Jeff Gordon: Boosts hopes for a fifth NASCAR Nextel Cup title with back-to-back wins at Talladega and Charlotte. Now leads teammate and defending champion Jimmie Johnson by 68 points.

SCORE: Course for next month's 40th Baja 1000 will cover 1,296 miles and take the racers from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of the peninsula.

RED FLAGS

Jimmie Johnson: Midrace spin at Lowe's Motor Speedway cost the reigning Nextel Cup champion the race lead and a shot at a sixth victory at the track bearing the name of his principal sponsor.

Kevin Harvick: Two blown tires at Charlotte result in a 33rd-place finish and drops the driver from fourth to eighth in the Nextel Cup standings.

QUOTABLE

“I know I said I was going to drive at Richmond, but that was mainly the drugs talking. I know now that I'm not going to drive for the rest of the season.”

– 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force on his season-ending injuries from a crash at Dallas on Sept. 23.

NUMBERS

3 – Drivers, McLaren teammates Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who have a chance to win the World Championship going into Sunday's Formula One season finale in Brazil.

14 – Points separating leader Ron Hornaday Jr. and runner-up and fellow Palmdale product Mike Skinner with five races to go in NASCAR's Craftsman Trucks season.

16 – Champ Car World Series races at Surfers Paradise, Australia, without there being a repeat winner.

SCHEDULE

Tomorrow

RaceLegal Drags: Qualcomm Stadium, west access road, 6 p.m. to midnight.

Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Goblin Gambler test and tune, 6 p.m.

Saturday

Champ Car World series: Lexmark Indy 300, Surfers Paradise, Australia (105 minutes, 2.795-mile, 12-turn street course; ESPN Classic, 8:30 p.m.) – Formula One-bound Sebastien Bourdais needs only to finish 12th in the season's penultimate race to clinch his fourth straight Champ Car title. Nelson Philippe scored his first Champ Car win in this race last year and is to make his 2007 season debut this weekend. Justin Wilson won the most recent race, in the Netherlands, to move into second in the standings.

NASCAR Craftsman Trucks: Kroger 200, Martinsville, Va. (200 laps, .526-mile oval; Speed Channel, 11:30 a.m.) – Dario Franchitti will attempt to become the first reigning Indy 500 champion to try to qualify for a Craftsman Truck race. Toyota is on the verge of winning the manufacturers season championship. Defending race champion Jack Sprague is to start his 400th “national” NASCAR race this weekend.

NASCAR Toyota All-Star: Irwindale Speedway (.5-mile oval; Speed Channel, 7 p.m.) – NASCAR's annual championship race for the best drivers from the Grand National West and East tours. The field will include Poway's Brian Ickler, Ramona's Johnny Borneman and El Cajon's Ron Esau.

American Le Mans Series: Season finale, Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey (four-hour race; Speed Channel, 2:30 p.m.).

Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Goblin Gambler I (gates open 8 a.m.). Bracket races with a guaranteed purse of $5,000.

Perris Auto Speedway: World of Outlaws sprint cars (6 p.m., half-mile dirt oval) – The national “winged” sprint cars return to Perris for the first time since 2004.

Sunday NASCAR Nextel Cup: Subway 500, Martinsville, Va. (500 laps; Channel 10, 10 a.m.) – Jimmie Johnson is the defending race champion. He has won the past two Martinsville races and three overall. But Jeff Gordon, who leads teammate Johnson by 68 points at the midpoint of the Chase for the Championship, leads all active drivers with seven Martinsvlle wins. Kyle Petty will make his 809th career start, moving him into fifth on the all-time list ahead of Darrell Waltrip. Juan Pablo Montoya still leads the Rookie of the Year points race by 15 over David Ragan.

Formula One: Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo (71 laps, 2.671-mile road course; Speed Channel, 8:30 a.m.) – For the first time since 1986, three drivers enter the final race of the season with a shot at the championship.

Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Goblin Gambler II (gates open 8 a.m.) – Bracket races with a guaranteed purse of $8,000.