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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - One of Saskatchewans biggest annual sporting events will be even bigger in 2014 when the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 heads to Auto Clearing Motor Speedway for the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 on Wednesday in Saskatoon. This years event will see all three champions in Canadian Tire Series history take to the third-mile Saskatoon oval. Two-time Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 winner Scott Steckly is a three-time titlist while D.J. Kennington and Andrew Ranger have earned two crowns apiece. Kennington is also a two-time winner at ACMS, but Ranger will be looking for his first win there after emerging triumphant in each of the two previous races this year. If having every champion in series history wasnt enough, there will be plenty of other worthy contenders for the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 trophy. Jason Hathaway has won three of the last five Canadian Tire Series oval races and season co-points leader J.R. Fitzpatrick is a threat every time out. Additionally, Canadian open-wheel racing standout Alex Tagliani will make his first ACMS appearance to add to the events star power. All told, the winners of 80-percent of the 91 all-time Canadian Tire Series races will be in Saskatoon on Wednesday. The Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 will be the second half of the Canadian Tire Series annual western swing. This years jaunt began at Albertas Edmonton International Raceway last Friday. A second event in six days is now on tap with the series lone trip to Saskatchewan this season. Fast Facts: The Race: The sixth annual Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 will be the fifth of 11 events on the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 schedule, and the lone trip to Saskatchewan and Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. The Procedure: The maximum starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 21 cars will have secured starting positions through two-lap time trials while the remaining three spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 250 laps (83.25 miles). The Track: Auto Clearing Motor Speedway is a .333-mile oval with graduated banking. Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Association Ltd. originated from the Saskatoon Stock Car Racing Club that was formed in 1954. Racing in Saskatoon began at the 8th Street Racing Oval. In 1970, as a result of city expansion, stock-car racing moved to the current Prairieland Exhibition at Bridge City Raceway. In 1999, the City of Saskatoon expanded once again which paved the way for a new track, Auto Clearing Motor Speedway, to be built. Construction of the new track began in April 2005. Pole Winners: The first five Saskatoon races have produced three different pole winners. J.R. Fitzpatrick and D.J. Kennington have two apiece while Don Thompson Jr. scored the inaugural event pole in 2009. Fitzpatrick set the track qualifying record at 14.665 seconds (81.801 mph) in 2012. Race Winners: Kennington and Scott Steckly lead the way with two wins apiece while Pete Shepherd III also has a victory. Steckly won the inaugural race and reached ACMS Victory Lane again last year. Saskatoon Race Notes: Rangers Records: With his 19th career race win last week at Edmonton International Raceway, and his 14th career pole the week before that at Circuit ICAR, Andrew Ranger is tied for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 all-time lead in both categories. Ranger now shares the victories record with new teammate D.J. Kennington and the poles mark is split with J.R. Fitzpatrick, who was the top qualifier last year at Auto Clearing Motor Speedway. Fitzpatrick, Dumoulin Also Tied at the Top: The 2014 season is now more than one-third complete and the competition is so close that theres actually a tie between Fitzpatrick and L.P. Dumoulin atop the championship standings. Both drivers have 162 tallies, 12 ahead of Ranger in third. Its only 18 points back to Jason Hathaway in fifth, with D.J. Kennington sitting fourth. Steckly Looks to Defend ACMS Win: Defending Velocity Prairie Thunder 250 winner Scott Steckly could use another victory this week at Auto Clearing to bolster his series championship defense. The three-time titlist has faced adversity through for races this season, but is hanging in there in sixth place in the standings, 30 points back of the leaders. A DNF in the season opener at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park had Steckly in an early hole but he followed with a pair of top fives. Last week at Edmonton he was two laps down at one point and rallied to an eighth-place finish. Halfway Through Four-Race Grouping: The Canadian Tire series embarked on an aggressive bundle of four events in a 21-day span starting with Circuit ICAR on July 6. The second date came last Friday, July 11 at Edmonton and up next week be Wednesdays Velocity Prairie Thunder 250. The busy stretch will conclude on July 26 at Autodrome St. Eustache. Last Time Out: Edmonton The fourth race of the 2014 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 was contested on July 11 at Edmonton International Raceway in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Here are some highlights from the Alberta Has Energy 300: - Andrew Ranger took the checkered flag for the second week in a row, and a record-tying 19th time overall. It was his first oval track win since 2009, the same year he last posted back-to-back victories.- A two-time road course winner, L.P. Dumoulin recorded his best finish in 21 career oval races with a runner-up effort.- Prior to the race Alex Tagliani earned his first career oval track pole, and fifth overall. He led a career-high 268 laps before a late-race accident.- It was the first race in series history at the Wetaskiwin oval. Next Time Out: St. Eustache Following the Velocity Prairie Thunder 250, the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1 will head back east for the National 250 on July 26 at Quebecs Autodrome St. Eustache. It will mark the sixth all-time appearance for the Canadian Tire Series at the .4-mile oval. Scott Steckly is the defending winner of the race. .Y. - Carey Price had an early feeling that one goal might be enough to settle the latest matchup between his Montreal Canadiens and longtime Original Six foe, the New York Rangers. . Yet now its time for the most important pick of them all; the Grey Cup. The thought of going 5-0 with the correct choice is quite intoxicating, I dont think I have ever gone perfect in my CFL futuristic playoff speculations and would take great pride in guessing - I mean analyzing - correctly. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/mat ... ey-jersey/. 2015 Oscar nomination pending. Here is an open letter from Steven Stamkos to his fans: When I shot this final Moment Zero film last August, it was a fun few days on set with Coke Zero and Jordan Eberle in my hometown of Markham. . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. . Winners of two straight, the Flames will try to become the first team in 25 years to go three consecutive games without taking a penalty Saturday night in San Jose.DALLAS -- DeMar DeRozan showed lots of love for former teammate and mentor Jose Calderon before Toronto played in Dallas. Then the pupil one-upped his old teacher in the game. DeRozan scored 15 points, including the go-ahead basket on a wild shot while getting fouled in overtime Friday night, and the Raptors overcame a season high in points from Calderon to beat the Mavericks 109-108. Toronto trailed 108-107 after a 3-pointer by Calderon when DeRozans pump-fake got Brandan Wright and Shawn Marion in the air. DeRozan threw up a shot as he was bumped and it went in for the final points with 1:11 remaining. Kyle Lowry led six players in double figures with 20 points for the Raptors, who lost to Charlotte in overtime two nights earlier and were 0-3 in OT this season. "We understand what not to do from the previous one," said DeRozan, who led the Raptors with nine assists. Calderon led Dallas with 23 points, including 11 to go along with three of his nine assists in the fourth quarter, and was 7 of 10 from long range. "Thats just Jose, man," DeRozan said. "Jose seems like every time the ball leaves his hand the balls going in." But not on the possession after DeRozans go-ahead basket. Down by a point, the Mavericks missed three times in one trip in the final minute when Nowitzki misfired from 3-point range and Calderon was off target after the rebound bounced back to him beyond the arc. With a chance to reset, the Mavericks got the ball to Nowitzki again, but he missed a fadeaway jumper from the baseline. Nowitzki scored 22, but missed his last six shots to finish 10 of 22 from the field. "You know its going to be one shot, one stop, and I think we did the right things," said Calderon, who spent most of his first eight years in Toronto before a midseason trade to Detroit last January. "But we couldnt make the last shot." DeRozan missed the free throw after his circus shot, but the Mavericks were off target on their last four, including a runner in the final seconds by Monta Ellis, who had 21 points and a season-high 11 assists. Toronto had its biggest lead at 89-81 when Calderon scored 11 straight Dallas points to get the Mavericks to 993-92.dddddddddddd Calderon then drove and zipped a pass to Nowitzki for a 3-pointer to put Dallas in front 95-93. Calderon also assisted on Marions go-ahead basket with 20.9 seconds left, but DeRozan got Toronto even at 101-all with a tough jumper over Marion just 4 seconds later. Nowitzki missed a turnaround jumper with Amir Johnson defending just before the buzzer to end regulation, which included a 14-1 run by Dallas for a 41-22 lead followed by a 27-6 Toronto burst that put the Raptors in front 49-47 in the final minute of the first half. "Its a PG rated show and I cant really say it," Toronto coach Dwane Casey of his first-half message to his team in the building where he was an assistant to Dallas coach Rick Carlisle for three seasons. "Guys responded. They hit us with a haymaker, and Im proud at the way our guys fought back." Torontos Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 13 rebounds, including a sequence where he rebounded his own miss twice and eventually scored for a 93-89 lead. Johnson and Terrence Ross scored 15 apiece for the Raptors, who started the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run. Greivis Vasquez had eight of his 14 points during the spurt, including a pair of 3-pointers on assists from DeRozan, who also hit a shot from long range. Ellis inbounded to Nowitzki with 2.9 seconds left in the third quarter, sped around Nowitzki as he got the ball back and hit a high-arching finger roll layup just before the buzzer to put the Mavericks up 81-78. The Mavericks had to fly to Phoenix after the game for their eighth back-to-back of the season and third game in four nights after they had a three-day break between a pair of home games. "It went wrong in the first half," Carlisle said. "They chewed into the lead very quickly. Its hard to build a 19-point lead in this league." Marion scored 14 points and matched Nowitzki with a team-high nine rebounds. NOTES: Mavericks G Devin Harris is now targeting a January return after a setback in his recovery from off-season toe surgery on his left foot. He has stopped basketball activities because of swelling. ... Nowitzki needs 35 points to pass Alex English for 13th on the NBAs scoring list. ' ' '