Tony Stewart leads halfway through NASCAR race in Phoenix

The battle for NASCAR's Sprint Cup title went off as advertised Sunday.

Tony Stewart, who started the day trailing Carl Edwards by only three points in the championship standings, was leading at the halfway point of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

But Edwards kept up the pressure, running a close third behind Stewart and second-place Matt Kenseth, who was the race pole-sitter.

Stewart was aggressive from the moment the green flag waved, charging from his eighth-place starting spot to the lead in less than 40 laps of the 312-lap race on the one-mile Phoenix oval.

Brad Keselowski was fourth and A.J. Allmendinger fifth. Kyle Busch, who started near the back of the 43-car field, had climbed to 13th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 23rd.

Overall, though, passing proved difficult for the drivers and much of the racing was single file on the newly repaved Phoenix International layout.

This is the next-to-last race in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup title playoff; the finale is next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

--Jim Peltz in Avondale, Ariz.

Photo: The field takes the green flag Sunday at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. Credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, wife OK after plane crash

A Gulfstream jet carrying Rick Hendrick, one of NASCAR's most successful team owners, his wife Linda and two pilots ran off a runway in Key West, Fla., on Monday night but "there were no serious injuries," Hendrick Motorsports said.

The G150 jet was "experiencing brake issues upon landing at Key West International Airport," the team said, adding that all four people aboard "were taken to a local hospital for evaluation."

"Hendrick Motorsports is gathering additional information on the incident," the team said.

Four of the leading drivers in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series drive for Hendrick: Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.

The incident occurred seven years after Hendrick's 24-year-old son, Ricky, Hendrick's brother John and two of Hendrick's nieces, along with six others, were killed when their small plane crashed on the way a race in Martinsville, Va.

-- Jim Peltz

Photo: The Gulfstream aircraft carrying Rick Hendrick and his wife after it ran off the runway Monday night in Key West, Fla. Credit: Evan Calhoun / Monroe County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office / Associated Press

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, wife escape serious injury in plane crash

A Gulfstream jet carrying Rick Hendrick, one of NASCAR's most successful team owners, his wife Linda and two pilots ran off a runway in Key West, Fla., on Monday night but "there were no serious injuries," Hendrick Motorsports said.

The G150 airplane was "experiencing brake issues upon landing at Key West International Airport," the team said, adding that all four people "were taken to a local hospital for evaluation."

"Hendrick Motorsports is gathering additional information on the incident," the team said.

Four of the leading drivers in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series drive for Hendrick: Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin.

The incident occurred seven years after Hendrick's 24-year-old son, Ricky, Hendrick's brother John and two of Hendrick's nieces, along with six others, were killed when their small plane crashed on the way a race in Martinsville, Va.

--Jim Peltz

Photo: The Gulfstream aircraft carrying Rick Hendrick and his wife after it ran off the runway Monday night in Key West, Fla. Credit: Evan Calhoun/Monroe County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office/Associated Press

Jeff Gordon leads NASCAR Brickyard 400 at halfway point

It was all Hendrick Motorsports leading the Brickyard 400 at the halfway point Sunday as Jeff Gordon led teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Gordon, seeing a record fifth Brickyard 400 victory, held a 1.2-second lead over Johnson, the five-time Sprint Cup Series champion who also is a three-time winner of the Brickyard 400.

Kasey Kahne, who led nearly 40 laps early in the race, was running fourth and Matt Kenseth fifth.

Earnhardt also led several laps earlier in the 160-lap race moments after it appeared he had suffered a big setback.

He was forced to pit his No. 88 Chevrolet because it was overheating, which dropped the fan favorite to 29th. But the caution flag came out a few laps later and, when most of the 43-car field made pit stops, Earnhardt stayed on the track to gain back positions.

When the race restarted, Earnhardt -- who has gone 112 races with a victory -- took the lead and the crowd erupted on the front straightaway.

--Jim Peltz in Indianapolis

Photo: Kasey Kahne leads the field early in the Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Credit: John Harrelson  /Getty Images

Paul Menard wins Brickyard 400 for first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win

Paul Menard joined a list of drivers capturing their first victory in NASCAR's premier Sprint Cup Series this season by winning the Brickyard 400 on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Menard, a 30-year-old Wisconsin native who drives for the team of Richard Childress Racing, passed defending Brickyard 400 winner Jamie McMurray with five laps left in the 160-lap race and then held off Jeff Gordon for the victory.

Menard's win came in his 167th career Cup start, and it was especially sweet because his family, which owns the Mendards home-improvement chain, has raced for years in the Indianapolis 500 open-wheel race.

"I can't believe I won at Indy," Menard said in a television interview after climbing out of his yellow No. 27 Chevrolet. "[There's] a lot of emotion right now."

Gordon, the only four-time winner of the Brickyard 400, finished second in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Regan Smith, who won his first Cup race this year at Darlington, S.C., was third and McMurray ended up fourth in a race where many of the leaders were forced to conserve fuel in the closing stages to reach the checkered flag.

Matt Kenseth was fifth and two-time Brickyard 400 winner Tony Stewart finished sixth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 16th, pole-sitter David Ragan was 23rd and Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Cup champion and three-time Brickyard 400 winner, finished 19th.

--Jim Peltz, reporting from Indianapolis

Photo: Paul Menard does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Brickyard 400 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Credit: Jerry Markland / Getty Images