Lazier Unfazed by Problems

Inefficient pit stops and a broken gearbox couldn’t keep Buddy Lazier from taking control of the Indy Racing League championship series Sunday with a hard-earned victory in the Belterra Resort Indy 300 at Sparta, Ky.

“There was some racing luck involved today,” said Lazier, whose Hemelgarn Racing Dallara-Oldsmobile coasted to a stop moments after taking the checkered flag at the new Kentucky Speedway.

“I swear this has never happened,” Lazier, 32, said. “I crossed the finish line and I literally broke the gearbox. It was my fault. I really abused it getting through traffic, downshifting and upshifting.”

Lazier took the lead for good 31 laps from the end of the 200-lap event, moving to the top when rookie sensation Sarah Fisher made her final pit stop.

He then kept pole-winner Scott Goodyear at bay to the end while negotiating heavy traffic at times on the 1.5-mile oval. The key moment came on lap 194 when Lazier was able to lap sixth-place Jeff Ward and put some distance between him and the second-place car.

“I owe a big thanks to Jeff Ward,” Lazier said. “At a critical time, he let me by him. He can be really hard to pass and that made a big difference.”

In fact, it may have made all the difference, considering his gearbox problems.

“I had to lift off in traffic and it would jump out of gear, and it was happening in the corners, which is the worst possible place,” Lazier said. “I got lucky because I was able to get it back in and still keep the momentum going. It could have broken at any time.”

The margin of victory was 1.879 seconds--about 15 car lengths--and Lazier, who came into the race with a 23-point lead over Eddie Cheever, found himself holding a 38-point edge over new runner-up Goodyear in the battle for the Northern Light Cup championship. He won $126,300 while averaging 164.601 mph.

Cheever, who finished behind the 19-year-old Fisher in fourth, fell to third in the standings and now trails the leader by 41 points with only the season finale on Oct. 15 at Texas Motor Speedway remaining.

Each race in the IRL has a maximum of 55 points and Lazier can wrap up his first championship by finishing 13th or better at the Fort Worth track.

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Finland’s Mika Hakkinen passed Germany’s Michael Schumacher with four laps left to win the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and extend his Formula One lead.

Hakkinen, with an average speed of 129.458 mph, steered his McLaren-Mercedes by Schumacher’s Ferrari on the longest stretch of the circuit and went on to win by 1.1 seconds. Ralf Schumacher, Michael’s brother, finished third.

Hakkinen, the defending champion, leads Michael Schumacher 74-68 with four races remaining.

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Joe Ruttman held off Craftsman Truck leader Greg Biffle in a two-lap shootout in the inaugural Sears Craftsman 175 at Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Ill.

Ruttman, a three-time winner this year who had an average speed of 85.290 mph, edged Biffle by 0.330 seconds for the Dodge driver’s third victory of the season and 11th overall. Biffle extended his series lead to 200 over Mike Wallace. Wallace finished third.