Auto Racing
Vickers wins strange pole in Talladega qualifying
TALLADEGA, Ala. – NASCAR’s new qualifying format put Brian Vickers on the pole at Talladega Superspeedway but left many drivers angry and confused, as two full-time teams failed to make Sunday’s race.
Drivers admitted when they arrived at Talladega they didn’t understand the format, and it showed because there were no clear strategies throughout the field.
Justin Allgaier and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. did not qualify.
Vickers earned the top starting spot, followed by defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who likely needs to win Sunday to advance to the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
The bottom of the field consisted of championship contenders Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano. Tony Stewart qualified last in the 43-car field.
But championship contenders and off-track enemies Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski will start at the back of the field after penalties, because Kenseth had an engine change, and Keselowski changed an alternator.
After 26 years, 889 starts, Labonte, 57, calls it quits
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Terry Labonte will compete in his final NASCAR race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
The two-time Cup champion ran 26 full seasons at NASCAR’s top level, and a partial schedule the last decade. Labonte first announced his retirement in 2006 at his home track, Texas Motor Speedway, but he’s raced 41 times since.
Labonte, who will turn 58 next month, had four scheduled races this season with Go FAS Racing and good friend and crew chief/owner Frank Stoddard. All four were at Daytona and Talladega, and he finished a season-best 11th at Daytona in July.
The final start for “Texas Terry” will be the 890th of his career, which is tied for third in NASCAR. It will be his 61st start at Talladega, which is tied for the most.
Labonte won his Cup titles in 1984 and 1996 and has 22 career victories.
Soccer
Morgan’s ankle sprain is a 4- to 6-week injury
Alex Morgan will be sidelined for four-to-six weeks because of a left ankle sprain and will miss the remainder of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
Morgan reinjured her left ankle in a group-stage victory over Guatemala on Friday night, just four months after returning to action after a long layoff.
A magnetic resonance imaging exam Saturday confirmed the sprain. There was no additional injury, the U.S. Soccer Federation said.
Morgan, who has 49 goals in 77 international appearances, first hurt the ankle during training late last October and missed nine games with her club team, the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League.
The U.S. leads its group at the CONCACAF championship with 2-0 record and will play Haiti on Monday at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The top three finishers in the tournament will earn a spot in next year’s World Cup.
Tennis
No. 60 Beck, 20, wins her first WTA Tour title
LUXEMBOURG – Annika Beck of Germany won her first career title Saturday after beating fourth-seeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1 in the Luxembourg Open final.
The 20-year-Beck, who is ranked 60th and was playing in her second final after finishing runner-up here last year, did not drop a set throughout the tournament.
Playing in her fifth final, the 31st-ranked Zahlavova Strycova was seeking her second career title after her only success at Quebec City three years ago.
Associated Press
