NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Dodge Challenger 500
Site:Darlington, S.C.
Schedule: Saturday (Fox, 5 p.m.).
Track: Darlington Raceway (egg-shaped oval, 1.366 miles, 25 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 23 degrees in turns 3-4).
Race distance: 501.322 miles, 367 laps.
Last race: Clint Bowyer was a surprise winner at Richmond, stealing a win that first seemed destined for Denny Hamlin, then Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hamlin, the hometown favorite, led a record 381 of the 400 laps until experiencing a leak in his right front tire, which failed with eight laps to go. Earnhardt and Kyle Busch then staged a strong battle for the lead when the race resumed, but contact between the two cars in turn 3 sent Earnhardt into the wall.
Last year: Jeff Gordon overcame a leaky radiator and used a gutsy late call to race to his third victory of 2007 at Darlington Raceway.
Fast facts: Richard Childress Racing has three drivers among the top five in the standings. Bowyer’s win moved him into fourth, Jeff Burton dropped to second and Kevin Harvick climbed to fifth after finishing eighth at Richmond. The trio has combined for 18 top-10 and eight top-five finishes. . . . Kyle Busch is the points leader for the second time this season after his runner-up performance at Richmond. He has six top-five finishes this season. . . . Earnhardt is now mired in a 72-race winless streak. . . . NASCAR forced Michael Waltrip to sit out the final 58 laps at Richmond after he intentionally rammed the back of Casey Mears’ car, pushing it several hundred yards after the two made contact moments earlier. The penalty cost him as many as 60 Sprint Cup points. . . . Hamlin fell hard on his left hip playing basketball late Sunday evening and could hardly walk when he arrived Monday for testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Next race: NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, May 17, Concord, N.C.
On the Net:
FORMULA ONE
Turkish Grand Prix
Site:Istanbul
Schedule: Today (Speed Channel, 6 a.m.).
Track: Istanbul Park (road course, 3.342 miles, 14 turns).
Race distance: 193.836 miles, 58 laps.
Last race: World champion Kimi Raikkonen moved Ferrari clear atop the drivers’ and the constructors’ standings on April 27 with his second Spanish Grand Prix win in four years. Raikkonen’s 17th career victory moved him nine points clear of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton while Ferrari took a 12-point lead in the team standings.
Last year: Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won his second consecutive Turkish Grand Prix, beating teammate Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso of McLaren was third. Hamilton had been in third place but dropped to fifth after shredding a tire on the 43rd lap.
Fast facts: The head of Japanese Formula One team Super Aguri said Tuesday his team will withdraw from the series due to financial difficulties. Team president Aguri Suzuki said “a breach of contract” by a promised partner, SS United Oil & Gas Co., resulted in the loss of financial backing. . . . McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen could return this weekend after being hospitalized following a crash at the Spanish Grand Prix. While traveling at 150 mph, his car went off the track and slammed into the protective wall at the Circuit de Catalunya. The 26-year-old Finn was unconscious briefly. . . . Massa’s win in the 2006 event was his first in F1. . . . Raikkonen won the inaugural race from the pole in 2005. . . . The track was created by German architect Herman Tilke, who also designed the Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai circuits. The cars run counterclockwise.
Next race: Monaco Grand Prix, May 25, Monte Carlo
On the Net:
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS
Last race:Ron Hornaday Jr.’s fuel gamble with 59 laps paid off thanks to five of the record 12 cautions at Kansas Speedway, helping him win the wreck-filled O’Reilly Auto Parts 250. Hornaday started at the pole and led 136 of the 167 laps around the 1.5-mile oval. But when Andy Lally slammed into the wall on lap 108, crew chief Rick Ren quickly calculated fuel mileage and took a gamble by sending Hornaday out with four new tires, but no gas.
Next race: North Carolina Education Lottery 200, May 16, Concord
On the Net:
INDY RACING LEAGUE
Last race:Dan Wheldon won at Kansas Speedway, his first victory since taking the checkered flag at the track a year ago. It was the 14th career victory for Wheldon, a former series champion, giving him some momentum heading into this month’s Indianapolis 500, a race Wheldon won in 2005 and that he acknowledges remains his biggest objective each year.
Next race: Indianapolis 500, May 25
On the Net:
NHRA
Last event:John Force cemented his position as the most prolific Funny Car driver in NHRA history, becoming the first to reach 1,000 round wins with a first-round victory over Ron Capps in the O’Reilly Midwest Nationals at Madison, Ill. Tim Wilkerson denied one of John Force Racing’s other drivers, Mike Neff, his first career win and took Pro Stock on his home track. Rod Fuller (Top Fuel), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock), and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed victories.
Next event: Thunder Valley Nationals, May 18, Bristol, Tenn.
On the Net:
