Substitute driver Tommy Johnson Jr. wins NHRA playoff opener
MOHNTON, Pa. — Tommy Johnson Jr. won the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals on Sunday as a substitute driver for Matt Hagan, beating John Force in the Funny Car final in the playoff opener.
With Hagan recovering from COVID-19, Don Schumacher Racing turned their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat over to the 53-year-old Johnson last week in Indianapolis. On Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway, he beat the 72-year-old Force with a 3.926-second pass at 330.23 mph for his 22nd career Funny Car victory.
“It’s hard to sit out that long,” Johnson said. “To keep up and keep ahead of the car. You can drive them but to be able to drive them well, you have to be ahead of the car. Each run, it got more comfortable and more comfortable.
“As the day went on, I kept getting more relaxed and by the final round, it was like, `Hey there’s
nothing to it now.’ It was pretty cool. When I threw the chutes and the win light came on, I just burst out laughing because I couldn’t believe it.”
Hagan received the points Johnson’s earned.
Billy Torrence won in Top Fuel, Greg Anderson in Pro Stock and Steve Johnson in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Torrence edged Justin Ashley with a 3.720 at 326.08, Anderson tied Warren Johnson for career wins at 97, edging Erica Enders with a 6.578 at 208.30 in a Chevrolet Camaro, and Steve Johnson beat Eddie Krawiec with a 6.775 at 196.87 on a Suzuki.
Lucky cat: Falling feline gets saved at Miami football game
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The most notable catch in Saturday’s game between No. 22 Miami and Appalachian State didn’t even happen on the field.
Wasn’t even a football. It was a cat.
The animal somehow got into Hard Rock Stadium, then got caught by one of its paws off the facade of the upper deck in the first quarter. It eventually fell to the lower level of the stadium, where fans using an American flag as a makeshift net of sorts were able to safely catch it before it was carried off to safety.
“They were trying to grab it from above and they couldn’t reach it but they were scaring it downward,” said Craig Cromer, a facilities manager at the University of Miami and season-ticket holder who with his wife Kimberly brings the flag to each home game. “It hung there for a little while with its two front paws, then one paw, then I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s coming soon.’”
That’s when the Cromers unhooked the flag from the ties they use to keep it on a railing and hoped for the best. The petrified cat fell, bounced a bit off the flag and eventually was secured by some in the nearby student section before being brought away by stadium security workers.
Miami coach Manny Diaz said he learned of the cat incident postgame. The Hurricanes held on Saturday, topping Appalachian State 25-23.
“I don’t know anything about that or what was going on,” Diaz said. “But I’ll tell you, if the cat will help us in our redzone offense I’m going to see if we can give it a scholarship.”
The cat was not showing any signs of injury. The Cromers, other than a spilled beverage and getting sprayed by the dangling cat, were otherwise fine.
“Strangest thing that’s ever happened at a game,” Kimberly Cromer said.
Horschel wins at Wentworth, Westwood among Ryder Cup places
VIRGINIA WATER, England — Billy Horschel became the second American, after Arnold Palmer, to win the BMW PGA Championship following a dramatic final round that saw Lee Westwood, Bernd Wiesberger, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton secure the final automatic qualifying places in Europe’s Ryder Cup team on Sunday.
Horschel span his approach shot at the par-5 18th back to within 2 feet of the cup, guaranteeing a closing birdie for a 7-under 65 and a 19-under 269 total in the European Tour’s flagship event at its headquarters at Wentworth.
Laurie Canter, a 170thranked Englishman, had a chance to force a playoff by making birdie at the last with a putt from 15 feet. It missed right and he signed for a 67, tying him second with Kiradech Aphibarnrat (64) and Jamie Donaldson (66).
Horschel had to get over the disappointment of missing out on a captain’s pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team this week, and did so by winning his first regular event on the European Tour. That will go a long way toward clinching the season-long Race to Dubai, with Horschel having already won the equivalent on the PGA Tour — the FedEx Cup.
F1 rivals Verstappen, Hamilton crash again at Italian GP
A simmering battle in Formula One erupted in spectacular fashion on Sunday as championship leader Max Verstappen and defending champion Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix, which was won by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo.
As both Hamilton and Verstappen fought for position midway through the race, their cars came together in a move that could have seriously injured Hamilton. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff went as far as describing it as “a tactical foul” by Verstappen.
“The stewards will decide who is to blame,” Wolff said. “In football you would call it a tactical foul. He knew that if Lewis stays ahead, then that is the race win.”
The stewards did decide, judging that Verstappen “was predominantly to blame for the collision.” They gave the Red Bull driver a three-place grid drop for the start of the next race, the Russian GP on Sept. 26.
“I’m proud of the stewards,” Hamilton said after learning of their decision. “I need some time to really reflect on it but I think it definitely sets a precedent and I think it’s important for us moving forwards, for the safety of the drivers that there are strict rules set in place.”