The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
45°F
Current Conditions
Clear sky
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Menard wins Nationwide race

Driver Paul Menard celebrates his Nationwide series win at Michigan International Speedway. (Associated Press)
Associated Press
Driver Paul Menard celebrates his Nationwide series win at Michigan International Speedway. (Associated Press)

Paul Menard won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Saturday when leader Joey Logano was victimized by a flat tire with about five laps remaining.

Menard ended up holding off Sam Hornish Jr. by a half-second for his first series victory since 2006 in his first Nationwide start of the season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third, followed by pole-winner Kyle Busch and Brian Scott. Regan Smith finished seventh and remained atop the points list.

Menard, one of several Sprint Cup drivers in contention in the event, won the 250-mile, 125-lap race in his No. 33 Chevrolet. Busch won his third Nationwide pole of the year but was unable to repeat his victory two weeks ago at Dover.

Earnhardt Jr. on Sprint Cup hot streak

Dale Earnhardt Jr. snapped a long losing streak when he won at Michigan International Speedway two years ago.

How much have times changed? A victory this week would give NASCAR’s most popular driver a winning streak.

Earnhardt has already reached Victory Lane twice this year, including last weekend at Pocono.

Now third in the Sprint Cup standings, Earnhardt has three second-place finishes in 2014 to go with his two wins – and the question is no longer whether he can win, but how often.

“Definitely that’s new,” Earnhardt said. “That’s the new conversation topic for us, but I just want to win the next one. We have so much fun winning and going to Victory Lane and last week was so much fun (with) the feeling that you have inside and that you have for several hours after that. It’s like the best feeling ever. And I want to do it again. I want to do it now, this weekend.”

Wallace Jr. first in NASCAR Truck race

Darrell Wallace Jr. raced to his second career NASCAR Camping World Truck victory, holding off German Quiroga at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois.

Wallace took the lead from Quiroga on a late restart after Quiroga tangled with Erik Jones, Wallace’s Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate. Jones bobbled while leading, and Quiroga slammed into the back of Jones’ truck, sending it spinning hard into the inside wall.

Wallace won last year at Martinsville to join Wendell Scott as the only black winners on NASCAR’s national level.

Quiroga, from Mexico, finished a career-high second.

Timothy Peters was third.