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Exiled Afghanistan women players to men's team: 'Please be the voice of the girls'
Don't ban the Afghanistan men's side from playing international cricket but do expect them to do more for the women and girls who don't have the same rights they do. That's the opinion of two formerly contracted Afghanistan women's players living in exile in Australia.
Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and have narrated their story of escape to a new life on ESPNcricinfo's Powerplay podcast. Both women continue to play club cricket in Australia, with hopes of representing their country someday even though that will not be possible until the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) put up a women's team. Under Taliban rule, the ACB cannot do that because of the country's laws, which forbid women from playing sport, studying and working.
Given that Afghanistan are ICC Full Members, and that one of the conditions of that status is to have a women's side, there has been debate over whether or not to sanction the Afghanistan's men's team. Both Australia and England refuse to play bilateral series against them in protest, but continue to play them at ICC events, while the other nine Full Members engage with Afghanistan, sometimes amid growing calls to boycott them. South Africa are the most recent and relevant example, given they were isolated from the 1970s to 1990s for the country's race-based Apartheid system. While the country's sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, recently cited gender discrimination as a reason not to play Afghanistan, Cricket South Africa believes punishing the men's players for a situation beyond their control will not force change. Amiri and Hashimi hold similar views but it is important to know that some of the other players are known to feel differently.
"The Afghanistan men's team brings a kind of hope. They are role models for us. I don't want to say I'm not supporting them at all," Amiri told ESPNcricinfo in May 2024, when we first interviewed her. "But when I cannot play for Afghanistan, what's more heartbreaking is when you see the men can do something and the women cannot do it - which is absolutely wrong. Everything men can do, women can do as well."
Australia, where Amiri and Hashimi live, refuse to play Afghanistan in bilateral cricket. This has caused Amiri to wonder whether selective shunning of the men's team is worthwhile. "If it has an impact on our team, that we can put pressure on the Afghanistan Cricket Board to make a women's team, then we will be happy, but only if it's a way we can start playing cricket."
Though she considered the thought of a ban, Amiri recognises that the Afghanistan men's team has made rapid progress and its success could be more of a statement than a ban. "They are in a good position at the moment in the world and if they start supporting us, they'll have a big impact on our team. They can be very, very helpful for us and for all the women. If women can start playing sport, women can start studying as well. It can be a pathway.
"If they start supporting us, it's going to be a way for all women. If they can hear my voice from here: Afghanistan, national players, please, please be the voice of the girls at the moment. Please do more for us. Start doing something for women. You are the voice of Afghanistan. They are the most famous people at the moment. They can be the voice of millions and millions of girls."
Despite her plea, Amiri recognised that the men's players may be risking their own safety if they speak out. "I know that there were always some challenges for them as well. Some of their families are still in Afghanistan. We don't want you to be in danger."
"We don't want to make another problem by stopping them or keep talking about stopping them from playing cricket. Now we have our base, we want to play for the Afghan XI. We want to make a better future for Afghanistan women inside Afghanistan and make a change in cricket."
"It is one of the most complex pieces I've seen," Jones said. "There's nothing black and white about this at all but I do think there's a question around leadership. People take on positions of leadership to lead, and it's not to say that you have to make a black and white decision about things but I think you have to stand up and be a voice and lean into some tough situations. And this is a really tough situation.
"I think the frustration has been the lack of conversation around it. And so here's this amazing group of women who are trying to rebuild their lives and still connect to cricket. And they've hardly had a conversation with our leaders right across the world. And that's the most frustrating thing for me. We might still get to the same point and decisions that we are now regardless of those conversations. But give these women their due. Give them space that's probably the one piece that I would say we've been really bad at over the last three or four years: it's that people turn their back on that conversation. And I would hope that if we'd learn anything from this, is that if something like this happens again, whether it's a different country or a different group of people, if it's a men's team somewhere or something like that, that we just don't turn our back on people and hope that silence will make it go away, because it just doesn't."
Episode 2 of the ESPNcricinfo Powerplay podcast will look at where Amiri and Hashimi find themselves now as well as the practicalities and challenges of the Afghan women in exile playing as a team.
Episode 1 one of ESPNcricinfo's Powerplay Special on Afghanistan will be available on January 22, followed by Episode 2 on January 29.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent for South Africa and women's cricket. Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women's cricket, at ESPNcricinfo
'Defined his generation' - Clarke joins Australia's Hall of Fame
Clarke, 43, accepted the honour on Thursday, nearly a decade after he closed the chapter on his remarkable playing career. He is the 64th inductee, with two further members to be named this season.
Making his first-class debut for New South Wales at 17, Clarke captained Australia to victory in the 2015 ODI World Cup and led the side across 47 of his 115 Tests.
He followed up his SCG performance with a double century in the fourth Test against India, before notching two further double centuries against South Africa the following season.
It had been in 2011, after England won the Ashes 3-1 in Australia, that Clarke succeeded Ricky Ponting as captain. At his peak, he was ranked the best batter in the world. He was also at the helm for the Ashes whitewash in 2013-14 and retired at the end of the lost 2015 campaign in England.
"To be able to sit along so many wonderful players, idols, role models growing up as a kid and looking up to is something I'm honoured by," Clarke said. "Retirement does a lot of things to you. Through stages of watching cricket now, you miss parts.
"When you play at the highest level, people talk about your international career but for me, it started at six years of age. I retired at 34 so it was my life. It's still a part of my life.
"Cricket - it's probably so similar to life in general. You walk out and make 100 and then lift the bat, and then you walk out to field, field in slip and drop a catch second ball of the game."
Australian Cricket Hall of Fame chairman Peter King praised Clarke as a player who "defined his generation".
"Michael's extraordinary first-class playing career started at just 17 at the SCG - the place where many of his highlights occurred, including a Test triple century against India in 2012," King said.
"Michael's career will forever be remembered fondly by the Australian public and his standing held alongside those at the upper echelon of our game."
KD fondly recalls Nets' big 3 despite 'dysfunction'
NEW YORK -- Kevin Durant is proud of what he believed the Nets were building in Brooklyn before "dysfunction" brought it quickly crashing down.
Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden played just 16 games together and their tenure became better known for the chaos off the court than the brilliant basketball they delivered on it.
But it seemed the bad times were forgotten Wednesday night, when a large number of fans rushed to get Durant's autograph before the Nets' game against the Phoenix Suns in his second trip back to Barclays Center since being traded.
"Even though we went through a lot of dysfunction, I guess you could call it, for lack of a better term," Durant said, "but regardless of that, a lot of people in those stands still supported, still came out and cheered loud as hell for the game of basketball and for the Nets, so that's what stood out the most."
He and Irving came together in the summer of 2019. Harden was acquired in a trade in January 2021. But all three battled injuries and Irving was largely off the court in the 2021-22 season after refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19,
"I think that was the main thing, that we just didn't get on the court together," Durant said. "A lot of injuries. Injuries to me, James and Kyrie kind of played a factor, along with COVID. That whole thing just confused a lot of [stuff]. But I think basketball-wise, chemistry-wise, camaraderie-wise, teamwork-wise, I thought it was the perfect, ideal situation."
The Nets looked like a title favorite when the three were healthy in the 2020-21 season. But both Harden and Irving were injured in the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals and Milwaukee overcame a 2-0 deficit and Durant's brilliance in Game 7 to win the series.
Irving's absences and Durant's injury sent the Nets tumbling the next season and Harden asked to be traded. Irving and Durant were dealt away days apart at the 2023 trade deadline. Durant maintains it was bad luck more than bad attitudes that created such an empty era.
"There was a lot of narratives going around about each individual player -- me, James and Kyrie -- about our mentality as men. But once we got on the court and once we actually played together, once you seen the culture that we were building, it was something that the fans could get behind I think," Durant said.
"That first year when James got here halfway through the season, that was some of the most incredible basketball that I've seen, I've played in. But more so than anything, the locker room, the bus rides, the plane rides, the hotels, that was the culture we were building and a lot of people didn't get to see it but I wish they could have. It was special."
This season isn't, with the Nets rebuilding. Maybe they can eventually get to where Durant believed they were once headed.
"It didn't culminate into a championship, but people who had season tickets, who get into their car in the cold, come down and watch us play, still remember some moments, some regular-season games, a couple playoff games," Durant said. "Some moments that people can hold onto and you can feel that love when I come through here."
Green still sorry but tells Poole: 'Move on, bro'
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green has apologized for punching former teammate Jordan Poole and says it is time to move on from the incident that fractured the Warriors locker room over two years ago.
Green's latest apology came after Poole said Saturday he loves "most of those guys over there" when asked about the warm reception he received in his return to Chase Center as a member of the Washington Wizards.
Green posted a tweet in response to Poole's comments that read, "I really am sorry."
"I responded because it's been three years," Green said Wednesday on "The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis." "Like let's move on. We've moved on. I really am sorry. That statement [by Poole] was kind of like it was looking for some sympathy ... kind of keep on make me out to be the bad guy. Move on, bro. It is what it is.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have punched him. But it happened. Let's move on."
A video was leaked from a preseason practice in October 2022 in which Green and Poole exchanged words. Green walked over to Poole, who shoved Green. Green punched Poole. He later publicly apologized to Poole and his family. He was fined by the team and voluntarily left the team for a stretch but did not miss any games or face any discipline from the league.
The punch took place in the team's camp after the Warriors had won the championship the season before. They lost in the Western Conference semifinals that postseason, and Poole was traded to Washington in a deal for Chris Paul in June 2023.
"I kind of go back and forth with this," Green said on the podcast. "I know I was wrong but you can't call a man a b-word and push him and not get hit either. So I kind of sit in both of those spaces sometimes. Like the reality is, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle, right? I shouldn't have knocked him out like that. If anything I should have hemmed him up. It kind of was just a natural reaction.
"I think for him you are kind of bringing that back up on yourself. Like when you do that, you just bring up that moment back on yourself. You just got to move on and keep it pushing, man. Got to let it go."
Last season, Green was suspended for five games for putting Rudy Gobert in a chokehold and then was suspended indefinitely for striking Jusuf Nurkic in the face, ultimately missing 12 games.
During that latter suspension, Green underwent counseling and mandatory check-in Zoom calls with executives from the NBA, the Warriors, the players union and his agent in order to return to play. Green told ESPN that helped him become a "different" player and person this season. He said he had two therapists and a sports psychologist but that the check-in calls truly helped him.
This season, Green has eight technical fouls but one ejection compared to four last season.
"I want people to say, 'Man, right here was a little bleak. But then look where it went from there. And that's due to because he took accountability,'" Green told ESPN. "Regardless of how I felt about the Rudy situation, the Nurkic situation ... the Jordan Poole [incident], any situation, I took it on the chin. I took accountability for it, and I moved forward.
"They're my fault. I needed to be better, and I failed. We all fail. But I'm not a failure."
Green injured his left calf at the start of the win over Washington. He missed Wednesday's game against the Sacramento Kings and will be re-evaluated next week.
Howard, Planck & Van Pelt Selected To NE Dirt Mod HOF
WEEDSPORT, N.Y. Pennsylvania powerhouse and 34-time titleholder Duane Howard, the late New York pro Dale Planck, a multi-time NASCAR and DIRTcar Series champion and Twin Tier titan Billy Van Pelt, who rewrote every record at Woodhull Raceway, will officially be inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in July.
These three racing legends add their names to a stellar list of Modified standouts that was started in 1992 when the Hall of Fame was established on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds.
The 33rd annual induction ceremonies honoring the Class of 2025 will take place on July 24 at 7 p.m. in the Northeast Dirt Modified Museum and Hall of Fame, on the grounds of the state-of-the-art Weedsport Speedway.
Two days later, Weedsport Speedway will kick off a blockbuster weekend featuring the Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame 100 and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars.
Duane Howard
For anyone from Central Pa., it always starts at Reading. Howards family had box seats at the old Fairgrounds Speedway so he got to see Hall of Famers named Chamberlain, Brightbill and Tobias mix it up each week as a kid.
At 18 he started racing Go-Karts, with help from Alan Finch who worked alongside Duane at the Howard family farm. In 1983, the pair procured a Late Modeland promptly won at Grandview. They made the move to the headlining small-block Modifieds in 1985 and found out fast just how big a jump that was. Putting finances together, learning the ropes, the team went winless for almost three seasons. But once Howard scored that first one, at Big Diamond in 87, there was no stopping him.
Local car owners took notice: by 1989, first Dick then Buddy Biever hired both Howard and Finch. Through 1993, Howard won 25 races and five championships for Buddy, including a Penn National 100 and his first Freedom 76 at Grandview. Exhausted, Howard sat out 1994, returning in 95 driving for Craig Hirthler, then Cary Duncan before landing a pro-level ride with Hall of Fame car owner Glenn Hyneman in late 1997. Hyneman wanted to race big-blocks so Howard became a regular at Bridgeport Speedway, notching three Modified titles in the No. 126. When Glenn stepped back after the 2005 season, Howard smoothly switched to another high-profile ridethe Chad Sinon No. 4, with his old friend Al Finch as crew chief.
They won right away and kept on winning through 2013. Rides with the Petruska team, Norm Hansell and Hyneman again followed. Since 2021, Howard drives for Butch Getz on a more limited basis. Known as The Diamond Cutter for his mastery of Big Diamond, Howard pulled seven Coalcracker victories and nine championships out of that track. Hes won the Freedom 76 five times, as well as six titles at Grandview, one at Penn National and four at Bridgeport. Howard is a four-time champion in both the PA Tri-Track/Dual-Track Series and American Racer Cup Modified Series.
He was named NASCAR PA State Champion five times and was third in the country in 2010. His career win list stands at 277 at 14 tracks in Pa., N.J., Del. and N.Y.
Dale Planck
Scheduled for Hall of Fame induction in the Class of 2025, Cortland, N.Y.s Dale Planck tragically didnt make it: at the age of 53, he died suddenly on his way home from Brewerton Speedway on June 22, 2024. Prior to his passing, he made his mark.
A second-generation driver, Dale watched his dad Denny wheel to small-block championships at Weedsport, Brewerton and Skyline in the 1970s. He was born into ita natural, as they say, earning that fitting nickname. Planck started young, a little kid running Karts against the adults in the four-stroke classand winning regularly.
At 14, he graduated to a 4-cylinder Mini-Mod; the following year, 1985, he was standing in victory lane at Five Mile Point and Dundee. The move up to small-block Modifieds, in 86, didnt produce results right away. For two years, Dale didnt even qualify for a feature event. It wasnt until the team towed into Fulton in 1989 that things began to click. And Planck found his home: on the Fulton high-banks he took down 61 victories in his career, four track championships and the 1994 Victoria 200.
The Outlaw Circuitconsisting of Fulton, Brewerton and Utica-Rome in the 80s and 90swas Dales playground. He was a 42-time winner and five-time champion at Utica-Rome. Competing under NASCAR sanction at Fulton and U-R, Planck was regional champion in NASCARs Winston Racing Series three years running, from 199496. Later on, he stormed the rival DIRTcar ranks with equal success, claiming Mr. DIRTcar 358 Series titles in both 2009 and 2012. Dale was a rare entity: with one foot on the Outlaw Circuit and the other planted on DIRT turf, he deftly straddled that deep divide. He showed well everywhere he went: across the Northern border, he was a star at Cornwall Speedway, a three-time track champ. At PAs Grandview Speedway, he outright stole a $6,000 special from the regulars.
Ultimately, Planck is credited with 203 certified wins at 21 tracks in three states and two Canadian provinces. He gave up the wheel to launch Dig Race Products in 2016 with his son Brandon, specializing in shock absorbers and suspension tuning for the Modified trade.
Billy Van Pelt
Following in his older brother Curts footsteps, Westfield, Pa.s Van Pelt got into a big car in 1987. Van Pelt had been racing three-wheelers and snowmobiles until then; Curt poised to win a Mr. DIRT 358 Series title for the Sherwood teamhad left the family car. So Dad Jim tapped the younger son for the seat. The venue was Woodhull Raceway. In the ensuing 35 years, Billy not only dominated at the little third-mile bullring straddling the N.Y.-Pa. border he trashed every track record for all time.
Driving for his father, Ted White, Kevin Chilson, Grant Hilfiger and finally for Chilson again, Van Pelt racked up 198 documented wins and an incredible 23 championships at Woodhull alone. He absolutely understood every nuance of the track: where it could get slickwhere there was bitethe color of the claythe shadows off the wallwhere the room was to complete a pass. No other driver came close.
Fans remember a Man or Mouse challenge instituted by former track promoter Vern Wasson in the mid 2000s: Van Pelt could choose to be a man and elect to start last; or be a mouse and draw for starting position. Billy opted to fall in at the tail of the featureand collected a publicized bonus for the win. But BVPs success wasnt confined to Woodhull. All total, he holds 30 championship titlesin addition to the 23 at Woodhull, Van Pelt won two titles at Black Rock (now Outlaw Speedway) in 1995 and 1997; one at Freedom Motorsports Park in 2018; and four championships in the T3 All-Star Series for 358 Modifieds which took him to eight tracks in Pa. and N.Y.
He has 242 confirmed career victories at eight raceways in N.Y. and Pa., with probably another dozen outliers still unverified. Following a big $5,500 win at Woodhull, his final for Chilson on August 6, 2022, Van Pelt retired on the spot. If I go out on top, then they never beat me, was his thinking. Billy still helps upcoming drivers with setups, which he loves doing, and took over as race director at Freedom Motorsports Park in 2024.
Also being honored at the July 24 induction ceremonies are Vinny Salerno (Gene DeWitt Car Owner Award), Tommy Conroy (Mechanic/Engineering Award), Charlie and Joyce Cathell (Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Auto Racing), Fred Voorhees (Andrew S. Fusco Award for Media Excellence) and Jane Cella (Outstanding Woman in Racing Award).
Editors Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago 2010
News: Fourteen-time NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Funny Car champion John Force admitted he humiliated himself after competing in Septembers four-wide Funny Car exhibition during the NHRA Carolinas Nationals at zMAX Dragway.
I embarrassed myself at the press conference. We came right back in to talk about what had taken place. When I drove this four-lane race, I ran in here and I was like Tom Cruise on Oprah jumping up and down, screaming, Force said. Everyone said, He went nuts, because it was that exciting and thrilling.
Force will have another opportunity to compete four wide as NHRA and drag strip officials announced Thursday competitors will race four wide during Marchs inaugural stop at the four-lane all-concrete facility adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race. set for March 25-28 has been appropriately named the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
The four professional categories Top Fuel, Funny Car. Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will compete in the four-wide format in both qualifying and elimination rounds. The first two drivers to cross the finish line in the first and second rounds will advance to the third round. and the driver to cross the line first in the third round will be the event winner.
This is going to take a driver of drivers to figure out, said force. who was on hand for the announcement along with Speedway Motorsports Inc. President 0. Bruton Smith and NHRA President Tom Compton.
Bruton and Speedway Motorsports have done more for NHRA in the last 10 years than any entity I can think of. Theyve built the palaces we now enjoy during the Full Throttle season. Were very appreciative, Compton said. This is the crown jewel of all of them. Why not come twice? Why not run four lanes? Theyre there and were gonna do it.
When I first saw the renderings of the facility and took a tour when it was under construction, it was fun to imagine four cars running side by side. Now we will get to see it and Im for it, said four-time Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin. I am sure it will he some of the most exciting drag racing we have ever experienced. This is exactly why Bruton built zMax Dragway.
Winners: William Thomas took the lead on lap 5 and went on to win the 40-lap NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model National Touring season opener at Columbus (Miss.) Speedway.
The victory was the fourth series career win for the third-generation driver.
Thomas started on the outside of the front row and battled for most of the event with early race leader polesitter Ronnie Johnson.
Johnson held the bottom groove of the third-mile clay oval to keep the point for the first 34 laps of the race, while Thomas cruised the high side.
A lap-34 restart saw Thomas get a run on Johnson, and lead pair raced side by side for a lap until Thomas took the lead going down the backstretch on lap 35.
I went a little soft on tires tonight. and I thought I had worn it out by the halfway point, Thomas said. I dropped back to the third spot, but the caution flags we had in the second half of the race cooled off my right-rear tire and brought it back to life.
Johnson had to settle for second in his quest for his second-straight and fourth Winter Classic win with the series at Columbus Speedway. Even with a runner-up finish, the National Dirt Late
Model Hall of Fame inductee was still upbeat after the race.
Weve won a lot of Winter Classics here at Columbus Speedway. and we won here last November. but we got outrun tonight and finished second, Johnson said. William drove a
good, clean race, so finishing second isnt the end of the world, and it was still a good night.
Justin McRee, Chris Ragan and defending series champion Eric Cooley rounded out the top five.
30 Years Ago 1995
News: According to annual statistics compiled by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., a record number of spectators made their way to auto races across North America last year.
More than 14 million watched auto races last year, an increase of more than a half million spectators, or 4.5 percent.
Goodyear monitors 16 professional racing series and results are published annually as a barometer of motorsports popularity. Attendance figures are compiled from official sanctioning body statistics, track information and Goodyear racing reports.
All figures represent weekend totals.
Each year I am amazed by the increased popularity of motorsports, said Leo Mehl, General Manager of Goodyear racing worldwide. If you look at the last 5 years alone, attendance figures have gone up 16 percent. I doubt there are many other sports out there that can compare.
Topping the list, NASCAR Winston Cup boasted the largest number of spectators. More than 4.8 million fans watched Dale Earnhardt race to his seventh Winston Cup title during the 31-race season an increase of 18 percent. Much of the increase was due to the addition of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Twenty-four NASCAR tracks had attendance increased with several tracks breaking attendance records every time they opened the gates.
The PPG Indy Car World Series, including the USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500, also witnessed a record year 3.1 million fans came out in 1994, a three percent increase over the previous
season.
An estimated 1.7 million fans were on hand for more quarter-mile breaking runs on the NHRA drag circuit. An amazing 111 of 130 possible event elapsed time and speed records fell in pro categories at 18 national events.
They just keep doing a better job every year, Mehl said. The speeds, the competition at improved facilities they know how to put on a show. With records being shattered year after year, it is no wonder their attendance figures have skyrocketed over the last several years.
Emerging as one of racings big draws is the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division. Attendance was up 12 percent to 1.3 million spectators.
Another series that grows in popularity each year is the World of Outlaws. The exhausting
schedule of 67 sprint car events over 93 datesbrought more than 1.5 million spectators representing a one-percent increase.
Winners: Stevie Reeves came full circle with his racing career.
The determined open wheel competitor-turned-stock car driver was back at his racing roots in the RCA Dome and became the ninth different driver in 11 years to win Saturday nights Thunder in the Dome.
Reeves, whose roots go back to quarter-midget racing in the city, zoomed into big leads on every restart to capture the 100-lap USAC Midget Invitational Thunder in the Dome XI. His return to midget car racing after a season on the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series was complete with victory.
Reeves, a two-time USAC national midget driving champion, was right at home in Ralph Potters V -6-engined midget. Potter is the 1994 champion car owner with driver Tony Stewart, one of 10
driving champions among the 48 competitors including UMARA Sportsman Midget champion Sue Spencer.
We might have cost Ralph more than we won, Reeves said after his $5,010 victory drive In the Ralphs Mutner & Brake Shops Potter. We lost oil pressure, so we might have really hurt the motor.
Nevertheless, Potter praised, Stevies never done a better job than he did tonight.
Reeves represented Team USA because he now resides in North Carolina but it was Team Indiana that regained the team championship bonus with six Hoosier-based drivers finishing among the top 10. The final count was Team Indiana 162, Team USA 138.
Team USA won in 1994 to end a nine-year Team Indiana streak. Reeves won $7,137 for his 100-lap triumph Saturday from a $32,975 purse.
Tony Elliott, who led the first 13 laps, was second and trailed by Ryan Newman, John Warren and Chuck Leary.
60 Years Ago 1965
News: Elzie (Buck) Baker, at 45 the dean of NASCAR Grand National drivers, became the first big-name driver to enter a General Motors product in the Feb. 14 Daytona 500.
Baker entered the car, a 1965 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Holiday Coupe with a 425 cubic inch engine. The car is sponsored by Hubert Hoff or Norfolk, Va., owner of Hoff Cadillac Oldsmobile agency there.
Baker said in a telephone interview that we are putting roll bars in the car now and safety hubs for the front end are being made. We are in the process of putting the car together and will be at Daytona a few days late, but expect to get in a few days or practice.
When asked about the chances of the new and untried car, he replied, Getting the car late is a real handicap, but we expect to run with them at Daytona and shortly afterwards expect to outrun em real good.
Baker advised that he is going completely through the engine and reworking everything in it. Different pistons, clearances, carburetor and ignition will go in and a precision balance job should deliver 500 horsepower.
The wheelbase is 123 inches, a little long, but good for Daytona, he said. Its only six inches longer than a Plymouth and thats no handicap on a big track. If we get within 40 horses of our competition, we can run with them at Daytona due to the excellent aerodynamic characteristics of the car.
Baker reported his crew chief will be Bill Hohman and assisting on the crew will be Bob Schuyler, Jimmy Helms and Buck Brigance on gas and tires with another crewman yet to be named.
Horr, contacted by phone, advised that the Daytona challenge would cost about $8,000. When asked about a second and third car, one for Bakers son Buddy and another for short tracks, he
said, Well see how things go at Daytona.
Hoff got his first taste or racing when with a Chevy dealer in Arlington, Va., they sponsored SCCA driver Dick Thompson.
Hoff said that Thompsons Sting Ray successes made the dealer, Bob Rosenthal, Chevy, the biggest Corvette dealer in the nation. Hoff is obviously looking for sales traffic in his showrooms.
He said, Joe Weatherly made Norfolk race conscious. Its a great sports town, and I think my association with Baker and stock car racing will be a success.
Baker also reported that he is preparing a 1965 Plymouth and a 1964 Dodge for the Daytona 500.
As or Monday, there were 43 entrants in the 500, the latest being the new Ford of Freddy Lorenzen.
The 1965 coil spring Fords, based on their performance at Riverside, are favored in the 500 miler. The new Ford production 427-inch low-rise engine reportedly puts out more horsepower than last years high-rise engine, which, along with Chryslers hemi-head powerplant for Plymouth and Dodge was outlawed for 1965 events. The rules announcement by NASCAR led Chrysler to pull out of the NASCAR circuit.
Winners: Bill Vukovich took another big step forward in his short midget career Saturday night when he went wire to wire to win the wild and wreck-filled 30-Iap main event at the Oakland Exposition Building.
A near capacity crowd watched Bill, driving the Britton Offy, jump into the lead on the start only to have the first of nine caution flags come out as Dick Atkins spun trying to beat Bill through the tum with Joe Leonard, Tommy Morrow, and Dee Hileman piling in.
When the green was thrown, everybody made the first lap with Bill leading followed by Atkins, Dick Deis, Leonard, Sherman Cleveland, and Ken Martin.
The yellow came out on lap three when Tommy Morrow spun with Koster passing Copp for eighth at the yellow. The new rule of double file restarts keeps positions well juggled on every restart.
This time after the green it was Deis into second with Atkins holding third over Cleveland. Lap five brought out another yellow when DeJong, Koster, and Hileman tangled. Then McGreevy, Martin, and Koster wrecking on lap six with Koster out after his front end gave out.
The drivers ran the final five laps without passing with Vukovich taking the checkers with Deis in his own Offy, just inches behind with a gap back to DeJong, who was third in the Stryker Offy.
STATESVILLE, N.C. Garage 66 has signed Chandler Smith to attempt to make the 67th Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) Intl Speedway, driving the No. 66 QuickTie Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
The Talking Rock, Ga. native has ascended the NASCAR ranks and already picked up several race victories in his young career. After graduating from the ARCA Menards Series with 10 wins, Smith has earned five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins and three NASCAR Xfinity Series wins, including two last season on his way to a Top-five finish in the championship.
This year, he will be racing full-time for Front Row Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Im very excited for the opportunity to race our way into the Daytona 500 with Garage 66, Smith said. Being in The Great American Race is such an honor, and I cant thank QuickTie and Carl Long enough for helping put this all together.
The 22-year-old already has NextGen superspeedway race experience, finishing in the top 15 in the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. He has top-20 finishes in all three of his Cup Series starts to date.
Carl Long, who operates Garage 66 with co-owners Rocky and Tom Smith as well as John Jackson, had a tumultuous few days after Mike Wallace was ruled ineligible to compete in the 500 and had to scramble to put another deal together.
The last few days have been a whirlwind of phone calls and emails after Mike Wallace was not approved to be the driver of our Daytona 500 entry, Long said. After several days of non-stop communication with available drivers who could race a Ford, the pieces came together to place Chandler Smith in our car.
I am super pleased to have Chandler in our seat. He has friends behind the wheel of the other cars. At Daytona, we will need all the friends we can find to help race our way into the show! There are a lot of really quality cars attempting this race, which could easily make the most exciting part of the 2025 Daytona 500 the race to be in the race. With Roush-Yates power and Chandler behind the wheel, the odds of Garage 66 and our No. 66 team making the event just got stronger.
The hood of the MBM Cup entry during Speedweeks will carry QuickTie, a proprietary, patented hold-down system for high wind and seismic construction.
Coble Enterprises, which specializes in personalized property management for residential and commercial properties, remains committed to the No. 66 team in Daytona as an associate sponsor.
Avalanche's Nichushkin delayed by injury setback
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin had a setback in his rehab from a lower-body injury and is now considered week-to-week.
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday that Nichushkin "is not close to coming back soon."
Nichushkin, 29, has not played since Dec. 31. He has 17 points (11 goals, 6 assists) in 21 games this season.
"He's an impact player on any line that he plays on and has a huge impact on special teams, too," Bednar said. "One player of that caliber makes a big difference."
The Avalanche are 14-7-0 with Nichushkin and 14-12-1 without him this season.
Nichushkin was suspended in May for at least six months and placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. It was an announcement that came in the middle of Colorado's playoff run, marking the second straight postseason where the right winger was unavailable because of circumstances away from the ice.
He missed the opening 17 games of the season before debuting Nov. 15.
Nichushkin has 291 points (127 goals, 164 assists) in 533 career games with the Dallas Stars (2013-16, 2018-19) and Avalanche. He won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2021-22.
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
The Anaheim Ducks acquired Justin Bailey from the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday in exchange for fellow forward Pavol Regenda.
Bailey, 29, has spent this season with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League, recording 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 33 games.
He has totaled 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 141 career games with the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks and Sharks. He was selected by the Sabres in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft.
Regenda, 25, has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 36 games this season with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL.
He has appeared in 19 career NHL games, totaling three points (one goal, two assists) -- all with the Ducks.
McDavid not proud of reaction, frustrated by ban
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid expressed both remorse and frustration Wednesday for the cross-checking incident with Vancouver's Conor Garland, how it was handled by officials and the three-game suspension that was levied as a result.
"I can't have that reaction; everyone knows that," McDavid said of the cross-check to Garland in the final minute of Saturday's game. "[It's] not the reaction I'm proud of or that anyone wants to see out of me, and I understand.
"That being said, there's lots of infractions going on there [in the moment]. Maybe the whole thing is avoided with the blow of the whistle."
McDavid and Garland became physically engaged and tumbled to the ice. Garland held McDavid's arm as he tried to stand, and McDavid responded by punching Garland to separate them. When McDavid tried to re-enter the flow of the game, Garland again wrapped his arms around the center and took him back to the ice.
By the time they were both back on their skates, McDavid delivered a hard cross-check to Garland's head.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety determined Monday that it wasn't a routine play and suspended McDavid for three games. He ultimately chose not to appeal.
"The league made their decision; I don't necessarily agree with it," McDavid said. "I'm not saying there shouldn't have been any penalty or suspension or anything like that. I understand their decision. Have to move on."
In a video statement, the Department of Player Safety said McDavid "retaliate[d] aggressively and intentionally, escalating the altercation by raising his stick significantly and making this contact: a high cross-check that makes direct contact with an opponent's head with sufficient force" that warranted supplemental discpline.
This is McDavid's second career suspension. The first was a one-game ban for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy in February 2019.
McDavid on Wednesday said he was just "trying to tie the game" and wasn't expecting the wrestling match with Garland to escalate.
"I'm not really looking to engage with him," McDavid said. "There's a lot of holding [in the skirmish] and holding down -- he holds my head down for a little bit and stuff like that."
McDavid was asked if he could see what the referee's reaction was while the two players were wrapped up.
"I did not," McDavid snapped back. "I had my head between my legs."
"I know where we are in the time of the game and what we're trying to do," McDavid added later. "The longer [the holding] goes, the more you think there's going to be something. But I understand the refs have a hard job. With that being said, I have a hard job, too. Everyone has a hard job. That's why we're in this business."
Edmonton's star center is currently fourth in the league in scoring with 65 points in 43 games. He will forfeit $195,312.51 in salary while missing games against Washington on Tuesday, the Canucks on Thursday and Buffalo on Saturday.
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