Auto Racing
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Martin Truex Jr. overcame an issue in inspection to win the pole for the playoff elimination race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Truex turned a lap of 193.423 mph Saturday to earn the top starting spot Sunday. Winner of two races in the first round of the Chase, Truex is winless in round two but above the cutoff point. Four drivers will be cut from the field on Sunday.
Prior to qualifying, NASCAR confiscated bolts from Truex’s Toyota and series officials were unsure what, if any, penalty the Furniture Row Racing team will face. Penalties are typically issued in the middle of the week, and a point deduction could in theory knock Truex out of the Chase.
NASCAR vice president of competition Scott Miller said a points penalty is unlikely.
AUSTIN, Texas – Defending Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton earned pole position on Saturday for the U.S. Grand Prix, where he’s hoping a late-season charge will help catch Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the title chase.
Hamilton has won at the Circuit of the Americas three times in four years but never started from pole position. His final lap of 1 minute, 34.999 seconds pushed Rosberg into the No. 2 spot.
Hamilton trails Rosberg by 33 points in the season championship with four races left.
College Football
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Grant Haley returned a blocked field goal 60 yards for a touchdown with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter and Penn State upset No. 2 Ohio State 24-21 Saturday night for the Nittany Lions’ biggest win in the post-Joe Paterno era.
Penn State (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) took its first lead when Marcus Allen leaped high to block Tyler Durbin’s 45-yard field goal attempt and Haley made the scoop and sprint to the end zone. The white out crowd of 107,280 at Beaver Stadium went nuts and Penn State’s defense closed out the Nittany Lions’ first victory against Ohio State since 2011 with two sacks of J.T. Barrett.
The Buckeyes (6-1, 4-1 Big Ten) had their 20-game road winning streak snapped and the Big Ten East race that looked like an inevitable march toward an Ohio State-Michigan showdown.
MLB
CLEVELAND – After weeks of being broken and bloodied, the Indians’ pitching staff may have reinforcements in the World Series.
Starter Danny Salazar, who hasn’t pitched since Sept. 9 because of tightness in his right forearm, has thrown well in recent bullpen sessions and might be able to pitch for the first time in this postseason.
The Indians are also hoping Trevor Bauer will be available after his Game 4 start in the AL Championship Series lasted less than an inning when his stitched right pinkie opened up and he had to be replaced because of excessive bleeding.
Skiing
SOELDEN, Austria – Lara Gut got the defense of her overall World Cup title off to a shining start Saturday.
The first women’s champion from Switzerland in more than two decades, Gut dominated the season-opening giant slalom on a sun-soaked Rettenbach glacier.
On an icy slope under crisp blue skies, Gut held on to her first-run lead to clinch a comfortable win as she led Mikaela Shiffrin by 1.44 seconds for her 19th career victory. The American also finished second here last year after winning the race in 2014.
Associated Press
