SPEED SPORT’s Jacob Seelman catches up with Clauson-Marshall Racing driver Zeb Wise, who is in pursuit of his first Indiana Midget Week victory.

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. – Brian France, the former CEO of NASCAR, has pled guilty to the charge of driving while intoxicated stemming from his arrest in August of 2018.

Suffolk County (N.Y.) District Attorney Timothy D. Sini announced the news Friday afternoon.

France will be required to complete 100 hours of community service and undergo alcohol counseling prior to his sentencing date as part of the plea agreement. Should he complete these requirements, France will be able to withdraw his guilty plea and the charge will be reduced to driving while ability impaired.

If he does not complete those requirements, he will be sentenced for driving while intoxicated. France is slated to be sentenced on June 5, 2020 at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court.

France was stopped shortly after 7 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2018 when he failed to stop at a stop sign on Main Street in Sag Harbor, N.Y. The officer who stopped France noticed several signs that he had been drinking, including alcohol on his breath, slurred speech, watery, bloodshot and glassy eyes, and he was unsteady on his feet.

France was then arrested and given a breath test, which showed his blood alcohol level to be .18 percent.

“This case is a reminder for both residents and anyone visiting Suffolk County this summer that it is all of our responsibility to keep our roads safe,” District Attorney Sini said in a statement. “It is not acceptable for anyone to be driving while drunk or on drugs in our community.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Tanner Thorson, who returned to racing earlier this week following months of recovery from a highway accident in March, leads the USAC Indiana Midget Week point standings at the halfway point of the six-race, week-long mini-series.

Thorson picked up his third-career Indiana Midget Week victory in a thriller at Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday night, topping Logan Seavey and Kevin Thomas Jr. in a battle of slide jobs and leading the final five laps of an overtime-extended, 31-lap main event at the quarter-mile dirt oval.

RELATED: Thorson Completes Comeback With Putnamville Score

With a win, a second-place finish and a fifth-place finish in the first three races this week, the 2016 NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series champion carries a 17-point margin over Seavey with three rounds to go at Bloomington Speedway, Lawrenceburg Speedway and Kokomo Speedway, respectively.

However, even though earning the title of Indiana Midget Week champion is Thorson’s ultimate goal, the Minden, Nev., driver told SPEED SPORT he’s not focused on counting points at this juncture.

“Not worrying about the standings is the biggest thing, right now, as far as I’m concerned,” Thorson told SPEED SPORT. “That’s one thing that I told Pete (Willoughby, co-owner) when he called me, was that I wanted to win the Indiana Midget Week points. It’s something I haven’t done yet that I hold at the top of the list of accomplishments and something that I feel is valuable and prestigious to win as a driver.

“It’s just a matter of doing what we do and staying consistent. I don’t think about points and never have,” Thorson added. “When you race in USAC for points, you don’t think about it until the last few races, when it matters and you’re in contention. We’ve got a nice buffer right now, but we’re here to win races. The points will take care of themselves after that.

“We’re going to Bloomington, Lawrenceburg and Kokomo to win. If we do that, we’ll take the title.”

Thorson’s chief adversary, on the other hand, has to think about points and making up as many of them as he can down the stretch. Finishing ahead of the Walker Performance Filtration No. 98 is paramount for Seavey and his No. 67 Mobil 1 team.

“We’re going to have to be really good, near perfect,” noted Seavey. “We’re back a little ways right now, after not a great Gas City, but it’s not something that’s impossible to overcome. We’ll have to make up some ground at Bloomington and Lawrenceburg to have a shot going into Kokomo … but we have a great car and have been running really well lately, so I’m not too worried about it.

“We just have to capitalize as best we can, and hopefully beat that No. 98 these next few nights,” Seavey continued. “I wish we could have kept him from winning and gaining that sky-high confidence, but he’s got it and now we just have to counterattack and try to take that momentum back away.”

Tyler Courtney sits third in Midget Week points, 26 markers in arrears, with Jason McDougal and Shane Golobic completing the top five.

Wednesday night’s Gas City winner, Justin Grant, is eighth in the standings with 150 points.

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Michael Self sped to his third General Tire Pole Award in his last four ARCA Menards Series starts for Friday’s VizCom 200 at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

Self’s fast lap of 37.296 seconds/193.050 mph exceeded Joey Coulter’s track record set in 2012.

Self, not noted for his qualifying prowess, needed to regain some momentum after a tough day at Pocono last week.

“I kind of let my emotions get away from me last week so this feels good,” Self said. “I couldn’t do this without my Venturini Motorsports guys. This wouldn’t happen without them and this one is for them.”

Self has one previous start at Michigan Int’l Speedway, a third-place finish in 2017. Without a lot of experience, he’s relying on crew chief Shannon Rursch and his notebook to keep the car under him throughout tonight’s 100-lap, 200-mile race.

“There isn’t as much track activity here today as previous years,” Self said, “but I don’t have a whole lot of experience here so I am not the best one to ask what to expect. What I do recall is that this track doesn’t change a whole lot from morning to noon to evening and it doesn’t change a lot with added rubber laid down. It’s hard to say how different the track will be but I’ll let Shannon make those calls. I am sure he’ll have us in position to win tonight.”

Self’s Venturini Motorsports teammate Christian Eckes qualified second, followed by Tanner Gray, Ty Majeski and Riley Herbst.

LEXINGTON, N.C. – Kaulig Racing has confirmed A.J. Allmendinger’s NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule.

Allmendinger will return to the race track beginning at Daytona Int’l Speedway on July 5. He will also compete in the Xfinity Series events at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Aug. 10), Road America (Aug. 24) and the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL (Sept. 28) with the No. 10 team.

“It’s going to be a blast to get back behind the wheel and compete for race wins,” Allmendinger said. “I can’t thank Matt Kaulig enough for this opportunity, and to be able to drive at some of my favorite tracks. Kaulig Racing and the No. 10 team have had a great season so far and I’m looking forward to helping them build on their success.”

Sponsorship for each race will be announced at a later date.

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was still upset over the state of officiating in the Stanley Cup playoffs on the day after the team's Game 5 loss to the St. Louis Blues, but he said it's time to pivot to a win-or-go-home game on Sunday.

"Today's a new day. So we're going to move forward and get ready for Game 6. That's what's in front of us," he said at the Bruins' practice facility.

At issue in Game 5 was a missed tripping penalty on Blues center Tyler Bozak that took Boston forward Noel Acciari out of the play -- and into the concussion protocol -- moments before David Perron scored what would be the game-winning goal for the Blues.

Cassidy also was critical of the officials for not penalizing hits he felt crossed the line, and the NHL agreed on at least one of them: Blues forward Ivan Barbashev has a hearing with the Department of Players Safety for his hit on Marcus Johansson. The NHL tells ESPN that there's no supplemental discipline for Bozak, despite belief from Boston loyalists that there was a slew foot on the play.

Cassidy also claimed that the Blues were getting the benefit of the officiating after coach Craig Berube's comments after Game 3, in which he wondered how "the least penalized team in the playoffs" could suddenly give the Bruins 14 power plays in three games in the Stanley Cup Final. Berube denied that was the case after Game 5.

But in his postgame comments, Cassidy went beyond criticism of the on-ice officials in the series and expanded it to include the officiating in the playoffs as a whole, calling its quality a "black eye" for the NHL.

"I think I was pretty honest about it yesterday. My feeling hasn't changed. I feel it was a missed call that impacted the game, unfortunately in a negative way for us. Other than that, we talked about how there's been a few in the postseason, because I'm a fan of the game," Cassidy said.

"For me, it's a privilege and an honor to be working in the National Hockey League and in the Final. I'd rather be talking about -- we're ambassadors of the game, too. We want to grow the game. We're miked up, we're trying to give them access, so I'm all for that. That's what we're trying to do. I'd rather be talking about that than a missed call that affects the game. That's how it was last night."

Cassidy said that he doesn't expect his team to let the blown call linger ahead of Game 6 in St. Louis on Sunday.

"Our play should define us, not the call," he said.

"Let's go back to Toronto [in the first round]. We lost Game 5 at home. There was a review on the [Auston] Matthews goal. Some people felt it was goalie interference, some people didn't. We had to go to Toronto and put that behind us. We went to Columbus [in Round 2] and had one off the netting that ended up in our net. So we played through certain situations, and we have to play through this one. I actually thought we responded fairly well. We got ourselves back in the game, cut the deficit to 2-1 and got a chance to win. But our play has to define us on the ice, not a non-call or a call or whatever."

CINCINNATI -- U.S. international midfielder Christian Pulisic joined up with his teammates on Friday ahead of this month's Gold Cup, and spoke of how excited he is to be back, and also help the Americans defend their title.

Pulisic had been given some extra time off following the Bundesliga season, one that saw former club Borussia Dortmund finish in second place to Bayern Munich. Pulisic also made the rounds in London ahead of his debut season with Premier League side Chelsea FC. On Friday he trained mostly off to the side, though he did participate in a small-sided scrimmage towards the end of practice.

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"I feel great. I'm really excited to be back here with the guys," he said following Friday's session. "I felt good in my first training, my legs feel pretty good. I got a nice rest, but now I'm ready to go."

The U.S. roster contains 10 players with previous Gold Cup experience, including nine who have a winners medal. Given the emphasis on youth that has characterized most U.S. sides over the last 18 months, Pulisic is pleased to see a veteran presence in the team.

"It's nice to have some guys like Michael [Bradley] and Jozy [Altidore] here again," he said. "It's cool to mix them in. I think it's a good balance. I think it's important. It's going to help the team moving forward, especially in this tournament."

The U.S. is coming off a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Jamaica in a Gold Cup tune-up last Wednesday, though the match saw manager Gregg Berhalter experiment with personnel and tactics. The Americans will be hoping to deliver a sharper performance against Venezuela on Sunday.

"[Venezuela] is going to be a good opponent that's going to test us, and just prepare us, and help us learn and be ready for the Gold Cup," Pulisic said.

The U.S. enters the 2019 edition of the Gold Cup among the favorites, but is also still smarting from its failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. When asked if the emphasis would be on building for the future or winning the tournament, Pulisic said he wants both.

"We want to build, we want to learn, and continue to grow within this team," he said. "But when it comes down to it, it's a tournament, and everyone wants to win. I would love to win it."

The group stage will include a match against Trinidad & Tobago, the team whose 2-1 win over the U.S. eliminated the Americans from World Cup qualifying.

"It's not going to change anything. Obviously, I want some revenge, I want to beat them," said Pulisic. "The team is going to go out and give it everything. We want to win that game."