This Week in Auto Racing October 15 - 18

This Week in Auto Racing October 15 - 18

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Race five in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" runs under the lights Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The Nationwide Series will also be in Charlotte this weekend, while Formula One heads to South America for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Banking 500 - Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, NC

Jimmie Johnson is back in control of the Chase after winning last Sunday's race at California. Johnson now holds a 12-point lead, as he looks to capture his unprecedented fourth straight Sprint Cup Series championship.

Despite winning two of the first four Chase races, Johnson is not ready to play up the fact that he is on his way to another title just yet.

"The last three years have been really special," said Johnson, who has won 16 Chase races so far, 10 more than his closest competitor. "Right now, we're in a great position, but it's way too early to start thinking about other things."

As the fifth race in the playoffs comes to Charlotte -- the hub city for NASCAR teams -- only 105 points separate Johnson from fifth-place Jeff Gordon.

Johnson excels at the next two tracks on the schedule. He has won five times at Charlotte and led laps in each race there since May 2002. Johnson likewise has been dominant at Martinsville, winning five of the last six races there.

"I think it really boils down to the fact that the tracks in the Chase are my strongest tracks," he said. "If you look at Martinsville, you look at Lowe's Motor Speedway, you go through them, and they are tracks where we win."

Talladega and Homestead are Johnson's weakest tracks in the remaining six races of the season. Talladega has always been a crapshoot for all drivers competing in the Chase. Homestead might not even be an issue for Johnson, since he has held a big enough points lead heading into the season-finale to all but assure him the championship the past three years.

Mark Martin slipped to second in points after finishing fourth at California. Martin leads all active drivers with 17 top-five finishes and 22 top-10's at Charlotte, but has finished no better than ninth in the last six races there.

Juan Pablo Montoya continues to be impressive in his first Chase campaign. Montoya, currently third in points (-46), is the only driver who has recorded top-five finishes in all the Chase races so far this year. The Earnhardt Ganassi driver turned in his best performance at Charlotte earlier this year with an eighth-place run.

Tony Stewart is now fourth in points (-84) after a fifth-place run at California. Stewart won the fall race at Charlotte in 2003, but has finished no better than sixth there since then.

Gordon has gained momentum in the Chase lately, finishing second at both Kansas and California. Gordon sat 10th in points after New Hampshire, but has climbed five positions since then.

"The last couple of weeks have gone well," Gordon said. "Even though we have consecutive second-place finishes, at different times during each race, it didn't appear that we'd finish that strong. But we battled hard to get those finishes."

Gordon and Johnson lead all active drivers with five victories each at Charlotte. Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip have the most wins there with six apiece.

Forty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the NASCAR Banking 500. Qualifying is scheduled for Thursday night.

Nationwide Series

Dollar General 300 - Lowe's Motor Speedway - Concord, NC

Carl Edwards kept his title hopes very much alive in the Nationwide Series after last Saturday's race at California.

Current points leader Kyle Busch, who suffered from flu-like symptoms throughout the weekend at California, got relief from Denny Hamlin early in the 300-mile race. Hamlin moved into the lead shortly after, but lost his chance to win the race for Busch when he made contact with Greg Biffle and then slammed the wall in the final laps.

Busch was credited with a 31st-place finish. Edwards finished third and trimmed Busch's lead to 155 points with five races to go.

"We had a huge points weekend in Fontana," Edwards said. "I'm excited about coming to Lowes Motor Speedway. I've had success there in the past, so hopefully we can run well this weekend."

Busch is the defending race winner at Charlotte. One year ago, he led 137 of 200 laps and survived a crash-filled night of racing for his fourth victory at the 1.5-mile track.

Earlier this year, Busch had to start from the rear of the field at Charlotte due to an engine change. He quickly made his way to the front and led a total of 98 laps before rain fell on the track, forcing NASCAR to halt the race 30 laps short of the scheduled distance. Mike Bliss did not pit during a late round of pit stops. Bliss held the lead when the rain came, and soon after, he was awarded the victory. Busch finished third.

Edwards has one victory at Charlotte, which came in May 2006. He has finished fifth and 10th in the last two races there.

Jeff Burton is set to make his 850th NASCAR national touring start in Friday's race. Charlotte will mark his 305th Nationwide start, to go along with 541 races in Sprint Cup and four in the Camping World Truck Series.

"It's hard to imagine I'll be making my 850th NASCAR start," Burton said. "I'm not one to count how many starts I have made, but I can certainly say that I have a lot more starts in my future."

Fifty-one teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Dollar General 300. Burton, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne are among the Sprint Cup regulars competing in the Nationwide race at Charlotte.

FORMULA ONE

Brazilian Grand Prix - Autodromo Carlos Pace at Interlagos - Sao Paulo, Brazil

With two races remaining in the Formula One season, Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull is confident he can beat Brawn GP teammates Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for this year's world championship.

Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix in dominating fashion earlier this month. The German moved to within 16 points of Button, who finished eighth. Vettel is optimistic his momentum will continue this weekend in Brazil and later this month in Abu Dhabi.

"Looking at us, looking at our car, I think we should be in good shape for the next two races," Vettel said. "Brazil is a track we know, Abu Dhabi is unknown for everyone, so we don't know, but I think independent from the circuit type, we have always been competitive."

Vettel finished fourth in last year's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Button began this season by winning six of the first races, but has not finished better than fifth since his victory in the June 7 Turkish Grand Prix.

"It's an important race for me and for the team in terms of the championships, and we will be working hard to get the best results possible from the weekend," said Button, who finished 13th in the 2008 Brazilian GP while driving for the now-defunct Honda Racing F1 team. "It's going to be a challenge, but one that we are all looking forward to."

Button will clinch the title in Brazil if he finishes third or better, or Vettel has a result lower than second and Barrichello, who races in front of his home crowd, finishes worse than fourth. Button's best finish in Brazil is third (2006).

Barrichello trails Button by 14 points. The Brazilian finished seventh in Japan and gained one point on Button.

"The Brazilian Grand Prix is always a special weekend for me, and I am very proud of my home race," Barrichello said. "The circuit has become almost like a second home to me over the years, but it still retains a real sense of challenge. Our car should suit the layout of the track this year, and you really need to have full confidence in your set-up to maximize the quick corners, the tight infield section and the bumpy surface."

Barrichello's best finish at his home track came in 2005 when he posted a third-place result. He finished 15th there last year.

For the last two years, the F1 world championship was decided on the final lap in the season-ending Brazilian GP. After losing the title by one point to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, Lewis Hamilton captured last year's championship with a come-from-behind fifth-place finish.

Hamilton came to South America with a seven-point lead over Brazilian and Ferrari rival Felipe Massa. The McLaren driver was on the verge of losing the title on the final lap. Massa took the checkered flag by a sizeable margin, while Hamilton was running sixth. He passed Toyota's Timo Glock for fifth as he entered the last corner. Hamilton ended up winning the championship by a single point over Massa.

The Brazilian GP is this year's penultimate race, with the November 1 inaugural event in Abu Dhabi concluding the season. Next year's season-finale will move back to Brazil.