Scheckter Wins Race; Patrick Finishes 13th

Danica Patrick looked like another rookie Saturday, struggling to a 13th-place finish as Tomas Scheckter held off Sam Hornish Jr. to win the Indy Racing League event at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

After leading in each of her last two races and coming close to winning at Indy, Patrick was never a factor. The battle at the end came down to Scheckter and Hornish, with Scheckter winning by 0.534 seconds, less than a car-length. It was the 10th-closest finish in IRL history.

It was the first victory for a Chevrolet-powered car since Hornish won the season finale at California Speedway in 2003.

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Michael Waltrip ended a qualifying drought of 446 races by putting his Chevrolet in the top spot at Pocono Raceway. Waltrip got around the 2.5-mile triangular-shaped oval at 169.052 mph for his first pole since Michigan in 1991. He edged Nextel Cup series champion Kurt Busch, who will start on the outside of the front row today in the $4.75-million Pocono 500 at Long Pond, Pa.... The NASCAR Busch Series’ Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway was postponed until today because of rain.

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Rookie Andrew Phipps won both Lucas Oil Super Late Models Series Twin 50s races at Irwindale Speedway. Phipps led wire-to-wire in the second race and won his third consecutive race. Russell White was second, 2.648 seconds behind.

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Tennis

Defending champion Andy Roddick advanced to his third consecutive final at the Queen’s grass-court tournament in London, overcoming a sloppy second set to defeat Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Roddick will play Ivo Karlovic in today’s final.... Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated Tommy Haas, 6-4, 7-6 (9), in the semifinals to move within one victory of winning his third consecutive Gerry Weber Open title at Halle, Germany. His opponent in the final will be Marat Safin, who defeated Guillermo Canas, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. ... Defending champion Maria Sharapova defeated Tatiana Golovin, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the final of the DFS Classic at Birmingham, England. Sharapova, recovering from a thigh strain and a cold, will play Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Montenegro. Jankovic beat Laura Granville, 6-2, 6-2.

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Track and Field

Maurice Greene and Allen Johnson scored impressive victories in the Reebok Grand Prix at New York. Greene, 29, the 2000 Olympic champion and three-time world champ, edged Shawn Crawford in a 100-meter duel. Greene was clocked in 10.8 seconds. Crawford, the Olympic 200 gold medalist, finished in 10.10. Johnson, 34, edged fellow American Dominique Arnold and Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China in the 110 hurdles.

Marion Jones finished fourth behind Chandra Sturrup and two others in the 100 meters at the Galatletica competition at Monterrey, Mexico. The three-time Olympic champion finished in 11.40 seconds and was beaten by the Bahamas’ Sturrup (11.14) for the third time this year. After Sturrup were Americans Lauryn Williams (11.30) and Muna Lee (11.39).

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Miscellany

USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, appearing as a keynote speaker at a breakfast for the Southern California Summer Special Olympics, said that his rehabilitation was on track.

Leinart, recovering from minor off-season surgery to address tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, sat out the Trojans’ spring practices. “Everything’s going good, and I’m excited to get back,” Leinart said. “It’s good to have time off, but I’m anxious.”

Misty May and Kerri Walsh breezed through the first three rounds and advanced to today’s semifinals of the AVP San Diego Open beach volleyball tournament. Karch Kiraly lost his opening match but battled through the contender’s bracket and will play in the semis.

Kurt Kittner led Amsterdam to its first NFL Europe World Bowl title, throwing two touchdown passes and setting up a third score with a 54-yard pass in the Admirals’ 27-21 victory over the Berlin Thunder at Duesseldorf, Germany.