Series-by-series news and notes about this week's races.
| Race: Pepsi 400 |
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| Site: Daytona Beach, Fla. | |
| Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 4 p.m.); Saturday, race (TNT, 6:30 p.m.). | |
| Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns). | |
| Race distance: 400 miles, 160 laps. | |
| Last race: A two-tire gamble for Denny Hamlin paid off with his first Nextel Cup victory of the season at New Hampshire International Speedway. Hamlin edged Jeff Gordon by 0.068 seconds -- less than a car length. | |
| Last year: Tony Stewart was back to his on-track dominance and off-track hijinks, winning his second straight Pepsi 400 by charging to the lead with two laps to go. He then celebrated with his trademark climbing of the fence. Stewart led more than half the event, surged back in front with two laps remaining and held off a late charge from Kyle and Kurt Busch. The Busch brothers finished second and third. | |
| Fast facts: Kevin Harvick won the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, but is winless in a Cup points race since then. ... Jeff Gordon finished second at New Hampshire, Dale Earnhardt Jr. fourth and Jimmie Johnson fifth despite having their crew chiefs suspended six races last week for inspection violations. ... The race was lengthened to 400 miles in 1963. ... Tony Eury Jr. has served his six-race suspension and will return calling the shots for Dale Earnhardt Jr. this week. An illegal rear wing was found on the DEI No. 8 at the Dodge Avenger 500 in Darlington, S.C. | |
| Next race: USG Sheetrock 400, July 15, Joliet, Ill. | |
| Race: Winn-Dixie 250 |
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| Site: Daytona Beach, Fla. | |
| Schedule: Friday, qualifying (ESPN2, 1 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.). | |
| Track: Daytona International Speedway (tri-oval, 2.5 miles, 31 degrees banking in turns). | |
| Race distance: 250 miles, 100 laps. | |
| Last race: Kevin Harvick held off a late challenge by Carl Edwards to grab his second Busch victory of the season at New Hampshire International Speedway. | |
| Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to Daytona's Victory Lane for the first time in more than two years, winning the Winn-Dixie 250. Earnhardt took the lead early and dominated the rest of the way, holding off Brian Vickers after a late restart. Earnhardt led 88 of 103 laps and picked up his 21st Busch victory, tying his late father and Harry Gant for seventh on the career list. | |
| Fast facts: Edwards has an 809-point lead over David Reutimann in the standings. ... Harvick won the season-opening Orbitz 300 at Daytona on Feb. 17 after placing third in this event last year. ...Cup drivers swept the top 10 places last weekend. ... Chad Little set a Busch record by winning the 1995 event from the 42nd starting position. | |
| Next race: USG Durock 300, July 14, Joliet, Ill. | |
| Race: Grand Prix of Toronto |
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| Site: Toronto, Canada | |
| Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 1:15 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 1:15 p.m.; Sunday, race (ESPN, 1 p.m.). | |
| Track: Exhibition Place (temporary road course, 1.755 miles, 11 turns). | |
| Race distance: Timed race (1 hour, 45 minutes). | |
| Last race: Robert Doornbos drove to his first career win at the inaugural Champ Car Mont-Tremblant, but it was marred by poor sportsmanship. Sebastien Bourdais, the three-time defending champion, finished second and claimed Doornbos blocked him during the race. Bourdais was booed by some in the crowd when his finishing position was announced following the race and he refused to shake Doornbos' hand on the podium. | |
| Last year: A.J. Allmendinger, the only American driver in the series, won the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto for his third victory in a row, the first U.S.-born driver to accomplish that feat since Al Unser Jr. in 1994. | |
| Fast facts: Doornbos has four top-three finishes in six races. He and Bourdais are tied atop the standings with 145 points... During the 2005 event, Canadian Paul Tracy was involved in an early crash with Bourdais, continued on without his left front wing and was leading until he ran out of gas and quit the race. Tracy is a two-time winner (1993 and 2003) of this race. ... The first Molson Indy took place in 1986 before a sold-out crowd of 60,000. | |
| Next race: Grand Pix of Edmonton, July 22 | |
| Race: Watkins Glen Grand Prix |
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| Site: Watkins Glen, N.Y. | |
| Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 1:30 p.m.; Sunday, race (ABC, 3:30 p.m.). | |
| Track: Watkins Glen International (permanent road course, 3.4 miles, 11 turns). | |
| Race distance: 204 miles, 60 laps. | |
| Last race: Pole-sitter Dario Franchitti led all but nine laps and held off Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon with the help of a late caution, giving the points leader his first IndyCar Series victory at Richmond. It was his third victory of the season and eighth straight top-five finish, and made him the second consecutive winner at Richmond to set a record by leading the most laps in series history (241). | |
| Last year: Scott Dixon won a slippery battle of attrition that took Marco Andretti and several others, holding off Vitor Meira and Ryan Briscoe in a one-lap shootout to capture the Indy Grand Prix at Watkins Glen for the second straight year. | |
| Fast facts: Franchitti padded his lead in the standings to 65 points over Dixon. Wheldon and Tony Kanaan are 72 back. ... Danica Patrick has five top-10 finishes in her last six starts. ... Inclement weather canceled both qualifying sessions in this event's history. | |
| Next race: Firestone Indy 200, July 14, Gladeville, Tenn. | |
| Race: British Grand Prix |
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| Site: Silverstone, England | |
| Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 8 a.m.); Sunday, race, 8 a.m. (FOX, 1 p.m., tape). | |
| Track: Silverstone Circuit (road course, 3.194 miles, 14 turns). | |
| Race distance: 191.64 miles, 60 laps. | |
| Last race: Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa gave Ferrari a sweep of the top two places at the French Grand Prix, ending McLaren's winning streak at three Formula One races. The Finn finished the 2.74-mile circuit in 1 hour, 30 minutes, 54.200 seconds. Massa, a Brazilian, was nearly 2 1/2 seconds behind. | |
| Last year: Fernando Alonso won the British Grand Prix, his third straight victory and fifth of 2006. | |
| Fast facts: It was the first Ferrari victory since Massa won at Spain in May. ... Massa won his fourth pole of the season and the seventh of his career at Magny-Cours. He had three straight earlier this season. ... Lewis Hamilton was third for McLaren, 32 seconds behind the winner. Hamilton, a Briton who won the previous two races in Canada and the U.S., now has eight straight top-three finishes in his rookie season -- two wins, four seconds and two thirds -- to lead the standings with 64 points. ... The Silverstone track was built on a World War II airfield. | |
| Next race: German Grand Prix, July 22, Nuerburgring | |
| Race: Thunder Valley Nationals |
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| Site: Bristol, Tenn. | |
| Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 4 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 1 p.m. (ESPN2, 9:30 p.m., tape). | |
| Track: Bristol Dragway. | |
| Last event: Mike Ashley won the Funny Car competition during the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio, after getting disqualified in each of the previous two events. Tony Schumacher took Top Fuel, Dave Connolly claimed his second Pro Stock win of the season Andrew Hines picked up his second Pro Stock Motorcycle victory in his last three outings. | |
| Last year: Ron Capps raced to his third victory of 2006, beating John Force by a hundredth of a second in the O'Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) also won. | |
| Fast facts: Fuller lost in the Top Fuel final, but still increased his lead in the standings to 98 points over Larry Dixon. ... Capps has been eliminated in the first round in each of the last two events and now leads second-place Robert Hight by 98 points. ... Ashley also won the June 3 event at Topeka, Kan., just before his two straight DQs. ... John Force has lost in the first round in three of the last four events and remains winless on the season. | |
| Next event: Mopar Mile-High Nationals, July 15, Denver. | |
