A GLANCE AT THIS WEEKEND’S MAJOR RACING

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Food City 500

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 12:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (FOX, 10:30 a.m.).

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.

Last race: Kurt Busch, a former Cup champion who’s been overshadowed lately by younger brother Kyle, drove to a dominating victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8. Kurt Busch led 235 of 330 laps in the Kobalt Tools 500, surviving a couple of scrapes with the wall and a late caution to pull away for a 0.332-second victory over Jeff Gordon. Last year: Jeff Burton raced past Denny Hamlin on a two-lap sprint to the finish to give Richard Childress Racing a 1-2-3 sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway. Burton scored his first win at Bristol and led teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer across the finish line in the first podium sweep in RCR history.

Fast facts: Gordon’s winless drought reached 44 races at Atlanta, but he remained on top of the standings after his runner-up finish. He has a 43-point lead over Clint Bowyer. … Jimmy Watts, Marcus Ambrose’s gas man, was suspended for four races by NASCAR on March 10 for chasing a loose tire across pit road at Atlanta. He was also placed on probation for the rest of the season as was Frank Kerr, the crew chief for the No. 47 Toyota. … Kurt Busch led 234 laps at Atlanta, 70 more than his entire total of 2008. He has five career wins at Bristol, but none since 2006. … Mark Martin, 50, became the second-oldest driver in Cup history to start from the pole after being the top qualifier at Atlanta. But he finished 31st to drop to 34th in the standings. … This is the first of two consecutive short-track events. The series heads to Martinsville on March 29.

Next race: Goody’s Fast Relief 500, March 29, Martinsville, Va.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR NATIONWIDE

Scotts Turf Builder 300

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 6:40 a.m. (Speed Channel, 9 a.m., tape), race (ABC, 11 a.m.).

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 159.9 miles, 300 laps.

Last race: Greg Biffle overcame numerous miscues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Feb. 28 to snap his 76-race winless streak. He was caught speeding on pit road, had another bad stop, and ran out of gas while leading Ñ twice. Almost every other driver had similar issues while leading.

Last year: Clint Bowyer outraced Kasey Kahne and the rain to win at Bristol Motor Speedway when the race was stopped just past halfway. Rain delayed the start of the race by two hours. With dark clouds rolling in, the goal was simply to make it to the halfway point Ñ when NASCAR considers a race official Ñ and be out front whenever the rain resumed. Bowyer was one of a handful of cars not to pit when Mike Bliss spun to bring out the sixth caution 100 laps into the event. Knowing the race only needed to go another 51 laps to be considered official, Bowyer gambled that the cars who did pit wouldn’t be able to catch him before the rain came.

Fast facts: Brad Keselowski won the most recent race at Bristol in August, becoming the first series-only regular to win at the track since 2004. He has two top-five finishes and three top-10 efforts among his four career starts there. … Kevin Harvick has not won since Nov. 2007 at Texas. He was victorious at Bristol in 2004. … Carl Edwards leads the point standings by 48 over Brian Vickers. … Series organizers signed a three-year deal on March 2 to keep the event at Gilles Villeneuve Circuit in Montreal.

Next race: O’Reilly 300, April 4, Fort Worth, Texas.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS

Last race: Kyle Busch won his second straight truck race on March 7, holding off Kevin Harvick on the final lap at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Even though he struggled on restarts after losing both second and third gear in his Toyota, Busch surged past Todd Bodine on the back straightaway with five laps to go and held on the rest of the way to win the American Commercial Lines 200.

Next event: Kroger 250, March 28, Martinsville, Va.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

NHRA

Last event: Bob Tasca raced to his first career Funny Car victory at the Gatornationals. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at historic Gainesville Raceway.

Next event: O’Reilly Spring Nationals, March 29, Houston.

On the Net: http://www.nhra.com

INDYCARS

OPENER: April 5, St. Petersburg, Fla.

FORMULA 1

OPENER: March 29, Australia

LOCAL

TODAY-SUNDAY: Mopars at the Strip (drags, car show, midway); racing begins 8 a.m. daily; Las Vegas Motor Speedway dragstrip

SATURDAY: NASCAR All-American Series (100-lap Super Late Models, Chargers, Bombers, Thunder Roadsters, Bandoleros); racing begins 6:30 p.m.; LVMS Bullring

THURSDAY-MARCH 27: Mint 400 FanFest (preview to March 28 race); 6-8 p.m. Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. March 27; Fremont Street Experience INFO: Mint 400 (SnoreRacing.net); Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS.com, 644-4444); LVMS Bullring (632-8422), LVMS dragstrip (632-8459), Death Valley Raceway (775 209-5291)

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