Newman Wins; Patrick Gets Pole

Ryan Newman won a three-lap dash to the finish Saturday, holding off Robby Gordon to win the NASCAR Busch Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International in New York.

Newman, driving a Dodge, beat Gordon’s Chevrolet by 0.846 of a second for the first road course victory of his career.

Brian Vickers was third, followed by polesitter Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr., who boosted his series lead to 122 points over Clint Bowyer, who finished 15th.

Gordon had battled back from 25th to sixth for the restart after the seventh caution. He quickly passed Truex and Jeff Burton once the green flag waved, then moved past Stewart and Vickers on the last lap, but couldn’t catch Newman.

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Danica Patrick earned the pole for today’s Indy Racing League Portal Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta after heavy rain forced officials to cancel qualifying.

Patrick, driving a Honda, got the pole based on her combined speed of 217.516 mph from two earlier practice sessions Saturday.

Series points leader Dan Wheldon will start on the outside of the front row after a combined practice time of 217.500 mph.

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David Reutimann won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, holding off Ted Musgrave by about two truck lengths in a three-lap sprint caused by the last of nine cautions. Reutimann, driving a Toyota, averaged 109.246 mph.

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Stewart earned the provisional pole for today’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Watkins Glen. But rain forced NASCAR to stop the qualifying session with 10 drivers yet to run. It cost Stewart the official pole, but as the points leader he’ll start first in the Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen.

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Paul Tracy set a track record in edging Sebastien Bourdais for the pole by 0.109 of a second in qualifying for today’s Champ Car World Series Grand Prix of Denver. Tracy had a fast lap of 59.432 seconds (100.370 mph) around the 1.674-mile course.

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Tony Schumacher posted the fastest run in drag racing history, reaching 337.58 mph in top fuel qualifying for the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd, Minn. He can certify the performance as an NHRA national record by clocking a speed of at least 334.21 mph during today’s eliminations.