Racing at a Glance

Thursday, June 26, 1997 | 11:48 a.m.

A look at this week's top auto races:

WINSTON CUP

Idle

Next race: July 5, Pepsi 400, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Last week: Jeff Gordon stretched his last tank of fuel 110 miles to edge Ricky Rudd for the title in the first-ever California 500 at the new California Speedway in Fontana. The victory increased Gordon's lead in the Winston Cup driver standings to 92 points over Mark Martin.

Fast fact: Gordon became an inaugural winner for the second time in his brief career by winning the first-ever Winston Cup event at the California Speedway. Gordon also won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis in 1994.

---

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Lysol 200

Site: Watkins Glen International, 2.45-mile paved road course, Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Date: Sunday, June 29.

TV: TNN, 12:45 p.m. EDT.

Qualifying: Saturday.

Defending champion: Terry Labonte.

Last week: Idle.

Fast fact: Terry Labonte has won the last three Busch Grand National events at Watkins Glen and four of six, with no finish lower than third.

---

INDYCAR

Idle

Next race: July 13, Grand Prix of Cleveland, Burke Lakefront Airport.

Last week: Mark Blundell, getting more grip from slick tires on a fast-drying race course, passed Gil de Ferran on the final straight to win the G.I. Joe's 200 in Portland, Ore. De Ferran's car was running on rain tires at the end.

Fast Fact: Blundell won the closest finish in Indy-car history in the race following his biggest disappointment in Indy cars, when he ran out of fuel on the last lap as the leader in Detroit. This time he won by 27-thousandths of a second, surpassing the 43-thousandths margin that separated Al Unser Jr. from Scott Goodyear in the 1992 Indy 500.

---

IRL

Samsonite 200

Site: Pikes Peak International Raceway, 1-mile oval, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Date: Sunday, June 29.

TV: ABC, 3 p.m. EDT.

Qualifying: Saturday.

Defending champion: Inaugural event.

Last week: Idle.

Fast Fact: Al Unser Jr. won the two previous Indy-car events in Colorado, capturing the CART races through the streets of Denver in 1990 and 1991.

---

FORMULA ONE

French Grand Prix

Site: Circuit Nevers, 2.641-mile paved road course, Magny Cours, France.

Date: Sunday, June 29.

TV: ESPN, 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Qualifying: Saturday.

Defending champion: Damon Hill.

Last week: Idle.

Fast fact: Michael Schumacher of Germany, seeking his third Formula One driving title, has benefited from Jacques Villeneuve's inability to get his Williams-Renault to finish races. Villeneuve's 30 points in the driver standings, seven less than Schumacher, have come via three victories. But he has failed to finish the other four races this season.

---

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

NAPA Autocare 200

Site: Nazareth Speedway, 1-mile paved oval, Nazareth, Pa.

Date: Sunday, June 29.

TV: CBS, 1:30 p.m. EDT.

Qualifying: Saturday.

Defending champion: Jack Sprague.

Last week: Ron Hornaday Jr. started from the pole and led throughout in winning the Loadhandler 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Fast fact: Hornaday, winning the day after his 39th birthday, is the second driver in the 54-race history of the truck series to win a race without the lead changing. Hornaday did it himself at Sears Point in 1995 and Mike Skinner has done it three times.

---

NHRA

Sears Craftsman Nationals

Site: Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Ill.

Date: Sunday, June 29.

TV: ABC (delayed), 5 p.m. EDT, July 6.

Qualifying: Friday-Saturday.

Defending champions: Inaugural event.

Last week: Idle.

Fast fact: Top fuel points leader Gary Scelzi has advanced to at least the semifinal round in all 10 NHRA events this season.