I Dig Sports

Why did Premier League teams spend less this summer?

Published in Soccer

Friday, 09 August 2019 07:38

For all the talk of financial might, this summer's transfer window saw the Premier League's collective net spend fall by more than 25%.

Whether you use Transfermarkt figures (showing a drop of 24%, from €1.019 billion to €774 million) or the numbers put out by Deloitte (a fall of 26.4%, from £850m to £625m), it's pretty clear that 2019 saw a sharp U-turn in spending compared to years past. In fact, Deloitte says this was the lowest net spend since the summer of 2015, which is rather remarkable when you consider that Premier League revenues have risen by 22% since then. And bear in mind, the window has closed in England but remains open elsewhere, which means that the net spend number can only go one way: down.

- Premier League fixtures 2019-20 in full
- Transfer Tracker: All the major deals
- Marcotti: Anatomy of a transfer story
- Transfer Grades: Rating every big transfer

Even more remarkable is net spending by the Premier League's wealthiest clubs: Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United. They have traditionally driven spending, as you would expect, yet collectively, in the summer of 2019, their net spend is around £241m. Because that number can only go down in the next three weeks, don't be surprised if we end up with the lowest Big Six net spend since the summer of 2012.

To give you an idea about how long ago that was, Sir Alex Ferguson was managing Manchester United and signing Robin Van Persie to win one last title before retirement.

Obviously Chelsea's transfer embargo affects the total and coupled with Liverpool's decision to effectively sit out this window, it accounts for a big chunk -- though by no means all -- of the shortfall relative to last season. And we're still some £260m down on the summer of 2016.

Two other factors come into play that would have suggested greater net spending from the Premier League big boys. One is that the Premier League supplied both Champions League and Europa League finalists last season. That translates into a prize money windfall, as well as (usually) greater commercial and sponsorship revenue down the road.

The other is that this summer, more than any other in recent memory, has seen superstars, mostly at continental clubs, finding themselves on the market. Some have effectively had "for sale" signs around their neck (Gareth Bale, Mauro Icardi, Paulo Dybala), others had release clauses (Antoine Griezmann) and others still, you suspect, would have been available at the right price (Neymar, Matthijs De Ligt, Philippe Coutinho). In the past, you would have expected interest from English clubs, but not this summer. For a variety of reasons, and much to the frustration of agents and intermediaries, they tended to stay put, whether it was onerous contracts, excessive commissions or, in some cases, a feeling that a big name might disrupt harmony and chemistry.

So why did the big English clubs suddenly stop spending? And is this a sign of things to come?

There are, broadly, two answers. One is, for lack of a better word, circumstantial. Clubs tend to spend big when they are underachieving, need to rebuild and/or when they have new managers (who have often been given assurances of transfer budgets). That's not the case for Manchester City, Liverpool or Tottenham (though Spurs did spend relatively big, which was understandable after doing nothing last year). With Chelsea on the sidelines, that leaves Manchester United and Arsenal. The former were rather conservative by their standards, possibly because they're still not clear on whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a long-term solution. The latter had one of their biggest windows ever but still are hamstrung by a high wage bill and mega-contracts for players such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil, who eat up a vast chunk of the wage bill.

And that brings us to wages and revenues, the macro trend. Wages and transfer fees of course come out of the same pot. In the Premier League, salaries have grown faster than revenue over the past three seasons and after years of vertical growth, you suspect owners are starting to think the Gold Rush is ending. This may explain why, as a proportion of revenue, this summer's net spend of 12% (and, remember, that figure will only go down) is the lowest since 2012.

The value of the Premier League's most recent domestic TV deal fell by 8%, from 2016-2019 to 2019-2022, despite a 19% increase in the number of games being sold for broadcast. And while revenue from overseas rights is up 30%, more than making up for the shortfall, that's less than the Premier League had predicted five years ago. Piracy and illegal streaming are a big factor here, as is the fact that, in many markets, there is a dominant broadcaster exercising a monopoly.

There are only so many ways you can grow revenue and with gate receipts pretty much maxed out -- except for Tottenham, who will benefit from their new ground -- if media rights income goes flat, that leaves only commercial revenue as a potential growth driver. And that's already a pretty saturated market. It's not a reason to despair -- it remains head and shoulders above other domestic leagues -- but there is a sense that if you want to be profitable you need to keep an eye on costs. And this is especially true given the nature of Premier League owners, particularly at the Big Six.

For better or worse, Arsenal, Liverpool, United and Tottenham are owned by businessmen who expect to make money in the long term (and often the short term too). Chelsea and Manchester City, after years of free spending and "vanity ownership," are in the same boat too. Which, incidentally, is why all these clubs back Financial Fair Play: It keeps the costs down and the profits up.

Financially, this may be remembered as the transfer window when England's Big Six were reasonable, level-headed and far-sighted. Football-wise, you wonder if maybe it won't be remembered as a missed opportunity to hoover up even more talent and consolidate their power at the top even further.

Tagged under

Silence not golden as Yankees' Gardner ejected

Published in Baseball

Friday, 09 August 2019 19:47

TORONTO -- Apparently even silence can have its consequences.

New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner learned that the hard way Friday night when he was ejected from inside the first-base side dugout in the fourth inning of the Yankees' game at Rogers Centre against the Toronto Blue Jays.

At the exact moment Gardner was tossed by home-plate umpire Chris Segal, cameras showed the center fielder sitting quietly on the Yankees' bench with a bat in one hand and the other holding a water bottle.

In the foreground, Yankees manager Aaron Boone could be seen voicing his displeasure at a strike call Segal made seconds before the tossing. At the same time, outfielder Cameron Maybin, sitting near Gardner on the bench, shouted a couple of words to Segal, too.

Gardner's ejection came in the middle of an at-bat by Yankees outfielder Mike Tauchman. After ruling a close, low pitch a strike, Segal seemed to show that he had had enough of the chirping from the New York dugout.

Immediately after calling the first-pitch strike, Segal took his mask off, glanced quickly in the Yankees' direction and motioned forcefully with his right arm as he shouted: "Dugout. Gone."

Boone hopped off his first-step perch in response, with his hands out, trying to figure out who exactly had been ejected. Segal told him it was Gardner. Boone began to argue the ejection, telling the umpire that it was he who had been shouting at him, and not the player.

Time went by before Gardner realized he had been kicked out of the game. About 45 seconds after the ejection, a Yankees assistant sitting next to him on the bench told Gardner he was the one who had been booted. In disbelief, Gardner jogged out onto the field to find out the news for himself.

"I didn't say anything," Gardner could be seen saying to umpires. "I didn't say a word. Not one word. Not one word."

Very quickly, his plea for innocence turned into anger. Upset over the ejection, Gardner started hopping in the direction of Segal and crew chief and first-base umpire Dan Iassogna as Boone and Tauchman tried holding him back. Gardner slipped their grasps a couple of times but never got particularly close to the umps.

Eventually, Gardner was walked back toward the Yankees' dugout by Boone and Iassogna before collecting his batting gloves and a bat and walking down the steps that led back toward the New York clubhouse.

It was the fifth career ejection for the 35-year-old Gardner, and his first since Sept. 9, 2018.

While Gardner might have been silent during the at-bat that led to his ejection, moments prior he could be seen making a racket in the dugout as the Yankees bemoaned a called third strike on outfielder Maybin, the hitter who batted one spot before Tauchman.

As Maybin took a pitch that was just below the strike zone tracker used by game broadcasters YES Network and Sportsnet Canada, Gardner was in the dugout jamming his bat into its roof. At the same time, Boone and bench coach Josh Bard were yelling at the umpire about the call.

Gardner was sitting in about the same spot in the dugout during both close calls.

Following his ejection, Gardner was replaced in the batting order by Aaron Judge, who had been getting the day off. Judge checked in in right field, forcing Maybin, who started in right, to move to left field, and Tauchman to move from left field to center, where Gardner had been playing.

Tauchman's fourth-inning at-bat ended with a different set of fireworks. He homered to right to put the Yankees on the scoreboard for the first time in the game. It was his 12th homer of the season.

Tagged under

Rogers Cup: Naomi Osaka back on top of world rankings after Karolina Pliskova loses

Published in Tennis

Friday, 09 August 2019 14:43

Naomi Osaka will return to the top of the women's tennis world rankings after Karolina Pliskova lost in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

Pliskova, number one for eight weeks in 2017, needed to win the tournament to regain top spot but lost 6-0 2-6 6-4 to Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu.

Ashleigh Barty replaced Osaka at the top in June, but the Australian's run ended with her loss in round two.

Osaka plays 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams on Saturday.

Their quarter-final will be their first meeting since last year's US Open final when Williams argued with the umpire late in the match and Osaka was awarded a game as a penalty on her way to winning a first Grand Slam title.

Andreescu, 19, is currently 22nd in the rankings and will play Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals after the American defeated Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.

Tagged under

Main draw places the prize, surprise group first places

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 09 August 2019 13:17

Shu Zi led the line, he beat India’s Deepit Patil, the no.10 seed (11-6, 11-9, 11-3); Tang Tsz Hsun followed suit, he accounted for Korea Republic’s Park Gyeongtae, the no.11 seed (11-6, 14-12, 11-9). Impressive performances, it was the same from Woo Hyeonggyu, he prevailed against Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yan-Cheng, the no.12 seed.

Problems for notable names but not at the top of the order; Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen, Thailand’s Yanapong Panagitgun and Iran’s Amin Ahmadian alongside Chinese Taipei’s Tai Ming-Wei all secured first places in their respective groups without alarm bells sounding.

Similarly, in the junior girls’ singles event there were surprise first places; Hong Kong’s Wong Chin Yau and Luk Sze Yu defied the odds to end the day at the top of the list, as did Hong Kong’s Ng Wing Lam and Tiffany Ke of the United States.

Wong Chin Yau remained unbeaten, significantly accounting for Korea Republic’s Cho Haeeun, the no.9 seed (11-4, 11-7, 11-7); it was a similar situation for Ng Wing Lam, she accounted for Singapore’s Zhou Jingyi, the no.13 seed (11-8, 11-3, 13-11). Likewise Tiffany Ke ousted India’s Manushree Patil, the no.14 seed (12-10, 12-10, 11-3).

However, for Luk Sze Yu, life was different; she experienced defeat at the hands of Anna Hursey of Wales, the no.15 seed, losing in five games (8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 12-10) but in the concluding match in the group accounted for India’s Anusha Katumbale in four games (10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8). Sandwiched in between, Anusha Katumbale had recorded a similar margin of success in opposition to Anna Hursey (10-12, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8). Thus games ratio decided the outcome; Luk Sze Yu finished in first position (5:4) ahead of Anusha Kutumbale (4:4) and Anna Hursey (4:5).

Difficult times for prominent names in the group stage of the junior girls’ singles event but not amongst the most prominent. Japan’s Sakura Yokoi and Kaho Akae duly topped their groups as did Chinese Taipei’s Yu Hsiu-Ting and Lee Ka Yee.

Meanwhile, in the cadet boys’ singles, the top four names in the guise of Japan’s Sora Matsushima, Iran’s Navid Shams and Singapore’s Isaac Quek Yong in addition to Hong Kong’s Yiu Kwan To all remained unbeaten to secure first places in their respective groups.

Rather differently, in the counterpart cadet girls’ singles event there were surprises amongst the leading names. Chinese Taipei’s Tsai Yun-En, the top seed, lost to Hong Kong’s Chow Ka Ching (8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4); India’s Anargya Majunath, the no.4 seed, was beaten by Angie Tan of the United States. Chow Ka Ching and Angie Tan remained unbeaten to secure first places, for Tsai Yun-En and Anargya Majunath it was runners up.

Surprise outcomes but not for Japan’s Miwa Harimoto, the no.2 seed and Singapore’s Zhou Jingyi, the no.3 seed; both reserved first places without defeat.

Throughout, players finishing in first and second positions in each of the initial phase groups advance to the main draw; on Saturday 10th August, the early rounds and quarter-finals will be played.

Tagged under

Hectic day in Lagos, leading names on course

Published in Table Tennis

Friday, 09 August 2019 16:54

Most certainly for the crowd there was plenty of action.

Men’s Singles

…………Disappointment for Belgium’s Devos family; in round two Laurens came within a hair’s breadth of beating the host nation’s Quadri Aruna, the top seed (10-12, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-5); elder brother Robin was the biggest casualty, the no.6 seed he was beaten by Romania’s Rares Sipos, the no.20 seed (12-10, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-3).

…………The top four names all booked third round places; alongside Quadri Aruna, Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck, Slovenia’s Bojan Tokic and Austria’s Robert Gardos progressed.

…………Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw underlined the fact that he is a major challenger for honours; in the second round he accounted for Frenchman, Andrieu Landrieu, the no.9 seed (9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 12-10).

Women’s Singles

…………Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova, the top seed, made an emphatic start to her campaign; she beat Nigeria’s Rofiat Jimoh in straight games (11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-5).

………..Russia’s Polina Mikhailova, the no.2 seed and Yana Noskova, the no.4 seed, commenced in style. Polina Mikhailova accounted for Nigeria’s Fatima Bello (11-4, 14-12, 11-7, 11-4); Yana Noskova overcame Egypt’s Sarah Abousetta (11-7, 11-6, 11-5, 11-2).

………..Recent winner of the ITTF-Africa Cup, Dina Meshref, the no.4 seed, opened her account by beating Nigeria’s Cecilia Akpan (14-12, 11-7, 11-5, 11-3); conversely for cousin, Yousra Helmy, it was defeat. She was the biggest name to fall in the opening round; the no.10 seed, she was beaten by Croatia’s Ida Jazbec (7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5).

Men’s Doubles

…………The top seeded combination of Belgium’s Cédric Nuytinck and Frenchman Quentin Robinot made the ideal start; they accounted for Congo Democratic’s Gedeon Kassa and Christian Mbonga (11-4, 11-5, 11-7).

…………Nigeria’s Bode Abiodun and Taiwo Mati caused the biggest upset in the opening round; they beat Germany’s Steffen Mengel and Kilian Ort, the no.4 seeds (9-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7).

Women’s Doubles

…………Russia’s Polina Mikhailova and Yana Noskova, the no.2 seeds, survived a scare; they needed the full five games to end the hpes of India’s Sreeja Akula and Diya Parag Chitale (11-4, 4-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8).

…………Nigeria’s Funmiola and Fatimo Bello caused the biggest seeding upset; they overcame South Africa’s Simeen Mookrey and Danisha Patel, the no.5 seeds (15-13, 11-2, 11-9).

Mixed Doubles

…………The host nation’s venerable duo of Segun Toriola and Olufunke Oshonaike, the top seeds, experienced a quarter-final defeat; they suffered at the hands of Germany’s Kilian Ort and Wan Yuan (11-4, 11-1, 13-11).

…………Likewise, Egypt’s Khalid Assar and Yousra Helmy, the no.2 seeds, departed in the quarter-final round; they were beaten by Luxemburg’s Eric Glod and Sarah de Nutte (11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6).

Under 21 Men’s Singles

…………Romania’s Cristian Pletea and Iran’s Amir Hossein Hadaei meet in the final.

…………At the semi-final stage, Cristian Pletea, the no.4 seed, beat Romanian colleague, Rares Sipos, the top seed (11-7, 11-5, 11-5); Amir Hossein Hadaei accounted for Belgium’s Laurens Devos (8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 13-11).

Under 21 Women’s Singles

…………Belgium’s Lisa Lung and Romania’s Andreea meet to decide the title.

…………In the penultimate round, Lisa Lung , the top seed, overcame Egypt’s Marian Alhodaby, the no.3 seed, in straight games (11-4, 11-7, 11-8); Andreea Dragoman ended the hopes of India’s Sreeja Akula, the no.2 seed (11-6, 11-5, 14-12).

Tagged under

Warren Gatland: Criticism of Wales' World Cup warm-ups 'fair'

Published in Rugby

Friday, 09 August 2019 14:00

Head coach Warren Gatland says it is "fair" to criticise Wales' decision to play four World Cup warm-up matches.

Legendary full-back JPR Williams and fly-half James Hook are among those who have voiced concerns that players could suffer injuries before the tournament.

Wales face England at Twickenham on Sunday and in Cardiff on Saturday, 17 August, before playing Ireland home and away on 31 August and 7 September.

"I understand the criticism. That's warranted," said Gatland.

"It's a little bit of a concern that you don't pick up too many injuries, but sometimes you have just got to roll the dice and go with it.

"The criticism is fair. You can't get it right all the time. You are trying to negotiate warm-up games with sides and trying to get the balance right.

"Four years ago we were supposed to play England home and away, and that got called off because we ended up in the same [World Cup] pool.

"I think the England games are always a good contest for us. You may have wanted three [games], or potentially not quite so strong opposition.

"But you go into negotiations, and sometimes you have got to accept what has been delivered.

"For us, I think the fact we are in such a good place, mentally and the depth we've created in the squad, we can go in with some confidence and maybe not pick up too many injuries."

Wales have fallen foul of warm-up matches in the past, losing scrum-half Rhys Webb and full-back Leigh Halfpenny to tournament-ending injuries in their final fixture before the 2015 World Cup.

Gatland has named a strong team for Sunday's match against England at Twickenham, starting with 13 of the 15 players who helped Wales clinch the Six Nations Grand Slam with victory over Ireland in March.

With a number of players nursing knocks or returning from longer-term injuries, Gatland has said Wales will have to "be smart about players we expose" over the course of the next four matches.

England meanwhile have named a more experimental line-up, with first international starts for scrum-half Willi Heinz and Bath wing Ruaridh McConnochie.

Gatland and England counterpart Eddie Jones did not discuss their selections beforehand, but the Wales coach confirmed he and Ireland boss Joe Schmidt have discussed the topic.

"No there hasn't been any talk about that [with Jones]," Gatland said.

"I've spoken to Joe Schmidt about the two games we play with each other so we're kind of on the same page about what we're going to do with the Irish games.

"The [Wales] coaches are catching up with Eddie over dinner tonight [Friday] so I'm sure there will be a little bit of banter and chat.

"We haven't spoken about the games. It will be interesting to see how the chat goes over dinner."

Wales: Liam Williams (Saracens) (55 Caps); George North (Ospreys) (83 Caps), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (73 Caps), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (15 Caps), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues) (10 Caps); Gareth Anscombe (Ospreys) (26 Caps), Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (41 Caps); Nicky Smith (Ospreys) (28 Caps), Ken Owens (Scarlets) (64 Caps), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (40 Caps), Adam Beard (Ospreys) (13 Caps), Alun Wyn Jones (Capt, Ospreys) (125 Caps), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) (8 Caps), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (64 Caps), Ross Moriarty (Dragons) (31 Caps).

Replacements: Elliot Dee (Dragons) (18 Caps), Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (12 Caps), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues) (12 Caps), Jake Ball (Scarlets) (32 Caps), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (17 Caps), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues) (7 Caps), Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints) (70 Caps), Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (13 Caps).

Tagged under

VIDEO: A Quick National Sprint Car Hall Of Fame Tour

Published in Racing

Friday, 09 August 2019 13:00

LIVE from the Knoxville Nationals
Presented by Mobil 1 Truck & SUV Oil
Let’s Tour the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum!

A trip to the 59th Knoxville Nationals is not complete without a visit to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. Old sprint cars, helmets, memorabilia and a special A.J. Foyt display are all apart of a visit to the facility. Tony Bokhoven gave us a quick peak!

Mobil 1 – the best choice for your Truck or SUV. Learn more about Mobil 1 Truck & SUV oil and enter for a chance to win a Toyota pickup or SUV at dirtgiveaway.com.

Tagged under

Parker Price-Miller Locked In & Focused Forward

Published in Racing

Friday, 09 August 2019 14:00

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – After climbing from his car Thursday night and realizing his points total was enough to secure a spot in the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals finale, Parker Price-Miller exhaled a huge sigh of relief.

In that moment, the hardest part of the week was over, and the pressure was off the 21-year-old Hoosier. His place in The Granddaddy of Them All was officially confirmed.

“This time around, it’s definitely not as stressful as it was in 2018,” Price-Miller told SPEED SPORT by phone on Friday afternoon. “Last year, I was still pretty happy that we were locked into a good position in the B (main), but I’ll tell you what … that was the most stressful 22 laps of my entire year.

“Thursday night, we qualified well, but what really changed things for us was our heat race. That heat race was huge for us,” added Price-Miller, who was the fastest driver from time trials to move directly into Thursday night’s A-main. “Even with starting eighth, we knew we just had to run inside the top 10 and we’d be top five in points … so we tried to do that and not take too many huge risks. We were conservative in the feature and didn’t do too much to the race car, but I’d say it paid off for us.”

Price-Miller started his first Nationals A-main last year, but that Saturday appearance was far more stressful, as the Kokomo, Ind., native had to race his way in through the Last Chance Showdown.

Luckily for Price-Miller, he started on the pole of that race, easily cruising to the win and a transfer spot.

“Last year, if you recall, I got released from the (Destiny Motorsports) No. 4 car the week before the Nationals,” noted Price-Miller. “I didn’t even know then if I was going to have anything for Knoxville, and then Bernie (Stuebgen, team owner) stepped up and put me in his car. We built our ride for last year’s Nationals the week before the Capitani, and then ended up in the big show when it was all said and done. Preparation-wise, this has been a way better situation this year … Saturday is so important.

“The greatest race car drivers in sprint car racing are at this race, and to be up there with them again this year is a pretty amazing feeling.”

Parker Price-Miller in action at Knoxville Raceway on Thursday night. (Mark Funderburk photo)

This year, Price-Miller’s consistency spoke volumes about the wisdom and maturity he’s gained in just 12 months’ time. He timed in third-fastest, finished fourth in his heat race and then ran eighth in the 25-lap preliminary feature, earning 473 out of a possible 500 points for his efforts.

With the troubles encountered by many of the top qualifiers on both Wednesday and Thursday, that left Price-Miller fifth overall in total points scored and placing him fifth on the grid for Saturday’s finale.

That’s a far cry from a year ago, when Price-Miller started 21st of 24 cars after winning the B-main.

“Track position for this race is huge,” Price-Miller pointed out. “You can start back that far and pass guys, because it’s a long race, but these guys are the best in the business and you’re not just going to drive by them in the Nationals finale. Starting as far forward as you can is a big key to success here.

“Starting fifth, having a shot and not having to worry (as much) about all those good drivers behind you makes it a lot easier … but they still want to take my head off and I know I have to be on my A game.”

With a third-row starting spot for Saturday night, Price-Miller is aiming high going into the $150,000-to-win, 50-lap feature as he pursues victory with his No. 71p Indy Race Parts team.

“This year has been pretty stress-free, and we’ve been good pretty much every time we’ve hit the race track,” he said. “My confidence is up; I’m not worried about anything happening and I’m not worried about my race car not having speed because I know we’re quick and we have the speed that we need.

“I think if things work out and go our way, we might have a shot at the end of 50 laps on Saturday night,” Price-Miller added. “I’m young and don’t have a lot of experience here, and I think that makes people want to count me out at times, but I like that. Let them think that I don’t have a shot, because then they won’t worry about us as much and we can go out and pounce when it matters most. I know I have a shot, or else I wouldn’t be here, and we’re here to show everyone we can win Saturday night.

“Is it going to be easy? No, but we’re going to give it our all and there’s going to be no holding back.”

Mobil 1 – the best choice for your Truck or SUV. Learn more about Mobil 1 Truck & SUV oil and enter for a chance to win a Toyota pickup or SUV at dirtgiveaway.com.

Tagged under

Keselowski Earns Michigan Cup Series Pole

Published in Racing

Friday, 09 August 2019 14:40

BROOKLYN, Mich. – The last car to take a lap during Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Friday at Michigan Int’l Speedway proved to be the fastest.

Michigan native Brad Keselowski turned in the fastest lap in qualifying to earn the pole for the Consumers Energy 400 on Sunday afternoon. His 37.801-second lap at 190.471 mph aboard his No. 2 Team Penske Ford was enough to give Keselowski his second pole of the season and the 16th of his career.

“This Discount Tire Ford Mustang has been incredible since we unloaded,” Keselowski said. “We were really fast in practice and then everybody started picking up a bunch here towards the end of qualifying and I got a little nervous.

“Paul Wolfe (crew chief) and the team did a great job. We picked up just enough to get our second pole here. Hopefully we can convert it into a win.”

Kevin Harvick qualified second to give Ford a sweep of the front row for Sunday’s race. He was .076 seconds off the pace set by Keselowski.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers William Byron and Alex Bowman qualified third and fourth, with Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer putting down the fifth fastest lap.

Watkins Glen winner Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Paul Menard completed the top-10 in qualifying.

However, the time of Dillon as well as his teammate, Daniel Hemric, were disallowed because their cars lacked full functional alternators. They will start Sunday’s race from the rear of the field.

Consumers Energy 400 Starting Lineup

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kevin Harvick
3. William Byron
4. Alex Bowman
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Chase Elliott
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Joey Logano
9. Paul Menard
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Daniel Suarez
12. Aric Almirola
13. Kurt Busch
14. Denny Hamlin
15. Martin Truex Jr.
16. Erik Jones
17. Kyle Larson
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. Matt Tifft
20. Ryan Newman
21. Ty Dillon
22. Kyle Busch
23. Michael McDowell
24. David Ragan
25. Chris Buescher
26. Bubba Wallace
27. Matt DiBenedetto
28. Landon Cassill
29. Ryan Preece
30. Ross Chastain
31. Corey LaJoie
32. Quin Houff
33. Austin Theriault
34. Cody Ware
35. Reed Sorenson
36. Spencer Boyd
37. Austin Dillon
38. Daniel Hemric

Tagged under

VIDEO: Schatz Ready To Pursue 11th Nationals Win

Published in Racing

Friday, 09 August 2019 14:46

LIVE from the Knoxville Nationals
Presented by Mobil 1 Truck & SUV Oil
Donny Schatz Friday Interview

Ten-time Knoxville Nationals winner Donny Schatz hasn’t had the best Knoxville Nationals experience this year. The perennial favorite to win nearly every year, Schatz and his Tony Stewart Racing team will be starting Saturday’s action in the B-Main.

That means he’ll have to finish in the top-four in that race just to make the main event. On Friday he spoke with Ralph Sheheen and shared his thoughts on the week as he attempts to secure his 11th Knoxville Nationals title.

Mobil 1 – the best choice for your Truck or SUV. Learn more about Mobil 1 Truck & SUV oil and enter for a chance to win a Toyota pickup or SUV at dirtgiveaway.com.

Tagged under