Ambrose has 'surprising' victory

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — A year ago Marcos Ambrose used pit strategy to win at Watkins Glen International. The second time around he used a little aggression.

The hard-charging Tasmanian passed series points leader Kyle Busch with a daring move through the chicane Saturday and won the Nationwide Zippo 200 for the second straight year for JTG-Daugherty Racing.

It was the 10th consecutive top-two finish in Nationwide for Busch, breaking the series record set by Jack Ingram in 1983. Carl Edwards was third, followed by polesitter Kevin Harvick and Canadian road racer Ron Fellows. Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt, finished 24th in his Nationwide debut.

Busch started seventh and gained the lead for the first time in the 82-lap race over the 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course when he passed Steven Wallace on a restart in the first turn of lap 49. It marked the 19th straight series race Busch has led, tying Sam Ard's series record.

Ambrose, who started second, also moved past Wallace, and when Paul Menard brought out the fourth caution with a spin on lap 52, Ambrose's crew assured him he had enough fuel to make it to the end.

"We need to get him (Busch) on the restart and just cruise," said Ambrose's crew chief, Frank Kerr.

The caution also gave Busch the fuel cushion he needed, and he withstood Ambrose's hard charge when the race went green on lap 56. Ambrose stalked Busch for six laps and finally passed him entering the chicane at the top of the high-speed esses.

"I had to surprise him," Ambrose said after just his second NASCAR victory. "We didn't have the top-end speed to make a classic pass. I knew I had to bomb him some way. He wasn't going to make a mistake. I was going to have to force one on him. I just stormed up in there. I knew it was a high-risk move, but it needed to be made."

AMERICAN LE MANS: At Lexington, Ohio, Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud raced to their fourth straight American Le Mans Series victory, leading flag-to-flag Saturday in the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

De Ferran, the team owner, crossed the finish line in the de Ferran XM Acura ARX-02a 8.358 seconds ahead of Patron Highcroft Racing's David Brabham and the Acura that he drove with LMP1 championship co-leader Scott Sharp.

INDYCAR: IndyCar points leader Ryan Briscoe has captured the pole for the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. Briscoe turned in a lap of 121.905 mph over the winding 2.258-mile course on Saturday, narrowly beating out Justin Wilson to take his third pole of the season.