Auto Racing: Edwards wins at Bristol
Carl Edwards picked up another 10 bonus points to use in his pursuit of the Nextel Cup title with a dominating victory Saturday night at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Edwards passed Kasey Kahne for the lead with 166 laps to go and wasn’t challenged the rest of the way as he drove to his second victory of the season. He beat Kahne to the line by 1.405 seconds, then did his trademark backflip on the finish line to celebrate.
“This is the biggest win of my career,” said Edwards, who has six career victories. “It means the world to win this race.”
The top 12 drivers in the standings will run for the Nextel Cup title, and Edwards clinched his spot with the win.
“We’re back,” declared Edwards, who made the Chase and finished third in the standings in 2005 but failed to make the field last season.
The Chase field will be seeded based on the bonus points earned through “regular season” victories. Edwards now has 20 points, which would tie him with Kurt Busch for third place when the Chase for the championship begins Sept. 16 in New Hampshire.
Only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (four wins each) and Tony Stewart (three) have more.
Clint Bowyer finished third to move closer to his first berth in the Chase.
“I am not going to count on that quite yet, not ‘til it’s over,” Bowyer said.
Stewart was fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth. Busch, Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle rounded out the top 10.
The race to make the Chase didn’t change, as Kurt Busch is still holding down the 12th and final position with two races to go.
“We’re running more consistent, and that’s what it takes if you want to be a championship contender,” Busch said.
NASCAR admits scoring error
NASCAR’s errant call against Kyle Busch was still being discussed, as drivers wondered what kind of recourse they have when they don’t agree with a call.
NASCAR said Busch crossed the commitment line for pit road – and then didn’t pit – during a caution in Friday night’s Busch Series race. He was ordered to forfeit his second-place position, and even though his Hendrick Motorsports team disagreed with the call, Busch served the penalty and dropped back to 28th.
Shortly after the race resumed, NASCAR said Busch did not cross the line and should not have been penalized. It was too late to rectify, though, and Busch had to drive through the field to finish fourth.
“It was a terrible mistake,” said team owner Rick Hendrick, who met with NASCAR president Rick Hendrick at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“You hate to have (NASCAR) make a mistake like that.”
During the driver meeting before Saturday night’s Nextel Cup event, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon asked NASCAR what teams should do going forward if they disagree with a call.
Race director David Hoots said the teams should convey their thoughts to a NASCAR official, who will radio it to the scoring tower for further review.
Formula One
Felipe Massa took a step toward repeating last year’s victory at the Turkish Grand Prix after claiming pole position in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Ferrari driver had the fastest time in qualifying for today’s race with 1 minute, 27.329 seconds at the 3.316-mile Istanbul Park circuit, where he claimed his first career pole and F1 victory last year.
“It’s always a nice start,” Massa said. “I was able to put everything together in the last try.”
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was second with 1:27.373 and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third with 1:27.546.
IndyCar
Series points leader Dario Franchitti came up with his second pole of the season, and Andretti Green Racing teammate Danica Patrick matched her career-best second-place qualifying effort at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
Franchitti, coming off 13th- and eighth-place finishes that have allowed Scott Dixon to move within eight points in the IndyCar Series championship battle, will start at the front of the 18-car field in today’s Motorola Indy 300.
Champ Car
Sebastien Bourdais won his fifth pole position of the season and 30th of his career in the final qualifying session for the Champ Car Belgian Grand Prix in Zolder, Belgium.
The 28-year-old Frenchman completed the 2.5-mile Zolder circuit in 1 minute, 12.821 seconds at an average speed of 123.2 mph.