ON THE TRACKS | This weekend's events

NASCAR WINSTON CUP
Sirius Satellite Radio 400
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 12:30 p.m.).
Track: Michigan Speedway, Brooklyn, (d-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.
Last race: Tony Stewart rebounded from some bad luck the previous two weeks and won the Pocono 500 at Long Pond, Pa.. Stewart had an engine problem two weeks ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway, then lost at Dover International Speedway after NASCAR imposed a one-lap penalty for stopping slightly out of his stall on pit road.
Last year: Matt Kenseth picked up his third victory of the season and fourth of his career by winning the Michigan 400. Kenseth battled Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman for most of the race before holding off Dale Jarrett on the last lap.
Fast facts: John Andretti was fired Tuesday by Petty Enterprises, where he has driven the famed No. 43 car since 1998. Christian Fittipaldi will replace him beginning with this weekend's race. In four-plus seasons with the Pettys, Andretti won one race and two poles. ... NASCAR returned part of Tony Stewart's Chevrolet on Tuesday after it was impounded March 28 after failing inspection. Joe Gibbs Racing was allowed to retrieve the chassis and engine. ... Jeff Gordon became only the fifth driver to win the June event from the pole and the first since Davey Allison did it in 1992 in the 2001 race. ... Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with six victories in Michigan and holds the track record with 29 top-10 finishes. ... Ernie Irvan came from 20th place to win in 1997. ... Michigan Speedway has a wide racing surface, making three- and four-car-wide formations common.
BUSCH SERIES
Meijer 300
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 5 p.m.); Saturday, race (FX, 7:30 p.m.).
Track: Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.
Last race: Scott Riggs took the series points lead for the first time in his career by running away for his second victory in the past five races at the Trace Adkins "Chrome" 300 in Gladeville, Tenn. Riggs, last season's rookie of the year, trailed Todd Bodine by 76 points. But Bodine was knocked after 190 laps while Riggs set a race record with his Ford by leading 160 of 225 laps.
Last year: Bodine edged Greg Biffle by .036 seconds to win the rain-delayed Kroger 300 in Sparta, Ky. Biffle spun out as the cars raced side by side, giving Bodine his first Busch victory since March 2001.
Fast facts: Riggs has finished in the top three four times in the past five races, climbing from ninth to the top of the standings over that stretch. ... Jason Keller became the first Busch Series driver to reach $7 million in career earnings after his 14th place finish last weekend. ... Mike Wallace may not compete in the GNC Live Well 250 at Milwaukee on June 29 due to a lack of sponsorship. ... Kevin Harvick took the lead following a yellow-flag pit stop and dominated the rest of the way to win the inaugural race in 2001. ... Prior to the 2001 race, the trucks were the only NASCAR circuit to have previously raced at Kentucky Speedway.
Next race: GNC Live Well 250, June 29, West Allis, Wis.
CART
Grand Prix of Monterey
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 5:50 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 5 p.m. (Speed Channel, 5:30 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (CBS, 3:30 p.m.).
Track: Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, Calif., (permanent road course, 2.238 miles, 11 turns).
Race distance: 194.706 miles, 87 laps.
Last race: Michel Jourdain Jr. finally won his first CART race by holding off challenges from Paul Tracy and Oriol Servia to win the Centennial 250 in West Allis, Mich., on May 31, the series' first race under the lights. Jourdain's victory came in his 126th start and came just a month after he lost a heartbreaker in Long Beach when his gearbox broke during a pit stop with just seven laps remaining in a race he had dominated.
Last year: Cristiano da Matta drove to a convincing 19-second victory over teammate Christian Fittipaldi in the Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Starting from the pole, da Matta led 82 of the 87 laps and took over the points lead with 51, five ahead of Jourdain.
Fast facts: Tracy has two wins (1993-94) and four top-five finishes at Monterey. ... Bruno Junqueira fell to third in points with 66 last weekend after an accident on the third lap took him out of contention. ... Sebastien Bourdais has won the pole at two of the three road-course races this season. ... Gil de Ferran led all 100 laps to win the 2000 event.
Next race: G.I. Joe's 200, June 22, Portland, Ore.
FORMULA ONE
Canadian Grand Prix
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 2 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.); Sunday, race (Speed Channel, 12:30 p.m.).
Track: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, (road course, 2.747 miles, 15 turns).
Race distance: 192.29 miles, 70 laps.
Last race: Juan Pablo Montoya ended Michael Schumacher's three-race winning streak by winning the Monaco Grand Prix on June 1. Montoya held off Kimi Raikkonen in the final laps on the twisting street course for his second career victory. His other came at the Italian Grand Prix in 2001.
Last year: Schumacher drove to Ferrari's 150th Formula One win with a dominating drive at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal that strengthened his grip on a record-tying fifth F1 championship. Schumacher recorded his 59th career win, sixth in eight races that season and his fifth Canadian Grand Prix triumph.
Fast facts: The event has been staged at three circuits since its inclusion in 1967 -- Mosport Park, Mont Tremblant and its current host, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, which began in 1978. The track is named for the father of former series champion Jacques Villeneuve. ... Ralf Schumacher outdrove his older brother, pulling away to an easy victory in the 2001 race. ... Only seven cars finished the 1968 race at the unstable Mont Tremblant track, with Denny Hulme taking the victory. ... Riccardo Paletti was killed at the 1982 event after he slammed into the back of Didier Pironi's stalled car at the start.
Next race: European Grand Prix, June 29, Nuerburgring, Germany.
INDY RACING LEAGUE
Radisson Indy 225
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 5:45 p.m.; Sunday, race (ABC, 4 p.m.).
Track: Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colo., (d-shaped oval, 1 mile, 10 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 225 miles, 225 laps.
Last race: With one lap to go after a restart following a caution period, Al Unser Jr. outdueled points-leader Tony Kanaan to win the Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Unser finished second, 0.0111 seconds behind Jeff Ward, in last year's race.
Last year: Gil de Ferran led 217 of the 225 laps and recorded his first IRL victory at the Radisson Indy 225. He held off 2002 Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves by 1.4385 seconds on a track that endured two separate rain storms.
Fast facts: This is the eighth year of the event. ... The race was extended by 25 laps last year. ... The 1997, 1998 and 1999 winners of this race went on to win the IRL championship. ... The track is one of three that have a 1-mile oval. Kanaan won at Phoenix on March 1 and the third will be held in Nazareth, Pa., on Aug. 24. ... Four of the first five races have featured a margin of victory of less than one second. Last week's race was the 31st time that an IRL event had a margin of victory of less than a second. ... There have been five different winners in as many 2003 races this season, four of them in Toyota-powered machines. In those five races, 12 different drivers have finished in the top five at least once. ... Kanaan has led at least one lap in every race this season.
Next race: SunTrust Indy Challenge, June 28, Richmond, Va.
NHRA
Pontiac Excitement Nationals
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 4 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 11 a.m. (ABC, 4 p.m., tape).
Track: National Trail Raceway, Columbus.
Last event: Tony Schumacher earned his first win of the season and the eighth of his career at the Route 66 Nationals in Joilet, Ill., on June 1, holding off defending champion Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. Whit Bazemore, Kurt Johnson and Angelle Savoie also won their categories.
Last year: Larry Dixon earned his career-high seventh Top Fuel victory of the season while teammate Ron Capps won the Funny Car category to give team owner Don Prudhomme two NHRA trophies at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals. Greg Anderson recorded his second Pro Stock win of the 2002 season.
Fast facts: This is the 39th year of the event. Only Indianapolis Raceway Park and Pomona Raceway have been around longer than National Trail Raceway, which has hosted an NHRA national event every year since 1972. ... Jeg Coughlin, last year's Pro Stock champion, is winless in one final-round appearance this season and fourth in the standings. He recorded his first win at this event in 1990. ... Ten-time defending Funny Car champion John Force is still looking for his first win of the season. ... Chuck Harris won his only Pro Stock title at the 1996 event.
Next event: Sears Craftsman Nationals, June 29, St. Louis.