Benson halts Busch
Wins race, grabs points lead
Kyle Busch came up five spots short in his bid to make NASCAR history Saturday night and Johnny Benson took advantage, holding off Michael Annett to win the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky.
Busch was attempting to become the first driver to win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series in successive starts. He won the Nationwide Series’ Dollar General 300 on July 11 and the Nextel Cup’s Lifelock.com 400 the following night.
Benson grabbed the lead in the truck series points race by one over third-place finisher Matt Crafton. Previous points leader Ron Hornaday finished 10th, dropping him to third in the standings.
The race did boast a historical milestone for Roush Racing, which eclipsed Spears Motorsports to become the team with the most starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
The race also marked the debut for NFL wide receiver Randy Moss as a truck owner. Willie Allen drove the No. 81 Rascal Flatts Chevrolet under the newly formed Randy Moss Motorsports team and finished 15th.
Nationwide Series
Carl Edwards passed Jason Leffler with 48 laps remaining and cruised to victory at the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 in Madison, Ill.
It was Edwards’ second win at Gateway International Raceway in three years and it came in front of a nearly hometown crowd. Edwards grew up in Columbia, Mo., about a 2-hour drive from the track.
Joey Logan, the 18-year-old racer in just his fifth race, finished second after starting fourth. Jason Kelley took third, followed by Jason Leffler and London Cassill.
IndyCar Series
Justin Wilson kept his record intact as the only one of the nine drivers transitioning from the defunct Champ Car World Series to the IndyCar Series to make it into the final six at each of the street or road races so far this season.
Wilson, who was 19th in the morning practice session at Mid-Ohio, found some speed in the afternoon and will start fourth in today’s race.
Formula One
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton edged Felipe Massa on the final lap to take the pole position for the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim, Germany.
Hamilton went around in 1 minute, 15.666 seconds on his last lap to beat the Ferrari driver by 0.193 seconds and start first for the third time this season.