Larson triumphs in overtime
Kyle Larson slipped between cars on an overtime restart, capping his wild weekend with a victory in yesterday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.
Larson was in the spotlight after team owner Chip Ganassi allowed him to go to Iowa to compete in the Knoxville Nationals on Saturday. He finished second at that sprint car event before returning to Michigan and earning his third Cup victory of the season.
He has won the last three Cup races at MIS, the first driver to do that since Bill Elliott, who won four straight from 1985-86.
Furniture Row Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones finished second and third.
Larson won by 0.31 seconds. Brad Keselowski and Truex won the first two stages.
Truex was in the lead, about a second ahead of Jones, before a late caution came out because of a spin by Michael McDowell. That forced overtime.
A red flag for oil on the track only added to the drama, and when the race restarted for the final time, Larson — who hadn’t led at all to that point — drove to the right of Jones and passed to the inside of Truex.
It was Larson’s fourth career Cup victory and ended a mini-slump in which he had finished out of the top 20 in three straight races.
Keselowski, the pole winner, led for 105 laps, but finished 17th. He is now winless in 17 Cup races at his home state’s track.
Dale Earhhardt Jr., who has two wins at Michigan, finished 14th in his final race at MIS before he retires at the end of this season.
The race was originally scheduled for 200 laps and 400 miles. It ended up being 202 laps. Keselowski led almost the entire way through the 60-lap first stage, only giving up the top spot briefly during a pit cycle. Keselowski was second to Truex in the second stage.
Colleges: Gators out
The Florida football team suspended troubled receiver Antonio Callaway and six other players for the season opener against Michigan.
Defensive end Keivonnis Davis, defensive lineman Richerd Desir-Jones, linebacker James Houston, linebacker Ventrell Miller, defensive lineman Jordan Smith and offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort also won’t play Sept. 2 against the Wolverines in Arlington, Texas.
The players were suspended for misusing school-issued funds, a source told the Associated Press.
“We have a small group of players that have made some choices that are extremely disappointing,” coach Jim McElwain said in a statement. “Action has been taken: They have missed some practice and will miss the Michigan game. We will use this as a learning opportunity and we will have some players step up as we move forward.”
Basketball: Holy hoop
The NBA is heading to the holy land.
A league delegation headed by commissioner Adam Silver is in Israel this week on a mission with its “Basketball Without Borders” program.
The program has brought together top teenage players from across Europe for a chance to compete and train at the highest level. Silver says these players are seen as potential professionals.
But the program also teaches athletes how sports can be a tool for bringing people together. It will include a series of workshops for local Jewish and Arab children.
Silver says the goal is to grow interest in basketball and help develop young people around the world.
Tennis: Federer falls
Alexander Zverev kept his winning streak alive with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Roger Federer in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal.
The 20-year-old Zverev, the winner the previous week in Washington, posted a 10th straight match victory and ended the 36-year-old Federer’s winning streak at 16. The German also tied the Swiss star with a fifth tournament victory this year.
Soccer: Sent off
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off after helping Real Madrid secure a 3-1 win at Barcelona in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup yesterday.
Ronaldo scored with a beautiful strike to make it 2-1 in the 80th minute and earned a yellow card for taking off his shirt to flex his muscles at Camp Nou.
Ronaldo will miss Wednesday’s second leg in Madrid after being booked again just two minutes after scoring for diving in the area.
Baseball: Legion exit
In a continuation of Saturday night’s suspended game, Shrewsbury Post 397 lost to Omaha (Neb.) Post 1, 8-5, in the American Legion World Series in Shelby, N.C.