Suarez races to historic win
Is first Mexican-born driver to top field in NASCAR national race
Daniel Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR national race, passing Kyle Busch and holding off one of the sport’s big stars at the Xfinity Series race at Michigan.
“To be able to be an example to bring more people is great,” said Suarez, who moved to the U.S. five years ago. Busch led 88 of the 125 laps in the Menards 250 race Saturday, but couldn’t stay ahead of Suarez for the final two laps.
“I didn’t know Suarez was coming like that,” Busch said. “He had some speed.”
The 24-year-old Suarez is the first non-American to lead any of NASCAR’s three national series in points. He became the first Mexican to win the Xfinity Series rookie of the year award last year.
Winning, for the first time, adds quite a feat to his list of accomplishments.
“This is monumental,” said David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development Busch, Paul Menard, Erik Jones and Elliott Sadler finished in the top five.
Steve Torrence took n his fifth Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier of the season in the NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Torrence piloted his dragster to a 3.735second pass at 325.06 mph on Friday to grab the top spot. Ron Capps topped the Funny Car field, Jason Line was the fastest in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec led in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
The IndyCar Series n race at Texas was postponed after unsuccessful attempts to dry the 11⁄2-mile track soaked by several periods of afternoon rain. IndyCar officials announced the postponement about 11:30 p.m. EDT, more than 21⁄2 hours after the race had originally been scheduled to begin. The Firestone 600 was rescheduled for Sunday.
Basketball
Russell Westbrook and James Harden chose staying home over going for gold. And as the losses pile up, the U.S. Olympic basketball team has to hope it still has enough to win when it gets to Rio. Just in case, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo isn’t ruling out adding a point guard to his dwindling roster.
Days after Stephen Curry announced he wouldn’t play, Westbrook and Harden pulled out, further weakening a backcourt that was expected to be a strength. “It puts more emphasis now on what was a real strong position for us,” Colangelo said. Westbrook and Harden played for the U.S. when it won gold in the 2012 Olympics, and both had also won a world championship
Baseball
Austin Bush hit his fourth homer of the postseason and UC Santa Barbara defeated No. 2 Louisville 4-2 to move one step closer to the College World Series. The loss was the Cardinals’ second in 38 home games this season.
Meanwhile, Arizona is headed to the CWS after sweeping its super regional at No. 6 Mississippi State. Cesar Salazar’s basesloaded single in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Wildcats a 6-5 win that sends them to the CWS in Omaha, Nebraska. The rest of the eight-team CWS field will be determined Sunday or Monday at the completion of the other best-ofthree super regionals.
Cycling
Corben Sharrah won the BMX trials in Chula Vista to lock up his place on the U.S. team for the Rio Olympics, taking all the pressure off earning the lone discretionary selection. Sharrah joins Nic Long, who had already wrapped up his spot with his bronze medal at the world championships, on the three-man team. USA Cycling officials will determine the final member by June 24, when the road cycling and mountain bike teams are also announced.
Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe’s visitation and funeral in Detroit will be open to the public. The visitation is scheduled for Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — in a nod to his No. 9 jersey — at Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings, the team Howe played for during much of his Hall of Fame career that started in 1946 and ended in 1980. Howe’s family plans to greet the public in the arena, where he will lie in repose. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.