Coutesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Sylvania 300
Site: Loudon, N.H., New Hampshire Motor Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (11 a.m., Speed), qualifying (2 p.m., ESPN2); Saturday, practice (8 a.m., Speed), practice (5:45 p.m., ESPN2); Sunday, race (noon, ABC)
Race distance: 317.4 miles/300 laps
2008 winner: Greg Biffle
Fast facts: Mark Martin leads the 12-driver Chase field with reset points of 5,040 — including 40 bonus points for his four victories. Tony Stewart, the regular-season leader, and three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson are 10 points back. Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne are 20 points behind Martin, followed by Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Brian Vickers (30 points behind Martin) and Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Biffle (40 points behind Martin). ... Johnson has a series-high 14 victories in 50 Chase starts. Edwards and Biffle are tied for second with six Chase wins. ... Joey Logano won the rain-shortened June race at New Hampshire to become the youngest winner in Sprint Cup history at 19 years, 1 month, 4 days.
www.nascar.com
NASCAR Camping World Trucks
Heluva Good! 200
Site: Loudon, N.H., New Hampshire Motor Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (9 a.m., Speed), race (1:30 p.m., Speed)
Race distance: 211.6 miles/200 laps
2008 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.
Fast facts: Ron Hornaday Jr., 51, leads the points race and has a series-high six victories, including a series-record five in a row. He has a series-record 45 career wins and a record three season titles. ... Matt Crafton is second in the standings, 197 points back with seven races left. Mike Skinner is third, 213 points behind Hornaday. ... Kyle Busch is trying to win his third straight series start. The Sprint Cup driver missed the last two races after winning at Bristol and Chicagoland.
www.nascar.com
IndyCar Series
Indy Japan 300
Site: Motegi, Japan, Twin Ring Motegi (oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (5 p.m., taped, Versus); Saturday, race (9:30 p.m. Friday, Versus)
Race distance: 300 miles/200 laps
2008 winner: Danica Patrick
Fast facts: The series is making its seventh trip to Twin Ring Motegi. Scott Sharp won the inaugural race in 2003, Dan Wheldon swept the 2004-05 races, Helio Castroneves won in 2006 and Tony Kaanan took the 2007 event. ... Danica Patrick is fifth in the season standings, 197 points behind Ryan Briscoe. ... Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti share the series victory lead with four. Briscoe has won three times this year.
www.indycar.com
NHRA
NHRA Carolinas Nationals
Site: Concord, N.C., zMax Dragway
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (10:30 p.m., taped, ESPN2); Sunday, final eliminations (6 p.m., taped, ESPN2)
2008 winners: Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Justin Humphreys (Pro Stock), Steve Johnson (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
Fast facts: The Carolina Nationalis is the first even in the Countdown to 1. The top 10 drivers in each category after the 18-event regular season advanced to the six-race playoffs. Under the reset points, the leaders were given a 30-point advantage over the second-place drivers. The other positions were reset in 10-point increments. Antron Brown leads the Top Fuel standings, followed by Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher. Tony Pedregon tops the Funny Car field, followed by Ron Capps and Ashley Force Hood. Jeg Coughlin leads the Pro Stock standings, ahead of Jason Line.
Next event: O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 25-27, Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas.
www.nhra.com
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Utah 250
Site: Tooele, Utah, Miller Motorsports Park (4.486-mile road course)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (4:30 p.m., Speed)
Race duration: 250 miles or 2 hours, 45 minutes
2008 winners: John Pew, Ian James, Raphael Matos (overall, DP); Paul Edwards, Kelly Collins, Kris Wilson (GT)
www.grand-am.com
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