As Dakar rally nears finish, De Villiers, Miller 1-2, NASCAR’s Robby Gordon 3rd

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- After a day of cooperative team driving today, Giniel de Villiers of South Africa leads Volkswagen teammate Mark Miller of the United States by just over two minutes heading into the last stage of the Dakar Rally.

Next in line, nearly 90 minutes back, is NASCAR Sprint Cup regular Robby Gordon of the U.S. in a Hummer.

De Villiers and Miller, a former NASCAR truck series driver, cruised through today's 13th and next-to-last stage together to protect their positions atop the overall standings.

While the Volkswagens took a safety-first approach, Gordon took the stage lead, then suffered mechanical problems and fell back.

Miller finished the stage a comfortable 7th, 15 seconds ahead of de Villiers. The stage was won by Nani Roma of Spain. Torrential rain made some of the initial route across hills between La Rioja and Cordoba impassable, and organizers slashed the leg from 339 miles to 137 miles.

Volkswagen's Carlos Sainz had been leading the rally until Thursday, when a crash ended his participation. Rattled by Sainz's exit, the team issued orders to its drivers to be conservative and protect their lead.

"I think we can call this a team stage," de Villiers said. "The most important [thing] is to reach the finish, particularly after losing a car yesterday. It's important for Volkswagen is to finish the Dakar in first and second places. We don't want to take any chances anymore."

After tomorrow's final stage -- 141 miles across the flat and wind-swept pampas -- the rally ends where it began on Jan. 3, in Buenos Aires. It would be a major upset if Gordon or anyone else overtook the front two.

De Villiers has had four top-10 finishes in the Dakar, including runner-up in 2006. He was leading in 2007 when his engine broke midway through the race. Miller was fourth in 2007. Volkswagen hasn't won the Dakar since the second rally in 1980.

In the motorbike division, Marc Coma of Spain was set to win his second title in three years, holding a lead of nearly 90 minutes over defending champion Cyril Despres of France.