SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series will kick off its sprint car campaign on Saturday with the Salute to LeRoy Van Conett at the Stockton Dirt Track.

The event is in honor of eight-time Northern Auto Racing Club champion LeRoy Van Conett.

This marks the first of 20 events at 10 different dirt track venues this season for the series. The traveling series and its teams are attempting to return to some form of normalcy after getting sidetracked by the pandemic last year. Only four of the planned 19-events were run last season and the Northern Auto Racing Club did not crown a champion for the first time in 61 years.

Officials from the sanctioning body are realistic on what is possible this season with the pandemic still looming strong in the background. A few setbacks and cancellations are expected, but a majority of the schedule is expected to be held as planned.

“We are looking to get back to the business of dirt track racing and put on some entertaining shows for the fans,” said 13-time series champion and series board member Brent Kaeding. “It’s been a rough year for motorsports in California and everybody is anxious to get back to doing what they love the most. We should have a great show at Stockton on Saturday.”

Admission is $30 per person. Seniors 65 and older and military personnel will be admitted for $25. Pit passes are $40.

D.J. Netto is the most recent series champion and he is expected to be in attendance. Others expected to participate include Dominic Scelzi, Tim Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Justin Sanders, Sean Becker, Willie Croft, Mitchell Faccinto, Austin McCarl, Kyle Hirst, Shane Golobic, Rico Abreu, Sean Watts, Kyle Offill, Kenny Allen and Mark Barroso.

The NARC King of the West Hoosier Tire format will include qualifying, three eight-lap heat races, a six-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon trophy dash and the $3000-to-win Fujitsu feature.

Pit gates will open at noon. Qualifying is set to get underway at 5 p.m., followed by racing at 6 p.m. Also on the racing card are the NorCal Dwarf Cars.

BATAVIA, Ohio – Wright Motorsports has joined the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series with three Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car entries to be driven by John Goetz, Hutton McKenna and Max Root.

“I’m very proud of the program we’ve been able to assemble,” said team owner John Wright. “The new Porsche Carrera Cup is the perfect addition to the North American sports car racing ladder. This will make for excellent proving grounds for John, Hutton, and Max, now a Porsche Junior Program driver. I’m excited to see how this series will go, and grateful we get to be a part of it.”

Sanctioned by the International Motorsports Ass’n and managed by Porsche Motorsport North America, the one-make series is scheduled to host 16 rounds at eight venues in North America, most often in support of the WeatherTech Sports Car championship. Two 45-minute races will take place each weekend, with drivers competing in three classes: Pro, Pro-Am, and Pro-Am 991.

As the sole gentleman driver on the team, Goetz is returning to Wright Motorsports with ample experience racing a Porsche with Wright Motorsports. He previously competed in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama after a decade of club racing in the Porsche Club of America and the Trophy East Series. Goetz will race the No. 57 Porsche this season in the Pro-Am class.

“I’m excited to join Wright team in the Carrera Cup inaugural season,” said Goetz. “It’s been over five years since I last raced with Wright. Frankly, I’ve missed being part of the tight ship they run. As a gentleman driver, I’m honored to be sharing the space with two exceptional young drivers that I can learn from and also be supported by an excellent crew. Sebring is a challenging track with a challenging field—all the better to be pushed hard.”

McKenna, son of IMSA race winner Danny McKenna, is setting out on his own professional racing journey. After a successful run in the Porsche Trophy West USA where he earned six wins and two second place finishes, McKenna is now stepping up to the next level of competition to race the No. 88 Porsche, which will sport a special livery for the occasion. The car’s look will pay homage to the Alex Job Racing Porsche his dad raced in the 2000s, sponsored by McKenna Porsche dealership.

“I’m very excited to be racing with Wright Motorsports this season,” said McKenna. “The level of professionalism from this team is unparalleled, and I look forward to achieving great results with an amazing team behind me.”

After winning the GT World Challenge America Am championship last season with Wright Motorsports and Fred Poordad, Root is back to continue his racing career, now as a Porsche Junior Program North America driver. He closed out the 2020 season with seven wins and an additional four podiums to add to his resume, including a class victory at the Indianapolis 8 Hour. He’ll run the No. 7 Porsche this season, as a partnership effort between Moorespeed and Wright Motorsports.

“I’m extremely humbled to be joining the Moorespeed-Wright Motorsports collaboration in the inaugural season of the Carrera Cup North America in the Porsche Junior Program,” said Root. “This is an amazing opportunity, and I cannot wait to get down to Sebring, get my feet on the ground, and to really focus on the championship this year. It is an amazing driver field from all over the world, and to participate in such an amazing series as Carrera Cup with Carrera Cup Germany celebrating its 32nd anniversary this year. It is a really special thing to come to North America, and I can’t think everyone with this program together enough.”

The collaborative effort between old friends David Moore and John Wright came together after last minute sponsorship changes to Moorespeed’s program resulted in the loss of their driver. Wright learned of the news and extended an offer to Moore, presenting an option for the two to join together and create an opportunity for Root to drive.

“Others had offered to buy the car, but I was pretty adamant that I wanted a young driver in the car, as we’ve steered our program lately more towards preparing young drivers for the top ranks,” said Moore. “Johnny [Wright] was the only guy that suggested a plan that put a young American, Max Root, in the seat. It was all his idea. Our relationship as friends and competitors goes back to the mid-90s, and I’m really humbled that our friendship took the lead helping Max get in the car.”

The deal came together just days before last week’s series test at Sebring Int’l Raceway, allowing Root to participate in the final two sessions. The 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona race winner and longtime Porsche racer R.J. Valentine contributed to the effort, helping pull together the resources needed to support the youngster.

“Even though David Moore and I have been competitors over half of our lives, we have always shared a passion for racing and giving young drivers opportunities to grow and develop in order to rise through the ranks,” said Wright. “I’m grateful to David and his help to get the third car on the grid. Our friendship goes back over 25 years, and I’m proud to be working with him on this effort.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – For the second consecutive season, CP Compressors, a division of Chicago Pneumatic, will serve as a sponsor of Front Row Motorsports.

This year, the CP Compressors brand will make its NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut as the primary sponsor of Todd Gilliland during this Saturday’s Fr8 Auctions 200 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

CP Compressors will also be an associate partner of Anthony Alfredo during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Last season, CP Compressors supported Michael McDowell and the No. 34 team. The brand earned a top-10 finish with McDowell during the inaugural Daytona Road Course event. CP Compressors are used daily at both FRM and David Gilliland Racing.

“Our body shop has been very impressed with the power of our CP Compressor,” said Jerry Freeze, General Manager, FRM. “They are known as some of the best in the industry and they help keep our team moving forward. We trust their products and they have been a big part of our race shop.”

Chicago Pneumatic’s compressor division is a market-leading manufacturer and distributor of compressed air products. They offer both fixed and variable speed compressors that range in sizes from 3 – 350 HP and come with the option to be either tank-mounted or base-mounted, as well as the availability for integrated dryers. No matter what the application, CP Compressors have a model to fit all needs.

“Front Row Motorsports has been great to work with and we’re proud to service their race shop and also David Gilliland Racing,” said Maggie Rogers, Communications and Branding Marketing Manager, Chicago Pneumatic Compressors. “We see the progress that Front Row Motorsports has made, and we wanted to support Todd Gilliland and Anthony Alfredo this weekend in Atlanta. We are proud to be a part of the organization.”

Since their incorporation in 1901, Chicago Pneumatic has been at the forefront of mechanical and industrial engineering for more than 100 years. One of their early inventions was the world’s first impact wrench; a tool that today, is used daily in the field of motorsports. Since then, Chicago Pneumatic has gone on to assist in many American engineering marvels, including the Apollo space mission to the moon and the erection of the World Trade Center.

“It’s pretty cool to see CP Compressors come back to Front Row Motorsports and support our program,” said Gilliland. “I can’t wait to get to Atlanta after not really getting the finish that we wanted at Las Vegas. We have a cool CP Compressors scheme and it’s the Fr8 Auctions 200, so it’s a big weekend for FRM. I’m ready to get to the track and have a good run on Saturday for everyone.”

The modern version of the Trans-Am Series is a throwback to an earlier era when the thunder of raw, unbridled American horsepower echoed from this country’s iconic road racing venues.

“First and foremost, the cars themselves are phenomenal beasts, still roaming the Earth at a time when the sport has become more sanitized and, frankly, a little more one dimensional,” road racing veteran and Trans-Am competitor Chris Dyson told SPEED SPORT. “Trans-Am remains one of last bastions of unapologetic, loud, brutally fast and very, very monstrous racing cars.

“That’s the central appeal of the series and it’s become more pronounced as time has gone on because Trans-Am has always occupied a really important position in American road racing. That position has become more profound as a lot of other racing series have retreated from high-powered, monstrous performance pieces and Trans-Am stands out even more now.”

“Old-school” is among the adjectives longtime racer Boris Said uses to describe today’s Trans-Am cars.

“Of all the cars I’ve driven, they are the most fun,” Said noted. “Now, everything is getting dumbed-down with traction control, ABS and paddle shifts. Trans-Am is 850 horsepower, gated shifter, no ABS and no traction control. The cars are just a blast to drive. It’s a car you need to manhandle; it’s kind of old-school.”

Born in 1966, the current Trans-Am has a lot in common with the series’ early years when legends such as Jerry Titus, Mark Donohue, Parnelli Jones and George Follmer traded paint in the muscle cars of the era.

“The series hasn’t evolved that much,” said John Clagett, who has promoted the series since 1984 and currently serves as president of the Trans-Am Race Co. “That means it has stayed relatively true to its core direction, which is a home for the Trans-Am class — the beautiful 850-horsepower, purpose-built race cars that so often get dismissed as no longer being part of the motorsports fabric. When people see the cars and hear them, it brings back what motorsports should be all about.”

The Trans-Am Series features two distinct classes.

“First, you have the TA class, which is essentially the same formula that has existed since the 1980s, as far as a purpose-built race car with a V-8-based engine and a pony car-type body package, sports cars as well,” Clagett explained. “The engine formula has changed over the course of time. It’s been made a lot cheaper by taking the engines that are essentially NASCAR engines and using them instead of having a customized platform like we had in the ’80s.

“The TA2 is the same thing, a purpose-built race car but with a 530-horsepower engine in a very affordable spec car. The Trans-Am class is open to technology with the exception of traction control and things like that, but the TA2 class is very much a spec formula that has kept those cars very affordable. It is our strongest class.”

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KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Knoxville Raceway and the 360 Booster Club have added more than $30,000 to the total purse for the 360 sprints class this season.

Additionally, the July 17 Van Wall Equipment Race Night will pay $3,000 to win, courtesy of Greg Parent and the Midwest Power Series.

“Once again, the Knoxville 360 Booster Club has really stepped up to sponsor our Saturday night 360 purse every week,” said Knoxville Raceway promoter John McCoy. “Thanks to Alan Dehaai for organizing the club and especially to all of the 360 Booster Club members for showing their support to our 360 class. They’re doing amazing things for this group of drivers and teams.”

Knoxville Raceway will host 15 360 winged sprint events in 2021. The purse has been restructured to increase the winner’s pay but also focus on the purse for the middle of the field. Each race will now pay $1,700-to-win and $300-to-start, compared to $1,500-to-win last season. The Budweiser Salutes America mid-season race and the Iowa Corn Districts 5 & 9 season finale will pay $2,000-to-win, $1,700 for second, $1,200 for third and $1,000 to fourth, courtesy of remaining 360 Booster Club funds from the 2020 race season.

The Van Wall Equipment race night on July 17 will be part of a doubleheader weekend with the Midwest Power Series. The tour will also compete July 16 at Jackson (Minn.) Motorplex. The winner at Knoxville Raceway will receive $3,000 and a side of pork courtesy of the Marion County Fair Association. An additional $3,000 will be on the line if he or she can sweep the weekend.

The 360 Booster Club is comprised by Jetco Electric, Blondie Motorsports, Howard Law Firm, The Rib Shack, Rex Drottz, Dennison Racing Tee’s, Cody Ledger Racing, Campbell Supply/Pearce Midwest, Boyd & Glenda Fluth, Midwest Excavating, Dwight Maurer, Dehaai Century Farms, Harvey Electric, Finish Line Graphics, Slideways Karting Center, Jersey Freeze, In Memory of Jerry Crabb, RAD Flooring, Dingus Lounge and Mobile Tech, Inc.

The 2021 Knoxville Raceway season will begin on Saturday, April 17 with the Pella Motors/Kraig Ford season opener.

Some rookie stars arrive in the NHL with their own gravitational pull, knocking a franchise out of its orbit.

Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason saw it happen first hand while with the Washington Capitals when Alex Ovechkin arrived. He was a player whose pulsating lifeforce, on and off the ice, infused every aspect of the team.

"When he first came in ... my gosh, he was so much fun to be around. His excitement level on the ice had him jumping into the glass and being as excited for his teammates as he was for himself. But off the ice was the same thing: In the weight room and the dressing room, he was just a fun guy to be around," recalled Evason.

Nearly 16 years later, Evason is seeing the same kind of impact from 23-year-old winger Kirill Kaprizov. Like Ovechkin, his boundless enthusiasm is infectious. Like Ovechkin, his production is prodigious: Kaprizov leads all rookies with 24 points in 26 games after finally coming over to North America from the KHL, six years after the Wild drafted him in the fifth round.

Like Ovechkin, his energy on and off the ice is transforming an NHL franchise. The Wild have gone from a punch-less offense to a potent one. They've gone from a team searching for a dynamic, signature superstar to the team of Kirill Kaprizov.

Or as he's sometimes known, "Kirill the Thrill." When he's not being called "Dollar Dollar Bill Kirill," that is.

'Kirill the Thrill'

It's not every rookie that gets christened with multiple nicknames the moment they arrive. Ovechkin was immediately "Ovi" and "The Great Eight." Kaprizov has been given "Kirill the Thrill" and, quite hilariously, "Dollar Dollar Bill Kirill."

Wild defenseman Matt Dumba helped given him the latter name for being so "money" while handling the puck. His teammates surprised Kaprizov by having shirts created with the nickname, and a sketch drawing of the rookie's face wearing sunglasses with dollar signs on them.

"It was very cool, but it was unexpected. I heard some of the guys talk about making shirts. I walked into the locker room and everyone is wearing them. It was very cool. But it made me a little shy, even," said Kaprizov, through a translator.

Here's a look at what's happening on the PGA Tour and  European Tour this week, and how you can watch it:

PGA Tour

The Honda Classic

Thursday-Sunday, PGA National Resort & Spa (Champions), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Course specs: Par 70, 7,125 yards

Purse: $7 million ($1.26 million to the winner)

Defending champion: Sungjae Im, at 4 under par (this event preceded the shutdown in 2020)

Notables in the field: Daniel Berger, Rickie Fowler, Padraig Harrington, Im, Kamaiu Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Chase Koepka, Shane Lowry, Phil Mickelson, Joaquin Niemann, Ian Poulter, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood

Tee times: Click here

TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) and 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC Sports)

EUROPEAN TOUR

Magical Kenya Open

Thursday-Sunday, Karen CC, Nairobi, Kenya

Course specs: Par 71, 6,921 yards

Purse: $1.5 million

Defending champion: Guido Migliozzi, 2019 (no event in 2020)

Notables in the field: Jorge Campillo, John Catlin, George Coetzee, Justin Harding, Jazz Janewattananond, Joost Luiten, Migliozzi, Edoardo Molinari, Wilco Nienaber

Tee times: Click here

TV schedule: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 a.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5:30-10 a.m. ET (Golf Channel)

OTHER TOURS

• Korn Ferry Tour: Chitimacha Louisiana Open, Le Triomphe G&CC, Broussard, La. (March 18-21)
• Symetra Tour: Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, Longbow GC, Mesa, Ariz. (March 18-21)
• Sunshine Tour: Gauteng Championship, Ebotse Links, Benoni, South Africa, (March 18-21)
• LPGA of Japan Tour: T-Point Eneos Golf Tournament, Kagoshima Takamaki CC, Kagoshima, Japan (March 19-21)

Barcelona president-elect Joan Laporta has less than 24 hours to secure a bank guarantee worth €125 million or the club will be forced to call a new election process.

Laporta, who was previously Barca president between 2003 and 2010, was voted back into power last weekend ahead of rival candidates Victor Font and Toni Freixa.

However to take office, Laporta and his executive board must first present a bank guarantee worth 15% of Barca's budget within 10 days of being elected.

- Barcelona elect Laporta as president: What it means

Wednesday marks the deadline for Laporta to come up with the guarantee, which must also be ratified by La Liga.

Barca's club statutes demand that the executive board are "liable for their actions" while in charge and the bank guarantee is a way of protecting the club against being run irresponsibly.

The statutes add that the members of the board should be "equally liable for [the total amount] unless individual or internal agreements are made between the members of the board for a different distribution of liabilities."

Laporta's hopes of securing the guarantee were hit over the weekend when it was announced that one of his vice presidents, Jaume Giro, would no longer form part of his team.

Giro was set to oversee the club's finances. Officially, he stepped away due to "professional commitments that will oblige him to spend a lot of time in London" but sources told ESPN there were discrepancies with Laporta.

Given Giro was set to be liable for a large part of the guarantee, he had hoped to be given more power within the club, but Laporta wasn't willing to give him as much as he wanted.

Eduard Romeu, a Barca member and the vice president of Audax Renovables, has been earmarked as Giro's replacement but an agreement has not yet been finalised over his incorporation.

Talks remain ongoing over how much of the guarantee Romeu and Audax would be liable for and how much control they would have at the club.

Meanwhile, Laporta and his board are also in negotiations with banks, possible new board members and other third-party companies and sources told ESPN they're confident of getting the bank guarantee signed before the deadline.

Sweden men's record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named in coach Janne Andersson's squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Kosovo, five years after the striker retired from the national team.

Ibrahimovic, 39, scored 62 goals in 116 internationals before quitting the team following their exit at the group stage of Euro 2016.

- Stream FC Daily on ESPN+

"The return of the God," Zlatan wrote on Twitter on Monday, alongside a photo of him playing for Sweden.

"He can be a little bit funny at times," Andersson said with a laugh when told about the striker's tweet during an online news conference.

"First and foremost he is a very good footballer, the best we have had in Sweden. It's obviously very good that he wants to come back.

"Apart from what he can contribute on the field, he has incredible experience and can contribute with that to the other players in the team."

The return of the God @svenskfotboll pic.twitter.com/hQThIdWRY0

— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official) March 16, 2021

Ibrahimovic opened the door to a return in a newspaper interview in November 2020, and coach Andersson flew to meet him in Milan to pave the way for his comeback, which was announced on Tuesday.

"If [Andersson] called me, I would answer. I would tell him to give me time. I have to think about it. But it has to come from him. If he thinks I'm too big, I'm not interested. If he believes I can bring something [to the group], then I would think about it," Ibrahimovic said at the time.

The former Manchester United and LA Galaxy forward told Swedish fans that he "misses" playing for the national team.

Ibrahimovic and Andersson's relationship has been strained since the veteran striker, who is of Bosnian and Croat descent, claimed last year that the Sweden coach had overlooked the country's players who were of immigrant origin in his first call-up since becoming national team manager.

He has scored 14 goals in 14 Serie A appearances for AC Milan so far this season.

USWNT and OL Reign star Megan Rapinoe has said that when she pulls on her United States jersey she is not thinking of U.S. Soccer, but her side's ongoing legal case to secure equal pay.

Players for the national team agreed to settlement terms for the portion of the lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation relating to claims of unequal working conditions in December but are still appealing an earlier decision on wage discrimination claims under the Equal Pay Act.

- Explained: What is happening with the USWNT equal pay suit?
- Stream FC Daily on ESPN+

"I would much rather be spending my time doing absolutely anything else other than fighting the federation all the time for something I feel like I deserve, but that is part of it," Rapinoe told ESPN.

"For me, when I pull on the shirt, I'm not thinking about the federation.

"I see them [U.S. Soccer executives] pulling up to the game and I think: That's cute, that's nice.

"I feel like I pull on this shirt for equal pay and for the fans and for kids who want to be in my position. So that never feels in conflict."

Since launching the equal pay lawsuit in March 2019, the USWNT has won its second consecutive World Cup as well as the 2020 and 2021 SheBelieves Cups.

"It's ironic all the time. We play in full times most of the time. We win most of the games," Rapinoe added. "Sponsorships for all of us individually are up. We won the World Cup. We entertain. We do everything we are asked to do so it is frustrating."

"U.S. Soccer have the opportunity to be a beacon. I don't know why they didn't want to stand on the steps of City Hall [on their World Cup victory tour] and claim the credit.

"I'm like Carlos [Cordeiro, former U.S. Soccer president], you could have stood there and had everyone cheering you rather than booing you."

"It's more complicated than that but I feel they have a real opportunity to invest in the future. All this time and money could be going to make U.S. Soccer the best federation in the world."

U.S. Soccer announced on Monday that the USWNT would travel to Le Havre to take on France on April 13 in one of two European games during the international window. It was previously announced that they would take on Sweden on April 10 as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.

"I think we still need our punch in the mouth that we haven't got yet," Rapinoe said.

"Normally it is in the SheBelieves Cup but obviously we had some restrictions. It was great just to get together and to play."