I Dig Sports
Leading names negotiate opening hurdle in style
The top seed, Amy Wang of the United States, very much set the standard; she accounted for Malamatenia Papadimitriou of Greece, in four straight games (11-4, 11-8, 11-2, 11-9). It was very much the same scenario for the Czech Republic’s Zdena Blaskova, the no.2 seed, she surrendered just one game in her contest against England’s Denise Payet (12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7).
Impressive form, likewise, Italy’s Jamila Laurenti, the no.3 seed, beat Tiffany Ke, like Amy Wang from the United States (11-9, 11-6, 15-13, 11-5); in an equally imposing manner, the host nation’s Prithika Pavade, the no.4 seed, caused England more pain by overcoming Mollie Patterson (11-4, 11-9, 11-4, 11-5).
Similarly, Japan’s Kaho Akae, the no.5 seed and Haruna Ojio, the no.6 seed, advanced without alarm, as did Germany’s Franziska Schreiner, the next name in the order of merit. However, for India’s Swastika Ghosh, the no.8 seed, life was more exacting. She needed six games to overcome Croatia’s 14 year old, Hana Arapovic (11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 9-11, 15-13).
Noteworthy efforts but the performance of the day belonged to the host nation’s Julie Pennec. The 16 year old remained unbeaten in her initial stage matches, notably overcoming Denise Payet, the highest rated player in the group (11-7, 11-7, 11-9). A place in the second round secured, she accounted for Romania’s Irina Rus (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 12-10) to end the day on a high note.
Success for the leading names in their opening matches in the junior girls’ singles, it was the same in the junior girls’ doubles. Amy Wang in harness with colleague, Crystal Wang, the top seeds best England’s Mari Baldwin and Lydia John of Wales (11-4, 11-6, 11-8); Zdena Blaskova and Franziska Schreiner accounted for Ukraine’s Vasylysa Kanunnikova and Iolanta Yevtodi (11-5, 11-3, 11-5).
Play in the individual events continues to a conclusion on Thursday 11th April.
Frenchmen progress but not the expected Frenchmen
A direct entry to the main draw, after accounting for Russia’s Kirill Fadeev (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7), Lilian Bardet, the no.6 seed, experienced defeat at the hands of Japan’s Hiroto Shinozuka (8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9).
Similarly, not required to qualify, after overcoming Damir Akhmetsafin, like Kirill Fadeev from Russia (11-4, 11-6, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9), Dorian Zheng, the no.7 seed, suffered at the hands of Poland’s Maciej Kubik (6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 15-13, 11-7).
Conversely, Vincent Picard who had finished in first place in his initial stage group, justified his status; the 10th highest rated player on duty, he accounted for fellow qualifiers, Poland’s Jan Zandecki (11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3, 12-10) and the Czech Republic’s Radim Bako (11-7, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6) to reserve his third round berth.
However, pride of place went to Thibault Baillet; no current world ranking, the lowest rated player in his first phase group, he finished in second position, losing to Portugal’s Samuel da Silva (11-8, 11-3, 11-8). A place in the main draw, he excelled expectations. He overcame Gal Alguetti of the United States (12-10, 11-13, 11-8, 5-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8) and Finland’s Alex Naumi (10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 11-8, 15-13) to join Vincent Picard in round three.
Runners up spot and progress, it was the same for Nikhil Kumar of the United States, the young man who in early February had impressed at the Universal Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico. In the group phase he lost to Japan’s Hayate Suzuki (12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7), his only defeat, a place in the main draw, he beat Germany’s Sven Hennig (11-5, 11-9, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4), prior to causing a major second round upset. Clearing learning from his defeat at the hands of Hayate Suzuki, he ended the hopes of Takeru Kashiwa, the no.8 seed (11-8, 12-10, 11-9, 13-11).
Defeats for the three players who completed the top eight seeds, for the top five, it was progress. Russia’s Lev Katsman and Maksim Grebnev duly booked their third round places as did Poland’s Samuel Kulczycki, Iran’s Amin Ahmadian and Germany’s Kay Stumper.
Success for Lev Katsman and Maksim Grebnev apart, there was also success together; the top seeds, the duo prevailed in their opening round junior boys’ doubles engagement but it was close. They needed the full five games to beat Germany’s Mike Hollo and Daniel Rinderer (11-9, 10-12, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9).
Meanwhile, for the second seeds, in their opening contest, life was less traumatic; Lilian Bardet and Vincent Picard accounted for the combination of Puerto Rico’s Oscar Birriel and Ted Li of the United States.
Play in the individual events concludes on Thursday 11th April.
Impressive performance, Egypt secures three titles in style
Mariam Alhodaby, Marwa Alhodaby and Hend Fathy combined to secure the under 21 women’s team title, at the final hurdle they overcame Algeria’s Sannah Lagsir, Hiba Feredj and Loubna Djedjik.
Impressive from the Egyptian trio, it was almost as imposing from Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci, Samar Hichri and Maram Zoghlami. They secured a 3-1 victory against South Africa’s Musfiquh Kalam, Simeen Mookrey and Jesse Nombo; the one win for the South Africans being recorded by Jesse Nombo, in the third match of the engagement, she accounted for Maram Zoghlami (11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10).
Not an ounce of charity spared by the Egyptians in the under 21 women’s team competition; in the junior girls’ team and cadet girls’ team finals, when in each event confronting Nigeria, life was no different. In the former Sarah Abousetta, Alaa Yehia and Sara Elhaken overcame the trio formed by Sukurat Aiyelbegan, Vivian Oku and Iyana Oluwa Falana; in the latter Farida Badawy, Hana Goda and Rouaa El-Naghi proved too strong for once again on duty Sukurat Aiyelbegan who partnered Sadiat Alimat Akeem.
First and second places for Egypt and Nigeria; in both competitions it was third position for Tunisia. In the junior girls’ team play-off contest Samar Hichri, Fadwa Garci and Maram Zoghlami recorded a 3-2 win in opposition to the Mauritius outfit formed by Nandeshwaree Jalim, Oumehani Hosenally and Sandhana Desscann.
Meanwhile, in an equally tense engagement needing the full five matches, in the cadet girls’ team event with Maram Zoghlami again on duty, this time alongside Farah Mahjoub, Lily Dangsa and Gloria Dianda, a further hard earned win was secured. Eventually, they overcame Algeria’s Hadil Merrouche, Melissa Belache and Anande Kuse.
Play in the team events over, attention now turns to the team events, matters conclude in Accra on Saturday 13th April.
2019 African Youth, Junior and Cadet Championships: Newsletter No.5 (Wednesday 10th April)
Most impressively, Azeez Solanke, Taiwo Mati and Emmanuel Augustine combined to win the under 21 men’s team title; a 3-0 win being recorded in opposition to Tunisia’s Youssef Ben Attia, Aboubaker Bourass and Louay Hamrouni.
Similarly in the contest for third place, Egypt’s Mahmoud Helmy, Ahmed Elborhamy and Marwan Abdelwahab overcame Algeria’s Azzeddine Lazazi, Abdelbasset Chaichi and Meziane Belabbas by the very same margin.
A most imposing display by the Nigerians but arguably their best came in the junior boys’ team final when against traditional rivals, Egypt, not one single game was surrendered. Azeez Solanke beat Ahmed Elborhamy (11-7, 11-6, 11-7), before Jamiu Ayanwale accounted for Marwan Abdelwahab (13-11, 11-9, 11-5) and Emmanuel Augustine overcame Abdelrahman Dendan (11-3, 11-9, 11-6) to end matters.
Success in style for the Nigerian trio; it was the same in the third place fixture. Tunisia’s Aboubaker Bourass, Youssef Ben Attia and Louay Hamrouni recorded a 3-0 against Togo’s Abdou Rasaq Sofianou, Kossi Akakpo and Eke Victor Kueviakoe.
Bronze for Tunisia, in the cadet boys’ team event it was silver; a contest in which once more Nigeria showed high quality. Taiwo Mati and Jamiu Ayanwale, again on duty, they overcame Youssef Abid and Khalil Sta to reserve the top step of the podium.
Third place finished in Egyptian hands; the combination of Marwan Gamal, Mohamed Sameh and Amr Mahfouz recorded a 3-0 win in opposition to the Algeria outfit comprising Mohammed Bechni, Abderrahmane Azzala and Abdelwahab Bellahsene.
Team events over, attention now turns to the individual competitions, matters conclude in Accra on Saturday 13th April.
2019 African Youth, Junior and Cadet Championships: Newsletter No.5 (Wednesday 10th April)
Declan James produces Dutch of class to mow down Mohamed Abouelghar
Declan James celebrates victory over Mohamed Abouelghar
English No.1 triumphs in straight games
By ELLIE MAWSON
England’s World No.17 Declan James delivered a huge upset to reach the quarter-finals of the DPD Open Squash after he knocked out Egypt’s World No.8 Mohamed Abouelghar on day two of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament in Eindhoven.
England’s No.1 produced one of the biggest performances of his career to triumph in straight-games in just his second win over a top ten player after defeating Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy last month at the Citigold Wealth Management Canary Wharf Classic.
The two players last faced each other last month at the PSA World Championships in Chicago, where James took the Egyptian all the way to five-games before Abouelghar closed out to reach the second round.
James looked down and out in the opening stages of the first game as Abouelghar peppered the front wall with his artillery of shots to take a 10-5 lead. However, the tall Englishman soon grew into the game, capitalising on any loose shots that came from the racket of the Egyptian to take the first game on the tie-break.
The nerves appeared to continue to set in for Abouelghar as James took the lead in the second game with the Egyptian making a lot of errors to allow the Englishman to capitalise.
The 25-year-old James held numerous game balls in the second, but Abouelghar kept fighting back. However, James was able to get a handle on his nerves and close out on the tie-break to double his advantage.
World No.17 James then continued to keep the momentum fully in his favour as he closed out a 14-12, 12-10, 11-6 victory against just his second opponent in the top ten.
“I knew that I was playing well coming into this event,” said Nottingham-born James. “Me and my coach went back after Grasshopper and worked on a couple of things and it seems to have made a difference quickly which I’m really happy about.
“I knew I was playing well coming into the match, but I didn’t find my range in the first half of the first game. I was too loose on the backhand side and Mohamed is just lethal. Any loose ball then he will just punish you.
“In the second half I found my range and that allowed me to get back into the match. Even though I was down in that initial phase, I wasn’t too worried about the scoreboard I just wanted to find my range.
“I held myself together, a couple of nerves towards the end of the second, but I manged to convert. It’s only my second time beating a top ten player so I’m still learning, but I’m proud of myself and just want to do more this week.
“I’ve learned more about myself in the last couple of years and I’ve tried not to let bad losses get me down or exciting moments getting me too excited.
“You put yourself in a position of 2-0 against someone like Mohamed Abouelghar and I just tried to stay level headed and play good squash and make good decisions. The reason why I’m finding some form this week is that I’m making good decisions and keeping level-headed.
“I think I’m good enough to become a top ten player. I work hard off the court and for me the mental side is the important thing. It’s a battle in my mind really and I think that’s the difference for me and if I can get it right there then that’s the key to becoming a top ten player.”
James will now face Germany’s Simon Rösner for a place in the semi-finals, after he defeated talented Egyptian Mazen Hesham in straight-games.
The German didn’t put a foot wrong in the opening two games as he put Hesham, who defeated France’s Mathieu Castagnet yesterday, to the sword to take an early advantage. The Egyptian came back in the third, but it proved to be in vain as Rösner closed out on the tie-break.
“He is such a unique player,” said the 31-year-old German. “You don’t know what you are going to get so you can’t prepare really. Even though I was 2-0 up, I knew that he could come back at any time, so I just tried to be on my toes, and I think it was good for my confidence today.
“It’s amazing to have a tournament here, just to see all of those packages running around the belts is quite amazing and it’s a cool new venue.”
World champion Ali Farag overcomes James Willstrop
The other quarter-final match up will see World No.1 Ali Farag take on Colombia’s World No.7 Miguel Rodriguez after the Egyptian conquered England’s former World No.1 James Willstrop in straight-games to advance.
“I’m happy I got the win today,” said reigning World Champion Farag. “He came at me in the first and I guess he is more used to the court, but I’m glad I got that one in my favour because the mentality would have been different otherwise.
“It has been an amazing season, but I don’t want to stop here. There are a few tournaments left and I want to do well in them.”
Farag will face Rodriguez in the next round after he overcame skilful Englishman Daryl Selby in four-games.
Selby overturned multiple game balls to take the opener 16-14, before Rodriguez found his best shots over the course of the next three games to take the match, with some exhibition style rallies between the pair impressing the crowd.
“I really liked it and I’m happy with my performance,” said the Colombian afterwards. “In the first game, he played unbelievably well. He was patient, he was getting everything, and I had to come back stronger in the second.
“I tried to stop myself playing in exhibition mode, but that’s Selby’s fault! I think we had a little bit of fun in the second and third, but overall I think it was a good performance.”
Raneem El Welily battles past Millie Tomlinson
In the women’s draw, World No.1 Raneem El Welily scrapped through to the quarter-finals after a five-game battle with England’s World No.22 Millie Tomlinson.
The two players had never met before on the PSA Tour, but the 26-year-old Englishwoman pushed the World No.1 all the way as El Welily was forced to call upon her big match experience to dig her out of trouble to claim a narrow 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 victory.
“She was really attacking,” said the 30-year-old Egyptian after the match. “Everything was going her way and in the nick all the time. It was a very tough match for my first round here but I’m happy to be through and survive the storm.
“I was just trying to manage the conditions. I’m very happy I took the lead in that fifth, she almost came back but I’m happy to finish it in the end.”
El Welily will now face United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy for a place in the semi-finals after she displayed a dominant performance to down England’s former World No.3 Alison Waters in straight-games.
Amanda Sobhy powers past Alison Waters
Meanwhile the other quarter-final match in the top half of the draw will see England’s Sarah-Jane Perry battle against Egypt’s World No.3 Nour El Tayeb.
Perry avenged her defeat from a week ago at the Texas Open against former World No.1 Rachael Grinham in Eindhoven as she claimed a 3-1 victory, while El Tayeb was clinical to dispatch Belgium’s Nele Gilis in straight-games in the Dutch city.
“I was very prepared,” said 25-year-old El Tayeb following her win. “I knew that she could run and pick up everything, so I had to be ready for that. Mentally I was prepared for a hard match and I think I played very well and I’m very happy with my performance.
“The last tournament didn’t go as planned, but I think it was very emotional losing in the final of the World Championships, but not an excuse to go out in the first round at Black Ball. I made sure this time that I was ready and prepared for the first round here. It is a learning experience and I learned a lot from my first round loss at the last tournament and I’m ready not to make the same mistakes any time soon I hope.”
The second round continues on Thursday April 11 at 11:00 local time (UTC+2) and the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan).
DPD Open 2019, DPD Hub, Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Men’s Round Two (Top-half):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt James Willstrop (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (28m)
[5] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-1: 14-16, 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (62m)
Declan James (ENG) bt [7] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-0: 14-12, 12-10, 11-6 (42m)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 12-10 (34m)
Women’s Round Two (Top-half):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 (45m)
Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [7] Alison Waters (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 (24m)
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-1: 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 11-6 (35m)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (26m)
Men’s Round Two (Bottom-half) April 11:
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
Raphael Kandra (GER) v [6] Paul Coll (NZL)
[8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Joel Makin (WAL)
Chris Simpson (ENG) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
Women’s Round Two (Bottom-half) April 11:
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v Yathreb Adel (EGY)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [6] Laura Massaro (ENG)
[8] Tesni Evans (WAL) v Mariam Metwally (EGY)
Nicol David (MAS) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Men’s Quarter-finals (Top-half) April 12:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [5] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
Declan James (ENG) v [4] Simon Rösner (GER)
Women’s Quarter-finals (Top-half) April 12:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Pictures courtesy of PSA
Saracens under scrutiny over Premiership salary cap
Saracens' management of the salary cap remains under scrutiny after Premiership Rugby revealed the four-times champions had not disclosed the full extent of their business deals with players.
A number of the north London club's leading players share co-investments with Sarries owner Nigel Wray.
Premiership Rugby says the Allianz Park outfit had contravened regulations by initially not sharing all of these details, and will now review further.
Saracens have explained the delay as a "minor internal oversight" and insist they comply with rules.
Last month Wray issued a statement saying Saracens "proactively disclose co-investments when they occur, even though we are under no obligation to do so," which has now been disputed by Premiership Rugby.
"Clubs are required to supply information to the Premiership Rugby salary cap manager on any arrangements between a connected party and a player which might constitute a payment or benefit in kind," said a Premiership Rugby statement.
"Saracens had not at the time of recent media speculation shared details of all the co-investment arrangements.
"The information now received will be reviewed."
In response, Saracens continued to defend their financial arrangements.
"Unprompted, we invited Premiership Rugby's salary cap manager into the club to openly discuss matters related to player salaries," a club statement read.
"While co-investments are not part of the salary regulations, we disclosed these transactions in good faith and indeed divulged more information than was necessary.
"Separately, following a minor internal oversight, Premiership Rugby was provided with details relating to some of these agreements.
"We remain confident we comply with the salary regulations and will continue to support the entrepreneurial spirit and future of our players."
The Premiership salary cap is currently £7 million, excluding marquee players and other credits.
If found guilty of breaching the salary cap, a club faces a fine or a possible points deduction. The maximum punishment under salary cap regulations is a 35-point deduction.
In February, Harlequins were fined £6,239.50 after exceeding the regulations last season - the south-west London side were £12,479 over the limit, and were docked 50p per £1 overspent.
NEW EPISODE – Thursday (4/11) at 7 p.m. & 10 p.m. ET
SPEED SPORT on MAVTV
48th annual DIRTcar Nationals (Late Models)
SPEED SPORT kicks off its 2019 season on MAVTV this Thursday night with coverage of the 48th DIRTcar Nationals for the DIRTcar Racing Late Models! The big names are here, as is big competition.
Check it out tomorrow night (Thursday, April 11) on MAVTV!
Josh Williams To Pilot Third DGM Entry At Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. – Thanks to DGM Racing team owner Mario Gosselin, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams will have an opportunity to keep his season on track this weekend at Richmond Raceway.
Williams will pilot the No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro, a third car for Gosselin’s organization, during Friday night’s ToyotaCare 250 at the three-quarter-mile, D-shaped oval.
After previously running the team’s primary entry – the No. 36 – for the first seven races of the season, Williams’ number change comes after the default of product distributor All Sports Coffee and brand partner JoeFroyo, which came on to sponsor Williams starting at Daytona Int’l Speedway in February.
Following the Daytona season opener, All Sports Coffee defaulted on their sponsor agreement, leading the team and Williams to pull the All Sports Coffee logos off the car for the season’s third event at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
However, the JoeFroyo executive team attended the Las Vegas event and their logos were run on the No. 36 Chevrolet for that race, after which Williams’ team was notified the sponsor agreement would not be honored.
With Williams on the ropes due to the sponsorship situation heading into Richmond, Gosselin stepped up to ensure that the Florida native could continue his fast start to the Xfinity Series season.
Williams has reset his career-best finish twice already this year, including a 14th-place finish in the Xfinity Series event at Texas Motor Speedway on March 30, and put the No. 36 team 21st in owner points going into this weekend’s action at Richmond.
“First off, I want to say that I’m extremely grateful for Mario Gosselin’s willingness to step up and support me in a situation like this. It’s not easy and for him to put a third car on the track for us is obviously a big statement and one we’re appreciative of,” said Williams. “We do understand that business is business and things can happen … and for a larger-scale team they can just plug another partner in, but for a smaller team like us, this type of default can be crippling to our season.
“The fact that we have a chance to keep our momentum going this weekend at Richmond, a place I enjoy but have never had the opportunity to race at before, is a big deal and I’m looking forward to it.”
Williams sits in a tie for 19th in the driver’s standings heading into Friday night, with three top-20 finishes in the first seven races of the year – easily the best start he’s had to a season in his career.
That kind of positive momentum helped further justify Gosselin’s move to add a third car this weekend.
“Josh has had a very strong start to the year with DGM Racing and we’re very pleased with the job he’s done for us in these first seven races,” Gosselin said. “He’s achieved many of the goals we set out to hit as a team at this juncture and we wanted to give him every opportunity we could to continue forward this weekend and maintain the foundation he has built in points.
“We look forward to having Josh on track in the No. 92 Chevrolet on Friday night at Richmond.”
Canadian Donald Theetge, who raced the No. 90 for DGM Racing at Las Vegas in March, will pilot the No. 36 that Williams has run in the first seven races at Richmond this weekend, carrying sponsorship from Circuit Acura and Mercedes-Benz St-Nicolas.
Christian Brooks Transitioning To F4 With Jay Howard
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – After spending three years building an impressive resume in the world of rallycross, 18-year-old Californian Christian Brooks has elected to re-direct his career target towards the NTT IndyCar Series, his childhood dream.
This year, the Santa Clarita, CA resident will begin his new journey with Jay Howard Driver Development in the F4 United States Championship Powered by Honda, supported by Global Electronic Technology and Hot Wheels.
Pre-season testing has been extremely productive, as the nationally-ranked kart racer has transitioned seamlessly to the 160 hp Honda-powered Ligier JS F4 open wheel formula car.
“It has been my goal since I was a young boy to compete in the prestigious IndyCar Series,” said Brooks, who looks at Scott Dixon as a role model. “Competing in the F4 US Championship will be the first step in achieving that goal. Being a rallycross driver these past three seasons has given me the confidence to know that I can excel in all forms of motorsports.
“Rallycross is known as one of, if not, the most difficult forms of motorsports with changing conditions including dirt, jumps, and asphalt, not to mention a whole lot of bumping and banging,” Brooks continued. “My grassroots experience in kart racing has also helped mold me into the experienced driver I am today, and I feel as if all my experience in karting and rallycross will translate very well into the F4 US Championship. I am beyond excited to get this season underway and prove that I will be a fast and successful open wheel driver!”
Through his entire run in the Red Bull Global Rallycross series, Brooks continued to compete in national-level karting events and has not been ranked outside the top 10 since 2015. Brooks won countless races and titles during his decade-plus in competition karting, including championships in Superkarts USA, the Challenge of the Americas, the US Rotax Grand Nationals and the International Kart Federation.
Brooks was also a member of Team USA at the Rotax Grand Finals three times, competing in the Junior category in 2014 in Valencia, Spain and then as a Senior in 2015 in Algarve, Portugal and in 2016 in Sarno, Italy.
In preparation for his F4 debut season, Brooks has logged significant testing laps with Jay Howard’s squad. He has quickly adapted to the car and is on pace to challenge the veterans in the category.
“I’ve watched Christian literally since he was a baby in the Cadet categories, working his way through Mini Max, Junior and the Senior ranks,” said Howard. “He has won at every level and is always the one to watch. I’m excited to have Christian join my Driver Development program. I believe he will continue the trend of running up front and I look forward to a great season ahead.”
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Justin Grant has seen it all at the Terre Haute Action Track, host of Sunday’s 19th annual Fatheadz Eyewear Sumar Classic for the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series.
Grant has been quick time and he’s led an astounding number of laps. He’s even flipped out of the ballpark in turn one.
However, until last spring’s Sumar Classic, he had not reached victory lane in USAC national competition at the famed half-mile dirt oval.
In 2016, the Ione, Calif. native came heartbreakingly close, starting from the pole and holding dominance at the front for the first 93 laps. However, a slight mishap off turn four with seven laps left cost him a shot at victory, as C.J. Leary drove to his first career win.
Fast forward to 2018, and with a couple more years of experience under the belt and on a similar track surface he faced that afternoon, Grant was determined to not let the past repeat itself on his way to Terre Haute glory.
With more experience in the big cars under his belt, Grant knew he had to devise a game plan that would result in a victory, but with a surging, four-time series champ in Kody Swanson erasing the gap, that’s easier said than done.
However, Grant wasn’t going to let this one get away.
“You have to keep your eye on the rubber or have your spotter keeping an eye on the rubber for you,” Grant detailed. “A couple years ago here, I was just concentrating on what I was doing, banging the fence and running as hard as I could. As I’ve gotten more comfortable in the Crown cars, I worry as much, or more, about what other guys are doing behind me and make sure to get to the rubber before somebody drives by.”
From his third starting spot, Grant held down the fort near the front as polesitter Jerry Coons, Jr. and C.J. Leary swapped the top spot for the first third of the event.
Leary led until lap 36, when Grant caught him in lapped traffic and outlasted him down the back straightaway before sliding back up to the berm, where he would stand pat until nearly three-quarters of the event were in the books.
On lap 70, Shane Cottle dueled with Grant as the two swapped the top spot four times over the span of a lap and a half. Cottle was credited with leading the lap before the two resumed their race-leading surge.
Grant made the ultimate, lasting move, ducking down to the inside of Cottle off turn two to recapture the lead.
By lap 77, a date with the Sumar Classic trophy appeared to be slipping through his grasp yet again as a surging Swanson was in position to pounce for the lead, ringing around the outside of both Cottle and Grant in a single move between turns three and four.
However, with just 16 laps remaining, the now third-running Cottle took a chance on a two-for-one deal entering the third turn. In one fell swoop, Cottle breezed by Grant on the inside, then pulled along the inside of Swanson on the inner guardrail. The two touched wheels, sending both into 360-degree spins.
Cottle’s race came to an end backwards near the outside wall while Swanson managed to continue, albeit with a flat left rear tire.
That put Grant back into position at the front of the field once racing resumed, and he never looked back after that, even as Swanson rallied all the way back to second.
Grant flawlessly finished out the final laps to take his second career Silver Crown win by 1.33 seconds over Swanson and polesitter Tyler Courtney, who came from 22nd to third after an early race spin.
Grant is basically playing with house money right now. He’s experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in recent times at the Sumar and is game for anything that is thrown his way.
He’s proven that time and time again, and perhaps, he could erase the long-running streak of a new Sumar Classic winner each year since 1999 with a victory on Sunday.
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