Green Bay News

NEENAH – Following a shooting Sunday evening that left four people dead – including the suspected shooter, City of Menasha police planned to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah.

The news conference is set to include Menasha Police Chief Tim Styka and Dr. Ray Georgen, the Medical Director of Trauma at Theda Clark Medical Center.

FOX 11’s Andrew LaCombe and Bill Miston are covering the story. Keep refreshing this page for updates.

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City of Menasha Police say five people were shot in a random act of violence on the Trestle Trail Bridge. Four of the five people were killed, including the suspected shooter.

The shooter and a woman in her 30s were taken to Theda Clark Medical Center, according to a hospital spokesperson. The woman was last reported to be in critical condition.

Police received the call just after 7 p.m. Sunday. When officers got to the scene, they found the five people shot on the bridge.

Investigators were still looking into possible motives, but said they believe it was a random act. They said they don’t believe there is any danger to the public.

Police say Fritse Park and the Trestle Trail are closed until further notice.

Police also say no other shootings were reported in the area Sunday evening.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke and replaced him Monday with former Milwaukee infielder Craig Counsell.

The Brewers, a major league-worst 7-18, lost 40 of their final 56 games under Roenicke. The skid included a late-season collapse last year after they led the NL Central for nearly five months and a 2-13 start this season.

Counsell, a 44-year-old Milwaukee-area native, spent the final five seasons of his 16-year big-league career with the Brewers, retiring after the 2011 season.

“He played the game with a chip on his shoulder. He played the game to win,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said during a news conference. “He he has a real edge for preparation.”

Counsell was given a contract through the 2017 season. Melvin said the Brewers’ playoff over the last 100 games was unacceptable. Milwaukee has won consecutive games on just three occasions since Sept. 1.

“You’d think you’d win two games in a row by mistake,” Melvin said.

A two-time World Series champion, Counsell scored the winning run for Florida in the 11th inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series and was MVP of the 2001 NLCS for Milwaukee.

“I am grateful and honored to have the opportunity to manage the team that I rooted for, played for and worked for in the front office,” Counsell said in a statement. “In the 10 years that I have been a member of the organization, I have grown to feel a great responsibility to baseball in the city of Milwaukee. This has been a difficult time for the Brewers, and we all share the responsibility. I understand the work ahead to be the team our fans deserve. We have challenges ahead of us and I look forward to working tirelessly to achieve our goals.”

He became a special assistant to Brewers general manager Doug Melvin in 2012 and also was a part-time broadcaster for Milwaukee last season. Counsell was among the candidates last offseason to succeed Joe Maddon as Tampa Bay’s manager.

“Craig has many years of major league playing experience, and his three-plus years of learning all aspects of baseball operations helps prepare him for this managerial position,” Melvin said. “There will be challenges, but Craig has never shied away from leadership responsibilities on the field as a player or in his most recent role. I believe his on-field success as a player and his awareness for preparation should resonate in the clubhouse. Growing up in Milwaukee, it is very important for him to bring a winning culture and team success to Brewers fans.”

The new manager’s father, John Counsell, was a former minor league outfielder and worked for the Brewers from 1979-87, running the speaker’s bureau and then becoming community relations director.

Counsell had a .255 average in the big leagues. He knows something about struggling, going hitless in 45 consecutive at-bats in 2011.

Milwaukee started 20-7 last year and spent 150 of the regular season’s 183 days alone in first or tied for the NL Central lead, including every day from April 5 through Aug. 31. The Brewers skidded to a 9-22 finish and wound up third in the division, eight games back of St. Louis and two behind Pittsburgh.

Roenicke became the first manager fired 25 games or fewer into a season since 2002, according to STATS. Detroit’s Phil Garner (six games), Milwaukee’s Davey Lopes (15), Colorado’s Buddy Bell (22) and Kansas City’s Tony Muser (23) were all let go quickly that year.

“The reasons for our disappointing start are many, but we determined that it’s in the best interests of the club to make this move,” Melvin said.

In 2011, in his first season as a major league manager, Roenicke led the Brewers to a 96-66 record – the best in team history – and the NL Central title. The Brewers beat Arizona in the first round and lost to St. Louis in the league championship series.

Milwaukee was 83-79 in 2012, 74-88 in 2013 and 82-80 last season.

DETROIT (AP) — Retired surgeon Ben Carson has made it official, telling a crowd in his hometown of Detroit that he’s running for president.

The former head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins hospital has never run for public office. But he’s a star among some conservatives and will try to parlay his success as an author and speaker into a competitive campaign.

He told his rally: “I’m Ben Carson and I’m a candidate for president.”

Carson is also expected to be the only high-profile African-American to enter the GOP’s presidential primary.

He is the second White House hopeful to get into the Republican race Monday. Former technology executive Carly Fiorina declared her intent to run earlier in the day.

MADISON (AP) – Likely Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker made no secret about what he saw as the failures of Mitt Romney’s last run for the White House, devoting an entire chapter of his book to the topic.

But it turns out the Wisconsin governor, way back in 2000, also aired sharp criticism about George W. Bush’s efforts in his first presidential bid.

Walker, who was then a 32-year-old state Assembly member, wrote an open memo to Bush he titled “Campaign Strategy” in which he offered detailed advice on how he thought the then-Texas governor should be crafting his message to win the presidency, including what type of television ads he should run.

Walker, now in his second term as governor, is expected to launch his own presidential campaign within the next couple months. Bush’s brother, Jeb Bush, will likely be among those duking it out with Walker for the Republican nomination.

The open letter to George W. Bush and the Romney critique provide a window into Walker’s thinking on how a presidential campaign should craft its message. And while Walker has spent nearly his entire adult life in elected office after he dropped out of college with about a year to go, the 15-year-old memo shows that how to win the White House has been on Walker’s mind for many years.

The advice outlined in the 800-word open letter to Bush is typical of Walker, said Mark Graul, a Republican strategist who ran Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign in Wisconsin. Graul said Walker offered advice at his request that year and in 2006, when Graul was running the campaign of Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green.

“In all of my conversations with him about political strategy, it’s never been about tearing the other guy down,” Graul said. “It’s been about what were my guy’s ideas and what was the best way to communicate it to the people we were trying to persuade to vote for us.”

In his memo to Bush, Walker recommended specific television ads Bush should run to help him win. He said one spot should feature “real life families” of people such as fire fighters, nurses, construction workers and teachers talking about how much they had saved because of Bush’s tax cuts.

Those professions – particularly teachers – came out in force against Walker in 2011 when he effectively ended their collective bargaining rights, with his union-busting measure that put him on the national radar and set the stage for his likely presidential run.

Walker said in his memo to Bush, which was first published on his Assembly campaign website, that his thoughts “reflect the views of the vast majority of undecided voters who want a positive reason to vote for the next President of the United States.”

Walker told Bush that his campaign theme should be: “They had their chance for the past eight years and they have not led. We will.”

Bush lost Wisconsin in 2000 by just 5,708 votes, or less than a quarter of a percentage point, on his way to defeating Democrat Al Gore for the White House.

Democrats said Walker was looking out for himself by writing the memo to Bush in 2000.

“For 20 years, Scott Walker has been running negative campaigns for higher office and doing anything and everything to advance his personal political ambitions,” said Wisconsin Democratic Party spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff. “The hubris and micromanagement we see from him today were on full display when he told George W. Bush how to run his presidential campaign. Some things never change.”

Walker told Bush that he should focus on his work with Democrats and Republicans to pass a middle class tax cut in Texas, and his efforts to control health care costs and improve public schools. As he prepares for what would be his first run for national office, Walker talks about many of the same things that he’s done as Wisconsin governor: cutting taxes by nearly $2 billion, expanding school choice programs and kicking people off Medicaid who make more than the federal poverty level, while also qualifying others who had been on a waiting list for coverage. The net effect, as of August, was that about 40,000 more people had coverage than before.

Walker, 47, also casts himself as a “fresh faced” alternative to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Jeb Bush, who served as Florida’s governor for two terms.

Walker’s criticisms of Bush are reminiscent of complaints Walker lodged against the Romney presidential campaign in 2012. Walker spent an entire chapter in his 2013 book “Unintimdated” explaining why he thought Romney lost to President Barack Obama.

Walker sent an email to Romney voicing his frustrations about his campaign’s tone and urging Romney to show more passion, get out from behind the podium and connect directly with voters.

Walker said he got no response.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s newborn princess has been named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana — seen as a tribute to Prince William’s parents and grandmother.

The princess is the second child of Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. The baby will be known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, royal officials said Monday.

Charlotte, the feminine form of Charles, appears to be a nod to the newborn’s grandfather, Prince Charles. The middle names honor Queen Elizabeth II, the infant’s 89-year-old great-grandmother, and the late Princess Diana, William’s mother.

The princess is fourth in line to the throne after Charles, William and her older brother Prince George.

William and Kate introduced the baby princess to the world Saturday evening, just 12 hours after Kate checked into a London hospital to give birth. The baby weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces (3.7 kilograms).

The couple had kept the world guessing about the name until after both sets of grandparents got a chance to visit Kensington Palace on Sunday to meet their granddaughter.

Bookmakers had taken huge amounts of bets on the name, and Charlotte had been a favorite choice, a front-runner alongside other guesses like Alice and Victoria.

Earlier Monday, Westminster Abbey’s bells pealed and gun salutes were fired across London in honor of the newborn princess. In a display of traditional pageantry, dozens of deafening volleys were fired from Hyde Park and the Tower of London to mark the occasion.

Royals traditionally look to their family tree for name ideas, and Britain’s royal history has seen several Charlottes. Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, was a keen botanist and founded London’s Kew Gardens. Born in 1744, the queen had 15 children.

George IV also named his only child Charlotte in 1796, but she died in childbirth at the age of 21 in 1817, leading to a mass outpouring of grief in Britain.

Appleton – Two women received Monday Morning Makeovers.

Salon CTI in Appleton provided Jennifer and Katy with new looks.

Click on the video above to see their transformations.

TOMAH (AP) – A Monroe County sheriff’s pursuit of a suspected drunken driver ended when a deputy’s squad and the suspect’s minivan became engulfed in fire.

Sheriff’s dispatchers got a call about an erratic driver Sunday about 4 p.m. A deputy who found the van and talked to the driver said the man was apparently intoxicated.

Authorities say the driver fled onto Interstate 94 and into the city of Tomah. The man drove to his property in rural Tomah and into a wooded marsh area. One deputy squad got stuck and a brush fire engulfed it. The suspect’s van crashed into a tree and started a brush fire before it became fully engulfed in flames. The suspect was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail.

Oakdale firefighters were called to put out the fires.

MUSKEGO (AP) – Community members and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are fighting back against an invasive algae found last year in a Waukesha County lake.

The type of algae called starry stonewort was spotted in Little Muskego Lake, making it the first time it has been found in Wisconsin. Starry stonewort can crowd out native plants and destroy habitat for young fish.

Little Muskego Lake Association vice president Lisa Niles tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that divers will try to remove the algae from the bottom of the lake next month. Boaters will be asked to avoid the area.

Starry stonewort has caused problems in Michigan, where it has been found in more than 250 lakes.

BROWN COUNTY – If you bought anything in Brown County in the last 15 years, you have helped pay for the Lambeau Field renovation. But did you know taxpayers may end up overpaying?

That’s because the tax may end up bringing in millions of dollars more than is needed. The question is what will happen to that extra money?

The half-percent sales tax that helped fund the renovation of Lambeau Field will end in September.

At that time, the stadium district will have enough sales tax money and interest set aside to cover its share of the operations and maintenance of the stadium through 2031. That’s when the Packers lease ends.

But the district says it will still be bringing in money from a ticket tax, proceeds from the sale of Packers license plates and bricks and tiles. Those extra revenue sources are all used to help to keep the stadium up and running.

When the stadium district figured out how much money it would need to set aside to end the tax, it didn’t take those extra revenue streams into account. That was done on purpose. The district wanted to make sure it didn’t come up short, in case any of those revenue streams dry up. That’s why there could be extra money.

When asked how much more could be excess each year, stadium district director Pat Webb responded, “Those three items generally get real close to a million dollars.”

Webb says the first $500,000 of the ticket tax goes to pay for operations and maintenance. So does around $400,000 for license plate sales each year and approximately $35,000 from brick and tile sales.

By law, that money has to be used for operations and maintenance.

Webb says that money would go into the operations and maintenance fund and replace sales tax money that had already been collected. That would leave a balance of excess sales tax money.

What does the district say will happen that money?

Under the current law, those excess funds would stay in the account until 2031, Webb said.

“Do we want to wait around that long?” asked stadium board member and State Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Allouez).

Cowles says the questions surrounding any extra money collected will have to be addressed.

“The question is who gets it and how soon does it get distributed,” Cowles said.

The stadium district says the money could be used for economic development or be distributed to communities throughout Brown County on an annual basis. But for that to happen, there would need to be a change in state law.

Coming up tonight on FOX 11 News at Nine we’ll hear more about that possibility. We’ll also take a closer look at another issue at the stadium: Will the stadium district continue to serve as the landlord of Lambeau Field?

MENASHA- Police tape still surrounds Fritse Park in Menasha and police officers are stationed at each end of the park.

Five people were shot there Sunday around 7:30 p.m.

Four people are dead, including the gunman. We spoke with officials at Theda Clark Medical Center around 6 a.m. Monday, they tell us a woman in her 30s remains in critical condition.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le is on the scene and will bring us updates all morning long on Good Day Wisconsin.

Click on the video for the latest.

GREEN BAY- Showers and thunderstorms pushed through the area overnight as a cold front passed.

We’ll have partly sunny skies Monday with a high around 70.

Tuesday it’ll be mostly cloudy and we could see some more scattered showers and storms, with a high in the mid 60s.

A few additional showers are possible early Wednesday before we clear out.

It’ll be partly sunny and warm both Thursday and Friday with highs in the mid to upper 70’s. Both days we will have a shot for scattered showers and afternoon thunderstorms.

For Director of Meteorology Pete Petoniak’s full forecast, click here.

PILSEN, CZECH REPUBLIC – American veterans are being celebrated in the city of Pilsen in the Czech Republic to mark the 70th anniversary of Pilsen’s liberation by the U-S Army at the end of World War II.

Among the handful of U.S. Veterans in Pilsen for the celebration is 92-year-old Reuben Schaetzel of Shawano. This is Schaetzel’s first visit to the annual Pilsen celebration that has been taking place since 1990.

Schaetzel took part in the Convoy of LIberty parade that features vintage military vehicles through the streets of Pilsen. Schaetzel made the trip to Pilsen with his daughters who rode with him in an Army Jeep in the parade.

FOX 11 traveled to Pilsen two years ago to report on the annual tradition of remembering and honoring American veterans for their service and sacrifice.

This year’s festival runs through Wednesday.

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers announced the firing of manager Ron Roenicke on Sunday night. The announcement was made by Brewers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Doug Melvin.

“This has been a difficult start to the season, something that we certainly didn’t anticipate,” Melvin said.
“Over roughly the last 100 games, we have not performed at the level that we should. It’s all about wins and
losses, and after the first month of play this year we didn’t see the progress and improvement we had hoped
for. We appreciate all that Ron has done for our organization, and he has handled his duties with great
professionalism and dedication. The reasons for our disappointing start are many, but we determined that it’s
in the best interests of the club to make this move.”

The Brewers will announced Roenicke’s replacement at a press conference tomorrow at 10:30 am.

During his four plus season with the Brewers , Roenicke posted a record 342-331, including 7-18 this year.

MENASHA – Police in Menasha say three people are dead after a shooting on the Trestle Trail Bridge Sunday night.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting around 7:30 p.m.

A total of five people were shot and Police also say the shooter is in custody.

FOX 11 has a crew on the scene and will bring you the latest developments on FOX 11 News at 9.

Jordy Nelson joined our Drew Smith for the 2015 Inside the Huddle Draft special.

The Packers selected Quinten Rollins with their second-round draft pick. Rollins played basketball for Miami University before switching his basketball sneakers for football cleats.

We had Jordy draft a team of his own. Find out what teammates Jordy would draft if he was selecting a basketball team.

MENOMINEE COUNTY – State foresters say a wildfire that has burned hundreds of acres on the Menominee Indian Reservation for two days is now contained.

The fire was spotted at about 10:30 Saturday morning.

“The wind came out of the southwest yesterday, and so this section of line and especially the area, to that upper east end, that’s where the most significant fire behavior was,” said Wisconsin DNR Forester Eric Roers, as he pointed to a fire map of the affected area Sunday morning.

Roers is just one of the dozens of fire fighters from local fire departments, the county, state, tribal and federal governments, who have been working to contain the marsh fire. Current estimates put the number of acres burned at about 200.

The low-lying area north of Keshena isn’t easy to access and became a problem when one of the bulldozer units got stuck in the wetland.

“We brought in another low-ground unit – it is a tracked vehicle, it can go through the marsh grasses and not sink, and so that one finished off the wet areas,” said Roers, “and today, we have crews in there just making sure that nothing escapes our current control lines and become a new problem.”

Roers says the fire picked back up Sunday morning with the high winds. However, he says the fire is now fully contained and a small number of firefighters will still be assigned to the fire’s perimeter through Monday.

DNR officials say while this season may seem like we’ve had an unusual number of fires, it’s actually more on par with a normal fire season, compared to the previous two years.

“In terms of the fire season this year, to date, it does seem like an unusual year, but I think that’s we’ve come off of two very wet years,” said Catherine Koele, a fire prevention specialist with the DNR. “So, to be honest, it’s more of normal fire season.”

Which is a very short window – from the end of March and through April. But the bottom line is the state needs rain for the fire danger to subside.

DNR foresters say they are investigating the cause of the fire.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Rory McIlroy didn’t need another comeback to win the Match Play Championship.

Three times in the last three days, McIlroy had to rally from a late deficit to reach the championship match Sunday at TPC Harding Park. He removed any suspense by winning four straight holes against an errant Gary Woodland and never looked back.

Woodland conceded the 16th hole, and McIlroy captured his second World Golf Championship with a 4-and-2 victory.

Three weeks after Jordan Spieth won the Masters and emerged as the most likely rival, McIlroy reminded the world of his No. 1 ranking.

“I’m really proud of myself with how I showed a lot of character early on with coming back from deficits,” McIlroy said. “I played really solid golf. My second WGC and first win in the States this year. I couldn’t be happier.”

It was the first time since Tiger Woods in 2008 that the No. 1 seed won golf’s most unpredictable tournament. Woods did it two other times, and it was never easy.

That was the case for McIlroy until the final, and even then, he had a few nervous moments on the back nine.

McIlroy was 4 up after matching birdies with Woodland on the 10th hole when he began making mistakes – a poor bunker shot on No. 11, a wild tee shot on No. 12, an different chip from the left side of the 13th green.

Woodland had a 4-foot par putt on the 13th to cut the lead to 1 up with plenty of golf course left. He never looked comfortable and ran it over the right edge, and momentum shifted squarely back to McIlroy.

He won the 14th with a par when Woodland left a long birdie attempted woefully short. And he closed out the match when Woodland blasted out of a bunker and over the 16th green, missing the next shot and removing his cap.

“My putt drops on 13 and it’s a different ball game,” Woodland said. “But I missed that one. And he was like a shark. Smelled blood, and it was gave over quickly.”

McIlroy was 2 down with two holes to play and risked being eliminated Friday when he rallied against Billy Horschel to win in 20 holes. In a quarterfinal match that spilled into Sunday morning, he was 1 down to Paul Casey on the 17th hole and wound up beating him in 22 holes.

His strongest play was in the semifinals against Jim Furyk, who put enormous pressure on McIlroy over the closing holes by hitting four straight approach shots close. McIlroy delivered a birdie-birdie-eagle finish to win.

The first birdie was to halve the hole on the 16th and avoid going 2 down with 2 to play. He hit 7-iron to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th to square the match. And with Furyk facing a 20-foot birdie putt, McIlroy ended the match by rolling in a 45-foot eagle putt across the green for a 1-up victory.

Woodland faced an early deficit to Danny Willett of England in the semifinals until he turned it around for a 3-and-2 victory. Going into the championship match, Woodland had trailed on only 11 of the 101 holes he had played all week.

Against McIlroy, he never led.

They halved holes with bogeys until Woodland kept making them. His powerful driving, such a strength over four days, deserted him in the championship match and McIlroy made him pay for it.

In the consolation match, Willett defeated Furyk on the 16th hole and picked up $646,000, which will go a long way toward PGA Tour membership if he wants it.

McIlroy won for the second time this year and the 16th time worldwide. It was his 10th PGA Tour victory, joining Woods (24) and Jack Nicklaus (12) as the only players with at least 10 victories at age 25 or younger.

McIlroy turns 26 on Monday.

The Match Play Championship featured a new format this year to keep more top players in the field for at least three days. McIlroy was 3-0 in the round-robin format, and wound up winning all seven matches to pick up the $1.57 million prize.

Woodland earned $930,000 for finishing second.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Police Department says two people were stabbed around 3:30 a.m.

The incident occurred near the corner of St. George Street and Eastman Avenue on the city’s east side.

The first stabbing victim, a man, was hospitalized and underwent surgery. His condition is unknown.

Police said they cannot confirm any details on the second victim.

The Green Bay Police Department is investigating. No one has been arrested in connection with the incident.

CHICAGO (AP) – Aramis Ramirez homered and broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run single, helping the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 Sunday for their first consecutive wins this season.

Milwaukee, a big league-worst 7-18 following a 2-13 start, took two of three against the Cubs for its first series win of the year.

Brewers shortstop Jean Segura left after he was hit on the helmet by a pitch from Pedro Strop (0-1) in the eighth inning. Segura initially took first base after he was examined by the training staff for several minutes. He then was replaced by pinch-runner Hector Gomez.

After Ryan Braun grounded into a double play, Ramirez singled for a 5-3 lead.

Will Smith (1-0) got one out for the win, and Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth for his fourth save in four chances.

Ramirez, who missed the previous two games due to left hamstring tightness, homered in the second against Jason Hammel. Batting eighth, Hammel tied the score with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half.

Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson doubled in the bottom half and scored on Carlos Gomez’s single. Nelson’s fourth career hit and second double was the first hit by a Brewers pitcher since opening day.

Khris Davis’ sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in the fourth but Chicago tied the score in the fifth. Anthony Rizzo hit a run-scoring triple on a ball that dropped behind Carlos Gomez, who drifted back slowly in center. Kris Bryant was jammed and popped the ball into short right field. Second baseman Elian Herrera, trying for a basket catch about 50 feet onto the outfield grass with his back to the plate, allowed the ball to drop out of the webbing of his glove for a tying double.

Nelson gave up three runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings. Hammel allowed three runs and five hits in six innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: 2B Scooter Gennett (cut hand) was 1 for 4 in two games during a rehab assignment with Class A Wisconsin. He is eligible to come off the DL Tuesday. … Carlos Gomez (hamstring) played the full game after going six innings Saturday in his return from the disabled list.

Cubs: RHP Anthony Varvaro was claimed off waivers from Boston on Sunday. LHP Joseph Ortiz was designated for assignment. Varvaro allowed five runs in 11 innings in nine games this season with the Red Sox before he was designated for assignment April 29. He was 3-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 61 games with Atlanta last season.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Kyle Lohse (1-4, 7.28 ERA) is to start the series opener Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Opponents are hitting .288 against him.

Cubs: LHP Travis Wood (2-1, 3.04) is to start the series opener Monday against St. Louis. He is 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA in 16 starts against the Cardinals.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. cruised to his first win of the season at an old familiar place that has always been good to his family.

Earnhardt won Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in front of an adoring crowd that gave him a rousing ovation as he pumped his fist outside the car window during a slow victory lap.

NASCAR’s most popular driver picked up the checkered flag and waived as he savored his trip around the track and into victory lane.

It is Earnhardt’s sixth victory at Talladega – but first since 2004.

His late father won 10 times at the Alabama track.

Jimmie Johnson finished second as Hendrick Motorsports dominated the race. Paul Menard was third and Ryan Blaney was a surprising fourth.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)