The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Verstappen cruises to F1 win in Miami
Max Verstappen used an aggressive early pass on Formula One championship leader Charles Leclerc then controlled the inaugural Miami Grand Prix for his third victory of the season.
The reigning world champion started third May 8, but Red Bull quickly got the best of Ferrari for a second consecutive race. Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. had locked out the front row in qualifying for Ferrari, but Verstappen pounced at the start to get ahead of Sainz.
He then set his sights on Leclerc and used a strong outside pass on the ninth lap to claim the lead. Verstappen went unchallenged until a late crash between Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly brought out the safety car and setup a 10-lap sprint to the finish on the 19-turn, 3.36mile circuit (5.41 kilometers) built around Hard Rock Stadium.
Leclerc got a few looks inside but Verstappen didn’t relent and the Dutchman won by 3.7 seconds. He also won two weeks ago at Imola as Red Bull capitalized on a poor Ferrari weekend on Italian home soil with a 1-2 finish for Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
In Miami, Ferrari settled for second and third for Leclerc and Sainz.
NASCAR
LOGANO TAKES DARLINGTON RACE » Joey Logano bumped leader William Byron from behind on the last lap to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 8.
Logano, the pole-sitter, tracked Byron for about 25 laps until catching him with one to go and hitting him hard in the rear bumper. Byron slid into the wall and Logano went on to his first win of the season and first at the track “Too Tough To Tame.”
Byron, who signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, seemed as if he’d keep up his team’s dominant season over the final laps.
Instead, Logano broke a 40-race winless drought.
Tyler Reddick was second followed by Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez.
Byron fell to 13th and was not happy with Logano’s tactics.
“He’s just an idiot,” Byron said. “He does this stuff all the time, I’ve seen him do it with other guys.”
NBA
MORANT UNLIKELY FOR GAME 4 » Memphis guard Ja Morant is unlikely to play in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Golden State on Monday night after injuring his right knee on a play with Jordan Poole that the teams are debating from the Grizzlies’ 142112 loss May 7.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said May 8 he doesn’t expect Morant to be available with Memphis trailing the Warriors 2-1 in the best-ofseven series.
Golf
HOMA WINS AT WELLS FARGO » Max Homa played solid, steady golf during a week of cold, wet conditions and a back-and-forth duel with Keegan Bradley, closing with a 2-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Wells Fargo Championship.