This week’s races

Friday, March 24, 2000 | 10:17 a.m.

NASCAR

WINSTON CUP

Food City 500

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, first-round qualifying (ESPN, Noon); Saturday, second-round qualifying, 8:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 6 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ESPN, 10 a.m.)

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

Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.

Last year: Rusty Wallace started on the pole and led 425 of 500 laps en route to victory.

Last race: Ward Burton took the lead from Matt Kenseth with 36 laps to go and was barely pressured the rest of the way, winning the Mall.com 400 in Darlington, S.C.

Fast facts: Darrell Waltrip leads all drivers with 12 wins at Bristol. Dale Earnhardt is tied for second with nine. ... Earnhardt made the biggest comeback in history at Bristol, starting 28th in his 1999 victory at the Goody's Headache Powder 500. ... Jeff Gordon has won four of the last five spring races at Bristol. ... Gordon has gone 10 races without a top-five finish. That is the longest streak of his Winston Cup career. ... Charlie Glotzbach's qualifying record of 101.074 mph set in 1971 was the longest-standing mark on the circuit until Wallace's 125.142 mph broke it last year.

Next race: DirecTV 500, April 2, Fort Worth, Texas.

---

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Cheez-It 250

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 11 a.m.; Saturday, race, 10 a.m. (ESPN, 1 p.m., tape).

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

Race distance: 133.25 miles, 250 laps.

Last year: Jason Keller won his first Busch Series race in nearly four years by overpowering Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps.

Last race: Mark Martin held off teammate Jeff Burton to win the SunCom 200 in Darlington, S.C. Martin swept past Burton with 23 laps to go and survived a side-by-side duel in the final stretch.

Fast facts: This is the 18th running of the race. Bristol has played host to the Busch series since the inception of the circuit in 1982, but no spring race was held in 1984.

Next race: Albertson's 300, April 1, Fort Worth.

---

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Dodge California Truck Stop 250

Site: Bakersfield, Calif.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 2:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m., tape).

Track: Mesa Marin Raceway (oval, .500 miles, 17 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 125 miles, 250 laps.

Last year: Rick Carelli held off Kevin Harvick for the victory.

Last race: Joe Ruttman survived a brush with Andy Houston and won the Chevy Trucks 150 in Avondale, Ariz., picking up his first series victory in two years. The 55-year-old Californian is the oldest winner in series history.

Fast facts: This is the first time the race is 250 laps. The previous four races were 300 laps. ... Chevrolet has won five of the six races at Mesa. ... There have been four different winners in the last four years. ... Only Carelli and Jack Sprague have competed in all six series races at Mesa Marin.

Next race: NAPA 250, April 8, Martinsville, Va.

---

CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS

Marlboro Grand Prix

Site: Homestead, Fla.

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

Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval 1.5 miles, 8 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps.

Last year: Greg Moore started on the pole and beat Michael Andretti by 1.1 seconds.

Fast facts: This is the first race of the season. ... Dario Franchitti will race despite being hurt in testing at Homestead in February. ... Max Papis was fastest during spring training, driving a lap in 209.907 mph.

Next race: Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix, April 9, Nazareth, Pa.

---

FORMULA ONE

Brazilian Grand Prix

Site: Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 7 a.m.; Sunday, race (Fox Sports Net, 8:30 a.m.)

Track: Interlagos, Jose Carlos Pace (road course, 2.661 miles).

Race distance: 191.592 miles, 72 laps.

Last year: Mika Hakkinen won, beating Michael Schumacher by five seconds.

Last week: Schumacher won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Schumacher, a two-time series champion, went to the front when Hakkinen, who had led by 2.6 seconds, left on the 18th of 58 laps with smoke billowing from the rear of his car.

Fast facts: From 1994-1998, the winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix went on to win the series title. ... McLaren won the Brazilian Grand Prix for the first time in 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi driving. ... McLaren leads all constructors with nine victories at Interlagos.

Next race: San Marino Grand Prix, April 9, Imola, Italy.

---

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Last race: Buddy Lazier became the first Indy Racing League driver to start last and finish first, winning the MCI WorldCom Indy 200 in Avondale, Ariz.

Next race: Las Vegas 500, April 22, Las Vegas.

---

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

Last race: Jerry Toliver extended his points lead in the Funny Car division with his second victory of the season. Other winners at the Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., included Doug Kalitta, Warren Johnson, Dave Schultz and Randy Daniels.

Next: Las Vegas Nationals, April 9, Las Vegas.