ON THE TRACKS \ This weekend’s events

NASCAR
NEXTEL CUP
Sharpie 500
Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.); Saturday, race (ESPN, 8 p.m.)
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).
Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.
Last race: Kurt Busch won for the second time in three races, dominating in the second half Tuesday to capture the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway that had twice been postponed because of rain. The 2004 Cup champion held off Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps for the 17th win of his career.
Last year: Matt Kenseth continued his momentum-building run toward the Chase by winning at Bristol Motor Speedway — his third consecutive NASCAR victory. His fourth win of 2006 clinched him a spot in NASCAR’s playoff.
Fast facts: NASCAR’s top circuit had never run on a Tuesday during the modern era, which began in 1973. ... With just three races remaining until the start of the playoff, Busch remains 12th in the standings, 33 points behind Truex. Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped past Ryan Newman into 13th, but is still 173 points behind Busch. ... Kenseth will try to join Cale Yarborough (1976-78) and Darrell Waltrip (1981-83) as the only drivers to win this race three straight years. ... Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte returned Tuesday after serving six-week suspensions for technical violations discovered on their cars before the race in June at Sonoma, Calif. ... Ricky Rudd, who turns 51 on Sept. 12, said Monday he plans to retire at the end of this season.

BUSCH SERIES
Food City 250
Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4:30 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 8 p.m.)
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway
Race distance: 133.25 miles, 250 laps.
Last race: Denny Hamlin fought off a midrace challenge from Matt Kenseth, then drove away for a dominating victory in the Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
Last year: Kenseth passed Kevin Harvick with 15 laps remaining and hung on to win at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kenseth was flagged for speeding on pit road earlier in the race, forcing him to drop to the back of the field and work his way toward the front over the 250 laps. It was Kenseth’s first Busch win since May 2005 at Darlington Raceway.
Fast facts: Cup regulars have 22 victories in 25 races this season. ... Carl Edwards spun after being hit from behind by Reed Sorenson and wound up 28th at Michigan, a lap behind the leaders. Edwards still leads Kevin Harvick by 700 points, but Harvick’s team owner, Richard Childress, took the lead in owner points by 40 over Jack Roush, owner of Edwards’ car. ... Edwards won the Sharpie MINI 300 at Bristol on March 24. ... Harvick finished third at Michigan after winning the previous two Busch races. ... Ryan Newman has finished no worse than eighth in five career Busch starts at Bristol.
Next race: Busch Series 300, Sept. 1, Fontana, Calif.

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES
Grand Prix of Belgium
Zolder

Schedule: Today, qualifying, 8:50 a.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 8:50 a.m.; Sunday, race (ESPN Classic, 8 a.m.)
Track: Circuit Zolder (permanent road course, 2.622 miles, 15 turns).
Race distance: NA.
Last race: Sebastien Bourdais finally conquered Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Aug. 12 after failing to win on the 4.028-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course in three previous tries. He won the Generac Grand Prix, starting from the pole and overpowering the rest of the 17-car field in picking up his fifth win of the season. Dan Clarke finished second, a career-best.
Last year: This year is inaugural race.
Fast facts: Bourdais announced on Aug. 10 he will be joining the Formula One circuit at the end of the season. The three-time defending champion has won 28 of 69 career starts in Champ Car, along with 29 poles. He currently has a 37-point lead over Robert Doornbos ... The series returns to Europe for the first time since 2003. ... Paul Tracy’s disappointing season continued at Road America. He crashed on the first lap and wound up 12th, his fourth finish of 11th or worse since winning at Cleveland on June 24.
Next race: Dutch Grand Prix, Sept. 2, Assen, Holland.

INDY RACING LEAGUE
Motorola Indy 300
Sonoma, Calif.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, race (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.)
Track: Infineon Raceway (road course, 2.26 miles, 12 turns).
Race distance: 180.8 miles, 80 laps.
Last race: Tony Kanaan blistered the field during the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway on Aug. 11, easily passing A.J. Foyt IV with nine laps remaining for his second straight win and fourth of the season. Scott Dixon finished second and moved within eight points of Dario Franchitti for the series lead with three races remaining.
Last year: Marco Andretti became the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event, beating Franchitti by 0.66 seconds to take the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. While most of the field pitted on lap 51, Andretti stayed out to take the lead, then stretched his fuel for the final 30 laps to take the checkered flag in the next-to-last race of the season.
Fast facts: Kanaan is within 52 points of Franchitti. ... Franchitti had his second harrowing accident in as many weeks at Kentucky. He ran into Kosuke Matsuura a few hundred feet past the finish line and flew into the air before the car pirouetted on its nose and landed against the outside wall in the first turn. He walked away unharmed. ... Sam Hornish Jr. has had two straight DNFs and three this season. It was just the fourth time in his eight-year IndyCar career he’s failed to complete consecutive races.
Next race: Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, Sept. 2

FORMULA ONE
Turkish Grand Prix
Istanbul

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 7 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speed Channel, 7:30 a.m.)
Track: Istanbul Park (road course, 3.342 miles, 14 turns).
Race distance: 193.836 miles, 58 laps.
Last race: Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix for his third victory of the year on Aug. 5, extending his standings lead in a race in which his McLaren team was hit with a penalty. Hamilton’s team was penalized after it was deemed to have hindered his qualifying efforts. With six races to go, Hamilton leads teammate Fernando Alonso 80-73 in the points standings.
Last year: Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix from the pole position, his first F1 victory in his 67th race. Alonso held off Michael Schumacher in a thrilling duel over the last 12 laps to take second and increase his lead slightly over the German in the season standings.
Fast facts: Three-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais will race for the Toro Rosso team in Formula One next season. He will replace Vitantonio Liuzzi. The team has yet to score a point through the first 11 races. ... McLaren leads the constructors’ standings with 138 points while Ferrari has 119. ... Kimi Raikkonen won the inaugural race from the pole in 2005. ... Ralf Schumacher was sixth at Hungary, his best finish of the season. ... The track was created by German architect Herman Tilke, who also designed the Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai circuits. The cars run counterclockwise.
Next race: Italian Grand Prix, Sept. 9, Monza

Associated Press