FULLERTON, Calif. — Gene Romero, the 1970 AMA Grand National champion and the 1975 Daytona 200 winner, died May 12. He was 71 years old.

The California native was a star motorcycle racer, competing for 16 years in AMA competition. In addition to the 1970 AMA Grand National title, he earned 12 AMA national event victories during his career and was voted the 1970 AMA Most Popular Rider of the Year Award.

Best known as a flat-track racer, Romero’s biggest victory of his lengthy career came in 1975 when he won the Daytona 200 at Daytona Int’l Speedway. Riding a factory Yamaha, it was his only victory in the legendary motorcycle event in 14 attempts.

Romero was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

CONCORD, N.C. – Icons of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s past, present and future were on display in a special event on Thursday at the speedway’s avenue of flags.

In honor of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s 60th season, speedway officials unveiled a commemorative historical marker that will stay beside the avenue of flags.

Additionally, officials revealed a 1960 Buick Invicta car like the one used for promotional purposes entering the inaugural Coca-Cola 600 in 1960 – and Richard Childress Racing, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year – showed off one of its most spectacular paint schemes.

RCR Chairman and CEO Richard Childress joined drivers Austin Dillon and Daniel Hemric as well as Speedway Motorsports, Inc. President and CEO Marcus Smith and Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter in the festivities. Dillon and Childress revealed the striking, red-and-black No. 3 Coke Zero Sugar car that Dillon will drive in the 60th Coca-Cola 600 on May 26.

“One of the things that I tell people I learned from my dad (founder O. Bruton Smith) is that the vision he had for Charlotte Motor Speedway is far beyond what I or most NASCAR people thought Charlotte Motor Speedway could be,” Smith said. “That vision which started in 1959 and emerged into what it is today – it’s certainly pretty cool and very impressive.”

Childress, who first visited the speedway in 1967, has celebrated six Coca-Cola 600 wins with Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick and Dillon, his oldest grandson.

“Charlotte Motor Speedway has meant so much to this area and all over the world,” Childress said. “For us to win (the Coca-Cola 600) six times has been great, but the thing they’ve done here at Charlotte is bring NASCAR to a whole new level with the racing, the fans and the things they’ve brought. There’s always something special here at Charlotte.”

Dillon’s victory in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 – his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win – ranks No. 1 on his and Childress’ list.

“Winning the Coke 600, there was nothing like it,” Dillon said. “Being tied with Coca-Cola since the beginning of my Cup Series career and getting to represent them with a full Coke Zero sugar paint-out on our car is special. … I can’t wait for the 600. It’s my favorite weekend of the year.”

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – The race for the Priority Aviation $20,000 sponsorship for Nationals week in August at Knoxville is wide open.

The opportunity benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum for a $20,000 sponsorship from Priority Aviation is available to any driver competing at Knoxville in August at either the 360 Nationals or 410 Nationals.

The competition will continue until a winner is announced on July 31. All funds collected go towards paying off the remaining construction costs of the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower adjacent to the museum.

“We want to thank the drivers who have participated thus far, but we also want to let all drivers and fans of any driver know that we haven’t had a team break away from the pack yet,” said National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Executive Director Bob Baker. “There are no leads here that are insurmountable by any stretch of the imagination. Contact us to learn more, or grab some brochures for more information on memberships or donations so you can take advantage of this great opportunity from Priority Aviation.”

Currently, 17 drivers have taken advantage of the contest.  2018 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Lance Dewease leads the current standings ahead of Wisconsin’s Bill Balog, Iowa’s McKenna Haase, Tennessee’s Sammy Swindell, Oregon’s Tanner Holmes, Iowa’s Carson McCarl, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild, Connecticut’s David Gravel, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild, Wisconsin’s Scott Thiel, Iowa’s Austin McCarl, Indiana’s Parker Price-Miller, Minnesota’s Craig Dollansky, South Dakota’s Clint Garner, California’s Mason Daniel, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah and Iowa’s Joe Beaver.

All that sprint car teams need to do is have their prospective members or donors visit www.SprintCarStuff.com and order a membership there, or contact the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and request membership packets or make a donation.  If ordering online, specify your driver or race team in the notes section on the final page.

The museum can ship membership and donation information out for the drivers and teams to pass out at their races throughout the season.  The driver or team with the highest amount of donations returned to the museum before July 31, will receive the $20,000 sponsorship funding.

All funds collected will go towards paying off remaining construction costs on the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower. Memberships start at $25 per year, but any donation amount will be accepted.

JOLIET, Ill. — Drag racing legend Shirley Muldowney will attend the Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway on May 31–June 2 to serve as the event’s honorary Grand Marshal.

Muldowney will appear throughout the weekend at various autograph sessions and Championship Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies.

“We are thrilled to host one of the NHRA’s most legendary drivers and a true pioneer for women in the industry at this year’s Route 66 NHRA Nationals,” said Route 66 Raceway President Scott Paddock. “The rich and diverse history of the NHRA has been personified throughout Shirley’s storied career and classifies her as one of the sport’s most prestigious, and we are beyond excited to feature her as the weekend’s Grand Marshal this year.”

Muldowney, named the fifth-best driver in sport history by the NHRA in 2001, made a career of outclassing most of the men in her field with 18 NHRA national event wins, the first coming in 1976, which was the first victory by a woman at a NHRA national event.

The ascent to legendary status continued when she won the 1977 Top Fuel championship, becoming the first woman in history to claim drag racing’s elite crown. She won the same title in 1980, making her the first driver, male or female, to capture the championship twice in a career.

Muldowney also won the AHRA championship in 1981, and followed that up with her third Top Fuel championship in 1982, while simultaneously being awarded the Top Fuel Driver of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Muldowney’s appearance coincides well with a #Route66Nats exhibition by the group Car Chix. Route 66 Raceway will provide the platform for a match made up of female racers by acting as the event’s Grand Marshal.

Lea Ochs will go head-to-head with Georgina Buckley, pitting turbo against nitrous. Ochs was named one of Drag Illustrated Hottest Women in Motorsports in 2019 and Buckley was the first and continues to be the only woman to win a NHRA Wally on drag radial tires. With Muldowney steering this next generation of female racers, their grudge matches are sure to entertain fans of all ages.

MONTEREY, Calif. – Yamaha’s longstanding history with motorcycle road racing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca continues with a sponsorship that offers fans exclusive ticket packages to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship GEICO Motorcycle U.S. Round with MotoAmerica on July 12-14.

The Yamaha Special includes a three-day admission and paddock ticket, open grandstand seats, preferred motorcycle parking, and swag bag. Fans can get the three-day special offer by following this link and using Promo Code YAMAHA1.

The presence of the blue iconic brand at the event extends toincludes the Yamaha display area in the Hagerty Marketplace. Yamaha street motorcycle demo rides will be conducted throughout the weekend on select models,. and Tthe Yamaha display will showcase current and new models. Race fans will also have an opportunity to meet Yamaha bLU cRU riders will be scheduled forduring autograph sessions scheduled to take place throughout the weekend.

Yamaha has more total professional wins at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca than any other motorcycle manufacturer (31) since the first AMA race held at the Monterey circuit took place in 1972. The list of winners includes legendary riders such as Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Mike Baldwin. Most recently, Yamaha factory rider Cameron Beaubier doubled up in MotoAmerica’s EBC Brakes Superbike category with two wins at last year’s event.

“Yamaha’s long-standing relationship with WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has been a point of pride for our company, and we are very pleased to continue our sponsor partnership,” said Steve Nessl, Motorsports Marketing Manager for Yamaha. “We look forward to connecting with race fans and our customers during the World Superbike and MotoAmerica weekend in July through a number of activities we’ll be conducting, which will surely be complemented by exciting racing action on the legendary Laguna Seca course.”

The Yamaha factory squad will give fans top riders to cheer in the international and domestic Superbike series. Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark – both winners in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in 2018 – will each be riding a Yamaha YZF- R1 for the Pata Yamaha Official WSBK Team. In MotoAmerica, three-time Superbike champion Cameron Beaubier and two-time MotoAmerica Supersport champion Garrett Gerloff will be riding similar Yamaha YZF -R1 machines for Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing. Customer Yamaha bLU cRU supported teams will be racing in each series as well.

The Blues could be without defenseman Vince Dunn for Game 4 of their Western Conference finals series against the Sharks on Friday.

The team says the defenseman is day-to-day with an upper-body injury after he left in the first period of Wednesday's Game 3 when he was hit in the face by a Brenden Dillon shot. He didn't return to the game, a 5-4 Blues loss.

The 22-year-old Dunn had 12 goals and 23 assists during the regular season. He's added two goals and five assists in the playoffs.

"Obviously it's tough," St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko said, according to NHL.com. "He's been dynamite for us all season and all playoff long. It's tough to see (Dunn) go down, but just us five, we continued to manage our time and we have quick shifts, short shifts and just play hard and continue to stay in the game that way."

Blues coach Craig Berube said Carl Gunnarsson is able to play if Dunn can't. Gunnarsson has been out since suffering a lower-body injury in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars in the last round.

The Sharks lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Every team in the Central Division has been to the playoffs within the past few seasons, and it hasn't allowed for especially high draft picks. That's why the Central is one of the shallower divisions when it comes to high-end prospects, despite being home to No. 1 NHL-drafted prospect and early 2019-20 Calder Trophy favorite Cale Makar.

Most of the teams in this division aren't considered rebuilding projects, though one wonders if the Wild will start to look at retooling a bit more in the coming years. Chicago and Colorado have top-five picks this June too. It will be interesting to see how things shake out after the 2019 draft, but right now, most of these teams don't rank very high among NHL farm systems.

Note: "A" prospects have higher potential to be impact NHL players, and "B" prospects are more likely to be everyday players and contributors on NHL rosters, based on what I've seen to date.

Chicago Blackhawks

A prospect: Adam Boqvist
B prospects: Ian Mitchell, Nicolas Beaudin, MacKenzie Entwistle, Philipp Kurashev, Tim Soderlund, Artur Kayumov and Dominik Kubalik

The Blackhawks' prospect pool remains a little thin, especially after Henri Jokiharju graduated this season, but they have high-end defensive prospects led by the offensively elite Boqvist. However, he needs to round out his defensive game before he can be an NHL defenseman. Mitchell opted to return to Denver for next season but very much should be viewed as a future NHLer. Beaudin had a strong season in the QMJHL, in which he showcased a bit more maturity in his game.

Where Chicago is lacking is elite forward prospects. Entwistle might have the most upside of any in its system currently, while others such as Kurashev, Soderlund, Kayumov, Kubalik, Andrei Altybarmakian, Niklas Nordgren, Brandon Hagel and Evan Barrett are among those who could take steps toward the NHL in the next few years.

Chicago could make a big splash with its No. 3 pick, but the decision isn't an easy one. Do the Blackhawks keep loading up with defense by adding Bowen Byram, or do they select from one of five high-end forwards who seem to make sense at No. 3? Whomever they pick likely becomes the team's No. 1 prospect.

Breakout prospect: Nicolas Beaudin

Colorado Avalanche

The Pacific Division was wild in 2018-19, and it's looking like that's not going to change next season. Calgary, Vegas and San Jose should each continue as contenders, with the Canucks in a sort of limbo right behind them.

There are a lot of unique prospects in this division, and with the Kings and Ducks both holding top-10 picks, there's going to be more talent added soon. There are so many veteran players on these rosters, but many of them are about to get a heavy dose of youth. Let's have a look at which young players might be on the way soon.

Note: "A" prospects have higher potential to be impact NHL players, and "B" prospects are more likely to be everyday players and contributors on NHL rosters, based on what I've seen to date.

Anaheim Ducks

A prospect: Sam Steel
B prospects: Maxime Comtois, Isac Lundestrom, Antoine Morand, Lukas Dostal and Benoit-Olivier Groulx

The Ducks had a few top prospects graduate last season, including Troy Terry and Max Jones. They should have a few more graduate next season, namely Steel and Comtois. Steel needed the extra AHL time this season, and I thought he progressed as the season went on. Comtois got sent back to junior and absolutely dominated the QMJHL while also captaining Canada at the World Juniors. They both should be in the mix for a full-time role next season.

Beyond those guys, I still have a lot of time for Lundestrom, though he had an underwhelming season. Morand really popped this season, playing with enough grit to show why he'd fit in with this particular Ducks group. It was also a really strong season for Groulx, who showed some more offensive prowess while maintaining strong two-way play for Halifax. Additionally, Dostal just signed a contract with the Ducks after a strong season split between Finland and the Czech Republic in the pro ranks. He's a competitive, athletic goalie.

The Ducks have been a sneaky-good drafting team and have some layers to their system. They also have the No. 9 pick, which should allow them to land an impact prospect in this draft class.

Breakout prospect: Maxime Comtois

Arizona Coyotes

It turns out that Antti Niemi never changed the world.

In 2010, the 26-year-old Finnish import played 39 games in the regular season and then 22 in the postseason, where he went 16-6 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average as the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. He made $827,000 against the salary cap, much less than Cristobal Huet ($5.625 million) and Nikolai Khabibulin ($6.750 million), the two veteran goalies he rendered obsolete.

That he beat Michael Leighton of the Philadelphia Flyers -- who made $600,000 -- in the Stanley Cup Final made some around the league openly question whether investment in the goaltending position was really worth it. A free agent from Europe and a sixth-round pick faced off for the Stanley Cup, and both made peanuts. Anyone could do this!

Well, not really. After that season came Tim Thomas, who made $5 million for the Boston Bruins, followed by a parade of goalies who had been drafted and cultivated: Jonathan Quick, Corey Crawford, Matt Murray and Braden Holtby. The 2010 postseason was an anomaly. If it reinforced anything, it's that you can have Chris Osgood if you have Nicklas Lidstrom and Hall of Fame defensive centers, just like you can have Antti Niemi if you have Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews. At least for one postseason.

Also in this week's Wysh List: Week in Gritty | Jersey Fouls
We love 'snackwards' | Krueger Time | Puck Headlines

One of the eternal truths of the NHL is that it's a copycat league, which is a polite way of saying that general managers are essentially cowards who need to see something bold pay off for someone else before adopting it as their own strategy. That goes for analytics or contract structures or what kind of coach to hire and from where.

But copying from the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs is like copying from the dumbest kid in your math class (aka "me"). It's an incongruity. It's a glitch. It will be remembered the same way we remember the 2006 postseason, which is to say for its eccentricity rather than its trendsetting.

Oh, they'll try to mine it for meaning. Witness the Western Conference executive who noted to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that no player on the four conference finalists makes more than the $8 million that Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks makes.

To state two rather obvious things here: Of course there's an NHL executive noting a trend that would encourage the stagnation of wages in the name of championship contention; and, lest we forget, three of the four teams in the conference final round would have happily paid John Tavares more than $8 million annually, even if only two of them (Boston and San Jose) were invited to speak with him. (Better luck next mega free agent, St. Louis.)

To state another: This "trend" isn't supported by recent history.

Of the players who helped their teams to the final four in the preview two postseasons, eight of them made more than $8 million: Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, P.K. Subban, Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Phil Kessel. Two more of them signed deals worth $8 million or more per year in the summers after their conference final appearances: John Carlson and Ryan Johansen. After this postseason, several players could (or will) crest over that mark: Logan Couture, whose new contract pays him $8 million annually, and free agents Joe Pavelski, Erik Karlsson and Sebastian Aho.

So yes, as a rule, you're going to need those $8 million players. And if they don't make $8 million, they will, as you'll end up doing what the Blackhawks and Kings did, and pay them $10 million for previous accomplishments.

Then there's the notion of how to build a team, regarding how this year's final four were built. As my Puck Soup colleague Sean McIndoe noted, only the Carolina Hurricanes have a "recent" top-five pick, with Andrei Svechnikov landing at No. 2 overall last summer to the Canes. Anyone else selected in the top five was selected ages ago, like Alex Pietrangelo in 2008 or Joe Thornton all the way back in 1997.

"After years of the Cup going to teams, like the Penguins and Hawks, who were built around top picks, this year is a reminder that the lottery isn't the only way," he writes.

I don't know. ... Is it? The Blackhawks, Kings, Penguins and Capitals didn't just have foundational players who were selected in the top five, they had players who were acquired by going down that most nefarious path: stripping down the roster to acquire a top draft choice. Sure, in some cases the bonds didn't mature until several years later (or in the Capitals' case, 14 years), but that's still how the foundation was set.

These playoffs have been perhaps the most unpredictable of my lifetime, what with the Tampa Bay Lightning's first-round exit, the Hurricanes' run to the Eastern Conference final and the Sharks and Blues -- by no means teams on whom one assumes postseason success -- as the final two in the Western Conference. It has been great for gratification, probably not the best for blood pressure and certainly not anything that should shift the paradigm for team construction. Which, come to think of it, has been the best advice for any overreaction to what happens in a short-sprint tournament.

In 2010, Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton threatened to redefine the necessity for a franchise goalie. In 2019, Tuukka Rask -- of the eight-year, $56 million contract -- could follow Braden Holtby of the five-year, $30 million contract as Stanley Cup-winning goalies.

Overreact to the postseason at your own risk.

The week in Gritty

The only thing keeping the Philadelphia Flyers relevant won a major award this week. OK, Gritty actually won the Webby Award for "People's Voice Award for Social: Athletes and Sports Teams (Social)" a few weeks back, but he physically picked up the award this week while wearing a suit and firing a confetti cannon. He even gave a speech.

I continue to amaze me. @TheWebbyAwards>#5WordSpeech>pic.twitter.com/URV9MrfznE - Gritty (@GrittyNHL) May 14, 2019

But the big news for our orange nightmare is the apparent invitation he received to become a "Not Ready For Prime Time Player," as NHL Awards host Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live" sang his praises.

"Leave it up to Philly to come up with a crazy mascot like that. Just those eyes. I don't know man, he haunts a lot of people's dreams, I know that," said Thompson, before suggesting that Gritty should go on "SNL" and would be "awesome for a cold open with Trump or something" like that.

#NHLAwards>@kenanthompson>@ArthurKade>@GrittyNHL,>@nbcsnl>pic.twitter.com/IKkphU7e2W - NHL (@NHL) May 14, 2019

"Gritty, please, come to SNL. I'll take care of you. It's on me, trust me," said Thompson.

Thompson as David Ortiz meets Gritty on Weekend Update. Ratings record would fall.

On playoff officiating (again)

Earlier this week I counted down the various officiating controversies in the postseason, and little did I know that 48 hours after publication we discovered yet another delightful nuance of the rulebook.

The notion that a hand pass that leads to a goal, like the one the Sharks scored on in Game 3 against St. Louis on Wednesday night, isn't somehow reviewable -- either by the officials that might have missed it, the Toronto War Room that caught it or by a coach who can challenge it -- is palpably insane. We review offside plays in which a skate is a pixel over the line or some dude is just meandering at the bench. We review goalie interference calls in which the attacking player looks at the netminder the wrong way. What is the sense of having video review if not to allow the on-ice officials every mechanism at their disposal to get the call correct?

The next general managers meeting is going to make a UFC news conference sound like a gathering of librarians by comparison.

Jersey foul of the week

From Hoodie Joe:

@wyshynski>pic.twitter.com/yxQQUxaLEJ - Hoodie Joe (@bhawksfanJAmes) May 10, 2019

Not only is it a foul, but it's a classic foul for the Carolina Hurricanes, one that's been seen in Raleigh for years. Clever? Yes. But how dare this fan besmirch the good names of classic No. 5 bearers like Marek Malik and Noah Hanifin!

Krueger time

In 2015, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was on his fifth coach in five years with the Edmonton Oilers, a trend that sadly hasn't really changed all that much four years later. But there was one coach in this disposable cycle of whom he was rather fond, and lamented that he didn't get more time with the team.

That coach was Ralph Krueger.

"We all really liked Ralph," he said. "Super intelligent guy. Really knew how to handle the players well, and we only had a short season with him. It was tough to lose him."

Krueger was hired in 2012, coached 48 games in the lockout-shortened season, and then was fired (over Skype!) by the team. In 2014, he became director of Southampton of the Premier League and eventually its chairman. But then, in a surprise, he split with the team and returned to the NHL this week as head coach of the Buffalo Sabres.

I'm a Ralph Krueger fan. I respect his intelligence and I respect an outside-the-box hire. The jury's out on what a Krueger team looks like in the NHL in 2020, but I can't wait to see it. Sabres fans are understandably skeptical. I'd love nothing more than to see Krueger prove those fears unfounded. (And in the process, save Jason Botterill's job.)

Listen to ESPN On Ice

Following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, we talked about the rolling Bruins. Are they this good (4:30)? Emily Kaplan catches up with Finnish reporters Tommi Seppala and Sami Hoffrén to discuss their coverage of Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (17:43). Former NHL goaltender and current broadcaster Darren Pang talks about the Blues' success, particularly the play of goalie Jordan Binnington (37:13). Plus, "Phil Kessel Loves Hot Dogs" features two victims this week (44:21). Catch it here on iTunes.

Every team needs 'Snackwards'

For all of its giggle-worthy antics, the Kiss-Cam is a problematic mess. But that doesn't mean all JumboTron candid camera bits aren't worthy of our attention. In fact, one of them should be adopted by every team, everywhere, immediately.

Behold, "Snackwards."

If @cbnationals>pic.twitter.com/WzHgFsn5FD - Serena Dalhamer (@SerenaDalhamer) January 10, 2018

This is an example of the bit from a Dallas Stars game, where video of fans eating is reversed so it looks like their food and beverages are reconstituting. Another example:

Enjoy some Snackwards cam action pic.twitter.com/vPv8fXX8E8 - Tanner Giles (@tannerlennon) February 1, 2017

The St. Louis Blues do this bit at their home games, too, and let it be said I've not laughed harder at anything in the arena that wasn't mascot-related or the Nashville Predators' power play. Every team in the league should do this. It's so wonderfully gross.

Puck headlines

Sad news from the minor leagues: The Manchester Monarchs are no more.

The bad boys of podcasting (aka DJ Bean and Peter Blackburn of "BRUNCH") decided the Boston Bruins needed a victory song. So they stole "Gloria" from the St. Louis Blues, and then recorded another "Gloria" for the Blues.

Stick-tap to Bud Light for an ingenious use of the "Gloria" thing for their own promotional purposes.

Meet the greatest hockey name ever, T-Bone Codd.

James Mirtle goes one-on-one with Brendan Shanahan, who gets a little too evasive about Mike Babcock's relationship with Kyle Dubas. ($)

The Vegas Golden Knights are looking to create more ice in the desert.

"Hockey's Next Head-Injury Reckoning."

Hockey tl;dr (too long; didn't read)

SABRES GM Jason Botterill puts his job on the line with out-of-the-box hiring of Ralph Krueger ... and that's a good thing. (Side note: Why does The Hockey News do the all-caps headline thing?)

In case you missed this from your friends at ESPN

How the NHL trade deadline shaped the final four playoff teams.