Busch Wins; Earnhardt Drives

With seven races left until NASCAR’s new championship showdown begins, the road to the Nextel Cup title began for Kurt Busch and remained wide open for injured Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I believe our chase for the championship started today in the first Loudon race instead of the second Loudon race,” Busch said after moving from ninth to sixth in the points with his convincing victory in the Siemens 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday in Loudon.

Busch was the only driver to stay with pole-winner Ryan Newman through most of the 300-mile race, passing him twice and, finally, pulling away from Newman and runner-up Jeff Gordon at the end for his second win of the season and 10th of his career.

“My car was just really good on long runs and, once we got to the front, we were able to run real strong in clean air,” Busch said.

A number of drivers had their eyes on the season standings, with the top 10 drivers, along with any others within 400 points of the lead after the 26th race, competing for the championship over the last 10 races of the season.

Busch’s first win since Bristol in March solidified his chances of vying for the title when the Chase for the Cup begins on the same flat, 1.058-mile New Hampshire oval Sept. 19.

“I thought we had to apply pressure this week and get our 10 races going right now,” Busch said.

Earnhardt, with second-degree burns on his legs, neck and chin from a crash a week earlier during a sports car event, held on to second place in the standings after starting the race to get the championship points. He gave up the seat on Lap 61 to Martin Truex Jr., the Busch Series points leader making his Cup debut.

Truex hit the wall on Lap 141 after bouncing off Ken Schrader’s car, but the 24-year-old rookie hung in to finish 31st, two laps behind Busch. Series leader Jimmie Johnson, who swept both New Hampshire races last year, struggled to an 11th-place finish but increased his lead over Earnhardt from 105 to 165 points, with Gordon 202 back.

Earnhardt, hoping for an early yellow flag, had to wait 59 laps before Ricky Craven bounced off Elliott Sadler and hit the wall, bringing out the first caution. The ensuing driver change was flawless, with a crewman helping Earnhardt out of the car and Truex sliding in, buckling up and driving away without losing a lap.

“It ain’t no fun getting out, I’ll tell you that,” Earnhardt said. “My injuries really, really hurt bad. It’s a pain I ain’t never felt before.”

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Michael Schumacher won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim to tie his record with 11 victories in a season and close in on his seventh Formula One championship.

Schumacher, who has won all but one race this season, started from the pole and finished 8.3 seconds ahead of Jenson Button. Fernando Alonso was third.

It was Schumacher’s sixth straight victory, matching Alberto Ascari’s single-season record set in 1952.

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Defending Champ Car titleholder Paul Tracy vaulted himself back into championship contention with a victory at the Molson Indy Vancouver in Canada.

Tracy started from the pole and controlled the entire race for his second straight win at Vancouver. Michel Jourdain Jr. of Mexico worked his way up from 12th to finish in second place, about 5.5 seconds behind Tracy.

American rookie A.J. Allmendinger posted his first podium finish for Rusport Racing, placing third.

Tracy, who was winless since the series opener on April 18, moved into third place in the series points standings, passing Patrick Carpentier.

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Dario Franchitti held off Buddy Rice after a late restart to win the inaugural Menards A.J. Foyt Indy 225 at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wis.

Rice finished second, followed by Sam Hornish Jr.

Franchitti’s win was his first in the IRL after missing almost all of last season with a back injury.

Franchitti started in seventh, but started moving up after his first pit stop under caution on Lap 42. He took his first lead on the 106th lap after passing Helio Castroneves.

Franchitti held the lead until more than halfway through the race, when the leaders again pitted during a caution, and Hornish beat him out of pit road.

Hornish managed to hold the lead on the first restart, but it was waved off and he was forced to try to fend off Franchitti again. Franchitti took advantage, passing Hornish in Turn 1 and never trailing again.

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John Force earned his 112th NHRA funny car victory at the Carquest Auto Parts Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash.

Force earned his third win of the season with a 4.896-second pass at 309.34 mph. He beat Cruz Pedregon’s 5.633 at 194.91.

Tony Schumacher beat David Grubnic in the top-fuel final. Greg Anderson beat Dave Connolly for his 11th pro stock victory this season.

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Ricky Carmichael won the AMA Chevrolet 250cc motocross race at Troy, Ohio, remaining unbeaten this season.

Carmichael passed AMA supercross champion Chad Reed early in the first moto and never trailed in the second moto. Reed finished second for the seventh straight time. Kevin Windham was third.