This Week in Motor Sports

Friday, March 5, 2004 | 9:14 a.m.

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Today, qualifying (SPEED Channel, 3:10 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, noon)

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns)

Race distance: 400 miles, 267 laps

Last race: Defending-champion Matt Kenseth nipped rookie Kasey Kahne at the finish line to win the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway. Although he led the point standings for a record 33 consecutive weeks last season, he had just one victory and only led 354 laps.

Last year: Kenseth won the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 for his seventh career victory and Roush Racing's fourth win in six Winston Cup races at the track.

Fast facts: Rusty Wallace has a winless streak of 100 races, the seventh longest among active drivers who have previously won an event. ... Jeff Burton outraced brother Ward to the finish line in 1999. It was the first 1-2 finish by brothers since Terry Labonte beat Bobby in 1997 in Talladega, Ala. ... Only the inaugural race in 1998 was won from a top-10 starting position. No pole-sitters have won the race.

Next race: Golden Corral 500, March 14, Hampton, Ga.

Driver standings: 1, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 340. 2, Matt Kenseth, 333. 3, Kevin Harvick, 294. 4, Scott Wimmer, 288. 5, Jeff Gordon, 286. 6, Tony Stewart, 265. 7, Kurt Busch, 257. 8, Elliott Sadler, 255. 9, Ward Burton, 250. 10, Joe Nemechek, 241.

On the Net: www.nascar.com

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Today, qualifying (SPEED Channel, 1:30 p.m.); Saturday, race (FX, 1 p.m.)

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns)

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps

Last race: Jamie McMurray won his fourth consecutive Busch series race at North Carolina Speedway, passing Kevin Harvick with 20 laps to go when Harvick got tied up with Robby Gordon. McMurray is within one win of the Busch record of five consecutive victories at any track held by Dale Earnhardt at Daytona and Jack Ingram at South Boston.

Last year: Joe Nemechek benefited from Todd Bodine's mistake and hung on to win the Sam's Town 300. Bodine was leading with 32 laps to go and racing Nemechek side by side through turn four when he spun out and went sliding through the frontstretch grass.

Fast facts: Jason Keller is expected to make the 325th Busch start this weekend, moving past Dale Jarrett for third place on the all-time list. ... Ron Hornaday has seven consecutive top-10 finishes at Las Vegas.

Next race: Darlingtonraceway.com 200, March 20, Darlington, S.C.

Driver standings: 1. Kevin Harvick, 335. 2. Johnny Sauter, 330. 3. David Green, 294. 4. Robby Gordon, 291. 5. Ron Hornaday Jr., 285. 6. Michael Waltrip, 276. 7. Bobby Hamilton Jr., 266. 8. Jason Keller, 265. 9. Martin Truex Jr., 264. 10. Kenny Wallace, 242.

On the Net: www.nascar.com

Site: Melbourne

Schedule: Qualifying was today; Saturday, race (SPEED Channel, 6:30 p.m.)

Track: Albert Park Circuit (3.28 miles)

Last year: David Coulthard won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after outlasting the favored Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Schumacher finished fourth, ending his streak of consecutive podium appearances at 19.

Fast facts: Schumacher won the previous three Australian Grand Prixs before Coulthard's victory last season. Schumacher, Damon Hill, Gerhard Berger and Ayrton Senna are the only drivers to win multiple races in Melbourne. ... Hill won from the pole in 1995 by a margin of over two laps, only the second time in grand prix history that has happened. ... Albert Park was rebuilt for the start of the 1996 season.

Next race: Malaysian Grand Prix, March 21, Kuala Lumpur

On the Net: www.formula1.com

Site: Phoenix

Schedule: Today, qualifying, 2 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, noon (ESPN2, 8 p.m., tape); Sunday, qualifying, 10 a.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m., tape).

Track: Firebird International Raceway

Last event: Tony Schumacher earned the first Top Fuel victory of the 2004 season during the K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona Raceway. Jerry Toliver (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won at the event that was delayed one week because of rain.

Last year: Brandon Bernstein got an early jump on Larry Dixon and recorded his first career Top Fuel victory at the Checker Schuck's Kragen Nationals. Ron Capps won the Funny Car final while Anderson took the Pro Stock category.

Fast facts: Pro Stock Bike rider Brian Schultz died Monday from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident. He was 34. ... Schumacher recorded the sport's first 330-mph run (330.26 mph) at the 1999 event. ... This is the 20th running. ... The track was built by former Funny Car racer Charlie Allen.

Next race: Mac Tools Gatornationals, March 21, Gainesville, Fla.

Driver standings: Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 117. 2. Doug Kalitta, 98 . 3. Brandon Bernstein, 74 . (tie) David Grubnic, 74. 5. Clay Millican, 56. Funny Car -- 1. Jerry Toliver, 101. 2. Gary Densham, 93. 3. Gary Scelzi, 75. 4. Del Worsham, 74. 5. John Force, 58. Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, 118. 2. Warren Johnson, 94. 3. Kurt Johnson, 77. 4. Larry Morgan, 75. 5. Jeg Coughlin, 53. (tie) Mike Edwards, 53.

On the Net: www.nhra.com

Last race: Carl Edwards won the crash-filled Florida Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway, his fourth victory in two years on the truck circuit. Edwards finished eighth in points to earn 2003 rookie of the year honors.

Next race: Atlanta 200, March 13, Hampton, Ga.

Driver standings: 1. Carl Edwards, 190. 2. Travis Kvapil, 175. 3. Mike Wallace, 170. 4. Rick Crawford, 160. (tie) Terry Cook, 160. 6. Dennis Setzer, 155. 7. Frank Kimmel, 147. 8. Jon Wood, 146. 9. David Reutimann, 143. 10. Bobby Hamilton, 135.

On the Net: www.nascar.com

Last race: Sam Hornish passed teammate Helio Castroneves on the last lap with a surprising inside move to win the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead, Fla. Hornish took the lead on lap 173 from Tomas Scheckter, the driver who took his spot at Pennzoil Panther Racing when Hornish moved to Penske to replace the retired Gil de Ferran.

Next race: Indy 200 Classic, March 21, Avondale, Ariz.

Driver standings: 1. Sam Hornish, 50. 2. Helio Castroneves, 43. 3. Dan Wheldon, 35. 4. Tora Takagi, 32. 5. Tomas Scheckter, 30. 6. Darren Manning, 28. 7. Buddy Rice, 26. 8. Tony Kanaan, 24. 9. Scott Sharp, 22. 10. Robbie Buhl, 20.

On the Net: www.indyracingleague.com