Harvick wins as leaders brush wall at Darlington
Another race, another win for Kevin Harvick. Again at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and this time to open the playoffs and his march toward the NASCAR championship.
Only difference? Harvick didn’t dominate the Southern 500 in his seriesbest eighth victory of the season. The regularseason champion and top seed in the playoffs inherited the lead Sunday night when Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott bumped, then brushed the wall as they raced for the victory.
Elliott dropped off the pace and Harvick passed him for second. Truex, who led a racehigh 196 laps, had to pit for repairs on his damaged car and Harvick was suddenly out front.
“The leaders got tangled up there and the next thing you know, we were racing for the win,” Harvick said.
AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly claimed an unlikely first Formula One victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza after a chaotic race in which world champion Lewis
Hamilton got a 10second stopgo penalty and both Ferraris failed to finish at their home circuit.
ELSEWHERE Johnson one round from FedEx title
Dustin Johnson started in the lead, matched the low round at the Tour Championship in Atlanta with a 6underpar 64 and is a round from winning the FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize.
Johnson missed only three fairways and putted for birdie on all but three holes. It led to a fiveshot lead over Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele going into the Labor Day finish at East Lake.
John Catlin of Sacramento became the first American since
Tiger Woods to win at Valderrama, in conditions so tough that he had no birdies in his 4over 75 and pulled out a oneshot victory over Martin Kaymer in the Andalucia Masters in Spain. NHL: John Klingberg scored on the Stars’ first shot, Anton Khudobin stopped all 25 the Golden Knights put on net and Dallas beat Vegas 10 in a hardhitting, defensive Game 1 of the Western Conference finals in Edmonton, Alberta. Cycling: Primoz Roglic seized the race leader’s yellow jersey as debutant Marc Hirschi of Switzerland delivered an impressive 56mile solo effort across four Pyrenean climbs during the frenetic Stage 9 of the Tour de France. Hirschi launched a sprint to the finish but was not fast enough as Tadej Pogacar prevailed to win the stage ahead of Roglic. Hirschi finished third in the town of Laruns.
WNBA: In Bradenton, Fla., Arike Ogunbowale scored a careerhigh 39 points, including a tying 3pointer with 0.7 of a second left in regulation, and the Dallas Wings beat the Washington Mystics 10194 in overtime . ... Candace Parker scored 24 points with 15 rebounds and Chelsea Gray added 20 with seven assists to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Chicago Sky 8680 . ... Natasha Howard scored 19 points and Breanna Stewart added 18 to help the Seattle Storm beat the Minnesota Lynx 10388.
College football: Cal cornerback Camryn Bynum said he’ll forgo his redshirt senior season and enter the 2021 NFLdraft.