Jason Leffler won the first NASCAR Busch Series race of his career early Sunday morning in a wild ending to the Federated Auto Parts 300 following a nearly three-hour rain delay.
Leffler won under caution at Nashville Superspeedway, caused when Kyle Busch ran out of gas with four laps to go. He had led 60 laps and looked ready to run away with his third victory of the year, but wound up spinning into the infield grass.
That allowed Leffler to inherit the lead, and he was able to nurse his Chevrolet through the final laps under caution for his first victory in his 56th start.
Crew chief Bootie Barker advised Leffler to save his gas because Busch wouldn't be able to make it to the end.
"I thought Bootie was crazy," Leffler said. "It's not the way I wanted to win, but I knew I couldn't catch the five [Busch]."
Busch wound up 17th, failing to finish in the top 10 for the first time in 11 races and lost the points to Martin Truex Jr.
Polesitter Truex finished second in his Chevy and leads Busch by 45 points. Third was Clint Bowyer, followed by Mike Bliss and Ron Hornaday, giving Chevy a top-five sweep.
"It was just my fault. I ran out of gas," Busch said. "It was just a matter of time until Jason Leffler got to Victory Lane."
Truex led 39 laps, but struggled after the heavy rain washed the track clean and left his car loose. That left him very happy with his finish.
"It's funny. We've been joking the last two weeks between me and Kyle that if you don't win the race, you can't leave with the points lead ... Tough break for him," Truex said.
Leffler, a three-time USAC midget champ, hadn't finished better than fourth this year. He wound up leading 61 laps, including the final laps for the victory.
"I've won a lot of dirt races slowing down. When the track gets slick, sometimes you have to slow down to go faster. I've never had a crew chief tell you, `You're going too fast. Slow down.' I'm just glad it all worked out," Leffler said.
It was a fitting end to a race that waited out a 2-hour, 48-minute rain delay at the 2.14km concrete oval.
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that