ON THE TRACKS \ This weekend's events

NASCARNEXTEL CUPFord 400Homestead, Fla.
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (NBC, 1 p.m.)Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles, 8 degrees banking in turns)Race distance: 400 miles, 267 lapsLast year: Bobby Labonte won the Ford 400 after Bill Elliott's rear tire exploded on the last lap.Fast facts: The last time a points race was this close heading into the final event was 1992, when six drivers were separated by 113 points. Alan Kulwicki won that year. ... The polesitter has won this race two of the last three years. ... Tony Stewart won the first two Cup races at Homestead in 1999 and 2000. ... NASCAR chairman Brian France announced Monday that the new points system will be retained next year.
BUSCHFord 300Homestead, Fla.
Schedule: Saturday, race (NBC, 1 p.m.)Track: Homestead-Miami SpeedwayRace distance: 300 miles, 200 lapsLast year: Brian Vickers, 20, became NASCAR's youngest champion ever, claiming the Busch title with an 11th-place finish behind first-time winner Kasey Kahne. David Green finished ninth and wound up 14 points back, the second-closest margin in series history.Fast facts: This is the final race of the season. ... Truex is the first driver to win a Busch championship in his first full season on the circuit since Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the first of his two consecutive titles in 1998. ... Busch needs one more victory to surpass Greg Biffle's rookie season record of five set in 2001. ... Ron Hornaday will be appearing in his final Busch race before moving to the Craftsman Trucks next year.
Craftsman TrucksFord 200Homestead, Fla.
Schedule: Today, race (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.)Track: Homestead-Miami SpeedwayRace distance: 200 miles, 134 lapsLast year: Controversy clouded the finish of the closest championship in the history of the series, with Travis Kvapil winning the title and Ted Musgrave winding up angry in third at the Ford 200. Musgrave was penalized for darting out of line during a caution and pulling to the left alongside Dennis Setzer before they reached the starting line. Bobby Hamilton won the race.Fast facts: This is the final race of the season. ... Bobby Hamilton expanded his lead over Setzer in the standings to 70 points after finishing second in Darlington. Hamilton, who entered the race with a seven-point advantage, has 12 top-five finishes this season. ... Deborah Renshaw, who joined the series in July, became the first woman to lead a race in the division's 10 seasons when she moved to the front during an early caution lap in Darlington. ... Bobby Labonte is expected to make his third career truck series start this weekend, teaming with Setzer.
Associated Press