A first-half hat-trick from Mark Atkinson saw Gloucester strengthen their play-off credentials with an impressive victory at Northampton.

The centre was backed up by scores from Ruan Ackermann, Ed Slater and Franco Marais in an entertaining encounter.

Northampton also scored five tries of their own through Taqele Naiyaravoro, Piers Francis, Cobas Reinach, Reece Marshall and Rory Hutchinson.

Gloucester have an 11-point lead over Sale in fifth with four games left.

The Cherry and Whites also recorded a third Premiership win in a row for the first time since December 2017 and inflicted just a second home defeat in all competitions this season on Saints.

Northampton remain seventh and will hope not to be sucked into the relegation battle below them, although they hold a healthy 13-point cushion over bottom side Newcastle Falcons.

They still have to travel to Worcester and Newcastle in the bottom two in their last four games as well as host play-off contenders Harlequins and leaders Exeter.

Saints did claim a try bonus point and looked on course for more when winger Naiyarovoro and centre Francis twice put them ahead early on.

But Gloucester showed a clinical edge in the Saints 22 as they kept the hosts at arm's length once Atkinson's second try of the game after 15 minutes put them into a lead they would not relinquish.

The only thing to mar their victory were second-half injuries to fly-half Danny Cipriani (groin), winger Charlie Sharples (ankle) and full-back Tom Hudson (shoulder).

Northampton director of rugby Chris Boyd:

"We knew what was going on, but we just didn't deal with it. We still haven't got the necessary accuracy when we come under pressure.

"We have never discussed a finishing position, but we've slipped to seventh.

"We have four games to play, two against sides above us and two below, who are fighting for their lives, so it will be an interesting end to the season."

Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann:

"We are not getting over-excited but it's a nice position to be in. But with four games to go, there are still a lot of teams on our tail.

"Mark (Atkinson) caught my eye when I first came to the club and we've always believed in him. He has all the skill as well as being a big physical presence.

"He's now had a good run of games and has developed a good understanding with Danny (Cipriani) and Billy (Twelvetrees) as a midfield trio."

On the initial post-match injury news: "It's the wrong time of the year to pick up injuries. We can't speculate on the extent of them as we will have to wait for scans on Monday.

"Danny (Cipriani) has a groin problem, but hopefully as we brought him off early he will be okay, but Tom Hudson's shoulder and Charlie Sharples' ankle will have to be assessed."

Northampton: Furbank; Tuala, Hutchinson, Francis, Naiyaravoro; Biggar, Reinach; Van Wyk, Marshall, Hill, Moon, Lawes, Ludlam, Brussow, Harrison (capt).

Replacements: Dawidiuk, Waller, Franks, Ratuniyarawa, Gibson, Mitchell, Burrell, Pisi.

Sin-bin: Naiyaravoro (29 mins).

Gloucester: Hudson; Banahan, Twelvetrees, Atkinson, Sharples; Cipriani, Heinz (capt); Hohneck, Marais, Balmain, Slater, Mostert, Ackermann, Kriel, Morgan.

Replacements: Sherry, Rapava Ruskin, Dreyer, Savage, Clarke, Polledri, Braley, Seabrook.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.

For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

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BRASELTON, Ga. – Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias won his first race of the MotoAmerica EBC Brakes Superbike Series season Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The Spaniard bested Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz by 1.839 seconds under sunny skies on the final day of the Suzuki Championship.

The win, combined with his second place from Saturday, gives Elias the early lead in the EBC Brakes Superbike Championship with 45 points – four more than Saturday’s winner Cameron Beaubier, who was third Sunday.

As was the case yesterday, the Superbike race began with six riders running together at the front with those three – Elias, Scholtz and Beaubier – joined by Beaubier’s Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing teammate Garrett Gerloff, Attack Performance Estenson Racing’s J.D. Beach and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Josh Herrin.

Gerloff was the first to have issues, the Texan slowed by a front fender flapping in the wind. Despite repeated attempts at kicking the bodywork off his bike, Gerloff eventually had to pull over to remove the fender. He would continue onward and eventually finish ninth.

Herrin, meanwhile, lacked the pace to stay with the top four with the race coming down to just three in the final laps as the trio pulled slightly clear of Beach. Then both Beaubier and Scholtz were bauked badly by a back marker with two laps to go, costing them any shot at Elias and also allowing Beach to move to the tail of the battling duo. Scholtz ended up getting the edge on Beaubier to take second with Beach finishing just .3 of a second off the back of the defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion.

Apparently, the birth of his son just a few weeks ago hasn’t slowed Elias who leaves the opening round with the points lead for the fourth straight season.

“Everybody was telling me that,” Elias said of his pace being slowed with having a child. “I was kind of worried. When he was born, in my head I said, ‘what the heck? Now I have a really strong reason to fight for,’ so that’s what happened. I’m super motivated. I didn’t slow down. So, I’m happy. This winter the team worked so good. But, honestly, I was thinking to be more comfortable in these first rounds. Last year to be more competitive we took a good direction. I was thinking this would change a little bit… but then we arrive here and seems different… all the time the bike is moving a lot around. We were going to do some changes for this morning, but we couldn’t try anything. For everybody it was the same. Same tire. Harder than yesterday. I was not thinking yesterday to do that slow pace. I think it’s the race. A little bit frustrated. I couldn’t do what I wanted.

“In the mid part of the race I started to lose a lot of grip, maybe less than J.D. and Mathew. But Cameron was so strong. I missed something there. Anyway, for today I was going to use the same tire as Dunlop wanted, and it was really good. The tire has been super consistent all the race, but we still have to improve in some areas. Anyway, yesterday 20 points. Could be zero. Now 25 (points), so perfect Sunday.”

In Supersport, Saturday’s second-place finisher Bobby Fong came back strong on Sunday and notched the race win aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Second-place finisher P.J. Jacobsen kept Fong honest throughout the majority of the 18-lap race to record his first MotoAmerica podium result in his second race aboard his Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha.

Hudson Motorcycles – HB Racing Yamaha rider Richie Escalante finished third and dedicated the race to his grandfather after getting the sad news earlier in the day that he had passed away.

In Liqui Moly Junior Cup, Saturday’s race winner Rocco Landers did the double and got the win on Sunday aboard his Landers Racing Kawasaki. Almost a carbon copy of yesterday, he got a great jump off the line from the pole position, led the 11-lap race from start to finish, and pulled a gap of nearly five seconds.

Dallas Daniels, the second-place finisher from Saturday’s race, once again finished second on Sunday aboard his Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki. Altus Motorsports rider Kevin Olmedo finished third to complete the podium.

Last year’s Stock 1000 champion Andrew Lee got his 2019 season off to a flying start with a win in Sunday’s race. The Northern Californian is defending his title aboard his No. 1 Franklin Armory/Graves Kawasaki, and he stalked second-place finisher Michael Gilbert, who led the majority of the race on his Team Norris Racing Kawasaki until Lee made his decisive move and took the checkers. MESA37 Racing’s Stefano Mesa came in third, making it a Kawasaki podium sweep.

The same podium finishers in Saturday’s Twins Cup race were again on the podium in Sunday’s race, and Quarterley Racing Ducati rider Michael Barnes was the race winner for the second day in a row. Barnes once again showed that experience (age) is the secret to success as he had the measure of his competitors. Defending class champ Chris Parrish improved on his Saturday third-place result by finishing second on Sunday aboard his Ghetto Customs Suzuki, and RBoM Racing’s Curtis Murray rounded out the podium in third.

The post Elias Shines In MotoAmerica Superbike Action appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

THOMPSON, Conn. — Justin Bonsignore has become the modern day master of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

The Holtsville, New York, driver scored his fifth straight NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win at Thompson on Sunday afternoon in the Icebreaker 150. The victory allowed Bonsignore to become the first driver in the history of Whelen Modified Tour action at the historic Connecticut oval to win five straight.

It was the 10th career Thompson win for the defending series champion, and his 21st overall.

“We’ve had speed at every race so far,” Bonsignore said. “I just said that we had to put together a full race and execute. You have to have a little bit of luck to go your way, and we finally got some this year.”

After Doug Coby won his second Mayhew Tools Dominator Pole Award and led the first 107 laps, the race took a turn for Bonsignore when the field slowed for a caution at lap 99. Bonsignore followed Coby down pit road for fresh tires, and although Coby did beat him off pit road, a penalty for running over his air hose sent Coby to the rear of the field.

While Coby fought back to finish fifth, Bonsignore took the advantage for the restart, and held off South Boston Speedway winner Ron Silk during a green-white-checkered finish to continue his Thompson dominance.

Coby and Bonsignore paced the entire weekend, running first and second, in that order, for both practice sessions and qualifying.

“It would have been a good race, neither one of us would have given an inch, I know that,” Bonsignore said of what would have been with Coby. “We were so close all weekend. I’ve won a bunch here and some of them are just on luck. You have to put yourself in position, and my team always does.”

Silk, who qualified ninth, got back to the track in third following the pit stop, and when Coby was sent to the tail, the former series champion was in position for his second place effort.

“Things are going good,” Silk said. “It’s nice to get a win and back that up with a second today. It’s good for the guys on the team. They are all pumped up.”

Eric Goodale was third, while Patrick Emerling and Coby, who was able to work his way back up through the field, completed the top five. After three races, Coby holds a slim seven point lead in the Whelen Modified Tour championship standings.

The finish:

Justin Bonsignore, Ron Silk, Eric Goodale, Patrick Emerling, Doug Coby, Burt Myers, Matt Swanson, Woody Pitkat, Chris Pasteryak, Jimmy Blewett, Sam Rameau, Kyle Benjamin, Craig Lutz, Kyle Bonsignore, Timmy Solomito, Blake Barney, Jon McKennedy, Tommy Catalano,  Calvin Carroll, Dave Sapienza, J.B. Fortin Jr., Timmy Catalano, Ken Heagy, Anthony Nocella, Wade Cole, Melissa Fifield, Andrew Krause, Rob Summers.

The post Bonsignore Continues Thompson Dominance appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

WAYNESFIELD, Ohio – Justin Peck collected his second NAPA Auto Parts FAST Series win of the weekend Sunday afternoon at Waynesfield Raceway Park.

It wasn’t easy for Peck, who won at Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio, Saturday, as he had to deal with lapped traffic and several challenges from Cale Conley, who scored a victory of his own Saturday at Attica Raceway Park.

“We really got taken to school for two years around Ohio. These guys are tough. It’s pretty awesome to come in here and pick up two wins. It is the first races of the season which gives us a lot of confidence and makes us feel like we know what we are doing and gives us a pretty good base line with our cars,” Peck said. “We talked last night after getting a strong start about following FAST now.

“Those lappers were really tough to get around. This place was just so fast wide open around the top you really had to check up to go to the bottom and be patient. I had to catch the lappers the first time to figure that out. I made too many mistakes the first time trying to get through. The last few times I caught them there at the end I was picking the right spots and making the right moves,” said Peck.

Max Stambaugh and Peck brought the field to green for the 30-lap FAST A-main with Peck gaining the advantage over Stambaugh, Conley, Henry and Brady Bacon. Buddy Kofoid spun in turn one on lap three, collecting Joey Saldana and Lee Jacobs with Saldana going pitside with front end damage as Kofoid and Jacobs rejoined at the tail. on the restart Conley drove around Stambaugh while Henry, Bacon and Travis Philo battled for fourth.

Adam Cruea spun on lap five just as the leaders were preparing to enter lapped traffic. With a clear track on the restart Peck and Conley pulled away from the battle for third between Stambaugh, Henry and Bacon. Peck encountered very heavy lapped traffic by the ninth circuit and Conley quickly closed as the pair maneuvered through and around lapped cars battling for the lead. Henry took third on lap 12 with Stambaugh now battling Bacon and Philo to hold onto fourth.

Peck worked his way through the lapped cars like a surgeon and was able to maintain the lead over Conley but that again evaporated by lap 18 with heavy lapped traffic. Conley again closed and this time Henry and Bacon joined the fun. The lead quartet was soon joined by Stambaugh as they had the crowd on their feet battling for the lead over the next seven laps. A Bradley Ashford spin with five laps to go giving Peck a clear track and clean air.

Peck pulled away for the win but the action behind didn’t slow down as Conley, Henry and Bacon waged war for the runner-up spot. Henry was able to get under Conley on lap 27 and crossed the finish line second ahead of Conley, Bacon and Stambaugh. Spencer Bayston charged from 13th to sixth followed by Cole Duncan, Philo, Greg Wilson and Kofoid who rallied from his early race spin to round out the top 10.

In the K&L Ready Mix National Racing Alliance (NRA) portion of Sunday’s show, Delphos, Ohio’s Shawn Dancer held off several challenges from Randy Hannagan on a hand full of restarts to take the victory.

“Waynesfield is a great track. Shane (Helms, promoter) put on a great race. Thanks for the fans for coming out…come back for the other shows. The track prep job was awesome. Congrats to everyone who put this together,” said Dancer. “Sometimes it gets tough on the cushion here. Thanks to Kent and Garth and everyone who helps.”

The finish:

Justin Peck, Cap Henry, Cale Conley, Brady Bacon, Max Stambaugh, Spencer Bayston, Cole Duncan, Travis Philo, Greg Wilson, Buddy Kofoid, Dale Blaney, Tyler Gunn, T.J. Michael, Lee Jacobs, Chad Wilson, Mike Terry Jr., Cody Bova, Adam Cruea, Bradley Ashford, Jake Hesson, Jordan Harble, Joey Saldana.

The post Peck Has What It Takes On Waynesfield Dirt appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Kurt Busch was going to do whatever it took on Sunday to try and secure his seventh Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

That included wrecking his younger brother Kyle Busch for the win, if it had come down to that.

While the elder Busch brother never ultimately got close enough to his younger sibling’s back bumper to take that shot, he still came home with a season-best second-place finish off a late pit strategy call.

Both Busch brothers stayed out when the race’s final yellow flag waved with 22 to go, after Kyle Larson got into the outside wall in turn three, placing them on the front row for a restart with 14 laps left.

That was as close as Kurt Busch got, as he watched Kyle drive off to his eighth-career Bristol win.

“It was tough battling our No. 1 Chevy, but this Monster Energy team is doing a good job,” said Kurt Busch after the race. “That one was tough, though. I really wanted to beat him. I flat out would have wrecked him (laughter). I wanted to stay close enough so that when we took the white, I was just going to drive straight into (turns) three and four.

“I mean, he’s already won. I figured he could give a little love to his brother, but no,” he added. “I wanted that one bad. I feel like him right now; I’m mad because I didn’t win.”

The weekend started out rough for Kurt Busch, who qualified 27th and had to fight his way forward all day on Sunday. He did that, however, just like in Texas a week ago – when he went from 30th to ninth.

“This car, we’re struggling on qualifying and we struggle on taking off,” the 40-year-old noted. “I just can’t get the right rear to grip until it gets heat in it, and it’s hard to be patient when you’re running for the win on old tires.”

The good for the elder Busch? He’s now finished inside the top 10 in six of the last seven Cup Series races and propelled himself from 24th to eighth in the series standings since the Daytona 500.

That has him believing that a victory is close, and coming soon.

“I’m happy that we were in position to do it, this group of guys. We’re not quite ready to win yet, but that was close,” said Kurt Busch. “I was going to wreck my little brother to win today, but with three laps to go, the car just stepped out in turn one and I wasn’t close enough to him after that.

“For our Monster Chevy, today is a really good run. We’ve got a lot of puzzle pieces, [and] we’re putting them together,” he noted. “This is my favorite track. We almost won, but we know we’re still wanting some good.

“Our No. 1 Monster Chevy is fast. We’ve just got to fine-tune it all.”

The post Kurt Busch: ‘I Flat Out Would Have Wrecked Him’ appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – On a weekend where FOX Sports analyst and NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip sung Kyle Busch’s praises, the 33-year-old answered the call with a stirring victory in Sunday’s Food City 500.

After receiving significant rear-bumper damage in a lap-two accident on the backstretch, Busch charged through the field and eventually used late pit strategy to take command of the race in its final laps.

The 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion didn’t even get to the lead for the first time until lap 384 of 500 on Sunday, but it was crew chief Adam Stevens’ call to stay out under the race’s final caution – which waved with 22 to go when Kyle Larson smacked the turn-three wall – that paid off.

Busch inherited the top spot over older brother Kurt when the leading Team Penske duo of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski came down pit road for fresh tires, then ran away over a 14-lap dash to the checkered flag.

Kyle Busch ultimately crossed the finish line first by .722 of a second over Kurt Busch in the end.

“We’re crazy,” said the younger Busch in victory lane of himself and his brother. “We just do what we do to try to win. It’s pretty awesome to be able to snooker those guys and get our win here today at Bristol. I love this place, and it was fun to battle my brother there at the end. I know we didn’t quite get side-by-side racing it out, but I saw him working the top and I knew I had better go. Once I got up there, I was able to make some ground.

“This Skittles Camry wasn’t the best today, but we made the most of not having the best and got everything we needed here at the end.”

Kyle Busch’s win on Sunday marked his third of the season in eight Cup Series races, as well as the 54th of his career, tying him with Lee Petty for 10th on the all-time win list.

It was also his eighth triumph at Bristol, moving him one notch closer to Waltrip’s track-record mark of 12 wins at the high-banked, concrete half mile.

“This ain’t a dozen, that’s for sure. I’ve got more to go (to catch Darrell), but we’re getting there and it’s been fun,” noted Kyle Busch, who led three times for 71 laps. “It’s the most (wins at Bristol) for an active driver – I think I’ve heard that – but there’s a lot more years yet hopefully for us to add to that mark.”

Sunday also made Kyle Busch the first Cup Series driver to start a season with eight-straight top-10 finishes since Terry Labonte in 1992.

Kurt Busch came home as the runner-up after starting 27th, marking his best finish of the season with Chip Ganassi Racing, but it was clear he wanted more in the final laps – and he admitted afterward he’d have done anything to get out in front.

“This one is tough. I really wanted to beat him,” said Kurt Busch. “I was going to wreck him. I wanted to stay close enough (to him) so that when we took the exit (of the corner), I was going to drive straight into (turns) three and four. He had already won. I figured he could give a little love to his brother.

“I wanted that one bad. I feel like him right now; I’m all mad because I didn’t win,” he continued. “I’m happy that we were in position to do it, though. This group of guys … we’re not quite ready to win yet, but that was close. I was going to wreck my little brother to win today. With three laps to go, my car just stepped out in turn one, and I wasn’t close enough to him to do anything more after that.”

Logano came back to third on his fresh tires after pitting from the lead, but lamented losing the race on strategy like he and his team did.

“I was hoping we had more laps left,” said Logano. “I think we had the fastest car; we just didn’t get all the pieces right. When you have the fastest car, but don’t do the rest of the stuff (right), you don’t win. The 18 capitalized on that, so congrats to them.

“I feel like we won the race a couple times, but we just didn’t win it when it mattered the most.”

Ryan Blaney crossed the line fourth and Denny Hamlin finished fifth.

Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson completed the top 10.

Ty Dillon shocked the field with a similar pit call to win the first stage over Bowyer, while Logano topped the second stage on Sunday.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

The post Rowdy Rallies At Bristol For 54th Cup Series Win appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

THOMPSON, Conn. – Reigning PASS North super late model champion D.J. Shaw out-dueled fellow Granite State racer Derek Griffith to win Sunday’s 75-lap feature at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

Shaw, seeking a third series title this year in the Precision JLM/Dale Shaw Race Cars No. 60, used the outside groove to reclaim the lead from Griffith, the defending PASS National Championship Series kingpin.  It was a reversal of fortunes for the top two finishers, as Griffith bested Shaw in last year’s opener at Thompson.

Shaw started ninth on the starting grid while third-starting Griffith quickly moved into contention, chasing early race leader Gabe Brown. Multi-time PASS North and National champion Ben Rowe was an early factor up front, as was six-time PASS North champ Johnny Clark.

Griffith and Shaw looked like they were going to settle the race amongst themselves, but 11th starter Ray Christian III had other ideas, and drove into contention while making good use of restarts to move as high as second in the running order late in the event.

Shaw beat Griffith to the checkered flag by just more than half a second after racing several laps side-by-side. Christian claimed the final podium finishing position ahead of Clark. Jake Johnson finished fifth.

The finish:

D.J. Shaw, Derek Griffith, Ray Christian III, Johnny Clark, Jake Johnson, Garrett Hall, Gabe Brown, Travis Benjamin, Nick Sweet, Devin O’Connell, Mike Hopkins, Cory Casagrande, Angelo Belsito, Ben Rowe, Reid Lanpher, Nick Johnson, Greg Nanigian, Kyle Casagrande, Jimmy Renfrew Jr., Dan Winter, Derek Ramstrom.

The post Shaw Bests Griffith In PASS North Lidlifter appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

ROUGEMONT, N.C. – Lee Pulliam earned the biggest payday in late model stock racing history Sunday afternoon with his victory in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour Old North State Nationals at Orange County Speedway.

Pulliam, who earned $30,000 for his triumph in the 200-lap event, spent most of the race pursing polesitter Taylor Gray and veteran Josh Berry. A caution with 49 laps left allowed Pulliam to close the gap at the front.

Trevor Ward ended up with the lead after the caution period after choosing not to pit. Berry, Timothy Peters and Pulliam all quickly dispatched Ward and began a battle for the race lead.

Another restart allowed Pulliam to dispatch both Berry and Peters, but a flat tire for Peters with 13 laps left created one more opportunity for those chasing Pulliam to track him down.

When the race resumed Pulliam and Berry began an intense battle that lasted for five laps, but it was Pulliam who emerged with the race lead. He proceeded to pull away to the $30,000 payday.

Gray, who won his first CARS Tour race recently at Hickory Motor Speedway, ended up second after leading many laps early in the race. Adam Lemke was third in a JR Motorsports entry, followed by Berry and Brandon Pierce.

The finish:

Lee Pulliam, Taylor Gray, Adam Lemke, Josh Berry, Brandon Pierce, Zack St. Onge, Trevor Ward, Mini Tyrrell, Bradley McCaskill, Tyler Matthews, Stacy Puryear, Camden Gullie, Bobby McCarty, Terry Dease, Myatt Snider, Timothy Peters, Corey Heim, Justin Carroll, Tommy Lemons Jr., Jacob Heafner, Craig Moore, Carson Kvapil, Deac McCaskill, Joshua Yeoman, Layne Riggs, Ty Gibbs, Mike Chambers, Terry Brooks Jr., Ronald Hill.

The post Pulliam Banks $30,000 CARS Tour Payday appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Though they combined to lead 344 of 500 laps on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Team Penske’s three drivers all missed out on being able to celebrate in victory lane in the end.

The Food City 500 was shaping up to be a Penske-perfect party, with all three cars running inside the top four for much of the day, but a late caution and subsequent strategy call became the trio’s undoing.

Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski all pitted for fresh tires after Kyle Larson smacked the wall to bring out the final caution with 22 laps left. In fact, Logano and Keselowski were first and second at the time.

After they left pit road, confusion with the restart order left Keselowski hung in the middle of a three-wide mess coming to the green flag with 14 to go, leading to a black flag penalty for Keselowski for “failing to obey NASCAR directives from the control tower.”

Not only did Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford jumble up the running order when the race resumed, it allowed eventual winner Kyle Busch and eventual runner-up Kurt Busch to escape, while Blaney and Logano tried to get out of the hornet’s nest of cars they were stuck in and give chase.

Their efforts were all for naught, however, and none of the Roger Penske-owned Ford Mustangs ended up as the winner when the checkered flag waved.

Logano ended up third, robbed of victory in a race where he led prior to the final caution flag and left wondering what might have been afterward.

“Right at the end there I thought when we got by the (No.) 2 (of Keselowski) that it was the pass for the win,” said Logano, who took the lead with 31 to go. “I was pretty confident we were gonna be able to do that for 15 laps or so … and then the caution came out. What do you do? … You know a few of them are gonna stay out. By the time I got to third, those top two were so far ahead of me that I was stuck and was not going to get to them.

“It stinks when you have the fastest car and don’t win, but it’s a team sport and it takes every piece to make it work,” Logano added. “We had the car part figured out today; we just missed it on some other ends and just have to keep fighting hard. We got a stage win and led a lot of laps, but you want to win at Bristol so bad because it’s the coolest track.”

Blaney, who finished fourth, was hoping to put the sour taste of last spring’s Bristol race behind him. He led a race-high 158 laps and appeared to be one of the favorites before getting mired in traffic late.

“I need to get better as the track kind of rubbers out,” noted Blaney. “Joey is really good at it. I thought he had the best car, probably. The track rubbers in … and I just need to do something different there, but overall, this was not a bad day. We were up there all race and tried to keep up with the track.

“The track was really racy today from bottom to top,” he added. “I thought it put on a really good show, but man, you want to win these things when you get close like that.”

Then there was Keselowski, who ended up a lap down in 18th after having to make a pass down pit road during the final green-flag sprint to the finish.

Keselowski had little good to say after climbing from his car, both about the restart and the penalty.

“Nobody could figure out the lineup,” he explained. “There wasn’t enough communication. It was just a tough deal.”

That last sentence was an apt description to describe Team Penske’s entire end result at Bristol.

It was a tough deal, indeed.

The post Bristol Dominance Comes Up Empty For Penske Trio appeared first on SPEED SPORT.

LEEDS, Ala. – Takuma Sato’s victory in Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama proved the old guard of the NTT IndyCar Series is still fast.

Just one race after Colton Herta became the youngest winner in Indy car history when he was six days shy of his 19th birthday, 42-year-old Sato started on the pole and drove a fantastic race to score the fourth win of his NTT IndyCar Series career.

Sato started on the pole and led 74 laps in the 90-lap contest. Although Sato was in front for most of the race, the intriguing strategy of a three-stop or two-stop race as well as when to use the primary and alternate tires created a great race.

There were a race record 11 lead changes, breaking the previous record of 10 set in 2015.

There were also many frantic, side-by-side battles throughout the field on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park.

Despite the physical racing, there was just one caution period for seven laps. That came when Graham Rahal’s car came to stop on the race course on lap 58. IndyCar officials allowed all the cars to pit under green before throwing the yellow flag, to keep from splitting the field as happens so often in past races with the closed pits rule.

Max Chilton was attempting to drive into pit lane but was blocked by Tony Kanaan’s car and got punted into the tire barrier.

Racing resumed on lap 65 with Sato in the lead. He was challenged by 38-year-old Scott Dixon, but went on to win by 2.3874 seconds. Forty-year-old Sebastien Bourdais finished third as Honda swept the top three positions.

With three of the four oldest drivers in the series on the podium, Dixon called it the “All Geriatric Podium.”

Sato isn’t letting age slow him down. Three of his four career IndyCar wins have come since 2017. He has now won one race in each of the last three seasons.

Mario Andretti was 53 years old when he won at Phoenix in 1993 and the Unsers were winners in their late 40s. Sato could be a bit of a throwback in that regard.

“It’s obviously nice to hear and encouraging me that it looks like I have 10 years left to race,” Sato said. “But in current formula, I don’t know.

“Obviously, it’s a very physical sport nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, even Mario, of course, it is. But the cars are very fast and putting 3.5 to the 4G’s and have to have an extensive program for the training. See how I go, see how I survive with age, and mentally I’m still a happy guy to race with, and if it — is it possible? I think that Bobby Rahal (team owner) will give me an opportunity. Let’s see how far we can go.”

Dixon finished second for the sixth time in his career. He has finished third or better in eight of the 10 Honda Indy Grands Prix of Alabama but has never won.

It was Dixon’s 42nd second-place finish of his 19-year career, moving him ahead of Helio Castroneves and alone behind only Mario Andretti’s 56 career runner-up finishes.

“We’ve got to be happy with that,” Dixon said. “It’s always tough competition. We come here to win, but second place (was) great for points. … Hopefully, we can try and get a win here one day.”

The win was the 27th for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in its 27th year as an Indy car team. Co-owners Bobby Rahal, the three-time Indy car champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner, and David Letterman, the iconic late-night talk-show host, were on hand.

“I’m really pleased for Takuma, he drove beautifully,” Rahal said. “The team did a fabulous job, pit stops were great, strategy was great. But I honestly think Takuma was in a league of his own.”

Track officials announced a healthy three-day weekend attendance of 82,889.

About the only time Sato turned a wheel wrong came with five laps to go, when his No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda went wide in turn eight, going airborne briefly as it rattled through the grass. His car undamaged from the off-track excursion, Sato gathered himself and kept Dixon at bay to the checkered flag.

“Outside, (it) probably looked easy winning from the cruising and the pole position, but it wasn’t really cruising,” said Sato, the 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner. “So, I was really pushing hard using push-to-pass on everything the last 10 laps. So, it was tough, and I had a little moment into turn eight.

“Anyway, it was not necessary to give the little bit sort of heart attack to the body.

“It’s probably the cleanest race I ever won. … I think we come here with the hopes, always do, but honestly never really, really expected to be this much of a domination.”

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