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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Busch twice appeared destined to destroy his race car, and twice used breathtaking saves to keep on running around Daytona International Speedway.

He probably shouldn’t have been in position to race with the leaders. Yet there he was, bearing down on the finish line with a shot at winning Saturday night’s exhibition Budweiser Shootout, and with a slingshot pass on the outside of defending NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, Busch pulled off a miraculous win in the first event of 2012.

Not too shabby of a start to the season.

NASCAR has every right to be giddy about Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500, a pivotal race in sparking interest at the start of a very long season. A rain-shortened event in 2009 set the tone for a rocky year, and two lengthy delays to fix a pesky pothole in the track surface impacted the 2010 season.

Then came Trevor Bayne’s upset victory last year, and NASCAR never looked back. The 2011 season ranked among the best in years, and ended with a phenomenal race between Stewart and Carl Edwards for the Sprint Cup championship. The two ended the season tied in the standings, with the title going to Stewart on a tiebreaker.

All that momentum meant NASCAR could tweak very little during the offseason. Why mess with a good thing, right?

Well, not everything was sunshine and roses.

NASCAR officials said earlier this month that more than 80 percent of fans polled “hated” the two-car tandem style of racing that had taken over at Daytona and Talladega. Such a strong opinion forced NASCAR to spend a significant chunk of the offseason tinkering with the rules package in an effort to recreate pack racing before the Feb. 26 opener.

The Shootout proved NASCAR made the right moves, and the drivers seemed overwhelmingly in favor of the racing.

“It’s pretty wild and crazy, but, I mean, I like this better than what we had last year, definitely,” said four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who rolled his car several times and wound up on his roof for what he said was the first time in his NASCAR career.

Gordon’s night ended seconds after he nudged Busch, triggering a chain-reaction crash that also led to Busch’s second save of the race. It was one of three multicar crashes — the wrecks collected 23 total cars, set up a green-white-checkered overtime finish and resulted in the closest finish in race history. Busch’s margin of victory was a mere 0.013 seconds, and his driving awed his competitors.

“I was right behind him … and he had to catch it three times before he saved it,” Stewart said. “When you get 3,400 pounds moving like that, to catch it one time was pretty big. To get away from him and catch it a second time was big. The third time was big. That’s three big moments in one corner. He just never quit driving it.

“There’s a lot of guys that wouldn’t have caught that. I’m sitting there and the green is still out. I’m going, ‘Man, that’s the coolest save I’ve seen in a long time.’”

It was a redemption of sorts for Busch, who had to fight hard to keep his sponsors intact at the end of last season. Suspended by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in a Truck Series race at Texas, primary sponsor M&M’s told Joe Gibbs Racing it didn’t want Busch in its car the final two races of the year.

His career was at a crossroads, and Busch worked hard during the offseason to repair his reputation. He referenced M&M’s, which was back on his car for the first time since the company pulled itself off the No. 18 Toyota for the final two races of last season, during his Victory Lane celebration.

“First race back in the M&M’s car, and we’re back in Victory Lane. Pretty cool,” Busch said.

There are other feel-good stories heading into NASCAR’s biggest race of the year.

— Danica Patrick will make her Daytona 500 debut, and the series is thrilled she’s made the full-time move to NASCAR.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver, had his best season in five years in 2011 and is excited about his chances in the Daytona 500.

“I like this kind of racing better. At least I know what to expect,” Earnhardt said. “I feel like I have a better chance with this style than I did last year for damn sure.”

— Edwards bounced back from his loss to Stewart in the title race by winning the pole for the Daytona 500.

— There’s already some controversy, as the car for five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson failed inspection before it ever got on the track. Crew chief Chad Knaus will likely be penalized after the Daytona 500.

It’s all setting the stage for Sunday, which is shaping up to be a strong opener for NASCAR. The race probably won’t be 500 miles of three-wide racing, but if it’s anything close to the Shootout, it’s bound to be entertaining.

Jenna Fryer covers auto racing for The Associated Press.

Suspended NASCAR driver Mayfield indicted

CATAWBA, N.C. (AP) — Suspended NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield has been indicted by a grand jury in North Carolina on charges of possession of stolen goods stemming from a Nov. 1 search of his property.

Mayfield calls the charges in Catawba County “baseless,” saying the goods were his property and adding that he has been cooperating with investigators.

Mayfield is charged with three felony counts of possession of stolen goods from Fitz Motorsports, Red Bull Racing and office equipment from DEA Ventures. Law enforcement officials seized more than $100,000 worth of goods that had been reported stolen. They also found 1.5 grams of methamphetamine, and Mayfield was indicted on a felony drug possession charge in November.

Mayfield believes Catawba County authorities have been coordinating with NASCAR officials about the investigation.

IndyCar

Teams still learning safer, faster cars

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) — Dario Franchitti and the rest of the IndyCar drivers and teams are still in the homework phase a month from the season opener, getting a handle on new cars that are deemed safer and swifter.

“Right now, it’s not so much an itch to get racing, it’s an itch to figure out, OK, how are we going to make this car work?” Franchitti, the three-time defending points champion, said Monday on a break from testing at Barber Motorsports Park. “All the teams and all the drivers and engine manufacturers are still in that stage of not really fully understanding everything we need to.

“We understood the old cars so well and we’re learning things in leaps and bounds here. When the first race comes it’ll be pretty typical racing but at the same time there’s going to be lots of unknown things.”

That first race will be at St. Petersburg on March 25, marking IndyCar’s return to racing after last season ended with Dan Wheldon’s death in the finale at Las Vegas.

The new cars have more horsepower and more grip, along with new safety features to protect against side impacts and three inches of extra foam around the driver’s seat and one inch of foam underneath to reduce injuries.

“I think it’s definitely safer,” driver Scott Dixon said. “It’s evolved a lot from the old car that we had. Technology that was six or eight years old is a big difference. It’s a lot safer in some areas.

“Whether you can eliminate freak kind of crashes … With Dan’s, I don’t think any kind of car could have stopped what happened there.”

In the meantime, Dixon said every test brings “page-long lists” of things to work on leading up to St. Petersburg.

The cars aren’t the only things that have been altered with safety matters at the forefront.

IndyCar has also said double-file restarts won’t be used at Indianapolis, Texas or Fontana in another change designed to make the sport safer.

“It’s just safety to me,” driver Will Power said. “At Indianapolis, it was just insanity the speed we were doing with the double-file restart on that front straight.

“That’s a good compromise to me.”

The series will also experiment with three 30-lap qualification heats at Iowa, which both Dixon and Power think will be “pretty cool.”

“It’s a sport that’s very competitive but it’s also a show, and it’s got to be interesting for people to watch,” Dixon said. “We’re going to do our best to put on a great show. I think the heat race idea sounds pretty cool. It’s nothing that we’ve ever done before. I remember doing it in Go-Karts when I was like 8 years old. I think it’ll be fun, and definitely be a huge show (pre-race) Friday for the people in Iowa.”

The predominant issue leading up to the season has been safety, though, in a high-speed sport regrouping from tragedy.

“I hope it will be (safer),” Franchitti said. “Racing is naturally a dangerous sport; we try to make it as safe as possible. Hopefully we’re making progress with that.”

– John Zenor

Formula One

Caterham F1 team brings in Russian sponsor

HINGHAM, England (AP) — The Caterham Formula One team has followed its signing of Russian driver Vitaly Petrov for next season by bringing in Russian petrochemical company Sibur as a sponsor.

Caterham team principal Tony Fernandes announced an agreement with Eastern Europe’s largest petrochemical company just three days after bringing in the 27-year-old Petrov to replace Jarno Trulli.

Fernandes says “F1 is a truly global sport and Sibur’s investment in our sport is proof of the value F1 can bring.”

The first Russian to drive in F1, Petrov was released by Renault after finishing 10th in the world championship standings in his second season in the sport.

Caterham was formerly known as Team Lotus.

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AP – The pack is back. And so is the Big One.

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AP – Thad Matta knows his team can shoot. That’s why the coach was stunned by Ohio State’s performance Saturday night.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a left ankle injury and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Atlanta Hawks 97-77 on Saturday night to snap a four-game home losing streak.

Nicolas Batum had 22 points, including a decisive dunk in the fourth quarter that made it 82-63. The Trail Blazers avoided losing five straight at home since the 2005-06 season. They also ended a six-game losing streak to the Hawks.

Joe Johnson had 19 points for Atlanta, and Josh Smith added 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawks have lost six of their last nine games.

Aldridge, Portland’s top scorer who will play in his first All-Star game next weekend, sprained his left ankle Tuesday night in a loss at home to Washington. He started and had eight points and three assists in the first 10 minutes.

The Blazers were motivated from the start and took a 24-17 lead on Batum’s put-back layup. Gerald Wallace extended the lead to 12 at 31-19 with a 3-pointer.

Raymond Felton capped the first half with a running jumper that made it 52-37 at the break. Atlanta made just three field goals in the second quarter to help out Portland.

The Blazers pushed the lead to 19 points midway through the third quarter when Felton hit a 3-pointer to make it 61-42.

Blazers coach Nate McMillan has shuffled the starting lineup of late, as the team dealt with Aldridge’s injury and losses in five of its previous seven games.

Batum has started the last four games and has been in double figures in all of them. His 3-pointer as the game drew to a close made it 92-72.

Portland was coming off a dismaying 74-71 loss at the Rose Garden to the Los Angeles Clippers, during which the Blazers blew an 18-point third-quarter lead.

Felton, who went scoreless against the Clippers, had 14 points and eight assists against the Hawks.

Johnson was wearing a soft brace on his left knee because of tendinitis, but it didn’t appear to cause him too much trouble. Coach Larry Drew said Johnson tried to rest it over the past few days while the Hawks had a break in the schedule.

Notes: Atlanta C Erick Dampier’s 10-day contract was up following the game. Drew said a decision hadn’t been immediately made about re-signing him. The Hawks signed Dampier to help shore up the position in the absence of Jason Collins, who is out with a sprained left elbow. … Jamal Crawford spent the last two seasons in Atlanta before joining the Blazers as a free agent this season. He did not score Saturday night against his former team, playing for just 13 minutes.

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AP – LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a left ankle injury and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Atlanta Hawks 97-77 on Saturday night to snap a four-game home losing streak.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)—For the second straight night, Rudy Gay misfired on a go-ahead attempt in the closing seconds—and the Memphis Grizzlies crashed the offensive boards for a winning tip-in.

Tony Allen put back Gay’s miss with 5.6 seconds left to give the Grizzlies their fourth straight victory, 104-103 over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.

“Rudy Gay causes so much attention when he’s pulling up because he’s hit so many game-winners and what not,” Allen said. “(The Warriors) didn’t box out. They just looked up at the rim. I looked at them, and I looked at Rudy as he shot it. I just went around Dorell Wright and got the tip. That’s all. Wasn’t nothing special about it.”

Gay’s miss came from the right side of the lane, the same side of the floor where he misfired on a jumper Friday night. Dante Cunningham got to the rim to tip that one, beating the Denver Nuggets 103-102.

The Warriors had one last shot after Allen’s tip-in, but David Lee was called for an offensive foul with less than a second left, sending the Warriors to their third straight loss.

“The matter is, we didn’t make the play, and the Grizzlies came up with the win,” Lee said.

Gay led Memphis with 19 points, and O.J. Mayo had 18. Marc Gasol added 17 points and 13 rebounds, Marreese Speights had 16 points, Mike Conley finished with 15 points and six assists, and Allen had 11 points.

Despite the back-to-back heroics, no one in the Grizzlies locker room said they drew up the plays to result in winning tips or Gay missing for that matter.

“Tony bailed me out today,” Gay said. “(Friday) it was Dante. I think next time, I have to make the shot.”

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 36 points, matching his season high, as he connected on 13 of 21 shots in the game, including 6 of 9 outside the arc. Monta Ellis finished with 33 points, and Lee had 14 points and nine rebounds. Curry and Ellis each had six assists.

The game was close throughout the fourth quarter. Memphis had a five-point lead, but that was the biggest advantage either team had in the final period.

Part of that came from Memphis missing four straight free throws while trailing or tied.

There were eight ties and nine lead changes in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors took a 103-102 lead on Ekpe Udoh’s two free throws with 28.1 seconds left, setting the stage for Allen’s winner.

“Once again, we were in a position to win the ballgame, and we didn’t because of a defensive rebound,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “That’s the disappointing part of it.”

Memphis connected on its first six shots, building an 18-point lead, en route to hitting 14 of its 20 shots in the first quarter.

Curry kept the Warriors close. He connected on five of his first six shots in the second quarter, including four from long range, and, with the help of Ellis, put pressure on Memphis by opening the period with a 24-8 run to erase the Grizzlies’ advantage.

Golden State eventually would outscore Memphis 37-20 in the second period, helping the Warriors carry a 56-54 advantage into the halftime break.

The Warriors starting backcourt was a combined 15 of 26 in the half. Curry had 23 points at intermission, and Ellis added 17.

Memphis shot well at 59 percent, but the Grizzlies were hampered by 10 turnovers. Gasol and Speights had 11 points each for Memphis, and Gay scored 10 before the break.

The Grizzlies missed 10 of their first 13 shots in the third.

Memphis was able to whittle the advantage in the latter stages of the quarter, leaving the Warriors up 78-76 entering the fourth.

“It’s just a game. It’s fun to be out there and competing,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. “It doesn’t have to be pretty. It’s just competition. You go out and grit it out and play together.”

NOTES: Memphis wore its throwback Memphis Tams uniforms from the ABA days. Memphis is 2-2 in the jerseys… The game was the nightcap of a college-NBA doubleheader at the FedExForum. Earlier, UTEP beat Memphis 60-58. … Curry had been held under 15 points in each of the previous four games. … Memphis has won four straight in the series. … Ellis had his most points since setting a career high with 48 on Feb. 7 against Oklahoma City.

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AP – Jordan Morgan had 11 points and 11 rebounds, playing All-America forward Jared Sullinger to a virtual stalemate as No. 17 Michigan beat No. 6 Ohio State 56-51 on Saturday night to remain unbeaten at home.

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AP – Vitali Klitschko’s 10th successful defense of his WBC heavyweight title ended in chaos Saturday night when challenger Dereck Chisora brawled with former WBA champion David Haye during the post-match news conference.

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AP – Muhammad Ali had seven prizefights in Las Vegas, with his two losses there coming in the twilight of his legendary career. Now, dozens of heavyweight celebrities are back in Sin City to laud a lifetime in the spotlight and join the icon known as “The Greatest” in fighting neurological diseases.

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AP – Shenneika Smith’s 3-pointer from the wing with 8 seconds left lifted St. John’s to a 57-56 win over No. 2 Connecticut on Saturday night, snapping the Huskies’ 99-game home court winning streak.