Auto Racing
Allmendinger whips road course quickest for pole
SONOMA, Calif. – AJ Allmendinger won the pole for Sunday’s road course race at Sonoma Raceway.
Allmendinger earned the top starting spot during Saturday’s knockout qualifying with a lap 96.310 mph around the 10-turn, 1.99-mile course. It’s the first pole for JTG Daugherty Racing, which earned its first berth in NASCAR’s championship race last year when Allmendinger won on the Watkins Glen road course.
Kurt Busch will start second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Kyle Larson and five-time Sonoma winner Jeff Gordon.
Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Casey Mears, David Ragan and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top 10.
Rahal survives Fontana’s pack for 2nd career win
FONTANA, Calif. – Graham Rahal held onto the lead out of a caution with three laps left to earn his second IndyCar win, closing out a wild, record-setting day at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday.
A sparse crowd showed up to Auto Club Speedway, but the few fans got to see quite a show as cars sling-shotted past each other at an average of 205 mph and raced up to five-wide around the 2-mile oval.
The 500-mile race eclipsed the season high for lap changes – 37 at Indianapolis – by the midpoint and had 83 overall, topping the IndyCar record of 73 set at Auto Club Speedway in 2001.
Rahal went in front late and stayed there after a late red flag, winning under caution after Ryan Briscoe went airborne in a collision with Ryan Hunter-Reay. Rahal’s first victory was at St. Petersburg in 2008.
Golf
Friday leaders fade, making for exciting Sunday rounds
CROMWELL, Conn. – Brian Harman birdied the 18th hole for a 5-under 65 and a one-stroke lead over fellow Georgia left-hander Bubba Watson and Canadian Graham DeLaet on Saturday in the Travelers Championship.
MUNICH – English golfer James Morrison shot a 5-under 67 to claim a two-stroke lead in the third round of the BMW International Open as overnight leader Rafa Cabrera-Bello dropped six off the pace Saturday.
ROGERS, Ark. – Na Ye Choi matched her LPGA Tour career low with an 8-under 63 on Saturday to surge to the top of the leaderboard at 13 under in the NW Arkansas Championship.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Bernhard Langer and Jeff Maggert shared the lead over a bunched field heading into the final round of the U.S. Senior Open.
Langer shot a 2-under 68, and Maggert had a 70 on Saturday. They were at 5-under 205 for the championship at delightful Del Paso Country Club, where conditions cooled off after consecutive days above 100 degrees.
MLB
Home run leader Stanton will miss significant time
MIAMI – A person familiar with the situation said Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has a broken left hand and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.
The person confirmed the injury to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Saturday because the team hadn’t announced X-ray results.
Stanton got hurt swinging the bat Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, saying the injury became worse as the game progressed.
Stanton led the majors with 27 homers and 67 runs batted in when sidelined. The injury is a blow to a team that had lost five consecutive games and was a season-worst 15 games below .500.
The Marlins had been woeful lately even with Stanton, batting .201 and averaging two runs a game over the past nine games through Friday.
Associated Press
