Author Archives: PressBox

April 20, 2026

Kevin Thomas Jr. captures USAC CRA win at Casa Grande

Kevin Thomas Jr. won the Avanti Windows & Doors USAC CRA Sprint Car main at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona. He took the lead after Ricky Lewis suffered a flat front tire on lap 17 and paced the final 13 laps of the 30-lap feature to secure the victory. Thomas drove the Petty Performance Racing No. 33p Avanti Windows & Doors Sherman and collected the $5,000 winner’s purse for his second victory of the season.

Ricky Lewis recovered to finish second, and R.J. Johnson, the Friday night winner and the series points leader, finished third. Fast qualifier Cale Coons posted the Woodland Auto Display Fast Time with a lap of 15.264 seconds, won the night’s first heat and placed fourth in the main event. Eddie Tafoya Jr. finished fifth. Charles Davis Jr. won the second heat and Bruce St. James won the third heat.

Joshua Shipley earned the Hard Charger Award after rallying from 15th to 10th and collected $450. Nineteen drivers were listed on the card. The series is scheduled to return Saturday, May 2, at Ventura Raceway with USAC Western States Midgets on the program.
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April 20, 2026

Tech3 Runs Single Bike at Jerez After Viñales Surgery

Red Bull KTM Tech3 ran a single bike at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain in Jerez after Maverick Viñales missed the weekend while recovering from corrective shoulder surgery. Team statements said a displaced screw was discovered after the US Grand Prix in Austin and forced Viñales to withdraw for surgery, with some reports describing the screw as displaced from an earlier operation and others linking it to his Sachsenring crash. The team said the No. 12 bike would not be on track and that Viñales was targeting a comeback at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on May 10, 2025.

Pol Espargaró had been penciled in to replace Viñales but suffered a hand injury in the lead-up to Jerez, leaving Enea Bastianini as Tech3’s sole entry for the weekend. Bastianini arrived at the first European round on the back of a third-place Sprint finish in Austin, and the team said it hoped to build on that momentum.

Tech3 management, including CEO Guenther Steiner, described the one-bike plan as a short-term interim operational adjustment to concentrate resources while managing rider fitness and recovery timelines, and said the twin setbacks forced rapid changes to race operations.
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April 20, 2026

NLL Sets April 24-25 Quarterfinal Schedule

The NLL announced its quarterfinal schedule for the 2026 playoffs, set as four single-elimination games on April 24-25. All times are Eastern. No. 8 Halifax visits No. 1 Vancouver at Rogers Arena in Vancouver at 10:00 p.m., No. 6 Toronto visits No. 3 Saskatchewan at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon at 9:00 p.m., and No. 7 San Diego visits No. 2 Colorado at Ball Arena in Denver at 9:00 p.m.

The fourth quarterfinal pairs No. 5 Buffalo and No. 4 Georgia on Saturday, April 25, with the host site dependent on Georgia’s earlier result against Rochester that day. If Georgia beats Rochester, Buffalo will travel to Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA, for a 7:30 p.m. start. If Georgia loses to Rochester, Georgia will travel to KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY, for a 7:00 p.m. start.

Quarterfinal winners advance to best-of-three semifinals beginning the weekend of April 30-May 3, with May 7-10 reserved if a deciding game is necessary. The best-of-three final is scheduled for May 14-17, with May 21-25 held as backup dates. Vancouver clinched the top overall seed and will have home-floor advantage throughout the postseason.

All playoff games will stream on ESPN+, TSN+ and NLL+, subject to territory restrictions. The league said it drew more than one million fans for the fourth consecutive year in 2025-26.
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April 20, 2026

Madsen takes pole, leads 30 laps to win Diamond Classic

Kerry Madsen won the FK Rod Ends Dash to start on the pole and then led all 30 laps of the A-Main to win the Diamond Classic in the Interstate Batteries High Limit Sprint division at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri, Saturday night, holding off Sye Lynch and Tanner Holmes.

Sources differ on his age, one listing him as 55 and another as 54. He is a native of Australia based in Knoxville, Iowa.

The result was reported as Madsen’s first High Limit series win in his 30th start and the first High Limit victory for car owner Tony Vermeer, and it made him the second Australian to win in the series, after James McFadden. One report’s claim that the result was Madsen’s 25th visit to Whiskey Myers Victory Lane in the High Limit series conflicts with the characterization of the Diamond Classic as his first series win; that discrepancy remains unresolved in the available sources.

After the race Madsen moved to sixth in the High Limit standings, 78 points behind leader Tanner Thorson. The series will stop at Eagle Raceway for the Speedway Motors Spring Jackpot on April 21, and the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series will air live on FS1 at 8 p.m. CT.
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April 20, 2026

Davenport Leads All 60 Laps, Beats Ricky Thornton Jr.

Jonathan Davenport won The Gauntlet dirt late model feature at Davenport Speedway in Bulls Gap, leading all 60 laps of the 60-lap race. It was Davenport’s seventh win of the season, and promoter Vic Hill had posted a $100,000 bonus that boosted Davenport’s total take for four nights to more than $137,500.

Ricky Thornton Jr. finished second, Mike Marlar third, Cody Overton fourth and Chris Madden fifth. Organizers scheduled a Saturday finale that paid $30,000.

Chris Madden won the Friday-night 50-lap Gauntlet preliminary at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap. Starting from the pole, Madden took the lead on lap 30 after Davenport suffered mechanical issues and fended off a late challenge from Zack Mitchell to earn $20,000. Some reports said Davenport’s Saturday victory “capped a sweep” of the weekend’s high-paying programs, and those accounts conflict with preliminary results showing Madden’s Friday $20,000 win.
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April 20, 2026

Incheon Seeks KRW1.04t to Fund Songdo F1 Bid

Incheon has advanced a bid to return to the Formula 1 calendar, proposing a 4.96-kilometer street circuit routed through Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok is leading the push and has proposed a five-year hosting stint. Early plans call for the circuit to use existing roads in Yeonsu-gu, a new pit building and temporary grandstands for up to 120,000 spectators, and to take advantage of proximity to Incheon International Airport and Subway Line 1. City officials began promoting the idea in April 2024 and have targeted 2028 for a race, including a request to stage a double race that year.

A feasibility study led by the Korea Industrial Development Institute in partnership with German circuit designer Tilke, which began in June 2025, confirmed the site’s potential. The study estimated tourism revenue of roughly 580 billion to 590 billion won and projected creation of about 4,800 to 5,000 jobs. Officials put the project cost at about KRW1.04 trillion, with an estimated funding split of KRW237.1 billion from government and city coffers and KRW802.5 billion from private investors. Mayor Yoo said the Grand Prix could “transform Incheon from a transit hub into a global destination.”

Organizers still need backing from local and national governments, a promoter to win a tender and formal approval from Formula 1. They must satisfy technical, financial and political requirements and plan to identify private partners by the end of the year. Political support is divided and looming local elections add uncertainty, and planners say they must demonstrate long-term financial viability to avoid a repeat of the previous Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam, which ran from 2010 to 2013 before falling off the calendar amid cost concerns and waning local interest. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has described South Korea as an “untapped, social-media-connected market.”
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April 20, 2026

Round 14 – Cleveland Recap

Round 14 of the 2026 AMA Supercross season brings the 450 Class to Cleveland’s Huntington Bank Field on April 18th, marking the series’s return after three decades and serving as the final Triple Crown event of the year. While Cooper Webb entered the season as the reigning 450SX champion, all eyes are on the intense championship battle as Hunter Lawrence currently holds a 10-point lead over Ken Roczen, with Eli Tomac closely trailing, making consistency crucial in this three-race format. The day’s schedule includes FanFest from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM, qualifying sessions beginning at 9:00 AM on Race Day Live via Peacock, followed by Opening Ceremonies at 2:30 PM and the Main Event kicking off at 3:00 PM on NBC and Peacock.
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April 20, 2026

Willcox rebounds after CT exit, readies Challenger bid

A new video edit titled “Fail to Fiji” chronicles Jacob Willcox’s mental recovery after injury, competitive setbacks and narrowly missing requalification for the World Surf League Championship Tour. Filmmaker Chipo framed the six-month edit around the mental toll of Willcox’s injury and the Newcastle loss, following the Western Australian as he chased swells, tried to rediscover his “why” and ultimately traveled to Fiji to reset and reflect.

Willcox was relegated from the Championship Tour in 2024 and launched a bid to requalify for the 2026 CT. He began the campaign by winning the season’s first Challenger Series event and received a wildcard into the Margaret River Pro, where he beat fellow Australian Oscar Berry in Round One before drawing world champion Yago Dora. Judges did not uphold Dora’s interference claim in that heat, which led to heated words in the water and an alleged on-land confrontation. An injury at the US Open sidelined Willcox for several events and he later suffered an ankle tweak that required rehabilitation. After his promising start his form dipped, producing results of 9th, 25th, 49th, 33rd and 13th at subsequent events. He entered the tour’s final stop at Newcastle sitting 10th in the rankings, finished 49th there and dropped to 12th, missing the top-10 cutoff for automatic promotion back to the CT. The edit and reporting say the injury and a missed heat win in Newcastle cost him requalification.

Willcox said he struggled with “head noise” on the trip home. He chased a Pacific swell to Fiji, linked up with former CT surfer Wade Carmichael and surfed Cloudbreak. He said time in the ocean brought him peace and perspective, and the final footage of the edit is intended to remind viewers why he believes he belongs on the Championship Tour. Willcox intends to return to the Challenger Series for another qualification attempt this year.
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April 17, 2026

Players: Fighting Still Promotes NLL, Lax Mag Poll

An anonymous poll of five players from each of the NLL’s 14 teams found unanimous agreement that fighting still serves a purpose in the league. Ninety-three percent of respondents said viral fight videos help promote the NLL, 0 percent said they hurt and 7 percent said they neither help nor hurt. Many players said fights boost awareness and excitement for the sport.

Responses were split on whether fighting deters American collegiate players from pursuing the NLL: 4 percent said “yes, a lot,” 22 percent said “yes, some,” 37 percent said “no,” and 37 percent said “who cares.” Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they had not thought less of a teammate for not fighting, 22 percent said they had, and none of the poll respondents expected fighting to be banned soon. Twenty-six percent said fighting might eventually be banned and 74 percent said it never would be.

Lax Mag published the survey results alongside its All-Time and Current Fight Club rankings and maintains the Fight Club coverage series and the NLL Fight Club Player Poll. Lax Mag’s current and all-time top-10 fighter lists rely on contemporary statistics and historical comparison and are framed within broader debates about game identity, fan engagement, and officiating. The magazine noted a modern decline in fighting driven in part by teams emphasizing face-off specialists over enforcers and by protracted officiating reviews, and it recalled that during the OG LaxMag era Fight Club pieces and players such as Tim O’Brien and Geoff Snider drove outsized traffic.

League attendance figures show strains: six of the nine lowest average home attendances have come since 2020, and the current NLL regular season is averaging under 8,000 tickets per game, a figure buoyed significantly by Buffalo’s Banditland. Taken together, the poll and the rankings highlight a tension between persistent player endorsement of fighting as culturally and commercially valuable and league-level trends that have reduced on-field fighting.
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