Willstrop fights back to post victory against Pilley
By ELLIE MAWSON

James Willstrop, Declan James, Joel Makin, Chris Simpson, Daryl Selby and Millie Tomlinson all delivered for Britain on the opening day of action at the 2019 DPD Open Squash in Eindhoven.

As packages whizzed past at the DPD Parcels HQ, Dutch No.1 Milou van der Heijden was unable to post a home win as she slipped to defeat against England’s Tomlinson in round one.

World No.31 van der Heijden fell in front of her home crowd on day one of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament as she succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of World No.22 Tomlinson inside the brand new DPD headquarters in Eindhoven.

The Englishwoman started strongly and never let up to take the first two-games. A good spell from van der Heijden in the third saw the Dutch player rattle off a flurry of points to pull a game back, however, it was not enough to prevent Tomlinson from booking her place in the second round, where she will now face Egypt’s World No.1 Raneem El Welily.

“I’m relieved,” said 26-year-old Tomlinson following her victory. “Milou had a good win against me in San Francisco a few months ago, so it was good to come out here and get my revenge.

“I tried to increase the pace a bit tonight, she caught me out a lot with her boast last time, so I was prepared for that today.”

Van der Heijden’s compatriot in the women’s draw Tessa ter Sluis was also unable to make it a day to remember for the home crowd as she was defeated in straight-games by Egypt’s Yathreb Adel, who will now face France’s World No.4 Camille Serme in the next round.

Meanwhile, there was joy for eight-time World Champion Nicol David, who resides in Amsterdam, after she overcame Egypt’s World Junior Champion Rowan Elaraby in four games to set up a mouthwatering second-round tie against reigning World Champion Nour El Sherbini.

“I knew coming in here I had to be solid and in the second game when I let my guard down, she took it,” said former World No.1 David following her win. “I knew what I had to do in the third and fourth and I was very pleased with my focus. I’m very pleased to be playing in front of a Dutch crown and back in Holland again.”

Elsewhere in the women’s draw, former World No.1 Rachael Grinham rolled back the years as she prevailed against America’s Olivia Blatchford Clyne in a five-game thriller on the sidecourts at Squash Time in Eindhoven.

The 42-year-old took a two-game lead, before Blatchford Clyne battled back to draw level. However, it was the Australian who was able to close out the victory to complete an 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6 win in 45 minutes and will now face England’s No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry in the next round.

“Nowadays, I just try to enjoy my squash as much as I can, because the more I’m relaxed, the more I play well,” said former World Champion Grinham.

“I always try and tell myself not to go for too much, but in the fifth, I told myself that I had to make her work hard for it and win the points instead of me giving them away.”

She will be joined in the second round by Canada’s Hollie Naughton after she upset higher seeded opponent Emily Whitlock to advance at the tournament.

The Canadian enjoyed a five-game battle with the Englishwoman to secure a second-round berth where she will face England’s former World No.1 Laura Massaro.

In the men’s draw, Wales’ Joel Makin ended Dutch hopes as he put wildcard Roshan Bharos to the sword in straight-games.

The Welshman was comfortable on court to dispatch the Dutch hopeful by an 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 scoreline and will now face Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy for a place in the quarter-finals.

“Me and Roshan played a bit of juniors together,” said the 24-year-old Welshman. “I know Roshan because he trains in Bristol, which isn’t too far away from me. I know he’s working hard there and trying to improve his game.

“He’s got some nice skills, so hopefully those will give him the points to go up a little bit more now.”

Meanwhile, England’s former World No.1 James Willstrop battled back from the brink of defeat against Australia’s Cameron Pilley to book his place in the second round.

The experienced duo had faced each other seven times in the past on the PSA Tour, with Willstrop claiming all of those wins, however, it looked as though Pilley was finally going to break that run when he went 2-1 up. Willstrop dug in deep though and showed his resilience to produce a masterclass in the fifth game and take a 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 victory.

Willstrop will now face World No.1 and reigning World Champion Ali Farag in the next round.

“It was very hard against Cameron,” said the Commonwealth Games Gold medallist. “I never know where he is going to put the ball, there is so much hold and deception. He’s really hard to play against and we have been playing each other for years.

“The energy levels will need to be topped up after the first two days. It’s a great venue, great new tournament and the atmosphere is good tonight and I’m looking forward to playing Ali [Farag] and hopefully it will be another good atmosphere.”

Willstrop’s compatriot Declan James also enjoyed a strong performance in round one, overcoming Egyptian World Junior Champion Mostafa Asal in a comfortable straight-games victory.

The tall Englishman played with maturity to avenge his defeat to the teenager at December’s Black Ball Open and will now face Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I tried to leave emotions out of it,” said James following his victory. “I had a very professional attitude and I’m happy with the level of squash I played.

“I’m playing Abouelghar tomorrow and I can’t wait. The last time we played it was a hard 3-2 in Chicago. I can’t wait to be back on the glass court having a huge battle because I feel that’s where I belong now.”

He will be joined by Daryl Selby in round two after he overcame France’s Lucas Serme in a gruelling 80-minute encounter, while George Parker was unable to make it a clean sweep for the English after he fell to defeat at the hands of Germany’s Raphael Kandra.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Mazen Hesham also claimed an important victory, overcaming experienced Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet, to set up a second-round clash against Germany’s World No.5 Simon Rösner.

The talented Egyptian dominated on court in the opening exchanges against Castagnet to take a 2-0 lead, before the Frenchman began to battle back in the third to reduce the deficit. However, Hesham was able to remain mentally strong to close out the victory by an 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 scoreline.

“I think playing Castagnet you can never give him an inch to get back into the match because he will just keep on fighting and fighting,” said the Egyptian following his round one win.

“If you have watched me recently then I am playing so much better than the last few months. I’m getting back better and better slowly and hopefully I can keep going up.”

The second round takes place on Wednesday April 10 at 12 noon local time (UTC+2) and the action will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan). 

DPD Open Squash, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Men’s Round One:
James Willstrop (ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 3-2: 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 (65m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-2: 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 (80m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Mostafa Asal (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 (38m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (57m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-2: 9-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5 (78m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-3 (40m)
Joel Makin (WAL) bt [WC] Roshan Bharos (NED) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (42m)
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-1: 14-12, 15-13, 7-11, 11-7 (70m)

Women’s Round One:
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 3-1: 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6 (46m)
Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-1: 12-10, 6-11, 11-7, 11-8 (33m)
Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) 3-2: 11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 8-11, 11-6 (45m)
Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Julianne Courtice (ENG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (54m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [WC] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-4 (17m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Emily Whitlock (ENG) 3-2: 13-11, 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9 (56m)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt Coline Aumard (FRA) 3-1: 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6 (45m)
Nicol David (MAS) bt Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (37m)

Men’s Round Two (Top half) April 10:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v James Willstrop (ENG)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [5] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
[7] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Declan James (ENG)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [4] Simon Rösner (GER)

Men’s Round Two (Bottom half) April 11:
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
Raphael Kandra (GER) v [6] Paul Coll (NZL)
[8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Joel Makin (WAL)
Chris Simpson (ENG) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Women’s Round Two (Top half) April 10:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [7] Alison Waters (ENG)
[5] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v Rachael Grinham (AUS)
Nele Gilis (BEL) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)

Women’s Round Two (Bottom half) April 11:
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v Yathreb Adel (EGY)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [6] Laura Massaro (ENG)
[8] Tesni Evans (WAL) v Mariam Metwally (EGY)
Nicol David (MAS) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)

Pictures courtesy of PSA

England name strong squad for Edgbaston Priory in May
By DONNA HELMER

England National Coach David Campion has named his nine-strong squad which will head to the European Men’s and Women’s Team Squash Championships at Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham from 1-4 May.

The squad has pedigree aplenty with 16 Commonwealth medals between them, with all but one competing in last year’s European Team Championships which saw England’s men and women claim silver and gold respectively.

England’s Men: Declan James, James Willstrop, Tom Richards, Daryl Selby and Adrian Waller.

England’s Women: Sarah-Jane Perry, Laura Massaro, Alison Waters and Victoria Lust.

Headlined by England No.1 Declan James, and featuring James Willstrop, who will be appearing in his 16th championships, England’s men will be bidding to claim the title they have won 40 out of 46 times since the tournament’s inception in 1973.

National Coach David Campion said: “Our men’s team is strong in all positions which makes us a very difficult team to get past. France and Germany are the obvious threats, however I’m confident the boys will be able to reach for that little bit extra as they always do when they pull on the England shirt.

“It’s an honour for Declan to lead out the team for the first time at these championships as England’s No.1 player.”

Boasting four female players inside the world top 15, and headlined by Commonwealth Games Silver medallist Sarah-Jane Perry, England’s women, 40-time European champions, will be striving to clinch their ninth consecutive title.

Commenting on the women’s team, Campion said: “England’s women are a formidable force in Europe, and are strong favourites once again to retain the title.

“Sarah-Jane has equalled her highest ever ranking of six, despite a recent setback following elbow surgery, and Victoria has showed great form to equal her highest ever ranking of 13 to complete the team alongside England legends Laura Massaro and Alison Waters.”

Tickets for the championships are available to purchase via eventbrite 

Pictures courtesy of  England Squash and PSA

Headline
By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Asian Bureau Editor

The Macau Squash Open 2019 opened today with a trio of upsets in the men’s event, while the seeds in the women’s all through to the next round. There was also no luck for both the wildcards in the men’s and women’s events, but it was not without any drama.

In the opening match of the afternoon, New Zealand’s Amanda Landers-Murphy survived a tough opener against wild card Chan Sin Yuk of Hong Kong. While her opponent was more than 200 places above her in the world ranking, Chan definitely did not show any nerves. The 2019 British Junior Open runner-up took a commanding two-game lead thanks to strong finishes in both games before Landers-Murphy settled to level at two-a piece.

The decider was a cracker with both players trading turns to take the lead and it was the younger Chan who got to match ball at 10-8 after a stroke was given in her favour. But the Kiwi fought back gallantly to take the next four points to deny the youngster perhaps the biggest win of her career.

“I’m very happy to get the win today. It was a tough match and going down 2-0, I had to dig very deep to sort of come back. She’s a great player, so I’m just happy to get through it,” said the left handed Landers-Murphy.

Macau’s wild card Liu Kwai Chi did not quite have the same luck as she was outplayed by Japanese Satomi Watanabe in straight games in the quickest game of the day.

Hong Kong quartet Vanessa Chu, Tong Tsz-Wing, Ho Tze-Lok and Liu Tsz-Ling all booked their places into the next round in similar fashion, winning in straight games around the half hour mark. Chu beat Indian teenager Sunayna Kuruvilla, Tong beat Egyptian Salma Youssef, Ho took out Aussie Jessica Turnbull, while Liu won the all-Hong Kong battle against Lee Ka Yi.

It was also a good day in the office for the Malaysian camp as both their women were through to the last sixteen. Former world number 5 Low Wee Wern, who is competing here for the first time, was tested extensively in the first two games of the match against Australia’s Sarah Cardwell. After splitting the first two games, Low went into overdrive and powered through the next two games to secure her place against second seed Salma Hany.

Low’s compatriot, Rachel Arnold, meanwhile, gave a no nonsense display as the mercilessly took out England’s Rachael Chadwick for the loss of just 5 points in under 20 minutes.

In the men’s event, the opening match was cut short after 2017 semi-finalist and joint-ninth seed Omar Abdel Meguid retired while trailing 1-2 and 3-6 in the fourth game against Pakistan’s sole representative Shahjahan Khan. The win earned the US-based Khan a crack against defending champion Yip Tsz Fung tomorrow.

In a battle of the youngsters, 2016 World Junior champion Ng Eain Yow overcame a tough customer in France’s Victor Crouin, the 2017 World Junior runner-up. While he may not have played his best squash today, the higher ranked Malaysian won the bigger points and was able to pull through in four competitive games.

“I was a little rushed in the third game and I made many mistakes. Mentally, I’ve also never beaten a French player, so I was definitely a little nervous on court today. But I felt that I got that out of my system in the fourth. It’s always tough to get past the first round and yes, I will be more comfortable going tomorrow,” a relieved Ng said after.

Fellow Malaysia Ivan Yuen also advanced into the next round after winning easily against local wild card Manuel Gassmann in just over 20 minutes. Yuen will next face fellow Malaysian Nafiizwan Adnan, who was a semi-finalist here in 2016.

France also had two men advance today after Auguste Dussourd upset the seeding to take out Welsh veteran Peter Creed in the longest match of the day. He twice had to come back from a game down before winning in 75 minutes. Baptista Masotti then made it 2-for-2 for France after taking out Hong Kong’s Henry Leung 3-1.

The other upset of the day was from Swiss Dimitri Steinmann, who beat Egyptian Mazen Gamal in a see saw match. After taking the first two games, the Swiss allowed Gamal to make a comeback to draw level on the tie break in the fourth. However, Steinmann wasn’t about to let Gamal spoil his party as he squeezes through the fifth to book his place against Omar Mosaad.

In the top and bottom ends of the draw, Spanish players had contrasting fortunes. At the top, Edmon Lopez was victorious but was made to sweat by wild card Lau Tsz Kwan of Hong Kong for nearly an hour. Lau, winner of the PSA5 HK Challenge Cup last month, battled hard in the first three games, but was a spent force in the fourth.

At the bottom, India’s Mahesh Magaonkar booked his place against fellow-countryman Saurav Ghosal after a hard fought win over another Spanish, Bernat Jaume.
 

FIRST ROUND

Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt Liu Kwai Chi (MAC) 11-4, 11-1, 11-4 (14m)
Vanessa Chu (HKG) bt Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (25m)
Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt Lee Ka Yi (HKG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 (24m)
Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) 8-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10 (46m)
Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) bt Salma Youssef (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (EGY)
Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Rachael Chadwick (ENG) 11-3, 11-1, 11-1 (17m)
Ho Tze-Lok (HKG) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-5, 11-9, 13-11 (30m)
Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 12-10, 7-11, 11-2, 11-6 (38m)

Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt Lau Tsz Kwan (HKG) 11-9, 13-11, 11-13, 11-4 (58m)
Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Manuel Gassmann (MAC) 11-2, 11-3, 11-4 (21m)
Auguste Dussourd (FRA) bt Peter Creed (WAL) 8-11, 11-1, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7 (75m)
Shahjahan Khan (PAK) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 6-3 rtd (41m)
Ng Eain Yow (MAS) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7 (49m)
Baptista Masotti (FRA) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8 (47m)
Mahesh Magaonkar (IND) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 (65m)

Pictures courtesy of Macau Squash Association

Sale Sharks lock Bryn Evans has agreed a one-year contract extension to keep him at the AJ Bell Stadium until 2020.

The 34-year-old twice-capped All Black joined Sale from French club Biarritz in 2015 and recently made his 100th appearance for the club.

Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond said: "Bryn's done a fantastic job since arriving four years ago.

"He has a tremendous pedigree, is a great organiser, and we're glad that he'll be with us for an extra year."

Rugby Australia has described an Israel Folau social media post, in which the full-back says "hell awaits" gay people, as "unacceptable".

Folau, 30, escaped punishment for similar comments last year, with the governing body saying it accepted - but did not support - his "position".

On Wednesday, he posted on Instagram that "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters" should "repent" because "only Jesus saves", and made similar remarks on Twitter.

He sent a tweet criticising the Tasmanian parliament, which has become the first Australian state to make it legally optional to list gender on birth certificates.

In a statement, Rugby Australia said the post "does not represent the values of the sport and is disrespectful to members of the rugby community", adding that its integrity unit had been "engaged on the matter".

Folau's posts were made exactly one year after he met rugby chiefs to limit his use of social media.

He was widely criticised for his anti-gay posts in April 2018 and was also involved in a disagreement with the national team in 2017 after saying that he was opposed to same-sex marriage.

Folau signed a four-year deal with Super Rugby side Waratahs in March.

SALEM, Ind. – Last September, Michael Self made his first career ARCA Menards Series start at Salem Speedway, hoping to add a short-track victory to his series resume.

Self had started the season with a win at the 2.5-mile Daytona Int’l Speedway and followed it with a win at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway, cementing his reputation as a superspeedway specialist.

But Self had found success on short tracks in his career as well. He’s an eight-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and five of those wins came on tight bullrings under a mile in length.

Although he’s found victory lane plenty of times on short tracks, none of them were anything like Salem. The ultra-high-banked, ultra-fast half-mile is one of the most daunting and demanding tracks in America.

Its weathered surface and a groove that requires the bravest of the brave to run inches off the unforgiving concrete walls to be fast can intimidate even seasoned veterans.

Self qualified third and ran up front throughout the early stages of the race. As the race’s middle stages wore on, however, Self made contact with pole sitter Zane Smith on a chaotic restart that resulted in Smith spinning into the inside wall down the backstretch.

Some 30 laps later, Smith crossed paths with Self on the racetrack again. The contact resulted in a hard crash for Self, who was running third at the time, ending his chances at his first ARCA short track win.

Now, Self returns to Salem hoping for this victory he missed out on.

“What happened last year at Salem was obviously disappointing, but that’s something I’ve moved on from,” Self said. “That’s got to stay in the past, and as of now, I’m looking forward to getting back to Salem and trying to pick up from where we were going to have a good night last fall.”

Self returns to Salem with some unfinished business on his plate, but scoring his first ARCA Menards Series short track win isn’t one of those boxes that needs to be checked off.

Self led 68 laps on his way to the win in the first short track race of 2019 at Five Flags Speedway. He narrowly missed his first short track pole, too, coming up just .002 seconds short in qualifying.

“Pensacola was such an awesome night for the No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants team,” said Self. “We had a really fast car all day, and had a little luck go our way in the race and were able to bring home the checkered flag, and the first ARCA short track win of my career which was a huge confidence boost.

“I love the way the (No.) 25 team is clicking and the relationship I’m building with (crew chief) Shannon Rursch,” he added. “I think we’ll continue to learn more about each other and I know I can have confidence in his set-ups, so it’s exciting to go to the race track right now.”

The win at Five Flags came after a disappointing 31st-place finish at Daytona, the result of an early-race crash that left his car seriously damaged. Self’s win moved him to fifth in the series championship standings, 145 points behind his Venturini Motorsports teammate Christian Eckes, who maintains the championship lead.

Self’s short track expertise and superspeedway experience, combined with Eckes’ relative lack of superspeedway experience, leaves the Salt Lake City, Utah native confident he can close the points gap and contend for the series championship.

“These short track races aren’t necessarily the ones that were circled on my calendar as far as races I feel I can capitalize on, but Pensacola helped lift that mindset a bit,” he explained. “We just need to do our best job as a team to make the most of these short track races before we get to the summer stretch of speedway races and see if we can close the points gap.”

LONG BEACH, Calif. – CrowdStrike will join Harding Steinbrenner Racing for the fourth race on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule, this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The cybersecurity technology company is a leader in cloud-delivered endpoint protection based in Sunnyvale, Calif., and will serve as an associate sponsor of the No. 88 Honda-powered Indy car this weekend at the 1.968-mile temporary street course.

“Everyone at Harding Steinbrenner Racing is excited that CrowdStrike will join us for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach,” said team co-owner George Michael Steinbrenner IV. “They are a strong competitor in the growingly important realm of cyber security, and they share our passion for motor racing.”

“We are very much looking forward to this weekend with such a well-known brand on board for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach,” added team co-owner Mike Harding. “CrowdStrike is a perfect fit for Harding Steinbrenner Racing, and I hope we can bring them to victory lane this weekend.”

The Herta family and CrowdStrike already have a winning history together. Colton Herta and his father, Bryan, teamed with CrowdStrike CEO and co-founder George Kurtz in a TCR class-winning effort for Bryan Herta Autosport in last year’s California 8 Hours round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

“I’ve known Colton for some time and had the opportunity to share the top step of the winners’ podium with him and Bryan after our class win at last year’s California 8 Hours race,” Kurtz said. “He’s young, but Colton is already a world-class driver, as shown by his championships and successes the last two years.

“He obviously has a bright future ahead, and CrowdStrike is pleased to support his race in Long Beach fresh after his victory in Austin.”

PELETIER, N.C. – Brian Sullivan has been a contender each time he has competed in the INEX Legends division at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway.

Now, he’s hoping his first win can come on Saturday afternoon in the Spring Thaw presented by Moore’s Old-Tyme Barbeque Chicken & Seafood and Battlefield Tire.

Sullivan, 37, returned to Legends competition last year after not competing in the cars in over a decade and found speed right away. The Holly Springs, N.C. native went on to finish second twice in 2018 and began this season with a third-place finish on March 30.

“I’m really excited about how fast I was able to get back up to speed in Legends,” Sullivan said. “After 15 years of not driving a Legend Car and nine years of not driving any race cars, I was a little concerned I would not be able to keep up. Thankfully, Dustin Tyson at Riverside Auto Group had purchased a car and needed a driver so I was kind of in the right place at the right time.

“I really can’t say enough about those guys. They’ve given me great equipment to work with.”

Sullivan has been a contender each time he’s raced at Carteret County Speedway. He has led laps and come close to winning races but has had some tough luck – including a blown motor while leading a race last summer.

Sullivan, however, does not believe in luck.

“I’m not real sure I believe in luck,” Sullivan stated. “I believe that, by putting the best prepared car on the track, the wins will happen. I just need to keep working hard and learn what it is going to take to get the car to stay fast for all 35 laps.

“Once that first win comes, then I believe we are going to be hard to beat.”

Sullivan was involved in a thrilling four-way battle for the win on March 30 with eventual winner Brenton Irving, runner-up Zack Brown and fourth place finisher Emily Day.

Irving won the race, while Brown and Sullivan were able to pass Day on a late-race restart.

“Last race, we had a bad restart and fell back,” Sullivan explained. “I basically overdrove the car to get back in the lead but the right rear tire got too hot and we fell all the way back to fifth. I had to take it easy for a few laps and get back in a rhythm. Had a little trouble getting past fourth-place finish cleanly and then we had a caution coming to a green-white-checkered. I felt like I still had a shot.”

Sullivan and Brown frantically battled for the runner-up spot on the final two laps of the race, which resulted in both drivers spinning on the frontstretch coming to the checkered flag.

“Coming to the green, [Irving] and [Day] were rubbing tires down the backstretch and then [Day] and [Brown] got together getting into turn one. Coming to the white flag, I was in third behind Zack and I knew he was a little loose,” Sullivan said. “I had a really good run down the backstretch and felt like I could possibly set him up coming out of turn four to the checkered. I managed to get a good run through the center again and, as I turned down off of turn four, I saw him get loose again. I lifted to stay off of him and it looked as if he would save it, then he snapped hard left.

“Luckily, when we made contact, we were sliding across the line and my bumper hit right in the side of his nerf bars and neither car took substantial damage and we both stayed on the podium.”

After a strong start to the season, Sullivan is now setting his sights on victory lane at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway.

The INEX Legends division will be in action for 30 laps in Saturday afternoon’s Spring Thaw.

When Danny Smith won the United Sprint Car Series season opener at Florida’s Hendry County Motorsports Park in late January, he took one goal off his plate almost before the season began.

Smith has now won at least one feature for 44 consecutive seasons, a record few can match. And while it might not have been an outlaw-quality field, the fact Northeast power Davie Franek and Tony Stewart rounded out the podium, showed Smith still has game.

Following the win, Smith ran 410 and 360 shows all over Florida, waiting for the weather up north to improve so he could go to his usual Midwest haunts.

“I keep going because it’s my passion,” Smith said. “I’ve never had a real job and I can’t see starting one soon. My wife, who’s a nurse, told me that if I kept the race car going, she’d keep the house going. I’m 62 now, so I take it a year at a time, but if I stay healthy who knows how long I’ll keep racing.”

Hall of Famer Jack Hewitt says he could have predicted Smith’s long career before he even started.