DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Through the eight on-track sessions over the past week – including Roar Before the Rolex 24 testing and BMW Endurance Challenge practice and qualifying – five different IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport manufacturers have set the best lap.

It was capped Thursday afternoon when Kumo Wittmer put the No. 13 AWA McLaren 570S GT4 on pole for Friday’s race at Daytona Int’l Speedway with a lap of 1 minute, 52.773 seconds (113.644 mph). Six marques are represented in the first 11 Grand Sport qualifiers.

It was the second consecutive Motul Pole Award for Wittmer and AWA at the Daytona season opener. They finished a disappointing 26th in the race and were unable to race again the rest of the year due to pandemic travel restrictions.

“The lap was just flat out, right on the bitter edge,” Wittmer said. “I’m just glad to be under these wonderful shoes, these Michelins, and back into some proper racing, some IMSA racing. That’s where we all belong.

“I’m so proud of the team. We spent all year last year not being able to travel, but now we’re just so fortunate to come back and stick it on pole.”

TCR has witnessed similar tight competition among its four makes. In fact, the top four qualifiers in class Thursday were each from a different manufacturer. In the first TCR qualifying attempt of his career, Robert Noaker won the Motul Pole Award with a lap of 1:58.836 (108.124 mph) in the No. 84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic FK7 TCR.

“Just to be able to be racing in IMSA, I never thought in a million years I’d be able to be here, let alone get pole,” an excited Noaker said. “It was really all about the draft. Most of the track is just flat out on the straightaway so I was just able to set it up and put the perfect lap together.”

The four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge streams live at 1:30 p.m. ET Friday on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For the first 41 minutes of the Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires race, the top four cars never traded places and never left each other’s bumpers.

But in the final four minutes, it was impossible to predict who would take the win in a mad dash to the finish line. With a strong slingshot out of the final corner, Gresham Wagner claimed victory.

Starting from the pole position, Wagner’s No. 5 Spark Performance Mazda MX-5 was immediately swallowed up by the rows behind him and he tumbled down the order. Wagner fell as far back as 12th before he was able to start climbing back through the field.

Meanwhile at the front, Preston Pardus, Selin Rollan, Jared Thomas and Michael Carter were a four-car train out front that never switched up the order.

It was a late-race yellow that bunched the pack up and set the stage for a green-white-checkered finish. Wagner was immediately on the attack, clawing his way toward the leaders. At the white flag, he was past Carter and diving inside of Thomas to get to third.

As the pack of 26 cars exited the Bus Stop and entered the high banks of NASCAR Turn 4, the drafting game was on and as they streamed toward the checkered flag, everyone fanned out in a mad dash toward the line.

When the timing screen refreshed, it was Wagner in first by .108-second.

“I was playing catch-up for the first 43 minutes of the race,” Wagner said. “But then the last two minutes were just trying to make something happen.”

Even when Wagner worked his way back to fifth, the lead pack still seemed out of reach.

“I lost a bunch of spots on the first lap and I knew what was going on (with the car), so I put the clutch in and shut the car off, and fired it back up and it was fine. I managed to work back up to fifth, but then I needed a yellow to catch the leaders,” said Wagner.

“I couldn’t have predicted that! (about the win). From dropping all the way back to then being kind of hanging out there behind the lead pack in no man’s land for 15-20 minutes…  It was just a well-timed caution, a couple of good moves and then I got a big push, picked the right lane and got lucky at the end there and then brought it home! I wish I could say I made the right moves and had it all planned out, but it just happened to unfold the way it did.”

Wagner had a little help at the very end from Sam Paley. In only his second-ever Mazda MX-5 Cup race, Paley gave Wagner a little bump and hung in his draft, getting a pull to second place at the line.

“Honestly, we really lucked out with that yellow,” Paley said. “I think I was sitting P8, in the second pack, and the first pack had pulled a few seconds ahead, so that yellow really helped us out. On the last lap, some incidents happened, but I made some passes and got into a good position going into NASCAR turns three and four and into the Bus Stop. I came out P5 then had some help from behind to catch the leading four cars. I had a big draft, pushed Gresham to the win and got a P2 out of it! I’m excited for tomorrow, hopefully we can do one better. I’m really happy for the team.”

Jared Thomas spent the majority of the race in third, but when the race restarted from yellow with four minutes left, he was fighting to hang on to the final podium spot. He pulled even with Paley at the finish line but was 0.001-second shy of grabbing second place.

“The finish was wild,” said Thomas, who won the closest-ever Mazda MX-5 Cup race last year with a .0009-second victory at NJMP.

“We all just came out of turn four and it was a crapshoot. You didn’t know if someone was going to pop out with you or leave you out to dry. I luckily got a big draft when Selin (Rollan) pulled out and was able to go to the bottom and finish third. At tracks like this, you are happy to leave here with a podium and then move on to more technical courses when the draft isn’t as important.

“There was a four car break away and I was sitting third and we were just cruising. I really wasn’t happy to see the caution because me and Michael (Carter) would have had something for him [Pardus]. After that we were kind of just coasting and maintaining the gap.  I figured there would be a pretty interesting finish whether we had a caution or went green all the way. All in all, not a bad race and we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”

Just missing the podium in his first MX-5 Cup race, Mazda Scholarship winner Chris Nunes was right behind his teammate in fourth.

Justin Piscitell completed the top five.

SAN DIEGO – Last fall’s landmark announcement of a strategic alliance between the PGA Tour and European Tour may bring an equally historic change to the Tour’s policy board.

Rory McIlroy, Russell Knox and Kevin Streelman have been nominated by the current player directors to run for the chairman of the player advisory council. The winner will ascend to the policy board next year for a three-year term. The election is potentially historic because there’s never been a non-American policy board player director.

“I’ve enjoyed being on the PAC the last couple of years and I think that with what’s happening between the PGA Tour and the European Tour I have the ear of the PGA Tour and I have the ear of the European Tour,” McIlroy said following his opening-round 68 at the Farmers Insurance Open. “I just feel like I’ve been around a long time and I feel I can maybe help facilitate things and maybe guide things in a certain direction for what I think is better for everyone.”

Although there weren’t many details regarding the PGA Tour and European Tour alliance, the idea is to “explore all facets of collaboration, working together on strategic commercial opportunities including collaborating on global media rights.”

The Northern Irishman would be a favorite in the election, which is decided by a player vote that ends on Feb. 11, although Scotland’s Knox would also shift the American-only makeup of the four player directors and Streelman has already served one term as a player director.

McIlroy has been a member of the 16-player PAC during some of the most turbulent times in the Tour’s history. The last two years the circuit has renegotiated multiple television rights agreements, launched the alliance with the European Tour and resumed play last June in the middle of a pandemic.

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know more about the Tour business, I’ve enjoyed being a part of the calls that went into being able to play out here with COVID conditions,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes on the PAC it’s great to be involved and it’s great to have your voice heard but that’s all it does. You don’t have a vote and being PAC chair, being on the policy board you have a vote and your voice actually counts.”

SAN DIEGO – Ryan Palmer is a familiar face atop a Torrey Pines leaderboard and he got off to a predictably solid start with an opening 66 on the more difficult South Course on Thursday, placing him tied for fourth at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Not everything was familiar, however.

Palmer’s longtime caddie, James Edmondson, tested positive for COVID-19 and wasn’t able to make the trip to San Diego. Palmer has Judd Burkett on the bag this week. Burkett normally caddies for Chad Campbell and played high school golf with Palmer.

“[Burkett] gave me the right yardage obviously and gave me his thoughts on what kind of shot needed to be hit. Some things I probably would have done differently, but he told me this is what he thought and I agreed and it was the right decision,” Palmer said. “He knows my game really well from all the times we've played together. Obviously it's different not having James there; we've been there for 18 years now, but it was a solid day.”

Palmer lost a playoff to Jason Day at the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open and was tied for third after two rounds in 2019 before finishing tied for 13^th.

“I drove it well, missed three fairways total, and then I'm able to use my iron play, which has been one of my strongest points of my game,” Palmer said. “When I drive it well [on the South Course], it sets up these holes for me a lot. I love the tee shots, the lines I've got and it's shown these last few years.”

SAN DIEGO – Gary Woodland continued his comeback from an injury-plagued 2020 with a first-round 66 on the North Course at Torrey Pines on Thursday that left him tied for fourth place and two shots off the lead.

That’s a long way from where he was last fall when he said he hit rock bottom at the U.S. Open in September and was advised he should have surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left hip.

Thanks to intense therapy and plenty of rest, Woodland said he’s finally feeling healthy again and that his renewed health allowed him to start working with swing coach Justin Parsons just after New Year.

“We cranked up the speed that day. It was the first time I swung hard, that day, and I was sore the next day, so that was a little nerve-racking,” said Woodland, who tied for 16^th last week at The American Express for his best finish since July.

After struggling with his injury for most of 2020, the ability to swing without pain allowed Woodland and Parsons to work on parts of his game that had suffered.

“I had a ton of bad habits. That was more frustrating than anything,” Woodland said. “You start swinging around pain and you get into some bad habits, so that was frustrating. I'd like to erase 2020, but I think a lot of people would like to erase 2020 from what's going on.”

SAN DIEGO – Patrick Reed birdied his first three holes and finished with a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Thursday for a share of the lead with Alex Noren after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Reed, Noren and Scottie Scheffler – who was one stroke back – all played Torrey Pines' easier North Course and will play the South Course on what could be a wet Friday. Heavy rain was forecast for overnight and into the second round at the municipal course overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Peter Malnati and Ryan Palmer each shot 66 for the lowest scores on the South Course and were in a group of 12 at 6 under. Malnati capped his round with an eagle on the par-5 18th. After a 321-yard tee shot, he hit his approach to 16 feet and made the putt.

Reed took advantage of nice weather and accurate tee shots to get off to the hot start. Starting on No. 10, he birdied the first three holes before making his first par. He closed with a flourish as well, with birdies on his 15th, 16th and 17th holes.

“I put myself in position today where I had to go out knowing that we’re going to get pretty good conditions, go out and try to make as many birdies as possible to be able to kind of weather the storm tomorrow,” Reed said. “I was able to kind of get off to a hot start and just kind of ride momentum going on through the rest of the round and continue attacking that golf course since that’s the one you’re able to attack.

“I was hitting the ball off the tee. You have to play from the fairway, shoot a low number and attack the course. Especially with what’s coming tomorrow.”

Reed said the closest he came to a bogey was on the par-4 fourth. He had a 35-foot putt for birdie and rolled it 3 feet to the right but saved par.

“That was the closest to a bogey, having a chance for a three putt, but besides that, everything else was pretty easy,” he said. “Definitely it felt easy out there just kind of with how I was hitting the driver, getting the ball in the fairway. I was working it both ways, which was nice. It’s not like I had only one way to go. I was able to hit the draws, hit the fades.”

Noren also started on No. 10. He eagled the par-5 17th and followed it with his only bogey. He birdied every other hole on his back nine.

Sheffler, who also played bogey-free, eagled the par-4 16th.

Noren, from Sweden, also took advantage of nice weather to get a low score on the North Course.

“Yeah, I’m hoping that we’re going to not get too flooded during the night,” he said. “But I played the South Course two rounds this week and I know how long it is now, especially when they lengthened some tee boxes, put them back. It’s a test. You definitely need some good ball striking there, especially in windy conditions. It’s good to get some birdies on the North, yeah.”

Defending champion Marc Leishman struggled through a 1-under 71 on the South Course, including a triple-bogey 7 on No. 4.

Rory McIlroy shot a 68 on the South Course and was in a group of 11 at 4 under. He’s playing the Farmers for the third straight year and is hoping to file away some mental notes for the U.S. Open in June, which will be played at Torrey Pines for just the second time.

McIlroy birdied had four birdies on the front nine but didn’t get his fifth and final birdie until No. 17.

“I did well. I got off to a great start, 4-under through nine,” he said. “A little disappointed I didn’t pick up a couple more on the way in, especially with the two par 5s, not picking up any shots there. Yeah, I think anytime you shoot 68 on the South Course here you’ve got to be pretty happy."

DIVOTS: Kamaiu Johnson, a sponsor exemption from the Advocates Pro Golf Association, withdrew earlier this week from what would have been his PGA Tour debut after testing positive for COVID-19. He was replaced by fellow APGA player Willie Mack III, who shot a 2-over 74 on the South Course. The APGA was established in 2010 as a non-profit organization with the mission to bring greater diversity to golf. ... Richy Werenski aced the par-3 third on the South Course during his round of 3-under 69. ... Two-time Farmers winner Jason Day was at even par at the turn on the South Course, but had a double bogey on the par-4 10th and finished with a 4-over 76.

NEW YORK -- The NBA rescheduled four games Thursday, along with making several time changes to upcoming contests.

Toronto's game in Boston will now be Feb. 11, moved up from Feb. 12. Detroit will play at Boston on Feb. 12, moved up from Feb. 14.

And on Feb. 14, Boston will go to Washington while New Orleans will visit Detroit. Both of those games were intended to have been played sometime in the season's second half, which will take place between March 11 and May 16.

Also Thursday, the league pushed back the start times of 16 upcoming contests. That has happened to about three dozen games so far in order to allow for more time to process COVID-19 tests before players take the floor.

The NBA said Wednesday it would begin rescheduling some games because of the postponements that have occurred this season for virus-related reasons. The league said it would specifically "focus on the teams with the most postponed games to date," which would include Washington, Memphis and Boston.

The Wizards have had six games postponed and two games rescheduled already. The Grizzlies have seen six of their games postponed and Boston is among the clubs with three games that were called off so far.

The NBA has postponed 22 games this season, 21 since Jan. 10.

Free-agent right-hander Adam Wainwright is returning to the St. Louis Cardinals on a one-year deal, sources told ESPN, confirming an MLB Network report.

Wainwright's deal is for $8 million, according to MLB Network.

Wainwright, 39, was mulling offers from several teams but ultimately chose to return to the only organization he has played for in the majors.

Though it came late in the offseason, Wainwright's return to St. Louis doesn't come as a big surprise, according to league sources. He and catcher Yadier Molina gave the Cardinals time to figure out their budget, and while Molina remains a free agent, his return is likely as well, sources said.

Wainwright began his big league career with St. Louis in 2005 after being drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round in 2000. He has a career 3.38 ERA in 15 seasons and a 2.89 career postseason ERA. He has finished in the top three in Cy Young Award voting four times and won the Roberto Clemente Award in 2020.

He's also one of the few pitchers who would prefer to keep the designated hitter out of the National League.

"I told Shildty [manager Mike Shildt] I'm hitting .199 in my career," Wainwright said earlier this offseason. "I need one hit to get over .200. I said, 'Don't let me retire with a .199 average.' So in any blowout game just know that I'm already stretched out and I've probably already hit in the cage."

JUPITER, Fla. — Palm Beach Int’l Raceway officials have released a busy schedule for the upcoming season.

The busy multi-use facility will see more than 200 days of activity.

The action for spectators gets off to a ground-pounding start at the famed drag strip March 5-7 with the return of the Pro Winter Warm-up, featuring Top Fuel Dragster and Nitro Funny Car teams testing, as they prepare for their new season.

Discovery Channel’s popular “Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings” will return to Palm Beach for a family friendly two-day show April 2-3.

American Muscle Car Nationals makes its debut at Palm Beach May 29, and the 40th Annual Citrus Nationals, the largest drag racing event in South Florida, is Nov. 27-28.

Other events at the dragstrip include Diesel Motorsports; Cars and Coffee; Street Warriorz; the International Roll Racing Ass’n; Dick Moroso Memorial 5-day Bracket Championship; IHRA Summit SuperSeries; and New Year’s Nationals.

PBIR’s 2.2-mile road course features numerous events such as PBIR Streetcar Track Day, US Drift Circuit, SCCA Race weekends, Florida Track Days (motorcycles) and the prestigious Palm Beach Driving Club.

Action at the Cosmo Tires Autocross track heats up this season with 19 events as competitors vie for the 2021 Autocross League Championship.

Also hosting events are PBIR’s Bertil Roos Racing School, the leading school for high quality, European-style road racing in the United States, offering opportunities to drive an open wheel car.

Hooked on Driving, a non-competitive performance driving program offers opportunities for car enthusiasts to drive their own car on PBIR’s track beginning Sunday, Feb. 7.

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. – The Badger Midget Auto Racing Ass’n released its racing schedule for the upcoming season on Thursday, featuring nine different tracks in four states.

In all, a total of 27 events are set to take place for one of the largest schedules in recent Badger Midget Series history.

The series will christen the new season at the famous quarter-mile bullring of LaSalle (Ill.) Speedway on Sunday, April 11, in conjunction with the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series.

It will end its season at the newly-added, quarter-mile Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind.

The heart of the season will be anchored by two traditional Badger Midget series staples, one that is a more recent tradition and the other being a long-standing, 75-year cornerstone.

Sycamore Speedway in Maple Park, Ill., a multi-race supporter since 2016, will host seven events, highlighted by the second annual Franklin B. Alexander Memorial race on Saturday, Sept. 4.

Angell Park Speedway, which has hosted Badger races since 1946, will open its season on Sunday, May 16 with a rain date of Sunday, May 23.

It will close the year with the 39th annual Pepsi Midget Nationals, back in its traditional Labor Day weekend date on Sunday, Sept. 5, with a rain date of Monday, Sept. 6.

Other traditional APS events will include the highly anticipated Fourth of July Special and the Sun Prairie Corn Festival on Sunday, Aug. 22.

The third-mile clay oval will host a total of 10 events this year, and along with the Badger Midgets, will feature the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, Autometer WingLESS Sprint Cars, Midwest Sprint Car Ass’n, and the Wisconsin Dirt Legend Cars.

Returning to the schedule will be the Wisconsin venues of Beaver Dam Raceway on Saturday, July 3; the ‘Salute to Harry Turner’ at Wilmot Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 28; and the Plymouth Dirt Track on both July 31 and Sept. 11.

Iowa will host the Badger Midget Series for the first time since 2016, with two events located near the Mississippi River Valley.

Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway will host the second race of the season on Sunday, May 2.

Davenport Speedway, located in the hometown of legendary midget racers and former Badger Midget competitors Mel and Don Kenyon, will host a midget race for the first time in decades on Friday, May 21.

The weekend of July 16-17 remains to be announced.

2021 Badger Midget Auto Racing Ass’n Schedule 

April 11 – LaSalle Speedway – LaSalle, Ill.
May 2 – Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway – Dubuque, Iowa
May 16 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
May 21 – Davenport Speedway – Davenport, Iowa
June 5 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
June 6 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
June 13 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
June 19 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
June 27 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
July 3 – Beaver Dam Raceway – Beaver Dam, Wis.
July 4 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
July 10 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
July 16 – TBA
July 17 – TBA
Sunday, July 18 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
Saturday, July 24 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
Sunday, July 25 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
Saturday, July 31 – Plymouth Dirt Track – Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, August 7 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
Sunday, August 8 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
Saturday, August 21 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
Sunday, August 22 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
Saturday, August 28 – Wilmot Raceway – Wilmot, Wis.
Saturday, September 4 – Sycamore Speedway – Sycamore, Ill.
Sunday, September 5 – Angell Park Speedway – Sun Prairie, Wis.
Saturday, September 11 – Plymouth Dirt Track – Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, September 18 – Shadyhill Speedway – Medaryville, Ind.