Harvick wins 7th NASCAR Cup race of year
Kevin Harvick regained the NASCAR Cup Series victory lead with his seventh, dominating Sunday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.
A day after Denny Hamlin opened with doubleheader weekend with his sixth win to match Harvick, the Stewart-Haas racing driver oneupped his closest rival to claim NASCAR’s regular-season title. Harvick has 56 career Cup victories to tied Kyle Busch for ninth on the career list.
Harvick swept the stages in the No. 4 Ford and won for the third time in seven races. He gave Ford its 700th Cup victory.
“Man, what a year,” Harvick said. “I love the grit about our race team.”
Harvick long ago secured his spot in NASCAR’s playoffs. With just Daytona left next week before the 16-driver field is set, Aric Almirola, Busch and brother Kurt Busch all wrapped up berth on points.
Martin Truex Jr. was second and Jimmie Johnson, Dover’s career winner with 11, was third.
Golf: Sophia Popov became the first female golfer from Germany to capture a major title when she won the Women’s British Open by two strokes at Royal Troon in Scotland. Popov, ranked 304th and seeking her first LPGA victory, went into the final round with a three-shot lead. She bounced back from bogey on the first hole by making five birdies en route to a 3-under 68. Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura (67) was second.
NFL: Reigning league MVP Lamar Jackson missed the last two practices at Ravens training camp because of a groin injury, ESPN reported. Jackson is expected to return to action Monday. .. The Ravens terminated the contract of seven-time Pro Bowl S Earl Thomas, who got involved in a fight with a teammate Friday and didn’t attend practice Saturday. Thomas was released “for personal conduct that adversely affected the Baltimore Ravens,” the team said in a statement. The action stems from Thomas’ fray with DB Chuck Clark at practice after Thomas admittedly blew a coverage assignment . ... The NFL was working to assess a series of potential false positive COVID-19 results that were traced to the same laboratory in New Jersey, raising concerns about the efficacy of the testing program. Among at least 10 teams reporting false positives, the Vikings said they had 12, the Jets 10 and the Bears nine. The league asked BioReference to investigate the results at its lab “while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests.”
NHL: The Capitals fired coach Todd Reirden after a second consecutive first-round exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs. The move came three dys after ex-coach Barry Trotz’s Islanders eliminated the Caps in five games. The Caps opted to promote Reirden from the top assistant job and let Trotz leave rather than give him a raise after winning the Cup in 2018.
Tennis: Novak Djokovic pulled out of the doubles draw at the Western & Southern Open in New York, citing neck pain. Djokovic remains the top seed in singles. His first match is scheduled for Monday. Djokovic was entered in the doubles draw with Serbian compatriot Filip Krajinovic.