World number 253 Naiktha Bains has made a formal request to both the WTA and ITF to change her playing nationality from Australian to British.

Bains, 21, was born in Leeds but emigrated to Brisbane aged eight, and holds dual citizenship.

She has won two singles and 12 doubles titles on the ITF Tour.

Bains' situation is a reversal of that which saw Olympic silver medallist Laura Robson move to the UK aged six having been born in Melbourne.

The move to change her nationality has been made independent of the Lawn Tennis Association.

• Naiktha Bains - the one that got away
• Live scores, schedule and results
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Garbine Muguruza defended her Monterrey Open title after Victoria Azarenka was forced to retire with a leg injury.

Former world number one Azarenka, playing her first singles final in three years, required a medical timeout after losing the first set to have strapping applied to her right calf.

The Belarusian, 29, carried on but was clearly restricted before withdrawing when trailing 6-1 3-1.

"I'm very happy with this week," said Spain's Muguruza, 25.

"It's a great feeling to come back and defend a title - it's never easy."

It is two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza's first title since winning in Mexico last year.

Azarenka last contested a singles final in April 2016, winning both Indian Wells and Miami within two weeks before announcing her pregnancy later that year and giving birth to son Leo in December.

She returned to the sport competitively the following summer but has been involved in a custody battle with her son's father which has impacted on her tennis.

• Live scores, schedule and results

Keys wins first clay title

Earlier, Madison Keys beat Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets to win the Charleston Open - her first title on clay.

The American, 24, won 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, hitting 54 winners against Danish fifth seed Wozniacki, the 2011 champion.

It marks a fourth career title for Keys and her first since 2017.

The eighth seed beat three Grand Slam champions - Wozniacki, Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko - en route to victory, as well as reigning Olympic champion Monica Puig.

Wozniacki - playing in her third Charleston final, having finished as runner-up in 2009 - said Keys was "just too good".

World number 18 Keys is the first American winner of the tournament since Stephens three years ago.

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Saurav Ghosal (File Photo)&  |  Photo Credit: PTI

Kolkata: Although he recently made history by becoming the first Indian male squash player to break into the top-10 of the PSA world rankings, Saurav Ghosal still rues the fact that the sport is not a part of the Olympic Games. "It's disappointing not only for me but every squash player around the world," Ghosal told IANS in an interview. He is on his way to Macau to take part in the Macau Open starting April 10. He is the second seed in that competition.

"It hurts to see squash not being part of the 2024 Olympics. We need to help the sport grow and Olympics is something every sportsperson looks forward to."

Ghosal said the plan is not to think of too far ahead now and keep working hard to stay where he is. The 32-year-old city-born player was the first Indian to be ranked World's No.1 junior.

"Obviously I am very happy to be in the top-10 of the PSA rankings. The journey has been really hard. I had to do well on a regular basis to attain this and this is why it is all the more fulfilling," said Ghosal, a 12-time national champion who has also won Asian Games medals on six occasions.

"I would want to continue doing well on the PSA circuit as it's important to stay consistent. There is no point in setting your sights on things which are too far ahead now. Taking it to step by step helps," he said.

Ghosal won the Kolkata International title in November last year here, to then enter the quarterfinals of the 2018-2019 PSA World Championships in Chicago for the first time in his career in February, and make the same stage at the prestigious Grasshopper Cup in Zurich last month.

Ghosal said he received a congratulatory message from brother-in-law Dinesh Karthik among others and was happy his team Kolkata Knight Riders were doing well in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

"It feels good when your family and near and dear ones support you. D.K. messaged me and I am happy for him as well as KKR is doing well."

For the record, Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa have both reached the highest ranking of world's no. 10 in 2012 and 2016, respectively.

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Sport is littered with tales of freak injuries, but perhaps none will ever be more bizarre than that of hooker Scott Baldwin, who hit global headlines in 2017 when he was bitten on the hand by a lion.

"When you put your hand in a fence where there is a lion, you will get bitten," then Ospreys coach Steve Tandy said at the time as the Welsh region worried that the Wales international might lose his hand, let alone his rugby career.

Baldwin's misfortune happened during a team trip to Weltevrede Game Lodge on the outskirts of Bloemfontein, before the Ospreys' Pro14 match against their appropriately named hosts, the Cheetahs.

Everyone present on the visit was, according to Tandy, given plenty of warning not to stick their hand into the lion's den, but Baldwin did not heed the advice.

• Ouch! Freak sporting injuries
• Scott Baldwin: Ospreys player feared he could lose hand after lion bite

Not only was he bitten, he quickly developed an infection.

"The infection was the major issue," Baldwin told BBC Sport at the time.

"The next day it started tracking up my arm. The surgeon said there was a chance I could lose my hand.

"The surgeon said [after the operation] it was the best possible outcome considering I had been bitten by a lion."

Thankfully Baldwin made a full recovery and now, with the Ospreys again in Bloemfontein for Saturday's 31-14 win over the Cheetahs he has taken the chance to personally thank the surgeon, Faf Weyers, who was presented with Baldwin's match shirt following the victory.

"Faf literally saved my hand, thank you my man," Baldwin wrote on social media.

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The Dragons' long search for an away victory in the Pro14 continued, although they did fight back to earn an 18-18 draw with Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth.

Their last league success on the road was a 32-17 victory over Benetton in Treviso on 28 March 2015.

They briefly led in South Africa but trailed 13-8 at the break and 18-8 at one stage in the second half.

But the Dragons fought back with a Jordan Williams try and two penalties.

The Welsh region made a confident start, claiming the first try of the match through centre Adam Warren.

Josh Lewis started the move by chipping for the corner and wing Hallam Amos showed his exceptional skill by taking the high ball and unloading perfectly to Warren who dived over.

Lewis missed the conversion by a distance, but he did add to the Dragons' advantage with a penalty.

However, the Welsh region could not sustain their fast start and were soon behind.

First scrum-half Stefan Ungerer dived over a ruck to touch down and although Maixole Banda was off target with the conversion attempt, Bjorn Basson scored another try within three minutes with Ungerer the provider.

A penalty from Bader Pretorius extended the lead to 13-8 at the interval.

The hosts added to their advantage when centre Harlon Klaasen crossed, although Pretorious missed the extras on a day where neither side shone with their kicking.

The Dragons desperately needed a score and found one when replacement Jordan Williams collected a loose ball 40 metres out and danced through for a superb solo effort, with Lewis adding the extras to make it 18-15.

Rhodri Williams then thought he had given Dragons the advantage once more, but Jack Dixon's pass to him was adjudged by the TMO to have been forward.

A bad-tempered second half meant at one point there were only 26 men on the field with both sides reduced to 13.

Opposing props Tshakweni Alulutho and Leon Brown were yellow carded for scrum infringements and Dragons prop Lloyd Fairbrother and Kings wing Michael Makase sin-binned for acts of dangerous play.

Both sides were at full strength when the visitors nicked a draw as Brown won a penalty and Lewis landed the kick from 40 metres out.

The Kings remain one point ahead of the Dragons at the bottom of Conference B.

Southern Kings: Banda; Penxe, H Klaasen, Kruger, Basson; Pretorius, Ungerer; Ferreira, Willemse, Terblanche, Van Schalkwyk, Astle (capt), Ntsila, Burger, Lerm.

Replacements: Van Rooyen, Tshakweni, Scholtz, Greeff, De Wit, Van Rooyen, B Klaasen, Beyers.

Dragons: Kirchner; Rosser, Warren, Dixon, Amos; Lewis, R Williams; Harris, Hibbard (c), Brown, M Williams, Screech, Wainwright, Basham, Moriarty.

Replacements: Lawrence, Bevington, Fairbrother, Taylor, Greggains, Knoyle, Tovey, J Williams.

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (IRFU), Paul Mente (SARU)

TMO: Shaun Veldsman (SARU)

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A first-half hat-trick from Mark Atkinson saw Gloucester strengthen their play-off credentials with an impressive victory at Northampton.

The centre was backed up by scores from Ruan Ackermann, Ed Slater and Franco Marais in an entertaining encounter.

Northampton also scored five tries of their own through Taqele Naiyaravoro, Piers Francis, Cobas Reinach, Reece Marshall and Rory Hutchinson.

Gloucester have an 11-point lead over Sale in fifth with four games left.

The Cherry and Whites also recorded a third Premiership win in a row for the first time since December 2017 and inflicted just a second home defeat in all competitions this season on Saints.

Northampton remain seventh and will hope not to be sucked into the relegation battle below them, although they hold a healthy 13-point cushion over bottom side Newcastle Falcons.

They still have to travel to Worcester and Newcastle in the bottom two in their last four games as well as host play-off contenders Harlequins and leaders Exeter.

Saints did claim a try bonus point and looked on course for more when winger Naiyarovoro and centre Francis twice put them ahead early on.

But Gloucester showed a clinical edge in the Saints 22 as they kept the hosts at arm's length once Atkinson's second try of the game after 15 minutes put them into a lead they would not relinquish.

The only thing to mar their victory were second-half injuries to fly-half Danny Cipriani (groin), winger Charlie Sharples (ankle) and full-back Tom Hudson (shoulder).

Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd:

"We knew what was going on, but we just didn't deal with it. We still haven't got the necessary accuracy when we come under pressure.

"We have never discussed a finishing position, but we've slipped to seventh.

"We have four games to play, two against sides above us and two below, who are fighting for their lives, so it will be an interesting end to the season."

Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann:

"We are not getting over-excited but it's a nice position to be in. But with four games to go, there are still a lot of teams on our tail.

"Mark (Atkinson) caught my eye when I first came to the club and we've always believed in him. He has all the skill as well as being a big physical presence.

"He's now had a good run of games and has developed a good understanding with Danny (Cipriani) and Billy (Twelvetrees) as a midfield trio."

On the initial post-match injury news: "It's the wrong time of the year to pick up injuries. We can't speculate on the extent of them as we will have to wait for scans on Monday.

"Danny (Cipriani) has a groin problem, but hopefully as we brought him off early he will be okay, but Tom Hudson's shoulder and Charlie Sharples' ankle will have to be assessed."

Northampton: Furbank; Tuala, Hutchinson, Francis, Naiyaravoro; Biggar, Reinach; Van Wyk, Marshall, Hill, Moon, Lawes, Ludlam, Brussow, Harrison (capt).

Replacements: Dawidiuk, Waller, Franks, Ratuniyarawa, Gibson, Mitchell, Burrell, Pisi.

Sin-bin: Naiyaravoro (29 mins).

Gloucester: Hudson; Banahan, Twelvetrees, Atkinson, Sharples; Cipriani, Heinz (capt); Hohneck, Marais, Balmain, Slater, Mostert, Ackermann, Kriel, Morgan.

Replacements: Sherry, Rapava Ruskin, Dreyer, Savage, Clarke, Polledri, Braley, Seabrook.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.

For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

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BRASELTON, Ga. – Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias won his first race of the MotoAmerica EBC Brakes Superbike Series season Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The Spaniard bested Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz by 1.839 seconds under sunny skies on the final day of the Suzuki Championship.

The win, combined with his second place from Saturday, gives Elias the early lead in the EBC Brakes Superbike Championship with 45 points – four more than Saturday’s winner Cameron Beaubier, who was third Sunday.

As was the case yesterday, the Superbike race began with six riders running together at the front with those three – Elias, Scholtz and Beaubier – joined by Beaubier’s Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing teammate Garrett Gerloff, Attack Performance Estenson Racing’s J.D. Beach and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Josh Herrin.

Gerloff was the first to have issues, the Texan slowed by a front fender flapping in the wind. Despite repeated attempts at kicking the bodywork off his bike, Gerloff eventually had to pull over to remove the fender. He would continue onward and eventually finish ninth.

Herrin, meanwhile, lacked the pace to stay with the top four with the race coming down to just three in the final laps as the trio pulled slightly clear of Beach. Then both Beaubier and Scholtz were bauked badly by a back marker with two laps to go, costing them any shot at Elias and also allowing Beach to move to the tail of the battling duo. Scholtz ended up getting the edge on Beaubier to take second with Beach finishing just .3 of a second off the back of the defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion.

Apparently, the birth of his son just a few weeks ago hasn’t slowed Elias who leaves the opening round with the points lead for the fourth straight season.

“Everybody was telling me that,” Elias said of his pace being slowed with having a child. “I was kind of worried. When he was born, in my head I said, ‘what the heck? Now I have a really strong reason to fight for,’ so that’s what happened. I’m super motivated. I didn’t slow down. So, I’m happy. This winter the team worked so good. But, honestly, I was thinking to be more comfortable in these first rounds. Last year to be more competitive we took a good direction. I was thinking this would change a little bit… but then we arrive here and seems different… all the time the bike is moving a lot around. We were going to do some changes for this morning, but we couldn’t try anything. For everybody it was the same. Same tire. Harder than yesterday. I was not thinking yesterday to do that slow pace. I think it’s the race. A little bit frustrated. I couldn’t do what I wanted.

“In the mid part of the race I started to lose a lot of grip, maybe less than J.D. and Mathew. But Cameron was so strong. I missed something there. Anyway, for today I was going to use the same tire as Dunlop wanted, and it was really good. The tire has been super consistent all the race, but we still have to improve in some areas. Anyway, yesterday 20 points. Could be zero. Now 25 (points), so perfect Sunday.”

In Supersport, Saturday’s second-place finisher Bobby Fong came back strong on Sunday and notched the race win aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Second-place finisher P.J. Jacobsen kept Fong honest throughout the majority of the 18-lap race to record his first MotoAmerica podium result in his second race aboard his Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha.

Hudson Motorcycles – HB Racing Yamaha rider Richie Escalante finished third and dedicated the race to his grandfather after getting the sad news earlier in the day that he had passed away.

In Liqui Moly Junior Cup, Saturday’s race winner Rocco Landers did the double and got the win on Sunday aboard his Landers Racing Kawasaki. Almost a carbon copy of yesterday, he got a great jump off the line from the pole position, led the 11-lap race from start to finish, and pulled a gap of nearly five seconds.

Dallas Daniels, the second-place finisher from Saturday’s race, once again finished second on Sunday aboard his Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki. Altus Motorsports rider Kevin Olmedo finished third to complete the podium.

Last year’s Stock 1000 champion Andrew Lee got his 2019 season off to a flying start with a win in Sunday’s race. The Northern Californian is defending his title aboard his No. 1 Franklin Armory/Graves Kawasaki, and he stalked second-place finisher Michael Gilbert, who led the majority of the race on his Team Norris Racing Kawasaki until Lee made his decisive move and took the checkers. MESA37 Racing’s Stefano Mesa came in third, making it a Kawasaki podium sweep.

The same podium finishers in Saturday’s Twins Cup race were again on the podium in Sunday’s race, and Quarterley Racing Ducati rider Michael Barnes was the race winner for the second day in a row. Barnes once again showed that experience (age) is the secret to success as he had the measure of his competitors. Defending class champ Chris Parrish improved on his Saturday third-place result by finishing second on Sunday aboard his Ghetto Customs Suzuki, and RBoM Racing’s Curtis Murray rounded out the podium in third.

The post Elias Shines In MotoAmerica Superbike Action appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

THOMPSON, Conn. — Justin Bonsignore has become the modern day master of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

The Holtsville, New York, driver scored his fifth straight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win at Thompson on Sunday afternoon in the Icebreaker 150. The victory allowed Bonsignore to become the first driver in the history of Whelen Modified Tour action at the historic Connecticut oval to win five straight.

It was the 10th career Thompson win for the defending series champion, and his 21st overall.

“We’ve had speed at every race so far,” Bonsignore said. “I just said that we had to put together a full race and execute. You have to have a little bit of luck to go your way, and we finally got some this year.”

After Doug Coby won his second Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award and led the first 107 laps, the race took a turn for Bonsignore when the field slowed for a caution at lap 99. Bonsignore followed Coby down pit road for fresh tires, and although Coby did beat him off pit road, a penalty for running over his air hose sent Coby to the rear of the field.

While Coby fought back to finish fifth, Bonsignore took the advantage for the restart, and held off South Boston Speedway winner Ron Silk during a green-white-checkered finish to continue his Thompson dominance.

Coby and Bonsignore paced the entire weekend, running first and second, in that order, for both practice sessions and qualifying.

“It would have been a good race, neither one of us would have given an inch, I know that,” Bonsignore said of what would have been with Coby. “We were so close all weekend. I’ve won a bunch here and some of them are just on luck. You have to put yourself in position, and my team always does.”

Silk, who qualified ninth, got back to the track in third following the pit stop, and when Coby was sent to the tail, the former series champion was in position for his second place effort.

“Things are going good,” Silk said. “It’s nice to get a win and back that up with a second today. It’s good for the guys on the team. They are all pumped up.”

Eric Goodale was third, while Patrick Emerling and Coby, who was able to work his way back up through the field, completed the top five. After three races, Coby holds a slim seven point lead in the Whelen Modified Tour championship standings.

The finish:

Justin Bonsignore, Ron Silk, Eric Goodale, Patrick Emerling, Doug Coby, Burt Myers, Matt Swanson, Woody Pitkat, Chris Pasteryak, Jimmy Blewett, Sam Rameau, Kyle Benjamin, Craig Lutz, Kyle Bonsignore, Timmy Solomito, Blake Barney, Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano,  Calvin Carroll, Dave Sapienza, J.B. Fortin Jr., Timmy Catalano, Ken Heagy, Anthony Nocella, Wade Cole, Melissa Fifield, Andrew Krause, Rob Summers.

The post Bonsignore Continues Thompson Dominance appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

WAYNESFIELD, Ohio – Justin Peck collected his second NAPA Auto Parts FAST Series win of the weekend Sunday afternoon at Waynesfield Raceway Park.

It wasn’t easy for Peck, who won at Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio, Saturday, as he had to deal with lapped traffic and several challenges from Cale Conley, who scored a victory of his own Saturday at Attica Raceway Park.

“We really got taken to school for two years around Ohio. These guys are tough. It’s pretty awesome to come in here and pick up two wins. It is the first races of the season which gives us a lot of confidence and makes us feel like we know what we are doing and gives us a pretty good base line with our cars,” Peck said. “We talked last night after getting a strong start about following FAST now.

“Those lappers were really tough to get around. This place was just so fast wide open around the top you really had to check up to go to the bottom and be patient. I had to catch the lappers the first time to figure that out. I made too many mistakes the first time trying to get through. The last few times I caught them there at the end I was picking the right spots and making the right moves,” said Peck.

Max Stambaugh and Peck brought the field to green for the 30-lap FAST A-main with Peck gaining the advantage over Stambaugh, Conley, Henry and Brady Bacon. Buddy Kofoid spun in turn one on lap three, collecting Joey Saldana and Lee Jacobs with Saldana going pitside with front end damage as Kofoid and Jacobs rejoined at the tail. on the restart Conley drove around Stambaugh while Henry, Bacon and Travis Philo battled for fourth.

Adam Cruea spun on lap five just as the leaders were preparing to enter lapped traffic. With a clear track on the restart Peck and Conley pulled away from the battle for third between Stambaugh, Henry and Bacon. Peck encountered very heavy lapped traffic by the ninth circuit and Conley quickly closed as the pair maneuvered through and around lapped cars battling for the lead. Henry took third on lap 12 with Stambaugh now battling Bacon and Philo to hold onto fourth.

Peck worked his way through the lapped cars like a surgeon and was able to maintain the lead over Conley but that again evaporated by lap 18 with heavy lapped traffic. Conley again closed and this time Henry and Bacon joined the fun. The lead quartet was soon joined by Stambaugh as they had the crowd on their feet battling for the lead over the next seven laps. A Bradley Ashford spin with five laps to go giving Peck a clear track and clean air.

Peck pulled away for the win but the action behind didn’t slow down as Conley, Henry and Bacon waged war for the runner-up spot. Henry was able to get under Conley on lap 27 and crossed the finish line second ahead of Conley, Bacon and Stambaugh. Spencer Bayston charged from 13th to sixth followed by Cole Duncan, Philo, Greg Wilson and Kofoid who rallied from his early race spin to round out the top 10.

In the K&L Ready Mix National Racing Alliance (NRA) portion of Sunday’s show, Delphos, Ohio’s Shawn Dancer held off several challenges from Randy Hannagan on a hand full of restarts to take the victory.

“Waynesfield is a great track. Shane (Helms, promoter) put on a great race. Thanks for the fans for coming out…come back for the other shows. The track prep job was awesome. Congrats to everyone who put this together,” said Dancer. “Sometimes it gets tough on the cushion here. Thanks to Kent and Garth and everyone who helps.”

The finish:

Justin Peck, Cap Henry, Cale Conley, Brady Bacon, Max Stambaugh, Spencer Bayston, Cole Duncan, Travis Philo, Greg Wilson, Buddy Kofoid, Dale Blaney, Tyler Gunn, T.J. Michael, Lee Jacobs, Chad Wilson, Mike Terry Jr., Cody Bova, Adam Cruea, Bradley Ashford, Jake Hesson, Jordan Harble, Joey Saldana.

The post Peck Has What It Takes On Waynesfield Dirt appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kurt Busch was going to do whatever it took on Sunday to try and secure his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

That included wrecking his younger brother Kyle Busch for the win, if it had come down to that.

While the elder Busch brother never ultimately got close enough to his younger sibling’s back bumper to take that shot, he still came home with a season-best second-place finish off a late pit strategy call.

Both Busch brothers stayed out when the race’s final yellow flag waved with 22 to go, after Kyle Larson got into the outside wall in turn three, placing them on the front row for a restart with 14 laps left.

That was as close as Kurt Busch got, as he watched Kyle drive off to his eighth-career Bristol win.

“It was tough battling our No. 1 Chevy, but this Monster Energy team is doing a good job,” said Kurt Busch after the race. “That one was tough, though. I really wanted to beat him. I flat out would have wrecked him (laughter). I wanted to stay close enough so that when we took the white, I was just going to drive straight into (turns) three and four.

“I mean, he’s already won. I figured he could give a little love to his brother, but no,” he added. “I wanted that one bad. I feel like him right now; I’m mad because I didn’t win.”

The weekend started out rough for Kurt Busch, who qualified 27th and had to fight his way forward all day on Sunday. He did that, however, just like in Texas a week ago – when he went from 30th to ninth.

“This car, we’re struggling on qualifying and we struggle on taking off,” the 40-year-old noted. “I just can’t get the right rear to grip until it gets heat in it, and it’s hard to be patient when you’re running for the win on old tires.”

The good for the elder Busch? He’s now finished inside the top 10 in six of the last seven Cup Series races and propelled himself from 24th to eighth in the series standings since the Daytona 500.

That has him believing that a victory is close, and coming soon.

“I’m happy that we were in position to do it, this group of guys. We’re not quite ready to win yet, but that was close,” said Kurt Busch. “I was going to wreck my little brother to win today, but with three laps to go, the car just stepped out in turn one and I wasn’t close enough to him after that.

“For our Monster Chevy, today is a really good run. We’ve got a lot of puzzle pieces, [and] we’re putting them together,” he noted. “This is my favorite track. We almost won, but we know we’re still wanting some good.

“Our No. 1 Monster Chevy is fast. We’ve just got to fine-tune it all.”

The post Kurt Busch: ‘I Flat Out Would Have Wrecked Him’ appeared first on SPEED SPORT.