Auto Racing
Harvick wins Sprint Cup pole for Darlington Raceway
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Kevin Harvick won his first career pole at Darlington Raceway on Friday as he looks to chase his first Southern 500.
Harvick came out on top in the first knockout qualifying session at NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway since the circuit made the change from single-car laps.
Joey Logano, the winner Monday in Texas, was second, followed by Aric Almirola.
Elliott passes Elliott to win second Nationwide in a row
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Chase Elliott passed Elliott Sadler on the final lap to win his second consecutive Nationwide Series race, going from fifth to first on the final two laps Friday night.
Elliott, an 18-year-old high school senior and son of NASCAR great Bill Elliott, broke through for his first series win last week at Texas when he passed Sprint Cup veteran Kevin Harvick. At Darlington, Elliott moved past Sadler, who finished runner-up, when the veteran got loose coming off Turn 2 on a restart two laps from the end.
NASCAR owner Gene Haas granted an F1 license
DARLINGTON, S.C. – NASCAR owner Gene Haas said Friday he was granted a license from Formula One’s governing body to start a United States-based entry in the global series, perhaps as early as next season.
Haas co-owns a NASCAR team with Tony Stewart that fields drivers Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick and Stewart.
College Basketball
New Mexico center Alex Kirk declares for the NBA draft
ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico’s 7-foot center Alex Kirk decided to forgo his senior season and declare for the NBA draft.
University officials said Kirk will graduate this semester with a degree in marketing. The 22-year-old Los Alamos native averaged 13 points, eight rebounds and nearly three blocks per game this season for the Lobos.
Cycling
Contador keeps Basque lead; Swift the swiftest in Stage 5
MARKINA-XEMEIN, Spain – Alberto Contador protected his lead of the Tour of Basque Country before the decisive time trial, while Ben Swift of England won Friday’s fifth stage.
Swift edged a small group of riders at the finish line to claim the 99-mile leg featuring five categorized mountain climbs from Eibar to Markina-Xemein in just less than four hours.
Alejandro Valverde, who is second overall, also finished second in the stage, a wheel-length behind Swift. Contador, a five-time Grand Tour winner, finished in the leading group to make sure he didn’t lose any of his 12-second lead.
American cyclist Chris Horner suffers serious injuries
MILAN – Spanish Vuelta champion Chris Horner was hospitalized with four broken ribs, cuts on his head and a punctured lung after a training accident in northern Italy.
The Lampre team said details of the accident involving the 42-year-old American rider “are still to be evaluated, however, it seems that in the afternoon he was probably hit by a car.”
Lampre said Horner was transported to the Manzoni hospital in Lecco where the team’s physician Luca Pollastri met him to coordinate treatment.
Horner won the Vuelta last year at the age of 41 to become the oldest Grand Tour champion.
NHL
Toronto hires Toronto native as Maple Leafs’ president
TORONTO – Brendan Shanahan, the Hockey Hall of Famer from Toronto, will run the Toronto Maple Leafs after handing out suspensions the last three years.
Shanahan became the team president Friday, leaving his job as NHL director of player safety. He took over the disciplinarian job from Colin Campbell and will be replaced by Stephane Quintal.
Associated Press
