ON THE TRACKS Upcoming events

NASCAR
NEXTEL CUP
3M Performance 400
Brooklyn, Mich.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3:10 p.m.); Sunday, race (ESPN, 2 p.m.)
Track: Michigan International Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 400 miles, 200 laps.
Last race: Tony Stewart took advantage of a stunning mistake by Jeff Gordon with two laps to go to win the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Gordon, who started from the pole and led a race-high 51 laps, seemed to have his 10th road course victory in hand, but he spun out on his own heading into the first turn with Stewart a couple of car-lengths behind. Gordon finished ninth.
Last year: Matt Kenseth easily kept Jeff Gordon at bay in the final laps to win his third race of the season. Gordon charged from 12th place on a restart with 36 laps to go in the 200-lap race — but he ran out of time and finished 10 car-lengths behind Kenseth.
Fast facts: Seven drivers in the top 10 of the point standings, have won at Michigan International Speedway. Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and Carl Edwards have won in the NEXTEL Cup Series, while Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick have won in the Busch Series. ... Jeff Gordon has 14 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes as well as four wins this season. Gordon is 344 points ahead of Denny Hamlin in the standings. ... Joe Gibbs Racing, winners of three Nextel Cup Series championships and more than 70 NASCAR races, has signed Kyle Busch to drive for the No. 18 team in Nextel Cup beginning in 2008. ... Kyle Petty, who suffered a broken hand in last week’s race at Watkins Glen, may not race this weekend. ... Furniture Row Racing announced Kenny Wallace is stepping down as the driver of No. 78 car and will remain with the team as a consultant.

BUSCH SERIES
Carfax 250
Brooklyn, Mich.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 11:10 a.m.); race (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.)
Track: Michigan International Speedway (D-shaped oval, 2 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 250 miles, 125 laps.
Last race: Kevin Harvick, the defending Busch Series champion, led 37 laps and beat Jeff Burton by 3.5 seconds in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. Harvick posted his second consecutive win, fifth this season and 31st of his career. He is tied with Jack Ingram for second in career wins behind Mark Martin’s 47.
Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped Carl Edwards out of the way on a restart in overtime and grabbed a contentious victory.
Next race: Food City 250, Aug. 24, Bristol, Tenn.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
O’Reilly 200
Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Aug. 22, qualifying, 4 p.m. (Speed Channel, 6:30 p.m. tape); race (Speed Channel, 8 p.m.)
Track: Bristol Motor Superspeedway (oval .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 106.6 miles, 200 laps.
Last race: Travis Kvapil led 47 of the final 48 laps to win the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Kvapil beat Ron Hornaday Jr. by 2.403 seconds for his third win in six races and enabled the 2003 series champion to preserve his chances for a second title.
Last year: Ron Hornaday Jr. easily won his 29th career NASCAR Craftsman Truck race, coming from the 21st position to run away with the Built Ford Tough 225. Rick Crawford slipped by Brendan Gaughan for second.
Next race: Dodger Dealers Ram Tough 200, Sept. 1, Madison, Ill.

NHRA
Toyo Tires Nationals
Reading, Pa.

Schedule: Today, qualifying, 3 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 6 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 10 p.m., tape).
Track: Maple Grove Raceway.
Last event: John Force won his 125th Funny Car event by beating Kenny Bernstein by about 2 feet in a meeting of drag-racing legends. In the two legends’ first meeting in 18 years, Force’s 4.794-second run at 316.60 mph was faster by 0.0048 seconds. Bernstein’s son, Brandon, beat Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin became just the 11th racer in NHRA’s 56-year history with 50 national wins when he beat Greg Anderson. Andrew Hines beat teammate Eddie Krawiec in an all-Harley-Davidson final.
Last year: Rookie J.R. Todd raced to his third Top Fuel victory, using a career-best pass of 4.494 seconds to beat Melanie Troxel in the final. Phil Burkart snapped a 53-race winless streak in Funny Car. Three-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson also won, while Karen Stoffer topped the Pro Stock Motorcycle field.
Next event: Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, Sept. 3, Clermont, Ind.

Associated Press