Auto Racing
Elliott celebrates his Nationwide crown
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Chase Elliott finally got to celebrate his Nationwide Series championship after he finished 17th in the season finale Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Elliott became the youngest champion in NASCAR history last week when he wrapped up the title at Phoenix International Raceway. All that was missing was the trophy presentation in Victory Lane that he got at Homestead.
The 18-year-old rookie is the youngest driver to win a title in any of NASCAR’s three national series. He broke the mark set by Brian Vickers, who was 20 when he won the Nationwide title in 2003.
Matt Kenseth got the jump on the final restart in overtime to earn his first win of the season in any NASCAR series.
MLB
Japan no-hits MLB; Cano breaks a toe
TOKYO – Takahiro Norimoto combined with three relievers on a no-hitter, and Japan beat the Major League Baseball All-Stars 4-0 on Saturday in a game in which Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano broke his toe.
Norimoto, who went 14-10 with a 3.02 earned-run average this season for the Rakuten Eagles, struck out six over five perfect innings.
Cano was hit by a pitch on the right foot in the seventh inning. The Mariners confirmed later Saturday that X-rays revealed a fracture in his small toe, and he is expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
Sho Nakata and Hayato Sakamoto each hit a two-run homer, as Japan took a 3-0 lead in the five-game series.
Yuki Nishi took over from Norimoto and struck out four with one walk over two innings. Kazuhisa Makita struck out two in the eighth, and Yuji Nishino retired the side in the ninth.
Sakamoto connected off MLB starter Jeremy Guthrie in the second inning, and Nakata made it 4-0 in the third with a blast off Guthrie over the left-field wall.
Guthrie took the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in five innings.
The MLB All-Stars won an exhibition game 8-7 before the start of the series but have scored just four runs over the first three games.
Chris Capuano will pitch Game 4, while Shintaro Fujinami will take the mound for Japan.
Skiing
Maze wins a slalom; Shiffrin skis 11th
LEVI, Finland – Tina Maze of Slovenia won the women’s World Cup slalom opener Saturday with an overall time of 1 minute, 55.15 seconds, while defending Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin came in 11th and said she had “lessons to learn.”
Maze, who was fastest in the first run, beat Swede Frida Hansdotter by 0.34 after a second run in light snow as the Arctic sky darkened.
Austria’s Kathrin Zettel had the day’s fastest time of 56.70 to finish third, ahead of Sweden’s Maria Pietilae-Holmner.
Shiffrin, 14th after the first run, improved slightly in the second to finish 11th overall. The American had times of 59.83 and 57.39 for a 1:57.22 total, more than two seconds behind Maze.
Shiffrin, 19, leads the World Cup overall standings with 124 points, ahead of Zettel with 110. Maze is third with 109.
Associated Press
