Bell earns shot at another national title
Crashes in consecutive weeks had backed Christopher Bell into a corner that jeopardized his rookie season in the Xfinity Series.
But Saturday at ISM Raceway outside of Phoenix, the young driver delivered when everything was on the line. Bell won — the only result that would have advanced him into the championship round — and will now race for a second NASCAR national championship.
Bell won the Truck Series title last year, moved to the Xfinity Series this season in a Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing, and his victory Saturday was a series-high seventh of the season. Had he not won, though, his season would have been wiped out. The championship four are Bell, Cole Custer, Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick.
GOLF Kuchar increases lead at Mayakoba
For the second straight day at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, Matt Kuchar had enough birdies to atone for one rough hole. They carried him to a six-under 65 to set the 54-hole tournament record and build a four-shot lead as he tries to end more than four years without a PGA Tour victory.
Kuchar was at 20-under 193, breaking by three shots his personal best on the tour.
“I felt really, really good for three days,” Kuchar said. “I mean, 20 under is my best 54-hole total. I felt in control of my ball striking. I felt in control of driving, the iron play, the putting.” Whee Kim is in second, one shot ahead of Richy Werenski and Danny Lee.
Scott McCarron moved into position to win the PGA Tour Champions’ season points race, birdieing the final two holes for a one-stroke lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix . ... Sergio Garcia leads by two strokes going into the final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa and is on course for a wire-to-wire win at the penultimate event of the European Tour season . ... Gaby Lopez won her first LPGA Tour event with a one-over 73 to finish one shot ahead of Ariya Jutanugarn in the Blue Bay tournament in China.
ETC. U.S. on the brink of losing Fed Cup final
Barbora Strycova and Katerina Siniakova won their singles for the Czech Republic to take a commanding 2-0 over the defending champion United States in the Fed Cup final.
Strycova rallied from a set down to defeat Sofia Kenin 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-4. Siniakova stretched the advantage by dispatching Alison Riske 6-3, 7-6 (2) to the delight of fans at Prague’s O2 Arena.
The Czechs are one win away from their sixth title in eight years.
“It couldn’t be better,” Siniakova said. “But it’s not finished yet and we need to be ready for [Sunday]. We need to stay focused and I believe that we will win.”
The Dallas Stars have acquired defenseman Taylor Fedun from the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres received a conditional seventhround pick in the 2020 draft from Dallas in the deal. The pick is conditional on Fedun playing in at least 25 games in the regular season and playoffs for Dallas.
Yuki Yanagita homered and drove in four runs to lead Japan to a 12-6 win over the MLB All-Stars and a 2-0 lead in the six-game exhibition series. Yanagita singled in a run in the first inning and hit a two-run homer in the third.
USC’s top-ranked water polo team defeated No. 2 UCLA 12-11 in the final game of the regular season. Marin Dasic completed a hat trick by scoring the go-ahead goal with 19 seconds left.
Donald Cerrone passed Georges St-Pierre and Michael Bisping for most wins in UFC history (21), submitting Mike Perry in the first round at UFC Fight Night in Denver. In the main event, featherweight Yair Rodriguez knocked out Chan Sung Yung with an elbow with one second left.