Wales back-rower Aaron Shingler feared a knee injury would force him to retire, but the Scarlet is confident he will now be fit for the World Cup.

Shingler, 31, has not played since suffering the injury during the Scarlets' Pro14 final loss to Leinster in May 2018.

But now he is back with Wales' squad as they prepare for the World Cup with a training camp in Switzerland.

"I'd say I'm nearly where I want to be," Shingler said.

"For eight months, I was questioning whether the leg would be good enough. Luckily enough it is. So I'm very happy to just be able to train.

"A couple of more weeks training with Wales and I'll hopefully get an opportunity. If that opportunity comes, then I feel like I'll be ready.

"I want to play for Wales and the Scarlets, so I just keep pushing."

'Concerned'

Before his injury, Shingler had established himself as an important player for Wales and the Scarlets thanks to his dynamic displays in the back row.

However, the 17-cap forward missed his country's Six Nations Grand Slam earlier this year as his injury robbed him of an entire season.

During his lengthy absence, Shingler admits he thought that he might not make a full recovery.

"It was massively difficult. Up until the eight-month mark, I was thinking that I wasn't going to come back," he added.

"I just couldn't function daily. I'd have one good session and then the next day I wouldn't be able to train.

"When I came into camp, I was a little bit concerned with how I was going to cope but I'm feeling really fit and strong at the moment."

Wales' players are in the midst of a gruelling training camp in the Swiss Alps, with the extent of their physical exertions exemplified by Ross Moriarty's Instagram post which showed the back-rower vomiting pitchside with the caption 'No pain no gain'.

The squad's motto in Fiesch is 'Live high, train low', with the players living 2,300m above sea level and training 1,000m lower as they aim to boost their fitness levels and prepare for the energy-sapping humidity of Japan during the World Cup.

"I remember the first night I was up there, trying to get to sleep, and my heart was beating a lot harder than normal, which is unusual," Shingler said of the Swiss training camp.

"You get up for the toilet in the night, and you have to climb a little bit of stairs, and my heart is beating again.

"It just feels like you're working when you're sleeping. So that's what it's like up the top."

'One opportunity'

Shingler is one of 42 players in an extended Wales squad in Switzerland, and that will be trimmed to a final 31 for the World Cup in September.

The back row is arguably the most competitive area of the team, with head coach Warren Gatland likely to pick five out of Shingler, Moriarty, Taulupe Faletau, Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi, Aaron Wainwright and James Davies.

"Unfortunately, it's very fierce and I might only get one opportunity," said Shingler.

"In training, I have to impress every day, work hard every day and keep my fingers crossed that I get to go."

Northampton Saints have signed hooker Michael van Vuuren from Bath.

The 27-year-old former South Africa Under-20 international is qualified to represent England and moves to Saints following his loan spell with London Irish in the Championship last season.

Van Vuuren has also played for Free State Cheetahs, Stade Français, Eastern Province Kings and Leicester Tigers.

"He has experience beyond his years," Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd told the club's website.

"He brings a wealth of knowledge with him which I'm sure some of our younger hookers can tap into.

"He's ripped into training already and will offer us some great competition for the shirt in that front row this season."

STATESVILLE, N.C.  — Junior Johnson, Midnight Moon and GMS Racing have announced a sponsorship agreement for GMS Racing’s entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

Johnson’s Midnight Moon brand will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado of reigning NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt and the NASCAR Xfinity Series No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro of John Hunter Nemecheck for the upcoming races at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 15-16.

The sponsorship promotes Midnight Moon’s introduction of a limited-edition, augmented reality label which literally comes to life to tell the story of Junior’s moonshine bust and arrest through an app on your phone. As part of the promotion, a special paint scheme will prominently feature Junior’s mugshot photograph on the hood.

The augmented reality technology offers Midnight Moon adult consumers a fun, new way to interact with the brand.  Upon downloading the “Midnight Moon AR Experience” app to their phone from the App Store or Google Play, they can point their phone at the limited-edition label of Junior Johnson’s mugshot and listen to him recall the story of his infamous moonshining arrest.

“We couldn’t think of a better way to support the Midnight Moon Moonshine Busted label introduction than to marry Junior’s old-school roots in racing at Bristol with the new-school capabilities of the GMS race teams,” says Joe Michalek, President and Founder of Piedmont Distillers. “Our goal is to celebrate Junior’s moonshine and racing legacy with NASCAR fans and what better place than Bristol Motor Speedway!

“Junior personally approved the story and said, ‘I must have told that story a thousand times over the years, but I never imagined my mugshot photograph would tell the story on a phone right in the palm of your hand. It’s very cool.’”

The new limited-edition label and sponsorship of the GMS Racing teams are part of a campaign which will include a social media promotion where race fans get a chance to join the GMS teams at Bristol. Race fans can follow Midnight Moon on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to get more information.

“I’m excited to have Midnight Moon back with us at Bristol,” Moffitt said. “The new promotion they have is a cool way to tell some of Junior Johnson’s story, and to have a connection to a NASCAR legend like him is awesome. Sipping some Midnight Moon Moonshine in victory lane would be the perfect way to celebrate.”

“Junior Johnson is a NASCAR legend, so it’s pretty cool to have his brand on our car at Bristol next month,” Nemechek said. “Growing up in a racing family I’ve heard a lot of stories about him and I’d really like to honor him by getting a win in the Midnight Moon Camaro.”

American Flat Track, under the leadership of CEO Michael Lock, has broken out of the mold of focusing strictly on old-style venues.

Instead of racing only on traditional miles, half miles, TTs and short tracks, American Flat Track is now racing on Super TT tracks, such as the Daytona Super TT, which actually utilizes the paved tri-oval section of Daytona Int’l Speedway, and the more recent Arizona TT, which featured multiple jumps and a variety of right- and left-hand corners.

A few hard-core traditionalists bristled a bit with some of these new venues, but there is no denying the new tracks are generating excitement with new fans paying attention to the sport.

Perhaps the event that started this whole trend of trying to bring the sport to new and innovative tracks is the Buffalo Chip TT, held during South Dakota’s Sturgis Bike Week.

In all of racing, there’s really nothing like this race. In 2017, the inaugural Buffalo Chip TT blew fans’ minds — more than 10,000 of them. There was an honest-to-goodness American Flat Track national held on a built-overnight TT track snaking around the legendary Buffalo Chip amphitheater. The race served as the opening act for a packed-house rock concert in that same venue later that night. It was a fusion of motorsports and music on one of the most legendary of all stages. It was an instant classic.

This innovative tourist trophy track, designed by seven-time AFT champion Chris Carr, was the first track in the series that allowed fans to watch the nation’s top flat-track racers whip around multiple right-hand turns, fly over a jump and immediately follow it up with a major rock concert in the same amphitheater.

The views were both unprecedented and spectacular, with fans watching from the sky bridge or party decks above or from directly behind the trackside barricades on the ground. Holding the race during Sturgis Bike Week was also a perfect opportunity for motorcyclists who flock to the historic get-together each summer to watch the renewal of the time-honored tradition of the century-old rivalry between Indian and Harley-Davidson.

“People said these were the most exciting races they’d ever seen,” said Buffalo Chip President Rod Woodruff. “There’s nothing more exciting than being right next to the track, watching the American Flat Track races at the Buffalo Chip. Spectators are so close they feel like they are part of the action with bikes jumping and tearing around the corners so close they can feel the power. 2019 will be the third year for the Buffalo Chip TT and fans are loving it. We expect to see even more people enjoying the races this year, followed by a thunderous performance by heavy metal rockers, Godsmack.”

Perhaps the only downside to venues like the Buffalo Chip are that they take the racers out of their comfort zones.

“I don’t mind AFT trying new things with new tracks,” said Indian factory rider Briar Bauman, who won the first Buffalo Chip TT. “But a lot of times with new tracks, or temporary tracks, the biggest challenge is getting the track set up well for racing. I like the idea of bringing our racing to new fans, but we have to keep the focus on making the tracks safe and ridable, so we can go out and give our best performance.”

Lock has heard the concerns, yet at the same time he sees tremendous upsides to having national events at tracks like the Buffalo Chip.

“The irony is the venues that our competitors grumble most about, the TTs, are the best attended and most successful on the schedule,” said Lock. “Daytona, Buffalo Chip and Peoria. The races have the highest attendance because of the wonder of watching these machines on that kind of racing circuit.”

Even within the realm of expanding the types of tracks on which AFT races, Buffalo Chip was a stretch.

“The concept of the Buffalo Chip TT was a bit of an experiment. Instead of taking a race to a race circuit, we took the race to a rock concert,” Lock explained. “We build the track overnight after a rock concert and race before the next rock concert. It’s a logistical nightmare, but it’s worth it. We’re putting the sport of AFT in front of 10,000 to 15,000 people, may of whom have never seen it before and are just curious. They’ve turned up for a rock concert and they’re getting a bonus motorcycle race.”

The concept at the Buffalo Chip has proven wildly successful.

“The promoter of the Buffalo Chip has told us that since he’s brought the race in, it’s massively boosted his overall attendance,” Lock noted. “So it’s a win all around.”

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WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – Weedsport Speedway will roar to life once again on July 28 for the Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame 100, paying $10,000 to the winner along with a guaranteed starting spot in the NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week Billy Whittaker Cars 200.

The Hall of Fame 100 will mark the second of three stops for the Super DIRTcar Series at Weedsport this year as Erick Rudolph looks to keep his run alive at Weedsport.

Rudolph has won the last two series stops at Weedsport coming in as the defending champion of the Hall of Fame 100, his first big-block win at Weedsport, as well as the winner of the Heroes Remembered 100 on Memorial Day.

Over the course of the last year, nobody has stood on top of Weedsport Speedway’s Victory Hill more than Rudolph in Modified competition.

The third-generation racer added yet another Series victory at Weedsport last October by winning the 358 Modified Series event at The Port during Super DIRT Week.

Rudolph aims to continue that momentum in this year’s Hall of Fame 100, as he looks to battle his way back to the top of the Super DIRTcar Series point standings.

Despite being fast all year long, an up and down campaign has dropped Rudolph to sixth in the series points as of July 17, seeing his lone Weedsport win coupled with two Top 5 finishes and three Top 10 runs in the first six events of the year.

Rudolph will be joined in the Hall of Fame 100 by a long list of Modified contenders hoping to knock him off Victory Hill including Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight, Mat Williamson, Jimmy Phelps, Billy Decker, Peter Bitten, Danny Johnson, Mike Mahaney and more.

The Hall of Fame 100 comes in the middle of a busy stretch of July action for the Super DIRTcar Series which sees six events scheduled across two weeks including stops at Orange County Fair Speedway, Autodrome Drummond and Autodrome Granby as well as Sharon Speedway and Eldora Speedway.

Joining the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds as part of the Hall of Fame 100 will be the DIRTcar Sportsman as well as the Classics on DIRT.

Pit gates will open on July 28 at 4 p.m. with grandstand gates opening at 5 p.m.  Racing will start for the evening at 7 p.m.

Barcelona have made Bayern Munich defender David Alaba their No. 1 target to provide competition for Jordi Alba, with Augsburg's Philipp Max and Real Betis' Junior Firpo being considered as alternatives, various sources have told ESPN FC.

Alaba, 27, offered himself to Barca through his agents several weeks back and is the club's first choice due to his versatility and experience at the top level.

Barca believe he would bring competition for Alba -- who is the only left-back in Ernesto Valverde's squad -- but also like the fact he can play in the middle of the back four after missing out on Matthijs de Ligt to Juventus.

In that sense, they view him fulfilling a similar role to that played by sporting director Eric Abidal during his playing career at Camp Nou, while he could also provide cover for Sergio Busquets in midfield if needed.

Despite Alaba's desire to make the move, negotiations with Bayern will not be easy.

"The player is interested in coming," a source at Barcelona told ESPN FC. "It's a complicated operation, but not an impossible one."

The Austria international has two more years on his deal at Bayern but his intention is to move clubs, even more so since the German champions invested €80 million in Atletico Madrid's versatile defender Lucas Hernandez.

Bayern are keen on Barca's Ousmane Dembele as they look to rebuild their attack following the departures of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

Therefore, with Barca reluctant to sell the Frenchman, they will not make things easy with Alaba. That doubt has led the Catalans to Augsburg's Max, who has been "followed continually" over the last 12 months, sources have told ESPN FC.

Borussia Dortmund are also monitoring his situation and, despite having a lower profile than Alaba or Junior, the 25-year-old defender was linked with Manchester United last summer.

Max, who grew up at the Bayern academy, has similarities with Alba and during the 2017-18 season provided 13 assists. Last season he played some games as a winger and finished the campaign with four goals and four assists.

Junior is a more attainable target. Betis are ready to sell him for less than his €40m release clause, but Barca will push for their first two options before turning to the Spain under-21 international.

Cheaper options have already been explored and rejected. Filipe Luis, without a team after his Atletico contract expired, and Alberto Moreno, who left Liverpool for Villarreal on a free, were both turned down.

Meanwhile, academy graduate Marc Cucurella, another option to provide competition for Alba, has joined Getafe on loan until the end of the season.

The Madrid-based side have an option to buy 60 percent of the defender's right's next summer for €6m. Barca had re-signed him from Eibar on Wednesday for €4m to facilitate the deal.