LONG POND, Pa. — Tony Stewart zipped his No. 14 Chevy around Pocono Raceway’s 2.5-mile triangle track for a qualifying lap of 171.393 mph Friday, winning the pole position for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500.
“Man, it felt good,” Stewart said. “If you want a place where you want good track position, it’s here at Pocono.”
Juan Pablo Montoya will start second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, and Denny Hamlin will start third as he tries to sweep both Pocono races. Hamlin won the Pocono 500 in June.
Earlier, Hamlin and Ryan Newman acknowledged they had been fined by NASCAR for making disparaging comments about the racing series.
• Steve Letarte, the crew chief for Jeff Gordon, signed a three- year extension with Hendrick Motorsports.
Masoli to visit Ole Miss.
Former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli has accepted an invitation from Mississippi coach Houston Nutt to visit the school this weekend.
Masoli was considered a possible Heisman Trophy candidate after a breakout season at Oregon, but coach Chip Kelly kicked him off the team after two brushes with the law in six months. Nutt said earlier this summer that the Rebels weren’t interested in Masoli, but the situation changed when backup quarterback Raymond Cotton left the team last week.
• Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips said the NCAA had been on the Tigers’ campus this week to talk with two members of the football team but did not say who the athletes are or what the inquiry was about.
Moore signs with Lightning
TAMPA, Fla. — Free-agent center Dominic Moore signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Moore appeared in 69 games last season with the Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens.
• The Boston Bruins signed forward Blake Wheeler to a one-year contract worth $2.2 million.
• The New York Islanders acquired James Wisniewski from the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional third-round pick in 2011.
Footnotes.
The Seattle Sounders traded designated player and two-time MLS all-star Freddie Ljungberg to the Chicago Fire for a conditional pick in either the 2011 or 2012 SuperDraft.
• Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 knockouts) will face Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) tonight in a lightweight bout in Las Vegas.
• Wladimir Klitschko (54-3) will defend his heavyweight titles against Samuel Peter (34-3) in Germany on Sept. 11.
• Former Colorado State standout Becky Hammon scored 22 points to lead the visiting San Antonio Silver Stars to a 101-85 WNBA victory over the Tulsa Shock.
• Rachel Alexandra, the reigning horse of the year, will make her next start in the Personal Ensign Stakes on Aug. 29 at Saratoga Race Course in New York, principal owner Jess Jackson announced.
• Undefeated Zenyatta breezed 6 furlongs in Inglewood, Calif., in what was expected to be her final workout before an expected run in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 7.
