Auto Racing
Harvick nips Edwards in wild finish for Phoenix win
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards twice bumped on the final lap before Harvick inched over the finish line first in an overtime finish Sunday for his record eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Phoenix International Raceway.
Harvick had the lead on the restart finish before a charging Edwards made it a side-by-side duel. After the cars banged a second time, Harvick nosed to the line 0.010 seconds ahead to continue his dominance at the mile oval.
Montoya wins IndyCar season-opener
ST. PETERSBURG – Juan Pablo Montoya has won the IndyCar season-opening race for the second consecutive year to continue the Team Penske dominance on the streets of St. Petersburg.
The win Sunday by Montoya was the eighth in 12 tries for Penske drivers. Simon Pagenaud finished second to make it a 1-2 Penske finish, but Ryan Hunter-Reay spoiled the sweep by passing Helio Castroneves with three laps remaining.
Golf
Schwartzel rallies and beats Haas in a playoff
PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Charl Schwartzel closed with a 4-under 67 for the best score of the final round Sunday, and then beat Bill Haas on the first extra hole of a playoff in the Valspar Championship.
Schwartzel holed a 65-foot birdie putt on the 13th and a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to reach 7-under 277.
Haas had a two-shot lead with three holes to play until he made bogey from the bunker on the 16th hole and narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th. He closed with a 72.
MLB
Kershaw shuts down Rockies for Dodgers win
SCOTTSDALE – Clayton Kershaw threw five scoreless innings, Scott Van Slyke hit his third home run of the spring and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 6-4 on Sunday.
Kershaw gave up two hits, both in the first inning, striking out three and walking one. The Dodgers ace left-hander, winner of the NL Cy Young award three of the last five seasons, has allowed one run in 10 innings this spring.
Skiing
Jansrud wins super-G, Kilde tops standings
KVITFJELL, Norway – Kjetil Jansrud won a men’s World Cup super-G on Sunday, while fellow Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde took the lead in the discipline standings.
With only the season-ending race on Thursday remaining, Kilde has 335 points, followed by Norwegian teammate Aksel Lund Svindal on 310, Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria on 298, and Jansrud on 295. Svindal ended his season after knee surgery in January and is not a contender for the title.
Gut extends lead in World Cup standings, looks to win
LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland – Lara Gut is surely now the overall World Cup champion after placing third in a combined event on Sunday, won by her Switzerland teammate Wendy Holdener.
Gut skied down a foggy super-G course to earn 60 World Cup points and build a lead of 355 over Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany, who did not race Sunday.
There are four races left in finals week at St. Moritz – offering 400 points for four wins – but Rebensburg never raced in World Cup slalom and does not plan to start next weekend.
Gut became favorite for the giant crystal globe trophy when American Lindsey Vonn’s season was ended by a knee injury last month.
Associated Press
