Hornish Jr. captures first NASCAR victory

Sam Hornish Jr. raced to his first NASCAR victory and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took a step toward the Nationwide Series season title when Elliott Sadler was taken out late at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday.

Hornish, a former IndyCar star, passed Stenhouse on a restart midway through the 200-mile race and stayed up front on several restarts to claim his first win in 141 career starts in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.

Hornish is one of the most accomplished American open-wheel drivers in history, winning three IndyCar Series championships and the 2006 Indianapolis 500. He switched to NASCAR full time in 2008.

Stenhouse finished fifth after Sadler, the only driver with a chance to catch him, was knocked out with 25 laps left on a bump from behind by Jason Leffler. Sadler's crash gives Stenhouse a 41-point lead heading into the season finale next weekend at Homestead.

Brad Keselowski was second; Carl Edwards third.

Vettel takes Abu Dhabi pole — Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel tied Nigel Mansell's season record of 14 poles, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the final lap of qualifying. Vettel's 29th career pole also tied him for sixth all-time with the great Juan Manuel Fangio. The driver clocked 1 minute, 38.481 seconds at the Yas Marina circuit, 0.14 seconds quicker than McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button will start third Sunday alongside Vettel's teammate Mark Webber on the second row. Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will start on the third row in fifth and sixth.

The two-time Formula One champion Vettel needs two wins to match Michael Schumacher's record of 13 wins in a season.

Worsham takes lead — Del Worsham raced to the No. 1 qualifying position in Top Fuel as rain shortened qualifying at the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif.

Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were qualifying leaders at the season-ending race.

Associated Press and staff reports