Newman Wins NASCAR Event

Ryan Newman left misfortune behind and ran away from the field, while four-time series champion Jeff Gordon took the NASCAR Nextel Cup points lead Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

But the victory in the MBNA America 400 at Dover, Del., did little to enhance the long-shot title hopes of Newman, 33rd a week earlier because of engine failure late in the race in New Hampshire. He’s eighth in the standings with eight races left, trailing Gordon by 107 points.

“When you win races you’re going to be good,” Newman said. “Now we just have to keep going.”

Gordon finished third behind Mark Martin in the race and is one point ahead of Kurt Busch, who finished fifth Sunday and lost the points lead when he was passed by Dale Jarrett with six laps to go.

“I thought we might have a shot at Mark,” Gordon said. “But we had nothing for Newman.”

Busch, the winner at New Hampshire, came to The Monster Mile tied for the series lead with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who fell to third in the title chase by finishing ninth. He’s 18 points behind Gordon.

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Rubens Barrichello won the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai.

The victory was Barrichello’s second in a row and the ninth of his Formula One career, guaranteeing him second place in the drivers’ standings behind Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher, who had a 12th-place finish.

Jenson Button of BAR-Honda took second in the race to seal a third-place finish for the season.

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Tony Schumacher moved closer to his second Top Fuel title with a win at the O’Reilly Fall Nationals at Ennis, Texas, and Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson clinched his second consecutive title. Del Worsham claimed his fourth victory of the season and 18th of his career in Funny Car, beating Cruz Pedregon.

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Sebastien Bourdais held off Newman-Haas teammate Bruno Junquiera in a side-by-side battle to win the Las Vegas 400 late Saturday night in the inaugural Champ Car event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Standings

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Top 10 Nextel Cup points leaders:

1. Jeff Gordon...5,371

2. Kurt Busch...5,370

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr....5,353

4. Jimmie Johnson...5,314

T4. Mark Martin...5,314

6. Elliott Sadler...5,275

7. Matt Kenseth...5,272

8. Ryan Newman...5,264

9. Tony Stewart...5,236

10. Jeremy Mayfield...5,214

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Points breakdown: How points are awarded in NASCAR Nextel Cup races. Drivers who lead at least one lap during a race are awarded five bonus points, and the driver who leads the most laps earns an additional five bonus points. Here’s the points breakdown. Winner: 180 points; second: 170; third: 165; fourth: 160; fifth: 155; sixth: 150; seventh: 146; eighth: 142; ninth: 138; 10th: 134; 11th: 130. Note: The driver finishing 12th earns 127 points, and each driver after that earns three fewer points than the driver ahead of him.

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Source: NASCAR