Mark Martin took Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Victory Lane by winning the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, then immediately apologized for an accident he started in the closing laps.
Martin, the winningest driver in NASCAR’s No. 2 series, raced to the 48th victory of his career in a car owned by Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports. But the win came at the expense of Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, who races full-time for Earnhardt.
Martin was sixth following a final round of pit stops when the race restarted with 10 laps to go. With four fresh tires on his Chevrolet, he sliced his way toward the front.
Edwards and Keselowski were racing side-by-side when Martin closed in on Edwards’ bumper. Slight contact sent Edwards’ car across the track, and he slid high directly into Keselowski.
Martin slipped past into the lead, then held in a two-lap shootout to the finish.
“I’ve got to apologize before we do anything else,” Martin said as he climbed from his car. “I ran into the back of Carl. I hate it.”
Edwards, the defending series champion, finished 14th. Keselowski was 23rd.
Today’s race
NASCAR SPRINT CUP
UAW Dodge 400
Site:Las Vegas
TV: FOX, 1:30 p.m.
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 20 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 400 miles, 267 laps.
Last race: Carl Edwards charged past Jimmie Johnson with 13 laps remaining and went on to win the rain-delayed Auto Club 500. Johnson came out of the final pit stop in the lead with 26 laps remaining, but Edwards came from third to grab the eighth win of his career. The race was stopped Sunday after 87 of the scheduled 250 laps, and resumed Monday.
Last year: Johnson beat teammate Jeff Gordon to win his third straight Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Johnson overcame a pit-road penalty and a minor brush with the wall to lead 89 of the 267 laps.
Fast facts: Tony Stewart has two top-10s in his last three starts at Las Vegas. . . . The Car of Tomorrow will make its Las Vegas debut this weekend. . . . The first Cup event at Las Vegas was held on a 1-mile dirt track in 1955. It was shortened from 200 laps to 111 due to darkness and won by Norm Nelson.
Next race: Kobalt Tools 500, March 9, Hampton, Ga.
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