ON THE TRACKS This weekend's events

NASCARNEXTEL CUPSylvania 300Loudon, N.H.
Schedule: Today, qualifying (TNT, 3 p.m.); Sunday, race (TNT, 1 p.m.).Track: New Hampshire International Speedway (oval, 1.058 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns).Race distance: 317.4 miles, 300 laps.Last race: Jeremy Mayfield won his first race in more than four years and advanced to the championship chase by taking the Chevrolet 400 at Richmond International Raceway.Last year: Jimmie Johnson won despite a pit-lane accident in which three members of his crew escaped serious injury. Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip collided in pit row, causing Gordon's car to bump Johnson's Chevrolet.Fast facts: The chase will start with Gordon as the points leader, followed by Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Mayfield and Ryan Newman. The top-10 drivers are separated by 45 points. ... Kasey Kahne finished 12th at Richmond and dropped out of the top 10.
Craftsman TrucksSylvania 200Loudon, N.H.
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday, race (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.).Track: New Hampshire International SpeedwayRace distance: 211.6 miles, 200 laps.Last race: Ted Musgrave led all but 10 laps and held off teammate Jamie McMurray in an aborted two-lap sprint to the finish and won the Kroger 200 at Richmond, Va..Last year: Jimmy Spencer held off Carl Edwards, bouncing the rookie off the wall on the way to a victory at the New Hampshire 200. It was Spencer's second career truck race.Fast facts: There have been no repeat winners in the first eight years of the race. ... Dennis Setzer, who trails standings leader Bobby Hamilton by 57 points, has four top-five finishes in five career truck starts at New Hampshire. ... Jack Sprague is the series' all-time money leader with just over $5 million after his eighth-place finish at Richmond.Next race: Las Vegas 250, Sept. 25
NHRALucas Oil NationalsReading, Pa.
Schedule: Today, qualifying, 2:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m., tape).Track: Maple Grove Raceway.Last event: Greg Anderson won his 13th Pro Stock event of the season at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Clermont, Ind.. Gary Desham, Tony Schumacher, and Antron Brown also won.Last year: Schumacher set a national elapsed-time record en route to his Top Fuel victory. Schumacher set the record at 4.441 seconds during his qualifying victory. Tim Wilkerson, Warren Johnson and Michael Phillips also won.Fast facts: Anderson needs 55 points this weekend to clinch the Pro Stock title for the second straight year. ... Funny Car driver Whit Bazemore has four first-round losses and no final-round appearances in his last seven events. He had won two of the four May events. ... Last year's event was postponed until October because of rain.Next event: O'Reilly Fall Nationals, Sept. 26, Dallas
Associated Press