FONTANA, Calif. — Kyle Busch used pit strategy to take a late lead and held off Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick to win his third straight Nationwide race at Auto Club Speedway on Satruday.
Edwards and Harvick traded leads for most of the 150- lap race around the 2-mile oval before deciding to get four tires on their final stop with fewer than 20 laps left.
Busch came in after and opted for two tires, putting him nearly a straightaway ahead after leaving pit road. He had just enough speed to survive a final-lap bump into the wall, winning for the fifth time in his past six races at Fontana.
Busch, who won at Bristol last week, has won three of five Nationwide races and has 46 career wins, two behind Mark Martin’s all-time Nationwide mark. Busch’s team, Joe Gibbs Racing, has won seven straight races at Auto Club Speedway — five by Busch and one each by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano.
Busch led just a handful of laps and figured he had little better than a fourth or fifth- place car, but was good enough to hang around the lead.
Power repeats the feat
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Will Power claimed his second consecutive pole at the IndyCar season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, edging two-time reigning series champion Dario Franchitti in the Fast Six competition.
Power, who finished second to Franchitti last season, posted a quick lap of 1 minute, 1.96 seconds with about two minutes remaining in the final qualifying session.
Franchitti’s teammate Scott Dixon will share the second row with Mike Conway.
Danica Patrick, returning to IndyCar after a four-race stint in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, will start 19th.
Vettel takes F1 pole
MELBOURNE, Australia — World champion Sebastian Vettel will start from the pole today in Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a dominant performance in qualifying.
The Red Bull driver had a time of 1 minute, 23.529 seconds, more than three-quarters of a second quicker than nearest rival Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
Red Bull’s Mark Webber will start third, with Jenson Button of McLaren fourth as he attempts to win the race for a third straight year.
Today’s races
NASCAR SPRINT CUP Auto Club 400
Site: Fontana, Calif.
TV: 12:30 p.m., KDVR-31
Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps
Next race: Goody’s Fast Relief 500, April 3, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
Online:
INDYCAR Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Site: St. Petersburg, Fla.
TV: 10:30 a.m., KMGH-7
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg (1.8 miles)
Race distance: 181 miles, 100 laps
Next race: Grand Prix of Alabama, April 10, Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala.
Online:
