Mark Martin wins Sam's Town 300
Veteran NASCAR driver Mark Martin raced to the 48th Nationwide Series victory of his career March 1 at the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Before celebrating his victory, however, Martin first apologized to former teammate Carl Edwards and current teammate Brad Keselowski.
Martin, who races for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports, was catching up to Edwards and Keselowski in the final laps of the race when he tapped Edwards’ bumper. That caused Edwards’ car to slide into Keselowski’s car, sending both spinning into a wall.
The wreck led to a record 13th caution of the race and sent the event
into overtime. It also meant Keselowski lost a chance to win his first
NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
“I’ve got to apologize before we do anything else,” Martin said as soon
as he climbed from his car. “I ran into the back of Carl. I hate it. I
just hate it, really, because we could have a one-two finish with JR
Motorsports. I hate that it happened, but I sure didn’t intend for it to
happen.”
Edwards, the two-time champion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, accepted the apology.
“I’d like to be mad at Mark, but he’s a heck of a guy, and I’m sure he just made a mistake,” said Edwards, who the next day won the UAW Dodge-400, his second consecutive win in the Sprint Cup Series.
However, Edwards’ winning Ford Fusion failed a post-race inspection. NASCAR found the lid off on the car’s oil cooler, possibly giving Edwards a speed advantage. NASCAR sent the car for additional testing at its research facility in North Carolina.
After the final restart, Martin edged Greg Biffle by .586 seconds at the finish line. Clint Bowyer ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick and David Stremme.
For the third consecutive week, Tony Stewart dominated the race, but unlike the previous two Nationwide races -- at Daytona and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., -- Stewart didn't take home a win in Las Vegas. On Lap 138, his car jumped to the right after contact with David Reutimann's Toyota, and the two Camrys spun into the Turn 3 wall.
ESPN2 will broadcast the next NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the Nicorette 300, at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m. ET.
