Auto Racing
Gilliland lands a wet pole for Coke Zero 400
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – David Gilliland won the pole for the Sprint Cup race Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway after rain-shortened qualifying.
Gilliland’s top speed during a hectic, cat-and-mouse qualifying session was 199.322 mph. The top 24 drivers Friday in the first knockout stage were supposed to advance to the next round, but rain prompted NASCAR to cancel the final two sessions.
Reed Sorenson qualified second, followed by Landon Cassill, Bobby Labonte and Jimmie Johnson.
Rain causes 7-car wreck in Nationwide qualifying
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A small rain shower caused a seven-car accident during Nationwide Series qualifying at Daytona International Speedway.
Mike Bliss lost control of his No. 19 Toyota coming out of turn two, and several cars in the tight-knit pack got caught up in the accident. Ross Chastain, Benny Gordon, Scott Lagasse Jr., Eric McClure, Joe Nemechek and Robert Richardson Jr. also were involved.
NASCAR canceled the final two qualifying sessions, setting the field for Friday night’s Subway Firecracker 250 by speeds from the rain-shortened session.
Dakoda Armstrong won his first pole in 23 starts.
Soccer
U.S. forward Johannsson needs ankle surgery
United States forward Aron Johannsson will need ankle surgery after the World Cup. His Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar, said on its website Friday that Johannsson will be out 6-8 weeks.
Johannsson came on after Jozy Altidore was injured in the Americans’ World Cup opener but didn’t make much of an impact. He didn’t play in their final three games.
The 23-year-old Johannsson scored 26 goals last season. Born in Alabama to Icelandic parents, Johannsson moved to Iceland when he was 3 and appeared in eight qualifiers for the country for the 2012 European Under-21 Championship. He asked FIFA to change his affiliation to the U.S. last summer.
The Americans were eliminated by Belgium on Tuesday.
Associated Press
