Auto racing: Sorenson puts end to drought
Reed Sorenson earned his first victory in two years, avoiding the pitfalls of a cautioned-filled Busch Gateway 250 on Saturday night in St. Louis.
Sorenson, who hadn’t led any part of a race this season before Saturday, passed David Reutimann on Lap 159 moments after the eighth yellow flag was lifted. He survived the race’s ninth and final caution with a strong restart to distance himself from Reutimann, who eventually finished third.
Scott Wimmer earned his first pole position in 136 races earlier in the day and led the first 53 laps before a right flat tire forced him into the pits. He stayed near the front of the pack most of the race and finished second. Jason Leffler and David Ragan rounded out the top five.
The race saw one caution through the first 90 laps before finishing with nine, five off the track’s record of 14. Of the 44 cars that started the race, only 26 finished and 14 of those were on the lead lap as Sorenson crossed the line. The yellow flag was out for 43 of the 200 laps.
Last year’s winner Carl Edwards led for seven laps and looked as if he might win the race for a second consecutive season. He took the lead on Lap 118 and subsequent cautions would have allowed him to stay on the track through the remainder of the race. But he rubbed against the wall late in the race and finished sixth.
IRL
Helio Castroneves set an IndyCar Series record by winning his 22nd career pole – and still was overshadowed by Danica Patrick.
Patrick’s 121.098 mph was good enough to capture the other spot on the front row at the Honda Indy 200 during qualifying on in Lexington, Ohio, putting her in position to become the first woman to win an IndyCar event.
“I’m starting on the front row, which is my best starting position of the year for a while – actually, for a long time,” Patrick said with a chuckle. “That gives me a good chance to win the race, but let’s not forget I’m still up against incredibly good drivers and it’s going to be difficult. It will be a very huge accomplishment to win this race.”
Formula One
Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton appeared to escape serious injury when he crashed into a wall during qualifying in Nuerburg, Germany, for the European Grand Prix in which Kimi Raikkonen took the pole.
After spending about two hours under observation and undergoing a scan in a military hospital in nearby Koblenz, Hamilton returned to the circuit and his McLaren team’s motor home, hoping to race today.
“It was a bit unfortunate, but I am feeling fine,” Hamilton said. “I’m very fortunate, very lucky that I haven’t got any bruises – although I’m sure tomorrow I’ll wake up with some.”
McLaren boss Ron Dennis said Hamilton hadn’t broken anything and wanted to race, but that it was up to the doctors to clear him. No decision will be made until a final checkup today before the 60-lap race. If Hamilton races today, he will start from 10th position on the grid.
Champ Car Series
Will Power set the pace with a lap of 58.403 seconds (121.617 mph) to earn his third pole of the season and fourth of his career at qualifying for the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton in Edmonton, Alberta. That broke the track record of 58.560 set last year by Sebastien Bourdais on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn circuit at City Centre Airport.
“Rookie Tristan Gommendy will miss at least two races after it was discovered he injured his back in a crash during Friday’s qualifying session.