Comfortable Stewart Wins Indy Car Race

It’s probably frightening to the rest of the competitors in the Indy Racing League to think that Tony Stewart is still a novice in these cars.

Stewart, the defending series champion, joined Arie Luyendyk and Buddy Lazier as the only two-time IRL winners after opening the season with a victory in the Indy 200 at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

“I’m starting to get more comfortable in these cars now,” the former U.S. Auto Club short-track star said. “Keep in mind, I’ve only been in this kind of car for two years now.”

Stewart was among the survivors in an event that saw nine crashes and 10 caution flags for 77 laps. There were no injuries. Jeff Ward passed Davey Hamilton on the final lap to finish second.

The pattern for the race was set as the leaders in the 28-car field took the green flag for the start. Robbie Groff, starting near the back of the field, spun and slammed into the pit wall. Moments after the restart, Eliseo Salazar spun and triggered an accident in which Marco Greco slammed into leader Roberto Guerrero.

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Thiago Bezerra of Brazil was in critical condition with head injuries after a crash during a U.S. Formula 2000 race, also at Lake Buena Vista.

Bezerra, 20, was flown by helicopter to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he underwent a CT scan.

Golf

Jesper Parnevik, runner-up in last year’s Phoenix Open, and Scott Verplank each shot five-under-par 66 to move from three shots back and share a two-shot lead in the $2.5-million tournament at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Parnevik and Verplank, who won the PGA Tour’s qualifying school tournament in November to regain his playing privileges, take 54-hole totals of 11-under 202 into today’s final round.

Paul Stankowski will complete the final threesome. He was alone at 204 after shooting a 67.

Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson twice rallied from two strokes behind to shoot a five-under 67 and take the lead after three rounds of the LPGA’s $600,000 Office Depot tournament at West Palm Beach, Fla.

At 10-under 206, Alfredsson is two strokes ahead of Wendy Ward, who shot a 71. Pat Hurst, a co-leader after the first round, made seven birdies in shooting a 67 and was third at 209.

Ernie Els is trying to remain No. 1 in the $1.3-million Johnnie Walker Classic at Phuket, Thailand. Tiger Woods is trying to remain No. 1 in the world.

Els retained a one-stroke lead over Nick Faldo after the tournament’s third round despite shooting a two-over 74 for a 10-under 206 total.

Woods, who could lose his top ranking to Greg Norman if he doesn’t finish in the top 25, was tied for 18th at 214 after shooting a 71.

Raymond Floyd continued his domination of the Senior Skins Game, winning five skins on the first day of the two-day event at Kohala Coast, Hawaii.

Floyd, seeking his fifth consecutive victory, won $100,000 with a birdie on the 403-yard fifth hole. Hale Irwin won $50,000 with an 18-foot birdie putt at the 398-yard seventh. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus failed to win a skin.

Winter Sports

Just as her rivals started thinking Katja Seizinger was not invincible, the powerful German skier won a World Cup super-G race at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, her seventh victory this season.

They believed that Seizinger was losing momentum as the Olympics grew near because she had not won a race in 1998. Earlier in the season, she won six consecutive races.

While Seizinger enhanced her credentials for Nagano, former World Cup champion Anita Wachter of Austria tore three knee ligaments in a spill, ending her Olympic hopes and possibly her career.

Kristian Ghedina won the Hahnenkamm World Cup downhill, the first victory by an Italian on the famous track at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Switzerland’s Didier Cuche was a close second, becoming a favorite for a medal at Nagano. Austria, which has dominated World Cup competition this season, got a third place from Josef Strobl.

Chris Witty of the United States won the women’s 1,000 meters and Jan Bos of the Netherlands won both the men’s 500 and 1,000 meters at the Speedskating Sprint World Championships at Berlin. . . . Dave Versteeg of the Netherlands set a world record of 42.648 seconds in the men’s 500-meter final at the European short-track speedskating championships at Budapest, Hungary. . . . Rosey Fletcher of Girdwood, Alaska, became the first U.S. Olympic snowboarder and Chris Klug of Aspen, Colo., became the second by winning giant slalom qualifiers at Bend, Ore. Michelle Taggart of Salem, Ore., won the women’s halfpipe. . . . Veteran Ann Battelle of Steamboat Springs, Colo., warming up for her third Olympics, ignored a snowstorm to win the final pre-Olympic World Cup moguls meet at Whistler, Canada.

Miscellany

The U.S. women’s soccer team clinched the Guangzhou International tournament title, beating Norway, 3-0, on goals by Tisha Venturini, Mia Hamm and Cindy Parlow at Guangzhou, China. . . . The Philadelphia Phillies will try again to sign outfielder J.D. Drew, their top draft choice last season from Florida State. Drew, the second pick overall, sought $10 million to $12 million. The Phillies’ only offer has been $2.05 million.