Burton becomes a repeat winner

When Jeff Burton won for the first time in the inaugural race in Fort Worth, he was a young driver trying to prove himself.

A decade later, Burton is still proving things -- and still winning.

Burton passed Matt Kenseth on the final lap of the Samsung 500 for his only lead Sunday to become the first repeat winner at Fort Worth. Mark Martin finished third.

“I feel like I did then. I feel like a guy that just came back,” said Burton, who turns 40 in June. “I didn’t forget how to drive. Some other people forgot I could drive. Richard Childress didn’t.”

Burton won his second race for Childress since moving from Roush Racing midway through 2004, and moved within eight points of Nextel Cup points leader Jeff Gordon. It is the 19th career victory for Burton, who last won for Roush in 2001.

As the first repeat winner at the 1 1/2 -mile, high-banked Texas Speedway, Burton denied a Texas two-step for Kenseth, his former Roush teammate. Kenseth won the Busch race on Saturday and was going for a weekend sweep. It also ended a four-race winning streak by Hendrick Motorsports.

Gordon led 173 of 334 laps and finished fourth, the fifth top-five finish in the seven races this season for the Hendrick driver. But he is 0 for 13 at Texas.

Burton won with an average speed of 143.359 mph and was the last of nine leaders.

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Felipe Massa of Ferrari won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren finished second, becoming the first driver to start his Formula One career with three straight top-three finishes. Hamilton is also Formula One’s first black driver.

Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari was third, and two-time defending series champion Fernando Alonso was fifth.

Massa won in 1 hour 33 minutes 27.515 seconds. Hamilton was 2.360 seconds behind.

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Robert Hight edged Funny Car leader Ron Capps in the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, giving John Force Racing a victory less than a month after driver Eric Medlen was killed in a testing accident.

Hight was joined in an emotional winner’s circle by Medlen’s good friend, Brandon Bernstein, who raced to his 13th Top Fuel win, and Greg Anderson, who claimed a track-record fifth Las Vegas trophy in Pro Stock.

Hight finished in 5.126 seconds at 282.90 mph to Capps’ 5.592 at 178.57 mph. Bernstein finished in 4.521 seconds at 330.07 mph. Anderson won with a 6.724 at 205.29 mph.

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Top 10

NASCAR Nextel Cup points standings through Sunday:

1. Jeff Gordon 1,136

2. Jeff Burton 1,128

3. Matt Kenseth 1,011

4. Jimmie Johnson 955

5. Denny Hamlin 914

6. Clint Bowyer 866

7. Kyle Busch 856

8. Carl Edwards 837

9. Tony Stewart 814

10. Jamie McMurray 805