Auto Racing Glance: NASCAR heads to Vegas

**ALL TIMES EASTERN**

NASCAR – Monster Energy Cup

KOBALT 400

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Friday, practice, 2 p.m. (FS1), qualifying, 7:45 p.m. (FS2); Saturday, practice, noon (FS1), practice, 2:30 (FS1); Sunday, race, 3:30 p.m., FOX.

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).

Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps

Last year: Brad Keselowski won from the second row in a race that featured 20 lead changes.

Last week: Keselowski won his first race of 2017 in Atlanta.

Fast facts: Keselowski has now won at least one race in seven straight seasons. He’s also won two of the last three races in Las Vegas. … Half of the drivers in the top 10 through two races are 26 or younger. Chase Elliott, 21, leads the way in fourth. … Kyle Busch, who drives a Toyota, is the only non-Ford driver to win a stage in 2017.

Next race: Camping World 500, March 19, Phoenix International Raceway.

NASCAR – Xfinity

Boyd Gaming 300

Site: Las Vegas

Schedule: Friday, practice, 4 p.m. (FS1), practice, 6 p.m. (FS2); Saturday, qualifying, 1:05 p.m. (FS1), race, 4 p.m., FS1.

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps

Last year: Kyle Busch won from the pole for the second week in a row.

Last race: Busch won the pole and the race in Atlanta.

Fast facts: JR Motorsports teammates Elliott Sadler and William Byron are 1-2 atop the standings through two races. Ryan Reed is third, just four points behind the veteran Sadler. … Busch has won 26.4 percent of the series races he has run in. He’s scheduled to compete in Vegas as part of a 10-race slate in 2017. … Only four drivers in the field have won at the Las Vegas track.

Next race: DC Solar 200, March 18, Phoenix International Raceway.

NASCAR – Camping World Truck

Last week: Christopher Bell led 99 of 130 laps to win at Atlanta.

Next race: Alpha Energy Solutions 250, April 1, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia.

Verizon IndyCar

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Site: St. Petersburg, Florida.

Schedule: Friday, practice, 11:15 a.m., practice, 3 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 10:50 a.m., qualifying, 2:55 p.m.; Sunday, race, noon, ABC.

Track: Streets of St. Petersburg (street circuit, 1.8 miles).

Race distance: 198 miles, 110 laps

Last year: Juan Pablo Montoya opened 2016 with a victory in Florida.

Fast facts: The 2017 season begins this weekend. Pagenaud will seek to become Team Penske’s first back-to-back champion since Gil de Ferran won CART titles in 2000 and 2001. … Scott Dixon, now driving with a Honda engine, will shoot for his fifth championship. A.J. Foyt has the most IndyCar titles with seven. … Helio Castroneves was won three times at St. Petersburg, while Will Power has two race titles and the qualifying speed mark, which he set a year ago.

Next race: Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 9, Long Beach, California.

Formula 1

Last year: Nico Rosberg won the F1 title before retiring.

Opening race: Rolex Australian Grand Prix, March 26, Melbourne, Australia.

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing

Last race: Leah Pritchett won in Arizona to open the March schedule.

Next race: Gatornationals, March 16-19, Gainesville Raceway, Gainesville, Florida.

Other races

WORLD OF OUTLAWS: FVP Outlaw Showdown, Thursday and Friday, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas, Las Vegas.