AUTO RACING: F1, IndyCar seasons begin; Busch dominant

Tue, Feb 28, 2023
Other News (AP)

All Times Eastern

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Pennzoil 400

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Saturday, practice, 1:35 p.m., and qualifying, 2:20 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3:30 p.m. (FOX).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 267 laps, 400 miles.

Last year: Alex Bowman won after starting 13th.

Last race: Kyle Busch stormed from back in the field after a pit road penalty and grabbed the lead with 20 laps to go in the final race at Fontana to win in just his second start for Richard Childress Racing.

Fast facts: Busch's 61st career victory, the most among active drivers, ended a 28-race drought and gave him at least one victory in 19 consecutive seasons, breaking a record he shared with Richard Petty. ... Chase Elliott finished second followed by Ross Chastain, who leads the point standings after two races. ... Auto Club Speedway will soon be demolished to make room for a proposed half-mile track.

Next race: March 12, Avondale, Arizona.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Alsco Uniforms 300

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Friday, practice, 6:35 p.m., and qualifying, 7:05 p.m.; Saturday, race, 4:30 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 200 laps, 300 miles.

Last year: Ty Gibbs won after starting 11th.

Last race: John Hunter Nemechek regained the lead after a restart with 12 laps to go and held off Sam Mayer at Fontana to earn his third career Xfinity Series victory.

Fast facts: The race was run on Sunday night after persistent rain and snow flurries on Saturday. It started about 45 minutes after Busch won the Cup race. ... Justin Allgaier finished third. ... The victory was Nemechek's first in the series since 2021 at Texas and came after he finished second in the season-opener at Daytona. He was deprived of a celebratory burnout because his car overheated on the final lap.

Next race: March 11, Avondale, Arizona.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

Victoria's Voice Foundation 200

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Friday, practice, 4:35 p.m., qualifying, 5:05 p.m., and race, 8:35 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Race distance: 134 laps, 201 miles.

Last year: Chandler Smith won after starting third.

Last race: Defending series champion Zane Smith took the lead on Lap 65 and was declared the race winner 14 laps later when a fifth rain shower caused NASCAR to abandon track drying efforts at Daytona.

Fast facts: Zane Smith has won the season-opener two years in a row. Tanner Gray was second - his best finish in 72 career starts - and Christian Eckes third at Daytona. ... Gray is racing for the newly-minted TRICON Garage team. ... Eckes leads the standings. Zane Smith is fourth.

Next race: March 18, Hampton, Georgia.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Bahrain Grand Prix

Site: Sakhir, Bahrain.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m.; Saturday, practice, 6:30 a.m. and qualifying, 10 a.m.; Sunday, race, 10 a.m. (ESPN).

Track: Bahrain International Circuit.

Race distance: 57 laps, 191.5 miles.

Last year: Charles Leclerc won after starting on the pole.

Last race: Max Verstappen won the season finale in Abu Dhabi, his 15th victory in 23 races last season, to claim his second consecutive series championship.

Fast facts: Including the 2021 season finale, Verstappen has won 16 of the past 24 races, or 67%. ... The Red Bull team of Verstappen and Sergio Perez led the way in preseason testing. ... Leclerc, last season's distant runner-up, went mountain climbing in what he called "extreme training" to prepare for this season. ... Seven-time series champion Lewis Hamilton, winless last year and sixth in the final standings, was second-fastest on the second day of the two-day test.

Next race: March 19, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Site: St. Petersburg, Florida.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 3 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 10 a.m., and qualifying, 2:15 p.m.; Sunday, race, 12:20 p.m. (NBC).

Track: St. Petersburg street course.

Race distance: 100 laps, 180 miles.

Last year: Scott McLaughlin won after starting on the pole.

Last race: Alex Palou won at Laguna Seca and Will Power earned his second series championship.

Fast facts: IndyCar has not had a repeat champion since Dario Franchitti won three straight titles from 2009-2011. ... Hall of Fame female golfer Annika Sorenstam will be the grand Marshal for the race. ... In IndyCar's effort toward environmental sustainability, the series will use desert shrubs to produce a new source of rubber for Bridgestone Americas tires that will be used on all five of its street courses this season.

Next race: April 2, Fort Worth, Texas.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

Next event: March 9-12, Gainesville, Florida.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Next events: March 5-6, Barberville, Florida.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports