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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, September 24, 2009

This week's top auto races


Associated Press

All Times EDT

NASCAR

SPRINT CUP

AAA 400

Site: Dover, Del.

Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), qualifying (ESPN2, 3-4:30 p.m.); Saturday, practice (ESPN, 7-8 p.m.); Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (ABC, 1-6 p.m.).

Track: Dover International Speedway (mile oval).

Race distance: 400 miles, 400 laps.

Last year: Greg Biffle swept the opening two chase races, following his New Hampshire victory with a win on the high-banked concrete track. Biffle held off Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards in an all-Roush Fenway Racing top three.

Last week: Mark Martin won the Chase opener for his series-high fifth victory of the year, beating Juan Pablo Montoya in a three-lap sprint at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 50-year-old Martin slowed in front of Montoya's to block a pass with two laps to go, upsetting Montoya. Martin extended his lead in the standings to 35 points over three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.

Fast facts: Johnson won the May race at Dover, overcoming a slow pit stop to beat Tony Stewart. ... Martin, Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead the 12 Chase drivers with four Dover victories. Martin has 21 top-five finishes at the Monster Mile.

Next race: Price Chopper 400, Oct. 4, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.

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

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NATIONWIDE

Dover 200

Site: Dover, Del.

Schedule: Friday, practice (ESPN2, 1:30-3 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 10:30 a.m.-noon), race, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 3-6 p.m.).

Track: Dover International Speedway (mile oval).

Race distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.

Last year: Kyle Busch raced to the eighth of his 10 series victories in 2008, leading 157 laps and winning in a green-white-checker finish.

Last race: Carl Edwards took the lead on pit road with 24 laps to go at Richmond on Sept. 11, then held off Kevin Harvick for his fourth victory of the season. Racing with a broken right foot, Edwards started at the back of the field because his team made adjustments after the cars were impounded.

Fast facts: Brad Keselowski won the May race at Dover for the first of his three 2009 series victories. ... Busch leads the standings and has a series-high six victories, the last at Gateway International in July. He has a 201-point lead over Edwards with eight races left. Keselowski is third, 297 points behind Busch.

Next race: Kansas Lottery 300, Oct. 3, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kan.

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

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CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS

Las Vegas 350

Site: Las Vegas.

Schedule: Saturday, practice, qualifying, race, 9:30 p.m. (Speed, 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).

Race distance: 219 miles, 146 laps.

Last year: Mike Skinner beat Erik Darnell by two-hundredths of a second in a green-white-checker finish. Skinner also won the 2005 race.

Last week: Sprint Cup star Kyle Busch raced to his fifth Trucks victory of the year and third in his last three starts, holding off points leader Ron Hornaday Jr. at New Hampshire.

Fast facts: The 51-year-old Hornaday leads the series with six victories, winning a record five straight races in June, July and early August. Winless in five races, he has a series-record 45 career victories and a record three season titles. ... Skinner won consecutive races this month at Iowa and Gateway. He has three wins this year and 28 overall. ... Matt Crafton is second in the standings, 217 points back with six races left. Skinner is third, 246 points behind Hornaday.

Next race: Kroger 200, Oct. 24, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Va.,

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

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FORMULA ONE

Singapore Grand Prix

Site: Singapore.

Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 9:30-11 a.m.); Saturday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 10-11 a.m.); Sunday, race, 8 a.m. (Speed, 7:30-10 a.m., 2:30-5 p.m.).

Track: Marina Bay (road course, 3.148 miles).

Race distance: 191.97 miles, 61 laps.

Last year: Renault's Fernando Alonso won F1's first night race. He overcame a 15th-place starting position — with help from teammate Nelson Piquet Jr.'s team-ordered crash that forced an early caution — to earn his 20th career victory.

Last race: Rubens Barrichello won the Italian Grand Prix for his second victory in three races, beating Brawn GP teammate Jenson Button on Sept. 13 at Monza.

Fast facts: Renault escaped severe punishment Monday for ordering Piquet to deliberately crash last year, receiving a suspended two-year ban from Formula One's governing body. The team will be permanently disqualified from the sport if it breaks FIA rules within the next two years. Flavio Briatore, who quit as team principal last week, was banned indefinitely from any F1 activities by the World Motor Sport Council. Engineering executive director Pat Symonds, who also left the French team last week, was banned for five years. ... Button, the winner of six of the first seven races, leads the points race with 80. Barrichello is second with 66 with four races to go, followed by Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel (54) and Mark Webber (51.5).

Next race: Japanese Grand Prix, Oct. 4, Fuji Speedway, Omaya, Japan.

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

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NHRA FULL THROTTLE

O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals

Site: Ennis, Texas.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Sunday, 12:15-2:15 a.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 7-10 p.m.).

Track: Texas Motorplex.

Last year: J.R. Todd beat Tony Schumacher in the Top Fuel final, and Tim Wilkerson topped Tony Pedregon in Funny Car. Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Chris Rivas (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won.

Last week: Cory McClenathan beat Shawn Langdon in the Top Fuel final in the playoff-opening Carolinas Nationals to take the top spot in the Countdown to 1. In Funny Car, Robert Hight edged Matt Hagan to jump from 10th to third. Mike Edwards won the Pro Stock division to take over the No. 1 spot, and series leader Hector Arana topped the Pro Stock Motorcycle field.

Fast facts: McClenathan leads the Top Fuel standings with 2,162 points, 10 more than Antron Brown and Schumacher with five events left. In Funny Car, Pedregon has a one-point edge over Ashley Force Hood. Edwards has a 56-point lead over Jeg Coughlin in Pro Stock, and Arana is nine points ahead of Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Next race: O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals, Oct. 2-4, Memphis Motorsports Park, Memphis, Tenn.

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

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INDYCAR

Next race: Firestone Indy 300, Oct. 10, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Fla.

Last week: Scott Dixon took the series lead with one race left, winning the Indy Japan 300 for his fifth victory of the season. Dixon has a five-point lead over Target Chip Ganassi teammate Dario Franchitti. Ryan Briscoe is eight points behind Dixon.

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

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OTHER RACES

AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES: Petit Le Mans, Saturday (Speed, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.), Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga. On the Net: http://www.americanlemans.com

ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Petit Le Mans, Friday, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga. On the Net: http://www.atlantic-championship.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car: Friday, Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio; Saturday, Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, Pa. Super Dirtcar: Saturday, Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Elbridge, N.Y. On the Net: http://www.worldofoutlaws.com

U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Silver Crown and Sprint Car: Saturday, Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio. On the Net: http://www.usacracing.com