Two of the best pitchers in the world started on Monday. Not against each other, but I was intrigued to see how Blake Snell and Trevor Bauer would fare, with Snell the reigning Cy Young champ and Bauer one of the top contenders going after his throne.

As Snell could have said after his outing: "Not today."

Against a Diamondbacks team that had just scored 27 runs over the weekend in Colorado and ranked fourth in the majors in runs per game, Snell took a perfect game into the sixth inning and finished with just one hit allowed and nine K's in six scoreless innings in a 12-1 victory for the Rays.

My favorite pitch came with one out in the fifth inning, the perfect game still intact and a 3-2 count on Christian Walker. Do you go after him with a fastball or throw an offspeed pitch and risk ruining the perfect game with a walk? Snell threw a hook and Walker simply looked at it and walked away.

A few of Snell's other pitches:

.@snellzilla4 just had that look tonight. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/TkuzXGkruh

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) May 7, 2019

Bauer, meanwhile, who entered the game with a 4-1 record and 2.45 ERA, was facing a mediocre White Sox team at home. Before the game, he and Chicago's Tim Anderson had a fun Twitter exchange, with Anderson saying his career numbers were so bad against Bauer that he would flip his bat if he hit a home run off him. Bauer actually took that in good humor and told Anderson he would appreciate it if he would skip a day.

Anderson didn't get him, but Yoan Moncada did in the top of the first:

Yo diggity, Yo doubt. pic.twitter.com/UZK96vwplm

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) May 6, 2019

James McCann added another home run as the White Sox put up eight runs (seven earned) on Bauer in five innings, raising his ERA to 3.42.

Bauer's season has been a little all over the place as he's had two six-walk games (although he won both of those starts with a combined one run allowed). Batters are hitting just .201 off him, but he's now had two 10-hit games.

Snell, however, also had one blow-up game -- his last start, allowing seven runs in three innings against the Royals -- so his ERA is at 3.62, plus he had a stint on the IL with a fractured toe. But I like his peripherals better than Bauer's:

Snell: .205 BA, 35.2% SO rate, 6.3% BB rate, 87.1 exit velo
Bauer: .201 BA, 29.0% SO rate, 11.2% BB rate, 92.3 exit velo

For now, I still have it as Snell over Bauer. Unlike that other game of thrones, however, we have a lot more episodes to go in this one.

The Twins may have an ace: The Twins cruised in Toronto, steamrolling Marcus Stroman and the Blue Jays 8-0. The line for Twins starter Martin Perez: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SO, 102 pitches. He's now 5-0 with a 2.83 ERA and has spun back-to-back scoreless outings, his previous one eight innings against the Astros.

Side note: Perez was 2-7 with a 6.22 ERA last year for the Rangers. Among 173 pitchers with at least 80 innings, Perez ranked 171st in ERA. (The two below him were also Rangers. It was not a good season for Texas pitching). He ranked next-to-last in strikeout rate. He ranked last in batting average allowed. Basically, he was about as bad as a pitcher with a significant amount of innings can be.

So what's the deal? A couple of things. First, he's ditched his slider for a cutter (something his agent had apparently been suggesting for some time). And he's throwing it a lot: 31.6 percent of the time so far. Against the Blue Jays, he threw the cutter 34 times and he'd used it even more in his previous two starts. Second, he worked with new Twins pitching coach Derek Johnson on using his hips more in his delivery and that's resulted in better fastball velocity (a big leap of about 2 mph).

"Before, I just used my arms," Perez said in spring training. "Now, I'm using all my body, and you guys can see the results. I don't miss inside anymore. ... Now, I just stay on the line and just throw the ball in front of my eyes."

Yes, it's only five starts, and four of those have been against the Orioles and Blue Jays. But in this case, there are clear and obvious reasons for the hot start. Perez is looking like one of the best free-agent signings of the offseason.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. update: Since the Blue Jays got shut out, that means Vladdy Jr. is still looking for his first home run. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and also made an error. (It could have been two, but one smash hit right to him was generously ruled a base hit.) He's now 5-for-33 in nine games, a .152/.243/.182 line. He's also fanned 10 times, a 27 percent strikeout rate. If this came from games 103 to 111, we wouldn't even notice, but it's a reminder that Vlad is a 20-year-old with little experience above Double-A.

Paddack outduels deGrom: It feels like I've written a note after every Chris Paddack start, but the Padres right-hander is so good, so fun to watch, with a masterful blend of movement and command and a lights-out changeup. In an anticipated showdown against Jacob deGrom, the rookie fanned 11 in 7⅔ scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory for the Padres. The Mets are suddenly scuffling at the plate, with just seven runs in their past six games.

Paddack threw his three fastest pitches of the season: 97.9, 97.9 and 97.2 mph, all to fellow rookie Pete Alonso -- and two of those were strikeout fastballs. Paddack said before the game that he wanted Alonso -- "I'm coming for him," he said -- and he got him.

The Reds score lots of runs: Speaking of highly ranked prospect rookies, Nick Senzel homered twice for the Reds in a 12-4 victory over the Giants:

You think Nick Senzel likes leading off?#BornToBaseball pic.twitter.com/dhO37bpmSx

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019

DOINK!

Reds batters tied the Major League record (set in 1893) for batters hit by a pitch in an inning with four in the 6th, two with the bases loaded. pic.twitter.com/7UmtwzsqFc

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019

Ready now... play ball! ? pic.twitter.com/Z4ioWU8Ojp

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019

That's a swarm of bees and it caused an 18-minute delay.

The Reds scored 37 runs in the four-game series and hit 15 home runs, but came away with just a split as they blew an eight-run lead on Friday. Anyway, with all this craziness going on, my thoughts turned to Joey Votto. He had two hits on Monday, but he's still struggling, hitting .226/.341/.365 with three home runs. His projected stats are 14 home runs and 157 strikeouts. Two seasons ago, Votto hit 36 home runs, struck out just 83 times (while drawing 134 walks) and missed by two points of winning his second MVP Award. So as a big Votto fan, these 2019 numbers are a little depressing.

The Statcast data reveals what the eyes tell you: It's not a guy hitting into bad luck. He entered the day with an expected batting average of .204 based on the quality of contact. His swing-and-miss rate is up almost 10 percent from two years ago. His swing-and-miss rate against fastballs is up 7 percent. He's hitting more fly balls than ever, but they're not leaving the park. Votto has had slumps before, but this feels like something more than a slump, and based on the lack of power in 2018, it seems we won't see the "one of the best hitters in the game" version of Votto again. Getting older stinks.

Sabathia versus Pettitte: The Yankees beat the Mariners 7-3, jumping all over Felix Hernandez for seven runs and three home runs in the first three innings. CC Sabathia got the win, No. 248 in his long career, though he labored a bit with 99 pitches and three runs allowed over five innings. After crossing 3,000 career strikeouts in his previous outing, becoming the 17th pitcher to do so (all the others ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame except Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling), there has been a lot of talk about Sabathia as a future Hall of Famer.

The consensus opinion that I've seen and heard is a clear "yes," although Ken Rosenthal pointed out on MLB Network on Monday that voters need to be careful with Sabathia -- as with Jack Morris -- in that if you elect him, that could open the door for a lot of other similar candidates.

That's my take. Yes, 3,000 strikeouts and 250 wins are impressive accomplishments, plus he won a Cy Young Award. On the other hand, I think there's one obvious comparison why Sabathia shouldn't be viewed as a Hall of Fame lock:

Sabathia: 248-154, 3.69 ERA, 3,495⅓ IP, 3,007 SO, 62.6 WAR, 117 ERA+
Andy Pettitte: 256-153, 3.74 ERA, 3,316 IP, 2,448 SO, 60.6 WAR, 117 ERA+

It's hard to find two more similar pitchers, right down to the identical adjusted ERAs. Indeed, using the similarity scores at Baseball-Reference.com, Sabathia's No. 1 comp is Pettitte, and Pettitte's No. 1 comp is Sabathia.

Here's the thing, however: In his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot, Pettitte received just 9.9 percent of the vote. Yes, he admitted to briefly using HGH in 2002 while rehabbing an elbow injury, but he seems to have escaped the PED stigma and that doesn't seem like an issue for most voters.

The above stats don't even factor in Pettitte's postseason edge. He started 44 playoff games, the most ever, and went 19-11 with a 3.81 ERA. Sabathia has started 21 playoff games and gone 10-7 with a 4.31 ERA. Sabathia does have one significant advantage: In one sense, he's been viewed during his career as more like a potential Hall of Famer. That makes sense. In his six best seasons, he compiled 35.1 WAR (including a Cy Young Award and six seasons of 4.6 WAR or higher); in Pettitte's six best, he had 31.7 WAR (and just three seasons of 4.0 WAR or higher).

Still, it doesn't compute that Pettitte would be a non-factor on the ballot while Sabathia is viewed as a lock. This could be a case of recency bias and a good example of why there is the five-year rule before a player appears on the ballot.

Javelin and steeplechase marks are smashed on the final day of the BUCS Championships in Bedford

Aimee Pratt smashed the BUCS 2000m steeplechase championship record to to move to third on the British all-time list on an exciting final day of the BUCS Championships in Bedford.

Pratt ran 6:26.14 to move within five seconds of Lennie Waite’s British record of 6:21.31 and finished 12 seconds ahead of silver medallist Emily Moyes, who ran 6:38.40.

“I would have been disappointed with anything but a win,” Pratt told AW. “I’m targeting the European U23 Championships and hope to medal there. Hopefully I can run under 9:40 for the 3000m steeplechase.”

Equally dominant was Harry Hughes in the men’s javelin. Hughes threw a championship record of 78.63m to win by over 16m.

In the women’s pole vault, Tilly Hooper broke the BUCS record with a PB clearance of 4.02m.

Other medals were much more closely contested, notably in both the men’s and women’s 5000m.

Ellis Cross ran an “unexpected” race to beat a very competitive field to lead home a St Mary’s clean sweep. Cross out-kicked BUCS cross country champion Emile Cairess, clocking 14:18.82 to Cairess’ 14:19.26 to win a second BUCS 5000m title.

An exciting 5000m final is won by Ellis Cross in a St Mary’s clean sweep, clocking 14:18.82 to beat Emile Cairess and Abdulquani Sharif #BUCSOutdoors @StMarysU pic.twitter.com/rsHnBJZbJN

— Athletics Weekly (@AthleticsWeekly) May 6, 2019

“I didn’t expect it after coming third last year,” said Cross. “I was just thinking about trying to complete the set and take the silver today.

“I didn’t know what shape I’d be in. I’ve been at altitude so I haven’t been able to train on the track for four weeks.”

Abdulqani Sharif held off Cardiff Metropolitan’s Jake Smith and Southampton Solent’s Mahamed Mahamed to take the bronze in 14:25.96.

St Mary’s team-mate and Denmark international Anna Emilie Møller out-kicked Jess Judd to deny her a second BUCS 5000m title. The European U23 champion ran 15:54.80 to Judd’s 15:56.96. Amelia Quirk was third in 16:02.47.

Several athletes were able to successfully defend their BUCS titles. Adele Nicoll won the women’s shot put for her fourth BUCS gold as GB heptathlete Niamh Emerson was second with 13.36m.

Meanwhile, Khai Riley-La Borde spoke of his “relief” to win a third BUCS gold following wins at last year’s 110m hurdles and at the 60m hurdles at the indoor BUCS championships.

“There’s some very talented youngsters coming up the under-20 ranks but once I got my start right I knew it was game over,” he said.

Jessica Hunter (100m hurdles), Isabelle Boffey (800m) and Commonwealth Youth Games 800m champion Alex Botterill all also won golds following victories at the BUCS indoor championships.

Botterill said: “I was quietly confident. Training has been going extremely well. My main aim is to win the under-20 European trials and get on that plane.”

While many athletes retained their titles, some were delighted to finally take gold. Tom Horton won the 3000m steeplechase in 9:13.48 ahead of Dan Jarvis with 9:17.48 and Jayme Rossiter with 9:17.56.

“I’ve been wanting to win the gold for ages,” he said. “I won the indoors 3000m two years ago but I got disqualified. That’s been in my head every since. I’m a senior now so I just want to run as close to 8:30 for the 3000m steeplechase as I can.”

A dramatic finish to the women’s 400m hurdles saw Mae Thompson win gold in windy conditions in 61.52 ahead of Emily Craig and Lauren Williams, while the men’s title was won by Alexander Knibbs in 51.19 ahead of Alastair Chalmers with 51.60.

A dramatic finish to the race as Mae Thompson wins 400mH gold in windy conditions in 61.52 ahead of Emily Craig and Lauren Williams #BUCSOutdoors pic.twitter.com/wPO6B9TrMj

— Athletics Weekly (@AthleticsWeekly) May 6, 2019

Full results can be found here.

Elsewhere, other stand-out track performances from over the weekend included a PB for Jodie Williams as after eight years the 2010 world junior champion clocked 11.17 to improve her 100m best, while she also ran 22.46 (+2.9m/s) for 200m in Texas.

British number two Katie Boulter has withdrawn from the French Open and will miss the rest of the clay-court season due to a back injury.

The world number 92 was struggling with the injury during Britain's Fed Cup victory over Kazakhstan last month.

Boulter, 22, sealed a 3-1 victory as she beat Zarina Diyas, but needed a hot water bottle on her back during changeovers.

She has not played since that match on 21 April.

American Sloane Stephens recorded her fourth successive win over former world number one Victoria Azarenka to advance to the round of 16 at the Madrid Open.

The 26-year-old world number eight was broken twice as Azarenka, now ranked 52, took the match to a deciding set.

Belarusian Azarenka, 29, spurned two break points at 1-1 and Stephens won 6-4 2-6 6-2 in two hours, six minutes.

Stephens will face the winner of Tuesday's match between China's Zheng Saisai and Alize Cornet of France.

Defending champion Petra Kvitova thwarted a fightback from world number 63 Kristina Mladenovic to go through 6-3 7-6 (7-5) in an hour and 55 minutes.

The Czech second seed, chasing a fourth title on the Caja Magica clay, will face wild card Sorana Cirstea or Caroline Garcia in the last 16.

Seventh seed Kiki Bertens and 12th-ranked Anastasija Sevastova recorded straight-set victories over Jelena Ostapenko and Mihaela Buzarnescu respectively.

In the men's doubles, Britain's Kyle Edmund, who plays 10th seed Fabio Fognini in the singles on Tuesday, teamed up with Liverpudlian Neal Skupski to beat French pair Jeremy Chardy and Gilles Simon 6-2 6-3.

Britain's Dom Inglot, partnering India's Rohan Bopanna, lost in straight sets, while Joe Salisbury, in partnership with American Rajeev Ram, also went out, losing the deciding set 11-9 against Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos.

Meanwhile second seed Rafael Nadal, who faces highly-rated teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, pulled out of his media conference with a stomach bug.

Ospreys and Scarlets might have to wait until the end of May to play-off for a place in the European Champions Cup.

It has also emerged that Ospreys could qualify automatically with Cardiff Blues facing Scarlets instead.

That could happen if Leinster beat Saracens in this season's Champions Cup final on 11 May AND the last four in the second-tier Challenge Cup all qualify through their domestic leagues.

It follows a "clarification" by Pro14 administrators.

Ospreys are due to host Scarlets on Saturday, 18 May (19:45 BST), and that match will go ahead if Saracens beat Leinster in the Champions Cup final.

But it would be delayed until after 25 May - with the play-off match being played on Wednesday, 29 May - if Leinster win.

And it could between Cardiff Blues and Scarlets with Ospreys qualifying automatically if the Pro14 gets an eighth qualifying place as a result of Leinster success.

It boils down to the way the 20th place in the Champions Cup is allocated and the Pro14 being split into two conferences instead of one league table.

The Pro14 has seven places in the Champions' Cup - six for the teams who finish in the top three of its two conferences and a seventh decided by a play-off between the teams which finish fourth.

An eighth would be allocated if Leinster win the Champions Cup and the four Challenge Cup semi-finalists - Clermont Auvergne, La Rochelle, Harlequins and Sale Sharks - clinch top six league positions in their domestic leagues.

All are currently in contention to qualify.

However, the regular English Premiership season does not finish until 18 May and the French Top 14 on 25 May.

Wales may have to wait

Wales' World Cup preparations could be affected by any delay.

The 42-man training squad are due to report for duty four weeks after playing their final matches of the domestic season.

That was due to be 27 May for Dragons and Blues players, and 18 June for Ospreys and Scarlets.

It could now be as late as the end of June with more than half Warren Gatland's training squad made up of Scarlets and Ospreys players.

For the latest Welsh rugby news follow @BBCScrumV on Twitter.

CONWAY, Ark. – The COMP Cams Super Dirt Series presented by Lucas Oil is set to make history this week.

The tour will sanction its richest stand-alone event in its 13-year history. The record-setting feat will be made as the tour embarks on the eighth annual Bad Boy 98 at Mooney Starr’s Batesville Motor Speedway in Arkansas.

“This is the richest, standalone weekend in the history of the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series, and we couldn’t be more excited,” COMP Cams Super Dirt Series CEO Chris Sullivan said. “There’s a lot of buzz among racers and fans. This is a must-see event, and it’s a really proud moment for our series. There’s some major money on the line, and best of all, the weekend features two complete shows.”

The eighth annual Bad Boy 98 is headlined by a $5,000-to-win/$500-to-start program on Friday night. The ante ramps up on Saturday evening, when the purse is increased to $15,000 to win and $1,000-to-start.

Bad Boy Motorsports CEO Bill Hurst is pleased to see a new, two-race format for the Bad Boy 98

“We are really excited with the new format of the two shows with a 30- lap feature on Friday night and a 68-lap feature on Saturday night to total 98 laps,” Hurst commented.

Former champions of the Bad Boy 98 include Jimmy Owens, Tim McCreadie, John Blankenship and Scott Bloomquist.

With three events completed this year, Billy Moyer leads the way in the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series standings. However, since Moyer isn’t a paid series member, second-place runner Tony Jackson Jr. is currently the Midwest Sheet Metal Marked Man point leader for the series entering this weekend’s events. Kyle Beard, B.J. Robinson, Hunter Rasdon, Morgan Bagley, Scott Crigler, Gavin Landers, Timothy Culp, Brian Rickman, Charlie Cole, David Payne and Sawyer Crigler, Robert Baker, Chad Mallett, and Jon Mitchell round out the latest standings.

Scott Crigler enters the upcoming weekend as the Midwest Sheet Metal Rookie of the Year point leader. Charlie Cole and Chad Mallett round out the point’s battle.

On Thursday night an open practice session is slated from 7 p.m. to 10  p.m.

Friday night’s program finds the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series contingent competing in a $5,000-to-win, 30-lap event. IMCA Modifieds, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Front Wheel Drives will contest a complete program.

On Saturday evening the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series competes in it’s richest single-day event in series history. A $15,000-to-win/$1,000-to-start, 68-lap finale is on tap. Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks will also be on the evening’s card.

DOVER, Del. – It may have taken an extra day due to weather, and he may have had to start at the rear, but Martin Truex Jr. made winning the Gander RV 400 at Dover Int’l Speedway look easy on Monday.

Truex didn’t take command of the race until the last lap of the second stage, thanks to inspection failures that relegated him to the back of the grid, but once he got to the front the No. 19 Toyota Camry was untouchable.

The Mayetta, N.J., native and 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion led 132 of the final 161 laps en route to his second win of the year, third at Dover and 21st of his career.

Notably, Truex’s first Cup Series win in 2007 came on a Monday at Dover after a weather postponement. Twelve years later, he found himself back in victory lane at the one-mile concrete oval in similar fashion.

“To be back here in victory lane at this place feels incredible; I’m so thankful for this team,” said Truex. “What a race car we had today. We came here with a new setup this time, because we had kind of an older setup that we won with in 2016, but lately it’s just been good here and not quite good enough. Today, it was a lot of work and it was tough, but it was good enough. This race car was incredible

“It’s pretty special with a new group of guys to now have two wins together,” Truex continued. “I’m really, really proud to drive these (Joe Gibbs Racing) Toyotas.”

Truex started 33rd on Monday but took just 86 of the 400 laps to pass 25 cars, finding himself solidly in eighth before a late yellow and subsequent pit strategy shuffled him back to 12th at the first stage break.

He didn’t stay there long, however.

Truex methodically worked his way forward during the second 120-lap stage, and by lap 195, was around Kyle Larson and into the top five, where he would remain for virtually the rest of the day.

Traffic allowed him to close even further, and with 11 laps to go – as leaders Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick fought lap traffic – Truex made it his mission to pounce. He slipped past Elliott for third with 12 to go in the second stage and powered around Harvick and into second eight laps later.

From there, Truex applied pressure on Bowman until the latter overdrove turn one on the final lap of the second stage, opening up the bottom and allowing Truex to cruise to the stage victory.

Once the final stage went green with 151 to go, only a round of green-flag pit stops with 80 to go kept Truex from leading the entire way. He dropped to pit lane on lap 320, taking four tires and letting the strategy for the rest of the field play out, while he waited in the wings to reclaim command for good.

Daniel Suarez, who pitted on lap 266 and could go longer on fuel than many of the frontrunners, cycled to the point on lap 327 and paced the field for 21 straight circuits, but his strategy gave up the ghost with 53 to go, giving Truex a lead he would never relinquish again.

Truex took the checkered flag in front by 9.501 seconds over Bowman, who also had to start from the rear but came through the field much like Truex did before earning his second-straight runner-up finish.

After climbing from his car, Bowman cracked a smile but was quick to note the physicality of the race.

“I’m worn out. This is physically the hardest race of the year,” he said. “I wish I had been in Martin’s way at the end of the race, but it just wasn’t meant to be there. We at least had a shot at it and congrats to them, because they ran a great race.

“This (No.) 88 team had a miserable start to the season, but we did a really good job resetting during the off week and we’ve come out strong since then,” Bowman added. “I’m proud of this one, for sure.”

Larson finally warded off the bad luck that has plagued him for most of the season to notch his first top-five finish of the year in 11 Cup Series starts, finishing third ahead of Harvick.

Polesitter Elliott crossed the line fifth after starting from the pole and leading a race-high 145 laps.

Erik Jones, Joey Logano, William Byron, Clint Bowyer and Kyle Larson completed the top 10.

Busch’s 10th-place finish matched Morgan Shepherd’s 1990 campaign for the most-consecutive top-10 finishes to start a Cup Series season in history, with 11 such results in the first 11 races.

JOLIET, Ill — Former Chicago-area midget racer Roger West passed away on Saturday, May 4 at the age of 78.

Suffering from health issues in recent years, West was the 1967 United Auto Racing Ass’n champion before going on to United States Auto Club midget competition and a try at the Indianapolis 500.

In 1967 West won the UARA title, defeating Bob Richards and Bill Kollman for the championship.  West won two UARA compact sprint features along the way.  He jumped into Dick Herath’s No. 22 at Joliet Memorial Stadium on July 15 and won a 75-lap championship race.  Later in the season, West was behind the wheel of his regular Bob Corson-owned ride, scoring a victory on the dirt at Peotone, Ill., on Aug. 25.

West finished 43rd in UARA points standings in his rookie year in 1963. He was 25th in the standings in 1964 and 11th in 1965. Highlights of the 1965 racing season were two trophy dash victories at the Mazon Speed Bowl over the Labor Day weekend in Joe Mogis’ Falcon-powered No. 95. West ended up sixth in UARA points in 1966, scoring his first career feature win on the flat, quarter-mile, Joliet oval on July 23, 1966, besting Willie Wilson and George Kladis.  West would win three straight at Joliet in Bob Corson’s Chevy-powered No. 15 midget.

West won six career USAC midget feature races – winning for the first time in 1968 at Chicagoland’s Santa Fe Park Speedway driving for former Indianapolis 500 competitor and Chicago area midget champ Eddie Russo. On July 19, 1968, West wheeled Russo’s Richmond Tire Co.-sponsored No. 97 to a 50-lap victory at the quarter-mile dirt oval.

In 1969, West won twice, scoring wins at Wisconsin’s Hales Corners Speedway, driving for Ed Loniewski, and again at Santa Fe, winning a 50-lap chase on August 8, 1969 behind the wheel of Dink Cornell’s black No. 8.  He won again in 1970, capturing a USAC main event in Lawton, Oklahoma and at Fairbury, Ill., both times driving the George Middleton Pizza Hut Special No. 15.  His final USAC victory came on June 4, 1972 as he piloted Gene Willman’s No. 71 Sesco-powered car first to the checkered flag in a 50 lapper at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis., besting Mel Kenyon and Lee Kunzman.

During West’s busy USAC midget years, he finished 11th in the standings in 1968, 10th in 1969, 8th in 1970 (competing in 35 races), 19th in 1971 and 16th in 1972.

West made two USAC Champ Car starts in 1968, competing at Springfield, Ill. and at The Milwaukee Mile driving for Joliet car owner Tim Delrose. West finished 10th at Springfield at the wheel of Delrose’s Offy-powered No. 58 dirt champ car.

West went to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1969 as a rookie.  Making his first appearance on the track on Monday, May 19, West was driving the Ford-powered Marathon Special No. 75 and had completed the first two phases of his rookie test..  West was working through the 150 mph segment of the test when he spun in turn one and tagged the outside wall.  West was not injured, but his car was damaged ending his quest to make the Indianapolis 500 classic.

West’s racing career pretty much came to a close by the mid 1970s although he made a few midget starts in the late 70s and early 80s.

West is survived by his wife of 52 years, Rosemary; children, Roger J. (Susie) West and Jeffrey G. West; grandsons, Tyler D. West and Nicholas W. West; siblings, Royce (Sharon) West, Brian (Denise) West, and Douglas West; special friend, Cheryl Nolden; many nieces and nephews also survive.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, David West.

Visitation will be Thursday, May 9, from 4 until 8 p.m., at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black at Essington Rds., Joliet, Ill.  Funeral Services will be Friday, May 10 at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home chapel.  Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Joliet.  Memorials in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://act.alz.org/site/Donation) would be appreciated.