Ospreys coach Allen Clarke says he has overcome sleepless nights after guiding his region to the Heineken European Champions Cup next season.

His side beat Scarlets 21-10 in Saturday's play-off match to claim the final Pro14 place in the elite European competition next season.

Clarke's side overcame merger talks to finish as Wales' leading region.

"You could see a freshness once you realised we were going to exist as Ospreys," said Clarke.

Talks were held over an Ospreys merger with Cardiff Blues and Scarlets before the region said they would stand alone and the side have been galvanised by the off-field controversy.

Ospreys celebrated four victories at the end of the regular season to set up the Pro14 play-off match for the Champions Cup.

"I have respect for every player in our group and they have been incredibly resilient throughout the season," said Clarke.

"It has been draining and probably what you see on the exterior you don't understand what is underneath. There have been a lot of sleepless nights for a lot of people involved.

"Our players had the appetite and were desperate to play in the Champions Cup and you could see that."

Clarke admits competing among Europe's elite will be a tough proposition next season.

"We talk about this being a start, not an end," said Clarke.

"We know it's going to be tough and test our squad depth but if we can get the right players on the field we feel as if we can challenge at that level.

"That's 14 games we have picked our full-strength side in the Pro14 and we have won 12 of them. That's the measure of where we are when we can get access to our best players."

Captain Justin Tipuric says the victory caps a difficult season.

"After everything that has gone on this season it's a nice way to finish off," said Tipuric.

"It just shows how tight everyone is in our squad and how everybody came together towards the end of the season after all the rumours.

"After we came back from the Six Nations we could easily have folded and lost every game, but instead we finished off winning every match.

"I never felt the group would fold. The character of the players in the squad meant that was never an option.

"This is not a time to celebrate though because we need to push on the Champions Cup to compete and not just be happy to be involved in it."

England captain Dylan Hartley could feature in Northampton's Premiership semi-final at Exeter next Saturday.

The 33-year-old hooker has not played since 21 December after injuring his knee, and missed the Six Nations.

Hartley has returned to training with Northampton, but is unlikely to start at Sandy Park, having missed Saints' 40-21 loss at Exeter on the final day.

"It'll be a really big ask for him to come into that level of things straight away," said Saints boss Chris Boyd.

"To do that generally you need to be physically tough and mentally tough and very resilient and I think he's all of those things, so time will tell."

England head coach Eddie Jones will announce a preliminary World Cup squad next month before naming his final party to go to Japan in July.

Jones could be without first-choice loose-head prop Maku Vunipola, who tore his hamstring in Saracens' European Champions Cup final win over Leinster earlier this month, so Hartley's experience would be even more vital in England's front row.

Saints lost hooker Reece Marshall through injury after just five minutes of their loss at Exeter, with James Fish brought on to play the majority of the game as they finished the regular season in fourth place.

"He trained fully with us on Monday and Tuesday and trained really well," Boyd added about Hartley.

"We had Wednesday off and when he came back in on Thursday he was feeling the effects of that training.

"He probably could have played, but at the end of the day if he had been here and Reece Marshall had been out five minutes into the game, if Dylan had been on the bench I doubt he would have got through 75 minutes at the physical level that that game was.

"When you have lower-limb injuries it's not just the rehab on the injury, but you've got to try to get some match fitness as well and clearly he hasn't had a lot of that lately."

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — After a torrid battle with Jake Swanson and Brody Roa, Stevie Sussex became the sixth different winner in as many races with the Sands Chevrolet USAC SouthWest Sprint Car Series.

Driving Robbie and Gaye Allen’s No. 12 ABC Body Shop / PPG Automotive Finishes Maxim, Sussex reclaimed the lead for good on lap 29 to score his third Hank Arnold Memorial win at Casa Grande’s Central Arizona Speedway.

Fast-qualifier Roa, Charles Davis Jr., Matt Rossi and R.J. Johnson rounded out the top five.

Roa claimed his first career Beaver Stripes Fast Time Award by posting a new 410 track record of 15.133 over the 14-car roster.

The finish:

Feature (30 laps, with starting positions): 1. Stevie Sussex (1), 2. Brody Roa (6), 3. Charles Davis Jr. (7), 4. Matt Rossi (4), 5. R.J. Johnson (5), 6. Jake Swanson (2), 7. Mike Martin (3), 8. Chris Bonneau (8), 9. Michael Curtis (9), 10. Daylin Perriera (14), 11. Tyler Most (12), 12. Andy Reinbold (11), 13. Matt Lundy (10), 14. Jonas Reynolds (13). NT

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — The wait was well worth it for Woody Pitkat.

The Stafford, Conn., native outlasted all other competitors in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour return to Wall Stadium Speedway on Saturday and took the checkered flag in the first event at the third-mile in 12 years.

It was the fourth career Whelen Modified Tour win for Pitkat, and his first in four years. It was also his first win driving for Danny Watts Racing in his 21st start with the team. Pitkat took over the ride after the passing of Ted Christopher in 2017.

“The biggest thing I told the guys today was that I wasn’t going to be over-aggressive,” Pitkat said. “I figured we wouldn’t qualify that great, but I knew I just needed to be there at the end. I was just trying to ride as much as I could. I really wasn’t sure how it was going to work out.”

The race didn’t look like it was going to fall into Pitkat’s lap until the final stages. Doug Coby took control of the race on lap 66 after starting sixth and led a race-high 72 laps. He was in control of the field on a restart on lap 138, and after contact with home town favorite Andrew Krause entering turn three, both of their chances ended. Krause, who was fastest in practice and 35 laps himself, was done for the night.

That handed the lead to former series champion Ron Silk, who looked as though he would score his second win of the young season driving for Kevin Stuart. But, a restart with just five laps remaining ended Silk’s chances as contact sent him spinning, in a wreck that collected many of the cars left on the track.

From there, the battle for Pitkat wasunderway. On a green-white-checkered restart in NASCAR overtime, Pitkat lined up to the outside of Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Timmy Catalano on the front row. At the green, he powered by to the lead and never looked back, as the No. 82 Horton Avenue Materials Chevrolet started smoking while the nerf-bar starting rubbing on the right-rear tire.

In the end, he made it around to the checkered flag at the top of the field.

In the late dash, rising star Blake Barney powered his way to a second-place finish, his career best effort in Whelen Modified Tour competition. Veteran Rob Summers was third, followed by Catalano and Dave Sapienza.

Eric Goodale was sixth, followed by Ken Heagy, Ron Silk, Tommy Catalano and Doug Coby.

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — A dominant run for Sam Hafertepe Jr. to close the two-day appearance in Michigan, the three-time and defending champion of the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network was untouchable at I-96 Speedway.

Hafertepe won Saturday’s 30-lap feature by 6.105 seconds.

“The car was great. I’m very fortunate to have car owners like Miles and Pam and to have the crew we have, they make it where I can just focus on driving the car,” said Hafertepe. “Last night, I wasn’t taking any prisoners but tonight I calmed down and just focused on the racing. Both nights, this crew gave us a great track to race on. They did a hell of a job.”

Trailing the A-Rock Materials No. 95 of Matt Covington into the first two turns, that would be the only time Hafertepe rolled second as the run into turns three and four netted the race lead. Caution on lap two for a three-car incident that involved Bogucki, Price, and Scheid in the second turn, the green lights blinked on for two more laps before Alex Hill and Ryan Coniam came together off the fourth turn.

Moving past Matt Covington on the opening lap restart, Phil Gressman was on Hafertepe as the field went back to green but would not be able to keep pace as Hafertepe started to pull away. Leaving Gressman to himself, the pair were chased by Ryan Ruhl.

Coming under fire on lap 14, the No. 16 was not able to keep Blake Hahn at bay as the Sage Fruit, Co. No. 52 shot to the show position on lap 15. Chasing down Phil Gressman as the pair picked through traffic, Hahn pulled to the back bumper of the No. 7c, but would not get the chance to pass as the caution flew on lap 24.

Erasing a 5.869-second lead, Hafertepe amassed several lapped cars between himself and Gressman. Lapping up to ninth place before the caution, the restart was a walk in the park.

Holding off Hahn in the closing laps, Gressman grabbed second with Hahn holding onto third. Ruhl ended up fourth with Covington slipping to fifth.

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., [2]; 2. 7C-Phil Gressman, [4]; 3. 52-Blake Hahn, [7]; 4. 16-Ryan Ruhl, [3]; 5. 95-Matt Covington, [1]; 6. 17W-Harli White, [5]; 7. 5J-Jamie Ball, [10]; 8. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, [8]; 9. 85-Dustin Daggett, [6]; 10. 11-Roger Crockett, [9]; 11. 14-Jordon Mallett, [12]; 12. 28-Scott Bogucki, [16]; 13. 49T-Gregg Dalman, [21]; 14. 27-Brad Lamberson, [14]; 15. 77-Andrew Scheid, [20]; 16. 16W-Garrett Saunders, [22]; 17. (DNF) 10S-Jay Steinbach, [13]; 18. (DNF) 16C-Zane Devault, [11]; 19. (DNF) 24D-Danny Sams III, [19]; 20. (DNF) 46-Ryan Coniam, [18]; 21. (DNF) 77X-Alex Hill, [17]; 22. (DNF) 21P-Robbie Price, [15]; 23. (DNF) J2-John Carney II, [23]

ORRVILLE, Ohio — If the standard length of a World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series feature  was only 45 laps, Saturday night’s 50-lap race at Wayne County Speedway would have ended on a different note.

Series champions Brandon Sheppard and Darrell Lanigan put on what could potentially be remembered as one of the most exciting features of the season in an incredible display of lap-after-lap, no-holds-barred battling for over 25 laps.

Lanigan pounded the cushion on the top, with Sheppard showing a wheel down low almost every lap until he made the winning move on lap 46 by going underneath Lanigan, who was forced out of his high groove by lapped traffic.

Amidst all the fireworks in the last 10 laps with the leaders, rookie sensation Ricky Weiss burst onto the scene with seven laps to go after a late-race charge, getting around Doug Drown with 11 circuits remaining and closing within five car lengths of the battle between Sheppard and Lanigan by lap 43.

With three laps to go, Weiss had completely closed the gap and made the pass out of turn four underneath Lanigan to take second. With time running out and a slew of lapped traffic ahead of him, Weiss took aim at the Rocket1 Racing machine.

But his last-lap dive into turn three was unsuccessful and Sheppard hung on for the win – his seventh of the year with the Outlaws and third in-a-row at Wayne County Speedway.

“I knew my car was fast on the top, so if I could just get in open track, I could roll pretty good,” Sheppard said. “Everybody was just all over the place and we were racing hard. A fun, clean race, for sure.”

Sheppard spent a lot of effort digging on Lanigan down low until he saw daylight on the high side. When Lanigan saw the signal sticks telling him to move back up to the top, Sheppard went back to the bottom. But after several unsuccessful pass attempts down low and the laps winding down, Sheppard began feeling the heat from Weiss’ No. 7 behind him. And that’s when he knew it was now or never.

“I moved to the top in [turns] three and four and caught [Lanigan], and then his crew guys moved him up to the top, which was what they should have done,” Sheppard said. “Finally, we were getting into lapped traffic and I saw Ricky show me a nose on the bottom and I knew it was either time to go or get passed.”

Sheppard got a great run coming out of turn two on lap 46 and drag-raced Lanigan down the backstretch. It looked as though Lanigan’s momentum on the high side would carry him through once more, as it had on every other pass attempt. But Larry Bellman Jr. was already riding the line and impeded Lanigan’s path just enough to allow Sheppard to get the momentum advantage and squeak by underneath.

“The lapped cars were just right where I needed to be and I wasn’t good enough around the bottom to go down there and get up beside them,” Lanigan said. “Brandon’s car was better on the bottom.”

After the lead changed hands, Weiss said he eventually saw an opportunity to grab the lead on the low side, but lapped traffic made him think better of it as well. Blake Spencer was already down on the bottom as the leaders were moving through, and Weiss chose to be conservative over making a bonzai move.

“I just didn’t want to stick my nose in there and maybe hit a tire or slam into his [Spencer’s] door,” Weiss said. “I thought maybe we could get in the right place at the right time and pick off the lead, but I played it safe and went around him on the outside.”

The finish:

Morton Buildings Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [3][$10,000]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss [4][$5,000]; 3. 29-Darrell Lanigan [2][$3,000]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb [1][$2,500]; 5. 12-Doug Drown [9][$2,000]; 6. 97-Cade Dillard [5][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [11][$1,400]; 8. 44-Chris Madden [12][$1,300]; 9. 1x-Chub Frank [7][$1,200]; 10. 18-Chase Junghans [19][$1,100]; 11. B1-Brent Larson [23][$1,050]; 12. 99B-Boom Briggs [6][$1,000]; 13. 6-Blake Spencer [22][$950]; 14. 59-Larry Bellman [16][$900]; 15. 9-Devin Moran [8][$850]; 16. 59m-Shane McLoughlin [24][$800]; 17. 5m-Ryan Markham [20][$770]; 18. C9-Steve Casebolt [15][$750]; 19. 18c-Mitchell Caskey [21][$730]; 20. 79-Brad Malcuit [13][$700]; 21. 44h-Dave Hess [14][$700]; 22. 14g-J.R. Gentry [17][$700]; 23. 36-Matt Irey [10][$700]; 24. 17-Charlie Duncan [18][$700]; Hard Charger: B1-Brent Larson[+12]

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — The battle for the Morgan Cup at Williams Grove Speedway Saturday night was a title match of epic proportions between the World of Outlaws and Pennsylvania Posse.

In the end, Pennsylvania veteran Lance Dewease, who started on the pole, held off 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz to win the 30-lap Morgan Cup.

Driving Don Kreitz Jr.’s No. 69k, it was Dewease’s second WoO victory in four days and the 17^thof his career.

Schatz got the first punch, jumping to the lead at the start of the race. From there, Schatz set a pace Dewease couldn’t match.

“The pace we were trying to run, we were going to be hard on tires at that whole 30 laps,” Dewease said about Schatz’s early run. “But hell, I wasn’t too easy with them.”

Schatz’s early lead didn’t last long, though. On lap two, Logan Schuchart stopped on the frontstretch due to an ignition box issue. The caution allowed the two front runners a quick rest to gauge their early run.

When the green flag waved, Schatz jumped back to the lead. Dewease kept pace with him, though.

“I was shocked how good I hung with him there on the bottom,” Dewease said. “I thought we’d be alright if I could get by him (Schatz). He knows how to get around here when it’s slick.”

Like Dewease predicted, once he got in six consecutive laps, his car took off. While Schatz rode the high side, Dewease found enough grip on the bottom to wear out Schatz’s lead. By that time the two leaders entered lap traffic, which proved to be an advantage for Dewease.

Schatz struggled to navigate around lap traffic, allowing Dewease to plan the attack he needed on lap 17 to take the lead.

“It just came down to getting through lap traffic,” Schatz said. “I got to the 70 car and I didn’t push the issue, to go across the race car and go in front of him and I didn’t do it. It got me in a funk for a few laps and Lance got by. I got myself back going, but it was too late.”

Dewease then cruised to his second win in four days, after winning Wednesday’s night race at Lincoln Speedway.

“This rivalry is pretty intense,” Dewease said. “It goes back a long way. We’re some of the few areas that can consistently win against these (Outlaws) guys. We were very fortunate to get it done tonight and keep the cup for another year. Beating Donny is always special because he gets around this place so good.”

While Schatz accepted his defeat, having to settle for second, he laid down a further challenge for the PA Posse fans.

“I hear all of that Posse chant, and I love that,” Schatz said. “Come August, I’m pretty sure he’s (Dewease) going to win the money to go to the Knoxville Nationals, so there’s going to be no damn reason every person in this place isn’t at the Knoxville Nationals watching it.”

While Schatz and Dewease put on a show at the front of the field, California-native Giovanni Scelzi was the show of the race behind them.

Scelzi won the C Main, transferring to the rear of the 12-car Last Chance Showdown, where he finished fourth. He then romped from 24^thto finish seventh in the feature.

“Just qualified bad, and when you do that it puts you behind the eight-ball,” Scelzi said. “We just kept trucking in the Feature and kept going and going and going. I wish we had a yellow. I think we had something to get back in the top-five.”

Scelzi won his first Series victory at Williams Grove last year, becoming the youngest World of Outlaws winner at 16 years old.

“I just seem to have some natural speed,” Scelzi said, “I don’t know where it comes from. Seems to be a place I’m comfortable at.”

To see full results, turn to the next page.