TORONTO, Ontario – Kyle Kirkwood claimed a hard-earned third Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires victory of the season on Sunday.

The win was his third in as many starts at the unforgiving 1.786-mile Exhibition Place street circuit.

Kirkwood, who also won last year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 championship, was pushed every inch of the way by Canadian favorite Parker Thompson. Championship leader Rasmus Lindh finished close behind in third for Juncos Racing.

The top three were separated by no more than a few car lengths throughout a gripping 30-lap race, which was interrupted only briefly by an incident on the opening lap in Turn Four involving Saturday winner Danial Frost and local driver Antonio Serravalle.

The crash ended with Serravalle’s car making solid contact with the wall.

Kirkwood, who defended his pole position perfectly on the run toward turn one, maintained his lead at the restart but was never able to eke out any breathing room at all.

The top five cars – driven by Kirkwood, Thompson, Lindh, Sting Ray Robb and Frost – remained in a snarling high-speed train for the first 20 laps, with each of them trading fastest laps on a consistent basis.

All five were clearly very closely matched, but with overtaking no easy task on the Toronto streets, each of the protagonists knew they would require a mistake from the driver in front in order to make a pass for position.

The pace continued to intensify, with Lindh finally recording a new lap record of 1:07.0213 (95.934 mph) on the penultimate lap, but Kirkwood was flawless and his victory – and RP Motorsport’s third PFC Award of the season – was assured.

A last-ditch effort by Lindh to find a way past Thompson on the final lap saw Kirkwood cross the line with his biggest margin of the race, 1.7233 seconds over Thompson, whose fourth consecutive podium finish enabled him to move back to second place in points.

Frost finally found a way past Robb for fourth after 20 laps.

Guatemalan Ian Rodriguez couldn’t find quite the same pace as yesterday but still finished a solid sixth ahead of Jacob Abel, who earned his second Tilton Hard Charger Award in as many days after starting 12th on the grid.

TORONTO, Ontario – Oliver Askew claimed his fourth race win of the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season Sunday for Andretti Autosport on the streets of Toronto.

Askew was perfectly positioned to take advantage when pacesetters Aaron Telitz and Rinus VeeKay tangled in turn three on lap 25 of the 40-lap Cooper Tires Grand Prix presented by Allied Building Products.

The Floridian now leads the chase for a scholarship prize which includes a guaranteed three starts in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series, including the 104th Indianapolis 500, by a relatively comfortable 25 points with seven races remaining.

Englishman Toby Sowery finished second for BN Racing/Team Pelfrey, while local favorite Dalton Kellett secured his best finish of the season in third for Juncos Racing.

“I didn’t get a good jump at the start so I was pacing myself early on. I probably used more push-to-pass than I should have, but I did save enough for the finish,” said Askew. “I saw Aaron make a few mistakes and Rinus had a few opportunities in turn three – and I was having flashbacks to two years ago in USF2000, when a couple of cars crashed in front of me in that corner and I got taken out with them. It’s so easy to go wide and hit the wall there. I’m sorry for them but that’s what happens when you push the issue in that corner. I’m just glad I was far enough back to avoid them. Sometimes patience pays off, and it definitely did today. To come away with a big points jump is great.

“I’m also really glad to finally get a win for my engineer, Doug Zister – this is his first win on his home track … so I’m going to give this trophy to him.”

After extending a slender three-point championship lead over VeeKay to six points with a runner-up on Saturday, one place ahead of his primary rival, Askew added another point to his tally by claiming the pole during qualifying Sunday morning.

At the first corner, however, Askew had little option then concede to an aggressive outbraking move from Saturday winner Telitz, who is competing on a race-to-race basis for Belardi Auto Racing.

VeeKay also took advantage by nipping through into second place ahead of Askew, with Kellett slotting into fourth.

Telitz set a torrid pace from the outset, quickly establishing a small but appreciable advantage over VeeKay, but it wasn’t long before the Dutch teenager was into his stride and closing the gap down to just a few car lengths.

After a failed attempt to wrest away the lead at turn three on lap 11, VeeKay settled back for a few laps before redoubling his efforts. On lap 24, Telitz made an error under braking for turn eight and only narrowly averted disaster.

VeeKay realized this might provide his best opportunity to make a move for the lead, and indeed he did just that on the fastest part of the track, Lake Shore Boulevard. VeeKay nosed alongside on the outside line, but in doing so left his braking just a fraction too late for turn three.

Angling toward the apex and trying desperately to scrub off speed, VeeKay barely clipped the front of Telitz’s bright red Dallara before nosing into the tire barrier on the outside of the turn.

Telitz, too, was unable to make the corner, but Askew, who had been following around 1.5 seconds behind, had no such trouble.

Once into the lead, Askew reeled off the remaining laps without incident to score a comfortable win by 6.8331 seconds over Sowery, who had overtaken Kellett at turn three in the early stages.

Kellett finished a delighted third after holding off a determined late challenge from Ryan Norman, who started eighth. Norman fell to last place on the opening lap, then worked his way through nicely to claim the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa – The first segment of our annual Midwest racing trip happened to visit a group of tracks that fell into one general category.

Each track was either saved by someone or built to keep a city from having no track.

The first stop was in Norfolk, Neb., for a visit to Off Road Speedway. This facility was built on the property of Off Road Ranch and much of the work was done over the winter, thereby avoiding a large break in local racing.

Racing since 1965, Riviera Raceway closed after a long run following the 2014 season. Off Road Speedway replaced it the following spring and Norfolk was not without a track.

Some of the dirt from Riviera was used in the construction of Off Road, a track that is now in its fifth season.

Off Road is a very nice facility with something that is too often lacking in short track grandstands: leg room. They are an IMCA-sanctioned track, running primarily on Saturday with late models as their top class.

Sprints make an occasional appearance and a strong car count makes for a full evening.

The following night was spent at U.S. 30 Speedway, just west of Columbus, Neb. This facility did not close only because it was saved by the present owner.

When he found out it was going to be closed, he negotiated with the owner to buy it, and strangely enough, the seller was his sister.

U.S. 30 was built in 1985 by Abe Lincoln and his family. The track has been run within the family since and Abe’s son, Bobby, will keep that going. It was Bobby getting his change in a Texas diner that helped keep the track open and a family operation.

Abe passed away Aug. 24, 1997 and one of Bobby’s daughters was born two days later.  In the following years, when they found a penny, they would use it to talk to grandpa. Pennies would play a part many years later.

The track was going to be closed following the 2017 season and become soybeans. Land value had risen and a race track was not considered a good use of the property.

Bobby got the news of this sitting in a diner in Texas, the result of his weekly trucking run to that area.

The waitress brought his change and apologized about having to give him 15 pennies.  When Abe raced he ran the No. 15. Fifteen coins with the picture of Abraham Lincoln on them had Bobby thinking, “OK Dad, you got my attention. Speak to me.”

Bobby was part of the effort to build the track and “it was everything to me when I was in high school.”  He bought it and with the help of two daughters and a son-in-law, U.S. 30 remains a family track.

Now in his second year, Bobby noted that car count is up, with accompanying growth in the crowd size. Columbus has four large manufacturing plants that have a four-day, 10 hour per day work schedule, so Thursday night is like a Friday night.

U.S. 30 has raced regularly on Thursday for years and will continue that plan.

Abe’s son is putting every penny earned back into improving the facility. His only regret is not taking it over sooner. He is doing what he is in memory of his father as well as his love of the sport.

Sunset Speedway, located on the Northwest outskirts of Omaha, was appropriately named when considering the west facing grandstands. Housing was encroaching on the track and October of 2000 ended a history of racing going back to 1957.

The track now known as I-80 Speedway already existed, having opened in 1994, and it served as a facility to replace a venue lost closer to Omaha.

One of the widest tracks in the Midwest, I-80 regularly offers five-wide racing for its mostly stock car and late model-focused schedule.

BARCELONA -- Antoine Griezmann insists he has no regrets about snubbing an offer from Barcelona last summer via a documentary after being presented at Camp Nou on Sunday.

Barca finally completed the signing of Griezmann from Atletico Madrid on Friday after the forward's lawyer deposited his €120 million release clause with La Liga.

Griezmann, 28, arrived in Barcelona on Saturday, undergoing a medical and signing a five-year deal on Sunday before being presented with the No. 17 shirt in front of his friends and family.

However, the arrival of the World Cup winner has divided the club's supporters. Some can't forgive the public way he rejected them in his "The Decision" TV special in favour of staying at Atletico last year.

"I have done various bad things in the past," the France international said when asked about the documentary. "But I have never regretted anything because they're things I wanted to do at the time.

"I didn't play with either of the two sides. In the end, [Barca and I] are now together, and I can't wait to wear the shirt. If I have to apologise, I will do so on the pitch. That's where I do my best talking."

Catalan outlet Diario Sport even suggested in May that Barca's dressing room had vetoed Griezmann's arrival because of the documentary.

Asked if he could understand why the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez would be annoyed with him, he added: "Maybe. We will see when I get the chance to meet up with them. Everything can be fixed with assists on the pitch.

"What makes me most happy is being able to share a mate [a South American drink] with Messi. I am really happy, he's the No. 1 and a reference for all players. He's going to be a legend for my kids and for their kids. It's a joy to be able to play with him."

Griezmann spent five years at Atletico, where he scored 133 goals in 257 games, but he felt now was the time to take on the challenge at Barcelona after having turned them down last year.

"I had a family to move: a daughter in school with all her friends, a wife with a good life [in Madrid]," he said when asked why he declined to go to Barca 12 months ago. "I wasn't ready to make this step. I thought I still had something to achieve with Atletico. This year it was different.

"But it's always difficult to leave a home, a place you feel very comfortable, where your family, friends and teammates are. It was difficult. I only have admiration for Atletico. I am grateful to them and to Cholo [Simeone].

"Now I have the challenge to try and improve myself, to find my place at Barcelona, to get in the team, to be an important part of a great club and to try and win the league, the cup and the Champions League -- that's what I am lacking in my honours."

NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble, a sponsor of the U.S. women's national team, is now supporting its members' fight for equal pay.

The company, which supports U.S. Soccer through its Secret deodorant brand, says it will donate $529,000 -- $23,000 for each of the 23 players on the U.S. team that won the World Cup earlier this month -- to help close the pay gap. The sponsor took out a full-page ad in The New York Times on Sunday urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to "be on the right side of history."

"Let's take this moment of celebration to propel women's sports forward," Secret says in the ad. "We urge the US Soccer Federation to be a beacon of strength and end gender pay inequality once and for all."

In March, 28 members of the USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The suit claims the federation pays the women less than members of the men's national team.

New Zealand - 241 for 8 in 50 overs. England - 241 all out in 50 overs. Super Over. England - 15 for no loss. New Zealand - 15 for 1, Martin Guptill run out off the last ball. England win the World Cup, for the first time, on boundary count. It was about as dramatic as a cricket match has ever been and here's what England's world champions had to say immediately afterwards on the host broadcast.

Ben Stokes: Yeah. Don't know, I'm pretty lost for words. All the hard work over the four years, to be champions is an amazing feeling. This is what we aspire to be. To do it in such a good game, don't think there'll be a better game in history than this. Pretty done to be honest, Playing against New Zealand is a great event to be part of. They're great lads. I think I'll be apologising to them for the rest of my life [for that overthrow for four off his bat in the last over]. There's no chance I wasn't going to be there till the end. You live for these moments. That kid Jofra [Archer, who bowled the Super Over] was unbelievable, I backed him. It's absolutely fantastic, without the lads in both the one-day and Test team, and my family - the support has been incredible.

Jonny Bairstow: Elated! Massive commiserations to New Zealand. One hell of a game, edged one way and then another. What a hell of a tournament. The way the guys came out in the Super Over, huge! Ben Stokes' performance was amazing. They bowled pretty well, they put us under heck of a lot of pressure. The ball was doing something. The way Jos [Buttler] and Stokes put together that partnership, it won us the game at the end of the day. What a special moment, what an atmosphere. To play at Lord's is one thing, to play at Lord's in a World Cup final is a completely different matter. To have friends, family and rest of the amazing fans - it's difficult to put to words.

Jos Buttler: It's unbelievable! I thought I'd seen everything in cricket. The game was ridiculous, amazing occasion. Very hard to put words to it at the moment. What an unbelievable day. We wanted to take it deep, knew the run rate won't be an issue if we batted till the end. We wanted to put a partnership together and tried to put the pressure back on New Zealand. Unbelievable.

Joe Root: Unbelievable! Wow! Hard to sum it up. What a tournament. The lads have done everything asked of them. We've come through difficult periods in the group stages, performed when the pressure was on. Feel for Ben - he's been through a tough time, his family has been through a lot, and now to see him here, can't be more pleased for him.

Liam Plunkett: It hasn't sunk in yet. What a great finish! Great game. Hats off to the Kiwi boys. We're over the moon. I knew we still had batters when I got out. I just felt like it was going to happen for us.

Jofra Archer: I'm pretty sure I was going to bowl it [Super Over]. So I just had a double check. Heart's still racing, sorry. [laughs] It's the biggest thing. It's one of the only tournamnets I've ever won in my life. The boys started so well. It'd be really disappointing if we didn't win. Especially this man Stokes calming me down before I bowled. It's the best family.

Kane Williamson finished the World Cup with 578 runs - fourth on the overall list - and took home the Player-of-the-Tournament award. Scant consolation, perhaps, for not being able to lead his team to glory in what was, arguably, the most thrilling ODI ever. He spoke to the host broadcaster STAR in the end, conceding it was a bitter pill to swallow, the loss to England on boundary count after 100 overs and two Super Overs had ended with nothing to separate the two teams.

On the decision to bat first after winning the toss
The pitch was on the dry side, so we felt runs on the board… as it proved, it was going to be challenging. And we were able to get the runs on the board. Yes, we may have liked another ten or 20, in a World Cup final, 250-240 might be enough. The guys went really hard out there, put England under pressure on a tough surface. It was a fantastic game of cricket. Both sides showed a lot of fight, a lot of heart. Obviously to go down to the last ball, and then the last ball of the next little match [Super Over]… Yeah, credit to England, and a lot of positives in this experience for our boys as well.

On the four overthrows off Ben Stokes' bat in the last over
It was a little bit of a shame, wasn't it? It's unfortunately the sort of game we play, this sort of thing happens from time to time, you just hope it doesn't happen in moments like that. It's pretty tough, but it probably wasn't going to be for us.

On opening with Jimmy Neesham and Martin Guptill in the Super Over
Both guys hit the ball really hard, it's the right-hand-left-hand combination as well with the slightly shorter side boundaries. It was a decision that was made, and we were tossing up on the No. 3. No regrets. It is tough to perhaps review the match and such small margins, as we know, in any game but especially one we saw today.

On the thinnest of margins on which the match was decided
It certainly wasn't just one extra run. There were so many small parts in that match that could have gone either way as we saw throughout the whole game, but congratulations to England, they have a fantastic game plan and they deserve the victory.

On the overall performance of the New Zealand team
It has been challenging, the pitches have been a bit different to what we expected, there was a lot of talk about 300-plus scores, but we haven't seen many of those, it was a tough fight, and I want to thank our side, the New Zealand side, as well for the fight they showed this whole campaign on some tough wickets, showed a huge amount of heart to get us to this stage, a tie in the final, it just wasn't going to be today. We have a really well-balanced attack, with so many parts to it, the guys are shattered at the moment - it was obviously very devastating - but their performance throughout the tournament was at such a high level, gave us every opportunity to go on. Pretty tough to swallow at this stage but a fantastic effort from our guys.

NEW YORK -- Procter & Gamble, a sponsor of the U.S. women's national team, is now supporting its members' fight for equal pay.

The company, which supports U.S. Soccer through its Secret deodorant brand, says it will donate $529,000 -- $23,000 for each of the 23 players on the U.S. team that won the World Cup earlier this month -- to help close the pay gap. The sponsor took out a full-page ad in The New York Times on Sunday urging the U.S. Soccer Federation to "be on the right side of history."

"Let's take this moment of celebration to propel women's sports forward," Secret says in the ad. "We urge the US Soccer Federation to be a beacon of strength and end gender pay inequality once and for all."

In March, 28 members of the USWNT filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The suit claims the federation pays the women less than members of the men's national team.

BALTIMORE -- The Tampa Bay Rays' bid for the first combined perfect game in major league history ended Sunday with a leadoff single in the ninth inning by the Orioles' Hanser Alberto.

The hit off reliever Ryan Yarbrough came Sunday at Camden Yards. Alberto hit an easy grounder to the right side, through the Rays' overshifted infield.

Tampa Bay's try came two days after a pair of Los Angeles Angels pitchers teamed up for a no-hitter while wearing the jerseys of late teammate Tyler Skaggs.

Rays right-hander Ryne Stanek pitched the first two innings before Yarbrough took over.

Recalled from Triple-A Durham before the game, Yarbrough retired 18 straight batters before Alberto's hit.

The Rays have had only one no-hitter in franchise history, by Matt Garza against the Detroit Tigers on July 26, 2010.