All Times EDT
NASCAR
SPRINT CUP
Pepsi 400
Site: Fontana, Calif.
Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 3-4:30 p.m.), qualifying (ESPN2, 6:30-8:30 p.m.); Saturday, practice; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (ESPN, 2-6:30 p.m.).
Track: Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles).
Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Jimmie Johnson took the Chase lead en route to his record fourth straight season title, easily pulling away from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon after a late restart.
Last week: Greg Biffle raced to his second victory of the year, beating second-place Johnson by nearly 8 seconds at Kansas Speedway.
Fast facts: The race is the fourth of 10 Chase events. … Johnson, the February winner at Fontana for his fifth victory in 15 starts on his home-state track, leads the standings – eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin. Kevin Harvick (30 points behind Johnson) is third followed by Carl Edwards (-53), Gordon (-58), Kurt Busch (-70), Kyle Busch (-80), Biffle (-85), Jeff Burton (-101), Tony Stewart (-127), Matt Kenseth (-149) and Clint Bowyer (-252). … The track will have only one race in 2011 – in March – after staging two a year the last seven seasons.
Next race: Bank of America 500, Oct. 16, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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NATIONWIDE
CampingWorld.com 300
Site: Fontana, Calif.
Schedule: Friday practice (Speed, 2-3 p.m., 4:30-6 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), race, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 4-7:30 p.m.).
Track: Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2.0 miles).
Race distance: 300 miles, 150 laps.
Last year: Joey Logano raced to his second straight victory and fifth of the season, pulling away from Brian Vickers over the final two laps.
Last week: Logano won at Kansas Speedway to give Joe Gibbs Racing its 16th victory of the season and wrap up Toyota’s third straight manufacturers’ title. Series leader Brad Keselowski was second.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch, the February winner at the track, has a series-record 11 victories this season for JGR. Busch is second on the Nationwide career victory list with 41 – seven behind Mark Martin. … Keselowski has a 374-point lead over second-place Carl Edwards with six races left. … Danica Patrick, coming off a second-place finish last week in the IndyCar finale, is making her eighth start of the season in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 7 Chevrolet. She also will race in the final five events.
Next race: Dollar General 300, Oct. 15, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS
Next race: Kroger 200, Oct. 23, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.
Last race: Austin Dillon raced to his second victory of the year, leading the final 35 laps Sept. 25 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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FORMULA ONE
Japanese Grand Prix
Site: Suzuka, Japan.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 1-2:30 a.m.), Saturday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 1-2:30 a.m.); Sunday, race, 2 a.m. (Speed, 1:30-4 a.m., 2:30-5 p.m.).
Track: Suzuka International (road course, 3.61 miles).
Race distance: 191.12 miles, 53 laps.
Last year: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel led from start to finish.
Last race: Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sept. 26 for his second straight victory and fourth of the year.
Fast facts: Alonso is second in the standings, 11 points behind Red Bull’s Mark Webber with four races left – three if the Korean Grand Prix fails to pass a track inspection. … Webber has four victories this year. … McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, a three-time winner this season, is third in the standings, 20 points behind Webber. Vettel is another point back in fourth. … Alonso won the 2008 race for Renault.
Next race: Korean Grand Prix (subject to FIA’s circuit approval), Oct. 24, Korean International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
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NHRA FULL THROTTLE
Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals
Site: Mohnton, Pa.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 9-11:30 p.m.).
Track: Maple Grove Raceway.
Last year: Bob Tasca topped the Funny Car field, beating Mike Neff in the final. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Last event: Tony Schumacher raced to his fifth Top Fuel victory of the season and first in the playoffs, winning at Texas Motorplex on Sept. 26. Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Louis Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.
Fast facts: The event is the fourth of six in the Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship. … Dixon, 11 for 11 in final rounds this year, has a 69-point lead over Cory McClenathan in Top Fuel. In Funny Car, 14-time champion John Force leads Matt Hagan by 25 points. Mike Edwards is 16 points ahead of Anderson in Pro Stock.
Next event: NHRA Las Vegas Nationals, Oct. 28-31, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
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OTHER RACES
ARCA RE/MAX SERIES: American 200, Saturday (Speed, 1-3:30 p.m.), Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham, N.C. Online: http://www.arcaracing.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car, Saturday, Rolling Wheels Raceway, Elbridge, N.Y. Super DirtCar, Saturday, New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, N.Y. Online: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Silver Crown, Sumar Classic, Saturday, Terre Haute Action Track, Terre Haute, Ind. Online: http://www.usacracing.com
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