| ESPN Network: ESPN | NBA.com | WNBA.com | NHL.com | ABC | Radio | EXPN | Page 2 | INSIDER | Shop | |
|
| | Sunday, April 9 LaJoie ends 14-month drought in Nashville | |||||
| Results
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Randy LaJoie won the NASCAR Busch Series
BellSouth Mobility 320 on Saturday, surviving an early spin and a
late-race wreck involving most of the leaders.
LaJoie, who edged Mike McLaughlin by 1.491 seconds on the 0.596-mile track, is the first Grand National regular to win a race this season. Winston Cup drivers, competing this week in Martinsville, Va., won the first seven races.
"If somebody had to be the first Busch Series driver to win a race this year, it might as well have been me," said LaJoie, the two-time series champion who ended a 38-race winless streak with his 13th career victory.
"It's been a long time since we won one of these things."
Former truck series star Ron Hornaday finished third, followed by fellow Busch rookies Kevin Harvick, Ricky Hendrick and Jay Sauter as Chevrolet swept the top six spots.
Jeff Green and Chad Chaffin, former Nashville Speedway USA Late
Model track champions, combined to lead 185 of the first 244 laps
before they triggered a multicar pileup that ended their hopes of
winning at their home track.
As Green was battling Chaffin for the lead on the 244th lap, the
two got together and sent the front of the field scrambling to
avoid the resulting 17-car pileup in Turn 4. Both Chaffin and Green
were eliminated from contention. Frontrunners Todd Bodine, Jason
Schuler and Adam Petty also were involved.
"I'm really disappointed," said Chaffin, who was leading for
the first time in 28 career Busch starts. "Me and Jeff Green and
have been racing a long time, and that's just the way he races. I
was leading the race, and he just pushed me out of the way."
LaJoie, who dropped to 43rd after the early spin, was eighth
when the melee occurred in front of him.
"I saw smoke on the top and smoke on the bottom, so I went
right in the middle," LaJoie said. "You have a millisecond to
make a decision like that, and I was fortunate. Today was just my
day."
LaJoie, who started 28th, led the final 76 laps and earned
$46,675. He is second in the season standings, three points behind
ninth-place finisher Bodine.
LaJoie had an average speed of 77.007 mph in the race slowed by
11 cautions periods for a total of 66 laps.
Jeff Purvis finished seventh in a Pontiac, followed by the
Chevrolets of David Green, Bodine and rookie Jimmie Johnson.
Casey Atwood, the 19-year-old hometown favorite who started on
the pole, finished 24th.
| AUDIO/VIDEO   Randy LaJoie is happy his team got the breaks on Saturday.wav: 222 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Mike McLaughlin is happy to run a competitive race.wav: 125 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Ron Hornaday is excited about his third-place finish.wav: 89 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6  | |||||
|
