I Dig Sports
NEWMANSTOWN, Pa. – Logan Seavey took the lead from Chad Boat on lap nine and went on to win the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series Pennsylvania Midget Week finale at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway on Saturday.
Seavey’s win was his 11th national midget car win this season and the 21st of his career with Toyota.
Boat, who won Thursday night’s event at Path Valley, took the early lead ahead of Andrew Layser, Seavey, Tyler Courtney, Zeb Wise and Kevin Thomas Jr.
Seavey moved past Layser on lap four, with Boat pulling away early. By lap five, Boat had opened up more than three-second lead, but was brought back to the field by a caution on lap six, with yet another caution one lap later.
On the second restart, Seavey made a run at Boat using a slide job to move ahead, but Boat would hold him. Seavey then threw another slider at him, going down low through turn one on lap nine to take the lead. A lap later, Courtney also overtook Boat.
Seavey continued to lead as the 40-lap race passed over the midway point, with Courtney in second, followed by Boat, Thomas, Jason McDougal and Jerry Coons Jr.
The race would be slowed again on lap 24 when Thomas got up on the fence and slowed. He would be able to return to the race, but had to start at the tail end of the field.
Seavey got a strong restart and started to pull away again, with Courtney, McDougal, Coons and Layser making up the top five before Karsyn Elledge spun, bringing out another yellow with nine laps remaining.
Once again, Seavey had a great restart, only to see another caution flag wave after Steve Craig got upside down.
Seavey led the field back to green with just eight laps remaining, as Courtney and McDougal continued to run second and third, but behind them Thomas had charged back up through the field to hold down the fourth spot.
No one had an answer for Seavey though, as he paced the final eight laps for his third USAC win of the season. Courtney finished second, followed by McDougal, Thomas and Coons. Toyota-powered cars captured four of the top-five finishing positions.
“This place is so fun,” relayed Seavey afterward. “Our cars are so good with a cushion like this. It’s been a frustrating week, but finally we got somewhere where we had a cushion where our cars ran well. I had confidence and it’s good to end a week like this with a win.
“I can’t thank my Keith Kunz Motorsports team enough. We’re having a lot of fun.”
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HICKORY, N.C. – Ryan Repko patiently saved his tires, taking the lead late in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour portion of the Throwback 276 before driving to victory Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Repko, driving a Dave Marcis throwback scheme, qualified second and led most of the early portion of the race. He gave up the lead during a restart on lap 40 to Craig Moore, who was driving a car decaled like the car form the 1983 racing film Stroker Ace.
Giving up the lead, as it turned out, was according to plan for Repko. He rode behind Moore in second until another caution flag on lap 80 slowed the proceedings. When racing resumed, Repko stayed glued to Moore’s bumper, following him as they navigated lapped traffic.
Finally on lap 110 Repko made his move, dispatching Moore to take over the race lead. Once back in front Repko pulled away, easily holding on for his first CARS Tour triumph in the series’ signature race.
“I would say that’s the biggest one of my career, definitely the most memorable for sure,” Repko said. “It’s an honor to be able to honor Dave Marcis and run his throwback paint scheme. Any win here is special, there is a lot of history at this place.”
The victory was especially memorable for the 19-year-old Repko because the man he was honoring with his throwback scheme, Dave Marcis, was on hand. Marcis was one of the first men to greet Repko in victory lane Saturday night.
“I’m sure pretty much anybody here would trade places with me,” Repko said about being greeted by Marcis after his victory. “That’s a really cool thing and not a lot of people can say that. It just makes the win that much more special.”
Moore ended up second after a duel with Bobby McCarty in the closing laps. Moore said the car he drove came together in the nine days leading up to Saturday’s race and he felt like if he’d had more time to test the car, he might have had something for Repko.
“This car, man, I built this car in nine days before this race. We only had two hours of test time on that car. That (the result) was a product of that,” Moore said. “I feel like if we’d had test time, we probably could have got him.”
Layne Riggs finished fourth, with Sammy Smith completing the top-five. Seven cars failed to qualify for the 29-car field.
Matt Craig won the CARS Super Late Model Tour portion of the Throwback 276.
The finish:
Ryan Repko, Craig Moore, Bobby McCarty, Layne Riggs, Sammy Smith, Josh Berry, Brandon Pierce, Brody Pope, Mike Darne, Deac McCaskill, Tyler Matthews, Cole Glasson, Adam Lemke, Jacob Heafner, Charlie Watson, Mitch Walker, Justin Carroll, Taylor Gray, Austin McDaniel, Sarah Cornett-Ching, Matt Leicht, Camden Gullie, Terry Brooks Jr., Mini Tyrrell, Ryan Millington, Gage Painter, Jeremy Burns, Trevor Ward, Ronald Hill.
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PEVELY, Mo. — Sheldon Haudenschild displayed strength and endurance en route to winning Saturday night’s Ironman 55 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
On the 70-degree night with 90-percent humidity, Haudenschild led 45 of the 55 laps in the caution-free feature, sprinted to the finish with an unprecedented 10.3-second lead over runner-up Donny Schatz and lapped up to fifth-place — including point leader and Friday night’s winner Brad Sweet.
“That right there was just a great car, me feeling comfortable and having a lot of fun,” Haudenschild said.
The fun started for the Wooster, Ohio-native and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing team Friday night with a runner-up finish to Sweet in the Night Before the Ironman 35-lap event. Haudenschild then backed up his performance with a second-place finish in his Drydene Heat race, coming to the finish side-by-side with Daryn Pittman. He then charged from fifth to the win in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash — a victory he initially didn’t want.
“I wanted to win the heat race to get a better draw,” Haudenschild said. “Once I didn’t win the Heat my mindset kind of changed starting in the back of that dash. I really didn’t want to win the dash. I was thinking a third-place start would be good to see what they (the leaders) were doing.
“But after the track prep, I think winning the dash was a good move.”
The entire third-mile track was worked on before the 55-lap feature, creating a new tacky racing surface.
When the 55-lap Feature went green, Schatz rocketed around the outside of Haudenschild on the exit of the first corner to take the lead. Tim Shaffer did the same the next corner, moving Haudenschild to third.
Five laps into the race – which saw lap times in the low 11-second bracket for the majority of it – Schatz caught lap traffic. At the same time, Haudenschild found his rhythm and charged his way back by Shaffer for second.
Then, in the time it takes to snap your fingers, the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 was on Schatz’s bumper. No matter where Haudenschild placed his car on the track he found grip. The 10-time series champion was prey with no protection.
On lap 10, Schatz covered the high side into turn one, while Haudenschild launched his car to the middle lane. Haudenschild’s tires held the better relationship with the clay surface and powered him by the Toco Warranty No. 15 car.
“I was really worried once [Shaffer] and Donny got by me,” Haudenschild said. “I didn’t quite know what to do. Once we got into traffic, I had the mindset I was going to get around them and run consistent laps.”
From there, Haudenschild showed his strength. Showed his endurance. And showed his will power. He was the man without fear. His charge through lapped cars looked more like a game than a challenge. Whether it was a slide job to drive by several cars at a time or going three-wide between two lapped cars, Haudenschild didn’t hesitate to make the move.
Once he lapped his way to the top-10, Sweet gave him his biggest challenge of the night. The two dueled for laps, with Sweet aggressively charging his way back by Haudenschild several times to remain on the lead lap. However, no one could match the No. 17 car.
Haudenschild eventually slid his way by Sweet with 17 laps to go and continued his hunt through the field. Schatz and Pittman’s battle for second-place was quickly going from being a battle behind Haudenschild, to one in front of him.
The two series champions dueled for the position throughout the race, but Schatz prevailed with Pittman never finding a strong enough run to get by the reigning champion. However, with Haudenschild out of sight, they thought they were potentially battling for the win.
“I thought I actually won; I couldn’t see him,” Schatz said. “I thought maybe he had run out of fuel or pulled off or something. I can’t believe it went green to checkered.”
He added all he could do was commend Haudenschild on his performance and applaud him.
“That was a whoopin’ right there,” said Schatz, who is now two points behind Sweet in the point standings.
Pittman also stated he thought he was battling Schatz for the win at the end. He was happy with the result, though, after a few weeks of undesired finishes.
Haudenschild’s victory earned him a $20,000 payday and his second win of the season – seventh career World of Outlaws win overall. After some struggles in the first half of the season – missing five features – he and his team have been building momentum in the summer months.
“It’s huge,” Haudenschild said about the win. “Just to get it for our guys. Build a little bit of confidence. Put another win on the calendar and just keep working on it. I feel like we still have work to do on different kinds of tracks. Definitely this track is kind of my style.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle the beginning of the year. We’re not quite where we want to be win wise, but we’re working at it and I feel like we’re doing it at the right time.”
To see full results, turn to the next page.
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Coyotes sign goalie Hill to 1-year, 2-way contract
Published in
Hockey
Saturday, 03 August 2019 19:25
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes signed goalie Adin Hill to a one-year, two-way contract Saturday.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
The 23-year-old Hill was 7-5 with a .901 save percentage, 2.76 goals-against average and one shutout in 13 games for Arizona last season. He was 16-19-2 with a .906 save percentage and a 2.61 GAA in 36 games for the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League.
"We are pleased to get Adin signed," general manager John Chayka said. "He's a big, talented goaltender who has improved each season. We look forward to watching his development this year."
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J.Y. Ko looks to join exclusive group that includes Tiger, Hogan
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 10:50
WOBURN, England – Jin Young Ko put herself in position to make a Sunday run at joining legendary company.
With a 4-under 68, she sits tied for fourth at the AIG Women’s British Open, four shots behind Hikano Shibuno, a young Japanese player sleeping on a 54-hole lead in the first major championship she has ever played.
Ko won the ANA Inspiration in the spring and the Evian Championship last week. The Rolex world No. 1 is looking to join Babe Zaharias, Ben Hogan, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Tiger Woods and Inbee Park as the only players to win three professional majors in a year. More than that, she is looking to join Betsy Rawls as the only players to win back-to-back majors in back-to-back weeks.
“I’m trying to focus on my game, because I don’t want to try to think about other things, like No. 1 or having to win,” Ko said.
Ko was in a similar position going into Sunday last week. She four shots back. She won the ANA Inspiration protecting a one-shot lead through 54 holes.
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Spieth (77) implodes to MDF at Wyndham: 'Man, I don't know what's going on'
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 11:10
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Things went awry quickly for Jordan Spieth during the third round of the Wyndham Championship, and they did not get any better.
Spieth made a sloppy double bogey on the opening hole, hit a ball out of bounds for the third straight day and failed to make a single birdie on a course softened by rain where shooting 66 largely meant keeping pace. Instead for Spieth it was a disastrous, 7-over 77 that marked the highest score shot by any player through three rounds at Sedgefield Country Club.
“It was just a bad day,” Spieth said plainly. “Overall, just didn’t play well.”
Spieth started the day in a tie for 12th and just four shots off the lead, but he tumbled all the way into a tie for 78th and missed the 54-hole cut which trimmed the field once again to the low 70 players and ties.
Spieth went out in 3-over 38, but his round took another ominous turn on the 10th tee when his tee shot sailed out of bounds down the right side. He also added a double bogey on No. 13 after hitting his tee ball behind more trees and having to pitch out sideways.
“On the front nine I actually had decent looks at birdie on a lot of holes,” he said. “And then No. 10, when I hit that one out of bounds, it was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what’s going on.’”
Spieth had relied on a red-hot putter to move into contention at the halfway point, but his magic on the greens dried up before he was able to solve the shoddy ball-striking that plagued him throughout the week and led to lengthy post-round range sessions after each of his first two rounds.
“I mean, I putted my ass off for two days to be able to be where I was at,” Spieth said. “You can’t exactly fix your ball-striking in a day, from being a negative three or something strokes gained to trying to gain positive. It’s just too much to try and force it.”
This round continues a troubling scoring trend for Spieth, who ranks 18th on Tour in first-round scoring this season and second in second-round scoring. But when it comes to Saturdays, he’s 149th in third-round scoring average and will only drop further after struggling around Sedgefield.
Spieth started the week 67th in season-long points, but after his abrupt finish he is projected to drop to 70th. It means he’ll have work to do next week at The Northern Trust at Liberty National, with only the top 70 players in the points race advancing to the BMW Championship the following week. Last year, Spieth missed the Tour Championship for the first time as a pro.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. – Paul Casey is forging a unique path toward the FedExCup Playoffs.
Casey is the only player in the field at this week’s Wyndham Championship among the top 10 in the season-long points race, eager to improve his position in the Wyndham Rewards and potentially snag a seven-figure bonus with a second win of the season. But he’s also notably absent from the field at next week’s Northern Trust, the first of just three postseason events.
That was a conscious choice by the Englishman, who was otherwise looking at a run of six starts in as many weeks from The Open to the Tour Championship. But it’s also rooted in a bit of gamesmanship, as Casey believes the prudent play was to fight for the tangible bonus payout offered this week and then take his chances at East Lake, where the starting scores for the 30-man field will be staggered from even par to 10 under based on players' positions in the points race.
“With our system, I think there’s more volatility this year,” Casey said. “I know the mathematicians say that’s not the case, but I think they have no idea about what’s going to happen at East Lake. It’s exciting stuff, so I was willing to sacrifice maybe a position or two because I really feel I need as much energy going into that Tour Championship.”
Among the players already qualified for the 125-man Northern Trust, only Casey, Henrik Stenson and Sam Burns failed to commit by Friday’s deadline.
Casey entered the week eighth in points, a position that come Sunday would translate into a $600,000 bonus in the Wyndham Rewards. He could drop to ninth depending on what Webb Simpson does, but Casey could also jump as high as fourth with a victory Sunday. He’ll start the final round in a tie for fifth at 14 under, two shots behind Simpson and three behind leader Byeong-Hun An.
“I fancy my chances, but there’s a lot of great players near the top of that leaderboard,” Casey said. “It’s certainly going to be a fun Sunday. It’s going to be a bit of a shootout.”
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An (66) remains consistent to take 1-shot lead into Sunday at Wyndham
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 12:06
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The rounds are starting to repeat for Byeong Hun An: No bogeys, a bunch of birdies and more time atop the Wyndham Championship leaderboard.
An shot a 4-under 66 on Saturday for a one-stroke lead after three rounds at the PGA Tour's final event before the playoffs.
An, who was at 17-under 193, has held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds and has yet to play a hole worse than par. The 27-year-old South Korean with three international victories has put himself in position to claim his first win on tour.
"It feels similar to yesterday, to be fair," An said. "I had some nice shots here and there, but scrambled well today. Another bogey-free (round). I'm quite happy with it - a 66 out here, and I have a lead."
Former Wyndham winner Webb Simpson and Brice Garnett were tied for second, with Simpson shooting a 65 and Garnett a 66. Ryan Armour was 15 under following a 65.
"One shot is basically nothing," An said. "It's not that big of a lead. It's just one shot."
Overall, it was yet another low-scoring day at Sedgefield Country Club. For a while midway through An's round, six players were tied for the lead at 13 under.
"I wouldn't be surprised if somebody shot 8, 9, 10 under, a guy who's within striking distance," Simpson said. "I've got to keep the pedal down, and if I don't shoot a low one, I'm not going to win."
An started to get some separation from the crowd with three birdies in the four-hole span from Nos. 5-8, moving to 16 under.
Then came his best shot of the day, a 50-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th. He closed with four straight pars.
Simpson - a native North Carolinian who named his daughter Wyndham after his first career victory came here in 2011 - strung together three birdies around a bogey midway through his back nine to move to 16 under.
If nothing else, he's in good position to claim his fifth top-10 finish in six years at this tournament.
Garnett made the turn at 15 under following back-to-back birdies, then rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th to pull even with Simpson and saved par on the 18th after rolling his third shot from a greenside bunker to within 3 feet from the flagstick.
"I was just trying to get the putt (on 17) somewhere around the hole," Garnett said. "Fortunately, the putt had some eyes and drifted in. Huge momentum going into tomorrow."
Armour climbed into contention with six birdies in a 10-hole stretch midway through his round that put him two strokes back.
And Viktor Hovland finished his season-best round with a birdie on the 18th after landing his 150-yard approach shot some 3 feet from the flagstick. He was tied for fifth with J.T. Poston and Paul Casey at 14 under.
After winning the U.S. Amateur last year, Hovland turned pro two months ago after tying for 12th at the U.S. Open.
"I just try to tell myself that I don't have anything to lose," Hovland said. "I'll be on the Korn Ferry Tour no matter what happens kind of unless I play really well tomorrow, and to be in the spot where I am right now after college, that's a pretty good spot to be in."
It wasn't a low-scoring day for everyone, though: Jordan Spieth had three double-bogeys and a bogey during a birdie-free 77 that left him at 2 under for the tournament. It came two days after he flirted with a career-best round, putting just 23 times during his first-round 64.
"I putted my (butt) off for two days to be able to be where I was at, and you can't exactly fix your ball striking in a day," Spieth said. "It's just too much to try and force it. So this extra day could serve me really well through the playoffs."
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Don't forget about Hovland as he eyes Tour card, win at Wyndham
Published in
Golf
Saturday, 03 August 2019 12:02
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Viktor Hovland would like to remind folks that the depth of the Class of 2019 extends beyond two of the most recent winners on the PGA Tour.
Hovland was low amateur at both the Masters and U.S. Open this year, the first to pull off that feat since Matt Kuchar in 1998, and he has been quietly solid since turning pro after Pebble Beach with three finishes of T-16 or better. But he’s been somewhat lost in the shuffle with peers Matthew Wolff (3M Open) and Collin Morikawa (Barracuda Championship) snagging maiden victories shortly after turning pro.
Hovland could add his name to their company this week at the Wyndham Championship, where he surged into contention by playing his first seven holes in 5 under en route to a third-round 64 that left him at 14 under for the week. He’ll start the final round in a tie for fifth, three shots behind leader Byeong-Hun An.
“Five under through seven is a good start,” Hovland said. “I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to keep that going because I was thinking something special was out there. But after birdie on 18, it was nice to kind of give myself some confidence going into tomorrow.”
Hovland would gain entry into the FedExCup Playoffs only with a win, which would also make him fully exempt on Tour through 2021. But he could also earn his 2020 card with a second-place finish, a result that would allow him to bypass the upcoming Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
For a player who won the U.S. Amateur nearly a year ago, it’s all upside heading into the finale at Sedgefield.
“I try to tell myself that I don’t have anything to lose,” Hovland said. “To be in the spot where I am right now after college, that’s a pretty good spot to be in. I’ll just try to take advantage of it.”
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PASADENA, Calif. -- A month after pledging to double the prize money for the 2023 Women's World Cup to $60 million, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Saturday that he believes the organization will exceed that goal.
"We have until 2023 to discuss about the prize money," Infantino said. "I think we need to market it as well in a certain way. I'm very confident, I'm sure we can go higher than doubling."
On vacation in California, Infantino spent Saturday as part of the largest domestic crowd to watch the United States women's national team play since 2015. The back-to-back World Cup winners opened their five-game celebratory tour with a win against Ireland in the Rose Bowl in front of 37,040 people.
After taking photos with U.S. coach Jill Ellis and others after the game, Infantino spoke glowingly of the reaction to the recently concluded World Cup in France that he's experienced. He said that the event was a frequent subject of conversation on recent trips he made to Africa and the Middle East, even among people previously unfamiliar with women's soccer.
"This last World Cup in France has really marked a before and an after for women's football," Infantino said.
Infantino also repeated his desire to implement further women's events, including a Club World Cup for professional teams and a world league for national teams. He pointed to last week's fast-tracked ratification of an expanded Women's World Cup field as the first step.
On Wednesday, the FIFA Council approved Infantino's plan to expand to 32 teams in 2023 and reopen the bidding process to host that event.
"I was ecstatic that they increased the number of participants," Ellis said this week. "I think that's a big step. I think with that, you sometimes will get lopsided scores, in terms of teams growing. But we've just seen the velocity at which the women's game has grown over the last four years. ... I think it was a real eye opener to them just to see how marketable, how fan friendly, how exciting the women's game is, in terms of being able to promote it and gain sponsorship."
The issue of equal pay remains a sticking point for both FIFA and U.S. Soccer.
As was the case after the World Cup final, when Infantino was on the field to award medals, fans in the Rose Bowl chanted "equal pay" on multiple occasions during Saturday's game.
Even a substantial increase in the prize money for 2023 would leave the women's event lagging well behind the men's event. The next edition of that tournament in 2022 will feature prize money of $440 million, up from $400 million in 2018. Were FIFA to only double the prize money for the women, the disparity between the two tournaments would actually grow.
In an open letter to his organization's members on Monday, U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's host Saturday, placed some of the blame for the pay disparity between the American men's and women's teams on the slow-to-narrow gap in FIFA prize money.
"Of course the U.S. team, the way they performed, the way they won, the way they come over contributed greatly to the success," Infantino said Saturday of the World Cup he views as such a catalyst for the sport. "Now up to us, together with them, to build something sustainable and meaningful for the future."
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