ON THE TRACKS \ Weekend events

NASCAR

NEXTEL CUP

Checker Auto Parts 500

Avondale, Ariz.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (ESPN2, 5:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (ABC, 3 p.m.).

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 312 miles, 312 laps.

Last race: Jimmie Johnson won a dramatic side-by-side duel with Matt Kenseth, grabbing his third straight victory and, more important, wresting the points lead from Jeff Gordon at Texas Motor Speedway. The reigning Cup champion, who began the day nine points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Gordon, moved out to a 30-point lead with two races remaining in the Chase for the championship.

Last year: Johnson moved one step closer to his first NASCAR championship, leaving Phoenix International Speedway with a firm hold of the points standings. Johnson settled for second place behind winner Kevin Harvick.

Fast facts: Johnson took the points lead for good at Texas last year on the way to his first and only title. He last won three straight races in 2004 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Martinsville and Atlanta. ... Gordon won the April race at Phoenix from the pole, his first victory at the track. ... Six of the 12 drivers in the Chase were officially eliminated from title contention last weekend. ... This will be the final Car of Tomorrow event this season. The series will run the cars full-time in 2008. ... Tony Stewart has finished outside the top 10 in three straight races. But he was the runner-up in two of the last three Phoenix events. ... Kenseth has recorded three straight top-three finishes, but was one of the six eliminated last weekend.

Next race: Ford 400, Nov. 18, Homestead, Fla.

BUSCH SERIES

Arizona.Travel 200

Avondale, Ariz.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, Noon), race (ESPN2 4 p.m.).

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Kevin Harvick won another race and runaway points leader Carl Edwards finally wrapped up his first Busch Series championship at Texas Motor Speedway. Edwards, who built a lead of more than 800 points in the first half of the season, stumbled through the second half before putting away the title with an 11th-place run in the O’Reilly Challenge. He leads runner-up David Reutimann by an insurmountable 552 points with two races to go.

Last year: Matt Kenseth used a terrific final restart to hold off Harvick at Phoenix International Raceway, spoiling Harvick’s bid to break Sam Ard’s record of Busch wins in a season. Ard won 10 races in 1983 and Harvick, a nine-time winner who had already wrapped up the title, had hoped to use wins in the final two events this year to break the mark.

Fast facts: Edwards won the 2005 fall event from the pole and has finished in the top five in four of his five truck starts at the track. ... Harvick picked up his 32nd career Busch victory last weekend, moving him past Jack Ingram into second place behind Mark Martin, who has 47 wins. ... David Ragan has a 31-point lead over Marcos Ambrose in the Rookie of the Year standings.

Next race: Ford 300, Nov. 17, Homestead, Fla.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Casino Arizona 150

Avondale, Ariz.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4:30 p.m.), race (Speed Channel, 7:30 p.m.).

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 150 miles, 150 laps.

Last race: Ted Musgrave broke a 66-race NASCAR winless streak, taking the checkered flag under caution at Texas after the two trucks in front of him crashed going into the first turn of what was supposed to be a green-white finish. Mike Skinner finished third and regained the series point lead by 57 over Ron Hornaday Jr. with two races left. It was the sixth time in seven races Skinner and Hornaday traded the points lead, but it’s the largest gap between the drivers in that stretch.

Last year: Musgrave finished 20th in the rain-postponed Ford 200 and edged Dennis Setzer for his first truck championship. The 49-year-old Musgrave became NASCAR’s oldest champion, claiming the title after finishing second in 2001 and third the last three years. Todd Bodine won his third consecutive race.

Fast facts: Skinner would earn the championship this weekend if he wins the race and leads the most laps and Hornaday finishes 36th with zero laps led. ... Skinner and Hornaday are the only two drivers who can mathematically win the title. The 57-point differential is the fifth-closest in series history with two races remaining. ... Musgrave’s previous win was at Gateway in 2005. ... Willie Allen leads Joey Clanton and Tim Sauter by six points in the Rookie of the Year standings. ... Brendan Gaughan was the runner-up in each of the last two races.

Next race: Ford 200, Nov. 16, Homestead, Fla.

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES

Mexico Grand Prix

Mexico City

Schedule: Today, qualifying, 3:20 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 3:20 p.m.; Sunday, race (2 p.m., ESPN2).

Track: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (2.774-mile permanent road course)

Race length: 2 hours.

Last race: Needing only to finish 12th or better, Formula One-bound Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais won the Lexmark Indy 300 in Australia on Oct. 21 to clinch his fourth straight driver’s title. Bourdais took the lead for good with 20 minutes left in the 1 hour, 45-minute timed race and became the first driver to win the race twice in its 17-year history. Bourdais has clinched the championship in Australia the last three years.

Last year: Bourdais edged Justin Wilson by 3.528 seconds, passing Wilson in the final lap, to capture his third consecutive season championship.

Fast facts: With Bourdais having clinched the series championship, the race for second place is between Wilson and rookie Robert Doornbos. Wilson enters the season finale with an eight-point advantage. ... Doornbos has clinched the rookie of the year race. Competing for second place are Graham Rahal, Neel Jani and Simon Pagenaud, with only seven points separating the three. ... This race will be Bourdais’ last with the Newman Haas Lanigan team. Next year, he will be driving for the Toro Rosso team in Formula One. ... Bourdais leads all drivers with seven victories this year, followed by Doornbos and Will Power with two each, and Paul Tracy and Wilson with one each.