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On the tracks Previews
IZOD INDYCAR
INDIANAPOLIS 500
Site: Indianapolis.
Schedule: Today, race, noon (ABC, 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.).
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval, 2.5 miles).
Race distance: 500 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Dario Franchitti won the race for the third time. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver won a last-lap fight with Takuma Sato, their tires briefly touching to send Sato spinning hard into the wall. Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon finished second.
Last race: Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe won the Sao Paulo 300 on May 5 for his second victory of the year, passing Sato on the final turn.
Fast facts: Ed Carpenter, the stepson of IndyCar founder Tony George, took the pole Saturday in a car he owns himself. Carpenter had a four-lap average of 228.762 mph. Andretti Autosport drivers Carlos Munoz, Marco Andretti and E.J. Viso took the next three spots. ... Franchitti and Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves are trying to tie the race record of four victories shared by A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears. Castroneves qualified eighth, and Franchitti 17th.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NASCAR
COCA-COLA 600
Site: Concord, N.C.
Schedule: Today, race, 6 p.m. (FOX, 5:30-10:30 p.m.).
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Race distance: 600 miles, 400 laps.
Last year: Kasey Kahne won NASCAR’s longest race for the third time for his first victory for Hendrick Motorsports. Denny Hamlin was second.
Last week: Jimmie Johnson won the All-Star race at the track for the record fourth time. He also joined the late Davey Allison as only drivers to win two years in a row.
Fast facts: Johnson has six Charlotte victories in points races. The five-time series champion won five times in a six-race stretch — taking the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 and sweeping the spring and fall races in 2004 and 2005 — and won the 2009 fall race. Johnson has two victories this season — at Daytona and Martinsville — and leads the season standings, 44 points ahead of Carl Edwards.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
Associated Press