This week’s racing

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 9:09 a.m.

All Time PT.

NASCAR

WINSTON CUP

goracing.com 500

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, first-round qualifying, 2 p.m.; Saturday, second-round qualifying, 10:45 a.m.; race (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.

Last year: Dale Earnhardt won by knocking Terry Labonte out of the lead with a bump from behind less than a lap from the checkered flag.

Last race: Rusty Wallace, riding with four fresh tires, took the lead with 15 laps to go and steadily pulled away from Ricky Rudd and Bobby Labonte to win the Pepsi 400 in Brooklyn, Mich.

Fast facts: Darrell Waltrip, who is retiring at the end of the season, leads all drivers with 12 wins at Bristol. ... Kyle Petty will make his final start of the season before turning his car over to Steve Grissom for the remainder of the year. Petty will concentrate on the Busch series. ... Junior Johnson leads all car owners with 21 wins at Bristol. ... The race was run under the lights for the first time in 1978. Cale Yarborough was the winner.

Next race: Southern 500, Sept. 3, Darlington, S.C.

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BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Food City 250

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 12:30 p.m.; race (ESPN, 4 p.m.)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 133.25 miles, 250 laps.

Last year: Matt Kenseth won, leading 169 of the 250 laps, including the final 93. He finished about four car-lengths ahead of Michael Waltrip.

Last race: Todd Bodine, who had gone winless in 69 races dating to 1997, held off Michael Waltrip to take the NAPAonline.com 250 by .192 seconds in Brooklyn, Mich.

Fast facts: Jeff Green leads the point standings 3,322-2,775 over Jason Keller. ... Kevin Harvick leads the rookie standings by 11 points over Ron Hornaday. ... Last week, Bodine became the fifth driver in history to pass the $3 million mark in earnings. Randy LaJoie is $398 shy of becoming the first driver to pass the $4 million mark.

Next race: Dura Lube 200, Sept. 2, Darlington, S.C.

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CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Sears Craftsman 175

Site: Cicero, Ill.

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

Track: Chicago Motor Speedway (oval, 1 mile).

Race distance: 175 miles, 175 laps.

Last year: Inaugural event.

Last race: Randy Tolsma ended a 73-race victory drought, beating Dennis Setzer by 1.402 seconds to win the Federated Auto Parts 250 in Nashville, Tenn.

Fast facts: No NASCAR series has raced in Chicago since 1956, when Fireball Roberts won on a half-mile track at Soldier Field. ... The race is the third of four new events on the schedule this season. ... Winston Cup rookie Scott Pruett is in the field. He is the only driver entered who has raced at the track. Pruett drove there in a CART event in 1999.

Next race: Richmond 200, Sept. 7, Richmond, Va.

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INDY RACING LEAGUE

Belterra Resort Indy 300

Site: Sparta, Ky.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 2 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ESPN, 11:30 a.m.)

Track: Kentucky Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles 200 laps.

Last year: Inaugural event.

Last race: Greg Ray dominated the Midas 500 Classic in Hampton, Ga., reaching victory lane for the first time this season. Ray led the second-most laps - 182 of 208 - for a winning IRL driver.

Fast facts: No driver has won consecutively since Ray did it last August. ... The top 18 drivers are mathematically alive for the title. ... There have been seven different winners in seven races this season.

Next race: Mall.com 500, Oct. 15, Fort Worth, Texas.

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FORMULA ONE

Belgian Grand Prix

Site: Spa Francorchamps.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speedvision, 4 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speedvision, 4:30 a.m.)

Track: Spa Francorchamps (road course, 4.329 miles).

Race distance: 190.476 miles, 44 laps.

Last year: David Coulthard won and McLaren teammate Mika Hakkinen finished second.

Last race: Hakkinen won the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest with a bold passing move at the start. Hakkinen also took the lead from Michael Schumacher in the Formula One driver standings.

Fast facts: The Ardennes forest circuit is 60 miles from Schumacher's hometown of Kerpen, Germany. He made his first F1 start in the 1991 race, and raced to his first career victory at the track in 1992. Schumacher was disqualified because of a technical violation after finishing first in 1994. ... In 1998, 12 cars slammed into each other in a first-lap pileup during a rainstorm.

Next race: Italian Grand Prix, Sept. 10, Monza.

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CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS

Last race: Paul Tracy fell from seventh to 23rd on the first lap after the throttle sensor stuck on the Honda engine in his Reynard, but he persevered for the victory at the Motorola 200 in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Next race: Molson Indy, Sept. 3, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

Last event: Tony Schumacher raced to his third Top Fuel victory of the season, winning the Colonels Truck Accessories Nationals in Brainerd, Minn. John Force, Kurt Johnson and Antron Brown also won their divisions.

Next race: U.S. Nationals, Sept. 4, Clermont, Ind.