Kenseth first three-time winner

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Jack Roush propped his arm up on his crutches and shifted ever so slightly. If there was any discomfort, driver Matt Kenseth's victory made it all go away.

Kenseth became the first three-time winner of the season, holding off a furious charge from Dale Jarrett to beat him to the line at Michigan International Speedway -- Roush's home track.

Roush, the car owner who survived an April plane crash, is recovering from his injuries at his Michigan home, but was at the track on crutches to watch Kenseth and his other three cars compete in the Sirius Satellite Radio 400.

"When we do really poorly here, and I remember the times we've done poorly as much as the times that we've won, it's a huge embarrassment and I can't wait to come back for the next race" Roush said.

So there was no chance he wasn't coming to Michigan, his third race since suffering a head injury, a shattered left leg and broken ribs when the small plane he was piloting hit power lines and crashed into an Alabama lake.

A former Marine rescued Roush from the water, but doctors had initially given him 20-1 odds against survival.

But like his race teams -- they've now got five wins this season after notching only two last year -- Roush has rapidly rebounded.

"It's just great to give Jack a win here," Kenseth said. "This is home, this is his favorite track and he's been through a lot so far this year. This helps."

Rookie Ryan Newman was third and was followed by Michael Waltrip and Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon, the defending race champion who came back from a lap down earlier in the race.

Johnny Benson was sixth, followed by Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin and Kurt Busch.

Kenseth, who also won in Rockingham, N.C., and Texas this season, had to overcome a late red-flag and battles with Jimmie Johnson and Newman before his last-lap duel with Jarrett.

Kenseth had battled back and forth over the final third of the race for the lead with Johnson, but appeared headed to an easy victory with six laps to go until Elliott Sadler crashed in Turn 2.

NASCAR stopped the race to clean up the debris and ensure a green-flag finish.

"I was hoping caution wouldn't come out," Kenseth said. "We had a 5-second lead, but they made it interesting by throwing the red flag. Red flags are a tough, tough deal, but it makes it interesting for the fans."

That it did, as all the teams plotted strategy before the pits opened following a seven-minute stoppage -- leading to a frantic finish of three- and four-wide racing.

When the pits opened, Kenseth, Johnson and Newman all stayed on the track as the leaders even though their tires were old.

Jarrett, the pole-sitter and last week's winner at Pocono, and another pack of cars went with the opposite strategy by going in for tires. That put them far behind the leaders, but gave them faster cars.

"Had to come in for four tires, it was the key and the only way we were going to make any kind of run at it," Jarrett said.

The race went green with three laps to go and Newman, in third on the restart, got a terrific jump to fool Johnson and send him backward into the pack.

Kroger 300: Todd Bodine's decision to stay and finish a rain-delayed Busch event in Kentucky rather than head for the Winston Cup race in Michigan paid huge dividends.

Bodine took the lead with 10 laps to go and survived a high-contact, side-to-side duel to the line with Greg Biffle to win the $1.2 million Kroger 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Lexington.

The victory was Bodine's 14th career Busch win but first since Las Vegas in March 2001.

"We had a great race car last night and we knew it when the rains came," Bodine said. "The car stayed good from last night to today."

Tony Raines finished third, followed by polesitter Scott Riggs, Scott Wimmer and Jamie McMurray.

G.I. Joe's 200: Cristiano da Matta won his third race of the young CART season, holding off Bruno Junqueira in the G.I. Joe's 200 in Portland, Ore.

Da Matta, who drives for Newman-Haas, has won five of the last eight races dating to last season. All three of his 2002 victories have come on road courses.

Target-Ganassi's Junqueira, who was born in the same Brazilian town as da Matta, finished 0.625 seconds behind the winner, while Kool Green's Dario Franchitti was third, 7.761 seconds back.

Visteon rookie Townsend Bell was a season-best fourth; he would have made the podium, but he thought his crew had finished refueling on the last stop. He took off, stalling the engine and falling from third.

Radisson 225: Gil de Ferran led all but eight laps to post his first Indy Racing League victory in the Radisson 225 in Fountain, Colo., a race that was stopped for 51 minutes by rain and hail.

De Ferran and Penske teammate Helio Castroneves repeated their 1-2 finish in qualifying.

De Ferran, one of only four drivers to win back-to-back CART championships, moved to the IRL circuit this season along with Team Penske and showed he is ready to resume his dominance.

De Ferran finished 1.4 seconds ahead of Castroneves, winner of the last two Indianapolis 500s, and 2.0 seconds ahead of Sam Hornish Jr.

24 Hours of Le Mans: Audi won its third straight title in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France as Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro became the first ever trio to win the event three years running.

The German carmaker also swept the top three places.

The winners started in second place but took the lead after three hours and remained in front until the end.

As he did both of the previous years, Pirro drove the silver-and-red R8 car across the finish line as the checkered flag swung in the air and thousands of fans in the stands cheered and waved national flags.

--From wire reports