Islamabad United 197 for 5 (Ifthikar 49*, Hales 46, Talat 42, Nabi 1-26) beat Karachi Kings 196 for 3 (Sharjeel 105, Azam 62) by five wickets

Chasing 197 in the final over might suggest this game was something of a humdinger. In truth, it was an error-strewn, sloppy contest that few on either side deserved to win. As is often the case with games like these, Islamabad United so often find a way to get over the line, as they did on Wednesday, withstanding an astonishing 59-ball 105 from Sharjeel Khan.

The Karachi Kings opener looked destined to have cost his side the game as he struggled, almost woefully, for fluency in the Powerplay, but 94 off his final 35 balls helped power his side to the highest first-innings total of the tournament. It was his opening partner Babar Azam whose 54-ball 62 ended up as the notable match-losing innings. He might have been the one keeping the run rate afloat while Sharjeel stuttered, but fell away badly at the death when a power-hitter's presence might have propelled Karachi more than the 196 they ended up with.

Islamabad responded by attacking from the outset, spearheaded by Alex Hales and Faheem Ashraf in the Powerplay, and even as the wickets fell, they continued to go after their shots, refusing to allow the asking rate get out of hand. An invaluable 94-run stand between Iftikhar Ahmed and Hussain Talat held things together through the middle overs, and while Karachi were never out of the game until the penultimate over, they never quite found an effective way of building any sort of pressure on the chasing side.

It was a contest defined by, at times, shocking bowling and fielding, especially by Islamabad, who took no fewer than three wickets off what ended up being no-balls, and dropped three further catches, not taking a wicket until the 19th over. By that time, Karachi's opening partnership had put on 176, the highest stand in PSL history. But Karachi would be equally profligate with the ball, leaking 14 extras. Mohammad Amir's inaccuracy at the death would prove to be the final nail. Asif Ali smacked a knee-high full toss he bowled for six to level up the scores, and Iftikhar did the honours with five balls to spare.

Star of the day

This man was almost nailed on to wind up in the column below - with the multiple dropped catches in the field - but by far the most significant reason Islamabad even got close in this game was a whirlwind of a cameo from Hales. Imad Wasim and Amir had helped Karachi put Islamabad against the wall before the chase had truly begun with the wickets of Phil Salt and Shadab Khan. But Hales' approach to Aamer Yamin's first - and, inevitably, only - over produced the first incipient signs that a remarkable chase was on. Aided by a no-ball, almost inevitably, Hales would go on to produce the most expensive over in the history of the PSL. Five fours and a six would help Islamabad get 29 off it, and suddenly, the asking rate was in control, and much of the Powerplay still remained.

The opener was off and away, and played with the sort of abandon that fetched him such success in the Big Bash League, racing along to 46 off 21 before Waqas Maqsood finally got rid of him. But it wasn't before he'd helped Islamabad plunder 77 off the Powerplay; Karachi, by comparison, had managed just 33. What might have been a rout would end up as a sensationally dramatic victory, and Hales was at its heart.

Miss of the day

Sharjeel had struggled for any rhythm until Shadab brought himself in for his second over. He might have been unlucky that Sharjeel's first swipe off him didn't end up down long-on's throat, but that was just the beginning of a contest that was less match, more fever dream for the Islamabad captain. He would follow that up with three abysmal balls that Sharjeel would put away for sixes much more decisively. Shadab lost any confidence he might have had after that, never to even consider bringing himself back on for another over even as the pacers offered full tosses and free hits like they were going out of fashion.

When he came out to bat, he was beaten all ends up by an Amir inswinger at pace - his bat was nowhere near - and sent on his way for a golden duck. It was just the second time the allrounder has been dismissed off his first delivery, and he'd sent down his most expensive spell on the same day. His side might have sneaked home, but the memories from the day are more likely bitter than sweet for the Islamabad captain.

Honourable mention

After an explosive start to his PSL career in the first game where Mohammad Waseem took three wickets, the 19-year-old backed it up with an equally stellar second outing. There might not be anything in the wickets column, but forced to come on and bowl his final two overs when Sharjeel was at his destructive best, Wasim allowed just six runs off his last over. The two overs either side of his, bowled by Faheem and Hasan Ali, leaked 17 and 13 respectively. In that context, four overs for 30 runs seems little less than heroic. Islamabad have some superstars in their line-up, but this emerging player truly appears to be living up to the name.

Zak Crawley has insisted the third Test is "nowhere near over" despite England being bowled out cheaply in their first innings.

Crawley, the one England batsman to shine amid another grim performance, believes batting last on this Ahmedabad surface could prove "extremely difficult" and suggested a target of as little as 100 could prove challenging for India.

So despite England having pulled off a couple of victories from unlikely positions in recent years - the Ashes Test at Leeds in 2019 springs to mind - Crawley dismissed the idea his side will require such a "miracle" this time.

"Absolutely, there's a way back into this game," Crawley said. "It's nowhere near over. We could bowl them out for late 100s, early 200s. And if we can get any sort of lead on that pitch, we've a chance in the fourth innings.

"I don't think it's going to require a miracle, to be honest. Batting last on this pitch is going to be extremely difficult. If we bowl well on Thursday and then get a nice lead - even a 100-run lead or 150 - we've got a great chance of winning the game."

While Crawley admitted England's total - just 112; their lowest first-innings score in Test history in India - was "a bit short", he did not think it was as far under par as might be anticipated.

"We know we've should have got a few more runs," he said. "We're a bit short. But if we had made 200, that would be a nice competitive score.

"I think our bowlers could easily take 20 wickets on this pitch, with the standard they are. We didn't really help them with the lack of runs, but we can put that right in the second innings. We need a lot to go our way and to play extremely well.

"The challenge today was half the balls were going straight on and half were turning. In Sri Lanka it seemed every ball was turning, but here some were skidding on and that was the ball that was taking wickets.

"But I think the pitch is going to continue to break up. It's going to go up and down a bit more for the seamers and spin a bit more for Jack Leach. It's definitely going to get harder to bat.

"That's why I say we're not out of this game. If we bat well in the third innings, we can put them under a bit of pressure and we can defend anything on this pitch if it continues to get worse."

Crawley also admitted there was "frustration" within the England camp after more decisions from the TV umpire went against the touring side. But he recommended his side "keep trying to be better" rather than focusing on any perceived ill-fortune.

"We're behind the game and we need those 50/50 calls to go our way," he said. "But it seemed like none of them went our way today. That's just the way it goes.

"That's out of our control, so we've got to keep trying to be better. Hopefully we can play better tomorrow and we can take wickets without needing the 50/50 decisions."

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Much like the reaction of the players he leads on the PGA Tour, commissioner Jay Monahan said Wednesday that he had a difficult time processing the news that his star attraction, Tiger Woods, had been seriously injured in a car accident.

Monahan said he was in his office at Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, when he got initial word about Woods, who suffered significant leg injuries in a one-vehicle crash Tuesday morning near the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes, about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

"I was shocked,'' Monahan said. "I kind of had to sit down and ask the same question I had asked a second time because I wasn't sure I completely heard what I was being told."

As part of a statement on Woods' official Twitter account, Dr. Anish Mahajan of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center updated the famed golfer's condition, saying in part that Woods had multiple "open fractures" to his lower right leg, and he had a rod placed in his tibia and screws and pins inserted in his foot and ankle during an emergency surgery.

Woods, 45, was "awake, responsive, and recovering in his hospital room," according to the statement.

Monahan on Wednesday spoke to reporters at The Concession Golf Club, site of this week's WGC Workday Championship, and said he had been in touch with Woods' agent Mark Steinberg but offered no details.

"It was early on in the process when there was still a lot of unknowns,'' Monahan said. "All I knew was that he had had a really bad car accident. ... [Once] we started to understand that, number one, most important, he was going to be okay and it was non-life-threatening, and two, he had serious injuries that needed to be attended to.

"That's where for me -- and I think for a lot of us -- there was a period where we didn't know. You're thinking a lot of different things and some of them are pretty scary to think about."

Monahan admitted Tuesday was difficult, especially with so much going on. The coronavirus pandemic continues to be an obstacle for the Tour, whose flagship event, the Players Championship, is in two weeks. That tournament is where the golf world shut down a year ago, leading to a 13-week hiatus from events.

"I was up all night last night and I couldn't really focus on anything else,'' Harig said of Woods' accident. "The only thing that really matters now is his well-being, his recovery, his family, the level of support that we provide to him.

"Listen, when Tiger wants to talk about golf, we'll talk about golf. But I think right now the entirety of our efforts needs to be around the support. When you're going to overcome what he needs to overcome, I think the love of all of our players and everybody out here, it's going to come forward in a big way and across the entire sporting world. I think he'll feel that energy and I think that's what we should all focus on. We'll all be talking about that at some point down the road, but not right now.''

Rory McIlroy echoed Monahan's sentiments.

"He's not Superman,'' McIlroy said of Woods. "He's a human being at the end of the day. And he's already been through so much. At this stage, I think everyone should just be grateful that he's here, that he's alive, that his kids haven't lost their dad. That's the most important thing. Golf is so far from the equation right now, it's not even on the map at this point.''

McIlroy, along with Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, got to know Woods better when he was sidelined from the game due to his 2017 spinal fusion surgery. They saw what he went through, and the great story in his comeback.

"From hardly being able to walk to stand to being able to get his game back into shape," McIlroy said. "He won the Masters two years later, in 2019. I don't think people to this day, people don't realize -- a few of us out here do, JT, Rickie, Dustin (Johnson) and myself, the guys that are in Florida that have gotten a little bit closer with him -- the struggle and the things he had to deal with to get to that point to win Augusta in 2019.

"Look, I don't want to take anything away from what Ben Hogan did after his car crash or any of the other comebacks that athletes have had in other sports, but right now I can't think of any greater comeback in sports than the journey that he made from that lunch we had in 2017 to winning the Masters a couple years later."

Asked what Woods means to everybody on the PGA Tour, Brooks Koepka summed it up.

"He means a lot to the players. He means a lot for the tour. He's the one who brings the fans. He's the whole reason probably 90 percent of us are out here playing," Koepka told ESPN. "The only reason the sponsors are here is because of him. The tour -- everything they've done is basically because of Tiger. Without him our game is a long way behind. So, everything we do is because of him."

ONE MONTH INTO the NBA season, Steve Kerr had seen enough to make a rather grand declaration about the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz had just dismissed Kerr's Golden State Warriors, leading by 36 points after three quarters and cruising to a 127-108 victory on Jan. 23. It was Utah's eighth straight win, and questions began percolating about whether the Jazz were actually good enough to be included in conversations about the league's title contenders.

"They're trying to win a championship right now, and I think they're capable of doing so," Kerr said. "They're where we were three, four years ago."

More than a month later, the Jazz are still rolling. They've won 21 of the past 23 games -- 19 by double digits -- entering Wednesday's meeting with the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET on ESPN). Utah has the NBA's best record at 25-6 and is the lone team in the league to rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

But are the Jazz a real threat to beat one (or both) of the L.A. teams in the playoffs? Kerr's answer was quite affirmative, if not representative of a consensus opinion around the league, and he wasn't the only coach to compare the Jazz to a recent championship squad.

Brad Stevens, just before his Boston Celtics lost by 14 in Utah on Feb. 9, said the Jazz were the "closest team to the '14 Spurs" that he has seen in regard to smarts and unselfishness manifesting in brilliant ball movement.

Those Spurs had three surefire Hall of Famers with extensive championship experience in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, not to mention a budding superstar in Kawhi Leonard. One of the primary reasons skepticism about the Jazz persists among rival scouts and executives is because they lack proven star power that the Lakers, LA Clippers and Eastern Conference favorite Brooklyn Nets feature.

Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert, who are harmonious and happy after ironing out chemistry issues prior to the bubble and signing lucrative, long-term contract extensions before training camp, unquestionably form one of the NBA's best duos. Mitchell is a dynamic scorer and developing playmaker who has demonstrated he can rise to the occasion on the playoff stage, while Gobert is recognized as the NBA's most dominant defensive presence and is a critical cog of the Utah offense as a screener, roller, finisher and rebounder.

But Utah's star pairing isn't perceived by league insiders to be on the same level as LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as Leonard and Paul George or as Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving. In the NBA, star power wins playoff series -- with some exceptions.

"You kind of go back to the old Detroit team that won it," a longtime Western Conference scout said, referring to the 2003-04 Pistons, whose lone All-Star that season was Ben Wallace, a defensively dominant big man and Detroit's sixth-leading scorer. "They just had a lot of really good players.

"I thought Utah needed another star, but I've changed on that."

IT ISN'T UNPRECEDENTED for the Gobert/Mitchell-era Jazz to dominate for significant stretches of the regular season. It happens on at least an annual basis.

Utah won 21 of 23 in a 2018 run that lasted from late January to mid-March. The Jazz had an 11-2 stretch in January 2019 and a 12-1 run a couple of months later. And Utah went 19-2 from mid-December until late January last season. But those editions of the Jazz combined to win only one playoff series.

These Jazz play with a certain sort of energizing joy -- "It just looks like fun," reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo remarked after his Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Jazz by double digits for the second time this season -- but they frequently issue postgame reminders that they haven't accomplished anything worth celebrating yet.

"We don't want to be the best team in February; we want to be the best team in July," Mitchell said after that Feb. 12 victory over the Bucks, when Antetokounmpo referred to the Jazz as the "best team in the West."

There are some apparent differences between this season's Jazz and the Utah teams from the previous few campaigns, the results of the front office's work to address the team's flaws.

The Jazz recognized that they were far too reliant on Mitchell to generate offense after Utah's ugly showing in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, a five-game dismissal at the hands of the Houston Rockets in which the Jazz shot 40% from the floor and 26.3% from 3-point range.

Utah made adding playmaking and shooting their top offseason priority, trading for point guard Mike Conley and forward Bojan Bogdanovic, then dealt for Jordan Clarkson midseason to add a desperately needed scoring threat off the bench.

"You kind of go back to the old Detroit team that won it. They just had a lot of really good players. I thought Utah needed another star, but I've changed on that." Western Conference scout

There were some extenuating circumstances in the Jazz blowing a 3-1 lead to be bounced by the Denver Nuggets in last season's playoffs, primarily Bogdanovic's absence due to surgery on his shooting wrist. But the Jazz came out of the bubble knowing that they needed to figure out how not to sink when Gobert sat; Utah was plus-319 in the All-NBA big man's minutes last season, including the playoffs, and outscored by 117 when he rested.

Utah addressed that issue by bringing back Derrick Favors, Gobert's longtime frontcourt partner who was traded to create the salary-cap space to sign Bogdanovic the previous summer. Favors came back to Salt Lake City with the understanding he would not return to his role as the starting power forward, instead being utilized almost solely as the backup center.

Just like that, the Jazz had a rock-solid, eight-man rotation, composed completely of players who have been productive as starters, have consistent, defined roles and buy into the style Utah wants to play. Coach Quin Snyder can now count on always playing lineups that feature multiple playmakers, four 3-point threats and a center who serves as a defensive anchor and roll man.

Two seasons ago, the Jazz were a decent 3-point shooting team that was elite defensively. That was flipped last season. These Jazz are now among the best at both -- and have embraced the 3 like never before, leading the NBA in treys attempted (42.5 per game) and made (16.8, on pace for a league record).

"Wow, they spread you out," a West scout said. "They can drive it, shoot it and have a lob threat. They're really tough to defend now."

All but one of Utah's top eight players are locked up with long-term deals after new team owner Ryan Smith approved new contracts totaling at least $420 million to keep Clarkson, Mitchell and Gobert in Jazz uniforms for years to come. The exception: Conley, whose increased comfort level in his second season in Utah is commonly cited as a critical factor in the Jazz's success this season.

Conley struggled to make the transition after spending the first dozen years of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies. This season, Conley entered All-Star balloting as a third candidate for the Jazz alongside Gobert and Mitchell, in large part because he ranks second in the NBA in raw plus-minus (plus-280), trailing only his teammate Gobert (plus-298).

"Mike Conley is much different," a West scout said of the 33-year-old point guard who is averaging 16.4 points and 5.6 assists per game with the best effective field goal percentage (.559) of his career. "He knows their system and knows their personnel, and he's shooting the ball great."

But the Jazz kept winning even without Conley, going 6-0 while he nursed tightness in his right hamstring, with Joe Ingles stepping into the starting lineup.

That stretch included wins over teams that at the time had the top two records in the Eastern Conference, with Clarkson averaging 32.5 points on 60.5% shooting in the victories over the Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers, further enhancing his status as a Sixth Man of the Year contender.

THE JAZZ STRUCK an upbeat tone after Friday's 116-112 loss to the host Clippers, the lone blemish on Utah's February record.

"I think this is a bump in the road and a good one, in my opinion," Mitchell said, citing the experience of competing in clutch situations, a rarity considering that an eight-point victory at the Indiana Pacers was the closest game during the nine-game winning streak that got snapped that night.

The Jazz were pleased that they met the Clippers at full strength, as George and Leonard also came back from injuries, and were invigorated by what they considered playoff-type intensity, wanting to get an accurate measuring stick.

"It was a great opportunity for us to just keep getting better," Gobert said.

However, the result reinforced the belief around the league that the Jazz remain underdogs against the loaded L.A. teams despite Utah's spot atop the West standings.

Those who doubt the Jazz's ability to beat L.A. -- either the Clippers or Lakers -- typically cite defensive concerns first. Royce O'Neale usually guards the opponent's best scorer, from shooting guards to power forwards.

"Who guards the other guy, is the problem," a West scout said, referring to two-superstar opponents that could stand in the Jazz's way in the playoffs.

It's a problem the Jazz would prefer not to have to deal with until the Western Conference finals. That's a reason holding on to the West's best record is important. It would likely mean the L.A. teams would meet each other in the second round, so the Jazz wouldn't have to beat both the Lakers and the Clippers to get out of the West.

"I think they're the third-best team in the West," an Eastern Conference executive whose team has lost to the Jazz recently said. "I think they might have the best record in the regular season, but I do not think they should be favored over either L.A. team. In fact, I would heavily favor the L.A. teams, but I like the Jazz a lot.

"They've done what they should do, which is put themselves in position where they can pull off an upset with a little luck."

American clocks 7.29 to beat the Briton’s long-standing mark by one hundredth of a second at the World Indoor Tour Gold in Madrid

Colin Jackson’s world indoor 60m hurdles record of 7.30 has looked on borrowed time this winter and the in-form Grant Holloway finally broke the Briton’s mark in Madrid on Wednesday (February 24).

Initially the American’s time flashed up as 7.32 and frustratingly outside the record, but after an agonising delay it was confirmed as 7.29 as he took one hundredth of a second off Jackson’s best.

The 23-year-old from Virginia won the world title outdoors in Doha in 2019 and has been in scintillating form this year. In Madrid he clocked 7.32 in his heat to give Jackson’s record a scare and then improved in the final as Britain’s Andy Pozzi, the world indoor champion, finished runner-up in a season’s best of 7.51.

Time was running out this season for Holloway to break Jackson’s record too. It was his final race of his indoor campaign and the final meeting in the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold.

Grant Holloway breaks world indoor 60m hurdles record in Madrid #WorldIndoorTour

Stunning hurdling from @Flaamingoo_ to clock 7.29 ?

?: https://t.co/zCi4oRJwyr pic.twitter.com/1oM4G3DKP2

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) February 24, 2021

The omens were good as Madrid has a reputation for staging fast sprint times. In the past Maurice Greene, Andre Cason and Leroy Burrell have broken the world 60m flat record in Madrid, whereas the women’s 60m mark has fallen to Nelli Cooman, Merlene Ottey and Irina Privalova in the same city.

Jackson’s record has stood the test of time, though. It was set in 1994 when the Briton enjoyed a momentous indoor season. Firstly, he equalled Greg Foster’s world record of 7.36 in Glasgow before claiming the mark as his own with a 7.30 clocking in Sindelfingen, Germany. In the form of his life, he then captured a golden double at 60m and 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Championships in Paris a few days later.

But Holloway has now surpassed Jackson’s mark and speculation will turn to how much he can improve his 110m hurdles best of 12.98 this summer. A great all-round athlete – with a long jump best of 8.17m and a 44.75 split from a 4x400m to his name – this year he seems a class apart from his rivals in his specialist event.

Holloway said recently: “I don’t chase records. It’s the records that come to you.”

But the expectation was heavy before the Madrid meeting and he rose to the occasion to beat the mark.

Elsewhere, Gudaf Tsegay won the 3000m in Madrid in 8:22.65 – the second fastest time in history indoors behind fellow Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba’s 8:16.60.

Juan Miguel Echevarria, the world indoor champion from Cuba, took the men’s long jump victory with 8.14m from the opening round.

Habitam Alemu of Ethiopia ran a meet record of 1:58.94 in the women’s 800m as in-form Irish runner Nadia Power finished third in 2:01.55.

Mariano Garcia ran a meet record of 1:45.66 in the men’s 800m with Amel Tuka running a 1:45.95 PB in second and former world champion Pierre-Ambroise Bosse clocking a 1:45.95 PB in third.

Selemon Barega took the men’s 1500m with a meet record of 3:35.42.

Nadine Visser of the Netherlands continued her fine form, too, as she equalled the world lead of 7.81 in 60m hurdles.

Pavel Maslak, the three-time world indoor champion, warmed up for the European Indoor Championships by winning the 400m in 46.12.

Iryna Zhuk of Belarus took the women’s pole vault with 4.67m.

Full results can be seen here.

England know their hopes of defending the Six Nations could be snuffed out by Wales' suffocating gameplan, says forwards coach Matt Proudfoot.

"They just don't let you go. They get hold of you and just squeeze you," Proudfoot told BBC Sport.

"Our focal point has been to match their intensity."

Proudfoot suffered four successive losses to Wales during his time as part of South Africa's backroom staff, before helping mastermind the Rugby World Cup semi-final victory in October 2019.

A behind-the-scenes documentary of the Springboks' campaign in Japan showed South Africa's players being told in no uncertain terms of Wales' threat, with then-head coach Rassie Erasmus comparing their spirit and toughness favourably to England and Ireland.

"I know how tough it is to go there and how well you have to be prepared," Proudfoot added.

Proudfoot picked out flanker Justin Tipuric, scorer of two tries in the teams' 2020 Six Nations clash, as the best performer in a star-studded Wales forward pack.

"Wyn Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau, Josh Navidi, Aaron Wainwright, James Botham, they are special players, great players, " he added.

"The one really on top of the pile is Tipuric - if you look at his skillset defensively, attacking-wise, what he does in the line-out, he is a special player."

His evaluation was backed up by Courtney Lawes, who toured New Zealand with Tipuric as part of the British and Irish Lions in 2017.

"He is just a great player," Lawes told BBC Sport. "Really consistent, good skills and probably quite an underrated player as well. He gives them a lot around the park."

HARRISBURG, N.C. — As someone who has written about auto racing for nearly four decades, I have a genuine concern for the long-term future of the Daytona 500.

The annual 500-mile battle at Bill France’s 2.5-mile Palace of Speed has been a crown jewel event for NASCAR racing since Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp crossed the finish line side by side on Feb. 22, 1959.

That dramatic finish was a preview of things to come.

During the 1960s and ’70s, race fans from across the country migrated south to the Sunshine State each February to spend time on the beach and cheer for the brave men who navigated the high banks of Daytona Int’l Speedway in stock-appearing automobiles.

The action often kept fans on the edge of their seats, such as the dramatic finish to the 1976 Daytona 500, when rivals Richard Petty and David Pearson tangled and crashed coming off of turn four on the final lap.

Three years later, live television coverage of the Daytona 500 forever changed the NASCAR landscape and the sport’s marquee race was soon being mentioned alongside major events in mainstream, stick-and-ball sports.

Thanks to broadcaster Ken Squier, the 500 even became known as The Great American Race.

Fast-forward to more recent times and the Daytona 500 has become better known for its dramatic, multi-car crashes that regularly eliminate a majority of the competitors and play a significant role in determining who takes the checkered flag. To most race fans, today’s Daytona 500 is a demolition derby instead of a race.

Combine that pathetic style of racing with the expected afternoon showers that delayed this year’s race for nearly six hours, and it’s no wonder the television ratings for the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 hit a new low.

People don’t like the current style of racing on the Daytona tri-oval and they are turning their attention elsewhere, and that’s a bad sign for the future of NASCAR’s most significant race.

If something doesn’t change, the Daytona 500 could easily fade into the history books.

Don’t believe me; look what’s happened to the Brickyard 400. When the NASCAR Cup Series made its first visit to the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August 1994, it was one of the most significant events in the history of American motorsports.

The annual race attracted enormous crowds and drew impressive TV numbers as it helped fuel NASCAR’s amazing growth during the late 1990s.

The Brickyard 400 became one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races alongside the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500.

Then, stock car racing’s annual visit to Indianapolis began to fall on hard times. Tire issues marred the 2008 race, crowds began to dwindle and it was finally acknowledged that the unique rectangular shape of the Indy track was simply not conducive to good stock car racing.

This year, NASCAR’s visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be run on the facility’s road course, essentially ending the storied tradition of the Brickyard 400 and relegating a former marquee event to the history books.

The winner and his team will still kiss the bricks at the start-finish line after the checkered flag, but it will be the end of one era and the beginning of another.

If changes are not made to address the current issues in NASCAR’s hometown, what will the Daytona 500 look like five years, 10 years down the road?

Will Daytona and NASCAR officials be able maintain the race’s prestige, or will it experience a similar fate to the Brickyard 400? What impact will NASCAR’s Next Gen car have on the sport’s signature race when it debuts next year? Will it fix the racing?

At this point, there are certainly more questions than answers concerning the future of the Daytona 500.

PAIGE, Texas – The Texas Two-Step at Cotton Bowl Speedway has found new dates and a new sponsor.

Rescheduled for March 19-20, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series doubleheader will now feature title sponsorship from a valued partner in Drydene Performance Products.

The two-day show will be labeled the Drydene Texas Two-Step presented by American Lube Supply.

“We are excited to be part of the Drydene Texas Two-Step,” said Dave Klinger, President of Drydene Performance Products. “This spring trip is essential in getting the season going and we’re proud to be a part of it. The Texas Two-Step is a unique opportunity for us to increase our involvement by supporting both the race teams and the fans in a market where we’ve recently added a new Drydene distributor, and the presenting sponsor of the race, American Lube Supply.

“This is only the beginning of what we believe is going to be another exciting season in the partnership between Drydene and the World of Outlaws.”

Leading the charge to Cotton Bowl Speedway will be the Shark Racing duo of Logan Schuchart in the Drydene No. 1s and Jacob Allen in the Drydene No. 1a.

Schuchart currently leads the early-season championship chase following a dominant DIRTcar Nationals title, which included a win and second-place finish in February.

Allen, who collected his first career World of Outlaws Feature triumph last September, is off to the best start of his World of Outlaws career, with two top-10 finishes currently placing him sixth in the point standings.

Cotton Bowl’s Drydene Texas Two-Step will mark the third week of a revised six-week spring schedule that was announced Tuesday.

Beginning in March, The Greatest Show on Dirt will venture from Florida and through Mississippi and Louisiana to get to Texas.

Then, it’s off to Missouri and Indiana before resuming the regular schedule with Lawton (Okla.) Speedway on April 16 and Texas’ Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 17.

Imagine running 200 mph in a three-wide, eight-row deep pack of cars at Florida’s Daytona Int’l Speedway or Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Nearly four times faster than a normal Sunday afternoon drive, it’s definitely not an everyday trip down a major interstate with the radio playing.

Today’s NASCAR drivers depend heavily on those important individuals stationed high above the tracks who serve as a second set of eyes. On many occasions, spotters have kept drivers out of harm’s way and helped them to make decisions that paved the way to victory lane.

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is happy to have help from above.

“We depend so heavily on the spotters in all of the races we compete in,” Johnson said. “They are watching out for us and in our ear to help us make split-second decisions that keep us out of harm’s way. My spotter, Earl Barban, has done an amazing job over the years and definitely contributed to the success we’ve enjoyed. Spotters are so important in our sport and have been for many years.”

Spotters were used in NASCAR competition as early as 1950.

Raymond Parks, credited as NASCAR’s first multi-team owner, is considered the first to provide two-way radios for his drivers. Parks utilized World War II “walkie-talkies,” but the venture didn’t last long, as other drivers and teams complained to NASCAR founder Bill France that having them was an illegal advantage and they were banned for a short time.

On Feb. 9, 1952, NASCAR sportsman drivers competed alongside those in the modified division on the 4.1-mile Beach and Road Course in Daytona Beach, Fla. A total of 118 drivers took the green flag, with Tim Flock winning.

Flock was disqualified for improper roll bars, but was told before the race he could run them. Ultimately, Jack Smith was declared the winner.

Al Stevens, the third-place finisher in the sportsman class, communicated by radio with team owner Cotton Bennett. The bulky radio was bolted to the floor of his 1939 Plymouth, allowing Bennett and two spotters along the beach to communicate as Stevens wheeled his car lap after lap.

“This has any other type of driver-pits communication beat by a mile,” Stevens told members of the media after the race, according to Greg Fielden’s book, “High Speeds at Low Tide.”

Driver Jack Smith is credited with being the first  to win a NASCAR superspeedway event while maintaining two-way radio communication with his pit crew. Smith and crew chief Bud Moore tried to use radios during Charlotte Motor Speedway’s inaugural 600-mile event on June 19, 1960.

However, the rough surface caused the radio in the car to fail. The team tried again and won the Firecracker 250 at Daytona Int’l Speedway on July 4, 1960.

Still, radios were not in wide use, as the technology had not been developed for quality transmissions at high speeds.

The first breakthrough in driver-spotter communication came when Bobby Allison tried a CB radio set-up in his Holman Moody Ford at California’s Riverside Int’l Raceway on Jan. 10, 1971. The initial attempt failed as Allison could not hear crew chief Eddie Allison. But when the series returned to Riverside on June 20 of that year, Allison’s radio worked.

With a new system designed by Chuck Santorre, an employee of Motorola, the sound was crisp from Allison to his pits as well as Santorre, who was stationed high in the frontstretch grandstands.

At one point during the 153-lap race, a multi-car crash completely blocked the track coming out of a blind spot.

“I went out through the dirt and the cloud of dust and missed everything,” Allison said. “I won the race so easy that day, I didn’t have to race anybody. About three races later, Richard Petty walked over to me and asked, ‘How do I get some of them there things?’

“Flying the airplane, I could take my little radio and talk to a guy a thousand miles away. I was so tuned into radio communication; it made it really easy for me,” Allison explained. “As the spotters got better and better, they could say so-and-so is weak getting into the corner or so-and-so is weak getting off the corner. They could feed the driver the right kind of information to help them advance and they could warn the driver of an unseen problem.”

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KNOXVILLE, IOWA – Fatheadz Eyewear will serve as the title sponsor of this year’s Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank.

The 10th running of the Fatheadz Eyewear Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank will be held on Sunday, Aug. 8 at Knoxville Raceway.

“Everyone knows Knoxville is the place to be in early August, said Rico Elmore, Founder and CEO of Fatheadz Eyewear. “It’s deeply rooted in tradition, and some of the greatest dirt racers have battled on that track. We are really looking forward to sponsoring the Capitani Classic, bringing Fatheadz to the Knoxville Nationals and seeing some great racing this year.”

The Fatheadz Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank was created in 2011 to honor Knoxville Raceway’s legendary track promoter Ralph Capitani.

The annual 410 winged sprint car race is the drivers’ final attempt to fine tune their car before the prestigious NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s.

“Fatheadz Eyewear has been a long-time supporter of drivers, teams and events and we’re honored to have them add Knoxville Raceway to their list of partners in the sport,” said Kendra Jacobs, Marketing Director at Knoxville Raceway. “The team at Fatheadz has a true love for racing and the sport’s history so they’re aware of Ralph Capitani and what he means to this track and our community.

“This is a great partnership that we’re looking forward to showcasing in August.”

NASCAR star Kyle Larson won last year’s Capitani Classic, earning his eighth career victory at Knoxville Raceway. Past winners also include Brian Brown, David Gravel, Ian Madsen, Bronson Maeschen, Shane Stewart, Brad Sweet and Kevin Swindell.

Stewart is the only multi-time Capitani Classic winner, topping the event in 2015-’16.

Twice, the winner of the Fatheadz Eyewear Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank has gone on to win the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s the following weekend.

Tickets for the Fatheadz Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank will go on sale Monday, March 1 at www.knoxvilleraceway.com/tickets or by calling the Knoxville Raceway ticket office at 641-842-5431.

Tickets start at $25 for adults, $20 for teens and $15 for children 12 and under. Reserved seating is available.