Auto Racing
Kasey slingshots to victory at Daytona in Nationwide race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kasey Kahne nipped Regan Smith at the Daytona International Speedway finish line Friday night for his first Nationwide Series victory since 2007.
Kahne weaved his way through traffic during a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish, but he didn’t appear to be in the mix for a shot at the win as Smith pulled away from the pack. But as the field hurtled through the final turn, Kyle Larson jumped out of line and made it three-wide behind Smith. Kahne moved into the top lane, and using a push from Ryan Sieg, he charged alongside Smith and beat him to the line.
Smith, who won the season-opener at the track in February, wound up second. Sieg was a career-best third.
Montoya, circa NASCAR ’12, wins Pocono pole position
LONG POND, Pa. – Juan Pablo Montoya had a two-lap average of 223.871 mph Saturday at Pocono Raceway for his first carer IndyCar pole.
Driving for Team Penske in his open-wheel return after seven years in NASCAR, the Colombian knocked off Penske teammate Will Power on the final qualifying run Saturday.
Carlos Muñoz will join Montoya and Power on the front row.
Montoya won a Pocono pole in NASCAR in August 2012.
Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato are on the second row.
Rosberg gets the jump on Hamilton in England
SILVERSTONE, England – Formula One championship leader Nico Rosberg claimed pole position for the British Grand Prix on Saturday, capitalizing on a critical error of judgment by his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of a shock-filled and rain-hit qualifying session.
Defending four-time champion Sebastian Vettel qualified second for Red Bull, and McLaren’s Jenson Button was a season-best third to give home fans something to cheer.
Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg qualified fourth ahead of McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen.
It was Rosberg’s first pole at Silverstone, his fourth this year, drawing him level with Hamilton, and the eighth of his career, giving him a great chance to beef up his 29-point lead in the drivers’ championship ahead of his teammate.
MLB
Athletics trade for Hammel, Samardzija from Chicago
OAKLAND, Calif. – The beginning of July’s first blockbuster trade occurred about a month ago, when Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane called Chicago Cubs executive Theo Epstein to ask about Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija.
Chicago and Oakland announced the big trade Saturday, with Hammel and Samardzija heading to the West Coast for a package of prospects that included the A’s first-round selections in each of the last two drafts.
Minor leaguers Billy McKinney, Addison Russell and Dan Straily went to Chicago, which also will get a player to be named in its latest July sell-off.
The key piece for Chicago in the deal with Oakland was Russell, a 20-year-old shortstop headed for Double-A Tennessee.
Angels and Diamondbacks play let’s make a deal
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Los Angeles Angels bolstered their bullpen and its defense by acquiring left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher and outfielder Tony Campana for outfielder Zach Borenstein and minor league right-hander Joey Krehbiel.
The sidearm-throwing Thatcher was 1-0 with a 2.63 earned-run average with 25 strikeouts and three walks in 37 games for Arizona this season. Thatcher is 9-12 with a 3.26 ERA during his eight-year career that started at San Diego from 2007 to 2013.
The 23-year-old Borenstein was the Angels’ minor league player of the year last season and hit .262 with seven homers and 50 runs batted in in 78 games between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Salt Lake this year.
Campana hit .198 in parts of two seasons with Arizona.
Associated Press
