Smith declared winner at Talladega By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service Distributed by The Sports Xchange TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The delicious irony of Regan Smith's victory on Saturday in the Aaron's 499 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway wasn't lost on the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Argentina for the eighth time on Saturday, cruising to victory in his Citroen. Fellow French driver Sebastian Ogier, whose challenge fizzled out on Friday, was second in a Volkswagen. Ogier's VW teammate Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland was third after capturing the 14th and final stage. "There is a lot of emotion because it was such a difficult race," said Loeb who has won every edition of this event since 2005 and enjoyed a 50-second margin of victory on Saturday.

Nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb on Friday built-up a formidable 40-second lead over French compatriot Sebastien Ogier in the Rally of Argentina, a race he has won every year since 2005. Loeb, in a Citroen, captured the day's last two main stages with only a super-special to run, having already snatched the advantage from overnight leader Ogier, in a Volkswagen Polo, earlier in the day. The only setback for Loeb was seeing Citroen teammate Mikko Hirvonen slip from second to sixth place after suffering a puncture and then an electrical failure.

World championship leader Sebastien Ogier, driving a Volkswagen Polo, held on to his overall advantage in the Rally of Argentina after Thursday's second day despite testing wet and foggy conditions. Ogier, who claimed his third win of the season in the Rally of Portugal last time out, picked up where he left off on Wednesday evening. The French driver, who has also captured the Sweden and Mexico races, leads Citroen's nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb by 16 seconds. Mikko Hirvonen, in the second factory Citroen, was back in third place, 18 seconds off the pace.