Auto Racing
Edwards leads the pack for 2nd race of Chase
LOUDON, N.H. – Carl Edwards continued Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance with a lap of 137.980 mph to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup pole Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Kevin Harvick was second, the boost he needed after finishing 42nd last week in the Chase opener at Chicagoland. Kurt Busch, Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing’s teammate, was third.
Chase for the Sprint Cup championship drivers took 10 of the top 11 spots for the race Sunday. Brad Keselowski was fourth and Jimmie Johnson fifth.
Cycling
Dygert, White proving to be juniors dream team for U.S.
RICHMODN, Va. – Chloe Dygert and Emma White of the U.S. finished first and second in the junior road race at the world championships Friday, following their 1-2 performance in the time trial this week.
Dygert rode solo off the front of the lead group on the final circuit of the course through Richmond. She built such a lead that nobody was in sight when she crossed the finish line. It was her second gold medal after her dominant time trial performance Monday.
White finished 1 minute, 23 seconds behind for her second silver medal this week. She held off Poland’s Agnieszka Skalniak on the long finishing straightaway on Broad Street.
Qatar confident heat no factor at next year’s worlds
RICHMOND, Va. – Officials from Qatar and cycling’s governing body are confident the desert nation will stage a memorable world championships in its first trip to the Middle East next year.
John Lelangue is handling operations for Doha 2016. He said this week he does not expect heat to play a factor in October. The average temperature in Qatar that time of year is about 95 degrees – similar to a hot day during the Tour de France.
Heat concerns in Qatar are a big reason why the 2022 World Cup will be played in November and December, and why stadiums under construction feature air conditioning.
Lelangue also said no thought was given to building artificial mountains to make the course more challenging, and the unpredictable desert winds would provide enough drama.
Golf
Stenson stretches lead; Spieth still in pursuit
ATLANTA – Henrik Stenson overcame a few early mistakes in a Friday drizzle and shot 2-under 68 for a three-shot lead over Jordan Spieth going into the weekend of the Tour Championship.
It was the sixth consecutive round under par at East Lake for Stenson. He has never left this course without seeing his name atop the leaderboard.
Spieth, the Masters and U.S. Open champion, made two crucial par saves on the front nine and closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for a 66. It was the best score of the round on a tough day. The average score was 71.6.
Stenson was at 9-under 131.
Stenson and Spieth only have to win to claim the FedEx Cup and a $10 million bonus. Jason Day shot 71 and is nine back.
Three players on top the European Open leaderboard
BAD GRIESBACH, Germany – Graeme Storm of England holed out for eagle on the back nine for a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the European Open.
Storm also had three birdies and a bogey for a round of 67, joining compatriot Ross Fisher and South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel at 10-under-par after the second day.
Fisher had seven birdies and a bogey for a 65, while Schwartzel had five birdies in a 66.
Associated Press
