All Times EST
NASCAR
SPRINT CUP
FORD 400
Site: Homestead, Fla.
Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 3-4:30 p.m.; Speed, 6-7:30 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 2:30-4 p.m.); Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (ESPN, 2-7 p.m.).
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.
Last year: Jimmie Johnson won his record fifth straight season title, becoming the first driver in Chase history to overcome a points deficit in the season finale. Johnson finished second behind Carl Edwards in the race to edge Denny Hamlin by 39 points. Hamlin, 15 points ahead of Johnson entering the race, finished 14th.
Last week: Kasey Kahne won at Phoenix International Raceway to snap an 81-race victory drought. Points leader Edwards was second. Tony Stewart finished third, leaving him three points behind Edwards in the season standings.
Fast facts: A race victory would give either Edwards or Stewart the title, while Edwards needs only to finish ahead of Stewart to take the championship. If they tie in points, Stewart owns the tiebreaker with four season victories – all in the Chase – to Edwards’ one. They each have 356 points in the first nine Chase races, and Edwards earned three bonus points for his victory in Las Vegas in March. … Edwards is seeking his first Cup title. Stewart won in 2002 and 2005. … Under the previous points system, three points translates to about 13 points, making the margin the third-closest going into the final race since the inception of the position-based points structure in 1975. Darrell Waltrip had a two-point advantage over eventual champion Richard Petty in 1979, and Dale Earnhardt won in 1990 after entering the finale with a six-point lead over Mark Martin. … Edwards is a two-time Homestead winner and Roush Fenway Racing has won seven of the last nine races at Homestead. … Stewart is trying to become the first owner/driver to win the title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992. Stewart won the first two Cup races at Homestead in 1999 and 2000. … Greg Biffle has a series-high three victories at Homestead. He’s winless this season.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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NATIONWIDE
FORD 300
Site: Homestead, Fla.
Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 12:30-2 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 1-2:30 p.m.), race, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 4-7:30 p.m.).
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch raced to his series-record 13th victory of the season and gave Joe Gibbs Racing the owners’ championship. Busch also won the 2009 race.
Last week: Former IndyCar star Sam Hornish Jr. raced to his first NASCAR victory and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took a big step toward the Nationwide season title when Elliott Sadler was taken out late at Phoenix International Raceway.
Fast facts: Stenhouse leads Sadler by 41 points. … In the owners’ standings, Roush Fenway’s No. 60 has a one-point lead over Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18. Carl Edwards has driven the No. 60 in 32 of the 33 races, winning eight times. Kyle Busch has driven the No. 18 in 21 races, also winning eight times. Edwards will drive the No. 60, and Denny Hamlin will be in the No. 18. The No. 60 has the tiebreaker with nine second-place finishes, four more than the No. 18. … Danica Patrick is making her 25th series start.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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CAMPING WORLD TRUCK
FORD 200
Site: Homestead, Fla.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), qualifying (Speed, 4:30-6 p.m.), race 8 p.m. (Speed, 7:30-10 p.m.).
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 201 miles, 134 laps.
Last year: Kyle Busch raced to his series-high eighth victory of the year.
Last race: Kevin Harvick won at Texas on Nov. 4 to wrap up the season owners’ title for his No. 2 Chevrolet. Busch intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution, was parked for the race and forced to sit out the Nationwide and Cup events.
Fast facts: Austin Dillon leads the season standings, 20 points ahead of Johnny Sauter and 28 in front of James Buescher. The 21-year-old Dillon is the grandson of team owner Richard Childress. … Hornaday is making his first start for Kevin Harvick Inc. … Harvick is driving the No. 2. He has four victories this year. … Busch isn’t entered.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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FORMULA ONE
Next race: Brazilian Grand Prix, Nov. 27, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo.
Last week: McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for his third victory of the year. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the season champion, dropped out on the first lap after puncturing a tire and spinning.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
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