NASCAR-TRUCKS
Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR Truck race at Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) β Ryan Blaney took the lead from Matt Crafton off a restart in a green-white-checkered finish and held off Kyle Busch to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck race Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Blaney rebounded for his fourth career victory after losing a lap on the 0.533-mile oval when he was penalized for jumping a restart while leading on Lap 37.
“Obviously, we didn’t like it, but it was NASCAR’s jurisdiction,” Blaney said. “It says so much for this team to be able to charge back up there.”
Busch also made a furious late charge. The Sprint Cup driver was running third with 85 laps to go when he made a decision to pit for adjustments. He came out 14th, but moved to fifth heading into the final restart.
John Hunter Nemechek was third, followed by Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones.
Crafton faded to seventh in the melee at the end. He was in position for his fourth victory of the year when Ty Dillon brought out the final caution with five laps left.
DOLPHINS-PANTHERS SCRIMMAGE
Injuries to Benjamin, Delmas mar Dolphins-Panthers scrimmage
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) β Injuries have become the main focus of the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers on the first day of their joint practices, not fights that have headlined recent joint workouts between teams.
Panthers receiver Kelvin Benjamin was carted off the field with a sprained left knee. Coach Ron Rivera said the team is hopeful Benjamin didn’t tear any ligaments.
The news isn’t as positive for Dolphins safety Louis Delmas.
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday that for the second time in less than 10 months Delmas has torn the ACL in his right knee. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not publicly announced the extent of the injury.
Delmas first tore his ACL last December against Baltimore.
EAST CAROLINA-BENKERT
East Carolina names Kurt Benkert as starting quarterback
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) β East Carolina has picked Kurt Benkert as its starting quarterback.
Coach Ruffin McNeill announced the decision Wednesday.
Benkert is a redshirt sophomore who played three games last year behind Shane Carden, who’s now with the Chicago Bears.
Benkert completed 8 of 10 passes for 58 yards with an interception, and rushed for 23 yards and two touchdowns on five attempts.
McNeill says “it was time to name a starter to move forward” with preparing for the season.
He says Blake Kemp, a junior who redshirted last year as a junior college transfer, will be Benkert’s backup. Another QB, Cody Keith, injured his right foot during preseason camp and is recovering.
WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Woods hopes to push for unlikely playoff spot at Wyndham
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) β It’s now or never for many players at the Wyndham Championship β the last chance to qualify for golf’s postseason.
That group includes Tiger Woods.
The biggest name in the sport is playing the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season for the first time.
He’s trying to get his game back on track and make a highly improbable, last-gasp push for the playoffs.
Woods said Wednesday that he needs to find consistency and “start stringing together not just holes, not just rounds but tournaments.”
He missed the cut at the PGA Championship last week. He beat last Friday’s deadline to enter the Wyndham but didn’t finalize his commitment until Monday.
He says he had “a blast” playing a pro-am round Wednesday with NBA All-Star Chris Paul.
SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
North Carolina beats Rhode Island 4-2 for softball title
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) β Ellen Yang had an RBI single to kick off a four-run first inning and Rowan, North Carolina, beat Warwick North, Rhode Island, 4-2 on Wednesday night in the championship game of the Little League Softball World Series.
Kali Morton allowed two runs on four hits over six innings for the Rowan team, representing the Southeast in the annual event. She struck out three.
Yang hit an opposite-field single in the top of the first, leading to three runs. Morton added an RBI double for the first team from North Carolina to make it to the softball World Series.
Dyonna Rodas hit an RBI single in the third for Warwick North, representing the East. Hailey Mackinnon added a run-scoring grounder in the fourth to cut it to 4-2.
