Nextel Cup qualifying gets washed out
A steady rain washed out all on-track activity at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, forcing NASCAR to use season points to determine the starting lineup for the Bass Pro Shops 500.
That put series leader Matt Kenseth on the pole for Sunday’s race, runner-up Kevin Harvick alongside and the other eight drivers in the Chase for the championship right behind them.
“I would rather have qualified,” said Jimmie Johnson, who will start third after coming off a victory last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway that moved him back into contention for his first Cup title.
Rookie Denny Hamlin will start fourth, followed by Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, all bunched with 171 points off Kenseth. All of them are still mathematically alive for the championship and all but Busch are within reach of the lead on Sunday.
Qualifying for the Craftsman Truck Series race today also was rained out. NASCAR rescheduled it for this morning.
“Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner, will replace A.J. Allmendinger on the Forsythe Racing team for the Champ Car series finale in Mexico. Allmendinger, who won five of nine races with Forsythe this season, is second in series points but signed a multiyear deal Tuesday to drive for NASCAR’s Team Red Bull.
Cycling
Pereiro waits in wings
Tour de France chief Patrice Clerc said runner-up Oscar Pereiro will be named the winner if Floyd Landis loses his appeal against doping charges.
“The Italian cycling federation dropped doping allegations against Giro d’Italia champion Ivan Basso.
Basso was excluded from this year’s Tour de France after being linked to a Spanish doping investigation.
Tennis
Pierce requires surgery
Mary Pierce ruptured a cruciate ligament in her left knee in the Generali Ladies tournament in Linz, Austria, and will undergo surgery.
Pierce led Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-5 Thursday and held three match points when she fell behind the baseline. She was carried off the court on a stretcher.
Basketball
Romar, UW reach deal
Lorenzo Romar and Washington have agreed on a multiyear contract extension that will attempt to retain the man behind the Huskies’ resurgence for at least another decade.
UW athletic director Todd Turner did not say how many more years or how much more money the new contract involves. Romar is earning about $1 million per year from a new, eight-year deal in March 2005.
“Forward Kyle Singler of South Medford (Ore.), considered one of the top prep basketball prospects in the nation, will attend Duke, he announced. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior had also considered Kansas and Arizona.
Singler is South Medford’s leading scorer with 1,339 points after just three seasons.