ROUNDUP News and notes

Triple duty: Competing for NASCAR's Nextel Cup championship should be enough to keep Mark Martin busy. It isn't. Despite seeking his first championship in 18 years on the circuit, Martin set a daunting schedule for himself later this month at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He will begin a hectic weekend of racing Oct. 29 in the ASA 150. The 45-year-old Martin began his career in the American Speed Association, winning 22 of 143 races and four championships before heading to NASCAR. He also will race the next day in the Aaron's 312 Busch Series event. Martin, the career leader with 45 Busch victories returned to the series earlier this year after retiring in 2000. He finished second at Michigan in August, then ran eighth last month in Dover. Currently fifth in NASCAR's new 10-man, 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup showdown, Martin also will race in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Cup race on Oct. 31. "This will give me a whole lot more chances to win in Atlanta," he said. Between the three races, including practice and qualifying, Martin estimates he will run more than 1,200 miles on Atlanta's 1.54-mile tri-oval that weekend.
Follow the leader: Tony Kanaan and Thiago Medeiros have a lot in common, including 2004 driving championships. Shortly before Kanaan won his first title in the Indy Racing's League's featured IndyCar Series last Sunday at California Speedway, the lesser known Medeiros wrapped up the title in the IRL's steppingstone Infiniti Pro Series. While Kanaan won his championship with consistency, recording 14 consecutive top-five finishes, including three wins, Medeiros dominated Pro Infiniti with five wins and seven poles in 11 races. Both drivers hail from northern Brazil and started racing in go-karts in Sao Paolo. Both honed their skills and trained extensively at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, the same track that prepared Brazilian drivers such as Emerson and Christian Fittipaldi, Rubens Barrichello, Cristiano da Matta and Helio Castroneves. "I pretty much followed in Tony's steps," said Medeiros, who like Kanaan raced in the Formula Chevrolet Series in Brazil after a successful go-karting career. "We drove in the same series when we were learning about racing." While Medeiros stayed in South America to race in Formula 3 before joining the IRL's development series, Kanaan went to Europe before joining Indy Lights in 1996. Roger Bailey, executive director for the Infiniti Pro Series, also oversaw Kanaan in Indy Lights. "I don't think you can make comparisons between any of the guys, because the two series were so different," Bailey said. "I do think guys who win on this level go on to win in bigger levels."
Associated Press