Busch picks up on win 51
Kyle Busch stood on the window ledge of his truck, raised his arms in triumph and then slapped an appropriate number on the roof for a record-tying celebration.
Driving the No. 51 Toyota, Busch won his 51st career race in Trucks — matching the series record — in Long Pond, Pa.
Busch held off Erik Jones down the stretch to win the NASCAR Trucks race yesterday at Pocono Raceway and tie the record for most career wins in the series.
“It’s kind of funny the way the numbers work out, isn’t it?” Busch said.
Busch matched NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Ron Hornaday Jr. on the list with 51 wins. Hornaday needed 296 starts to reach his 51st win; Busch won his in just his 145th career start. Hornaday made 360 career starts and failed to win a race in his last three seasons.
Busch also won for the 191st time in the Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series . ...
Christopher Bell made history last night at Iowa Speedway — even though nearly everything that could go against him did down the stretch in Ames, Iowa.
Bell moved back out front in overtime to win a wild NASCAR Xfinity series race on Newton’s bull ring, becoming the first series regular with three straight victories since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 1999.
Coming off victories in Kentucky and New Hampshire, Bell led 94-of-257 laps. He broke a tie with Cup driver Kyle Larson for the series season victory lead with four . . . .
Alexander Rossi won his third pole of the season, leading qualifying for the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Rossi, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner, denied Will Power his third pole at the Lexington, Ohio, course. His NAPA Auto Parts Honda had a one-lap speed of 125.677 mph over the 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course . . . .
Lewis Hamilton produced a brilliant last lap to take pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes teammate
Valtteri Bottas in difficult track conditions in Budapest, Hungary. For Hamilton, it was his record-extending 77th pole position.
Tennis: Isner rolls in Atlanta
Top-seeded John Isner advanced to the BB&T Atlanta Open final for the eighth time, beating fourth-seeded Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1 . ...
In Gstaad, Switzerland, Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain beat Laslo Djere of Serbia 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 in the Swiss Open semifinals and will play Matteo Berretini of Italy today . ...
Leonardo Mayer of Argentina reached the German Championships final for the third time in five years in Hamburg, Germany, beating Jozek Kovalik 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (7) . . . .
Wang Qiang of China moved one match away from her first career WTA tour title after beating Magda Linette 7-5, 6-2 in the Jiangxi Open semifinals in Nanchang, China.
Misc.: Former golfer Lietzke dies
Bruce Lietzke, the fun-loving, drawhitting PGA Tour winner whose practice regime — or lack of one — spawned an often-told spoiled banana story, died yesterday of brain cancer at his home in Athens, Texas. He was 67 . . . .
The Rangers avoided salary arbitration with restricted free agent defenseman Brady Skjei by signing the former first-round pick to a six-year deal worth $31.5 million . ...
San Francisco coach Kyle Smith has signed a multiyear contract extension after guiding the Dons to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in nearly three decades.