Eastern times

NASCAR Sprint Car Series

Subway Fresh Fit 500

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (SPEED, 7 p.m.); Saturday, race (FOX, 8 p.m.).

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 312 miles, 312 laps.

Last race: Jeff Gordon finally found Victory Lane at one of the two active tracks where he had never won, taking the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The victory ended a winless span of 47 races, the longest for the four-time champion. Gordon was in third when the final caution came out, but he passed leader Carl Edwards and held off Jimmie Johnson by 0.542 seconds.

Last year: With leader after leader diving for the pits to take on gas in the waning laps of the race, Jimmie Johnson stayed on the track and had just enough fuel to win his first race of the season. Johnson, who led a race-high 120 laps, gave Hendrick Motorsports its first Cup victory of 2008, beating Clint Bowyer to the finish line by 7.002 seconds.

Fast facts: Jeff Gordon leads the Cup standings by 162 points, 1,154-992, over three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. ... Gordon has at least one win at 21 of the active 22 tracks on the Cup schedule. He hasn't won at Homestead-Miami Speedway — the site of the season finale Ford 400. ... Kyle Busch, third in the points race with 974, has led the most laps with 519, 125 more than Gordon through seven races. ... There won't be a No. 8 car on the track this weekend for the first time in 10 years.

Next race: Aaron's 499, April 26, Talladega, Ala.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR NATIONWIDE

Bashas' Supermarkets 200

Site: Avondale, Ariz.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (SPEED, 5:30 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 9:30 p.m.).

Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Teen star Joey Logano raced to his second career Nationwide victory, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. The 18-year-old Logano and Busch ran in the top two and traded the lead for most of the race, with Logano leading the final 10 laps and finishing 0.487 seconds in front.

Last year: Kyle Busch beat Carl Edwards out of the pits on their final stop, then held off the defending champion in overtime for his second straight victory. Series leader Clint Bowyer, who fell from fifth to 13th when he was penalized late in the race for speeding on pit road, wound up eighth.

Fast facts: Joey Logano's first Nationwide victory came last year at Kentucky Speedway. ... Kyle Busch, trailing points leader Carl Edwards by 23 points, leads the Phoenix field with three poles and has won the past two for this race. ... Three rookies remain in the top 10 — Justin Allgaier, Brendan Gaughan and Scott Lagasse Jr. are 7-9 in the standings, the third week in succession the rookie trio has been in the top 10.

Next race: Aaron's 312, April 25, Talladega, Ala.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

INDY RACING LEAGUE

Long Beach Grand Prix

Site: Long Beach, Calif.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (VERSUS, 6 p.m.); Sunday, race (VERSUS, 3:30 p.m.).

Track: Streets of Long Beach (road course, 1.968-miles).

Race distance: 167.3 miles, 85 laps.

Last race: Ryan Briscoe, starting his second year with Penske, responded with a victory in the season-opening Honda Grand Prix, outdueling Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson for his third career IndyCar victory.

Last year: Will Power won the final race of the Champ Car World Series on the streets of Long Beach, the last remnant of the 12-year rivalry between the newly unified American open-wheel series. The race was run with Champ Car teams, drivers and equipment, but the points awarded were for the IRL's IndyCar Series.

Fast facts: Al Unser Jr., the Grand Marshal for the race, ran 15 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) races on the streets of Long Beach, winning six times, including a remarkable four straight from 1988-91, and holds the overall record for laps led here, with 545. ... Either 30 or 45 minutes of practice has been scheduled for rookies and entrants outside the top 10 in points before all cars take the racetrack on the first day of an event weekend (outside of the Indianapolis 500).

Next race: Road Runner Turbo Indy 300, April 26, Kansas City, Kan.

On the Net: http://www.indycar.com

FORMULA ONE

Chinese Grand Prix

Site: Shanghai.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (SPEED, 2 a.m.); Sunday, race (VERSUS, 2:30 a.m.).

Track: Shanghai International Circuit (road course, 3.387 miles, 16 turns).

Race distance: 189.568 miles, 56 laps.

Last race: Brawn GP's Jenson Button won the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix, curtailed after a tropical storm hit the Sepang circuit. BMW's Nick Heidfeld was second and Toyota's Timo Glock finished third. Drivers and teams only received half the normal allocation of points, as the race ended before three-quarters of the scheduled laps were completed. It was scheduled for 56 laps, and red-flagged after 32. A restart was considered for some 50 minutes before the race director ruled it out. Button's win was the third of his career and follows his victory the previous weekend at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Last year: Lewis Hamilton won the race, leaving the McLaren driver just short of clinching the 2008 Formula One title. Hamilton led from start to finish, finishing 14.9 seconds ahead of rival Felipe Massa, who took second thanks to Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen letting him through late in the race. The result extended Hamilton's lead in the drivers' championship to seven points with one race remaining.

Fast facts: F1's governing body approved the rear diffusers that helped Button win this season's opening two races. The decision was a victory for Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams, and could force their rivals to quickly add the aerodynamic device that creates greater downforce through corners. The ruling means the teams with diffusers will keep the points they won in the first two races, with Button leading the drivers' standings after victories in Australia and Malaysia. ... Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Raikkonen have failed to score a single point in the opening two races of the season. Team manager Luca Baldisserri will not travel to Shanghai, staying in Italy to work on car development in the wake of a disastrous start.

Next race: Bahrain Grand Prix, April 26, Sakhir.

On the Net: http://www.formula1.com/

NHRA

Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals

Site: Commerce, Ga.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 3 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 6 p.m., tape); Sunday, race, 11 a.m. (ESPN, 7 p.m., tape).

Track: Atlanta Dragway.

Last event: Tony Schumacher raced to his second straight Top Fuel victory and third in a row in Las Vegas, beating Brandon Bernstein in the SummitRacing.com Nationals final. In the Funny Car final at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, points leader Ron Capps beat Matt Hagan for his third victory of the season. Jeg Coughlin won the Pro Stock division after edging Greg Stanfield.

Last year: Ashley Force beat father John to become the first female driver to win a national Funny Car event. John, seeking his 1,000th career round win, lost traction at the start, finishing way behind Ashley. Antron Brown picked up his second win of the season in Top Fuel, beating points leader Tony Schumacher in the final round. In Pro Stock, Mike Edwards raced to his first win in over two years. Andrew Hines topped the two-wheelers with a run of 6.946 at 191.40.

Fast facts: Tony Schumacher, the points leader in Top Fuel with 412, has finished in the top five in all five meets, including two victories. ... Ron Capps also has five top-five appearances with three wins in the Funny Car division. He leads Matt Hagan by 106 points (408-302). ... Jeg Coughlin and Jason Line each have two wins among their five top-five finishes. Coughlin leads Line in the points race, 430-418.

Next event: O'Reilly Midwest Nationals, May 3, Madison, Ill.

On the Net: http://www.nhra.com

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS

Last race: Kevin Harvick passed Kyle Busch with just over nine laps to go and held on through an abbreviated final restart to win the rain-delayed and caution-filled race before a very sparse crowd at Martinsville Speedway.

Next race: O'Reilly Auto Parts 250, April 25, Kansas City, Kan.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

OTHER RACES

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD SERIES WEST: Jimmie Johnson Foundation 150, Phoenix, April 16.

On the Net: http://www.nascarhometracks.com

AMERICAN LE MANS: Long Beach (Calif.) Grand Prix, April 18.

On the Net: http://www.americanlemans.com

NASCAR WHELEN SOUTHERN MODIFIED TOUR: Lanier 150, Braselton, Ga., April 18.

On the Net: http://www.nascarhometracks.com

ARCA RE/MAX SERIES: Carolina 200, Rockingham, N.C., April 19.

On the Net: http://www.arcaracing.com