Stewart Dedicates Victory in New Hampshire to Irwin

Tony Stewart won the rain-shortened New England 300 Sunday at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon and dedicated his victory to Kenny Irwin, who was killed when his car crashed in practice Friday.

“We weren’t always on the best of terms, but we always brought out the best in each other,” Stewart said. “We always respected each other.”

Facing a fuel problem, Stewart got lucky when the race was shortened by 27 laps.

A year ago, a fuel miscalculation by his crew chief cost him the race.

This time, a decision to remain on the track once he got the lead before the first of two rain-caused red flags, proved decisive. He was happy for crew chief Greg Zipadelli, whose bad math was costly last year.

Stewart’s Pontiac, like the cars of the other 42 drivers, had a decal that read: “In Memory of Kenny Irwin.”

Stewart collected $164,800 from a purse of $3.1 million.

Meanwhile, Mike Helton, NASCAR’s chief operating officer, said the cause of Irwin’s crash remained undetermined. The death came eight weeks after Busch series driver Adam Petty was killed in the same low-banked third turn.

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Top-fuel driver Cory McClenathan won drag racing’s Winston All-Star showdown at the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Bristol, Tenn. He beat funny-car driver John Force, the defending champion, in the first round, and then topped Ron Capps with a final-round run of 4.852 seconds at 291.32 mph.

Football

NFL running back Fred Lane had returned to Charlotte, N.C., the day he was shot and killed by his wife so he could raise some cash, not to reconcile with her, Lane’s father says. Deidra Lane reportedly was concealing the location of their money.

Lane, traded from Carolina to Indianapolis in April, was fatally shot Thursday.

Three former teammates of Lane say they have scheduled a meeting with police investigators to relay what they claim was reckless behavior by Deidra Lane, the Tennessean of Nashville reported.

A memorial service Deidra Lane planned for her husband today in Charlotte has been canceled. Instead, visitors will be received at a Baptist church today in Charlotte and a funeral service will be held Tuesday in Franklin, Tenn.

Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne faces a $10,000 fine from the NFL for missing a mandatory league-sponsored rookie symposium June 25-28 at La Costa.

Dayne, the New York Giants’ first-round draft choice, was the only one of 254 players selected in the April draft who missed the entire four-day program aimed at teaching life skills.

“We are appealing,” Dayne’s agent, Ronald Hopson, said. “Ron was unable to catch a flight because of a severe inner ear infection and his doctor in Wisconsin would not allow him to fly.”

Dayne also has a problem on another front. The Wisconsin State Journal of Madison reported that Wisconsin is investigating charges that Dayne and 13 other members of the Badger football team and eight members of the basketball team got special discounts and credit arrangements at a Madison shoe store, a violation of NCAA rules.

Soccer

Eight World Cup qualifiers were played in Africa, where the big news was the tragedy that resulted in 12 deaths at the Zimbabwe-South Africa match at Harare. The trouble began when fan discontent with a referee’s decision resulted in tear gas from police and a stampede of the crowd of 50,000 ensued. South Africa’s 2-0 win remained official although the match was cut short.

Elsewhere: The Indomitable Lions defeated visiting Angola, 3-0, before 65,000 at Yaounde, Cameroon, with German-based player Bernard Tchoutang scoring two goals. . . . At Kingshasa, Congo, the Simba Lions of Congo, formerly Zaire, defeated the Red Devils of neighboring Republic of Congo, 2-0; Ghana trounced Sierra Leone, 5-0, in a qualifier played in Ghana’s capital of Accra; Egypt and Senegal played to a 0-0 tie; Liberia beat Nigeria, 2-1; Guinea beat Burkina Faso, 3-2; and Morocco beat Algeria, 2-1.

Names in the News

Notre Dame Coach Matt Doherty and Philadelphia 76er Coach Larry Brown met with North Carolina officials over the weekend about the school’s basketball coaching vacancy. . . . Misty May and Holly McPeak defeated Lisa Arce and Barbra Fontana, 15-4, to win the Beach Volleyball America tour’s Seal Beach Open. . . . Therese Alshammar of Sweden won her third and fourth gold medals at the European Swimming Championships at Helsinki, Finland. She won the 50-meter freestyle in 24.44, barely missing the world record of 24.39, and also helped Sweden win the medley relay. . . . Elliott Clinton, Patrick Ghattas and Marten Zagunis of the Oregon Fencing Assn. won the team sabre title at the U.S. National Fencing Championships in Austin, Texas.