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Stenhouse wins 3rd straight at Iowa

Sports

May 21st, 2012 by Ric Hanson

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Ricky Stenhouse Junior led for 209 of 250 laps and won the NASCAR Nationwide race at the Iowa Speedway on Sunday, his third straight win on Iowa’s short oval. Stenhouse, who won both races in Iowa in 2011, picked up his third victory of the season and extended his lead in the points chase to 28 over Elliott Sadler, who was second. Michael McDowell was third, followed by rookie Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch. The Sprint Cup event in Charlotte on Saturday kept all Cup regulars except for Busch out of the field. Busch briefly took the lead after starting in the back and saved a top-five finish after being bumped by McDowell on the last lap. Danica Patrick failed to finish for just the second time this season. Travis Pastrana’s third career Nationwide race ended roughly 50 laps from the finish because of an electrical issue.