SALISBURY, N.C. – Just over a week ago, Lucas Sipka didn’t even have an Open division outlaw kart of his own, but now the teenager has a shot to race in the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport for the first time.

Sipka will make his maiden attempt at Millbridge Speedway’s biggest race, as well as just his third Wednesday Open division appearance at the sixth-mile dirt oval, during the May 20-22 spectacle.

His opportunity to compete in the Speed51 Open came after his older brother Adam, who works for a start-up technology company, purchased one of Tyler Reddick’s former outlaw karts for Sipka to drive at his home race track.

That opened the door, and from there, the former Box Stock regular knew he had to seize the chance.

“My brother played a big part in getting this thing and I’m so grateful to him for getting involved and helping me out going into the biggest race week of the year,” Sipka said. “The only thing that he asked was that he could drive it if he wanted to come down and turn some laps, and I figured I could make that deal. He is family, after all, and we have each other’s backs.

“I’m just so excited to be a part of this. I’ve watched the QRC Open for a few years now, and it’s one of the craziest nights there is at this race track every year,” he added. “To think that I’m going to be a part of it this week is a little insane, but I can’t wait to get started.”

Sipka is particularly excited to be wheeling a family-owned No. 54 entry, with backing from Clouatre Motorsports, during this week’s event.

He made his Open division debut driving for Kyle Beattie earlier in the spring, but feels like he can drive harder in his own kart than driving for another team owner.

“It’s a cool feeling (to drive for family). A lot of drivers may not talk about this, but at least for me, when I drive someone else’s equipment, I’m out of my comfort zone. When I drive my own stuff, it allows me to drive a little more like a bat out of hell,” Sipka joked. “You can just be a little bit more aggressive, I feel like, when you’re not worrying as much because you don’t want to tear someone else’s kart up.

“When I drove (Kyle) Beattie’s kart in my debut, other than the No. 21 … I maybe took it a touch easier, just because I knew it wasn’t my machine and I don’t like tearing up other people’s stuff,” he noted. “I’m more comfortable and fitted to my kart, and in my mind it lets me take a few more chances than I might normally take otherwise. Now, we just have to go forward into the week and see what happens.”

Though he only has two prior starts in Open division equipment, Sipka is aiming high for Wednesday night’s $5,151-to-win program, hopeful of racing his way through the alphabet soup and into the big show.

A confidence-building 11th-place finish in Sunday’s Clash at the Creek, held at nearby Mountain Creek Speedway, has buoyed Sipka’s hopes even more.

“I’m shooting for a shot to contend in the B-main at the Open. In a perfect world, that’s my goal,” said Sipka. “I know the competition is going to be tough, but I’d like to get that far if I can. The main mission is just to keep the kart clean, though. We want to not tear anything up and roll it back in the trailer in one piece.

“After we had a shot at a top 10 at Mountain Creek (Speedway), I’m feeling a lot more confident now.”

Sipka’s rapid ascent from Box Stocks to the premier class over the past six months has surprised even himself, but he’s focused forward and not looking back when it comes to the biggest race of his career.

“It hasn’t really set in yet that I get to do this. I don’t think it’ll set in until I get out on track Tuesday for the first session of hot laps,” Sipka noted. “Monday’s practice … that’s cool and all, but it’s still just an open practice with a few more karts than normal, really. That first race day is when it starts counting.

“My mind is honestly blown that last year I was in a Box Stock, and now I’ve got triple the power and so much more competition because I’m running with the Opens. It’s crazy,” Sipka added. “Who would have thought, right?”

Practice for the QRC Open presented by HMS Motorsport at Millbridge Speedway begins on Monday, May 20.

Feature racing takes place on both Tuesday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 22.

The Indianapolis 500 isn’t called The Greatest Spectacle in Racing for no reason. Every year 33 of the greatest racers in the world converge on Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete for the honor to be called Indianapolis 500 champion.

Everyone remembers the winners – Helio Castroneves, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and more – but we don’t always remember the drivers who competed in the Indianapolis 500.

Today and every day until the 103rd Indianapolis 500 we take a look at 10 drivers you may have forgotten competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Indianapolis 500.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Blues forward Ivan Barbashev will not receive any supplemental discipline from the NHL Department of Player Safety after a high hit that helped take Sharks forward Tomas Hertl out of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, according to a source.

In the first period, Barbashev cut across the middle of the ice and caught Hertl as he skated down the rink. Hertl's head snapped back on impact. Although the Sharks center would remain in the game and play through the second period, he didn't take a shift in the third period -- one of three key players missing for San Jose as they tried, and failed, to rally in the Blues' eventual 5-0 victory to take a 3-2 series lead.

The Barbashev hit on Hertl.#SJSharks #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/kAXPyjo3Ma

— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) May 19, 2019

There was no penalty on the play.

San Jose coach Peter DeBoer called the play "an arguably five-minute major on Tommy Hertl that, if it's called, maybe that's a momentum-changing play right there."

A source told ESPN that establishing that Hertl's head was the main point of contact on the hit was difficult, considering that Barbashev also connected with Hertl's arms and shoulder. There also was a question on whether the force of the hit was enough to warrant supplemental discipline, even if it might have been enough for a penalty in the game.

The decision not to give Barbashev a hearing probably won't sit well with the Sharks, who already feel that the Blues avoided a suspension on Sammy Blais's hit to the head of San Jose defenseman Justin Braun back in Game 3. Forward Logan Couture went as far as to say that the lack of punishment on that hit opened the door for this one to occur.

"I saw the Hertl hit. Just watched the replay. Yeah, that's a tough one. But they had one in Game 3 on Braun and nothing happened, so they can do it again, right?" he said after the Game 5 loss.

Elite women's hockey players have announced the formation of the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association -- a united front of some American, Canadian and European players which will serve as "a vehicle to support the creation of a single, viable women's pro league in North America."

The PWHPA includes stars like Kendall Coyne Schofield and Hilary Knight of Team USA and Shannon Szabados, Marie-Philip Poulin of Team Canada and Noora Raty of Finland -- as well as the nearly 200 professional women's hockey players who have announced they are not playing in a league next season until they are provided with better financial support and resources, as well as stronger health insurance.

The PWHA will help those players navigate training needs as well as help them land support from sponsors.

"We are fortunate to be ambassadors of this beautiful game, and it's our responsibility to make sure the next generation of players have more opportunities than we had," Coyne Schofield said in a statement. "It's time to stand together and work to create a viable league that will allow us to enjoy the benefits of our hard work."

The PWHPA is receiving pro bono support from the law firm Ballard Spahr, which has also advised the U.S. women's national team in its dispute over equitable support with USA Hockey.

The women's hockey landscape has endured major upheaval over the past two months. In late March, the Canadian Women's Hockey League made the stunning announcement that it was shutting down, citing a business model that "has proven to be economically unstable." The news came a week after the league's Clarkson Cup had a record 175,000 fans tune in as the CWHL brokered a last-minute deal with the NHL Network to stream the game to a United States audience.

The U.S.-based National Women's Hockey League is the only remaining league in North America, but the 200 players announcing they would not play in any league next season is an indictment on the NWHL's reputation. The NWHL also had a successful season last year, including seeing the All-Star game in Nashville, Tennessee draw 6,200 fans -- the largest crowd for a pro women's hockey game in the United States. There were also encouraging attendance figures, including the Minnesota Whitecaps, in their first NWHL season as an expansion team selling out every home game. (TRIA Rink in Saint Paul has a capacity of 1,200).

Even though the NWHL has promised to increase salaries for the 2019-20 season -- the lowest salary last year was $2,500 -- and give players a 50-50 cut of all revenue from league-level sponsorship and media deals, many players have expressed skepticism of the league's viability, as well as frustration with the lack of transparency that has existed in the past.

Terry and Kim Pegula, who also own the NHL Sabres, turned over their ownership of the Buffalo Beauts this offseason, effectively cutting ties with the NWHL. Also, the New Jersey Devils dissolved their marketing partnership with the Metropolitan Riveters.

The NWHL still insists it will have a 2019-20 season. Monday, the NWHL announced its first two player signings. Madison Packer re-signed with the Riveters for a salary of $12,000 while Kaleigh Fratkin re-signed with the Boston Pride for a salary of $11,000.

The hope for the PWHPA is to make the women's hockey community less fragmented.

"We are prepared to stop playing for a year -- which is crushing to even think about -- because of how important a sustainable league will be to the future of women's sports," Szabados said in a statement. "We know we can make this work, and we want the chance to try."

Added Raty in a statement: "We might play for different teams, and come from different countries, but we're united in our goals."

Privately, the NHL is exploring its options on whether or not it should sponsor a women's hockey league. Thee NHL is considering an option that is similar to the NBA's involvement with the WNBA, according to sources.

KOSICE, Slovakia -- The Brits will be back.

Ben Davis scored 2:03 into overtime for Great Britain to complete an unlikely comeback and edge France 4-3 to avoid relegation at the expense of the French at the ice hockey world championship on Monday.

Britain's return to the top division after 25 years looked short-lived after it was defeated in its previous six group games and was 3-0 down in the middle period.

The British fought back with a couple of goals from Robert Dowd and Mike Hammond in the second frame. Robert Farmer tied it in the final frame, forcing overtime.

Great Britain will now get to compete at next year's worlds in Switzerland.

In Group B, Dennis Rasmussen scored the winner into an empty net with 34 seconds remaining for Sweden to beat Latvia 5-4.

Latvia needed a win in regulation to keep alive hopes for a quarterfinal spot in the Group B game in Bratislava. After Roberts Bukarts tied the game for Latvia at 4-all with 3:24 remaining in the final period to complete his hat trick, the Latvians pulled the goaltender for an extra attacker.

Latvia's loss confirmed the four quarterfinalists from Group B: Leader Russia, the two-time defending champion Swedes and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.

Elias Pettersson, Adrian Kempe, Anton Lander and Patric Hornqvist had a goal each for the Swedes. William Nylander had two assists to lead the scoring table with 15 points.

Canada plays Denmark in Group A later Monday, while Austria faces Italy in another relegation match in Group B.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

The San Jose Sharks are on the brink of elimination yet again. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Blues are one win away from their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1970, which was their third year of existence.

Here's a recap of last night's action (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for Tuesday night, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Jump ahead: Last night's game | Three stars
Play of the night | Social post of the day

About last night ...

Game 5: St. Louis Blues 5, San Jose Sharks 0 (Blues lead the series 3-2)

The Sharks started out strong and had a few early looks. But then things went sideways: San Jose couldn't get one in while the Blues -- the best road team in these playoffs, now 7-2 away from home -- capitalized. St. Louis amped things up in the second period, outshooting the Sharks 20-6. St. Louis has now outscored San Jose 7-1 since the controversial hand pass play that ended Game 3.

Sharks coach Peter DeBoer admitted his team lost his composure in the third, especially when Joe Pavelski got hit high and had to exit the game.

Pavelski to the locker room after this hit #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/sabOojxJ1K

- Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 19, 2019

Pavelski was one of four players -- which also included the hobbled Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl, the team's second-leading goal scorer -- who ended up in the locker room before the final whistle.

Three stars

1. Jaden Schwartz, LW, St. Louis Blues. Schwartz didn't have the regular season he wanted, scoring only 11 goals, less than half of his 2017-18 total. He's compensating for it with a monster postseason. With his second postseason hat trick, Schwartz now has 12 goals in 18 games.

That makes Schwartz only the third player in NHL history to score more goals in the postseason than the regular season (minimum 10 goals regular season). The other two? Claude Lemieux in 1996-97 and Marian Gaborik in 2013-14.

2. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, St. Louis Blues. There was some discourse early in these playoffs about Tarasenko not being engaged. He's one of the purest goal scorers in the NHL, and he has been engaged lately, all right. He became the first Blues player in team history to successfully score a penalty shot in the playoffs, and tacked on two more assists to extend his point streak to five games.

3. Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues. By stopping all 21 shots, Binnington posted his first shutout of the postseason, and seventh playoff road win. That matches Matt Murray for the second most by a rookie goalie in NHL history. Only Ron Hextall (eight in 1987) had more.

Play of the night

OH BABY!!!!! #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue pic.twitter.com/DQJPMzDFKS

- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 19, 2019

Tarasenko's sick release on full display here. Martin Jones didn't stand a chance.

Dud of the night

Erik Karlsson hobbling around on one leg. Karlsson was laboring just to skate, and we wonder if he should have started Game 5, or if he'll be available for Game 6 considering he couldn't finish the game.

Interesting comments from DeBoer on Karlsson. To paraphrase: You go with the information based on what the player and the medical staff tell you for the game, but in hindsight there's regret having played him.

- Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 19, 2019

Social post of the day

View this post on Instagram

‪It's a Barbie World and we're all just livin' in it. #stlblues #WeAllBleedBlue

A post shared by St. Louis Blues (@stlouisblues) on May 19, 2019 at 11:44am PDT

Barbie's got some moves.

Quotable

"I think the Winter Classic was probably one of those, wanting to look back, a turning point. I think that whole 'Peaky Blinders' theme really brought the guys together." -- Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, on the inspiration for the Bruins (and many, many other NHL players) to add "newsboy" caps to their Amazon carts.