Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. ó Few drivers willingly leave Hendrick Motorsports, the powerhouse race team that runs up front and challenges for championships on an annual basis.
Brian Vickers did in one of the most head-scratching career decisions in recent NASCAR memory.
He walked away from a dream job at the end of 2006 to take a chance on a brand new race team. All Red Bull Racing really had to offer was a concept ó they’d spend endlessly to build an energetic organization with Vickers as the star ó and he jumped at the opportunity.
Just three topsy-turvy seasons into his Red Bull venture, Vickers proved his decision was the right one for him. He used a steady 11-race push to grab the final spot in the Chase for the championship with a strong Saturday night run at Richmond International Raceway.
Vickers’ had just one top-10 finish in 10 previous Richmond starts, but stepped up to finish seventh and steal the spot earmarked for either Kyle Busch or Matt Kenseth.
“We picked one heck of a night to have a great car,” he said.
U.S. OPEN
NEW YORK ó Rafael Nadal looked lost, swallowed up by the huge serves and crushing forehands coming at him from his 6-foot-6 opponent across the net.
That was Juan Martin del Potro, who made his first Grand Slam final, handing Nadal a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 loss Sunday at the U.S. Open ó the worst loss Rafa has suffered in a major tournament.
“I think this is the best moment of my life,” del Potro said.
Nadal was dealing with a strained abdominal muscle, and after the match he finally admitted the obvious ó that it was bothering him.
The six-time Grand Slam tournament champion also gave plenty of credit to del Potro, who deserved every bit of it after sapping all the life, and hope, out of a player whose relentlessness is one of his biggest attributes.
“I’m going to repeat: He played much better than me, and for that reason he beat me,” Nadal said.
– LOS ANGELES ó Jack Kramer, a tennis champion in the 1940s and ’50s and a promoter of the sport for more 60 years, died at his home in Los Angeles, his family said. He was 88.
COLLEGE FOOTBALLMichigan, unranked all of last season while finishing 3-9, is No. 25 in The Associated Press college football poll released Sunday.
The Wolverines moved into the media rankings for the first time since the end of the 2007 season after a thrilling 38-34 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday. The loss dropped the Fighting Irish out of the rankings.
Florida remains No. 1. Texas is still No. 2. No. 3 Southern California received a first-place vote for the first time this season.
Alabama is No. 4 with a first-place vote and Mississippi and Penn State are tied for No. 5.
Oklahoma State fell 11 places to 16th after being upset by Houston.
North Carolina is 24th. Other ACC schools in the poll include Virginia Tech (13th), Georgia Tech (14th) and Miami (20th).
– DURHAM ó Thaddeus Lewis will be Duke’s starting quarterback when the Blue Devils face No. 22 Kansas this weekend.
Coach David Cutcliffe insisted Sunday that “we’re not trying to start a quarterback controversy.” He spoke the day after redshirt freshman Sean Renfree replaced Lewis and led the Blue Devils past Army.
– LOS ANGELES ó UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince will be out three to four weeks after his jaw was broken late in the Bruins’ victory at Tennessee.
Prince is a freshman who has led the Bruins (2-0) to season-opening victories over San Diego State and the Volunteers. He was 11 for 23 for 101 yards with one touchdown pass and no interceptions in UCLA’s 19-15 win Saturday.
NHL
RALEIGH ó The Carolina Hurricanes got back on the ice Sunday, and they looked much like a team coming off a deep playoff run.
There’s a good reason for that: Eric Staal, Cam Ward and the rest of the veterans were in the early practice group, with prospects and other lesser known players in one that skated later.
The aim, of course, is to recapture the form that propelled the Hurricanes from a borderline playoff team to one that won its first two series in dramatic fashion and reached the Eastern Conference final.