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Truex Jr. ends long drought

Martin Truex Jr. celebrates after winning the Sprint Cup race in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday. (Associated Press)
Martin Truex Jr. celebrates after winning the Sprint Cup race in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday. (Associated Press)

Martin Truex Jr. snapped a 218-race winless streak with an easy victory Sunday on the road course at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

It was just the second win of Truex’s career, first since Dover in 2007. It put Michael Waltrip Racing in Victory Lane for the second year in a row after Clint Bowyer won here last season.

Truex worked his way to the front and used strategy to stay with the leaders. He then pulled away after the final restart and built a healthy lead of more than six seconds over Juan Pablo Montoya, who was running second until he ran out of gas on the final lap.

Jeff Gordon finished third a week after he was wrecked six laps into the race at Michigan.

Carl Edwards was fourth, followed by Kurt Busch, who climbed back from a pair of speeding penalties.

Bowyer wound up fifth in a strong day for the MWR Toyotas.

Danica Patrick, thought to be a contender based on her strong runs in Nationwide Series road races, struggled all weekend to find speed and was done in by a flat rear tire just past the halfway point. The tire issue caused her to spin into a barrier and make multiple pit stops for repairs.

IndyCar

James Hinchcliffe cruised to victory in the IndyCar Series race in Newton, Iowa, leading all but 24 of 250 laps.

He won for the third time this season and gave Andretti Autosport its fourth consecutive victory at Iowa’s oval.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe’s teammate, was second followed by Tony Kanaan and Ed Carpenter.

24 Hours of Le Mans

Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans (France) for the fourth straight year in an endurance race overshadowed by the death of Danish driver Allan Simonsen at the start.

Simonsen was the first driver fatality at Le Mans since 1997.

Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loic Duval steered Audi No. 2 to victory, one lap ahead of Toyota No. 8 driven by Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Stephane Sarrazin.

NHRA

Courtney Force claimed a Funny Car victory against her father at the Auto-Plus NHRA New England Nationals in Epping, N.H.

In their first final-round matchup, Courtney Force earned her second victory of the year and third in her career. She improved to 4-2 against her father, John Force, a 15-time Funny Car world champion.

Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and John Hall (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.