All Times EDT
NASCAR
SPRINT CUP
Sylvania 300
Site: Loudon, N.H.
Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), qualifying (ESPN2, 3-5 p.m.); Saturday, practice (Speed, 9-10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.); Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (ESPN2, 1-4:30 p.m.).
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles).
Race distance: 317.4 miles, 300 laps.
Last year: Mark Martin won the Chase opener for the last of his five 2009 victories, beating Juan Pablo Montoya in a three-lap sprint.
Last week: Denny Hamlin raced to his second straight September victory at Richmond, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch. The victory was Hamlin’s sixth of the season, breaking a tie with Jimmie Johnson for the season lead and giving the Virginia driver the top seed in the Chase.
Fast facts: Hamlin enters the 12-driver, 10-race Chase with a 10-point lead over four-time defending series champion Johnson. Busch and Kevin Harvick, the regular-season points leader, are 30 points behind Hamlin. Kurt Busch is fifth, 40 points behind Hamlin, and Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle are 50 points behind. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer complete the Chase field, starting 60 points behind. … Johnson is winless since his June victory at New Hampshire.
Next race: AAA 400, Sept. 26, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS
TheRaceDayRaffleSeries.com 175
Site: Loudon, N.H.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 1-2:30 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 10-11:30 a.m.), race, 3 p.m. (Speed, 2:30-5:30 p.m.).
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles).
Race distance: 185.15 miles, 175 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch raced to the fifth of his seven 2009 victories, running the final 60 laps on one tank of fuel and holding off Ron Hornaday Jr.
Last race: Series leader Todd Bodine won for the fourth time this season, holding off Johnny Sauter on Sept. 3 at Kentucky Speedway. Busch was seventh, ending his three-series winning streak at four races.
Fast facts: Busch has four victories in 10 Trucks starts this season. … Bodine, the 2006 series champion, has a 261-point lead over second-place Aric Almirola with seven races left. Sauter is third, 318 points behind Bodine.
Next race: Smith’s Food & Drug Stores 350, Sept. 25, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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NATIONWIDE
Next race: Dover 200, Sept. 25, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.
Last week: Kevin Harvick raced to his third victory of the year and 37th overall, passing Brad Keselowski for the lead with just over 50 laps to go at Richmond International Raceway. Keselowski rallied from two laps down to finish second.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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INDYCAR
Indy Japan 300
Site: Motegi, Japan.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, qualifying; Sunday, race, midnight Saturday (Versus, Saturday, 11 p.m.-2 a.m.).
Track: Twin Ring Motegi (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Scott Dixon won the last of his five 2009 victories, starting from the pole and leading 139 of 200 laps. Dario Franchitti was second.
Last race: Helio Castroneves raced to his second victory of the season on Sept. 4, running the final 53 laps at Kentucky Speedway on one tank of fuel. Franchitti finished fifth to cut Will Power’s overall lead to 17 points with two races left.
Fast facts: In 2008, Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history, winning on fuel strategy in her 50th career start. She took the lead from Castroneves on the 198th lap and finished 5.8594 seconds ahead. … The series is making its eighth trip to Twin Ring Motegi. Scott Sharp won in 2003, Dan Wheldon swept the 2004-05 races, Castroneves won in 2006 and Tony Kaanan took the 2007 event.
Next race: Miami Indy 300, Oct. 2, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
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NHRA FULL THROTTLE
O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals
Site: Concord, N.C.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Saturday, 10-11 a.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 7-10 p.m.).
Track: zMax Dragway.
Last year: Cory McClenathan beat Shawn Langdon in the Top Fuel final. Robert Hight (Funny Car), Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Last event: Larry Dixon raced to his 10th Top Fuel victory of the season, winning the playoff-opening U.S. Nationals on Sept. 6 in Clermont, Ind. Dixon became the first NHRA driver to win 10 finals in a season without a loss. Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Louis Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Fast facts: The event is the second of six in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. The top 10 drivers qualified for the playoffs. The points were reset for the playoffs, with the leaders getting a 30-point advantage and the rest of the spots separated in 10-point increments. John Force, a record 14-time season champion who has four victories this season and a record 130 overall, leads the Funny Car standings, 60 points head of Jack Beckman with five races left. Matt Hagan is third (61 points behind the leader), followed by Ashley Force Hood (69 points back) and Hight (81 points back). … Dixon has a 46-point lead over McClenathan in the Top Fuel standings. Edwards leads Allen Johnson by 52 points in Pro Stock, and Andrew Hines has an 88-point advantage over Tonglet in Pro Stock Motorcycle. … In March at the track, John Force won the Funny Car division in the rain-delayed NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. McClenathan (Top Fuel), Edwards (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Next event: NHRA Fall Nationals, Sept. 23-26, Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
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FORMULA ONE
Next race: Singapore Grand Prix, Sept. 26, Marina Bay, Singapore.
Last week: Fernando Alonso overcame a poor start to win the Italian Grand Prix, giving Ferrari a victory on its home track. McLaren’s Jenson Button was second, 2.9 seconds back. Red Bull’s Mark Webber finished sixth to regain the season lead.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
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OTHER RACES
ARCA RE/MAX SERIES: ARCA Fall Classic, Saturday, Salem Speedway, Salem, Ind. Online: http://www.arcaracing.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car, Friday, Clay County Fair Speedway, Spencer, Iowa, and Saturday, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.; Late Model, Pepsi Nationals, Saturday, I-55 Raceway, Pevely, Mo.; Super DirtCar, Saturday, Mohawk International Raceway, Akwesasne, N.Y. Online: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
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