Los Gatos' Allmendinger gets superspeedway win
Los Gatos' AJ Allmendinger finally won his first race on a superspeedway with a last-lap pass that allowed him to beat Sam Mayer to the Talladega Superspeedway finish line by less than three feet.
Allmendinger's fourth Xfinity Series win of the season locked him into the next round of the playoffs and afforded him the luxury to not hold back in next week's elimination race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Allmendinger is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career.
But he'd never been as fortunate on superspeedways until Saturday, when he denied Mayer his first career Xfinity Series victory by 0.015 seconds. Allmendinger, 40, three previous times was the leader at a superspeedway at the white flag but could never close out the win.
He openly complains about the style of racing at superspeedways, and his feelings had not changed after Allmendinger drove from third to first on the final lap.
“Still hate it. Still hate it. Gosh, we've been so close to winning one and I feel like I keep giving them away,” Allmendinger said. “I just wanted to win a superspeedway, finally got it.”
Basketball
U.S. WOMEN WIN WORLD CUP >> A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart helped the U.S. women's basketball team to a fourth consecutive World Cup championship with an 83-61 win over China in Sydney, setting a record margin for a gold-medal game.
This team left its mark on the World Cup as one of the most dominant teams in the Americans' storied history, winning four straight gold medals and 30 games in a row in the tournament. Next up for this group is the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The Americans will be trying for an eighth consecutive gold medal there.
The U.S. (8-0) finished the World Cup averaging 98.8 points — just short of the mark held by the 1994 team that averaged 99.1. They won by an average of 40.8 points, topping the amount by the 2010 team. The game was a sellout with nearly 16,000 fans — the biggest crowd to attend a women's World Cup game since the inaugural tournament in 1953 in Chile.
Golf
HUBBARD CLOSES IN ON FIRST PGA WIN >> Mark Hubbard ran off five straight birdies on the back nine and ended with a superb shot to 4 feet, giving him a 7-under 65 and a one-shot lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship as he goes for his first PGA Tour victory.
Hubbard has gone 163 starts over six years without winning, and this would be as good a chance as any. It's his first time to hold a 54-hole lead on tour. Hubbard was at 15-under 201, one shot ahead of Mackenzie Hughes.
Scott Stallings is three shots behind along with Honda Classic winner Sepp Straka (69) and Garrick Higgo (68).
HULL, LIN TIED HEADING INTO FINAL ROUND >> Charley Hull began the back nine with a double bogey and then settled down to salvage an even-par 71 to share the lead with Xiyu “Janet” Lin going into the final round of The Ascendant LPGA.
Lin had missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have given her the lead, settling for a 69 to join Hull at 11-under 202 at Old American Golf Club.
Lydia Ko bounced back from a double bogey on the par-3 11th hole by making four birdies over the next six holes and posted a 67.