[center]THE BIG STORY
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR Nationwide Series
NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series
IndyCar Series
Racer of the Week
Yes, He REALLY Said That
Valvoline Winners Last Weekend
This Weekend



THE BIG STORY


Clint Bowyer won Saturday night's Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Raceway after a dominant run by Denny Hamlin came up short and a tangle with Kyle Busch cost Dale Earnhardt Jr. his first win in two years. Hamlin's Toyota started on the pole and led all but one of the opening 382 laps. A flat right-front tire allowed Junior's Chevrolet to go by. Going into turn three on lap 398, Busch got loose and contacted Earnhardt Jr., spinning him. Bowyer's Chevy took over and led to the checkered flag, which was extended to lap 410 on a green-white-checker finish. Busch was second, followed by Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr. Jeff Burton finished 11th and lost the championship lead, by 18 points, to Busch.
Also: Carl Edwards signed a multi-year contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing… John Force got his 1,000th round win by beating Ron Capps on a holeshot in the first round of the O'Reilly Midwest Nationals… Rockingham Speedway reopened with Joey Logano winning his ARCA debut. Return to Top


NASCAR Sprint Cup Series


Walter Giles replaced Frank Kerr as Robby Gordon's crew chief. At Richmond, Ken Schrader subbed for injured Dario Franchitti, but didn't qualify. Sterling Marlin will drive for Franchitti at Darlington. Denny Hamlin got the Richmond pole with a 126.198 mph lap. Saturday night, Hamlin led the opening 206 laps. A.J. Allmendinger stayed out under a yellow to lead one lap, then, Hamlin went to the front and was there through lap 382 of the scheduled 400. Engine repairs forced Jeff Gordon to start last and, by lap 45, Hamlin put him a lap down. When Juan Pablo Montoya spun on lap 140, Gordon got back on the lead lap, and finished ninth. On lap 205, Allmendinger and Regan Smith tangled, followed soon thereafter by a Brian Vickers-Paul Menard crash. On lap 231, there was a big crash in turn three, which brought out a red flag. Patrick Carpentier, David Gilliland, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, J.J. Yeley, Montoya, Johnny Sauter and Michael McDowell were involved. The green waved with 134 laps to go. Casey Mears and Michael Waltrip tangled and NASCAR parked Waltrip. Jamie McMurray crashed with 35 laps remaining. The green came out with 30 laps left and Hamlin's flat tire changed the outcome. When he stopped on the outside of turn four, with 10 laps to go, the yellow came out and NASCAR penalized him two laps. Hamlin finished 24th. On lap 398, Kyle Busch got under Dale Jr. exiting turn two, but Junior powered to a slight lead as they headed to turn three, then got together. That opened the door for Clint Bowyer, who beat Busch by .439 second. He averaged 95.786 mph with 11 yellows for 62 laps. Earnhardt Jr. got 15th place.Return to Top


NASCAR Nationwide Series


New tires were the key to Denny Hamlin's victory in Friday night's Lipton Tea 250 at Richmond. Hamlin pitted under a late caution, while leaders Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards didn't, and the better handling allowed him to pass Harvick with 12 laps to go. A green-white-checker finish extended the race distance to 253 laps. Hamlin got the third straight win for Joe Gibbs' No.