Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Pepsi 500
Site: Fontana, Calif., Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (1:30 p.m., Speed), qualifying (5:30 p.m., Speed); Saturday, practice (2 p.m., ESPN2); Sunday, race (1:30 p.m., ABC)
Race distance: 500 miles/250 laps
2008 winner: Jimmie Johnson
Fast facts: Mark Martin has an 18-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, and third-place Juan Pablo Montoya is 51 points back. Tony Stewart (67 points back) is fourth, followed by Kurt Busch (-91), Denny Hamlin (-99), Jeff Gordon (-103), Greg Biffle (-114), Ryan Newman (-164), Carl Edwards (-165), Kasey Kahne (-190) and Brian Vickers (-250). ... Matt Kenseth won the February race to match Gordon and Johnson for the track victory record with three. Kenseth failed to qualify for the Chase. ... Martin won at the track in 1998.
www.nascar.com
NASCAR Nationwide
Copart 300
Site: Fontana, Calif., Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (11 p.m., taped, ESPN2); Saturday, race (3 p.m., ESPN2)
Race distance: 300 miles/150 laps
2008 winner: Kyle Busch
Fast facts: Kyle Busch won the Nationwide and Trucks events on the same day in February at the track. He has a 245-point lead over Carl Edwards in the season standings with six races left. Busch has a series-high six wins, 10 second-place runs and 21 top-fives and has led a series-record 2,226 laps. ... Greg Biffle is making his final Nationwide start of the year. He won in 2006 at the track.
www.nascar.com
IndyCar Series
Firestone Indy 300
Site: Homestead, Fla., Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (3:30 p.m., Versus); Saturday, race (3 p.m., Versus)
Race distance: 300 miles/200 laps
2008 winner: Scott Dixon
Fast facts: Scott Dixon took the series lead when he won the Indy Japan 300 on Sept. 19. Dixon has a five-point advantage over Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dario Franchitti and eight-point edge over Ryan Briscoe in the three-way race for the season championship. The race winner will earn 50 points and the runner-up will get 40. The pole winner will get a point and the lap leader will get two. The eight-point margin from first to third is the second-closest in IndyCar Series history with one race remaining. The five-point gap from first to second is the fourth-closest. ... Raphael Matos leads Robert Doornbos by 25 points in the rookie of the year competition. ... Homestead-Miami Speedway was the site of the season-opening race the past six years. Chicagoland Speedway had the last three season finales.
www.indycar.com
NHRA
Virginia NHRA Nationals
Site: Richmond, Va., Virginia Motorsports Park
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (10 p.m., taped, ESPN2); Sunday, final eliminations (6 p.m., taped, ESPN2)
2008 winners: Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), and Dave Connolly (Pro Stock)
Fast facts: Ashley Force Hood, trying to become the first female Funny Car champion, has a two-point lead over Robert Hight with three events left. Tony Pedregon is third, 25 points behind Force Hood. ... In Top Fuel, Tony Schumacher has a 54-point lead over Larry Dixon. ... Jason Line jumped from fifth to second — 78 points behind Mike Edwards — in the Pro Stock standings with his Memphis win.
www.nhra.com
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Grand Prix of Miami
Site: Homestead, Fla., Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (noon, Speed)
Race duration: 250 miles or 2 hours, 30 minutes
2008 winners: Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas (overall, DP), Paul Edwards, Kelly Collins (GT)
www.grand-am.com
American Le Mans Series
Monterey Sports Car Championships
Site: Monterey, Calif., Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
TV schedule: Sunday, race (1:30 p.m., taped, Speed)
Race duration: 4 hours
2008 winners: Lucas Luhr, Marco Werner (overall, P1), Franck Montagny, Tony Kanaan (P2), Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta (GT1); Dominik Farnbacher, Dirk Mueller (GT2)
www.americanlemans.com
Comments