MALTA, N.Y. – Neil Stratton won his first DIRTcar modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway Friday night, joining his father, Hector, as a winner at the three-eighths-mile oval.

A slew of yellows early on gave his pursuers a chance to battle for the lead, but only Peter Britten could get close and he never made a serious challenge.

“We’ve had a fast car but horrible luck,” said Stratton.  This is a tough crowd to beat.  I thought I kept hearing someone coming but nobody got there.”

Marc Johnson was third, topping a tremendous battle behind the two leaders that saw cars three wide and positions changing constantly. He was followed by polesitter and early leader Elmo Reckner, 10th starting Mike Mahaney, Brett Hearn, Rocky Warner, Matt DeLorenzo, Rich Ronca and Keith Flach.

Stratton, who lined up fifth, stood third on a lap three restart.  He got by Ronca off turn two, then shadowed Reckner through lap seven, when he shot under the leader and drove off.

With the race for the win effectively over, the fans turned to the fierce battle behind the leaders.  Contact sent Kenny Tremont Jr. over the turn one banking on lap 12, but everyone settled down somewhat after that and while the battle continued, the race went to the checkers with no more yellows.

Jeff Trombley, who spent many seasons at Albany-Saratoga in a modified, claimed the feature for the visiting CRSA 305 sprints.  He advanced steadily from ninth, showing fifth on a lap five restart and second on lap eight when the next caution came.

When green returned, he went right to the top, drawing even with leader Dalton Herrick for two lap before changing lanes and diving under him as they hit turn one on lap nine.

From there it was clear sailing for Trombley, who led Brandyn Griffin, Mike Kiser, Alysha Bay, Justin Mills and Gerald Sehn to the checkers.

Division kingpin Tim Hartman prevailed over Connor Cleveland and Pat Jones in the Sportsman feature with old pro Kim Deuel notching a $1,000 score in the Pro Stocks.  He was trailed by Brandon Emigh, Nick Arnold and Josh Coonradt.

UNION, Ky. – Friday night’s portion of the Sunoco Race Fuels North/South – Presented by Lucas Oil kicked off at Florence Speedway with 53 of the nation’s top dirt late model drivers battling in 12 heat races for passing points.

In the first round, heat one was won by Mike Marlar. He led all the way to pick up the victory. Marlar stayed in front of a fantastic battle for second that lasted for the entire distance. Ultimately, he was followed to the line by Michael Norris and Ricky Weiss.

In the second heat, Zak Blackwood led all the way to win. Dale McDowell charged from the fourth starting position to take the runner-up spot. Scott Bloomquist took the third spot.

In heat three, Frank Heckenast Jr. passed Billy Moyer Jr. on the white flag lap to win an exciting battle between the two. Moyer Jr. would cross the line in second over seventh-starting Stormy Scott.

Hudson O’Neal made a daring move early in heat four as the 18-year-old went on to win the heat after starting in eighth, collecting the most passing points in round one with his winning effort. Duane Chamberlain would finish in second followed by Florence first-timer Chris Garnes.

The fifth heat race saw a torrid battle between the top three finishers. Jimmy Owens, Jonathan Davenport and Bobby Pierce ran away from the rest of the field over the last half of the race. Jonathan Davenport, who started seventh and Bobby Pierce, who started eighth rocketed through the field to finish second and third.

The sixth and final heat race of round one saw Kyle Bronson use his outside front-row starting spot to take the win as a hotly contested battle for second took place, with Nick Hoffman finally edging Brandon Overton for the second spot.

In the second round, heat one turned out to have a battle of number 8 cars as Mike Benedum took the lead at the start and stretched it out from the other number 8, Kyle Stickler. Strickler trailed at the line in second position, and eighth-place starter Devin Gilpin finished in third.

The second heat went to outside front row starter Bobby Pierce as he had to contend with youngster Billy Green for the first half of the race. Robby Hensley, the two-time Florence Speedway track champion finished in third.

Earl Pearson Jr. fought off the field for the win in the third heat, followed to the checkers by Ricky Weiss and Jonathan Davenport.

The fourth heat saw Scott Bloomquist come from the seventh starting spot to take the win. Devin Moran edged out Donald McIntosh at the stripe for second.

The fifth heat in round two saw Stormy Scott take the victory over Chris Madden and Tim McCreadie.

The sixth and final heat saw Jimmy Owens advance from the sixth starting position to take the win. With the victory, he earns the pole position for Saturday night’s Sunoco Race Fuels North-South 100. Zack Dohm came from the same row as Owens to finish in second. Tyler Erb was third.

Joining Owens on the front row for the North/South 100 is Bloomquist. They are followed by Pierce, Scott, O’Neal and Weiss.

India A 201 (Saha 62, Vihari 55, Chemar Holder 3-55, Frazer 3-53) and 365 for 4 declared (Gill 204*, Vihari 118*) drew with West Indies A (Solozano 69, Ambris 43, Gowtham 6-67) and 314 for 6 (Solozano 92, King 77, Ambris 69, Nadeem 5-103)

West Indies A batted out an entire day to secure a creditable draw in the third four-day fixture in Tarouba to bring an end to an exhaustive month-long tour. India A took the one-day series 4-1, and the unofficial Tests 2-0.

Set a target of 373, the hosts defied the bowlers courtesy half-centuries from Jeremy Solozano (92), Brandon King (77) and Sunil Ambris (69). They were 59 adrift at 314 for 6 when play ended, even as India A made a late dash to prise out the remaining wickets.

Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, picked up five of the six wickets to fall as he continued to remind the national selectors of his effectiveness. Two days shy of turning 30, the Jharkhand bowler finished the series with 15 wickets (three five-fors) in four innings. K Gowtham, the offspinner who picked up a hat-trick in the first innings en route 6 for 67, was India A's next best with 12 wickets.

India A got into a winning position from the dumps. Having taken a seven-run lead, their top order was blown away by fast bowler Chemar Holder as they slumped to 14 for 3, and later 50 for 4 in the second innings. Shubman Gill, out for a golden duck in the first innings, stood tall and salvaged a floundering innings along with first-innings half-centurion Hanuma Vihari.

Gill became the youngest India A batsman to score a double century overseas, his 204 not out coming during the course of a 315-run fifth-wicket stand with Vihari, the captain. After a string of inconsistent scores that included a sequence of 31,9, 0 and 1, Vihari, who will return to the West Indies with the Test squad, dug in to make his 18th first-class century as India A declared on 365 for 4.

There were also sprightly batting contributions right through the series from comeback man Wriddhiman Saha, who is also part of the Indian Test squad for the two-Test series. After announcing himself with 66 in the second match, Saha struck 62 crucial runs in the first innings here to give India's total a lift after they were tottering 48 for 4 on the first morning.

For West Indies A, Holder's pace and swing was among their biggest gains. With 15 wickets, he finished the series as the joint-highest wicket-taker along with Nadeem. While none of their batsmen managed three figures, Solozano impressed in the final game with two half-centuries and was their highest run-scorer in the series (181 in four innings at 60.33).

Rahkeem Cornwall has finally made it to the West Indies Test squad. The 26-year old hard-hitting offspinning allrounder was among the 13 men picked to play the two-match series against India starting on August 22.

There was another highly-rated young player on the fringes, but fitness issues ruled him out. Alzarri Joseph, who was part of the team that beat England earlier this year and also made a splash in the IPL, is still recovering from injury.

Cornwall made his first-class debut in 2014 and has since become a regular for Leewards Islands, even captaining them earlier this year. He has 260 wickets from 55 first-class matches and finished as the leading bowler in the most recent regional four-day tournament.

"Rahkeem has been performing consistently over a long period of time and has proven to be a match-winner, so we believe his elevation to the Test squad is merited at this time," Robert Haynes, the head of CWI's interim selection panel, said.

"We believe he can provide an attacking option to our bowling attack with his sharp turn and extra bounce. He can also lend a bit of depth to the batting, so we are looking forward to him coming into the squad and making a valuable contribution."

Cornwall has also been part of several West Indies A teams, including the one that played against India's last month. Batting in the lower-middle order, he scored two half-centuries and picked up four wickets. He is a striking presence, standing over six feet tall, capable of hitting effortless sixes.

Joseph, meanwhile, was last seen in the IPL where he picked up a record-breaking 6 for 12 on debut for Mumbai Indians but played only three matches before suffering a tear to his right arm.

"Alzarri is undergoing remedial work and we are monitoring his recovery," Haynes said. "But we do not think he is ready yet to last five days of a gruelling Test match. He represents a key part of West Indies future and we do not want to rush him back. We have two important series coming up later in the year in India and we want to be very careful how his recovery is managed."

The only other player missing out from the squad that beat England in the last Test series they played was left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.

This series will mark both India and West Indies' debut in the World Test championship. At the World Cup, Chris Gayle mentioned that he might possibly want to play one more Test match before retiring but he has not been selected in this squad.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Oakland Raiders receiver Antonio Brown is threatening to leave football forever, reports ESPN's Adam Schefter, because his helmet of choice is prohibited for use in the NFL.

Yes, that's a real sentence about a real thing that's happening right now. Let's dive in.

This can't be real.

Oh, but it is. Brown participated in a two-hour conference call on Friday, Schefter reported, as part of a grievance that he hopes will provide an exception to wear his old helmet. That model is a Schutt Air Advantage, according to a league source, and it was discontinued by the manufacturer earlier this decade.

Why won't the NFL allow him to wear it?

The NFL has a longstanding policy that requires all players to wear helmets that have been certified by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). And NOCSAE won't certify the helmet because it is more than 10 years old, according to the league source. Like all products and technology, helmets are frequently updated over time. Every player is made aware of the policy, so Brown should not have been surprised that it would be disallowed in 2019.

What is he supposed to wear instead?

In April, the NFL and NFL Players Association released an updated evaluation of 40 helmet models, 34 of which are approved for use in 2019. Half of the approved models are manufactured by Schutt. The Air Advantage is not among those listed.

Who cares? Helmets are helmets, right?

Many players are attached to particular helmet models. Some feel they have been well-protected and don't want to try something different. Others make decisions based on aesthetics. And some try new models and can't get used to them. According to Schefter, Brown believes that his best alternative protrudes and interferes with his vision.

But to never play again because of it?

Yes, that's an extreme reaction -- even for a player of Brown's history. There's no sense trying to explain that one.

What would happen if he wears the old one anyway?

In April, the NFL announced a related but separate policy that banned certain helmets that performed poorly in laboratory testing. The onus was put on teams to ensure that no player had access to or wore a banned helmet. If a team was found to have known about a player wearing a banned helmet, or to have facilitated the use of one, it would be subject to league discipline, an NFL executive said at the time.

Is that why Tom Brady changed helmets this season?

Yes. Brady was able to wear his old helmet for one extra season in 2018, as part of a grandfathered NFL policy, but he has moved to an approved model for this season.

Would Brown be disciplined?

Not by the NFL, it appears. But the Raiders could address it through team discipline if they chose. And because the NFL policy prevents Brown from practicing or playing in the old helmet, he would be in breach of his contract and be subject to losing that week's game check.

Does Brown have any chance of winning the grievance?

It's difficult to see how, as long as the NFL policy is to allow only NOCSAE-approved helmets and NOCSAE won't certify Brown's helmet. Allowing a player to use an uncertified helmet, one that presumably protects him less effectively than more updated models, would strike against the NFL's decision to make helmet choice a primary tenet of its health and safety platform.

What would happen if Brown actually retired?

From a financial standpoint, Brown would walk away from at least $30.125 million that is fully guaranteed in his contract for the next two seasons. The Raiders would absorb about the same in a dead money charge. But it's possible the Raiders could simply place him on a reserve list that would absolve them from having to pay out his contract, while maintaining his $14.9 million cap charge for 2019.

LAS VEGAS -- The first order of business for USA Basketball on Friday night was thanking its fans, so Donovan Mitchell grabbed a microphone to deliver the pregame message.

He got right to the point.

"We look forward to going out to China, representing the USA, and winning the gold," Mitchell said.

And now, the first step of getting ready for an unprecedented third straight Basketball World Cup title is complete.

USA Basketball held its Blue-White game to wrap up a week of training camp in Las Vegas, and the Blue squad -- the national team candidates, for the most part -- had little trouble in beating the White squad composed mostly of young up-and-coming NBA players, 97-78. Jayson Tatum scored 17 points for the Blue, which got 14 from Kemba Walker and 12 from De'Aaron Fox.

Everybody who was supposed to play did, new U.S. coach Gregg Popovich got to tinker with a lot of combinations and no one got seriously hurt -- thankfully, there was no reprise of the scene like the one five years ago during a USA Basketball exhibition game in Las Vegas, when Paul George suffered a horrible lower leg injury.

In short, that made the night a success. Everything else was just details.

Derrick White -- who plays for Popovich in San Antonio, and was getting coached up by him a bit during Friday's scrimmage as well -- finished with 12 points and seven assists for the White team, coached by Jeff Van Gundy. John Collins also scored 12 and Jonathan Isaac added 11 points for the White squad.

Popovich and his staff will have to move quickly over the next few days to figure out which 12 players to take to China for the World Cup, which starts Aug. 31. The Americans open group play on Sept. 1 against the Czech Republic in Shanghai.

Popovich started Mitchell, Walker, Jaylen Brown, Myles Turner and Khris Middleton. The next five into the game was Tatum, Fox, Brook Lopez, Joe Harris and Kyle Kuzma.

From there, Harrison Barnes, P.J. Tucker, Mason Plumlee, Bam Adebayo and Thaddeus Young eventually got worked in.

The Blue led by as many as 30.

LOWRY UPDATE

Kyle Lowry of the NBA champion Toronto Raptors told NBA TV during the game that he will meet with his surgeon, Dr. Michelle Carlson from the Hospital for Special Surgery, on Monday -- at which time he may know when he can return to action. Lowry, who had surgery last month to repair a torn tendon in his left thumb, is hoping to participate in national team workouts next week. "Hopefully she gives me some good news," Lowry said. He's been in a splint for about four weeks.

K COURTSIDE

Former USA Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and his wife Mickie were courtside. Krzyzewski led the Americans to an 88-1 record and five gold medals -- three Olympics, two World Cups -- in his 12 years at the helm before being succeeded by Popovich for this Olympic cycle. Also in attendance was Vegas regular Floyd Mayweather, a big basketball fan, along with U.S. Olympic basketball gold medalists Sam Perkins and Chris Mullin.

UP NEXT

The Americans will reconvene at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo, California on Tuesday to resume camp. The U.S. will play Spain in an exhibition at Anaheim, California on Aug. 16 before flying to Australia the next day.

NEW YORK -- Todd Frazier clobbered a tying, three-run homer and Michael Conforto then lined a game-ending single as the New York Mets stormed back in the ninth inning to stun the Washington Nationals 7-6 Friday night for their seventh straight win.

Trailing 6-3, the Mets rallied against closer Sean Doolittle to win for the 14th time in 15 games at pulsating Citi Field -- New York had been 0-44 this year when trailing after eight innings. The Nationals hold the top spot in the NL wild-card race, the Mets are 1 1/2 games behind them.

In what was once considered a lost season for each club at different points, a playoff atmosphere was palpable both in the stands and between the lines. It was arguably the biggest tilt at the ballpark since the 2016 NL wild-card game, with a near-sellout crowd seemingly hanging on every pitch.

Mets rookie Pete Alonso homered in his fourth straight game, hitting his 38th of the season off Stephen Strasburg. J.D. Davis also connected.

Davis and Wilson Ramos led off the ninth with hits off Doolittle and Frazier sent a drive into the second deck in left, sending the fans into a frenzy.

Newly signed Joe Panik followed with a single and was wiped out by a fielder's choice. After Jeff McNeil was retired, Amed Rosario singled. Conforto followed with a hard liner over the head of right fielder Adam Eaton, scoring Juan Lagares for the victory with his first career walk-off hit.

His teammates ripped the shirt off his back in the ensuing celebrations.

Doolittle (6-4) blew his fifth save in 30 chances. He has allowed 19 runs this season -- 10 against the Mets, allowing 16 hits and two walks in just six innings over seven games.

Acquired from Toronto for two minor leaguers on July 28, Mets starter Marcus Stroman struck out a season-high nine in his first home game since the trade. The All-Star righty from Long Island exited to a standing ovation after walked Trea Turner to begin the seventh.

Stephen Strasburg struck out six in seven innings, setting a Nationals/Expos franchise record with 1,625.

Washington temporarily silenced the raucous 39,602 in attendance when Anthony Rendon hit an RBI triple in the fourth. Juan Soto homered two pitches later, giving the Nationals a 3-0 lead with his 22nd homer.

Alonso launched a two-run homer in the bottom half and Davis followed with a drive that made it 3-all. Alonso bounded out of the dugout while Davis was rounding the bases and waved his hands in the air to encourage the fans to cheer even louder.

Rendon hit a two-run homer, his 25th, in the seventh for a 5-3 lead. Reliever Luis Avilan (3-0) allowed the speedy Turner to race home and score on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth for a three-run lead.

Signed by the Mets on Friday afternoon after his release from San Francisco, the Yonkers-born Panik manned second base and was 1 for 4.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer (mild strain in upper back) threw on flat ground and might throw a bullpen session Saturday, according to manager Dave Martinez. ... 1B Ryan Zimmerman (plantar fascitis in right foot) has started running at about 75-80 percent. He has continued to hit and field ground ball but has yet to run the bases.

Mets: 2B Robinson Cano (torn left hamstring) hopes to play again at this season but noted that there is no timetable for his return, a sentiment echoed by manager Mickey Callaway and general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. ... OF Brandon Nimmo (bulging cervical disc) is continuing baseball activities and "ramping up," per Callaway. There is no date set for Nimmo to begin a rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Nationals: LHP Patrick Corbin (9-5, 3.43 ERA) will make his fifth start against New York this season. He is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in those contests.

Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (8-5, 3.96 ERA) is 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in five starts since the All-Star break, striking out 39 over 35 1/3 innings. He has not allowed a homer since July 6.

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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

LEXINGTON, Ohio – Close battles at the top of the fields for the Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli highlighted qualifying for the FirstEnergy Muscle Car Challenge and the FirstEnergy Mid-Ohio 100 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Friday.

With Trans-Am season reaching the midway point of the season with an active schedule of iconic tracks, the championship races are beginning to emerge as drivers weigh risk and reward at every corner.  A hallmark of the TA2 powered by AEM has always been close, hard, exciting action. Friday’s qualifying session was no exception, with the top spots changing on every lap late in the session.

When the dust settled, Rafa Matos had placed his No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro on the pole position of the 30-car field for the second time this season, with a lap of 1:24.938 seconds. Matos will have no relief at the start of the 45-lap, 100-mile race on Saturday, as championship-leader Marc Miller and his No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger will start alongside, a mere .074 seconds back.

NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Ty Gibbs held the top spot for one lap midway through the session, as did Detroit race winner Misha Goikhberg and two-time winner Thomas Merrill.

The 20-minute session was abbreviated due to an incident for No. 29 Mitch Marvosh, who found the wall in turn five just as the field completed two qualifying laps. By the time the green flag flew again, only 10 minutes remained – albeit 10 minutes of wild, nonstop action at the top of the speed charts.

Scott Lagasse Jr. will start third, with Goikhberg fourth, Merrill fifth and NASCAR Xfinity regulars Justin Haley and Gibbs sixth and seventh.

“There are 30 plus cars here so to get a clean lap is a big struggle,” said Matos. “We focused on getting a clean lap, but the red flag messed up our plans. But we were able to get into a groove and find that clean lap and get the pole position. Hopefully it will be like last year and we can win the race! The 3-Dimensional Services crew has worked so hard on the car to ensure that it’s reliable and working well. But we’re playing catch-up a bit here, we’ve got some points to recover to Marc, he’s our benchmark. We’ll keep plugging away.”

The TA class shot out of the gate with current championship leader Chris Dyson exchanging the top spot with last year’s Mid-Ohio winner – and second place in the title chase – Ernie Francis Jr. But the session was stopped before the midway point when third-place runner Doug Peterson landed his No. 3 Elavon/Burtin Racing Chevrolet Camaro into the sand in turn four. The green came back out with mere minutes remaining in the session as Dyson and Francis re-engaged the fight.

“It was pretty stressful out there,” said Francis. “Chris Dyson was really close behind and putting down some pretty good laps. It was a close battle and we only got him by 5/100s of a second. It was fun and awesome, and I think the race tomorrow is going to be great. We’ve always been good here at Mid-Ohio: the track is very technical, and you don’t need a whole lot of horsepower to really get around this place, and that helped us out there. We’re going for the win tomorrow and maximizes our points so we can get on the road to this championship.”

When the checkered flag flew, Francis Jr. had placed his No. 98 Frameless Shower Doors Ford Mustang into the pole position for the second time this season with a lap at 1:22.287-seconds, a mere .054 seconds ahead of Dyson and his No. 20 Thetford/Norcold Ford Mustang.

The SGT and GT qualifying session conducted its 20-minute session completely under green but with a similar duel for the pole, as Mark Boden and Ken Thwaits swapped the position throughout the session. In the end, it was Boden taking his third pole of the season with a quick lap time of 1:26.560-seconds.

“The Fall Line Porsche has been fast all weekend,” said Boden. “We made a few adjustments for qualifying and I was able to lay down a good lap on the third lap. It was happily uneventful! It should be a fun race; we’ve got four or five fast cars that will be up front.”

Ohio native Larry Funk in the No. 64 Business Advisory Services Ford Mustang is the single entry in the GT class and set his fastest time on Lap 5 with a time of 1:33.588-seconds.

LIVE from the Knoxville Nationals
Presented by Mobil 1 Truck & SUV Oil
Pit Karts & Quick Fixes

Anytime a driver has an issue at the very fast half-mile Knoxville Raceway, the pit crews have to be ready to help fix the car and fix it in a hurry! To aid in this process, each team has their pit karts equipped with all the items they might need and they are strategically placed for quick access. With more on this topic, Brian Brown’s crew chief, Chad Morgan, gave us some good info.

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