TORONTO -- When you are champions, you stick with what got you here. For the Golden State Warriors, the formula in these 2019 playoffs had been fairly transparent: identify the best player on the opposing team -- see James Harden and Damian Lillard -- and harangue him into a night of frustration and disappointment.

Thus, the blueprint against the Toronto Raptors was to reduce Kawhi Leonard's basketball life to misery, or at the very least considerable discomfort. Blitz him, double him, triple him if necessary, force him to give up the ball and dare the others to beat you.

It was a sound strategy on paper -- except the "others" were not only expecting it, they were aiming to exploit it. So, it was a collection of "complementary" Raptors who vaulted Toronto to win Game 1 of the NBA Finals 118-109 in a raucous Scotiabank Arena, delivering a roundhouse right to a team that so often has seemed invincible.

On a night when Leonard, who had been the most transcendent player in the playoffs, was a mere mortal, players such as Pascal Siakam happily filled the void. Siakam, the 24-year old forward who once was on a path to the priesthood -- until a visit, on a lark, to a summer basketball camp in his native Cameroon detoured him on an improbable basketball journey -- scored 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting. It was a prolific performance that would have been unthinkable two short years ago, when he was a raw, unpolished player who couldn't shoot.

At all.

"I was joking with him the other day," teammate Fred VanVleet told ESPN. "We used to shoot together in my rookie year, and me and the guy rebounding used to duck sometimes because his shots would come off the rim so hard.

"He had some bad misses. But what you are seeing now is the result of a lot of hard work. You can just see his confidence soaring."

The same can be said of VanVleet, who struggled mightily in earlier rounds of the playoffs but, following the birth of his young son, has rediscovered his shooting stroke.

Then there's center Marc Gasol, who heard all the chatter about how this was a poor matchup for him, particularly if DeMarcus Cousins found his way onto the court (he did, in an unremarkable eight-minute cameo). Gasol was also a benefactor of the exorbitant amount of attention paid to Leonard, scoring 20 points and stretching the floor for his teammates on what Warriors coach Steve Kerr termed "dare shots."

"Dare, no dare, if you are open, you shoot them," Gasol said.

Said Van Vleet: "Kawhi has been having such an unbelievable playoff run, I think it would have been disrespectful not to give him a lot of attention. We know that. We've been dealing with that all of these playoffs.

"You can see teams try to balance it -- 'should we help too much; are we not helping enough?' For the rest of us, it means we've got to be ready for the opportunity when the kickouts come."

Even Danny Green, who hadn't drilled a 3-pointer since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, hit three of them Thursday night.

And yet, in a spirited Raptors locker room after the game, the topic of discussion was not their marksmen, but a collective defensive effort that held a terrifying Golden State lineup in check.

Stephen Curry (34 points), per usual, got his, but the Raptors took turns bumping and chasing him and his Splash Brother Klay Thompson. They weren't stopped, but contained, and that was good enough.

"We've tried to hang our hat on our defense all year,'' Kyle Lowry said. "One thing about Golden State is you can't give them space. When we did, Steph and Klay made every shot."

It was Curry's 11 first-quarter points that kept Golden State within striking distance in the opening frame. In fact, for all the good vibes the Raptors' shooters were experiencing, the Warriors were constantly lurking. Because the defending champions can score so quickly and in such explosive fashion, even when Toronto pushed the lead to double digits, it never quite felt safe.

But as Siakam continued to wreak havoc in transition, the Raptors were able to maintain their lead wire to wire.

The most critical shot of the night came courtesy of VanVleet with 3:20 to play, shortly after the Warriors had cut the deficit to 10, 108-98. With the shot clock ticking down, VanVleet found himself pinned in the corner and let one fly. The shot rolled halfway down, halfway back up, and finally settled on counting after all.

"Klay didn't leave me as much as I thought he would, so I didn't have a clean look right away,'' VanVleet said. "By the time I thought about it, there was only one second left, so I got a little separation, a little look, a little bit of luck.

"About time, you know? I was in a little slump, but now I've got some of those in the bank."

The Warriors were hardly devastated by the events of Game 1, though they were most certainly irritated by them. They once again exhibited their maddening tendency to be careless with the basketball, and the Raptors transformed their 16 turnovers into 17 points.

Golden State also recognizes it needs to do a better job of limiting Siakam in the open floor and identifying Toronto's shooters.

"Our transition D was horrible,'' Draymond Green said. "You give guys those type of shots, they get comfortable and it's a different beast."

Said Curry: "You can't give [Siakam] any dare shots, and you can't give him any straight-line drives to the basket. That's just an effort thing we all can be more mindful of."

No coach wants to hear their players admit they need to be mindful about more effort; the Warriors' swagger has always been their greatest strength -- and their greatest weakness. And while acknowledging being up 1-0 is better than being down 1-0 -- something this group has never experienced in the Finals -- Shaun Livingston insisted his team embraces these moments. "I like the vibe," Curry said.

The Game 1 loss did one thing, for sure: It quelled the notion the Warriors will cruise to a title with or without Kevin Durant, who probably will miss Game 2 as he continues to heal from his calf strain. Toronto expects to see KD at some point in the series -- and will plan accordingly. As Leonard pointed out, "[Durant] can score 30 in his sleep."

After Thursday, the Raptors can be sure of one thing: The champions might have been slumbering before. But they are most definitely awake now.

LOS ANGELES -- Hyun-Jin Ryu was all but untouchable in May.

His final start of the month was no different Thursday night as the left-hander pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning of his latest dominant outing, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the New York Mets.

Chris Taylor tripled off hard-luck loser Jason Vargas to start the bottom of the first and scored when Max Muncy followed with a double. That was all the offense for either team until Enrique Hernandez singled home an insurance run with two outs in the eighth.

Ryu (8-1) struck out seven and walked one in 7⅔ innings, lowering his major league-best ERA to 1.48. Kenley Jansen got four outs for his 16th save as the NL West leaders took three of four in the series.

Ryu went 5-0 in six May starts with a 0.59 ERA, 36 strikeouts and only three walks.

"The month of May was incredible," he said through an interpreter. "I've always told everyone how I wanted to do my job as a starting pitcher, meaning I wanted to throw six to seven innings and put the team in a position where we can win. I've always said that, but I haven't necessarily executed the way I wanted. This month of May I was able to do that. I do feel that's unbelievable."

Ryu's 0.59 ERA is the lowest by a Dodgers starter in any month since Clayton Kershaw had a 0.27 ERA in July 2015.

Ryu, who left to a standing ovation, has 69 strikeouts and only five walks in 11 games. He has won his past eight starts at home, and fans rewarded him with adoration.

Asked if Ryu is his ace, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said: "We have a lot of aces. Hyun-Jin is throwing the ball really well. Tonight you look at where we were at as far as the pen and needing him to go deep into the game and he knew that and he executed and did that. Just his feel, I say every time he starts, and his ability to execute pitches, change speeds, work to all zones, get soft contact, get seven punches, one walk. Worked quick. Keeps defense involved. We needed Hyun-Jin and he answered the bell once again."

The Dodgers, who boast the top record in the National League at 38-19, have won 16 of the past 19 matchups with the Mets.

With one out in the ninth, Pete Alonso was awarded first base on a hit by pitch even though replays seemed to show the ball hit his bat and not his hand or forearm. Alonso even returned to home plate and waited with his lumber in hand as the play was reviewed, yet the call on the field was upheld.

Sent back to first base, Alonso chuckled a bit as he chatted with David Freese.

Jansen then struck out Todd Frazier, who threw his bat wildly at a ball in the dirt, and retired Carlos Gomez on a harmless fly to end it.

Vargas, a California native, gave up only one run and six hits in a season-high seven innings that mostly spared a taxed Mets bullpen. He needed 26 pitches to get through the first, but settled in after that. Vargas (1-3) struck out six and walked three -- two in the first inning.

"I think just effectively pitching down," he said. "That's key for me in general, but after the first couple innings got settled and worked out a couple issues with guys on second base. I think it was just a matter of pitching down and expanding."

Ryu didn't run into trouble until the seventh when Alonso hit a leadoff double. The left-hander retired the next three batters with ease, two via groundouts.

Taylor's leadoff triple was a sinking liner that got under the glove and past a charging J.D. Davis as he made a dive for the ball in left field.

Hernandez's jam-shot single in the eighth off of Hector Santiago scored Freese, who doubled and finished with two hits.

With two outs and a runner on in the eighth, Jansen entered and struck out pinch hitter Dominic Smith, reacting with a fist pump.

But it was Ryu who was the star of the game again.

"He mixes it up better than I've seen in a long time," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "There's no pattern whatsoever. He drives his arm through every pitch and sells everything, whether it's a changeup, curveball. He gets through it."

ROAD WOES

The Mets fell to 12-22 away from home and are 2-7-1 in road series.

STEALING SIGNS?

Callaway verbalized his suspicion that the Dodgers were stealing signs after Wednesday's game in a New York Post report. Asked to respond to the accusation, Roberts said: "I think, for us, we feel that we go up there and play 27 outs every night the best way we can. If we come up short, it's a combo that we didn't play well and giving the other team credit. I guess if they feel differently about the quality of at-bats we put up against these guys was not as a result of our talent and preparation, then that's their decision. I can't change their thoughts."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Dodgers: 3B Justin Turner (hamstring) felt a little tightness in his hamstring when he scored in the ninth inning Wednesday night. He was given Thursday off but was available off the bench. ... LHP Tony Cingrani (shoulder) has still not been cleared for baseball activities after having his shoulder re-evaluated.

UP NEXT

Mets: RHP Zack Wheeler (4-3, 4.63 ERA) pitches Friday night in Arizona. He has 41 strikeouts in five May starts but a 4.19 ERA during that span.

Dodgers: RHP Kenta Maeda (6-2, 3.67) takes the ball at home against Philadelphia. He has won his past three starts.

Cricket South Africa's transformation targets will not apply at the World Cup, and that's just fine with Kagiso Rabada, who believes that transformation "should happen at the grassroots".

"At a professional level, players should be picked on merit," Rabada told ESPNcricinfo in an exclusive interview recently. "For me, transformation is all about getting an opportunity. I feel that players or people should be given the opportunity as much as possible."

CSA's transformation policy requires that the national team has an average of 55% (or six) players of colour in each game across formats during any given season. They didn't quite hit those targets over the last season, with injuries to players such as Lungi Ngidi and JP Duminy contributing to that, but the rise - and success - of players such as Rabada is sometimes presented as proof that transformation works.

Yet it might also be argued that the opportunities afforded to Rabada in early life were more important than any targets that might have been in place during his career. Rabada went to the prestigious St Stithians College in Johannesburg, while Ngidi attended Hilton College - South Africa's most expensive high school. Andile Phehlukwayo, the only other black player in South Africa's World Cup squad, attended Glenwood High School, a public school in Durban, on a hockey scholarship.

"You are seen as a beacon of hope in terms of transformation and all of that," Rabada said. "People try and justify transformation by using players like us, using players like Lungi.

"Bringing that into the team, obviously if you are doing well and the team is doing well; those topics are going to be raised, and you are going to be seen as an example," Rabada said. "I try not to get too politically involved although I know that there are people who look at me and are influenced by it, especially black children or black people. I know that. It is very obvious. But I do know as well that there are white people who feel the same way."

Despite being held up as an example and role model, Rabada insisted that he does not feel any extra pressure or responsibility to succeed. He does not have blinkers on when it comes to South Africa's troubled past, suggesting that the wounds of apartheid "will never ever leave quickly" and "need time" to heal, but his personal motivation is simply "wanting to be the best". He is also setting up a foundation to give others the opportunities he has had.

"I started playing cricket because I liked to play sport," Rabada said. "I started doing well in cricket when I was in school. All I wanted to do from then on was to just keep improving and, hopefully, one day represent my country and then I had other aspirations like wanting to be the best and learning my skill. That's why I play cricket. That was my first aspiration as a cricketer. As you grow up you realise you are an inspiration [to others]. I do my best to give back.

"I believe in opportunity. You have to give the opportunity. From there players should get picked fairly. For instance, I've got a foundation coming up - the Kagiso Rabada Foundation. That is just going to give an opportunity. It should be like that in most other platforms, not just cricket. In the past, it was an unfair system. Right now it should be fair, but just because you are black you should not be gifted opportunities."

The full interview with Kagiso Rabada will be published on June 1.

Inter Milan have appointed former Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, the club announced Friday.

Conte's replaces Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked earlier this week after two seasons with the club. The Nerazzurri finished fourth in the Serie A standings on the final day of the season thanks to a 2-1 win over Empoli, qualifying for the Champions League.

Conte is also reunited with highly regarded former Juventus chief executive Beppe Marotta. The pair worked closely together to lead Juventus to three consecutive league titles between 2011 and 2014 before Conte left to manage Italy and then Chelsea, where he won the Premier League title in his first season and ended his second with triumph in the FA Cup.

? | OFFICIAL

Antonio Conte will be Inter's new Coach!#WelcomeAntonio pic.twitter.com/kFk8tktl7z

— Inter (@Inter_en) May 31, 2019

Conte has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea last summer, due in large part to a lengthy and acrimonious legal battle that ended this month with a Premier League manager's arbitration tribunal ruling in his favour.

Chelsea have been ordered to pay Conte around £9 million -- the amount owed for the final unfulfilled year of his contract at Stamford Bridge -- and the Italian, now free to resume his career, has returned to Serie A.

Conte's blend of touchline passion and winning tactics made him hugely popular with the majority of Chelsea supporters, but his relationship with the board became damaged beyond repair, highlighted by his repeated public and private complaints about transfer policy.

He also clashed with Diego Costa and David Luiz, while others began to grow weary of his methods. In the wake of Chelsea's FA Cup win in 2018, Willian obscured Conte in a team celebration photograph posted on his Instagram account.

Conte's refusal to resign unless the final year of his contract was paid in full, coupled with Chelsea's delay in securing Maurizio Sarri from Napoli as his replacement, created an ugly public standoff that resulted in him leading the first few days of preseason before being sacked on July 13.

Chelsea withheld Conte's compensation, claiming that several of his actions -- including his decision to inform Costa by text message that he was no longer in his plans -- had led him to breach his contract.

Meanwhile, sources have told ESPN FC that Conte argued that Chelsea's delay in sacking him resulted in him missing out on potential job opportunities elsewhere, with Paris Saint-Germain appointing Thomas Tuchel and Real Madrid turning to Julen Lopetegui prior to his departure.

TORONTO -- NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday night that, after a heated exchange involving a Utah Jazz fan and Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook back in March, he spoke with the Jazz and thanked them for how they handled its aftermath.

"I did speak directly to that team, to the entire team," Silver said at his annual news conference ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "I wanted to make sure they were satisfied with the way it was handled. They seemed to be satisfied, as well.

"I told them that, that I appreciated the way that they had handled it and that it was not going to be tolerated in the NBA, and that we also appreciated the way they had come together with management and ownership of that team. I felt their response was spot on."

The incident, which happened on March 11, resulted in the fan being permanently banned from the arena and Westbrook being fined $25,000. Silver said he thought that the environment inside arenas has improved during his tenure, though there remains room for improvement.

"I think there's always more we can do, and I think standards in society have changed in terms of what's appropriate for people to say," Silver said. "As I've said before, I think there is a legitimate expectation that you buy your ticket, you go into an arena, I'm only searching for the right word, call it heckle, that people would say, yes, you're allowed to yell and scream when a guy's on the free-throw line or whatever else. But then there's something else that we call it hate speech, which is clearly impermissible. And I think the issue is, you know, if we just made a list, we know we wouldn't capture everything, and there's some aspect of you know it when you see it, and there's also some words that otherwise aren't incendiary, it's the way they're said or if they're said in a threatening manner.

"And so we spend a lot of time talking to security people, ushers in arenas, and a lot of our arenas or most arenas now they even put up text hotlines so that a fellow fan can communicate to the arena if somebody next to them is bothersome. So I think, as I said, there's more we can do, but we're very focused on it."

Silver also said the league wasn't worried about getting involved in how the Jazz handled the situation in Utah because of the respect he has for the team's ownership, and how he knew it would address it.

"In terms of Utah, you know, I did not see a need to step in, only because we have such tremendous confidence in the Miller family, and Gail Miller as the principal owner, I thought by her taking the court prior to the following game, speaking directly to the people in that community and saying, 'This does not represent our community,' I think that was much more powerful than me issuing a statement from all the way across country in the New York," Silver said. "And again I think they handled it very well."

The commissioner touched on several other topics during his 20-plus minute news conference, including:

• Silver said his level of confidence was "high" that there won't be another situation like the one discovered within the Dallas Mavericks of ongoing mistreatment of female employees within any of the remaining 29 NBA teams. "In terms of my level of confidence, it's high," Silver said. "We put in place several procedures post that incident in Dallas, and that includes regular direct reporting from the teams, confidential hotlines, analyses in conjunction with the league office on the hiring practices of each team. So you can never have absolute certainty, but I believe that if there was another situation like that it would have come to our attention." He also said that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had paid about half of the $10 million he had pledged to donate to women's groups in the wake of the culture of sexual harassment that was discovered within his organization. "In terms of the $10 million, the last I looked, and my information may be a little bit old, he had donated $5 million of the $10 million so far," Silver said, "and was working with the league office on his plan for contributing the additional five million."

• Silver reiterated for the latest time that the NBA is "not in expansion mode at this time." He did, however, expand on what would, in the future, get the league to consider expanding outside of its current numbers of 30 teams in 28 markets. "At the end of the day, from a league standpoint, you're in essence selling equity in your overall league, and you're selling a portion of the growth opportunity outside of that market," Silver said. "You're selling the growth opportunity in Africa, and I think what we would be looking at is whether if we're expanding, not necessarily the short-term benefit of an expansion fee, but is it additive over the long-term? Is that franchise adding something to the footprint of the league that the 30 current teams don't? So that's in essence would be the analysis." That would seem to be the latest indication that if the league was to expand, it would be more appealing to expand to an international market -- like Mexico City -- before domestic ones.

• Silver also said he isn't concerned about Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert's ability to run the team going forward after recently suffering a stroke. "I'm not concerned about his ability going forward. I, of course, am concerned with his present condition," Silver said. "I mean, I don't know a lot more, but obviously it's public knowledge that he has a medical condition. So our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family, and we're just wishing that he has a complete recovery, and I have no reason to believe he won't."

TORONTO -- When the Raptors convened in Vancouver for training camp in September, Pascal Siakam wasn't assured of being the team's starting power forward. Fast-forward eight months, and he was not only starting, but starring for Toronto in the franchise's first NBA Finals game.

Siakam's sensational all-around effort -- he finished with 32 points on 14-for-17 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks -- powered a balanced Toronto attack that lifted the Raptors to a 118-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.

"I think obviously getting some easy buckets in transition, something that I haven't really been able to do all playoffs, and I think just being able to run and getting easy baskets at the rim," Siakam said when asked what keyed his Game 1 performance. "And then, from there, just playing, just playing whatever defense gives me. That's why I always say, kind of play off of that and whatever is open, just taking it with confidence and believing in myself."

With Golden State doing everything it could to try to slow down Kawhi Leonard -- he finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists but shot 5-for-14 from the field -- that created room for Siakam to take advantage of the attention directed at Leonard.

That's certainly what he did -- especially in the third quarter. Siakam didn't miss a shot in the period, going 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to score 14 points, matching a 13-point quarter from Stephen Curry as Toronto parried away the Warriors' typical third-quarter surge and prevented them from reclaiming control of the proceedings.

"I think he played an amazing game obviously, but he got out in transition and our transition D was horrible, and I let him get in a rhythm in the first half, first quarter really," Warriors forward Draymond Green said.

"So I got to do a better job of taking his rhythm away, and I will, but he had a great game. But that's on me."

Siakam's success in that quarter, as well as throughout the game, saw him return to what had made him a breakout star this season, and the likely winner of the league's Most Improved Player Award: his aggression and creativity at both ends.

"The way they played him tonight, they were helping off of him and he was just able to get to his spots and get to his spaces cutting behind them, and made some 3s," Raptors guard Kyle Lowry told ESPN. "One thing about [Siakam] is he's going to keep playing and keep working no matter what.

"He's just going to keep working. He's had a couple games where he didn't play as well against Giannis [Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference finals], but tonight he played well."

Siakam did struggle at times against both the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Milwaukee Bucks because of the massive length of Sixers center Joel Embiid and Bucks center Brook Lopez (plus Antetokounmpo).

Golden State, for all of the brilliance Green brings to the court defensively, lacks that same kind of intimidating defensive presence. And Siakam looked like a new man with the freedom to attack, knowing he wasn't in danger of getting his shot blocked or altered.

And, as a result, the Raptors looked like a team more than capable of winning three more games in this series, and winning the team's first NBA title.

"I thought his composure was great," Raptors coach Nick Nurse told ESPN. "He'd get to a spot and he'd wait and get on balance, he'd upfake, he'd turn, get the angle and move it to where he needed to move it.

"He got some cuts, he made some 3s, he did a little bit of everything. When he's hitting the 3-ball he really gets fired up. He banged in a couple early, got out a couple runouts, couple putbacks. That's how you get 30-whatever ... [doing] a little bit of everything."

That phrase -- doing a little bit of everything -- has been what has made Siakam such an integral part of what Toronto has tried to do all season. He has become a jack-of-all-trades at both ends -- shooting, driving and passing offensively, and taking on whatever assignment is necessary defensively -- essentially serving as Nurse's Swiss Army knife at either end of the court.

While he was a nice piece of the bench for the Raptors last season, that he would become this good this soon wasn't something anyone could've predicted when this season began. But ever since that training camp in Vancouver, Nurse has encouraged Siakam to be himself on the court -- to play through mistakes, to try things, to play with confidence at all times.

"It definitely helps a lot," Siakam told ESPN, of the freedom with which Nurse has allowed him to play. "When you get minutes and you have the trust of the coaches and guys just letting you play your game and be yourself, it definitely helps."

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Kyle Larson is returning to USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship competition for rounds two and three of the 15th edition of Indiana Midget Week.

Larson will compete on Wednesday at Gas City (Ind.) I-69 Speedway and Thursday at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind.

Larson, a five-time Monster Energy Cup Series winner and recent victor of the Monster Energy All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, will drive the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian No. 97 in the pair of Midget races.

Larson’s first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature win came during Indiana Midget Week in 2011 at Bloomington Speedway. He won again in 2012 at Kokomo Speedway and again in 2013 at Gas City. His two most recent Indiana Midget Week victories both came at Montpelier Motor Speedway, in 2016 and ’18.  Larson finished runner-up in the Indiana Midget Week standings in 2011, six points shy of Bryan Clauson.

Larson will be joined on the Indiana Midget Week tour by teammates and series regulars Logan Seavey, the defending USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champion, as well as Tucker Klaasmeyer, Tanner Carrick, Jesse Colwell, Holley Hollan and the returning Tanner Thorson.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Tanner Thorson, who suffered serious injuries in a highway crash on March 4, will return to the cockpit of a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget in time for the start of the 15th annual edition of Indiana Midget Week June 4-9.

Thorson will make his return to the Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian team for the upcoming six-race mini-series aboard the Walker Filtration-sponsored No. 98.  The team reunites after a successful run that resulted in 12 USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature wins and the 2016 series championship.

Two of Thorson’s 12 series victories came during Indiana Midget Week, including his first triumph in 2015 at Gas City I-69 Speedway and in 2016 at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, Ind.  Among other notable victories for the Minden, Nev., native are the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 2015 and the Gold Crown Midget Nationals in 2015 and 2016.

Thorson was injured earlier this year in a multi-car incident on Highway 99 in Modesto, Calif.  Thorson underwent surgery for a broken left arm and right foot and also sustained a cracked sternum, broken ribs and a punctured lung.

The accident occurred while Thorson was on his way back home to the Tri-C Motorsports team’s Sacramento, Calif., shop after competing in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car events at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In the first two events of the 2019 USAC National Midget season, Thorson finished ninth on the opening night of Winter Dirt Games X at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., and seventh in the second event where he charged from 24th to seventh to earn hard charger honors.

“I’m back!  Excited to get back with these guys for my comeback/race week,” Thorson said in an Instagram post earlier Thursday.

I’m Back! Excited to get back with these guys for my come back race/week! @USACNation @KeithKunz pic.twitter.com/J378L4yf00

— Tanner Thorson (@Tanner_Thorson) May 30, 2019