Dixon wins for third time in Toronto
Scott Dixon won the IndyCar race at Toronto on Sunday for his third title at the event
The New Zealand native finished the 85-lap course on the streets surrounding Exhibition Place first, with Simon Pagenaud of France finishing second. Robert Wickens was third, marking the third year in a row a Canadian landed on the podium.
James Hinchcliffe of Canada was fourth after two straight years of third-place finishes.
Josef Newgarden looked poised to defend his title and win for the third time in Toronto, leading for most of the first 32 laps on a hot and humid day. The starttime temperature was listed at about 80 degrees but felt like more like 95 degrees.
But on Turn 1 of lap 33, the 27-year-old American hit the wall, allowing Dixon to take the lead and he cruised to victory from there. Dixon entered the event 33 points ahead of Newgarden in the championship standings.
Further chaos ensued at the corner as Ryan HunterReay, Graham Rahal, Will Power, Max Chilton, Ed Jones, Alexander Rossi and Sebastien Bourdais were involved in a collision.
The incident allowed Wickens and Hinchcliffe to surge into third and fourth.
Wickens moved up to second in lap 35 to trail Dixon, who led until he pitted on lap 55 but retook the lead shortly after.
This was the first race in Canada for Wickens, an IndyCar rookie, since competing in Toronto as part of the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic. He spent 12 seasons in Europe, including six with Germany’s DTM series.
Paul Tracy remains the only Canadian to win in Toronto, taking the checkered flag in 1993 and 2003.
Newgarden took his sixth pole of his career, and fourth of the year, on Saturday.
Dixon set a course record earlier in qualifying on Saturday, clocking a time of 58.5546 in segment 2. He started the race second and Simon Pagenaud was third.
Dixon also had the fastest lap time of 59.1394 seconds during the final practice earlier Sunday. He was trailed by Newgarden (59.3684) and American Ryan Hunter-Reay (59.3684).
MLS
SOUNDERS TIE MLS-LEADING ATLANTA >> Stefan Frei made a key save in the 70th minute and the 10-man Seattle Sounders held on for a 1-1 draw at MLS-leading Atlanta United.
Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez’s header hit the post and then Frei saved Chris McCann’s putback attempt from close range. Frei also had saves in the 85th and 87th minutes to keep the match tied.
Josef Martinez tied it at 1-all for Atlanta United (124-5) in the 48th minute. It was Martinez’s league-leading 19th goal of the season.
Nicolas Lodeiro converted from the spot to give Seattle (4-9-5) the lead in the 45th minute. Atlanta conceded the penalty with a hand ball in the area. TIMBERS, LAFC PLAY TO DRAW >> Jeff Attinella saved Carlos Vela’s header in the 94th minute and the Portland Timbers played to a scoreless draw against Los Angeles FC.
Attinella finished with six saves for his fifth clean sheet of the season and the Timbers (8-3-6) extended their unbeaten streak to 12 in MLS and 14 in all competitions.
LAFC (10-4-5) goalkeeper Tyler Miller had six saves for his sixth shutout of the year.
The teams will face each other again on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals.
NHL
EMERY DROWNS >> Former NHL goaltender Ray Emery has drowned in his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario. He was 35.
Hamilton Police said Emery was identified as the victim of the swimming accident Sunday morning. Staff sergeant Paul Evans said police received a call just after 6 a.m. that an adult swimmer did not surface and that the Niagara Police assisted in the recovery effort.
Hamilton Police said a cause of death would be confirmed after a post-mortem.
Nicknamed “Razor” for his aggressive style, Emery played parts of 11 seasons with the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks from 20032015. He helped the Senators reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2007 and won it as a backup with the Blackhawks in 2013.
Emery battled avascular necrosis, the same serious hip ailment that ended twosport star Bo Jackson’s career and came back to play. He and fellow Blackhawks netminder Corey Crawford combined to win the William Jennings Trophy for allowing the league’s fewest goals during the lockout-shortened 2013 season.
Basketball
BIG O’S TITLE RING FOR AUCTION >> Oscar Robertson’s 1971 NBA championship ring is among the basketball Hall of Famer’s items being auctioned.
Robertson’s Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ring and induction trophy, 11 of his NBA All-Star rings and his gameworn jerseys from the Milwaukee Bucks and University of Cincinnati are also included in the Lelands.com 2018 auction.
WNBA >> Candace Parker had a season-high 34 points and finished one assist shy of a triple double as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Las Vegas Aces 99-78. Stanford product Nneka Ogwumike added 15 points.