Benson holds off Hornaday in Ram Tough 200

Johnny Benson raced to his second consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory, holding off Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 on Saturday night at Madison, Ill.

Points leader Mike Skinner had the pole position and led the first 30 laps on the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway oval but dropped from contention after blowing out his right front tire.

Hornaday finished second, and two-time Gateway winner Ted Musgrave was third.

Three-time champion Sebastien Bourdais won the pole for the Champ Car’s inaugural Dutch Grand Prix.

Bourdais, hoping to become the first Champ Car driver to earn four consecutive titles, was timed in 1 minute 18.765 seconds around the 2.83-mile Assen track.

Helio Castroneves won an IndyCar Series-record seventh pole in a season, beating out Dario Franchitti for the top spot in the 18-car field for today’s Detroit Indy Grand Prix

Castroneves, who averaged 103.401 mph, surpassed Billy Boat’s 1998 record of six pole position wins in a season and added to his series record total of 23.

Rookie Travis Thirkettle held off Derek Becker and division leader Rip Michels for the lead during the last 25 laps, hanging on to win the ACDelco Super Late Model division 75-lap feature at Irwindale Speedway.

Thirkettle’s margin of victory over Becker was 0.190 of a second. Michels finished third.