NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Subway Fresh Fit 500
Site: Avondale, Ariz.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying (SPEED, 4 p.m. Tucson time); Saturday, race (Fox, 5 p.m.).
Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).
Distance: 312 miles, 312 laps.
Last race: Jeff Gordon finally found Victory Lane at one of the two active tracks where he had never won, taking the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Last year: Jimmie Johnson stayed on the track while others were gassing up and had just enough fuel to win.
Fast facts: Jeff Gordon leads the Cup standings by 162 points, 1,154-992, over three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson. . . . Kyle Busch, third in the points race with 974, has led the most laps with 519, 125 more than Gordon through seven races.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE
Bashas’ Supermarkets 200
Site: Avondale, Ariz.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying (SPEED, 2:30 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 6:30 p.m.).
Track: Phoenix International Raceway (tri-oval, 1 mile, 11 degrees banking in turns 1-2, 9 degrees banking in turns 3-4).
Distance: 200 miles, 200 laps.
Last race: Teen star Joey Logano, 18, raced to his second career Nationwide victory, holding off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the Pepsi 300 in Nashville, Tenn.
Last year: Kyle Busch beat Carl Edwards out of the pits on their final stop, then held off the defending champion in overtime for his second straight victory.
Fast facts: Kyle Busch, trailing points leader Carl Edwards by 23 points, leads the Phoenix field with three poles and has won the past two poles for this race.
INDY RACING LEAGUE
Long Beach Grand Prix
Site: Long Beach, Calif.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (VERSUS, 3 p.m.); Sunday, race (VERSUS, 12:30 p.m.).
Track: Streets of Long Beach (road course, 1.968-miles).
Distance: 167.3 miles, 85 laps.
Last race: Ryan Briscoe of Penske won the season-opening Honda Grand Prix, outdueling Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson.
Last year: Will Power won the final race of the Champ Car World Series on the streets of Long Beach.
Fast facts: Al Unser Jr. is the Grand Marshal. . . . Either 30 or 45 minutes of practice has been scheduled for rookies and entrants outside the top 10 in points before all cars take the racetrack on the first day of an event weekend (outside of the Indianapolis 500).
FORMULA ONE
Chinese Grand Prix
Site: Shanghai.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (SPEED, midnight); Sunday, race (VERSUS, midnight).
Track: Shanghai International Circuit (3.387 miles, 16 turns).
Distance: 189.568 miles, 56 laps.
Last race: Brawn GP’s Jenson Butto won the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix. BMW’s Nick Heidfeld was second and Toyota’s Timo Glock finished third.
Last year: Lewis Hamilton won the race, leaving the McLaren driver just short of clinching the 2008 Formula One title.
Fast facts: F1′s governing body approved the rear diffusers that helped Button win this season’s opening two races. The decision was a victory for Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams, and could force their rivals to quickly add the aerodynamic device that creates greater downforce through corners.
NHRA
Summit Racing Equipment Southern Nationals
Site: Commerce, Ga.
Schedule: Friday, qualifying, noon; Saturday, qualifying, 8:30 a.m. (ESPN2, 3 p.m., tape); Sunday, finals, 8 a.m. (ESPN2, 4 p.m., tape).
Track: Atlanta Dragway.
Last event: Tony Schumacher raced to his second straight Top Fuel victory and third in a row in Las Vegas.
Last year: Ashley Force beat father John to become the first woman driver to win a national Funny Car event.
Fast facts: Schumacher, the points leader in Top Fuel with 412, has finished in the top five in all five events, with two victories.