Busch Patiently Prevails Despite Extended Finish

Kyle Busch had to go to overtime Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway for his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory of the year.

Busch passed Elliott Sadler for the lead 61 laps from the end and appeared to have the third victory of his career clinched. But a crash involving Hendrick Motorsports teammate Brian Vickers and rookie Clint Bowyer brought out a caution flag on lap 298, three laps from the scheduled end of the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 in Loudon, N.H.

With a number of drivers, including Sadler, concerned about running out of fuel even before the extra laps, the race was extended even more when Michael Waltrip ran into the back of Robby Gordon on lap 303.

The last restart came on lap 307. By that time, rookie Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards had moved past Sadler, but Busch easily pulled away from the challengers in the two-lap sprint to the finish.

“We’re just trying to bide our time, making our own race and trying to get it to the end in one piece,” Busch said.

” ... We’re just running our race out there and letting everybody else make their mistakes.”

Edwards drove past Hamlin for second place on the final lap and Hamlin appeared to run out of gas, fading all the way to sixth as Greg Biffle, Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick all drove past on the final straightaway.

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J.R. Todd became the first black driver to win a National Hot Rod Assn. top fuel event, beating Tony Schumacher in the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Morrison, Colo.

Todd, driving in his ninth event, never trailed in the final, beating the three-time series champion with a 4.906-second run at 291.63 mph.

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Michael Schumacher won the French Grand Prix for a record eighth time in Magny Cours, France.

Schumacher finished 10 seconds ahead of world champion Fernando Alonso. Felipe Massa, Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate, was third.

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Ricky Carmichael raced to his fifth straight Toyota AMA Motocross Championship victory in beating Kevin Windham at New Berlin, N.Y.

TENNIS

Belgium Eliminates U.S. From Fed Cup

Kim Clijsters outplayed Vania King, 6-0, 6-1, in 55 minutes to complete Belgium’s Fed Cup victory over the United States in Ostend, Belgium, and set up a final against Italy.

Clijsters’ win gave the Belgians an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Belgium will face Italy, which defeated host Spain, in the Sept. 16-17 final.

It was the first time in five Fed Cup meetings that Belgium beat the U.S. team.

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Mark Philippoussis beat eighth-seeded Justin Gimelstob, 6-3, 7-5, to win the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I.

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Tommy Robredo routed top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, 6-2, 6-1, to win the clay-court Swedish Open in Bastad for his second ATP Tour title of the season.

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Richard Gasquet of France defeated Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3, to win the Swiss Open in Gstaad.

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Jason Jung of Torrance defeated John Nguyen of Anaheim, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, in the finals of the Southern California Open Sectional Championships at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Jung earned a spot in the qualifying tournament for the Countrywide Classic, July 24-30, at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center.

HOCKEY

Lindros Reportedly Will Join the Stars

Eric Lindros, the oft-injured center, planned to sign a one-year deal with the Dallas Stars, a team official told the Associated Press.

An announcement was expected today.

Lindros, 33, had 11 goals and 11 assists last season with Toronto, his hometown team, but was limited to 33 games after injuring his wrist. He has also played for Philadelphia and the New York Rangers.

MISCELLANY

Cowboys’ Safety Shot on Highway

Dallas Cowboys safety Keith Davis was shot twice while driving on a Dallas highway Sunday and was hospitalized in stable condition after undergoing surgery to remove bullet fragments.

His agent said the injuries were minor.

This is the second time in three years that Davis has been shot. In June 2003, Davis was shot in the hip and elbow while picking up a friend at a club. In Sunday’s shooting, police said a car pulled up next to Davis’ vehicle and opened fire. An investigation is underway.

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Natalie Coughlin won the 100-meter backstroke with the second-fastest time in the world on the final night of the Janet Evans Invitational at USC.

Coughlin touched the wall in 1 minutes 19 seconds -- .01 of a second off the time she swam in last month’s Santa Clara Invitational. She swam the final 50 meters in 31.04 -- nearly a second faster than her competitors.

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Barbaro spent another “comfortable” day in the intensive care unit at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals in Kennett Square, Pa., and his veterinarian reports the Kentucky Derby winner’s attitude “remains positive.” There was no indication Barbaro’s condition had improved since 80% of his left rear hoof wall was removed Wednesday to combat the often-fatal disease laminitis.

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Jessica Mendoza homered and drove in four runs and Crystl Bustos and Tairia Flowers each added two-run shots, lifting the U.S. past Japan, 11-0, at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City.

The teams will meet again today in the championship, a rematch of last year’s final.

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Ghana soccer coach Ratomir Dujkovic, 60, resigned for health reasons. Under Dujkovic, Ghana made its World Cup debut with victories over the Czech Republic and the United States.