Estimated read time: 10-11 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NASCAR-KENTUCKY
NASCAR Cup rookie Cole Custer wins in upset at Kentucky
SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Cole Custer became the first rookie winner in the NASCAR Cup Series in nearly four years, surging to the lead in a four-wide, final-lap scramble Sunday at Kentucky Speedway. Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. were dueling side by side for the lead on the final restart when Custer — with a push from Matt DiBenedetto on the outside in the backstretch — made his move in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. As the leaders bunched in Turn 1, Custer slid ahead and outlasted Truex’s Toyota. The victory was the first by a series rookie since Chris Buescher at Pocono on Aug. 1, 2016. Making his 20th series start, the 22-year-old Custer celebrated with a frontstretch burnout as his crew happily ran to greet him. DiBenedetto was third, and Harvick fourth.
PGA-WORKDAY OPEN
Morikawa clutch in finish and playoff to win Workday Open
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Collin Morikawa never looked like a winner at the Workday Charity Open until he tapped in for par on the third playoff hole, capping off a wild finish Sunday at Muirfield Village.
Morikawa trailed Justin Thomas by three shots with three holes to play and managed to get into a playoff with a 6-under 66. Then, after watching Thomas hole a 50-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, he had to make a 25-footer just to stay alive. He could only watch as Thomas had a 10-footer to win on the 18th on the second playoff hole.
It finally ended on No. 10 when Thomas had to lay up from behind a tree and made bogey, and Morikawa took two putts from just inside 10 feet for his second career victory, and first against a strong PGA Tour field.
Viktor Hovland of Norway had a 71 and finished alone in third. He was in the final group of three young stars, all of whom had the lead at some point during the final round.
FATAL SPEEDWAY CRASH-VIRGINIA
Virginia speedway: Driver dies following crash during race
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — A driver has died after crashing during a race at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.
Speedway officials say Shawn Balluzzo crashed during the second of two Modified Division races Saturday night. He had finished second in the first of the twin 50-lap races, which were the season openers for the Modifieds. During the second race, Balluzzo’s car went airborne after bumping another car and crashed front-first into a wall. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The Virginian-Pilot reports the 64-year-old Balluzzo was the winningest driver in the history of the track.
F1-STYRIAN GP
Hamilton wins Styrian GP ahead of Mercedes teammate Bottas
SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Lewis Hamilton won the Styrian Grand Prix from the pole position on Sunday to clinch an 85th career win and move within six of Michael Schumacher’s Formula One record.
Hamilton’s record-extending 89th career pole on a rain-drenched track was one of his best in extreme conditions, but during the race he was hardly challenged as he finished a sizeable 13.7 seconds ahead of Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and 33.7 ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Like last Sunday, drivers again wore black T-shirts with “End Racism” and most took the knee a few moments before the national anthem. When he stood on the podium, Hamilton, the only Black driver in Formula One, raised a clenched right fist.
INDYCAR DOUBLEHEADER-ROSENQVIST
Rosenqvist surges at Road America for 1st IndyCar victory
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (AP) — Felix Rosenqvist passed Pato O’Ward on the next-to-last lap and earned his first career victory in the second half of an IndyCar doubleheader at Road America.
Rosenqvist won by 2.8699 seconds and became the first driver other than Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon to win an IndyCar race this year. Dixon’s three-race winning streak ended with a 12th-place finish.
O’Ward and Rosenqvist were both chasing their first career victories. They traded the lead throughout the second half of the race. O’Ward pulled ahead in the 43rd of 55 laps. Rosenqvist kept charging and finally passed him.
MLB-NEWS
Yankees’ Judge out 2nd straight day with stiff neck
UNDATED (AP) — Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has been held out of action for a second straight day due to a stiff neck.
The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was scratched from a simulated game Saturday after waking up with a sore neck. On Sunday the right fielder wasn’t included in either lineup for an intrasquad scrimmage. New York manager Aaron Boone said Judge got treatment at Yankee Stadium and was improving.
New York is set to open a pandemic-shortened season July 23 at Washington. Judge was diagnosed with a broken rib in March and used the coronavirus hiatus to recover.
In other MLB news:
— Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was late arriving to summer camp after he tested positive for COVID-19. The three-time All-Star closer says he believes he contracted the virus from his 4-year-old son Kaden. He says the child had a fever, among other symptoms, which led his wife to suggest everyone in the family get tested. Jansen says his wife, Gianni, and 7-year-old daughter Natalia tested positive, but that his first test was negative. A day later, he says he also tested positive. Jansen expects to be ready for the season opener on July 23.
— Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Eric Lauer says he’s on the injured list because he was in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Lauer said he hasn’t tested positive. The protocols accompanying that situation caused Lauer to arrive late to the Brewers’ summer camp. He made it to camp Friday, nearly a full week after the Brewers’ first full-squad workout. Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Lauer still has a chance to be ready for the start of the season.
— Protective masks won’t be out of sight when big league baseball resumes. Some players and coaches are planning to wear them on the field. Safety protocols require masks in clubhouses and close proximity indoors, but not on the field. Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier plans to wear one during games, in part to set an example for those watching on television. Atlanta third base coach Ron Washington also plans to wear one for health reasons. At age 68, he’s in a high-risk group.
— The Arizona Cardinals say that owner Michael Bidwill has been released from a Rhode Island hospital after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. The team revealed on Friday that the 55-year-old Bidwill was in the hospital with the virus. Bidwill said in a statement that he “learned first-hand just how serious COVID-19 is.”
— Frank Bolling, a two-time All-Star second baseman and the last player to hit a grand slam off Sandy Koufax, has died. He was 88. Bolling died Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago, according to a notice posted by the funeral home handling the arrangements. Bolling played 12 seasons in the majors, six with Detroit and six with the Braves, and hit .254 with 106 home runs. He won a Gold Glove in 1958 with the Tigers and for part of that season, his double-play partner was his older brother, shortstop Milt Bolling.
WORLD TEAMTENNIS-FANS
Fans welcomed to World TeamTennis matches in West Virginia
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — World TeamTennis has welcomed fans to matches at a resort in West Virginia. The matches started Sunday at The Greenbrier, where the entire three-week season is being held. There were strict measures in place at the matches to ensure health and safety as confirmed cases of the new coronavirus soar across the country.
Anyone who wasn’t a player wore a mask inside the tennis stadium, and fans had their temperatures checked prior to entering.
Rows of seats near courtside were covered up to allow for social distancing.
Up to 500 spectators are being allowed at each of the outdoor matches at the 2,500-seat court.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-SPORTS
MLS postpones Toronto-DC United match amid virus concerns
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Major League Soccer postponed a match between Toronto FC and D.C. United shortly before it was scheduled to begin Sunday morning because of one unconfirmed positive test and one inconclusive test for the coronavirus. The unconfirmed positive test was for a D.C. United player, while a Toronto player returned the inconclusive test. The league announced Sunday night that the match would be rescheduled for Monday with a 9 a.m. EDT kickoff after all players on both teams had tested negative during the additional round of testing.
The postponement is the latest hiccup for the tournament in Florida, which has already had two teams drop out because of a spate of COVID-19 cases. FC Dallas and Nashville were both withdrawn earlier this week, reducing the tournament to 24 teams. FC Dallas had 10 players and one coach test positive for the virus. Nashville had nine players test positive.
In other developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic:
— NHL teams return to the ice Monday for the first time since March as the 24 that qualified for the expanded playoffs open two-week training camps. Mixed with the excitement is the uncertainty of which and how many players might opt out and how the long layoff could contribute to injuries. It’s a training camp unlike any in history, with players coming back from a four-month absence to compete for the Stanley Cup. It’s a two-week sprint from home cities to Toronto for Eastern teams and Edmonton, Alberta, for their Western counterparts.
— For the first time since the coronavirus shut down sports and chased away spectators, fans have returned to elite European soccer. Thousands of spectators turned out Sunday to see Paris Saint-Germain’s superstars back on a pitch. For their return to work, PSG’s marquee attacking duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe wore face masks in red, white and blue PSG colors and messages of thanks for health workers. The exhibition match was the first encounter in front of spectators to feature one of Europe’s elite clubs since the outbreak erupted. Only 5,000 people were allowed inside Le Havre’s 25,000-seat stadium to see the French League 2 club take on PSG’s star-studded squad.
HORSE RACING-DEL MAR-FATALITY
3-year-old filly euthanized after workout at Del Mar
DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — A 3-year-old filly was euthanized after completing a workout at Del Mar, the track’s first fatality of its summer racing season.
Lovely Lilia had just completed a four-furlong workout in 49.20 seconds during training hours Saturday when she was pulled up and vanned off the track. Veterinarians found that she could not recover from the unspecified injury and was euthanized.
Lovely Lilia was trained by Vladimir Cerin. She had two wins in seven career starts and earnings of $37,551, according to Equibase.
Del Mar’s summer meet opened Friday. The seaside track north of San Diego ranks among the country’s safest tracks, according to The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database. It had a rate of 0.62 fatal injuries per 1,000 starts last year. The national average for tracks that reported was 1.68.
BRITAIN-SUBSTANCE TEST
UK Sport says welfare not risked with athlete substance test
LONDON (AP) —The UK Sport government agency said athletes’ welfare was not put at risk with the use of an experimental substance ahead of the 2012 London Olympics that was disclosed for the first time Sunday by a newspaper.
The Mail on Sunday reported public money was used to provide a select band of athletes with an energy drink called DeltaG, claiming there were no guarantees the product did not cause side-effects nor was it certain to be cleared by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
UK Sport said it had consulted with WADA and UK Anti-Doping before using the product to make sure it complied with guidelines and that the health of athletes would not be put on the line for more medals.
UK Sport did not say why the use of drink was not previously disclosed. The Mail on Sunday said waivers and non-disclosure forms had to be signed by those on the trial.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
