Associated Press
The NASCAR notebook …
CLERMONT, Ind. ó
Timothy Peters took the lead late, then pulled away to win the NASCAR Truck race Friday night.
Peters, who made contact with another truck and forced a caution near the midpoint of the race, pushed into second place during the final 20 laps, then passed James Buescher in lap 194 of the final NASCAR trucks race to be held at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Buescher finished second. The 21-year-old has never won a race, but finished in the top 10 for the ninth straight race.
Ron Hornaday, who had won the race the previous two years, finished fifth.
Johnny Sauter, the points leader, finished 23rd but remained at the top of the standings.
Austin Dillon, the polesitter who was coming off a win in Nashville, was ninth.
MONTOYA CONFIDENT
INDIANAPOLIS ó Juan Pablo Montoya said Friday a crew chief change should not hurt his chances to finally win a NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Team owner Chip Ganassi last week replaced crew chief Brian Pattie with Jim Pohlman, who takes over the No. 42 Chevrolet this weekend on an interim basis. The timing seemed strange to many because Montoya has dominated the last two races at the Brickyard, only to have late mistakes cost him the wins.
But Montoya said it doesn’t matter when a change is made.
“Everybody says this isn’t a good place to make a change ó I think it’s as good as any,” Montoya said. “What do you do? Do you go to a track where you run bad to make it OK (to make the change)? What’s the right place to do it? What’s the wrong place to do it?”
Montoya made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in 2009, but was a disappointing 17th in points last season. This year has also been a bust ó Montoya has just six top-10 finishes through 19 races and is 17th in the standings.
DEBUT A NO-GO
INDIANAPOLIS ó Michael Waltrip can live with the risks taken by Travis Pastrana.
He just thought the action sports star was indestructible.
The Maryland native with a shelf full of X Games gold medals, two world-record stunts and a relentless passion to try almost anything, took a nasty spill at the X Games on Thursday night, breaking his right foot and ankle. He was scheduled for surgery on Friday and will have to postpone his highly anticipated Nationwide Series debut that was to take place Saturday night in Clermont, Ind.
“When I think of Travis Pastrana, I think of Superman,” Waltrip said Friday as drivers practiced for this weekend’s Brickyard 400. “I just assumed it would all be OK.”
EDWARDS MUM
INDIANAPOLIS ó Carl Edwards on Friday again refused to discuss his current contract negotiations, and disputed four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s belief that the indecision will become a distraction to Edwards’ title chances.
BAYNE COMMITS
NEWTON, Iowa ó Iowa Speedway officials say Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will run in next week’s NASCAR Nationwide race.
Bayne missed the first of two Nationwide events in Iowa in May because of illness.