RACING
Simon Pagenaud and Team Penske won a second straight virtual race, and tempers were hot at the end of this one.
Pagenaud, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, competed in his firesuit and captured IndyCar’s race Saturday at a simulated Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. A frantic final 10 laps decided the iRacing event.
Essentially, Penske drivers Will Power and Scott McLaughlin were racing each other for the lead – and probably the win – when they came upon the lapped car of Oliver Askew that caused Power to touch McLaughlin’s car.
McLaughlin, the V8 SuperCars champion and winner of the virtual race three weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park, was sent spinning into the wall and out of contention.
The Australian was livid and actively trying to calm himself on his simulator in Brisbane, where he awakened at 2 a.m. to prep for the series.
“It’s a video game, it’s a video game,” McLaughlin repeated. “I know it’s a game, but I’m still (mad).”
Pagenaud then raced Power wheel-to-wheel and the cars appeared to touch before Pagenaud took the lead. He still had to hold off Scott Dixon’s last-lap attempt to pass him for the win.
“It was very hectic with Will at one point and then Dixon at the end,” Pagenaud said. “I work hard all week to be competitive and I think I’m getting there.”
BASEBALL
BOBBY WINKLES, who won three baseball national championships as a coach at Arizona State and went on to manage in the majors, has died. He was 90.
Winkles became the Sun Devils’ first baseball coach in 1959 and went 524-173 in 13 years. He led Arizona State to national titles in 1965, 1967 and 1969, and was a charter member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Winkles went on to manage four years in the majors, going 170-213 in stints with the California Angels and Oakland Athletics from 1973-78.
FOOTBALL
NFL: Running back Brian Hill has signed his tender offer to remain with the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons announced he has accepted the $2,133,000 offer. The restricted free agent received an original-round tender last month, giving the team a right to match any offer Hill received from another team or accept a fifth-round draft pick as compensation.
Hill played in 12 games with two starts in 2019, rushing 78 times for 323 yards and two touchdowns, along with 10 catches for 69 yards and one TD. He’ll be among the backups vying for playing time behind newcomer Todd Gurley.
• The Athletic’s Bob McGinn reports that ex-Alabama star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa scored a woeful 13 on the Wonderlic test, administered by the NFL to draft prospects before the draft.
Among the other first-round quarterback prospects, McGinn reported that LSU’s Jake Burrow scored a 34, Utah State’s Jordan Love got a 27 and Oregon’s Justin Herbert had a 25.
The highest reported score among the 2020 quarterback draft prospects was a 40 by Iowa’s Nate Stanley.
Current Dolphins starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 48 (number of correct answers out of 50 questions) is reportedly tied for the third-best all-time (Fitzpatrick’s fellow Harvard alum, Pat McInally, a Bengals punter from 1976-85, owns the lone perfect score).
Quarterbacks have brushed off a low Wonderlic to star in the league. Dolphins Hall of Famer Dan Marino’s score in 1983 was widely reported to be a 16, and Ravens defending NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson was reported to have the same score as Tagovailoa two years ago.
SOCCER
MEXICO: Mexican league soccer owners voted to suspend relegation and promotion between the country’s top two divisions for five years, citing economic problems for the second division that have been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Liga MX President Enrique Bonilla, making his first public appearance since announcing March 20 he had tested positive for COVID-19, also said during the online news conference that the current season of the second division, known as Ascenso MX, would be canceled. The two divisions were suspended March 15.
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