Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)
NASCAR Sprint Cup
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Site: Concord, N.C., Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, Sprint Showdown qualifying (Speed, 4 p.m.); Sprint All-Star Race qualifying (Speed, 5 p.m.). Saturday, Sprint Showdown (Speed, 6 p.m.); NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (Speed, 8 p.m.)
Race distances: Sprint Showdown, 60 miles, 40 laps; NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, 150 miles, 100 laps in segments of 50, 20, 20 and 10, with only green-flag laps counting in the final segment.
2008 winner: Kasey Kahne
Fast facts: The top two finishers in the Sprint Showdown and a driver selected in fan voting will complete the 21-car All-Star field. Kasy Kahne, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman earned spots with race victories in 2008 and ’09. Kevin Harvick qualified with his 2007 All-Star victory, and Bobby Labonte got in as the 2000 series champion. ... There will be a mandatory green-flag stop on lap 25, with teams required to change four tires. Between the first two segments, there will be a yellow-flag period allowing for fuel, tire changes and normal chassis adjustments. Between the third and final segments, there will be a 10-minute pit stop. ... The winner will receive $1,022,975. ... On Thursday, 24 crews will compete in the Pit Crew Challenge. Each of the seven over-the-wall pit-crew positions will compete for a $10,000 prize. The finishing order will decide the selection order of pit stalls for the All-Star Race. ... Gordon and Dale Earnhardt are the only three-time All-Star winners. ... Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins (6), followed by Richard Childress Racing (4). ... Martin, only the fourth driver 50 or older to win a Cup race, won the All-Star Race in 1998 and 2005.
www.nascar.com
NASCAR Camping World Trucks
North Carolina Education Lottery 200
Site: Concord, N.C., Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed, 2:30 p.m.); race (Speed, 6:30 p.m.)
Race distance: 201 miles/134 laps
2008 winner: Matt Crafton
Fast facts: Mike Skinner leads the season standings with 801 points, followed by Ron Hornaday Jr. (776), Todd Bodine (744), Matt Crafton (707) and Johnny Benson (685). ... Sprint Cup star Kyle Busch won the 2005 and 2006 races. He has two victories in four starts this season in the No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota. ... Circle Bar Racing rookie and Plano native James Buescher is coming off a victory Saturday in the ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Kentucky Speedway. He also won the ARCA race in Daytona in February.
www.nascar.com
NHRA
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Site: Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Saturday, 5 p.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 6 p.m.)
2008 winners: Melanie Troxel (Funny Car), Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Dave Connolly (Pro Stock)
Fast facts: Ron Capps, the winner of three of the first seven events, leads the Funny Car standings with 562 points. Del Worsham is second, 119 points back. Antron Brown has an 18-point lead over Tony Schumacher in Top Fuel, Jeg Coughlin leads the Pro Stock standings, and Eddie Krawiec tops the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.
www.nhra.com
IndyCar Series
Indianapolis 500 qualifying/Bump Day
Site: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (11 a.m., Versus); Sunday, Bump Day qualifying (11 a.m., Versus)
Format: Final 11 spots in 33-car field will be determined for May 24 race.
2009 pole winner: Helio Castroneves
www.indycar.com
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Verizon Festival of Speed
Site: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (2.238-mile, 11-turn road course)
TV schedule: Sunday, race (Speed, 3 p.m.)
Race duration: 250 miles or 2 hours, 45 minutes
2008 winners: Henri Zogaib and Ryan Dalziel (overall and Daytona Prototype); Paul Edwards and Kelly Collins (GT)
www.grand-am.com
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