Hamlin takes pole at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. » Denny Hamlin won the pole Friday night for the NASCAR Cup playoff race Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Hamlin turned a lap at 191.598 mph on the 1½-mile oval for his first pole of the season. He’ll share the front row with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth.
Hamlin has wins at New Hampshire and Darlington this year, but has never won at Charlotte.
Kevin Harvick was third, followed by Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is racing for the final time at Charlotte, qualified 23rd in a backup car after he crashed just moments into practice.
Earnhardt drove into the high line of the track and slipped in the grippy substance Charlotte officials had used on the surface. It caused him to hit the wall and his Hendrick Motorsports team had to pull out his backup car. SUZUKA, JAPAN » Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton clocked the fastest lap in a rain-hit second practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix, when only five drivers set a timed lap.
After a lengthy delay, the Mercedes driver was quickest in the afternoon practice with a lap of 1 minute, 48.719 seconds, .799 seconds ahead of Force India rival Esteban Ocon.
College basketball: Louisville places 2 assistants on leave
LOUISVILLE, KY. » Louisville has placed associate basketball coach Kenny Johnson and assistant Jordan Fair on paid administrative leave while the school handles its involvement in a national federal investigation of the sport.
Fair and Johnson didn’t participate in practices conducted this week by interim coach David Padgett, who was named Sept. 29 as Rick Pitino’s replacement. Pitino is on unpaid administrative leave and facing dismissal after 16 seasons.
Johnson is in his fourth season with Louisville; it’s Fair’s second season on the staff.
Tennis: Nadal advances to semis
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open by beating sixth-seeded John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (0) on Friday.
The French Open and U.S. Open champion has won five titles this season and is closing in on the yearend No. 1 ranking.
“I don’t remember a lot of mistakes,” Nadal said. “I went to the net very often. I did the things that I want to do, and I did it well, so very happy.”
On the women’s side, unseeded Carolina Garcia of France upset third-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (6) in almost 3½ hours to line up Petra Kvitova in the semifinals. TOKYO » David Goffin and Marin Cilic reached the semifinals of the Japan Open in contrasting styles.
Goffin recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the first set and won 10 of the next 11 games to beat Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-2. The top-seeded Cilic defeated Ryan Harrison 6-2, 6-0.
Goffin will face Diego Schwartzman in the semifinals on Saturday before Cilic takes on Adrian Mannarino.