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National racing schedule (April 23-25)

Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Aaron’s 499
Site: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., Speed); Saturday, qualifying (10:30 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race (noon, Fox)
Race distance: 500 miles/188 laps
2009 winner: Brad Keselowski
Fast facts: Denny Hamlin won the rain-delayed race at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday for his second victory of the year and first since surgery on his left knee. Hamlin led the final 12 laps after a nine-car wreck took out dominating Jeff Gordon and polesitter Tony Stewart. ... Sunday’s race at Talladega is the first restrictor-plate event since the switch from the rear wing to a spoiler. ... Jamie McMurray won the October race at the track, as well as the season-opening Daytona 500. ... Jimmie Johnson is making his 300th Cup start. He has three victories this season and 50 overall. The four-time defending series champion leads the standings, 108 points ahead of Matt Kenseth. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. has five Talladega victories, winning a record four straight from 2001-2003. ... David Reutimann’s No. 00 Toyota has a special Alabama national football championship paint scheme. ... Michael Waltrip is attempting to qualify the No. 55 Prism Motorsports Toyota.
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Nationwide
Aaron’s 312
Site: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, qualifying (10:30 a.m., Speed); Saturday, race (1:30 p.m., ABC)
Race distance: 311.22 miles/117 laps
2009 winner: David Ragan
Fast facts: Kyle Busch ran his Texas Motor Speedway series winning streak to five on Monday, joining Jack Ingram and Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win five straight Nationwide series races at a track. Busch led 153 of 200 laps in the rain-delayed race for his second straight victory and third in seven races this season. ... Busch has 33 Nationwide victories, third behind Mark Martin (48) and Kevin Harvick (36). The defending series champion leads the standings, 20 points ahead of Brad Keselowski. ... Chrissy Wallace is teaming with father Mike Wallace for J-D Motorsports. ... Steve Arpin, the Canadian coming off an ARCA victory in Texas, is making his series debut in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned car that Danica Patrick drove in the first three races.
www.nascar.com

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Bosch Engineering 250
Site: Alton, Va., Virginia International Raceway (road course, 3.27 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (1 p.m. Speed)
Race duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
2009 winners: Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney (DP, overall); Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis (GT)
www.grand-am.com

National, international racing schedule (April 16-18)

Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Samsung Mobile 500
Site: Fort Worth, Texas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (noon, Speed), qualifying (3:30 p.m., Speed); Saturday, practice (11:30 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race (2 p.m., KDFW/Ch. 4)
Race distance: 501 miles/334 laps
2009 winner: Jeff Gordon
Fast facts: Ryan Newman won at Phoenix International Raceway last week to snap a 77-race victory drought. Newman won for the 14th time and first with Stewart-Haas Racing, taking the lead after a late caution and holding off Gordon in a two-lap shootout. ... Jimmie Johnson leads the series with three victories and 1,073 points in seven races. Matt Kenseth is second 36 points back. ... Carl Edwards has a series-high three victories at the track, winning in November 2005 and sweeping the 2008 races. ... Jeff Gordon is winless in 35 starts since his victory last year. ... Kurt Busch won the November race at the track.
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Nationwide
O’Reilly Auto Parts 300
Site: Fort Worth, Texas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)
Schedule: Friday, practice (10:30 a.m., ESPN2), qualifying (1:30 p.m., ESPN2); Saturday, race (2 p.m., ESPN2)
Race distance: 300 miles/200 laps
2009 winner: Kyle Busch
Fast facts: Kyle Busch recovered from a wild sequence — losing the lead on a disputed restart and falling 20 seconds back after a drive-through penalty — to win at Phoenix International Raceway last week. Busch has two victories this year and 32 overall. ... Busch is trying to become the third driver in series history to win five straight races at a track. Jack Ingram won five in a row at South Boston Speedway (1985-86) and Dale Earnhardt accomplished the feat at Daytona (1990-94). ... Brad Keselowski leads the season standings with 974 points, four more than Carl Edwards. Busch is third, 15 points back.
www.nascar.com

IZOD IndyCar
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Site: Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (street course, 1.97 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (5 p.m., Versus); Sunday, race (2:30 p.m., Versus)
Race distance: 167.2 miles/85 laps
2009 winner: Dario Franchitti
Fast facts: Helio Castroneves won the inaugural Grand Prix of Alabama last week to give Penske Racing its third victory in three races this season. Scott Dixon was second. ... Will Power swept the season-opening races in Brazil and St. Petersburg, Fla. The Penske driver leads the season standings with 136 points. Teammate Castroneves is second, 32 points behind. ... Danica Patrick is 15th in the standings. She was 15th in Brazil, seventh in St. Petersburg and 19th in Birmingham.
www.indycar.com

Formula One
Chinese Grand Prix
Site: Shanghai International Circuit (road course, 3.39 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (1 a.m., Speed); Saturday, qualifying (1 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race (1:30 a.m., Speed)
Race distance: 189.7 miles/56 laps
2009 winner: Sebastian Vettel
Fast facts: Sebastian Vettel won the Malaysian Grand Prix on April 4, leading from start to finish. Red Bull teammate Webber was second. ... Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion driving for Ross Brawn-led Mercedes GP following a three-year retirement, won the 2006 race for the last of his record 91 victories. The 41-year-old German star was sixth in the season-opening race in Bahrain, 10th in Australia and 21st in Malaysia. ... Ferrari’s Felipe Massa leads the season standings, two points ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso and Vettel. Alonso won in Bahrain.
www.formula1.com

NHRA
SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals
Site: Las Vegas, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (5 p.m., taped, ESPN2); Sunday, final eliminations (6 p.m., taped, ESPN2)
2009 winners: Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock)
Fast facts: Larry Dixon won the NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park last week for his second Top Fuel victory of the year and 50th overall. Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won. ... John Force has two victories this year and leads the Funny Car standings. The 60-year-old Force has an NHRA-record 128 victories and 14 season titles. ... In the Top Fuel standings, Cory McClenathan has a 28-point lead over Dixon. ... The NHRA will return to the track in October for the Las Vegas Nationals.
www.nhra.com

American Le Mans Series
Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach
Site: Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (street course, 1.97 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (7 p.m., Speed)
Race duration: 100 minutes
2009 winners: Simon Pagenaud, Gil de Ferran (P1, overall); Luis Diaz, Adrian Fernandez (P2); Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin (GT1); Patrick Long, Jorg Bermeister (GT2)
www.americanlemans.com

This week's national racing schedule (April 9-11)

Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Subway Fresh Fit 600
Site: Avondale, Ariz., Phoenix International Raceway (oval, 1.0 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (noon and 2:30 p.m., Speed), qualifying (6:30 p.m., Speed); Saturday, race (6 p.m., Fox)
Race distance: 375 miles/375 laps
2009 winner: Mark Martin
Fast facts: Denny Hamlin won the rain-delayed race at Martinsville Speedway on March 29, giving up the lead to take four tires, then rallying from ninth in a pair of two-lap sprints. Joey Logano, Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, was second. ... Hamlin had surgery last week on his left knee. He was injured playing basketball in the off-season. ... Jimmie Johnson, the winner this year at California, Las Vegas and Bristol, leads the season standings with 898 points — 14 more than second-place Greg Biffle. Johnson won the November race at Phoenix, his fourth victory in the last five races on the mile oval. He has 50 career Sprint Cup victories. ...
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Nationwide
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200
Site: Avondale, Ariz., Phoenix International Raceway (oval, 1.0 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (10 a.m., Speed), qualifying (4 p.m., ESPN2), race (8 p.m., ESPN2)
Race distance: 200 miles/200 laps
2009 winner: Greg Biffle
Fast facts: On Saturday, Kevin Harvick raced to his second series victory of the year, holding off Reed Sorenson at Nashville Superspeedway. Harvick has 36 Nationwide victories. ... Carl Edwards, the November winner at Phoenix, leads the season standings. Brad Keselowski is second, 16 points back. ... Biffle and Edwards each have a series-high three victories on the PIR mile oval. ... Jason Leffler was placed on probation for three races for intentionally wrecking James Buescher at Nashville.
www.nascar.com

IZOD IndyCar
Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Site: Birmingham, Ala., Barber Motorsports Park (road course, 2.38 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (5 p.m., Versus); Sunday, race (2 p.m., Versus)
Race distance: 178.5 miles/75 laps
2009 winner: Inaugural race
Fast facts: Will Power won the rain-delayed Honda Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 29 to sweep the first two races of the season. Barely seven months after breaking his back in a crash, the Penske Racing star held off Justin Wilson to become the first driver to win the first two events of a season since Sam Hornish in 2001. ... Power leads the season standings with 103 points. Wilson, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Dario Franchitti are tied for second, 44 points back. ... Danica Patrick was 15th in the opener in Brazil and seventh two weeks ago in St. Petersburg. ... The teams tested for two days in February at the 17-turn track.
www.indycar.com

NHRA
O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals
Site: Baytown, Texas, Houston Raceway Park
TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (9:30 p.m., taped, ESPN2); Sunday, final eliminations (7 p.m., taped, ESPN2)
2009 winners: Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Ron Krisher (Pro Stock) and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Motorcycle)
Fast facts: John Force won the rain-delayed NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, N.C., on March 29 for his second Funny Car victory of the season and record 128th overall win. The 60-year-old Force beat daughter Ashley Force Hood, Ron Capps and Matt Hagan in the final in the NHRA’s first four-wide event. Cory McClenathan (Top Fuel), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won. ... Force, the Funny Car leader, won the season-opening event in Pomona, Calif., to end a 20-month victory drought. ... McClenathan leads the Top Fuel standings.
www.nhra.com

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Porsche 250
Site: Birmingham, Ala., Barber Motorsports Park (road course, 2.38 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (12:30 p.m., Speed)
Race duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
2009 winners: Jon Fogarty, Alex Gurney (DP, overall); Robin Liddell, Andrew Davis (GT)
www.grand-am.com

This week's national racing schedule (March 19-21)

Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Food City 500
Site: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (oval, 0.533 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (11 a.m., Speed), qualifying (2:30 p.m., Speed); Saturday, practice (noon, Speed); Sunday, race (noon, KDFW/Ch. 4)
Race distance: 266.5 miles/500 laps
2009 winner: Kyle Busch
Fast facts: Kevin Harvick leads the season standings with 644 points, followed by Matt Kenseth (585), Greg Biffle (585) and four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson (570). Johnson won at California and Las Vegas to push his career victory total to 49. ... Darrell Waltrip holds the track record with 12 Cup victories, winning seven straight races from 1980-84. Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch each have five Bristol wins to top the active drivers.
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Nationwide
Scotts Turf Builder 300
Site: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (oval, 0.533 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., Speed); Saturday, qualifying (11 a.m., taped, Speed) and race (1 p.m., WFAA/Ch. 8)
Race distance: 159.9 miles/300 laps
2009 winner: Kevin Harvick
Fast facts: The race is the fourth of the year. Tony Stewart opened the season with a victory at Daytona, defending series champion Kyle Busch won at California, and Kevin Harvick won Feb. 27 in Las Vegas. ... Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are racing for the first time since Edwards’ retaliatory bump that flipped Keselowski’s Sprint Cup car in Atlanta. Edwards leads the season standings with 505 points, followed by Keselowski (464) and Brian Vickers (457). ... David Ragan won the August race at Bristol.
www.nascar.com

American Le Mans Series
Twelve Hours of Sebring
Site: Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway (road course, 3.7 miles)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (9 a.m.-11 a.m., 1 p.m.-10 p.m., Speed)
Race duration: 12 hours
2009 winners: Allan McNish, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen (overall, P1); Luis Diaz, Adrian Fernandez (P2); Jan Magnussen, Johnny O’Connell (GT1); Mika Salo, Pierre Kaffer, Jaime Melo (GT2).
www.americanlemans.com

National racing schedule (March 5-7)

Courtesy of The Associated Press
All times Central (U.S.)

NASCAR Sprint Cup
Kobalt Tools 500
Site: Hampton, Ga., Atlanta Motor Speedway (oval, 1.54 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (1:30 p.m., Speed.), qualifying (5 p.m., Speed); Saturday, practice (10 a.m. and 11:20 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race (noon, KDFW/Ch. 4)
Race distance: 500.5 miles/325 laps
2009 winner: Kurt Busch
Fast facts: Jimmie Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, has won six of the last 12 Sprint Cup races to push his career total to 49. He swept the 2007 races at Atlanta and also won the October 2004 event. ... Kevin Harvick, second in the last two races, leads the season standings with 506 points, 47 more than Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer. ... Dale Earnhardt won a record nine Cup races at the track. ... Kasey Kahne won the September race at Atlanta.
www.nascar.com

NASCAR Camping World Trucks
Atlanta 200
Site: Hampton, Ga., Atlanta Motor Speedway (oval, 1.54 miles)
TV schedule: Friday, practice (noon and 3 p.m., Speed); Saturday, qualifying (8:30 a.m., Speed), race (1 p.m., Speed)
Race distance: 200.2 miles/130 laps
2009 winner: Kyle Busch
Fast facts: Kyle Busch has four career series victories at Atlanta, winning three of the last four races. The Sprint Cup driver has 16 wins in 70 career Trucks starts. ... Geoff Bodine, driving the No. 95 Team Gill Racing Dodge, is making his first Trucks start since 2004. The 1986 Daytona 500 winner is 60. ... Nationwide regular Steve Wallace is making his series debut in Billy Ballew’s No. 15 Toyota.
www.nascar.com

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Grand Prix of Miami
Site: Homestead, Fla., Homestead Miami Speedway (2.3-mile speedway road course)
TV schedule: Saturday, race (4 p.m., Speed)
Race duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
2009 winners: Joao Barbosa and Hurley Haywood (DP, overall); Kelly Collins, Paul Edwards and Leighton Reese (GT)
www.grand-am.com

This week's national racing schedule

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

This week's national/international racing schedule

Courtesy of The Associated Press

All times Central (U.S.)

NHRA 

O’Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals

Site: Ennis, Texas Motorplex

Tickets: texasmotorplex.com

TV schedule: Saturday, qualifying (11:15 p.m., ESPN2); Sunday, final eliminations (6 p.m. ESPN2)

2008 winners: J.R. Todd (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle)

Fast facts: Cory McClenathan leads the Top Fuel standings with 2,162 points, 10 more than Antron Brown and Tony Schumacher with five events left. In Funny Car, Tony Pedregon has a one-point edge over Ashley Force Hood. Mike Edwards has a 56-point lead over Jeg Coughlin in Pro Stock, and Hector Arana is nine points ahead of Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

www.nhra.com

NASCAR Sprint Cup

AAA 400

Site: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (mile oval)

TV schedule: Friday, practice (10 a.m., Speed), qualifying (2 p.m., ESPN2); Saturday, practice (6 p.m., ESPN); Sunday, race (1 p.m., ABC)

Race distance: 400 miles/400 laps

2008 winner: Greg Biffle

Fast facts: Jimmie Johnson won the May race at Dover, overcoming a slow pit stop to beat Tony Stewart. ... Mark Martin, Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead the 12 Chase drivers with four Dover victories. Martin has 21 top-five finishes at the Monster Mile.

www.nascar.com

NASCAR Nationwide

Dover 200 

Site: Dover (Del.) International Speedway (mile oval)

TV schedule: Friday, practice (12:30 p.m., ESPN2); Saturday, qualifying (9:30 a.m., ESPN2), race (2:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Race distance: 200 miles,/200 laps

2008 winner: Kyle Busch

Fast facts: Brad Keselowski won the May race at Dover for the first of his three 2009 series victories. ... Kyle Busch leads the standings and has a series-high six victories, the last at Gateway International in July. He has a 201-point lead over Carl Edwards with eight races left. Keselowski is third, 297 points behind Busch.

www.nascar.com

NASCAR Camping World Trucks

Las Vegas 350 

Site: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles)

TV schedule: Saturday, race (8:30 p.m. Speed)

Race distance: 219 miles/146 laps

2008 winner: Mike Skinner

Fast facts: The 51-year-old Ron Hornaday Jr. leads the series with six victories, winning a record five straight races in June, July and early August. Winless in five races, he has a series-record 45 career victories and a record three season titles. ... Mike Skinner won consecutive races this month at Iowa and Gateway. He has three wins this year and 28 overall. ... Matt Crafton is second in the standings, 217 points back with six races left. Skinner is third, 246 points behind Hornaday.

www.nascar.com

Formula One 

Singapore Grand Prix

Site: Singapore,  Marina Bay (road course, 3.148 miles)

TV schedule: Friday, practice (8:30 a.m., Speed); Saturday, qualifying (9 a.m., Speed); Sunday, race  (6:30 a.m., Speed)

Race distance: 191.97 miles,/61 laps

2008 winner: Fernando Alonso

Fast facts: Renault escaped severe punishment Monday for ordering Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash last year, receiving a suspended two-year ban from Formula One’s governing body. The team will be permanently disqualified from the sport if it breaks FIA rules within the next two years. Flavio Briatore, who quit as team principal last week, was banned indefinitely from any F1 activities by the World Motor Sport Council. Engineering executive director Pat Symonds, who also left the French team last week, was banned for five years. ... Jenson Button, the winner of six of the first seven races, leads the points race with 80. Rubens Barrichello is second with 66 with four races to go, followed by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (54) and Mark Webber (51.5).

www.formula1.com

American Le Mans Series

Petit Le Mans

Site: Braselton, Ga., Road Atlanta (2.54-mile road course)

TV schedule: Saturday, race (10 a.m., Speed)

Race duration: 1,000 miles/10 hours

2008 winners: Allan McNish, Emanuele Pirro (Overall, P1); Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves (P2); Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, Ron Fellows (GT1); Jaime Melo, Mika Salo (GT2)

Fast facts: For the first time since 2001, Speed will show the entire Petit Le Mans live and uninterrupted. Speed will also show live video coverage from qualifying at 1:25  p.m. (Central) Friday via SpeedTV.com. ...  All class winners earn an entry into the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

www.americanlemans.com

This week's national racing schedule

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