Johnson wins pole; more qualifying issues
Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole at Texas, where he is a seven-time winner.
With Johnson leading the way after a final-stage fast lap of 188.890 mph, Hendrick Motorsports took the top three qualifying spots Friday. William Bryon was second, and Chase Elliott third.
NASCAR made some tweaks to its qualifying procedures after all 12 drivers in the final round failed to log an official lap two weeks ago in California.
There were still some issues with qualifying in Texas, with Clint Bowyer calling the procedure an “epic fail” after he qualified 25th. He was upset after the first stage, when he said he was impeded by Ryan Newman trying to get on the track during and eventually missed the cutoff for the top 24 to get to the second stage.
Elsewhere: Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari a muchneeded boost by topping the first two practice sessions at Formula One’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
ETC.
Soccer: Argentina star Lionel Messi has admitted to being upset with constant criticism in his homeland. Many Argentinans feel Messi doesn’t have the same enthusiasm for international soccer that he does for his club Barcelona. … Cristiano Ronaldo may not be risked for Juventus’ first match of the Champions League quarterfinals against Ajax, club president Andrea Agnelli hinted. Ronaldo injured a muscle in his right thigh and limped off 30 minutes into Portugal’s 1-1 draw against Serbia on Monday in qualifying for the 2020 European Championship. …Athletic Bilbao rallied with two goals early in the second half to defeat Girona 2-1 and move closer to the European spots in the Spanish league. Striker Cristhian Stuani put Girona ahead near the end of the first half but the visitors came back with scores from Inaki Williams in the 53rd minute and Raul Garcia in the 59th. …Substitute Martin Terrier scored four minutes from time as Lyon won 1-0 at Rennes to narrow the gap to one point in the race for the runner-up spot in the French league. … In the Italian league, Cagliari took a step toward safety with a 3-0 win at last-place Chievo Verona in Serie A. Fabio Pisacane, Joao Pedro and Artur Ionita scored.
Sports betting: Casinos in Rhode Island lost nearly $900,000 on sports betting in February after winning bets for the Super Bowl and other professional sports were paid out. Many football fans went to the casinos in January and early February to bet on the victorious New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Olympics: The IOC disqualified three athletes, including a bronze medalist weightlifter from Azerbaijan, for doping at the 2012 London Olympics. Valentin Hristov was stripped of his thirdplace finish in the 56-kilogram class. … Japanese swimmer Hiromasa Fujimori has been provisionally suspended while suspected of doping. Fujimori was fourth behind winner Michael Phelps in 200 medley at Rio Games in 2016.
Colleges: Georgia Tech football player Brandon Adams was participating in a dance routine when he collapsed suddenly and died last weekend. Police said there was nothing in Adams’ autopsy to indicate foul play. … Joe Bellino, the first Navy player to win the Heisman Trophy in 1960, has died at age 81. After serving his military commitment, Bellino played three seasons with the New England Patriots, mostly as a kick returner.