Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

This week’s races

NASCAR WINSTON CUP

Southern 500

Site: Darlington, S.C.

Schedule: today, qualifying (CNN/SI, noon; Sunday, race (TNT, 10 a.m.)

Track: Darlington Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.366 miles, 25 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 23 degrees in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 501.322 miles, 367 laps.

Last race: Tony Stewart notched his first win at Bristol Motor Speedway in six tries, holding off Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon in the Sharpie 500. Harvick, who won the Busch race at Bristol the previous night, was second. Gordon, the series points leader, finished third and extended his lead in the standings to 308 over Ricky Rudd.

Last year: Bobby Labonte, who wrecked his primary car during practice, won the rain-shortened event. Jeff Burton was second.

Fast Facts: Burton won both Darlington races in 1999. ... Gordon won the event from 1995-98. ... Bill Elliott and Gordon lead drivers with five wins at Darlington. ... In 44 years of racing at Darlington, there has been a sweep of the spring-fall races nine times.

Next race: Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400, Sept. 8, Richmond, Va.

Driver standings: 1. Jeff Gordon, 3,528. 2. Ricky Rudd, 3,220. 3. Dale Jarrett, 3,149. 4. Sterling Marlin, 3,110. 5. Tony Stewart, 3,050. 6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 2,967. 7. Rusty Wallace, 2,963. 8. Bobby Labonte, 2,947. 9. Kevin Harvick, 2,913. 10. Steve Park, 2,859. Also, 24. Kurt Busch, 2,183.

BUSCH

South Carolina 200

Site: Darlington.

Schedule: Qualifying was this morningFriday; Saturday, race (TNT, 10 a.m.)

Track: Darlington Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.366 miles, 25 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 23 degrees in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 200.8 miles, 147 laps.

Last race: Kevin Harvick overcame a two-lap deficit to win the Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Harvick, the Busch series points leader, easily beat Jeff Green to the finish line to win the race for the second straight year and give car owner Richard Childress his 100th career NASCAR win.

Last year: Winston Cup star Mark Martin, driving in his final Busch event at Darlington Raceway, won for the second year in a row, giving him a sweep of the races last year at the South Carolina track.

Fast Facts: Martin, the career leader in Busch series wins, leads all drivers with eight at Darlington. ... Chevrolet has 11 wins in 36 events at the track, Pontiac has 10 and Ford nine.

Next race: Autolite Fram 250, Sept. 7, Richmond, Va.

Driver standings: 1. Kevin Harvick, 3,728. 2. Jason Keller, 3,383. 3. Greg Biffle, 3,353. 4. Jeff Green, 3,309. 5. Elton Sawyer, 2,957. 6. Tony Raines, 2,925. 7. Mike McLaughlin, 2,914. 8. Jimmie Johnson, 2,912. 9. Chad Little, 2,807. 10. Kenny Wallace, 2,769.

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Delphi Indy 300

Site: Joliet, Ill.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, Noon (ESPN2, Sunday,11 p.m. tape); Sunday, race (ABC, 1 p.m.)

Track: Chicagoland Speedway (oval 1.5 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Al Unser Jr. won the inaugural Gateway Indy 250 in Madison, Ill. Unser earned his second IRL victory of the season and the 33rd of his open-wheel career with a fuel strategy that allowed him to stay on the track while series leader Sam Hornish Jr. was forced to pit with 10 laps remaining on the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway oval.

Last year: Inaugural event.

Fast Facts: There are two races remaining this season. ... This is the IRL's sixth event on a 1.5-mile oval this season. There have been five different winners the first five races. ... Hornish leads Buddy Lazier, who has won four of the last six races, 411-366 in the standings.

Next race: Chevy 500, Sept. 16, Fort Worth, Texas.

Driver standings: 1. Sam Hornish Jr., 411. 2. Buddy Lazier, 366. 3. Scott Sharp, 310. 4. Billy Boat, 277. 5. Felipe Giaffone, 275. 6. Eliseo Salazar, 264. 7. Al Unser Jr., 235. 8. Eddie Cheever, 214. 9. Airton Dare, 202. 10. Buzz Calkins, 200.

CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS

Molson Indy

Site: Vancouver, British Columbia.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 4p.m. (ESPN2, Sunday, 10 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ESPN2, 3 p.m.)

Track: Concord Pacific Place Street Circuit (temporary road course, 1.781 miles, 12 turns).

Race distance: 160.29 miles, 90 laps.

Last race: Bruno Junqueira gave car owner Chip Ganassi his first victory of the season, taking advantage of a collision by former teammates Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi to win the chaotic Motorola 220 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Junqueira became the ninth different winner in 14 races this season.

Last year: Paul Tracy of Las Vegas won with Team Kool Green teammate Dario Franchitti finishing second.

Fast Facts: This is the 11th year of the race, but just the third with this track setup. ... Mauricio Gugelmin earned his only CART win at the 1997 race. ... No driver has led every lap of the race.

Next race: German 500, Sept. 15, Lausitz.

Driver standings: 1. Helio Castroneves, 110. 2. Kenny Brack, 105. 3. Gil de Ferran, 99. 4. Michael Andretti, 89. 5. Scott Dixon, 82. 6. Dario Franchitti, 81. 7. Cristiano da Matta, 78. 8. Patrick Carpentier, 69. 9. Paul Tracy, 65. 10. Roberto Moreno, 54. Also, 13. Jimmy Vasser, 50. 14. Alex Tagliani, 49.

FORMULA ONE

Belgian Grand Prix

Site: Spa-Francorchamps.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speedvision, 4 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speedvision, 5 a.m.)

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

Race distance: 190.476 miles, 44 laps.

Last race: Michael Schumacher won his fourth Formula One championship and matched Alain Prost's series record of 51 victories by taking the Hungarian Grand Prix. With teammate Rubens Barrichello finishing second, the Italian Ferrari team also won the constructors' title for the second consecutive year. Schumacher, a winner in seven of 13 races this season, moved into a second-place tie with Prost for career F1 titles. Juan Manuel Fangio leads with five.

Last year: Mika Hakkinen passed Schumacher with four laps left to win.

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. 16, Monza.

Driver standings: 1. x-Michael Schumacher, 94. 2. David Coulthard, 51. 3. Rubens Barrichello, 46. 4. Ralf Schumacher, 44. 5. Mika Hakkinen, 21. 6. Juan Montoya, 15. 7. Jacques Villeneuve, 11. 8. Nick Heidfeld, 11. 9. Kimi Raikkonen, 9 10. Jarno Trulli, 9. (x-clinched championship)

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

U.S. Nationals

Site: Clermont, Ind.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 9 a.m.); Sunday, qualifying (ESPN2, 10 a.m.); Monday, eliminations (ESPN, 1 p.m.).

Track: Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Last event: Larry Dixon and Ron Capps gave team owner Don "The Snake" Prudhomme a pair of victories in the Colonel's Truck Accessories NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Dixon won in Top Fuel, Capps in Funny Car. Three-time Top Fuel champion Gary Scelzi and John Smith were involved in a spectacular crash in the first round of eliminations. Smith had fractures to his left arm, leg and wrist. Scelzi was not injured. Bruce Allen (Pro Stock) and Antron Brown (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners.

Last year: Tony Schumacher raced to his first U.S. Nationals victory, beating Gary Clapshaw in the Top Fuel final. Jim Epler (Funny Car), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock), Antron Brown (Pro Stock Bike) and Bob Panella (Pro Stock Truck) also earned their first U.S. Nationals victories.

Next event: Keystone Nationals, Sept. 16, Mohnton, Pa.

Driver standings: Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 1,412. 2. Kenny Bernstein, 1,404. 3. Doug Kalitta, 1,154. 4. Gary Scelzi, 1,132. 5. Mike Dunn, 1,100. 6. Darrell Russell, 1,091. 7. Doug Herbert, 933. 8. Tony Schumacher, 861. 9. David Grubnic, 727. 10. Rhonda Hartman-Smith, 601. Funny Car -- 1. John Force, 1,450. 2. Whit Bazemore, 1,125. 3. Del Worsham, 1,081. 4. Ron Capps, 1,053. 5. Bruce Sarver, 1,020. 6. Tony Pedregon, 1,001. 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., 810. 8. Dean Skuza, 800. 9. Frank Pedregon, 782. 10. Gary Densham, 714. Pro Stock -- 1. Warren Johnson, 1,182. 2, Jim Yates, 1,084. 3. Mike Edwards, 978. 4. Jeg Coughlin, 972. 5. Mark Pawuk, 924. 6. Bruce Allen, 924. 7. Ron Krisher, 906. 8. Kurt Johnson, 900. 9. Mark Osborne, 868. 10. Brad Jeter, 699.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Last race: Greg Biffle gave Ford its first victory of the year in the series at the Chevy Silverado 200 in Nazareth, Pa. Biffle, who won the 200-mile race two years ago, erased his own record in leading the final 192 of 200 laps over the triangular, 1-mile layout at Nazareth Speedway.

Next race: Kroger 200, Sept. 6, Richmond, Va.

Driver standings: 1. Joe Ruttman, 2,745. 2. Scott Riggs, 2,732. 3. Jack Sprague, 2,725. 4. Travis Kvapil, 2,641. 5. Ricky Hendrick, 2,615. 6. Ted Musgrave, 2,593. 7. Terry Cook, 2,584. 8. Dennis Setzer, 2,446. 9. Rick Crawford, 2,394. 10. Coy Gibbs, 2,175. Also, 33. Brendan Gaughan, 687.

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