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Wednesday, July 3 Updated: July 4, 8:03 PM ET  A look at the weekend in racing Associated Press Here's a breakdown of this weekend's action in the world of motorsports. (All times ET)
Winston Cup
Last race: Ricky Rudd picked up his first victory of the season by winning the Dodge/Save Mart 350 in Sonoma, Calif. Jerry Nadeau appeared to have the victory with two laps to go, but rear-end gear failure ended his day. Jeff Gordon led for 30 laps, but also encountered rear-end gear failure and finished 37th, extending his winless streak to 24 races.
Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to an emotional victory in the Pepsi 400, where his father was killed the previous February. Pushed back to seventh place after a late caution flag, Earnhardt regained the lead with 4½ laps remaining. A few laps later, teammate Michael Waltrip overtook Bobby Labonte for second place. Fast facts: Ward Burton won the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 17, but has finished in the top-10 only once since then. He is 25th in the standings. ... The last winner to sweep both Daytona races in the same year was Bobby Allison in 1982. Allison also holds the record for fastest winning speed by going 173.473 mph in 1980. ... Daytona has held two Winston Cup races every year since 1959. ... Jeff Burton's victory in 2000 led a top-five sweep by Fords. That race, Burton edged Dale Jarrett by 0.149 seconds to give Roush Racing its first victory at Daytona. ... Cale Yarborough was the last polesitter to win the race in 1981. ... Tony Stewart gained 141 points on standings-leader Sterling Marlin at Sonoma and is in fifth place, 88 points out of first. Next race: Tropicana 400, July 14, Joliet, Ill.
CART
Last race: Cristiano da Matta recorded his third straight CART victory by winning in Chicago. With the win, da Matta became the first three-peat winner in CART since Juan Montoya accomplished the feat in 1999. Da Matta's victory also extended his lead in the points standings to 25 over Bruno Junquiera.
Last year: Michael Andretti, shuffled to last place on the first lap of the Molson Indy, took advantage of 11 cautions and won the Toronto race for the seventh time in its 16-year history. With his 41st career victory, Andretti broke a record he shared with Al Unser Jr. for most wins in one event. Unser won six times in Long Beach, Calif. Fast Facts: Da Matta has also won six of the last nine events. A win at Toronto will tie him with Al Unser Jr. and Alex Zanardi as the only drivers with four straight CART victories. ... Da Matta's 25-point lead in the standings is the largest he has ever had in four seasons with CART. ... Canadian native Paul Tracy won the 1993 event and has finished in the points in eight of his last nine races in Toronto. ... Dario Franchitti started from the pole in 1997 and 1998, but failed to finish. He won the race in 1999. ... Michael Andretti set the race record of 98.258 mph in 2000. ... Prior to last week's race, all four Brazilian drivers shaved their heads in honor of soccer sensation Ronaldo. Brazil won its fifth World Cup by defeating Germany this week. ... Last year's event featured 12 cautions which resulted in 12 cars finishing the race. Next race: Marconi Grand Prix, July 14, Cleveland.
Formula One
Last race: Rubens Barrichello recorded his second career win at the European Grand Prix in Germany, finishing .20 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher on June 23. Juan Pablo Montoya started from the pole for the third straight race, but did not finish after colliding with David Coulthard on lap 27.
Last year: Mika Hakkinen defeated series leader Michael Schumacher to get his 19th career victory, first this year and first ever in the British Grand Prix. Schumacher was denied his 51st career victory, which would have tied him with Alain Prost for the most in Formula One history. Fast Facts: The Silverstone Circuit is known for high-speed corners and high winds due to the open nature of the course. The track was built on a World War II airfield. ... McLaren drivers have won each of the last three British Grand Prixs, with David Coulthard recording consecutive victories in 1999 and 2000. The team has also had at least one driver finish among the points in all 35 Silverstone events. ... The Sauber racing team collected three points at last year's event and will be looking to cut into its seven-point deficit to Renault in the constructor standings. ... Michael Schumacher's loss in Germany was only his third in nine races this season. Next race: French Grand Prix, July 21, Magny-Cours.
IRL
Last race: Sam Hornish Jr. passed Gil de Ferran with two laps left to win the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond, his third victory of the season. Hornish also recorded his sixth career IRL victory, moving him to third on the all-time list behind Buddy Lazier (eight) and Scott Sharp (seven). Last year: Eddie Cheever Jr. passed Hornish with slightly more than two laps to go, earning his first IRL victory of the season in the inaugural Ameristar Casino Indy 200. Fast facts: This race will be the third of six events to take place on a 1.5-mile track this season. Hornish won at Homestead in March and Jeff Ward won at Texas in June. ... Hornish is the quickest driver to get six career IRL wins, doing it in 29 starts. Sharp was previously the fastest with 43 starts. ... De Ferran led an IRL record 269 consecutive laps, stretching over two events. He led the final 186 laps in his win at Pikes Peak before pacing the first 83 laps at Richmond. ... De Ferran, Helio Castroneves and Al Unser Jr. are the only drivers who have been running at the finish of every race this year. ... Castroneves holds a three-point lead over de Ferran for first place in the standings. Next race: Firestone Indy 200, July 20, Gladeville, Tenn.
Busch
Last race: Greg Biffle became the repeat winner at Milwaukee by taking the GNC Live Well 250. It was Biffle's second victory of the season and seventh in 50 career Busch starts. Last year: Inaugural race. Fast facts: Dale Earnhardt Jr., making his return to the Busch Series, held off Michael Waltrip and Matt Kenseth to win the rain-delayed EAS/GNC Live Well 300 at Daytona on Feb. 16. ... LaJoie has won the February races at Daytona in 1997, 1999 and 2001, but does not have a victory this season. His last win came at Memphis on Oct. 14. ... LaJoie and Joe Nemechek are the only entrants to have won races at Daytona. ... Scott Wimmer will be participating in his last Busch Series race this weekend before leaving for the Winston Cup circuit. ... Scott Riggs did not finish the race at Milwaukee because of engine trouble and dropped two spots to fourth in the points standings. ... Jack Sprague holds a 46-point lead over Biffle for first place in the standings. Next race: Hills Brothers Coffee 300, July 13, Joliet, Ill.
Craftsman Truck
Last race: Terry Cook overcame a slow pit stop and passed Jason Leffler with two laps remaining to win the GNC Live Well 200 at The Milwaukee Mile. The third caution of the race extended the 200-lap, 200-mile event for three laps -- the last two under green. Last year: Ricky Hendrick became the youngest driver to win a truck series race, leading the final 32 laps to take the inaugural O'Reilly Auto Parts 250. At 21 years, 3 months, 5 days, Hendrick is more than seven months younger than Kurt Busch was when he won on July 1, 2000, at The Milwaukee Mile. Fast facts: Leffler has finished second three times this season. ... Ted Musgrave leads David Starr by four points for first place in the standings. Starr has four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in eight starts this season, but has yet to win a race. ... The three cautions in last week's race was the fewest in any event this season. ... Five racing teams, including Leffler's, opted to change engines prior to last week's race, dropping them to the end of the field due to NASCAR rules. ... Dennis Setzer was the polesitter in last year's race, qualifying with a speed of 162.411 mph. ... The size of Kansas Speedway's tri-oval equals the size of seven football fields. Next race: Kroger 225, July 13, Sparta, Ky.
NHRA Next race: Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals, July 21, Morrison, Colo.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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