Auto Racing
Franchitti wins IndyCar pole; Castroneves will start 5th
SONOMA, Calif. – Dario Franchitti won pole position for Sunday’s IndyCar race at Sonoma Raceway.
Franchitti turned a lap in 1 minute, 17.5271 seconds around the 2.385-mile road course in Northern California wine country Saturday, edging Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon, who was second in 1:17.7196.
Will Power had won the pole in Sonoma for the last three years. He was third in 1:17.9735, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and IndyCar series points leader Helio Castroneves.
Hamilton and his Mercedes win 4th pole in a row
SPA, Belgium – Lewis Hamilton surprised even himself after beating both Red Bull cars to secure his fourth consecutive pole position in a rain-soaked qualifying session at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday.
The Mercedes driver is the first Briton since Damon Hill in 1995 to get four consecutive poles and has set himself up perfectly to keep the pressure on championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who will start Sunday’s race from second ahead of teammate Mark Webber.
Cycling
Prerace favorite Nibali and Astana win Stage 1 in Spain
VILANOVA DE AROUSA, Spain – Vincenzo Nibali’s Astana team won the opening team time trial in the Spanish Vuelta on Saturday, giving the Giro d’Italia winner a good start in his bid for a grand tour double.
Astana completed the 17-mile ride from Vilanova de Arousa to Sanxenxo along Spain’s northwestern coast in 29 minutes, 59 seconds.
RadioShack-Leopard was second, 10 seconds off Astana’s pace, followed by Omega Pharma-Quickstep.
Horse Racing
Will Take Charge does that, upsets Orb, Palace Malice
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Will Take Charge waited until the final stride to get a nose past Moreno and pull off a surprise win in the 144th running of the Travers Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
The thrilling finish gave 77-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas his third win in racing’s Mid-Summer Derby, with the 9-1 Will Take Charge also beating Kentucky Derby winner Orb and Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice, who finished third and fourth, respectively.
Will Take Charge ran in all three Triple Crown races but never hit the board. The huge 3-year-old colt ran second to Palace Malice in the Jim Dandy last month, and Lukas said his horse was ready for a big race.
Will Take Charge, with Luis Saez aboard for the first time, ran the $1-million 1-mile in 2 minutes, 2.68 seconds and paid $21.20, $8.60 and $5.20.
Will Take Charge earned $600,000 for owner Willis Horton and increased his career earnings to $1,265,371 with his fourth win in 12 starts.
Tennis
Halep beats defending champ to win New Haven Open
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Simona Halep upset defending champion Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to win the New Haven Open, the final WTA tuneup for next week’s U.S. Open.
It was the 21-year-old Halep’s fourth career win, and all of them have come since June. The No. 23 ranked player in the world now is 29-5 in her last 34 matches (31-5 counting qualifying matches). She took home $117,000 for winning.
Monfils retires, Melzer wins Winston-Salem Open
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Austria’s Jurgen Melzer won the Winston-Salem Open title Saturday after Frenchman Gael Monfils retired because of an injury.
Melzer led 6-3, 2-1 after breaking Monfils’ serve in the second set.
Melzer earned his fifth career ATP tournament title and first this season. His ranking will improve five spots to No. 27 on Monday, when the U.S. Open begins in New York.
Associated Press
