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By Richard S. Chang

Phil Hill, the only American-born Formula One champion, died today at the age of 81. He died at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease and another degenerative neurological disorder.

In a sport known for its playboy personalities, Mr. Hill was an anomaly. He was “a thoughtful, gentle man,” wrote Robert Daley in his book “The Cruel Sport.”

“I’m in the wrong business,” Mr. Hill once said. “I don’t want to beat anybody, I don’t want to be the big hero.”

But Mr. Hill was the hero — and during the most dangerous era of Formula One. Death lurked around every corner and down every straight, and death played a part in his career, although he never had a serious injury. Along with his Formula One title, with Ferrari in 1961, Mr. Hill also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times and the 12 Hours of Sebring three times.

“I, as well as all employees of Ferrari, are extremely saddened by the news of the passing of Phil Hill, a man and a champion who gave so much to Ferrari and who has always greatly represented the company’s values inside and outside the racing track,” said Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari, in a statement.

Philip Toll Hill was born in Miami on April 20, 1927 to a prominent family. He was raised in Santa Monica, Calif., and studied business administration at the University of Southern California.

Phil Hill, American Racing Champion, Is Dead....

By MIKE HARRIS

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — Helio Castroneves didn't want to let Team Penske down.

Five days after one of the team's trucks caught fire during the long trek from its race shop in North Carolina to California, badly damaging the primary cars of Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe, the teammates drove their hastily prepared backup cars to a 1-2 finish in the Grand Prix of Sonoma.

"In my perspective, it's a great and special week for us," said Castroneves, whose victory ended a 29-race winless streak. It also put him right back into the IndyCar Series championship battle with points leader Scott Dixon, who appeared to be in control until finishing 12th on Sunday.

"It's like all the hard work, it paid off, unexpected hard work," said Castroneves, who won for the first time since taking the checkered flag at St. Petersburg on April 1, 2007.

Castroneves gets first win in 30 races....

Bristol, TN (Sports Network) - Kyle Busch put on one of his most dominating performances, leading a career-high 415 laps, but Carl Edwards grabbed the lead from Busch with 31 laps to go and held it for his second-straight Sharpie 500 victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards recorded his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season and the 13th of his career. He also clinched the second seed in the championship "Chase," which begins September 14th at New Hampshire.

Busch appeared to be on the way to his ninth Sprint Cup victory of the year, but Edwards nudged him from behind. Busch got loose, allowing Edwards to move underneath him for the lead.

"I couldn't get by him," Edwards said. "I had to ask myself, 'Would he do that to me?', and he has before. That's the way it goes...You keep talking about rivalries. We might have one now."

At the conclusion of the race, a frustrated Busch retaliated by intentionally bumping Edwards on the cool-down lap. Edwards, however, got the best of the post-race ruckus when he spun Busch around.

While Edwards celebrated in Victory Lane, Busch made a trip to the NASCAR hauler for a discussion with officials.

Edwards defends Sharpie 500 title at Bristol....

BY GEORGE SIPPLE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Joe Gibbs Racing could face severe penalties for infractions discovered during an inspection following Saturday's Nationwide Series Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway.

Apparently upset at engine rule changes handed down last month by NASCAR to limit Toyota's dominance over the other manufacturers in the Nationwide Series, members of JGR allegedly put an object under the accelerator pedal to limit horsepower during a chassis dynometer test.

"There was a piece there that apparently wouldn't let the pedal go all the way down in the dyno, and it showed like we had less horsepower than we actually did," JGR team president J.D. Gibbs said during a news conference Sunday at MIS. "Let me just say, first and foremost, that was a really poor, foolish decision on the part of our key guys there at JGR. I want to apologize to NASCAR, to our partners, to the Toyota guys.

Gibbs facing big penalties after cheating allegations....

Carl Edwards, who has finished runner-up to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leader Kyle Busch three times this season, won Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

In a Ford, Edwards beat Busch off the pit road during the fifth caution and took the lead for good with 18 laps remaining to win his fifth race of the season and 12th career.

Edwards was forced to survive two late cautions and held off Busch on the final restart with three laps to go.

Busch was second in a Toyota, followed by Edwards' Roush Racing team-mates David Ragan, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.

Edwards wins ahead of Busch....

By Jim Peltz, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Tony Stewart on Friday picked Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman to drive the second car of the new NASCAR Sprint Cup team that Stewart will co-own next season.

Newman, who currently drives the No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing, already had announced plans to leave Penske after this year and was the odds-on favorite to join Stewart. Both are Indiana natives and cut their teeth driving USAC midget cars before eventually moving to stock-car racing.


Stewart, 37, is a two-time Cup champion with 32 wins on NASCAR's premier circuit. Newman, 30, has 13 series victories.

"The thing that impressed me the most about Ryan was he asked all the right questions," Stewart told a news conference at Michigan International Speedway, site of Sunday's NASCAR race.

"From day one, the questions . . . were all about how are we going to win races, how are we going to win championships, how are we going to get the right people in place to do the right jobs?" he said.

NASCAR driver Ryan Newman joining Tony Stewart's team....

Associated Press

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- If Kyle Busch has a weakness, it's apparently going to be awfully difficult to find.

After rivals Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon said during the week they thought he was slipping following two straight lackluster finishes, Busch answered by making NASCAR history on Sunday. He led 52 laps from the pole and won the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International to become the first driver in NASCAR's history to win three road course races in one season.

"That's pretty neat, pretty special to me," said Busch, who finished second Saturday in the Nationwide race here. "To be a force to be reckoned with means a lot. This year has just been phenomenal. It's just crazy."

Kyle Busch becomes first NASCAR driver to win three road races in one season....

Watkins Glen, NY (Sports Network) - Fuel strategy paid off for Marcos Ambrose as he became a first-time race winner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Saturday with a victory in the Zippo 200 at the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International road course. Ambrose made his last stop on Lap 49 and then drove the final 33 circuits without pitting to capture the victory.

Ambrose recorded his first win in his 59th start.

Ambrose picks up first Nationwide win at Watkins Glen....

By MIKE HARRIS

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) — Scott Dixon is having one of those near-perfect seasons, and it's more than a little frustrating for the guy trying to chase him down.

Dixon came from behind Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway, passing Helio Castroneves coming off the final turn on the 1.5-mile oval to win the Meijer Indy 300. It was the second win in a row and the sixth victory of the season for Dixon, tying the record of Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dan Wheldon as he races toward what would be his second IndyCar Series championship.

Series runner-up Castroneves, still trying for his first victory of the season and his first series title as he chases Dixon, tried to get this one with fuel strategy.

Dixon gets sixth win _ barely....

The Indy Racing League announced today (Aug. 7) that it has reached multi-year partnerships with TV networks ABC and Versus.

The Indianapolis 500 will remain on ABC, while the move to Versus gives the IndyCar Series a new cable television partner--replacing ESPN and ESPN2, which are owned by ABC--beginning in 2009. The Indy 500 will air on ABC through 2012, with the network airing four additional IndyCar races annually.

IndyCar moving to Versus network in 2009: ABC keeps Indy 500 broadcast....

By MIKE HARRIS – 2 hours ago

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Carl Edwards won Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway, gambling with a pit strategy that he thought would cost him the victory.

Edwards pitted from the lead just before a rain shower that caused a 41-minute red flag and had the driver arguing with crew chief Bob Osborne over the decision. But the plan worked perfectly as the race wound up going to completion. Edwards stretched his last tank of fuel to earn his fourth victory of the season.

"I was really nervous that we made the wrong call there," Edwards said after doing his traditional victory backflip off his car. "Bob's the smartest guy in the world. We were really arguing. We made light of it, but we thought we made the wrong call."

The race started in sunshine and it appeared Mark Martin, who took the lead from pole-winner Jimmie Johnson at the start and took control would be the driver to beat all day. But Martin had problems on two pit stops that put him back into the pack and then dark clouds began moving in, changing some strategies.

Carl Edwards wins Pocono for 4th victory of season....

Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen won his first Formula One race Sunday after an engine problem forced Felipe Massa out of the Hungarian Grand Prix with three laps to go.

Massa overtook Kovalainen and pole sitter Lewis Hamilton at the start and was heading for his fourth win of the season after Hamilton dropped out of contention with a tire puncture. But the Brazilian's Ferrari engine overheated toward the end and Kovalainen took an 11-second victory over Timo Glock of Toyota.

"Of course I feel a little bit sorry for Felipe. I know how he feels with what happened to him today; I've had similar moments to him this year," said Kovalainen, who became the 100th driver to win a Formula One race.

Kovalainen -- greeted by chants of "Heikki" from the large Finnish contingent in the stands -- had narrowed Massa's lead to under six seconds before the Brazilian's engine blew up and ruined his chance of taking the lead in F1's standings for the second time this season.

Kovalainen takes first F1 race after Massa bows out....