Busch’s run leaves hope of breakthrough

Kurt Busch hopes to take the momentum from Friday’s strong practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the Nextel Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and make some history for his Penske Racing South team.

Busch had the fastest lap of the opening day of practice for Sunday’s race at 182.039 mph. The run provides hope for a team that has a rich tradition at Indy but has never won the Brickyard.

Team owner Roger Penske has won a record 14 Indy 500s, including the victory last May by Sam Hornish Jr.

Busch, who got married last Saturday night during a rare weekend off, got a little motivation from the boss.

“I was cruising around in the garage area this morning,” he said. “The phone rang, and it was Roger. He was pumping me up on what this means to him. He had already let me know before the wedding. Now, it’s after the wedding, and he’s still letting me know.”

Craftsman Trucks

Rick Crawford took the lead in a tight four-truck battle with 32 laps remaining, then held on to beat Dennis Setzer by 10 truck-lengths in the Craftsman Truck Series’ Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Clermont, Ind.

Crawford, Setzer, Mike Bliss and Ron Hornaday Jr. fought for the lead going into the third turn at O’Reilly Raceway Park, with Bliss getting squeezed into the wall in the first turn to bring out a caution flag.

Crawford stayed out front through four more caution periods, the last one with four laps remaining in the 200-lap race around the half-mile oval.

Hornaday finished third.

Champ Car

Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta remained in intensive care with a serious head injury, one day after his race car collided with a deer that had wandered onto the track during a test session at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Champ Car series spokesman Eric Mauk said the driver was in the intensive care unit at Theda Clark Memorial Hospital in Neenah, where he was airlifted to and had surgery to remove a ruptured blood vessel in his head.

Formula One

Formula One champion Fernando Alonso was given a 2-second penalty for today’s qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest for “dangerous driving” in practice. Alonso’s chances of doing well in today’s race were damaged because he will probably be well back on the starting grid.

Hydroplanes

Dave Villwock drove Miss E-Lam Plus to the top qualifying position for Sunday’s Chevrolet Cup at Seafair unlimited hydroplane race in Seattle.

Villwock averaged 157.480 mph around the two-mile oval course on Lake Washington.