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CBSSports.com wire reports
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Series-by-series news and notes about this week's races.
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| Nationwide Series | | Race: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 |  | | Site: Madison, Ill. | | Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, 5 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 9 p.m.). | | Track: Gateway International Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.25 miles, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees in turns 3-4). | | Race distance: 250 miles, 200 laps. | | Last race: Kyle Busch added another Nationwide Series victory to his column, winning the Dollar General 300 at the Chicagoland Speedway for his fifth win this year. Busch grabbed the lead on the 95th lap, held it until a pit stop on the 149th and then regained it five laps later for the remainder of the 200-lap race on the 1.5-mile track. | | Last year: Four races after switching crew chiefs and 61 after earning his previous Nationwide victory, Reed Sorenson avoided the pitfalls to win the caution-filled Gateway 250 at Madison, Ill. His previous victory came at the same track nearly two years ago to the date. | | Fast facts: Busch's victory was also the 13th for a Joe Gibbs racer this season. ... Joey Logano, another JGR driver, returns to the series after missing the last three races. He has a win, two poles, two top-five finishes and three top-10 showings in his first four starts this season. ... Chevrolet won the first five Nationwide races at Gateway, but only one in the six races since. Toyota is the only manufacturer not to win at the track. ... Sorenson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick are the only drivers to have two Nationwide wins at Gateway. | | Next race: Kroger 200, July 26, Indianapolis |
| Craftsman Truck Series | | Race: Built Ford Tough 225 |  | | Site: Sparta, Ky. | | Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 3:30 p.m.), race (Speed Channel, 6:30 p.m.). | | Track: Kentucky Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns). | | Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps. | | Last race: Ron Hornaday won the O'Reilly 200 on June 28 to take the points lead, leading the final 129 laps and enduring a green-white-checker finish. Hornaday was leading on the 199th lap when a crash started between Ted Musgrave and Willie Allen brought out the ninth caution and eventually a red flag as the track was cleared of debris. On the green-white-checker finish, Hornaday hit his marks and beat Erik Darnell. Hornaday, who led 139 of 204 laps, won his third race of the season and his 36th in the series. | | Last year: Mike Skinner completely dominated the Built Ford Tough 225, leading 135 of 150 laps to earn his fourth victory of 2007. Skinner, 50, became just the second driver 50 years or older to win a series race and set a record by leading his 13th consecutive race every one of the year. | | Fast facts: Roush Fenway Racing will compete in its 316th truck event this weekend, passing Spears Motorsports for most starts in series history. The team has recorded 49 victories, including two at Kentucky. ... Kyle Busch will be trying to win in three different national series in consecutive starts following his Chicagoland sweep in the Nationwide and Cup events last weekend. ... Eight races at Kentucky have produced eight different winners, including Hornaday, Dennis Setzer and Skinner. ... Todd Bodine has won a series-high eight times on five of the seven 1.5-mile intermediate tracks on the truck schedule, but has yet to record a victory at Kentucky. He won with the Nationwide series in 2002. | | Next race: Power Stroke Diesel 200, July 25, Indianapolis |
| Indycar Series | | Race: Honda 200 |  | | Site: Lexington, Ohio | | Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 11:45 a.m.; Sunday, race (ABC, 1:30 p.m.). | | Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (permanent road course, 2.4 miles, 15 turns). | | Race distance: 191.93 miles, 85 laps. | | Last race: Told to follow race leader Tony Kanaan into the pits, Scott Dixon instead stayed on the track at the Nashville Superspeedway and grabbed the lead on lap 149. Dixon stretched his fuel until rain ended the Firestone Indy 200 with 29 laps left, giving him his third consecutive victory at this track and his fourth this season. | | Last year: Dixon escaped the mishap in front of him that put a crimp in Danica Patrick's hopes and hung near the leaders before moving in front late to win the Honda Indy 200 for his third straight victory. | | Fast facts: Former CART champion Paul Tracy will drive in the July 26 Rexall Edmonton Indy in a car fielded by Walker Racing. The 39-year-old Tracy, winner of 31 races in CART and its later incarnation as Champ Car, found himself out of a ride when Champ Car was absorbed into the IndyCar Series in February. ... Dixon's latest win was also the 100th overall in motorsports for Chip Ganassi Racing. ... Ryan Hunter-Reay went from Victory Lane the previous event at Watkins Glen to 19th at Nashville after a crash. ... The series did not compete in Ohio prior to last year. | | Next race: Grand Prix of Edmonton, July 26, Alberta |
| Formula One | | Race: German Grand Prix |  | | Site: Hockenheim | | Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 8 a.m.); Sunday, race, 8 a.m. (FOX, 1 p.m., tape). | | Track: Hockenheimring (road course, 2.842 miles). | | Race distance: 214.132 miles, 67 laps. | | Last race: Lewis Hamilton mastered wild and wet racing conditions on July 6 to score a runaway victory at the British Grand Prix and throw the drivers championship wide open. Hamilton's third victory of the season gives him 48 points. He is tied with Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, but leads the championship chase based on his better finishes in the other races. | | Last year: Fernando Alonso outdueled Massa on a slippery track, passing the Ferrari driver late in the race to win the European Grand Prix in Germany. Massa was 8 seconds behind in second place, and Mark Webber was 1:05 back in third for Red Bull to equal his career best. | | Fast facts: The McLaren team settled its legal dispute with Ferrari on July 11, agreeing to pay the Italian team's court costs from the F1 spying scandal. McLaren apologized last December after Ferrari data and documents were found at its chief designer's home, resulting in a $100 million fine for McLaren and disqualification from the 2007 constructors championship. ... Massa surrendered sole possession of the standings by spinning his Ferrari five times and finishing last of the 13 drivers who completed the Britain race. Robert Kubica is two points behind the foursome. ... Three days prior to the British Grand Prix, David Coulthard announced he will retire after the season, ending a career in which he won 13 races but repeatedly fell short of the world championship. ... Toro Rosso announced on July 2 that it will continue racing in 2009 despite the owner's plan to sell the team. | | Next race: Hungarian Grand Prix, Aug. 3, Budapest |
| NHRA | | Race: Schuck's Auto Supply Nationals |  | | Site: Kent, Wash. | | Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 6 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 3 p.m. (ESPN2, 8 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 2 p.m. (9 p.m., ESPN2, tape). | | Track: Pacific Raceways. | | Last event: Racing on a 1,000-foot strip for the first time in NHRA history, Top Fuel dragster Tony Schumacher and Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson won their respective classes Sunday during the Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) won for a third straight week while Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) defended his Bandimere title. | | Last year: Schumacher beat Brandon Bernstein by 0.004 seconds to win the Top Fuel event at the rain-delayed Schuck's Auto Supply Nationals. Jack Beckman won the Funny Car event and Dave Connolly took Pro Stock. | | Fast facts: Wilkerson will clinch a spot in the Countdown to the Championship field with just one qualifying run this weekend. Anderson can seal his spot if he either qualifies 12th or higher, wins a round on Sunday or if the drivers who trail him in the standings fail to gain the maximum amount of qualifying points. ... Schumacher earned his 47th career Top Fuel win to move within five of Joe Amato's career record. ... Wilkerson eliminated John Force Racing drivers Ashley Force, Mike Neff and Robert Hight during his win at Bandimere. The fourth member, John Force, was eliminated by Neff in the first round. ... John Force advanced to the finals at Pacific last year before his car went up in flames during the loss to Beckham. ... Allen Johnson was denied a second straight win at Pacific last year with his loss to Connolly in the Pro Stock final. | | Next event: Fram Autolite Nationals, July 27, Sonoma, Calif. |
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
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