CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A day after learning Jeremy Mayfield failed a drug test for something other than a performance-enhancer, NASCAR allowed him to drive a race car at Darlington Raceway at speeds up to 173 mph.

A person familiar with the test results told The Associated Press on Thursday that Mayfield’s positive test was not for a performance-enhancing drug.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because NASCAR won’t reveal what banned substance was found in the random test, which ultimately resulted in Mayfield’s indefinite suspension.

NASCAR officials previously announced the drug violation was not alcohol-related, and the administrator of its drug testing program has dismissed Mayfield’s explanation that the positive result came from a mix of a prescription with an over-the-counter medicine.

Under the sport’s toughened policy, that leaves the possibility that Mayfield tested positive for abuse of a prescription drug, narcotics or controlled substances, such as cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine.

Ryan Newman called on NASCAR to reveal the substance.

“There should not by a mystery out there,” he said before the annual Pit Crew Challenge. “This should be public knowledge. If we’re going to do what’s good for the sport, which is also what’s good for kids that are out there that look up to NASCAR drivers, they should know what not to do.

“That’s super important to me. I don’t know the whole story for what’s happened. Knowing what the penalty is, knowing what caused the situation is extremely important.”

Because Mayfield challenged the initial positive finding, as allowed under NASCAR’s drug policy, the series did not take disciplinary action until his backup “B” sample also tested positive. That’s why Mayfield wasn’t barred from participating in two practice sessions and qualifying session May 8 at Darlington.

“There are limitations as to how quickly the process can be brought to conclusion,” said Dr. David Black, the administrator for NASCAR’s drug-testing program. “The practical reality is there is going to be a delay. In an ideal world, if the world were perfect and there was a possibility of an instant answer, we’d be able to take immediate action.”

NASCAR finds itself in a unique position in its first season under the toughened drug policy.

Other major sports leagues must focus on the effects of performance-enhancing drugs on their traditions and records, but the abuse of recreational drugs and the altered states they create can present an imminent danger in NASCAR, where 43 drivers are on the track at once, racing at high speeds.

Drivers had mixed feelings about whether Mayfield should have been allowed on the track while his “B” sample was analyzed. Newman called it “scary,” because he wasn’t sure what effects the substance might have had on Mayfield. Brian Vickers said he had no issue if NASCAR deemed Mayfield competent to drive.

John Andretti slides down the track after hitting the first-turn wall during a practice session Sunday for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS – John Andretti loves the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It doesn’t always love him back.

Andretti took a double hit here on Sunday, crashing while trying to find more speed on the famed Brickyard track and then getting bumped from the tentative Indy 500 lineup by a faster car.

So instead of spending the four days on the track this week working on the race setup in his Richard Petty Motorsports entry, the 46-year-old will be forced to requalify on Saturday, when the final 11 spots in the 33-car field are filled, or on Sunday, when the slowest qualifiers can be bumped out of the lineup for the May 24 race.

“I feel fine,” Andretti said after the crash. “The car took a beating, and that’s frustrating. But the team will work on it and we’ll be back next week.”

It’s just the latest setback for a member of his family – another chapter of the so-called “Andretti Curse” at Indianapolis.

Since Mario Andretti, John’s uncle, won the 500 in 1969, at least one family member has raced here in all but two years (2004 and 2005) without another victory. Broken parts and broken hearts have mostly been their lot at Indy.

Mario raced here 24 more times, dominating at times, but never again reaching the checkered flag first.

His oldest son, Michael, raced at Indy 16 times. He also dominated races and still holds the record for leading the most laps (431) without winning.

Michael’s younger brother, Jeff, crashed out of two of his three Indy starts.

Marco Andretti, Michael’s son and Mario’s grandson, seems to have the best shot at ending the family jinx. He has finished second and third in three tries, losing the lead to Sam Hornish Jr. on the last lap of the 2005 race. He will start in the middle of the third row next week.

That leaves John, who has had his own misfortunes here but plans to be racing in the 500 for the 10th time.

“This is the only race in the world that counts,” he said last week, before his latest Indy crash. “You’ve got to understand my family history. . . . When I was a kid, I was here. When I was grown up, I was here.

“This place has been good to our family, a little bit, and rough on it in a lot of ways. But that’s the passion of this place.”

Rahal puts Servia on team

INDIANAPOLIS – Former Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal’s team is back in business.

Rahal announced Wednesday he has reached a deal with a new sponsor to put veteran Spanish driver Oriol Servia in the cockpit of his No. 17 car for this month’s Indianapolis 500.

Servia started 25th in last year’s 500 and finished 11th.

Rahal has not competed in the IndyCar series this year after losing his primary sponsor. The team’s one-race deal is with DAFCA, a company that provides security services against cyber terrorism.

Rahal won the 1986 Indy 500 as a driver, and his team won another Indy title in 2004 with driver Buddy Rice.

(All Tucson times)

NASCAR

SPRINT CUP

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

Site: Concord, N.C.

Schedule: Saturday, Sprint Showdown, 4:30 p.m.; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 6 p.m. (Speed, 4 p.m.)

Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles)

Distances: Sprint Showdown, 60 miles, 40 laps; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 150 miles, 100 laps in segments of 50, 20, 20 and 10, with only green-flag laps counting in the final segment

Last year: Kasey Kahne won the non-points event after getting into the 24-car field in a fan vote.

Last week: Mark Martin, 50, won for the second time in the last four races, outlasting Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson in a wreck-filled race at Darlington Raceway.

Fast facts: The top two finishers in the Sprint Showdown and a driver selected in fan voting will complete the 21-car All-Star field. Kahne, Martin, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman earned spots with race victories in 2008 and ’09. Kevin Harvick qualified with his 2007 All-Star victory, and Bobby Labonte got in as the 2000 series champion.

Next race: Coca-Cola 600, May 24, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS

North Carolina Education

Lottery 200

Site: Concord, N.C.

Schedule: Friday, 5 p.m. (Speed) Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles)

Distance: 201 miles, 134 laps

Last year: Matt Crafton raced to his first series victory.

Last race: Mike Skinner gave NFL star Randy Moss his first victory as a NASCAR owner, winning the rain-shortened race at Kansas Speedway on Monday, April 27.

Fast facts: Skinner leads the season standings with 801 points, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. (776), Todd Bodine (744), Crafton (707) and Benson (685).

Next race: AAA Insurance 200, May 29, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.

NHRA FULL THROTTLE

NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday-Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Saturday, 3 p.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 4 p.m.)

Track: Bristol Dragway

Last year: Melanie Troxel became the first female driver and 14th overall to win in both nitro classes, beating Mike Neff in the Funny Car final.

Last event: Del Worsham raced to his first Funny Car win of the season in the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.

Fast facts: Capps, the winner of three of the first seven events, leads the Funny Car standings with 562 points. Brown has an 18-point lead in Top Fuel, Coughlin leads the Pro Stock standings, and Krawiec tops the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

Next event: O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, May 29-31, Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kan.

UP NEXT

NATIONWIDE: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300, May 23, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.

INDY RACING LEAGUE: Indianapolis 500, May 24, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis

FORMULA ONE: Monaco Grand Prix, May 24, Monte Carlo, Monaco

INDIANAPOLIS – When drivers look for help figuring out the treacherous track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, they often turn to Rick Mears.

It’s been 18 years since “The Rocket” joined A.J. Foyt and Al Unser as the only four-time winners of the Indy 500.

But Mears remains the most sought-after mentor for young drivers hoping to conquer the narrow, flat-ended 2.5-mile Brickyard oval.

“I appreciate the help I got along the way,” said Mears, a consultant and driving coach for Penske Racing, which has accumulated a record 14 Indy wins, including the Mears victories in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1991.

“I remember when I first came to the speedway, Bobby Unser drove me around the track in his rental car telling me what to do and what not to do,” Mears said.

Mears, who came to Indy car racing from off-road competition, said he also got plenty of good advice before he got to the speedway from drivers like fellow Californian Parnelli Jones and, after he got here, from team owner Roger Penske and his many teammates over the years, including Mario Andretti and Tom Sneva.

Now, the 57-year-old Mears spends much of his time here and at other racetracks guiding young drivers in the ways of the open-wheel sport.

“When you get to this stage, these guys know how to drive race cars,” said Mears, who is working with driver Will Power as he prepares for his second Indy start and first with Penske on May 24. “So it’s really more dealing with traffic, race strategy – racecraft as they call it, A picture of the race itself.

“Each driver is different. Each driver struggles maybe a little bit more in one area than another. You’ve got to listen to them and see where they need help the most.”

The 28-year-old Power finished 13th in the 500 last year after making the transition from the Champ Car World Series as part of the unification of the two American open-wheel series.

He’s certainly not a novice, but the Australian driver said he appreciates what he’s learned from Mears, including several talks last year while he was driving for rival KV Racing Technology.

“Actually, I sat down with Rick last year after running a couple of times and asked him a few questions,” Power said.

Now, the two are part of the same team and Power, who qualified ninth last Saturday, the first of four days of time trials at Indy, is taking advantage of having Mears available.

“He’s got so much experience and understanding of the track that he sort of points you in the right direction,” Power said. “Rick has been a huge help. He’ll be there all month and we’re looking for a good result at the end, not at the beginning.”

Only 22 of the 33 starting spots were filled in the first weekend of time trials, with the rest of the lineup to be set Saturday and Sunday.

Helio Castroneves warms his ears during a photo shoot for the front row of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on Sunday. Castroneves won the pole position on Saturday despite winds gusting to 25 mph.

INDIANAPOLIS – With so many veteran drivers trying to make it into the field for the Indianapolis 500 on the second day of qualifications, it seemed unlikely the spotlight would fall on rookie Raphael Matos.

But the 28-year-old Indy rookie led the way Sunday, posting a four-lap average of 223.429 mph to top the second group of 11 drivers to make it into the 33-car field for the May 24 race.

Even Matos was impressed by how fast he ran – especially after failing to make it into the lineup on Saturday with a 222.466 effort.

“Yeah, I was a little bit surprised,” he said. “But we did a qualifying simulation during the five minutes before qualifying started, and we made a\ few adjustments in the car for the qualifying run and found almost half a mile an hour. So I’m extremely happy for the Luczo Dragon team. Let’s go racing.”

Sunday’s seven fastest drivers posted speeds quicker than the 222.622 by Alex Lloyd, the slowest of the 11 drivers who earned spots in the lineup on Saturday.

But, despite a warmer day without the wind gusts up to 25 mph that hampered the first-day runs, nobody was able to come anywhere near the pole-winning 224.864 by Helio Castroneves.

The Brazilian, who earned his third Indy pole in seven years, was part of a front row that included Penske Racing teammate Ryan Briscoe and 2007 Indy winner and Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver Dario Franchitti.

Second fastest on Sunday was longtime open-wheel star Paul Tracy, making his first appearance at Indy since finishing second to Castroneves in 2002.

NASCAR Sprint Cup

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Don’t let Mark Martin’s joyful demeanor fool you – he knows how well he’s running and knows where that could lead this season.

“It’s early in the year,” Martin said Saturday night. “A lot of cool things could happen the way things are going.”

Like maybe a Sprint Cup championship?

The 50-year-old Martin moved into playoff position, 11th in points, with his victory at Darlington Raceway – his second series win in four races. Martin outlasted his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, three-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson, in a wreck-filled race.

“Once we got out front, man, it was just easy. The car was awesome,” Martin said.

In his, younger years, while driving for Roush Racing, Martin might have followed such a win by ticking off all the tracks down the road he planned to dominate.

These days, Martin wants to revel in the moment – and not look too far ahead.

“We don’t need to say we’re going to win a whole bunch of races,” Martin said. “Don’t take those kind of answers from me as pessimistic, or a lack of confidence. All I want to do is be happy and have fun doing this.”

Formula One

BARCELONA, Spain – Jenson Button won his fourth Formula One race of the season Sunday by taking the Spanish Grand Prix ahead of Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barrichello.

Button’s two-stop strategy proved decisive as he became the ninth straight winner from pole position at the Circuit de Catalunya, even after Barrichello overtook him out of the start.

“I had the race in my hands and I was quite surprised when they told me they were switching Jenson to two (stops),” Barrichello said. “I would like to understand why they changed that.”

Mark Webber finished third ahead of Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel, who trails Button by 18 points and is third overall.

Webber overtook Vettel in the closing laps for his second top-three finish of the season after Vettel had finally passed Felipe Massa with four laps remaining following a battle between the two drivers throughout the 66-lap race.

Massa would eventually finish sixth – behind Renault’s Fernando Alonso – as Ferrari remained without a top three finish for its longest opening period of a season since 1993.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth set a track record (179.514 mph) at Darlington Raceway on Friday to win his first pole since 2005.

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Jeff Gordon left his car with hands shaking and heart pounding after another harrowing experience at Darlington Raceway.

Gordon’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, three-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, wasn’t as lucky qualifying Friday, crashing before he could finish his lap.

“This is a nail-biter, white-knuckle experience qualifying here,” said Gordon, who’ll start second Saturday night in the Southern 500.

Matt Kenseth set a track record to win his first pole since 2005, his 179.514 mph eclipsing Greg Biffle’s mark from a year ago. Gordon marveled at Kenseth’s record-setting performance at the track “Too Tough To Tame.”

“You’ve got to push really hard. You’ve got to be committed,” Gordon said. “This track is narrow. It’s got a lot of grip, but the edge is right there. It’s really easy to break loose.”

That’s what happened to Johnson, a two-time winner at Darlington. His No. 48 Chevrolet slid in turn two, the back end crunching the wall then the front side bounding into an interior wall and coming to a stop.

Johnson’s crew ran out to help. He was taken to the infield care center for evaluation and released a short time later.

Johnson said that just before his lap, crew chief Chad Knaus’ “final words were, ‘Go like hell,’ and off I went and didn’t make it back.”

Johnson qualified on owner’s points and will start 42nd, his worst opening spot in 11 career Cup races at Darlington.

“I hate that happened to Jimmie,” Gordon said. “I know they’ve got another great car in the truck. They’re a championship caliber team. They’ll rebound, I’m sure, in a big way.”

Kenseth’s hopes his fourth career pole – and first since Kansas in October 2005 – leads to a rebound in confidence.

He won the Daytona 500 and then the next week at Auto Club Speedway in Los Angeles. However, he’s just one top 10 finish in the past eight races.

Kenseth had felt good during practice, then came an afternoon rain that threatened to wash off much of the grip Sprint Cup drivers had spent the morning laying down.

To Kenseth’s surprise, his car held its line and led to the quickest lap in Darlington’s 60-season history.

“It’s the most confident I’ve been in my car since, I don’t know,” Kenseth said.

Ryan Newman qualified third, followed by improving Sam Hornish Jr. and Darlington first-timer Joey Logano.

INDIANAPOLIS – Robert Doornbos is trying to keep it simple. Graham Rahal is trying to keep it fast.

Both are making their game plans work.

Instead of looking at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2 1/2-mile track as one huge oval, rookie Doornbos sees it as two long straightaways separated by four fast corners. He figures that’s a lot less tricky to handle than the 13-turn Formula One road course he had to navigate the last time he drove at Indy.

And Rahal, already with two poles this season, wants another one for the Indianapolis 500 race on May 24.

He got on the track for the first time Thursday during an early flurry of activity amid a threat of more rain. Within a half-dozen laps, he reached more than 220 mph.

“Basically, it’s an absolutely brand new car that has been at the shop since last fall, and all winter the team has been working on it,” Rahal said.

“I think they did a pretty good job, because the thing looks fast for sure.”

Doornbos, in his first IndyCar season this year as Rahal’s teammate with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, easily passed his rookie test on opening day Tuesday but was not among the three who made it onto the track in Wednesday’s 45-minute rain-shortened practice session.

Doornbos was back on the track Thursday and, within his first four laps, was up to more than 221 mph. His top lap later in the day was at 223.592, seventh-fastest among the 32 drivers on the track.

“I think it’s great. I sleep on the track, I eat on the track, I do everything on the track . . . I race on the track, so it’s going to be an intense month,” said the 27-year-old Dutchman, one of six rookies trying to land spots in the race.

Marco Andretti had the top speed of the day at 225.478 mph.

“We really worked on the car the whole day. The car was good to run with it,” Andretti said.

Had faced tax-evasion charges

Indy Racing League driver Helio Castroneves (right) signs autographs for fans on the opening day of practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

INDIANAPOLIS – Helio Castroneves considers Indianapolis his second home.

He’s come to the speedway twice as a defending champion, twice as the defending pole winner. He’s come as a champion dancer and as the star of the most successful IndyCar team in history. He’s scaled the catch fence and had fun with the fans.

But this year will be like none other for the 33-year-old Brazilian.

From the moment Castroneves pulled through that tunnel entrance and into the track’s infield, he was on a brand new mission: To dazzle all those loyal supporters who helped him survive a six-week court battle and weeklong jury debate that nearly ruined his racing career, not to mention his life.

“I want to give back to the fans what they gave to me,” he said. “I feel like I’m a better person, I realize what I love, and where I want to be is here, racing. It feels normal, but there’s something a little better about it now.”

Who could blame Castroneves for feeling that way?

He spent most of the past several months living life in a surreal world, where it seemed every move and every word was being monitored and picked apart by Internal Revenue Service officials

The bubbly personality that captivated fans vanished in the wake of the tax evasion allegations hanging over his head. His trademark smile was replaced by carefully scripted statements and stern expressions. And he had to watch as Penske Racing, his team, hired Australian Will Power to drive his car in his absence.

Now, less than a month after the acquittal drew tears from the usually joyful Castroneves, life is getting back to normal.

He jumped back into the cockpit two days after his court victory and finished seventh in Long Beach, Calif. A week later, he went from 21st on the starting grid at Kansas to a second-place finish.

Now, he’s back home in Indiana, driving on that familiar 2.5-mile oval that turned him into one of IndyCar’s most popular drivers.

Penske Racing president Tim Cindric, who has been there for every twist and turn of Castroneves’ career over the past nine years, can see the old Castroneves touch is returning. He’s not all the way back yet, Cindric said, but he is close.

“I think after May, it will feel like normal again,” Cindric said. “I think over the last couple of weeks, he’s started to get his life organized again and he’s getting a little sense of normalcy back.”

The first big sign could come Saturday, when pole qualifying begins for the Indianapolis 500.

The 11 fastest cars will qualify for the top 11 spots on the first of four-qualifying days at Indy. The next 11 spots will be filled Sunday, with the final 11 qualifying May 16. Cars not yet in the 33-car field will have a chance to bump the slowest cars out May 17.

Given Castroneves’ history here, he should be one of the favorites. He won the pole in 2003, his third Indy start, and again in 2007. He has qualified among the top eight each of the past six years, and has only started worse than 11th once in eight trips.

The Indy 500 is May 24.

Rain halted rookie practice for the race on Wednesday. Drivers Nelson Philippe completed the mandatory rookie test before the rain hit. That leaves Stanton Barrett to finish his test to be eligible for the start of qualifications on Saturday.

Philippe, a 22-year-old Frenchman, also was the fastest in the abbreviated session at 217.668 mph. Rookies Mike Conway, Robert Doornbos, Alex Tagliani and Raphael Matos completed their tests Tuesday.

Martin to stay full time in 2010

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Mark Martin doesn’t want to drive race cars forever. But as long as he can compete at the highest level, he can’t bring himself to walk away from NASCAR.

Martin said Wednesday he’ll run a full season next year, his 22nd in NASCAR. He’s in the first year of a two-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports, but 2010 was fluid and Martin had initially thought he’d run just a partial schedule next season.

But he’s proven this season to still be at the top of his profession, ending a 97-race winless streak with last month’s victory at Phoenix. At 50, he became the third oldest winner in NASCAR history.

“I’m in the best condition of my life,” Martin said. “I’m recharged, and I’m motivated. Going to the racetrack every weekend is still really fun, and that’s the key. There’s more gas in my tank.”

He will stay in the No. 5 Chevrolet, but sponsorship for next season has not been solidified.

Kyle Busch celebrates winning the Crown Royal 400 Sprint Cup Series NASCAR race on his birthday Saturday at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. It was the 50th victory of Busch's career.

RICHMOND, Va. – Kyle Busch raised a few eyebrows when he casually mentioned he’d like to collect 200 victories in his NASCAR career.

That’s a mighty big number, associated only with Richard Petty’s unreachable record of 200 Cup Series wins. It was once thought Jeff Gordon might challenge the mark, but he fell off the pace long ago and has 82.

But if Busch is flexible with the goal he revealed before this season, he’s got a shot at reaching Petty’s mark.

With an asterisk, that is.

Busch’s win Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway was the 50th of his career spanning NASCAR’s top three series. It came on his 24th birthday, and Busch believes he could reach 200 NASCAR wins if he maintains his desire to race in every event possible.

“But I know the older I get I’ll start slowing down some way,” he said. “Hopefully I can achieve that goal. It would be sure nice to get that. I know it’s not 200 Cup victories like Richard Petty has, but it will still be a phenomenal mark for me.”

A mark few thought he could ever reach just two years ago. His talent level has never been questioned, but there’s a reason Busch has often been called “Wild Thing.”

He was ready for NASCAR when he was just 16, but an age minimum sent him back to the sidelines for a two-year wait. Once admitted to the big leagues, he came full of unbridled desire, fearlessness and a lack of maturity.

Busch pushed his cars beyond the limit, taking risks that often ended in a wad of crumpled sheet metal. He pouted when he didn’t win and threw temper tantrums when things went against him. Team owner Rick Hendrick tried to tame the wild child, but finally cut him loose at the end of the 2007 season to make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

So Joe Gibbs Racing snapped him up, and Busch has steamrolled his way through NASCAR since. He won 21 races last season spanning the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series.

His pace has slowed a bit this season – partly because of a monthlong slump he brought into Richmond – but he’s only struggling by his own lofty standards. He now has eight wins on the year: A series-leading three in both Cup and Nationwide, and a series-leading two in the trucks.

“He’s pretty good,” said Jeff Burton, who finished third Saturday night. “You are what your record says you are. I just saw that stat most wins before the age of 25 and that’s pretty impressive. Everything he sits in, he goes fast in. That’s a sign of a really good race car driver.”

Busch is also one of NASCAR’s best at capitalizing on momentum, which he now takes into Darlington Raceway as the defending race winner. He tends to knock down wins in bunches, each victory nudging him closer to a feeling of invincibility. When he gets on a roll, the competition knows Busch is tough to beat.

“When you’ve got that confidence going, it carries a long way,” said Tony Stewart, who spent one year as Busch’s teammate at Gibbs. “I know what he’s been driving . . . (but) we all drive for good race teams and we all have good equipment.”

Kyle Busch celebrates winning the Lipton 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Friday at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va.

RICHMOND, Va. – Kyle Busch passed Carl Edwards on the first lap of a restart with 22 laps to go and won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race Friday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Busch, who led four times in the Lipton Tea 250, made the move that counted in the third and fourth turns on the 229th trip around the 0.75-mile oval. Edwards led the previous 71 laps, with Busch seemingly the only other driver with a car to contend.

Busch’s Toyota, he said, “was right when it mattered most.”

The Sprint Cup star proved it by passing Edwards to the outside to grab the lead and then twice more on the final restarts – one with eight laps to go and again with five laps remaining.

Busch pulled away easily the second time, and Edwards never really challenged.

The victory was Busch’s third in nine starts this season and 13th since the start of last season, when he missed five races but won 10 and finished sixth in the point standings.

Busch led 115 laps in his third career victory in the series at Richmond.

“I feel like tonight was a good night to get back on track,” Busch said. “Tonight was a race that mattered and we had our biggest challenger behind us in Carl, so it was nice to beat him out, straight up. We had some other issues with the car that we fought through.”

Edwards held on to finish second, followed by Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski.

“He smoked me on the restarts,” said Edwards, second to Busch in the series standings. Edwards remained winless and has finished behind Busch in five consecutive Nationwide races.

Busch’s lead over Edwards in the series standings grew to 82 points.

Busch’s victory was his 24th in the series, pulling him into a tie with Kenseth and Tommy Houston for fifth on the career list. Kenseth said he never had a chance on Friday night.

“I had a pretty solid car. I just could never get it quite right to be able to run with those guys,” Kenseth said.

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indy Racing League suspended driver Sean Guthrie and his father, car owner Jim Guthrie, for disregarding directions by officials during a Firestone Indy Lights race last week in Kansas.

IRL competition vice president Tony Cotman said Thursday their actions put “everyone at risk” during a yellow caution period and that the suspensions are for an indefinite period.

The 21-year-old driver was cited for failing to follow the direction of officials, failing to slow down under the yellow and failing to follow the direction of safety personnel after a crash by driver Pablo Donoso during the Kansas Lottery 100 on Sunday.

His father, a former Indy 500 driver and the 1997 IndyCar Series rookie of the year, was suspended for failing to follow officials’ directions and for conduct detrimental to the sport.

Sean Guthrie finished 18th at Kansas and is 20th after four races in the developmental Indy series this season.

Actor to drive Indy pace car

INDIANAPOLIS – Actor Josh Duhamel has a new role for himself in May: pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500.

Duhamel stars in the upcoming action movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” He also had roles in the “All My Children” soap opera and the prime time drama “Las Vegas.” The 36-year-old North Dakota native is married to singer-songwriter and actress Fergie.

Duhamel will drive a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, leading the field of 33 drivers to the green flag for the May 24 race. The car also appears in the new “Transformers” movie.

Last year, the pace car was driven by two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi.

SPRINT CUP

What: Russ Friedman 400

Site: Richmond, Va.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 2:40 p.m. (Speed); Saturday, race, 4 p.m. (Fox)

Track: Richmond International Raceway (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)

Race distance: 300 miles, 400 laps

Last week: Brad Keselowski won at Talladega Superspeedway after a last-lap pass that left Carl Edwards’ car sailing into the front-stretch safety fence. Edwards, attempting to block Keselowski, was unhurt, but debris from the accident injured seven fans in the stands. Keselowski, driving a car that James Finch bought from Hendrick Motorsports, won in his fifth Sprint Cup start. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second.

NATIONWIDE

What: Lipton Tea 250

Site: Richmond, Va.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 1:10 p.m. (Speed), race, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Track: Richmond International Raceway (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)

Race distance: 187.5 miles, 250 laps

Last week: David Ragan raced to his first NASCAR victory, passing Ryan Newman right before the finish line at Talladega. Ragan was making his 196th start – 85 in Nationwide – in NASCAR’s top three series.

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Next race: Indianapolis 500, May 24, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis

Last week: New Zealand’s Scott Dixon raced to his 17th series victory, beating Helio Castroneves by 0.71 seconds at Kansas Speedway.

FORMULA ONE

Next race: Spanish Grand Prix, May 10, Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

Last week: Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won the Bahrain Grand Prix for his third victory in the first four races this season, beating Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel by 7.1 seconds. Button, from England, has a 12-point lead in the season standings.

The Associated Press

The car of Carl Edwards (right) flips into the catch fence as Ryan Newman's racer slides along the wall on the final lap of the Aaron's 499 NASCAR race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Sunday. Seven spectators were injured by flying debris.

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Carl Edwards climbed from his crumpled race car and crossed the Talladega Superspeedway finish line on foot.

In the grandstand to his left, seven fans were injured from the flying debris of his last-lap battle with eventual winner Brad Keselowski.

“We’ll race like this until we kill somebody,” Edwards said. “Then (NASCAR) will change it.”

The dangerous but dramatic restrictor-plate racing came under fire again Sunday after Edwards’ attempt to block Keselowski’s winning pass triggered the last of several frightening accidents at one of the sport’s fastest tracks.

Officials said none of the fans sustained life-threatening injuries from the debris that flew into the grandstands.

Dr. Bobby Lewis, Talladega’s on-site physician, said two people in the crowd were airlifted from the track to avoid the heavy postrace fan traffic. One woman had a possible broken jaw, Lewis said, and an eighth fan who was seated in the same section of the grandstand had an undisclosed medical issue.

After Keselowski pushed Edwards past Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the lead on the final lap, the 25-year-old Earnhardt protege peeked around Edwards as they closed in on the finish line. Edwards ducked low to block the pass, but Keselowski was too close and couldn’t avoid the contact that sent Edwards into a spin up the track and into Newman’s path.

Edwards’ car flew over the top of Newman’s hood, then went airborne into the frontstretch fence. The fence swelled toward the fans but held, and Edwards’ car returned to the racing surface.

“I’m glad the car didn’t go up in the grandstands and hurt somebody,” Edwards said. “I saw some fencing at one point and that made me a little bit nervous. I don’t know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands.”

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said the sanctioning body will analyze the accident, as well as the safety fence, to determine if anything can be improved.

“If there were something that we felt we could do today to make it safer, it would be done,” Hunter said. “This is a fast race track. It’s wide. I saw guys racing five-abreast today, which I have never seen. We know the cars are safer than they’ve ever been.”

Restrictor plates are used at both Daytona and Talladega to combat the high speeds at NASCAR’s two fastest tracks. The plates typically keep the field bunched tightly together, and one wrong move by a driver can cause a massive accident.

There were three bad ones Sunday: a 13-car accident on Lap 7, a 10-car accident with nine laps to go, and Edwards’ flight at the finish. On Saturday, Matt Kenseth was uninjured in a fiery roll during the Nationwide Series race.

“Talladega is short for ‘We’re going to crash, we just don’t know when,”‘ said Newman, the third-place finisher. “We saw (an airborne car) two times this weekend, so maybe we need to look at things that keep the cars down on the ground.”

Earnhardt Jr., a five-time Talladega winner and seven-time winner of restrictor-plate races, finished second but echoed concerns about the racing style. Drivers dread it because so much is out of their control, but Earnhardt said it’s loved by fans because of the danger.

“For years, we’ve had wrecks like this every time we’ve come to Talladega. Ever since the plate got here. And for years it was celebrated,” he said. “The media celebrated it, the networks celebrated it, calling it ‘The Big One,’ just trying to attract attention.

“So there’s a responsibility with the media and the networks and the sanctioning body itself to come to their senses a little bit.”

None of the drivers involved in any of the accidents was injured.

IndyCar series

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Scott Dixon took advantage of Ryan Briscoe’s tough-luck pit stop with 47 laps left, then held off Helio Castroneves down the stretch to win the Road Runner Turbo Indy 500 on Sunday.

Briscoe led for 54 laps when he decided to go into the pits for tires and fuel. Just as he crossed into the pits, Dario Franchitti slammed into the wall, sending up the caution flag. Track officials didn’t allow Briscoe to stop and he lost position, returning to the track in fourth after pitting with the rest of the field.

Gordon

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Jeff Gordon will chase his fifth Sprint Cup title with a bad back.

Gordon expects to drive with some discomfort this season and the pain he felt last week at Phoenix International Raceway has not entirely subsided. The four-time Cup champ said the tracks in Richmond, Va.; Martinsville, Va.; Bristol, Tenn.; and the road courses could affect him later this year.

The short tracks would affect Gordon the most because they tend to be more physically grueling.

“I’m getting stronger and I don’t expect it to happen overnight and go away,” Gordon said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. “It’s going to take time.”

The aches, pains and spasms haven’t affected Gordon’s performance. He snapped a 47-race winless streak at Texas, has six top-10 finishes and holds an 85-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup standings.

Gordon said his creaky back made it difficult to communicate with his team last week, and he couldn’t really give crew chief Steve Letarte information and feedback. He refused to use his health as an excuse for a poor performance at Phoenix.

Because of a mistake by his pit crew, he was forced back into the pits for leaving pit row without a lug nut on his left front, and that led to a season-worst 25th place finish.

“We had some trouble there,” he said. “All the way around, it seemed like we underperformed and it’s a good wake-up call for us.”

Gordon, Johnson and Mark Martin have won the last three Cup races for Hendrick Motorsports. Dale Earnhardt Jr., the fourth Hendrick driver, has yet to win this year but has five career Cup wins at Talladega Superspeedway. Gordon has six wins at Talladega.

“I think there is a great opportunity for a Hendrick car to win again this weekend and keep that streak alive,” Gordon said. “I think on a personal note for Rick (Hendrick), I think the ultimate would be for Junior to win this weekend and have four different drivers win four straight races.”

(Tucson times)

NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Aaron’s 499

Site: Talladega, Ala.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, (Speed, 8:30 a.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 10 a.m.)

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval, 33 degrees in turns)

Distance: 500 miles, 188 laps

Last race: Mark Martin, 50, became the third-oldest winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup history, snapping a 97-race winless streak with a dominating run at Phoenix International Raceway.

Last year: Kyle Busch came back from a lap down, then survived a near wreck with Jamie McMurray for his first win at Talladega.

Fast facts: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears were penalized for intentionally bumping cars after the race at Phoenix International Raceway. NASCAR put both drivers on probation for the next six races, starting with Talladega, but neither was fined or lost any points.

NASCAR NATIONWIDE

Aaron’s 312

Site: Talladega, Ala.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed, 8 a.m.), Saturday, race (ABC, 11:30 a.m.)

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval, 33 degrees in turns)

Distance: 312 miles, 118 laps

Last race: Greg Biffle picked up his second victory in four races this season.

Last year: Kyle Busch fought his way back from a lap down after missing his pit box and having to go around again and later coasted to the checkered flag when a massive crash took out a dozen cars behind him, bringing out the yellow.

Fast facts: Kyle Busch took the series lead from Carl Edwards last weekend, and leads the series with 1,075 points. Edwards is third, 47 points back.

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Road Runner Turbo Indy 300

Site: Kansas City, Kan.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Versus, 3 p.m.); Sunday, race (Versus, 1 p.m.)

Track: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval, 15-degrees banking in turns).

Distance: 300 miles, 200 laps

Last race: Dario Franchitti won in only his second race back in IndyCar, and only his second race driving an open-wheel car for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Last year: Dan Wheldon won even though Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon led 145 of the first 151 laps.

Fast facts: Helio Castroneves, recently acquitted of tax evasion charges, will be running his first oval race since winning at Chicago last September. He’ll race at Indy next month and compete in as many races as he can in hopes of winning his first IRL season championship.

FORMULA ONE

Bahrain Grand Prix

Site: Sakhir, Bahrain

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (SPEED, 4 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speed, 4:30 a.m.)

Track: Bahrain Int’l Circuit (road course, 3.37 miles, 15 turns)

Distance: 191.53 miles, 57 laps

Last race: Sebastian Vettel gave the Red Bull team its first Formula One victory.

Last year: Felipe Massa won his second straight Bahrain Grand Prix, edging teammate Kimi Raikkonen by 3.339 seconds.

Fast facts: Ferrari is off to its worst start in 28 years . . . After a 1-2 finish in Shanghai, Red Bull is second in the constructors’ standings after three races, trailing Brawn GP by 16.5 points.

NASCAR TRUCKS

O’Reilly Auto Parts 250

Site: Kansas City, Kan.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying; Saturday, race (Speed, 2:30 p.m.)

Track: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile tri-oval, 15-degrees banking in turns)

Distance: 250.5 miles, 167 laps

Last race: Kevin Harvick passed Kyle Busch with just over nine laps to go and held onto win at Martinsville.

Last year: Defending champion Ron Hornaday Jr. held off teammate Jack Sprague by 0.149 seconds.

Fast facts: Kyle Busch will be in Talladega, leaving the points lead open, and it will likely be taken over by Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr. or Mike Skinner.