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DODGE CITY, Kan. – Four racers remain perfect atop the seventh-mile Little DCRP clay oval at Dodge City Raceway Park following Sunday’s fourth round of competition for Micro Sprints and Karts.
Since the opening round of features fell victim to rain in May, Tanner Johnson (Winged A Class), Trey Zorn (Restricted A Class) and Deekan McRoberts (Novice Junior Sprints) have each gone three-for-three in the Micro ranks while Caleb Berthof (Junior Karts) has duplicated the feat in the Karting ranks.
While those four each ran win streak to three, another four drivers notched their first Little DCRP triumph including Jayce Caldwell (Advanced Junior Sprints), Randle McRoberts (Open Outlaw Karts), Daniel Williams (Adult Karts) and Chad Garrison (Outlaw Cage Karts).
Zak Moore, who won the first Little DCRP feature on May 19, added his second win in the Non-Wing A Class ranks.
JOLIET, Ill. – After three runner-up finishers in a row earlier this year, Alex Bowman knew his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory was right around the corner.
On Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, Bowman finally kicked down the door to victory lane.
The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet fended off a late challenge from Kyle Larson, holding on for his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Camping World 400.
“I feel like this is a lot of validation for a lot of people who said we couldn’t do this,” Bowman said moments after earning his first series victory. “My guys have worked so hard. We struggled so bad last year and the beginning of this year. I had questions if Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) was going to let me keep doing this.
“Winning a race in the Cup Series just means so much.”
Bowman ran near the front most of the day, but he didn’t take command for the first time until lap 171 when he drove by Larson shortly after a restart. Once out front Bowman seized command of the race, at times leading by more than three seconds.
After the final round of pit stops Bowman cycled back into the race lead with Larson, fresh off a USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Series triumph Saturday night, still chasing him.
With a little more than 20 laps left things began to change for Bowman as he got stuck trying to overtake the lap car of Paul Menard. That allowed Larson to close the gap to Bowman significantly.
With 17 laps left Larson closed the gap to Bowman to one second and four laps later Larson was within half a second of Bowman. Two laps later Larson was there and looking for a way around Bowman.
Larson continued to chase Bowman for the next few laps, sizing up his opponent before making his move. That move came with eight laps left when Larson when low in turns one and two, getting alongside Bowman as they exited turn two down the backstretch.
They stayed side-by-side down the backstretch before Larson pulled clear into the lead in turn three. Bowman stayed on the gas and quickly got himself focused on chasing Larson back down.
With six laps left Bowman got a run on Larson entering turn one and managed to get to Larson’s inside at the exit of turn two. They side drafted down the backstretch, with the pair briefly banging fenders before Bowman pulled clear of Larson as they entered turn three.
Larson was unable to mount another challenge, falling a little more than half a second short of Bowman when the checkered flag waved.
“I just am tired of running second. I don’t want to do that anymore,” said Bowman, who earned his first series victory in his 134th start. “I can’t believe it. There are so many people capable of doing this. So thankful that I got the opportunity.
“I didn’t change anything from running 35th every week. I might work out a little harder and study a little harder, but I didn’t change much. To go from doing that to doing this is pretty incredible.”
One year after a dramatic finish saw Larson spin on the last lap while battling Kyle Busch at Chicagoland, the California native was again on the losing end of a great finish at the 1.5-mile track.
“I could see him struggling when I was getting to him. When I got by him I was like, ‘OK, good. Now he’ll be in my dirty air and get loose,’” Larson said. “He could get big runs on me down the straightaways and I think that allowed him to get that run into one.
“He got to my inside and I got a little bit tight. I don’t know if him putting air on my spoiler got me tight. I had to kind of breath it a little bit and then we side-drafted on the backstretch. I wish I would have done some things different going into three.”
Joey Logano finished third and was chased to the checkers by Jimmie Johnson, who earned his best finish of the season in fourth. Brad Keselowski completed the top-five in fifth.
The race was stopped for more than three hours after the completion of 12 laps because of a rain storm that brought severe lightning to the area.
For complete results, advance to the next page.
Shute Climbs To The Top In 97th Pikes Peak Hill Climb
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – On a somber day at the summit of Pikes Peak, Robin Shute emerged as the overall winner of the 97th edition of the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb on Sunday afternoon.
Shute, competing in the Unlimited class in his 2018 Wolf TSC-Honda, reached the summit of Pikes Peak with a time of 9 minutes and 12.476 seconds. That was enough to give him the overall victory by a little more than 11 seconds over Time Attack 1 division winner Raphael Astier.
Several competitors in the car divisions were unable to make the full assent up the mountain when a storm forced officials to move the finish line to Geln Cove, guaranteeing Shute the fastest time on the full course.
Astier ended the day second overall and first in the Time Attack 1 class with his time of 9:23.721 in his 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Turbo. The next three finishers were all competing in the Pikes Peak Open class, with RealTime Racing’s Peter Cunningham claiming the class victory and the final place on the overall podium aboard his 2019 Acura TLX GT with a time of 9:24.433.
The excitement of the day at Pikes Peak was overshadowed by a tragedy near the top of the mountain. Ducati motorcycle rider Carlin Dunne was ejected from his bike near the finish line and fell down the mountain, suffering fatal injuries. Click here for more.
David Donohue was fourth overall and second in the Pikes Peak Open class, more than eight seconds behind the time set by Cunningham. Layne Schranz was fifth overall and third in the Pikes Peak Open division. Paul Dallenbach was sixth overall, which was enough to give him the Open Wheel division triumph.
Seventh overall went to the fastest bike on the mountain this year, with Rennie Scaysbrook shattering the motorcycle record with a time of 9:44.963 aboard his 2018 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. The time easily gave him the class victory in the Pikes Peak Heavyweight division and made him the fastest motorcycle rider in Pikes Peak history.
Clint Vahsholtz was eighth overall and second in Time Attack 1, with Greg Tracy ending the day ninth overall and second in the Unlimited division. Lucy Glockner finished 10th overall to win the Exhibition Powersport class.
Another notable result during Sunday’s Hill Climb included the run by Rhys Millen, who reset the production car record up the mountain aboard a 2019 Bentley Continental GT with a time of 10:18.488.
X-Games star and former NASCAR competitor Travis Pastrana also came away a winner Sunday at Pikes Peak, taking the Porsche Trophy by Yokohama division victory for the second year in a row.
Other division winners included Chris Fillmore (Pikes Peak Lightweight) and Rafael Paschoalin (Pikes Peak Middleweight).
Free-agent center Matt Duchene is set to join the Nashville Predators when NHL free agency officially opens Monday at noon, according to multiple reports.
The deal is expected to be for around $56 million over seven years, according to The Athletic, which was first to report the agreement.
Duchene, 28, was just one of the Columbus Blue Jackets' many prominent free agents. Despite speculation that general manager Jarmo Kekalainen would trade the likes of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky before they could walk, the GM actually doubled down, bringing in more players for a playoff run.
Duchene headlined that strategy, and it kind of paid off, with Columbus winning its first playoff series ever. But the Jackets fell short of the ultimate goal, losing in the second round to Boston.
Duchene had only four goals and 12 points in 23 games after the Jackets acquired him from the Senators, but he upped his production in the playoffs, with five goals and 10 points in 10 games.
Duchene is a two-time All-Star who had a career-high 31 goals last season. He equaled his career high in points with 70.
Duchene spent parts of two seasons with Ottawa after being acquired from Colorado in a blockbuster three-team trade in November 2017. The Avalanche ended up with the fourth pick in this year's NHL draft.
Sung Hyun Park is projected to move back to Rolex world No. 1 with her victory Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Park’s two-putt birdie from 50 feet at the final hole broke a four-way tie to give the South Korean her seventh LPGA title, her second this season.
With a 5-under 66, Park finished at 18 under, a shot ahead of Inbee Park (65), Danielle Kang (65) and Hyo Joo Kim (65).
Park, 25, will ascend back to world No. 1 for the fourth time in her career. She will move up one spot, overtaking Jin Young Ko, whose run at the top spot will end after 12 weeks. Park held the top spot for one week late in 2017, for 10 consecutive weeks in the second half of last year and for five weeks this past spring.
DETROIT – A 5-foot par save to close out the Rocket Mortgage Classic may prove to have significant career ramifications for former U.S. Amateur champ Doc Redman.
Redman has largely struggled since turning pro last summer, and this year has been playing mainly in Canada on the Mackenzie Tour. But he shot a 62 to take medalist honors in the Monday qualifier in Detroit, and the former Clemson standout began the final round in a tie for fifth.
While no one was catching Nate Lashley at Detroit Golf Club, Redman shot a 5-under 67 including a nerve-testing par save at the last to take solo second place at 19 under, six shots behind Lashley. It means a hefty paycheck of $788,400 for Redman, and the top-10 finish guarantees a spot in next week’s 3M Open instead of his previous plan of driving across the Ambassador Bridge to Windsor, Ontario, for a Mackenzie event.
Redman also snagged the second of two spots available via the Open Qualifying Series, which would have gone to Rory Sabbatini had Redman bogeyed the 72nd hole. Redman forfeited spots in both The Open and the U.S. Open that came with his U.S. Amateur win when he turned pro last year, but he’ll now make his first career major start at Royal Portrush.
“That was kind of the whole deal with it. I gave it up because I thought I’d have opportunities in the future to play as a pro, and if things went well I’d play tons of them,” Redman said. “I think saying that it would happen this year is probably a stretch. You wouldn’t think that, but I’m excited for it. I’ve never been over there, and I think it’s going to be a unique challenge.”
Redman’s solo runner-up finish also earned him special temporary PGA Tour status, allowing him to accept an unlimited amount of sponsor invites for the remainder of the season. Including his T-18 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship on a sponsor invite, Redman now has 344 FedExCup points, which puts him on the precipice of earning a full PGA Tour card for next season.
Should he equal or surpass the final point total of No. 125 on this season’s points list, a mark that was 377 points last season, Redman will be fully exempt for 2019-20. It’s a big leap for a player whose main goals entering the week were focused on earning Korn Ferry Tour status for next year.
“I’m just going to try to continue to play well when I go out and play,” Redman said. “I think it was good this week, but it definitely wasn’t my best. I know everyone else says that too, but I don’t see why there’s any reason why I can’t continue to play well.”
With Prez Cup on mind, Reed records best Tour finish in more than a year
DETROIT – While the final round didn’t go as planned, Patrick Reed still found positives from the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic after earning his best PGA Tour finish in more than a year.
Reed made only four bogeys through his first 54 holes at Detroit Golf Club, but he matched that total with a turbulent final round that ended up in a 2-under 70. Reed finished the week at 17 under, in a large tie for fifth and eight shots behind eventual winner Nate Lashley.
It’s his first top-10 since the WGC-HSBC Champions in October, his first start of the wraparound season, and his best result on Tour since a fourth-place showing at the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
“Finishing top 10, especially going into next week and with The Open coming up, it was a positive week. I did a lot of things well,” Reed said. “A day like today, where I felt like nothing was really going well, to be able to get a round under par and salvage a round was nice.”
Reed is in the field for next week’s 3M Open, which will mark his fourth start in as many weeks. The result was welcome relief considering his recent dry spell, but it still only moved Reed up from 22nd to 20th in the U.S. standings for this year’s Presidents Cup.
Given his penchant for match play and pride in representing the red, white and blue any chance he gets, Reed remains optimistic that he’ll find a way onto Tiger Woods’ squad at Royal Melbourne come December.
“It’s always on my mind,” Reed said. “If I continue doing what I’m doing, especially these next couple weeks, then hopefully it all takes care of itself.”
Lashley laughs off first-tee 'alternate' intro: 'I liked it'
DETROIT – Nate Lashley didn’t let an ad lib from the first-tee starter get in the way of his first career PGA Tour victory.
Lashley was the last man in the field at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, snagging the 156th and final spot Wednesday afternoon when David Berganio, Jr., withdrew. Before he started the final round at Detroit Golf Club with a six-shot lead, the 36-year-old was introduced to the gallery by the starter as “an alternate who has led after each of the first three rounds.”
“It was kind of funny. I liked it,” Lashley said. “You know, last man in the field. I was just happy to get in this week, and to end up winning is just a dream come true.”
Lashley laughed off the creative introduction and maintained that six-shot cushion with a final-round 70, finishing the week at 25 under after making just three bogeys for the entire tournament. He became the first player to win a Tour event after starting the week on the alternate list since Vaughn Taylor at the 2016 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“I wasn’t even sure I was going to get into the tournament. Ending up being here right now, it’s a dream,” Lashley said. “I’m just really grateful that I got into the tournament. Happy to be here in Detroit, and love the place and look forward to coming back.”
Oklahoma State alum Ventura wins Utah Championship in playoff
A young Oklahoma State product broke through for his first professional victory on Sunday.
But it wasn’t the former Cowboy everyone expected.
While phenoms Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff have grabbed most of the headlines this summer, it was their old teammate Kristoffer Ventura who found himself in the winner’s circle after winning the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship on Sunday at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington, Utah.
Ventura, a member of Oklahoma State’s 2017 NCAA Championship squad who graduated last year, defeated Joshua Creel, a 29-year-old from Division-II Central Oklahoma, in a three-hole playoff for his first victory in a world-ranked event.
The 24-year-old Ventura, who like Hovland is from Norway, birdied four of his last seven holes to post a final-round, 6-under 65 and get into a two-man playoff with Creel at 14 under, a shot ahead of another former Cowboy, Kevin Dougherty, and two others, Oklahoma product Charlie Saxon and Michigan State alum Ryan Brehm.
Creel also birdied four of his final seven in regulation, and then traded pars twice with Ventura in two extra trips down the par-4 18th hole. However, Creel pulled his drive behind a tree on the third playoff hole, the par-4 10th, and had to punch out to the fairway. Ventura was able to get up and down for par to seal his victory.
“Going back to nationals [in college], really those feelings were the same as they were today,” Ventura said. “I was prepared for this moment.”
Ventura’s win moved the young Norwegian to 17th on the Korn Ferry Tour’s money list. The world No. 732 entering the week, Ventura began the year with no status on the developmental tour. He received a sponsor invite into the BMW Charity Pro-Am earlier this month and tied for third to improve his status. The Utah Championship was just his fourth KFT start this season.
Now, Ventura has his sights set on a PGA Tour card.
Celta Vigo have completed the signing of midfielder Denis Suarez from Barcelona, the two clubs confirmed on Sunday.
Denis, 25, will join Celta for an initial fee of €12.9 million, with another €3.1m potentially due in add ons. He will sign a four-year deal with his hometown club, who he left eight years ago to sign for Manchester City.
The sale of Denis completes a busy week for Barcelona. They have also sold Marc Cardona, Andre Gomes and Jasper Cillessen to Osasuna, Everton and Valencia, respectively. Goalkeeper Neto also arrived from Valencia for €26m.
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— RC Celta (@RCCelta) June 30, 2019
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In total, for the four players sold, they have brought in almost €75m, surpassing the €60m ESPN FC revealed the club needed to bring in before June 30 to balance their accounts for the 2018-19 season.
Denis came through the youth academy at Celta before joining Man City in 2011. He left the English club for Barcelona in 2013.
After a season with Barca's B team and another year on loan at Sevilla, the former Spain U21 international joined Villarreal on a permanent deal. Less than a year later, though, his performances for the Yellow Submarine prompted Barca to exercise their right to re-sign him.
However, he has failed to secure regular first team football over the last three seasons at Camp Nou and a loan spell at Arsenal earlier this year was ended prematurely due to injury.
Denis revealed earlier this summer that he planned to leave Barca and that, despite foreign interest, his desire was to remain in Spain. He would have preferred a club competing in European competition -- and there was interest from Valencia -- but has finally opted for a return home to Galicia.
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