WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. – An unexpected one-off race appearance for Kraig Kinser’s crew chief may have played a part in the team’s recent string of constructive finishes.

Before Kinser’s crew chief Mike Kuemper ran the team’s back-up car at Arizona Speedway in April, Kinser had missed a Feature and finished no better than 15th.

Afterward, he scored two top-10s in a row – including one top-five finish – went quick time in qualifying, won a DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash and led laps at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

Kuemper – who has experience racing with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series – only ran five laps of the feature at Arizona Speedway, but he said it was enough to gather newfound knowledge that could help Kinser.

“I learned some stuff in the way the car is driving and handling a little bit, trying to get it better for him with me being in it for those short amount of laps,” Kuemper said. “It helped out, because I went back to his car and did a little bit to his.”

What he deduced was their shock package needed to be adjusted and some bars of the chassis needed to be changed around.

“After we got done running that (race at Arizona Speedway), we changed the car around,” Kuemper said.

Their string of good finishes has currently propelled Kinser into the top-10 in points – 132 points behind ninth-place Sheldon Haudenschild.

He and Kinser are looking to continue their recent run of positive finishes into a doubleheader race weekend – May 3 at Riverside Int’l Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., and May 4 at Tri-State Speedway in Kinser’s home state of Indiana.

“I love getting back home, running close to family,” said Kinser, who hails from Bloomington, Ind. “We don’t get too many chances in Indiana, so we try to make those count. Then, West Memphis … I’m just looking forward to the whole weekend.”

Both tracks are quarter-mile speedways, but produced varying results for Kinser last year.

He found the top-10 at Riverside, while finishing 15th at Tri-State – a track Kinser acknowledged he is usually “hit or miss” at.

Even though the Arkansas track favored him last year, Kinser has his eye on racing back home in front of friends and family.

“Being from southern Indiana, my family’s been to Haubstadt for a long, long time,” Kinser said. “I grew up watching and racing there. Got to see a lot of good non-wing races, a lot of good winged races there, too. It’s a good track not too far from home.”

His father, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser, won at Tri-State Speedway seven times. Kraig Kinser is still looking for his first victory at the speedway – and his first since 2017.

A home state win at Tri-State would definitely be mean a lot to him, Kraig Kinser said.

In general, Kraig, Kuemper and the Steve Kinser Racing team are looking to just keep their streak of good finishes rolling into doubleheader races.

“We’re trying to take the positives into that weekend,” Kinser said. “We’re hoping for the best and doing what we can do.”

LAS VEGAS — A few weeks ago, Austin Forkner appeared on his way to winning the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250 East regional championship. Now his season is over.

Forkner confirmed in an Instagram post that the ACL in his left knee is completely torn and that he will soon undergo season-ending knee surgery.

Forkner entered the Nashville round of the series on April 6 with a 26-point lead, but was injured in a crash during qualifying. After a two-week break, Forkner attempted to ride in the penultimate round of the season at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., but the stress on the injured knee was too much for him to overcome.

“The extent of my knee was a fully torn ACL. Not a half tear, not a quarter tear. It was fully torn and that’s a big difference,” Forkner said. “Fully torn is tough and there is no stability. I also tore my meniscus and I think a slight tear and beat up my MCL. I also chipped some cartilage off of my femur and had a massive bone bruise from where the tib-fib and femur clanked together.”

Forkner entered the MetLife Stadium round with a three-point lead, but still competed.

“It popped out a few times in practice and it was really sore,” he said. “Honestly, I could barely even walk going to the gate for the races. Pretty much, what you saw in the heat race was as fast as I could go and the best I could ride with my knee in control, with me having control of my knee and without it popping out.”

Forkner qualified third and was running second when his knee let go less than three minutes into the main event.

“Whenever I jumped and landed into the face of the wall, the thing just buckled. At that point, there is no kind of knee brace… that’s going to save it, because that’s what your ACL is supposed to do and it’s gone,” Forkner said. “Obviously, I’m super-bummed and I don’t have a lot to say.”

Forkner will also miss the motocross season and plans to return in time for the 2020 Supercross campaign.

“We’ll be back in 2020 supercross. I’m already itching to ride again and I haven’t even gotten surgery yet,” he said. “It’s going to be a long recovery, but I’ll be seeing you guys in a few months.”

CONCORD, N.C. – Coca-Cola Racing Family driver Austin Dillon took part in a unique chase on Tuesday at Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach.

Dillon, who will chase his second Coca-Cola 600 win in three years next month, joined Paul Swan and Ethan Tingler from his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing crew for an in-depth, search-and-rescue mission as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600 – a series of interactive, regional military base visits in conjunction with the Department of Defense.

Dillon climbed aboard a 45-foot RBM (Response Boat – Medium) with his crew and members of Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach to learn the intricacies of a Coast Guard rescue mission in the Atlantic Ocean.

Additionally, the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner took the opportunity to guide the RBM before he participated in rescue rope training exercises on shore.

“It was awesome,” Dillon said of his first Coast Guard visit. “Those boats are unbelievable machines. It’s like driving a big jet ski. We had a blast just seeing how smooth they are and listening to how the guys go through everything, they’re very good at what they do.

“I’m jealous that they get to whip around out there on those boats to save lives. It’s a very cool experience to see all the hard work they put into taking over these jobs. I really thank them for their service.”

Dillon has sampled life in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Coast Guard in his first two Mission 600 visits, both of which gave the Welcome, N.C., native a new perspective in his appreciation for the military.

As part of the 600 Miles of Remembrance program, Dillon will carry the name of a fallen member of the U.S. Armed Forces on his race car’s windshield during the Coca-Cola 600.

“It’s very special,” Dillon said. “I feel like our fallen soldiers ride along with us. Their families become a part of our racing family. The Coca-Cola 600 and Memorial Day weekend is probably my favorite weekend of the year.

“When we have the flyovers and everything that goes into that race, the preview of it is fun for us to watch and see the military represented so well.”

Chief Petty Officer Jeremy Thomas was among the members who hosted Dillon and his crew on Tuesday.

“It was great to see the interaction between Coast Guard members and Austin and his crew,” Thomas said. “It looked they had a lot of fun. That’s the goal: to give them a chance to enjoy themselves and see a day in the life of the Coast Guard.”

CINCINATTI, Ohio – Richard Hoffman, one of the owners of the legendary Hoffman Auto Racing open-wheel team, died on Tuesday. He was 76.

Hoffman wrenched entries over the years that earned a total of 11 AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series owner’s championships, wearing the crown in 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2014 and 2016.

His champion drivers through the years included the legendary Rich Vogler, as well as Robbie Stanley, Dave Darland, Tracy Hines, Jerry Coons Jr. and Brady Bacon, who authored Hoffman’s most recent USAC owner’s crown three years ago.

“It’s hard to even put into words what Richard meant to the sport,” said USAC Series Coordinator Levi Jones. “It doesn’t seem possible he won’t be with us in the pits anymore.  He was a fierce competitor and a staple of the series. Over the years, racing has made us all feel like family. He was always somebody you could lean on for advice and someone who was always there for the betterment of the sport.”

Born Sept. 2, 1942 in Cincinatti, Ohio, Richard Hoffman started his tenure in racing working for his father, Gus Hoffman, during the very first year of the United States Auto Club in 1956.

The Hoffman Auto Racing team came to USAC at the behest of Mari Hulman, who saw the team’s success building and invited them personally to race the circuit.

Then-crew chief Mutt Anderson suggested moving from midget to sprint car racing, and the rest – as they say – is history.

Hoffman’s first USAC win came in 1956 with Eddie Sachs driving one of the team’s midgets, not long before their move to sprint cars, and led to a total of 116 USAC victories over the past six-plus decades.

Bacon earned the team’s most recent score at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway on April 19, during the running of the Larry Rice Classic.

Among those who drove for Hoffman and won races in his equipment were Jim Hemmings, Larry Cannon, Steve Butler, Cary Faas, Kenny Irwin Jr., Andy Michner, Brian Tyler, Jon Stanbrough, Daron Clayton, Kyle Larson, Darren Hagen, Chad Boespflug and Kevin Thomas Jr., as well as the six champion drivers he fielded during his legendary career.

Richard Hoffman was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2013.

Aside from his sprint car accomplishments, he also earned seven USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series wins as a team owner, with the likes of Johnny Parsons, Pat Abold and Brian Tyler, who captured the 1999 Copper World Classic at Phoenix Int’l Raceway (now ISM Raceway).

Bacon paid tribute to Hoffman, for whom he has driven for this season and also drove a prior stint for as well, late Tuesday with a statement on social media.

“We are all deeply saddened by the loss of a great man,” said Bacon. “Please keep your thoughts and prayers with the family of Richard Hoffman. It’s truly been an honor to drive for him over the last several years, and the relationship we were able to build over that time is something I will cherish.”

As of the most recent USAC national sprint car event, Hoffman’s Dynamic Inc. team sits seventh in the series standings thanks to Bacon’s efforts this year.

It’s a testament to Hoffman’s long-held drive to always strive for more with his operation.

“I still have racing in my blood,” said Richard Hoffman in the Oct. 2018 edition of SPEED SPORT Magazine. “I can’t stop messing with it because I still really enjoy it. Every year I look at circumstances and resources and see if we can keep racing.”

Right up until his passing, racing is exactly what Hoffman and his team did, too.

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche will be without physical forward Matt Calvert for Game 3 against San Jose on Tuesday.

Calvert was banged up Sunday after taking a hit while delivering a pass to Nathan MacKinnon for an empty-net goal late in Game 2 at San Jose.

Sven Andrighetto will take Calvert's place in the lineup. The second-round playoff series is tied at a game apiece.

Sharks captain Joe Pavelski and forward Joonas Donskoi didn't travel with the team, coach Peter DeBoer said. Pavelski and Donskoi were both hurt during the Sharks' first-round series against Vegas and have yet to play in this one.

DeBoer also said center Gustav Nyquist went home to be with his wife for the birth of their child. He's expected back in time for the game.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Rod Brind'Amour considers himself lucky to have two goalies he trusts. It looks like he is turning to the second one.

The first legitimate goalie dilemma of the playoffs belongs to the Carolina Hurricanes, now that starter Petr Mrazek is dealing with a lower-body injury that has him day-to-day.

With Mrazek unlikely to start Game 3 against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night, the Hurricanes will try to take a 3-0 series lead behind what could be the first playoff start for journeyman Curtis McElhinney in his 11-year career.

"I think what it is is a luxury that we have a guy that we have equal confidence in," Brind'Amour said Tuesday. "Thankfully, we have that situation. ... We have a guy that we all trust who's been good all year. It's not like we're hoping he's going to be good."

There hasn't been much instability at that position across the league during this postseason, which makes sense -- teams generally don't make the playoffs with shaky goaltending. Carolina became the third team to use multiple goalies, and there wasn't even a whiff of controversy for the two other teams making in-game moves.

Nashville pulled Pekka Rinne for Juuse Saros for the final 45 minutes of Game 4 during the Predators' first-round series with Dallas, and Aaron Dell twice replaced Martin Jones during San Jose's opening-round series with Vegas.

In Carolina, though, an injury has left the Hurricanes with some uncertainty.

Mrazek has started all nine postseason games for the Hurricanes, but he left the last one early with an injury that, as is usually the case in the NHL, has not been publicly disclosed. It was the first time all season that the Hurricanes made a midgame goalie switch.

Brind'Amour calls Mrazek's injury "a nagging thing," adding that "I don't know how long it's going to go, but it shouldn't be too long."

McElhinney stopped all 17 shots he faced to close out Game 2 in just his third postseason appearance.

"It's just gas and go," McElhinney said. "It's one of those things that I've been around long enough and I've been thrown into those situations before. Obviously, the playoff atmosphere's a little bit different but the game itself is still the same. I've felt pretty good all year long."

Less than 12 months ago, nobody saw a Mrazek-McElhinney combination coming, much less figured the pair would backstop Carolina to the verge of the Eastern Conference final.

The Hurricanes brought in Mrazek last July 1 -- the same day they allowed former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cam Ward to leave for Chicago -- to compete with Scott Darling for the starting job.

When Darling was injured in the preseason finale, Carolina found the 35-year-old McElhinney on the waiver wire and the journeyman fit so well with the Hurricanes that they placed the largely ineffective Darling on waivers and sent him to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte.

Carolina allowed 2.7 goals per game during the regular season. Mrazek stopped 91.4 percent of the shots he faced; McElhinney's save percentage was .912. Both of their save percentages are better than any Hurricanes goalie since 2014 with more than 30 appearances.

It's also worth noting that the last time the Hurricanes made a goalie switch during the playoffs, it worked out pretty well for them.

Carolina began the 2006 postseason with Martin Gerber in net, but while dealing with health issues, he gave up nine goals during the first 75 minutes of the Hurricanes' first-round series with Montreal. Coach Peter Laviolette turned to Ward, who led the team captained by Brind'Amour to the Stanley Cup.

When highly touted Harvard defenseman Adam Fox refused to sign a contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, who had traded for his rights, there was widespread speculation that the New York Rangers were his desired NHL destination. The speculation was accurate: The Hurricanes traded Fox to the Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for a second-round pick in 2019 and a conditional third-round pick in 2020.

Fox, 21, had 48 points in 33 games with Harvard as a junior this season and was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in collegiate hockey. He also was named a first-team All-American. Fox has played for the United States internationally in world junior tournaments for three straight seasons.

The Hurricanes acquired Fox in a June 2018 deal with the Calgary Flames, along with defenseman Dougie Hamilton and forward Micheal Ferland. Fox opted not to sign with the Flames, who drafted him 66th overall in 2016, after his sophomore season with Harvard. So they shipped his rights to the Hurricanes, who hoped to sign him after his junior season and were unable to.

Once that happened, Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon said the team would "try to trade" the native of Jericho, New York. Fox did have the option of returning to Harvard for his senior season and becoming a free agent in 2020. Instead, he's expected to sign an entry-level deal to play for the Rangers.

A right defenseman, Fox was called the best defensive prospect not currently in the NHL by Carolina general manager Don Waddell when Fox attended the Hurricanes' prospects camp last year. But while Fox is considered a blue-chip prospect, ESPN's Chris Peters had him ranked 30th and behind eight other defensemen on Peters' list of top 50 best young players who were currently not in the league.

"High-end vision, poise and an ability to read plays especially well have all helped Fox become one of the top defensemen in college hockey. He is an assist machine, can quarterback a power play and gets up the ice especially well. Defensively there is room for improvement," Peters wrote.

Fox, 21, joins a Rangers team in the midst of a rebuild. The Rangers own the second overall pick in this summer's draft and have a bevy of strong prospects in their system. Fox should step right into the Rangers blue line and see significant minutes as a rookie next season.

The second-round pick shipped to Carolina is the one the Rangers own. TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that the 2020 third-rounder becomes a second-rounder if Fox plays 30 games next season. Were that to happen, acquiring a pair of second-round picks for a player who didn't want to play in Carolina should take a little of the sting away for the Hurricanes, even if their ultimate goal was having Fox join their impressive collection of defensemen in Raleigh.