Martin earns Cup pole, sets record at Indy

Auto Racing: Maybe 50 is the new 40 or even 30. Maybe Mark Martin’s continued defiance of racing age is the sign of things to come.

Or, maybe, Martin is just really good.

Whatever the meaning, the 50-year-old Martin winning the pole for today’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis is just his latest sign of driving excellence. It’s his fourth pole of the season to go along with a Sprint Cup Series-leading four victories.

Martin’s speed of 182.054 mph on Saturday was enough to edge Juan Montoya (180.803). It made him the oldest pole winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

•Edwards beats Busch for Nationwide win: Carl Edwards came from the back of the pack to win the Nationwide Series race at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.

Edwards started 42nd out of 43 drivers because he spent the day at the Brickyard 400 qualifying. He got into the race because of owner points. He moved up 15 spots by the end of the fourth lap, and took the lead for good in lap 179.

Kyle Busch finished second. Trevor Bayne, an 18-year-old who earned the pole, finished seventh. He led the first 34 laps before making contact with Steve Wallace and falling out of contention.

•Power takes poll in Edmonton IndyCar: Will Power will start on the pole after winning a qualifying session for the Rexall Edmonton (Alberta) IndyCar.

The Australian ran a fast lap of 61.013 seconds in the final session of qualifying on the 14-turn, 1.96 mile City Centre Airport course.

His teammate, Ryan Briscoe, who started on pole last year in Edmonton, will join Power on the front row today.

Norman takes lead at Senior British Open

Golf: Greg Norman shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 64 to grab the lead by a stroke heading into the last round of the Senior British Open at Sunningdale, England.

Norman was at 10-under 200, a stroke ahead of overnight leader Fred Funk (72) and Loren Roberts (67).

Tom Watson’s hopes of improving on his runner-up spot in the British Open last week took a hit after a 70 that left him six shots behind Norman.

Norman loves the Sunningdale course, where he played often and won during his years on the European Tour.

“I feel comfortable around this golf course,” he said. “I always have for some reason.”

•Brewerton retains Evian Masters lead: Becky Brewerton of Wales shot a 3-under 69 to grab a share of the LPGA’s Evian Masters lead for the third consecutive round at Evian-les-Bains, France.

Brewerton heads into today’s final round tied with Sophie Gustafson of Sweden – who had a 5-under 67 – and In-Kyung Kim of South Korea at 12-under 204.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot 70 and is tied for 11th at 209.

•Dufner leads soggy Canadian Open: Jason Dufner threatened to shoot in the 50s, then settled for a 9-under 63. Mark Calcavecchia made a record nine straight birdies. And there were two more aces in perfect scoring conditions at the rainy Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario.

Soon after Dufner finished the second round in light rain, heavy showers hit the Glen Abbey course, forcing tour officials to postpone the third round until this morning.

Safina to meet Errani in Slovenia final

Tennis: Top-ranked Dinara Safina has reached her seventh final of the year by beating Alberta Brianti of Italy 6-4, 6-3 at the Slovenia Open.

Safina had little difficulty in ousting the 107th-ranked Brianti in 1 hour, 34 minutes. The Russian is playing her first tournament since losing to Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals.

•Querrey earns spot in Indianapolis finals: Sam Querrey found success in his third consecutive trip to the semifinals at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, setting up an all-American final.

Querrey earned his first berth to the Indianapolis finals, beating Frank Dancevic of Canada 6-4, 6-4. Querrey will face countryman Robby Ginepri in today’s championship.

Champ Liukin returns to competition

Gymnastics: Olympic champion Nastia Liukin returned to competition for the first time since the Beijing Games, and it looked as if she’d barely been away. She posted the second-best score on balance beam, her only event, and her 14.5 was only .1 points behind teammate Ivana Hong.

Liukin looked relieved when she finished, while her father and coach Valeri nodded his head. Liukin plans to compete at the national championships next month in her hometown of Dallas.