AUTO RACING: Auto Racing Glance

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NASCAR CUP SERIES

1000BULBS.COM 500

Site: Talladega, Alabama.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 1:35 & 4:35 p.m. (NBCSN); Saturday, qualifying, 4:35 p.m. (NBCSN); Sunday, race, 2 p.m., NBC.

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles).

Race distance: 500.08 miles, 188 laps.

Last year: Aric Almirola won the fall start at Talladega.

Last race: Kyle Larson took his first checkered flag of the year.

Fast facts: Larson snapped a 75-race winless skid last week. … Martin Truex Jr., the current points leader, has never won in 29 starts at Talladega. Truex also has just two top-five finishes in that stretch. … Brad Keselowski has a series-high five wins at Talladega. He is sixth in the standings, 43 points behind Truex. … Could this be the weekend that Clint Bowyer makes a move? He has posted top-10 finishes in 13 of his 27 starts at the longest oval in Cup racing.

Next race: Hollywood Casino 400, Oct. 20, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Last race: Cole Custer won a playoff race in Dover.

Next race: Kansas Lottery 300, Oct. 19, Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

SUGARLANDS SHINE 250

Site: Talladega, Alabama.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 12:35 p.m. and 3:35 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 10:35 a.m. (FS1), race, 1:30 p.m., FS1.

Track: Talladega Superspeedway.

Race distance: 250.04 miles, 94 laps.

Last year: Timothy Peters won for the 11th time in the series.

Last race: Austin Hill won in Las Vegas to secure a spot in the second round of the playoffs.

Fast facts: Officials with NASCAR and Ilmor Engineering released preliminary findings last week after four of Ilmor’s NT1 engines failed — including three playoff trucks — in Las Vegas. Andrew Richards, a motorsports development engineer with Ilmor, said no single area of the engine stood out as a cause but extreme heat on race day was a factor. … ThorSport Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and Grant Enfinger were eliminated from the playoffs after their engines died in Vegas.

Next race: NASCAR Hall of Fame 200, Oct. 26, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

Site: Suzuka City, Japan.

Schedule: Thursday, practice, 9 p.m. (ESPNews); Friday, practice, 1 a.m. (ESPN2), practice, 11 p.m. (ESPNU); Saturday, qualifying, 2 a.m. (ESPN2); Sunday, race, 1:10 a.m., ESPN

Track: Suzuka International Racing Course (circuit, 3.61 miles).

Race distance: 191.1 miles, 53 laps.

Last year: Lewis Hamilton won at Japan from the pole.

Last race: Hamilton snapped a three-race winless skid in Russia.

Fast facts: Hamilton’s win at Sochi helped push him back ahead by 73 points in the chase for the championship. Valtteri Bottas is second and hard-charging Charles Leclerc of Ferrarri is 107 points behind the British star in third. … Toro Rosso will give defending Japanese Super Formula and Super GT champion Naoki Yamamoto a run during the opening practice this weekend. … The series says teams will have six days of pre-season testing in Barcelona in February ahead of the 2020 season, which kicks off on March 15 in Melbourne.

Next race: Mexican Grand Prix, Oct. 27, Hermanos Rodríguez Autodrome, Mexico City.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

DRAG RACING

CAROLINA NATIONALS

Site: Concord, North Carolina.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, 4;15 & 6:45 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 2 & 4:30 p.m.; Sunday, finals, 4:50 p.m., FS1

Track: zMax Dragway.

Last year: Steve Torrence won in Top Fuel.

Last race: Billy Torrence took home Top Fuel honors at Gateway.

Fast facts: Ron Capps (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won in 2018 in Charlotte. … Shawn Langdon, the former Top Fuel standout now in Funny Car, won the spring event in North Carolina. Langdon also won last week in St. Louis. … Steve Torrence has won three straight races in Charlotte. But he currently trails Doug Kalitta by two points with four starts left in the season.

Next race: Texas Fall Nationals, Oct. 17-20, Texas Motorplex, Ennis, Texas.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

OTHER SERIES

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Saturday; Wabash Clash, Terre Haute Action Track, Terre Haute, Indiana; Sunday, Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt, Indiana.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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f1

May 5, 2019

*Watches on a loop* . Up close and personal on the back straight…