GAS CITY, Ind. – After conversations with state officials, Saturday’s Test and Tune session scheduled for Gas City I-69 Speedway has been postponed.

A representative from the Indiana State Police, acting on behalf of the Indiana Governor’s office, reached out to track promoter Jerry Gappens today and asked that Saturday’s Test and Tune session be postponed until after May 24 as part of Governor Eric Holcomb’s Getting Indiana Back on Track guidelines released last week.

“It was a positive conversation and helped clarify Governor Holcomb’s current guidelines and intent on how short-track racing facilities were integrated into his five-phase plan,” Gappens said. “The motorsports industry is a major economic engine for the state of Indiana and these are unprecedented, challenging times for short tracks and all motorsports-related businesses throughout the state. However, I personally feel that – with perhaps a couple of exceptions – all of us want to do our part to help mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in a cautious and responsible manner as we move forward.”

Gappens said that he will be working with state and local officials on rescheduling the Test and Tune, and will perhaps host “virtual racing” with no fans after the state’s third phase of reopening begins on May 24.

Based on current guidelines, the earliest that racing with limited spectators could begin is after phase four starts on June 14.

Full spectator integration could begin as soon as phase five on July 4.

“We will work on revising our 2020 schedule accordingly and release it soon,” Gappens said. “I want to thank Gas City officials, including Mayor Bill Rock Jr. and Police Chief Tim Eckstein, for their support of the speedway and especially the fans and race teams.”

If state governments and medical experts allow a majority of schools within a conference to play college football, they should play, even if coronavirus restrictions prevent a few other teams within the same league from returning, Penn State coach James Franklin told reporters on Wednesday.

Franklin said he expects a "way inconsistent" return across the Power 5 conferences because of varying state-by-state restrictions and reopening plans.

"I can't imagine that right now we're all going to open at the same time," he told ESPN. "If the SEC, for example, opens up a month earlier than the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is able to open up and 12 of the 14 schools, if two schools can't open, I don't see a conference -- any conference -- penalizing 80% or 75% of the schools because 25% of them can't open.

"To me, unless there's a level playing field and the NCAA comes out and says that no one's opening before this date to try to help with that, what you really end up doing is you end up hurting the conference," Franklin said. "Say two or three of the schools in our conference that are ranked in the top 10 have the ability to open and a couple schools don't, and you make the decision to hold the entire conference back, you're hurting the conference as a whole in terms of your ability to compete."

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren has been reluctant to make any major public declarations or share any plans because "this situation is so fluid," but said the conference has a Big Ten Emerging Infectious Disease Task Force to help in the decision-making process.

"I'm just counting on our chancellors, our presidents, our provosts, our leaders on our campuses, our Big Ten Emerging Infectious Disease committee, our local, state and national government, that we'll take guidance from, at the appropriate time," Warren told ESPN's Ivan Maisel. "It's so early now. This is a fluid situation, and so important, it wouldn't be prudent for me to speculate. But one thing I do know: I know more now today than I did when I canceled the men's basketball tournament. I think these next 45 to 60 days, with the information we're getting regarding testing from the government and different areas, we're learning so much every day. I'm looking forward to gathering information and leaning on experts."

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine told ESPN's The Paul Finebaum Show on Wednesday that it was too soon to say whether college football will be played in his state in the fall.

"I don't think we know, and anyone who tells you they know is making it up. I'm not going to make it up," DeWine said.

Franklin said it would be helpful for the NCAA to give some national guidelines in addition to what each state and university determines, and "you better be able to answer these criteria and be able to document that you've met this threshold.

"That could at least help with it a little bit," he said. "In a perfect world, everybody opens at the same time. I just don't see any way that [will] be possible. Are you going to not have college football this year or sports in general because two states in the country won't open? I don't see that happening."

Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the team is going ahead with plans to open its training facility on Friday so players can individually work out.

Bickerstaff said the team has been in contact with local and Ohio health officials to make sure it is following safety guidelines due to the coronavirus pandemic. The team's year-round facility in Independence, Ohio, has been closed since mid-March.

Bickerstaff, who took over the Cavs when John Beilein stepped down in February, midway through his first season, said the league has advised that players and coaches remain 12 feet apart while on the floor together.

He said coaches will be required to wear masks and gloves. Bickerstaff said the workouts are voluntary, and "no one is being pressured to do anything."

BRASSTOWN, N.C. – The Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series fueled by Sunoco Modifieds are getting back on the track.

In an announcement made Tuesday night, STSS organizer Brett Deyo said the series will visit Ray Cook’s Tri-County Race Track in Brasstown, N.C., for a two-night swing on Thursday, May 21 and Friday, May 22.

The race is an invitational, non-points event, with a maximum of 30 teams participating.

All attendees must follow CDC guidelines and social distancing policies. A limit on crew members per team will be released next week. All policies must be strictly adhered to for the safety of all in attendance.

Race fans will not be permitted at these events. The racing program will be broadcast exclusively through Dirt Track Digest TV, an affiliate of the SPEED SPORT Network, with one- and two-night packages.

Two nights of racing are planned: a 35-lap, $3,000-to-win main event on Friday and a 40-lap, $5,000-to-win program on Saturday. Complete purse information will be available in the coming days. A field of 24 cars will start each night.

Should a sponsor be found, that number could increase, or B-Mains could be included.

The invited teams are as follows: the top-15 current STSS Modified Velocita-USA South Region presented by Design for Vision and Sunglass Central drivers following the opener at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway on March 7 and the top 15 in the final Halmar International North Region STSS Modified standings from 2019.

Teams in these two groups will have the first right of refusal prior to Saturday, May 9.

Any other teams wishing to compete will be entered into a drawing for remaining available spots on Sunday, May 10. Racers looking to be part of the drawing should email [email protected] to confirm.

Sponsorship opportunities of all types are available: presenting sponsorships, associate sponsorships, special awards and bonuses, commercials on the Dirt Track Digest TV broadcast, etc. Contact [email protected] to get involved.

Venmo and PayPal information will be released in the coming days for fans wishing to boost the Friday payout.

A rain date of May 23 is in place.

For the last couple of years, the United States men's national team has been in constant tinkering mode. Both current coach Gregg Berhalter and his longtime interim predecessor Dave Sarachan constantly experimented with lineups -- Sarachan played 56 different players in just over a year, while Berhalter has played 50 since taking over in Dec. 2019.

All that tinkering makes it difficult to glean much from the matches the U.S. has played, even more so when we look only at matches against solid competition. Under Berhalter, the U.S. has played just nine matches against teams in the top 50 of the FIFA rankings: two defeats to Mexico (1-0, 3-0), draws against Uruguay and Chile, a 3-0 pasting by Venezuela, two wins over Costa Rica (2-0, 1-0), and a win-loss split (0-1, 3-1) against Jamaica.

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One thing we can take away from those nine matches, however, is that the USMNT's goal and Expected Goal totals were in stark disagreement.

The Expected Goals measure in soccer (xG) is both brilliant and, in very specific ways, limited. Goals are inherently random, and xG provides important context regarding the quality of your and your opponent's opportunities. In a process-versus-outcomes universe, xG can fill in the gaps regarding how your processes will likely affect your outcomes moving forward.

In a small-sample or single-player instance, however, xG leaves as many gaps as it fills. Looking at xG totals for a single match doesn't tell you all that much about how a team did or didn't control those 90 minutes. Meanwhile, a player who is an elite finisher will likely see his goal totals exceed his xG totals on an annual basis.

Lionel Messi, for instance, has exceeded his xG in nine of the last 10 La Liga campaigns -- the time he didn't, he was basically dead even (26 goals, 26.1 xG in 2015-16) -- and has produced 350 league goals, drastically exceeding his 278.2 xG. It's safe to say that wasn't simply luck.

Similarly, a particularly bad finisher will usually fall short of his xG totals. Hold that thought.

Goals and xG tell very different stories about the USMNT's recent performance

The enthusiasm level for the U.S. fan base has... been better. Average attendance at home matches since the start of 2018 is just 22,966, 19,073 if you take out three matches with attendance cheat code Mexico. Sure, these have been mostly meaningless matches, but from the end of the 2014 World Cup through 2015 -- a similarly meaningless period -- the U.S. averaged 36,689 (30,172 without Mexico) even after you exclude late-2015 WC qualifiers. That's a 37 percent drop overall.

The reasons, of course, are obvious: the USMNT failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and hasn't played particularly inspiring soccer in a while. Then there in the way the USSF has battled the U.S. women's team during its equal pay push, which has almost pitted the USMNT against the USWNT. Not great for the far less successful of those two teams.

Fan enthusiasm could only improve so much in 2019 no matter the performance, but some happy results would have helped immensely. And if you take xG at its face, the U.S. was unfortunate not to fare better in marquee opportunities. That 3-0 loss to Venezuela on June 9? The U.S. actually had 1.3 xG to Venezuela's 1.1. The losses to Mexico? The U.S. had a combined 2.8 xG to El Tri's 2.7. The 1-1 draw with Uruguay (currently fifth in the FIFA rankings) on Sept. 10? U.S. 1.8, Uruguay 1.1.

In total, the U.S. produced 14.9 xG in this nine-match sample compared to 8.3 for their opponents. In reality, these opponents outscored the U.S., 11-8. If this was bad luck, then progression to the mean could be awfully kind to this team in upcoming performances (whenever those upcoming performances might be).

But was it bad luck? Or are the U.S.'s finishers just bad at finishing?

Berhalter's style has taken effect

In his five-year stint with the Columbus Crew, Berhalter's intentions were obvious. He wanted to establish a higher level of ball dominance than the average MLS team, and while the Crew's overall possession rates (53 percent over the five years) was only slightly above average, most of their rate stats matched that of the average possession-style team.

The Crew built from the back and methodically worked the ball forward. It was an attempt at what you might call the modern possession style, and it worked pretty well. Columbus generally created more chances and shots than their opponents, they made the MLS playoffs four times in Berhalter's five years, they reached the conference finals twice, and they nearly won MLS Cup in 2015.

Whether it was down to philosophy or a lack of the right personnel, however, Columbus wasn't much for pressing. The Crew won fewer possessions than average in the opponent's half, and most of their defensive action stats (interceptions, tackles, clearances, etc.) were well below average. This lack of defensive pressure meant that they didn't create many easy goal-scoring opportunities, and they simply relied on their ability to play the possession game better than their opponents.

Focusing on the U.S.'s nine matches against top-50 competition, we see a lot of the same traits, especially when we compare their stats to what other opponents did against Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Jamaica in the same period.

You can see how Berhalter was enforcing his style of play. Even against this solid set of opponents, the U.S. averaged more passes (especially in their own half) and longer possessions than the Crew. You could make the case that they were too passive here -- that Berhalter wanted to establish the style even at the cost of aggressiveness and opportunity -- but that would make sense if you treat these matches as experiments and not matches of consequence.

Combined with decent set-piece play, they created pretty good chances compared to the other opponents, too. Their slow build-up play also meant that, more often than not, their defense wasn't caught in awkward positions when they lost the ball. Opponents averaged only 1.2 goals per match, after all, compared to 1.7 against other opponents.

In these nine matches, the 15 players above -- a list that includes many of the guys Berhalter will be relying on whenever World Cup qualifying actually takes place -- generated a combined xG of 14.2 but scored just eight goals. Take out Christian Pulisic, and the numbers are 12.6 and five.

Those are some horrible conversion rates. And if you go back and watch those matches, you certainly see plenty of mistakes. D.C. United's Paul Arriola made constant kamikaze charges into the box only to poke the ball right to the goalkeeper. Josh Sargent missed a couple of sitters in the box and had a tame penalty saved against Mexico. Jordan Morris scored against Uruguay and forced some good saves, but he also sent a couple of headers right at the keeper. Other forwards like Gyasi Zardes and Jozy Altidore barely created chances and did little with what service they got.

Watching in real-time, you could easily conclude the USMNT's problems here were based on a lack of finishing talent. But we're also talking about tiny samples. Let's look at what this same batch of players did in their league matches over the last year of action (minus Ulysses Llanez and Tyler Boyd, for whom we don't have league data).

Granted, Zardes has an iffy reputation as a finisher, while Arriola could stand to find a bit more poise in the box. But in MLS play both Morris and Altidore created more goals than their chances would have suggested, and with first Borussia Dortmund and then Chelsea in far tougher leagues, Pulisic, the U.S.'s only ace finisher in 2019, was anything but. Sample sizes can do a number on your perceptions.

Given the same chances, Morris could have easily scored a couple more goals and either flipped a result or made a match like Venezuela far less embarrassing. And given more of a run in World Cup qualifying, Altidore could still provide lots of value. The U.S. wasn't far from some encouraging results in 2019, and if certain players' conversion rates revert more toward their historic norm, we could get a clear, and encouraging, picture of how Berhalter's attack is supposed to work.

The U.S.'s other problem: random catastrophes

Indeed, opponents in these matches scored fewer goals than they did against other opponents. That's good. But among those 11 goals allowed were four that came directly from turnovers in the U.S.'s half of the field. Two -- the first against Venezuela and the second in the 3-0 loss to Mexico -- were inexcusable disasters.

At club level, with lots of matches and far more practice time, you can get pretty intricate in your tactics as you look for ways to build from the back and stretch defenses with long possessions. At the international level, however, that's much harder to pull off. The players aren't as familiar with either the manager or their teammates, and they can't build that familiarity in limited time. It's one of the reasons you often see coaches simplifying their methods in international play. Even Arrigo Sacchi, the mythical and accomplished AC Milan manager, had to simplify when he led the Italian national team. And if Sacchi struggled in some ways, lord knows Berhalter could too.

In these nine matches, U.S. opponents won the ball 4.9 times per match in the attacking third. That's not a terrible number, but combined with the U.S.'s own lack of defensive pressure -- they won just four possessions per match in the attacking third -- it created a deficit. In the last five World Cups, 66 teams have had a deficit of at least 0.5 possessions won per match in the attacking third; only 11 of them reached the quarterfinals or deeper.

In a tournament setting, with small sets of matches in group play before single-elimination knockout rounds, random, easy scoring opportunities are prime currency. And if the U.S. isn't going to create many of those -- which, again, really isn't part of the "Berhalter DNA" -- it must allow almost none. That means that Berhalter's play-from-the-back style has to grow far sharper. Maybe he can pull that off once the lineup changes dissipate and the practices get more focused in World Cup qualifying time. And maybe progression-to-the-mean smiles on the U.S. when it comes to finishing the chances Berhalter's style creates. Or maybe both he and the U.S. will soon find out why so many managers can't play a league style at the international level.

While Jadeveon Clowney remains open to re-signing with the Seattle Seahawks, the defensive end would have to take significantly less money than what the team previously offered him in order for a reunion to happen, a league source told ESPN on Wednesday.

The Seahawks have not completely shut the door on re-signing Clowney, the source said, but it's not considered likely due in part to their financial situation and the amount of money the free-agent defensive end has been seeking.

General manager John Schneider has hinted at that unlikeliness in recent public comments in which he's spoken in the past tense about the Seahawks' efforts to re-sign Clowney.

"We took a good run at it," Schneider told KJR-AM last week. "It didn't happen. He's a great guy. He fit in great in the locker room, did a really nice job for us, but we need to be conducting business and he just was not in a position to make a move. So we gave it a run and now you've got to keep going, and that's what we've done."

Clowney was seeking a deal averaging $21 million per season at the start of free agency, according to a source. He dropped his asking price to around $17 million to $18 million per season last month, a source told ESPN's Dianna Russini.

The Seahawks don't currently have an offer on the table to Clowney after he rejected their latest one.

The Seahawks have roughly $21 million in cap space, according to OverTheCap.com, but that doesn't count Bruce Irvin's deal and it doesn't reflect other cap and cash expenses that limit the team's remaining spending power.

After their initial attempts to re-sign Clowney stalled, the Seahawks signed Irvin and Benson Mayowa to boost what was one of the NFL's least effective pass rushes in 2019. Mayowa's one-year $3.05 million deal came together on April 1 after the Seahawks determined they could no longer afford to wait on Clowney at the risk of losing out on other free agents.

Irvin recorded a career-best 8.5 sacks last season in a starting role with the Carolina Panthers, and Mayowa set a career high with seven sacks as a rotational pass-rusher with the Raiders. Clowney had three sacks for Seattle, and no Seahawks defender had more than four as the team finished the regular season with 28 sacks, which was tied for second fewest in the league.

L.J. Collier, last year's 29th overall pick, is among the Seahawks' young returning edge rushers. He contributed next to nothing last season and was a healthy scratch several times after missing most of training camp and the regular-season opener because of a sprained ankle. The Seahawks also re-signed defensive tackle Jarran Reed to a two-year, $23 million deal and then drafted Tennessee's Darrell Taylor (second round) and Syracuse's Alton Robinson (fifth round).

When asked in his KJR-AM interview about the possibility of adding another defensive lineman before the start of the season, Schneider gave the impression that any addition would be inexpensive.

"The draft is really about 70% of what we concentrate on," Schneider said. "We have to be careful with our budget and our salary cap because as you guys have seen, we take pride in our ability to work with the coaches and try to build our team throughout the season. This thing doesn't stop when you get to 53. It doesn't stop after the draft. There will be cap casualty guys out there throughout the offseason.

"What you don't want to do is bring yourself right to the point where you're not able to add players that are all of the sudden available on the market that you didn't see coming. So I'm sure at some point, we'll see some changes in there. ... We're excited where we're at."

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that some around the league believe the Cleveland Browns got closer to a deal with Clowney than other suitors. Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson told reporters on the day of Russini's report that the team had been in touch with Bus Cook, Clowney's agent.

Clowney said at the end of last season that he was only interested in playing for a contending team.

Although Clowney finished with only three sacks in 13 regular-season games, he consistently was Seattle's most disruptive defensive lineman, and he scored two defensive touchdowns. He added 1.5 sacks in Seattle's two playoff games.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has acknowledged that the NFL not allowing teams to bring in free agents for visits or oversee physicals amid the coronavirus pandemic has likely impacted Clowney. He had surgery for a core-muscle injury that bothered him for the second half of last season, and he has dealt with knee injuries in his career.

Sir Roger Bannister’s iconic achievement 66 years ago today is recalled by Tim Brennan and analysed by Matt Long

Almost 2000 athletes will by now have paid their own tribute to the great man by lacing up their trainers to take part in the BMC’s Bannister Virtual Mile Time Trials which conclude today. In 2016, BMC chair Tim Brennan was fortunate enough to be part of ‘An Audience with Sir Roger Bannister’. Four years later, it’s an evening in Reading that will live with him forever. Here he shares the late great man’s memories of that unforgettable day on May 6, 1954.

A day at the office

On the day of the record attempt, Sir Roger went into his hospital laboratory which had a grindstone. Back in the 1950s, spikes were fixed to the running shoe and the aim was to give a sharp finish. With attention to detail, Sir Roger rubbed graphite into the spikes so that the cinders from the track would not stick to the shoe.

His travel to Oxford was by train and at this stage he was still in doubt as to whether the attempt should go ahead as weather conditions were decidedly windy and the thought was that conserving energies for more favourable conditions could be the right choice.

His charismatic coach Franz Stampfl was an exuberant character who implored him: “If you have a chance and don’t take it because of conditions you may never forgive yourself”.

Eventually as he stared up from the changing room at the flag flying from the nearby church tower he felt that the wind was reducing and announced to his pacemakers that the attempt was on.

Four legendary laps

The gun went and as they completed the first lap Bannister recalled feeling “so easy”, as he called “faster, faster” to Chris Brasher who had the good sense to ignore him as they hit the quarter mile at 58 seconds. The pre-race target was sustained through the half mile at 1:58 before Chris Chataway took up the running and hit the three-quarter mile mark in 3:01.

Sensing the moment, with 260 yards to go Bannister strode out with the pain etched on his face as he forced himself through the remaining yards down the home straight feeling that the “tape was receding”.

Sporting immortality

Once over the line, he had no idea if the attempt had been successful as he collapsed into the arms of his coach for what would be one of the sports’ most iconic and enduring images.

These were the days of pre-electronic timing and stopwatches had to be compared thus ensuring a wait ensued. The announcer, Norris McWhirter, milked the moment as the anticipation in the Oxford air was tangible: “The result of event 10, the one mile.” … pause … “Is won by Roger Bannister of Merton and Exeter colleges” … pause … “In a time which subject to ratification is” … pause … “A new track, British, Commonwealth, European and world record” … pause … “Of three…” The rest was lost in the noise and excitement of the crowd, but the important digit was known. At long last a mile had been won in three minutes-something.

When interviewed about the physiological underpinnings of his achievement, Sir Roger would famously say: “It’s the ability to take more out of yourself than you’ve got”.

Psychology aside, Matt Long digs a little deeper into his training diaries:

Aerobic and strength endurance

In terms of cumulative aerobic volume, in running three or four times a week, Sir Roger averaged less than 30 miles per week in the winter phase of periodisation, regressing to just 15 miles per week during the competition phase of the macro-cycle, which seems staggering by today’s standards.

Bannister’s affiliation to the so-called ‘Paddington Lunchtime Club’ enabled him to fit training around his considerable commitments as a final year medical student at St Mary’s Hospital in London. This being said, the running contribution to his aerobic development was complemented by hiking and his strength endurance by mountain climbing.

One of his favourite track sessions was 3 x 1.5 miles (at around 14:30 pace for 5km). Away from the track, AAA’s coach Jim Alford had been heavily influenced by the thinking of the great Swede, Gosta Holmer, and he signposted Bannister to the playing fields of Harrow School to effect fartlek based training in the winter months.

Speed endurance

Physiologist Dr Herbert Reindel laid the academic foundations for 1930s German coach Dr Woldemar Gerschler to make developments in interval training.

Bannister’s lynchpin session on the ash track near the Paddington hospital was 10 x 440 yards (effected with a rolling 440 yard jog recovery in approximately 2 minutes). Progressive overload was achieved not by increasing the number of repetitions, nor by reducing the recovery, but rather more simply by incrementally increasing the speed of the reps.

Monthly progression through the winter towards the summer season would see his rep times get quicker by around one second, from 66 seconds in October to well below 60 seconds by May. Bannister’s approach was geared towards engendering race pace specificity and he regularly effected three-quarter mile time trials at Motspur Park in Surrey and is reputed to have beaten the unofficial world best for this distance, previously held by legendary Swede Arne Andersson.

Any decent coach will tell you that to look over your shoulder in a race is a cardinal sin of our sport. Those of you who ran in the BMC Bannister Virtual Time Trials had no need to do so for your nearest and indeed only rival would have been yourself. This being said, the Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey once poignantly commented: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” – so on this day of all days we are thus allowed more than a glance over the shoulder to those Iffley cinders, which burned 66 years ago today.

Danny Lasoski is one of the rare race car drivers who earned success and popularity on the local, regional and national level.

Starting his career at Saline County Speedway in his native Missouri in 1979, Lasoski went on to win the 2001 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series championship and topped the prestigious Knoxville Nationals four times.

Lasoski was a proven winner on the local level, claiming his first Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway track title with team owner Max Rogers in 1986.

But everything changed when he hooked up with Guy Forbrook in 1988. Over the next five years, the duo combined for 100 victories and won four track championships at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and three at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota.

Lasoski won a sixth Knoxville title with car owner Gil Sonner in 1994 and reunited with Forbrook to win a seventh crown at the historic half-mile track I 1996.

After joining Dennis Roth’s Beef Packer’s team in 1998, Lasoski drove to his first Knoxville Nationals triumph. He won 32 World of Outlaws races with the team through 2000.

But in 2001 he joined Tony Stewart Racing and the team won 96 races together, including the Knoxville Nationals in 2001, ’03 and ’04. The team won the WoO title in 2001.

Lasoski split with TSR after the 2005 season and went back to work for Roth Racing, where he continued to win races, including the 2006 National Sprint Tour title.

He reunited with Forbrook again and won an eighth Knoxville track title in 2008.

Lasoski also earned an International Race of Champions victory at Texas Motor Speedway in 2004.

Lasoski won 122 World of Outlaws features, which ranks sixth all time. He also won 37 features with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions and 112 Knoxville Raceway main events.

He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2001. Today, he works as team manager and driving coach for aspiring sprint car racer Mason Daniel.

ALTON, Va. – SRO America officials have announced that the series will return to the track at Virginia Int’l Raceway on a new date, July 9-12.

The event will run under the appropriate guidelines set forth by national and local authorities, as motorsports around the world begin firing off again following a worldwide sports stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

VIR will host the second race weekend of GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, along with the debut of the GT Sports Club America series. The series features a mix of current and former GT3 homologated platforms as well as SRO’s new GT2 category.

The sprint format designed for Bronze level drivers over the age of 40 will be featured in its first official event in North America as well.

Pirelli GT4 America (Sprint and SprintX), along with TC America, are scheduled to complete three-races at VIR, with one round making up for cancelled events at St Petersburg, Fla.

Teams contesting GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will join SRO’s global GT3 series, Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, during the Indianapolis 8 Hour to end the season.

The first three hours of the endurance race will count towards this championship to replace the cancelled races at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

The remaining calendar for the 2020 season will see all the same venues and dates as scheduled previously.

Updated 2020 SRO America Schedule

July 9-12 – VIRginia Int’l Raceway – Alton, Va.
Aug. 7-9 – Sonoma Raceway – Sonoma, Calif.
Aug. 28-30 – Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Sept. 18-20 – Watkins Glen Int’l – Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Oct. 2-4 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Speedway, Ind.

CONCACAF is planning an expanded Champions League and president Victor Montagliani thinks the competition should take priority over any potential merger between MLS and Liga MX in the short and medium term, adding that European federations would be "raising their eyebrows" if the latter took place.

MLS and Liga MX announced a formal partnership in 2018, setting up Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup competitions, with the prospect of meaningful league play and a potential joint league between the two North American leagues also floated.

But for Montagliani, a merger is a difficult step at present and would likely have to be put on hold to see what the landscape looks like after the 2026 World Cup, when Canada, the United States and Mexico host the tournament.

"It goes back to the governance of the game, this is not a situation like the AFL [American Football League] and the NFL where the AFL just walks over to another building and says 'let's merge' and now you have an NFL, it's not that easy," said Montagliani, who was describing the merger between the two football leagues in the late-1960s, with Canada's OneSoccer. "This is not leagues merging, this is countries, so already it's a different dynamic."

Montagliani pointed out that CONCACAF, FIFA and other confederations would need to approve such a project, given it could have implications in other regions.

"I can already see the Europeans raising their eyebrows," he said.

Montagliani sees the immediate future of real competition between Liga MX and MLS in the CONCACAF Champions League, which is set to grow, and stated that Liga MX and MLS offices have bigger priorities right now, with the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world and both leagues currently suspended.

"We're going to have an expanded Champions League and I think that, to be honest with you, in the short term and medium term that will be the vehicle to get those matchups that people are looking at," said Montagliani. "In terms of any type of super league, even Central America is talking about creating a super league among their seven countries, which would be a very interesting sort of discussion, because they are already competitive, as you see with Olimpia knocking off the [Seattle] Sounders."

"A lot of those discussions I think are probably more post-2026 discussions, let's see what the football world looks like," he added. "But I think between now and 2026 you're going to see an expanded version of our Champions League."

Montagliani also broached the topic of World Cup qualifying, reasserting that the the Hexagonal phase is almost certain to be changed, but that it's difficult to know what the new format will look like until FIFA has a clear picture of how many international windows will be available.

"On the balance of probabilities, in terms of what is likely to happen, the current World Cup format will have to be changed, which ultimately means the Hex will have to be changed into some other form," he said. "Obviously it'll be bigger, but what that number is I don't know until we have a calendar."

Montagliani stressed that "sporting integrity" would be a priority and admitted that the FIFA rankings would have a role in a potentially expanded qualifying.

The 54-year-old also mentioned that a decision about the September international window, in which CONCACAF World Cup qualifying was due to start, will be made shortly.