This week’s races

Thursday, May 25, 2000 | 8:13 a.m.

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Indianapolis 500

Site: Indianapolis.

Schedule: Sunday, race (ABC, 9 a.m.).

Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (oval, 2.5 miles, 9 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 500 miles, 200 laps.

Last year: Kenny Brack won when race leader Robby Gordon ran out of fuel with just over a lap to go. Brack earned a record $1.47 million.

Last race: Al Unser Jr. won for the first time in five years, taking the Vegas Indy 300. Unser, competing in only his third Indy Racing League event, led the last 20 laps.

Fast facts: Arie Luyendyk set the race record of 185.981 mph in 1990. ... John Andretti made history in 1994 by competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, in Concord, N.C., on the same day. Tony Stewart accomplished the feat last year. ... Greg Ray, the defending IRL champion, is on the front row for third straight year, but on the pole for the first time. Ray won the pole with a speed of 223.471 mph. ... Juan Montoya, who won the CART series championship as a rookie, is making his first Indy start. Montoya will start from the front row.

Next race: Casino Magic 500, June 10, Fort Worth, Texas.

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NASCAR

WINSTON CUP

Coca-Cola 600

Site: Concord, N.C.

Schedule: Wednesday, first-round qualifying, 5:05 p.m.; Thursday, second-round qualifying, 3 p.m.; Sunday, race (TBS, 3:05 p.m.)

Track: Lowe's Motor Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 600 miles, 400 laps.

Last year: Jeff Burton snapped Jeff Gordon's two-race winning streak in the Coca-Cola 600 by outlasting polesitter Bobby Labonte for the victory.

Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first rookie to win NASCAR's all-star event, The Winston, when he blew past Dale Jarrett with one lap to go. After the race, a walkway Lowe's Motor Speedway collapsed, injuring 107 people.

Fast facts: John Andretti and Tony Stewart are the only drivers to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Robby Gordon is hoping to do it this year. ... Bobby Labonte leads the standings by three points over Ward Burton. ... Matt Kenseth leads the rookie of the year standings by one point over Earnhardt Jr. ... Gordon's first Winston Cup victory was the 1994 Coca-Cola 600.

Next race: MBNA Platinum 400, June 4, Dover, Del.

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CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS

Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix

Site: Nazareth, Pa.

Track: Nazareth Speedway (tri-oval .946 miles, 1 degree banking in turn 1, 4 degrees in turn 2, 6 degrees in turns 3-4).

Schedule: Saturday, race (ESPN, 10 a.m.)

Race distance: 212.85 miles, 225 laps.

Last year: Juan Montoya won the pole, his first on a short oval and one of a CART-best seven last year. He led all but 15 of 225 laps for the second of his series-leading seven victories.

Last race: Michael Andretti, who used a 24-hour rain delay to improve his car, won the Firestone Firehawk 500 in Motegi, Japan. Andretti extended his career-best record of CART victories to 39.

Fast Facts: Race was postponed from April 9, when a rare snowstorm hit parts of the East. ... Montoya and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Jimmy Vasser have taken control at Nazareth. Montoya has the last two poles and is the defending champion. Vasser won the race in 1998. ... Points leader Paul Tracy and hometown hero Michael Andretti have two Nazareth victories apiece.

Next race: Miller Lite 225, June 4, West Allis, Wis.

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NASCAR

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Carquest Auto Parts 300

Site: Concord, N.C.

Schedule: Thursday, first-round qualifying, 10 a.m.; Friday, second-round qualifying, 9 a.m.; Saturday, race (TBS, 10 a.m.)

Track: Lowe's Motor Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Last year: Mark Martin won for the third time in four years.

Last race: Tim Fedewa won the Busch 200 in Loudon, N.H. Adam Petty, the fourth-generation driver of NASCAR's most famous family, died of a head injury after crashing during practice.

Fast facts: Four of the 18 spring races at Lowe's have been won from the pole. ... Jeff Gordon won both spring and fall races from the pole in 1992. ... Pontiac leads manufacturers with 10 wins at Lowe's.

Next race: MBNA Platinum 200, June 3, Dover, Del.

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NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

Castrol Nationals

Site: Ennis, Texas.

Schedule: Friday, first-round qualifying, 1:15 p.m.; Saturday, second-round qualifying, 9:15 a.m.; Sunday, final eliminations, 8 a.m.

Track: Texas Motorplex.

Last year: Tony Pedregon won the Funny Car division and Gary Scelzi, Warren Johnson and Antron Brown also were winners in their pro categories.

Last event: The Matco Tools Spring Supernationals in Englishtown, N.J., was rained out and rescheduled for Sept. 9.

Fast facts: NHRA icon "Big Daddy" Don Garlits won the inaugural event in 1986. ... Event records were set in four of the six pro divisions last year. ... In the Top Fuel division, Tony Schumacher leads Scelzi by 25 points. ... Jerry Toliver leads John Force by 40 points in the Funny Car standings.

Next race: Fram Route 66 Nationals, June 4, Joliet, Ill.

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CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Last race: Greg Biffle led 164 of 200 laps to win the Grainger.com 200 in Fountain, Colo.

Next race: Sears 200, June 3, Monroe, Wash.

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FORMULA ONE

Last race: Michael Schumacher, the Formula One points leader, won the German Grand Prix at the track located just an hour's drive from his boyhood home near Cologne. It was his fourth victory in six races this season.

Next race: Monaco Grand Prix, June 4, Monte Carlo.