HAMPTON, Ga. — Jamie McMurray took the lead for good on the final restart and held off Kyle Busch to win the Great Clips 300 Nationwide Series race Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Busch, trying to become the first driver in the 28-year history of the Nationwide Series to win 11 races in a season, fell short in his late attempt to catch McMurray.
Busch dropped from first to third as McMurray took the lead coming out of pit row following the final caution flag on the 167th of 195 laps. Busch led the most laps in the race but finished second, less than a second behind McMurray. Carl Edwards was third.
“At the end we just had tons of speed,” McMurray said, “and certainly getting out in front on that last restart was critical. . . . Fortunately we got a jump there and got ahead of Kyle. The clean air out front is huge.”
Hamlin wins pole
HAMPTON, Ga. — Mired in a bit of a midseason slump, Denny Hamlin showed signs of turning things around by claiming the pole for today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race with a speed of 187.380 mph.
Hamlin edged Ryan Newman, who will start from the outside of the front row after a lap of 187.07.
The rest of the top five for the Emory Healthcare 500 was Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.
“I’m a very bad qualifier,” Hamlin said, “so I’ll take it.”
He claimed the eighth pole of his career and the 50th for Joe Gibbs Racing, which won its first pole with Bobby Labonte at Martinsville in 1995.
Castroneves wins Indy 300
SPARTA, Ky. — Helio Castroneves won the Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway, driving the final 53 laps on one tank of fuel around the 1.5-mile oval and taking advantage when the leaders were forced to make last-second pit stops to fill up.
Pole-sitter Ed Carpenter was second.
Dixon leads qualifying
CLERMONT, Ind. — Larry Dixon took the top fuel qualifying lead in the U.S. Nationals with a track-record run of 3.776 seconds at 324.36 mph at O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Matt Hagan (funny car), Jeg Coughlin (pro stock) and Andrew Hines (pro stock motorcycle) also led their divisions in the first of six playoff events.
Mann second woman to win Indy Lights race
SPARTA, Ky. — Pippa Mann became the second female driver to win an Indy Lights race, leading all 67 laps at the 100-mile event at Kentucky Speedway.
The 27-year-old driver from England joins Ana Beatriz as the only female drivers to win in IndyCar’s main development series.
“I joked yesterday that I hoped to run away and hide, (but) I didn’t think that was going to happen,” Mann said. “I just got my legs underneath me and started running and started pedaling, and I guess nobody could catch me.”
Today’s races
NASCAR SPRINT CUP Emory Healthcare 500 Site: Hampton, Ga.
TV: 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway (tri-oval, 1.54 miles)
Race distance: 500.5 miles, 325 laps
Next race: Air Guard 400, Saturday, Richmond Inter- national Raceway, Richmond, Va.
Online:
Points standings
1. Kevin Harvick 3,521
2. Jeff Gordon 3,242
3. Kyle Busch 3,170
4. Carl Edwards 3,113
5. Denny Hamlin 3,108
6. Tony Stewart 3,107
7. Jeff Burton 3,101
8. Matt Kenseth 3,095
9. Jimmie Johnson 3,077
10. Kurt Busch 3,073
11. Greg Biffle 3,055
12. Clint Bowyer 2,920
13. Jamie McMurray 2,820
14. Mark Martin 2,819
15. Ryan Newman 2,802
16. Kasey Kahne 2,784
17. David Reutimann 2,765
18. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,750
19. Juan Montoya 2,728
20. Martin Truex Jr. 2,660
NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals Site: Clermont, Ind.
TV: 8 a.m., 3 p.m., ESPN2
Track: O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Next event: O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, Sept. 16-19, zMax Dragway, Concord, N.C.
Online:
