This Week in Auto Racing August 27 - 29

This Week in Auto Racing August 27 - 29

Montreal, Canada (Sports Network) - The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes its final off-week of the season, but there's still plenty of racing action this weekend. While the Nationwide Series heads north of the border to Montreal, the Camping World Truck Series will join the IZOD IndyCar Series at Chicagoland Speedway. Formula One ends its three-week "summer break" with the Belgian Grand Prix.

Nationwide Series

NAPA Auto Parts 200 - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

The Nationwide Series travels to Montreal for the third and final road course race on the 2010 schedule. Carl Edwards won the inaugural event at the Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, WI in June. Marcos Ambrose won at Watkins Glen International for the third year in a row earlier this month.

Rain has been a huge factor in the last two Nationwide races at the 2.710- mile, 14-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The weather forecast for the Montreal area this weekend calls for mostly sunny skies with no chance of precipitation.

Last year, Ambrose led the field when a shower moved over the area with 16 laps remaining. NASCAR instructed teams to pit, giving them five minutes to change to rain tires and install a windshield wiper if needed. NASCAR's decision to continue the race on a wet track surface led to numerous spins that forced several late-race cautions, including one for a two-lap overtime finish. Ambrose pulled away on the final restart, but Edwards chased him down before the Aussie slid on the final turn of the last lap. Edwards made the pass and then claimed his third Nationwide victory of the season and his first on a road course.

"Montreal is a full-on go all the way through the gears, come all the way to a stop, turn right or left, then you go all through the gears, come to a stop and turn left or right -- it's a real stop-and-go racetrack," Edwards said. "I would say on a scale, Sonoma is really swoopy, smooth and finesse. Watkins Glen is in the middle, and Montreal is really aggressive."

Ambrose has led the most laps in the first three races at Montreal, but victory has eluded him here. He lost the 2008 race after being penalized for speeding on pit road late in the race. Canadian Ron Fellows went on to win the rain-shortened race. Fellows battled wet track conditions and capitalized on an early-race pit strategy to score his fourth career Nationwide victory. All four of his wins have come on road courses.

Kevin Harvick won the inaugural event in 2007, one in which Robby Gordon thought he had won after he and Ambrose took turns spinning each other on the final lap.

NASCAR determined that Gordon should be in the 14th spot for the final restart, but Gordon refused to move from behind Ambrose. The race resumed with Gordon right behind the leader. Gordon took out his frustration on Ambrose, spinning him in the second corner. Harvick then inherited the lead, and after holding off Patrick Carpentier, was declared the winner.

Harvick is not competing in Sunday's race at Montreal. Road course ace Max Papis will drive Harvick's No.33 Chevrolet.

Robby Gordon returns to Montreal since the inaugural race here in '07.

Brad Keselowski, who currently holds a 313-point lead over Edwards, has yet to win a Nationwide road course race in eight attempts. However, Keselowski has finished no worse than fifth in the last three road course events.

"The more you run the road courses, the better you get at it," Keselowski said. "The best part about Montreal is the people, so I enjoy the city and the atmosphere."

Several Canadian drivers are entered in this event. Jacques Villeneuve, the former Formula One world champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, returns to the track that bears his father's name

"I've been racing there over the years since 1993," Villeneuve said. "I've been on the track a lot of times, and to be able to go back in a NASCAR race is great. Last year, we had a good race, and we were competitive. We're going back this year with the same car from Elkhart Lake [Road America], which was very good. We've saved it for this race, because it is good in the tight corners, which should be a good positive for Montreal."

Patrick Carpentier, Andrew Ranger, who finished third in this race last year, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Pierre Bourque and Fellows are the other Canadians scheduled to compete at Montreal.

Forty-seven teams are on the preliminary entry list for Sunday's NAPA Auto Parts 200.

Kyle Busch is not entered for Montreal, since he is competing in Friday's Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. Brad Coleman will drive the No.18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Last Friday, Busch claimed his Nationwide record-tying 10th victory of the season.

Camping World Truck Series

EnjoyIllinois.com 225 - Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, IL

What a week it was for Kyle Busch at Bristol.

Busch's win in the Camping World Truck Series race last Wednesday kicked off his historical three-race sweep at Bristol. He became the first driver to win all three of NASCAR's national touring series races in the same week.

While the Sprint Cup Series takes its last open weekend of the season, Busch will try to win his fourth national series race in a row at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway.

Busch will attempt to defend his title in the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland. One year ago, he led the most laps with 79 and then held off Todd Bodine after the final restart with seven laps remaining to win the inaugural Truck Series race here.

"Chicago is always fun because my parents are from that area and so are my fiancee's parents," Busch said. "It has a lot of history and family ties. I think we think we have a good shot, and with a new sponsor on board [traxxas RC cars], we have a good chance at winning and making it four [national series wins] in a row."

With nine races to go in the season, Bodine holds a comfortable 211-point lead over Aric Almirola.

Bodine leads all drivers in the series with 11 wins on 1.5-mile tracks. He won at Texas Motor Speedway in June. Bodine finished second at Chicagoland last year.

"We had a really good truck last year, but we got beat on a restart," Bodine said.

The 225-mile truck race will run under the lights at Chicagoland on Friday, the night before the IZOD IndyCar Series competes here.

Thirty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the EnjoyIllinois.com 225.

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 - Chicagoland Speedway - Joliet, IL

After the ninth and last road/street course race of the season was completed last Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, the IZOD IndyCar Series now holds its "final four" events on 1.5-mile ovals, beginning this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

With five wins so far this season, Will Power from Team Penske holds a 59- point lead over Dario Franchitti, the defending series champion. Franchitti's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Scott Dixon, is 95 points out of the top spot. All five of Power's wins have come on road/street courses.

"I don't think this championship is almost mine," he said. "There's a lot of racing to go. Four races, a lot can happen. Really, whatever the buffer is, you can lose a lot of that in just one race. I'm going to race those ovals like I want to win the championship. I think I got enough experience now, and I think we'll be very strong."

After Chicagoland, the series will head to Kentucky Speedway (September 4) and then Twin Ring Motegi in Japan (September 19) before wrapping up the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway (October 2).

Penske has won the last two race at Chicagoland, with Helio Castroneves taking the 2008 race and Ryan Briscoe capturing the 2009 event.

Power did not compete in last year's race at Chicagoland due to season-ending injuries he sustained during a practice crash at Sonoma. He finished fifth in his only IndyCar start at Chicagoland in 2008, when he drove for KV Racing Technology.

Even though Dixon and Franchitti have been dominant on the 1.5-mile ovals lately, a Ganassi driver has not won at Chicagoland since Dan Wheldon's victory in a Ganassi car here in 2006. Wheldon also won at Chicagoland in 2005.

Wheldon departed Ganassi and moved over to Panther Racing at the conclusion of the 2008 season.

Dixon has been the bridesmaid at Chicagoland, finishing second in the last four races here.

Last year, Briscoe beat Dixon to the finish line by 0.0077 seconds -- the fourth closest finish in series history.

"I've seen this movie before several times, so it's frustrating," Dixon said after his runner-up finish at Chicagoland in 2009. "I was thinking maybe for a lap or two there that we just might be able to do it. But for the majority of the night, if it came down to that shootout, I think we definitely knew we were going to lose. But it's getting pretty old, so hopefully we can turn it around at some point."

In 2008, Castroneves finished 0.0033 seconds ahead of Dixon in the second closest finish in series history. However, Dixon clinched the series title by 17 points over Castroneves.

When the series competed at Chicagoland in 2007, Franchitti, who drove for Michael Andretti's team at the time, entered the season-ending race with just a three-point lead over Dixon. The two drivers battled all the way to the final lap, with Franchitti taking the checkered flag and the series title.

Dixon held the lead on the last lap, but Franchitti passed Dixon, who suddenly slowed when he ran out of fuel. He coasted home second.

Chicagoland had hosted the series' season-finale from 2006-08. The season now ends in Homestead.

Twenty-nine teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300.

FORMULA ONE

Belgian Grand Prix - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - Spa, Belgium

After a three-week vacation during the month of August, Formula One teams are back on course this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa- Francorchamps circuit.

Mark Webber from Red Bull Racing won the August 1 Hungarian Grand Prix and took over the lead in the world championship standings. Webber has accumulated 161 points so far, while Lewis Hamilton from McLaren trails Webber by four points after a disastrous 20th-place finish in the Hungarian GP. Hamilton retired during the opening laps due to a gearbox issue.

Webber leads all drivers with four wins this season, but the Australian driver would love to pick up his fifth victory on one of F1's most challenging courses.

"I don't think there is a driver on the grid that doesn't look forward to Spa," Webber said. "It's an incredible circuit to drive on. I expect we can do well there, whether it's as well as I did in Budapest [Hungarian Grand Prix] is a question for everyone, but I know our team is ready."

Sebastian Vettel is now 10 points behind his Red Bull teammate Webber.

Kimi Raikkonen won last year's Belgian GP, but Raikkonen departed Ferrari after the 2009 season and is now competing in this year's World Rally Championship with Citroen's Red Bull-backed junior team.

Ferrari has won the last three Belgian GP's. Raikkonen, in his first year with Ferrari, won this race in 2007. Felipe Massa captured the victory in the 2008 event.

Massa did not compete in last year's Belgian GP after injuries he suffered during a high-speed qualifying crash in the Hungarian GP curtailed his season.

"The last time I raced here was in 2008, and it's not just because I won the race, I love this track," Massa said. "I think all the drivers look forward to racing on this fabulous circuit. It is high speed, requiring less downforce than at many of the other tracks, and fortunately in the last few races, we showed that we have returned to being very competitive, even better than we had expected."

Spa-Francorchamps is located in the heart of the picturesque Ardennes' countryside in Belgium. The 4.352-mile (7.004 km), 20-turn road course boasts some of the most famous corners on the racing circuit. Spa has always been one of the most atmospheric and popular rounds. It has been a firm fixture on the F1 calendar since 1950. The race was absent from the 2006 calendar to allow for extensive improvement work to both the track and its facilities.