This Week in Auto Racing October 31 - November 2

Autoracing Betting Lines

10/28/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The eighth race in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" headlines NASCAR's triple-header weekend in the "Lone Star State." Meanwhile, Formula One wraps up its season with the Brazilian Grand Prix as two drivers battle for the World Championship.

NASCAR

Sprint Cup Series

Dickies 500 - Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX

Even though Carl Edwards picked up the victory, Jimmie Johnson staged a remarkable comeback in last Sunday's race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway which helped him move closer to a record-tying third consecutive Cup championship.

Johnson was slapped with a penalty for speeding on pit road and fell one lap behind in 30th place as a result. But a gutsy call by crew chief Chad Knaus to pit late in the race helped Johnson cap off his turnaround.

During the final caution, Johnson pitted for four new tires, dropping him from seventh to 11th for the restart with just eight laps to go. The pit strategy paid off, as Johnson charged from 11th to second in the remaining laps.

Johnson now holds a 183-point lead over Edwards as the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" moves on to the Texas Motor Speedway. Johnson could conceivably wrap up the title this weekend, though it's a long shot. His chances could be much better next week at Phoenix.

"Man, it sure would make the week of Homestead a lot easier for me," Johnson said. "It would be great if it happened. That's certainly a goal. If it's in our realm of accomplishing, that is something we want to do. But truthfully it's about beating now I guess (Edwards). He's second in points. I still have to worry about (Biffle) and (Burton)."

Edwards, Biffle and Burton have a tough task ahead of them at Texas if they hope to gain any ground on Johnson in the championship standings. Biffle is 185 points behind, and Burton is 218 markers down.

Johnson has finished second or better in three of the last four races at Texas. He is the defending race winner.

Johnson picked up his third straight win and grabbed the points lead from teammate Jeff Gordon with the victory in last year's Dickies 500 at Texas. He battled Matt Kenseth in the closing stages before pulling ahead with two laps to go. Gordon finished seventh and trailed Johnson by 30 points heading into Phoenix.

Earlier this year, Edwards scored the victory in the Samsung 500 and joined Burton as the only repeat winners at Texas. Edwards is hoping for a season- sweep there.

The last three fall race winners at Atlanta have gone on to win the following week at Texas.

"I didn't realize that," Edwards said. "I guess we did that in 2005. The tracks are a lot alike. I'm hoping that all the things we've been doing with Ford and all their support, the things we've been doing behind the scenes to kind of make sure that our data and everything matches up, and we can run well at these tracks. I hope that it carries over."

Edwards won at Atlanta and Texas in 2005. Tony Stewart did it in 2006, and Johnson did so last year.

Nationwide Series

O'Reilly Challenge - Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX

Carl Edwards revived his Nationwide Series title defense with a victory last Saturday at the Memphis Motorsports Park.

Edwards led 185 of 253 laps and held off a hard-charging David Reutimann in a green-white-checkered finish for his fifth Nationwide win of the season. He also trimmed Clint Bowyer's lead from 196 points to 116 with three races to go. Bowyer struggled throughout the race, particularly when he spun on lap 125 after making contact with Scott Lagasse, and ended up finishing 16th.

"Everything went our way at Memphis in the Nationwide Series," Edwards said. "And it's the first time in a long time we've picked up a bunch of points on Clint, so that was definitely a pleasant surprise. We didn't expect to go there and be able to close that many points on him."

Edwards hopes his points momentum will continue at Texas, where he clinched his first series title one year ago. He has yet to win a Nationwide race at the 1.5-mile track, but his best finish in seven starts there is third, coming in 2005 and '07.

Bowyer has done well at Texas lately, scoring top-five finishes in the last two races there.

Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Montoya are among the Sprint Cup regulars entered in the O'Reilly Challenge. Martin, the series record-holder for most wins with 48, will drive the No.5 Chevrolet for owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Montoya, in the No.40 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing, returns to Nationwide competition after a one-year hiatus.

Defending race winner Kyle Busch leads the series with nine victories this year, and is one win away from tying Sam Ard's 1983 record of 10 victories in a season.

Craftsman Truck Series

Chevy Silverado 350K - Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX

While Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer enjoy comfortable leads in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide point standings, the two-man battle for the championship in the Craftsman Truck Series continues to be a thriller as Ron Hornaday, Jr. moved to within 31 points of Johnny Benson after Atlanta.

For the second straight race, Hornaday put on a dominating performance, but gave up the lead in the closing laps. Hornaday led a total of 110 laps before Ryan Newman passed him for the first time with seven remaining.

Hornaday came storming back as he ran side-by-side with Newman and then pulled slightly ahead with one lap to go. But Newman quickly moved around Hornaday heading into turn two and held off the defending series champion at the finish line.

Newman won in his first-ever Truck Series start, driving the No.2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. He joined Mike Skinner (1995), Robert Pressley (2002) and Kasey Kahne (2004) as those drivers to win in their truck debut.

Benson, meanwhile, dealt with an ill-handling truck throughout the race but rallied for a seventh-place finish.

With three races to go, both Benson and Hornaday know this title bout is far from over.

"I only care about winning," Benson said. "Ron's won five, and we've won five. We both have the same (number of) top-five finishes. Our seasons have mirrored each other."

A winner of three series titles, Hornaday sees plenty of twists and turns before this year's championship is decided.

"I don't know where it's going," Hornaday said. "It's going down to the wire."

Hornaday won at Texas for the first time earlier this year, while Benson's best finish there is second, coming in 2004 and '05.

Road-racing veteran Max Papis and 2003 CART champion Paul Tracy are expected to make their first career Truck Series starts at Texas.

Tracy will be behind the wheel of the No.9 Toyota for Germain Racing.

"Todd (Bodine) and I are good friends, and I'm looking forward to helping him and the Germain team win a championship," Tracy said.

Bodine, the 2006 series champion, is a distant third in points (-218).

Papis, driving the No.07 Chevrolet at Texas, will compete in 18 Sprint Cup races for Germain next year.

Formula One

Brazilian Grand Prix - Autodromo Carlos Pace at Interlagos - Sao Paulo, Brazil

The 2008 Formula One season wraps up with the Brazilian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa prepare to battle for the World Championship. With a seven-point lead, Hamilton is a heavy favorite to win the title, but anything is possible, as was the case last year at the Autodromo Carlos Pace at Interlagos.

Hamilton, in his rookie season, entered the 2007 season-finale at Interlagos with a four-point lead over his then-McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso and seven points ahead of Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen leaped over Alonso and Hamilton to capture the World Championship after winning the Brazilian GP. Hamilton faded early in the race and was never a factor as he finished seventh, while Alonso came in third. Raikkonen claimed the F1 title by only one point over Hamilton and Alonso.

Hamilton will be crowned this year's champion if he finishes fifth or better, regardless of Massa's performance. If Hamilton finishes ninth or worse and fails to score a point, he would still clinch the title if Massa is third or lower.

Massa will capture the title in his home town of Sao Paulo if he wins and Hamilton finishes sixth or worse, or finishes second and Hamilton is eighth or lower.

"It is impossible to predict what will happen in the Brazilian Grand Prix," Massa said. "For sure, Lewis will try and put pressure on me, but I have zero pressure, because I have nothing to lose. I have my people behind me and all the pressure will be on him, especially when you think about what happened at this race last year."

Massa started on the pole and finished second in the 2007 Brazilian GP.

Last week, Hamilton put on a dominating performance in the Chinese Grand Prix as he started on pole and led every lap except those when he pitted en route to fifth victory of the season. Hamilton hopes for another strong performance this weekend.

"I don't need to win the race, but that won't stop me from going into the weekend looking to be as strong as possible. Shanghai was a good example of that. We hit the ground running on Friday morning and never looked back. Our aim wasn't to push too hard, but we found ourselves in a position at the front and took it comfortably from there. That's what I am hoping to achieve in Brazil, a straight-forward weekend that allows me to just focus on my car and my driving."

If by chance, Hamilton and Massa end the season tied in points, which would happen if Massa wins the Brazilian GP and Hamilton finishes sixth, Massa would win the championship by virtue of more victories (six to Hamilton's five).