Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)
IndyCar
Indianapolis 500
Site: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval, 2.5 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, Carb Day, including Firestone Freedom 100 Indy Lights race (10 a.m., Versus); Sunday, race (noon, ABC)
Race distance: 500 miles/200 laps
2009 winner: Helio Castroneves
Fast facts: Scott Dixon won for the second straight year at Kansas Speedway, leading the final 150 laps in the May 1 race. Dario Franchitti was second. ... Helio Castroneves won his fourth Indy pole Saturday, averaging 227.970 mph in his four-lap run. The Brazilian star will be joined on the front row by Penske teammate Will Power and Target Chip Ganassi’s Franchitti. Patrick will start 23rd, her worst career position at Indy. ... The drivers will be allowed to use the push-to-pass button 15 times. The extra horsepower boosts will last 18 seconds and take 10 seconds to reset. The button, introduced in August at Mid-Ohio, is being used for the first time at Indianapolis. ... Franchitti, the 2007 race winner, won the season title last year. ... Dixon won the 2008 race. ... Ray Harroun won the inaugural event in 1911.
www.indycar.com
NASCAR Sprint Cup
Coca-Cola 600
Site: Concord, N.C., Charlotte Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Today, practice (2:30 p.m., Speed), qualifying (6 p.m., Speed); Saturday, practice (10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race (4:45 p.m., Fox)
Race distance: 600 miles/400 laps
2009 winner: David Reutimann
Fast facts: Kurt Busch won the All-Star race Saturday at Charlotte for Penske Racing, sailing past feuding Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch to take the $1 million prize. Hamlin and Kyle Busch were racing for the lead in the final segment when Hamlin tried to block Kyle Busch’s pass, sending him into the wall. ... Kevin Harvick leads the series standings with 1,768 points, followed by Kyle Busch (1,699), Matt Kenseth (1,642), four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (1,637) and Hamlin (1,618). ... Johnson, the Charlotte winner in October, won five times in a six-race stretch at the track — taking the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 and sweeping the spring and fall races in 2004 and 2005. He has three victories — worth 30 bonus points when the Chase begins — to share the series lead with Hamlin ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. is winless in 69 races and has only one victory in 84 starts for Hendrick Motorsports. He has 18 career Sprint Cup wins. ... Kyle Busch won the Trucks race last week at the track for his 70th victory in NASCAR’s top three divisions. ... Jeff Gordon won the 1994 race for the first of his 80 Cup victories. He also won in 1997 and 1998, and has two Charlotte fall victories. ... Darrell Waltrip won the race a record five times.
www.nascar.com
NASCAR Nationwide
Tech-Net Auto Service 300
Site: Concord, N.C., Charlotte Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Today, practice (1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Speed); Saturday, qualifying (8:30 a.m. Speed) and race (1 p.m., ABC)
Race distance: 300 miles/200 laps
2009 winner: Mike Bliss
Fast facts: Kyle Busch raced to his fourth Nationwide victory of the year, leading 191 of 205 laps May 15 at Dover. He won the Sprint Cup race the following day. ... Busch won the October race at Charlotte en route to the season title and took the Trucks race last week for his 70th victory in NASCAR’s top three divisions. He has 34 Nationwide victories and has won 18 times in both Sprint Cup and Trucks competition. Not planning to run the full Nationwide schedule, Busch is second in the standings — 11 points behind fellow Sprint Cup driver Brad Keselowski. ... The race is the series’ first afternoon start at the track since 2004.
www.nascar.com
Formula One
Turkish Grand Prix
Site: Istanbul Speed Park (road course, 3.32 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (6 a.m., Speed); Saturday, practice, qualifying (6 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race (6:30 a.m., Speed)
Race distance: 192.25 miles/58 laps
2009 winner: Jenson Button
Fast facts: Mark Webber won the Monaco Grand Prix on May 16 for his second straight victory. Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel was second. ... Webber and Vettel each have a series-high 78 points after six races. Webber leads the standings based on his two victories. ... Jenson Button, now racing for McLaren, also has two victories this year and is third in the standings with 70 points. ... F1 will return to the United States in 2012 in Austin, Texas, on a track built specifically for the event. F1, Austin and Texas state officials announced the deal Tuesday, saying Austin would host the U.S. Grand Prix until 2021. The race was dropped after an eight-year run in Indianapolis from 2000-07.
www.formula1.com
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Memorial Day Classic
Site: Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn. (road course, 1.53 miles)
TV schedule: Race, Monday (1 p.m., Speed)
Race duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
2009 winners: Event not held
Fast facts: The Daytona Prototypes will make their debut at The Memorial Day Classic this year. The event was a GT-only race in 2008. ... The visit to Lime Rock Park will be a one-day event. Practice and qualifying are scheduled for Monday morning with the race set to begin around 1 p.m. (Central). ... The series heads to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International for the Six Hours at The Glen on June 5.
www.grand-am.com
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