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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....