CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Stewart will return to Sprint Cup competition Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, ending a three-race hiatus taken after he struck and killed a fellow driver during a dirt-track race. The three-time NASCAR champion has not raced since his car hit Kevin Ward Jr. at an Aug. 9 sprint car event in upstate New York. Stewart pulled out of the NASCAR race at Watkins Glen the next morning, then skipped the races at Michigan and Bristol Motor Speedway. Stewart, who was described by police as "visibly shaken" the night of Wards death, has been in seclusion ever since. Stewart-Haas Racing executive vice-president Brett Frood had said the team was putting no timetable on his return to the No. 14 Chevrolet and the emphasis was on giving Stewart time needed to get him "in a better place than he is." Stewarts only comment since Wards death was a statement the day after the crash in which he said "there arent words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr." Ward had climbed from his car after it had spun while racing for position with Stewart. The 20-year-old walked down onto the racing surface waving his arms in an apparent attempt to confront Stewart. Authorities said the first car to pass Ward had to swerve to miss hitting him. The front of Stewarts car then appeared to clear Ward, but Ward was struck by the right rear tire and hurtled through the air. He died of blunt force trauma. It was not clear if the 43-year-old NASCAR superstar will be charged in Wards death. Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero has said investigators did not have any evidence to support criminal intent by Stewart. Povero said this week he has no new updates on where the investigation stands. Meanwhile, Stewart will move forward with his career and attempt to salvage his season. NASCAR released a statement Thursday saying that Stewart was eligible to return because he "has received all necessary clearances required to return to all racing activities." Stewart, who has 48 career Cup wins in 542 starts, is one of the biggest stars in the garage. His peers have been protective of him as questions emerged in the aftermath of the crash, and it pained them that Stewart was grieving in private and had cut off communication with so many of them. NASCAR rules state a driver must attempt to either qualify or race the car in every points-paying event to be eligible for Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, unless a waiver is granted. Since Wards death, NASCAR has announced a rule that prohibits drivers from exiting from a crashed or disabled vehicle -- unless it is on fire -- until safety personnel arrive. 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Davis and White won the silver medal at the Vancouver Games and are two-time world champions.HOUSTON -- After hitting just .136 last April, the Washington Nationals are certainly enjoying the way Adam LaRoche has started this season. LaRoche continued his hot start Tuesday night, hitting a tying double in the eighth inning and a go-ahead single in the ninth to lift the Nationals over the Houston Astros 4-3. "Its good for him because hes not traditionally a fast starter," manager Matt Williams said. "He really focused on it in spring training and really focused on driving one in. Hes going to hit homers with guys on base but that ones big for us as evidenced tonight. If he can do that the homers will come ... but when he can consistently drive runs in like that were a better team." Jayson Werth homered as the Nationals won the opener of the interleague series. Denard Span drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. He scored on LaRoches hit to right field off Josh Fields (0-3). "When Im feeling pretty good, one, Im taking some walks and two, Im using the whole field," LaRoche said. LaRoche is hitting .312 with four home runs, 17 RBIs and 16 walks in 2014. Tyler Clippard (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Rafael Soriano walked two in a scoreless ninth for his fifth save. Werth hit fourth home run in the first inning. Houston scored three times in the third for a 3-2 lead, helped by rookie George Springers two-run single. Houston manager Bo Porter was troubled that his team let another one get away late. "Its very concerning, because our starting pitcher did a very good job," he said. "You feel like you are in position to win the game, you have the right guys matched up, and you just dont get it done." Werth singled to start the eighth and scored on LaRoches double to left-centre field. Center fielder Dexter Fowler tracked the ball to the wall, but it glanced off his glove as he crashed to the ground. The Nationals went on to load the bases before Chad Qualls struck out Jose Lobaton.dddddddddddd Washington starter Gio Gonzalez allowed five hits and three runs, striking out a season-high nine in six innings. Houstons Jarred Cosart gave up five hits, two runs and struck out six in six innings in his first career start against an NL team. Cosart hit Kevin Frandsen with a pitch to start the third inning and he scored on a double by Lobaton to make it 2-0. Houstons first hit was a double by Matt Dominguez to open the third and he moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Jonathan Villar. Fowlers two-out single cut Washingtons lead to 2-1 and extended his hitting streak to nine games. Jason Castro reached on a double when the ball bounced off the padding on the wall in left field -- Frandsen saved a run when he made a nifty no-look, backhanded stop on the carom. He said he simply got lucky on the play and shared what he told his teammates when they asked how he did it. "You stick your glove out and maybe some things go in there," he said with a laugh. Springers single on a line drive to left field put Houston ahead. The Nationals had another good defensive play when Span ran up Tals Hill in centre field and landed on his backside as he caught a fly ball hit by Dominguez for the second out of the fourth inning. NOTES: These teams wrap up the two-game series on Wednesday when Houston LHP Brett Oberholtzer opposes RHP Jordan Zimmermann. ... Washington OF Bryce Harper had surgery on his injured left thumb on Tuesday and will be out for an extended period of time. Harper was injured on Friday night against San Diego on a headfirst slide into third base on a triple. ... Houston RHP Scott Feldman, on the 15-day DL retroactive to April 18 with right biceps tendinitis, said he felt good after throwing 35 pitches in a bullpen session on Tuesday. He is eligible to come off the DL on May 3. ' ' '