Stenhouse captures Nationwide race

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Defending Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the final 54 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday for his first victory of the season.

Stenhouse had a strong car all day and dominated the end of the 200-mile race, pulling away from Mark Martin on a pair restarts on the 1.5-mile tri-oval in the desert.

Martin, who had won four of his previous six Nationwide starts at Las Vegas, finished second in his first Nationwide race for Joe Gibbs Racing. Polesitter Elliott Sadler rallied to finish third after a lengthy mid-race pit stop to fix a vibration.

Danica Patrick was 12th in the first race at LVMS since IndyCar star Dan Wheldon was killed in a fiery crash last fall.

Stenhouse was the top Nationwide rookie in 2010 and earned the season championship last year after winning two races and posting 26 top-10 finishes. He opened this season by finishing 19th at Daytona after being caught up in a late wreck and entered Saturday’s race fifth in points after taking third at Phoenix last week.

Stenhouse started sixth at Las Vegas and stayed near the front, taking the lead with 54 laps left. He pulled away from Martin out of two cautions down the stretch and had a big cushion when he crossed the checkers.

The 53-year-old Martin was solid in the middle of the race, leading 44 laps and stayed near the front, but didn’t have enough to keep up with Stenhouse.