Earnhardt ends 76-race drought

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended his 76-race winless string Sunday, coasting to victory at Michigan International Speedway under a caution flag with little but fumes left in his gas tank in Brooklyn, Mich.

NASCAR’s most popular driver gave his new boss, Rick Hendrick, only his second victory of the season as he somehow squeezed enough gas out of his last fillup to go three laps beyond the regulation finish in the Lifelock 400.

A spin by Patrick Carpentier on the 203rd lap brought out the final caution and probably saved the victory for Earnhardt, who ran out of gas moments after crossing the finish line behind the pace car.

“It is what it is man,” the jubilant Earnhardt said. “We were going to stay out there no matter what.”

Asked if he could have made it if the green flag had stayed out, Earnhardt said, “We were going to stumble to the finish and probably not win the race. We weren’t going to finish. The yellow saved us.

“They can write what they want, but we won one.”

Earnhardt, whose last victory came May 6, 2006, at Richmond, Va., was as relieved as he was joyful about his 18th career victory and first at Michigan.

“This is pretty meaningful because it’s with Rick,” he said. “He’s such a great man because he’s been through so much.

Kasey Kahne, coming off a victory the previous week in Pocono, finished second. Matt Kenseth was third.

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Audi survived a collision late in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France to win the endurance race for the fifth straight year and give Tom Kristensen a record eighth victory.

Kristensen, a Dane, teamed with Rinaldo Capello of Italy and Allan McNish of Britain in the Audi No. 2 that made the best of wet racing to beat the faster Peugeot cars.

Audi’s victory thwarted Jacques Villeneuve’s bid to win the Triple Crown of auto racing.

The Audi No. 2 completed 381 laps in 24 hours, with a lead of 4 minutes 31.094 seconds over Peugeot No. 7, driven by Villeneuve, Marc Gene and Nicolas Minassian.

Villeneuve won the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 and the Formula One world championship in 1997.

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Kawasaki’s James Stewart remained perfect in four MA Toyota Motocross Championship races this season, sweeping the Kawasaki/Monster Energy Motocross National motos in Mount Morris, Pa.

Suzuki’s Mike Alessi was second in both motos.