I Dig Sports
Uncapped back-row forward Henry Pollock has a "wonderful future ahead of him", says England skills coach Kevin Sinfield.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a stellar season with Northampton Saints and was called up to the England training camp before their Calcutta Cup meeting with Scotland.
Pollock was influential as England Under-20s won the World Cup last summer and Sinfield says the flanker has been impressive in training since stepping up to the senior set-up.
"Pollock has been outstanding," Sinfield told BBC Sport at England's training camp in York.
"He's been great and has massively impressed not just the coaches, but the players as well.
"He's got a wonderful future ahead of him."
England remain in contention to win the Six Nations after dramatic one-point home wins over both France and Scotland.
There are no games in the Six Nations this weekend and Steve Borthwick's side return to Allianz Stadium on Sunday, 9 March to host Italy in their penultimate match of this year's tournament, with Sinfield saying Pollock is in contention to make his Test debut.
"Henry's in a squad of 29 here that are fit and available, with four or five that are here rehabbing," said Sinfield.
"He's in with a shout [of making the squad] but they all are."
However, Leicester lock George Martin is out of contention for England's final two fixtures with a knee injury.
The 23-year-old started alongside captain Maro Itoje in the second row against Ireland and France, but was replaced in the squad by Ted Hill for the win over Scotland.
"He's actually got two injuries - the knee, which has been a niggle for some time, and the shoulder as well," said Sinfield.
"It will be the shoulder that will keep him out.
"We're very hopeful it won't be long after the Six Nations, but there's still some medics investigating further."
Ireland's Ringrose banned for France Six Nations game
Garry Ringrose will miss Ireland's Six Nations match with France following his red card in last weekend's win over Wales in Cardiff.
Leinster centre Ringrose has been handed a three-match suspension after being charged with an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13, which states that a player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously.
Significantly, the three-game ban includes Leinster's United Rugby Championship fixture against Cardiff this weekend, while he will return for Ireland's final Six Nations encounter against Italy if he completes World Rugby's Coaching Intervention Programme.
The 30-year-old was initially shown a yellow card after making head contact with Wales' Ben Thomas during Saturday's game at Principality Stadium.
It was upgraded to a 20-minute red card following an off-field review, which meant Ireland were able to later replace Ringrose with Bundee Aki.
Ringrose appeared before an independent disciplinary committee on Thursday morning. The committee determined that the mid-range entry point of a six week/match suspension was appropriate for Ringrose's foul play.
However, after taking into account his guilty plea and previous disciplinary record, that punishment was reduced by 50%.
Ireland, who are also chasing a third straight Six Nations title, host France on 8 March and travel to Italy on 15 March in their final two matches.
CONCORD, N.C. Random Vandals Racing announced the expansion of its GT3 program with a second full-season entry in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS.
The Vbrick Systems / Franck Muller BMW M4 GT3 will be driven by sports car racing legend Bill Auberlen alongside rising talent Varun Choksey for their second year together.
This expansion also marks the beginning of an exciting new partnership between Random Vandals Racing and luxury Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller. As the teams newest key partner, Franck Muller brings its legacy of precision, innovation, and performance to RVRs growing program.
Its an incredible privilege to have Bill Auberlen in a Random Vandals BMW. Bill and Varun have folded in with the team quickly, and we are confident that between our drivers and our engineering team, we will have a very strong 2025, said Paul Sparta, Team Principal of Random Vandals. Huge thanks goes to BMW Motorsport for its confidence in RVR. Its always been our aim to field a true world-class program, and we are doing just that.
Im bringing in the 2025 racing season with a giant grin! Varun and myself will be teamed up with Random Vandals racing and I couldnt be happier, said Bill Auberlen. Paul Sparta and the team have welcomed us with open arms and my hopes of landing the 2025 championship are at an all-time high. We will be racing the new BMW M4 GT3 EVO and I cant wait to see how amazing our new ride is. I also love our new sponsors, Franck Muller and Vbrick. I have been lucky enough to wear their watches for years now and they are an amazing time piece. Its time to win this thing and I cant wait to get started.
Im incredibly excited to be joining RVR alongside Bill for my second year in GTWCA, said Varun Choksey. I think I can speak for the entire team when I say that we want to be fighting for wins and a championship this season. With the team Paul has put together I think we have every chance of doing exactly that. I cant wait to get the season underway; Sonoma cant get here soon enough.
Alongside its previously announced entry featuring Connor De Phillippi and Kenton Koch, the addition of Auberlen and Choksey in the Franck Muller BMW M4 GT3 EVO sets the stage for a highly competitive campaign.
CONCORD, N.C. Over the past three seasons, Ryder Laplante has spent his full-time racing career in transition from micro sprints to the sprint car world. This year, hes taking on his biggest challenge yet.
The 18-year-old from Calera, Okla., has committed to chasing the American Sprint Car Series National Tour schedule, piloting the family-owned Oklahoma Truck Driving Academy, Moss Racing Engines-powered Maxim Chassis No. 88r.
While hes made only seven career appearances with the National Tour, Laplante had a standout performance against the field in May at Rush County Speedway, driving from seventh to third behind Matt Covington and race winner Seth Bergman.
I ran with [ASCS] quite a bit last year and I could keep up with them, I could outrun them, I could beat them, for sure, Laplante said. Just needed some luck. We were kinda underpowered last year, but weve got some more power coming, so they better watch out.
Before jumping into 360 sprint cars, Laplante was a National Open Wheel 600cc Micro Sprint Series champion of the Restricted A-Class division in 2018. He continued with micro sprints through 2021 until mixing-in 305 Sprint Car events starting in 2022, and made his 410 sprint car debut the following year.
After a mix of 305, 360 and 410 sprint car starts last season, Laplante has settled on the 360 division to be his careers next step. While hes refrained from jumping directly into the 410 division, he said he learned a lot from his time spent in the seat last year.
I started with a 410 and went down to a 360, and it kinda felt slow to me thats why we were so good out of the gate, Laplante said. That helped me out a lot.
While getting to know his new competitors on the road, Laplante will also get accustomed to the ASCS race format, in which qualifying results can significantly contribute to or disrupt a drivers chances for success in the feature.
Youve gotta be smart, but youve also gotta be fast, Laplante said. Youve got to unload fast, and qualifying is everything.
2025 will mark Laplantes first season following a national Sprint Car tour of any kind. Its a goal hes worked toward for several years, though not his final destination as he begins to carve out a career path to the top of the open-wheel racing world.
Hopefully, (I can) do this for a living and travel around the world and do it, Laplante said. Thats my goal. Id like to do the best I can with ASCS, get my name out there, and see where it takes me.
Laplante continues his rookie season on the ASCS National Tour April 12 at Salina (Okla.) Highbanks Speedway.
Webinar: Field Results With Line2Line Abradable Piston Skirt Coatings
The new season of Race Industry Now, our weekly tech webinar series, is starting next week. EPARTRADE will host a tech webinar every Wednesday until the end of October.
Join SPEED SPORT partner EPARTRADE for Race Industry Now Episode No. 532: Field Results with Line2Line Abradable Piston Skirt Coatings by Line2Line Coatings and Jon Kaase Racing Engines.
Wednesday, March 5 at 9 a.m. PST / 12 p.m. EST: Click here to register
Featuring Andrew Suman and Brian Neal, with special guest speaker Jon Kaase, Owner of Jon Kaase Racing Engines. Hosted by Jeff Hammond from SiriusXM, Ch. 90, Late Shift.
There is no charge to attend.
ABOUT EPARTRADE: EPARTRADE (Electronic Performance And Racing Trade), is a revolutionary, trade-only product-sourcing platform that works 24/7 to connect performance parts suppliers with racing business professionals around the world. EPARTRADE, in conjunction with SPEED SPORT and RACER.com, also produces the annual Race Industry Week webinars which feature five days of live sessions with industry leaders, race sanctioning organizations and promoters from around the world.
YPSILANTI, Mich. Revchem Composites extended its partnership with Kalitta Motorsports for a sixth-consecutive season.
The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
Celebrating its 50th season in business in 2025, Revchem Composites is a leading provider of composite raw materials and supplies. Since 2020, Revchem branding has been prominently featured on the three Kalitta Motorsports entries driven by 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta, 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion J.R. Todd and 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon.
Revchem Composites, a leader in supplying motorsports manufacturers- alongside their partners at Prototype Concepts- collaborated with Toyota Motorsports to create the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Supra Funny Car body now used in NHRA Drag Racing. Revchem is committed to increasing the productivity and profitability of composites fabricators with six strategically-located United States distribution centers that stock some 4,000 products from more than 200 suppliers.
Our Revchem team provides technical support and solutions for composites manufacturers in many unique industries: aerospace, aviation, surfing, marine, theming and motorsports, Revchem president Pete Pendleton said. We are proud to once again partner with Kalitta Motorsports this season.
Revchem will continue to increase its brand awareness and business-to-business relationships by hosting both existing and potential customers in the Kalitta Motorsports VIP hospitality area, which travels the entire 20-race NHRA series throughout the United States.
Our race cars are lighter and stronger thanks to Revchem products, Kalitta Motorsports General Manager Chad Head said. Team Kalitta counts on Revchem Composites in many areas their overall motorsports knowledge is vital for our race team. They partnered with us on creating the current GR Supra Funny Car body, and we rely on their expertise on a regular basis. They come to races and invest time in our hospitality area building relationships with our other partners, and its great that they take advantage of the business-to-business opportunities available to them through our partnership.
AUSTIN, Texas Austin Cindric led 106 laps during the first two NASCAR Cup Series races of the season, but had little to show for it.
Getting caught up in a crash during the closing laps of both races relegated the Team Penske driver to an eighth-place finish at Daytona Intl Speedway, while he was scored 28th last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway after being involved in a crash with Kyle Larson and others.
Cindric said during a Wednesday media teleconference, that getting over disappointing results is made easier by NASCARs busy schedule that forces drivers and teams to turn the page quickly.
I think you just described racing. Its why I love having a 30-plus race schedule is because I can just absolutely go and dive head first into my prep work, Cindric explained. If Im gonna use Atlanta as the example, by the time our plane landed from a relatively short flight I was already done with all of my notes and my debriefs and had all of my thoughts documented for the team on the event.
By lunch time on Monday I had a call scheduled with Kyle (Larson) and by Tuesday Im completely over at least the work that needs to be done for it, so thats kind of how I process those things, but I think by the time I get to the racetrack its back to business and theres plenty of other things to focus on, but its easy to say all that, but, yeah, it certainly is frustrating.
Even when people say, Oh, youre still fourth in points. Its like, thats just as much of a kick in between the legs as it is losing all of those points we could have had, so its difficult, but thats just the sport that were in, Cindric added. Id rather have the big opportunities become missed opportunities than not have the opportunities at all, and my team has done an exceptional job. Ive been able to match that effort at these races, and I see no reason why we cant continue to do that.
While much attention has been made of the change to the shorter National Course at Circuit of The Americas this weekend, Cindric says a new Goodyear tire will have a bigger impact on Sundays Cup Series race at the Austin, Texas, road course.
The course, I would say, is largely unchanged from otherwise were just cutting a few corners out really simply, Cindric explained. I think the larger conversation for us, at least within my race team, is the introduction of yet another road course tire, which is supposed to be similar to what we raced at Watkins Glen in the playoffs, so I think theres probably more variables and more discussions based around that and more potential strategy and certain things throughout the race that will be affected by having tire wear or not having tire wear and depending on where it falls.
There have been repaved sections of the race track, but as far as the course itself, the shortcut through 6A and 6B, I think your restarts are already kind of single file by the time you get to the end of the esses, which is where 6A starts, so I dont see a ton changing other than were just gonna run more laps and I feel like that stadium section is gonna take a larger percentage of the lap and potentially be a more important part of the lap.
Cindric believes tire management will be important on Sunday.
I think the tire management, as I touched on earlier, will be the biggest variable going into the weekend as far as the last few years weve been there there hasnt been a large amount of tire fall off at race pace, so this tire that were bringing and I feel like is worth adding, hasnt to the best of my knowledge been on the race track before, so its kind of new to everyone, Cindric said. We have a couple sets of tires for practice to be able to feel that out, so I think that could play a large role in the strategy, but I think track position is always important at road courses, especially at COTA due to how you exit turn one really sets up for the lap because the field gets very single file after the esses, just the nature of essentially a slalom course for the cars, so its easy to get pretty spread out and lose touch of the top few cars quite quickly, so qualifying will be exceptionally important, and I think understanding what the tire is like will be exceptionally important.
Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the team announced.
Frederic sustained the injury during the Bruins' 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The timing of the injury is significant for Frederic, who is considered an attractive candidate to be shopped ahead of the NHL trade deadline on March 7.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Frederic has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) and a minus-14 rating in 57 games this season.
Those totals are a far cry from his career season in 2023-24, when he totaled 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) and a plus-9 rating in 82 games.
Frederic, 27, has totaled 109 points (55 goals, 54 assists) and a plus-20 rating in 337 career games since being selected by the Bruins with the 29th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Pens' Bunting out indefinitely after appendectomy
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Michael Bunting is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to remove his appendix.
"He'll be out here for the next little while," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Thursday. "I don't know the time frame at this point, but that's that."
Bunting notched an assist in Pittsburgh's 6-1 setback to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. He has 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists) and a minus-18 rating in 58 games this season.
Bunting, 29, has totaled 210 points (90 goals, 120 assists) and a plus-10 rating in 326 career games with the Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Penguins.
WASHINGTON -- Brayden Schenn played his 1,000th regular-season NHL game when he and the St. Louis Blues beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Thursday night.
Older brother Luke played his 1,000th game Oct. 17 with the Nashville Predators. The Schenns are the eighth set of brothers to each reach that milestone and the first to do so in the same season.
"I've always said you don't get there without the help of tons of people," Brayden said after his team's morning skate. "Family being one and coaches and players and teammates and people in the organization. Obviously, you have to embrace the day-to-day grind of the ups and downs and just how hard this league is, but, yeah, pretty special that we have best buddies that push each other every day and get to do it in the same year."
Blues players celebrated the occasion with Schenn shirts and hats with the captain's No. 10 on them. Father Jeff gave a pregame speech in the locker room after coach Jim Montgomery said, "Schenner and his bro both getting 1,000 games in the same season is a tribute to the great family raised by Jeff and his wife."
Jeff Schenn said Brayden was his favorite player on the Blues and tied for his favorite overall, of course, with Luke.
"Honored and privileged and very proud to be part of the big day and the big journey that goes along with it," their dad said. "You see the hard work and the dedication and the bumps and the bruises and everything you guys put into it. ... Just so excited and happy to be here and awful proud of him."
Montgomery said after the win that Jeff Schenn looked very comfortable speaking in front of the group.
"Jeff and his wife, Brayden's parents, they raised four great kids and two have played 1,000 games in the NHL," Montgomery said. "His message was well-received, and you could tell by our start that we wanted to play for our captain."
Dylan Holloway, who scored twice, said because it was Schenn's 1,000th game, the Blues "wanted this one bad."
The Capitals acknowledged the milestone with a message on arena videoboards and an announcement during the first period.
Brayden getting to 1,000 comes amid talk ahead of the March 7 trade deadline that teams are interested in acquiring both of them in separate moves. The Blues are on the fringe of the playoff race in the Western Conference, while the Predators are far out of contention.
"The times I've gotten traded, I didn't expect to get traded, so you really never know," Brayden said, adding he has loved his time with St. Louis. "It's a business and that just comes with the flows of kind of where we're positioned, five points out of the playoffs. But it's the trade deadline, so some people make rumors. ... You just take it a day at a time and just focus on your game and play."
Brayden, 33, has three years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $6.5 million. Luke, 35, has one more season left after this one at $2.75 million.
The Schenn brothers have played together in the NHL before, spending 3 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013 to 2015. Brayden won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, then Luke back to back with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
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