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Harvick hangs on

Associated Press Patrick Carpentier (22), who finished second to Kevin Harvick, leads the pack early in Saturday's Busch race in Montreal. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
Associated Press Patrick Carpentier (22), who finished second to Kevin Harvick, leads the pack early in Saturday's Busch race in Montreal. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Kevin Harvick held off hometown star Patrick Carpentier to win NASCAR’s inaugural Busch Series race in Canada on Saturday, but disqualified driver Robby Gordon defiantly tried to claim the victory in a controversial finish that thrilled the crowd.

Gordon took the lead from Marcos Ambrose after a restart with four laps to go, but Ambrose quickly reclaimed it by bumping Gordon out of his way. Gordon went into a spin and the field raced by him as he idled on the course at the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Because the caution flag was waving before Ambrose spun him, Gordon believed he was the leader on the restart, or at worst, in second position. But NASCAR ruled he was in 13th, a decision with which he disagreed.

He refused to move out of second place on the restart, earning an automatic disqualification. When the field went green, he quickly pushed Ambrose out of the way and roared into the lead.

But NASCAR refused to acknowledge him, waving a black flag every time Gordon passed the flagstand for the final three laps. It put the real race to the finish far behind him, between Harvick and Carpentier.

IndyCar

Series points leader Dario Franchitti will start today’s Firestone Indy 400 right where he’d like to finish – out front.

The Scotsman won his first pole of the season and the fourth of his career, turning a lap of 218.308 mph at Brooklyn, Mich.

Franchitti, who has won three races in 2007, including the Indianapolis 500, goes into the race on Michigan’s 2-mile, high-banked oval holding a 24-point lead over Scott Dixon, going for his fourth straight victory.

Three-time and reigning series champion Sam Hornish Jr. was second at 218.024.

Formula One

Fernando Alonso was dropped from the pole of the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest and will start sixth after a ruling by world motor sport’s governing body.

FIA overruled stewards and determined that the two-time defending Formula One champion and his McLaren team had delayed teammate Lewis Hamilton during a pit stop and denied him a chance to make another qualifying run.

FIA also ruled that any points McLaren earns in today’s 70-lap race will only count toward the driver standings – and not the constructors championship.

Hamilton leads Alonso in the standings. He was second in qualifying and will take the pole.