Although Dale Earnhardt Inc. might not be a championship contender, it showed Friday it still can be a force at Daytona International Speedway.
DEI swept the front row in qualifying for tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 and ended up with three drivers in the top eight positions.
Paul Menard won the pole when he covered the 2 1/2 -mile superspeedway with a fast lap of 185.916 mph in his Chevrolet, just ahead of teammate Mark Martin (185.870). Rookie Regan Smith was eighth.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified third, followed by Joe Nemechek and Johnny Sauter.
Denny Hamlin held off teammate Kyle Busch to win at Daytona and extend Joe Gibbs Racing's dominance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Hamlin had a comfortable lead over Busch as they headed toward the white flag, but rookie Colin Braun spun to bring out just the third caution of the race.
NASCAR reset the laps to create a two-lap sprint to the finish. Hamlin got a great jump on the restart and Busch couldn't challenge him as Hamlin drove his Toyota to his third Nationwide Series victory of the year.
JGR drivers have dominated the series this season -- cars owned by the organization have won 12 times and drivers Hamlin, Busch, Joey Logano and Tony Stewart have combined to win 13 of the 18 series races.
HOCKEY
Jagr signs with Russian team
Jaromir Jagr signed with a Russian league team a day after his split with the New York Rangers, returning to the club he joined during the NHL's 2004-05 lockout.
Avangard Omsk announced the signing of the 36-year-old winger on its website. Jagr's agent, Pat Brisson, confirmed the signing in an e-mail.
The San Jose Sharks acquired defenseman Dan Boyle from Tampa Bay, trading defenseman Matt Carle and top prospect Ty Wishart to the Lightning to acquire their second NHL defensive star in two days.
The Sharks, who received journeyman defenseman Brad Lukowich in the deal, also gave up a first-round pick in 2009 and a fourth-round choice in 2010.
On Thursday, the Sharks signed longtime Kings captain Rob Blake to a one-year, $5-million contract.
SOCCER
Domenech to stay as France's coach
Raymond Domenech will remain France's coach despite a first-round exit at last month's European Championship and will now have a chance to lead the team at the 2010 World Cup.
