NASCAR
SPRINT CUP
PENNSYLVANIA 400
Site: Long Pond, Pa.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, noon-1:30 p.m., 3:30-5 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.); Sunday, race, 1 p.m. (ESPN, noon-5 p.m.).
Track: Pocono Raceway (triangle, 2.5 miles).
Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps.
Last year: Brad Keselowski raced to the second of his three 2011 victories, driving with a broken left ankle four days after a crashing during testing at Road Atlanta.
Last week: Jimmie Johnson won the Brickyard 400 for the fourth time to match Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon for the Sprint Cup track record. Johnson also won at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Fast facts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., the winner at Michigan in June, leads the season standings for the first time since 2004. … There are six races left until the 12-driver Chase field is set. Kasey Kahne, with two victories, holds the first of the two wild-card spots that will go to the drivers with the most victories in the 11th-20th spots. Kahne is 13th. No. 11 Kyle Busch, No. 14 Ryan Newman and No. 17 Joey Logano – the winner at Pocono in June – each have one victory. … The track was repaved last year after the August race. Both Pocono events have been reduced from 500 to 400 miles.
Next race: Finger Lakes 355, Aug. 12, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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NATIONWIDE
U.S. CELLULAR 250
Site: Newton, Iowa.
Schedule: Friday, practice; Saturday, qualifying, race, 8 p.m. (ESPN2, 7:30-10:30 p.m.).
Track: Iowa Speedway (oval, 0.875 miles).
Race distance: 218.75 miles, 250 laps.
Last year: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completed an Iowa sweep, winning after blowing his engine on the final lap. Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, blinded by smoke from Stenhouse’s car, inadvertently rammed Stenhouse across the finish line. Stenhouse went on to win the series championship. This May, he raced to his third victory in a row at the track, leading 209 of the 250.
Last week: Brad Keselowski won the first Nationwide race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, taking the lead when Elliott Sadler was penalized for jumping a late restart. Sam Hornish Jr. was second, and Sadler ended up 15th.
Fast facts: Sadler leads the season standings, one point ahead of Austin Dillon. Stenhouse is third, 13 points behind Sadler. … Kurt Busch, also racing in the Sprint Cup event at Pocono, will drive the No. 54 Toyota owned by brother Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch won in the car at Richmond in April. He also won at Daytona last month in a Phoenix Racing entry.
Next race: Zippo 200 at The Glen, Aug. 11, Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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CAMPING WORLD TRUCK
POCONO MOUNTAINS 125
Site: Long Pond, Pa.
Schedule: Friday, practice; Saturday, qualifying, race, 1 p.m. (Speed, 12:30-3 p.m.).
Track: Pocono Raceway (triangle, 2.5 miles).
Race distance: 125 miles, 50 laps.
Last year: Kevin Harvick won the rain-delayed race, holding off Kyle Busch in a green-white-checkered finish.
Last race: James Buescher won at Chicagoland on July 21 for his third victory of the season, taking the lead on the last lap and holding off Brendan Gaughan.
Fast facts: Timothy Peters leads the standings, 23 points ahead of Ty Dillon. Justin Lofton is 30 points behind in third, and Buescher is another five points back in fourth. Peters won last month in Iowa. … Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski are racing. Hamlin is a four-time Pocono winner in Sprint Cup, and Keselowski won the Cup race at the track last August.
Next race: VFW 200, Aug. 18, Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Mich.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
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INDYCAR
HONDA INDY 200
Site: Lexington, Ohio.
Schedule: Friday, practice; Saturday, practice, qualifying; Sunday, race, 1 p.m. (ABC, 12:30-3 p.m.).
Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (road course, 2.258 miles).
Race distance: 191.25 miles, 85 laps.
Last year: Scott Dixon won at Mid-Ohio for the third time in five years, passing Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dario Franchitti on a restart with 24 laps left. Dixon also won at the track in 2007 and 2009.
Last race: Penske Racing’s Helio Castroneves won the Edmonton Indy on July 22, holding off Takuma Sato on the airport road course.
Fast facts: Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay leads the season standings, 23 points ahead of Castroneves. Hunter-Reay won three straight races – on ovals at Milwaukee and Iowa and the street course in Toronto – in June and July. Three-time defending series champion Franchitti is eighth, 104 points behind Hunter-Reay. … The race is the eighth of the season on road or street courses. Castroneves also won the opener at St. Petersburg, Will Power took the next three at Alabama, Long Beach and Sao Paulo, and Dixon won at Belle Isle. … The Indy Lights series is racing Sunday in Trois Rivieres, Quebec.
Next race: Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Aug. 26, Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, Calif.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
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NHRA FULL THROTTLE
NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS
Site: Kent, Wash.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.-midnight); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 6-9 p.m.).
Track: Pacific Raceways.
Last year: Tim Wilkerson won the Funny Car event for the third straight year, beating Jack Beckman in the final. Del Worsham won the Top Fuel competition, and Jason Line topped the Pro Stock field.
Last week: Antron Brown won the Top Fuel final in the NHRA Sonoma Nationals to move into position to become the first NHRA driver to twice sweep the three-race Western Swing. Johnny Gray topped the Funny Car field, Allen Johnson won in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Fast facts: Brown opened the Western Swing two weeks ago with a victory in the Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Colorado. He swept the three-event swing in 2009. Brown and Spencer Massey share the lead in the season standings. Both drivers have four victories this season. … Robert Hight tops the Funny Car standings, 81 points ahead of Capps. Hight won four straight events from February to April. … Johnson leads the Pro Stock points race. He has four victories this season.
Next event: Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Aug. 16-19, Brainerd International Raceway, Brainerd, Minn.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
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FORMULA ONE
Next race: Belgian Grand Prix, Sept. 2, Spa-Francorchamps Circuit, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Last week: McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix for his second victory of the year, holding off Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
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OTHER RACES
ARCA RACING SERIES: Pennsylvania ARCA 125, Saturday (Speed, 3-5 p.m.), Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pa. Online: http://www.arcaracing.com
AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, Saturday (ABC, 2-4 p.m.), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio. Online: http://www.americanlemans.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car: Friday, Bloomington Speedway, Bloomington, Ind.; Saturday, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, Pevely, Mo. Late Model: Saturday, USA Nationals, Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis. Online: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Sprint Car: Friday, Eagle Raceway, Eagle, Neb.; Saturday, Valley Speedway, Grain Valley, Mo.; Sunday, U.S. 36 Raceway, Cameron, Mo. Online: http://www.usacracing.com
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