NASCAR Goes To Talladega
NASCAR CUP SERIES
GEICO 500
Site: Talladega, Alabama
Schedule: Sunday, race, 2 p.m.
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Race distance: 188 laps, 500 miles
Last year: Ryan Blaney won after starting 12th.
Last race: Alex Bowman grabbed the lead on a restart with 10 laps to go and outran Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano to win at Richmond Raceway.
Fast facts: Hamlin remains the points leader after notching his eighth top-five finish in nine races. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. is 81 points behind, followed by Logano, William Byron and Blaney. ... Hamlin's eight top fives are twice as many as any other driver. He's led 483 laps in the last two races and a series-best 694 overall. ... Bowman became the eighth different winner in nine races. His victory for Hendrick Motorsports was the first for the No. 48 since Jimmie Johnson won in June 2017.
Next race: May 2, Kansas City, Kansas.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
AG-PRO 300
Site: Talladega, Alabama
Schedule: Saturday, race, 4 p.m.
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Race distance: 113 laps, 300 miles
Last year: Justin Haley won after starting from the pole position.
Last race: Josh Berry won at Martinsville for his first career victory.
Fast facts: Defending series champion Austin Cindric is the only repeat winner after seven races and leads the points race by 42 over Daniel Hemric. Harrison Burton is third, followed by Haley and Jeb Burton, Harrison's cousin. ... Cindric is the only driver in the top five in the point standings to have won a race this season. ... Berry's victory came in just his 13th career start in a career that started in 2014. ... Rookie Ty Gibbs, 18, has finished in the top 5 in all three of his starts.
Next race: May 8, Darlington, South Carolina.
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
Last race: John Hunter Nemechek held off team owner Kyle Busch for the second time in the last four races to join Ben Rhodes as repeat winners this season.
Next race: May 1, Kansas City, Kansas.
FORMULA ONE
Last race: Max Verstappen outran seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton to win the Italian Grand Prix.
Next race: May 2, Portimao, Portugal.
INDYCAR
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Site: St. Petersburg, Florida.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 4:15 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 9:45 a.m. and qualifying, 1:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 12:30 p.m.
Track: Streets of St. Petersburg.
Race distance: 100 laps, 180 miles.
Last year: Josef Newgarden won in the final event of a 14-race season.
Last race: Alex Palou earned his first career victory in his debut race with Chip Ganassi Racing, winning the series opener at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
Fast facts: Palou became the second Spaniard to win in the IndyCar Series, joining Oriol Servia, who won in 2005 at Montreal. ... He beat Will Power by 0.4016 seconds. Six-time champion Scott Dixon was third. ... Newgarden, a three-time winner at Barber, spun on the opening lap, starting a crash that also collected Andretti Autosport championship contenders Colton Herta and Ryan Hunter-Reay. ... Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson finished 19th is his series debut.
Next race: May 1, Fort Worth, Texas.
NHRA DRAG RACING
Last event: Steve Torrence won in Top Fuel and Bob Tasca III won in Funny Car in the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas.
Next event: May 2, Commerce, Georgia.
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Next event: April 22-24, Bristol, Tennessee.
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