Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

This week in motor sports

All Times PDT NASCAR WINSTON CUP Dodge/Save Mart 350

Site: Sonoma, Calif.

Schedule: today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 12:30 p.m.).

Track: Infineon Raceway (permanent road course, 1.99 miles, 10 turns).

Race distance: 219 miles, 110 laps.

Last race: Kurt Busch passed Jeff Gordon with 24 laps left and held on to win the Sirius Satellite 400 at Michigan International Speedway, becoming the circuit's first three-time winner this season. Busch finished last in his first two races at the track.

Last year: Ricky Rudd picked up his first victory of the 2002 season by winning the Dodge/Save Mart 350. Jerry Nadeau appeared to have the victory with two laps to go, but rear-end gear failure ended his day. Jeff Gordon led for 30 laps, but also encountered rear-end gear failure and finished 37th, extending his winless streak to 24 races.

Fast facts: Mike Skinner was fired from Morgan-McClure Motorsports on Monday after failing to qualify at Michigan. Skinner has been with Morgan-McClure since the end of 2001 and had one top-10 finish in 50 races. ... Brett Bodine broke his collarbone after crashing in practice last weekend and was replaced by brother Geoffrey. ... Nine of the 14 races in Sonoma have been won by four drivers - Jeff Gordon, Rudd, Ernie Irvan and Rusty Wallace. Gordon has three wins, and Rudd, Irvan and Wallace two apiece. ... The race has been won from the pole four times. ... Infineon Raceway is famous for "The Chute," an 890-foot stretch developed in 1998 that connects Turns 4 and 7.

Next race: Pepsi 400, July 5, Daytona Beach, Fla.

Driver standings: 1. Matt Kenseth, 2,275. 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2,090. 3. Jeff Gordon, 2,052. 4. Bobby Labonte, 1,998. 5. Kurt Busch, 1,933. 6. Michael Waltrip, 1,900. 7. Jimmie Johnson, 1,853. 8. Rusty Wallace, 1,798. 9. Sterling Marlin, 1,783. 10. Mark Martin, 1,740.

On the net: www.nascar.com -- CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS G.I. Joe's 200

Site: Portland, Ore.

Schedule: today, qualifying, 5:50 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 2:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (CBS, 12:30 p.m.).

Track: Portland International Raceway (permanent road course, 1.969 miles, nine turns).

Race distance: 196.90 miles, 100 laps.

Last race: Leading from start to finish, Patrick Carpentier held off Bruno Junqueira in the Grand Prix of Monterey for his fourth career victory and first since August at Mid-Ohio. The winner got a break when CART disallowed Michel Jourdain's pole-winning effort, declaring his car underweight and putting Carpentier in the No. 1 spot.

Last year: Points leader Cristiano da Matta won the G.I. Joe's 200, holding off Junqueira late to win his second consecutive race. Dario Franchitti finished third.

Fast facts: Paul Tracy trails Jourdain by eight points for the lead in the standings heading into this weekend's race. Among the tracks that have hosted at least 10 events, Portland and Mid-Ohio are the only ones where Tracy has not won. ... Carpentier is the only driver to finish in the points in every race this season and leads the series in laps completed with 932 of a possible 936. ... Junqueira has six top-five finishes in his last seven races. ... CART has held a race in Portland since 1984. ... Three drivers earned their first CART wins at the track -- Al Unser Jr. (1984), Alex Zanardi (1996) and Mark Blundell (1997). ... Blundell's victory was the closest in race history. He beat Gil de Ferran by .027 seconds. ... de Ferran won the 1999 and 2000 events.

Next race: Cleveland Grand Prix, July 5, Cleveland.

Driver standings: 1. Michel Jourdain, 89. 2. Bruno Junqueira, 83. 3. Paul Tracy, 81. 4. Patrick Carpentier, 70. 5. Sebastien Bourdais, 53. 6. Oriol Servia, 48. 6. Mario Dominguez, 48. 8. Adrian Fernandez, 43. 9. Mario Haberfeld, 36. 10. Darren Manning, 34. 11. Alex Tagliani, 32. 11. Jimmy Vasser, 32.

On the net: www.cart.com -- CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS O'Reilly 200

Site: Memphis, Tenn.

Schedule: today, qualifying, 1 p.m.; Saturday, race (Speed Channel, noon).

Track: Memphis Motorsports Park, (tri-oval, 0.75 miles, 11-degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 150 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Brendan Gaughan regained the lead with five laps left and won his third straight race at Texas Motor Speedway by taking the O'Reilly 400. Gaughan edged rookie Carl Edwards by 0.865 seconds for his third career win -- all at Texas.

Last year: Travis Kvapil held off Terry Cook and Ted Musgrave in the final few laps to win the Memphis 200, his second career truck victory. Kvapil's last victory came at Texas Motor Speedway 11 races ago.

Fast facts: Points leader Bobby Hamilton is the only competitor to complete each of this year's 1,379.3 miles, lead all seven races, and finish among the top 10 in each event. ... A late-race accident at Texas ended Rick Crawford's string of consecutive top-10 finishes at 14 - a run that began Aug. 10, 2002, at Nashville Superspeedway. The record is 24 set by Jack Sprague during the 1997-98 seasons. ... Gaughan's victory last weekend was the 40th by a Dodge and the third in a row for the manufacturer this season. ... This is the sixth year of the race. ... Greg Biffle has won two poles at Memphis, but was only victorious in the 1999 event. Biffle also had the pole during the inaugural race in 1998 and led the first 109 laps before tire problems took him out of contention. Ron Hornaday went on to win that race.

Next race: GNC Live Well 200, June 28, West Allis, Wis.

Driver standings: 1. Bobby Hamilton, 1,152. 2. Rick Crawford, 1,079. 3. Brendan Gaughan, 1,053. 4. Travis Kvapil, 1,044. 5. Ted Musgrave, 1,000. 6. Dennis Setzer, 977. 7. Jon Wood, 947. 8. Terry Cook, 919. 9. Chad Chaffin, 905. 10. David Starr, 885.

On the net: www.nascar.com --- BUSCH SERIES

Last race: Bobby Hamilton Jr. overcame a pit-stop error to win the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Hamilton pitted during a caution, and a NASCAR official ruled that his crew failed to sufficiently tighten the lugnuts on the front left tire. Hamilton returned to pit row and dropped to 13th. He worked his way back to second, dropped back to fourth and then picked off three drivers in front of him.

Next race: GNC Live Well 250, June 29, West Allis, Wis.

Driver standings: 1. David Green, 2,180. 2. Scott Riggs, 2,134. 3. Todd Bodine, 2,108. 4. Ron Hornaday Jr., 2,082. 5. Jason Keller, 2,055. 6. Brian Vickers, 2,031. 7. Bobby Hamilton Jr., 2,018. 8. Mike Bliss, 1,938. 9. Johnny Sauter, 1,926. 10. Scott Wimmer, 1,887.

On the net: www.nascar.com -- FORMULA ONE

Last race: Michael Schumacher won his fourth race of the season and finally took over the lead in the standings by beating his brother, Ralf, at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. Schumacher took over the lead when Fernando Alonso had to make his stop, and because passing is so difficult on the 2.709-mile, 15-turn track, no one challenged him the rest of the way.

Next race: European Grand Prix, June 29, Nuerburgring, Germany.

Driver standings: 1. Michael Schumacher, 54. 2. Kimi Raikkonen, 51. 3. Fernando Alonso, 34. 4. Ralf Schumacher, 33. 5. Juan Pablo Montoya, 31. 5. Rubens Barrichello, 31. 7. David Coulthard, 25. 8. Jarno Trulli, 13. 9. Giancarlo Fisichella, 10. 10. Jenson Button, Britain, 8.

On the net: www.formula1.com -- INDY RACING LEAGUE

Last race: Scott Dixon won the Honda Indy 225 under a yellow flag for his second victory this season. Dixon, who also won the season-opening race at Homestead, Fla., led 89 laps, including the final 84. Two cars spun out in the final 10 laps, producing two yellows.

Next race: SunTrust Indy Challenge, June 28, Richmond, Va.

Driver standings: 1. Tony Kanaan, 217. 2. Scott Dixon, 168. 3. Al Unser Jr., 167. 3. Helio Castroneves, 167. 3. Gil de Ferran, 167. 6. Kenny Brack, 161. 7. Scott Sharp, 149. 8. Tomas Scheckter, 125. 9. Felipe Giaffone, 123. 10. Sam Hornish Jr., 122.

On the net: www.indyracingleague.com -- NHRA

Last event: Larry Dixon became the first Top Fuel driver to win three straight races with his victory at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Hebron, Ohio. Tony Pedregon earned his sixth Funny Car victory of the season when team owner John Force was disqualified for crossing the center line in the final round while Greg Anderson drove to his fifth Pro Stock victory.

Next event: Sears Craftsman Nationals, June 29, St. Louis.

Driver standings: Top Fuel -- 1. Larry Dixon, 1,053. 2. Doug Kalitta, 785. 3. Darrell Russell, 646. 4. Brandon Bernstein, 629. 5. Cory McClenathan, 602. Funny Car -- 1. Tony Pedregon, 1,030. 2. Whit Bazemore, 929. 3. Gary Densham, 724. 4. Del Worsham, 690. 5. Ron Capps, 662. Pro Stock -- 1. Greg Anderson, 1,006. 2. Kurt Johnson, 942. 3. Warren Johnson, 721. 4. Jeg Coughlin, 663. 5. Scott Geoffrion, 509. Pro Stock Bike -- 1. Angelle Savoie, 493. 2. Geno Scali, 480. 3. Shawn Gann, 397. 4. Antron Brown, 364. 5. Craig Treble, 363.

On the net: www.nhra.com

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