Winston Cup

FAST FACTS
Event	Ford 400
Site	Homestead, Fla.
Schedule	Friday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1:35 p.m.; Sunday, race (NBC, 1 p.m.).
Track	Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Distance	400 miles, 267 laps.

Last race: Matt Kenseth clinched his long-anticipated Winston Cup championship after finishing fourth in the Pop Secret 400 at Rockingham. Kenseth took the points lead in the fourth race of the season and kept it the rest of the way en route to his first championship. Bill Elliott won the race.

	Drivers to Watch
	Check out a short list of drivers to keep an eye on this weekend at Miami.

Last year: Tony Stewart won his first Winston Cup championship by finishing 18th in the season-ending Ford 400. The championship was the ninth of Stewart's racing career, the third NASCAR title for crew chief Greg Zipadelli, and the second Winston Cup title in three years for team owner Joe Gibbs. Kurt Busch won the race.

Fast facts: This is the final race of the season. ... Bobby Labonte sealed his first Winston Cup championship at the 2000 race. ... There have been no repeat winners at Homestead.

Busch Series

FAST FACTS
Event	Ford 300
Site	Homestead, Fla.
Schedule	Thursday, qualifying, 2:45 p.m.; Saturday, race (NBC, Noon).
Track	Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Distance	300 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Jamie McMurray won the Target House 200 for his fourth career Busch win and third straight at Rockingham. Brian Vickers put himself in position for his first championship with his sixth-place finish and has a 22-point lead over David Green in the standings.

	Drivers to Watch
	Check out a short list of drivers to keep an eye on this weekend at Miami.

Last year: Scott Wimmer captured the season-ending Ford 300 when leader Jason Keller ran out of gas on the final lap. Wimmer was one of a handful of drivers to pit for fuel in the waning laps of the race, making his stop with 12 to go.

Fast facts: Just 89 points separates first to sixth, making Vickers, Green, Ron Hornaday, Jason Keller, Scott Riggs and Bobby Hamilton Jr. all eligible for the championship in the tightest race in series history. ... Richard Childress Racing clinched the car owner title with Kevin Harvick's 14th place finish at Rockingham.

CTS

FAST FACTS
Event	Ford 200
Site	Homestead, Fla.
Schedule	Thursday, qualifying, 1 p.m.; Friday, race (Speed Channel, 3:15 p.m.
Track	Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).
Distance	201 miles, 134 laps.

Last race: Kevin Harvick held off Ted Musgrave to win the Silverado 150 at Phoenix International Raceway, and the close season points race got even tighter. The top four drivers are separated by just 39 points heading into the season-ending Ford 200 on Nov. 14.

Last year: Mike Bliss capped his return to NASCAR's truck series by winning the championship after placing fifth in the Ford 200. Ron Hornaday won the race while being entered as Bliss' teammate. Bliss beat Rick Crawford for the championship by 46 points.

Fast facts: Musgrave, who is 26 points behind first-place Brendan Gaughan in the standings, recorded his first truck victory in the 2001 race before his second-place finish last year. ... Gaughan had the fastest practice time at the track on Monday with an average speed of 168.224 mph. ... The track now has a 20-degree banking in the turns compared to six last season. ... There have been no repeat winners in seven races at Homestead.

CART
Race canceled: The season-ending Taco 500, scheduled for Nov. 2 at California Speedway, was canceled due to the state of emergency caused by a series of wildfires in and around San Bernardino County. Paul Tracy won his first CART championship the previous week during the Gold Coast Indy at Australia.

NHRA
Last event: Three-time Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney ended her 30-year racing career with a second-round loss at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona Raceway. Kenny Bernstein earned his 69th career Top Fuel victory while Del Worsham (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Craig Treble (Pro Stock Bike) also won.

Formula One
Last race: Michael Schumacher won a record sixth Formula One title on Oct. 12 by finishing eighth at the Japanese Grand Prix and holding off Kimi Raikkonen for the championship. Schumacher got strong support from Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello, who won the season-ending race ahead of Raikkonen.

Indy Racing League
Last race: A terrifying crash that left Kenny Brack badly injured ended the season-finale Chevy 500 five laps early, sending Gil de Ferran to victory lane in his last career start and giving runner-up Scott Dixon the series championship. Dixon gave Chip Ganassi his first IRL championship after four titles in the rival CART series.