Martin causes wreck, wins

? Mark Martin took Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Victory Lane by winning the Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, then immediately apologized for an accident he started in the closing laps.

Martin, the winningest driver in NASCAR’s No. 2 series, raced to the 48th victory of his career Saturday in a car owned by Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports. But the win came at the expense of Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski, who races full-time for Earnhardt.

Martin was sixth following a final round of pit stops when the race restarted with 10 laps to go. With four fresh tires on his Chevrolet, he sliced his way toward the front while chasing cars that had only taken two tires.

Edwards and Keselowski were racing side-by-side when Martin quickly closed in on Edwards’ bumper. Slight contact sent Edwards’ car wiggling across the track, and he slid high directly into Keselowski to wreck both cars.

Edwards, the defending series champion, finished 14th. Keselowski had to settle for 23rd.