Burton Takes Lead in Cup Chase With Win

Jeff Burton’s winless streak is over, and a week of controversy is behind him. Up ahead: a run for the Nextel Cup title, with a whole lot less competition to worry about.

Burton finally led the lap that matters Sunday, finding his way back to Victory Lane at Dover (Del.) International Speedway after a thrilling late battle with Matt Kenseth. The win parked Burton in the lead of NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup and ended his 175-race winless streak.

“We have positioned ourselves to have something special happen, but just because we’re in this position doesn’t mean something special is going to happen,” said Burton, who took a slim, six-point lead over Jeff Gordon, the pole sitter, who finished third. “Eight races is an eternity.”

Even so, Sunday’s Dover 400 probably ended the title hopes of Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- each of whom had his own problems to fall all but out of the Chase.

Burton nipped at Kenseth’s bumper in the waning laps, ducked beneath him, pulled side by side and still kept falling just behind. It wasn’t until six laps were left that Burton finally scooted by with the crucial pass.

“I knew the sooner we got by Matt, the better chance we had of winning,” Burton said.

Kenseth failed in his bid for a sweep at Dover, but he isn’t out of contention for the championship. He finished 10th and remained stuck in third in the points race after losing a gamble that he could drive the final 100-plus laps without a pit stop.

Burton came in with a whopping 637 laps led this season but no victories. He hadn’t won a Cup race since Oct. 28, 2001. It was the 18th victory of his career.

Carl Edwards finished second. Gordon moved up two spots in the Chase with his third-place finish. Non-Chase drivers finished fourth through eighth before rookie Denny Hamlin, who took ninth. Hamlin fell from second to fourth in the points standings.

Kevin Harvick, the points leader coming into Sunday, was knocked out of the race because of a blown engine. Harvick, who had won the last two races, was 32nd and plummeted to fifth overall.

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As the only American racing in the Champ Car Series, A.J. Allmendinger figured that it was his national duty to keep a French driver from clinching the championship in the United States.

After waiting out a 42-minute red-flag delay in the aftermath of a frightening accident involving rookie Katherine Legge, Allmendinger held on to win the Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wis. -- and, in the process, kept Sebastien Bourdais from clinching his third straight series championship.

“I’m not letting a French guy clinch on American soil,” Allmendinger said in Victory Lane, after becoming the first American to win a Champ Car race at Road America since Michael Andretti in 1996.

Allmendinger passed Bourdais with seven laps to go, only to have Legge crash one lap later. Legge was OK, but the accident brought the race to a halt for nearly an hour.

Legge’s car lost its wing and veered out of control, slamming into a fence at nearly 180 mph. The car burst into pieces, sending the cockpit portion tumbling down the track. But Legge was fully conscious and was able to walk into the infield medical care facility on her own.

The race ended in a two-lap green flag dash to the finish. Allmendinger darted away at the start and drove unchallenged to the checkered flag.

Bruno Junqueira recovered from a crash in the first turn of the first lap to finish second. Bourdais finished third.

With two races remaining, Bourdais holds a 58-point lead over Allmendinger and a 67-point advantage over Wilson but has not yet clinched the title.

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Brandon Bernstein and Robert Hight made up ground in their NHRA POWERade Series championship chases with victories in the O’Reilly Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis.

Both men started and finished the day third in points, but not before gaining serious ground on the category leaders. Bernstein is 40 points out of the top fuel lead, and Hight closed to within 93 of the top spot in funny car.

In pro stock, Richie Stevens raced to his first victory in more than five years.