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BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. – Duane Howard collected a hefty $10,000 payday when he took the checkered in his third Forrest Rogers Memorial 50-lap modified feature victory on Saturday night at Grandview Speedway.
It was close for the five-time champion when Jeff Strunk regrouped the field when he slowed in turn four with a flat right rear tire bringing out the caution with five laps remaining in the 49th annual Rogers Memorial.
Despite a single file restart, runner-up Frank Cozze, who has been struggling this season, was all over Howard giving him a run for the big bucks. At one point Cozze nudged ahead coming off of the fourth turn, but when the lap counted it was Howard in front as the side-by-side action created some paint swapping.
Howard was determined to keep the Norm’s Save Station Bicknell No. 357 mount prepared by the hard working crew ahead in front and he went on to chalk up his fourth win of the season at the third-mile banked clay oval.
Howard was honored to win the 49th running of the special event named in honor of track founder Forrest Rogers as he has high praise for the entire Rogers family.
In the Modified feature polesitter and rookie driver Richie Hitzler took the early lead and set the pace for 11 laps until Ryan Lilick powered into first leaving Howard, coming from the 16th starting grid; Steve Swinehart, Hitzler, who fell back, and Kenny Gilmore jockey for the remaining top five positions.
The lead was swapped for the third time when Howard put the Carroll Hine powered mount into the lead on the 15th circuit.
It didn’t take Howard long to distance himself from his fellow competitors and with 23 laps in the books, he was upon the lap traffic and had to use heads up driving skills to pass them as he realized they were racing for positions also.
Meanwhile as Howard continued his torrid pace the action behind him was hot and heavy between Lilick, K. Gilmore, Cozze and Brett Kressley. Attempting to get into the mix were Kevin Hirthler and Craig Von Dohren, who had to qualify through one of the two consolation races and start 25th.
Gilmore overtook second on the 37th lap and set sail after Howard who had a huge lead built up with Cozze, Kressley and Von Dohren in tow.
Former Rogers Memorial winner Strunk brought out the caution late in the race with a flat tire and after a quick pit stop rejoined the action and was able to muster up a 12th place finish. The single file restart lined up – Howard, Cozze, Gilmore, Von Dohren and Kressley. When action went green again Cozze gave Howard no margin to err as he was right on his bumper.
The pair raced door handle-to door handle and it appeared Cozze would put the Tom Umbenhauer-owned car in the lead as he edged ahead slightly, but Howard denied him that chance as he dove underneath out of four to keep the lead when the lap counted. Howard stayed in control and pulled into the winner’s circle to claim the win.
Chasing him across the line were Cozze, for his season best finish; Von Dohren, coming on strong in the end; Gilmore, who also posted his best run and Kressley. Rounding out the top ten were Hirthler, Jared Umbenhauer, Lilick, Doug Manmiller, another one that had to get into the race through the consi, and Steve Swinehart.
Steve Young won his first feature of the year which was his second career TP Truck Equipment NASCAR 25-lap Sportsman feature leading the event from start to finish.
MORRISON, Colo. – Scott Oksas started his Pro Mod career 10 years ago with the hopes of putting together a competitive program.
A decade later, he now has a win for the ages.
The Los Angeles-area native benefitted from some first-round luck against Stevie Jackson and then rode a string of three straight incredible runs in his turbocharged RJ Race Cars Ford Shelby Mustang.
That included a event-winning blast of 5.882-seconds at 247.38 mph in the final round against Doug Winters to claim victory at the third annual Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod presented by J&A Service, Elite Motorsports, Big O Tires and benefiting One Cure Saturday at Bandimere Speedway.
With that comes a $100,000 check, a WSOPM championship belt and, by far, the biggest moment of Oksas’ Pro Mod career.
“It’s just pure excitement,” Oksas said. “This is just giant. I’ve busted my ass for 10 years doing this Pro Mod stuff, I’ve worked so hard and I can’t believe I’m standing here, I really can’t. To win this, it’s always been a passion of mine to win something like this. I can’t even describe it. It’s just overwhelming, it’s crazy.”
Oksas and his team were full of excitement in the winner’s circle on Thunder Mountain, celebrating a moment he never expected when he made his WSOPM debut a year ago.
Since then, Jeff Pierce came on board as the tuner and the progress with the Mustang, which was delivered just weeks before the race last year, has been remarkable. Oksas ran between 5.86-5.88 over the final three rounds, outrunning Winters and his blown ’69 Chevelle in the winner-take-all round.
Oksas and Winters posted identical .053 reaction times, but it didn’t take long for the Mustang to pull away. Once Oksas saw the win light, the celebration was on as the veteran excitedly yelled, “I just won $100,000” several times in the car before it stopped.
“I knew I was going to be ready. We had been pulling in and lighting the beam first all night and we had a gameplan with everybody,” Oksas said. “Jeff said just keep doing our thing and we just did our thing.
“I don’t panic anymore and the run was dead straight. I saw him next to me and at the 330 I just started to pull away. I knew he wasn’t catching this turbo car.”
Oksas figured it might have been his night after slipping past Jackson, the NHRA Pro Mod points leader, in the first round after Jackson went red by .020. That threw away a 5.932 – the quickest run ever by a blower car in Denver – and handed the victory to Oksas, who went 6.071.
“That guy is a world-class racer and that was the most scared I’ve ever been in my car,” Oksas said. “But after that it was just sweetness. He red-lit and I knew after that we were going to do our thing and win this thing.
“That was my lucky pass of the day and I needed that. Then, Jeff took over and he literally didn’t touch it from that pass in. It was crazy. He said, ‘We’ve got a hot rod. Go send it.’ I told him no problem.”
From there, it was game on and Oksas and his Mustang delivered one massive blow after another. He went a blistering 5.863 at 247.57 to beat Rick Snavely in the second round, topping Rick Hord in the semifinals with a 5.872 at 247.79.
That set up the meeting with Winters, who went 6.012 at 231.56 to beat Terry Haddock in the opening round. Winters had byes in the next two rounds after defending champ Carl Stevens Jr. broke and couldn’t make the second round call, but nobody could match Oksas’ pace.
“We said, ‘Let them come beat us,’” Oksas said. “You can’t ask for anything better than how we ran. It’s just a tribute to Jeff and this entire team.”
After a great -- and inspirational -- season on the ice, there was one save that Robin Lehner couldn't make.
Lehner on Saturday tweeted that he received his Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."
One problem ... the inscription on the trophy said "Robin Lehner, New York Rangers." Lehner played for the New York Islanders last season.
You had one job...? pic.twitter.com/fmzYQWKuFf
— Robin Lehner (@RobinLehner) August 10, 2019
Lehner was presented the trophy on June 19 at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas. He has since signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.
In September, Lehner publicly revealed his battle with bipolar disorder and substance abuse in a first-person essay for The Athletic. He detailed an in-game panic attack and a night of drinking while with the Buffalo Sabres in March 2018 and how it led him to seek treatment.
He went to rehab where he says he was treated for addictions to alcohol and drugs and diagnosed as bipolar and ADHD with PTSD and trauma as well as having manic phases.
He then signed with the Islanders and had a breakout season -- going 25-13-5 with a 2.13 GAA, .930 save percentage and 6 shutouts. He finished third in voting for the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL's top goaltender.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan contributed to this report.
Snedeker (63) sneaks up Northern Trust leaderboard on Moving Day
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – An early tee time on Saturday isn’t always a bad thing on the PGA Tour.
Brandt Snedeker's sudden climb up the leaderboard on Day 3 at The Northern Trust began almost three and a half hours before the frontrunner teed off, and he was able to take advantage of the calm and cool morning conditions.
“The way the wind is blowing, you're able to get to those two par 5s relatively easily and just took advantage of it,” said Snedeker, who feasted on Liberty National’s par 5s.
Snedeker began his charge at the par-5 sixth hole with an approach from 214 yards that landed 12 feet from the hole for an eagle. Two holes later, his second shot from 282 yards was even better, rolling to 3 feet for another eagle.
When he was asked the last time he had two eagles in the same round he struggled to recall, figuring the only time would be at the 2007 Farmers Insurance Open when he shot a first-round 61. Actually, he only made one eagle that day.
Saturday’s two-eagle effort, which also included five birdies, was the fourth time Snedeker has done that in his Tour career, the most recent coming last year during Round 2 of the RBC Canadian Open. What was not difficult was picking which of the eagles was his favorite.
“On [No.] 7, I hit a 280-yard 3-wood to 3 feet. That's about all I got. That's all I got,” said Snedeker, who shot an 8-under 63 and was tied for the lead when he completed his round.
Thanks to rounds of 66-66-67, Patrick Reed will take a one-shot lead over Abraham Ancer into the final round of The Northern Trust at Liberty National. Here’s where things stand through 54 holes at the first FedExCup Playoffs event:
Leaderboard: Reed (-14), Ancer (-13), Brandt Snedeker (-12), Jon Rahm (-12), Danny Willett (-11), Harold Varner III (-11), Justin Rose (-11)
What it means: Reed is hunting his seventh PGA Tour win and his first since major breakthrough at the 2018 Masters. Struggling with his swing earlier this year, Reed joined up with coach David Leadbetter and worked his way to a late-season turnaround. He hasn’t missed a cut since the PGA Championship and has since posted two top-10 finishes, including one at last month’s Open Championship. Ranked 63rd in the world, Ancer is vying for his third professional win and first on the PGA Tour. The final pairing will be chased on Sunday by decorated winners in Snedeker, Rahm, Willett, and Rose. Varner, like, Ancer, is also seeking his first Tour victory.
Round of the day: Snedeker vaulted into a tie for third with an 8-under 63 that featured two eagles in the span of three holes. He started with birdies at Nos. 3 and 4, went eagle-bogey-eagle on 6-8 and added three more birdies coming home on a spotless back nine. Saturday marked his lowest round on Tour since his first-round 59 at last year’s Wyndham.
Biggest disappointments: Saturday’s final twosome of Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson. After opening rounds of 67-64, Spieth backed up with a 74, as his weekend struggles persist. Johnson bogeyed four of his last six holes for a matching score. DJ and Jordan will start Sunday five and six back, respectively.
Bubble watch: With the top 70 in the FedExCup standings advancing to next week’s BMW Championship, four players who started the week outside the cut-off are currently in line to head to Medinah. Varner, Willett, Troy Merritt and Brian Stuard are all projected to crack the top 70 as the leaderboard currently stands. Danny Lee, Sergio Garcia, Matthew Wolff and Kevin Streelman are all projected to fall outside the top 70. Wolff and Streelman will have another chance Sunday to extend their seasons, while Lee and Garcia missed Friday’s cut. Emiliano Grillo, who himself missed the cut, currently sits 70th.
Shot of the day: This second shot from Rose setting up an eagle at the par-5 eighth:
Quote of the day:
Tour’s condensed schedule not slowing Reed down; 'I'm still going'
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – As the PGA Tour season quickly winds down, many players are turning their attention to what is essentially the first break in the schedule since the circuit left the West Coast.
One player who doesn’t seem to have been impacted by this year’s condensed schedule is Patrick Reed. The 29-year-old has already played 22 times this season, and even after the FedExCup Playoffs, he’s far from finished.
“If you include this event, it will be 11 or 12 events until Jan. 1. So I'm not slowing down. I'm still going,” said Reed, who moved into the lead on Saturday at The Northern Trust with a third-round 67. “Not only am I playing here but I'm also playing on the European Tour, playing over there and fulfilling my membership.”
Reed explained it simply makes sense to him to be traveling on Tour, because if he was at home, he’d still be playing golf, only without the world-class competition or oversized paychecks.
Although he’s become something of an ironman on Tour, Reed did admit that this year’s schedule, which transitioned to five consecutive months of marquee events, has taken a toll.
“Next year we're going to start looking at where are the times to have breaks, because with how the season is now, wraparound and how condensed the majors and World Golf Championships are, we need to make sure we're fresh for those,” he said.
Ancer (68) has a lot on the line Sunday at The Northern Trust
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Few have as much on the line on Sunday at The Northern Trust as Abraham Ancer.
The 28-year-old can assure himself a spot in next week’s BMW Championship, a place on the International team at this year’s Presidents Cup and even his first start in the Tour Championship depending on his finish this week.
You know, just another Sunday.
“I'm trying not to think about that too much,” said Ancer, who remained in the hunt at Liberty National thanks to a third-round 68. “I know it's there and I obviously think about it, but I'm just focusing on trying to do everything I can to just play a good, solid round tomorrow.”
Ancer was in a similar situation last year at the Dell Technologies Championship when he took the lead into the final round. Although he struggled to a closing 73 at TPC Boston, it was a valuable learning experience.
“I didn't play bad. I just didn't make the key putts that I needed to make in certain parts of the round,” said Ancer, who is alone in second place and a shot behind leader Patrick Reed. “Just the way I felt there, I think that situation is going to help me a ton.”
Ancer is currently 67th on the post-season points list and 10th on the International Presidents Cup team’s points list which ends next week when the top 8 automatically qualify for the matches.
At center of slow-play criticism, DeChambeau sounds off
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Bryson DeChambeau knew what to expect following his third round at The Northern Trust, and he had his own message to add to the viral pace-of-play kerfuffle.
DeChambeau was widely criticized on social media after Friday’s second round when a video surfaced showing him taking more than two minutes to line up an 8-foot putt on the eighth green.
DeChambeau responded to the criticism on Saturday, said he is not a slow player and that the real problem is with the PGA Tour’s pace-of-play policy.
“It's really kind of unfortunate the way it's perceived because there's a lot of other guys that take a lot of time,” said DeChambeau, who shot a third-round 71 and was eight strokes off the lead. “For me personally it is an attack and it is something that is not me whatsoever. People don't realize the harm that they are doing to the individuals.”
Thomas, who along with Fleetwood was paired with DeChambeau for Rounds 1 and 2, offered a different perspective.
“I should have just said something to him in person. I didn’t say anything on social media,” Thomas said. “I like Bryson as a person but he’s a slow golfer. A lot of people I like that are just slow. They need to play faster.”
Fleetwood was also asked about the incident: “I think some people will [become distracted by DeChambeau’s pace], and I think that’s a bit unfair,” he said. “I’m OK with it. Effectively, three minutes to hit a shot is against the rules, and that’s where people’s problems lie.”
Liga MX champions Tigres will build a statue outside Estadio Universitario in honor of French striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who responded to the news by scoring a hat trick inside 23 minutes 3-1 win over Necaxa on Saturday.
Gignac broke Tigres' scoring record last weekend when he netted his 105th goal for the club in the 1-0 win against Pumas and was serenaded by 105 mariachis with a rendition of "El Rey" [The King] after the team's warm-up on Saturday.
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The former Marseille player appeared to get emotional as he was presented with a plaque and a commemorative ball.
.@tigresoficial to build a statue in honor of Andre-Pierre Gignac. Mariachi played "El Rey" to the club's top goalscorer after the warmup as he received a commemorative shirt ... he then scored 3 goals in the first 23 mins. Tigres 3-1 Necaxa #ligamxeng pic.twitter.com/3ZifA8cBIK
— Tom Marshall (@mexicoworldcup) August 11, 2019
Tigres fans displayed a giant mosaic of a French flag, with the top right corner in the green of Mexico -- Gignac is also a naturalized Mexican citizen -- as the player entered the field for the game and the club's PA announced to the crowd that a statue of the club legend will be built in front of the main gate of the stadium.
Gignac responded during the game, glancing in a near-post header to opener the scoring in the 5th minute and adding goals in the 17th and 23rd as Tigres took the three points.
Gignac signed for Tigres on a free transfer in 2015 and has won four Liga MX titles with the club, as well as two top goal-scorer titles in the 2016 Clausura and 2018 Apertura championships.
The 33-year-old has recently attracted interest from Boca Juniors, although the Argentine club admitted it would be difficult financially to bring him in and signed striker Franco Soldano last week.
Manchester United have beaten competition from Barcelona and Bayern Munich to sign teenage French midfielder Hannibal Mejbri from Monaco.
The 16-year-old attacking midfielder will cost United €10 million, sources have told ESPN FC, with half due to the Monaco up front.
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Tottenham and Leicester were also keen on Mejbri but the youngster has chosen to move to Old Trafford and will be part of Neil Ryan's under-18 team when he receives international clearance from FIFA.
United have also announced new contracts for a number of academy players. Goalkeeper Paul Woolston and central defender Luca Ercolani, both members of the club's under-23s, have penned new deals.
Meanwhile, Johan Guadagno, 16, a goalkeeper, has signed from Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna, alongside Dillon Hoogewerf, who has joined from Ajax.
Mateo Meija has also arrived from Spanish side Real Zaragoza. Along with Mejbri, United are also awaiting approval from FIFA for the signing of Bjorn Hardley, who was at NAC Breda.
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