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Wednesday, March 28

NASCAR hits Texas; F1 visits Brazil
Associated Press

Here's a breakdown of this weekend's action in the world of motorsports. (All times ET)

Winston Cup
FAST FACTS
Event Harrah's 500
Site Fort Worth, Texas
Schedule Friday, qualifying (FSN, 4 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 12:30 p.m.)
Track Texas Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking)
Distance 501 miles, 334 laps

Last race: Elliott Sadler earned his first career victory at the Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn., where Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon made contact on the final lap, sending Stewart spinning. Stewart raced around the track on the cooldown lap and hit Gordon's car on pit road. NASCAR fined Stewart $10,000 and placed him on probation until Aug. 29.

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

Last year: Dale Earnhardt Jr. got his first Winston Cup victory in a car owned by his late father, who finished seventh.

Fast facts: Dale Earnhardt earned his first victory as a car owner when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won last year. ... Jeff Burton won the 1997 event for his first Winston Cup victory and Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin took the 1998 race.

Next race: Virginia 500, April 8, Martinsville, Va.

Busch
FAST FACTS
Event Jani-King 300
Site Fort Worth, Texas
Schedule Thursday, qualifying, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, race (Fox, 12:30 p.m.)
Track Texas Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking)
Distance 300 miles, 200 laps

Last race: Matt Kenseth, struggling this season in his Winston Cup car, found success in the Busch series by winning the crash-filled Cheez-It 250 in Bristol, Tenn. Kenseth led the final 48 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway and easily beat Tim Fedewa to the finish line for his 12th career Busch victory.

Last year: Martin beat Matt Kenseth by .403 seconds.

Fast facts: Earnhardt Jr. won the 1998 event for his first Busch victory. ... Martin, who retired from the Busch series at the end of last season, has won three of the four Texas races. ... No driver has won from the pole. ... Defending series champion Jeff Green had a streak of 10 consecutive top-10 finishes snapped last week.

Next race: Pepsi 300, April 14, Nashville, Tenn.

Formula One
FAST FACTS
Event Brazilian Grand Prix
Site Sao Paulo, Brazil
Schedule Saturday, qualifying, 10 a.m.; Sunday, race (Speedvision, 11:30 a.m.).
Track Interlagos, Jose Carlos Pace (road course, 2.661 miles)
Distance 191.592 miles, 72 laps

Last race: Michael Schumacher won his sixth straight Formula One race, taking the Malaysian Grand Prix despite tropical rain, a botched pit stop and a ride in a backup car. The three-time series champion also had to overcome a spinout and two aborted starts. Schumacher, whose streak dates to last season, is three victories short of the record nine set by Ferrari's Alberto Ascari in 1952-53.

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

Last year: Schumacher won for the second consecutive week.

Fast facts: From 1994-1998 and last year, the winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix went on to win the series title. ... McLaren won the race for the first time in 1974, with Emerson Fittipaldi driving. ... McLaren leads all constructors with nine victories at Interlagos.

Next race: San Marino Grand Prix, April 15, Imola, Italy.

Craftsman Trucks
Last race: Ted Musgrave backed up his pole position with a trip to victory circle at Mesa Marin Raceway, becoming the first two-time winner this season in the NASCAR truck series. Musgrave, who led a race-high 119 of 250 laps in a Dodge, passed Brendan Gaughan on the 218th lap around the half-mile track. He survived four caution-flag restarts to win by .858 seconds -- about three truck lengths -- over Jack Sprague's Chevrolet.

Next race: Advance Auto Parts 250, April 7, Martinsville, Va.

Indy Racing League
Last race: Sam Hornish Jr. won the Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200 in Avondale, Ariz. Hornish, 21, dominated on the way to becoming the youngest winner in American open-wheel history. Team Penske, making its Indy Racing League debut, failed to finish the race.

Next race: Infiniti Grand Prix, April 8, Homestead, Fla.

CART
Last race: Cristiano da Matta, who replaced Michael Andretti for the Newman-Haas team, won the season-opening Telmex Tecate Grand Prix in Monterrey, Mexico. Da Matta came out on top in a mid-race battle with polesitter Kenny Brack, then held off series champion Gil de Ferran over the last few laps of the race shortened to 78 laps -- two fewer than scheduled -- by a two-hour time limit.

Next race: Toyota Grand Prix, April 8, Long Beach, Calif.

NHRA
Last event: Del Worsham outraced 10-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force to get the fourth victory of his career at the O'Reilly Nationals at Houston Raceway Park. Mike Dunn, Warren Johnson, Angelle Savoie and Randy Daniels also won in the finals.

Next race: SummitRacing.com Nationals, April 7, Las Vegas.

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