Auto Racing At A Glance

NASCAR Winston Cup Food City 500 Site: Bristol, Tenn. Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Fox Sports Net, 3:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 1 p.m.) Track: Bristol

Wednesday, March 21st 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NASCAR

Winston Cup

Food City 500

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (Fox Sports Net, 3:30 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, 1 p.m.)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps.

Last race: Dale Jarrett won the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. He started second, then fell off to 31st by lap 60 when his pit crew failed to properly attach two lug nuts to his left front wheel. But in the race's most critical moment, it was Jarrett's pit crew that came through to get him out in front of Steve Park with 16 laps left.

Last year: Rusty Wallace earned his 50th Winston Cup victory and eighth win at Bristol Motor Speedway. Johnny Benson finished second.

Fast facts: Darrell Waltrip leads all drivers with 12 wins at Bristol. Dale Earnhardt won nine times. ... Jeff Gordon has won four of the last six spring races at Bristol. ... Charlie Glotzbach's qualifying record of 101.074 mph set in 1971 was the longest-standing mark on the circuit until Wallace's run of 125.142 in 1999.

Next race: Harrah's 500, April 1, Fort Worth, Texas.

On the net: NASCAR

BUSCH

Bristol 250

Site: Bristol, Tenn.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying, (FX, 2 p.m.); Saturday, race (FX, 12:30 p.m.)

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (oval, .533 miles, 36 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 133.25 miles, 250 laps.

Last race: Jeff Green, the defending series champion, finally found the winning touch this year, holding off Matt Kenseth in the final 25 laps to win the SunCom 200 at Darlington Raceway. Green beat Kenseth out of the pits on lap 123 and finished less than a second in front for his first victory at the track.

Last year: Sterling Marlin, winless in Grand National competition for 10 years, avoided a series of crashes to win.

Fast facts: This is the 19th running of the race. ... Bristol has played host to the Busch series since the inception of the circuit in 1982, but no spring race was held in 1984. ... Morgan Shepherd leads with four wins at Bristol. ... Six drivers have won from the pole at the track. ... Steve Grissom won from the 28th starting position in 1995, the farthest back of any Bristol Busch winner.

Next race: Jani-King 300, March 31, Fort Worth, Texas.

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

O'Reilly Nationals

Site: Baytown, Texas.

Schedule: Friday, first-round qualifying, 3 p.m.; Saturday, second-round qualifying, noon; Sunday, final eliminations, noon (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.)

Track: Houston Raceway Park.

Last event: Persistent rain showers forced the postponement of eliminations for the Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. They were rescheduled for April 20-21.

Last year: Bob Gilbertson raced to his first NHRA Funny Car victory. Larry Dixon, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Randy Daniels won their divisions.

Fast facts: Top Fuel driver Doug Herbert became the first NHRA driver to win the $100,000 sponsor bonus at the event in 1999. Records were set in four of the five professional classes at the 1999 event.

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

On the net: NHRA

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.

FORMULA ONE

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 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.

Next race: Brazilian Grand Prix, April 1, Sao Paulo.

On the net: FORMULA 1

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.

On the net: CART

CHAMPIONSHIP AUTO RACING TEAMS

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.