BEREA (AP) — Browns starting safety Juan Thornhill returned to practice, a promising sign for Cleveland’s defense going into Monday night’s game at Pittsburgh.
Thornhill, one of the Browns’ key off-season acquisitions, sat out the 24-3 win in the season opener against Cincinnati with a calf injury. He was not on the field Thursday, but did some stretching and individual drills during the portion of practice Friday open to the media.
Thornhill hadn’t practiced since Sept. 6.
Shawnee goes 9-0 in WBL boys golf
SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — Shawnee finished 9-0 in Western Buckeye League dual matches with a 167-184 Thursday victory against Wapakoneta at par 36 Shawnee Country Club.
Metalist Seth Grieshop (38), Matthew Stiles (42), Matthew Owen (42) and Evan Jackson (45) combined for the winning total. Zac Niekamp led Wapak with a 40.
Minster’s Magoto sets school mark
MINSTER — Minster’s Louis Magoto shot a school record 32 at par 36 Arrowhead in the Wildcats’ 146-165 victory Thursday. Jack Meyer (35), Bryce Prenger (39) and Tyler Stueve (40) also contributed to the winning total. Ben Giere led Coldwater with a 38.
Bristol opts for concrete surface
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Bristol Motor Speedway is ditching the dirt.
The Tennessee short track that has used a dirt surface the last three years for its NASCAR races will run both NASCAR weekends in 2024 on its traditional concrete surface.
Bristol in 2021 covered the high-banked, .0533-mile bullring in red Tennessee clay for its spring race in hopes of freshening the NASCAR schedule and boosting both attendance and television ratings at a venue once considered hallowed racing ground.
All three runnings of the dirt races were met with mixed reviews — NASCAR had last run on dirt in 1970 — and its debut was of course an exciting anomaly. But the novelty wore off, the racing was sub-par and after three years, drivers were tired of the gimmick.
Bristol president and general manager Jerry Caldwell did not reveal the track’s two Cup Series dates for 2024 but confirmed neither will be on dirt. NASCAR will race on the concrete Saturday night in the first elimination race of this year’s playoffs. Four drivers will be eliminated from the 16-driver field following the race.
The spring race, he said, will harken back to Bristol’s 1990s halcyon days, when the track was one of the toughest tickets in sports. Bristol boasted a 55-race sellout streak from 1982 through 2010.
“We will revive a logo reminiscent of the first Food City 500s in the early ’90s and resurrect the track’s vintage trademark look and feel of the era,” Caldwell said of next year’s return to concrete in the spring.
