Reddick closes career month with Indy win

Tyler Reddick this month already grabbed his first Cup career victory, qualified for NASCAR’S playoffs and signed a big contract with a new team. Now he’s got a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Reddick closed the best month of his career with an overtime win Sunday on the road course at Indy to give him two victories in the last five Cup races.

Reddick broke through for his first career victory on July 3 at Road America in Wisconsin, then announced nine days later he was leaving Richard Childress Racing in 2024 to drive for 23XI, the team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.

Win No. 2 seemed to be easily within reach as Reddick was comfortably out front for 15 late laps when debris from Christopher Bell’s car brought out the fourth caution of the race with only six to go.

It set up a restart with three laps left and Reddick lined up alongside road course ace Chase Elliott, who briefly got past Reddick for the lead until he was spun for another caution that sent the race into overtime.

Reddick on the next restart had to hold off defending race winner AJ Allmendinger. But Allmendinger was physically exhausted and struggling because his cooling device had not worked the entire race, and he hardly challenged Reddick at all.

So it was Ross Chastain who made Reddick claw his way to the Yard of Bricks.

Chastain missed the first turn completely and used the access road to return to the racing course ahead of Reddick and the apparent new leader. Reddick chased him for an entire lap around the 2.439-mile course and finally reclaimed the lead in time to lead the entire final lap.

• Formula One champion Max Verstappen overcame a 360-degree spin and his worst starting spot of the season (10th) to win the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. His eighth win of the season pushed Verstappen’s lead to 80 points over Charles Leclerc as F1 heads into its midseason break.

Mercedes placed both its cars on the podium for the second straight race; seventime F1 champ Lewis Hamilton carved his way from seventh to a second-place finish, teammate and pole-sitter George Russell was third.

• Tony Schumacher raced to his 86th victory and first since 2020, beating Top Fuel points leader Brittany Force in the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.

Schumacher, 52, had a 3.977-second run at 251.34 mph against Force in the final for the eight-time season champion’s fifth Seattle win and first since 2008.

Robert Hight won for the sixth time this season in Funny Car, and Troy Coughlin Jr. topped the Pro Stock field for the first time.

NFL Watson discipline decision coming today

A decision on discipline for Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson following accusations of sexual misconduct is coming today.

Two people with knowledge of the situation told The AP that retired judge Sue L. Robinson has informed the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association she’s ready to issue a ruling on Watson’s disciplinary hearing that concluded a month ago.

Watson was accused of sexual harassment and assault by 24 massage therapists in Texas and has settled 20 of the civil lawsuits filed against him. Four lawsuits remain pending and the attorney representing the women has said he hopes to take them to trial sometime next spring.

Two separate Texas grand juries declined to indict Watson on criminal complaints stemming from the allegations.

Watson, who played for four seasons with Houston before being traded to Cleveland in March, has been practicing with the Browns while Robinson has spent weeks trying to determine whether the threetime Pro Bowl quarterback violated the NFL’S personal conduct policy and whether to impose discipline.

The league argued for an indefinite suspension of at least one year during a threeday hearing in Delaware last month. The union pushed for no punishment, though a person familiar with Watson’s defense told the AP in June that a suspension is expected and the goal is to have Watson play this season.

• The San Francisco 49ers were finalizing a three-year contract extension with Allpro receiver Deebo Samuel that will clear the way for their top playmaker to return to practice. NFL Network first reported the sides had reached an agreement and said the new contract will be worth $71.55 million with $58.1 million in contract guarantees.

GOLF Finau wins for second consecutive week

Tony Finau ran away with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club to become the first PGA Tour player in three years to win consecutive regular-season events. Finau closed with a 5-under 67 for a five-shot victory and a tournamentrecord 26-under 262 total. Taylor Pendrith (72), Patrick Cantlay (66) and Cameron Young (68) tied for second.

• Henrik Stenson’s decision that cost him the European Ryder Cup captaincy paid large and immediate dividends when he won the LIV Golf Invitational at Bedminster, N.J., and picked up more than $4 million for three days’ work.

Stenson closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Matthew Wolf (64) and Dustin Johnson (68).

• Ayaka Furue of Japan ran off six straight birdies in the middle of her round and rallied from a four-shot deficit with a 10-under 62 to win the Women’s Scottish Open in Irvine for her first LPGA Tour title.

A seven-time winner on the Japan LPGA — once as an amateur — Furue became the second rookie to win on the LPGA Tour this year. Starting the final round four shots behind Celine Boutier of France, the 22-year-old finished the front nine with four straight birdies and added two more to start the back nine. She never let up, playing bogeyfree to win by three.

Boutier was still in good shape until making three bogeys on the back nine for a 69.

• American Sean Crocker held off a spirited challenge from Eddie Pepperell to claim his first European tour title with a wireto-wire victory in the Hero Open. Crocker carded a final-round 68 at Fairmont St Andrews (Scotland) to finish 22-under par and a shot ahead of Pepperell, who had a closing 65.

TENNIS Sinner wins Croatia Open over Alcaraz

Second seed Jannik Sinner, 20, beat top seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 in the Croatia Open final for his sixth career ATP title.

The 10th-ranked Italian was playing his first final of the year — and eighth overall — as he prevented the fifth-ranked Alcaraz from successfully defending his first ATP title in Umag.

Sinner dominated after Alcaraz, 19, prevailed in the first-set tiebreaker.

Sinner saved all nine break points he faced before converting his first match point to claim his first trophy on clay.

SOCCER England wins Euro title

England beat Germany 2-1 in the final of the European Championship after extra time to win its first major women’s soccer title.

Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal on a rebound in the second half of extra time after Germany failed to clear a corner.