Gamble on fuel leads to Newman victory
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Newman gambled and skipped a tire-changing pit stop to move from seventh place to the lead and held on for the final two laps for a surprise victory in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series race.
Newman, 39, who broke a 127-race winless streak, held off Kyle Larson, the second-place finisher for the third consecutive race.
Kyle Busch, the leader for nearly all of the final stage of the race, was third on a day when the temperature soared to 97 degrees at Phoenix International Raceway.
Like nearly all the rest of the field, Larson and Busch went to the pits on the late caution caused when Joey Logano’s car blew a right tire and slammed into the wall six laps from the finish.
Newman, in his first win since the 2013 Brickyard 400, gave Chevrolet its first victory of the season and ended a 112-race losing streak for Richard Childress Racing.
“Just a heck of a gutsy call by Luke Lambert,” Newman said of his crew chief.
Logano won the first stage and Chase Elliott the second in NASCAR’s new three-stage racing system.
In other motor sports news:
• Sixteen-time NHRA champion John Force won the Gatornationals for the first time since 2001. Force (3.928 seconds, 328.14 mph) beat 27-year-old rookie Jonnie Lindberg (3.971, 314.83) in the Funny Car final. His 148th career victory came a decade to the day after one of his drivers — Eric Medlen — crashed during practice at Gainesville Raceway. Medlen died four days later.
Federer prevails at Indian Wells
Roger Federer defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 to win a record-tying fifth BNP Paribas Open title in the all-Swiss final at Indian Wells, Calif.
At 35 years, 7 months, Federer became the oldest champion in the desert tournament’s history, surpassing Jimmy Connors, who was 31 years, 5 months when he won in 1981.
In an all-Russian women’s final, Elena Vesnina beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4.
Leishman’s eagle pays off with win
Marc Leishman of Australia holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole to take the lead, and he stayed there with two tough pars to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, Fla., and earn a trip to the Masters along with a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
Leishman’s pitch from 45 yards short of the 18th green rolled to within three feet, and he made the par putt for a 3-under-par 69 and a one-stroke victory over Kevin Kisner and Charley Hoffman. Leishman finished at 11-under 277. In other news: • Anna Nordqvist shot a 4-under 68 on to hold off Ariya Jutanugarn, Stacy Lewis and In Gee Chun by two strokes in the Bank of Hope Founders Cup at Desert Ridge in Phoenix. Nordqvist finished at 25-under 263.
• Tom Lehman took advantage of senior newcomer Steve Stricker’s late mistakes to win the Tucson Conquistadores Classic for his 10th PGA Tour Champions victory. Two strokes behind Stricker with three holes to play, Lehman closed with two birdies and a par for a 7-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over playing partner Stricker, who followed his secondround 63 with a 70.
Ex-49er Clark says he has ALS
Dwight Clark said that he has Lou Gehrig’s disease and suspects playing football might have caused the illness.
Clark, 60, announced on Twitter that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that attacks cells that control muscles. The former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver linked to a post on his personal blog detailing his ALS diagnosis.
“I’ve been asked if playing football caused this,” Clark said in the post. “I don’t know for sure. But I certainly suspect it did.”
Clark won two Super Bowls with the 49ers during a nine-year career that ended in 1987.
Elbow surgery for Anderson
Cleveland righthander Cody Anderson will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery and miss the 2017 season. The Indians said Anderson decided to have the operation after being diagnosed with a ligament sprain. In other news: • Miami third baseman Martin Prado is expected to miss the start of the regular season after straining his right hamstring at the World Baseball Classic. Playing for Team Venezuela, Prado injured his hamstring running out a ground ball in Wednesday’s loss to Team USA.
U.S. advances to WBC semis
Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead homer, and the United States eliminated defending World Baseball Classic champion the Dominican Republic 6-3 on Saturday night to earn a spot in the semifinal, where it will face Japan on Tuesday night.
Stanton’s two-run shot into the third-floor balcony in the left-field corner at Petco Park in San Diego gave the Americans a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning.
Three innings later, Adam Jones made a spectacular, leaping catch over the fence in the deepest part of the park in rightcenter to rob Baltimore teammate Manny Machado of a home run.
Italian women sweep GS final
Federica Brignone led an Italian sweep in the giant slalom at the World Cup Finals at Aspen, Colo., as Tessa Worley of France held on for her first crystal globe.
Brignone glided through the course in a combined time of 1 minute, 58.01 seconds to beat teammate Sofia Goggia by 1.44 seconds. Teammate Marta Bassino took third.
Worley entered the race with an 80-point lead over Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States in the seasonlong GS standings.
In the men’s slalom, Andre Myhrer of Sweden won when first-run leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria uncharacteristically lost speed near the finish. Myhrer navigated the course in a combined time of 1 minute, 27.97 seconds, holding off Felix Neureuther of Germany by 0.14 seconds. Austria’s Michael Matt was third and Hirscher fourth.