Truex adds first pole to his first Nextel Cup victory

Earlier this year, Martin Truex Jr. got his first NASCAR Nextel Cup win. Now he has his first pole too.

The 27-year-old Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver turned a lap of 193.105 mph Friday at Texas Motor Speedway to grab the top spot for Sunday’s Dickies 500. The pole came in the 79th race of Truex’s Cup career and it came in a Chevrolet that had to undergo major repairs after a crash last Sunday at Atlanta.

His pole wasn’t assured until series leader Jeff Gordon, the second-to-last of 48 drivers to make a qualifying attempt on the 1.5-mile oval, came up just short at 192.424 in a Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion who trails Gordon by just nine points, qualified eighth.

Carl Edwards had a fast lap of 190.745 mph in a Ford to qualify third for today’s NASCAR Busch Series O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. He only has to finish 36th or better to clinch the season title with two races left.

Ted Musgrave broke a 66-race NASCAR winless streak, taking the checkered flag under caution in a Toyota in the Craftsman Trucks Series Silverado 350 after the two trucks in front of him crashed going into the first turn of what was supposed to be a green-white finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso left McLaren after a stormy first season with the British team. He joined McLaren after winning the championship the past two years with Renault. Alonso, who clashed with management and teammate Lewis Hamilton throughout the season, finished third behind champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Hamilton in the point standings.

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TENNIS

Nadal wins in Paris; next up is Baghdatis

Second-seeded Rafael Nadal defeated Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the semifinals of the Paris Masters. He’ll play Marcos Baghdatis, who advanced by beating eighth-seeded Tommy Robredo, 6-4, 6-4.

Lindsay Davenport advanced to the semifinals of the Bell Challenge at Quebec City by defeating Stephanie Foretz, 6-4, 6-0. She will play second-seeded Vera Zvonareva, who beat eighth-seeded Olga Poutchkova, 6-2, 6-1.

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GOLF

Verplank leads by one at Lake Buena Vista

Scott Verplank shot his second consecutive six-under-par 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Tag Ridings (66), Stephen Ames (63) and Ryan Armour (64) in the Children’s Miracle Network Classic in Florida. He is at 12-under 132. The group at 10-under 134 included Justin Leonard (67), Sean O’Hair (66) and first-round leader J.P. Hayes (69).

Laura Davies made seven birdies for a seven-under 65 that gave her a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Mizuno Classic at Shima, Japan. Chie Arimura and Reilley Rankin are one back of Davies, who had birdies on three of the first four holes.

Michael Letzig followed his tournament-record 60 with a five-under 66 to increase his lead to four strokes in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Lakeside, Calif.

Letzig, who entered the week 26th on the money list -- a spot away from earning a PGA Tour card for next season -- had a tournament-record 16-under 126 total on the Barona Creek course.

Richard Johnson, already safe at No. 6 on the money list, was second after a 64.

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BASEBALL

Abreu’s 2008 option exercised by Yankees

Bobby Abreu’s $16-million option for next season was exercised by the New York Yankees. The 33-year-old right fielder overcame a slow start to bat .283 with 16 home runs and 101 RBIs this season, when he finished second in the American League with 123 runs. He has reached 100 RBIs in five consecutive seasons.

Tim Wakefield’s $4-million option for 2008 was exercised by the Boston Red Sox after the knuckleballer sat out the World Series because of inflammation behind his right shoulder. He matched his career high in wins with a 17-12 record. . . . Outfielder/designated hitter Matt Stairs and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed to terms on a $3.25-million, two-year contract.

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PRO BASKETBALL

Seattle owner wants to move to Oklahoma City

Clay Bennett, the Seattle SuperSonics’ new owner, told the NBA he plans to move the team to Oklahoma City.

Bennett had set a Wednesday deadline for having a plan to replace KeyArena, which he says is outdated. He and the city are in a dispute about the arena lease.

He has until March 1 to file for relocation with the NBA if he wants the team to play the 2008-09 season anywhere besides Seattle.

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BOXING

Warren rallies to reach flyweight final

Trailing by a point in the second round, Rau’shee Warren won the final three points of the round to go up 12-9, took control with a 10-2 advantage in the third and defeated Azerbaijan’s Samir Mammadov, 26-13, in flyweight semifinals to advance to the finals of the World Championships at Chicago.

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MISCELLANY

Judge rules in favor of NHL over Rangers

A judge refused to block the NHL from taking control of the New York Rangers’ website despite claims that the league is acting like “an illegal cartel” by controlling team promotions.

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska said that the NHL seemed on solid legal ground when it decided to take control of its clubs’ websites to strengthen the quality of its Internet relationship with fans and advertisers.

Logan Tom scored a team-high 13 points as the U.S. defeated Peru, 25-23, 25-14, 25-19, on the opening day of the volleyball Women’s World Cup at Hamamatsu, Japan.