WELCOME, N.C. – Longtime NASCAR crew chief Nick Harrison, who had served as the signal-caller for Justin Haley at Kaulig Racing this season, has died.

Kaulig Racing officials confirmed the unexpected news on Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Nick Harrison, our beloved crew chief of the No. 11 car at Kaulig Racing,” said team owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice in a joint statement. “Please keep Nick’s family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”

No other details were immediately available.

From Columbia, N.C., Harrison called the shots for a myriad of drivers over his 14-year NASCAR career and spent time atop pit boxes in all three of the sport’s national divisions. He was a veteran of more than 300 races as a NASCAR crew chief.

Harrison debuted in that role in what was then the NASCAR Busch Series (now the Xfinity Series) in 2006, part of four races split between drivers Chad Chaffin and Steadman Marlin.

He then took a hiatus from the national spotlight before returning in 2010, working with Phoenix Racing and veteran car owner James Finch in both the Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series on a part-time basis before graduating to the Cup Series as a full-time crew chief the next year.

During a two-year tenure as a full-time crew chief at the Cup level, Harrison earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes, both with Kurt Busch in 2012. He also worked with Landon Cassill, Bill Elliott, Boris Said, A.J. Allmendinger and Regan Smith, among others.

Harrison made six trips to victory lane as a NASCAR national series crew chief, most notably playing a leading role in five Xfinity Series victories between Phoenix Racing and Richard Childress Racing, which he joined in 2014.

His last Xfinity Series win as a crew chief came on June 9, 2018, in a rain-shortened event at Michigan Int’l Speedway where Austin Dillon drove to victory lane.

Harrison also earned a NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series win with Dillon in 2014 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

Words can’t describe how I feel about @NickHarrison111. The man was one of the first people to believe in me in the Cup series. He gave me an opportunity to drive for James Finch which gave me confidence to believe in myself at the top level. We were able to win the together…

— Austin Dillon (@austindillon3) July 21, 2019

multiple times in @XfinityRacing and a win in @NASCAR_Trucks. My favorite thing to this day to hear over the radio was his voice saying Hauling Balls. I hope today I hear it on the radio as we give it all we got on the track today for Nick. ??

— Austin Dillon (@austindillon3) July 21, 2019

This season, Harrison had been working with Kaulig Racing as Haley’s crew chief, leading the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro team.

The duo earned two top-five and 12 top-10 finishes together.

Not just a crew chief, but a friend to everyone who knew him. I, and everyone at Kaulig Racing are devastated. He will be greatly missed. pic.twitter.com/bXvQF973DG

— Justin Haley (@Justin_Haley_) July 21, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s been said that winning the Indianapolis 500 is a life-changing experience.

In Simon Pagenaud’s case, his victory in the 103rd Indianapolis 500 certainly saved his career with Team Penske.

The popular driver from France entered the Month of May as an afterthought, and left the Indianapolis Motor Speedway three weeks later as the most accomplished driver in racing.

He became only the second driver in history to win the IndyCar Grand Prix, the pole for the Indianapolis 500 and The Greatest Spectacle in Racing in the same year.

Pagenaud fended off a fiercely determined Alexander Rossi over the final 13 laps to win the 500. The two drivers traded passes, bringing the crowd of nearly 300,000 to its feet.

On lap 198, Rossi had his opportunity to make what he thought would be the race-winning pass when he went around Pagenaud in turn one.

Two turns later, Pagenaud regained the lead.

Pagenaud drove his Chevrolet/Dallara in “Conga-like” fashion, trying to break the draft that could keep Rossi’s Honda/Dallara close enough to pass. The strategy ultimately worked, as Pagenaud finished .209 seconds ahead of Rossi.

His first Indy 500 victory gave him the “May Sweep,” joining teammate Will Power, who accomplished the feat in 2018.

Pagenaud entered the month in the midst of a winless streak that had hit 22 races, stretching back to the final race of the 2017 season.

It’s an important year for Pagenaud because it’s the final year of his contract with Team Penske. According to Kyle Moyer, the team’s IndyCar general manager, drivers are expected to win at Team Penske.

“Any year is important here, especially if it’s a year where you didn’t win any races,” Moyer said. “Roger Penske expects drivers to win and the team expects drivers to win, or you are going to be replaced.

“He needs to get winning, contract or not. That’s what we are paid to do. That is what we are expected to do,” Moyer added. “Does he need to win? Yes.”

After completing his sweep at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, team owner Roger Penske was asked if Pagenaud would be back with the team next year.

“What do you think?” Penske responded. “Do you want to answer that question for me? Absolutely.

“I don’t think that I said anything to the media about Simon. He’s on our team. He’s one of our drivers. You’ve seen that,” Penske said. “That was scuttlebutt. I think that’s a good word for it. But what he did this month, certainly he achieved records in his own personal life and certainly what he had expected to, and the run today, it’s a history-book run for me when we think about some of the races — an opportunity to be in the winner’s circle, so he did a great job.”

It was the 18th Indianapolis 500 victory for Team Penske and came on the 50th anniversary of the team’s first Indianapolis 500 start.

To continue reading, advance to the next page.

Harry Kane upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo in Singapore with a stunning injury-time goal from the halfway line to seal a 3-2 win for Tottenham against Juventus in the International Champions Cup.

Kane, a second-half substitute, beat Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a first-time strike with his right foot after latching onto a pass from Lucas Moura, who had earlier made it 2-2 with a goal to cancel out Ronaldo's close range effort which had made it 2-1 to the Italian champions.

- International Champions Cup: All you need to know
- Full International Champions Cup daily fixture schedule
- ICC: News and coverage

"It's probably one of the best goals in my career," Kane said. "I saw the keeper was quite far off his a few times, so I thought I would take the chance if I had the opportunity. I saw him off his line and fortunately it went in."

Spurs had taken the lead in sweltering temperatures in Singapore, with both teams stopping for three minute drinks breaks in each half, following Erik Lamela's opener.

Gonzalo Higuain levelled for Juventus in the second-half before Ronaldo brought the crowd to its feet with his goal before being replaced after an hour of his first preseason outing.

Juventus, having only arrived in South East Asia on Saturday afternoon, were surprisingly competitive against a Spurs side that have been back in preseason for a week longer than Maurizio Sarri's team.

The game also saw £67.5 million new arrival Matthijs de Ligt make his Juventus debut following his move from Ajax, but Kane's late strike ensured that the Dutchman suffered stoppage time defeat against Spurs for the second time in three months having also been on the wrong end of a 3-2 loss in the Champions League semifinal second-leg against Mauricio Pochettino's team for Ajax.

Kent 146 for 8 (Blake 57*) beat Hampshire 145 for 5 (Vince 51) by two wickets

Alex Blake dragged Kent Spitfires to an incredible two-wicket Vitality Blast victory over Hampshire to replicate his 2015 heroics.

Big-hitting Blake powered 57 off 38 balls to maintain the Spitfires' 100 per cent record in the competition, having come to the crease with his side in dire straits.

Four years ago, Blake left the Ageas Bowl open-mouthed as he crashed 71 in 30 balls, having arrived at the crease at 70 for 5 chasing 178.

On this occasion, the 30-year-old walked out at 41 for 4, still requiring 105, and took Kent over the line by striking back-to-back sixes from the final Chris Wood over to secure two points from a tight encounter with a ball to spare.

"I obviously have good memories here like that game in 2015 and like playing here," said Blake. "David Griffiths, who was a Kent and Hampshire player, sent me a [photo] of after the 2015 game when we were in the changing room with champagne earlier, and said 'same again today' which jogged my memory.

"I was struggling against the spin but we were saying out there that if we could set it up towards the end then you never know if you could sneak over the line. You are never out of the game, and I have the confidence that I can clear the ropes."

After Hampshire had scored a par 145 from their overs, Kent lost stand-in captain Daniel Bell-Drummond to the fifth ball of the reply when he chopped Chris Wood behind.

Ollie Robinson clubbed Liam Dawson, returning after being unused in England's World Cup campaign, over the midwicket boundary but only picked out Aneurin Donald when attempting an action replay.

The Spitfires were then stunned to 32 for three when overseas star Mohammad Nabi mistimed a pull off Kyle Abbott to Vince at mid-off.

Abbott, who only played three times in last season's Blast, picked up a quick-fire second when Zak Crawley leading edged to mid-on.

The slide continued when Sean Dickson was stumped off Mason Crane, although Blake powered the legspinner to two straight sixes to keep the run-rate manageable.

At the other end, Dawson pinned Jordan Cox lbw, Abbott bowled Adam Milne, Chris Morris caught and bowled Hardus Vijoen but Blake was still there.

And with 16 needed from the last over Hampshire were still favourites.

But two twos and a pair of enormous straight sixes sent Blake running around in delight.

Earlier, Hampshire elected to bat first in front of the Ageas Bowl's highest domestic crowd for two years, with around 10,000 packing the ground including thousands of youngsters on All Stars Day.

They weren't treated to an electric start from Rilee Rossouw and Aneurin Donald as the former was dropped at midwicket.

Donald did smash Hampshire's first maximum of the competition, over fine leg, but departed next ball when he skied straight up in the air, before Rossouw nicked off.

James Vince proved his hangover had abated a week after the thrilling World Cup final at Lord's when he drove and then cut his first two deliveries the boundary.

The Hampshire skipper then dispatched two sixes off an Imran Qayyum over as he reached 29th T20 fifty in 33 balls.

But two balls later he handed Nabi a caught and bowled which the hosts failed to recover from.

Fred Klaassen, who dismissed James Fuller and Sam Northeast in consecutive balls, and Viljoen ended with figures of two for 27 and two for 20 respectively as Kent strangled Hampshire - with only 42 runs coming in the last six-and-a-half overs.

The 3D sequels aren't over yet. Among the clarifications India's chief selector MSK Prasad made on Sunday were a couple related to World Cup selections. Prasad stressed the decision to leave out Ambati Rayudu did not have any bias. He also explained why Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal had been picked as replacements for the injured Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar respectively, and admitted the choices may have seemed "confusing" to people.

The Rayudu riddle
The World Cup final hangover may be wearing off but Indian cricket's obsession with a discarded No. 4 is not. When India's World Cup squad was announced in April, Rayudu had been left out in favour of Vijay Shankar, with Prasad saying the latter brought "three dimensions" to the side. A day after the announcement, Rayudu in a not-so-cryptic tweet said: "Just ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the World Cup." It was followed by a winking and a smiling emoji. On Sunday, while announcing India's squads for the West Indies tour, Prasad said he had "really enjoyed" that tweet. "Frankly speaking, it was a lovely tweet, I really enjoyed it. Seriously. It was a very timely one, very sarcastic. it was fantastic one. I don't know how it struck him."

He also addressed the "emotional" side of Rayudu's decision to retire from all forms of cricket earlier this month. Although he had been marked as India's No. 4 by Virat Kohli last year, the selectors didn't pick him to go to England even after Vijay Shankar was injured and the team needed replacements. Prasad insisted there was no bias in that decision, and added that his committee had backed Rayudu previously.

"First of all, how much emotions have gone through anybody, the same emotions also have gone through the selection committee," Prasad said on Sunday. "When we pick any player and he does well, we feel so happy for him. Similarly, when someone, out of emotions, goes out in this way, selection committee members also feel for it.

"But, having said that, with regard to the decision that was taken, it was devoid of any bias or any favouritism. From the beginning, I have been telling why we have picked Vijay Shankar, why we have picked Rishabh Pant or Mayank Agarwal. Somewhere, it is definitely related to Rayudu's case also. There's no second thought, there's nothing against that.

"I will give you a small example on Rayudu. When Rayudu was picked on the basis of the 2017-18 T20 performance, we picked him in the one-day side, there was a lot of criticism but we had some thoughts about him. Subsequently, when he failed a fitness test, this selection committee backed him and we put him through a fitness programme for a month, and we ensured that he comes back fit and comes into the side. Once he came into the side we backed him, but due to certain permutations and combinations of the side, we couldn't pick him. That doesn't make this selection committee or me, in person, biased.

"I hope you will understand that there was a certain programme that was set to see that Rayudu should come into the side. There's nothing that we did against any particular person. So how much Rayudu is emotional, we are also emotional. We as ex-cricketers also feel for him. That's it, that's what I can say."

Picking Pant for Dhawan, Agarwal for Vijay Shankar

When an inexperienced middle-order batsman replaced an injured opener, and then an uncapped opener took an injured allrounder's place in India's World Cup squad, it "baffled" several fans and experts, including Sunil Gavaskar. After the side's semi-final loss to New Zealand, Gavaskar said a batsman like Rayudu should have been in the squad, since he was among the standbys, and could have handled the crisis of being 24 for 4 in a semi-final better.

"It is not the selection committee's decision. It is the team management which has been asking these things," Gavaskar had said. "We are not saying you are wrong but at the moment what we are seeing didn't work out, so we need to know."

Prasad addressed these issues on Sunday, clarifying that Pant and Agarwal had been picked on requests made by the team management.

"When Shikhar Dhawan got injured, we had a third opener in KL Rahul. At that juncture, after those two-three matches, we didn't have a left-hander at the top," Prasad explained. "Since KL Rahul was going to open, the team management requested for a left-hander and we had no choice other than Pant. We were very clear about that. We know what he is capable of. That's the reason why we had to bring in a left-hander, which actually confused many people thinking why a middle-order batsman has been picked for an opener.

"When Vijay Shankar was injured, again a middle-order player was injured, and an opener was brought in. In a game against England, when KL Rahul was trying for a catch, he had a big fall on the boundary line and he didn't field for the rest of the innings. There was a medical emergency at that stage whether he will be continuing or not. There was so much of a worry factor. At that juncture, a written communication was given to us that we need a back-up opener.

"We looked at some of the openers. Some were not in form, the others were injured. That is why we went for Mayank Agarwal. So that is very clear, no confusion on this. I'm sure by the end of the day all these speculations will be clear."