Rookie Wins CART Race

Rookie Mario Dominguez won the rain-shortened CART Honda Indy 300 Sunday at Surfers Paradise, Australia, a race which started with a major crash that sent two drivers to the hospital.

Dominguez, involved in the accident, pitted four times once racing started. The event was stopped on the 40th lap because of a two-hour time limit.

Patrick Carpentier was second, followed by Paul Tracy, Kenny Brack and Tony Kanaan.

Adrian Fernandez and Tora Takagi were carried off on stretchers after the starting-line accident.

Fernandez broke two vertebrae. Takagi had a broken pelvis and bruised hip. Both were released from the hospital.

Fernandez will not race in the CART 500 at California Speedway in Fontana on Sunday. Takagi’s status is uncertain.

Series champion Cristiano da Matta was eighth, Andretti ninth, and Vasser 12th.

“I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world,” said Dominguez, who led one lap at Rockingham, England, last month.

“That accident at the beginning was terrible. I couldn’t see a thing.”

Heavy rain and poor visibility forced much of the race to be run under yellow caution flags, including the final 30 laps. Safety crews tried, with little success, to brush water off the track.

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Kurt Busch outran the competition and the weather, earning his second straight NASCAR Winston Cup victory in the rain-shortened NAPA 500 at Hampton, Ga.

After one long rain delay and threatening skies, the race scheduled for 325 laps ended under a yellow flag on lap 248 as the wet weather finally arrived.

Busch, driving a Roush Racing Ford, got his third career victory -- and third of the season -- with the help of some fast work by his crew during the last round of green-flag pit stops.

“We got loose and got to sliding a little bit and that’s what pushed us back,” Busch said in the makeshift Victory Circle inside the empty Busch Series garage.

“We kept digging and made an adjustment at the end. I told [crew chief] Jimmy Fennig, I said, ‘Do this, do that and it’ll be perfect.’ We drove ourselves right to victory lane.”

Joe Nemechek finished second. Tony Stewart finished fourth behind Dale Jarrett and increased his lead in the points race with three races left.

Mark Martin finished eighth and moved past rookie Jimmie Johnson into second place, 146 points behind Stewart, who came into the race leading Johnson by 82.

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Larry Dixon clinched his first top fuel series crown with a second-round win and went on to his record-tying ninth victory this year in the NHRA ACDelco Nationals at Las Vegas.

Dixon’s dragster raced down the quarter-mile in 4.613 seconds at 320.28 mph, ahead of Tony Schumacher’s dragster, which had a run of 4.674 and 314.75.

John Force earned his 105th career funny car victory with a run of 4.820 at 305.22. He beat teammate Tony Pedregon’s run of 4.869 and 301.94.

Jeg Coughlin won his second pro stock title en route to his 31st career win as he finished in 6.969 and 198.55, just ahead of Warren Johnson’s run of 6.929 at 199.23.

Angelle Savoie won her third straight pro stock bike series title and earned the 28th victory of her career with a run of 7.247 at 183.99.

Matt Hines was second at 7.218 and 190.65.