The roar of big engines and the smell of burining rubber will permeate the air Saturday when stock car racing returns to the Wilson/Johnston County area as Southern National Motorsports Park opens its 2012 season with the NASCAR Whelen All America Series.
Southern National, which has been absent from the short-track racing scene since December 2008, marks the return with a six-race program, featuring twin 75-lap races in Late Model Stock Class on the high-banked, 0.4-mile asphalt oval.

Super Tuesday in the presidential election is behind us, but today brings another kind of super Tuesday in the world of high school sports. Conference play in baseball and softball for the Northern Carolina 2A, Eastern Carolina 3A and Greater Neuse River 4A all begin today and there are solid match ups all around.
In the GNRC, the highlight game on the baseball side is a meeting of undefeated squads as Smithfield-Selma hosts West Johnston at 7 p.m.

The Carolina Mudcats Baseball Club will be hosting their annual National Anthem tryouts on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Five County Stadium. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. on the third base side of the stadium and will be first come first serve.  Tryouts will end at noon. All singers, including solo and groups, wanting to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" must tryout on this date, including those who have sang in years past. All auditions must be sung a cappella. All performers will sing the National Anthem on the field as if it were a real game. Info: (919) 269-2287.

Scotty McCreery lived out his dream Saturday afternoon: one of the dreams he had before he became an “American Idol.”

McCreery played in his first varsity baseball game for the Garner Trojans, pitching the seventh inning of the Trojans’ 8-7 loss to Fuquay-Varina, one of the area’s best teams.

Northern Carolina 2A all-conference selections for winter sports

Denzel Ingram of Chapel Hill and Kristen Gaffney of Green Hope have been named the North Carolina high school boys and girls players of the year by ncpreps.com.

The annual Johnston County Easter Invitational baseball tournament is back to its traditional eight-team format after plans were announced to go with just seven teams last week. Corinth Holders has joined the tournament field. The event runs March 31 - April 3 at South Johnston High School's Bruce Coats Field.

The field includes Johnston County schools Smithfield-Selma, Clayton, Cleveland, West Johnston, Corinth Holders and South Johnston along with Middle Creek and Rocky Mount.

The tournament schedule:

The rosters have been announced for the 2012 Dave Telep's Carolina Challenge basketball event.

Broughton ties Gastonia Forestview for team title in Keith Hills High School Kickoff golf tournament.

Mother Nature claimed the first victory of the 2012 racing season at Southern National Motorsports Park Sunday afternoon, washing out the inaugural racing program of the year at the high-banked, four-tenths-mile oval.