Off the wire

LITTLE ROCK — MOTOR SPORTS Edwards wins Montreal

Carl Edwards passed Marcos Ambrose on the final turn to win the crash-filled Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, which ended with the cars on rain tires for the second consecutive year. Edwards won a two-lap sprint to the finish on a track that was both wet and dry in spots from a light rain when Ambrose, who dominated the race, slid sideways after hitting the rumble strips in turn 14. Edwards slipped past Ambrose and outraced him down the final straightaway for his first career road victory and the first for Roush Fenway Racing. "The difference was the tires and the way the track was changing," Edwards said. "As soon as it gets dry, there's so much more grip, and there were places out there I saw that had a little more grip. Maybe I could just see better through my windshield." Ambrose survived three other restarts in the final 11 laps of the race, which was plagued by 11 cautions and went an extra lap. Ambrose was out to right what went wrong in the previous two Nationwide races at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. In 2007 he led 37 laps and was challenging for the win before he was spun out by Robby Gordon and finished seventh. NASCAR Canadian Tire Series star Andrew Ranger was third. Former Formula One star Jacques Villeneuve finished fourth on the track named for his father, and Brad Keselowski was fifth. Points leader Kyle Busch went from fourth to 10th on the final two laps.

Kimi Raikkonen held off Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella to win Formula One's Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, the Ferrari driver's fourth triumph at the track in the past five years. The former world champion, who started sixth Sunday, overtook pole sitter Fisichella after the safety car came in following accidents on the opening lap. Raikkonen held on for a fraction of a second victory over Fisichella. Crashes took out overall F1 leader Jenson Button and McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton and Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso at the same bend on the opening lap. Button failed to finish in the points for the first time this season. Championship contender Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull finished third.

Jonathan Summerton won his third Atlantic Championship race of the season on Sunday in Mundelein, Ill., beating Newman Wachs Racing teammate John Edwards, formerly of Little Rock, for the pair's second sweep of the top two spots. Starting on the pole, Summerton stayed clear of a three-way tussle among Edwards, points leader Simona De Silvestro and Frederic Vervisch at Mosport International Raceway. Vervisch finished third and De Silvestro crashed six laps from the finish, but was not hurt. She remained atop the championship with 160 points, followed closely by Edwards (152) and Summerton (148).

FOOTBALL Michigan to investigate claims

The University of Michigan says it is investigating allegations that its football program regularly violates NCAA rules limiting how much time players can spend on training and practice. In a statement issued to The Associated Press on Sunday, Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin said the school believes it has followed "both the letter and intent of the NCAA rules" but will still investigate. Martin says the school has reached out to the Big 10 and the NCAA. Players from the 2008 and 2009 teams told the Detroit Free Press that the amount of time they spend on football during the season and in the off season greatly exceeds NCAA limits. The players spoke to the newspaper on condition of anonymity because they feared repercussions from coaches. "We are committed to following both the letter and the intent of the NCAA rules and we take any allegations of violations seriously," Martin said in a written statement. "We believe we have been compliant with NCAA rules, but nonetheless we have launched a full investigation of the allegations in today's newspaper," he said.

HORSE RACING

Icon Project earns easy win

Icon Project moved to the lead with more than a quarter-mile to run and drew away to a 13 1 /2-length victory in the $400,000 Personal Ensign Stakes for fillies and mares Sunday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Julien Leparoux rode the 4-year-old Icon Project, who got even for a defeat last month in the Delaware Handicap at the hands of Swift Temper, the runner-up in the Personal Ensign. Icon Project ran 1 1 /4 miles in 2:02.37 and earned $240,000 for owner Andrew Rosen. The Personal Ensign was the third win in six starts this year for the Marty Wolfson-trained filly. Icon Project, the favorite, paid $5.60, $3.30 and $3.10. Swift Temper paid $4.80 and $4.20 and Morena, third of eight, paid $10.00 to show.

Jockey Elvis Trujillo scored his fifth victory on Sunday's card at Monmouth Park by guiding Luna Vega to the winner's circle in the $300,000 Grade 2 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. The Steve Asmussen-trained filly returned $13, $5.40 and $3.40 in winning for the fourth time in 14 starts. Spritely paid $4.20 and $2.60, while Devil House was another seven lengths back in third and paid $5. Euphony, the post-time favorite, never factored and finished fifth, the first time she was off the board in 13 career outings.

Ferneley rallied to beat Allicansayis Wow by 1 1 /2 lengths as overwhelming favorite Monterey Jazz faded badly in the stretch in the $300,000 Del Mar Mile on Saturday in Del Mar, Calif. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Ferneley paid $13.20, $6.40 and $4.60. Allicansayis Wow paid $11.80 and $7.80. Lethal Heat was third and paid $5.80. In another race, seven-year-old gelding Spring House rallied in the final yards to beat Sir Dave by a nose and win the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap for the second consecutive year. Ridden by Alex Solis, Spring House paid $7.60, $4.60 and $3.80. Sir Dave paid $10 and $5.80. Temple City was third and paid $5.40 to show.

CYCLING Hincapie gets backyard victory

Hometown favorite George Hincapie sprinted hard the last 100 meters on rainy streets Sunday to win the USA Cycling Pro Road Race Championship in Greenville, S.C. Hincapie topped rivals Andrew Bajadali and Jeff Louder as a crowd cheered him to the finish line. Hincapie said he "was in full-crank mode" during the last dash. Hincapie, with Team Columbia-High Road, finished in 4 hours, 33 minutes and 36 seconds to win his first U.S. Road Race championship since 2006. Hincapie won his first national title in 1998 and got the victory after coming off a broken collarbone from a fall during the Tour de France. Bajadali followed in 4:33.37 for Kelly Benefit Strategies and Louder in 4:33.39 seconds in third.

Gerald Ciolek of Germany held off Fabio Sabatini's late surge to win the second stage of the Spanish Vuelta in Emmen, Netherlands. Prologue winner Fabian Cancellara retained the overall lead. Ciolek won in 4 hours, 43 minutes, 12 seconds on Sunday. Roger Hammond of Britain was third on the 127-mile route between the northern Dutch cities of Assen and Emmen. Ciolek trails Cancellara by 8 seconds in the overall standings.