STATESVILLE, N.C. – CarShield will rejoin Ross Chastain and the No. 45 Niece Motorsports team for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series playoffs, starting this week at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“I’m so pumped to have the folks at CarShield back on board the No. 45 Truck again, especially as we look to make a championship run,” said Chastain.  “They brought us good luck at Gateway, and I’m hopeful we can make that magic happen again.  It means the world to me to have their support.”

CarShield, who visited victory lane with Chastain and the No. 45 team earlier this year at World Wide Technology Raceway, will again serve as Chastain’s primary sponsor for the final seven races of the season, starting at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Watching Ross win this season has been great,” said Nick Hamilton, co-founder and Principal at CarShield.  “Seeing him pull into victory lane with the CarShield truck was the best.  Ross knows how to have fun while always competing at the highest level.  We do the same thing at CarShield.  That’s why we made the decision to become the primary sponsor for the rest of this season.  Hopefully, our partnership will help push him to keep smashing those watermelons and win the Championship this season.”

Headquartered in Saint Peters, Mo., CarShield offers vehicle service contracts designed to pick up where automobile owners’ existing warranty drops off and to fill gaps in coverage. CarShield was founded in 2005 by principals Nick Hamilton, Mark Travis, and Rick Brettelle and specializes in shielding its members from the high cost of automobile repairs by offering a wide range of flexible vehicle service plans.

“We are proud and honored to have CarShield join the team again,” said team owner Al Niece.  “I think Ross and this team have really shown what they are capable of, and we are excited that CarShield has recognized that potential and wants to help this team chase a championship.”

Chastain earned his first win of the season at Kansas Speedway in May.  In June, Chastain changed his points declaration, looking to make the playoffs in the NGOTS.

After spotting the competition eight races, Chastain would have to win a race and enter the top-20 in driver points to be eligible to compete for the championship.

Two races after changing his points declaration, Chastain found victory lane in the No. 45 CarShield Chevrolet at Gateway.  Two races later, Chastain found himself in the top-20 in driver points on the strength of one top-five and two top-10 finishes.

With the Knoxville Nationals fresh in our minds, we’re back with a new edition of the SPEED SPORT Power Rankings! Did David Gravel’s dominant performance at Knoxville earn him a place in the Power Rankings? Click below to find out!

Big Picture

In the second ODI at Queen's Park Oval, chasing 270 in 46 overs, West Indies needed 91 off 71 at one stage with six wickets in hand and a set batsman in Nicholas Pooran at the crease.

Percentage cricket for a few more overs was perhaps the way to go, but Pooran played a shot that was a microcosm of West Indies' problems in ODI cricket. Skipping down the track in a premeditated manner, he ended up mistiming a pull to Virat Kohli at midwicket.

Pooran's wicket triggered a collapse and the hosts slipped from 179 for 4 to 182 for 8, with the result all but decided.

At 23, Pooran is a young man with a bright future and the promise of winning many games for his team but West Indies will be hurting after squandering the opportunity to go 1-0 up in the series.

However, it wasn't all gloom for them. Their bowlers had brought them into the match by conceding just 67 runs in the last ten overs. Come Wednesday, West Indies will have another chance - this time to level the series - as the two teams face each other at the same venue for the final ODI.

India, on the other hand, will be aiming to finish the white-ball leg of the tour undefeated. As far as their search for the No. 4 batsman is concerned, it looks like Rishabh Pant has his captain's backing for now. Though he didn't quite convince during his 20 off 35 balls in the last match, Pant should once again slot in at No. 4.

Shikhar Dhawan is yet to strike form after his return from the hand injury that cut his World Cup short, but it's far from a worry for the team management at this moment.

Form guide

West Indies LWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India WLWWL

In the spotlight

From the start of 2018 to the start of the World Cup, Shai Hope scored 1460 runs in 28 ODIs at an average of 66.36. More than half those runs came in just eight innings, while opening the batting. At the World Cup, where he batted mostly at No. 3, Hope had lukewarm returns - 274 runs at 34.25. After being dismissed for 5 in the second ODI, Hope will look forward to getting back among the runs.

Fifteen wickets in five innings. A bowling average of 6.73, a strike rate of 14.0. Only Curtly Ambrose has more wickets than Bhuvneshwar Kumar at Queen's Park Oval. With the game in the balance, it was his three wickets in seven balls that turned the second ODI in India's favour. India will be hoping for an encore from the swing bowler.

Team news

Evin Lewis, who struggled with his calf injury during the second ODI, has recovered well after a day's rest and should be part of the playing XI. Fabian Allen is also fit and most likely will replace Oshane Thomas who went for 32 in his four wicketless overs on Sunday.

West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Fabian Allen, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

With the series still not decided, India might once again field an unchanged XI.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Khaleel Ahmed, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Pitch and conditions

The weather is expected to be humid once again, with a forecast for showers throughout the day. Although teams batting first have won five of the last six completed ODIs here, the chance of rain might tempt the captains to bat second.

The match will be played on the same pitch the last one.

Stats and trivia

• As an opener in ODIs, Hope has scored 860 runs at an average of 95.55 and a strike rate of 92.47. Batting elsewhere, his 1672 runs have come at an average of 38.00, with a strike rate of 69.00.

• In his last 20 ODIs, Kuldeep Yadav has taken only 29 wickets at an average of 32.62. Prior to that, he had 67 wickets in 33 games at an average of 20.07.

• Currently on 96 wickets from 53 ODIs, Kuldeep has a chance to break Mohammad Shami's record (55 matches) for the fastest Indian to 100-ODI wickets.

Quinton de Kock will captain South Africa's T20 side during their upcoming trip to India. There are also three newcomers in the squad for the three-match T20 International series, with Temba Bavuma and Anrich Nortje included and Lions allrounder Bjorn Fortuin in line for an international debut.

Faf du Plessis was not included in South Africa's T20 squad, but will captain South Africa in the three-Test series that follows the T20s, with Bavuma named as his vice-captain. Cricket South Africa's acting Director of Cricket Corrie van Zyl stressed that du Plessis "remains an important part of our plans for white-ball cricket" despite his absence from the T20 squad.

Nortje was one of three new caps in South Africa's Test squad, along with wicketkeeper Rudi Second and spin-bowling allrounder Senuran Muthusamy.

Offspinner Dane Piedt returns to the Test squad on the back of very impressive performances in domestic four-day cricket, having topped last season's bowling tables with 54 dismissals. Also included is Zubayr Hamza, who was one of only two batsmen to make double hundreds in the franchise four-day competition last season, and made his Test debut against Pakistan in January.

"All three newcomers to the Test side have more than earned their spurs through impressive performances in last season's Four-Day Franchise competition," said van Zyl.

"We feel we have covered all the options for the conditions we are likely to encounter on the sub-continent with Muthusamy and Dane Piedt, who was far and away the leading wicket-taker in our Four-Day competition, providing the back-up to Keshav Maharaj.

"Zubayr Hamza made an impressive start to his Test career against Pakistan last season when Faf du Plessis was ruled out and the retirement of Hashim Amla creates a further opportunity for him."

Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn and Lungi Ngidi were not considered for T20 selection as all three are part of the South Africa A squad that will be playing four-day cricket in September. Allrounder Chris Morris, who has been playing for Hampshire in the Vitality Blast, did not make himself available for selection. Dale Steyn, who recently retired from Test cricket, did make himself available for T20 selection, but was not picked.

"As far as the T20 squad is concerned, Temba Bavuma and Bjorn Fortuin were two of the standout players in the CSA T20 Challenge last season while Nortje was outstanding in the Mzansi Super League until ruled out by injury," van Zyl said. "This is very much a form squad with players being rewarded for their consistent performances at franchise level. This applies equally to Junior Dala and Jon-Jon Smuts.

"The T20 series gives us the last chance to have a look at our leadership and batting options as the next edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is now little more than a year away which is why we have gone with an inexperienced leadership group," explained van Zyl. "This is our last chance to do this before we settle on an established squad."

Test match squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma (vice-capt), Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second.

T20I squad: Quinton de Kock (capt), Rassie van der Dussen (vice-capt), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts.

Sri Lanka may have whitewashed South Africa in February, but their most recent Test series at home brought a 3-0 defeat at the hands of England. Though the hosts' spinners were expected to dominate the England batsmen, the opposition top order batted aggressively, and found ways to put up daunting totals.

A lot has changed in Sri Lanka's world since that series in November. Rangana Herath is no longer around. Dilruwan Perera, Sri Lanka's other lead spinner in that series, is recovering from injury. Left-arm spinner Malinda Pushpakumara, a domestic veteran, is not even in the squad. The spin bowlers Dimuth Karunaratne has at his disposal, instead, are largely inexperienced - Akila Dananjaya, who has played only five Tests, and Lasith Embuldeniya, who has played only two, and none at home.

ALSO READ: New Zealand eye Test dominance amid Sri Lanka's theatre of the absurd

A captain who has been unafraid to change a long-standing strategy so far, Karunaratne suggested he would encourage his young bowlers to bowl tighter than they did against England.

"When we played against England, we kept attacking them too much with our bowlers, and we couldn't stop the runs," Karunaratne said ahead of the first Test against New Zealand. "But we have that experience with [the loss against] England now, and we have some new plans. In these conditions, rather than giving away a lot of runs, we need to dry them up. Even though we lost the toss in all three of those games, we still had a good chance, and I think this is where we made the mistake. If their batsmen attack us, we need to know how to deal with that."

ALSO READ: William Somerville and the rise of the overseas specialist

Drying runs up may be especially vital in the first Test, if, as Karunaratne suspects, the pitch is more batting-friendly than it usually is in Galle. Frequent rains have forced the ground staff to keep the pitch under covers in the lead-up to the Test, which means the surface may not start as dry as it generally might. If that is the case, Sri Lanka's batting order, which should be strengthened by the return of Angelo Mathews, after he missed the South Africa Tests with injury, will be called upon to put up a substantial first-innings score.

"Angelo and Dinesh Chandimal are in this squad now, so there might be a few changes to the top order that played in South Africa," Karunaratne said. "It's different conditions as well here. We have to pick the best batsmen to counter spin. I think it will be a good wicket for the batsmen, but because we haven't been able to see the pitch properly over the last few days, we can only make those decisions about selection tomorrow morning."

Moeen Ali will take a short break from cricket after his omission from the England squad for the second Ashes Test at Lord's this week.

Moeen struggled badly in the first Test of the series, taking 2 for 130 in Australia's second innings on a turning pitch and twice being dismissed cheaply by Nathan Lyon, who has now dismissed him in nine of his last 11 innings against Australia.

He was left out of the squad for Lord's in favour of Jack Leach, the Somerset left-arm spinner, and was expected to return to Worcestershire's squads for the Vitality Blast.

ALSO READ: The triumphs and travails of Moeen Ali's Test career

Instead, Worcestershire announced that he would be stepping away from cricket for a "short break" after a "hectic and high-intensity period of international cricket" before linking up with the county again.

Worcestershire coach Alex Gidman said: "Mo is spending a little time away from the middle recharging his batteries and putting in some quality practice time which he feels he needs, and we completely respect.

"He has had an intense schedule of international cricket involving the ICC World Cup and the start of the Ashes.

"Mo loves playing for Worcestershire and he gives a lift to everyone in the dressing room when he comes back and plays for us.

"We saw at Trent Bridge [in the Blast] what he gives to us and we look forward to when he returns soon."

The announcement, in addition to Adil Rashid's season-ending shoulder injury, suggests that Leach is likely to be England's spinner for much of the ongoing series - though it is possible Moeen could return for Sunday's Championship match against Northamptonshire.

Leach told the BBC this week that he had been in conversation with Moeen after the squad announcement.

"Mo sent me a text wishing me all the best," Leach said. "He said he hopes that I do really well. He's been so supportive of me coming into this environment and helping me with my bowling.

"I actually told him to be ready for the third Test, so we had a little laugh."

Big Picture

From the match they weren't expected to win to one they're not expected to lose my, how quickly things can change during the Ashes.

Australia were given little hope of breaching Fortress Edgbaston and that was before they slumped to 122 for 8 on the first day of the series opener. What might have happened had Steve Smith not produced the innings of his life with a match-saving century, not to mention backing it up with another ton in the second innings? What might have happened had England not lost pace spearhead James Anderson to a calf injury after he had bowled just four overs? But look deeper. The first Test was much more than a few sliding-door moments and what ifs. Sides don't win matches by 251 runs on the back of fortune alone.

The vastly experienced Peter Siddle was sound in his support of Smith where others had failed, his innings of 44 crucial to Australia's early recovery effort. Matthew Wade's 110 came amid a more rounded batting performance by the Australians in the second innings, when Travis Head, Usman Khawaja and No. 8 James Pattinson all joined Smith in getting among the runs. Then there were Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins whose 10 wickets between them in England's second innings shut out Siddle and Pattinson, who had contributed to a well-balanced bowling performance in the hosts' first innings.

England were not without their performers, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes putting Australia under intense pressure early on while Rory Burns' timely maiden Test century came as Joe Root - batting a place higher than his preferred No. 4 - and Ben Stokes posted fifties. But Anderson's injury and Moeen Ali's poor returns left England's bowling too thin. That is the area England have sought to address by calling on Jofra Archer and Jack Leach for the second Test at Lord's. In the aftermath of defeat at Edgbaston, England coach Trevor Bayliss had rued England's dearth of pace in the absence of Anderson and Mark Wood, who is dealing with side and knee complaints, and that was before Olly Stone was ruled out for at least two weeks with a recurrence of a back stress fracture.

It is in the management of pace stocks that this series may be won and lost, and where Australia appear to have the edge on England at this stage. With the "luxury" of six fit fast bowlers, as Australia coach Justin Langer put it, the tourists have opted to rest Pattinson for the second Test in favour of either Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc. England, meanwhile, will be hoping Archer remains free of the side strain he suffered in the World Cup final and which kept him out of the first Test - and there is every indication he is fully fit - while looking to Leach for a reprise of his happy memories at Lord's, this time with the ball after his 92 as nightwatchman earned him Player of the Match honours at the same ground against Ireland last month.

Form guide

England LWWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Australia WWWDL

In the spotlight

Man of the moment - again - Jofra Archer finds himself in what is fast becoming a familiar position of England X-factor, and he hasn't even made his Test debut yet. That latter point will be moot come Wednesday morning as Australia set about trying to implement Langer's instructions to "keep wearing him down". But, injury notwithstanding, Archer doesn't cut the figure of a man who gets worn down. From his whirlwind rise as soon as he qualified for England to stepping up in the tense Super Over of an eventual World Cup triumph, Archer has done all that has been asked of him in his short international career. Yes, it is a huge ask to expect a 24 year old whose only red-ball cricket in 11 months was last week's second XI appearance for Sussex against Gloucestershire which convinced selectors of his fitness following injury, to be the sole reason England can avoid going 2-0 down in the Ashes. He is one man and, even as Smith discovered amid his first-Test stardom, it takes more than that - ask Lyon, Cummins, Siddle and Wade. But there is no doubting that, with or without the injured Anderson, Archer is a massive plus for England.

David Warner had a quiet start to the Ashes with scores of two and eight, never mind that he should have been out when he wasn't and he was out when he shouldn't have been. He does win points for the way he handled the heckling from the Edgbaston crowd with good humour and a thick skin and while that doesn't count for anything on a scorecard it can be seen as an important step in a return to Test cricket that is as much mental as it is physical. Now Warner needs to make like Smith and let his bat do the talking. He did just that during the World Cup in front of English crowds, so it is not a big stretch at all to expect him to transfer that to the Test arena and if he does, England could face double the trouble.

Team news

Jack Leach had a lengthy bowl in the nets on Test eve, while Archer put in a brief but fiery burst, suggesting there won't be much in the way of surprises in the England team. Sam Curran looks most likely to miss out from the 12-man squad.

England: (possible) 1 Rory Burns, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Joe Denly, 5 Jos Buttler, 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Jonny Bairstow, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Jack Leach.

Hazlewood looks set for a return to the ground where he took 3 for 68 and 2 for 20 in his best performance of the 2015 Ashes, replacing the resting Pattinson. Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc - both left out of the Ashes opener at Edgbaston - were included as Australia named a 12-man squad on match eve with the prospect of a fresh and firing Pattinson at Headingley looming with just a three-day turnaround between fixtures. Whether both Hazlewood and Starc play is another matter, however, after Siddle's performance with the bat in the first Test.

Australia: (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Cameron Bancroft, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Matthew Wade, 7 Tim Paine (capt/wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

Not nearly as verdant as the lush greentop that welcomed players on the eve of England's Test against Ireland, this Lord's pitch is reminiscent of the one which hosted the gripping encounter between England and Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan won that match by 75 runs on the penultimate day after legspinner Yasir Shah added four second-innings wickets to his six from the first innings as the tourists claimed the 10 scalps they needed on what turned out to be the last day's play. The weather does not look like playing ball, with cool temperatures and rain expected, particularly on Wednesday.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have the chance to go 2-0 up, a position from which only one Test series in history has been lost (Australia defeated England 3-2 in the 1936-37 Ashes after trailing 0-2).

• England have lost six of their last seven Tests against Australia with one draw.

• Lord's is a happy place for Australia, who have won six of their last 10 Tests against England at the ground. Before defeats in 2013 and 2009, Australia's previous loss there was in 1934.

Quotes

"We're in English conditions, we really back ourselves to perform and to come back strong after last week. We've proven that we do that time and time again when we when we've been defeated, especially at home. I'm expecting a big response from the boys. Last week will have hurt everyone, and everyone will be absolutely desperate to go and win this week. And I expect nothing less."
Joe Root expects his team to bounce back

"I would have thought it would be in different circumstances. Nonetheless I'm really proud to be part of this Test side. I'm rapt to be playing international cricket again and to have a second opportunity, to have the captaincy is a great honour as well. It's certainly one I didn't want or expect but doing the job now, I'm thoroughly enjoying it."
Tim Paine on returning to the scene of his Test debut in 2010

The Washington Redskins have told multiple teams that have called this summer that they are not trading seven-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Williams has been a holdout throughout training camp and stayed away from the team's mandatory minicamp in June.

At the root of Williams' absence is that he is upset with how a growth on his head was treated over the years, sources told ESPN's John Keim. It was finally surgically removed this offseason. Sources within the Redskins say several appointments for him over the years weren't kept. It's unclear whether a new contract, or more guaranteed money in 2020 -- the last year of his current deal -- would appease Williams.

If the Redskins don't trade Williams, they could let the situation drag into the season, forcing him to either return or miss game checks. Williams has a base salary of $10.5 million, making one check worth $617,647.

Williams' absence is being felt in camp.

"Since Day 1 of camp you notice his absence is impacting us tremendously," running back Adrian Peterson told ESPN's Josina Anderson. "You go from not having to worry about the blind side at all, to having to chip on that side, add a TE there which changes what you do. I think it's making Dwayne Haskins have to think more, not process things as calmly. Matter of fact, I think it's impacting all of our QBs. Guys are coming off the edge in practice right there on the QB & the RB. It's been a struggle."

Peterson added, "He's the best & most athletic LT in the game, and I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back, and I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't."