Busch claims playoff victory at Richmond
Kyle Busch passed Brad Keselowski with 38 laps to go and held off hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Richmond Raceway last night in Richmond, Va.
Busch won for the 50th time in his career, the sixth time on the 0.75-mile oval and for the first time here in the fall. Harvick closed a gap of more than 1.5 seconds over the final few laps, but was not able to deprive Busch of tying him with a season-best seven wins this season.
Martin Truex Jr., who swept the first two stages before a penalty forced him to play catch up, rallied for third, followed by Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola. It was the first time all season that the three drivers who have dominated all season claimed the top three spots in a race . . . .
Ryan Newman will drive full-time for Roush-Fenway Racing in the No. 6 Ford next season in NASCAR’s Cup series.
Source: Towns lands $190M extension
Karl-Anthony Towns is getting a new deal from the Minnesota Timberwolves while his teammate Jimmy Butler is still waiting to get a new address.
Towns announced last night that he is recommitting to the Timberwolves, securing his future there while Butler’s remains a mystery. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told AP that Towns will be signing a five-year super-max extension worth $190 million.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Towns publicly revealed the financial terms of the deal. Towns posted a video to social media with the wording “5 More” — a clear nod to the length of the contract.
Butler told the Timberwolves several days ago that he has no intentions to be with them for the long-term and wants a trade.
Golf: Stricker, Jobe tied in Sioux Falls
Steve Stricker and Brandt Jobe topped the Sanford International leaderboard again after another cool and breezy day in the inaugural PGA Tour Champions event in Sioux Falls, S.D. After matching Jerry Smith and David McKenzie with first-round 7-underpar 63s, Striker and Jobe each shot 67 to get to 10-under 130 at Minnehaha Country Club . . . .
Tom Lewis came within 2 shots of tying English countryman Oliver Fisher’s European Tour record on another day of low scoring at the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura, Portugal. Lewis returned a 10-under 61 in the third round, just 24 hours after Fisher carded the first 59 on the circuit. Lewis moved to 2 strokes behind leader Lucas Herbert of Australia . . . .
Sepp Straka moved into position to earn a PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Championship, shooting a 7-under 64 to take the third-round lead in Atlantic Beach, Fla.
Misc. Joshua drops Povetkin in Round 7
Anthony Joshua (22-0) retained his WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles last night with a seventhround stoppage of Alexander Povetkin in London . . . .
The New Jersey Devils have signed forward Miles Wood to a four-year, $11 million contract.