INDIANAPOLIS – Thomas Meseraull has quickly proven that all it took to light up his season was a new power plant under the hood cover of his RMS Racing-prepared No. 7x midget.

With a new Toyota engine onboard, Meseraull raced from ninth to the win in one of 10 heat races Wednesday night at The Dirt Track at IMS, topping the passing points chart for the opening half of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink.

Meseraull, who had to wait until the ninth heat to go out on Wednesday by virtue of his draft pick Tuesday night, rocketed from ninth to fourth in one lap when the green flag waved and found himself in the lead by the time the fourth revolution of the fifth-mile dirt oval was completed.

From there, Meseraull left the other eight drivers in his heat race in the dust, taking the checkered flag in front of a charging Kyle Larson by .969 seconds and earning 165 passing points for his efforts.

That put Meseraull atop the other 89 entrants for the BC39 and sets him up in prime position for Thursday’s qualifiers. Combined points from the heats and qualifiers set the fields for the alphabet soup.

“I just can’t thank my guys enough; it’s about time I was in a hot rod,” said Meseraull, whose team switched to Toyota power a week ago and already has a POWRi win under its belt. “I’m in the best of the best of the best right now. This thing is brand new; we built it three weeks ago and put a brand-new Toyota in it … and it’s seemed to rip, on the chip, all the time since we got it going.

“We’ve got tomorrow to go yet, but I feel good. I love where we’re at right now. We’re in a rhythm.”

In other preliminary action, Brady Bacon thrilled the crowd from the outset, coming from seventh and edging out Chris Windom by .036 seconds in a photo finish to win the first Wednesday heat race.

A last-lap pass in a green-to-checkered second heat saw Kevin Thomas Jr. slip past Karsyn Elledge for the second heat race victory of the program.

After a duel of sliders with his Clauson-Marshall Racing teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the third heat race, Zeb Wise pulled away over the second half of the 10-lap sprint en route to victory.

The fourth heat race saw Dillon Welch make a daring three-wide pass of both Justin Grant and C.J. Leary entering turn one on the final lap to take the victory in the Tucker-Boat Motorsports No. 81.

Heat race five was dominated from start to finish by winged sprint car star Gio Scelzi, who rocketed to the lead from the outside pole and was never challenged thereafter. Jason McDougal finished second.

Zach Daum took the lead on lap four of the sixth heat and fended off a determined Tanner Carrick down the stretch en route to that heat’s checkered flag. Billy Wease was third after leading the first two laps.

In that heat, Andrew Layser went for a wild flip in the third turn with two to go while running fourth, with his No. 47bc briefly catching fire before the flames were extinguished. Layser climbed out under his own power.

Jake Neuman came from fourth to first on lap five and walked away from a furious battle for second between Michael Pickens and Christopher Bell to win heat race seven. Pickens eventually prevailed over Bell to come home as the runner-up in that event.

The eighth heat featured another photo finish, as Chad Boat beat out Logan Seavey’s last-gasp effort to take the checkered flag in front by .082 seconds. Alex Bright finished a second back of those two in third.

Following Meseraull’s win in heat nine, Spencer Bayston led the final seven laps to win the 10th and final heat race in his first race back in a national midget since the Chili Bowl Nationals back in January.

Going into the qualifiers on Thursday, Meseraull leads the rostrum with 165 points, followed by Bacon, Thomas and Bayston, who each have 155 points to their names.

Chris Windom is fifth in the provisional point standings with 148 points, while Daum and Neuman are deadlocked at 145 points apiece. Tanner Carrick (143), Logan Seavey (143) and Boat (140) completed the top 10 in the night one standings.

Notables with a long way to go to reach the top-16 lock-in for the Thursday night A-main include Tyler Courtney, who was 22nd on points; Tyler Thomas, who ended the night 25th in points; Christopher Bell, who struggled in his heat and is 33rd in points; and J.J. Yeley, who sits 40th in points after heat races.

To view complete heat race results, advance to the next page.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Kyle Larson was, quite literally, the last man standing during Wednesday night’s 25-lap Stoops Pursuit at The Dirt Track at IMS, as the second annual Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink officially got underway.

Larson was one of three drivers who remained in contention during the final segment of the unique, Australian-style pursuit event which eliminated drivers as they crashed out or were passed on track.

He, Michael Pickens and Justin Grant were all racing tightly together on the last lap of the five-lap sprint to the finish when Pickens dove underneath Larson entering turn three and ramped over Larson’s left-front tire with the right-rear wheel of his No. 1nz.

The contact sent Pickens several feet in the air as he flipped wildly, while Larson went into a 360-degree spin as he wrestled to regain control of his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports No. 97.

While all of that happened down low, Grant went to the cushion in an attempt to rocket around the outside of both crashing cars below him, but tagged the outside wall with his right-rear tire and ended up flipping in his own right.

That left Larson, who kept his car under power as he got pointed back in the right direction, alone to sneak through the fourth corner and to the red and checkered flags as the winner – the only one of 25 cars that ultimately made it to the finish line and completed the entire distance of the Stoops Pursuit.

It was a finish that evoked memories of both the 1976 Daytona 500 finish between Richard Petty and David Pearson at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway and the 1985 “spin-and-win” performed by Danny Sullivan at IMS during the 69th running of the Indianapolis 500.

As he climbed from his wounded race car in victory lane, Larson was all smiles.

“That was wild,” Larson exclaimed. “I didn’t know it was going to be that crazy of a race. On the second to last stage, Justin (Grant) got by and then (Jason) McDougal got by, and I knew I needed to get back to second to be able to run that last round.

“I was really good up top,” Larson continued. “I knew if I got a good restart, I could get by Pickens, but this track was so racy that sliders were easy to throw. Michael (Pickens) was throwing everything he had at me. We made contact there on the backstretch. He was trying to park it on the bottom, and I was trying to do what I did the lap before or two laps before (in order to hold him off).

“I didn’t know it was going to be that crazy of a race, but for an odd format like that, it was a ton of fun.”

The seventh-starting Larson won $2,100 for his efforts, with the $1,500 winner’s share boosted by $100 for each car that the Elk Grove, Calif., native passed during the Stoops Pursuit main event.

With scoring for the two crashed combatants on the final lap going back to the last completed lap, Pickens was credited with second place and Grant was scored third in the final finishing order.

Tyler Courtney and Jason McDougal, who were both eliminated during the final segment break at the conclusion of lap 20, completed the top five.

Polesitter Jesse Colwell never led a lap of the event, passed by Chad Boat in the first corner and eliminated at the lap-five cutoff despite running second at that time. He finished 14th.

Defending Stoops Pursuit champion Zeb Wise made the return visit by winning his heat race, but was mired in traffic after starting 13th and also got eliminated at the end of the first five-lap segment.

Wise was credited with 18th in the official results.

The finish:

1. Kyle Larson (7), 2. Michael Pickens (3), 3. Justin Grant (12), 4. Tyler Courtney (17), 5. Jason McDougal (15), 6. Tanner Carrick (11), 7. Chris Windom (18), 8. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (16), 9. Chad Boat (2), 10. 19 Spencer Bayston (4), 11. 67 Logan Seavey (5), 12. Zach Daum (14), 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (19), 14. Jesse Colwell (1), 15. Gio Scelzi (10), 16. Jake Neuman (6), 17. Dillon Welch (9), 18. Zeb Wise (13), 19. Brady Bacon (20), 20. Christopher Bell (25), 21. Robert Dalby (24), 22. Kyle O’Gara (21), 23. Jerry Coons, Jr. (23), 24. Thomas Meseraull (8), 25. Chase Briscoe (22).

Lap Leader(s): Chad Boat 1-5, Michael Pickens 6-20, Kyle Larson 21-22, Pickens 23, Larson 24-25.

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The NHL is expanding its reach into Russia through a new streaming agreement that's set to make every regular-season and playoff game available in the country.

The league reached an agreement with Yandex that will more than triple the number of games available to fans in Russia. Staging a game in Russia remains a possibility in the coming years.

"It's a game-changer for us," NHL executive vice president of international and media strategy David Proper said Wednesday. "We're more than dipping our toe into the market."

The NHL's previous agreement called for 15 games per week to be broadcast in Russia. That gave a window into the league and its Russian stars, such as Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov and Vladimir Tarasenko, but the long-term goal is to create not just more fans but also another generation of players.

Citing agreements in other countries with established pro leagues, Proper said the NHL is not trying to cut into the KHL's market but rather help the Russian-based league with more exposure.

"If things go really well, it rises all boats because people become hockey fans," Proper said. "For the most part, they're not on at the same times as KHL games, so this gives us the opportunity to show how great Russian players are, and maybe, hopefully, that in some way helps just the overall growth of hockey in the market."

A "handful" of fans belonging to the Timbers Army, the main supporters' group for the Portland Timbers in MLS, have been banned from attending games at Providence Park for three matches, multiple sources have confirmed to ESPN.

The fans were banned for waving flags that show the Iron Front symbol, which violates MLS's prohibition on political signage in its stadiums. MLS has stated that the symbol is connected to the antifa movement and thus constitutes a link to a political organization. The Timbers Army contends that the image is intended to promote inclusion, anti-fascism and anti-racism.

One source added that the fans who have been sanctioned can appeal their bans if they so choose, and that the punishments could be reduced.

The Timbers directed all requests for comment about the bans to MLS, which didn't immediately respond.

Prior to the start of the season, MLS revised its Fan Code of Conduct, which now includes a ban on political signage. While the Code of Conduct doesn't mention the Iron Front flag specifically, fans from around the league were told prior to the season that it is prohibited.

But the issue has come to a head in recent weeks. The Timbers Army, along with their Seattle Sounders counterparts -- the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC, staged a silent protest for the first 33 minutes of the match between the two teams on Aug. 23. At that point in the game, the supporters from both teams began cheering and displaying flags with the Iron Front symbol.

In a statement released prior to the match, the three groups called for MLS to rescind its ban on flying the Iron Front flag, as well as remove the word "political" from its Fan Code of Conduct, calling the use of the word "inherently arbitrary."

The groups also asked MLS to work with international experts on human rights to craft language in the fan code of conduct that "reflects and supports radical inclusion and anti-discrimination."

Four days after the match, the Timbers Army said in a statement that it had been given a "general warning" by the club and the league for displaying the flag. But the Timbers Army showed the flags again during last weekend's match against Real Salt Lake, thus triggering the aforementioned sanctions.

Portland's next home match is this Saturday against Sporting Kansas City.

Trinbago Knight Riders 152 for 7 (Pollard 47, Neesham 33, Cottrell 3-13, Emrit 3-39) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 153 (Lewis 36, Neesham 3-18, Hasnain 3-36) by 11 runs

No Bravo brothers (injured). No Colin Munro (international duty). No Ali Khan (injured). No problem for defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders. New Zealand allrounder James Neesham, teenaged Pakistan tearaway Mohammad Hasnain and new captain Kieron Pollard all sparkled on their TKR debuts to overcome dew and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the CPL 2019 opener at the Queen's Park Oval.

Pollard isn't too far away from playing his 500th T20, but he had never turned out for his home franchise in Trinidad before Thursday. He made it a memorable occasion, smashing a boundary-laden 47 off 32 balls, to haul TKR past 150.

Patriots went through the Powerplay unscathed, but they lost 4 for 6 in a collapse that was set in motion by spin on a dew-slicked pitch. Fabian Allen and Usama Mir created some late excitement with a barrage of sixes, but Neesham and Hasnain closed the game out for the hosts.

#UnleashtheNeesh

Cottrell found enough seam movement with the new ball and removed opener Sunil Narine and No. 3 Tion Webster in successive overs, kicking off the league with his trademark salutes. When Lendl Simmons was bowled by a fit-again Alzarri Joseph, TKR were 20 for 3 in four overs. Then, it was time for the home side to #UnleashtheNeesh.

Neesham glanced his first ball away for four and then hit two more fours, off Joseph in the last over of the Powerplay, to steady a flailing innings. Neesham was handed two lives - on 19 and 31 - and he took advantage of it along with Denesh Ramdin, who was more sedate at the other end. The highlight of Neesham's innings was a shovelled six over midwicket off Carlos Brathwaite.

Neesham wasn't done yet. He snapped a 47-run opening stand in the chase and then ended it two wickets off the last over. He also plucked three catches in a Man-of-the-Match performance.

The Pollard bash

Patriots had held back Pakistani legspinner Usama Mir for Pollard, but the TKR captain smartly saw him off and tore up medium-pacers Rayad Emrit and Brathwaite. Pollard nailed three sixes - all over his favourite long-on region - to give the innings the finishing kick along with Javon Searles.

Patriots fall in a heap

Evin Lewis and T20 debutant Kjorn Ottley, who hails from Trinidad, didn't over-hit the ball in the early exchanges and instead looked to protect their wickets. However, from 47 for 0 and later 70 for 1, Patriots were reduced to 76 for 5.

Left-arm spinner Khary Pierre, the Player of the Match of the 2018 CPL final, bowled constricting lines and found turn to dismiss the dangerous Lewis and wicketkeeper-batsman Devon Thomas in successive overs. Sri Lanka legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, meanwhile, got rid of Jason Mohammed for a duck before Allen took him to the cleaners with four sixes in the 16th over. At this point Patriots needed 42 off 24 balls and, although Mir cracked two sixes of his own, there would be no way past Hasnain and Neesham.

Australia's tour of the West Indies, which begins with the opening ODI in Antigua on Thursday, is a chance for them to explore the depth they have available ahead of a home season which will place significant demands on the players.

Though the core of the squad is similar to the one that retained the Ashes, there are new faces in Heather Graham and Erin Burns while there will be an opportunity for those who had a fringe role in England to have more game time with 14 players on the trip.

This tour, which includes three ODIs and three T20Is, continues a hectic period for Australia's women cricketers coming just a month after they completed the Ashes tour and is followed shortly after they return home with ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka.

They will then be involved in the first standalone WBBL, running from mid-October to early December, before international cricket resumes at the end of January with a T20I tri-series involving England and India which acts as preparation for the T20 World Cup in late February. The season then concludes with a tour of South Africa.

It all adds up to an unprecedented workload for the players - something coach Matthew Mott has acknowledged is likely to require rotation - and this series in the Caribbean will be an opportunity to further expand the pool of players Mott and captain Meg Lanning feel comfortable calling on.

With Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani out, there are also fewer top-order batting options than were available in England which will put more onus on the likes of Lanning and Alyssa Healy while also allowing the allrounders to play a leading role with the bat.

"We'll definitely need to have another allrounder given the balance of the squad but those players can be genuine bats at times; Nicola Carey, Heather Graham, Jess Jonassen, they can all bat extremely well and would fit into our middle order really well," Lanning said. "We aren't too worried about that, we think it's a great opportunity for them to come in and play some good cricket but at the same time it's important our top order will do the job."

While there are Women's Championship points on offer for the ODIs - which go towards qualification for 2021 World Cup - the T20Is, which follow are a further opportunity to hone skills ahead of next year's T20 World Cup where Australia will be defending champions on home soil.

Lunch Afghanistan 77 for 3 (Rahmat 31*, Taijul 2-21) v Bangladesh

Bangladesh struck thrice in the first session of their one-off Test against Afghanistan in Chattogram. Taijul Islam picked up two of those wickets, which also took him to 100 Test wickets in his 25th game. The visitors, 77 for 3 at lunch, however, should take some solace in the patience against the five spinners used by Bangladesh on a pitch that is already showing some cracks.

Bangladesh, for the second home Test in a row, went with an all-spin attack. Captain Shakib Al Hasan had said on the eve of the game that he wouldn't mind any criticism of this tactic as sides that pick four seamers on favourable conditions don't get criticised.

He began with Taijul and himself before giving Mehidy Hasan an early go; Nayeem Hasan too bowled in short spells in the first hour.

Ihsanullah was the first to go, bowled by Taijul after playing him from the crease. He didn't go anywhere near to a pitched up delivery that spun past his outside edge to hit the off stump, a left-arm spinner's dream delivery.

Debutant Ibrahim Zadran looked more assured and after the drinks break, struck two fours while Rahmat Shah struck a big six over midwicket. But the sudden rush of shots was playing into Bangladesh's plan.

It paid off immediately as Ibrahim holed out at long-off where Mahmudullah, brought in a few yards before the start of the Taijul over, took a comfortable catch. It was a daft shot from young Ibrahim who had otherwise looked impressive in his defensive technique but ran out of patience seeing a bunch of flighted deliveries.

Afghanistan's third wicket fell in the last five minutes before the lunch break, when Hashmatullah Shahidi edged Mahmudullah to slip where Soumya Sarkar held on to it.

Allrounder George Linde has earned a maiden call-up to the South Africa squad for the upcoming T20Is against India. Linde will replace allrounder JJ Smuts, who was withdrawn from the tour after failing to meet the side's fitness standards, according to Cricket South Africa.

Linde is currently in India with the touring South Africa A side and will join the senior squad on their arrival. In the ongoing one-day series against India in Thiruvananthapuram, Linde has scored 69 runs at an average of 34.5, including one half-century, and has taken three wickets with his left-arm spin. Having made his T20 debut in January 2012, he has been a source of quiet overs for Cape Cobras in domestic cricket and was able to translate that skill to the Mzansi Super League as well, playing half of the Cape Town Blitz's 10 games last year, picking up five wickets at an average of 18.

The call-up to the T20I squad had marked a comeback for Smuts, who last played an international game for South Africa in February last year, during India's tour of the country, and had missed out on selection for the home series against Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. His selection had been based on consistent performances at the franchise level. In CSA's T20 Challenge, he scored 205 runs at a strike rate of 143.35, including a century, and picked up three wickets.

The South Africa squad will leave for India on Friday. The T20I series will begin on September 15 in Dharamsala, followed by the three- Test series, which will be played between October 2-23.

South Africa T20 squad (updated): 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, George Linde