When Tyler Erb won three of the first four Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series races this year, he put the dirt late model world on notice.

Erb, who joined the Best Performance Motorsports team during the offseason after previously driving his family’s equipment, is here and he’s here to say.

“I’m living the dream,” said the 22-year-old from New Waverly, Texas.

It’s been a fairly quick rise to prominence for Erb, who started racing street stocks when he was 15 years old.

“My dad used to race and I would go to the races with him and help and watch at our local race tracks in Houston, Texas,” Erb recalled. “My dad had a late model at the time and another guy, Robbie Starnes, drove it a little bit.”

After spending a little time racing street stocks, Erb moved to a limited modified for six months before an opportunity presented itself for him to step into his dad’s late model.

“The guy who was driving (dad’s car) at the time, he just got to where he wasn’t working on it as much and he got busy with other things,” Erb explained. “My dad asked me if I wanted to race it one weekend and I said sure, that’s fine.

“He would go race with the late model and me and my mom would go race by ourselves, so when we could all go race together it was pretty cool.”

For the next few years, Erb ran 20 or 30 races each season, racing mostly with the regional Southern United Professional Racing Series, otherwise known as SUPR. After he graduated from high school, Erb expanded his schedule and began traveling more around the country.

“The year I graduated high school I got to go racing a little bit more,” said Erb. “I went to my first week of Summer Nationals, kind of traveled to the bigger races and stuff. The next year I went to Florida. I didn’t have school, I was just starting college, so I talked them (his parents) into letting me go to Speedweeks down there.”

In 2016, Erb committed to the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series schedule. It was a rough season as he earned one top-five finish and posted 10 top-10 results while finishing 12th in points.

He made another go at the World of Outlaws schedule in 2017 and his results improved dramatically. Erb scored 10 top-five finishes and collected 25 top-10 efforts, leading to a solid sixth-place championship effort.

Despite those solid numbers, Erb remained winless on the WoO LMS tour.

WATERBURY, Vt. – The American-Canadian Tour will now have top billing when the series rolls into Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway on Saturday, June 15.

NASCAR and Thompson officials announced on Tuesday that the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 100 scheduled for that day has been canceled and will not be replaced on the program.

The decision means the ACT Thompson 75 has been elevated to headline status on the revamped card of racing. The event is the second round of the Summer Kickoff Series with a $5,000 prize waiting for the winner.

Rich Dubeau won the first round of the Summer Kickoff Series at Quebec’s Autodrome Chaudiere on June 1 and is now eligible for an additional $5,000 bonus should he sweep all three events.

In order to do so, he’ll have to fend off the best of the ACT Tour, including two-time defending ACT champion Scott Payea, perennial title contender Jimmy Hebert, sophomore standout Dylan Payea, and current top rookie Ryan Kuhn. The best Late Model racers from Thompson and Southern New England are also expected at the event, including defending ACT World Series winner William Wall, former Thompson Modified Champion Woody Pitkat, Opening Day Thompson winner Tom Carey III, and rising super late model star Jake Johnson.

ST. LOUIS -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said that injured defenseman Zdeno Chara will be evaluated in Boston and the team is preparing in case he can't go in Game 5.

Chara took a puck to the face in the second period of the Bruins' Game 4 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday. He dropped to the ice bleeding, and was helped to the locker room. Chara returned with a face shield and sat on the Boston bench for the third period but did not play, per team trainers' orders.

Forward Brad Marchand wasn't surprised to see the team captain on the bench.

"He's an absolute warrior. If it wasn't for a doctor, he would have played that game. He's that kind of guy who you're going to have to kill him to keep him off," he said on Tuesday. "He's an absolute leader and those things, you just gain respect for him every single day with what he's willing to go through to be part of the group and lead this team. He's an incredible person."

Through 20 playoff games, Chara has a goal and four assists with a plus-12. He played over 24 minutes in Games 2 and 3, but was limited to just 8:23 in Game 4, though he did pick up an assist on Charlie Coyle's goal.

If Chara can't go in Game 5 -- his status has yet to be determined -- Cassidy said it could have a domino effect on the Bruins' lineup. Boston has been without defenseman Matt Grzelcyk since Game 2, when he took a hit from behind from Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist, who was subsequently suspended for one game. Grzelcyk didn't travel to St. Louis for the last two games, getting treatment for an upper-body injury in Boston.

Cassidy said there's a possibility that if both can't go in Game 5, the Bruins could play seven defensemen and 11 forwards. Among the defensemen who are in the mix to be added to the lineup: veteran Steve Kampfer, who has played in two games for Boston in this postseason; Jeremy Lauzon, a 22-year-old who played 16 games in the regular season for Boston; and Urho Vaakanainen, a 20-year-old who played two games in the regular season for Boston.

"There are different things you gotta do to support each guy missing. Gryz is more of a puck mover. How are we going to move the puck better when he's out of the lineup? Well, your forwards have to support the puck better," said Cassidy. "This matchup is not good with Zee out, let's face it. They're a big, heavy team, so we lose that element. But someone else is going to have to step up, and I think we do it as a group."

If the Bruins play seven defensemen, it could affect how Cassidy approaches his forward group. He said he's considering a shakeup of lines, in particular to get their second line with David Krejci going. The Bruins center doesn't have a point in the series yet.

"We've moved [David Pastrnak] in there periodically for a few shifts here and there. We have to sit down and they have to change the way they're playing. It hasn't worked so far to generate offense," said Cassidy, who cautioned that changing the makeup on one line could affect the chemistry of other lines that are affected. "Problem with that this time of year is you're so far down the line, the other lines have their chemistry. Especially our bottom two lines."

Chara's status is up in the air, but it's clear the Bruins are keeping their options open. Cassidy cautioned to never count an injured player out at this stage of the postseason.

"It's the Stanley Cup. I suspect for every player, it's to get their name on the Stanley Cup and not let their teammates down," said Cassidy.

Northamptonshire 209 and 68 for 0 (Curran 48*) trail Glamorgan 547 (Root 229, Cullen 63) by 270 runs

Glamorgan's push for a second win in this season's Specsavers County Championship was held up by bad weather on the third afternoon at Wantage Road, preventing any play after lunch with Northamptonshire closing on 68 without loss, trailing by 270 runs.

Having taken a first-innings lead of 338 after finally being bowled out for 547, Glamorgan only had time for 18 overs in Northants' second innings until lunch.

The rain was a big help to Northants' chances of saving the match. They began their second innings with 186 overs remaining in the game but with two sessions lost, 72 of those were scratched. They are still left, for the second game in succession, with the final day to bat out to salvage a draw having been well behind the game.

Ben Curran gave their hopes a boost in making a fluent 48 before the weather closed in. Playing the ball late, he flicked Dan Douthwaite for four before cutting the same bowler for another boundary. Ricardo Vasconcelos was scratchy at the other end and survived two large lbw appeals but also got through, 18 not out.

The weight of scoreboard pressure was made heavier by a 46-minute blast by Glamorgan's No. 10 and 11, Tim van der Gugten and Michael Hogan at the start of the day. They flogged 95 runs in 69 balls to boost the visitors' overnight 452 for 9.

Hogan began the fun by clearing his front leg to heave Ben Sanderson into the trees behind deep square and struck another maximum over deep cover to the short side of the ground. He reached just his third first-class fifty in 44 balls before finally holing out to long-off for 54.

Van der Gugten also enjoyed himself, uppercutting Nathan Buck for six over third man and driving a boundary wide of long-off in making 30 from 26 balls.

India are the last team to start their World Cup 2019 campaign, opening against South Africa on Wednesday, with every other team having played at least one game in the past week. Captain Virat Kohli felt starting late gave his side an advantage in sussing out conditions and strategies. Speaking on the eve of the match, he also welcomed the expectations people had of him, and how he has learned to go along with them.

On being the last team to start their World Cup campaign

It is a bit of an advantage, I have to say, in terms of understanding how the games have gone, what the conditions have to offer, what the overcast conditions bring into play when the sun is out. It's a totally different ball game altogether, what the conditions are at 10.30 in the morning compared to the afternoon. I think from that point of view, we have a lot to absorb. We have a lot to learn from looking at how the other teams play.

From that point of view, we would say that we have a lot of positives that we can take out of starting after everyone else.

On Kedar Jadhav's fitness

Kedar is doing well, he is back to full fitness. Kedar is batting in the nets now, he is hitting the ball well, so it is always nice to have him back in the mix because of the variety he brings into the side.

On whether there is pressure of scoring a century in the opening match, having done so in 2011 and 2015

When you perform for a long time, expectations are always there. I understand how to go along with the expectations rather than saying I'm not. You don't go out there to prove anything to anyone, which is a fact, but you have to accept that expectations are going to be there.

When I walk out to bat, come down the stairs, people will say "we need a hundred" and all those kind of things will happen. So, for me, that's just a part of the process. It's not something that I don't want to hear, or something that I think people should not tell me because when you do well, people obviously want to see you do well again and again because they want to see the team win.

So my focus is if I'm in a position to be able to do that again, but more importantly, make the team win. And if it takes a hundred runs, 150, 50, 60, 70, 40, whatever it is, I'm ready to do that and that's the frame of mind I'm going to be in.

On the 10.30am start time, and how it affects team combinations

If the conditions offer you a lot in terms of the pitch.. we know it's a different situation in England when there is a cloud cover and when there is sun out. With two new balls, if the pitch has something to offer, then an extra seamer comes into play big time.

But even on a good pitch, on a batting-friendly pitch with two new balls, I foresee the first 10 overs to be challenging if there is cloud cover. Because we are playing in England and the ball does a bit more than any other place in the world.

From bowling point of view, even if you play with two spinners, two seamers or three seamers, they are going to be in the game in the first half if you start at 10.30. The dynamics will change from morning to afternoon big time, and the bowlers will have to adapt very quickly.

On Kuldeep Yadav's weak IPL 2019 form

I have had great IPL seasons and I have entered playing for the country and I have felt like, "I feel like I'm going to dominate this tournament so much" - and you can't put bat to ball.

So every tournament, every game that you play has no connection to what you have done in the past. You can only take out the positives and the learnings and take it to the next tournament or game that you play. Whether you have done well in the IPL or you haven't, you still have to work hard. And to me, IPL has no connection to the World Cup.

He's a guy who has done so well in the last two years. I don't think three or four games of a T20 tournament will do anything to harm his confidence.

We know when he pitches the ball in the right areas the batsman has to make better decisions or you are walking out. And he's back to bowling at his best. In the nets he is bowling well, attacking the stumps, his variations are spot on, he is pitching the ball in the right area. So I see batsmen having to take better decisions against Kuldeep rather than the other way around.

"There are a lot of things haunting me at the moment," laughs Faf du Plessis, on the eve of an important match against India. "The position that I'm in is, I'm the captain of the team right now and players are looking for someone to lead them. So all I can do is try my absolute best to try and do that."

Less than a week into this World Cup, du Plessis is facing as difficult a road to the knockouts as any South Africa captain has ever had to contend with at a global tournament. Not only have his team lost their first two matches - the second against an opposition they were expected to beat - they've also now been ravaged by injuries to their fast bowling battery.

A month ago, South Africa might even have fairly claimed to have the best pace attack going into the World Cup. Aside from Kagiso Rabada, ranked 4th in ODIs, they had Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Andlie Phehluhkwayo and Anrich Nortje in their ranks. Two matches in, three of those bowlers are unavailable - Steyn and Nortje ruled out of the tournament, while Ngidi is out for about 10 days with a hamstring strain. All that remain to South Africa is a skeleton crew. Turning their campaign around from here will take substantial mental strength - something South Africa aren't exactly known for at major tournaments.

"The natural thing that happens in a team like this, is you find that your confidence goes down," du Plessis said ahead of the match against India. "Naturally, younger guys in the team coming to their first World Cup - they will potentially go into their self-pity cycle.

"But that that won't be allowed over the next couple of days. It is important for us to stay strong at this time. If you do slightly go away from that, then as a team you can crumble. Unfortunately, we are not in a position where we can afford that.

"We can't control results. We can't control the outcome of the game. What we can control is how strong we are mentally. How well we are training. What sort of language are we using in the dressing room. Is it positive? For me, that was the main focus - making sure that the guys are still saying the right things in the team, and not questioning themselves, because then it's a slippery slope. Then you just keep going further and further backwards."

With their fast-bowling strength now partially nullified, South Africa have to scramble together a new strategy. Chris Morris had already replaced Nortje in the squad, and they also have Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwayne Pretorius in their ranks. Allrounders may have to come into focus.

"As you can see right now, there is a plan in place for the worst case scenario, which is losing our bowling attack, Now you have to go back to your all-rounders, which we felt has been our strategy in the past.

"The last time we came here - to the previous Champions' Trophy - we had a lot of all-rounders. Wayne Parnell, Chris Morris - guys like that. So we batted down to seven, eight, nine. So we are back to that now. We have a lot of all-rounders and not a lot of specialists. So I think we have planned for it."

BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson reiterated on the first day of minicamp that he still wants to be traded.

Johnson skipped voluntary workouts last month in the aftermath of the Browns adding Kareem Hunt, but he was in Cleveland on Tuesday.

"Only difference is this is mandatory," he said. "Nothing has changed."

Johnson, who claimed that Browns general manager John Dorsey was shopping him a month before he made his trade request, added there's nothing the team can do at this point to change his mind about wanting a trade.

Johnson was a third-round draft choice of the Browns in 2015 and has rushed for 1,286 yards over four seasons. Rookie Nick Chubb took over as Cleveland's starting running back last year and set a franchise rookie rushing record. Then Dorsey signed Hunt, who rushed for 824 yards last season, in February.

"I won't be a disgruntled employee. I won't be causing scenes or losing focus on what's important," Johnson said.

"My thing is, I'm big on loyalty."

Moments later, quarterback Baker Mayfield was asked if Johnson's ongoing trade request would create any awkwardness in the locker room this week. Mayfield responded that it would be so for only one player.

"It's not awkward, it's self-inflicted," Mayfield said. "It's not awkward for anyone else in this building. He's got to do his job. He said he's a professional. I hope he does his job.

"I get it, Duke has been here for years, and I respect that. But it's about what you're doing right now and what we're going to do. The past is the past. ... You're either on this train or you're not."

The highly anticipated lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier has been signed for UFC 242, UFC president Dana White said Tuesday on SportsCenter.

Nurmagomedov is the undisputed lightweight champion, while Poirier is the interim titleholder. UFC 242 is scheduled for Sept. 7 in Abu Dhabi.

Nurmagomedov (27-0) is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. "The Eagle" has never lost in the UFC, nor truly been threatened inside the Octagon. Nurmagomedov, 30, has not fought since beating Conor McGregor at UFC 229 last October. The Dagestan, Russia native was suspended after that bout by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for nine months for his role in a post-fight melee with McGregor and his team.

Poirier (25-5, 1 NC) is on a six-fight unbeaten streak. The Louisiana native won the interim title by beating Max Holloway at UFC 236 in April. Poirier, 30, sports a 9-1 record (1 no contest) since moving back up to lightweight in 2015 following a loss to McGregor.

UFC 242 will be the promotion's first card in Abu Dhabi since 2014.