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RELATED: Junior on support for Truex over the years |  Dale Jr.’s biggest fear Another Andretti in NASCAR racing? It’s not that far-fetched.  IndyCar legend Mario Andretti ran 14 races in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, winning the 1967 Daytona 500. John Andretti, Mario’s nephew, competed in 393 Cup races, winning at Daytona and Martinsville.  Jeff Andretti, Mario’s youngest son, tried his luck in three NASCAR Camping…

Let’s say you’re a professional soccer goalkeeper and you’ve stayed properly hydrated over the course of a game. Things are apt to get a little dicey over the course of those 90 minutes, if you catch my drift. If you’re Sam Crocombe, a goalkeeper for Salford City of the National League North in England, you’re simply not going to wait. On Saturday during a game against Bradford Park Avenue, he received a red…

x Embed x Share CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour breaks down the current security concern for 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea. USA TODAY Sports The IOC intends to decide in December on Russia’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics.(Photo: JEON HEON-KYUN, EPA-EFE) The International Olympic Committee intends to decide on Russia’s participation in the Pyeongchang Games in December. The IOC has been waiting on the findings…

RELATED: Truck Series Playoff standings MARTINSVILLE, Va. — John Hunter Nemechek’s path to landing a spot in the Championship 4 just got significantly more difficult. On Lap 36 during Saturday’s playoff race at Martinsville Speedway, Nemechek lost control of his brakes and whacked the wall with the truck’s rear … ultimately ending his day at the Virginia short track. “I don’t really have any emotions right now,” Nemechek said after…

RELATED:  Final practice results | Best 10-lap times Joey Logano topped the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice leaderboard at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, wheeling his No. 22 Team Penske Ford around the track at 94.416 mph. Chase Elliott led all NASCAR Playoffs drivers as the second-fastest entry, driving his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 94.326 mph. Monster Energy Series points leader Martin Truex Jr. was third, pacing his…

RELATED: Junior on support for Truex over the years |  Dale Jr.’s biggest fear Another Andretti in NASCAR racing? It’s not that far-fetched.  IndyCar legend Mario Andretti ran 14 races in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, winning the 1967 Daytona 500. John Andretti, Mario’s nephew, competed in 393 Cup races, winning at Daytona and Martinsville.  Jeff Andretti, Mario’s youngest son, tried his luck in three NASCAR Camping…

RELATED: Full Martinsville schedule | Old track vs. young drivers MARTINSVILLE, Va. — The smallest track on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is also the one that’s been around the longest. But Martinsville Speedway, measured out at just a shade over a half-mile, might not have been H. Clay Earles’ first attempt at stock car racing. “Clay, he run one little ol’ race … he took a motor grader…

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It’s been a while since a pair of Burtons hit the track for a NASCAR national series race — nearly a decade to be exact. That will change Saturday as Harrison Burton and Jeb Burton, sons of former drivers Jeff and Ward Burton respectively, will race in the Texas Roadhouse 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1). The two cousins…

By Michelle R. Martinelli October 27, 2017 1:46 pm Follow @MMartinelli4

Some NASCAR tracks are known to get a little crazy with the trophies they present the winners. Kentucky Speedway gives away jukeboxes, New Hampshire Motor Speedway does gigantic, live lobsters, but Martinsville Speedway – where NASCAR is this weekend – gives the victors one of the most prized trophies in the sport: a grandfather clock. To many drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., it’s more than just a trophy. It’s a…

The race is hours away but pit road is humming already. Over-the-wall guys hustle to get their stalls ready. Tire changers check their air guns. Tire carriers align their Goodyears just so. Jackmen make sure their jacks are safely out of sight. With NASCAR’s stage racing offering more chances to win points, those pit crew athletes’ performances have become more important than ever. It used to be that a bad…

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — It’s been a while since a pair of Burtons hit the track for a NASCAR national series race — nearly a decade to be exact. That will change Saturday as Harrison Burton and Jeb Burton, sons of former drivers Jeff and Ward Burton respectively, will race in the Texas Roadhouse 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway (1 p.m. ET, FS1). The two cousins…

Paul Newberry/Associated Press ATLANTA — “We have a different kind of religion.”     It’s 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday, and a man in a pope’s hat and striped necktie is explaining his attire (“It’s a marriage of church and state”) while proffering Jell-O shots in a railroad-adjacent parking lot called The Gulch. His name is Chris Lopez, he bought season tickets three-and-a-half years ago for Atlanta United—an MLS team that…

By Michelle R. Martinelli October 27, 2017 1:46 pm Follow @MMartinelli4

The race is hours away but pit road is humming already. Over-the-wall guys hustle to get their stalls ready. Tire changers check their air guns. Tire carriers align their Goodyears just so. Jackmen make sure their jacks are safely out of sight. With NASCAR’s stage racing offering more chances to win points, those pit crew athletes’ performances have become more important than ever. It used to be that a bad…

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in motorsports as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on Sunday for the first race in the semifinal round of the playoffs: Turn 1: The Round of 8 is all set for the semifinals. Who do you have advancing to the final four for the championship race at…

(Reuters) – Australian swimmer Cate Campbell professed a new-found love for her sport after breaking the 100 meters freestyle short course world record upon her return from a long break. The 25-year-old clocked a time of 50.25 seconds at the Australian Short Course Swimming Championships in Adelaide to beat Swede Sarah Sjostrom’s record time by 0.33 seconds. It was Campbell’s first competition since the 2016 Rio Olympics where she failed…

Competitors play bridge at the Acol Bridge Club in West Hampstead, London in 2015. (Tim Ireland/AP) The card game bridge is many things. It is a game of strategy and skill, with complex rules and a rich history played by millions of people, with tournaments held every year around the world. But bridge is not — according to a European court — a sport. On Thursday, the European Court of…

(Reuters) – Columbus goalkeeper Zack Steffen saved two Atlanta United penalties in a shootout on Thursday as the Crew advanced to the Major League Soccer semi-finals 3-1 after neither team could break the deadlock through extra time. Steffen got down smartly to save from Julian Gressel then saved Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s weak effort. Jeff Larentowicz hit the post with Atlanta’s fourth kick. Crew substitute Adam Jahn scored the clincher in…

Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print comment Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in motorsports as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on Sunday for the first race in the semifinal round of the playoffs: Turn 1: The Round of 8 is all set for the semifinals. Who do you have advancing to the final four for the championship race at…