Auto racing for Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2015
PrintGOODY’S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500
Site: Martinsville, Virginia.
Schedule: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Channel, 10:30 a.m.-noon), qualifying (NBC Sports Channel, 5-6:30 p.m.); Saturday, practice (CNBC, 8-9 a.m., 11 a.m.-noon); Sunday, race, 12:15 p.m. (NBC Sports Channel, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).
Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles).
Race distance: 263 miles, 500 laps.
Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced to the last of his four 2014 victories.
Last week: Joey Logano won at Talladega to sweep the three second-round Chase races. The race ended under caution after a failed attempt at an overtime finish.
Fast facts: The race opens the third three-race round in the 10-event Chase. The championship field was cut from 12 to eight last week. Logano advanced along with Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., defending series champion Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Earnhardt and Matt Kenseth dropped out. The field will be cut to four after the ninth race. Drivers get a spot in the next round with a victory. Points are reset after each round and the title will be decided by finishing order in the Nov. 22 finale at Homestead. ... Hamlin won the March race at Martinsville for his fifth victory at his home-state track. ... Gordon, retiring at the end of the season, and Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson share the track victory lead among active drivers with eight. ... Richard Petty won a record 15 times at Martinsville, the only remaining venue from NASCAR’s inaugural 1949 season.
Next race: AAA Texas 500, Nov. 8, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
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KROGER 200
Site: Martinsville, Virginia.
Schedule: Friday, practice (Fox Sports 1, noon-1 p.m., 1:30-3 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Fox Sports 1, 9-10:30 a.m.), race, 12:30 p.m. (Fox Sports 1, noon-2:30 p.m.).
Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles).
Race distance: 105.2 miles, 200 laps.
Last year: Darrell Wallace Jr. raced to his second straight fall victory at the track. In 2013 at Martinsville, he become the first black driver to win a national NASCAR race since Wendell Scott in 1963.
Last week: Timothy Peters won at Talladega for the second straight year.
Fast facts: Erik Jones leads the standings, 18 points ahead of Tyler Reddick and 23 in front of two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton. Jones has two victories and has won twice on the Xfinity Series. Reddick also has won twice, and Crafton has a series-high four victories. ... Ross Kenseth, Sprint Car driver Matt Kenseth’s 22-year-old son, is attempting to make his series debut for Hattori Racing. He won the ARCA Series race at Michigan and was sixth in his Xfinity debut at Chicagoland. ... Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano won the March race at the track.
Next race: WinStar World Casino 350, Nov. 6, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
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Next race: O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Nov. 7, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
Last race: Kyle Busch won at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 17 his fifth victory of the year and record-extending 75th in the series.
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MEXICAN GRAND PRIX
Site: Mexico City.
Schedule: Friday, practice (NBC Sports Channel, 10:30 p.m.-midnight); Saturday, practice, qualifying (CNBC, 1-2:30 p.m.); Sunday, race, 1 p.m. (NBC, 12:30-3:30 p.m.).
Track: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (road course, 2.674 miles).
Race distance: 189.8 miles, 71 laps.
Last year: No race. The series last raced in Mexico in 1992.
Last week: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton won the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to wrap his second straight season title and third overall. He has 10 victories in 16 races this season.
Fast facts: Hamilton won 11 times last season in his Mercedes debut and has 43 career victories. He won his first season title for McLaren in 2008. ... Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel each have two victories this year. ... The series raced in Mexico at Magdalena Mixhuca from 1962-1970 and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez from 1986-1992.
Next race: Brazilian Grand Prix, Nov. 15, Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo.
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NHRA TOYOTA NATIONALS
Site: Las Vegas.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying; Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2, Sunday, 2-3:30 a.m.); Sunday, final eliminations (ESPN2, 7-10 p.m.).
Track: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Last year: Erica Enders won to regain the Pro Stock lead en route to the season title. Del Worsham won in Funny Car, Spencer Massey in Top Fuel, and Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Last event: Enders won the Texas NHRA FallNationals on Oct. 18 for her eighth victory of the year, a record for female drivers. Richie Crampton won in Top Fuel, Del Worsham in Funny Car, and Jerry Savoie in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Fast facts: The event is the fifth in the six-race Countdown. Antron Brown leads the Top Fuel standings, 132 points ahead of Tony Schumacher. Brown swept the first three Countdown events and has six victories this season. Worsham has a 38-point lead over Jack Beckman in Funny Car. Worsham won the first two Countdown events. Enders leads in Pro Stock, 154 points ahead of Greg Anderson. Hines has the Pro Stock Motorcycle lead.
Next event: Auto Club NHRA Finals, Nov. 12-15, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, California.