Points Leader Gordon Withstands Challenge

Jeff Gordon led 400 of 500 laps, including the final 198, on the way to an easy victory Sunday in the MBNA 500 at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Del. Gordon has finished in the top 10 in his last 12 races.

Gordon’s only challenge in the race on the one-mile concrete oval came from Bobby Hamilton, who came up short by 2.34 seconds--about 10 car-lengths--but did give car owner Richard Petty the team’s best finish since Petty himself drove to a second place in 1987.

Dale Earnhardt, who came into the 25th event of the 31-race season trailing Gordon by 279 points in the Winston Cup standings, finished fifth, but lost 30 more points.

Rusty Wallace, who had to start from the back of the field after wrecking his primary car Saturday in practice, drove his backup Ford Thunderbird to third place, followed by the Chevys of Joe Nemechek, Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin, the only other drivers on the lead lap.

Also, one man was treated and released and two others upgraded at a hospital in Dover, Del., after being injured Saturday by a fire in the pits during the MBNA 200. Officials said crewman Terry Huntsinger, from Spartanburg, S.C., was released after being treated for second-degree burns. Fred Sharples, the most seriously injured, was upgraded to fair, and crewman Patrick Beckley was also upgraded from stable to fair condition.

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Scott Kalitta won his fourth Top Fuel title of the year, beating Larry Dixon in the final of the NHRA Keystone Nationals in Mohnton, Pa., with a quarter-mile run of 4.801 seconds at 298.90 m.p.h.

Chuck Etchells beat John Force in the Funny Car division and Warren Johnson won his his sixth Pro Stock title of the year, beating Mark Pawuk.

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Italy’s Luca Caladora of Yamaha edged Honda’s series leader Michael Doohan of Australia to win the Brazilian Grand Prix motorcycle race for the 500cc category in Rio de Janeiro.

Another Italian, Doriano Rombini of Honda, was first in the 250cc competition, beating countryman Max Biaggi.

Tennis

Top-seeded Thomas Muster won his 11th title of the season, breaking the ATP Tour record set by Pete Sampras last year with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Austrian Gilbert Schaller in the final of the Romanian Open in Bucharest.

Yaya Doumbia of Senegal became the first pro player to win two tournaments as a qualifier when he defeated Jakob Hlasek of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-4, in the final of the Passing Shot tournament in Bordeaux, France.

Nicolas Lapentti became the first player from Ecuador to win an ATP event in four years when he beat Miguel Tobon of Colombia, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, at the Club Colombia Tennis World Series in Bogota.

College Football

Florida State and Nebraska remained 1-2 in the Associated Press poll, while LSU and Maryland were ranked for the first time this decade.

Florida State, No. 1 since the season started, received 36 first-place votes and 1,519 points from a nationwide media panel after demolishing North Carolina State, 77-17.

Nebraska got 19 firsts and 1,488 points after overpowering Arizona State, 77-28.

Rounding out the Top 10 are Texas A&M;, Florida, USC, Penn State, Colorado, Ohio State, Michigan and Oklahoma.

Oregon climbed eight places to No. 12 after defeating UCLA, which fell to No. 16.

Miscellany

Danny Ainge, a 14-year veteran, is retiring from pro basketball and will become an NBA commentator for TNT and TBS, it was announced during halftime of TNT’s coverage of Sunday night’s Dallas-Minnesota NFL game.

Ainge spent 14 seasons in the NBA--seven with the Boston Celtics, two with the Sacramento Kings, two with the Portland Trail Blazers and the last three with the Phoenix Suns.

The U.S. women’s volleyball team defeated Brazil, 15-9, 15-10, 4-15, 5-15, 15-2, to win the World Grand Prix in Shanghai, China. The title is the first gold medal performance in a major tournament, including the Olympics, by a U.S. women’s team.

Boston Bruin defenseman Al Iafrate, who missed all of last season because of knee problems, may need more surgery on his right knee. An MRI scan has found damaged cartilage in Iafrate’s knee, Coach Steve Kasper said.

Canadian Bruny Surin won the men’s 100- and 200-meter dashes, defeating American Dennis Mitchell convincingly each time in the Kobe International track and field meet in Kobe, Japan. Surin won the 100 in 10.11 seconds to Mitchell’s 10.36, and took the 200 in 20.42, with Mitchell second in 20.70.

International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch toured the stadium under construction for the 1996 Games in Atlanta and noted that there is much work to do over the next 10 months. “The success of the Games . . . [isn’t] assured until the last day, and we have to work very hard,” said Samaranch.

The Cleveland Indians are the best fan value in sports, according to the October issue of Money magazine. Teams were rated on factors such as ticket availability and price, parking access and price, stadium cleanliness, food costs, team performance and star power.