GEARING UP

1. Remember Jeff Gordon’s post-race shove of Matt Kenseth last season after an incident in Bristol, Tenn.? Gordon’s real revenge came on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway: He spun out Kenseth -- who had led 112 laps -- with four laps remaining. First and third in the Nextel Cup Series, they return to Joliet, Ill., Sunday. Gordon is the defending winner, and Kenseth has led 288 of 537 laps over the last two years.

2. John Force had won only two rounds of funny car competition through the first 11 events, but the 123rd victory of his career, last week in Bristol, cut the 14-time champion’s deficit from 120 to 65 points for the eighth and final qualifying berth for the championship. Five races remain to make up the difference, including the three-race western swing, beginning Sunday in Denver.

“Finally, there were only two things left [to change],” Force said. “One was the chassis, and the other was [crew chief Austin] Coil and I ain’t firing Coil ‘cause if I did he’d write a tell-all book.”

3. Scott Dixon won last week at Watkins Glen, N.Y., for the third year in a row. He trails IndyCar Series leader Dario Franchitti by 47 points, but goes to Nashville -- Franchitti’s home track -- on Saturday as the defending race winner. His victory was overshadowed by the post-race scuffle incited by Sam Hornish Jr.’s father after an exchange between Hornish and Tony Kanaan.

“We didn’t get in a fight. Nobody was trying to punch anybody. We were just talking, in a loud way, but we were talking.... “ Kanaan said of Hornish Jr. and him. “After you’re past 18, you don’t need dad to get into your fights. We’re grown people, we’re champions.”

4. Only 28 points separate seven Daytona Prototype drivers in the Rolex Grand-Am Series, which takes to the new Iowa Speedway on Friday. Third-place teammates Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty, who trail Scott Pruett by 17 points, have won the last three races.

5. A Super Late Model doubleheader highlights racing Saturday at Irwindale Speedway, and the ASA Speed Truck Challenge kicks off the second half of the season at Orange Show Speedway, Late Models headline the stock car show at Perris Auto Speedway, and Sprint cars are at Ventura Raceway.

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THE RACES

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

USG Sheetrock 400

* When: Today, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1 p.m.); Sunday, race (TNT,

1 p.m.).

* Where: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 18 degrees banking in turns), Joliet, Ill.

* Race distance: 400 miles, 267 laps.

* 2006 winner: Jeff Gordon.

* Next race: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, July 29, Indianapolis.

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NASCAR BUSCH

USG Durock 300

* When: Saturday, qualifying (ESPN2,

8 a.m.), race (Channel 7, noon).

* Where: Chicagoland Speedway.

* Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

* 2006 winner: Casey Mears.

* Next race: Gateway 250, July 21, Madison, Ill.

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NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Built Ford Tough 225

* When: Saturday, qualifying, 1 p.m., race (Speed Channel, 4:30 p.m.).

* Where: Kentucky Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns), Sparta, Ky.

* Race distance: 225 miles, 150 laps.

* 2006 winner: Ron Hornaday Jr.

* Next race: Power Stroke Diesel 200, July 27, Indianapolis.

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INDY RACING LEAGUE

Firestone Indy 200

* When: Today, qualifying, 3:15 p.m.; Saturday, race (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.).

* Where: Nashville Superspeedway (tri-oval, 1.33 miles, 14 degrees banking in turns), Lebanon, Tenn.

* Race distance: 266 miles, 200 laps.

* 2006 winner: Scott Dixon.

* Next race: Honda 200, July 22, Lexington, Ohio.

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NHRA

Mopar Mile-High Nationals

* When: Today, qualifying, 3:45 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 12:15 p.m. (ESPN2, 7 p.m.); Sunday, eliminations, 11 a.m. (ESPN2, 6 p.m., taped).

* Where: Bandimere Speedway, Morrison, Colo.

* 2006 winners: J.R. Todd (top fuel); Gary Scelzi (funny car); Dave Connolly (pro stock); Andrew Hines (pro stock motorcycle).

* Next event: Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals, July 22, Kent, Wash.

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Associated Press

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STAT OF THE WEEK

* Jeff Burton, above, has been in the Nextel Cup top 10 for 44 consecutive weeks, 130 weeks short of the record held by Dale Earnhardt Sr.

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

John Force, on his funny car teams struggles: In one year, we went from one of the greatest teams in the history of the sport to the cellar. . . .We finally reached a point where we brought all the guys in and just asked them, Anybody change their medication? Have a stroke? Bump their heads? Anything?