All Times EDT
NASCAR
SPRINT CUP
GEICO 400
Site: Joliet, Ill.
Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 2-3:30 p.m.; Speed, 6-7:30 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 1:30-3 p.m.); Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (ESPN, 1-5:30 p.m.).
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.
Last year: David Reutimann won the July race for his second Sprint Cup victory.
Last week: Kevin Harvick won the regular-season finale at Richmond to tie rival Kyle Busch atop the standings in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick has four victories this year.
Fast facts: Harvick and Busch enter the 10-race Chase with 2,012 points, followed by Jeff Gordon (2,209), Matt Kenseth (2,006), Carl Edwards (2,003), five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson (2,003), Kurt Busch (2,003), Ryan Newman (2,003), Tony Stewart (2,000), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,000), Brad Keselowski (2,000) and Denny Hamlin (2,000). … Harvick (2000-01) and Stewart (2004 and 2007) are two-time winners at Chicagoland. Kyle Busch won in 2008 at the track.
Next race: Sylvania 300, Sept. 25, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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NATIONWIDE
DOLLAR GENERAL 300
Site: Joliet, Ill.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 4:30-6 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, noon-1:30 p.m.), race, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 3-6 p.m.).
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch won the seventh of his record 13 series victories in 2010, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano in the July race.
Last week: Busch raced to his eighth Nationwide victory of the year and record 51st overall, holding off Carl Edwards at Richmond.
Fast facts: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has 16-point lead over Elliott Sadler with seven races left. Reed Sorenson is third, 45 points behind Stenhouse. … In the owner’s standings, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota has a 48-point leader over Roush Fenway’s No. 60 Ford. Busch has driven the No. 18 in 19 of the 27 races, and Edwards has made 26 starts – winning six times – in the No. 60. … Justin Allgaier won in June at the track, catching and passing Edwards on the final lap as both cars ran out of fuel.
Next race: OneMain Financial 200, Oct. 1, Dover International Speedway, Dover, Del.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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CAMPING WORLD TRUCK
FAST FIVE 225
Site: Joliet, Ill.
Schedule: Friday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 3:30-4:30 p.m.), race, 8 p.m. (Speed, 7:30-10:30 p.m.).
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch won the fourth of his eight 2010 Truck victories.
Last race: Ron Hornaday Jr. raced to his record 49th Truck Series victory, winning on pit strategy at Atlanta on Sept. 2. Clint Bowyer was second.
Fast facts: James Buescher leads the season standings, 12 points ahead of Johnny Sauter with eight races left. Buescher, winless this year, has 13 consecutive top-10 finishes. … Busch leads the series with five victories in 12 starts. … Kevin Harvick has made five series starts, winning the last three. Kevin Harvick Inc. plans to close its Truck program at the end of the year. KHI fielded its first truck in 2002 and has won 39 races in 343 entries. Hornaday won titles for the team in 2007 and 2009.
Next race: F.W. Webb 175, Sept. 24, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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INDYCAR
INDY JAPAN 300
Site: Motegi, Japan.
Schedule: Friday, practice; Saturday, practice, qualifying; Sunday, race, 12:05 a.m. (Versus, Saturday, 11:30 p.m.-2 a.m.).
Track: Twin Ring Motegi (road course, 2.983 miles).
Race distance: 187.9 miles, 63 laps.
Last year: Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves raced to the last of his three 2010 victories, edging Dario Franchitti on Twin Ring Motegi’s 1.5-mile oval.
Last race: Team Penske’s Will Power won the Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 4 for his second straight victory and sixth of the season. The Australian moved within five points of series leader Franchitti with three races left.
Fast facts: The IndyCar series is making its final visit to Twin Ring Motegi. The recently repaved 14-turn road course is being used because the oval track was damaged by the deadly earthquake in March. … In 2008 on Motegi’s oval, Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history. … Franchitti, the two-time defending series champion, has four victories this year for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
Next race: Kentucky Indy 300, Oct. 2, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
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NHRA FULL THROTTLE
O’REILLY AUTO PARTS NATIONALS
Site: Concord, N.C.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Sunday, 12:30-2 a.m.), Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 8:30-11:30 p.m.).
Track: zMAX Dragway.
Last year: Larry Dixon raced to the 11th of his record 12 Top Fuel victories in 2010, beating Doug Kalitta in the final. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Last event: Antron Brown became the first U.S. Nationals winner in both Top Fuel and Pro Stock Motorcycle, beating Del Worsham on Sept. 5 in the Top Fuel final. Mike Neff (Funny Car), Anderson (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won in the regular-season finale.
Fast facts: The event opens the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The top 10 in each class qualified for the playoffs. Points have been reset, with the gap from first to second 30 points and the other places separated by 10 points. Worsham earned the top seed in Top Fuel, followed by Brown. In Funny Car, Neff took the No. 1 spot, and Jack Beckman is second. Fifteen-time Funny Car champion John Force is seventh, 80 points behind Neff. Anderson leads the Pro Stock field, and Ed Krawiec tops the Pro Stock Motorcycle lineup. … In April in the Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway, Worsham edged Dixon by 0.0048 seconds – about 6 inches – in the Top Fuel final. Beckman (Funny Car) and Anderson (Pro Stock) also won.
Next event: Texas Fall Nationals, Sept. 23-25, Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
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FORMULA ONE
Next race: Singapore Grand Prix, Sept. 25, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.
Last week: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel won the Italian Grand Prix from the pole position, fighting off a challenge from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Vettel, an eight-time winner this year, has a chance to wrap up his second straight F1 title in Singapore.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
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OTHER RACES
ARCA RACING SERIES: Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic, Saturday, Salem Speedway, Salem, Ind. Online: http://www.arcaracing.com
AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES: ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey, Saturday (ESPN2, Sunday, 1-3 p.m.), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. Online: http://www.americanlemans.com
GRAND-AM ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES: EMCO Gears Classic, Saturday (Speed, 3-6 p.m.), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio. Online: http://www.grand-am.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car: Friday, Clay County Fair Speedway, Spencer, Iowa; Saturday, Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn. Late Model: Kehrer Bros. Construction 50, Friday, Tri-City Speedway, Pontoon Beach, Ill.; Pepsi Nationals, Saturday, I-55 Raceway, Pevely, Mo. Super DirtCar: Saturday, Mohawk International Raceway, Akwesasne, N.Y. Online: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Sprint Car: Saturday, Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt, Ind. Online: http://www.usacracing.com
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