Sunday, July 27, 2003
NASCAR WINSTON CUPPennsylvania 500
Schedule: Today, qualifying (TNT, 3 p.m.); Sunday, race (TNT, 1 p.m.).Track: Pocono International Raceway (triangular oval, 2.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turn 1, 8 degrees in turn 2, 6 degrees in turn 3).Race distance: 500 miles, 200 laps.Last race: Jimmie Johnson stretched his final tank of fuel for 93 laps and held on to win the New England 300 at Loudon, N.H.Last year: Bill Elliott stalked Sterling Marlin throughout the race, finally passed him with 21 laps remaining, and took the crash- and rain-delayed Pennsylvania 500 to set a record with his fifth career victory at Pocono Raceway.Fast facts: Johnson's win at New Hampshire was also the 400th overall for Chevrolet. ... Matt Kenseth finished third last weekend to extend his lead in the championship race to 234 points over Jeff Gordon. It's Kenseth's largest margin since he took over the lead in early March. ... Jeff Gordon led a race-high 133 laps at Loudon but finished 24th. ... Brett Bodine is expected to compete for Morgan-McClure Motorsports this weekend. ... Tony Stewart won the Pocono 500 on June 8. ... Jeff Gordon was the last driver to win consecutive Pennsylvania 500s in 1996 and 1997.
BUSCH SERIESTrimSpa Dream Body 250
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 6 p.m. (Speed Channel, 8 p.m., tape); Saturday, race (NBC, 3:30 p.m.)Track: Pikes Peak International Raceway (d-shaped oval, 1 mile, 10 degrees banking in turns).Race distance: 250 miles, 250 laps.Last race: David Green held off a hard charge from Kevin Harvick to win at New Hampshire International Speedway and retake the lead in the Busch Series standings. Green became the 17th different winner in 17 Busch Series events at New Hampshire.Last year: Hank Parker Jr. used fuel economy to outlast the field and capture the NetZero 250 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Parker made two pit stops, compared with three each by Greg Biffle, who finished second, and Jason Keller, who started on the pole and finished third. Only one of Parker's stops was under the green.Fast facts: David Green has a 36-point lead over Scott Riggs in the championship standings.
CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMSMolson Indy
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 6:20 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4:30 p.m.); Sunday, race, 4 p.m. (Speed Channel, 9:30 p.m., tape).Track: Concord Pacific Place Street Circuit (temporary road course, 1.781 miles, 12 turns).Race distance: 178.10 miles, 100 laps.Last race: Paul Tracy led every lap of the Molson Indy to win on his home track in Toronto for the first time in 10 years. Tracy widened his lead in the CART standings to 15 points over third-place finisher Bruno Junqueira.Last year: Scotland's Dario Franchitti drove away from Canadian teammate Paul Tracy in a five-lap sprint in a Vancouver Molson-Indy race full of crashes and attrition. Only seven of 18 starters were running at the end of the 100-lap race.Fast facts: No driver has won the Vancouver race after winning the Toronto event since Michael Andretti in 1992.. ... Oriol Servia has recorded seven straight top-six finishes and has already reached a career high in points with 76. ... This is the 14th year of the race, but just the fifth with this track setup. ... Tracy became the first Canadian to win in Vancouver in 2000. ... Al Unser Jr. won four of the first six CART races in Vancouver, with Michael Andretti taking the other two in 1991 and 1992. ... Mauricio Gugelmin earned his only CART win at the 1997 race.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKSSears 200
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 3:10 p.m.; Saturday, race (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.).Track: Michigan Speedway (d-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).Race distance: 200 miles, 100 laps.Last race: Brendan Gaughan held off Jason Leffler by a truck length to win the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway. Gaughan, who pushed his Dodge to the front for the final time on the 50th of 160 laps, led the rest of the 200-mile race for his third victory of the season.Last year: Robert Pressley edged Jason Leffler by 0.102 seconds in the eighth-closest finish in truck series history to win the Michigan 200. He averaged a series track-record 142.208 mph in the third-fastest race in series history.Fast facts: Travis Kvapil finished third at Gateway to preserve a 34-point championship lead over Gaughan after 12 of 25 races. Kvapil has yet to win a race this season. ... The top five drivers in the standings are separated by just 86 points. ... Greg Biffle won the first two truck races at Brooklyn in 1999 and 2000. There was no race held in 2001.
INDY RACING LEAGUEMichigan Indy 400
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 11 a.m.; Sunday, race (ABC, 2:30 p.m.).Track: Michigan Speedway (d-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.Last race: Two cautions caused by Buddy Lazier in the final six laps helped Gil de Ferran win the Firestone Indy 200 under a yellow caution flag at Nashville Superspeedway. The Brazilian cruised in for his second victory of the year under caution after Lazier brushed the outside wall in Turn 2, bringing out the final yellow flag just as de Ferran was taking the white flag for the final lap.Last year: Rookie Tomas Scheckter raced to his first IRL victory, beating teammate Buddy Rice by 1.703 seconds in the inaugural Michigan Indy 400. Scheckter, the 21-year-old son of 1979 Formula One champion Jody Scheckter, started from the pole and overcame a stalled engine on his final pit stop. Rice was making his first IRL start, driving for Red Bull Cheever Racing.Fast facts: De Ferran has the most points of any IRL driver since he missed the Japan race in April because of a concussion and a cracked vertebra suffered at Phoenix in March. He has five top-three finishes since then and moved to second in the points race, 14 behind series leader Tony Kanaan. ... IRL officials announced before the Firestone Indy 200 that the Gen IV Chevy Indy V-8 will be driven first by Sam Hornish Jr. this weekend. The next Chevy driver in the points race will join Hornish testing the engine Aug. 10 at St. Louis before all teams get the new engine for Kentucky Speedway on Aug. 17.
NHRA
CarQuest Auto Parts Nationals
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 8 p.m., tape); Sunday, early eliminations, 2 p.m. (ESPN, 4 p.m., tape), final eliminations (ESPN2, 8:30 p.m., tape).Track: Seattle International Raceway.Last event: Larry Dixon raced to his sixth victory of the season and increased his Top Fuel points lead at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals in Morrison, Colo.. John Force finally captured his first Funny Car win of the season while Warren Johnson took the Pro Stock category.Last year: Darrell Russell scored his second straight Top Fuel victory at the 15th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways while Tony Pedregon and Jeg Coughlin Jr. also won their respective categories. The eliminations were postponed one day because of rain.