AUTO: McMurray captures Pepsi 400
In Daytona Beach, Fla., Jamie McMurray ended a massive losing streak in dramatic fashion, beating Kyle Busch by a bumper to the finish line of the Pepsi 400.
McMurray snapped a 166-race winless streak by drag racing with Busch for much of the final two laps at Daytona International Speedway. The cars appeared to touch several times on their final trip around the famed track, and McMurray nosed across the finish line a mere 0.005 seconds ahead of Busch.
It denied Busch a shot at a rare double victory – he won the rain rescheduled Busch Series race 12 hours earlier – but finished second in the main event.
McMurray drove off to Victory Lane for the first time since 2002, when as a replacement driver for injured Sterling Marlin in Charlotte, N.C., he scored his only career victory. That win came in McMurray’s second career start, a NASCAR record.
* In Silverston, England, Lewis Hamilton took the pole position for the British Grand Prix in his first Formula One race in his homeland. Hamilton finished in 1 minute, 19.997 seconds in his McLaren on the 3.2-mile Silverstone circuit to edge Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari by 0.102 seconds.
GOLF: Watson leads Senior Open
In Haven, Wisc., Tom Watson struggled in the third round of the U.S. Senior Open yesterday, but his closest pursuers didn’t fare any better as Whistling Straits finally showed its teeth. Shaking off a rough day on a course that rediscovered its signature windy “whistle,” Watson shot a 1-over-par 73 to take a three-stroke lead over Loren Roberts into today’s final round.
John Ross, Sam Torrance and Vicente Fernandez are tied at 3 under.
George Zahringer, an accomplished amateur from New York who belongs to Deepdale Country Club on Long Island and The Stanwich Club in Connecticut, shot an 8-over 80. At 11-over overall, he is in 62nd place.
* In Straffan, Ireland, Soren Hansen of Denmark birdied four of the last five holes to shoot a 7-under 63 for a two-stroke lead in the third round of the European Open. Hansen has a 10-under 200 total, two strokes ahead of Robert Rock, who shot 66.
BOXING: Klitschko defends belts
In Cologne, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko beat Lamon Brewster with a technical knockout after six rounds to defend his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.
The Ukrainian clearly dominated the first five rounds, making repeated contact with his strong left jab that largely went unanswered.
Brewster seemed to be standing up to the constant punishment, but two massive left-right combinations in the sixth round rocked the American. Before the seventh could start, Brewster’s trainer slapped his towel on the canvas and referee Sam Williams called the fight.
MLB: Webb gets All-Star nod
Reigning Cy Young winner Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks will replace injured Rockies reliever Brian Fuentes on the NL roster for the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Webb played in his first All-Star Game last season, pitching an impressive inning in relief. He struck out Derek Jeter, retired David Ortiz on a popup and got Alex Rodriguez on a grounder.
NBA: Suns ink top pick
The Suns signed first-round draft pick Alando Tucker to a two-year contract. The team did not disclose the terms of the deal, but the NBA rookie scale guarantees Tucker will make $776,000 in his rookie season and $834,900 in his second year.
* Rockets first-round pick Aaron Brooks agreed to a contract with the team. Brooks, the 26th pick in the draft out of Oregon, signed a multiyear contract. He will earn nearly $1.7 million over the two years.