Watch highlights of Novak Djokovic's 7-5 6-2 6-2 win over Daniil Medvedev to win a record-extending ninth men's Australian Open title, his 18th Grand Slam.

REPORT: Novak Djokovic wins ninth Australian Open by beating Daniil Medvedev

Watch extended Australian Open match highlights on BBC TV and iPlayer.

Available to UK users only.

Not only was Novak Djokovic playing for the Australian Open title on Sunday, he was playing catch-up in the race to be crowned the 'GOAT' in men's tennis.

Serbia's Djokovic won in Melbourne to land an 18th major title, moving him two behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's all-time leading tally of 20 Grand Slam singles victories.

Beating Russia's Daniil Medvedev for a ninth Australian Open title may prove to be pivotal in the race.

The 33-year-old is a year younger than Nadal and seems to have plenty of time on his side over 39-year-old Federer, who did not play in Melbourne because of a knee injury.

For some, the 'GOAT' discussion is frivolous and does a disservice to the achievements of each player in their own right.

Looking purely at the numbers does not tell the full picture. It is not possible to quantify their different playing styles, how they have adapted their games, their physical and mental strength, nor how they have overcome the tough moments that have peppered all of their careers.

But it does provide the framework for the debate. Here, BBC Sport crunches the statistics for you to consider and then have your say in the comments section at the bottom.

From a clear frontrunner to a three-horse race

The race to be crowned the 'GOAT' - in terms of major titles, at least - is tighter between the top three men than it ever has been before.

When Federer overtook Pete Sampras' previous best mark - winning his 15th Grand Slam title, aged 27, at Wimbledon in 2009 - few thought he would ever be caught.

At that stage, 23-year-old Nadal had won six majors and 22-year-old Djokovic had not added to his maiden title at the Australian Open in 2008.

After winning at least one major in every year between 2003 and 2010, Federer's trajectory began to plateau during 2011, the year Djokovic took his game to new heights.

Another Wimbledon title followed in 2012 but then, thanks to a combination of his rivals' brilliance and his injuries, the Swiss did not win another major in the next four years.

Most had written him off as Nadal and Djokovic closed in on his tally, before Federer's renaissance in 2017 - on the back of his rivals stumbling in the race because of injury and loss of form - kept him at least three titles ahead.

That was until 2019 when Nadal and Djokovic shared the four majors equally between them, leaving the trio closer together than ever.

Now Federer has company - for the first time since he was briefly level with Sampras in 2009 - after Nadal's win at Roland Garros last year.

How do they compare across the different surfaces?

Some argue that Nadal's utter dominance on the Roland Garros clay means he is perhaps not as complete an all-round player as Federer and Djokovic.

The 'King of Clay' has won 13 of his 20 major titles in Paris. Neither Federer nor Djokovic have been as dominant as that at one place, although neither has any other player - male or female - in the history of the sport.

But Federer and Djokovic do each have a Grand Slam they have bossed over the years and at which they hold the record for the number of men's titles won.

Djokovic has claimed nine of his 18 victories on the Australian Open hard courts, while Federer has won eight of his 20 majors on the Wimbledon grass.

However, there is still one feat evading them. Neither Federer, Nadal nor Djokovic have managed to become the first man in the Open era to win each of the four Grand Slams twice.

Djokovic had the opportunity when he played Nadal in the French Open final last year, but was outplayed as the Spaniard won.

Djokovic and Federer have the next chance to claim this achievement before their rivals when they return to Roland Garros in May.

How have they fared against each other?

This is another area where Djokovic's claims are strengthened.

He has a better head-to-head record against both Federer and Nadal in their total meetings.

Djokovic's dominance over Federer has also borne out in their Grand Slam meetings.

However, Nadal's win in October's French Open final means the Spaniard has the upper hand over Djokovic at the majors.

Nadal has also beaten his two biggest rivals the most times on the way to his Grand Slam wins:

How do they compare in terms of longevity?

Aside from Grand Slam titles, the length of time spent as the world number one is another key indicator.

Federer has spent the most weeks in history at the top of the men's rankings - but will be overtaken by Djokovic next month.

Nadal losing in the Australian Open quarter-finals ensured Djokovic will take that record away from the Swiss.

The Serb cannot be dislodged for the time being and, on 8 March, will be top of the rankings for a 311th week of his career.

That will move him ahead of Federer's 310 weeks, with Pete Sampras (287), Ivan Lendl (270), Jimmy Connors (268) and Nadal (209) trailing behind.

"That was a big goal. Achieving that is a relief for me and now I'm mostly going to focus all my attention on Slams," said Djokovic.

What about the other big tournaments?

While Grand Slams garner the most attention because of their prestige, there are plenty of other important tournaments that feed into this conversation.

Of the big three, Federer has won the most titles in his career. In fact, only American Jimmy Connors - who won 109 titles - has bettered this tally in the men's game.

Federer also leads the way in terms of winning the end-of-season ATP Tour Finals, considered by most as the fifth Grand Slam.

The Swiss has won six of those events, which see a round-robin group followed by a knockout stage for the world's top eight leading players over the season.

Djokovic has won the event five times, while Nadal curiously has never won.

Nadal is a two-time runner-up - losing to Federer in 2010 and Djokovic in 2013 - but has missed four of the past nine tournaments through injury.

Underneath the Grand Slams and the Tour Finals, the next tier of events are the nine Masters tournaments.

Since 2009, these have been held on hard courts in Indian Wells, Miami, Canada (alternating between Montreal and Toronto), Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris Bercy, with clay-courts events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Last year because of the coronavirus pandemic the only events held were in Cincinnati, Rome - both won by Djokovic - and the Paris indoors won by Medvedev.

Djokovic won on the Rome clay to claim his 36th Masters title and move clear of Nadal (35), with Federer (27), Andre Agassi (18) and Andy Murray (14) following behind.

In 2018, Djokovic became the first and only man to win all nine Masters tournaments.

Now you have considered the evidence, who do you think is the men's GOAT? Have your say in the comments section below.

By DAVE WORSLEY – Squash Mad Correspondent

Evan Williams and Emma Millar emerged triumphant after two dramatic, five-game finals in the Henderson Rochelle Hobbs PSA Open tournament in Auckland.

The women’s contest featured top-100 ranked Emma Millar winning 12-10 in the fifth against Henderson club captain and former top ten pro Shelley Kitchen, who at 41 showed plenty of power and fitness as if she was ready to play in the British Open once again.

Kitchen won the first game 10-12 after an initial struggle, but then found herself well beaten by current New Zealand national champion, Millar from the Waikato. However, the tables were turned in the third game with Kitchen again winning, this time 11-9.

Into the fourth the style of play became a little bit less frantic and the two players varied the pace more and Millar equalled the games.

In the fifth and final it was difficult to pick a winner as Millar, 12 years the junior of Kitchen chipped away to eventually win 12-10 in an enthralling and powerful contest.

The men’s final had Joel Arscott ranked 248 in the world in his first PSA Challenger tournament final take an early lead and look-odds on to score a victory over the much more experienced Evan Williams from Wellington.

Arscott was up two games and had a total of four match balls before Williams ranked 89th somehow edged his way back into the match on each occasion scrapping his way into the contest to fight for another point.

Going into the fourth game 1-2 down, Williams used all of his experienced to take the set 11-8 and then with renewed vigour hit the fifth game with energy as Arscott appeared zapped of energy to win the fifth and final game 11-1 for an overall score of 9-11, 10-12,16-14, 11-8, 11-1 in well over an hours play.

For the left-handed Williams, a Commonwealth Games rep at the Gold Coast games, it was his seventh pro Challenger title and one of the harder fought tournaments having played a five game quarter-final win, four games in the semis and then five in the final.

The next tournament in the Summer Series of events in this week at Eden Epsom with two PSA Satellite events.

Surprises in semi-finals

Top seeds Evan Williams and Emma Millar are through to their respective finals at the Henderson Rochelle Hobbs PSA Open in Auckland after a busy day of matches featuring plenty of interest, but they will face surprise finalists.

Williams ranked in the world’s top 100 will be looking to defend his title at Henderson, but didn’t have it all his way to make the final. He was taken to five games in his quarter-final earlier in the day by Temwa Chileshe and then to four games in his semifinal.

His opponent for the title, Joel Arscott is ranked 248 in the world and known for his competitiveness on court. For 21-eyar-old Arscott it will be his first PSA final and came after two straight game wins, one over Finn Trimble in the quarters and then Elijah Tomas in the semis.

Earlier, teenager Tomas scored the upset of the tournament with a five game victory over second seed and world No.149 Lwamba Chileshe.

In the women’s draw Millar, who is 98 on the PSA rankings, beat teenager Sophie Hodges in her quarter-final and then had a dramatic struggle to overcome Lana Harrison in five games in the semis.

A 5-5 in the fifth Harrison copped a racket in the forehead from Millar and needed a blood timeout. She’s now sporting a large lump and a nasty gash after the accidental hit to the head. Millar eventually won 8-11 9-11 11-4 11-3 12-10.

Millar will take on former top-ten ranked Shelley Kitchen for the title. The now 41-year-old Kitchen, who is the club captain at Henderson, displayed plenty of power to defeat second seed Lauren Clarke in straight games. Earlier Kitchen beat Katie Templeton in straight games in the quarters.

Kitchen continues to look like she could still match it on the PSA circuit and will now doubt give national champion Millar a competitive match.

Henderson Rochelle Hobbs PSA Open, Auckland, New Zealand.

Men’s final:
[1] Evan Williams bt Joel Arscott 9-11, 10-12, 16-14, 11-8, 11-1,

Men’s semi-finals:
[1] Evan Williams beat Lance Beddoes 11-3 8-11 1-5 11-4,
Joel Arscott beat Elijah Thomas 11-5 11-6 11-9

Men’s quarterfinals:
[1] Evan Williams beat Temwa Chileshe 11-3 10-12 11-7 12-14 11-6
Lance Beddoes beat [3] Sion Wiggin 8-11 11-4 5-11 12-10 11-5
Joel Arscott beat Finn Trimble 11-6 11-3 11-6
Elijah Thomas beat [2] Lwamba Chileshe 11-8 9-11 5-11 11-8 11-8

Women’s final:
[1] Emma Millar bt Shelley Kitchen 10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10.

Women’s semi-finals:
[1] Emma Millar beat Lana Harrison 8-11 9-11 11-4 11-3 12-10,
Shelley Kitchen beat [2] Lauren Clarke 11-3 12-10 11-8

Women’s quarter-finals:
[1] Emma Millar beat Sophie Hodges 11-4 11-5 11-3
Lana Harrison beat [4] Ella Lash 8-11 11-4 11-1 11-4
Shelley Kitchen beat [3] Katie Templeton 11-9 11-5 11-1
[2] Lauren Clarke beat Grace Hymers 11-4 11-8 11-4

Pictures courtesy of Jonathan Zouch (Squash NZ)

London Irish mounted a second-half fightback to draw with Premiership leaders Bristol Bears as both sides ran in four tries.

Two Siva Naulago efforts and scores from Piers O'Conor and Chris Vui had given the Bears a 25-point lead.

But the Exiles replied through Steve Mafi before dominating after the break.

Irish could even have snatched victory in stoppage time, but Parton's pass inside was knocked on when the hosts had a numerical advantage.

The result moves Bristol three points clear of defending champions Exeter Chiefs at the top of the table, while the Exiles climb two places to seventh.

Dramatic afternoon in west London

The match officials had a busy day, with Bristol centre Sam Bedlow fortunate to only see yellow for an early tip-tackle on Brophy Clews, who was deemed to have landed on the top of his back.

But, after Jackson's early penalty for the hosts, the Bears raced into a 14-point lead in Bedlow's absence courtesy of two interception tries.

Charles Piutau raced away to lay the platform for O'Conor's opening try and three minutes later Naulago motored the length of the field after picking off Blair Cowan's pass.

Bristol's fourth score, which put them 31-6 up, was a brilliant counter-attacking move which Piutau and Naulago worked down the left wing before the Fijian winger finished.

Yet Irish, who struggled with their line-out in the first half, were invigorated by their replacements after the break.

The Exiles had full-back Ben Loader sent to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on but the hosts scored through Brophy Clews and Phipps after Bristol number eight Mitch Eadie saw yellow for a shoulder charge at the breakdown.

And Parton capped a good passage of play to complete a remarkable comeback as Irish drew for the second time in the league this season.

London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney:

"We were a pass away from winning it. Draws are always strange. We got ourselves back into contention, got a draw but nearly won.

"We talked about approaching it as if it's 0-0 all the time.

"If you have good people with the spirit our lads have, and you chip away at it, you can bring it back. It was a reasonable comeback."

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam:

"We've worked hard to get into this situation, and the challenge for a lot of these guys are that there are targets on their backs.

"They've got to get used to not be the underdogs like they were a few years ago. To play with a big lead, they have to be even more dogged.

"You have to give a lot of credit to London Irish. We knew that would happen if we let them back into it.

"We feel like we've dropped two points, but they could also have easily won that game had that pass stuck at the end. We're fortunate to have three points."

London Irish: Stokes; Loader, Rona, Brophy Clews, Hassell-Collins; Jackson, Meehan; Goodrick-Clarke, Cornish, Chawatama, Mafi, Nott, Rogerson (capt), Cowan, Tuisue.

Replacements: Creevy, Dell, Hoskins, Munga, O'Brien, Phipps, Hepetema, Parton.

Sin-bin: Loader (57).

Bristol: C Piutau; Morahan, O'Conor, Bedlow, Naulago; Sheedy, Uren; Y Thomas, Capon, Afoa, Holme, Vui, Luatua (capt), D Thomas, Eadie.

Replacements: Kloska, Woolmore, Armstrong, Hawkins, Heenan, Kessell, Lloyd, Leiua.

Sin-bin: Bedlow (3), Eadie (61).

Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU).

Five of the French side who started the Six Nations win over Ireland will miss the match with Scotland next Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19.

Gabin Villiere, Mohamed Haouas and star scrum-half Antoine Dupont are also in isolation after catching the virus.

France have named a fresh 31-man squad, with the country's rugby authorities insisting they will fulfil the fixture.

The country's health minister said on Thursday that anyone testing positive would need to remain out of contact with others for 10 days, up from seven.

All members of the squad were tested again on Sunday, after wing Villiere and prop Haouas followed scrum-half Dupont in being confirmed cases.

Head coach Fabien Galthie and assistant William Servat tested positive earlier this week and have been isolating.

The French currently lead the championship after two rounds of fixtures.

Fly-half Adam Hastings is back in the Scotland squad for the Six Nations game in France after a shoulder injury.

Gregor Townsend will be without centre Cameron Redpath and back rowers Gary Graham and Blade Thomson, with the injured trio returning to their clubs.

Zander Fagerson is also absent from the 36-man squad although Scottish Rugby is to appeal against his four-match ban.

The prop was red carded in the 25-24 defeat to Wales at Murrayfield.

Jamie Dobie gets his first full call-up while Jamie Bhatti, Cornell du Preez, Rob Harley and Sam Johnson all return.

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The 75th anniversary season of racing at Selinsgrove Speedway is set to get underway in one month, when the Short Track Super Series modifieds hits the track on March 20.

The entire season at Selinsgrove will be laced with special events that give a shout out to the commemorative 75th milestone.

The first such event comes up on Saturday, May 15, with the running of the super late model 46er.

The super late models will compete in the 46-lap event meant to represent the opening year of Selinsgrove Speedway in 1946.

Next up, the Modern Heritage 410 sprint cars will gather to compete in the Pennsylvania Speedweek finale on Sunday, July 4, paying $7,500 to win.

Then, a pair of special 75th anniversary races for the Modern Heritage 410s and the super late models will be staged on Tuesday night, July 20.

The rare mid-week event at Selinsgrove Speedway will take place exactly 75 years to the date that the first race ever was contested at the track on July 20, 1946.

A few weeks later, the second running of the Bill Holland Classic for USAC Silver Crown Champ Cars will take center stage.

The Holland Classic will honor the very first winner at the track on that day back in 1946, and it will again go 75 laps in distance, while paying $8,075 to the winner in keeping with the 75th anniversary theme.

It will be a season-long celebration at Selinsgrove Speedway in 2021, as the half-mile facility remembers its roots with big races, big purses and big names in local and national dirt track racing.

To get the season started, the STSS Modifieds will race 40 laps for $5,000 to win, $1,000 for 10th and $400 to take the green flag from a purse totaling more than $25,570 on March 20.

STSS Crate 602 Sportsman will take part in a 25-lap feature with $1,500 going to the winner and $100 to take the green flag.

The speedway will return a week later, on Sunday, March 28 at 2 p.m. with March Madness for the Modern Heritage 410 sprint cars and the super late models.

ADAIRSVILLE, Ga. — When the Crate Racin’ USA Winter Shootout Series schedule was announced in early December, it was a schedule that promised more events than any previous season in the six-year history of the mini series.

It also seemed to promise that it might draw more interest than has ever been witnessed in the five previous years it has been held. Nine races, a $2,500 championship on the line, and the possibility of enough excitement and drama to pack a solid punch.

Those missions have been accomplished.

Six races into what has now become an eight-race schedule – after one event slated Jan. 15 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., was canceled by rain – and above-average car counts have been the norm. Numbers have risen to as high as 78 cars per event.

The next night at East Bay Raceway Park, 76 machines rolled into the third-mile oval’s pit area. Mathematically speaking, the average car count has been 62.8 entries per race through the first six events. There have been five different winners in six races.

Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., is the only driver to win twice on the series, and he did that on back-to-back nights, Feb. 4-5 at East Bay. Other winners include Jason Welshan, Michael Page, Kyle Bronson and Kyle Hardy.

Just two races remain: Feb. 25-27 at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway and March 18-20 at Modoc (S.C.) Speedway.

Toss something else into the kettle that is now threatening to reach a near-boiling temperature, and that’s a sizzling championship battle that appears to be going to the wire, since point leader Dylan Knowles holds an eight-point advantage over Jason Welshan.

Jake Knowles sits just 50 points behind in fourth place, while Whitener has emerged as a potential title contender despite missing the season-opening Ice Bowl held Jan. 10 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.

Whitener, who is widely considered to be one of the top crate late model drivers in the country, might have attended one less race than his fellow competitors but is still sitting third in points.

He’s still in serious contention, considering he rests just 26 markers behind the current championship leader Knowles in the standings, which is an impressive feat considering his absence from one event.

Whitener has seriously considered heading to the Crate Racin’ USA Winter Shootout Series portion of the Tuckassee Toilet Bowl Classic at Clarksville, but the 40-year-old driver faces a quandary when it comes to the series finale at Modoc.

That final race date coincides with the Bristol Dirt Nationals scheduled March 15-20 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, and Whitener has already made plans to attend that history-making week at the high-banked speedbowl in upper East Tennessee.

Barring mechanical troubles on their cars, a possible late-season surge by Jake Knowles or a firm commitment to run the final two events by Whitener, it looks like the title battle will slim down to a showdown between Dylan Knowles and Welshan.

There isn’t much space between them with two races remaining on the schedule, and both drivers are prepared for the final stretch.

The Winter Shootout Series is coming off a very successful three-race weekend at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla., and both drivers survived the weekend, despite frustrations. They emerged from the high-stress visit to the Sunshine State separated by just eight points in the chase for the $2,500 championship.

Welshan visibly struggled with the notoriously-difficult facility, but got pointed in the right direction on the final night with a fifth-place showing, which was his best finish of the weekend.

“I just wasn’t taught to race on a surface like this one,” Welshan said after the final race of the weekend. “It’s way different dirt than where I started. I’ve never been a wheelspin type of racer, but I can tell you people in my home area don’t have a clue unless they’ve been here previously. It’s a very challenging place, and I’ve never been anywhere in the country and applied the same stuff to either my car or my driving style that we had to use down here.

“I was very frustrated all week, but we never gave up and got out of here with a good finish on the final night. There ain’t no quit in my bunch, and while this racing deal can be the most humbling sport you’ll ever find, we kept diggin’ and we’ll definitely be back here, even though I said all weekend we’d absolutely never return. We’ll take the last night’s results as a positive, and head for the final two races.”

Knowles had better luck in his efforts, placing eighth, third and 11th in the three races at East Bay. It was a confidence boost considering his lack of experience at the track, and a bigger shot in the arm to emerge with the points lead.

“We planned to run the whole Winter Shootout Series from the start, and we came into the weekend at East Bay [Raceway Park] kind of down about our chances, but we ended up having a good weekend and taking over the points lead,” Knowles said. “It’s been a learning experience for us, and especially at both Volusia [Speedway Park] and East Bay.

“We were pretty confident we could run good, and we’re maybe feeling a little better now about our team and equipment after having a good weekend. Leading the points is a real good feeling, but it’s far from over.”

SEBRING, Fla. – One year after suffering a last-lap heartbreak, Thomas Merrill raced to redemption with a last-lap pass to win Sunday’s Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli TA2 season opener at Sebring Int’l Raceway.

The win capped a last-to-first charge by Merrill, as he took the lead on the final lap in the final corner.

Rafa Matos, the 2019 TA2 champion, finished second. Defending TA2 champion Mike Skeen took third.

Merrill led only the final few moments to win in the No. 81 HP Tuners/Mike Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang.

Starting on the pole, Merrill went spinning off course in Turn 3 as a fierce fight for the lead saw several cars going side by side in the opening moments of the race. The off course trip saw Merrill fall to 23rd in the 25-car field.

He recovered and methodically worked his way up to second, but was running out of laps when a red flag set up a green-white-checkered finish.

The calculated last-lap push to the win earned Merrill the Chill Out Moment of the Race as well as a lot of satisfaction after having spun out of the lead in turn three in last year’s Sebring race.

“It was a lot of fun going side by side with some of the best racers in the country,” said Merrill of his late race battles with Matos and Skeen. “That’s what you need in a series. If you’re going to race that fast and that close with that little grip, you need someone you can trust and someone professional beside you. It was just a lot of fun today.

“I was pretty fired up after my early spin but this car is so easy to drive it made me look good all the way up through the field. Halfway through I stopped being angry and just started enjoying Trans-Am racing!”

Matos dominated the race in his return to the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Ford Mustang. He took the lead on the third lap and led up until the final lap, finishing 0.612-seconds behind.

However, he lost power steering with 10 laps remaining, and was at a disadvantage on the last restart.

“It wasn’t our day,” Matos said. “I’m completely tired and my arms are very sore. Now, we’ll have to wait until Road Atlanta. We came here this weekend thinking about the points, we have to finish every race in order to win the championship, so it was a points weekend for us. I thought I had it covered. I had a great run, but had an unfortunate problem with the power steering which took away our chance for victory today.

“Congrats to Thomas. I am sure that I will be on the podium with these two guys (Thomas Merrill and Mike Skeen) throughout the season.”

Skeen began his TA2 title defense by completing the podium in his new No. 1 Liqui-Moly/Turn 14 Distribution Chevrolet Camaro, running in the top three for the entire event.

He was only .692 seconds behind at the checkered flag.

“It’s been a tough weekend here with our new car,” said Skeen. “The Liqui-Moly Stevens Miller Racing guys were doing a lot of work to get us up to speed. We missed it a little bit in qualifying and started a little bit back, but we are happy to be here on the podium. These two guys had cars we just couldn’t touch. I tried to give them a run for their money on the restart and make it a little bit interesting.

“Congratulations to Thomas (Merrill) for such a great comeback, especially after last year.”

Michael Self took fourth in the No. 7 Sinclair Oil Corporation Camaro, followed by Franklin Futrelle in the No. 58 Innoviv/BH/IGOR/SecurTech Mustang and Masters winner Doug Peterson in the No. 87 3-Dimensional Mustang.

The late drama came about after Connor Mosack had an off-course excursion in Bishop’s Bend on board the No. 28 Nic Taylor/FS M1-SLR Camaro on the 24th of 27 laps, setting up the green-white-checkered finish.

Misha Goikhberg got off to a great start in the No. 10 BC Race Cars Chevrolet Camaro, going from third-place starting position to take the lead as the top four drivers jostled for position. Goikhberg led two laps before Matos took the lead and began to pull away.

A full-course caution waved on the third lap when Jim Gallaugher spun in turn seven and could not continue in the No. 16 Madison Development Group/MCR Ford Mustang.

During the caution, Scott Lagasse Jr. pitted from fourth place and parked the No. 92 SLR Chevrolet Camaro with mechanical issues. The owner/driver hopped atop his pit box and began coaching teammate Mosack, who was running seventh in the No. 28 Nic Taylor/FS M1-SLR Camaro and worked his way up to third before his incident at Bishop’s Bend.

Goikhberg’s strong day ended when he parked the No. 10 Camaro with mechanical issues after nine laps as four laps later, Edward Savadjian’s day ended when he pulled off in the No. 8 Big Machine Vodka Camaro. He had been running fifth, challenging Merrill for fourth.

Other drivers to suffer late-race misfortune included Tyler Kicera, who lost fuel pressure while running sixth in the No. 5 Silver Hare Racing Mustang on lap 17, and TA2 debutant Adrian Wlostowski, who cut a tire in the No. 3 Hawk Performance F.A.S.T. Auto Camaro while battling for a top-10 finish after 20 laps.

Next up for TA2 competitors will be the Atlanta Speed Tour, March 26-28 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.