By Compiled from Times wires
Published June 1, 2003
DOVER, Del. - Joe Nemechek took advantage of Matt Kenseth's late blunder Saturday and became the first driver in 17 years at Dover International Speedway to win a NASCAR Busch series race from the pole.
Kenseth dominated but missed a shift on a restart on Lap 155 of the MBNA Armed Forces Family 200. He was hit by Brian Vickers and tried to finish with his left rear fender bent upward. But Kenseth spun on Lap 179, giving fast-closing fellow Winston Cup racer Nemechek the lead.
"That last run, I caught Matt and started to work him over," said Nemechek, a former Lakeland resident. "He broke loose and got sideways.
"I said, "Whoa.' It was almost like Christmas."
There were two restarts in the crash-filled race in the final 10 laps. The last came after Martin Truex Jr. spun and NASCAR threw a red flag.
But Scott Riggs couldn't close the gap in the final three laps under green and his Ford finished nearly half a second behind Nemechek's Chevrolet.
Kenseth led 160 laps.
It was the 15th Busch win for Nemechek, who hours earlier crashed his Winston Cup car in practice. He will use a backup and start at the rear of the field in today's MBNA Armed Forces Family 400.
MILWAUKEE MILE 250: Nighttime was the right time for Michel Jourdain.
Jourdain held off Paul Tracy and Oriol Servia in West Allis, Wis., for his first CART Champ Car win in the series' first race under the lights.
Jourdain, 26, in his eighth season and 126th start, pulled away on a restart with 10 laps left and beat Servia by 0.468 seconds, about three car lengths.
MONACO GRAND PRIX: Ralf Schumacher won the pole for today's Formula One race in Monte Carlo with a record on the famed street circuit.
He ran the 2.08-mile course in 1 minute, 15.259 seconds, averaging 98.290 mph. The circuit was redesigned this year to allow faster speeds. He broke the mark of 1:16.676 Juan Montoya set last year.
Points leader Kimi Raikkonen (1:15.84) starts second.
ROUTE 66 NATIONALS: John Force set a national Funny Car record with a 4.721-second run in Joliet, Ill., to top qualifying for today's eliminations at the NHRA event. Force had a top speed of 325.30 mph. Tony Schumacher (4.512 seconds, 326.16 mph) led Top Fuel, Greg Anderson topped Pro Stock in track-record 6.761 at 203.58, and Geno Scali (7.139, 186.36) led Pro Stock Motorcycles.
