Byron claims victory at rain-delayed Daytona 500

William Byron launched Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season by snapping the team’s nine-year Daytona 500 losing streak with a win Monday in the rain-delayed “Great American Race.”

Byron crossed under the white flag denoting the final lap at the exact moment a crash broke out behind him. The caution flag was thrown and he wasn’t quite sure if he was the official winner as he circled Daytona International Speedway one final time.

“That was a long lap-anda-half,” Byron admitted. “My crew chief tried to speak up and he was all emotional, so I thought, ‘Man, I hope he knows because I don’t know if we won this race.’”

The last Hendrick driver to win the Daytona 500 was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. The 26-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is the sixth different driver to win the 500 for Rick Hendrick, the winningest team owner in NASCAR history who made his way to victory lane on the actual 40th anniversary of his first Cup win.

Baseball

Former Penn State baseball coach Joe Hindelang died on Friday at age 78. Hindelang was head coach of the Nittany Lions from 1991-2004 and accrued 389 wins, most all-time in program history.

• The Philadelphia Phillies have spoken to Zack Wheeler’s representation about a new contract as the pitcher heads into the final season of a $118 million, one-year contract.

Basketball

The Brooklyn Nets have fired Jacque Vaughn after ending a disappointing first half of the season with a 50point loss in Boston in their final game before the AllStar break. About a year after giving Vaughn a contract extension, the Nets changed course and said an interim coach would be named soon.

Hockey

In the PWHL, Gabbie Hughes scored twice in the second period, including a go-ahead goal, and Ottawa beat Boston, 4-2, in the first of two games in three days against each other.

Track and field

Knoch graduate Jordan Geist placed third overall in the men’s shot put at the USATF Indoor Championships with a throw of 67 feet, 3.25 inches this past weekend.

College sports

Arizona has hired former Missouri athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois to guide the athletics department through financial difficulties prior to the school’s move to the Big 12.

• The Pac-12 has promoted Teresa Gould to commissioner as the conference tries to navigate a murky future. Gould will succeed George Kliavkoff on March 1 after he was relieved of duties on Friday. She becomes the first female commissioner of an Autonomy Five conference.

Soccer

Lionel Messi made another conciliatory gesture to fans in Hong Kong and mainland China by releasing a video on social media to explain why he didn’t play in an exhibition match this month, and insisted that there were no political reasons behind his decision.

• Roy Hodgson, the oldest ever manager in the English Premier League at age 76, left Crystal Palace just days after falling ill during a training session amid widespread reports he was about to be replaced.