Salazar Races To Win

On Tony Stewart’s longest night in a race car, Eliseo Salazar had one of his biggest nights, winning the Las Vegas 500K for his first IndyCar victory.

Stewart overcame a balky suspension to capture the Indy Racing League season championship, but it was Salazar who was in the winner’s circle on a chilly and windy night at the Las Vegas Speedway.

Salazar took the lead for good with 48 laps to go and held on to win by 1.2 seconds over Scott Goodyear in the final IRL race of the season.

Stewart, meanwhile, finished 11th to wrap up the IRL title in a points race he led by 10 points over Davey Hamilton going into the race.

Hamilton finished seventh, but could not gain enough points on Stewart to overcome his lead.

Jacques Villeneuve, the leader in the Formula One drivers’ standings, won the pole position and could clinch the season title in today’s Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan.

Spokane’s Chad Little qualified 36th (189.006 mph) during the second day of time trials for today’s DieHard 500 NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.