Talladega, Ala. — Carl Edwards began his charge to the front with nine laps to go at Talladega Superspeedway. He never expected to end up airborne, upside down, sheet metal spewing behind him as his car sailed into the safety fence.

The fence bowed, but held, and Edwards returned safely to the racing surface — another “Big One” to thrill the fans.

Only this time, seven people were hurt, and one of the lasting images of Sunday’s race will be the pink-clad woman strapped to a stretcher, her head in a brace as she was airlifted to a hospital after debris from Edwards’ last-lap crash with winner Brad Keselowski sailed into the grandstands.

Edwards, who climbed from the fiery wreckage and crossed the finish line on foot, was thankful it wasn’t worse.

“I’m glad the car didn’t go up in the grandstands,” he said. “I saw some fencing at one point, and that made me a little bit nervous. I don’t know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands.”

Officials said seven fans sustained non-life-threatening injuries, and an eighth fan seated in the same section of the grandstand had an undisclosed medical issue.

Dr. Bobby Lewis, Talladega’s onsite physician, said two people in the crowd were airlifted to avoid the heavy traffic. One woman had a possible broken jaw.

“We’ll race like this until we kill somebody,” Edwards said, “then (NASCAR) will change it.”

The dangerous but dramatic restrictor-plate racing came under fire after Edwards’ attempt to block Keselowski’s winning pass triggered the last of several frightening accidents at one of the sport’s most exciting tracks.

Keselowski pushed Edwards past Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the lead on the final lap, and the 25-year-old Earnhardt protege peeked around Edwards as they closed on the finish line. Edwards ducked low to block the pass, but Keselowski was too close and couldn’t avoid contact that sent Edwards into a spin up the track.

Edwards’ car flew over the top of Newman’s hood, then shot into the frontstretch fence.

auto racing

Button dominates Bahrain

Sakhir, Bahrain — Jenson Button used a brilliant first lap to take a victory in the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, pushing his championship lead to 12 points.

Button won by 7.1 seconds.

Golf

Kelly rallies for victory

Avondale, La. — Jerry Kelly rallied with two birdies on the back nine to claim the $1.1 million payday at the Zurich Classic on Sunday.

Kelly finished with a 274, one stroke ahead of three players. It was the 42-year-old’s first PGA Tour title since he won two in 2002 — exactly 200 starts ago.

Ochoa repeats in Mexico

Morelia, Mexico — Mexican star Lorena Ochoa shot a 5-under 68 on Sunday to hold off Norway’s Suzann Pettersen by a stroke and win the Corona Championship for the second straight year.

Lehman-Langer triumph

Savannah, Ga. — Tom Lehman made a par putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to become the 13th player to win his Champions Tour debut, teaming with Bernhard Langer to beat Craig Stadler and Jeff Sluman in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

Jaidee prevails in playoff

Jeju Island, South Korea — Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee won the $2.9 million Ballantine’s Championship after a three-way playoff Sunday against Kang Wook-soon and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

WGN adds poker-based show

Las Vegas — Organizers of an amateur golf tournament with rules based loosely on poker have signed a deal with cable network WGN America to air the mid-May tournament in 13 one-hour episodes.

The World Series of Golf is also upping its top prize from $250,000 to $300,000.

In the unique format, dozens of amateur players bet with poker chips, winning chips when they finish holes in fewer strokes or by forcing opponents to fold.

Tennis

Nadal best at Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain — Rafael Nadal won his fifth straight Barcelona Open title on Sunday, beating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, 6-2, 7-5.

Top-ranked Nadal exploited Ferrer’s inconsistent service game to take the first set and then overcame his own erratic play in the second set to win the Godo trophy at Ferrer’s expense for the second straight year.

Nadal was coming off a record fifth straight Monte Carlos Masters title and improved to 24-1 in clay court finals in picking up his fourth title of the season.

Courier outlasts Arias

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands — Jim Courier beat Jimmy Arias, 6-4, 6-2, on Sunday to defend his title at the $150,000 Grand Cayman Legends Championships successfully.

It was Courier’s eighth career title on the Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for champion tennis players age 30 and over, and his first of the 2009 season.

U.S. reaches Fed Cup final

London — The United States and Italy reached the Fed Cup final on Sunday, with the Americans saving a match point in the decisive match of the best-of-five series and the Italians eliminating defending champion Russia.

The Americans, who have won a record 17 Fed Cup titles but none since 2000, beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in Brno to reach their first final since 2003.

The 2009 final, which will be in Italy, is set for Nov. 7-8.

Cycling

Schleck destroys field

Liege, Belgium — Andy Schleck of Luxembourg won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycling classic after a long solo breakaway on Sunday, holding off a group of chasers led by Joaquin Rodriguez of Spain.

Schleck won the 162-mile race through the hills and woods of southern Belgium’s Ardennes, building a lead of 1 minute, 11 seconds over the final hills to win the race in 6 hours, 34 minutes, 33 seconds.

MLB

Brewers activate Hoffman

Houston — The Milwaukee Brewers finally will get to use closer Trevor Hoffman.

The Brewers activated baseball’s all-time saves leader from the disabled list before Sunday’s game against the Houston Astros.

Hoffman had been on the DL since March 30 due to a strain on his right side.

Tigers shelve Treanor

Kansas City, Mo. — The Detroit Tigers placed backup catcher Matt Treanor on the 15-day disabled list Sunday with a hip injury that will require surgery.

Treanor said he had a torn labrum on the right side that needed to be fixed.

“I would imagine from what I had heard it will be for two to three months,” he said.

Soccer

Wizards blanked by Toronto

Toronto — Danny Dichio’s first goal of the season gave Toronto FC a 1-0 victory over Kansas City on Sunday, ending the Wizards’ unbeaten run at four games.

Goaltender Stefan Frei recorded his second consecutive shutout as Toronto (3-2-2) moved one point ahead of Kansas City (3-3-1) and Chicago and into first place in the Eastern Conference.

NFL

Jets call Burress’ agent

Florham, N.J. — The New York Jets, in the market for a wide receiver, called Plaxico Burress’ agent before the NFL Draft to look into the former Giants star’s legal troubles.

Burress was released by the Giants on April 3, just over four months after the Super Bowl hero accidentally shot himself in the thigh with an unlicensed gun in a New York City nightclub.

Seattle sets LB Hill free

Renton, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks rescinded their franchise tag on Leroy Hill and made him a free agent, one day after saying how happy they were that Hill was part of a dynamic linebacking corps that now includes fourth overall draft choice Aaron Curry.