Kahne holds off Leffler and wins Busch race

Kasey Kahne passed Ryan Newman with eight laps to go, then held off several charges from Jason Leffler to win the NASCAR Busch Series Food City 250 Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

The race was marred by a NASCAR scoring error against Kyle Busch that cost him a chance to run for the win.

Busch was penalized with 77 laps to go because NASCAR said he violated the pit-road commitment line. He had to forfeit his second-place position, a penalty NASCAR later said was incorrect. But it was too late by then, as he had dropped all the way back to 28th.

With Busch out of the way, Newman easily pulled away as the leader on the ensuing restart. He had little competition until the closing laps, when Kahne and Leffler closed the gap.

Kahne went high around Newman, Leffler went low and the three cars squeezed together. The contact caused one of Newman’s tires to go flat, and he fell off the pace as Kahne passed them in his Dodge.

Once past Newman, Kahne still had to contend with Leffler, the pole-sitter who had dominated the race by leading a race-high 82 laps. But Leffler gave up the lead on a late pit stop for tires.

Kahne earlier won the pole for tonight’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He had a fast lap of 119.805 mph. Juan Pablo Montoya, also in a Dodge, was second at 119.447.

Will Power won the provisional pole for Sunday’s Champ Car World Series Belgian Grand Prix as the series returned to Europe for the first time in four years. He went around the 2.622-mile Zolder circuit in 1 minute 13.810 seconds.

TENNIS

Fish beats Karlovic;

next up is Blake

Mardy Fish defeated 11th-seeded Ivo Karlovic, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the semifinals of the Pilot Pen tournament at New Haven, Conn., to advance to his first final this year. It was his first win against Karlovic in five attempts.

Fish will play third-seeded James Blake, who beat fifth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2).

Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova won the first women’s semifinal after sixth-seeded Elena Dementieva retired while trailing, 6-4, 3-6, 0-3. She will play Agnes Szavay, who defeated Eleni Daniilidou, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

SOCCER

U.S. gets first-round bye

in World Cup qualifying

The U.S. was among 13 nations that will receive a first-round bye in North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

FIFA, soccer’s governing body, said it based the decision on its rankings from May, when the U.S. was second in the region, a position it also holds in the latest rankings.

American goalkeeper Kasey Keller has joined English Premier League team Fulham. Keller, 37, could make his first start today against Aston Villa because No. 1 goalkeeper Antti Niemi is injured.

Brazilian midfielder Denilson, who played on the 2002 World Cup championship team, signed with FC Dallas. Terms of the deal were not released

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Clausen acknowledges he had arm surgery

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, talking with reporters for the first time since arriving on campus last January, confirmed that he underwent arthroscopic surgery last spring to remove a bone spur from his throwing arm.

Notre Dame had never confirmed that the former Westlake Village Oaks Christian star underwent the surgery, although it had been widely speculated.

South Carolina safety Emanuel Cook was arrested on a gun charge and suspended from the university, making him ineligible to play for the Gamecocks.

Cook was charged with unlawful possession of a pistol, according to a police report. He was arrested by university police Thursday night at a parking lot near campus dormitories in Columbia, the report said.

Tennessee tailback LaMarcus Coker, the team’s leading rusher last season who was indefinitely suspended two weeks ago, will rejoin the team, Coach Phillip Fulmer said.

Even though Coker is back on the team, he will not make the trip to California for the season opener on Sept. 1.

JURISPRUDENCE

Former Sun Devil Wade

gets 20-year prison term

Former Arizona State running back Loren Wade, convicted of second-degree murder in the 2005 shooting of another former Sun Devils football player, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The 23-year-old Wade, from Gardena Serra High, faced 10 to 22 years under sentencing guidelines after being convicted June 7. He was charged in the death of Brandon Falkner, a defensive back for the Sun Devils from 1999 to 2001 who was shot outside a nightclub in Scottsdale, Ariz., on March 26, 2005.

MISCELLANY

Miller tells Celtics

he’ll remain retired

Reggie Miller is staying retired, passing on a chance to play for the Boston Celtics. He told the Celtics of his decision after having several conversations with Danny Ainge, Boston’s executive director of basketball operations, during the last two weeks, team spokesman Jeff Twiss said.

The NBA’s career leader in three-point baskets turned 42 on Friday and has spent the last two seasons out of the NBA after retiring from an 18-year pro career.

Right wing Milan Michalek agreed to a six-year, $26-million contract extension that will keep him with the San Jose Sharks through 2014. He was their fourth-leading scorer last season with 26 goals, 40 assists and a plus-17 rating.