On the Tracks: Upcoming events

NASCAR NATIONWIDE

Pepsi 300

Site: Lebanon, Tenn.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 10:05 a.m. (ESPN, 1 p.m., tape), race (ESPN, 2 p.m.).

Track: Nashville Superspeedway (tri-oval, 1.33 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns)

Race distance: 300 miles, 225 laps.

Last race: Clint Bowyer outraced Kasey Kahne and the rain to win at Bristol Motor Speedway when the race was stopped just past halfway. Rain delayed the start of the race by two hours. With dark clouds rolling in, the goal was simply to make it to the halfway point — when NASCAR considers a race official — and be out front whenever the rain resumed. Bowyer was one of a handful of cars not to pit when Mike Bliss spun to bring out the sixth caution 100 laps into the event. Knowing the race only needed to go another 51 laps to be considered official, Bowyer gambled that the cars who did pit wouldn’t be able to catch him before the rain came.

Last year: Carl Edwards raced to his second consecutive Nationwide victory, easily winning the Pepsi 300 in chilly conditions to extend his lead in the season standings. Edwards led the final 25 laps and crossed the finish line 4.7 seconds ahead of David Reutimann.

Next event: O’Reilly 300, April 5, Fort Worth, Texas

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

Nationwide Series

Schedule and standings

Feb. 16 — Camping World 300, Daytona Beach, Fla. (Tony Stewart)

Feb. 23 — Stater Bros. 300, Fontana, Calif. (Tony Stewart)

March 1 — Sam’s Town 300, Las Vegas (Mark Martin)

March 8 — Nicorette 300, Hampton, Ga. (Matt Kenseth)

March 15 — Sharpie MINI 300, Bristol, Tenn. (Clint Bowyer)

Sunday — Pepsi 300, Lebanon, Tenn.

April 5 — O’Reilly 300, Fort Worth, Texas

April 11 — Bashas’ Supermarkets 200, Avondale, Ariz.

April 20 — Mexico 200, Mexico City

April 26 — Aaron’s 312, Talladega, Ala.

May 2 — Nationwide 250, Richmond, Va.

May 9 — Diamond Hill Plywood 200, Darlington, S.C.

May 24 — Carquest Autoparts 300, Concord, N.C.

May 31 — Dover (Del.) 200

June 7 — Federated Auto Parts 300, Lebanon, Tenn.

June 14 — Meijer 300, Sparta, Ky.

June 21 — Milwaukee 250, West Allis, Wis.

June 28 — Camping World 200, Loudon, N.H.

July 4 — Daytona 250, Daytona Beach, Fla.

July 11 — Chicagoland 300, Joliet, Ill.

July 19 — Gateway 250, Madison, Ill.

July 26 — Kroger 200, Indianapolis

Aug. 2 — Napa Auto Parts 200, Montreal

Aug. 9 — Zippo 200, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Aug. 16 — Carfax 250, Brooklyn, Mich.

Aug. 22 — Food City 250, Bristol, Tenn.

Aug. 30 — Camping World 300, Fontana, Calif.

Sept. 5 — Emerson Radio 250, Richmond, Va.

Sept. 20 — Roadloans.com 200, Dover, Del.

Sept. 27 — Kansas 300, Kansas City

Oct. 10 — Dollar General 300, Concord, N.C.

Oct. 25 — Memphis (Tenn.) 250

Nov. 1 — O’Reilly Challenge, Fort Worth, Texas

Nov. 8 — Arizona.Travel 200, Avondale

Nov. 15 — Ford 300, Homestead, Fla.

Driver Standings

1. Kevin Harvick, 751

2. Clint Bowyer, 702

3. Carl Edwards, 701

4. David Ragan, 671

5. David Reutimann, 668

6. Mike Bliss, 627

7. Mike Wallace, 603

8. Brad Keselowski, 591

9. Jason Leffler, 579

10. Kyle Busch, 568

11. Kelly Bires, 548

12. Greg Biffle, 540

13. Bobby Hamilton Jr., 538

14. Jason Keller, 524

15. Dario Franchitti, 520

16. David Stremme, 515

17. Johnny Sauter, 504

18. Tony Stewart, 472

19. Steve Wallace, 467

20. Marcos Ambrose, 458

FORMULA ONE Malaysian Grand Prix

Site: Kuala Lumpur

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 2 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speed Channel, 2:30 a.m.).

Track: Sepang International Circuit (permanent road course, 3.443 miles, 15 turns).

Race distance: 192.808 miles, 56 laps.

Last race: Lewis Hamilton, last year’s overall runner-up, was never seriously threatened in winning an accident-filled Australian Grand Prix to open the season. Hamilton started from the pole and avoided the mayhem behind him for his fifth victory in 18 GP starts. Only seven of the 22 cars on the grid finished the 58-lap race.

Last year: Fernando Alonso won the Malaysian Grand Prix to hand new team McLaren-Mercedes its first F1 win since 2005. Hamilton added to McLaren’s resurgence by finishing second ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Next event: Bahrain Grand Prix, April 6, Sakhir

On the Net: http://www.formula1.com

Associated Press