Bowyer finishes fast for fifth Busch Series race win

Clint Bowyer won the race off pit road with about 28 laps to go Friday night and easily went on to his fifth NASCAR Busch Series victory.

Matt Kenseth dominated much of the latter part of the Circuit City 250 at Richmond, Va., but pitted with the other leaders after the final caution flew on Lap 223.

Carl Edwards and David Ragan took the top two spots by staying out, but their stay in front didn’t last long.

Kenseth came out fifth, behind Bowyer and Jeff Burton, after a mishap with the jack on Kenseth’s right front tire.

Edwards and Ragan faded, but Bowyer remained strong, taking the lead with 19 laps to go and winning by 1.483 seconds in a Chevrolet.

It was the fourth Busch Series victory in a row at Richmond for Richard Childress Racing. Kevin Harvick, who finished fourth, won the last three in a row.

Jeff Gordon won his third consecutive NASCAR Nextel Cup pole position in qualifying for tonight’s Crown Royal 400 at Richmond, Va. He had a fast lap of 126.251 mph in a Chevrolet. Edwards qualified second in a Ford at 125.657 mph.

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TENNIS

Venus Williams loses in Warsaw quarterfinals

Third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova rallied to beat Venus Williams, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, and reach a semifinal matchup against Alona Bondarenko at the J&S; Cup in Warsaw. Bondarenko advanced when Julia Vakulenko withdrew because of a sprained right wrist while trailing, 6-2, 3-1.

Top-ranked Justine Henin and fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic will play in the other semifinal. Henin beat Mara Santangelo, 6-2, 6-1. Jankovic advanced after sixth-seeded Anna Chakvetadze retired because of a right shoulder strain while trailing, 7-6 (1), 3-1.

Second-seeded Tommy Robredo reached the semifinals of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal, by beating seventh-seeded Agustin Calleri, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-3. He’ll play third-seeded Novak Djokovic, who beat Guillermo Garcia Lopez, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

Fifth-seeded Richard Gasquet also advanced, defeating Vince Spadea, 6-3, 6-4. Gasquet will next play Paul-Henri Mathieu, who beat Juan Monaco, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Second-seeded Tomas Berdych reached the semifinals of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany, by beating Nicolas Devilder, 6-4, 6-0. He will play third-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, who beat eighth-seeded Juergen Melzer, 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Fourth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis advanced by beating Alexander Waske, 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. He will play Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Sebastien Grosjean, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

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HOCKEY

Doan’s hat trick leads Canada past Belarus

Facing criticism off the ice, Canada captain Shane Doan had a hat trick in a 6-3 win over Belarus at the world championships at Moscow.

Doan’s captaincy has been criticized in Canada’s parliament over allegations he uttered an ethnic slur at French-speaking officials during a 2005 game between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens. An NHL investigation found no evidence he used any slurs.

“This was a game that we needed to win,” Doan said. “I just try to come out here and compete and win and that’s what you focus on. All the other stuff is beyond my control.”

Russia got a goal and an assist from Ilya Kovalchuk in a 3-0 victory over Italy.

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JURISPRUDENCE

Prosecutors consider charges against Cepeda

Prosecutors are weighing possible drug charges against baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda after the California Highway Patrol forwarded its investigation.

The former San Francisco Giants star was arrested Tuesday after a CHP officer discovered marijuana and a white powder substance in his 2001 Lexus.

Cepeda, 69, was stopped after the officer clocked him driving 83 mph in a 65 mph zone on Interstate 80 northeast of San Francisco.

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MISCELLANY

Bojado victorious in return to ring

Former Mexico Olympic entrant Francisco Bojado of Los Angeles won a 10-round unanimous decision over junior-welterweight Dairo Esalas at an MGM Hotel ballroom in Las Vegas. Bojado, 23, improved to 17-2 with 11 knockouts. He had not fought since July 2004.

Riverside heavyweight Cristobal “Chris” Arreola scored his 18th knockout in 20 bouts when he unleashed an eighth-round flurry that knocked Malcolm Tann through ring ropes at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas.

-- Lance Pugmire

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A slew of upsets dominated a cold and windy opening day at the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Huntington Beach Open at the Huntington Beach Pier.

Fourth-seeded Matt Fuerbringer and Sean Scott lost twice and were eliminated while second-seeded Mike Lambert and Stein Metzger lost in the opening round then squeaked through the second round.

Able to avoid the upset bug were Karch Kiraly and Kevin Wong, who advanced unscathed and will play this afternoon at 12:30 on the stadium court.

Top-seeded Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser and third-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal also advanced without a loss. In women’s play, top-seeded Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh and second-seeded Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh advanced without a loss.

-- Peter Yoon

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UC Irvine (28-5) plays Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne (23-7) tonight at Columbus, Ohio, for the men’s NCAA Division I volleyball championship.

Van F. McKenzie, who for seven years led the Orlando Sentinel sports department, is the 2007 winner of the Red Smith Award, a lifetime achievement distinction and the highest honor in sports journalism.

McKenzie was the Sentinel’s associate managing editor for sports when he died Jan. 26 after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 61. The award, named for the New York Times’ legendary sports writer, is presented annually by the Associated Press Sports Editors.