Riding a season-long winless drought, Sheldon Haudenschild finally kicked down the door to victory lane on Saturday at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.

LAS VEGAS -- When Kevin Durant announced on Instagram that he was going to join the Brooklyn Nets at the stroke of free agency, the team's braintrust -- ensconced in the team's gleaming practice facility overlooking New York Harbor -- celebrated one of the league's elite players choosing to join their franchise.

Now comes the hard part: making it all work.

"I think from our standpoint is we stand true to who we have been for three years," Nets general manager Sean Marks said Tuesday at a news conference addressing the team's summer business at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center. "Competing and playing hard and playing unselfish basketball. The product on the court speaks for itself.

"Guys, [coach Kenny Atkinson has] mentioned, they want to play here. They want to play in that system. The expectations, obviously they're growing. It comes with a deeper team. The more talent you acquire, we all know that we're all in on that, not only from the two of us but the organization as a whole."

Marks, sitting alongside Atkinson, spent a half-hour discussing what has been one of the most eventful offseasons in the NBA -- one that saw Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan all choose to team up in Brooklyn. The fact they all agreed to do so at the stroke of free agency was just one of many signs that this year's summer was a lot different than in past years.

"These players are talking all the time," Marks said, referring to Durant making his decision without officially taking a meeting with the Nets -- or anyone else. "Our guys are talking, who knows what's going on behind closed doors. And we let them have their space; I mean, that's the players' sanctuary.

"The world is so small now, with social media and everybody can put out every post they want and so forth at whatever time they want. There's a lot of speculation coming from and everybody's jumping on that: did he mean this, and did he not mean this? So I think the market is different, too. This year was a year where there was so much money in the market.

"And guys were going, 'How do I capitalize? How am I going to make that money and not be left out?' I don't know if it's a perfect storm. I don't know what you want to call it. But I think ... this is definitely a bit of an anomaly year. And maybe that's where it's trending."

However it happened, Atkinson admitted he was caught off guard by how it all played out.

"Quite honestly, it did surprise me," Atkinson said with a smile. "Obviously we improved a lot last year but it wasn't a so-called star system. It was a group of guys that play really well together. I think it gives more credit to the guys that are coming here that say I like that style of play, I like the way they play. I think they want to participate in something like that.

"Yeah, it surprises me just because we've come a long way in a short time. That's the biggest surprise. And it happened quicker. I know Sean was strategizing and thinking big picture. I was kind of focused more on the day-to-day. It was a surprise they chose to participate in this type of system that we're running."

It certainly is a long way from where the Nets were at this time three years ago, when they held a summer news conference to introduce a series of signings -- including Jeremy Lin, Jordan Hamilton, Trevor Booker and Joe Harris.

Now, three years later, Brooklyn has become one of the most exciting franchises in the league, and Harris has both developed into one of the NBA's elite 3-point shooters and one of the faces of the Nets' revitalization project.

"It's an unbelievable transition," Harris told ESPN. "Actually, Sean and I were joking the other day because three years ago we had a press conference for free agency and it was Anthony Bennett, Jeremy Lin, Trevor Booker, Justin Hamilton, myself and Caris LeVert. And now they're having a presser for KD, Kyrie and DeAndre Jordan.

"But it's one of those things where you could sort of see the trajectory of the organization. They had laid a good, really solid foundation. The culture was solid. Everything about it was growing and trending in the right direction, but obviously this got to this point quicker than anyone could have realized."

It's a transition now, though, that comes with a lot of other questions.

One is obvious: When will Durant play? Coming off the torn Achilles he suffered during the NBA Finals, it is assumed he will miss the vast majority of next season -- if not all of it completely -- and then return for the final three seasons of the four-year, $164 million contract he agreed to with Brooklyn.

Marks, though, refused to speculate about when Durant could potentially return to the court.

"He will be evaluated with the performance team and so forth," Marks said. "I think a timeline will be given in due time, but as of now, we're certainly not going to comment on when or if and make any sort of hypotheticals. It's too early."

Both men were also asked about the process of integrating Irving -- who is coming off a tumultuous season in Boston -- into the mix in Brooklyn.

The Nets last season had tremendous chemistry throughout their underdog season, going from a team not expected to make the playoffs to one that finished with the sixth seed in the East, and pushed the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.

"I'm definitely starting to do my homework on him," Atkinson said. "It's still recent. I think the challenge is to get the best Kyrie. I want him to have his best season ever and continue that improvement, and that's tough because he played well last year.

"I know there's a lot of talk out there, but you look at his numbers and I think the way he played really well. Definitely going to challenge him to keep improving. We play a system I don't imagine changing a ton. You'll have to ask him that. I think that's part of the reason he was interested in coming here our style of play. I think we'll come to a meeting of minds between me and him and how that works within the group."

Finally, Atkinson said that the competition between Jordan and Jarrett Allen for the starting center spot will go into training camp, but that Jordan -- who has been a starter for years -- has been amenable to coming off the bench.

"I'm excited about the pairing," Atkinson said. "Jarrett and DeAndre and DeAndre being able to push Jarrett and Jarrett being able to push DeAndre. DeAndre, two years ago, he was an elite, elite center in this league. That's where I want him to get back to. We really want to push him to his previous level. I think Jarrett will help him do that. As far as starting, not starting, Jarrett Allen said, 'Hey I want to be the starter,' which I love. It's great. I think we embrace the competition. I think that'll play out. I do think it helps us matchup-wise. If Joel Embiid maybe [Jarrett] gets two quick fouls or something we do have a heck of a player to support him and potentially starting different guys, too. I think that's possible. I think it's a great tandem to have.

"My initial conversation with [Jordan] was, 'Whatever I need to do to help us win.' So I think we'll see how that plays out but I love my initial conversations with him."

On Thursday night, May 23, Tyler “Sunshine” Courtney drove around Kevin Thomas Jr. with eight laps remaining to win the Hoosier Hundred.

Besides honoring Courtney’s winning drive, the fluttering double checkered flags marked the last time the echo of booming racing engines would reverberate around the storied Indiana State Fairgrounds mile.

Like the many other fairgrounds dirt tracks that dotted the nation and became American auto racing’s foundation, the one-mile Indianapolis dirt track was originally intended for horse racing.

Built in 1892, its sulky racing drew standing-room-only crowds and captured the nation’s attention as Dan Patch, an extraordinary Hoosier-born, standard-bred horse, shattered world records and raced undefeated on the mile.

However, it wasn’t long before horsepower of a different sort laid claim to the track. In 1903, former bicycle racing champion Barney Oldfield took the tiller of Henry Ford’s thundering No. 999 and became the first man to cover a mile a minute on a closed course.

That remarkable event solidified Oldfield as the first superstar of the still new sport of auto racing. In the process, he also collected a $250 prize posted by Carl Fisher, who later founded Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ever the showboating marketer, Fisher frequently used the fairgrounds mile for publicity stunts and “speed records.” In 1905, Fisher was determined to go after a world record there.

He’d made his fortune with his Prest-O-Light Co. that produced acetylene-powered headlights for the majority of automobiles manufactured in the United States. To further publicize the company, Fisher and his Prest-O-Light business partner, James Allison, organized an assault on the 24-hour mileage mark for automobiles.

Prest-O-Light devices were strung every 25 feet around the track to light the way. The first known attempt at track lighting that, in the overblown parlance of the day, “Brightened the track like a midday sun.”

On Nov. 16-17, 1905, driving National automobiles, another Fisher friend, Arthur C. Newby, who was the company president, along with drivers Charles Merz and “Jap” Clemens, braved unseasonably cold temperatures and racked up 1,094.56 miles in 24 hours, setting the record.

With no pari-mutuel betting in Indiana, horse racing couldn’t sustain the crowds necessary for the track to turn a profit. Since Fisher’s events had generated so much excitement and interest, the fair board surmised that auto racing could be a perfect income generator.

Starting in the early 1900s on dozens of “outlaw” races and a diverse conglomerate of other motorized promotions kept the track busy.

The Hoosier mile became the home of a prominent event for African-American drivers. To organize drivers unable to compete with major racing organizations because of the “unspoken segregation” that was rampant in that day, a group of businessmen created the Colored Speedway Ass’n.

Click to the next page for the rest of the story.

We’re back with part two of our special look back at some of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ biggest upsets!

On the heels of Justin Haley and Spire Motorsports’ shocking upset victory in Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Int’l Speedway we wondered what are some of the other shocking and surprising winners in Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series history.

We decided to dig through the archives and took a look back at some surprise NASCAR Cup Series winners. Today our look back features drivers with last names such as Ragan, Hamilton, Brickhouse, Menard and Sacks.

Click below to find out the stories behind more of NASCAR’s biggest upsets.

In the July issue of Sprint Car & Midget Magazine, Dave Argabright remembers late sprint car team owner Richard Hoffman, who died on April 30 after a brief illness. The full story can be viewed at www.sprintcarandmidget.com and requires either a print subscription to Sprint Car & Midget Magazine or online subscription to www.sprintcarandmidget.com to read.

He was the centerpiece of one of the most dynamic and successful teams in racing history, and his passing leaves a void that will not soon be filled.

Richard Hoffman passed away on April 30 at age 76 following a brief illness, surrounded by family. It was a quiet end to a life that was loud, action-packed, and filled with success.

Hoffman was the middle generation of Hoffman Auto Racing, a racing team that traces its roots back 90 years. His father, August “Gus” Hoffman, purchased his first race car in the Cincinnati area in 1929, and young Richard counted the days until he was deemed old enough to travel and race with his father. Richard’s son Rob continued the tradition as Richard and Rob worked side-by-side on the family’s race cars for more than 30 years.

Richard Hoffman was not a race driver, as he preferred his role of car owner and mechanic. But among the dozens of men who wheeled the family car through the years, none carried a more fierce determination to win than Richard.

His insatiable appetite for winning was at the center of his personality, and Richard had other notable traits as well. He was well-spoken and educated; he was savvy in the ways of business and his fellow man; he conducted himself with a respectful air. Even in the midst of heated and intense competition he was typically composed and calculating, somehow always able to navigate through adversity.

Click here to read the full story on sprintcarandmidget.com.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the Avalanche through the 2021-22 season.

Bednar is coming off a 38-30-14 season and his second appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs in his three seasons as coach.

Colorado didn't announce the financial terms of the deal.

"I'd like to thank Stan and Josh Kroenke, (general manger) Joe Sakic and the entire Avalanche organization for continuing to show their faith in me to lead this team," Bednar said in a statement. "I am grateful and honored to be the head coach of the Avalanche. We're moving in the right direction with the group that we have here. This team has an exciting future and I am ecstatic to be part of it."

Bednar is 103-116-27 in his three seasons with Colorado, getting the job after Patrick Roy's stunning decision to walk away a month before the 2016-17 season began. He spent the previous 14 seasons as a minor league coach, notably winning the American Hockey League's Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters, and the previous nine as a minor league player,.

"Jared has done a tremendous job behind the bench and has earned the opportunity to continue leading this team," Sakic said. "He is an outstanding coach who has the full trust of his players, coaches and staff. He has guided this franchise to two straight playoff appearances and we are excited with what this group can do moving forward."

NEWARK, N.J. -- Top draft pick Jack Hughes was a little disappointed on his first night with the New Jersey Devils at their development camp for young players.

Sitting around a TV with Joey Anderson, fellow USA Hockey National Team Development Program teammate and Devils' draft pick Patrick Moynihan and Matt Hellickson, Hughes was hoping to see Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays win the All-Star Home Run Derby.

Guerrero ran out of gas in the last round and lost to New York Mets' rookie Pete Alonso on Monday night.

"It was a fun event to watch. It was pretty cool," said Hughes, who stayed in Toronto after the draft.

There was nothing disappointing for Hughes or the Devils on Tuesday as the NHL team opened their development camp at the Prudential Center.

The 18-year-old playmaking center gave the Devils coaching staff and media a good glimpse of all the skills that made him the No. 1 pick in the draft last month. He buzzed up and down the ice, snapped shots on goal and made passes in tight spots that found open teammates.

Of course, it was just a 45-minute practice and there was almost no hitting. But Hughes showed a lot of the talent that many expect to be on display when the regular season opens in October.

"It was good to get out here and get in a little skate and get our feet under us," Hughes said after the start of the camp which will end on Saturday. "It was good to come out there with the jersey on for the first time."

Hughes, who is wearing No. 86, skated with three dozen other players in the camp, including nine of the 11 players drafted last month. The others are mostly young players who were in the AHL last year and may have had briefs stays with the Devils during the course of the season.

Hughes' hope this week is to learn about playing in the NHL and learning his way around his new home rink.

On the ice, Hughes looked relaxed and right at home.

"None of this is possible without the ice," Hughes said. "That's where I have had the most fun and what I love to do. Like I said, none of this is possible without the game of hockey. I know that."

Hughes is looking forward to some 3-on-3 competition on Wednesday and scoring some goals. He had 74 goals and 154 assists in 110 games with the USA development program.

"I am focused and ready to play in the NHL," Hughes said. "That's my goal. I want to be successful. It's not really a thing I think about. It's kind of an expectation for me."

Moynihan, who was taken in the sixth round and will attend Providence College next season, has no doubt Hughes will succeed.

"He is an amazing person, first and foremost, and he is a great player," Moynihan said. "With his ability to see the ice, the way he skates, I think he can do anything with this game."

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have traded defenseman Henri Jokiharju to the Buffalo Sabres for underachieving forward Alex Nylander.

Chicago is hoping a chance of scenery will help Nylander, who was selected by Buffalo with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 draft. The 21-year-old Nylander had three goals and three assists in just 19 games with the Sabres over three seasons.

Alex's father, Michael, played for the Blackhawks from 1999-2002.

Jokiharju, the No. 29 selection in the 2017 draft, made his NHL debut in October and finished with no goals and 12 assists in 38 games in his first season with the Blackhawks. He also showed some promising signs while helping Finland to its fifth world junior hockey title in January.