HARVICK CLAIMS WIN IN MICHIGAN 400
MICH.» Kevin Harvick won BROOKLYN, the Michigan 400 NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway for the second straight year, giving him two victories this year and 47 in his career.
With just three races before the playoffs, Harvick is hopeful the timing of his strong performance helps him win a championship.
“Hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time,” he said Sunday.
Late in the race, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver pulled away from the competition in his Ford and finished more than a second ahead of Denny Hamlin.
“Nothing I could really do,” said Hamlin, who drove a Toyota-powered car for Joe Gibbs Racing. “Didn’t have enough speed.”
Kyle Larson was third, more than 16 seconds behind Harvick. He was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Daniel Suarez and points-leader Kyle Busch.
The next NASCAR Cup race is under the lights Saturday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson will have to close the regular season strong to extend his streak of earning a spot in every postseason since the format was created 15 years ago. He started the race tied for the 16th and final spot in the playoffs. Johnson had an early setback, making contact with a wall on Lap 15 that damaged his right rear quarter panel and tire, and finished 34th.
Johnson was several laps back for much of the race, but got a break potentially in the playoff race when Clint Bowyer was knocked out of the race after Paul Menard appeared to bump him. Bowyer began the day 15th in the playoff standings and finished 37th at MIS.
Newman, who started the day tied with Johnson in the playoff standings, was 12th in the 38-car field.
Pole sitter Brad Keselowski was 19th, extending his winless streak to 21 at the track about 70 miles from his hometown in suburban Detroit.
Bagley withdraws from World Cup consideration.
Sacramento forward Marvin Bagley III told USA Basketball that he is withdrawing from consideration for the roster that will be sent to China this month for the FIBA World Cup.
Bagley’s decision was revealed Sunday, two days before he was to report to El Segundo, Calif., for the second week of training camp. Bagley was not immediately replaced, and unless that changes the U.S. will have 16 players still in the mix for 12 final roster spots.
The New York Times first reported Bagley’s decision to withdraw.
Bagley was on the select team — younger NBA players brought in to compete against national-team candidates — last week in Las Vegas, and earned a promotion to the national team Friday night following USA Basketball’s intrasquad scrimmage.
Among those remaining in camp are the Nuggets’ Mason Plumlee and the Spurs’ Derrick White, a former CU star.
Nadal takes 70 minutes to romp.
MONTREAL» Rafael Nadal won his fifth Rogers Cup title, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 on in just 70 minutes at breezy IGA Stadium.
The 33-year-old Nadal won the event for the third time in Montreal. The first came in 2005 at age 19 over Andre Agassi, and the second in 2013. Nadal won in Toronto in 2008 and 2018.
Serena bows out because of injury.
Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian to win the Rogers Cup in 50 years when Serena Williams retired because of an injury.
Andreescu was up 3-1 in the first set when Williams called for a medical timeout.
Less than a minute later, the chair umpire announced that the 37-yearold Williams was retiring from the match, handing Andreescu her second WTA Premier title of the season.
The tournament’s final lasted only 16 minutes.