INDEPENDENCE, Iowa – With point leader Brandon Sheppard picking up his ninth win in 17 races last week at Terre Haute Action Track, Rocket1 Racing boasts a win percentage of nearly 53 percent on the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series this year.

Prior to Friday night, Sheppard had never won at the famed half-mile oval in Outlaws competition.

This weekend, he and the Rocket Chassis house car will lead the Outlaws northward into one track not seen by the tour in some time, and one staple of the Northern and Midwest swing – Independence Motor Speedway on July 5 and Deer Creek Speedway on July 6.

Sheppard has yet to win at either of these two tracks. However, his predecessor in the Rocket1 ride, four-time series champion Josh Richards, has won at both in past seasons. \

In fact, Richards’ last win in World of Outlaws action at Deer Creek came during his 2016 championship-winning and record-setting season.

The record Richards set that year was the single-season wins tally of 18 – a feat that Sheppard duplicated just one season later, after replacing Richards in the blue No. 1.

This brings up an interesting question – how do those two dominant seasons compare to the one Sheppard is having in 2019, and is he on pace to break the record he shares with Richards this season?

Looking in the win column going into the always-busy month of July, 2016 Richards had eight wins in 20 races, garnering a win percentage of 40. Before the first race of July in 2017, Sheppard was seven for 20, or a win percentage of 35.

However, in both 2016 and 2017, Richards and Sheppard outdid themselves in the second half of their respective seasons.

Richards went on win 10 races in his next 19 starts (excluding preliminary and special features) with a win percentage of 52.6, while Sheppard went 11 for 23 for a win percentage of 47.8.

In both of those seasons, both drivers needed to win at least 10 features in the last five months of the year to get to 18 wins.

Going into this weekend with an outlook to November, Sheppard only needs nine wins over the next 26 races, barring any rainouts or cancellations.

That’s a win percentage of 34.6 – a whole 18.3 percent worse than what he has right now.

Judging by win percentage, it appears Sheppard is on pace to break the 18 mark. In support of that statement, he has won at nine of the next 23 tracks the series is scheduled to visit over the next five months – exactly the number of wins he needs to reach 18.

All previous stats considered, the potential is there. But which driver looks best to stop him?

This weekend, look no further than the current runner-up in points, Darrell Lanigan.

Of the four World of Outlaws races held at Independence, Lanigan has won the last three of them, the most recent coming in 2014.

As for Deer Creek, no other driver has won more World of Outlaws races there than Lanigan (six of 16). Richards is the next closest with two (2011 and 2016).

However, “The Bluegrass Bandit” has not won yet with the Outlaws this season, so all eyes will be on him to see if he can break through this weekend at two tracks he’s certainly no stranger to.

Otherwise, the weekend may just be one more step on Sheppard’s march toward history.

COLORADO SPRINGS – Following the tragic death of Spider Grips Ducati motorcycle rider Carlin Dunne at the Broadmoor Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb, Ducati North America and Pikes Peak officials have created a GoFundMe account to support Carlin’s mother Romie.

His loss has been felt throughout the international motorcycling and racing community.

Dunne was a four-time champion of the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb, won Rookie of the Year honors in 2011 and broke the 10-minute barrier the following year, setting a new course record that stood for five years.

He then selflessly volunteered two race seasons as part of Ducati’s Squadra Alpina Team, with the Race Smart program, mentoring rookie riders as they first came to race the mountain. Dunne was loved, respected and admired by all those whose lives he touched.

Following the race, at the Awards Ceremony on Monday, competitors paid tribute to Carlin as a mentor, friend, competitor and icon, and spoke of the impact he made on their lives.

In addition to his efforts at Pikes Peak, Carlin’s passion for two wheels took on all forms.

He raced and won the SCORE Baja 500, competed in the SCORE Baja 1000, was one of the first two riders to traverse the La Carrera Panamericana, ran in the Super Hooligan series Bonneville Land Speed Racing, was a pioneer in Freeride mountain biking, served as a partner in Ducati Santa Barbara and did motorcycle stunt work for both television and film.

All proceeds raised through the GoFundMe account will go directly to Dunne’s mother to help with expenses and to honor his legacy with a celebration of life in Santa Barbara a month from now.

The PPIHC Board of Directors have donated $932 to represent Carlin’s incredible estimated time of 9:32, had he crossed the finish line.

It would have been a new motorcycle course record, beating the current by 12 seconds.

The established GoFundMe account is the only official channel for donations and support, and donations can be made by clicking here.

MACON, Ill. – The stars of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour will be heading to Macon Speedway on Thursday night for the Herald & Review 100.

The crown jewel race, which will pay $5,000 to the winner, will draw some of the best dirt super late model drivers in the country to the fifth-mile, high-banked dirt oval.

Brian Shirley currently leads the Summer National standings, heading the order by 22 points over Bobby Pierce, who has been quickly closing the gap.

Shirley had a great start to the tour, winning four of the first six events, while Pierce has been solid but hasn’t been in victory lane like he has during past Summer Nationals seasons.

That said, Pierce has a few runner-up finishes as of late and is looking to make a tight battle out of the points before the end of the summer.

Winners on the tour this year include Shirley (four wins), Brandon Sheppard (two wins), and solo victors Kyle Bronson, Mike Marlar and Shannon Babb.

The biggest winner of the Hell Tour this year has been Mother Nature. Weather has claimed or affected 11 of the Summer Nationals events already this year.

Following Shirley and Pierce in the Hell Tour standings are Frank Heckenast Jr., Babb, and former DIRTcar national champion Rusty Schlenk.

Jason Feger, Sheppard, Billy Moyer, Tanner English and Paul Stubber complete the top 10.

Gordy Gundaker is the defending winner of the Herald & Review 100. Shannon Babb is the event’s most prolific driver, with five victories (2006, ’09, ’11, ’13, ’14) to his name.

Joining the Hell Tour super late models will be the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals and Neal Tire & Auto Pro Mods.

Tommy Sheppard Jr. currently leads the modified division points at Macon, while Tim Hancock is atop the Pro Mod points.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Longtime Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter joined the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday as an adviser to new coach Dallas Eakins' staff, enlivening an otherwise quiet free-agent signing period for Southern California's two rebuilding NHL clubs.

Sutter is the winningest coach in the history of the Kings, the Ducks' crosstown archrivals. He has been out of coaching since Los Angeles fired him in April 2017 despite his two Stanley Cup titles.

Anaheim general manager Bob Murray announced the addition with a dry news release, but Sutter's move down the I-5 freeway added some intrigue to a fallow year for Southern California hockey. The Kings and Ducks missed the Stanley Cup playoffs in the same spring for the first time since 2004, and neither team has made a significant addition in free agency.

"Darryl will provide invaluable expertise to our coaching staff and players," Murray said. "Both Dallas and I agree his proven track record and vast knowledge of the game will be very beneficial for us."

The 60-year-old Sutter coached Los Angeles to its only two championships in 2012 and 2014. He won a franchise-record 225 games over five-plus seasons, and his Kings won an impressive 10 playoff series over three seasons during their prime.

The Kings fired Sutter after they missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Los Angeles failed to win a playoff series in the three seasons following its second championship.

Before he joined Los Angeles, Sutter was a general manager and coach with the Calgary Flames. He also had previous stints as a head coach with San Jose and Chicago.

Although Sutter's Kings put together one of the most impressive three-season runs in recent hockey history, his apparent preference for a deliberate, physical style of play often appeared to clash with the speed and skill prevalent in the modern game.

Yet the change didn't help the Kings, who are on their third head coach in two years since Sutter's dismissal. Los Angeles hired Todd McLellan in April.

Anaheim appointed Eakins last month after firing Randy Carlyle last season. Assistant coaches Mark Morrison and Marty Wilford are expected to stay on Eakins' staff after they finished last season as assistants to Murray, who coached the Ducks' final 26 games.

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky already has two Vezina Trophies, the award presented at the end of each season to the NHL's top goaltender.

He's not looking for a third.

For the Florida Panthers' new goalie, only one trophy matters now.

Bobrovsky and Florida's three other free-agent signings -- defenseman Anton Stralman, and forwards Brett Connolly and Noel Acciari -- put on their new Panthers sweaters for the first time Tuesday in their official introduction to South Florida. When they're back to begin training camp in just over two months, the Stanley Cup will be the singular goal for the long-struggling Panthers.

"It doesn't matter what you win individually," Bobrovsky said. "Hockey's a team sport and it's all about the Cup. Only one team can win the Cup each season. That's my main goal. That's what I want to do. That's why I am here now. I believe in this team. I believe in this group."

Bobrovsky was the Panthers' biggest acquisition this summer, at least from a player sense. Florida's offseason began with a coaching change and the hiring of three-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville, who said having a great goaltender is "the biggest ingredient" when putting together a team that can truly win a title.

And the Panthers think they got the best goalie in the game, someone who led the NHL with nine shutouts last season and then backstopped Columbus to a stunning sweep of Tampa Bay in the opening round of the playoffs -- after the Lightning were far and away the league's best team during the regular season.

"Sergei, we know the importance of goaltending," Quenneville said. "He comes in and gives us a No. 1 goalie that can play big games. He's going to play a lot of hockey here. We know how goaltending can influence a game and we know how goaltending can win in the playoffs as well. So he's excited about this opportunity."

Bobrovsky was long believed to be Florida's top free-agent target, and it was widely presumed that he would pick the Panthers. He decided last week that he would indeed sign with Florida, and a $70 million, seven-year offer got it done.

"With the bright future this team has, with the great coach, with the great management, and with the really talented group of guys I'm excited to be here," Bobrovsky said. "I think we can make something special here."

Bobrovsky will replace Roberto Luongo as Florida's No. 1 goaltender, following Luongo's retirement. Sam Montembeault, who made his first 10 NHL starts last season with the Panthers, is likely going be the backup.

Florida has missed the playoffs in 16 of the last 18 seasons, hasn't won a playoff series since 1996 and will have had 16 coaches in 26 seasons when Quenneville makes his debut. But the Panthers touted a promising young core for years, had one of the NHL's top offenses last season and believe Bobrovsky will be the difference-maker on the defensive end of the ice now.

"It's a process," Bobrovsky, 30, said. "It's not going to be easy. Nobody says this is going to be smooth and nice. We're going to have to overcome some adversity. But those things will make us stronger."

LAS VEGAS -- Everyone has a different standard on when they've "made it" as a professional. Like when Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews started earning pro-level money and made his first gluttonous purchase: a Rolex.

"That was probably the first thing, in getting to the NHL, that I bought," he told the ESPN On Ice podcast recently. "I didn't have a watch, and I like jewelry. I went through some people on the team who knew people, and ended up getting one."

Another moment of affirmation for the 21-year-old center: Making the cover of EA Sports' NHL 20, which will be released on Sept. 13. He joins other recent cover athletes such as Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid and New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban.

We caught up with Matthews at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas to talk video games, fashion, Sin City as well as what it was like for the Toronto Maple Leafs to watch the Boston Bruins make the Stanley Cup Final and the Toronto Raptors win the NBA title. Enjoy!

ESPN: EA Sports NHL cover boy. Where does this rank in career achievements?

Auston Matthews: I definitely ranks up there pretty high. I haven't accomplished too much. [Laughs] But it's pretty awesome. I grew up playing the game. Every Christmas, I would get the latest game, so I was always looking forward to that. To be on the cover is pretty special.

I played Xbox, for the most part. But my first game was for the PlayStation portable, NHL 06. That was the first game. That kick-started it. I played pretty much sports games. NHL, Madden, stuff like that.

ESPN: Do you still play today? More to the point, are you a phantom player in online leagues and people don't know they're playing Auston Matthews?

Matthews: [Laughs] Yeah, I wish. Not good enough. I do play, though. I go through these weird stretches where I'll play a ton of video games and then I won't turn on my Xbox for like six months, which is what I'm kind of doing right now. But I played P.K. [Subban] a little bit the other day when we were doing some stuff and I kicked his ass. So I know I still got it.

ESPN: How were you able to avoid the Fortnite craze?

Matthews: I've played it. Like I said, I go through stretches were a play a lot of games, and Fortnite was one of them. I don't think it ever got to the point where I was playing all night and not sleeping. I didn't play to the point where it was affecting my life. But I would play three or four hours a day after getting home from practice. Log on and play with all the boys. But nothing too crazy.

ESPN: No, you're not from Finland.

Matthews: Exactly.

ESPN: I wanted to bug you about fashion. In the last year, you've done modeling for GQ and other magazines. Every time these spreads come out, they go viral. How did you get into fashion? At what age did you decide you were going to dress better than your peers?

Matthews: I've always kind of been into it, but not until I actually had money. Switzerland was nice, just because it's different over there. That's how it started. It must have been brutal ... I can't even remember what I was wearing in Switzerland, but I was an 18-year-old kid, finally getting a paycheck, so I was like "I'm going to buy some crazy s---."

ESPN: Because you're in Europe, where the crazy stuff is.

Matthews: Exactly, so I was like let's see how it goes. That's how it started.

ESPN: Did you poke around at the reaction to some of the spreads you've done? In particular, the red coat?

Matthews: [Laughs] Yeah, I mean ... everybody's going to have an opinion. I don't really care, but I'll peek around sometimes. I'm not going to give some person who's behind their phone the power to make me feel a certain way. It's fine. Not everybody is going to love it, or love you. It's something you accept, and move on.

ESPN: You seem to get it, that there's a certain template for what NHL players wear to the rink. Then you look at the NBA, which is clearly leaps and bounds ahead of us as far as marketing themselves, and what they wear to the game and in the postgame becomes its own story.

Matthews: They've turned it into a business platform essentially. They're profiting off of what they're wearing. It's like a big runway for them. It helps out everybody: The NBA, the players, the marketability of each individual. The NHL's kind of a bit behind that, but you're getting younger players that are coming in and they're not wearing the traditional black suit to the game. They're wearing different stuff, hats, and whatever. It's not getting to the [NBA] level yet, but it's growing more and more.

ESPN: We were talking a little bit before about the Apple commercials that you and Mitch Marner did. It seems like this generation has been a little more assertive in getting their personalities out there.

Matthews: Fans want to see that. I know for myself, when I was younger, when those HBO 24/7 shows came out, it was awesome. I couldn't get enough of them. I watch them over and over. That's what fans really like. I think that's what's happening more and more: Fans getting a little behind the scenes access to our lives. It's not just hockey. It's other stuff we enjoy. Fans love that stuff. And as a fan growing up, I loved that stuff.

For the [Apple] ad, I was videotaping, so I obviously had no idea what I was doing. I showed up and they said, 'Take this.' They gave me a little tool and told me to follow Mitch around. It sounded easy enough, but it wasn't. But it was a lot of fun.

ESPN: Was the first time you went to the NHL Awards your first time in Vegas?

Matthews: I played a lot of hockey tournaments here. For some reason the parents loved coming here. Then they'd show up to the rink in sunglasses the next day. [Laughs] But I never got to experience it [until the awards]. You run into guys, as we're pretty much staying at the same hotel and going to the same events, nightlife, casinos and stuff like that. Even if you know them or not, it's nice to say hi to them.

ESPN: On to the Maple Leafs: How long does it take you to decompress after the season ending the way it did?

Matthews: It takes a while. Once the finals are over, you kind of get your mind off the season itself and start to focus on the next season. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth. A "what could have been." But you use it as motivation. Toronto winning the NBA title ... you just see the excitement and the passion and craziness in the street for the parade. Them winning a title ... it gives you motivation as well to accomplish the ultimate goal. Toronto is a sports city, and hockey is the top of that list. It serves as a lot of motivation to us.

ESPN: Can you be a fan and watch the Stanley Cup Final? Or does it become tough because Boston's in it?

Matthews: I mean, you watch, but don't watch much when you're out. Just a couple of games here and there. One of my best friends always throws it on, and I'm like "I really don't want to watch this," but I'm not going to make him turn it off. So I end up watching a couple of games.

ESPN: The last time we talked was at the All-Star Game when you did your Patrick Marleau tribute. How tough has it been for you to see a father figure move on from the Leafs? [Note: Marleau was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes prior to this interview, and had his contract bought out afterward.]

Matthews: It was tough. He's meant a lot to me. He's meant a lot to a lot of guys on this team. He's someone I still keep in touch with throughout the offseason. He's been incredible to me. Just a person with all the experience that he has, not only in hockey but in life, to have that as a [sounding board] has been great. Nothing changes as far as our relationship goes.

ESPN: Last time I saw you, you hadn't signed your contract extension. But we did talk about Mitch and what that contract would mean for him. It's become a weird summer with him being a restricted free agent and having what seems like a tense negotiation with Toronto. Has it been at all weird for you?

Matthews: Yeah, I mean, not really. We've talked a couple of times. Not about hockey or contracts. Just talked. I think he was here for Matt Martin's bachelor party and was texting me to see if I was going, and I had another buddy's party I was going to instead.

ESPN: I guess the last question is what an NHL player's bachelor party in Las Vegas looks like? Are there rooms that I could never see in my entire life that you're getting into?

Matthews: [Laughs] It's fun. That's all I can say. It's fun.

The Vegas Golden Knights have more players than cap space to use on them. That appears to mean that coveted Russian forward Nikita Gusev's stay in Vegas could end before it ever really began.

The Golden Knights signed Gusev last April to a one-year, entry-level deal. Despite Gusev's not playing a single minute of hockey for the team, he's now a restricted free agent, as signing the deal in-season burned that single year. It was a smart play by the Golden Knights, enticing one of the KHL's best players to finally come to North America by allowing him to get out from under the NHL's entry-level system with little resistance. It freed him up to sign a much larger contract this summer.

While the Knights succeeded in bringing Gusev over, the team had bigger offseason priorities, such as re-signing William Karlsson, that left them with little to no room for a higher-priced prospect such as Gusev. Now, according to a report from The Athletic, the team is exploring trade options for Gusev. Vegas could still find ways to make room for him, but it would take some serious maneuvering.

Suddenly, teams that need top-six skill in their lineup can at least explore trading for him. Vegas doesn't have much leverage, and it can't take on any salary, so this is likely an opportunity to collect some draft picks or some prospects who won't need to be on the books yet.