Victory Ends Elliott’s 52-Race String

Bill Elliott ended an improbable string of NASCAR futility, sweeping past Dale Earnhardt on Sunday to win the Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C.

Elliott passed Earnhardt 13 laps from the finish and won by nearly a quarter-mile. It was Elliott’s first Winston Cup victory since Nov. 15, 1992, at Atlanta Motor Speedway--a string of 52 races. Earnhardt finished second and Morgan Shepherd was third.

Earnhardt, who held on to his Winston Cup points lead, was 15 miles from his record-tying 10th victory at Darlington.

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Despite a severe bout of food poisoning, Al Unser Jr. won the Vancouver Molson-Indy for the third consecutive time.

Unser sat out Friday’s practice and qualifying after arriving in Vancouver with severe stomach distress.

Unser took intravenous fluids for a dehydrated condition before the race. He won by 2.24 seconds over pole-winner Robby Gordon, of Orange, who overcame a punctured tire and a gearbox problem to equal his all-time best finish.

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Eddie Hill, John Force, Darrell Alderman and David Schultz are the No. 1 qualifiers heading into eliminations today for the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.

Boxing

Police in Tempe, Ariz., arrested former WBC and IBF junior flyweight champion Michael Carbajal on felony charges related to a shooting at a weekend party he was told to leave.

Carbajal allegedly fired a dozen shots into the air after he was denied entrance to the party early Saturday morning.

He was booked into the city jail for disorderly conduct, a felony punishable by 1 1/2 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. He was released pending an investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney’s office.

Soccer

Alexi Lalas, a 24-year-old defender from Detroit, became the first U.S.-born player in the Italian League as Padova lost to Sampdoria of Genoa, 5-0, in its opener.

Lalas, called the “American Buffalo” by the Italian media for his supposed resemblance to Gen. George Armstrong Custer, was good in man-to-man defensive play but looked uncertain when Padova switched to a zone.

Miscellany

The International Olympic Committee approved the addition of men’s and women’s triathlon and taekwondo as medal sports for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.

Also, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch won the right to nominate up to 10 international sports federation chiefs as members of the IOC. Samaranch now is capable of altering the balance of power within the Olympic movement.

Linford Christie, wearing an outfit that featured some of his press clippings, broke his three-race losing streak with a victory in the rarely-run 150 meters at an international meet in Sheffield, England.

Jan Zelezny, who broke the world javelin record last year, won with a throw of 301 feet 3 inches, longest in the world this year.

Officials at the world swimming championships in Rome suspended three Hungarians and three Italians after a men’s water polo match between the two rivals degenerated into a pool brawl.

Barbra Fontana finished with a 5-1 record to win the $9,750 first-place prize in the AVIV Top of the Tour beach volleyball tournament at Powell, Ohio.

The United States defeated Argentina, 77-72, to win the gold medal at the Junior World Championship basketball qualifying tournament in Santa Rosa, Argentina.

The Americans got 21 points apiece from Stephon Marbury of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Shareef Abdur-Rahim of Marietta, Ga. Marbury scored five points during a key run for the U.S. team after the Argentines, backed by a vocal crowd, had pulled to within 52-51.

The U.S. team was unbeaten in eight games, while the final-game loss was Argentina’s only one in the 10-team tournament.