BRANTFORD, Ontario -- Walter Gretzky's family thought the end was coming quickly in the middle of February.

The father of hockey's greatest player had suffered a serious hip injury and, after battling Parkinson's disease and other health issues in recent years, his time -- something Walter was always willing to give both friends and strangers -- appeared to be running short.

"But he had a love for life and he didn't want to leave," Wayne Gretzky said during an emotional eulogy on Saturday. "We were 21 days sitting with him and just enjoying life. We got a chance and opportunity to tell stories."

And Walter Gretzky's life was full of them.

Known as Canada's hockey dad, Walter Gretzky died Thursday at age 82. His death prompted an avalanche of tributes for a genuine, approachable, authentic person who nurtured Wayne's incredible talents on the family's famed backyard rink in Brantford but also never forgot where he came from.

"He was a remarkable man who loved life, loved family," Wayne Gretzky said. "We'd be a way better world if there was so many more people like my dad. Very special. We're all hurting."

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the funeral service was limited to family. But hundreds of people -- including many kids wearing Gretzky jerseys -- gathered outside St. Mark's Anglican Church in this city about 60 miles west of Toronto.

"A tough time," said Gretzky, his voice beginning to crack and tears welling in his eyes. "I'm so proud of the fact that so many people have reached out and given him such great tributes, because he deserves it. He has the heart of gold."

Walter was there every step of the way as Wayne ascended to a greatness that included four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers and becoming the NHL's career all-time leader in goals, assists and points.

An employee with Bell for more than three decades -- and long after his son became the sport's biggest star -- Walter remained a loving, blue-collar symbol of devotion.

"A deeply humble man," said Rev. Dr. Tim Dobbin, who officiated the funeral broadcast live on TSN and streamed on Sportsnet.ca. "He spoke the truth. Wally's word was his bond."

A video tribute toward the end of the service included pictures from the early days on the backyard rink, Wayne's triumphs, Walter on the ice teaching kids, the Gretzky memorabilia in the family home and highlights from Wayne's final games in the NHL.

As the casket was about to be led out of the church and into the sunshine, "The Hockey Theme" song, made famous on "Hockey Night in Canada," was played.

And the moment Walter's funeral procession pulled away from the church -- the building's sign read "We Will Miss You Wally" -- some of the jersey-clad kids waiting outside tapped their hockey sticks on the pavement in unison.

It was a fitting send-off for Canada's hockey dad.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said he feared losing his memory and voice after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2018.

The 79-year-old, widely regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, needed emergency surgery and spent several days in intensive care at Salford Royal Hospital in greater Manchester.

"One of the first things I said the day after the operation when my family came to see me was [about] my memory," Ferguson told questioners at Glasgow film festival on Saturday after the premiere of a documentary about the Scotsman.

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"I've survived with having a great memory all my life. The next week ... I lost my voice. I couldn't get a word out and it was absolutely terrifying.

"Everything was going through my mind -- is my memory going to be back? Am I ever going to speak again?

Ferguson said he worked with a speech therapist and his voice returned after 10 days.

"The speech therapist came and told me to write down all the members of my family, of my football team ... She asked me questions about animals, fish, birds. Eventually after 10 days my voice came back," he said.

"I realised, having gone through all that, my memory was fine."

Ferguson was United manager from 1986 to 2013, winning the Champions League twice, the Premier League 13 times and five FA Cups.

He was knighted in 1999, the year United won the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

Swansea City's on-loan forward Paul Arriola has apologised for a number of "offensive" and "discriminatory" comments that he posted on social media nearly a decade ago.

The messages were posted in 2012 but recently resurfaced on Twitter, prompting an apology from the 26-year-old United States international, who is on loan from Major League Soccer's DC United.

"I am ashamed and apologize for the choice of offensive and discriminatory words I used in the tweets as they were not acceptable then or now," Arriola said in a statement on Twitter.

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"I can assure you that I have grown and learned since then and those tweets did not accurately portray me as a human being at that time in my life, and they certainly do not now.

"Those who know me know my true character... I am aware of the privileged position I am in as a professional athlete and role model ... and I can assure you that posts containing such language will never be used again."

Swansea said they had been made aware of the messages, which were posted before Arriola's arrival at the Welsh club.

"We want to make clear we do not condone any form of discriminatory behaviour from anyone associated with our club," Swansea said in a statement.

"Swansea City has been discussing the issue with Paul, and we support his decision to be the one to address these historical tweets and to issue an apology.

"Paul is committed to participating in both unconscious and conscious bias training, which he will undertake upon his return to DC United."

Big picture

Sri Lanka have broken their barren streak. They'd lost eight T20 internationals in a row - against, Australia, India and West Indies. Finally they seemed like a competent T20 team, and this was largely thanks to their spinners.

It may seem like this is obviously the way Sri Lanka were going to win, but it isn't, really. Sri Lanka haven't had a good limited-overs spin attack for years. While on Friday, Akila Dananjaya bowled nicely through the powerplay, Wanindu Hasaranga dominated the middle overs, and Lakshan Sandakan polished up the tail, it hasn't been since Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake bowled in tandem, midway through the last decade, that Sri Lanka have had potent slow bowlers. On Friday's evidence, these three have potential. While Hasaranga is clearly the primary matchwinner among them, Dananjaya and Sandakan also have significant strengths - particularly the ability to bowl difficult overs.

West Indies won't fret on the loss much, partly because there is so much quality in their lineup that it's impossible to rule out a comeback in even the most dire situations. Who's going to rule out Evin Lewis blasting his way to a match-winning score? Or Nicholas Pooran going off like a skyrocket? There's Chris Gayle, Llendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard to contend with as well, in addition to the lower-order talents of Dwayne Bravo and Fabian Allen.

This is not a team you can predict a lot about, apart from to say most are matchwinners, and will ruin oppositions at will. Sri Lanka were at very near their best on Friday. They'll need to be at that level again on Sunday to take the series.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: : WLLLL

West Indies: LWWLL

In the spotlight

Have many bowlers had the kind of series Akila Dananjaya has had so far? He's coming back from a long international hiatus because of his action, for a start. Then in the first match, he took a hat-trick and then ended up being pummeled for six sixes in an over by Kieron Pollard, to wind up with figures of 3 for 62 from his four overs. Kudos to the team management who not only played him again in the second match, but also tasked him with bowling powerplay overs, as the team banked on spin. In that game, he dismissed Lewis and finished with 1 or 13 from his four overs. Clearly, West Indies are planning to go after him. On Friday's evidence, Dananjaya will come prepared.

If West Indies are impervious to analysis as a team, no player lives that out like Chris Gayle. So far in this series, he's collected scores of 0 and 16, and yet, there is the sense that he could explode, and explode spectacularly. If he has a slow start, so what? But then he's playing his first serious T20 international cricket in two years, this series, and it's been at least three years since he last made a substantial contribution to West Indies in this format. Perhaps it is unthinkable that West Indies go to the T20 World Cup later this year without Chris Gayle, but in moving him to No. 3, West Indies have already put him on notice a little bit. After scores of 0 and 16 so far in the series, Gayle needs runs.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at Coolidge seems unlikely to change much - it's been slowish for the first two matches, with moderate bounce. The weather forecast suggests another warm but dry evening is in store.

Team news

Sri Lanka are unlikely to change their winning, spin-heavy XI.

Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Pathum Nissanka. 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 5 Ashen Bandara, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 9 Ashen Bandara, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Nuwan Pradeep

West Indies aren't likely to make many changes either. Only, Pollard keeps moving himself up and down the order.

West Indies (possible) 1 Llendl Simmons, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard (capt.), 6 Jason Holder, 7 Dwayne Bravo , 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Kevin Sinclair, 10 Obed McCoy, 11 Fidel Edwards

Stats and trivia

• Only twice in 13 bowling innings has Wanindu Hasaranga failed to take a wicket. And in both those innings - in Australia - he had not bowled his full quota of overs.
• Gayle has not crossed 50 in T20 internationals in five years - since March 2016. That innings, however, was 100 not out off 48 balls, against England in the most-recent T20 World Cup.
• Sri Lanka have not won a T20I series since October 2019, when they won 3-0 in Pakistan.
• West Indies won their last T20I series against Sri Lanka, around this time last year.

South Africa Women won the toss and chose to bowl v India Women

South Africa Women's stand-in captain Sune Luus decided to chase against hosts India, who are playing their first match in almost a year. India last played in the Women's T20 World Cup final on March 8 last year and their last ODI was 15 months ago, against West Indies.

India have made two changes to their XI from that day, giving 21-year-old seamer Monica Patel a debut and returning to Sushma Verma as wicketkeeper, in place of Taniya Bhatia.

South Africa are without regular captain Dane van Niekerk and allrounder Chloe Tryon, who are both recovering from lower-back injuries and are fielding a slightly different side to the XI that last beat Pakistan at home. Marizanne Kapp, who was rested for the final match in that series is back into the team, as well as Nadine de Klerk and Lara Goodall. Tazmin Brits, Anne Bosch and Masabata Klaas miss out.

The five ODI and three T20 series will be played entirely in Lucknow, with 10% capacity allowed to attend matches.

India: 1 Punam Raut, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Mithali Raj (c), 4 Harmanpreet Kaur, 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Deepti Sharma, 7 Sushma Verma (wk), 8 Jhulan Goswami, 9 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 10 Monica Patel, 11 Poonam Yadav

South Africa: 1 Laura Woolvardt, 2 Lizelle Lee, 3 Sune Luus (wk), 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Lara Goodall, 6 Mignon du Preez, 7 Trisha Chetty, 8 Nadine de Klerk, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Ayabonga Khaka, 11 Nonkululekho Mlaba

Australia fought back from 2-0 down to square the series against New Zealand before suffering a heavy loss in the decider. The squad was missing at least four players who will be inked into the T20 World Cup squad, in theory given an opportunity to assess the wider options available. With the team now facing a lengthy break, what can be gleaned from the five matches?

Wade the frontrunner, but where does the keeper bat?

However this series had played out there would have been questions remaining afterwards because of the names missing, especially so at the top of the order. David Warner will return and open with Aaron Finch - that's probably the easy bit - but at the moment it appears Australia want their gloveman in the top order as well and that's going to be a squeeze with Steven Smith also to fit in. Matthew Wade had the gloves throughout the series and in the last match slotted in at No. 3 having previously opened and produced his best knock of the five games. Josh Philippe played two very good innings in his debut series - and may well be the man for the 2022 T20 World Cup - but for now Wade looks to have the running. With the bat he may yet be used in a floating capacity both because of his experience and the fact that he's a left hander.

The finisher

This has been a perennial debate around Australia's T20 side. Given Ashton Turner wasn't tried in the series before returning home early for the birth of his child it would appear to be between Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh (it's tricky to see how both play when all the batsmen are available). Stoinis played one standout innings - the 78 off 37 balls that almost stole the game in Dunedin - and it could be his spot to lose although, like so many in this line-up, his best work domestically comes at the top of the order and at times he can still soak up too many dots. Marsh's best innings came when batting at No. 4 in the first match, albeit in a forlorn cause, and in three of matches found himself down at No. 7 below Ashton Agar in an attempt to split up the left and right handers. He also didn't bowl in the series following another season of injury. Daniel Sams showed what he is capable of with 41 off 15 balls in Dunedin, but the feeling is he has to compete as one of the five bowlers. Agar, whose role with the ball is vital, has yet to convince he can quite hold the batting position needed of him.

It can't all be on Maxwell

Related to the above is the fact that it still feels as though too much of how the middle order performs (in whatever order they bat) rests on the brilliance of Glenn Maxwell. It came off spectacularly in the third game when he had the ideal mix of a platform to work with and time left in the innings as he hammered 70 off 31 balls. Either side of that he made 23 runs in four innings and Australia need to have the ability to soak up those sorts of days more easily.

Pace-bowling pecking order

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will be locked into the side which probably leaves room for one more frontline quick in the XI. It could well be a horses-for-courses approach depending on conditions and opposition. The possibility of larger World Cup squad due to Covid-19 protocols also means the tough calls may not need to be made at the outset. Riley Meredith's first appearances for Australia certainly caught the eye, twice beating Kane Williamson for pace to win lbw appeals, and his development at the IPL (if he plays) will be watched with interest. Kane Richardson remains a hugely versatile performer and perhaps the most dependable behind the big two. Jhye Richardson, on his international comeback, showed glimpses of the late swing that make him so dangerous. Does Josh Hazlewood come into the mix as well?

Did Australia try enough?

During the series both Finch and coach Andrew McDonald spoke of the valuable "information gathering" that had gone on even if, from the outside, it did not look like much was changing pointing to things like altering batting orders and Adam Zampa bowling more Powerplay overs. There was only one personnel change in the five games: Meredith replacing Sams after the first two matches. In truth, the series finishes with largely the same questions as it started. Five of the squad who were there the end - D'Arcy Short, Ben McDermott, Andrew Tye, Jason Behrendorff and Tanveer Sangha - did not get a game although so many extra players wouldn't have been on tour under normal circumstances.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Five Creighton men's basketball players explained Saturday in a short pregame video why they were hurt by coach Greg McDermott's remarks in his locker room talk following a loss last weekend.

A sixth player who didn't speak in the video, star guard Marcus Zegarowski, said after Saturday's 93-73 win over Butler that even though McDermott made a mistake with his choice of words, he loves and supports all of his players.

McDermott twice used the term "plantation'' as part of his comments urging team unity. The university suspended McDermott indefinitely on Thursday, after he had coached in a Wednesday loss at Villanova. Assistant coach Alan Huss was interim head coach for the Butler game.

"I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can't have anybody leave the plantation,'' McDermott told the players after a loss at Xavier on Feb. 27, using a term evocative of slavery and the antebellum South.

Creighton players hadn't commented publicly about McDermott's remarks until five Black players spoke in the pregame video at CHI Health Center Arena.

"James Baldwin said not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed without being faced,'' Bluejays forward Christian Bishop said at the start.

Guard Shereef Mitchell then said, "For slaves, life on a plantation was filled with mental, emotional, physical, psychological and sexual abuse. You were owned as property and not human. Slaves had no rights and no voice. They were branded like cattle, forced from their homeland and stripped of their culture, language and basic human rights. They worked 18 hours a day six days a week. Any sign of wrongdoing such as lack of productivity, not following instructions or resistance would result in beatings or death and that is why ..."

"What Coach Mac said hurt me and my teammates," guard Denzel Mahoney said.

Guard Antwann Jones then said, "People speak about inequalities and equalities but don't truly know what it means to be equal. And I feel like this is the start for a new conversation to be had in the future. Let's continue to educate each other, and let's continue to grow."

Forward Damien Jefferson said, "If I was your son, would it matter then? Let's not be OK with racism. Let's start the conversation.''

The video ended in silence, with all the Creighton players locked arm in arm on the court.

Afterward, "Lift Every Voice and Sing,'' also known as the Black national anthem, was played.

Neither team was on the court for the national anthem.

Zegarowski, unprompted, praised McDermott for the impact he has made on him since he arrived on campus and that the coach's locker room remarks shouldn't define him.

"A lot of guys in that locker room were hurting from it, and I was hurting from what he said," Zegarowski said. "At the same time, Coach Mac has been a huge mentor for me, and I know he would take a bullet for me and everybody in that locker room, including the coaching staff.

"I know he made a really bad mistake with what he said. Only I know everything he's done for me as a player, but more important as a human being. He loves me; he loves everybody in that locker room. That's my coach; I love that dude. People make mistakes, and that's my guy."

McDermott publicly apologized Tuesday and again Wednesday.

Creighton athletic director Bruce Rasmussen said additional sanctions were under consideration, none of which would be made public.

Aljamain Sterling became UFC bantamweight champion in a shocking way Saturday in Las Vegas as an illegal knee forced a stoppage to his fight against Petr Yan.

With Sterling grounded, Yan held Sterling's arms and kneed the challenger in the face, which is an illegal strike. The fight was paused and after the cage doctor confirmed that Sterling could not continue, Yan was disqualified.

The world watched as Sterling struggled to get up and then was awarded the UFC belt. Sterling threw it to the ground and then fell to the Octagon floor in tears, stating in a postfight interview that this wasn't the way he wanted to win it.

Here's what UFC fighters had to say about the controversial moment at UFC 259.

Not the way I ever want to win a fight. It was close, competitive and filled with action. I felt the knee was intentional, especially after the ref announced I was a downed opponent, so I didn't expect to be hit.
Yan is a bad dude! WE WILL DO IT AGAIN!#UFC259

— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 7, 2021

I apologize and wish speedy recovery to @funkmasterMMA I didn't mean to throw an illegal strike, I just made a big mistake and paid for it.

— Petr "No Mercy" Yan (@PetrYanUFC) March 7, 2021

What in the world was Yan thinking? #UFC259

— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) March 7, 2021

Keep your chin up dude, you were working the whole time ⚔️? -CSO- @funkmasterMMA #ufc259 ????? # ShitHappens #AndNew @ufc pic.twitter.com/XnCN89NaH3

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) March 7, 2021

Blatantly illegal knee! Put your damn hand down @petryanufc

— Chuck Liddell (@ChuckLiddell) March 7, 2021

That was very illegal, it doesn't get much worse than that. Yan was already flirting with danger by throwing those axe kicks when Aljo was down. The doctors made the right call, you can't let the fighter make the decision to continue after taking a shot like that. #UFC259

— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) March 7, 2021

For the record. That move by Yan was boneheaded and illegal and he should lose if his opponent can't continue.

— Dominick Reyes (@DomReyes) March 7, 2021

This call should never be on the fighter. Plain and simple. With a shot like that it's over. Doc does his job walks in and it's over.

— Justin Gaethje ?? (@Justin_Gaethje) March 7, 2021

Ohhhh snap.....illegal knee 100%!!

— Stephen Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) March 7, 2021

Heres the thing you cant stall the fight by sitting on your knees. Knees to a grounded opponent should be allowed!

— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) March 7, 2021

Congratulations to the new undisputed champ @funkmasterMMA !! I know he wouldn't of chose to win that way but it wasn't his fault. Let's go #serralongo

— Chris Weidman (@chrisweidman) March 7, 2021

Aljamain came in great shape, he fought forward every second of that fight, not his fault he got illegally kneed. Congratulations Champion, you did it

— BONY (@JonnyBones) March 7, 2021

You wait you whole life for this moment he's not acting people he didn't want to win like that but it was a great fight

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 7, 2021

LAS VEGAS -- Aljamain Sterling unhooked the UFC belt from around his waist and let it fall to the Octagon mat with a thud. Sterling then got on his knees and put his head to the canvas.

It was not the behavior of someone who had just achieved a longtime dream of becoming UFC champion. But those were the extremely bizarre circumstances of the UFC bantamweight title fight Saturday at UFC 259.

Sterling won the title by disqualification at 4 minutes, 29 seconds of the fourth round after Yan landed an illegal knee to Sterling's head. The ringside physician determined that Sterling, who was visibly rocked by the knee, could not fight on. Referee Mark Smith ruled the foul intentional, making the result a disqualification.

Sterling took to Twitter afterward and expressed disappointment over how the fight ended.

"Not the way I ever want to win a fight," he wrote in his tweet. "It was close, competitive and filled with action. I felt the knee was intentional, especially after the ref announced I was a downed opponent, so I didn't expect to be hit. Yan is a bad dude! WE WILL DO IT AGAIN!"

Yan also tweeted afterward, apologizing and wishing a "speedy recovery" to Sterling.

"I didn't mean to throw an illegal strike," Yan wrote. "I just made a big mistake and paid for it."

What made the ending even stranger is that Yan was in full control of the bout. He was beginning to pick Sterling apart in the third and fourth rounds with technical boxing. Sterling, who worked hard to push the pace and make Yan uncomfortable, seemed to be running out of steam with Yan coming on in the late rounds.

Sterling had a strong start to the fight. He landed two hard jumping knees to Yan's head in the first round. Yan rallied late in the first by dropping Sterling with a left hand.

Sterling continued applying pressure in the second, but Yan was mostly nonplussed. He stuffed just about all of Sterling's takedown attempts and was proficient in the clinch.

Yan landed some hard left and right hands in the fourth round, leading into the odd finish.

The judges had Yan ahead 29-28, 29-28, 28-29 going into the fourth, a round Yan was convincingly winning before the illegal knee.

Yan and Sterling came in ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in ESPN's MMA bantamweight rankings. UFC 259 took place with coronavirus protocols in effect at the UFC Apex, a facility across from the UFC's corporate campus.

Sterling (20-3) has now won six straight. The New York native, who did his training camp at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, was coming off a first-round submission win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 in June. Sterling, 31, has a 12-3 UFC record.

Yan (15-2) won the vacant UFC bantamweight title by beating Jose Aldo at UFC 251 last July. The Russia native had won 10 in a row coming in, including his first seven in the UFC. Yan, 28, typically trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, but he moved his camp to American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, this time due to COVID-19-related travel inconveniences.

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – After a 24th-to-12th effort last weekend at Lincoln Speedway for Tim Shaffer and Heffner Racing Enterprises, the veteran sprint car driver was feeling confident about his new team.

“I have that feeling that this can go somewhere,” Shaffer said last weekend.

On Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Speedway, Shaffer fueled those words with his first 410 sprint car win of the season in convincing fashion. The 53-year-old veteran stormed the damaged machine of Hunter Schuerenberg with four laps to go, rolling to a 2.409-second victory and $4,000 prize.

Schurenberg, who broke a left front shock midway through the race, held on to finish second on a frigid day that hovered in the mid to upper 30s.

“Me and [crew chief] Heath [Moyle] seem to have hit it right off at the beginning,” Shaffer said in victory lane. “That means a lot.”

“I thought they were all racing crazy for racing today, and it turned out great for us,” Shaffer added. “The track got better and better as the day went. Hats off to [car owner] Mike Heffner, [crew chief] Heath [Moyle], and the guys. This one is for Greg [Hodnett].”

It is Shaffer’s third sprint car win of the young year and first in a 410. The Pittsburgh native, in his first year for Heffner Racing Enterprises and the team’s fourth driver since the death of Hodnett more than two years ago, also has 360 sprint car wins at East Bay Raceway Park and Southern Raceway in Florida this year.

Last week, if it wasn’t for an unlucky pill draw, Shaffer may have been the car to beat in his 24th-to-12th run. On Saturday, he cashed in on a clear view of the front. Shaffer raced to an easy victory from the pole of his heat before drawing the third starting position for the 30-lap feature.

RELATED: Shaffer & Heffner Clicking On All Cylinders Early

In the opening seven laps, Shaffer slipped to fourth and the race had three stoppages — two for Chad Trout and a red flag for seventh-running Steve Buckwalter, who flipped for the second week in a row.

From that point on, though, Shaffer dialed in his No. 72 machine. On the ensuing restart, Shaffer shot around Billy Dietrich for third and immediately chased down pole-sitter Glenndon Forsythe for second.

With 12 laps to go, Shaffer found his way around Forsythe while Schurenberg held on as he approached lapped traffic. Not only did Schuerenberg nurse a broken shock and damaged front wing from an earlier incident, but he jarred the fuel system loose.

The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions driver felt fuel enter the cockpit and at that point it was about keeping the car smooth, preventing any potential flammable movements.

“I really wish we didn’t have that mishap with a lapped car there,” Shuerenberg said. “Our car was exceptional. It was really good. We bent the right front torsion tube there and broke the left front shock off it. I think we maybe could have dealt with that, but when I hit that guy something in the fuel system jarred loose. My legs were soaked in fuel. The last thing I wanted to do is slam on the brakes real hard.”

Shaffer stormed underneath Schuerenberg as the two took the four-to-go signal and distanced himself from there.

“I could really bend the corner and come off low, which is hard to do here,” Shaffer said. “Heath gave me a great race car. That was key today. Guys were pushing it up the track and I could sneak by on the bottom. Just a great car. … Everything is really coming together.”

Billy Dietrich finished third, while Forsythe settled for fourth. Kyle Moody finished fifth, his second-straight top five to start the year.

Danny Dietrich charged to sixth from 15th. Freddie Rahmer, Tim Glatfelter, and Rick Lafferty rounded out the top 10.

Kerry Madsen came 11th in his debut for Barshinger Racing. Last week’s winner, Tim Wagaman, finished 15th from 21st.

The finish:

Tim Shaffer, Hunter Schuerenberg, Billy Dietrich, Glenndon Forsythe, Kyle Moody, Danny Dietrich, Freddie Rahmer, Tim Glatfelter, Rick Lafferty, Kerry Madsen, Tyler Ross, Matt Campbell, Anthony Macri, Tim Wagaman, Dylan Norris, Trey Hivner, Steve Buckwalter, Chad Trout, Scott Fisher, Brandon Rahmer, Bradley Howard, Alan Krimes, Jordan Givler.