Teenager Braun takes pole in Mexico
Colin Braun beat out a man nearly 30 years his senior Saturday to win the pole for the Corona Mexico 200 in Mexico City.
Braun, a 19-year-old making his third start on NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, posted a fast lap of 102.756 mph in his Ford to edge 48-year-old Scott Pruett. Defending series champion Carl Edwards was third.
Braun, of Ovalo, Texas, had five years of road course experience before joining Roush Fenway Racing. He earned one pole and two second-place finishes in the Rolex Grand Am Daytona Prototype Series.
Braun’s only Nationwide start this year was last month at Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished 15th. This race, on the 2.518-mile road course at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, appeared to suit him.
“I believe he is the guy to beat tomorrow in this race,” said Edwards, Braun’s teammate with Roush.
Pruett qualified second in his Dodge with a lap of 102.651. Pruett took the pole at this event last year in a race Juan Pablo Montoya won.
Edwards will start in the No. 3 spot for the sixth time in nine Nationwide races this year.
•Justin Wilson took the pole for the Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach, Calif., with a fast lap of 1 minute, 6.902 seconds (105.898 mph).
Alex Tagliani turned a 1:07.084 (105.611) to secure second and rookie Franck Perera was third in qualifying at 1:07.180 (105.460).
Today’s race will be the final one for the Champ Car organization.
Tennis
Blake reaches final
Top-seeded James Blake advanced to his first ATP clay-court final, beating eighth-seeded Oscar Hernandez 6-3, 7-6 (3) of Spain in the semifinals of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston.
The American hasn’t lost a set all week, heading into today’s final against another Spaniard. He will face seventh-seeded Marcel Granollers-Pujol of Spain, who took out unseeded Wayne Odesnik 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
•Serena Williams overcame a slow start to defeat unseeded Alize Cornet of France 7-5, 6-3 and advance to the Family Circle Cup final against Vera Zvonareva at Charleston, N.C.
Zvonareva, seeded ninth, upset fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 in the other semifinal of the $1.3 million clay court tournament.
•Top-ranked Roger Federer rallied to defeat Denis Gremelmayr 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinal of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal.
Nikolay Davydenko, the 2003 champion, defeated Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal match.
Horse racing
War Pass out of Derby
One-time Kentucky Derby favorite War Pass will miss next month’s Run for the Roses because of a leg injury likely to sideline the colt for a few months.
Trainer Nick Zito said that X-rays revealed a small fracture in the left front ankle of last year’s champion 2-year-old.
•Behindatthebar pulled in front of Samba Rooster down the stretch and won the $325,000 Lexington Stakes by a length at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., picking up $201,500 – more than enough graded stakes earnings to qualify for next month’s Kentucky Derby if he is entered.
Miscellany
U.S. women lose
Rohanee Cox scored 16 points to help Australia beat the United States women’s basketball team 74-60 in their opening preliminary round game in the Good Luck Beijing Tournament in Beijing.
Australia outscored the United States 26-10 in the fourth quarter. Lisa Leslie led the United States with 17 points and Katie Smith added 14.
•Matt Reed and Julie Swail Ertel secured spots on the U.S. Olympic men’s and women’s triathlon teams with wins in the second of three trials at Tuscaloosa, Ala.