The week ahead in motorsports

AREA EVENTS

Late model, modified, hobby stock, pure stock and cruiser divisions, Malden Speedway, 7 p.m. Friday.

Late model, pro stock and pure stock classes, Fredericktown Raceway, 7 p.m. Friday.

ATV, motorcycle divisions at SEMO Motor Speedway, Sikeston, 8 p.m. Friday.

600cc multi, mini stock, kart and dwarf car divisions, Doe Run (Mo.) Raceway, 8 p.m. Friday.

Super pro, pro and ET divisions, Sikeston Drag Strip, 5 p.m. Saturday.

Sprint, modified, pure stock and cruiser divisions, Auto Tire and Parts Racepark, Benton, 7 p.m. Saturday.

Kart and mini sprint divisions, SEMO Motor Speedway, Sikeston, 8 p.m. Saturday.

Sprints, modified, hobby stock and 600cc multi divisions, St. Francois County Raceway, Farmington, 8 p.m. Saturday.WINSTON CUP

Chevy Monte Carlo 400

Site: Richmond, Va.

Schedule: Friday, qualifying (TNT, 2 p.m.); Saturday, race (TNT, 6:30 p.m.).

Track: Richmond International Raceway (tri-oval, 0.75 mile, 14 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 400 laps.

Last race: Jeff Gordon recorded his second straight victory by bursting in front of the pack with 45 laps to go and holding off Ryan Newman to take the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Last year: Ricky Rudd passed Kevin Harvick with six laps remaining to win the Monte Carlo 400. It was Rudd's second victory at Richmond International Raceway, but first since 1984.BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Funai 250

Site: Richmond, Va.

Schedule: Thursday, qualifying, 2 p.m.; Friday, race (TNT, 7 p.m.).

Track: Richmond International Raceway (tri-oval, 0.75 mile, 14 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 187.50 miles, 250 laps.

Last race: Jeff Burton won the rain-shortened Gatorade 200 at Darlington Raceway. After nearly an hour of trying to get ahead of rain that began falling during the race's fourth caution at lap 68, NASCAR decided to end the race after 74 laps.

Last year: Jimmy Spencer pulled away from fellow Winston Cup regular Matt Kenseth on a restart with 35 laps to go and won the crash-filled Autolite FRAM 250 in Richmond, Va. The victory gave Spencer a sweep of the Busch races in Richmond.CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Virginia 200

Site: Richmond, Va.

Schedule: Thursday, race (ESPN2, 9 p.m., tape).

Track: Richmond International Raceway (tri-oval, 0.75 mile, 14 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 150 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Mike Bliss won a dash to the checkered flag and recorded his fourth truck series victory of the season at the Federated Auto Parts 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Aug. 10. Bliss overtook Ted Musgrave on a restart with 10 laps to go before fending off charges from Rick Crawford and Musgrave on a green-white-checker restart.

Last year: Jack Sprague dominated almost the entire race, then held on to win the Kroger 200 in Richmond, Va. Kevin Harvick passed Sprague for the lead in turn four on lap 196, but Sprague then got aggressive, bumping Harvick out of the way in turns one and two to retake the lead. Musgrave then got under Sprague and took the lead with Harvick right behind him, but Sprague passed Musgrave on the backstretch and held off Harvick.IRL

Delphi Indy 300

Site: Cicero, Ill.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 10 a.m.; Sunday, race (ABC, noon).

Track: Chicagoland Speedway (oval 1.5 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Gil de Ferran beat teammate Helio Castroneves to the finish line in the IRL Gateway 250 at Madison, Ill., and now they are also running 1-2 in the points standings with only two races to go. Castroneves leads the series with 437 points, one more than de Ferran. Sam Hornish Jr., who led the standings heading into the race, finished fifth to drop eight points back at 429.

Last year: Jaques Lazier got his first IRL victory by winning the Delphi Indy 300, holding off Hornish, whose runner-up finish earned him the season championship. At 22, Hornish became the youngest driver to win a major auto racing championship in North America.CART

Last race: Bruno Junqueira held off Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon and won the inaugural Shell Grand Prix of Denver.

Next race: Rockingham 500, Sept. 14, Corby, England.FORMULA ONE

Last race: Michael Schumacher became the first driver in F1 history to record 10 victories in a season when he won the Belgian Grand Prix.

Next race: Italian Grand Prix, Sept. 15, Monza.NHRA

Last event: Tony Schumacher, John Force and Jeg Coughlin recorded victories during the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Force defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. for his 104th career win while Coughlin bested Jim Yates to take a one-point lead in the Pro Stock standings. Schumacher beat Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel category.

Next event: Keystone Nationals, Sept. 15, Mohnton, Pa.

-- From staff, wire reports