Lajoie Motors Past Craven, Claims Grand National Win

Auto racing

Randy Lajoie, who learned patience through nine years of defeat, put it to good use Saturday in Dover, Del., and won a stirring laterace duel with Ricky Craven for his second Busch Grand National career victory in three weeks.

Lajoie overcame a disadvantage in the pits by hounding Craven through the last 20 laps and held on to win the crash-filled GM Goodwrench-Delco Battery 200 by two car-lengths at Dover Downs International Speedway.

“I was watching where I could get under him and he gave a me little too much room one time and I took it,” Lajoie said of Craven. “He had the preferred line. I needed to get in that line.”

The winning pass came on the 193rd of 200 laps, when Craven drifted from the bottom of the 24-degree banking in the first turn. Lajoie got beneath him and the Cherolets mirrored each other down the backstretch until Craven accepted second place entering the third turn.

Craven then began stalking Lajoie, but was unable to reclaim the lead over the final seven laps.

“He was the class of the field,” Craven said of Lajoie. “I ran as hard as I could the last 35 laps, but our car was too tight.”

Chad Little of Spokane finished 29th, winning $7,680.

Miller 200

Alex Zanardi’s crash interrupted qualifying, and rain minutes later ended the time trials for today’s Miller 200 in West Allis, Wis.

The 28-car field for the 200-lap race at the Milwaukee Mile will line up in order of the fastest practice laps, with Paul Tracy and Emerson Fittipaldi on the front row.

Spanish Grand Prix

Britain’s Damon Hill played a waiting game with teammate Jacques Villeneuve and came out ahead to gain the pole position for today’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

Hill lapped the 2.937-mile Circuit de Catalunya at 131.098 mph, .434 seconds faster than Villeneuve’s best lap, for his fourth pole of the season and 15th of his career.