Kurt Busch wins Cup pole
Kurt Busch won his second NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season Friday in qualifying for Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Kyle Busch and Harvick are 1-2 in the points standings and have won nine of the 14 races in the series this year.
It was the 24th pole of Kurt Busch’s career. He posted a lap of 203.361 mph in his No. 41 Ford. He also started first in Texas in April and finished seventh in the race. He hasn’t won this season but has seven top-10 finishes.
Kyle Larson, who has won the last three Cup races at Michigan, was 26th in qualifying.
Paul Menard of Eau Claire, Wis., qualified 15th and Matt Kenseth of Cambridge will start 19th.
TRACK AND FIELD
Wisconsin sophomore Ollie Hoare won the 1,500-meter run on a rainy Friday night at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore.
The native of Sydney, Australia, used a late surge to get ahead of the pack. He won with a time of 3 minutes, 44.77 seconds. Virginia Tech’s Vincent
Ciattei was second in 3:45.02.
In the women’s meet, UW’s Georgia Ellenwood was second after the first day of the heptathlon. The senior from Langley, British Columbia, won the high jump en route to 3,668 points. Georgia’s Louisa
Grauvogel held the lead with 3,752.
AUTO RACING
Josef Newgarden, the reigning IndyCar Series champion, captured the pole for Saturday night’s DXC Technology 600 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Newgarden had a two-lap average speed of 220.613 mph in his Team Penske Chevrolet.
Simon Pagenaud qualified second in another Team Penske Chevrolet at 220.311 mph.
NHRA: Courtney Force led Funny Car qualifying in the inaugural Virginia Nationals in Dinwiddie.
Force had a 3.983-second pass at 323.35 mph during her second qualifying run of the day in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series’ first visit to the track since 2009. The points leader is chasing her sixth No. 1 qualifier of the year and fourth in the past five events.
NFL
Houston Texans safety Andre Hal was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the blood cells.
The team said he received the preliminary diagnosis from team physician James Muntz and has consulted with doctors at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Texans add that Hal is “undergo testing and evaluation and is discussing his treatment options.”
Hal is 26 and starting his fifth year with the Texans. In a statement released by the team, Hal said he won’t let the diagnosis stop him from fulfilling his dreams and doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him. He insists he knows how to beat the illness and “will beat it.”
SOCCER
Italy qualified for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in two decades following a 3-0 win over Portugal.
The Azzurre have won all seven of their qualifiers in Group 6, securing a spot at next year’s tournament in France with one match to spare.
The women’s team previously played in the 1991 and 1999 World Cups.