Auto Racing: Leffler edges Biffle to win Kroger 200

Jason Leffler took the lead with two laps to go in the Kroger 200 and raced to his second NASCAR Busch Series victory on Saturday night.

Greg Biffle led in lap 191 before a caution brought the field together. Leffler took the lead in lap 197, then jockeyed with Biffle for a while before finishing strong at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.

Leffler last won on June 12, 2004, in the Federated Auto Parts 300 in Nashville, Tenn. Biffle hasn’t won this season, and had only one top-five finish in 18 starts before Saturday’s race.

Two racers who started at the back of the pack, David Reutimann and Carl Edwards, finished third and fourth, respectively. Reutimann started 40th and Edwards started 41st.

Edwards’ performance was impressive because he arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday wearing a protective brace around his dislocated right thumb. He was injured on July 22 at a dirt-track race when he hit the back of a car that spun out in front of him.

Champ Car World Series

Justin Wilson took the pole position with a 49.039-second lap with 1:30 left in qualifying at the San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway in San Jose, Calif.

Sebastien Bourdais, the overall Champ Car points leader who won the previous two San Jose Grand Prix races, will start second thanks to his qualifying victory Friday.

“It was a very difficult session,” said Wilson, fourth in the points standings.

Nextel Cup

Teammates Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya swept the front row for today’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, giving team owner Chip Ganassi another big day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

The 21-year-old Sorenson was fastest in practice and returned to the track hours later and backed it up with a lap of 184.207 mph that gave the budding NASCAR star his first Nextel Cup pole in his 58th try.

“Six of the past nine winners at Indianapolis Motor Speedway went on to win the Nextel Cup championship.

“J.J. Yeley should have headed to the pits a lap sooner.

As he came out of the fourth turn during a practice run for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Yeley turned toward the pit entrance. His No. 18 Chevrolet didn’t cooperate.

Yeley hit the wall hard with the left side of the car.

Other than a sore elbow, he was not injured. He went back out later and qualified a backup car 23rd among the 43 starters in the race.