Times wires
Saturday, April 2, 2011
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Johnny Sauter passed Kyle Busch a lap before the finish to win Saturday's NASCAR trucks race at Martinsville Speedway.
Busch had the race wrapped up until a caution with nine laps to go set up one final restart. He had a good start, but Sauter reeled him in and passed Busch right before the white flag.
Sauter then pulled away for his first win of the season and third in 65 career series starts.
"Somebody finally beat Kyle Busch!" crew chief Joe Shear Jr. yelled after Sauter finished.
Sauter took some satisfaction in beating Busch, who settled for second in the Kroger 250. Busch has five wins this year spanning NASCAR's top three series, including one in trucks.
"Even if you are not a NASCAR fan, you know who Kyle Busch is because he wins every week," Sauter said. "It's cool to beat Kyle Busch, I can tell you that."
Busch, who led three times for 64 laps, believed he would have won if not for the final caution.
"We had a shot; we just gave it away," he said.
RAIKKONEN DEAL: Former Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen's NASCAR truck series deal became official, with the Finnish driver running limited schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports starting May 20 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Raikkonen, who also drives in the World Rally series, won the F1 title in 2007. Busch said Raikkonen probably would run three to five races, but the only firm date is the Charlotte race.
"I am really excited to have the opportunity to start my venture into NASCAR with Kyle Busch Motorsports," Raikkonen said in a release from the team.
NHRA: John Force earned the No. 1 qualifying spot in Funny Car at the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas. Force had a 4.136-second run at 309.27 mph. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) also topped qualifying for today's eliminations.
INDYCAR: Paul Tracy signed a five-race deal with restructured Dragon Racing. His first start is April 17 in Long Beach, Calif. The former version of the team, de Ferran/Luczo Dragon Racing, folded last month.