Andretti Drafts A Win In Pepsi 400

Auto racing

It was a risky move, and not because John Andretti didn’t think his car was strong enough.

Running second with 13 laps to go in the Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach, Fla., Andretti needed someone to follow him when he tried to pass Mark Martin because of the draft required at superspeedways like Daytona International.

And the last time he was in this situation - nine weeks ago at Talladega - Andretti dropped out of the lead pack when no one went with him.

Saturday, he got some help, winning his first Winston Cup race in 110 starts.

“I’ve been saying this team is the best, especially with restrictor plates,” Andretti said. “Today, we came through.”

Getting a boost from Bill Elliott, the 34-year-old nephew of Mario Andretti surged past Martin and then pulled away from Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett and a six-car collision behind him.

Andretti clearly had the best car on an overcast and muggy day, leading 113 of the 160 laps. But it was never easy. Labonte, the defending Winston Cup champion who started 35th, sneaked past Earnhardt on the third turn and finished second in a Chevy.

Defending race champion Sterling Marlin, who has three of his six career victories on the track, lost a lap earlier in the race after cutting a tire but managed to finish third in his Chevy.

Earnhardt was fourth, running his career-worst winless streak to 43 races. Spokane’s Chad Little suffered an accident and finished last.

Craftsman Trucks

Taking advantage of a late-race caution flag, Ron Hornaday used the restart to put an aggressive move on leader Jack Sprague and win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series DieHard 200 at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis.

Sprague, the race’s pole sitter, held a 10-second advantage over Hornaday following green flag pit stops which were completed with 13 laps remaining in the $346,834 event. But debris on the racetrack between turns one and two turned on the yellow caution light, allowing the field to restart single-file for a four-lap shootout.

Following the restart, Hornaday caught Sprague and, with three laps to go, shoved his Chevrolet to the bottom of the track as the leaders raced into the first turn of the one-mile oval. He shot under Sprague’s Chevy, which had pushed out of the groove, and drove away to his third victory of the season, winning by 1.055 seconds.

NASCAR Busch Series

Tim Fedewa got his second career NASCAR Busch Series pole and first of the year when Nathan Buttke was disqualified as top starter in the Sears Auto Center 250 at The Milwaukee Mile.

Buttke held the pole with a lap of 118.655 mph, but it was disallowed when an inspection found illegal boosters in his carburetor. Buttke was fined $2,000 and moved to the back of the 40-car field for today’s race.