This weekend on the tracks

TRUCKS

NEWTON, Iowa

Ryan Blaney became the youngest winner in NASCAR Trucks history Saturday night at 18 years, 8 months, taking the caution-filled race at Iowa Speedway in his third series start. Blaney, the son of Sprint Cup driver and Hartford native Dave Blaney, broke the age record of 20 years, 18 days set by Kyle Busch in 2005 at Charlotte. “This is pretty unbelievable,” Blaney said. “Hopefully we can get a few more here.” Blaney held off Ty Dillon by less than a car-length after a restart with three laps to go on the 0.875-mile track. He’s the seventh first-time winner this season. He said he had trouble with restarts throughout the race but was able to figure it out at the end. “Whatever I did, starting fast or starting slow, I could just not keep the tires from spinning,” Blaney said. “I was able to at least hold my own into one and that was really all we needed to do.” His father was there to see the whole thing. “He did it all right,” Dave Blaney said. “(Crew chief leader) Doug (Randolph) made a really good call on tires there midway through the race that ended up being the perfect call and got him in position. And (Ryan) brought it home.” Todd Bodine was third in the 200-lap race slowed by nine caution periods that took up 54 laps. The 48-year-old Bodine said he was happy for the young Blaney, calling him a “good, shy kid.” Bodine said experience didn’t make much difference at the end of the race. “At that point, it’s going to be who’s got the better truck and the better tires and the bettter position,” he said. “It’s fun to see. Obviously, we would have liked to win, but it’s fun to see these kids coming up and doing so well.” Blaney made his Nationwide Series debut at the track this year, finishing 10th.

INDY CAR

FONTANA, Calif.

Ryan Hunter-Reay put the American flag back atop the IndyCar podium by snatching the championship away from Will Power in the season finale. Power, denied for a third consecutive year, was in street clothes watching Saturday night’s finish on television after crashing out early at Auto Club Speedway. His exit from the race meant Hunter-Reay, who trailed Power by 17 points at the start, had to finish fifth or better to claim his first title in a major series. Hunter-Reay wound up fourth — becoming the first American since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 to win the title — but it certainly wasn’t easy.

Associated Press