SONOMA, Calif. – Robert Hight finished off a standout weekend by racing to his 50th career Funny Car win on Sunday during the NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

Billy Torrence (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also winners in their respective categories at the 15th of 24 events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

Hight, the current points leader, qualified No. 1 in his Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS and earned his fifth win in 2019 by going 3.973 seconds at 325.45 mph in the final round against Matt Hagan’s 4.030 at 316.60.

With the victory, Hight’s second straight at Sonoma, the two-time world champion became just the third driver in Funny Car history to reach 50 career wins.

To get there, he knocked off Blake Alexander and Tommy Johnson Jr., while Hagan picked up his 58th final-round berth with round wins against J.R. Todd, Jack Beckman and John Force.

Hight and Johnson also clinched spots in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.

“The first national event I ever attended was right here, and I never honestly dreamed I would get to drive a Funny Car,” said Hight, who now has three wins in Sonoma. “I still have to pinch myself. It’s hard to believe I’m at 50 (wins). Matt Hagan had the best car out there in the second and third round, and we had to step up in the final.

“We didn’t want to get outrun, and we really pushed in the final and got the win.”

Top Fuel’s Billy Torrence scored his second win this season and third in his career thanks to his final-round run of 3.804 at 320.20 in his Capco Contractors dragster to beat No. 1 qualifier Clay Millican’s 3.842 at 321.65.

To reach the final round, Torrence beat Steve Faria, Austin Prock and his son, points leader and defending world champ Steve Torrence.

It ended Steve Torrence’s impressive string of nine-straight final rounds in 2019, while Millican beat Brittany Force and Antron Brown to earn his 16th career finals appearance.

“We had a good car going into raceday and we were just steady,” Billy Torrence said. “We had a really tough race against Steve, and we knew Clay had a good car. It took it all (to beat him). We have a good car and we’re capable of winning everywhere we go. I couldn’t do this without Steve’s team and it takes all of those guys. They make certain I have a very well-prepared car every time I show up, and they make me look good.”

Pro Stock’s Anderson kept his hope alive to sweep the Western Swing after winning his second straight race this season and 93rd of his career, going 6.602 at 208.71 to beat No. 1 qualifier Alex Laughlin in his Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro in the final.

Anderson, who is the only driver in Pro Stock history to sweep the Western Swing, will have a chance to follow his 2004 sweep next weekend in Seattle.

He reached the final round with victories against Kenny Delco, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and teammate Jason Line, while Laughlin beat Val Smeland, Erica Enders and points leader Bo Butner to reach his sixth career final round.

Butner also earned his spot in the Countdown to the Championship.

“It’s been a long time since I won two races in a row and it’s more of a mind game than anything, and you’ve got a find a way to get that right,” said Anderson, who has a class-best six victories at Sonoma. “This is going to do a lot for me. Sonoma has always been one of my very favorite tracks on the circuit. I love the tracks where the cars run fast.

“As two races have shaken out, I’m the only guy standing with a chance to (sweep the Swing), and I’ll go into Seattle with a smile on my face, eager to race and see if the cards can fall the right way again.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Hines made it a double-win weekend by earning his seventh victory of 2019 and 55th in his career with a 6.790 at 198.00 on his Screamin’ Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson FXDR in the final round.

Hines beat Matt Smith’s 6.822 at 197.36. It follows his win in the Mickey Thompson Pro Bike Battle on Saturday, and gives the winningest rider in class history the Pro Stock Motorcycle version of the Western Swing sweep.

Hines won last weekend in Denver and the class doesn’t race next weekend in Seattle. The seven victories are also a career-best in a single season for Hines.

He beat Kelly Clontz, Scotty Pollacheck and Jerry Savoie en route to the final round, while defending world champ Smith beat Jianna Salinas, Ryan Oehler and Hector Arana to advance to his 53rd final round.

Eddie Krawiec, Smith and Hector Arana Jr. all clinched berths in the Countdown to the Championship this weekend as well.

“It’s absolutely mind-boggling what we’ve been able to achieve this year,” said Hines, a three-time winner in Sonoma. “The confidence with my motorcycle and my team, and the level of performance and professionalism the guys bring to the starting line every single time, it’s unsurpassed right now.

“I can sit on that starting line with confidence and it’s just unreal. I feel I’m probably riding the best in my career and I just want it that much more.”

When Australia announced their six-strong fast bowling cartel for the Ashes series on Friday, Jhye Richardson's absence slipped quietly by.

One of the stars of Australia's last Test series against Sri Lanka, and arguably the gold nugget find of their toughest home summer in decades, was instead sitting in a hotel room in Darwin preparing for a guest appearance in a club match for Nightcliff the following day, his first outing since dislocating his right shoulder against Pakistan in Sharjah in March.

There was a small hope, after a careful build up, that he might be given the opportunity to be added to the Ashes squad for the back end of the Test series should his playing return go smoothly. But despite getting through Saturday's match, where he took 1 for 67 from his 10 overs, the selectors had already told him two days earlier that they would settle with the pacemen they had in England.

Richardson, 22, has every right to be bitter at the cricketing gods. A selfless act of desperation to save his team a boundary in Sharjah cost him the opportunity of a lifetime, appearing in a World Cup and an Ashes in the same English summer. But there was no bitterness, just a slow realisation and acceptance.

"I think just progressively I got the understanding that I wasn't quite ready to go," Richardson told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday. "But I gave it my best shot. I had a lot of good people around me. I did everything I could. That was in the back of my mind. I said to myself you've done everything you can and it wasn't meant to be.

"When [the injury] first happened, initially I'd like to think I was pretty calm. Obviously your adrenaline is still going because a highly traumatic injury has just happened and you're still buzzing around trying to figure out what's going on. You probably don't understand the true effect of what's just happened at that moment. When I got home, the magnitude of the potential of having an extended time on the sideline probably sunk in a little bit more. But I think with that though, having the plan or the goal to get to the World Cup helped a lot. It gave me a lot of positivity. Whilst it was quite ambitious it sort of allowed me to keep track on something and really put my mind to something."

"While it would be great to go over there it would be just as good to watch the guys go about their business over there and hopefully win an Ashes series. If something goes down, I'll try and get over but if that doesn't happen, we've still got a lot of cricket in Australia as well in the Australian summer. If the pace bowling stocks do get tested a little bit then I'm ready to go."

Unlike Josh Hazlewood, who found it hard to watch the World Cup having also missed selection, Richardson's only trouble was staying up late enough in Perth. "I watched a bit of it," he said. "Most games on the TV. I didn't quite make it through all of them."

He watched while the Ashes carrot was still dangling in front of him. Cricket Australia's selectors and medical staff liaised with the WACA high performance team in Perth to put a program in place. He did join the Australia A squad for their training camp in Brisbane in early June and then returned to Perth to progress to eight to ten-over spells in the nets ahead of Saturday's game in Darwin. CA even sent cameras and an analyst to Darwin to record data on his return.

Despite already knowing he had missed his chance, he was upbeat about his performance in his comeback clocking the mid-130kph mark.

"Obviously I was very, very rusty," Richardson said. "It was the first game in three or four months so I couldn't expect miracles. In terms of shoulder wise, I coped fine. The pace was okay. Probably a little bit better than I expected. From all reports here, the day's gone well. After today, it gives me a little bit more confidence that I'm ready to go. Practice is always good, but just being able to play in a game over bowling in the nets with no batter, just gives myself a better idea of where I'm at, and where I'm at I'm pretty happy with."

Richardson will not stay in Darwin to play more cricket. Instead he will head back to WA to resume pre-season training with the Western Warriors. He has no shortage of inspiration within the WA squad. Nathan Coulter-Nile suffered a shoulder dislocation in a BBL game in December 2015, and returned to play international cricket in March the following year, while Ashton Turner is also currently recovering shoulder surgery after missing World Cup selection.

Richardson's durability is another source of confidence. Last Australian summer he played more days and bowled more overs than Pat Cummins in all formats. Five consecutive Shield games before Christmas, where he delivered 190 overs and took 27 wickets, propelled him to his Test debut.

"Everyone speaks about needing to be in such a good rhythm to bowl well," Richardson said. "And they say you bowl your fastest when you're not trying to bowl your fastest. So bowling a lot of overs takes a bit of pressure off steaming in trying to bowl as fast as you can. It's a big mental game. It's trying to get on top of the batsman and figuring out what their weaknesses are. I think bowling a lot of overs does help get your body accustomed to bowling a lot so the more balls you bowl the better you're going to get. It definitely helped in that respect."

The development of his fast bowling craft has been the most impressive feature of his meteoric rise. As a teenage tearaway his radar was not always on song, but he has learnt the value of control at the professional level.

"It's just been a thing over time," Richardson said. "Obviously coaches are there to help you, but on a personal level, bowling to the best batsman in the world it doesn't quite work trying to bowl as fast as you can because they still have the most time to hit the ball where they want to. You feel like bowling 145kph is still not quick enough. I kind of just, over time, gained an understanding that it's not the be all and end all of fast bowling. There's probably something else that you need to work out, whether that's swinging the ball or seaming the ball or have a few variations."

The NBA has announced a five-year extension of its deal with Tencent, the league's digital partner in China.

Tencent is the NBA's largest digital partner outside the United States and has been connected with the league since 2009. The current deal, which now runs through the 2024-25 season, includes live NBA games, other league-related programming and interactive fan experiences.

"Tencent's commitment to NBA basketball in China is unparalleled," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "The enormous reach and popularity of Tencent's platforms have been a driving force behind the growth of basketball in China, and we look forward to deepening our connection with NBA fans across the country through this expanded partnership."

Tencent, a strategic partner of ESPN for the NBA and several other sports, had 490 million fans watch NBA programming on its platform last season, which is nearly triple the number from just four years ago.

POCONO, Pa. – Denny Hamlin saved enough fuel to hold off his teammate Erik Jones and make it to the checkered flag on Sunday, winning the Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway in a thrilling finish.

Hamlin, who never led at the 2.5-mile Tricky Triangle until the start of the final stage, pitted for the final time with 45 laps left – after a caution for Ryan Preece’s crashed car in turn one – and turned the remaining distance into a perfect blend of economy running and power passes.

Kyle Busch, who led 56 laps on the day and won the first stage, stayed out when Hamlin pitted on lap 116 and held it until he had to make his final trip down pit road with 27 to go – stuck on an alternate strategy compared to the rest of his teammates.

Busch’s pit stop allowed Jones to assume command, which Jones held over Martin Truex Jr. and Hamlin until the latter decided to hit the button and take off. He quickly disposed of Truex for second and with 17 to go, Hamlin soared around Jones to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish again.

That didn’t mean there weren’t nerves, however, as the stopped car of Josh Bilicki brought out a late yellow flag and a crash on the ensuing restart with four laps left – involving Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell – led to a nerve-racking overtime finish and concerns about fuel for all of the frontrunners.

Hamlin, however, stayed the course. He nailed the final restart and held off every advance that Jones tried to make over the final five miles, reaching the checkered flag in front by .341 seconds.

As he climbed out of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota on the frontstretch, Hamlin let out a visible sigh of relief.

“I was really worried … really worried,” said Hamlin of his concerns about having enough fuel to make it to the finish. “We just did a great job with the car. Once we lost track position there to the 19 (Truex) and the 20 (Jones), I thought it was over because we wouldn’t able to pass them. But we found a way.”

As much as he was trying to conserve precious ounces of gasoline behind his teammates, Hamlin knew inside of 20 to go that he had to make his move and hope for the best once he was out in front.

“I was in fuel save mode and still trying to get around those guys,” explained Hamlin of his mentality. “Once I got around them, then I really went into (fuel) conservation mode instead of stretching the lead out there. I knew the 20 (Jones) … he passed me on pit lane somehow. We actually dropped the car after that pit stop and packed it full of fuel with the car level, just to get a little bit more gas.

“I knew I was racing the 19 (Truex), if no caution came out, but I got the opportunity on the outside of turn three (to pass Jones for the lead) and we got it done from there. It feels really good.”

Sunday’s performance was Hamlin’s 34th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win, his third of the season and his fifth at Pocono, snapping a nine-year drought at the unique, three-turn facility.

His last win at Pocono prior to this weekend came in 2010.

“We’re on a roll this year and we’re running our best right now,” noted Hamlin. “There’s no doubt about it. We’re just going to keep plugging along. That’s all I can say. We’re doing the best we can and today is proof that we’re in this fight (for the championship).”

Jones’ runner-up finish was his best effort since winning at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway last July and marks his third-straight run of third or better, with Truex next in line and completing a sweep of the podium for Joe Gibbs Racing.

William Byron crossed fourth and Kyle Larson finished fifth. Polesitter Kevin Harvick, who won stage two and led a race-high 63 laps, was the highest-finishing Ford driver in sixth.

Daniel Hemric and Brad Keselowski followed Harvick home, with Busch rallying back to ninth after his pit stop under green due to differing pit strategy. Ryan Blaney capped off the top 10.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Popular sprint car and midget racer Tanner Thorson, who rallied back from a highway accident in March that put him out of a race car for three months, will tackle the biggest stage in all of sprint car racing in two weeks’ time.

Thorson announced Sunday evening that he has joined forces with CJB Motorsports and will make his debut appearance at the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals with the team Aug. 7-10.

The Minden, Nev., native will drive the No. 88 entry for CJB, with Maestro’s Classic, Bn3th, Yuba-Sutter Aviation, Walker Performance Filtration and Factory Kahne serving as major sponsors of the effort.

He’ll be racing as a teammate to World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series regular Shane Stewart, who drives CJB’s primary No. 5 entry, at both the Capitani Classic and the Knoxville Nationals.

“This is something that we started working on a little while ago,” Thorson said. “I’ve been in contact with Barry (Jackson, CJB’s team manager) before and my crew chief out in California – Lee Lindgren – is pretty close with him and they seem to talk quite a bit. Barry’s stuff and CJB’s equipment … I feel like they’re one of the best out there and they’re a team that I wanted to be associated with somehow.

“We just started talking, and this deal came about,” Thorson added. “I’m really excited about it.”

Thorson first made a name for himself in midget racing, winning the 2016 USAC National Midget Series championship with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports, but he’s focused more and more on his skills in winged sprint car racing over the past two years.

Most recently, Thorson drove for the Clyde Lamar-owned Tri-C Motorsports sprint car operation in California and on the West Coast, but Knoxville will mark his first race back in a winged sprint car since his highway accident in the spring.

“I’d like to say I’m a winged racer now,” noted Thorson. “Obviously, my history is in midget racing and that’s what I built my name up with, but I love winged sprint cars and the challenge they present. I feel like I’m a student of the sport, as well, and this is something that I feel that I’m ready for.

“I have no laps around Knoxville, but I feel that with everyone at CJB around me, it’ll be a bit easier.”

For more on Thorson’s upcoming drive at the Knoxville Nationals, subscribe to our sister site – www.sprintcarandmidget.com – to read an exclusive feature story detailing the announcement.

Click here to read Sprint Car & Midget’s feature on Thorson’s Knoxville Nationals debut.