Kahne, Petty get back on course
Kasey Kahne gave struggling Richard Petty Motorsports a much-needed boost yesterday, holding off Tony Stewart at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., to capture the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 and snap a 37-race winless streak.
Kahne was met in Victory Lane by Richard Petty, who made his first trip there as a car owner in more than a decade. A Petty-owned car had not won a race since John Andretti’s victory at Martinsville, Va., in April 1999.
“I feel just as good as he does,’’ said The King, clad in his trademark cowboy hat and sunglasses. “It’s great, man. It’s great.’’
A January merger with Gillett-Evernham Motorsports and whispers of ownership’s financial instability have made for a frustrating season for Kahne, the star of the four-driver team. Now he has his first victory on a road course - a remedy for any disgruntled driver.
“I learned how to drive on dirt,’’ Kahne said. “So to come out and win on a road course . . . it feels great. I can’t believe it.’’
The victory moved Kahne to 13th in the standings, one spot shy of qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Stewart was followed by Marcos Ambrose, who blew a motor in Saturday’s practice that forced him to start at the back of the field and forfeit his third-place qualifying position.
Jimmie Johnson was fourth and was followed by Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya, who moved up two spots in the standings to take the 12th Chase position.
Kahne led the final 38 laps but had to stave off a final charge from Stewart on an overtime finish.
Scott Speed’s spin with two laps to go set up one final restart, and under a NASCAR rule started three races ago, Kahne and Stewart were side-by-side on the restart. Kahne zipped to the front from the outside, then pulled down in front of Stewart to firmly take control.
It was Kahne’s first win since Pocono last June.
IRL - Dario Franchitti took the lead with 50 laps to go and cruised to victory in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 in Newton, Iowa. Franchitti beat Ryan Briscoe by just over five seconds to grab his first victory since April and move into second place in the circuit standings.
It was the 10th career IndyCar win for Franchitti, who took the lead three laps after making his final pit stop on the 7/8-mile oval.
“In the last stop, the changes were fantastic and I was able to pull away - I had a good gap on [Briscoe],’’ Franchitti said. “I was able to get through traffic really well.’’
Briscoe finished second for the third straight race despite leading for 85 laps. Hideki Mutoh was a season-best third after notching a career best of second in Iowa in 2008.
Dan Wheldon was fourth, while pole-sitter Helio Castroneves took seventh.
Formula One - Sebastian Vettel cruised to victory in the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England, leading Red Bull to a 1-2 finish for the second time this season. Vettel’s faultless 15.1-second win over teammate Mark Webber duplicated their finish at China in April.
Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello was third after struggling with back pain, but teammate and championship leader Jenson Button finished a season-low sixth in front of home fans.
Having won six races out of eight, Button still leads the standings despite finishing outside the top three for the first time this season. 