Logano finally ends NASCAR loss streak

Joey Logano won at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama to end a nearly yearlong losing streak.

Logano’s last victory was April 30, 2017, at Richmond but his car failed inspection, the benefits from the victory were stripped and it cost him a shot in the playoffs.

On Sunday, he made sure that losing streak didn’t hit a full year.

“It feels so good to be back in victory lane. There’s no feeling like that,” Logano said. “It’s been a long time coming. We knew the win was right around the corner. I don’t have to worry about the whole playoffs thing anymore. We’re in!”

He had one brief challenge from Kurt Busch, who pulled out of line in traffic and tried to catch Logano but had no help from a drafting partner and could not get the lead.

It is Logano’s third career win at Talladega. Busch finished second, his career-best finish at Talladega, as Ford drivers went 1-2. ⏩ Lewis Hamilton won an incident-packed Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku to take over the Formula One championship lead from Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel led for much of the race, but was stuck in second behind Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas when a crash between the two Red Bulls brought out the safety car. On the restart, Vettel lunged for the lead but could not keep his car on the racing line at the exit of the next corner. Soon afterward, Bottas’ right rear tire picked up a puncture, ending his race and elevating Hamilton to first.

⏩ Steve Torrence won the Top Fuel final in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C., for his series-best third victory of the season. Cruz Pedregon won in Funny Car, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, and Jerry Savoie in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Tennis: Rafael Nadal continued his dominance on clay with a 6-2, 6-1 win over 19-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his 11th Barcelona Open title.

⏩ Karolina Pliskova ended CoCo Vandeweghe’s brilliant week with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win in the Stuttgart Open final in Germany.

College lacrosse: No. 2 seed Stanford rolled over top-seeded Colorado 15-6 in Boulder to win the inaugural Pac-12 women’s tournament. The Cardinal (15-4) will make their eighth NCAA tournament appearance and seventh in 10 seasons.

Softball: Jazmyn Jackson hit a grand slam to help Cal (33-13, 7-10 Pac-12) complete a three-game sweep at Stanford (22-26, 2-16) in an 8-1 rout.