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Rookie Wins At Detroit

The Associated Press

Published: September 1, 2008

Updated: 09/01/2008 12:33 am

DETROIT - Rookie Justin Wilson raced to his first IndyCar Series victory Sunday, edging Helio Castroneves in the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.

Castroneves led for the majority of the road race on the Belle Isle course, but he was penalized for blocking Wilson and was forced by rule to relinquish the lead with fewer than 20 laps to go.

Series points leader Scott Dixon finished fifth. That result, coupled with Castroneves' strong showing, means the IndyCar title will be decided at next weekend's final points race at the Chicagoland track.

The odds of winning the series title still favor Dixon, who entered the Detroit race 43 points ahead of Castroneves. Dixon needs to finish eighth or better next week to win his second title.

Tony Kanaan was third and Oriol Servia fourth.

NHRA: Cruz Pedregon won the U.S. Smokeless Showdown for the first time Sunday at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind., beating Tim Wilkerson to earn $100,000 in the annual bonus race for Funny Cars. He finished in 4.184 seconds to Wilkerson's 4.280.

Cruz celebrated alongside brother Tony Pedregon, who earned the No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car at the 18th and final regular-season event in the 24-race NHRA season. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also topped their divisions.

NATIONWIDE: Kyle Busch was dominant on the 2-mile oval at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Saturday night, leading 144 of the 150 laps to race off with his seventh Nationwide victory of the season.

Busch easily held off Carl Edwards on a pair of late-race restarts, piling up his record 18th NASCAR victory of the season, including eight in Sprint Cup and three in the Craftsman Truck. Edwards finished second, followed by Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, rookie Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer.

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