Byron banned from Cup Series qualifying at Indy after inspection failures

AUTO RACING

William Byron will be forced to start from the back of the field in the Brickyard 200 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after failing prerace inspection three times on Friday.

NASCAR officials barred the No. 24 Chevrolet from Saturday’s qualifying session.

Byron’s car chief also was ejected for the rest of this weekend, and Byron must serve a pass-thru penalty after taking the green flag.

Byron, 25, has four Cup Series wins this season – more than any other driver – and heads into the weekend third in the standings with three races left in the regular season.

INDYCAR: Alex Palou has changed his mind and has informed McLaren Racing he will not be joining the team at the end of this season.

In a letter sent to the Arrow McLaren Racing employees by boss Zak Brown, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Brown wrote that Palou “has no intention of honoring his contract with our Arrow McLaren IndyCar team for the 2024 season and beyond.”

Palou last July upended the free-agent market when he publicly rebuked Chip Ganassi Racing’s attempt to pick up the option Ganassi held on him for 2023. Palou said he instead was joining both McLaren’s IndyCar program and had a Formula One contract.

Ganassi fought it and the sides settled, with Palou remaining in IndyCar with Ganassi this year, but testing as a reserve driver for McLaren on his off weekends. He was slated to join McLaren full-time at the end of this IndyCar season.

Palou is currently closing in on his second IndyCar title in three years driving for Ganassi. The 26-year-old Spaniard is in his fourth season of IndyCar – three with Ganassi – but has long held F1 ambitions.

TENNIS

NATIONAL BANK OPEN: Jessica Pegula beat doubles partner Coco Gauff 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in an all-American match in Montreal to advance to the semifinals for the third straight year.

• In the men’s tournament in Toronto, Alex de Minaur beat second-seeded Daniil Medvedev, 7-6 (7), 7-5, to reach the semifinals.

TRACK AND FIELD

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will miss the world championships in Budapest, Hungary, because of what the world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles called a minor knee injury.

McLaughlin-Levrone had planned to run the 400 meters rather than the 400 hurdles. She has the top 400 time in the world this season at 48.74 seconds.

The championships run from Aug. 19-27. Isaiah Harris of Lewiston is on the U.S. team in the men’s 800.

SUSPENSION: The Florida teenager who beat world champion Noah Lyles in a 100-meter race in April has been suspended for a positive doping test, track and field investigators said.

The Athletics Integrity Unit said it issued 18-year-old Issam Asinga with a “notice of allegation” about a positive test for GW1516, a banned substance with a notorious reputation.

Just two weeks ago, Asinga set an under-20 world record of 9.89 seconds running for Suriname at the South American championships in Brazil. In April, he ran a wind-aided 9.83 to beat Lyles in Florida.

SOCCER

GERMANY: England captain Harry Kane’s transfer from Tottenham to Bayern Munich is “imminent,” Tottenham Manager Ange Postecoglou said, in a deal that will reportedly be worth more than 100 million pounds ($110 million).

Kane arrived at a Munich hospital on Friday evening for medical tests as fans gathered outside the club’s headquarters. He could potentially make his debut Saturday, when Bayern hosts Leipzig in the German Super Cup.

ENGLAND: Erling Haaland has started his second season in English soccer just like his first, with two goals in a 3-0 win at Burnley to open Manchester City’s title defense in the Premier League.

MEXICO: Jaime Lozano is staying on as Mexico coach after leading El Tri to the CONCACAF Gold Cup title last month.

Lozano had been serving as interim coach, but the Mexican Federation has decided to drop the interim tag. Lozano, 44, also coached Mexico to bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cade Johnson was released from the hospital a day after suffering a concussion in a preseason opener against Minnesota.

• The New Orleans Saints added former Pro Bowl linebacker Jaylon Smith to their roster, while starting linebacker and defensive captain Demario Davis tries to work his way back from a calf injury that has sidelined him since late last week.

• Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams limped off the practice field because of what appeared to be a leg injury, but Coach Josh McDaniels said he didn’t “think it was crazy serious.”

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