Autoweek Racing Weekend Wrap-up for July 22, 2012 — SPOILER ALERT

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTO SHOWS   |   VIDEOS   |   COLLECTOR   |   SUBSCRIBE Sunday, July 22, 2012                  After three runner-up finishes at Edmonton since 2008, Helio Castroneves finally brought home the trophy.... Castroneves finally breaks through for IndyCar win in Edmonton Finally, a victory at City Centre Airport for Helio Castroneves. After finishing second in this city three times since 2008 and being stripped of a win in 2010 for blocking, the Team Penske driver won for the first time in Edmonton. On a different layout than that memorable race, Castroneves held off Takuma Sato over the final fuel segment for his 27th career victory. In 2010,...   Alonso first driver to 3 wins in Formula One with triumph at Hockenheim Fernando Alonso extended his series points lead by scoring his third win of 2012 in an exciting German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Alonso led from the start but was pushed hard in the closing stages by Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel....   Sadler holds off Stenhouse Jr. for Nationwide win at Chicagoland Elliott Sadler went from sick to stupendous, rallying late to capture Sunday's STP 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. Sadler, who also won the $100,000 Nationwide Dash 4 Cash bonus for the victory, had battled a flu bug for the previous three days, at one point...   Allen Johnson's fourth win at Brandimere highlights NHRA finals Pro Stock racer Allen Johnson continued his mastery of Bandimere Speedway on Sunday as he raced to his fourth Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals win at the scenic track near Denver. Colo. Antron Brown won in Top Fuel and Jack Beckman was the winner in the Funny Car ranks. Johnson driving...   Short-Track Roundup: Jason Meyers returning; Conley, Kenseth come up winners Two-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Jason Meyers plans to return to competition, competing in both the Knoxville 360 Nationals Aug. 2-4 and the 52nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Aug. 8-11. Meyers will drive the No. 21 owned by Tom Tarlton. Meyers won the WoO...   Muscle Milk once again too strong for ALMS field at Mosport Muscle Milk Pickett Racing continued its dominance at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, winning for the third straight year at the track on Sunday in the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series. Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr brought home the win in the No. 6 Honda Performance Development ARX-03a by...   Early tire puncture dooms Hamilton in Germany Lewis Hamilton's Formula One German Grand Prix was ruined by a puncture he picked up after driving through debris left by a first-lap accident. Hamilton had to drive a full lap back to the pits with a rear puncture, and dropped well down the order. Despite aero damage, he showed some good speed,...   Podium finishers hold press conference following F1 German Grand Prix German Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso, runner-up Sebastian Vettel and third-place finisher Jenson Button met the media at Hockenheim, Germany, following the German GP on Sunday. Following the press conference Vettel was penalized 20 seconds and moved from second to fifth in the final standings....   CEO Bernard says IndyCar Series has world's best drivers IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard believes the series has shown this season it has some of the best drivers in the world, and an American winning the championship would be an added bonus. "I think that it's very important that IndyCar has the...   Alonso cautious despite 34-point lead at halfway point of F1 season Fernando Alonso's German Grand Prix win has allowed the Spaniard to extend his championship lead over Mark Webber to 34 points. However, Alonso remains cautious about...   Penalty drops Vettel from second to fifth at German GP Sebastian Vettel has dropped from second to fifth place in the German Grand Prix results after receiving a 20-second penalty on Sunday at Hockenheim. Vettel was deemed to have left the track and gained an advantage while passing Jenson Button for second place in the closing stages, and was given ...   Eurosport, Red Bull in running to promote WRC in 2013 After months of speculation, there are signs the deal to promote the World Rally Championship could be getting close to being signed –- with three significant parties in the running. The three are: Eurosport, Red Bull and a South African...   Panel sides with Red Bull in F1 engine mapping charge The FIA stewards have decided not to take any action against Red Bull Racing over its engine mapping. FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer had noted an engine map irregularity...   Impatient Pastrana learning patience on Nationwide circuit Patience was never a virtue when Travis Pastrana raced motorcycles. He simply kick-started his bike, took off and held on for the ride of his life. But Pastrana is learning that racing on four wheels is a bit more methodical -- and certainly requires more patience -- than two-wheel racing....   Allen Johnson's record run highlights NHRA qualifying Allen Johnson raced to a Pro Stock track-record run in the final qualifying session to take his seventh No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at scenic Bandimere Speedway. Spencer Massey and Jack Beckman held on to the top spot in Top Fuel and ...   Buescher takes lead on final lap to win Truck Series race When James Buescher was forced to pit to change carburetors during the course of Saturday night's American Ethanol 225, any chance of winning appeared lost, especially when he got back on track two laps down. Buescher not only made up those two laps, he needed just one lap -- the final one --...   Dirt-track star Kevin Swindell goes wire to wire for first ARCA win Kevin Swindell may have won the Ansell ActivArmr 150 over five hours before it started. Swindell, 23, earned the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell when Venturini Motorsports teammate Brennan Poole's would-be pole lap in the morning was disallowed for an inspection infraction. The...   Injured F1 test driver de Villota returns to Spain Driver Maria de Villota has recovered sufficiently from her freak Formula One testing crash to be allowed to leave hospital in the U.K. and returned to her native Spain. The fact that she was able to travel is an indication that she is making good progress after the accident, which took place 18 ...   Video shows Hunter-Reay giving salute to IndyCar rival Jakes before pushing him off course IndyCar points leader Ryan Hunter-Reay denied giving James Jakes the middle finger Friday in a turn 12 incident, but the Andretti Autosport driver admitted to driving Jakes off the track in frustration. Hunter-Reay drove Jakes to the grass after Jakes held him up in the morning practice...   European Le Mans Series to end season at Road Atlanta The European Le Mans Series will cross the Atlantic and close out its season with the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta in October, rather than complete its own schedule. The U.S. event on Oct. 20,...   Nürburgring, Ecclestone reach agreement to continue F1 race at financially troubled track The historic, publicly owned Nürburgring is in the process of filing for insolvency but says it has provisionally agreed a radical new contract with Bernie Ecclestone that would allow it to continue alternating the Formula One...   Distracted Schumacher crashes in F1 practice before home crowd Michael Schumacher marked the 20th anniversary of his first Formula One German Grand Prix with a heavy crash at Hockenheim on Friday. In the closing minutes of the session, CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the Autoweek Weekend Racing E-mails or to sign up for other Autoweek e-mail products. IMPORTANT: Please add Autoweek.com to your E-mail Address Book to ensure you will continue to receive our newsletters. Please DO NOT reply to this e-mail. You will not receive a reply if you use this e-mail address. Crain Communications, 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207.