This week’s races

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 9:06 a.m.

Winston 500

Site: Talladega, Ala.

Schedule: Today, first-round qualifying (ESPN, 1 p.m.); Saturday, second-round qualifying 11:45 a.m. (ESPN, 1 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ESPN, 10 a.m.)

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (tri-oval, 2.66 miles, 33 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 500.08 miles, 188 laps.

Last year: Dale Jarrett beat Jeff Gordon by 0.14 second and won a $1 million bonus.

Last race: Gordon passed Bobby Labonte with seven laps to go to win the UAW-GM Quality 500 in Concord, N.C.

Fast facts: Gordon has won his first two races with new crew chief Brian Whitesell. Ray Evernham was Gordon's chief for his first 47 victories.

Next race: Pop Secret 400, Oct. 24, Rockingham, N.C.

Leading drivers: 1. Dale Jarrett, 4,427. 2. Bobby Labonte, 4,205. 3. Mark Martin, 4,165. 4. Jeff Gordon, 4,031. 5. Tony Stewart, 4,004. 6. Jeff Burton, 3,921. 7. Dale Earnhardt, 3,859. 8. Rusty Wallace, 3,542. 9. Mike Skinner, 3,362. 10. Ward Burton, 3,347. 11. Terry Labonte, 3,196. 12. Jeremy Mayfield, 3,151. 13. Ken Schrader, 3,010. 14. Bobby Hamilton, 2,976. 15. Sterling Marlin, 2,923. 16. Wally Dallenbach, 2,888. 17. Steve Park, 2,881. 18. Jimmy Spencer, 2,861. 19. John Andretti, 2,850. 20. Kenny Irwin, 2,840.

O'Reilly 300

Site: Fort Worth, Texas.

Schedule: Today, race (ESPN, 5:30 p.m.)

Track: Texas Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 187.5 miles, 125 laps.

Last year: Inaugural event.

Last race: Jay Sauter, whose crew gave him fresh tires late in the race, passed Mike Bliss with three laps remaining and went on to win the Kroger 225 in Louisville, Ky. The win snapped a yearlong victory drought in the series for Sauter.

Fast facts: Sauter is moving to the NASCAR Busch series in 2000. ... Sauter is the season's 10th different winner.

Next race: No Fear Challenge, Oct. 30, Fontana, Calif.

Leading drivers: 1. Jack Sprague, 3,437. 2. Greg Biffle, 3,413. 3. Dennis Setzer, 3,393. 4. Stacy Compton, 3,321. 5. Mike Wallace, 3,230. 6. Jay Sauter, 3,224. 7. Ron Hornaday, 3,184. 8. Andy Houston, 3,108. 9. Mike Bliss, 3,049. 10. Jimmy Hensley 3,017.

Honda Indy

Site: Surfers Paradise, Australia.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 9:30 a.m.; race (ESPN, 9 p.m.).

Track: Australian Street Circuit (temporary road course, 2.795 miles, 12 turns).

Race distance: 181.675 miles, 65 laps.

Last year: Alex Zanardi, now on the Formula One circuit, won his seventh race of the season. Dario Franchitti finished second.

Last race: Paul Tracy of Las Vegas finished 13.733 seconds -- nearly a quarter of a lap -- ahead of teammate Franchitti to win the Texaco Grand Prix of Houston. Franchitti, who went into the 100-lap race trailing Juan Montoya by 29 points, is now just 13 behind.

Fast facts: Nigel Mansell set the race record of 97.284 mph in 1993. ... There are two races remaining this season. ... Montoya can clinch the title by gaining nine points more than Franchitti.

Next race: Marlboro 500, Oct. 31, Fontana, Calif.

Leading drivers: 1. Juan Montoya, 200. 2. Dario Franchitti, 187. 3. Paul Tracy, 155. 4. Michael Andretti, 141. 5. Max Papis, 117. 6. Christian Fittipaldi, 107. 7. Adrian Fernandez, 106. 8. Gil de Ferran, 104. 9. Greg Moore, 97. 10. Jimmy Vasser, 94. Also, 13. Patrick Carpentier, 61.

Lone Star 500

Site: Forth Worth, Texas.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speedvision, 10 a.m.); Sunday, race, 11 a.m. (ABC, 1 p.m., tape).

Track: Texas Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 312 miles, 208 laps.

Last year: John Paul Jr. won the inaugural race, beating Robby Unser by about 10 car lengths. Paul won for the first time since the 1983 Michigan 500 on the CART circuit.

Last race: Sam Schmidt of Henderson slipped passed Kenny Brack with three laps remaining and went on to win for the first time in his IRL career, taking the Vegas.com 500 on his hometown track. Greg Ray, who won three times in the previous four races, including two straight, retained his lead in the standings by 13 points over Brack.

Fast facts: Willy T. Ribbs, the only black driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500, hopes to run a full 2000 Indy Racing League season with McCormack Motorsports, for whom he drove last month in the Vegas.com 500. ... Scott Goodyear set the track race record of 151.177 mph earlier this year at the Longhorn 500. ... Ray could set an IRL record with a victory. He and Brack are tied at three for most wins in a season.

Next race: End of season.

Leading drivers: 1. Greg Ray, 255. 2. Kenny Brack, 242. 3. Sam Schmidt, 225. 4. Scott Sharp, 209. 5. Scott Goodyear, 207. 6. Buddy Lazier, 204. 7. Jeff Ward, 197. 8. Davey Hamilton, 197. 9. Robby Unser, 193. 10. Eddie Cheever, 190.

Malaysian Grand Prix

Site: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Schedule: Sunday, race (Speedvision, 10:30 p.m.)

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

Race distance: 189.365 miles, 55 laps.

Last year: Inaugural event.

Last race: Johnny Herbert earned his third Formula One victory. He won the European Grand Prix, which began with a crash and ended with many top drivers out of the race. Defending champion Mika Hakkinen finished fifth, taking a two-point lead over Eddie Irvine in the standings.

Fast facts: Malaysia is the only new race on the 16-race 1999 schedule. The next new event in F1 will be the U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sept. 24, 2000. ... There will be one race remaining after this week. ... Michael Schumacher is scheduled to make his first start since breaking a leg during a race in June.

Next race: Japanese Grand Prix, Oct. 31, Suzuka.

Leading drivers: 1. Mika Hakkinen, 62. 2. Eddie Irvine, 60. 3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, 50. 4. David Coulthard, 48. 5. Michael Schumacher, 33. 6. Ralf Schumacher, 30. 7. Rubens Barrichello, 19. 8. Giancarlo Fisichella, 13. 9. Johnny Herbert, 12. 10. Mika Salo, 10.

Last race: Michael Waltrip took the lead midway through the final lap to win the All Pro 300 in Concord, N.C. It was his first Busch series victory in six years.

Next race: Rockingham 200, Oct. 23, Rockingham, N.C.

Leading drivers: 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3,988. 2. Matt Kenseth, 3,871. 3. Jeff Green, 3,732. 4. Todd Bodine, 3,489. 5. Elton Sawyer, 3,363. 6. Jeff Purvis, 3,321. 7. Jason Keller, 3,186. 8. Dave Blaney, 3,066. 9. Randy LaJoie, 3,021. 10. Mike McLaughlin, 2,999.

Last event: Tommy Johnson Jr. defeated Tony Pedregon at the AutoZone Nationals in Millington, Tenn., to claim his second Funny Car victory of the season in his third straight final-round appearance. Doug Herbert, Mike Edwards, Angelle Seeling and Brad Jeter also won their pro categories.

Next race: Revell Nationals, Oct. 21-24, Dallas.

Leading drivers: Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 1,221. 2. Joe Amato, 1,201. 3. Gary Scelzi, 1,155. 4. Doug Herbert, 1,146. 5. Kenny Bernstein, 1,123. 6. Mike Dunn, 1,097. 7. Doug Kalitta, 1,086. 8. Cory McClenathan, 1,028. 9. Larry Dixon, 1,010. 10. Bob Vandergriff, 991. Funny Car -- 1. John Force, 1,739. 2. Tony Pedregon, 1,444. 3. Whit Bazemore, 1,266. 4. Frank Pedregon, 930. 5. Dean Skuza, 858. 6. Del Worsham, 855. 7. Jim Epler, 758. 8. Ron Capps, 748. 9. Cory Lee, 737. 10. Scotty Cannon, 708. Pro Stock -- 1. Warren Johnson, 1,512. 2. Kurt Johnson, 1,332. 3. Jeg Coughlin Jr., 1,236. 4. Jim Yates, 1,087. 5. Richie Stevens, 1,004. 6. Mike Edwards, 953. 7. Mark Pawuk, 866. 8. Troy Coughlin, 866. 9. Allen Johnson, 800. 10. Greg Anderson, 743.

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