Auto Racing Glance By BRIAN KACHARABA/Associated Press WriterAll Times EDT NASCAR NEXTEL CUP 3M Performance 400 Site: Brooklyn, Mich. Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3:10 p.m.); Sunday, race (ESPN, 2 p.m.). Track: Michigan International Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns). Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps. Last race: Tony Stewart took advantage of a stunning mistake by Jeff Gordon with two laps to go to win the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Gordon, who started from the pole and led a race-high 51 laps, seemed to have his 10th road course victory in hand, but he spun out on his own heading into the first turn with Stewart a couple of car-lengths behind. Gordon finished ninth. Last year: Matt Kenseth easily kept Jeff Gordon at bay in the final laps to win his third race of the season. Gordon charged from 12th place on a restart with 36 laps to go in the 200-lap race - but he ran out of time and finished 10 car-lengths behind Kenseth. Fast facts: Seven drivers in the top 10 of the point standings, have won at Michigan International Speedway. Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards have won in the NEXTEL Cup Series, while Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick have won in the Busch Series. ... Jeff Gordon has 14 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes as well as four wins this season. Gordon is 344 points ahead of Denny Hamlin in the standings. ... Joe Gibbs Racing, winners of three Nextel Cup Series championships and more than 70 NASCAR races, has signed Kyle Busch to drive for the No. 18 team in Nextel Cup beginning in 2008. ... Kyle Petty, who suffered a broken hand in last week's race at Watkins Glen, may not race this weekend. ... Furniture Row Racing announced Kenny Wallace is stepping down as the driver of No. 78 car and will remain with the team as a consultant. Next race: Sharpie 500, Aug. 25, Bristol, Tenn. On the Net: http://www.nascar.com --- NASCAR BUSCH Carfax 250 Site: Brooklyn, Mich. Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 11:10 a.m.); race (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). Track: Michigan International Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns). Race distance: 250 miles, 125 laps. Last race: Kevin Harvick, the defending Busch Series champion, led 37 laps and beat Jeff Burton by 3.5 seconds in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. Harvick posted his second consecutive win, fifth this season and 31st of his career. He is tied with Jack Ingram for second in career wins behind Mark Martin's 47. Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped Carl Edwards out of the way on a restart in overtime and grabbed a contentious victory. Fast facts: Carl Edwards has a 766-point lead over David Reutimann in the standings. ... Three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr. will make his Michigan International Speedway debut in the Carfax 250. Hornish is currently fifth in IndyCar Series driver point standings. ... MIS is the first track to use a polymer-enhanced asphalt especially formulated for high-banked racing and harsh Michigan winters. ... Next race: Food City 250, Aug. 24, Bristol, Tenn. On the Net: http://www.nascar.com --- NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS O'Reilly 200 Site: Bristol, Tenn. Schedule: Wednesday, Aug. 22, qualifying, 4 p.m. (Speed Channel, 6:30 p.m. tape); race (Speed Channel, 8 p.m.). Track: Bristol Motor Superspeedway (oval .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns). Race distance: 106.6 miles, 200 laps. Last race: Travis Kvapil led 47 of the final 48 laps to win the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Kvapil beat Ron Hornaday Jr. by 2.403 seconds for his third win in six races and enabled the 2003 series champion to preserve his chances for a second title. Last year: Ron Hornaday Jr. easily won his 29th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck race, coming from the 21st position to run away with the Built Ford Tough 225. Rick Crawford slipped by Brendan Gaughan for second. Fast facts: Mike Skinner holds an 82-point lead over Ron Hornaday. ... Practice for the race will take place Tuesday, Aug. 21. ... The Truck Series will be the first NASCAR series to compete on the newly resurfaced half-mile oval. ... Next race: Dodger Dealers Ram Tough 200, Sept. 1, Madison, Ill. On the Net: http://www.nascar.com --- NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals Site: Reading, Pa. Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 3 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 6 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 10 p.m., tape). Track: Maple Grove Raceway. Last event: John Force won his 125th Funny Car event by beating Kenny Bernstein by about 2 feet in a meeting of drag-racing legends. In the two legends' first meeting in 18 years, Force's 4.794-second run at 316.60 mph was faster by 0.0048 seconds. Bernstein's son, Brandon, beat Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin became just the 11th racer in NHRA's 56-year history with 50 national wins when he beat Greg Anderson. Andrew Hines beat teammate Eddie Krawiec in an all-Harley-Davidson final. Last year: Rookie J.R. Todd raced to his third Top Fuel victory, using a career-best pass of 4.494 seconds to beat Melanie Troxel in the final. Phil Burkart snapped a 53-race winless streak in Funny Car. Three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson also won, while Karen Stoffer topped the Pro Stock Motorcycle field. Fast facts: NHRA's current tiebreaker system will be utilized for all three stages of the NHRA POWERade Countdown to the Championship. If a tie exists for the eight top spots after the conclusion of the regular season (the first 17 races), it will be resolved using a stepped system. First, the driver with the most round wins through the first 17 races will win the tie. If a tie still exists, the driver with the most head-to-head victories over the deadlocked participant will advance. Finally, if a tie remains, the driver with the quickest average qualifying elapsed time from his or her 10 best qualifying attempts will win the tie. ... Melanie Troxel is two points behind the eighth-place holder Dave Grubnic in the Top Fuel division. ... Seven spots have been clinched in Funny Car. Jim Head is in eighth place, 83 points ahead of Tommy Johnson Jr. ... Three spots are still open in the Pro Stock. Kurt Johnson, Warren Johnson and Larry Morgan are sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Next event: Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 3, Clermont, Ind. On the Net: http://www.nhra.com --- CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES Last race: Sebastien Bourdais finally conquered Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., after failing to win on the 4.028-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course in three previous tries. He won the Generac Grand Prix, starting from the pole and overpowering the rest of the 17-car field in picking up his fifth win of the season. Dan Clarke finished second, a career-best. Next race: Grand Prix of Belgium, Liege, Aug. 26 On the Net: http://www.champcarworldseries.com --- INDY RACING LEAGUE Last race: Tony Kanaan blistered the field during the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway, easily passing A.J. Foyt IV with nine laps remaining for his second straight win and fourth of the season. Scott Dixon finished second and moved within eight points of Dario Franchitti for the series lead with three races remaining. Next race: Grand Prix of Sonoma, Calif., Aug. 26 On the Net: http://www.indycar.com --- FORMULA ONE Last race: Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix for his third victory of the year, extending his standings lead in a race in which his McLaren team was hit with a penalty. Hamilton's team was penalized after it was deemed to have hindered his qualifying efforts. With six races to go, Hamilton leads Fernando Alonso 80-73 in the points standings. Next race: Turkish Grand Prix, Aug. 26, Istanbul On the Net: http://www.formula1.com --- OTHER RACES NASCAR Developmental Series WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR: New England Dodge Dealers 150 presented by Budweiser, Thursday, Thompson International Speedway, Thompson, Conn. On the Net: http://www.nascarlocalracing.com. GRAND NATIONAL, BUSCH EAST SERIES: Mohegan Sun 200, Saturday, Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn. On the Net: http://www.nascarlocalracing.com. CANADIAN TIRE SERIES: Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, Sunday, Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres, Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. On the Net: http://www.nascarlocalracing.com. |