POMONA, Calif. – The Auto Club NHRA Finals, the last race of the 24-event NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, is all about tradition.

And drama.

And excitement.

Each November, the world’s best drag racers gather at the historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona to put the finishing touches on a season that began in the same location in drag racing crazy Southern California nine months earlier.

NHRA Media PhotoWilkerson, Line and Hines also earn victories at Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. – Antron Brown became the seventh driver in NHRA history to sweep the Western Swing by racing to victory Sunday at the FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

Tim Wilkerson, Jason Line and Andrew Hines also were winners in their categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event.

Brown, who won at Denver and Seattle the last two weeks, powered his Matco Tools dragster to the win over Cory McClenathan in the final round. Brown posted a 3.990 second run at 299.06 mph to finish in front of McClenathan, who clocked a 4.002 at 290.82 in his FRAM Tough Guard dragster. It was Brown’s fifth win of the season and he increased his series lead to 199 points over Tony Schumacher.

“This doesn’t feel real especially after we had so much turmoil in the off-season,” said Brown, who joined Joe Amato (1991), John Force (1994), McClenathan (1997), Larry Dixon (2003), Greg Anderson (2004) and Schumacher (2008) on the short list of those who have won the trio of races in consecutive weeks.

Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway on in Sonoma, Calif. (Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

SONOMA, Calif.—How strange was it for Kasey Kahne to win a road-course race?

The driver of the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge had to ask his crew chief for directions to victory lane after taking the checkered flag in a green-white-checkered finish in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Kahne held off road-course ace Tony Stewart through a succession of four late-race double-file restarts, the final time after Scott Speed’s spin on Lap 108 caused the seventh caution of the day. After starting from the rear because of an engine change, Marcos Ambrose chased the top two finishers to the line to claim third place, matching the best result of his Sprint Cup Series career.

AZTEC, N. M. (April 24-25) – Two-time defending series champion Ricky Alvarado was a double winner as the EQ Cylinder Heads Wild West Northern Tour opened with a record car count at Aztec Speedway.

Alvarado took over before midway of Friday’s feature for IMCA Modifieds. He was much more dominating after starting the Saturday show from outside the front row, leading from flag to flag to complete the weekend sweep and collect his 19th career win on the circuit.

Sixty-six Modifieds were entered on opening night, the most in the tour’s 34-race history. Both features at Aztec paid $1,000 to win and doubled as qualifying events for the Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot.

Second starting Zane DeVilbiss led the first 12 circuits before giving way to Alvarado on Friday. Nick Nelson was second, with Aaron Spangler, Justen Yeager and Kevin Brown rounding out the top five.

Spangler and Yeager both made the main event from “B” features and moved up 13 and 10 spots, respectively. Making the most impressive run was last-starting Troy McElroy, who worked his way up to sixth at the finish.

Mark Martin led the first 55 laps of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 before giving up the lead to Kurt Busch. (Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Not bad, old man.

The 36th victory of Mark Martin's career was perhaps his most fulfilling.

The 50-year-old polesitter streaked away from Tony Stewart after a restart with six laps remaining to win Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Track conditions changed drastically as the sun set and the final portion of the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway was run under the lights. (Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR)Martin became the oldest driver to win in the series since Morgan Shepherd won at age 51 on March 20, 1993 at Atlanta. Martin's victory was his first since Oct. 9, 2005 at Kansas Speedway and his first since joining Hendrick Motorsports to start the 2009 season.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2009) – If you didn’t know, it would be easy to overlook Tucson Raceway Park as just another weekly short track. But those who follow the West Coast racing scene know just how significant this three-eighth mile paved oval is to the entire motorsports community.

Managed by a subsidiary of the International Speedway Corporation for many years, Tucson Raceway Park is where Greg Biffle was discovered by Benny Parsons during the ESPN televised “Winter Heat” series back in the 1990s. Parsons mentioned to Jack Roush that he should take a look at Biffle, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Tucson Raceway Park is also one of the racetracks where Ron Hornaday battled a young Kevin Harvick in both the former Winston West and Craftsman Truck Series. Both drivers have gone on to much fame and many victory lanes since racing at the desert facility.

by Lonnie Wheatley
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Johnny Herrera tacked on another American Sprint Car Series feature win by racing to victory lane in Saturday night's season-opening ASCS Southwest Region 25-lap main event at USA Raceway.

The triumph marked the Albuquerque hotshoe's 15th consecutive win in as many ASCS Regional starts dating back to 2005 and his third career Southwest Region victory. Herrera reeled off nine ASCS wins in as many Regional tries last year.

Herrera started the familiar family-owned No. 45x inside the third row of Saturday night's main event and spent the early portion of the race chasing front row starters John Carney II and Charles Davis, Jr.

Herrera surged into the lead at the midway point and led the rest of the way to post the win with El Paso shoe Carney taking runner-up honors. Defending series champion Rick Ziehl claimed the show position, with reigning ASCS Rocky Mountain Region champion Derrik Ortega snaring fourth.

By Dave Grayson
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. -- The Havasu 95 Speedway will be treating their fans to some hot ASA sanctioned racing this Saturday, February 21st, and at the same time will be celebrating Dairy Days. The most scenic quarter mile paved oval in the southwest, located in beautiful Lake Havasu City-Arizona, will treat their fans to action from the Colorado River Late Model Series, the ASA Street Stocks, Bandoleros and the Powder Puff Factory Stocks.

Kevin James, star of the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop, drives the official pace Segway of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown prior to the Camping World race. (Photo Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images)Earns Second Toyota All-Star Showdown title

By Jason Christley, NASCAR
IRWINDALE, Calif. - Matt Kobyluck is no stranger to wild finishes at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. Saturday night at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, he once again got the best of a three-car, last-lap free-for-all to end up in Victory Lane.

In the process, the Uncasville, Conn., driver became the first to win two NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdowns.

Joey Logano slid up into Peyton Sellers while going for the lead in Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag. Kobyluck, who was running third, came across the start-finish line a nose behind Logano. Logano was penalized for his move, though, giving Kobyluck a second NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown to go with the one he won in 2006.

“I saw it coming,” Kobyluck said. “So I laid up a little, got on the brakes and cut to the bottom so that I could miss it all.