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Rafael Nadal won his 19th Grand Slam title after holding off Russian Daniil Medvedev's exhilarating fightback in one of the greatest US Open finals.
Spain's Nadal, 33, won 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 against the fifth seed in New York.
Nadal, seeded second, was cruising at two sets and a break up, only for Medvedev to force a decider.
But Nadal stopped his momentum to eventually clinch a thrilling victory in four hours and 51 minutes.
Nadal's victory moves him within one of Swiss rival Roger Federer's all-time leading tally of Grand Slam victories.
"It has been one of the most emotional nights in my tennis career," Nadal said. "It has been an amazing final. It has been a crazy match."
After taking his third match point, Nadal collapsed to the court in celebration, covering his face as contemplated another famous victory which epitomised all of his fighting spirit.
Medvedev, 23, trudged around the net to warmly congratulate his opponent, who looked on the verge of tears as he hid behind his sweat-soaked vest while taking rapturous acclaim.
"I just want to congratulate Rafa, a 19th Grand Slam title is something unbelievable, outrageous," said Medvedev, who looked mesmerised as he watched a video montage of Nadal's achievements.
Those lucky enough to be watching among a near 24,000 capacity crowd were regularly left open-mouthed at what they witnessed, with the majority jumping to their feet and celebrating wildly after every point, helping create an electric atmosphere on a noisy Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Medvedev had been booed by the crowd earlier in the tournament, yet heard his name loudly chanted by many as he threatened to complete an extraordinary comeback.
Ultimately it was too late as he was unable to become the first man outside Nadal, Federer and Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic to claim one of the sport's biggest prizes since Stan Wawrinka's victory here in 2016.
Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have won the past 12 Grand Slams after the Spaniard lifted the trophy in New York for a fourth time.
Now Nadal has the chance to draw level with 38-year-old Federer, who was nine titles better off than his long-time rival in 2007, at the Australian Open in January.
Emotional Nadal outlasts latest young challenger
Despite Nadal, Federer and Djokovic being in their 30s, nobody has been able to break their stranglehold on the men's game and Medvedev was the latest to fall short after a heroic effort.
That has allowed the illustrious trio to pile on the Grand Slam victories over the past three years, livening up the race to be crowned the greatest of all time, which Federer once seemed certain to win.
Nadal, who also won his 12th French Open title earlier this year, is now within one of Federer's tally for the first time.
The magnitude of his achievements - which were shown on the big screen inside Ashe - hit the emotional Spaniard, who broke into tears while he sat in his chair and watched them.
That was a release of all the expendable emotional energy built up over the final two sets of a match which, against a less inspired opponent, he may have wrapped up much earlier.
A couple of hours before, Nadal appeared to be heading to a dominant three-set win against Medvedev, who was the first Russian man to compete in a Grand Slam final since Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.
A physical contest, where both men jousted for supremacy as they tried to outlast each other in brutal rallies, seemed to be going to end in familiar fashion when Nadal broke for a 3-2 lead in the third set.
From somewhere, Medvedev summoned the strength to not only survive but threaten to produce one of the most memorable comebacks ever seen.
To borrow a line from American great Jimmy Connors, Nadal always plays "like he is broke".
And that intensity allowed him to eventually outlast the wiry Russian who, despite struggling with a quad injury during the tournament, continued to hang in even as the clock approached five hours.
Nadal's mental resilience saw him through in the end, despite Medvedev producing another fightback from 5-1 down in the decider.
A fourth victory at Flushing Meadows seals another stellar year for Nadal, who reached three Grand Slam finals in the same year for the fourth time of his incredible career.
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Medvedev wins over crowd with ability & humility
Medvedev has been the form player on the ATP Tour in the North American hard-court swing, leading to many tennis fans picking him out as the man most likely to threaten the 'big three' at Flushing Meadows.
This gutsy display on the biggest stage of his burgeoning career, plus the humour and humility he showed in his runners-up speech afterwards, has showcased his talents to a much wider audience.
Medvedev has had a tempestuous relationship with the New York crowd over the past fortnight, having been booed earlier in the tournament for trolling them with his provocative post-match celebrations and interviews.
But he has since looked to shake off the role of pantomime villain and apologised for his behaviour, which has included angrily snatching towels from ball people and curtly 'thanking' the American fans for jeering him.
During Sunday's final it became evident he has now endeared himself and has won them around.
Standing ovations greeted him breaking back to level during the third set and again when he held off two break points to hold for 5-4.
A loud chant of "Med-ve-dev, Med-ve-dev, Med-ve-dev" broke out for the first time after he held serve to take a 6-5 lead in the third set and continued through to the end of the match.
That recognition was testament to the ability and character which has marked out the lanky Russian, set to rise to fourth in the world on Monday, as a star over the past year.
Another prolonged ovation greeted him as collected his runners-up prize.
"I know early in the tournament I said something in a bad way, and now I want to say it in a good way, it is because of your energy I am here," he said.
After losing in the Washington and Montreal finals in August, Medvedev claimed the title in Cincinnati and continued his winning streak in New York to reach his first major final.
The Russian is only the third man - after Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi - to reach all four of these finals in the Open era.
Those exertions, plus the efforts he needed to keep Nadal at bay in the physical first set, looked to have caught up with him, Nadal breaking for a 4-2 lead which was enough to seal the second set, and again for a 3-2 lead in the third.
But after immediately wiping that out to level, Medvedev took an anxious Nadal's serve to claw a set back.
That was only the start of the story as the pair slugged it out for another two hours before Medvedev finally succumbed.
Analysis
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
That is now 12 Grand Slam titles in a row which have been won by Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Their domination of the sport began in 2005, and does not show any signs of abating.
But the way Medvedev played should give the younger breed real heart. There are three other top-10 players who are the same age or younger than the 23-year-old Russian.
Medvedev played with passion, power, resilience and great touch at the net, and in the fourth set Nadal looked increasingly stressed.
And yet he came through once again, for the fourth time at the US Open, and on a surface which has so often disagreed with his body.
Surely no-one who saw Nadal limp away from last year's Australian Open quarter-final with a leg problem, and from last year's US Open semi-final with a knee injury, could begrudge him one of the most emotional triumphs of his career.
'One of the greatest finals' - Reaction
39-time Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King: One for the ages! Absolutely incredible #USOpen Men's Singles Final with the indomitable @RafaelNadal winning his fourth US Open title. Congratulations, Rafa!
2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens: Wowwww that was unreal tennis - talk about leaving it all on the court. What a battle. Congrats Rafael Nadal & you too Daniil Medvedev
Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski: What we have just witnessed is one of the greatest US Open men's finals in the history of tennis. Daniil Medvedev was incredible to fight back from two sets down and a break. Rafael Nadal showed us why he is the greatest competitor we have every seen on a tennis court. Slam No. 19!
Tennis great Rod Laver: Congratulations Rafael Nadal, a gutsy victory to claim your 19th major, fourth US Open crown and second Slam title this year after the French. Stand tall friend, you are closing in, it was a privilege to present this trophy to you tonight.
Titles defended, Germany and Romania win in Nantes
The German men’s trio comprising Timo Boll, Patrick Franziska and Dimitrij Ovtcharov completed proceedings without the loss of a single individual match; one of the most comprehensive performances since the tournament was first staged in 1958 in Budapest.
Likewise, in the women’s event it was a command performance from Bernadette Szocs, Daniela Monteiro-Dodean and Elizabeta Samara; they surrendered just one match when, at the semi-final stage against Poland, Daniela Monteiro Dodean had lost to Li Qian (11-3, 11-7, 13-11).
Ideal start
At the final hurdle, Dimitrij Ovtcharov game Germany the ideal start by beating Marcos Freitas (11-7, 11-7, 11-8), before Timo Boll accounted for João Monteiro (11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7) and Patrick Franziska concluded matters by overcoming Tiago Apolonia (12-10, 11-9, 11-4).
“I think we are such a good team because we all trust each other and we all know that the pressure does not lay only on one player but on all of us.” Dimitrij Ovtcharov
Success for Germany against an outfit that had excelled expectations, Portugal commenced play as the no.10 seed; furthermore, to some extent they avenged the defeat in the 2014 Lisbon final when Portugal had secured the title for the one and only time in their history.
Overall, Germany has now won the title eight times, all notably in the modern era; arguably that of Timo Boll. The first win was in 2007 in Belgrade, followed in consecutive years by success in St Petersburg, Stuttgart, Ostrava and Gdansk, before once again succeeding in 2013 in Schwechat.
Clear goal
Success for Germany, followed success for Romania; the trio comprising Bernadette Szocs, Daniela Monteiro-Dodean and Elizabeta Samara highly focused. Bernadette Szocs beat Shao Jieni (11-7, 8-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6), before Daniela Monteiro-Dodean accounted for Fu Yu (7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8) to put her team in a commanding position.
“I felt very confident. My game was on the highest level. Even when I was down, I did not feel she can close the gap.” Daniela Dodean
Soon after, Elizabeta Samara prevailed against Leila Oliveira (11-9, 11-7, 11-6) to secure gold.
It is the fifth time that Romania has won the women’s team title at a European Championships; additional to two years ago in Luxembourg, they emerged successful in 1992 in Stuttgart, 2002 in Zagreb and 2005 in Aarhus.
Similarly, as in the men’s event, Portugal surpassed their status; they commenced play, the no.7 seeds, it was their first appearance in a women’s team final at a European Championships.
More gold, leading names increase title haul
Kang Oejeong partnered Yoon Jiyu to success in class 5; a win as anticipated, the Korea Republic duo commencing play as the top seeds. It was the same from Borislava Peric-Rankovic and compatriot Sanja Mijatovic in class 4.
However, the success recorded by Tian Shiau-Wen and colleague Lin Tzu-Yu was less predicted, the no.2 seeds, they recorded a 2-0 win against Denmark’s Sophie Walloe and Thea Nielsen, the top seeds, to seal the title.
According to status
Meanwhile for Charlermpong Punpoo, David Jacobs and Peter Palos, the successes were according to status, all commenced matters the top seeds. Charlermpong Punpoo partnered Japan’s Kazuya Kaneko to gold in class 7, David Jacobs allied with fellow Indonesian, Komet Akbar, to secure success in class 10; Peter Palos joined forces with Poland’s Marek Chybinski to emerge the class 11 champion.
Success as anticipated; in the men’s team events, it was the same in class 1-2 for Slovakia’s Jan Riapos and Martin Ludrovsky, as it was in class 3 for the combination of Ireland’s Colin Judge and Italy’s Matteo Orsi. Similarly, Romania’s Bobi Simion partnered Italy’s Matteo Parenzan to gold in class 6, a situation that applied also in class 9 to Great Britain’s Josh Stacey and Ashley Facey-Thompson.
“Ash and me went from strength to strength as we progressed through the matches. I think we both feel that we are starting to complement each other in terms of the way we are playing and the tactics we are using.” Josh Stacey
Similarly, in the women’s team events, the combination formed by Japan’s Yukimi Chada and Thailand’s Pattarvadee Wararitdamrongkul justified their top seeded position on class 1-3.
Surprise winners
Titles secured as predicted but there were surprise winners.
In the women’s team events, Indonesia’s Suwarti Suwarti and Hamida Hamida emerged the unexpected winners in class 6-8, as did Japan’s Nanako Hazemaya and Ayumi Kawasaki in class 11. At the final hurdle Suwarti Suwarti and Hamida Hamida recorded a 2-0 win against Norway’s Aida Dahlen and Nora Korneliussen, the Norwegians having one round earlier secured a 2-1 success in opposition to the top seeds, Russia’s Victoriya Safonova and Elena Litvinenko.
Impressive from Suwarti Suwarti and Hamida Hamida it was the same from Yukimi Chada and Pattarvadee Wararitdamrongkul; at the final hurdle they accounted for the top seeded Hong Kong pairing of Ng Mui Wui and Wong Pui Kei; a 2-1 success was the victory margin.
Unexpected outcomes
Surprise winners, there were also unexpected outcomes in the men’s team event.
Indonesia’s Adyos Astan and Yangyang Gunaya combined to secure the class 4 title; the duo overcoming Spain’s Francisco Lopez and Roberto Rodriguez 2-0 in the final, the penultimate round 2-1 winners in opposition to Slovakia’s Peter Mihalik and Boris Tavincek, the top seeds.
Likewise in class 5, an Indonesian pair upset the order of merit. Tatok Hardiyanto and Agus Sutanto secured a 2-0 victory margin against the French pairing of Alexandre Delarque and Nicolas Savant-Aira, to secure gold. Earlier at the semi-final stage Alexandre Delarque and Nicolas Savant-Aira had claimed a 2-0 success in opposition to the leading pairing on duty, Great Brotain’s Jack Hunter-Spivey and Norway’s Sebastian Vegsund.
Gold somewhat against the odds for Indonesia; it was the same for the international combination of Belgium’s Marc Ledoux, Frenchman Clément Berthier and Hungary’s Gyula Zborai. They posted a 2-1 win against the pairing of Germany’s Joshua Wagener and Italy’s Samuel de Chiara, the latter duo having recorded a 2-1 semi-final success when facing the top seeded Spanish trio of Alvaro Valera, Jordi Morales and Ricard Sabio Ruiz.
Play in Ostrava completed, attention now turns to the Swedish city of Helsingborg, the 2019 European Para Championships commence on Monday 16th September.
2016 Czech Para Open: Draws and full results
Ramy Ashour with the Madeira finalists, champion Patrick Rooney (left) and runner-up Tom Ford
Ford stalls in final after stirring comeback to tournament play
By RICARDO SARDINHA – Squash Mad Correspondent
Patrick Rooney confirmed his number one seed status and defeated Tom Ford, by 3-1, in the final of the International Tournament of Madeira. In an all-English battle the higher ranked player put an end to Tom Ford’s fairytale return to tournament play at the Galo Active Health Club.
After the performances of both players during the week everybody expected a very close final match, but the truth is Rooney was in control for most of the time. The number one seed started strongly, unsettling Ford’s smooth squash, closing the first game 11-6.
As expected, Ford responded in the second, pushing further the T position and putting more pressure on every shot. Rooney made a few unforced errors giving the wild card player four game points at 10-6. Ford needed only one point to tie the final at 1-1.
The third game was the best in the match and probably the best of the tournament. Great shots, unbelievable retrievals, long hard rallies; the works.
The players exchanged the lead several times leaving the decision of the game down to the last two points. Ford eventually handed the game after an unforced error playing an easy drop shot, by his standard, and missing a lob which caught him out in a stroke position; 12-10 for Rooney and 2-1 up in the match.
After this the unseeded Ford never fully recovered and Rooney seized the advantage early on in the fourth, 3-0. Tom battled his way back to 5-6 but the damage was done and Rooney ran away with the match, closing the fourth game 11-5.
After the final Rooney was a happy man. He said: “I am really lost for words, feeling very emotional right now. I wanted to come here and do the best I could and I managed to win it. Really happy with how things worked out.”
This is a tournament that the number one seed knows very well. “I have been here a few times and I really enjoy coming to Madeira. It’s an event that I love. Everything is made real easy for the players by the organisation and I hope to come back next year.”
On the way to the final, Rooney beat Sergio Garcia Pollan of Spain, Canada’s David Baillargeon and Portuguese hope Rui Soares. Ford motored past Stuart MacGregor (England) and Emyr Evans (Wales) before taking out No.2 seed Bernat Jaume of Spain. He then beat the No.3 seed Aditya Jagtap of India in straight games in the semi-finals.
The tournament’s guest of honour, former word champion Ramy Ashour, joined the presentation ceremony. During the week he held a fun event of his own using his new, experimental scoring system of shorter games.
PSA $12,000 Men’s Madeira International Open 2019, Galo Active Health Club, Caniço, Madeira, Portugal.
Final:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) beat [WC] Tom Ford (ENG) 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-5 (60m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [4] Rui Soares (POR) 11-5, 4-11, 12-10, 11-4 (45m)
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) 11-9, 11-5, 11-3
Quarter-finals:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [6] David Baillargeon (CAN) 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (28m)
[4] Rui Soares (POR) bt [5] Kristian Frost (DEN) 2-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 13-11 (65m)
[3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 6-11, 17-15, 11-8, 11-5 (48m)
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) 6-11, 11-2, 13-11, 9-11, 11-8 (81m)
2nd round:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) 11-5, 11-7, 11-2 (40m)
[6] David Baillargeon (CAN) bt [9/16] Miles Jenkins (ENG) 13-11, 12-10, 11-5 (55m)
[5] Kristian Frost (DEN) bt [9/16] Robin Gadola (SUI) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (39m)
[4] Rui Soares (POR) bt [9/16] Harry Falconer (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (39m)
[3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bt Owain Taylor (WAL) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (35m)
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [8] Yannik Omlor (GER) 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 13-11 (45m)
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [7] Emyr Evans (WAL) 11-5, 11-8, 12-10
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [9/16] Claudio Pinto (POR) 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (32m)
1st round:
[1] Patrick Rooney (ENG) bye
[9/16] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) bt Ben Coates (ENG) 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 (72m)
[9/16] Miles Jenkins (ENG) bt [WC] Amadeo Costa (SUI) 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (27m)
[6] David Baillargeon (CAN) bye
[5] Kristian Frost (DEN) bye
[9/16] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Edwin Clain (FRA) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (36m)
[9/16] Harry Falconer (ENG) bt David Zeman (CZE) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4 (35m)
[4] Rui Soares (POR) bye
[3] Aditya Jagtap (IND) bye
Owain Taylor (WAL) bt [9/16] Roshan Bharos (NED) 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9 (71m)
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [9/16] Alex Noakes (ENG) 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (32m)
[8] Yannik Omlor (GER) bye
[7] Emyr Evans (WAL) bye
[WC] Tom Ford (ENG) bt [9/16] Stuart MacGregor (ENG) 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-3 (45m)
[9/16] Claudio Pinto (POR) bt Charlie Cowie (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (35m)
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bye
Pictures courtesy of Galo Active Health Club, Madeira
INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin Harvick controlled Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard from start to finish, with a dominant performance netting him his second victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Harvick started from the pole and won the final two stages of the 400-mile classic, leading five times for a race-high 118 laps en route to his third win of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
While pit strategy allowed Joey Logano to best Harvick in the opening segment at Indianapolis, when the chips were down, Harvick’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang was as good as money in the bank.
Harvick capitalized on a lap-89 caution that came out just after he made his pit stop under green, allowing the 2014 Cup champion to stay out and resume command of the race unhindered. He led the rest of the way to lap 100 to win stage two, then only had one scare the remainder of the way home.
That nervous stretch came shortly after an eight-car accident in turn two with 54 laps to go, closely following the start of the final stage where Harvick and Kyle Larson were in front of the field.
In that incident, Jimmie Johnson was squeezed down to the white line in turn two by teammate William Byron in the midst of a three-wide scramble, sending Johnson spinning into the middle of the pack and eventually hard into the outside wall – ending his 15-year streak of making the playoffs every season.
On the ensuing restart, second-running Ryan Blaney pounced on an unsuspecting Harvick, who chose the bottom lane for the one and only time all afternoon. Blaney soared around the outside to take the top spot away and then led 19 consecutive tours of the 2.5-mile oval as Harvick tried to regroup.
That bounce back came courtesy of a caution with 32 to go, when Kyle Larson smacked the inside wall off the exit of turn two, ending his strong run as Harvick was in the midst of his final pit stop.
With his service complete and remaining on the lead lap, Harvick was able to stay out again when those running ahead of him ducked to pit lane, retaking a position he wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
Harvick led the final 30 laps for the win, his 48th in the Cup Series, and showcased his utter dominance during the nine-lap sprint to the finish set up by Matt Tifft’s hard crash with 14 to go in the event.
Despite a valiant effort by Logano to maintain contact with Harvick on lap 152, when the green flag returned for good, Harvick sped away to a 6.118-second victory by the time he took the checkers.
It was a big win for Harvick, who resets as the No. 4 seed for the playoffs, in more ways than one.
“Man, I can’t tell you how much coming to Indianapolis means to me,” said Harvick. “As a kid, I watched Rick Mears win Indy 500s and got to be around him as a kid … and he was my hero, so coming here and winning here is pretty awesome.
“I can’t say enough about everybody on this Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. These guys built a heck of a race car,” Harvick continued. “This is the same stuff we took to Michigan and had a real good weekend there and went to victory lane. To come here to the Brickyard, and know how much this means to Rodney and Dax and all the guys that work on this car because we’ve been so close here before … that’s special.”
Joey Logano chased Harvick all the way home, but instead had to focus on fending off a hard-charging Bubba Wallace in the final laps to maintain second. Wallace crossed third, his best finish of the season.
William Byron and Clint Bowyer completed the top five, followed by Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ryan Newman, Chase Elliott and Paul Menard.
Bowyer and Newman secured the final two available playoff positions on points Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Harvick’s win was his second Brickyard 400 triumph, following one in 2003 that he earned with Richard Childress Racing just two years after the death of team superstar Dale Earnhardt.
That day, Harvick also started from the pole, but he didn’t control the race like he did on Sunday. Instead, he passed Jamie McMurray for the win with 16 laps left and held on to the finish.
This time around, there was no question who the strongest man in town was.
“I don’t know if we had the best car, but we sure had the fastest car,” said Harvick. “We gave up the lead there on one of those restarts and then we came and pitted, and the caution came out, and it worked our way. We’ve given so many away just because of circumstances here, and the way that the caution flag fell today actually worked in our favor was nice. It gave us control of the race and we were able to keep control of the race and not make any mistakes from there.
“We’re standing in victory lane at one of the greatest places on Earth to race; what’s not to like?”
To view complete race results, advance to the next page.
LA FARGEVILLE, N.Y. – A thunderstorm before the start of Sunday’s program didn’t stop promoter Tyler Bartlett from presenting the Showdown in September at Can-Am Speedway.
The rain delay was well worth it, too, as the shortened 60-lap event delivered a great feature with Billy Dunn out-dueling Tim Fuller for the win.
Late arrival Erick Rudolph completed the top three after starting from back in the field.
‘’We didn’t try to overthink and got the win,’’ said Dunn as he starts a busy fall race season. ‘’We are heading to Mohawk Friday and then NAPA Super DIRT Week.’’
Tim Sears Jr. and Ryan Arbuthnot were on the front row of the 31-car field, as Sears took the early lead over Arbuthnot. Sears and Arbuthnot raced side-by-side before Arbuthnot took the lead on lap three, with Mike Mahaney moving to fourth over Ryan Bartlett.
The first caution came on lap five for Garrett Rushlow.
On the restart, Sears went back in front, with Arbuthnot being challenged by Raabe for the second position as Billy Dunn cracked the top five at that point. Dunn passed Mahaney for fourth with 15 laps in the books, as the leaders got into slower cars.
Dunn was on the move as he passed Raabe for third on lap 23. The driver of the No. 49 machine continued his way up front, inching close to Arbuthnot at the halfway point.
Dunn used the inside portion to pass Arbuthnot for the second spot and started challenging the leader with 28 laps to go.
The second caution came out for Mike Mandigo who stopped on the backstretch as Mike Mahaney headed to the pits with smoke coming out from his engine bay and lost his top five position.
The green lights came back on lap 40 and saw Sears and Dunn in battle with Rudolph, who joined the front five after starting in 18th position.
Dunn went to the lead on lap 45 as Arbuthnot and Fuller exchanged the second position, with Rudolph moving to fourth with a dozen laps to go.
Fuller started to challenge Dunn, with the No. 49 closing the door several times as Rudolph took his place on the podium, but Dunn led the final laps and took the win over Fuller.
Rudolph, Arbuthnot and Jordan McCreadie completed the top five.
The finish:
Billy Dunn, Tim Fuller, Erick Rudolph, Ryan Arbuthnot, Jordan McCreadie, Chris Raabe, Tim Sears Jr., Dave Marcuccilli, Brian McDonald, Lance Willix, Larry Wight, Corey Wheeler, Nick Webb, Kyle Dingwall, Ryan Bartlett, Pat Ward, Rob Bellinger, Ron Davis III, Billy Whittaker, Scott Webb, Tyler Meeks, Michael Parent, AJ Miller, Matt Woodruff, Ryan Poole, Jeff Sykes, Cameron Black, Mike Mandigo, Mike Mahaney, Preston Forbes, Garrett Rushlow.
INDIANAPOLIS – After clinching the regular-season championship a week early at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Kyle Busch officially secured the No. 1 seed for the Monster Energy NASAR Cup Series playoffs on Sunday.
Despite an engine failure that took him out of the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard and left him with a 37th-place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch collected the 15 playoff points that came with earning the most points during the first 26 races of the Cup Series season.
As such, he’ll start next week’s playoff opener at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway with 2,045 points – most in the 16-driver postseason field – on the strength of four race wins and 10 stage victories.
Both of those marks lead the league in their respective statistical categories.
While Busch, who will carry a 15-point lead over second place, enjoys a healthy margin atop the standings for now, he’ll have two of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates chasing him early on.
Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. earned the second and third seeds, respectively, for the 10-race playoff run. Both had four race wins during the regular season, though neither could match Busch’s prowess in stages over the first 26 rounds of the 2019 campaign.
Hamlin will head to Las Vegas with 2,030 points, while Truex sits just one point behind Hamlin at 2,029.
Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano tied for the fourth seed, with Harvick getting the nod by having more wins than Logano.
Each has 2,028 points, but Harvick’s third win of the year Sunday lifted him over Logano’s two.
Sixth-seeded Brad Keselowski sits on 2,024 points, six more than Chase Elliott, the seventh seed who earned two wins during the regular season.
Kentucky winner Kurt Busch rounds off the top half of the playoff field, with 2,011 points and the No. 8 seed to his name. Ninth and 10th seeded Alex Bowman and Erik Jones were both single winners during the regular season, the lowest among the drivers to guarantee their postseason berths with victories.
Both Bowman and Jones will start the playoffs with 2,005 points.
Kyle Larson earned the 11th playoff seed, with four stage wins during the regular season and also having a reset value of 2,005 points thanks to being 10th in points after 26 races, while double stage winner Ryan Blaney ranks 12th in the adjusted standings at 2,004.
William Byron and Aric Almirola sit 13th and 14th with 2,001 points apiece, while the final two drivers to make the playoffs on points – Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman – will roll from the base value of 2,000.
Both Bowyer and Newman will have just a two-point hole to dig out of to get above the cut line, with the top 12 in points escaping the first elimination round following race 27 of the season at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL on Sept. 29.
This year’s playoff lineup is notable in that it doesn’t contain seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson for the first time in the 16-year history of the playoff format.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs begin on Sept. 15 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway.
Updated Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
- Kyle Busch – 2,045
- Denny Hamlin – 2,030
- Martin Truex Jr. – 2,029
- Kevin Harvick – 2,028
- Joey Logano – 2,028
- Brad Keselowski – 2,024
- Chase Elliott – 2,018
- Kurt Busch – 2,011
- Alex Bowman – 2,005
- Erik Jones – 2,005
- Kyle Larson – 2,005
- Ryan Blaney – 2,004
- William Byron – 2,001
- Aric Almirola – 2,001
- Clint Bowyer – 2,000
- Ryan Newman – 2,000
MILLVILLE, N.J. – Cameron Beaubier will need a little help in the final round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park, but he at least has a chance at the title.
Beaubier won the second EBC Brakes Superbike race in the Championship of New Jersey on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, elevating himself back into the conversation.
After finishing second on Saturday and winning on Sunday to claw back into championship contention with just the two races at Barber left on the schedule, Beaubier trails Toni Elias by 16 points.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Elias had an off-weekend and finished fourth in both races, giving up 19 points to Beaubier and his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing YZF-R1.
On Saturday, Beaubier lost out to his teammate Garrett Gerloff and on Sunday he had his hands full with Attack Performance Estenson Racing’s JD Beach.
Gerloff, meanwhile, was declared unfit to race after a big crash in the morning warm-up session that left him concussed.
Beaubier and Beach were joined up front by Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, but the South African ended up finishing third, some seven seconds behind Beaubier.
Beaubier was also able to gap Beach in the closing laps, besting Beach by 1.44 seconds after 23 laps for his fourth win of the season and the 36th of his Superbike career.
“At the beginning I was pretty confident going in just because I felt like I had pretty good pace there at the beginning of the race yesterday, and then after latching onto (Garrett) Gerloff he kind of pulled us three away from the field,” Beaubier said. “Then at the end it was us two. I was pretty confident that my bike was going to be better than it was yesterday, but I was struggling pretty bad at the beginning when the tires were new. I felt like I couldn’t really take advantage of the grip I had with the previous setup we had yesterday. But it felt okay at the end of the race. I was able to manage the tire decent.
“JD (Beach) was riding awesome. Then I saw my pit board when I was in second. I didn’t know who it was, but I saw that gap close right back up onto us,” he added. “I was like, ‘Oh man. I’m in for a long last 10 laps.’ I’m really happy we got this win and kind of the monkey off of our back, type of thing. I’m more relieved than anything. Today feels good.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis finished fifth, one spot better than on Saturday, and ahead of sixth-placed Kyle Wyman on the Lion Fuel/Cyclance/KWR Ducati.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Josh Herrin was seventh, with Scheibe Racing BMW’s Jake Gagne ending his weekend with an eighth-place finish.
FLY Racing/ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony and Omega Moto’s Cameron Petersen rounded out the top 10.
With Beaubier now trailing Elias by 16 points, Gerloff holds on to third, though he’s dropped to 41 points behind after missing Sunday’s race.
Sunday’s Supersport race two was another good one for New Yorker PJ Jacobsen as the Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha rider held off hard-charging and determined championship leader Bobby Fong aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Jacobsen and Fong diced with each other as the laps wound down, and Jacobsen bested Fong at the checkers by .028 of a second.
With a double win at NJMP, Jacobsen now trails Fong in the championship by just 10 points.
Rocco Landers, who clinched the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class championship on Saturday, celebrated his title in the best way possible.
Aboard his Ninja400R.com/Norton Motorsports/Dr. Farr Kawasaki, Landers won Sunday’s race with a gap of nearly seven seconds over Quarterly Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki’s Damian Jigalov.
Former Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion Alex Dumas has been on a roll in the latter half of the Twins Cup season, and on Sunday, the Roadracing World Young Guns Suzuki rider won his fourth race in a row and fifth out of the past six races.
Dumas withstood a staunch challenge from RBoM Racing/Blud Lubricants/HJC Suzuki rider Jackson Blackmon, who raced in both Liqui Moly Junior Cup and Twins Cup this weekend and made the podium in both classes.
Last year’s Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee successfully defended his title when he clinched the 2019 Stock 1000 Championship by winning Sunday’s race.
Lee, aboard his Franklin Armory/Graves Kawasaki, started from the pole, but the race was red-flagged and had to be restarted. Despite the drama, Lee stayed in front and kept title rival Stefano Mesa behind him.
INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin Harvick’s victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during Sunday’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard was a win for more than just himself.
It marked a score for the racing legends who helped to shape Harvick’s career.
One of the first people Harvick referenced during his frontstretch winner’s interview, and then again during his media center press conference, was four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears – the open-wheel icon who was raised in Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., as a youth.
“Man, I can’t tell you how much coming to Indianapolis means to me,” Harvick noted. “As a kid, I grew up watching Rick Mears win Indy 500s and got to be around him as a kid … and he was my hero, so coming here and winning here where he did so many times is pretty awesome.”
That Harvick looked up to Mears and wanted to go into auto racing because of him came as no surprise.
What was, perhaps, more of a surprise was that Harvick’s initial desire to pursue a racing career didn’t involve full-fendered cars. Instead, he wanted to follow Mears into Indy car racing.
“When I was young, I wanted to race Indy cars, because at that point Indy car racing was more popular than stock cars,” Harvick recalled. “It took a drastic turn over the next 10 or 12 years, but at that particular point, if you wanted to race at the top level, you needed to race Indy cars. You didn’t want to race stock cars. And then all that changed.
“For me, I had a dad who I could have went and raced midgets with at 13, 14 or 15 years old, but at that particular point he wanted nothing to do with open-wheel racing and liked stock cars,” Harvick continued. “He was a firefighter and worked on cars on the side and went to the race track on the weekend, and that’s what I did. I went to the local short track and watched, and when I turned 16, that’s what we did.
“That was just the path. There was really no choice. I didn’t really have a say in that, and we raced go‑karts and then went straight to late model stock cars, and then from there it was just a progression of getting an opportunity to go to the next level, and I went all the way through the whole ranks of the NASCAR system at that particular time all the way to the top.
“It was really not my choice, but it worked out pretty well.”
Harvick’s win on Sunday was his second in the Brickyard 400, following a win 16 years ago, during the 2003 season in his early years with Richard Childress Racing.
That puts him halfway to matching Mears’ total of four Indianapolis 500 victories, “and hopefully we can get a little closer before we’re done,” Harvick smiled.
But Mears wasn’t the only great who Harvick honored with his victory on Sunday.
The 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion also won for car owner Tony Stewart – a two-time Brickyard 400 winner as a driver in his own right – who Harvick raced against for many years.
Stewart, who will be formally inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020, had won the Brickyard 400 before as an owner in 2013, but Harvick wanted to make sure he gave Stewart another PPG Trophy.
“I know how much this place means to Tony, and you can just see that in the way that he walks around here. He’s got a little more pep in his step when he walks around here than he does anywhere else,” noted Harvick of his boss. “He walked up to the car (after qualifying), and he said, ‘Yep, you’ve done a good job so far this weekend. Congrats on the pole. Now go out there, and I want you to destroy them today, and then after you’re done we’re going to climb the fence.’”
Harvick lived up to those wishes, leading five times for a race-high 118 laps and winning by more than six seconds over Joey Logano at the hallowed 2.5-mile oval.
It also meant he got to get Stewart to pay up on his request – which Stewart did jubilantly.
“I did remind him after the race that he said we were going to the climb the fence,” Harvick grinned. “I just wanted to see him climb the fence. That was his tradition, so that was kind of fun to be able to help him relive some memories, and I’m sure it was exciting for him. But there’s still nothing like driving the car and being able to enjoy those moments from a driver standpoint, and I think he’d tell you that too.
“Today was a lot of fun, because I know how much the Brickyard means to him, and those are the two things that he told me to do, so that’s what we did today,” Harvick added. “I’m glad it worked out, because he was happy and celebrating out there. I raced against him for a long time, but I respect him as an owner and it’s cool to do this together as a team.”
So was Harvick’s win for his own celebration at the famed Indianapolis grounds on Sunday? Absolutely.
But it was also a hearkening back to two Indiana heroes who left indelible imprints on both the sport and a veteran who has taken their lessons to heart and added his own.
Spain thrash Faroe Islands for sixth straight win
Spain homed in on Euro 2020 by easing past the Faroe Islands 4-0 on Sunday for a sixth straight qualifying win that featured two goals each from Rodrigo and Paco Alcacer and moved them further clear at the top of Group F.
Sergio Ramos equalled Iker Casillas' record of 167 appearances for Spain on an emotional night at Sporting Gijon's El Molinon stadium, which paid tribute to the late Spain and Sporting forward Quini before kick off.
A minute's silence was also held in memory of former Spain coach Luis Enrique's daughter Xana, who passed away last month.
There followed a straightforward win that took Spain on to a maximum 18 points after six games and leaves them seven ahead of second-placed Sweden, who drew 1-1 at home to Norway.
Romania beat Malta 1-0 with a goal from George Puscas to leapfrog Norway into third place on 10 points.
Valencia striker Rodrigo tapped into an empty net to put Spain in front in the 13th minute despite being in an offside position when he received a pass from Mikel Oyarzabal.
But with video technology not in use in the qualifying phases, the goal stood.
Rodrigo doubled Spain's lead in the 50th minute on coach Robert Moreno's home debut by cutting in from the right wing and firing a left-footed shot towards goal which took a heavy deflection off a visiting defender on its way into the net.
Alcacer then furthered his reputation as a highly productive substitute by further stretching Spain's advantage with simple strikes in the 89th minute and deep in stoppage-time. Midfielder Thiago Alcantara said the team had not played as well as they would have liked due to the visitors' negative tactics.
"It was very tough at first, you expect a team like them to close you down and sit back and that's what happened and we struggled to break them down," he said.
"They had three players marking one of ours although once we got the first goal it was slightly easier. We still weren't completely comfortable but we're happy with the result."
With the top two sides in each group guaranteed a place at Euro 2020, Spain need only win two of their remaining four games to qualify for the tournament, but Thiago said his side were determined to win every match.
"We are focused on getting all the points, it doesn't matter to us when we qualify, we want every point, from the first to the last," he added.
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