RAIN FORCES POSTPONEMENT AT TALLADEGA

ALA.» William Byron and TALLADEGA, his fellow playoff contenders are getting an extra day of suspense at Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR postponed the final two race stages until Monday after rain forced a halt moments after Byron won the first stage Sunday. It’s the middle race of Round 2 in NASCAR’s playoffs ahead of an elimination race at Kansas, making stakes high when they hit the track again.

Byron, who came in eighth in the standings, took the lead with three laps left in the first stage by passing Daniel Hemric. Three-time Talladega winner Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. They were followed after Stage 1 by Kyle Larson, the only driver to have already secured a spot in the round of eight.

Mercedes driver Bottas wins Japanese Grand Prix.

JAPAN» A SUZUKA, blistering start from Valtteri Bottas from third on the grid helped the Finnish driver win the typhoon-hit Japanese Grand Prix as Mercedes wrapped up a sixth-consecutive Formula One constructors championship.

Bottas surged into the lead almost immediately, passing the Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel, who started from pole, and Charles Leclerc to take the early lead at the Suzuka Circuit.

Seeking his third win of the season and first since Azerbaijan in April, Bottas managed a two-stop pit strategy to perfection to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of Vettel.

Griffin makes all the right putts to win Houston Open.

Lanto Griffin took the lead with a 35-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and won the Houston Open with a 6-foot par putt at the end that gave him a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory that sends him to the Masters and PGA Championship next year.

Griffin was locked into a battle on the back nine at the Golf Club of Houston with Mark Hubbard and Scott Harrington. None of the three had won on the PGA Tour. Hubbard lost the lead with a bogey on the par-5 16th, while Harrington’s big rally ended with a three-putt bogey on the 17th. Griffin finished at 14-under 274.

Kelly rallies to win PGA Tour Champions in Carolina.

N.C.» Jerry CARY,

Kelly knew he needed to make as many birdies as he could in a sprint to the finish in the SAS Championship. He was so locked into the process that he didn’t realize how many he made until he marked them down on his card.

Locked in a tight race, Kelly ran off five straight birdies to close out the front nine and then made an insurance birdie late that carried him to a 7-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the final regular-season event on the PGA Tour Champions.

Just 15, Gauff tops Ostapenko for 1st WTA singles title.

Coco Gauff is still just 15. She also is already the owner of a WTA singles title.

The American beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the final of the Upper Austria Ladies tournament, making Gauff the youngest winner of a singles trophy on the WTA tour since 2004.

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei sets world marathon record.

CHICAGO» Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 4 seconds to break the world record in the event.

Kosgei, 25, bested the previous mark of 2:15:25 set by Paula Radcliffe in London 16 years ago.

Kosgei’s run came little more than 24 hours after fellow Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run 26.2 miles in less than two hours, clocking 1:59:41 in Vienna.

Unlike Kipchoge’s performance, however, Kosgei’s mark was set in an official race on a record-eligible course.