ON THE TRACKS | This weekend's events

NASCARNEXTEL CUPAdvance Auto Parts 500Martinsville, Va.
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3:10 p.m.); Sunday, race (FOX, 1 p.m.)
Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns)
Race distance: 263 miles, 500 laps
Last race: Elliott Sadler overcame several late cautions and barely held off rookie Kasey Kahne to win the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 4. Sadler finished just two-hundredths of a second ahead of Kahne for the eighth-closest finish in Cup history.
Last year: Jeff Gordon used the nose of his car to nudge Bobby Labonte out of the way on the first turn of the 487th lap and held on to win the Virginia 500 in Martinsville. Gordon has won three of the last four races at the track after taking the Subway 500 on Oct. 19.
Fast facts: Rookie Kasey Kahne has three second-place finishes and a third-place showing in his first seven races. ... Rusty Wallace, who has a winless drought of 105 races, won five of the seven Cup races at Martinsville from 1993-96.
CRAFTSMAN TRUCKSKroger 250Martinsville, Va.
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday, race (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.)
Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns)
Race distance: 131.5 miles, 250 laps
Last race: Bobby Hamilton passed Mike Skinner in the final turn, then held on when they bumped coming to the finish line to win the inaugural EasyCare 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 13.
Last year: Dennis Setzer passed Chad Chaffin with 51 laps to go and held on through a series of late restarts to win the Advance Auto Parts 250, becoming the first truck driver to win twice on tight, narrow Martinsville Speedway.
Next race: Ohio 250, May 16, Mansfield, Ohio
CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIESGrand Prix of Long BeachLong Beach, Calif.
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 5 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 4:45 p.m.; Sunday, race (SPIKE, 4 p.m.)
Track: Streets of Long Beach (temporary road course, 1.968 miles, 11 turns)
Race distance: 177.12 miles, 90 laps
Last year: Canadian Paul Tracy became the first CART driver to begin a season with three victories after winning the Grand Prix of Long Beach by 4.544 seconds over second-place Adrian Fernandez. Tracy is also the first driver in American open-wheel racing to start with three wins since Al Unser did it in 1971.
Next race: Monterrey Grand Prix, May 23
INDY RACING LEAGUEIndy Japan 300Suzuka, Japan
Schedule: Today, race (ESPN2, 11:30 p.m.)
Track: Twin Ring Motegi (oval, 1.5 miles, 10 degrees banking in turns)
Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps
Last race: Tony Kanaan repeated as Phoenix champion, dominating the Copper World Indy 200 on March 21 to win the fastest Indy car race at Phoenix International Raceway since 1995. Kanaan led 191 laps -- the most since Bobby Rahal led from start to finish in 1992 -- and averaged 127.981 mph.
Last year: Scott Sharp won the crash-filled Indy Japan 300 and moved into a tie for the lead in career victories in the series. Sharp finished under the yellow flag for his eighth career IRL victory, matching Sam Hornish Jr. and Buddy Lazier for wins in the series
Next race: Indianapolis 500, May 30, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NHRAO'Reilly Spring NationalsBaytown, Texas
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, noon (ESPN2, 10 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, noon (ESPN2, 5 p.m., tape)
Track: Houston Raceway
Last event: Tony Schumacher raced to his third Top Fuel victory in four events this season, beating Larry Dixon in the finals of the SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas. Phil Burkart earned his second career victory in Funny Car while Greg Anderson posted his third Pro Stock victory in 2004.
Last year: Doug Kalitta earned his first Top Fuel victory of the season by beating Cory McClenathan in the final of the O'Reilly Spring Nationals. Tony Pedregon narrowly defeated Del Worsham in the Funny Car final, Kurt Johnson took Pro Stock and Angelle Savoie won Pro Stock Bike.
Next event: O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals, May 2, Bristol, Tenn.
-- Associated Press