NASCAR-CHARLOTTE
Carl Edwards races to first victory for new JGR team
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) β Carl Edwards won for the first time in two seasons β and the first time since joining Joe Gibbs Racing β moving in front 20 laps from the end to take the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night.
Edwards hadn’t won in 31 races since June 2014 at Sonoma. He ended his long association with Roush Fenway Racing this past offseason, hoping for bigger things with JGR.
He got it at Charlotte Motor Speedway after shuffling in front as most of his competitors needed green-flag pit stops close to the end. Most figured Edwards would have to stop, too, but he remained on the track and cruised to his first victory at Charlotte.
Greg Biffle was second, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., pole-sitter Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., who had his 11th top-10 finish in 12 events this season.
NASCAR-KYLE-AWARD
Widow of “American Sniper” subject honored at NASCAR race
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) β The wife of “American Sniper” subject Chris Kyle was honored with the Stonewall Jackson Award at Charlotte Motor Speedway before the Coca-Cola 600.
Taya Kyle was introduced to the crowd before NASCAR’s longest race Sunday night.
Kyle said her late husband became a NASCAR fan and a supporter of racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. after getting to go behind the scenes at an event as a former member of the military. The Stonewall Jackson Award is given out by the speedway for those individuals who demonstrate the highest standards of patriotism.
Chris Kyle, who was shot to death at a Texas gun range in 2013, was a Navy SEAL sniper who authored his memoir, “American Sniper.” The best-selling book was turned into a successful movie made by director Clint Eastwood.
ARCA
17-year-old Kyle Weatherman wins ARCA race in New Jersey
MILLVILLE, N.J. (AP) β Kyle Weatherman won the ARCA 150 on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park for his first ARCA Racing Series, leading the final five laps in his road-course debut.
“We’ve been fast everywhere we’ve been this year. We just haven’t had the good luck on our side,” Weatherman said. “Finally, to have good luck on our side and to get the victory here is just amazing.”
Weatherman took the lead from Cole Custer on Lap 62, and survived a late restart when his No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge went into the grass on the 12-turn, 2.25-mile course.
Cunningham Motorsports teammate Tom Hessert was second.
“We were fighting hard,” Weatherman said. “I gave it everything I had for the last three or four laps. I knew Tom and those guys were coming, so I had to go. I went a little too hard and ended up a little off the track. That could have been disastrous, but we got lucky.”
Josh Williams was third, followed by points leader Grant Enfinger and Custer.
ACC-NC STATE-FLORIDA STATE
Florida State beats NC State 6-2 in ACC title game
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) β John Sansone homered and Florida State beat North Carolina State 6-2 on Sunday in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Sansone hit a three-run blast in the third inning and Danny De La Calle drove in two runs to help the fourth-seeded Seminoles (41-19) win their sixth ACC tournament title and their first since 2010.
Boomer Biegalski (7-4) relieved starter Bryant Holtmann in the fourth and struck out five in 4 1-3 innings for his second victory at the tournament. Florida State, which entered the tournament having lost five straight, went 4-0 this week.
Jake Fincher drove in a run for the sixth-seeded Wolfpack (34-21). They had won 13 of 15, including a 3-0 finish in pool play, before falling in the title game.
NCAA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
Maryland wins 2nd straight NCAA women’s lacrosse title
CHESTER, Pa. (AP) β Taylor Cummings and Megan Whittle led Maryland to its second straight NCAA women’s lacrosse title and record 12th overall, each scoring three goals in the Terrapins’ 9-8 comeback victory over North Carolina on Sunday night.
Maryland (21-1) overcame a three-goal halftime deficit, the largest halftime deficit ever for a winning team in the NCAA title game.
Cummings and Whittle scored four of Maryland’s six second-half goals.
Cummings finished with five points and dominated on draws, controlling six herself β four in the second half β to allow Maryland to dominate possession. She set up Brooke Griffin for a goal to cut the Tar Heels’ lead to 6-5 at the 7:24 mark of the second half and scored the tying goal on pretty pass from Whittle a few minutes later.
With Cummings dominating in the faceoff circle, Whittle put the Terps ahead for good with consecutive goals. After Maria McCool scored her second goal of the game for North Carolina (18-4) to cut Maryland’s lead back to one, Cummings finished off her hat trick.
Maryland avenged a double-overtime loss to North Carolina in the 2013 title game.
