NASCAR champion owner, engine maker Yates dies at 74
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Robert Yates, a pioneering NASCAR owner and engine builder who with Dale Jarrett won the 1999 Cup title, has died at 74. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in May and will be inducted next year.
Yates had liver cancer and son Doug Yates announced the death Monday night on Twitter .
“He was a leader and inspired everyone around him to do their best and to take it to a new level,” Doug Yates said in a post by Roush Yates Engines. Roush Yates also posted to its social media accounts that Yates died “surrounded by his family and loved ones.”
Robert Yates Racing won 57 races and 48 poles. Yates was a noted engine builder who helped guide Bobby Allison to the 1983 Cup title, with Daytona 500 victories for Davey Allison in 1992 and Jarrett in 1996 and 2000.
“First and foremost an engine guy, Robert will be remembered as a person who helped build the sport with dedication and hard work,” said Edsel B. Ford II, a board member of Ford Motor Co.
“Much like my great-grandfather, Henry Ford, Robert was a tinkerer. They both leave behind a legion of admirers and friends who benefited from their mentorship and their passion.”
Yates’ son took over Roush Yates Engines, which powered Kurt Busch to the Daytona 500 victory in February. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also drove Yates engines to victories at Talladega and Daytona this year.
Tennis: Nadal saves 2 match points, advances
BEIJING » Rafael Nadal needed to save two match points before advancing to the second round at the China Open.
The top-ranked Spaniard, playing for the first time since winning the U.S. Open title last month, rallied to beat Lucas Pouille 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5 Tuesday.
Pouille held two match points while leading 6-4 in the second-set tiebreaker. But Nadal reeled off four straight points to take the set and turn the match around.
“Was a very tough first round, as I say the other day,” said Nadal, who lost to Pouille in five sets at the 2016 U.S. Open. “He played well, I think. Very aggressive. He’s serving well. For me was little bit difficult at the beginning. Then I started to play better, I think.
“But still, I didn’t have the control of the match for almost all the time.”
Third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, sixthseeded John Isner, eighth-seeded Nick Kyrgios and Leonardo Mayer also advanced.
In the women’s Sharapova rallied to 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. TOKYO » After returning to the ATP Tour in style by beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 at the Japan Open on Tuesday, Milos Raonic called for a review of the tennis circuit.
It was Raonic’s first match following a seven-week absence after left-wrist surgery. The big-serving Canadian has withdrawn from five events this year, and conceded walkovers at two others.
“It’s been very frustrating,” said Raonic, who started the year at No. 3 and has slipped to No. 12 in the rankings. “I’ve had more than a dozen different injuries and reasons that have kept me away from tournaments. That hasn’t been fun because I haven’t been able to focus on tennis, I’ve been focusing on ‘Can I play today or can’t I?’ rather than, ‘What do I need to do with my tennis game?”’ tournament, Maria defeat Ekaterina Makarova
Soccer: Orlando City players kicked out of Disney
ORLANDO, FLA. » Three Orlando City soccer players were kicked out of Disney World after officials say they became verbally aggressive with park security and other guests.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Office report says Orlando City Lions players Donald Toia and Giles Barnes, along with U.S. women’s national team standout and Orlando City Pride star Alex Morgan, were all escorted out of Disney World’s Epcot park on Sunday. Toia’s wife was also ejected.
The report says the group began arguing with other guests and workers after Barnes cut in line at the United Kingdom pavilion’s pub.