a 34-run (DLS method) win, preventing Afghanistan from recording their first World Cup win over a full-member nation. In the process, they also ensured that Lasith Malinga finally figured in an ODI win after July 6, 2017 - he had been part of 21 losses and one no-result in between.

For Afghanistan, the day started well with the right call on the coin, but Hamid Hassan missed his lines and lengths completely upfront to concede 31 runs in his first two overs. Dawlat Zadran was better only in comparison and the ground fielding even worse than what Hassan dished out. If Afghanistan were in the contest despite all that, it was only due to one man: Mohammad Nabi. Nabi's four wickets - including three in a chaotic over - put Sri Lanka in a hole they never quite got out of but rain and a revised target later, a batting effort even poorer than the Sri Lankans' meant Afghanistan finished second best.

WATCH on Hotstar - Kusal Perera's punchy half-century (India only)

But, chasing 187 in 41 overs after Sri Lanka were bowled out for 201 in 32.4, Afghanistan met with their old frailties: lack of patience, an obsession with big shots, and a failure to bat in phases. Hazratullah Zazai looked good - in his smash-everything way - early on, but despite a let-off when he skied Malinga only for Kusal Mendis to drop a sitter at deep square leg, he only managed 30 off 25 before Nuwan Pradeep had his number. Though it really was Thisara Perera's wicket, as he followed Zazai's mistimed hook and threw in the dive to grab the dipping ball at fine leg.

That made it 44 for 3 - Mohammad Shahzad and Rahmat Shah had been dismissed earlier - and 57 for 5 was only around the corner, but amid a drizzle that didn't really go away but never really threatened to push the players off the field either, Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran scripted a remarkable recovery.

The pair, up against a bowling attack with more experience and nous than them, fought hard, played their shots but without much risk, and added 64 runs for the sixth wicket. A straight drive from Naib off Malinga was especially pleasing to the eye, though when they threw their bats, they mostly went aerial.

But once Thisara got a gentle cutter to nip in big time to hit Naib's off stump, the wheels came off the chase. Najibullah tried, farming the strike in the company of the tail-enders, and kept Afghanistan in the fight. who knows what might have been had he a partner he could depend on. As it turned out, he went for a run that wasn't and could only trot off once Dimuth Karunaratne knocked the stumps down at the non-striker's end. That, really, was the end of it. Malinga applied the finishing touches with two yorkers that took out the stumps, but Pradeep was the star of the bowling effort, his pace and the steep bounce he generated netting him 4 for 31, his career-best figures, and the Man-of-the-Match award.

In the first innings, it was all about Nabi. Four times in five balls he looked like he had a wicket. Three of those times, he actually did. Sri Lanka, who started their 22nd over on 144 for 1, were suddenly 146 for 4 at the end of it. Nabi's ploy was to go slow, slower, and slowest, and it worked like a charm on a grippy surface.

Lahiru Thirimanne was the first of those three, waiting for Nabi's flighted delivery on off stump to arrive, then pushing at the ball and under-edging on to the stumps. Next ball, Nabi had new man Kusal Mendis edging, but just past Rahmat at slip; the very next ball, it went to hand. A ball later, this time Angelo Mathews, nicked off to Rahmat off Shahzad's pads. Just like that, Sri Lanka's projected score on ESPNcricinfo's forecaster dipped from 333 to 217.

It had started beautifully for Sri Lanka after they were put in. In overcast conditions, Hassan conceded 15 and 16 runs in his first two overs, and Sri Lanka were on their way till Nabi and Naib got together to stem the flow of runs.

By the end of the tenth over, though, Sri Lanka were cruising, the 136-run rollover against New Zealand forgotten.

True, Karunaratne was crawling, after carrying his bat through the collapse the other day, but Kusal Perera, opening instead of Thirimanne, was in fine fettle, chugging along in style. They put on 92 for the first wicket - the highest partnership in the game. Afghanistan's fielding, average at the best of times, was fraying at the edges at that stage, and it was all Sri Lanka. The tide had to turn, and it did, and it was courtesy Nabi, who struck first ball of the 14th over. Karunaratne stepped out, swung, but never got any sort of connection to a 'slower', going only as far as Najibullah at long leg.

Then came the three-wicket burst, and the meltdown was on. Hassan, after that awful two-over spell, came back and hit a beautiful length and aimed fourth stump. Dhananjaya de Silva succumbed, hanging his bat out and bringing Shahzad into business.

Udana's straight six off Nabi was really just an aberration as the wickets continued to fall. When Kusal nicked a reverse-sweep off Rashid Khan for 78, Sri Lanka were 180 for 8.

That's when the rain came down, kept everyone out for almost three hours, and when the game restarted, lasted four more overs and, courtesy Suranga Lakmal's biggies off Dawlat, Sri Lanka got past 200. It was enough in the end.

She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean.

As the Australians arrived for their first training session at Trent Bridge, the head-banging guitar riff and grinding lyrics of ACDC's You Shook Me All Night Long bellowed from the speaker on the dressing room balcony.

Several West Indies players were still at the ground, wrapping up a clinic and signing autographs for children. One member of the camp joked that Bob Marley music would be more welcome.

But the upcoming match between the two sides has all the makings of a heavy metal contest rather than a reggae groove; the battle of the bumpers, the barrage of bouncers, so to speak.

It's no surprise. Australia and West Indies boast heavy artillery in the fast bowling department and both deployed it liberally in their opening seven-wicket victories against Afghanistan and Pakistan, respectively. But while Carlos Brathwaite acknowledges that bouncers are a "preferred tactic" for West Indies, he emphasised the importance of the balls that bracket them, the spaces in between.

"Obviously we've been hearing the talk of bouncer this and bouncer that but it's always been a part of cricket," said Brathwaite. "Probably it's come to the fore a bit because the pitches will take the bouncer and only four fielders out, so the bowlers need to find something and obviously no one likes a ball 140-145 k's at your head. So that's why the bouncer has been the favourite tactic thus far.

"But you can only bowl two an over and the other four you have to be spot on and I think, as much as it was mentioned against Pakistan about our bouncers, I think those are the four balls in the over if you use them quite well. Up front Jase and Sheldon tried to swing it and myself and Russell tried to hit our lengths and then the bouncer became a surprise, probably even a dot ball option, so whilst it is obviously the preferred tactic, the most important thing is the balls that accompany, the other four balls in the over.

"We may get early wickets, we may not. When do we use the bumper? How regularly do we use it? And how much will the effect of the pitch allow us to use the bouncer as well?"

As Sid Monga noted in his early analysis of short pitched bowling this World Cup, against Afghanistan, "Eighteen percent of balls delivered by Australia's quicks were short, almost double the usual rate you see."

West Indies demolished Pakistan with similar roughhouse tactics. Most notable was Andre Russell's venomous three-over spell, of which 18 deliveries were short, that netted two wickets and conceded just four runs.

Made a meal outta me And came back for more

England tried it unsuccessfully against Pakistan, playing Mark Wood and Joffra Archer in the hope fast, short-pitch lightning could strike twice on the same ground against the same opponents but, as is often the case, while the high-risk high-reward tactic of bowling short did result in six wickets, it also allowed for a big score: Pakistan made 113 runs of their total score off 109 short balls.

Thursday's match will be played on the same pitch that was used in that run-fest. Pitch 6, or the record pitch, as it's often called after England's 481 in last year's ODI against Pakistan. But Brathwaite knows Australian batsmen are more likely to treat short, fast bowling like Vegemite on toast; a familiar meal.

"Traditionally they've grown up on fast bouncy tracks and there's only two balls an over," said Brathwaite. "And it's a mental game. If that bouncer can get into their head and allow our other four balls in that over to be perfectly executed or you know give us a bigger margin for error then perfect.

"If not then we have to find another strategy but yes, we do expect Australia to play it better than Pakistan. However we need to be better at our other four balls as well because everyone knows what's coming and it's about execution versus execution.

"We may get early wickets, we may not. When do we use the bumper? How regularly do we use it? And how much will the effect of the pitch allow us to use the bouncer as well?"

But while Australia's batsmen may be more accustomed to facing the heat, Brathwaite suggested that familiarity could occasionally breed contempt.

"Some batsmen are traditionally good, some batsmen traditionally not so much," said Brathwaite. "But there's a saying in the Caribbean that people that can't swim don't drown. So maybe the person that can play the short ball better may be more susceptible and the ones that are more expectant of it may be more wary and, as a result, not take it on so much."

Had to cool me down to take another round Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing

One very short boundary, The Record Pitch, some of the game's most belligerent strikers and aggressive bowlers.

All the elements are there. If they click, it could shake us all game long.