ON THE TRACKS This weekend's events

NASCARNEXTEL CUPPop Secret 500Fontana, Calif.
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 6 p.m.); Sunday, race (NBC, 7 p.m.)Track: California Speedway (d-shaped oval, 2 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns)Race distance: 500 miles, 250 laps.Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the weekend sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway by winning the Sharpie 500. Almost completely healed from burns he suffered last month in a non-NASCAR wreck, Earnhardt led 295 of the 500 laps for his first Nextel Cup win at the track.Last year: Inaugural race.Fast facts: Ryan Newman finished second at Bristol and jumped three spots to 10th in the standings, the cutoff position to become eligible for NASCAR's 10-race championship chase. ... Jeff Gordon won the Auto Club 500 at Fontana on May 2. ... Jimmie Johnson ended a streak of three straight DNF's with a third-place showing at Bristol. ... Rusty Wallace announced on Monday that he will retire after the 2005 season.
BUSCHTarget House 300Fontana, Calif.
Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4 p.m.); Saturday, race (NBC, 3 p.m.)Track: California Speedway (d-shaped oval, 2 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns)Race distance: 300 miles, 150 laps.Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. beat Matt Kenseth in the first green-white finish in series history to win the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Earnhardt started from the pole and led a race-high 125 laps, but a series-high 13 cautions extended the event by six laps.Last year: Inaugural race.Fast facts: Earnhardt has two wins in four Busch starts this season. ... Greg Biffle won the Stater Bros. 300 at California Speedway on May 1. ... The series has never competed in the state of California twice in one season. ... No polesitter has won at California Speedway.Next race: Emerson 250, Sept. 10, Richmond, Va.
NHRAMac Tools U.S. NationalsClermont, Ind.
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 7:15 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 2:15 p.m. (ESPN2, 5 p.m., tape); Sunday, qualifying, Noon (ESPN, 1 p.m., tape); Monday, early eliminations, (ESPN2, 11:30 a.m.), final eliminations (ESPN2, 7 p.m., tape)Track: Indianapolis Raceway Park.Last event: John Force earned his fourth Funny Car victory of the season and 113th of his career during the O'Reilly Auto Parts Mid-South Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park on Aug. 22. Larry Dixon, Jason Line and Antron Brown also won.Last year: Tony Schumacher took Top Fuel for the second straight year at Indianapolis Raceway Park after defeating Darrell Russell in the finals of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Greg Anderson won Pro Stock and Tim Wilkerson beat Johnny Gray to win Funny Car.Fast facts: This is the 50th year of the event. ... Tony Schumacher debuted at Indianapolis in 1996 and has won this event three times, all in the last four years. ... Dixon recorded his 35th career Top Fuel win at Memphis, tying him with Don Garlits for tops on the all-time list.
CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES
Last race: Bruno Junqueira jumped back into championship contention with his win at the Molson Montreal Indy. Junqueira recorded his first win since last August and cut Sebastien Bourdais' lead in the standings to 34 points with four races remaining.Next race: Sept. 12, Laguna Seca, Calif.
FORMULA ONE
Last race: Michael Schumacher clinched his seventh F1 championship at the Belgian Grand Prix on despite not winning for just the second time in 14 races this season. Schumacher finished second behind Kimi Raikkonen, but still earned his fifth straight drivers' title
Next race: Italian Grand Prix, Sept. 12
Associated Press