Nate McMillan reluctantly agreed to serve as the Atlanta Hawks' interim coach and only accepted the position after conferring with Lloyd Pierce following Pierce's firing on Monday.

Even then, McMillan didn't rest easy. He immediately felt the burden of his increased responsibility.

"The sleepless nights have already started," McMillan said Tuesday. "I didn't get a wink of sleep last night."

McMillan said before his debut as interim coach in Tuesday night's game at Miami that he initially wasn't interested when Hawks president Travis Schlenk extended the offer to serve as interim coach.

McMillan, who was fired last year following four seasons as the Indiana Pacers coach, said he wasn't looking for another opportunity to lead a team when he agreed to serve on Pierce's staff.

Even as others saw McMillan as the logical successor for Pierce, he had other ideas. He didn't expect Pierce to be fired and wasn't ready to take over the Hawks.

"The thought process at first was that wasn't something I really was going to do, because it was really a surprise to me," McMillan said. "When I spoke with Travis about that I told him that wasn't what I came here for."

Pierce helped to convince McMillan to accept the interim job.

"We had a conversation about the team and the move ... and he just felt he didn't think this would happen, but he felt I could step in and do a good job with the team," McMillan said. "He basically felt I should take this opportunity."

So about three hours after announcing Pierce had been fired, the Hawks named McMillan as interim coach later Monday.

McMillan, 56, played 12 years in the NBA with Seattle and has logged 16 seasons, posting a 661-588 record, as a head coach with Seattle, Portland and Indiana. Even with so much experience, he was caught off guard by the unexpected opportunity to revive the Hawks' disappointing season.

He wasn't ready to talk about the possibility of being more than an interim coach in Atlanta.

"I'm going to take this -- and you guys are going to hear me say this as much as you ask -- one game at a time," he said. "I'm focused on tonight's game, not tomorrow's game. So far as the future and what I'm looking for, I really haven't thought about that. There was no conversation about that with Travis and I."

The Hawks were 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference entering Tuesday night's game. Schlenk said he believes McMillan is the right choice to revive the season.

"I think Nate's résumé speaks for itself," Schlenk said Monday. "I have a ton of confidence in Nate moving forward."

Atlanta was expected to end its three-year playoff drought this season. Pierce was limited by injuries which forced De'Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari and others to miss extended stretches of games. One offseason addition, Kris Dunn, still has not played this season.

McMillan said he believes the Hawks have enough talent to make it to the playoffs.

"I think we are capable of doing some good things here," McMillan said. "We certainly need to get healthy, but yes. ... We've just got to show that growth, show that improvement and get it done."

McMillan said he won't have an opportunity before this week's All-Star break to make any significant changes. He wouldn't say what moves he plans to make but said he still believes in the team.

He also said he still believes in Pierce.

"I'm a believer in Coach Pierce," he said. "He sold me on his plan, and I wanted to be on board to come down and try to help him make a difference."

THERE ARE TWO versions of the Boston Celtics.

One is led by two under-25 All-Stars and carries the expectations of having reached the conference finals in three of the past four seasons. The other has eight players in their first or second year in the NBA, with most having been unable to earn a consistent spot in the team's rotation.

The divide between those two realities hints at why the Celtics enter Tuesday night's showdown against the LA Clippers sitting at .500, in a morass of teams fighting for position in the back half of the East playoff picture.

"That's shocking," an Eastern Conference scout said over the weekend of Boston's record. "They have more talent than their record would indicate."

Despite developing two All-Stars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Boston's momentum has cratered. A series of free-agent defections, misspent draft picks and cuts in payroll have resulted in a team that finds itself far from its stated goal of hanging an 18th championship banner to the TD Garden rafters. The Celtics' weaknesses have been exposed, and they're lacking in good options to fix them.

So, with two games left before the All-Star break and less than four weeks until the trade deadline, the Celtics are still searching for their identity.

"I feel like our group is pretty together," Celtics GM Danny Ainge told ESPN. "Guys are working hard still, and I feel like we don't really know who this team is yet."

TATUM AND BROWN will head to Atlanta this weekend not only as All-Stars but also as the first Celtics duo to each average 25 points per game since Larry Bird and Kevin McHale in 1986-87.

Add in Kemba Walker, an All-Star a season ago, and Marcus Smart, a two-time All-Defensive Team selection, and Boston should have the makings of a championship contender, not a team that's scuffling.

"We have a lot of work to do to separate ourselves as better than where we are," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. "And that's the reality of it."

An exodus of veteran contributors over the past two years has left Boston perilously thin behind its big four. And, thanks to a series of injuries to each of those players, that grouping has started just two games together this season and has shared the court for a grand total of 28 minutes.

"The injuries and everything else, I think, have worked against them, for sure," an Eastern Conference executive said, "and especially if Kemba is not Kemba."

Scouts and executives around the league had the same opinion: If Walker can't return to an All-Star level, Boston's hopes of being a threat in the East will vanish.

"He can still provide value," a Western Conference executive said. "But is he worth $35 million? Is he worth that number? That's tough [to build around] if he isn't."

In being named an All-Star last season, Walker averaged 21.8 points per game before the break, shooting nearly 39% from 3-point range. Then his knee started acting up, causing him to miss all but 10 games in the second half of the season.

And, while there have been recent signs of Walker returning to form -- he dropped 32 points on the Pacers last week, part of a stretch that has seen him average 23.2 PPG over his past five games -- he still is shooting 38.5% overall and 35.7% from deep, numbers that better resemble his early Charlotte Bobcats days than his All-Star credentials with the Hornets.

"You'd have thought after the playoffs he'd have come out and had a really good start to the year," the exec said. "That [he hasn't] has surprised me."

Walker's inconsistent contribution has also exposed the lack of depth behind him. Jeff Teague, one of the few veteran reserves on Boston's roster, is shooting a career-worst 34.2% from the field. The Celtics' other point guard options are mostly untested rookies and second-year players.

That problem exists at nearly every position, stemming from decisions made over the past two offseasons. Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Marcus Morris Sr. and Terry Rozier all left in free agency in 2019, with only Rozier's departure bringing back any help (as part of a sign-and-trade deal for Walker). Gordon Hayward followed this past summer, when the Celtics decided the hefty offer he got from the Hornets (four years, $120 million) was out of their price range.

Boston had previously turned down overtures from the Indiana Pacers that could've yielded Myles Turner and Doug McDermott in a Hayward sign-and-trade. Once the former All-Star landed his deal with Charlotte, Boston was able to negotiate a sign-and-trade with the Hornets that created a $28.6 million trade exception, the largest in NBA history.

That exception could end up being a useful asset, one that helps Boston improve either before the trade deadline or this offseason. But to this point, the inability to replace Hayward has hurt the Celtics on the court.

The two veterans the Celtics signed this past offseason, Teague and center Tristan Thompson, have struggled, shining a brighter spotlight on the decision to rely on the bevy of young players they've drafted over the past three years -- a list that includes rookies Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard, second-year guards Romeo Langford and Carsen Edwards and forward Grant Williams, and third-year center Robert Williams III.

"They've all had a chance to play, and they've all had good moments," Ainge said. "What's difficult about this year is just the roles that we intended them to fill, especially as young players, is not one of being a primary scorer. When you lose [starters], everybody has to move up and play a bigger role. That's when we have had some inconsistencies this year."

Pritchard, the No. 26 pick out of Oregon, has firmly established himself in the rotation, averaging 7.4 PPG and shooting 38% from deep. Now in his third year, Robert Williams has become a reliable member of Stevens' three-headed monster at center. But the rest of Boston's rookie and sophomore brigade has provided very little; Langford has yet to even play this season.

That has resulted in Boston being stuck around .500 despite Tatum remaining an All-Star and Brown joining him at that level, in what has been a Most Improved Player-caliber season so far.

"If you would have told me Brown and Tatum were going to be this good, I'd be surprised [at their record]," a Western Conference executive said. "I could've seen if they'd struggled but not as well as those guys have played. That's surprising."

FOR THE PAST several years, the Celtics have tried to pull off the trickiest balancing act an NBA team can attempt to do: winning today while remaining well-positioned to win tomorrow. It has almost worked. The Celtics reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2017, 2018 and 2020. They've won 35 playoff games in the past four years. Only the Golden State Warriors (46) have won more.

But the Warriors have hung two championship banners in that span, something Boston hasn't done since 2008.

The Celtics' record thus far this season would indicate that the drought is likely to continue, but Ainge doesn't see the title window closing for Tatum and Brown. He invoked the names of players, such as LeBron James and Michael Jordan, who struggled to win titles early in their careers.

"You have to keep things in perspective," he said. "These guys are 22 and 24 years old right now. If you put all those guys I just mentioned at the same ages, a lot of them were not who they became [at that age]. All the great players, it just takes time for them to play their very best."

Still, league insiders don't believe the Celtics can stand pat and potentially waste a year of the primes of their two young building blocks who are playing at an elite level.

"There comes a time where you have to do something to keep your stars placated and show that you're trying, especially when they're young and early in their primes," the East executive said. "You have to make that commitment to them."

That's something Ainge has been reluctant to do in the past. The last time Boston acquired a player in an in-season trade was six years ago, when the team landed Isaiah Thomas from Phoenix. Only the San Antonio Spurs have a longer drought.

"They'll only do something," the West executive said, "if they think they're going to bury you."

The Celtics no longer have a deep cache of draft assets from other teams to potentially include in a deal. They do still have all of their own future first-round picks, as well as the massive trade exception, which puts them in better trade position than most other contending teams. Rival executives believe they are hunting for a player who can play either forward spot and provide some scoring punch -- exactly the kind of player they lost when Hayward left.

And, while the team's salary is currently low, ownership has spent into the luxury tax in the past, and Ainge indicated a willingness to do so this season.

"If there's players we can get that can put us over the top and keep us under the hard cap, we'll do a deal that falls into that category," he said. "But we're not going to do it for a band-aid, or somebody that maybe, maybe, will help us a game or two."

The Cleveland Indians were made aware of complaints about Mickey Callaway's sexually inappropriate behavior during his tenure as their pitching coach, despite the team's public statements to the contrary, according to a report by The Athletic.

Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, in response to an earlier report by The Athletic that detailed allegations against Callaway, said last month that the organization was unaware of any inappropriate behavior toward women.

But according to the latest report published Tuesday by The Athletic, the husband of a woman who had an extramarital affair with Callaway from 2015 to 2017 contacted the Indians multiple times to complain about Callaway's behavior.

The team's public relations and communications staff brought the husband's complaints to the attention of Antonetti, Indians manager Terry Francona and general manager Mike Chernoff during the summer of 2017, according to The Athletic.

"This issue was addressed with [Callaway] by the three highest-ranking baseball officials," a former Indians employee told The Athletic.

Francona said later Tuesday that no one in the Indians organization "covered up" for Callaway.

"Nobody's ever deliberately covered up for anybody, I can tell you that," Francona said on a Zoom call from the team's spring training complex in Goodyear, Arizona.

The Indians followed with a statement a few hours later.

"Our organization continues to actively cooperate with MLB on their investigation into Mickey Callaway," it said. "It is important we honor the confidentiality and integrity of that investigation. While we don't believe the reporting to date reflects who we are as an organization, we will not comment further on the specifics of this matter.''

"We remain committed to creating an inclusive work environment where everyone, regardless of gender, can feel safe and comfortable at all times. We will let our actions -- not just our words -- reflect our commitment.''

The Athletic reported that the affair between Callaway and the woman included "unsolicited pornographic material," including photos and at least one video, according to the husband. The husband discussed the affair in April 2017 with a Major League Baseball security official, who told him that Callaway "wants this all to go away." A league source confirmed to The Athletic that a report about the husband's complaint was filed to MLB.

A Cleveland-based attorney spoke with the woman later that summer in a phone call that she recorded, according to The Athletic. The attorney, Tom Mannion, told the woman that he had spoken with Callaway and Francona about the matter and said the World Series-winning manager had offered to speak with the husband.

The Indians denied being in contact with Mannion about the issue, and Mannion told The Athletic he does "not recall ever speaking to Terry Francona."

"In June of 2017, we received reports from a man alleging extramarital contact between Mickey and his wife over a two-year period," the Indians said in a statement to The Athletic. "Within days of the report, we spoke with Mickey about the alleged behavior, and he maintained that the relationship was consensual and outside of the workplace. Following our conversation with Mickey and to our knowledge, there were no further complaints of misconduct from this person during Mickey's tenure with the club."

Francona was asked Tuesday if he was troubled by The Athletic report.

"I have never worked in a place where I have more respect for people than here," said Francona, who is starting his ninth season with Cleveland. "And I've been very fortunate to work for some wonderful people. I believe that in my heart.

"I don't think today is the day to go into details, things like that. I do hope there is a day, because I think it would be good, and I think it's necessary."

Shortly before Francona spoke to reporters, his son, Nick, posted on Twitter that he had read the new report on Callaway and confronted his father. The younger Francona said the Indians "are clearly in the wrong."

"Their behavior is unacceptable, and even worse, it's hard to have faith in them to improve and learn when they seem more concerned about covering up wrongdoings than addressing them honestly," Nick Francona wrote on Twitter.

The 61-year-old Francona, who managed only 14 games last season because of health issues, said his son's comments were painful.

"I love all my children unconditionally," he said. "As you can imagine, that's a very difficult thing to see. So to deal with it publicly is hurtful."

Callaway, who was with Cleveland from 2010 to 2017 and served as the pitching coach for his last five seasons, was hired as the New York Mets manager in October 2017. The husband also emailed the Mets in August 2018 to notify the team about Callaway's affair with his wife.

Callaway, currently the pitching coach for the Los Angeles Angels, has denied wrongdoing, according to ESPN sources and The Athletic. He responded Monday to The Athletic's request for comment.

"While much of the reporting around my behavior has been inaccurate, the truth is that on multiple occasions I have been unfaithful to my wife, and for that I am deeply sorry," Callaway told The Athletic in an email. "What I have never done is use my position to harass or pressure a woman. I am confident that I have never engaged in anything that was non-consensual. I feel truly blessed that my wife and children have stuck with me as the most personal and embarrassing details of my infidelities have been revealed. I will continue to work as hard as I can to repair the rift of trust that I have caused inside of my family."

Callaway has been the Angels' pitching coach since being fired by the Mets in October 2019. He was suspended by the Angels last month after the initial report by The Athletic, in which five women accused Callaway of lewd behavior.

California labor law typically requires a full investigation of such allegations before an employee can be fired for cause if the employee denies wrongdoing. The Angels already promoted bullpen coach Matt Wise to serve as interim pitching coach last month.

Sources told ESPN's Alden Gonzalez on Tuesday that Major League Baseball has taken on the investigation, not the Angels, who are simply cooperating. The investigation is ongoing, sources said, and there is no timeline as to when it might be wrapped up.

Angels manager Joe Maddon declined to comment Tuesday on the latest report, citing the ongoing investigation.

"I just can't,'' Maddon said. "There's nothing for me to comment, add or subtract, whatever. We'll just let this play itself out. We'll find out where it lands, and then we'll take it from there, but for right now, I can't say anything.''

Callaway pitched for the Angels in 2002 and 2003 while Maddon was the team's bench coach. Callaway was Maddon's first major hire when he took over in Los Angeles in 2019.

The Athletic, citing interviews over the past month with 22 people who interacted with Callaway during his time with the Indians -- including 12 current or former team employees, also reported Tuesday that additional women have come forward to accuse Callaway of inappropriate behavior while they worked for the team.

One Indians employee told The Athletic that Callaway's workplace behavior was "the worst-kept secret in the organization," and the wife of a player who was with the team in 2015 said Callaway was "just someone you wanted to stay away from."

The women who interacted with Callaway during his time with the Indians did not disclose his behavior through official channels, according to The Athletic.

"I don't think it's necessarily a Cleveland issue but a baseball issue," one woman who worked for the Indians told The Athletic. "As women, we feel like if we report something, we'll be looked at like a tattletale or that if we talked, (the team) will figure out who reported it."

One former team employee said, however, that Antonetti's comments earlier this month "hit me the wrong way."

"I know that's the way Chris has to do it and run things, but the amount of people in that organization who know about all that stuff, I don't know how he can then face his staff," the former employee told The Athletic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Major League Baseball teams will operate alternate sites similar to those used during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, delaying the beginning of the Triple-A season by at least a month, sources familiar with the plan told ESPN.

While Triple-A, the highest level of minor league baseball, was scheduled to begin April 6, games will be pushed back, sources said, to around the same time as Double-A, high-A and low-A are expected to start -- the first week of May.

Even then, some executives told ESPN they believe the alternate sites could last longer into the season. The reason for rekindling sites -- which serve as training facilities for players who are likeliest to be called up to the major leagues -- is the proximity to teams' home stadiums and easier oversight of testing and coronavirus protocols, according to sources. Further, Triple-A teams travel via commercial airline, whereas major league teams can go from hotel to stadium to private flights on getaway days.

Teams are hopeful the delay allows for the vaccination of players before they are sent to their minor league affiliates, which came under the management of MLB this winter. Vaccinated players would allay concerns with teams about players arriving from minor league sites and immediately joining clubs without a quarantine period.

The swift pace of vaccination across the country has heartened league and team officials, and combined with decreasing COVID-19 cases around the country, there is increased optimism about baseball's prospects for playing a full season with limited issues. Spring training games have started without a hitch, and officials were stunned at the low number of COVID-19 cases upon intake testing this spring -- 20 positive tests among more than 20,000 taken, according to the league.

Still, MLB's belief that April is likely to be the most difficult month for COVID concerns has not wavered since it tried to get the MLB Players Association to agree on a one-month delay to the season. The union rejected the idea. MLB's control of the minor leagues allows unilateral implementation of policies.

To make up for lost games in April, Triple-A teams expect their seasons to run into September -- later than the standard minor league year, which typically ends at the beginning of the month.

The number of players at each alternate site is unclear, but sources expect the sites to house about two dozen players -- a typical Triple-A roster. Last year, with a finite number of players allowed at alternate sites, teams opted for a mixture of major league-ready players and prospects whom they didn't want to lose a year of development not playing.

This incarnation of the alt site is likelier to skew older -- major league veterans and ascendant prospects who are on the cusp of the major leagues. Lower-level minor league players plan to report to spring training toward the end of March, after major league teams have vacated the facilities, and will prepare for their seasons in Arizona and Florida.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Two more NASCAR Cup Series drivers have made plans to compete in the Bristol Dirt Nationals on March 15-20 in advance of the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 28.

Kyle Larson and Joey Logano have joined Kyle Busch as Cup Series regulars who have confirmed plans to compete in one of the eight classes set for competition.

Larson, an accomplished dirt racer who has experience racing sprint cars and super late models, is registered in the marquee super late model division, as is two-time Cup Series champion Busch.

Busch announced last week he’d race in the Bristol Dirt Nationals as a teammate to multi-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion Jonathan Davenport. Larson will once again drive the No. 6 Rumley Enterprises Longhorn Chassis that he’s driven to two dirt late model victories since last year.

Logano will compete in the open modified class. The 2015 Daytona 500 winner and 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion raced a UMP-style modified during the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in February.

Joining Logano in the open modified class is three-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Matt Crafton, who often races a dirt modified in his free time.

The Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals on March 15-20 will provide fans with a first look at the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt track, which will feature 19-degree banking in the corners and a 50-foot wide racing surface. More than 20,000 cubic yards of dirt were hauled in to create the temporary dirt track surface.

“The Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals is shaping up to be an epic event, one of the largest dirt racing events to ever be contested and now that some of the top NASCAR drivers are joining the action, the overall fun-meter just ramped up significantly,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager, Bristol Motor Speedway. “Having the opportunity to showcase some amazing dirt track racing during our 60th anniversary really is very special, given the overall roots of racing and the history that dirt has here at The Last Great Colosseum.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – The latest racing venue to serve as a mass vaccination site for the COVID-19 virus will be the most famous and largest speedway of all – Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway has partnered with the Indiana Department of Health to host a mass vaccination clinic for Hoosiers eligible to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine.

According to a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the clinic will run from Friday, March 5 to Sunday, March 7 with vaccinations beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. each day. All Hoosiers ages 55 and up are eligible for the vaccine, and appointments must be booked via ourshot.in.gov or by calling 211. No walk-ups will be permitted.

“We’re a community-first organization, and we’re extremely proud to assist with this important effort to keep Hoosiers safe and healthy,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles said. “I encourage those who are eligible to sign up, and I’d like to thank our state’s leadership – most especially Governor Holcomb and Dr. Box – for the opportunity to team up and pitch in.”

In addition to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, additional clinics will be hosted later this month at University of Notre Dame’s Compton Family Ice Arena and Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg.

“Getting tens of thousands of vaccines in arms in a matter of days is a huge undertaking that requires incredible partnerships,” Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb said. “We are incredibly grateful to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Notre Dame and Ivy Tech for their willingness to meet this challenge head on to help save Hoosier lives.”

The mass vaccination clinics will offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received its Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA on Saturday. The vaccine requires only one dose and has been shown to be safe and effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in clinical trials involving nearly 44,000 participants from all races and ethnicities.

“The Johnson & Johnson vaccine gives eligible Hoosiers a safe, effective and convenient way to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “Because it requires just one dose, every shot administered represents a Hoosier who can rest easier, knowing their risk of severe illness from this disease has dropped exponentially.”

Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging, AARP and nearly 70 libraries around the state also can help Hoosiers schedule their appointments. Participants will remain in their cars for their vaccines.

The clinic schedules:

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
4790 W. 16th St., Indianapolis
March 5-7
8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Enter through main gate off 16th Street

Ivy Tech Community College
8204 County Road 311, Sellersburg
March 12-13
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

University of Notre Dame
Compton Family Ice Arena
100 Compton Family Ice Arena, Notre Dame
March 19-20
8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

CRANDALL, Texas — United States Modified Touring Series officials have made another adjustment to the schedule of the 11th annual USMTS Texas Spring Nationals slated for this Friday and Saturday.

Due to oversaturated grounds from heavy rain this week, officials at the Superbowl Speedway in Greenville, Texas, have announced that the track will not be able to host Saturday’s event.

Therefore, both days are now back at the RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas.

The Summit USMTS National Championship fueled by Casey’s will launch the year with the two-day show that has been altered multiple times due to bad weather.

Dirt modified racing’s best of the best will bang wheels for $10,000 to win each night. USRA Limited Mods, USRA Factory Stocks, USRA Tuners and Eco Mods will also be part of the program.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – With famous names such as entertainer Justin Timberlake and former NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. already part of Scott Borchetta’s ownership group for the Music City Grand Prix, the organization announced the addition of some high-powered business leaders to its inaugural advisory board on Tuesday.

Rick Dreiling, current Chairman of Lowe’s Corp. and former CEO and Chairman of Dollar General Corp., and Kevin Crumbo, Nashville’s Finance Director, are joining a diverse group of Nashville community leaders.

Advisory board members are lending their expertise in sports and entertainment, event production, community engagement, hospitality, customer service, finance, construction and development to support the success of Music City Grand Prix.

“We are so pleased that Rick and Kevin are joining our advisory board, bringing additional and impressive business and finance acumen to the group,” said Christian Parker, President of the Music City Grand Prix. “Kevin’s finance work in the private and public sectors as well as Rick’s passion for racing, business leadership, and community engagement as a former Chairman for Vanderbilt’s Children’s Hospital Board will help drive positive social and economic impact.”

The inaugural Music City Grand Prix Advisory Board is comprised of the following leaders:

• Kix Brooks, Hall of Fame Singer/Songwriter and Entertainer
• Heather Brown, PhD, Professor, MTSU School of Concrete and Construction Management
• Toby Compton, Deputy Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, Chairperson of the Nashville Sports Council
• Chaz Corzine, Partner, The MWS Group
• Kevin Crumbo, Finance Director, The City of Nashville
• Yuri Cunza, President & CEO, Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Rick Dreiling, Chairman, Lowe’s Corporation
• Rod Essig, Co-Head, CAA Nashville
• Jenneen Kaufman, SVP & CFO, Tennessee Titans/Nissan Stadium
• Monica Fawknotson, Executive Director, Nashville Sports Authority
• Shan Foster, VP External Affairs, YWCA, Executive Director of Amend Together
• Harrison Frist, President of Market Operations, NaviHealth
• Rose Grindstaff, President, G&M Consulting
• Don Hardin, President & CEO, Hardin Group Construction
• David Kells, EVP, Entertainment and Venues, Nashville Predators/Bridgestone Arena
• Ken Levitan, Co-President, Vector Management
• John Oates, Hall of Fame Singer/Songwriter, Racing Enthusiast

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — McAnally-Hilgemann Racing has announced that Hunter Nation, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the right to hunt, will be the primary sponsor on their No. 19 Toyota Tundra, driven by Derek Kraus, for multiple races this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The MHR entry will carry the Hunter Nation branding beginning with Friday’s Bucked Up 200 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We’re proud to announce that Hunter Nation will join the MHR team this season, beginning with the race at Las Vegas,” said team co-owner Bill McAnally. “The team is working hard to build on our success from 2020 and we look to be a strong contender this year. It will be great to have Hunter Nation be a part of our program and to have them on board at multiple events through the season.”

Kraus, a 19-year-old from Stratford, Wis., is in his second season of driving for MHR in the Camping World Truck Series. He had a remarkable rookie season last year, finishing 11th in the series championship standings and missing the playoffs by just one spot. He registered three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 23 starts, including a runner-up finish at Darlington Raceway and a fourth-place finish at Daytona International Speedway.

Kraus previously raced for three seasons with Bill McAnally Racing in the ARCA Menards Series West (NASCAR K&N Pro Series West), where he won the 2019 championship.