GLENDALE, Ariz. – David Prickett scored his 11th Western Midget Racing presented by Masters Design and Construction victory by conquering Saturday’s season opener at Adobe Mountain Speedway.

The victory marks the fourth different venue where Prickett has prevailed in WMR competition and gives him the debut win for the series in the Copper State.

Nine stock production-powered midgets were on hand for the non-points opener. Prickett won the opening heat race from the outside pole before Cory Brown duplicated the feat in the second heat race.

A three-car inversion for the 20-lap feature placed Greg Jewett on the pole on the fifth-mile dirt oval. Prickett took the win from the third starting position, holding off Brown by a scant .625 seconds. Jewett’s debut was a strong one, finishing third ahead of fellow debutant Aasa Flores and Gary Dunn.

The finish:

1. 0FG David Prickett [3]; 2. 29 Cory Brown [2]; 3. 74 Greg Jewett [1]; 4. 6 Aasa Flores [5]; 5. 12h Gary Dunn [6]; 6. 17 Megan Moorhead [9]; 7. 5 CJ Bunch [8]; 8. 50 Kala Keliinoi [7]; 9. 99 Darren Brent [4]

TUCSON, Ariz. – Following Saturday’s Chilly Willy festivities at Tucson Speedway, four drivers have visited victory lane in as many super late model races over the course of two days.

First up on the agenda Saturday were time trials where the top-two locked themselves in to the Chilly Willy 150 front row starting positions on Sunday no matter their performance in the ensuing qualifying duals.

Tyler Tanner took top honors during qualifying, lapping at 15.326 seconds to earn the pole for Sunday’s 150-lap main event.

“I was surprised that was going to be good enough for the pole, to be honest,” said Tanner. “I got through one and two really good and then when I got into three, I turned the car down and just kind of created a push and got off four bad.  I thought that was going to be the thing to take away our chances at the pole, but when I watched the last couple guys it looked like they had the same issues.”

Despite the fast run, Tanner and team did not relax. Instead, they went to work on an issue they discovered with the car.

“We had a brake rotor that was cracked and we knew about it before qualifying but didn’t have the time to change it,” Tanner explained.

Tanner then used the first 50-lap qualifying dual as a test session to make sure everything was in place for Sunday, and he turned that test into a flag-to-flag victory.

The driver who everyone was keeping their eyes on though was Vanessa Robinson. The Las Cruces, N.M., track regular sliced through the field, ultimately passing Eddie Vecchiarelli, one of the opening night winners, to finish second.

“Really satisfied with how it feels right now,” Robinson said.  “It’s very rewarding to drive up there.  We’re a little loose but we can work on that and actually I think it might be just perfect tomorrow.  The strategy is to avoid all the big wrecks, stay where we’re at, and try to save some tire.”

The second qualifying dual was a different story, mainly because the second fastest qualifier elected not to start since he was already locked in. Christian McGhee, a feature winner on opening night, continued to show impressive speed and remains content heading into the $10,000-to-win feature race.

“Just to be first or second was all we really shot for, considering we worked on race runs all day,” McGhee noted. “I think we have a really good shot at it. The car is good and if it runs like it did last night then I’ll be talking to you in victory lane hopefully.”

The second dual saw a similar battle at the end between a driver who led from the start and one that started from the rear. Teenager Tanner Reif held off multiple challenges from Trevor Huddleston on a few late restarts.

Reif utilized the two 50-lap races on Friday and Saturday to get more comfortable with a rhythm that worked best for him.

“The tire wear on this track is very abrasive so toward the end we had to start using a little more brake coming in, which I wasn’t used to because this is a 604 motor, and get around and rotate,” Reif said. “We finally found a line that worked toward the end.”

Reif once again indicated the lessons learned with the motor combination they chose to run this weekend as a potential difference maker in preparation for the next day.

“I have a lot of confidence especially in a longer race, because we have a lighter car with a smaller motor package,” the 15-year-old continued. “At this track it should save us some tire in the race when most people with bigger motors burn off their right rears or right fronts, so that should set us up for a good late game race.”

Huddleston, on the other hand, was ecstatic despite coming up one position short.  The California-based team only had approximately 14 laps on the car before the green flag after suffering drive shaft issues which, in turn, damaged some other parts.

“This High Point Racing team has been working their butts off,” Huddleston said.  “Unfortunately we’ve had some things that were kind of out of our hands happen to us, random things that don’t happen very often. With as little practice as we did, this car was pretty close, and I’m pretty excited because I know we have a lot more to make it a lot better.”

Tanner Reif’s younger brother, Tyler Reif, captured Saturday’s Semi-Pro/Young Lions feature while double duty driver Chris Eggleston won in the Pro/Masters class.

Sunday’s racing action is scheduled to get underway promptly at 1 p.m. MT with the Semi-Pro/Young Lions running 40 laps and Pro/Masters 50 laps. The eighth annual Chilly Willy 150 will headline Sunday’s action.

Fans can watch every moment excitement taking place at Tucson Speedway at Low Budget TV, a member of the SPEED SPORT TV.

The finishes:

Super Late Model Feature No. 1: Tyler Tanner, Vanessa Robinson, Eddie Vecchiarelli, Brandon Farrington, Kody Vanderwal, Chris Eggleston, Joe Paladenic, Bob Cramb, Colton Nelson, Dean Thompson.

Super Late Model Feature No. 2: Tanner Reif, Trevor Huddleston, Brett Yackey, Bruce Yackey, Bryce Bezanson, Austin Thom, Rudy Vanderwal, Michael Scott, Scott Graf, Christian McGhee (DNS).

Sunil Narine's absence from West Indies' T20I squad to play Sri Lanka next month came after he told the selectors that he was "not ready" to return to international cricket.

Narine played four games for Trinidad and Tobago in the Super50 Cup - though missed Saturday's final through injury - but has not played for West Indies in any format since August 2019. He was placed on a 'warning list' amid suspicions of an illegal bowling action during last year's IPL, but has since been cleared to bowl.

"Sunil Narine had indicated earlier that he is not ready to return to international cricket," Roger Harper, Cricket West Indies' lead selector, said. "He's still fine-tuning his game and getting himself ready. From that perspective, he wasn't considered for this series."

In Narine's absence, Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair and Fabian Allen will be West Indies' main spin options in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which starts on Wednesday, March 3. Harper confirmed that Gudakesh Motie, the left-arm spinner who was the Super50's leading wicket-taker going into Saturday's final, had been considered for selection but said that the selection panel wanted to give Hosein another opportunity after his impressive performances in Bangladesh.

"He [Motie] certainly had an outstanding season and drew a lot of attention to himself," Harper said. "But we must recall that we had just selected Akeal Hosein for the tour of Bangladesh. He acquitted himself very well and he's a left-arm spinner, so naturally we continued with him in this series.

"You may have also noticed that we included young Kevin Sinclair who is another spinner, but he's an offspinner. What he offers is, if needed, some variety and a different option. That was the reason that Motie was not selected and we chose Sinclair, [but] certainly Motie is at the forefront of our thoughts."

West Indies will be without four players - Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer and Oshane Thomas - during the white-ball fixtures against Sri Lanka, all of whom failed to reach the minimum fitness standards agreed with CWI. Hetmyer's absence was a particular surprise after he hit 113 off 80 balls in the Super50 semi-final against the Windward Islands, but Jimmy Adams, CWI's director of cricket, said there was no room for discretion.

"The policy asks for a minimum standard in certain aspects of fitness testing," Adams said. "It's pretty simple, and it's something all the players are aware of: failure to get to [the minimum standard] makes them unavailable for selection.

"As is best practice around the world, there are going to be times when players for different reasons might be unable or incapable of achieving minimum standards across either the whole battery of tests or certain aspects of it, and there are exemptions that are given to these players.

"The four main areas that are considered would be age, individual physiological limitations, their injury history and their training history. This is standard across many high-performance environments and we're no different. There are quite a few players at the moment who have been exempted under one of these four headings. It's not a secret. It's been communicated to players.

"This is not a conversation that we like having with players. For me, the minimum standard isn't something that should apply to an international player. But we draw the line there before there are other considerations outside of just a person's ability to bat, bowl or field. If you start talking about making it provisional on whether someone has made a score or taken wickets, it doesn't take us as a team in the direction that we want to go."

Harper also said that Thomas' absence had been a key factor in Fidel Edwards' recall to international duty, more than eight years since his latest appearance for West Indies.

"As we build towards the defence of our T20 [World Cup], we're looking to put together the sort of squad and team with the sort of players that will best serve us in that defence. What a player like Oshane Thomas offered us is the sort of firepower that can take wickets early and at the end, and really unsettle batsmen.

"With him not being available and not performing at the sort of level we expected of him, we looked for the type of bowler that can offer us that. When we looked around the only bowler we thought offered us that sort of pace and firepower and penetration at this time was Fidel Edwards.

"You'd recall our performance in some of the T20 games in New Zealand and where we were deficient. I would hope that the message that is sent [by Edwards' selection] is the standard they need to attain, and that guys will work harder at developing their skills to reach that level."

South Africa Women will be without their regular captain Dane van Niekerk and allrounder Chloe Tryon for their limited-overs tour in India, comprising five ODIs and three T20Is.

Both van Niekerk and Tryon had missed the recent home series against Pakistan also as they continue to recover from injuries.

In van Niekerk's absence Sune Luus will continue to lead the side. Under Luus, South Africa had beaten Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series and 2-1 in the T20Is.

Meanwhile, a last-minute injury to medium-pacer Masabata Klaas means she is the only absentee from the Pakistan series.

"It is really exciting to finally have this tour confirmed and announce our squad that will do duty here in India, and we are looking forward to getting out there to see our ladies prove themselves under different playing conditions," South Africa's coach Hilton Mooreng said. "India is always a wonderful place to tour and we are looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead."

The squad is currently in a six-day quarantine before they start training. The tour begins with the first ODI on March 7, with all eight matches scheduled to be held at Lucknow's Ekana International Stadium.

South Africa squad: Sune Luus (capt), Ayabonga Khaka, Shabnim Ismail, Laura Wolvaardt, Trisha Chetty, Sinalo Jafta, Tasmin Britz, Marizanne Kapp, Nondumiso Shangase, Lizelle Lee, Anneke Bosch, Faye Tunnicliffe, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Mignon du Preez, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Tumi Sekhukhune

Angelo Mathews has been named as Sri Lanka's stand-in captain for the T20I series in the West Indies as Dasun Shanaka, the appointed captain, is yet to join the team because of a delay in obtaining a US transit visa. Mathews has previously led Sri Lanka in 34 Tests, 106 ODIs and 13 T20Is.

Shanaka did have a proper US transit visa - valid for five years - on a previous passport. But as he had lost that passport two years ago, visa officers told him they must do additional checks, meaning they were not able to greenlight the visa for this tour in time for him to make the flight.

Sri Lanka's multi-format tour of the Caribbean kicks off on March 3 with the three-match T20I series.

More to follow...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Former Notre Dame and NFL football player Louis Nix, who had been reported missing earlier this week, was found dead on Saturday, family members told two Jacksonville television stations. He was 29.

Nix's family reported him missing on Wednesday to police. After several days of searching, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tweeted at 8 p.m. ET Saturday that Nix had been located but did not report Nix's condition. CBS/Fox affiliate Action News Jax reported that Nix's mother confirmed that Nix had died. WJXT TV-4 reported Nix's death via another family member.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Nix was last seen at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, leaving his father's Jacksonville residence. Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly sent out a tweet Saturday morning asking for the public's help in finding Nix.

Nix was injured in a shooting in December while filling his car's tires at a gas station near the Jacksonville airport. He said on social media that he spent 10 days in the hospital and that a bullet ricocheted off his sternum and went into his lung.

Nix starred at Jacksonville's Raines High School and played three seasons at Notre Dame before being drafted in the third round by the Houston Texans in 2014. Nix, a defensive tackle, never played a game for the Texans because of knee injuries and played in just four games in 2015 for the New York Giants. He also spent time on the practice squads with Washington and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016.

McWilliams Arroyo had the full training camp. He had all the preparation. And in less than five rounds, he became the WBC's interim flyweight champion of the world in the Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim co-main event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday.

It became clear early on that Arroyo also had the realistic edge against Abraham Rodriguez, a late replacement who arrived in Miami on Friday.

And by the fourth round, it showed. Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs) pummeled Rodriguez (27-3, 13 KOs), from Tijuana, Mexico, throughout the round, eventually forcing him to one knee and knocking him down. The onslaught continued in the fifth round, although Rodriguez held up well considering the lack of time to properly train. It led to Rodriguez' corner waiving the white towel midway through the fifth round to stop the one-sided fight.

Arroyo, from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was dominant throughout a fight that was supposed to be against Julio Cesar Martinez.

Martinez had to withdraw from the bout on Thursday with a small right hand fracture suffered during a sparring session. He had hoped to continue to train, but the injury got worse earlier this week.

After Arroyo's powerful victory, perhaps he'll be able to fight Martinez later this year.

It was Rodriguez' first loss since 2018 against Angel Acosta, also the last time he fought in the United States. That fight was for the WBO junior flyweight title. This time around, for another belt, was a similar result.

This fight represented Arroyo's fourth straight win.

Forrest salvages a majority draw against Zhang

Jerry Forrest went down once. Twice. Three times in three rounds. And yet, the heavyweight kept getting up. Kept enduring Zhilei Zhang's early onslaught and power. Kept coming at Zhang -- and eventually Forrest fought his way back to a tie that felt like a win.

Forrest and Zhang ended in a majority draw, with judges Rocky Young and Fernando Barbosa scoring the fight 93-93 and Rose Lacend giving the fight to Forrest, 95-93. After the bout, Forrest celebrated like he won and -- even before the scores were announced -- did a backflip in the ring.

Zhang, who looked like he was going to coast to an easy win with a big advantage in the first three rounds, held on to his undefeated record. Barely.

What looked like an explosive fight early on turned into a hugfest by the middle rounds, with both Zhang (22-0-1, 17 KOs) and Forrest (26-4-1, 20 KOs), looking fairly exhausted by the middle of the sixth. That continued into the seventh, when Forrest landed 26 punches as compared to nine for Zhang, according to CompuBox.

Forrest, of Newport News, Virginia, rallied after a rough first couple of rounds, in which he was knocked down three times. Zhang, of Zhoukou, China, was cut by a head-butt in the eighth.

Despite the big punches absorbed by Forrest and the early knockdowns, Forrest appeared to be the more active and conditioned fighter late.

Forrest also was aided by a point deducted from Zhang in the ninth round for holding Forrest's neck. That point ended up being a major difference in the fight, and was seemingly a result of what appeared to be exhaustion for Zhang over the last four rounds.

Pacheco dominates Gomez in unanimous decision

Diego Pacheco might have wanted the knockout. The 19-year-old had to settle for a unanimous decision win over veteran Rodolfo Gomez Jr. by a closer-than-expected 79-73 margin on the judges' scorecards in a super middleweight fight.

Pacheco (11-0, 8 KO), of Los Angeles, landed some good punches, including a couple of nice uppercuts throughout the fight, but this was only the third time he went the distance and only the second time in his career he went beyond the fourth round.

Gomez (14-5-1, 10 KO), of Laredo, Texas, was a good test for Pacheco. Gomez connected on some big punches and seemed to frustrate Pacheco intermittently. It also was good round work for Pacheco in his first full eight-round fight. Gomez gave Pacheco enough to now look back at as he prepares for his next fight.

It was Gomez's first defeat since Sept. 24, 2016, when he lost to Roberto Ramirez Uriarte by unanimous decision.

Castro demolishes Moraga in two rounds

Marc Castro needed one punch, eight seconds and a left jab. That's all it took for the junior lightweight prospect to knock down UFC veteran John Moraga in the first round. From there, it was a matter of time for Castro, the highly touted amateur fighter in his second pro fight.

Castro (2-0, 2 KOs), of Fresno, California, knocked down Moraga (1-3, 1 KO) three times in two rounds to register the knockout, finishing the fight with a left uppercut.

Moraga, of Phoenix, has had an impressive MMA career, with a 19-7 record and a UFC flyweight title shot in 2013 that he lost to Demetrious Johnson. His first knockout loss in boxing was Moraga's third defeat in four pro bouts.

The 21-year-old Castro is still very, very early in his pro career, but the friend of star fighter Ryan Garcia made easy work of an overmatched opponent.

NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets' Kevin Durant will still serve as an NBA All-Star Game captain despite a hamstring injury that will keep him from playing.

Durant and fellow All-Star Game captain LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers will each draft a roster out of the pool of selected All-Stars. The All-Star draft will air on TNT on March 4.

It remained unclear whether Durant will travel to Atlanta for the game on March 7.

Durant has missed the Nets' past seven games with a hamstring strain and has been ruled out through the All-Star break. NBA commissioner Adam Silver named Domantas Sabonis as Durant's replacement in the game, and Jayson Tatum was elevated to be an All-Star starter in Durant's absence.

An 11-time All-Star, Durant is averaging 29 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists for Brooklyn this season.

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – Tim Wagaman stood on Lincoln Speedway’s front stretch Saturday evening, overcome by joy and emotion after finally having something go right.

After a frustrating six-year winless drought, where speed never quite translated to victories, Wagaman put it all together Saturday to win the Ice Breaker at Lincoln Speedway.

It’s the 39-year-old’s first win since Aug. 10, 2014 and his second win at Lincoln.

Wagaman took the lead during a lap-five restart when he powered around Kyle Moody and led the final 25 laps. Moody finished second, .257 seconds behind.

“It means a lot because you’re so close all the time and you’re fast but you’re just not there sometimes,” Wagaman said. “I’m proud to rely on our team rather than luck, or anything like that. It made us happy today. These guys bust their butts and I’m happy to do it for them.”

During those six years, Wagaman has shown up to the track with speed, but left most race weekends empty handed. On Saturday, he made sure to capitalize on his chances, starting with a good pill draw for the feature.

Recent snowfall and a light overnight rain made for a heavy, narrow race track. Wagaman knew starting second for the feature would give him the second best shot to win behind Moody, who drew the pole.

Moody raced out to a two-second lead five laps in, taking advantage of a slow start by Wagaman. Then a caution waved for a slowing Jordan Mackison and everything changed.

“We had a gameplan, and it didn’t work out for the first start,” Wagaman said. “The second start, I said, ‘I have to make this happen.’”

Wagaman maintained with Moody going into turn one, where he then made his move around Moody, who kept his car pinned on the bottom. Initially, Wagaman was setting up a crossover, sweeping from the middle of the track and to the inside of Moody as they exited turn two. Instead, Wagaman shook free on the top and cleared Moody off the exit of turn two.

“I just kind of let it float out,” Wagaman said. “That was the name of the game. Then, we got to lapped traffic and I just had to be patient, not take too much or give too much. I didn’t need to be the fastest car at that point because the track was so narrow.”

For Moody, that was the most logical line: protect the bottom and keep that position down the backstretc going into an even narrower turns three and four.

“We talked about it earlier in the day, that on a restart somebody could get up there,” Moody said. “But I just did not think it was possible. Clearly, Timmy showed it was. I’m just so upset at myself I shut it down and ran the inside line to protect. That’s what cost me the race. In lapped traffic I thought I was going to get him back. I threw everything I had and that was it.”

Another caution came out for Chase Dietz and Jordan Givler, both battling inside the top-10, forcing Wagaman to survive a restart with 12 laps to go.

Once Wagaman got a smooth jump on the race’s final restart, he just had to run clean laps and the rest took care of itself.

“I just said, ‘I’m going to be patient,’” Wagaman said. “It’s so good to get this win. … We built so much from last year, and I think we have the potential to win some races.”

Tim Glatfelter rounded out the podium in third. Alan Krimes and Matt Campbell, who at one point challenged Wagaman for the lead with seven laps to go before being knocked out of line, comprised the top five.

Anthony Macri, Brandon Rahmer, Dylan Cisney, Justin Peck, and Tyler Ross made up the top 10.

Tim Shaffer, in his first race for Heffner Racing Enterprises in central Pennsylvania after strong showings in Florida, finished 12th from 24th. Danny Dietrich, central Pennsylvania’s winningest driver from a year ago, placed 21st.

Reigning Lincoln track champion Freddie Rahmer didn’t start the feature and was credited with 26th.

The finish:

Tim Wagaman, Kyle Moody, Tim Glatfelter, Alan Krimes, Matt Campbell, Anthony Macri, Brandon Rahmer, Dylan Cisney, Justin Peck, Tyler Ross, Tyler Esh, Tim Shaffer, Hunter Jackison, Billy Dietrich, Chad Trout, Dylan Norris, Rick Lafferty, Chase Dietz, Jordan Givler, Scott Fisher, Danny Dietrich, Glendon Forsythe, Jordan Mackison, Greg Plank, Steve Buckwalter, Freddie Rahmer.

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Myatt Snider made the most of a second opportunity Saturday evening at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

After spinning the tires during an overtime restart and losing the race lead, Snider learned from his mistake and bested Tyler Reddick on a second overtime restart to earn his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory during the Contender Boats 250.

“I guess I learned my lesson on that first restart,” Snider said. “I spun the wheels and then I saw Tyler spin the wheels on the next one and I knew I might have a chance.”

Saturday’s race looked like a redemption story for Noah Gragson, who dominated a pair of Xfinity Series events at Homestead last year only to come up short in both of them. He had nearly a 10 second lead with three laps left when disaster struck.

Racing into turn three Gragson’s path at the top of the track was suddenly blocked by the slowing machine of David Starr. Gragson had nowhere to go and slammed into the rear of Starr’s Toyota, destroying the front of his Chevrolet to bring out the caution flag.

NASCAR Cup Series regular Tyler Reddick, driving a second car for Our Motorsports, inherited the race lead as a result and led the field down pit road for tires and fuel. Snider, who entered the pits third, beat everyone off pit road to take the lead.

Snider opted for the bottom on the overtime restart while Reddick took the top. When the green flag waved Snider struggled to get up to speed after spinning his tires, allowing Reddick to pull into the lead.

However, behind the leaders contact between A.J. Allmendinger and Brandon Jones sent Allmendinger spinning in turn one. That brought out the caution again, setting up a second overtime restart with Reddick now leading Snider.

Reddick opted to take the top for the restart with Snider on the bottom. Given a second opportunity at the final restart, Snider struck gold as he launched perfectly on the bottom and was clear into the lead by the time he got to turn one.

Behind him, Reddick found himself in a hornets nest of cars as he tried to hold on to second. Coming to the white flag Reddick was able pull clear into second as Snider tried to hang on for his first Xfinity Series victory.

“I knew if I could just lay as much power down as I could and get out ahead of everybody, that I’d have a great chance,” Snider said.

Sticking to the top of the track, Reddick was able to make big gains on Snider in turns one and two. Entering turns three and four Reddick again went to the top, but Snider had just enough of a gap coming out of turn four and Reddick was unable to get alongside him.

Reddick slid back in behind Snider, who raced to a .085-second margin of victory to earn his first Xfinity Series triumph in his 36th series start.

“It’s just amazing to finally be in this position,” said Snider, who is running the full Xfinity Series schedule this year with Richard Childress Racing after splitting his time between RSS Racing and RCR last year. “The amount of support I have behind me is unreal and I’m just so happy for everybody.”

Reddick, a two-time series champion who started 38th in his first Xfinity Series start for Our Motorsports, said he thought having defending Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric behind him on the last restart was going to be the key to winning the race.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way as not only was he unable to catch Snider, the Reddick’s No. 23 was disqualified in post-race technical inspection for rear ride heights.

“I thought having Austin Cindric behind me to push was going to be my best bet,” Reddick explained. “I don’t know if I needed to be more predictable there so he could push me. I’ll go back and look at it obviously. I didn’t really give him a good opportunity to push.”

The Joe Gibbs Racing duo of Brandon Jones and Daniel Hemric finished were scored in second and third, with Kaulig Racing’s Jeb Burton and Cindric completed the top-five.

For complete results, advance to the next page.