NASCAR

Kyle Busch continues to make up for lost time.

Having missed NASCAR’s first 11 races with a broken right leg and left foot, he has been on a tear since his return in late May. His victory Sunday in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was his third consecutive Sprint Cup win and his fourth in five races.

“This has been a phenomenal return,” Busch said. “I won’t say phenomenal year because it was a dismal year to start, but I guess I’ll take that 11-week vacation any year if it’s going to look like this.”

BASEBALL

Happy 40^th birthday on Monday to Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. He celebrated early, hitting three home runs in Saturday’s comeback victory over the Twins. … Congrats to Philadelphia Phillies’ pitcher Cole Hamels on his no-hitter on Saturday. Hamels is widely rumored to be available in a trade from the moribund Phillies, possibly to the Dodgers. Another top pitcher, Johnny Cueto, was dealt by the Reds to the Royals. … The Baseball Hall of Fame inductions Sunday brought pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz and second baseman Crag Biggio into the pantheon of greats in Cooperstown, N.Y.

CYCLING

Great Britain’s Chris Froome lost much of his lead on Saturday but he rolled into Paris on Sunday as the winner of the Tour de France for the second time in three years. He’s the only Brit to win the three-week race twice. The finish was the closest since 2008 with Froome winning by one minute, 12 seconds over Colombia’s Nairo Quintana.

SOCCER

Mexico won the Gold Cup, defeating Jamaica 3-1 in Philadelphia on Sunday night. Andres Guardado scored in the first half for Mexico and El Tri notched two quick goals in the second half to take the Gold Cup for the seventh time. The USA finished fourth.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .