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All Stars Hosting First Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race

Published in Racing
Thursday, 11 April 2019 10:07

INDIANAPOLIS – The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 is teaming up with the Rayce Rudeen Foundation to co-host the inaugural Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race on July 28 at 34 Raceway.

“We are really excited and grateful that Kevin Rudeen and the Rayce Rudeen Foundation chose 34 Raceway and the All Stars to be a part of this great event,” said Tony Stewart, owner of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions. “Racers have always taken care of other racers, so to be able to do this for Kevin, his family and the Foundation is an honor not only as the series owner, but also as a driver.”

“34 Raceway [in West Burlington, Iowa] is honored to partner with the Rayce Rudeen Foundation and the All Stars for this inaugural race. Hosting a premier racing event at 34 Raceway and having the ability to use it as a platform for addiction awareness in partnership with the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is tremendous,” said Brad Stevens and Jessi Mynatt of 34 Raceway.

The Rayce Rudeen Foundation was established three years ago when Kevin Rudeen, owner of the No. 26 Rudeen Racing entry driven by Cory Eliason, tragically lost his son, Rayce, to an overdose at 26 years old. Rayce would have been 29 years old April 12.

In order to honor his life and keep his memory alive, his family decided to start a private foundation to help others. Today, the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is a certified nonprofit that gives grant money to organizations and programs that encourage a healthy and productive life, free from addiction.

It is the goal of the the Rayce Rudeen Foundation to help fill the gaps in a broken system so that others are able to get the support they need, and so that other families don’t have to suffer in the same way theirs had.

“Losing Rayce was devastating to our family, but we refuse to let shame and stigma prevent us from trying to help others,” said Foundation President Nadalie Malsam, Rayce’s cousin and best friend.

Thanks to generous donors that cover all of their operations, 100 percent of all donations the Rayce Rudeen Foundation receives go directly to their grants and programs, which means every penny donated gets straight to those who need it most.

The inaugural Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race will be unique in itself, just like Rayce was. It is starting off with a $66,000 total purse – with $25,000 being awarded to the winner. Throughout the night there will be giveaways, fan participation and interviews.

“To be able to add a purse of this magnitude to our schedule is something that the teams, drivers, owners and fans will be thrilled about,” Stewart said. “Most importantly, through all of this, we hope to help the Rayce Rudeen Foundation raise awareness on addiction prevention, treatment and recovery. We would like to thank Kevin and his organization for allowing us to be a part of this event.”

With a star-studded lineup set to attend, Kevin Rudeen is very appreciative of the outpouring of support.

“Moving forward, we hope to make this a fundraising event for years to come with Tony and the All Stars, but for now what is important to us is that we raise awareness and understanding of addiction,” said Kevin Rudeen.

Roa Leads USAC-CRA Sprints To Perris

Published in Racing
Thursday, 11 April 2019 11:30

PERRIS, Calif. – This Saturday the AMSOIL USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series will return to Perris Auto Speedway for the Sokola Shootout.

Promoted by Don Kazarian, the fourth point race of the year for the AMSOIL USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series will also showcase the PAS Senior Sprint Cars and the PAS Young Gun Sprint Cars.

The Sokola Shootout has been a popular race on the West Coast since Tony Jones won the inaugural show at Manzanita Speedway on March 17, 2001. Originally called the Sokola Classic to honor past CRA President and USAC Sprint Supervisor Gary Sokola, the event has grown to also honor former driver Mark Sokola and their contributions to racing.

Last year, fast qualifier Brody Roa, Jake Swanson, Danny Faria Jr. and Charles Davis Jr. followed Damion Gardner to his third Sokola victory.

Since March 6, 2004, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds has held 214 AMSOIL USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series events and thirty-eight different drivers have claimed victory. Gardner leads all drivers with 45 home track wins and the one-lap track record of 15.833 seconds was set by Nic Faas on Feb. 25, 2012.

Entering Saturday’s event, Roa sits atop the point standings with a 14-point advantage. Driving the BR Performance No. 91R HD Industries/Burris Racing Maxim, Roa has one win, three top-10 finishes and 28 feature laps led. The 2016 USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series champion is tied with Matt Mitchell, Richard Vander Weerd, and Austin Williams for 14th on the USAC-CRA win list and will be looking for his eighth series triumph.

Gardner ranks second in the chase for the championship. Racing Mark Alexander’s No. 4 Trench Shoring/All Coast Construction Spike, Gardner finished seventh in the Perris So-Cal Showdown. To date, the seven-time champion has also posted one Woodland Auto Display Fast Time Award, two heat race victories and three top-10 finishes on the year. This Saturday, Gardner will have his sights the eighty-first USAC-CRA feature win of his career.

Settling into his new ride, Williams is third in the USAC-CRA point chase. Piloting Tom and Laurie Sertich’s No. 92 Huntington Beach Glass & Mirror/Lucas Oil DRC, Williams finished third at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds on March 30. He has three top-10 finishes on the season and will be looking for his eighth series win.

R.J. Johnson ranks fourth in the USAC-CRA championship point standings. Driving the Bobby Martin Racing No. 51 Martin Family Auto Museum/Pro Flyer Race Engines Sherman, Johnson was in contention for the Marth 30 win until a lap 16 flip resulted in a 16th-place finish. To date, the five-time USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series champion has posted two heat race victories, two top-10 finishes and 16 laps led in the campaign. The second generation driver will have his sights on claiming his seventh USAC-CRA victory.

Stevie Sussex is currently fifth in the USAC-CRA point standings. Racing Robbie & Gaye Allen’s No. 12 ABC Body Shop/PPG Automotive Finishes Maxim, Sussex charged to fifth in the So-Cal Showdown after starting 10th. At press time, the 2017 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year has three top-10 finishes and will be looking to earn his first USAC-CRA main event win.

PHOTOS: Honda Indy Grand Prix Of Alabama

Published in Racing
Thursday, 11 April 2019 12:00

Tanner English Joins Big Frog Motorsports

Published in Racing
Thursday, 11 April 2019 12:46

OCALA, Fla. – Big Frog Motorsports has announced that Tanner English will drive the M&W Transport No. 58 Dave’s Towing/XR1 Rocket Chassis/Clements Racing Engine Super Late Model in select events.

“I began talking about possibilities with Tanner a month or so ago after his deal with Randy Weaver Racing dissolved. We both thought it would be a good fit to have him drive our team’s car, but we just couldn’t find dates that worked for both of us,” said Big Frog Motorsports owner Augie Burttram. “We recently talked again, and decided to give this deal a shot, so he’ll be piloting our car in the Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals races on April 19-20.

“We’re going to reevaluate after that first weekend, and see how it works out for both of us and what we can do together to be successful. Tanner is a super-talented driver, and I’m excited to have him behind the wheel of our team’s car.”

English is the two-time defending Schaeffer’s Oil MARS Racing Series champion. He previously inked a deal to drive for Randy Weaver Racing this year, but it fell apart when the team shut down.

“Augie [Burttram] and I decided to take this deal on a race-to-race basis and see if it’s a good fit for both of us,” the 25-year-old English said. “Big Frog Motorsports has top-notch equipment, and I’m grateful for this opportunity. I’ve got some races already committed in my personal car and a couple of other rides for the remainder of this year, but I’d love to race with Big Frog Motorsports, whenever makes sense for both of us. Hopefully, we can gel and enjoy success together.”

English will make his debut in the Big Frog Motorsports No. 58 on April 19-20 in Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals competition in Georgia. The weekend opens on Friday night at Blue Ridge Motorsports Park in Blue Ridge, Ga., with a $4,000-to-win race before shifting to Toccoa (Ga.) Raceway on Saturday night for a $10,000-to-win affair.

They say anything can happen in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and yet one of the greatest regular-season teams in NHL history blowing a three-goal lead to lose on home ice to the lowest seed in its conference felt stunning to the point where "anything" wouldn't cover it.

Here's what happened last night -- check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+ -- and what to watch for tonight, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:

Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three Stars
Play of the night | Tonight's games | Social post of the day


About last night...

Game 1: Columbus Blue Jackets 4, Tampa Bay Lightning 3. The Lightning jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, and the team that tied the record for most regular-season wins ever (62) looked like it was going to roll through the playoffs. But then a sloppy Ryan McDonagh pass resulted in a Nick Foligno goal in the second period that ignited the Blue Jackets' physical and forechecking games. Defenseman David Savard undressed Victor Hedman on a goal in the third. Less than four minutes after that, Josh Anderson scored a short-handed goal to tie the game, and Seth Jones's power-play goal at 14:05 of the third gave them the lead. Sergei Bobrovsky went from Game 1 goat to a 16-save savior in the final two periods.

The Lightning are the 10th team in the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs to blow a three-goal lead in their first game of a postseason. Only two of the previous nine recovered to win the series. Uh-oh. Meanwhile, John Tortorella lit a fire under his team (and nearly burned down the dressing room):

Game 1: New York Islanders 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 3 (OT). Nassau Coliseum was deafening at times during the Islanders' Game 1 victory, although the Penguins tried to do their best to stun them into silence with Justin Schultz's goal at 18:31 of the third period to tie the game at 3-3. But the fans blew the roof off the old barn when Josh Bailey tucked home the game winner at 4:39 of overtime, thanks to an incredible move from Islanders star Mathew Barzal to set it up, deking several Penguins out of their skates:

Game 1: St. Louis Blues 2, Winnipeg Jets 1. Tyler Bozak scored the game winner with 2:05 left in regulation on a pass from Patrick Maroon, and it might have been the most meaningful assist in Maroon's career: He dedicated the win to his late grandfather, who passed away at 95 years old on Tuesday. "It's been emotional, tough days for me," Maroon said. "But being with the guys and having them by my side has been really good." Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington did the rest, with 24 saves in his first playoff start.

Game 1: Dallas Stars 3, Nashville Predators 2. Rookie defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored two goals, becoming the youngest player to score a playoff goal in franchise history, while goalie Ben Bishop and the team's defense did the rest in their win over the Predators. Mats Zuccarello, the Stars' trade deadline pickup, had the game-winning goal. So desperate for offense were the Predators that coach Peter Laviolette pulled goalie Pekka Rinne with 3:13 left in the game and Nashville on the power play. "We lost our way, we lost the game," Laviolette said. "There's nothing encouraging about tonight. We know we're capable of playing at high speed with high gears and competitiveness. Like I said, it went their way."

Game 1: San Jose Sharks 5, Vegas Golden Knights 2. It was an ugly game, and not just because Sharks captain Joe Pavelski got his mouth mangled by deflecting the first goal in with his jaw. The Sharks ruled in puck possession through two periods, building a 4-1 lead and limiting the Golden Knights' attack. They pummeled them physically and dominated them defensively. Brent Burns (1G, 1A) and Erik Karlsson (2A) controlled play. Martin Jones was steady in making 24 saves. Mark Stone scored two goals for Vegas in his playoff debut for them, one of the few highlights in a forgettable game for the Knights.


Three stars

1. Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues. The rookie sensation announced his arrival in the Stanley Cup playoffs by skating into the most hostile of territories -- the White-Out crowd of Winnipeg -- and stopping 24 of 25 shots . That included 17 saves in the first two periods, many of them spectacular, to give the Blues a chance to rally. The showstopper, literally, was this stop on Mark Scheifele late in the third, the same player who was penalized earlier in the game for charging into him:

2. Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars. Another sensational rookie making his mark, the Stars defenseman scored a power-play goal in the second period to tie the game and an even-strength goal in the third for the lead in their eventual 3-2 win over Nashville. He was second on the team in ice time at 23:24. Heiskanen is just the third teenager to record a multi-goal game in the playoffs over the past 20 seasons, joining Sean Couturier (hat trick in 2012) and teammate Tyler Seguin (2011).

3. Seth Jones, D, Columbus Blue Jackets. Along with scoring the game-winning goal, Jones was instrumental in helping the Jackets keep the Lightning's top players scoreless in their Game 1 stunner.


Play of the night

Oh, nothing to see here except David Savard of the Blue Jackets looking like Bobby Orr while undressing Victor Hedman, one of the best defensemen on the planet, before lasering home the second goal of their rally.

Dud of the night

The Lightning's stars. As lackadaisical as the Tampa Bay defense was in allowing the Blue Jackets to rally, the fact that Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point combined for 16 shot attempts, eight shots on goal, a minus-4 and zero points was even more shocking.

On the schedule

Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins, Game 1, 7 p.m. ET

The rivalry continues for these two, one year after the Bruins eliminated the Leafs in seven games. But this Toronto team has a few new tricks: Namely star center John Tavares and veteran defenseman Jake Muzzin. Will things be different this time, or are we in store for another year of Toronto media complaining about the playoff format because Boston owns the Leafs?

Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals, Game 1, 7:30 p.m. ET

The underdog Canes play their first postseason game since May 26, 2009, in taking on the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Capitals dominated Carolina in the regular season to the tune of 4-0-0. Do these ''Bunch of Jerks'' from Raleigh have more defiant magic in the postseason, or are the Capitals just too talented for an upset?

Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames, Game 1, 10 p.m. ET

The Avs will get big boost entering this one with the return of Mikko Rantanen to the lineup, and, one assumes, to the line that has Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Colorado has a red-hot goalie in Philipp Grubauer (8-1-2 in his past 11 games), but is he enough to handle a Flames offense that was third in the NHL at 3.52 goals per game?

Social post of the day

John Tortorella left the locker room and walked into the interview room -- which smelled like a locker room. He noted the body odor as Torts does, and then walked out ... leaving a member of the great unwashed (aka the media) to administer a sniff test. Wow.

Quotable

"The only critics that matter are the ones in the room, and there aren't any. I don't think he cares about whether he silenced you guys, and I don't think we care either." -- Sharks coach Pete DeBoer on goalie Martin Jones, and whether his Game 1 performance quieted his critics.

Day receives treatment on course after tweaking back

Published in Golf
Thursday, 11 April 2019 07:14

Jason Day's Masters is suddenly in question.

After hitting his tee shot on the par-5 second hole Thursday at Augusta National, Day gingerly picked up his tee and immediately headed off to the side of the tee box to receive medical treatment on his back.

According to ESPN, Day re-injured his back after picking up his daughter, Lucy, before the round.

83rd Masters Tournament: Scores | @GolfCentral Masters tracker | Full coverage

Day withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month and told Golf Channel that an MRI revealed an annular tear in the disk between his L4 and L5 vertebrae along with additional “facet problems.”  He's played three times since, tying for eighth at The Players, missing the cut at Valspar and failing to make it out of group play at the WGC-Dell Match Play.

Day did resume his round after being stretched out and went on to make birdie on the second hole.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – This Masters was always going to be special for Corey Conners but Thursday’s opening round began even better than expected.

Playing in the day’s first group, the Canadian ventured out to the first tee early to watch Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial first tee shots.

“I was able to stand on the back of the tee and watch them tee off and really appreciate what they have done for the game of golf,” said Conners, who spoke briefly with Nicklaus who congratulated him for his victory last week. “Being in the first group following them, that was pretty special.”

Conners’ day only improved from there.

He was 10 strokes better than his last opening round at the Masters in 2015 when he struggled to an 80 on Day 1, but the way he’s been playing the last two weeks there was always going to be improvement.

Conners’ last six rounds include a 68 on April 1 and a playoff to qualify for the Texas Open, a career-changing week at TPC San Antonio with rounds of 69-67-66-66 for his first PGA Tour victory, and on Thursday he played Nos. 13-15 in 4 under par to move into the hunt at Augusta National.

It was another unlikely chapter in what has been a wildly unlikely few days for Conners who couldn’t have imagined he’d be in this position when he teed off last week in the Monday qualifier.

“I did not think it was likely [to play the Masters],” he laughed. “I’m a math and statistics guy and I didn’t think it was likely at all.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Modern technology struggles to get inside the gates at Augusta National Golf Club. Cell phones will get you thrown out, and green-reading books can be left in players’ courtesy cars.

It’s an idyllic trip back in time for some, but for Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, it’s simply a step in the right direction.

Nicklaus and Player reprised their annual role as honorary starters Thursday morning, kicking off the 83rd Masters with opening tee shots in front of thousands of eager patrons. The two men, who have combined to win nine green jackets, then went to the press building where they reminisced about decades spent together at the club as well as the state of technology in the modern game.

It was on that latter point that they formed a consensus.

“The golf ball has gotten ridiculous. I have so many things on that,” Nicklaus said. “The golf ball from 1930 to about ’95 gained about six yards. From 1995 to 2005, about 15 yards, and that’s a big difference. Probably the organizations won’t tell you that, but that’s exactly about what happened.”

It’s a familiar refrain from Nicklaus, who has railed against the technological advancements in the game for the last several years. He was joined in support by Player, who offered a warning that the governing bodies need to create a bifurcated ball of some sort, lest players begin driving the 445-yard first hole at Augusta National.

“We’d better start thinking. They are going to hit wedges to all the par-5s, and golf courses like St. Andrews, this marvelous golf course, is completely obsolete. They can drive probably six greens,” Player said. “So I don’t know where we’re going. And our leaders of such have got to get together now and form a ball for professionals that’s different to the amateurs. Let the amateurs have anything they’d like. … But we have got to stop this, otherwise it’s going to be a joke, in my opinion.”

Player didn’t just stop with his thoughts on the ball. The 83-year-old also expressed his distaste for green-reading books, which are not allowed at Augusta National and whose details was recently reined in by the USGA and R&A.

“Bobby Locke was the best putter that ever lived, and Tiger Woods was the best putter and so on. I never saw him take out a book to read the damn green,” Player said. “To read the green, you’ve got to look at a book. Well if you can’t read a green, you should be selling beans. It’s part of the game. Where are we going? Everything is so artificial.”

Watch: Tiger makes birdie from the trees at 14

Published in Golf
Thursday, 11 April 2019 08:22

It's almost as if he was just laying up to an angle and a number off the tee.

Coming off a birdie at the the par-5 13th, Woods sniped his drive at the par-4 14th left of the fairway.

From 152 yards, he managed to loft his approach over the trees to 25 feet, setting up a putt for birdie.

The birdie pushed Woods to 3 under par through 14 holes and into a tie for the lead.

Chelsea sneak past Slavia Prague with late goal

Published in Soccer
Thursday, 11 April 2019 14:53

Marcos Alonso's late header helped Chelsea to a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Slavia Prague in their Europa League quarterfinal first leg on Thursday.

Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri fielded a strong XI in Prague, including an in-form Eden Hazard, who was outstanding in a two-goal outing on Monday as the Blues beat West Ham to move into third place in the Premier League.

However, the visitors found chances hard to come by over the course of the first 45 minutes as the league leaders in the Czech top flight dug in with a raucous home crowd urging them on in a scoreless first half.

Despite a lack of goals, the second half provided some entertaining end-to-end football, with Slavia Prague's Ibrahima Traore stinging Kepa Arrizabalaga's palms from distance on 70 minutes and Chelsea seeing a goal ruled out for offside shortly after.

Alonso's header from an inswinging Willian cross as full-time approached wound up being the difference for Chelsea, who return home for the second leg on April 18 with an important away goal giving them the upper leg for passage to the semifinals.

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