Kurt Busch wins at home track
Luck f inally fell Kurt Busch’s way at his home track, where he pulled out an upset Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to sneak into the third round of the NASCAR Cup playoffs.
Busch ended an 0- for- 21 losing streak at Las Vegas with good timing and then three tremendous restarts. He entered the race 12th in the standings and in danger of elimination from title contention, but the victory earned him an automatic berth in the next round.
The win, the f irst of the season for the 2004 Cup champion, was celebrated alongside younger brother Kyle.
“This is what kids grow up when they are racing,” Kurt Busch said. “They grow up dreaming of winning on their home track and for two decades it has kicked my butt.”
It was the f irst win of the year for Chip Ganassi Racing and the f irst in the playoffs for a Chevrolet driver.
Matt DiBenedetto, eliminated from the playoffs last weekend, finished second, in a Ford for Wood Brothers Racing in his best f inish of the season. Denny Hamlin, who dominated the race until the cautions jumbled the finish, rallied to third for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Martin Truex Jr. was fourth and followed by Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch, who is still seeking his f irst Cup win of the season.
Formula One
Valtteri Bottas won the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi after Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton’s race was ruined by penalties.
Hamilton had been looking to match Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins in Formula One but had to settle for third behind Bottas and Max Verstappen.
Hamilton was already under investigation by the stewards when he started the race from pole position. Before the race he twice stopped to perform practice starts at the exit of the pit lane, rather than in the designated area. That eventually earned him two five- second penalties, dropping him as low as 11th at one stage.
NHRA
Two- time defending top fuel champion Steve Torrence took the points lead in the AMALIE Motor Oil Gatornationals, beating father Billy in the f inal round at Gainesville ( Fla.) Raceway
Torrence had a 3.809- second run at 322.11 mph to win for third time this year and 39th overall.
Ron Capps won in funny car, Alex Laughlin in pro stock and Matt Smith in pro stock motorcycle.