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NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins 5th Nationwide race this season / Kurt Busch turns record lap at Darlington

May 11, 2013 By Admin

d4014680177ff631445eb187eca4e711 NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins 5th Nationwide race this season / Kurt Busch turns record lap at Darlington

Story Highlights

Kyle Busch won his fifth Nationwide race this season
Busch passed Joey Logano with 18 laps remaining
Kurt Busch set a qualifying record to win the pole for the Southern 500 on Saturday night

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch figured it’d be easy to run his own program on the Nationwide Series after all the wins he’d racked up for Joe Gibbs Racing.

A year on his own and out of Victory Lane, though, taught Busch a hard lesson. Back with JGR, Busch is back to his dominant ways in Nationwide racing. He won his fifth race of the year, pushing past Joey Logano 18 laps from the end to win at Darlington Raceway on Friday night.

“I thought it can’t be hard to upstart an organization and beat JGR,” the 28-year-old Busch said. “But obviously, that’s not the case.”

It was Busch’s 56th Nationwide win, extending his career mark, and the 112th win across Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series.

KURT BUSCH: Makes History at Darlington

“It starts with having a really good race car,” Busch said. “We unloaded really well and were fast off the truck.”

The same could be said of all JGR entries. Busch finished a second ahead of teammate Elliott Sadler, while Brian Vickers in third and Matt Kenseth in fifth gave Gibbs’ shop four of the top five spots.

It’s the seventh time in eight years a Gibbs racer has taken the Nationwide race at Darlington.

“Our teammates were so strong,” said Busch’s crew chief, Adam Stevens. “Just an impressive weekend for JGR.”

And it may not be over. Kyle Busch qualified third for Saturday night’s Southern 500 and will be going for a third weekend sweep this season following double-doubles in at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and at Texas Motor Speedway.

“All in all, this was a good night,” Busch says, “and we look forward to tomorrow.”

Busch’s victory also capped a dominant showing by the Busch boys at the track “Too Tough To Tame.” Older brother Kurt set a qualifying record to win the pole for the Southern 500 on Saturday night.

The younger Busch started from the pole and was the strongest car throughout the Nationwide race. He led for 107 of the 147 laps.

Kenseth, a past Nationwide winner here, led the second most laps with 27.

Kenseth thought his car had enough to keep up with Busch, but he said bad positioning on the final restart shuffled him back and he didn’t have enough time to recover. “I felt like we were evenly matched and it was going to be a fun race to the end,” Kenseth said.

Busch said his teammate, Kenseth, was waving at him on the track and made it difficult at times to pass. “So I’ll remember that for tomorrow,” Busch said, smiling.

Logano was in front when the field restarted following the last of four caution periods while Busch was in third. Busch quickly got past second-place Austin Dillon and began reeling in his former JGR teammate in Logano.

Busch swept past Logano on lap 129 and found mostly clear sailing the rest of the way.

Busch is the Nationwide leader with 56 career wins. He did not win in the series while operating a car he owned.

Busch won the 2008 Southern 500.

The leading rookie on the Nationwide series, Kyle Larson, finished sixth while series points leader Regan Smith was seventh. Sprint Cup regular Kasey Kahne was ninth.

Not everything went perfectly for Busch. NASCAR said there was an issue with the car’s front nose and any penalties would be announced next week. Stevens called it an oversight that was embarrassing for JGR.

RESULTS:

1. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 147 laps, 150 rating, 0 points, $44,965.

2. (2) Elliott Sadler, Toyota, 147, 118.9, 42, $33,600.

3. (4) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 147, 117.9, 41, $25,400.

4. (14) Joey Logano, Ford, 147, 102, 0, $17,450.

5. (3) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 147, 122.9, 0, $16,025.

6. (7) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 147, 99.5, 38, $24,675.

7. (11) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 147, 105, 37, $20,410.

8. (9) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 147, 101.7, 36, $19,270.

9. (6) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 147, 105.4, 0, $12,975.

10. (5) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 147, 90.9, 34, $19,925.

11. (8) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 147, 93.1, 33, $18,525.

12. (18) Chris Buescher, Ford, 147, 87.2, 32, $12,450.

13. (15) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 147, 80.4, 0, $18,400.

14. (26) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 147, 81.6, 30, $18,350.

15. (12) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 147, 81.2, 29, $19,475.

16. (21) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 147, 74.3, 28, $18,175.

17. (13) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 147, 72.4, 27, $18,125.

18. (16) Reed Sorenson, Ford, 147, 80.6, 26, $18,075.

19. (19) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 146, 67, 25, $18,025.

20. (27) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 146, 57.6, 25, $18,625.

21. (22) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, 146, 59.9, 23, $17,900.

22. (24) Blake Koch, Toyota, 146, 63.7, 22, $17,850.

23. (20) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 146, 58.5, 0, $17,800.

24. (28) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 146, 58.3, 20, $17,750.

25. (25) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 146, 58.2, 19, $18,155.

26. (37) Eric McClure, Toyota, 144, 41.9, 18, $17,625.

27. (38) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, 144, 45, 17, $17,575.

28. (17) Travis Pastrana, Ford, 144, 61.3, 16, $17,500.

29. (34) Hal Martin, Toyota, 143, 43.1, 16, $17,465.

30. (30) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 142, 39.9, 14, $17,725.

31. (35) Harrison Rhodes, Ford, 141, 36.4, 0, $17,375.

32. (10) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 139, 58, 12, $17,345.

33. (39) Tony Raines, Toyota, 139, 33.6, 12, $17,315.

34. (33) Kyle Fowler, Ford, accident, 108, 43.2, 10, $17,285.

35. (40) Kevin Lepage, Toyota, rear gear, 27, 31.9, 9, $11,229.

36. (36) Bryan Silas, Toyota, accident, 21, 35.3, 0, $16,520.

37. (31) Jeff Green, Toyota, vibration, 16, 35.9, 7, $10,500.

38. (23) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, rear gear, 7, 32.9, 0, $10,426.

39. (32) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, overheating, 4, 29.7, 5, $10,315.

40. (29) Tanner Berryhill, Toyota, rear gear, 3, 28.6, 4, $10,290.

NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins 5th Nationwide race this season / Kurt Busch turns record lap at Darlington is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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NASCAR: Ragan’s upset win gives boost to Front Row Motorsports

May 7, 2013 By Admin

David Ragan and his wife Jacquelyn Butler Ragan, celebrate in victory lane after winning Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.(Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images)

Story Highlights

David Ragan ended up jobless at the end of 2011 before signing with Front Row Motorsports
Roush Fenway Racing tapped a 20-year-old Ragan to drive departing Mark Martin’s car in 2007
Ragan has become a team leader at Front Row thanks to his experience at people skills

(PhatzRadio / USA Today) — TALLADEGA, Ala. — When David Ragan lost his high-dollar Roush Fenway Racing ride at the end of 2011 — and was passed over for four other jobs — he ended up at second-tier Front Row Motorsports, an underfunded team that rarely cracked the top 25.

In some ways, Ragan’s wife, Jacquelyn, said, “It was like starting his career over.”

Sunday’s upset victory at Talladega may not have cured all of Front Row’s problems — Ragan’s victory paid $373,108 when Powerball-type numbers would be more helpful to compete with the big teams — but it showed the organization is headed in the right direction.

“I don’t think people realize when you end up on a ‘B’ team, your name gets pushed back and people talk about you a little different,” Jacquelyn Ragan told USA TODAY Sports on Monday. “It’s been tough for him, but this team is amazing. It’s great for them to get their names out and for people realize how hard this team works.”

But now where do Ragan and Front Row go?

“I’ve already thought about what we’re going to do when we get to Darlington Friday and unload, the challenge we’re going to have there in the All-Star Race (the following week),” David Ragan said less than an hour after he pulled into Victory Lane.

Ragan is a veteran at 27 after being tabbed as a future star at 20, promoted straight from NASCAR’s Truck Series to replace the departing Mark Martin in Roush’s No. 6 car.

Ragan never had the success everyone expected at Roush — he was 23rd or lower in the standings in four of five seasons — and ended up jobless after the 2011 season.

He was thought to be a leading candidate to replace Kurt Busch in Penske’s No. 22 car, but the job went to AJ Allmendinger. He was passed up for rides at Richard Petty Motorsports (Aric Almirola), Phoenix Racing (Busch) and JR Motorsports (Cole Whitt) before landing at Front Row — an organization team owner Bob Jenkins said tries “to do the most with the least.”

Ragan’s positive approach never wavered, even when his prospects for a top ride dimmed. Perspective was easily found thanks to his parents — dad, Ken, a former NASCAR driver who made 50 Cup starts, and mom, Beverly, celebrated their 40th anniversary Sunday night — and brother, Adam, who has Down syndrome.

Still, the road to relevance hasn’t been easy on a team where even top-20 finishes are difficult.

Ragan is one of the team leaders, thanks to his experience and people skills. Highly approachable and down to earth, Ragan has been the most frequent driver attendee at “tweetups” (fan gatherings on race day).

As it turned out, Front Row has been an ideal fit for a man who appreciates family values. The low-budget team is smaller than the regular contenders, but it’s a tight-knit bunch.

On the eve of the Talladega race, the Ragans joined teammate David Gilliland and his family — wife Michelle and two children — for dinner in Birmingham. A day later, it was Gilliland who pushed Ragan to the lead (and ultimately finished second himself).

Afterward, Gilliland and his family took the unusual step of going to the media center to listen to Ragan’s news conference.

“The thing that I think makes our team different than some of the rest is we’re so close,” Jenkins said. “More than anything, we’re friends.”

Ragan knows one win won’t change the team’s weekly performance — it’s more of a long-term process — but he’s hopeful it shows everyone what is possible if Front Row continues to improve.

“We know we’re getting better, that we’re working hard,” Ragan said. “It gives (the team) some confidence and hope, and it’s a big thing.”

Jacquelyn Ragan chuckled in disbelief as the congratulatory tweets poured in from across NASCAR — from Jimmie Johnson to Kasey Kahne to Kevin Harvick.

“I was kind of thinking, ‘Do they even know who we are?’” she said. “It’s just the coolest thing to be mentioned with these guys. We’ve been so excited.”

Follow Jeff Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

NASCAR: Ragan’s upset win gives boost to Front Row Motorsports is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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NASCAR: Regan Smith takes Nationwide at Talladega after review

May 5, 2013 By Admin

12d84b7c923985c2ce824444dbf68e9d NASCAR: Regan Smith takes Nationwide at Talladega after review
Regan Smith, driver of the No. 7 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet, celebrates with his crew in victory lane after he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.(Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images)

Story Highlights

Regan Smith won the Nationwide race at Talladega
Officials used a video review of the last scoring loop after a wreck marred the end of the race
The race was shortened by 10 laps due to impending darkness

(PhatzRadio / AP) — TALLADEGA, Ala. — In 2008, Regan Smith crossed the finish line first at Talladega Superspeedway and didn’t win.

It’s safe to say the place owed him one.

Smith was awarded the victory in Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race at Talladega after a last-lap crash forced NASCAR to use video tape to determine the winner.

As cars crashed wildly behind Smith, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne, NASCAR called a caution with the leaders were less than 200 yards from the line.

The trio raced to the stripe – with Kahne seemingly as the winner – but the caution meant the three-wide finish was moot.

Once officials looked at the video and determined who was leading at the precise moment of caution, Smith was declared the winner.

“I was having flashbacks sitting on pit road (waiting for the results),” said Smith, who lost that 2008 Cup win when officials ruled he passed Tony Stewart out of bounds. “I don’t know if it’s vindication or not – I think I’ve gotten over that – but I definitely wanted to win here. It certainly helps wipe that bad memory away.”

Smith, driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports team, said he figured he’d finish fifth or sixth with two corners left in the race. But when the cars in front of him lost momentum, he boldly swerved under Kurt Busch coming to the finish line and was barely out in front when the caution was displayed.

The win helped Smith take over the points lead, giving JR Motorsports the No. 1 spot for the first time in team history.

“They’ve been working so many late nights trying to find that extra bit of speed,” Earnhardt said of Smith and new crew chief Greg Ives. “They’re just trying to gel as fast as they can because they know they’ve got a good shot this year.”

Logano finished second and Kahne finished third. Kahne said he saw the caution come out and knew he wouldn’t be the winner but was taken aback at NASCAR’s quick trigger.

“I was really surprised they threw that caution when so many times they wouldn’t in that situation,” Kahne said. “NASCAR always switches it up, so you never know what’s going to happen.”

After a rainy day, the Aaron’s 312 started several hours late. NASCAR planned to get all 117 laps completed (there are no lights at Talladega), but officials later decided to shorten the race by 10 laps as darkness fell.

With four laps to go, the race looked like it would finish under green until Joey Coulter was spun into the wall by Justin Allgaier, setting up one attempt at a green-white-checkered overtime finish.

Prior to Coulter’s crash, a typical Talladega “big one” hit with 24 laps to go when Sam Hornish came down across Eric McClure’s bumper and triggered a multi-car wreck that collected a total of 11 cars.

That extended cleanup period, coupled with quickly fading sunlight, was what led NASCAR to shorten the race.

Long before the multi-car wreck, the day had already gone sour for some big-name drivers.

Danica Patrick, making only her second Nationwide start of the season, had her hopes of a victory ruined on lap 14 when she was spun by drafting partner and Turner Scott Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.

Patrick slid through the wet grass and damaged her car, forcing her to retire from the race.

“That was probably just (him) not understanding the draft completely,” Patrick said of Larson. “… It’s just really unfortunate, because obviously it was a good car.”

A few laps later, Larson suffered a problem of his own. His left-rear tire suddenly blew and tore the left side off his car, sending him spinning into the grass.

The scariest moment of the race might have been the collision between pole-sitter Travis Pastrana and Reed Sorenson. After Brian Scott inadvertently spun Sorenson, the latter driver’s No. 43 car suddenly came down the track in front of Pastrana, who nailed it at full speed.

Sorenson got airborne – but luckily avoided flipping – while Pastrana shot up into the outside wall. It was a hard hit for the former X Games star, but he was uninjured.

Pastrana said he planned to sit back and log laps until the finish, but all of the sudden found himself “racing like a fool up front.”

“I’ve just got to swallow my pride on this one and try not to be that dumb next time,” he said. “Honestly, it’s just stupid. I just feel like a complete idiot.”

Full order of finish (start position in parentheses)

1. (20) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 110 laps, 112.6 rating, 47 points, $53,445.

2. (12) Joey Logano, Ford, 110, 132.9, 0, $39,725.

3. (11) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 110, 121.9, 0, $30,500.

4. (9) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 110, 103.2, 0, $29,275.

5. (5) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 110, 99.5, 40, $32,550.

6. (18) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 110, 94.7, 39, $28,100.

7. (38) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 110, 70.3, 37, $26,500.

8. (31) Jason White, Toyota, 110, 61.7, 36, $25,850.

9. (37) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 110, 69, 35, $25,225.

10. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 110, 72.2, 35, $26,825.

11. (7) Elliott Sadler, Toyota, 110, 97.5, 34, $25,975.

12. (29) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 110, 59.3, 32, $18,850.

13. (14) Alex Bowman, Toyota, 110, 88.1, 31, $25,675.

14. (24) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 110, 73.7, 30, $24,500.

15. (21) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 110, 105.5, 30, $25,050.

16. (27) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ford, 110, 48.9, 28, $24,350.

17. (22) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, accident, 109, 70, 0, $18,525.

18. (39) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, accident, 109, 53.3, 26, $23,975.

19. (36) Donnie Neuenberger, Chevrolet, 108, 37.5, 25, $17,850.

20. (33) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, 107, 49.6, 24, $24,400.

21. (10) Joey Coulter, Toyota, accident, 104, 72.9, 0, $23,550.

22. (15) Reed Sorenson, Ford, 103, 84.6, 23, $23,400.

23. (23) Eric McClure, Toyota, accident, 94, 62.5, 21, $23,250.

24. (17) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, accident, 93, 74.4, 0, $23,100.

25. (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 93, 99.9, 19, $23,275.

26. (25) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, accident, 92, 52.7, 18, $23,000.

27. (8) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, accident, 92, 79.7, 18, $22,800.

28. (3) Trevor Bayne, Ford, accident, 92, 95.3, 17, $22,900.

29. (16) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, accident, 92, 71.9, 15, $22,400.

30. (40) Tim Andrews, Ford, accident, 91, 37.6, 14, $22,475.

31. (26) Bobby Gerhart, Chevrolet, accident, 91, 33.1, 13, $16,125.

32. (28) Mike Harmon, Dodge, accident, 91, 29.7, 12, $22,050.

33. (34) Blake Koch, Toyota, accident, 87, 53.7, 11, $22,015.

34. (32) Hal Martin, Toyota, 84, 31.4, 10, $21,980.

35. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Dodge, fuel pressure, 72, 38.4, 9, $15,940.

36. (1) Travis Pastrana, Ford, accident, 71, 74.7, 9, $24,580.

37. (30) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 64, 53.1, 7, $20,695.

38. (19) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, accident, 52, 53.6, 6, $20,661.

39. (4) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, accident, 16, 40.4, 0, $14,775.

40. (13) Jeff Green, Toyota, vibration, 3, 25.4, 4, $14,425.

NASCAR: Regan Smith takes Nationwide at Talladega after review is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins Denny Hamlin Showdown

April 26, 2013 By Admin

b78d973064eda2a41e7c8437b44b85c1 NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins Denny Hamlin Showdown
(This was Busch’s third time winning the event, which benefits the Denny Hamlin Foundation.Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

(PhatzRadio / AP) — Kyle Busch is turning Denny Hamlin’s Short Track Showdown into his personal showcase.

Busch, a teammate of Hamlin’s with Joe Gibbs Racing, grabbed the lead before the 5-minute pit stops that came after 46 laps Thursday night, then pulled away when the race went back to green, easily holding off David Ragan for the victory.

It was his third win in the six years of the event. The race benefits the Denny Hamlin Foundation, which is committed to helping children with cystic fibrosis.

“Late Models is what I grew up in and it’s fun to sit in that seat,” Busch said in Victory Lane.

With Hamlin sidelined by a compression fracture of a vertebra in his lower back and forced to watch the event at his home track, Busch once again made the 75-lap race his to lose in a car that was built by his team, Kyle Busch Motorsports.

“Too much,” Busch said when asked what it cost to build the car just for the race.

Ragan was second, followed by Ben Rhodes, Ronnie Bassett Jr. and Garrett Campbell.

Busch said once he pulled away for the final segment of the race, he only drove as hard as he needed to to maintain a comfortable advantage, thinking that Ragan behind him might be saving something in the event of a late restart.

“Kyle may say that when he’s standing in Victory Lane, but I bet he was driving his car pretty hard, too,” Ragan said.

Matt Kenseth, a late fill-in for Hamlin when the driver was not cleared to race because of his injuries, said earlier in the day that his excitement was at an all-time low after NASCAR issued stiff penalties to his team for an illegal engine part at Kansas. Kenseth’s bad day continued when he slammed into CE Falk III before the 5-minute pit stops and spun himself out.

He finished 22nd.

Defending champion Tony Stewart also had a short night, getting spun out and then T-boned before the break. He climbed from the car during the break and did not return, finishing 28th.

NASCAR: Kyle Busch wins Denny Hamlin Showdown is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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Motorsports Roundup: Sato first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race

April 22, 2013 By Admin

Motorsports Roundup: Sato first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race

(PhatzRadio / AP) — Takuma Sato became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race on Sunday in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The win came in Sato’s 52nd career start, and was the first for A.J. Foyt Racing since Airton Dare won Kansas in 2002. Only the Texan wasn’t on hand to make his first-ever trip to Long Beach’s Victory Lane — a sciatic nerve that will require surgery forced him to watch the race on television at home.

The victory on the temporary street course through Long Beach — where Foyt never won as a driver or team owner — was a huge accomplishment for the organization. A.J. Foyt Racing’s last win on a street or road course was with Foyt behind the wheel at Silverstone in 1978.

“It was an easy win,” said the diminutive Sato, who leapt into the arms of his crew members in Victory Lane. “It was just a perfect weekend to be honest. The team did a tremendous job. Pit stops, right calls, the power was great and I was comfortable in the car and able to push everything.”

From Texas, Foyt said via telephone the “last five laps were the longest five laps of anything.

“We’ve had a lot of drivers, but none of them wanted to win,” Foyt said, “this boy wants to win.”

His son, Larry Foyt, runs the day-to-day operations of the team and said he hated his dad not being at the track for the win.

“We hate it because he is definitely our big leader and he is the big boss man,” Larry Foyt said. “This is for him.”

Foyt is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday in Texas, but said he’s pushing to have it moved up at Tuesday because he wants to shorten his recovery period.

“I just can’t walk very far and I want to get this healed up because I am definitely going to be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Foyt said.

The win pushed Sato to second in the IndyCar standings, and was redemption for the Honda driver. Probably best known for crashing on the final lap of last year’s Indianapolis 500 while driving for Bobby Rahal, Sato also suffered disappointment two races earlier when he was headed to a podium finish at Long Beach and Ryan Hunter-Reay spun him on the final lap.

On Sunday, he held off Graham Rahal, who took his seat at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, for the win. Although the second-place finish was a huge turnaround for Rahal, who did not fare well in his first two races driving for his father’s team, it was a typical Rahal result. Bobby Rahal finished second as a driver at Long Beach four times, in 1988, and from 1991 through 1993.

“I think we just performed the way we ought to each and every weekend,” Rahal said. “To be honest, it just feels phenomenal to get this result. God, I came so close to winning yet again.”

Justin Wilson, who started 24th because he never got a qualifying run in on Saturday, drove all the way to third and pole-sitter Dario Franchitti was fourth in his 250th career start. It marked a sweep of the top four spots for Honda, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season and had been shut out by Chevrolet in the first two races of the year.

Vettel cruises

Three-time world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix, easily beating Lotus drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean in a race that has been the target of rights groups and anti-government protesters in the divided nation.

After taking the lead for good on the 17th lap, the Red Bull driver was never challenged. Raikkonen closed the gap in the final five laps but ran out of time. Grosjean passed Force India’s Paul di Resta for third for his best finish this season.

Vettel retains the championship lead after four of 19 races, with his advantage over Raikkonen now 10 points.

The race has been the target of rights groups that contend it glosses over the country’s political problems while anti-government protesters intensified their demonstrations against the Sunni-led government.

Briefly

• MotoGP: Rookie Marc Marquez won a MotoGP race for the first time, capturing the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin to become the youngest winner at motorcycle racing’s top level. The 20-year-old Spaniard, last season’s Moto2 champion, stood on the bike and waved to the crowd after the finish. Marquez had qualified in pole position but lost the lead to Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa seconds into the race. They dueled for the top spot the rest of the way. Marquez overtook Pedrosa with nine laps to go and held on to win in 43 minutes, 42.123 seconds. Pedrosa finished second, 1.534 seconds behind. Marquez replaces American “Fast Freddie” Spencer as MotoGP’s youngest premier level winner. Spencer also was 20 when he won the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982.

• NHRA: Matt Hagan ended a 17-month winless drought by racing to the Funny Car victory at the Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. Hagan powered his Dodge Charger to the final round win over fellow Virginian Blake Alexander, veteran driver Tim Wilkerson, and rookie Chad Head for his sixth career victory. Hagan covered the distance in 4.071 seconds at 315.34 mph to beat Alexander’s Charger in the four-wide final. Spencer Massey (Top Fuel), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners of the only NHRA event that features competition in four lanes.

Motorsports Roundup: Sato first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race is a post from: PhatzRadio.com