Steven Smith has described Virat Kohli's efforts to stop the crowd from heckling him as "a lovely gesture", but insists the frequent booing and heckling throughout the World Cup has not affected him.

When Smith was fielding near the boundary during Australia's loss to India at The Oval, a section of the crowd started chanting "cheater, cheater", in reference to Smith's involvement in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. Kohli, who was batting at the time, gestured to the crowd and clapped at Smith, indicating his support for the former Australian captain. After the match, Kohli expressed his support for Smith during a press conference.

"Yeah, it was a lovely gesture," Smith said. "It doesn't really bother me what the crowd do to be perfectly honest, I'm just sort of blocking it all out but it was a lovely gesture from Virat, that's for sure."

While Smith can't be completely unaware of the booing that has accompanied the start and finish of many of his innings in the tournament so far, he has been able to overcome it to the point where he has made three half-centuries in five matches, without going on to make a hundred though. Against Sri Lanka at The Oval on Saturday, he played his most sprightly innings so far, a 59-ball 73 in support of Aaron Finch's match-winning knock of 153 off 132 balls. Smith's other totals have been scored at a rate of under a run-a-ball and it augurs well for Australia's campaign that he has found an extra gear.

"When you've got off to a good start and you've got wickets in the shed, you've got to keep trying to take the game on," Smith said. "I think that's where you get your 350-pluses. I think if you've sat back and let the game get away from you and try and do too much at the back end, some days it can come off and you can go at 12-plus an over at the back end, but there are a lot of specialty bowlers who bowl at the back end and can be difficult to get away.

"If you just keep that run rate going and playing with a positive mindset and slightly aggressive, with wickets in the shed, that's where you get your 350-pluses. We probably didn't quite finish off as we should have [against Sri Lanka], lost a few quick wickets in clumps again. But I thought [Glenn Maxwell] Maxi came in and did his job. If we keep giving those guys up top [support] and the top four getting big hundreds, you go a long way to winning games."

Smith's innings against Sri Lanka equalled his highest score for the tournament so far but the 73 he made against West Indies at the start of the tournament was vastly different. With wickets falling around him on a challenging pitch, against aggressive fast bowling, Smith looked as though he was batting in Test mode, taking 103 balls to reach his total and shoring up Australia's chances in the process.

"We spoke after the first [warm-up] game against West Indies, and one-day cricket you've got to really adapt to the conditions and sometimes you may need to play like a Test match and sometimes you may need to play like a T20," Smith said. "And when your team gets off to a really good start and you've got 25 overs to go and you're only one down, it becomes a T20 mindset and that's where you get your big totals. I've played a lot of T20 cricket and know the game. I know the situation a lot of the time, it's about summing it up and playing according to what needs to be done out in the middle."

Smith maintains he has no current aspirations to captain Australia again - he is banned from doing so for another year - but, while he is now free to focus on his game rather than managing the additional leadership role, he says that hasn't changed his approach.

"I obviously don't have to worry about that, but I don't think that ever hindered me. I think I have always just loved batting and wanted to bat as much as I could in the nets. That probably played against me at times, batting too much in the nets and not freshening myself up. That's one thing I am learning as I am getting older, that balance of knowing to relax a bit. Especially if I am hitting the ball well, not just keep on hitting because it is fun. But having that balance so I am fresh out in the middle and ready to do the job that needs to be done."

Others in the Australian camp have commented on Smith's ubiquitous presence in the nets and his frequent shadow batting, with Justin Langer quipping that he even shadow bats in the shower.

"I don't know how he's spying on me in the shower," Smith laughed. "Good on him. Yeah I'm known to play a few shots here and there. I always have a bat in my room and Ricky [Ponting] was actually rooming about ten rooms up from me the other day and said, 'Were you batting at 7 o'clock this morning?' He could hear me tapping on the ground and I said, 'Yeah I was actually.'"

If Smith continues to play crucial innings in the middle throughout the World Cup, then his team-mates will undoubtedly tolerate more early morning interruptions in the hotels.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- His son had just won the U.S. Open on Father's Day, and Dan Woodland was standing near the 18th green talking about the day his heart stopped beating 10 years ago, when his boy Gary was a PGA Tour rookie trying to make the cut on this very course at Pebble Beach.

Dan Woodland had suffered a heart attack while playing golf, though he thought it was heartburn at the time.

"I had three bypasses," he said Sunday night, "and then I coded."

Coded?

"I passed," Dan Woodland said. "Passed."

Passed away?

"Yes," he said.

Dan doesn't remember much about that entire week in a Scottsdale, Arizona, hospital in 2009, other than the fact that he was gone and the doctors brought him back. "People ask me all the time, 'Did you see any lights?'" Woodland said. "No. I didn't even know it was happening."

His wife, Linda, knew exactly what was happening. Gary and his sister, C.J., had spent time with their father after the heart attack, and before Gary left for Pebble and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The triple-bypass surgery was thought to be a success. But two days later Dan suddenly lapsed into cardiac arrest.

"It happened right in front of me," Linda said. "I screamed for a nurse. ... They did a code blue in his room a couple of times over the intercom."

Linda was rushed into a conference room.

"They carted him right past me," she said. "There were all these doctors and nurses around him, you couldn't even see him. They rushed him back into surgery."

When the doctors reemerged, they told Linda that her husband had been gone three or four minutes before he was resuscitated for keeps.

"They ended up putting in a pacemaker defibrillator, and, ironically, last week the battery just went out," Linda said. "It's about a 10-year span, and now he's scheduled to have that replaced in a couple of weeks."

The mother of the U.S. Open champion laughed and motioned toward her husband, dressed in a Wilson cap and a dark sweatsuit as he beamed on the shores of the Pacific.

"Look," Linda said. "He's doing great now."

How could Dan Woodland be doing any better? He had just watched his 35-year-old son win his first major championship by holding off Brooks Koepka, a chaser with Arnold Palmer's arms and Jack Nicklaus' taste for the biggest moments. On Sunday, in the final round of the U.S. Open, Woodland hit a remarkable 3-wood on the par-5 14th, and an even better chip shot on the green at the par-3 17th, to beat Koepka, a four-time major winner in his previous eight starts. Woodland then made a long birdie putt on the iconic final hole that inspired him to lift his putter toward the darkening sky before the ball dropped. That left him with a final score of 13-under, one stroke better than Tiger Woods' 2000 score at Pebble in the most dominant performance the game has seen.

Having denied Koepka's bid for an historic U.S. Open three-peat, Woodland walked off the course and into arms of the man who had coached him in youth baseball and basketball, but not in golf.

"He was hard on me," Gary said. "He never let me win."

Gary finally beat Dan in golf at age 13, and in hoops a year or two after that. Sunday night, sitting next to the national championship trophy, Gary described his old man, a longtime electrical contractor, as his best friend.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without my dad, and the way he treated me, and the way he was hard on me," Gary said. "And that's something I look forward to doing with my son."

Woodland's son, Jaxson, turns two next week. Two years ago, Gary and his wife, Gabby, were expecting twins when they lost their daughter three months before Jaxson was born 10 weeks premature, weighing three pounds. Dan and Linda helped pull their son through that devastating event in the young couple's life.

"It was his first child," Linda said. "Just having a wife that's pregnant and then losing one of [the children], it's such a traumatic experience. He matured a lot through that. He was getting texts and emails from people all over the world ... and that helped."

After Woodland nailed down his third PGA Tour victory -- in a playoff at the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open -- he patted his heart, blew a kiss and pointed to the sky in honor of his lost girl. Gary had been there when Gabby delivered the daughter who never have a chance at life.

"That's real," he said after his Phoenix victory, "and I just wanted her to know I still love her."

Gary said his wife suffered two miscarriages last year, and happily reported she is pregnant and due to deliver identical twin girls in August. Gabby was home Sunday with their healthy son while Gary introduced himself to the world as one of the toughest golfers alive.

As a high school basketball star in Topeka, Gary once tried to draw a charge on an opponent fixing to dunk on him. He took a knee to the chest that left him with a collapsed trachea and a trip out of the gym on a stretcher.

"The doctors said, 'You're not playing basketball for several weeks,'" Linda said of her son, who was injured on a Tuesday. "We were out of town, so we went to a doctor in Topeka and Gary said, 'I'm playing Friday.' And he did."

A Division II basketball player at Washburn University, Woodland wouldn't let a broken finger suffered in practice stop him from playing against his dream school, Kansas, in a preseason game in Allen Fieldhouse.

"He played with his fingers taped together," Linda said. "He played through every injury ever. He never quits."

As a young boy, Gary never wanted to quit swinging away with the lighter ladies clubs his parents bought him when he was 3 years old. Dan and Linda would take their son to a sports center in Topeka that had a driving range and a par-3 course.

"We would buy buckets and buckets of balls," said Linda, who worked in banking for 46 years. "His little hands, they didn't have gloves that small. His hands would bleed, and he still wanted to keep hitting balls."

Before they could drag their child away, the sports center's pro gave a lesson to Dan and Linda Woodland.

"Don't let anybody touch him," he said.

Don't let anyone touch that swing.

Ultimately that swing proved natural enough to drive Gary away from his first love, basketball, and toward a spot on the golf team at Kansas, and then toward life as a pro. By any measure, Woodland was a PGA Tour success, a very good player struggling to find a bridge to greatness. He became best known as the golfer who guided Amy Bockerstette, a young golfer with Down syndrome, through an amazing practice-round par at TPC Scottsdale, a moment captured on a video that now has more than 5 million views. Gary and Amy were FaceTiming each other Sunday night, and for good reason.

Woodland entered the final round with an 0-for 7 record when holding at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. He knew this would be the most stressful round of his life, and yet his father noticed that his boy was as calm as he's ever been.

"I saw a different golfer this week," Dan said.

The old man started feeling butterflies Friday night, and didn't want to say much to Gary about what was unfolding at Pebble.

"It's like a pitcher throwing a no-hitter," Dan said.

Gary was doing just fine out there on his own. Dan noticed that his son was walking the course with his hands in his pockets; he'd never seen that before. The father figured Gary had come up with a new trick to slow himself down.

It worked. On the 72nd hole of the 119th U.S. Open, the fans chanted Gary's name and gave shoutouts to Washburn basketball and Kansas golf. The slugger had proven he had the short game to ace the sport's most demanding test. Woodland made that final putt to beat Tiger's 2000 number, lifted his arms in touchdown form, and then wrapped his father in a bear hug.

During the trophy presentation on the green, Dan Woodland was asked if he'd thought about the fact that 10 years earlier, he nearly died while his son was trying to get his career going on the same course that now made him a U.S. Open champ.

"I really didn't," he said, before his eyes started to fill with tears on Father's Day. Dan stopped for a few moments to gather himself.

"What I thought a lot about [on Sunday]," he said, his voice cracking, "was the one that was lost, Gary's daughter.

"I know she's up there saying, 'That's my father.'"

CHICAGO -- A new day is dawning on the New York Yankees' season.

Compared to every other day in an injury-ravaged spring that was dominated by a bevy of little-known backups, this new day will look and feel vastly different. With two of the biggest tests the Yankees will face this year looming on their schedule, the revamped look and feel is timely and necessary.

Remember the B-teamers? Well, this was their team. But now their reign is over. They served their purpose. But it's time for them to step aside. Why?

Because "Big-Boy Season" is about to commence.

It will unofficially kick off Monday night in the Bronx when the Yankees, before taking on key division foe Tampa Bay, introduce a pinstripes-wearing Edwin Encarnacion to the Yankee Stadium crowd. That introduction will mark the moment the organization moves into the latest -- and perhaps last -- phase of its season, when power becomes a truly potent and viable weapon.

As the Rays and Astros report to the Bronx this week, the Yankees are about to let their big boys play.

"We've got a lot of talented guys in the room, and a lot of talented guys heading back, which will do nothing but make our team stronger," veteran outfielder Brett Gardner said Sunday following the Yankees' 10-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. "Anytime you can add somebody as good as Edwin, he's a guy who's going to make us better."

In addition to the arrival of Encarnacion, the American League's home run leader with 21, the Yankees will be welcoming back Giancarlo Stanton, who has been limited to eight at-bats this season but led the big leagues in homers two seasons ago. Stanton is expected to be activated from the injured list Tuesday. Another once-injured big bopper who has paced his league in long balls, Aaron Judge, ought to be back in the lineup in the coming days, as well.

The arrival of all three sluggers has Yankees manager Aaron Boone eager to see where his club might soon go.

"Encarnacion, Stanton and Judge -- that's three elite power hitters plugged into our lineup," he said. "Hopefully, it's something that over time creates a big-time advantage for us."

One would think these additions would lead to enormously advantageous situations for the Yankees. After all, with three of the league's best power hitters in the same lineup, no lead ought to be considered safe.

Not to mention the likes of Gary Sanchez (who ranks second in the AL in homers), the similarly powerful Luke Voit, the ever-dangerous Didi Gregorius, the strong Gleyber Torres, the steady DJ LeMahieu and Gardner, the patient Aaron Hicks and the clutch Gio Urshela. Put it all together and there are really no spots for a pitcher to catch a breather.

Remember the days when the Yankees' offense hinged on the largely inexperienced Mike Tauchman, Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada? Certainly, the Yankees won games with those guys in the lineup, as evidenced by the 32-10 run through April and May, when all three contributed at one time or another. But still, with all due respect, who would you rather have hitting when an extra-base hit could end a game? Them or the big boys?

Against this week's challenging opponents, the Rays and Astros, Stanton has 13 homers and a .237 batting average in 76 games. Judge has a .263 average and 11 homers in 56 regular-season games against them.

As for Encarnacion, the 36-year-old designated hitter has 43 homers in 178 regular-season games against the two teams. He's been particularly prolific against them the past two seasons, enjoying the highest home run rates against them in his career during those years.

Encarnacion homered in 9.3 percent of his plate appearances against the Rays and Astros in 2017. In 2018, he homered 8.2 percent of the time. Overall in his career, he homers 5.7 percent of the time he steps in the batter's box.

With Big-Boy Season beginning to take effect, the Yankees are already seeing the byproducts of a roster crunch. Viable options such as Estrada and the burgeoning RBI machine Clint Frazier have already been sent down as the Yankees get healthier. In the coming days, Tauchman seems likely to go back to the minor leagues, too.

"This is the reality of things," Frazier said Sunday. "So guess I'm facing reality right now."

Reality also is that Frazier himself possesses a big-boy bat, but as the odd man out of a changing outfield rotation, he was expendable in this round of roster moves.

Of course, the real roster moves the Yankees will need to make in the coming weeks will be ones that aid their starting rotation. Although they finally got quality work from opener Chad Green and his long reliever Nestor Cortes Jr. on Saturday, and a similarly strong outing from James Paxton on Sunday, the Yankees haven't gotten the consistency they'd like from their rotation in recent weeks.

Currently, Yankees starting pitchers have a 4.13 ERA. Prior to June, however, they had a more palatable 3.76 ERA.

Expect the starters' failings to be addressed by the trade deadline, but in the meantime, don't be afraid to gawk at the power the Yankees' new-look offense is about to showcase. This week gives them a prime opportunity to put it on display.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Bob Tasca III powered to his first Funny Car win in nearly seven years, knocking off John Force in the final round on Sunday at the 19th annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Mike Salinas also picked up the victory in Top Fuel at the 11th of 24 events during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. Both Salinas and Tasca advanced to the final round in Bristol a year ago before falling, but it was a different story for each driver on Sunday.

Tasca, who last won late in the 2012 season, denied Force his 150th career win, going 4.008 seconds at 316.23 mph in his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang to beat Force’s 4.155-second run at 287.05 mph and claim his fifth win and first in 100 races.

Tasca, who qualified third, beat James Campbell, Robert Hight and back-to-back Bristol winner Ron Capps, who beat Tasca in the final round a year ago, to reach his 13th career final round.

“It was just a hard-fought effort,” said Tasca, who improved to ninth in Funny Car points. “I knew it would be a slugfest against Force, but I love racing John. It was probably one of the biggest wins in my career. We had to build this car from scratch, but the chemistry on this team is good and I’ve never had a race car like this. It’s fast and the guys put me in a position to win. I love racing here. There’s so much history with my family racing in Thunder Valley and I really wanted to win this one. It was just a great day.”

Force knocked off Jack Beckman and Tommy Johnson Jr. to reach his 252nd final round, but he will now have to wait until next weekend in Norwalk to try and get his 150th career win.

In Top Fuel, Salinas snapped the five-race winning streak of points leader and defending world champion Steve Torrence thanks to a final-round pass of 3.836-second run at 325.69 mph in his Scrappers Racing dragster. Torrence, who had won 22 straight rounds before Sunday’s loss in the finals, ran 3.892  secondsat 287.60 mph, slowing at the finish line.

After winning his first Top Fuel race earlier this year at Las Vegas, Salinas picked up round wins against Scott Palmer, Antron Brown and No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta on Sunday en route to his second career win.

“It’s kind of surreal what is happening,” said Salinas, who jumped to third in Top Fuel points. “The guys are amazing, they’re doing a great job and we’re having a lot of fun. You can’t take anybody lightly out here. I have all the confidence in this team and it’s just amazing to be in the seat with these guys. Alan Johnson and the crew, they just know how to do it and it’s just amazing, it really is.”

Torrence, who maintains a commanding points lead, reached his 48th career final round thanks to wins against Pat Dakin, Clay Millican and Dom Lagana.

NEWTON, Iowa – Christopher Bell was in his own league on Sunday afternoon at Iowa Speedway.

The native of Oklahoma was practically unbeatable during Sunday’s CircuitCity.com 250, leading a race-high 186 laps en route to his fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season.

Bell took the lead for the first time at the end of the first stage from polesitter Cole Custer. Once out front Bell was rarely challenged for the rest of the day, but he did have to survive a few late-race restarts to earn his trip to victory lane.

The first of those cautions came with 35 laps to go when second-place Custer scrapped the wall in turn two. All of the leaders hit pit road, with Custer getting off pit road first ahead of Bell despite being the driver to bring out the caution flag.

The race resumed with 28 laps left and Custer and Bell immediately began the fight for the lead. They stayed side-by-side for a lap, but Custer managed to pull clear of Bell to hang on to the lead.

That lead lasted only another lap as Bell worked his way back to Custer’s inside. The two lead cars made contact coming across the start/finish line with 26 laps left and Bell was able to pull up in front of Custer coming out of turn two on the same lap.

One final caution flag waved with 16 laps left when Chad Finchum bounced off the turn two wall, but Bell would not be denied. Custer tried to challenge Bell during the restart with 10 laps left, but Bell got clear of Custer coming out of turn four on the same lap and pulled away.

Bell beat Custer to the checkered flag by 1.746 seconds for his second Iowa Speedway victory.

“I got to win at Dover on Mother’s Day weekend, or I guess the weekend before with my mom there,” Bell said. “Now I won on Father’s Day weekend with my dad here, so this is pretty special.”

Custer led 60 laps en route to his second-place finish on Sunday afternoon.

“I think every driver will agree that this place puts on the best racing (of any track) that we go to,” Custer said. “Christopher and them had the best car all day. I feel like we caught up to them a good amount, we just needed more time to work on it. We only had 45 minutes of practice. I think we’ll come back better next time.”

Justin Allgaier bested Harrison Burton at the line to finish third, with Burton and Zane Smith completing the top-five.

For complete results, advance to the next page.

GRANTSVILLE, Utah – Toni Elias knew he was beaten by Cameron Beaubier in the first half of the EBC Brakes Superbike race in the Championship of Utah at Utah Motorsports Campus and he was prepared to settle for second.

Things changed when the red flag came out on the 13th lap, giving new life to the Spaniard, who took full advantage to hold off Beaubier in a thrilling 10-lap sprint race to the finish.

The win gave Elias a clean sweep of the two EBC Brakes Superbike races at UMC, the 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike champion extending his championship lead to 26 points over Beaubier, 201-175.

Elias ended up just .303 of a second ahead of Beaubier at the finish, with Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff just as close in third – .502 of a second behind Elias after the trio scrapped for the entire 10-lap restart.

“Of course, it’s been a big help,” Elias said of the restart. “I don’t want to see that, but unfortunately it happened. When we saw the red flag, I start to be more comfortable like yesterday. Same thing I had to wait 12, 13 laps, 14 laps to start to be there. When I enter in my feeling, in my place, we could start to produce something every lap. I didn’t know if I was able to catch him or not because he was so strong. He did an amazing job from yesterday.

“The flag helped us. Then we played our cards. Then we start the battle with Gerloff and Cam. Was really difficult because in this situation like today anything can happen. Could be good, could be bad, could be the worst case like I had in Road America. But today it works. He (Beaubier) did an amazing job. He gives me a lot of difficulties I never seen. Today is one of the days when I saw him (Beaubier) really strong. There are other times, but today was maybe one of the strongest days. It’s really difficult. It’s good for the show, but he (Gerloff) was there too. He’s there and all three can make a good show today. Luck fell on my side with increasing the gap in the championship. But it is long. Anything can happen. I’m not going to think about the championship because I was leading with 29 and in one race, I lose everything. So, let’s be focused, let’s work good. This is for myself, for my dad, for my family who is supporting me every day and for my best days and my bad moods also. Thanks to my team.”

Herrin held on to finish fourth on the second Yoshimura Suzuki, dropping more than nine seconds off the pace after an off-track excursion. He finished a second clear of Attack Performance Estenson Racing’s J.D. Beach, who in turn was just a tick in front of his Kentucky neighbor Jake Lewis on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.

In the hotly contested Supersport class, Sunday’s race was a story of the hunter and the hunted. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong got the jump on polesitter and Rickdiculous Racing Yamaha rider Hayden Gillim in the beginning of the 19-lap race, but Gillim managed to get past Fong in fairly short fashion. Fong stalked Gillim until the final turn on the final lap and drafted past him to snatch the victory by .003 of second.

It was Fong’s third Supersport win of the season. Celtic HSBK Racing’s P.J. Jacobsen finished third when Fong’s teammate Sean Dylan Kelly, who looked to have the final spot on the podium clinched, experienced a mechanical issue on the final lap.

Sunday’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup race featured the same riders at the front who have been consistent protagonists throughout the season, but Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki rider Dallas Daniels, who started from the pole, successfully held off Rocco Landers to notch his first win of the season.

Landers, who was Saturday’s winner and the victor in six of the seven races prior to Sunday, finished second after nearly beating Daniels to the finish line. Meanwhile, Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Kevin Olmedo matched his Saturday third-place finish with another third-place finish on Sunday.

Defending Stock 1000 champion Andrew Lee showed why he has the big number one on his Franklin Armory/Graves Kawasaki as he bided his time after the start of Sunday’s race, passed polesitter Geoff May aboard his Ameris Bank Kawasaki and pulled a healthy gap at the front, which he was able to maintain all the way to the finish line. May finished second and Stefano Mesa was third aboard his MESA37 Racing Kawasaki.

The win vaulted Lee into the points lead, and Mesa is now two points adrift in second place.

The MotoAmerica Championship of Utah proved to be a pivotal round for Alex Dumas, who moved up to the Twins Cup class after winning the 2018 Liqui Moly Junior Cup Championship.

The Roadracing World Young Guns Suzuki rider not only earned both the provisional and final pole position, but he made the most of his number-one starting position, got a great start of the line, and pulled a gap, which he stretched out to more than 14 seconds by the time he crossed the finish line.

SONOMA, Calif. – Derek Kraus is only 17, but he has more racing experience than many drivers twice his age.

His experience paid huge dividends at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday during round four of the Trans-Am Presented by Pirelli West Coast Championship.

Currently leading both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West standings, Kraus made his Trans-Am debut in the No. 11 Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating Chevrolet Camaro handed over to him for qualifying by team owner David Smith after losing an engine in his No. 5 just before qualifying.

Kraus rewarded Smith and the Shockwave team by qualifying on the TA2 Powered by AEM pole, then seizing the TA2 class lead on lap seven of 38 laps around the challenging Sonoma course and never relinquishing it.

Kraus was jumped on both the start and a lap four restart by third qualifier Anthony Honeywell, but managed to find a way past the West series TA2 points leader within two laps on both occasions.

“I was really surprised at the start, going into turn one three wide, coming out that way,” said Kraus. “Wasn’t really expecting it. But at the end, it all worked out. I just want to say thanks to David Smith and everyone at Shockwave — the whole crew. They worked their tails off all weekend. They gave me a really good car, and I knew I just had to stay patient in the race.”

Second overall (and second in TA2) was Kraus’ Shockwave teammate Chris Cook, who finished nearly 18 seconds behind. Cook and Kraus have a long history together, and thanks to Smith, who made cars available to both Kraus and Cook as well as a third young up-and-comer, Lawless Alan, they were able to race together for the first time.

“I love working with raw talent like that guy right there in the NAPA [driver’s] suit (Kraus)” said veteran driver coach Cook. “Really good job by Derek today, and my car was really good, too. Just a huge thanks — I love driving race cars, and a huge thanks to David Smith. Amazing man and you should read his story! Huge thanks to David and all the guys on the team — Team Shockwave kicks ass.”

“I knew if there was going to be a late-race yellow, Chris was going to be really good,” Kraus said later, explaining his hard pace throughout. “[Chris] helped me this whole weekend. Two years ago when I met David and Chris and came here, I had no idea what I was doing. And ever since, Chris has been helping me. Shockwave gave me a really good race car and I ended upon top.

Third in TA2 went to Michael Mihld, who inherited the position from Lawless Alan when the brakes in Alen’s car failed. Matthew Butson finished fourth in class.

In the TA class, Simon Gregg had a lonely race after both the pole winner Michelle Nagai and fast local driver Michael Fine retired in the opening laps with mechanical problems. Gregg won TA and was third overall, but was frustrated about finishing behind a pair of TA2 cars.

“The TA2 cars were really good this weekend,” he said. “I had a good time out there. Thanks Jim (Derhaag); Joy, my significant other for going to the races with me; John (Clagett, Trans Am Co.) for the work you do — I’m glad to be a part of the West Coast Trans-Am series.”

Finishing behind Gregg, fourth overall but winning the SGT class, was U.S. Touring Car Championship front runner Carl Rydquist, who started last in a unique Prototype Development Group Factory Five GTM Supercar — a street-legal kit car assembled using extensive Corvette components.

The PDG team received permission to enter on Sunday morning, chased down a set of Pirelli tires and started from the back. Rydquist carved through the field to his fourth-place finish, with TA winner Gregg in his sights as the checkered came out.

The GT class was won by fast-qualifier Clark Nunes, who led from flag to flag.

HERMON, Maine – Reigning Pro All Stars Series National champion Derek Grifithnailed down his second PASS North victory of the season on Father’s Day afternoon in the Hopkins Milling & Paving PASS 150 at Speedway 95.

For Griffith it was his second win at the tricky, banked short track located just outside of Bangor.  Griffith now has four straight podium finishes in PASS competition at Speedway 95.  He got the lead away from hometown Hermon racer Mike Hopkins before driving to victory.

The local favorite was just breaking in a new racecar and while it looked exceptionally quick early on, it was no match for Griffith and the LCM Motorsports No. 12 after the 22-year-old Granite Stater had worked his way into second position after starting the race from 11th spot.

Nick Sweet earned runner-up honors in his first visit to the tricky track and gave some credit to veteran Rowland Robinson.  Sweet and Hopkins seemed to battle for the balance of the race after Griffith took command for good.  Hopkins was the third-place finisher.

Championship points leader Garrett Hall aided his title hopes with a fourth-place performance.  Six-time PASS Northchampion Johnny Clark filled out the top-five rundown.

Kate Re, a 15-year-old Fryeburg Academy sophomore, made her father Rick Re awful proud on Father’s Day, racing to her second PASS Mod win and first this season.  Re led all 40 laps, but it certainly was not without challenge, most notably from Tyler King, in just his second PASS Mod race.

King spent, at least, the final one-third of the race in the outside groove trying to get around Re, but she held her line and fended off King. Mike Carignan grabbed the third-place trophy.

Kyle Hewins cruised to victory lane in a 50-lap Honey Badger Bar & Grill Street Stock Series main event, posting his first victory of the season in the class.

The finish:

Derek Griffith, Nick Sweet, Mike Hopkins, Garrett Hall, Johnny Clark, Travis Benjamin, D.J. Shaw, Gabe Brown, Bobby Therrien, Wyatt Alexander, Nick Jenkins, Gary Smith, Scott Chubbuck, Ben Rowe, Andy Saunders.