Defending champ Franchitti captures IndyCar opener

• IRL

Dario Franchitti is still the one to beat in IndyCar.

The two-time defending series champion was perfect in Sunday's season opener, leading 94 of 100 laps on the scenic, 1.8-mile street course and beating Will Power to the finish line by more than seven seconds. It was Franchitti's first victory and fifth top-five finish in six starts in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

"He's like clockwork," Power said. "He never makes mistakes."

Franchitti didn't make any Sunday, and there were plenty of opportunities for them. Just ask Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Danica Patrick or Marco Andretti.

Franchitti grabbed the lead early on and was hardly challenged the rest of the way.

"Sunday has a bit of motivation for this year and maybe that answers the question of how badly I still want to win races and championships and all that stuff," Franchitti said. "When you have a day like today, with the way the team was just like clockwork - pit stops, the car was great and didn't make any mistakes - they are few and far between so you have to enjoy them when they happen."

Tony Kanaan, the 2004 series champion who joined his new team Monday, held off Simona de Silvestro over the final few laps for third. De Silvestro enjoyed her best finish in 18 career starts.

Patrick was 12th, a disappointing start to her seventh IndyCar season. Patrick, who drove four races in NASCAR's second-tier series before resuming her full-time IndyCar gig, was penalized one spot on the final lap for making "avoidable contact" with JR Hildebrand.

Patrick bumped Hildebrand from behind, turning him around. That was nothing compared to the early chaos. There were four full-course cautions in the first 14 laps.

Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Sunday

At St. Petersburg street circuit

St. Petersburg, Fla.

Lap length: 1.8 miles

(Starting position in parentheses)

All cars Dallara chassis, Honda engine

1. (2) Dario Franchitti, 100 laps.

2. (1) Will Power, 100.

3. (8) Tony Kanaan, 100.

4. (17) Simona de Silvestro, 100.

5. (11) Takuma Sato, 100.

6. (10) Alex Tagliani, 100.

7. (16) Raphael Matos, 100.

8. (13) Vitor Meira, 100.

9. (15) Oriol Servia, 100.

10. (6) Justin Wilson, 100.

11. (25) J.R. Hildebrand, 100.

12. (19) Danica Patrick, 100.

13. (24) Sebastian Saavedra, 98.

14. (20) Ana Beatriz, 98.

15. (22) James Jakes, 97.

16. (3) Scott Dixon, 96.

17. (12) Graham Rahal, 96.

18. (5) Ryan Briscoe, 95.

19. (21) E.J. Viso, 94.

20. (9) Helio Castroneves, 85.

21. (14) Ryan Hunter-Reay, 58, handling.

22. (23) Charlie Kimball, 38, contact.

23. (4) Mike Conway, 1, contact.

24. (7) Marco Andretti, 0, contact.

25. (18) Sebastien Bourdais, 0, did not start.

Points: Franchitti 52, Power 41, Kanaan 35, de Silvestro 32, Sato 30, Tagliani 28, Matos 26, Meira 24, Servia 22, Wilson 20.

• NASCAR

Harvick wins at Fontana

on final turn pass

Kevin Harvick isn't one of those drivers who jumps out front and stays there all the way to the checkers.

He's more of a lingerer and closer, someone who's able to stay close to the front then make his move at just the right time.

Harvick was at his pass-at-the-end best on Sunday, overtaking California king Jimmie Johnson on the final turn at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., to win after trailing the entire race.

"I wish we could just go out there and wear 'em out one day, just not have to worry about waiting until the last lap," Harvick said. "It does kind of seem we wait until the last moments to really get going. It's probably somewhat of a bad habit I have, but I guess it worked out."

Kyle Busch had the dominant car most of the day and led a race-high 151 laps, including off a restart with nine laps left.

Johnson, a five-time winner Fontana, had the late burst, chasing down Busch for the lead with two laps left.

Harvick, as he always seems to, nailed the finish.

He had a rough start to the season, finishing 42nd at Daytona after a blown engine and hadn't been able to pull it together since despite having fast cars. His best finish was a fourth at Phoenix.

Harvick didn't have a particularly strong qualifying session at Fontana, either, to start 24th and wasn't exactly ripping through the field once the race started.

What he did do was gradually work his way to the front, pulling up behind Johnson after getting past Busch.

Taking advantage of a small gap to the outside, Harvick made his move on Johnson going into Turn 3, then completed it coming around Turn 4. Ahead going down the last straightway, he finished off his becoming-a-trademark finish to take the checkers for the 15th time in his career.

"I really felt good when they had that restart because I knew his car was really fast on the long run," said Richard Childress, owner of Harvick's No. 29 car. "I knew if they didn't get too far out in front of us, we'd have a shot. All we needed was to get him side-by-side and start racing. That gave Kevin a chance to catch them and he made the right move going into 3."

Johnson looked as if he were going to notch his fourth win in six starts at California. He started 16th and worked his way toward the front, tracking Busch down for the late pass after losing a race off the line to him on the final restart.

Johnson just couldn't hold off Harvick on those final two turns, earning another solid finish at Auto Club Speedway that he had hoped would be one place higher.

Pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya never had much of a chance at winning his first oval race. A two-time winner on road courses, he led the first six laps, but wasn't a factor after that, drifting deeper into the field before making a late charge to finish 10th.

NASCAR Sprint Cup

Auto Club 400

Sunday

At Auto Club Speedway

Fontana, Calif.

Lap length: 2 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (24) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 200 laps, 112.7 rating, 47 points, $331,961.

2. (16) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 200, 110.4, 43, $240,786.

3. (8) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, 143.4, 43, $214,816.

4. (11) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 200, 104, 40, $172,111.

5. (9) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 200, 107.9, 40, $159,950.

6. (18) Carl Edwards, Ford, 200, 94.2, 38, $149,591.

7. (17) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 200, 109.6, 38, $144,108.

8. (19) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 200, 111.8, 36, $128,464.

9. (22) Kasey Kahne, Toyota, 200, 79.4, 35, $124,408.

10. (1) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 200, 96.3, 35, $144,583.

11. (32) Greg Biffle, Ford, 200, 85.5, 33, $108,675.

12. (30) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 200, 82, 32, $101,325.

13. (5) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 200, 117.3, 32, $134,083.

14. (20) A J Allmendinger, Ford, 200, 72.3, 30, $127,911.

15. (7) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 200, 90.8, 29, $99,550.

16. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 200, 80.7, 28, $89,475.

17. (23) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 200, 66.1, 27, $134,900.

18. (29) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 200, 77.1, 26, $125,111.

19. (14) David Reutimann, Toyota, 200, 73.3, 25, $115,283.

20. (10) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 200, 80.6, 24, $95,175.

21. (26) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 200, 85, 24, $93,975.

22. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 200, 70.4, 22, $94,300.

23. (12) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 200, 66.2, 21, $120,739.

24. (28) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 200, 57, 0, $100,458.

25. (3) Joey Logano, Toyota, 200, 64.5, 19, $91,750.

26. (21) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 199, 55.4, 18, $104,658.

27. (4) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 199, 55.4, 17, $108,145.

28. (13) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 198, 55.7, 16, $111,091.

29. (25) Casey Mears, Toyota, 198, 46.6, 15, $81,900.

30. (27) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 198, 50.1, 0, $88,650.

31. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 198, 41.5, 13, $90,108.

32. (38) Andy Lally, Chevrolet, 198, 36.5, 12, $86,750.

33. (39) Ken Schrader, Ford, 197, 32.7, 11, $87,522.

34. (35) Robby Gordon, Dodge, 197, 42.2, 10, $76,825.

35. (36) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 196, 33.1, 0, $76,600.

36. (42) Tony Raines, Ford, 190, 28, 8, $76,450.

37. (31) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, engine, 188, 35.9, 7, $76,225.

38. (34) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, accident, 182, 47.5, 6, $102,320.

39. (2) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, engine, 105, 78.7, 6, $123,880.

40. (41) Todd Bodine, Toyota, transmission, 50, 27.3, 0, $75,675.

41. (43) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, electrical, 47, 40.6, 4, $75,505.

42. (40) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, transmission, 39, 29.1, 0, $75,415.

43. (33) Michael McDowell, Toyota, electrical, 32, 32.4, 1, $75,769.

Top 12 in Points: 1. C.Edwards, 187; 2. R.Newman, 178; 3. Ku.Busch, 177; 4. Ky.Busch, 176; 5. J.Johnson, 173; 6. T.Stewart, 170; 7. P.Menard, 164; 8. J.Montoya, 161; 9. K.Harvick, 157; 10. M.Kenseth, 157; 11. K.Kahne, 157; 12. D.Earnhardt Jr., 156.

KENTUCKY

from B1

"We got Kentucky back," senior center Josh Harrellson said. "A lot of people doubted us. A lot of people really didn't think we'd be the team we are. We really pulled it together as a team, and we're back now."

The Wildcats (29-8) will play Connecticut in Houston on Saturday night after turning back a late surge by the Tar Heels (27-10), who erased an 11-point deficit before running out of gas in the final 2 minutes.

DeAndre Liggins added 12 points for Kentucky, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 37 seconds remaining to help lift the Wildcats.

A season after falling a game short of the Final Four behind a roster filled with future NBA stars, the Wildcats are heading to the national semifinals for the 14th time behind Knight's heady play and Calipari's relentless energy.

He revitalized the flagging program a year ago behind superstar John Wall. In Calipari's second season, he delivered on his promise to return Kentucky to glory.

Calipari admitted it didn't look that way two weeks ago, when his team was relegated to a fourth-seed despite convincingly winning the Southeastern Conference tournament. The powers that be put Kentucky in the same bracket as top overall seed Ohio State.

"I just thought the path to get here would be so ridiculous," Calipari said, "that we would have to play out of our minds or people would have to get knocked off."

Done and done.

Kentucky edged Ohio State on Friday, then gave the Final Four another blueblood program, though with a twist. There will be no No. 1 or No. 2 seeds playing the last weekend of the season since 1979, well before the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

The Wildcats have a pedigree and a roster full of highly touted freshmen. Yet they're just as reliant on holdovers such as Liggins and Harrellson.

A seldom used reserve a year ago who has flourished in his final season, Harrellson again held his own against North Carolina's bigger, more heralded front line, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds as Kentucky avenged a 75-73 loss to the Tar Heels in December in Chapel Hill.

"I'm going to focus on what a wonderful group of kids and what a wonderful year it was," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "But it still doesn't take away the hurt that you feel today."

Tyler Zeller led the Tar Heels with 21 points and nine rebounds and Harrison Barnes added 18 points, but North Carolina fell behind early and struggled to keep the hot-shooting Wildcats in check.

Calipari joins Rick Pitino as the only men's basketball coaches to lead three different programs to the Final Four. Calipari's previous visits at Massachusetts in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 were vacated by the NCAA for rules violations, but Calipari was not found liable in either instance.

from B1

but what looked like an easy path to the final weekend ended in a stunning collapse.

Eighth-seeded Butler, you're promoted to a favorite next week. VCU is the trendy underdog pick this year.

"Once again we felt like nobody really thought we could win going into this game," said VCU coach Shaka Smart, the budding star of the tournament. "Our guys have done a phenomenal job of putting all the doubters aside, all the people that didn't believe in us, and going out to do their job."

VCU guard Joey Rodriguez counted one of Kansas' vaunted Morris twins - Marcus or Markieff - as one of those many doubters. During a pregame captains meeting with officials, Rodriguez said one of the brothers offered him some parting words: "The run ends here."

"We'll see," Rodriguez shot back. The Jayhawks saw all right.

VCU players, hoisting their Southwest regional champion trophy, poured into the temporary bleachers where VCU's widely outnumbered fans sat in an Alamodome that was otherwise colored in Kansas blue and white.

VCU (28-11) had sold out its allotment of 1,000 tickets in San Antonio after advancing farther than any Rams team in school history. The weekend before in Chicago, VCU had so many leftovers that Purdue fans scooped them up.

Jamie Skeen led VCU with 26 points, and as the final seconds ticked down, heaved the ball from the free throw line into the stands behind the opposite backboard. His teammates on the bench, who spent the final minutes with locked arms to hold each other back, finally spilled out onto the court, grinning ear to ear.

Kansas players walked slowly off the court. Several, including Markieff Morris, cried.

"Probably the best game they played ever," Markieff said. "Probably the best game ever as a school tonight. We let them. We let them beat us."

Smart was guided from one interview to another wearing the cut-down net around his neck. The cheers for VCU were only interrupted for guard Brandon Rozzell, who stood at midcourt as the crown serenaded him with an impromptu "Happy Birthday."

The celebration even carried to other arenas. In Newark, N.J., where Kentucky was playing North Carolina, the crowd erupted when the public address announcer broadcast the final score from Texas.

"Anything is possible," he told the arena.

Kansas (36-3) hadn't trailed by more than two points the entire tournament. With five minutes left in the first half, the Jayhawks trailed by 17.

Marcus Morris had 20 points and 16 rebounds, and his brother had 13 and 12. They played in disbelief as VCU, which ousted Florida State on 3-pointers on Friday night, used the long ball to bury the Jayhawks early this time.