Lazier Takes a Wrong Turn on Way to Victory

Buddy Lazier spent 208 laps driving around Charlotte Motor Speedway as if he had been at the track all his life. Then he confirmed his status as a rookie at the facility in Concord, N.C.

Lazier used some artful dodging to outduel Billy Boat and win the VisionAire 500 on Saturday night, the inaugural Indy Racing League event at a track that for decades has stood as the cradle of NASCAR racing.

But with a larger-than-expected crowd of 73,039 on its feet to cheer his triumph, Lazier drove down pit road and couldn’t locate Victory Lane. By the time he did, he had driven past the turnoff and had to back up and try again.

That didn’t seem to matter at all to Lazier, who basked in the celebration of his first victory since the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

“We needed this bad, so it feels really good,” said Lazier, who defeated Boat by 3.3 seconds.

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Gerhard Berger won the pole position for today’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Germany with a fast lap of 1 minute 41.873 seconds in his his Benetton-Renault.

Italy’s Giancarlo Fisichella finished second and will share the front row of the starting grid.

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Elliott Sadler overcame sweltering heat to win the inaugural Gateway 300 Busch Grand National race at Madison, Ill., his second consecutive victory in the series.

Sadler, who wrecked his car 45 minutes before qualifying on Friday and was forced to use his backup car, held off a last-lap charge from Jason Keller to win by .223 seconds.

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Eddie Hill made the fastest run of his career in the Autolite Nationals at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma. Stopping was another story.

Hill, 61, of Wichita Falls, Texas, crashed after completing a 4.674-second run at 310.88 mph that earned the No. 1 spot in the 16-car top fuel field for today’s eliminations. Hill was not injured, but his car was destroyed and he will be unable to compete.

Tony Pedregon was the leader in funny car and Jim Yates topped the pro stock category.

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Ken Schrader turned in the fastest lap--133.6 mph.--to claim the pole position for today’s NASCAR 500K Winston West stock car race at Fountain, Colo.

Fellow Winston Cup regular Michael Waltrip (132.1 mph) will join Schrader on the front row of the first-ever stock car race at the new Pikes Peak International Raceway’s one-mile paved oval.

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Joe Ruttman won the pole for today’s Lund Look 275K, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event held at Topeka, Kan. Ruttman qualified at 87.125 mph.