ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The St. Petersburg street course was cruel to many drivers in round five of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires, but Selin Rollan didn’t put a wheel wrong and was first to the checkered flag.

He was followed across the finish line by polesitter Michael Carter.

The 45-minute race opened with a brilliant battle between Carter, Rollan and Gresham Wagner, with each taking turns at the front.

While the track is one that is notoriously difficult for passing, the Mazda MX-5 Cup drivers once again defied expectations by exchanging positions lap after lap around the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit.

“That was fun, having the three of us there,” Rollan said of the three-way fight for the lead. “We race against each other a lot. It surprised all of us I think that we were able to pass as much as we were able to.”

Even with the position swapping, the trio soon pulled away from the rest of the field. The trio became a duo, however, when Wagner pulled his car onto pitlane. The championship leader climbed out of his car after a broken drivetrain ended his race with 25 minutes left on the clock.

Wagner wasn’t the only early retirement; Jared Thomas, Sam Paley and Justin Piscitell all suffered mechanical issues which kept them from pushing to the finish.

While those four were able to stop out of harm’s way, Drake Kemper brought out the race’s only full course caution after he went off course and into the turn four runoff area. Having started the race at the back of the pack after a setback in qualifying, Kemper had side to side contact with a competitor while battling for position in turn three, and went off course in turn four, making contact with the wall in the runoff area.

The cleanup in turn four was lengthy and when the green flag came back out, there was less than two minutes left on the clock­, making for a one lap sprint to the finish.

Rollan had secured the lead over Carter before the yellow, but now the two did not have the security of a large gap to the rest of the field.

Rollan knew he had to be perfect. He hit all his marks and Carter had nowhere to challenge. Rollan took his second win of the season by .530-second over Carter.

“How long that last yellow was…it was kind of wild,” Rollan said. “I didn’t know until half a lap to go that it was the last lap. I just took a deep breath and thought, if I don’t make a mistake, it’s mine. I’m so happy. The Hixon Motorsports/Autism Speaks car was on rails. It was great.

“I feel sorry for Gresham (Wagner), he’s a good friend and I feel bad that he had a mechanical, but he’ll be back with a vengeance and will be stronger later this afternoon. It won’t be easy to do this again, but we got one of two down and I’m really happy. The track will be different this afternoon so we will have to compensate for that, but we will figure something out to be fast.”

Carter also enjoyed the amount of passing that took place during the race and was satisfied with a second-place finish.

“The opening laps were fun,” Carter said. “I enjoyed that. It is hard to pass in this place, so I just wanted to lead, but I lost the lead on the start, then I took it away from Gresham-we had a good race, and then I fell to second.

“We were just running our laps, the three of us,” Carter continued. “I’m not sure what happened to Gresham, but it’s always unfortunate when a guy gets knocked out with a mechanical. I hate that for him. On the restart, I didn’t know how many laps we were going to get but it is good to come home second—congrats to Selin and to Chris (Nunes) on his first podium.”

Starting from eighth place, rookie Chris Nunes secured his first MX-5 Cup podium with a third-place finish. Nunes was the runner up in the recent Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout and recipient of a $75,000 scholarship from Mazda.

Jenson Altzman and Dan Williams completed the top five.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – It seemed almost fitting that the top two finishers from Friday night’s Super DIRTcar Series feature at Bristol Motor Speedway both had NASCAR experience at The Last Great Colosseum.

Stewart Friesen and Tyler Dippel ran roughshod over their big-block modified competition at the .526-mile, dirt-covered high banks, with Friesen dominating the second half of the 40-lap race en route to a 7.739-second victory. Dippel never ran worse than third along the way to a runner-up finish.

Fast laps around Bristol were nothing new to either Friesen or Dippel. The former boasts five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts on the concrete surface there, while the latter raced on the Bristol hardtop in both the Truck Series and the former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (now ARCA Menards Series East).

While some drivers weren’t sure what to expect going into the Bristol Throwdown, Friesen and Dippel tipped that they both relied on skills from their NASCAR days in Thunder Valley, which helped them on the dirt Friday night.

“You could enter hard, but you needed to keep the car underneath you,” Friesen noted. “The bottom was the bottom; you couldn’t really flounder in the middle [of the track] too much. The top was there; it was really, really good … but it was a technical race track and a lot of fun. There’s a lot of similarities [between NASCAR racing at Bristol and running the big-block modifieds]. The truck here on the concrete feels just as fast as the big blocks. You have to keep both hooked up; there’s things that do translate.”

“I think car placement was key, but you just have to be really aggressive here,” Dippel added. “If there was a little bit of a hole, like with [Mike] Mahaney when I got past him by using a lapped car as a pick, you had to take every inch you could here. There were no guarantees that you’d get another shot if you didn’t seize the moment, and I felt like it was similar to that in the Truck Series as well.”

Dippel’s runner-up finish on a dirt-covered Bristol was his best result at the track in any form throughout his career, with his previous Bristol best being a sixth-place finish in the East Series in April of 2018.

While Dippel hasn’t made a Truck Series start since the 2019 season finale at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, he told SPEED SPORT Friday night that he’d like to return to stock-car racing if the right opportunity presented itself.

“I’d like to come back, but I’d want to do it the right way,” tipped the 21-year-old native of Wallkill, N.Y., who has been racing dirt modifieds in the northeast since his hiatus from NASCAR. “I’d hope to race for [a team like] a KBM [Kyle Busch Motorsports], GMS [Racing], ThorSport [Racing] … if we had or get the funding to do it the right way I’d be interested in taking another shot at the pavement side of things.”

As for Friesen, he never pictured his first Bristol victory coming with dirt laid over the famed facility.

“It’s crazy,” said Friesen. “When they put the dirt down, I never thought in a million years that big-blocks would get invited, and then DIRTcar got the nod to do this deal with the late models and the sprint cars and they brought us along. The northeast fans are die-hards, they’ve traveled everywhere with us, and hopefully this is a sign of great things to come for our discipline.

“We almost won a super late model race here, then we almost won a Truck race here, but I never thought I’d get a [Bristol] sword for dirt. I’m darn proud of it, though.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona Int’l Speedway President Frank Kelleher unveiled the logo for the 2022 edition of the Daytona 500 Saturday live on FOX & Friends.

The logo features a patriotic design and sports the red, white and blue colors of the American flag.

“We are proud and excited to unveil the logo for the 2022 Daytona 500, taking place on its traditional spot during Presidents Day Weekend, Feb. 20,” said Daytona Int’l Speedway President Frank Kelleher. “The logo for the 64th running of The Great American Race has a Great American look, and we look forward to continuing the incredible legacy of the Daytona 500, an iconic event filled with unrivaled pageantry and patriotism.”

The 2022 logo features the iconic 2.5-mile tri-oval layout with symbolic stars and stripes, along with signature features of the Daytona Int’al Speedway and NASCAR brand identities.

“As we prepare for the 2022 Daytona 500, we are excited to carry on the tradition of our sport’s most prestigious event while also continuing to charge ahead and push the boundaries of what racing and the fan experience can be at Daytona,” added Kelleher. “We can’t wait to kick off the 2022 season in incredible fashion with the competitive debut of the Next Gen car and an experience our fans will never forget.”

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Heavy persistent rain showers, with more forecast throughout Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, have forced series and track officials to push Saturday’s Bristol Throwdown finale to Sunday, April 25.

The event features a $25,000-to-win headliner for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and a $10,000-to-win race for the Super DIRTcar Series big-block modifieds.

Fans should hold on to their tickets. Anyone with tickets or a wristband for Saturday’s event can use them for Sunday.

Tickets for Sunday’s event are still available online at BristolMotorSpeedway.com or at the track – ticket booths will open at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday.

Hot laps and qualifying will take place at 12:30 p.m. ET for the World of Outlaws sprint cars and Super DIRTcar Series big-block modifieds. Opening ceremonies will follow at 1:30 p.m., with a full program of racing after.

The event is projected to conclude around 5 p.m. ET.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – The late Dan Wheldon gave NTT IndyCar Series team owner Michael Andretti his first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2005.

Saturday morning at the Dan Wheldon Memorial Monument, located in turn 10 of the St. Petersburg Street Course, Andretti announced a karting deal for Wheldon’s sons, 12-year-old Sebastian and 10-year-old Oliver.

The developmental program is hoped to be the first step toward a potential IndyCar ride in the future for the two boys.

Two-time Indy 500 winner Wheldon was killed in a horrific crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 16, 2011 when his car went airborne and crashed into the fence.

Earlier that fateful day, Wheldon had signed a contract with Andretti to return to Andretti Autosport to replace the departing Danica Patrick in the GoDaddy ride. A few hours later, Wheldon was gone.

Nearly 10 years later, Andretti is about to honor that “Wheldon contract.”

“I guess we really did have that contract in the end, and that makes this even more special for the boys to be able to come full circle and be back here with Andretti,” Susie Wheldon, Dan’s widow and the boys’ mother, told SPEED SPORT. “It’s really special.”

Andretti has stayed close with the Wheldon family since the that tragic day in Las Vegas and has watched the two boys grow up. Now, he is ready to help them start their careers.

“We have a couple of young, hot shoes we have been watching since they were this tall,” Andretti said, raising his hand a foot off the ground. “Sebastian and Oliver are the real deal. I’ve been watching a lot of what they have been doing in karts and they have been running up front. I think they have been doing a great job. We want to help them get through the Road to Indy and to Indy cars. That’s the point.

“Dan was a great friend, and we miss him. It’s great to be here to help the two boys. I’m real proud of these kids. This is important because it is looking to the future. I believe in this.”

To Andretti, it’s all about family, and the Wheldons will always be part of the Andretti Autosport family.

“Dan was family to us, and we had a lot of on track success together. We see a lot of Dan in both Sebastian and Oliver and are very proud to officially welcome them into our racing family,” Andretti said. “No one will ever be able to replace Dan in their lives, but we’re happy to offer a network for mentorship to help the boys grow their careers. Karting is the first step, but we have hopes of helping foster promising Road to Indy, and eventually even IndyCar opportunities.”

Dan Wheldon famously said that he had to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing twice so that each of his sons, would have a Baby Borg Warner trophy.

Already winning races in karting, the two boys are now on the path to winning their own Baby Borgs by joining Andretti Autosport.

“I’m really excited to be a junior driver for Michael Andretti and follow in my dad’s footsteps.  I hope Oliver and I can both win the Indy 500 too,” said Sebastian Wheldon.

“It would be so cool to race for Andretti Autosport one day. I think we will get to win a lot of races, just like my dad,” added Oliver Wheldon.

Under the new mentorship program, the Wheldons will carry the Andretti shield into three national level karting series: ROK Cup USA, Super Karts USA and the United States Pro Kart Series, all while competing with JC Karting.

The boys will receive oversight and career guidance from Michael Andretti and the Indianapolis-based team where the late Dan Wheldon recorded his first Indy 500 victory in 2005.

Through the years, Andretti Autosport has helped bring dozens of drivers through the ranks of open wheel racing through their Road to Indy efforts.

“I am so grateful to Michael for taking Sebastian and Oliver under his wing,” noted Susie Wheldon. “The junior ranks of racing are so difficult to navigate and to have the support of Andretti Autosport’s engineering resources will, I’m sure, make all the difference. I am reminded of Dan every time the boys pull on their helmets as they have the same determination and winning attitude.

“They often show some of Dan’s other traits too. Good luck, Michael – #DoubleTrouble.”

The two boys have already been active in karting including races throughout Florida and at such tracks as New Castle Motorsports Park and New Castle Raceway in New Castle, Ind.

When asked what his favorite race has been, Oliver responded like a true racer.

“The next race that I win,” he said.

Those are words that were spoken like a true Wheldon.

With uncertainty surrounding the Mackenzie Tour this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PGA Tour announced Thursday that it has launched the Forme Tour for non-Canadian members of the Canada-based tour.

The U.S.-based tour's schedule will run from June to September, featuring eight 72-hole, stroke-play events that will receive Official World Golf Ranking points. Two sites – the Auburn University Club in Auburn, Alabama, and TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio – have been revealed while the remaining six will be secured later this spring.

“We are excited to offer this opportunity to our PGA Tour Canada members, and our commitment is to continue to do business with high-caliber golf courses,” said Greg Carlson, executive director of the Forme Tour, who previously filled the same role for seven years for PGA Tour Series-China. “Forme has shown a willingness to support these players in their career endeavors, and we’re extremely happy to work with such an impressive company and with facilities like the Auburn University Club and TPC River’s Bend—centerpiece sites of our season. We look forward to announcing the remaining schedule and venues in the coming weeks.”

The Forme Tour will adopt eligibility from the Mackenzie Tour, exempting the top 60 players from the 2019 Mackenzie Tour points list, PGA Tour University graduates and those earning status through Mackenzie Tour Q-School this year and last. The top 5 players on this year's final Forme Tour points list will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2021-22, with second- and final-stage tickets also being awarded for KFT Q-School.

The Mackenzie Tour is still planning on conducting events for its Canadian players later this summer. Though a schedule has yet to be released, it is believed that those players will compete for Mackenzie Tour status in 2022.

Liverpool paid for squandering their chances on Saturday at Anfield against Newcastle United by conceding a goal in the fifth-minute of stoppage time for a 1-1 draw.

Mohamed Salah sent Liverpool hearts racing when he opened the scoring after just three minutes with a touch of pure class.

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- Liverpool ratings: Salah 8/10, Alisson 8/10

The Egypt international jumped on a loose ball and hit a difficult shot into the top right corner.

However, there was late drama when Joe Willock scored in the 95th minute moments after Callum Wilson had a goal disallowed for a controversial handball.

It was an end-to-end game with both sides missing key opportunities to distance themselves from the other.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane all had good chances to increase Liverpool's lead that they failed to take.

It looked like Steve Bruce's side had nicked a point on 93 minutes when Wilson bundled the ball into the net but replays showed it had bounced off his arm.

That wasn't to be the last action of the game, though, as Liverpool failed to clear a long ball and Willock shot it past Alisson to rescue the point.

The result could be crucial in Liverpool's fight to secure Champions League football. They are in sixth place, a point behind Chelsea and West Ham United who are in fourth and fifth respectively and play each other later on Saturday.

For Newcastle, the draw puts them nine points clear of the relegation zone and in 15th position.

Klopp said after the game that Liverpool didn't deserve a Champions League spot as they did not fight hard enough on the day.

"In a specific way, we don't fight enough," he said.

"I didn't see us that we deserved today to play Champions League next year. But we will see what we can do. In a few days we will play Manchester United which will be a tough one as well. But we learn... or we don't play Champions League. That's it."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said his side didn't fight hard enough and don't deserve a Champions League spot after Newcastle United sneaked a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Saturday.

Klopp's side had 22 shots on goal throughout the game but only converted one through Mohamed Salah in the opening three minutes.

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- Liverpool ratings: Salah 7/10, Alisson 8/10

Joe Willock scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time to secure a draw for Steve Bruce's side and put a dampener on Liverpool's Champions League hopes.

"I don't think you can create much more chances, better chances but we don't finish the game off. We didn't play enough," Klopp said after the game.

"In a specific way, we don't fight enough. We had 70% of the ball and should have had 80, we created a lot of chances. So we had to create more and use them. But we don't do that well at the moment. It feels like a defeat.

"I didn't see us that we deserved today to play Champions League next year. But we will see what we can do. In a few days we will play Manchester United which will be a tough one as well. But we learn... or we don't play Champions League. That's it."

Liverpool are in sixth position, a point behind Chelsea and West Ham United who play later on Saturday.

Klopp's team have a number of important fixtures on the horizon if they are to qualify in the top four, including facing United on May 2.

Newcastle controversially had an earlier goal from Callum Wilson disallowed and Klopp said his side were "lucky" the decision went in their favour but didn't capitalise on it.

"We have to keep going, keep playing. But we kept them alive and they deserved the goal because they scored before," he added.

"It is another one with the new rules, unlucky for Wilson but it is handball, and we don't even take this present. We were lucky with that decision, but gave another chance away and it makes no sense. It's really tough to take."

Hundreds of Manchester United fans protested the Glazer ownership outside Old Trafford on Saturday, following the club's intent to join the breakaway European Super League.

Protests have been a familiar sight across the Premier League this week after United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City announced their intentions to join six other clubs in a European Super League.

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- Hamilton: How fan reaction, revolt helped end English clubs' breakaway

The decision was met with widespread anger from fans who forced the clubs into a U-turn on their decision to join the league.

A large group of Chelsea fans gathered outside Stamford Bridge on Monday and delayed the kick-off of their game against Brighton. During the protests, reports came through that Chelsea would not be joining the breakaway league which prompted the other clubs to follow suit.

Despite the fact plans for the league are now in ruins, the fallout has continued to run throughout the week as fans protest their club's ownerships.

United fans have been particularly vocal with a group of supporters breaking into the club's training ground in protest of the Glazer's ownership.

On Tuesday, the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward also announced that he would resign from his position at the end of the year.

Several hundred Arsenal fans also protested outside the Emirates Stadium before the team's match against Everton on Friday to call for owner Stan Kroenke to sell the club.

United do not have a game on Saturday but travel to face Leeds United on Sunday.

Timo Werner scored for the first time in seven Premier League matches as Chelsea earned a vital three points in their quest for Champions League football as they beat 10-man West Ham United 1-0.

West Ham's job was made more difficult when Fabian Balbuena was sent off 10 minutes before the end.

Chelsea and West Ham are both vying for a Champions League spot and with Liverpool dropping points against Newcastle United earlier in the day, a result for either team at the London Stadium became even more important.

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The result leaves Thomas Tuchel's side in fourth place, three clear of West Ham and four clear of Liverpool.

Werner, who has struggled at Chelsea since joining them last summer from RB Leipzig, scored a well-worked team goal after 43 minutes.

The Germany international took the ball out of the midfield and played it out left to Christian Pulisic. Ben Chilwell then squared the ball into the box for Werner who powered his shot past Lukasz Fabianski.

The goal came against the run of play with West Ham not dominating in possession but looking strong in defence.

Werner could have had a second approaching the hour mark but he skewed his shot wide rather than chipping it over Fabianski.

A VAR check on 81 minutes showed that Balbuena had raked his studs down Chilwell's leg in a poor tackle and he was sent off.