Earnhardt returns; Burton wins Xfinity race at Homestead
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer
MIAMI (AP) — A late caution flag gave Harrison Burton new life, and he took advantage. Burton took the inside line on the way to the lead in the final lap, and held on to win the Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway — denying, among others, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Noah Gragson, who seemed to be in full command with seven laps remaining. Burton, Gragson and Austin Cindric were three-wide going into that last lap, and it was Burton who wound up winning what turned into a wild finish. Cindric got second and Gragson finished third, two spots ahead of Earnhardt — part of his car’s JR Motorsports ownership.

Austin Dillon welcomes baby, will race Sunday at Homestead
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Austin Dillon announced Sunday morning that he and his wife Whitney are now parents. The NASCAR driver said in a post on Instagram that Whitney Dillon gave birth to a boy named Ace. Austin Dillon is scheduled to start 16th in the No. 3 car in Sunday’s Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. AJ Allmendinger had been on standby to drive if needed, but Dillon indicated in the post that he would get behind the wheel as planned.

Harvick cherishes Atlanta win, looks to help off the track
By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Kevin Harvick turned in another dominating run at Atlanta Motor Speedway, cruising to victory over Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. in the NASCAR Cup race. Competing again in front of empty grandstands, Harvick won for the second time since NASCAR returned from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He added to his victory at Darlington in the first race back. Harvick came into the day having led 1,138 laps on the Atlanta trioval, far more than any other driver in the field. This was more of the same, giving Harvick his third career victory in Atlanta.

Oval master: Allmendinger wins on NASCAR oval for 1st time
By PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Writer
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — A.J. Allmendinger won a NASCAR oval race for the first time in his long career. Taking advantage of mistakes by the three leaders, the 38-year-old Californian cruised to victory by nearly 2 seconds over pole-sitter Noah Gragson in the Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Allmendinger claimed a single victory during more than a decade in the top-level Cup series, and he had three previous Xfinity wins _ all on road courses. Now, he’s filled in a big hole on his resume. Pole-sitter Noah Gragson took the runner-up spot, followed by Justin Haley.

NASCAR underway at Darlington for rare midweek Cup race
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — The first Wednesday race in NASCAR’s Cup Series since 1984 has started after a rain delay of about 90 minutes. The event is the second at Darlington Raceway in four days after racing was suspended March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic. NASCAR successfully made its return Sunday by using a a strict health protocol and limiting those in attendance to only the most essential for conducting a race. NASCAR used an inversion system based on the results of Sunday night’s race to set the field and winner Kevin Harvick started 20th. Ryan Preece started from the pole.

McIlroy delivers the winner as live golf returns to TV
By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer
Rory McIlroy delivered the money shot in live golf’s return to television. With six skins on the line worth $1.1 million, it was decided by a closest-to-the-pin from 120 yards on the 17th hole at Seminole. Matthew Wolff was 18 feet below the hole. Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson didn’t hit the green. McIlroy was last to go and hit to 13 feet. He and Johnson won $1.85 million for the American Nurses Foundation. Fowler and Wolff won $1.15 million for the CDC Foundation. There was plenty of rust. Johnson made only one birdie. It raised more than $5 million.

MIAMI (AP) — Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Don Shula has died at his home in South Florida. He was 90. The Miami Dolphins say Shula died Monday morning. He won the most games of any NFL coach and led the Dolphins to the only perfect season in league history. Shula surpassed George Halas’ league-record 324 victories in 1993. He retired following the 1995 season with 347 wins, 173 losses and six ties, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Shula became the only coach to guide an NFL team through a perfect season when the 1972 Dolphins went 17-0.