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From The Associated Press

Johnson claims Brickyard pole

INDIANAPOLIS —Two-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson won the pole Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, giving him the top starting spot in a race that has consistently vexed him.

Johnson ran a lap at 181.763 mph in his Chevrolet to win his first pole at Indianapolis in seven previous tries. He bested Mark Martin, who guaranteed in June that he’d win today’s race. Martin’s lap was 181.393 in a Chevy.

“There’s certainly a lot of speed in the car,” Johnson said. “It’s fun when you have a car like that and you can go out there and be aggressive like that.”

Johnson was the 18th driver to qualify, a spot that was early enough in the order that the track was still cool and the sun wasn’t yet roasting the surface. Martin went out 12 cars later, under warmer conditions, and wasn’t able to better Johnson’s mark.

Ryan Newman qualified third and was followed by Kasey Kahne and four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon. He was followed by Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch in Dodges, then the Roush Fenway Racing Fords of Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.

Defending race winner Tony Stewart qualified 14th.

Although Johnson won at the Brickyard in 2006, he’s got three finishes of 36th or worse here and was in a fiery wreck last season.

Spaniard leads Tour with final stage today

SAINT-AMAND-MONTROND, France—Carlos Sastre closed in on a victory in the Tour de France by retaining the overall lead after Saturday’s time trial in the next-to-last stage of the three-week race.

The 33-year-old Spaniard led his top rivals by slightly more than a minute after the 20th stage from Cerilly to Saint-Amand-Montrond, which was won by Stefan Schumacher of Germany.

Prerace favorite Cadel Evans of Australia was unable to overcome his deficit of 1 minute, 34 seconds to Sastre entering the stage despite being considered a superior time trialer.

Overall, Sastre leads Evans by 1 minute, 5 seconds, while Bernhard Kohl of Austria is third, 1:20 behind.

Sastre is poised to become the third Spaniard in a row to capture cycling’s premier race heading into today’s final stage. Alberto Contador won last year, and Oscar Pereiro inherited the 2006 title after Floyd Landis of the United States was disqualified for doping.

Today’s final stage — an 88.9-mile ride from Etampes to the Champs-Elysees — is normally a ceremonial ride that rarely changes the overall standings. Traditionally, attacks on the leader are frowned upon and any attempts at a breakaway by a rival are easy to counter on the flat course.

Cowboys decide to waive wide receiver Glenn

OXNARD, Calif.—The Dallas Cowboys say they will waive veteran receiver Terry Glenn, who resisted signing an injury clause after missing most of last season with a right knee injury.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the decision on the first day of training camp wasn’t about an offseason dispute with Glenn over an injury waiver that kept him off the practice field. Jones said he wanted to clear the way for younger receivers to compete for the job opposite leading receiver Terrell Owens.

“That turned out not to be an issue,” Jones said. “At the end of the day it had more to do with where we are right now ... all that might have impacted how we give our young players a chance in how we evaluate that position.”

Jones didn’t rule out Glenn’s return if the 34-year-old clears waivers and the younger receivers struggle in camp.

Yankees acquire Nady, Marte from Pirates

BOSTON—Stocking up for a run at the pennant in their final 60 games, the Yankees acquired outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

New York parted with top outfield prospect Jose Tabata and three other minor leaguers to complete the deal one day after team executives met at the club’s facility in Tampa, Fla.

Nady is batting .330 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs in 88 games. Marte is 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 46 2-3 innings.

Lakers sign Vujacic to $15 million deal

LOS ANGELES—Lakers restricted free agent guard Sasha Vujacic has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract after emerging last season as a key member of the Western Conference champions.

The 24-year-old Vujacic averaged a career-high 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 72 games last season, and 8.1 points 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists while playing in all 21 playoff games.

Olympic swimmer hopes to compete in Beijing

ATLANTA—Jessica Hardy professed her innocence in a telephone interview with The Associated Press and said she has no idea how she tested positive for Clenbuterol during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. She also talked hopefully about getting the ruling overturned in time to compete at the Beijing Olympics.

Hardy was tested three times during the trials in Omaha, Neb., her attorney, Howard Jacobs, said. The results were negative for the samples taken on July 1, after she won the 100-meter breaststroke, and on July 6, shortly after she finished second to Dara Torres in the 50 freestyle.

But Hardy’s “A’’ and backup “B’’ samples both came back positive — for what her attorney said was low amounts of the drug — from a test on July 4, when she finished fourth in the 100 freestyle.