Auto racing for Sept. 4-6, 2015
SOUTHERN 500
Site: Darlington, South Carolina.
Schedule: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Network, 10 a.m.-noon, 3:30-5:30 p.m.); Saturday, practice (NBC Sports Network, 9-10:30 a.m.), qualifying (NBC Sports Network, 12:30-2 p.m.); Sunday, race, 6 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, 5-6 p.m.; NBC, 6-10:15 p.m.).
Track: Darlington Raceway (oval, 1.366 miles).
Race distance: 501.3 miles, 367 laps.
Last year: Kevin Harvick won the April race for the second of his five 2014 victories en route to the season title. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second.
Last race: Joey Logano won at Bristol, Tennessee, on Aug. 22 for his third victory of the year. Harvick was second.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch has four victories in 13 races since returning from a broken right leg and left foot. He’s 29th in the standings and must be in the top 30 after the regular-season finale next week at Richmond to qualify for the 16-driver Chase. He won at the track in 2008. ... Jeff Gordon is making his final Darlington start before retiring at end of the season. He has seven victories at the egg-shaped track, the last in 2007. ... Harvick leads the standings, 43 points ahead of Logano and 46 in front of Earnhardt. ... Jimmie Johnson is tied with Busch for the series victory lead ... Johnny Mantz won the inaugural race at the track in 1950. ... David Pearson holds the track record with 10 victories, one more than Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Next race: Federated Auto Parts 400, Sept. 12, Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia.
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VFW SPORT CLIPS HELP A HERO 200
Site: Darlington, South Carolina.
Schedule: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Network, noon-1 p.m., 2-3:30 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (NBC Sports Network, 10:30 a.m.-noon), race, 2:30 p.m. (NBC, 2-5 p.m.).
Track: Darlington Raceway (oval, 1.366 miles).
Race distance: 200.8 miles, 147 laps.
Last year: Chase Elliott won in April for the second of his three 2014 victories en route to the season championship.
Last week: Paul Menard won at Road America in his home state of Wisconsin. The Sprint Cup driver held off Ryan Blaney.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch is making his seventh series start of the season. He has three victories this year to push his series-record total to 73. Fellow Sprint Cup drivers Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are racing. Logano leads the series with four victories, and Harvick and Hamlin have each won twice. ... Joe Gibbs Racing has won seven of the last nine Darlington races, with Hamlin winning three times and Busch twice. ... Chris Buescher leads the standings, 16 points ahead of Elliott and 19 in front of Ty Dillon.
Next race: Virginia529 College Savings 250, Sept. 11, Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia.
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Next race: American Ethanol E15 225, Sept. 18, Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois.
Last week: Erik Jones won the road race in Bowmanville, Ohio, to take the series points lead. The 19-year-old Jones also won at Iowa in June and has two Xfinity victories this year.
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ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Site: Monza, Italy.
Schedule: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Network, 7-8:30 a.m.); Saturday, practice, qualifying (NBC Sports Network, 7-8:30 a.m.); Sunday, race, 7 a.m. (NBC Sports Network, 6:30-9:30 a.m., 1-4 p.m.).
Track: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (road course, 3.6 miles).
Race distance: 190.8 miles, 53 laps.
Last year: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton raced to the sixth of his 11 2014 victories en route to the season title. Teammate Nico Rosberg was second.
Last race: Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix on Aug. 23 for his sixth victory in the first 11 races. Rosberg was second.
Fast facts: Hamilton leads the standings, 28 points ahead of Rosberg and 47 in front of Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg has three victories this year, and Vettel two in his first season for Ferrari. ... The U.S. Grand Prix is Oct. 25 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Next race: Singapore Grand Prix, Sept. 20, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.
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U.S. NATIONALS
Site: Brownsburg, Indiana.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying; Sunday, qualifying (ESPN, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.); Monday, final eliminations (ESPN, 3-6 p.m.).
Track: Lucas Oil Raceway.
Last year: Alexis DeJoria beat John Force in the Funny Car final. Richie Crampton won in Top Fuel, Shane Gray in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Last event: Crampton won the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, on Aug. 23 for his fourth Top Fuel victory of the season. Robert Hight won in Funny Car, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Fast facts: The event ends the 18-race regular season. The top 10 in each division will qualify for the six-race Countdown to the Championship. ... Jeff Beckman tops the Funny Car standings. He has five victories and has set class records for the fastest pass in each of the last three events — powering to a 3.921-second run in Brainerd. ... Tony Schumacher leads in Top Fuel, Enders in Pro Stock, and Krawiec in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Next event: NHRA Carolina Nationals, Sept. 18-20, zMAX Dragway, Concord, North Carolina.
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ARCA RACING SERIES: Southern Illinois 100, Monday, DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, DuQuoin, Illinois.
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U.S. AUTO RACING CLUB: Silver Crown: Ted Horn 100, Sunday, DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, DuQuoin, Illinois.
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WORLD OF OUTLAWS: Sprint Car: Friday-Saturday, Skagit Speedway, Alger, Washington; Sunday, Grays Harbor Raceway, Elma, Washington. Late Model: Friday-Saturday, Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, Pennsylvania; Sunday, Selinsgrove Speedway, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Super DirtCar: Thursday, Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Elbridge, New York.