GEARING UP

What’s new in motor sports heading into this weekend:

1) The fifth of 10 races in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup is Saturday night at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., with Jeff Gordon holding a nine-point lead over Jimmie Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.

In NASCAR’s second-tier Busch Series, Jason Keller is poised to make his 418th series start tonight at the Lowe’s track, breaking the record of 417 held by Tommy Houston.

2) The California Speedway will host races in all three of NASCAR’s major series next February, according to the 2008 schedule released by the sanctioning body.

A Busch race and a Craftsman Trucks race are both scheduled Feb. 23 at the two-mile Fontana oval, and the Auto Club 500 Cup race is Feb. 24, one week after the season-opening Daytona 500.

3) Michael Waltrip Racing plans a news conference today amid speculation that veteran Dale Jarrett will announce plans to drive only a partial schedule next year as he moves toward retirement from the Cup series.

Jarrett, the 1999 series champion, is one of three drivers on Waltrip’s Toyota team that entered the Cup series this year.

4) Off-road motorcycle racing star Ricky Carmichael canceled plans to race at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas this weekend because of “chronic fatigue syndrome,” his Makita Suzuki team announced.

Carmichael, a 15-time champion in motocross and supercross, ran a limited schedule this year to start racing stock cars, and he’s been helping care for his newborn twins.

The cancellation probably means his motorcycle-racing career is over. “I’m disappointed to have it end in this manner,” said Carmichael, 27. “I’ve just felt like I’ve been running out of steam the past few months.”

5) The Formula Drift professional drifting series holds its season finale Saturday at Irwindale Speedway, with practice rounds today. Drifting features race cars that compete in pairs and slide sideways, or drift, through corners of a twisty course.

The drivers include Samuel Hubinette, who has nine Formula Drift victories but has never won at Irwindale.

james.peltz@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

THE CHASE

Nextel Cup standings through 30 of 36 races:

*--* Pl. Driver Points Behind 1 Jeff Gordon 5,690 -- 2 Jimmie Johnson 5,681 9 3 Clint Bowyer 5,627 63 4 Tony Stewart 5,536 154 5 Kevin Harvick 5,488 202 6 Carl Edwards 5,485 205 7 Kurt Busch 5,475 215 8 Kyle Busch 5,430 260 9 Denny Hamlin 5,428 262 10 Martin Truex Jr. 5,390 300 11 Matt Kenseth 5,372 318 12 Jeff Burton 5,354 336 *--*

REMAINING RACES

* Saturday: Bank of America 500, Concord, N.C.

* Oct. 21: Subway 500, Martinsville, Va.

* Oct. 28: Georgia 500, Hampton, Ga.

* Nov. 4: Dickies 500, Fort Worth, Texas.

* Nov. 11: Checker Auto Parts 500,

Avondale, Ariz.

* Nov. 18: Ford 400, Homestead, Fla.

THE RACES

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

Bank of America 500

* When: Saturday, race (Channel 7, 4 p.m.).

* Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (quad-oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns), Concord, N.C.

* Race distance: 501 miles, 334 laps.

* 2006 winner: Kasey Kahne.

NASCAR BUSCH

Dollar General 300

* When: Today, qualifying (ESPN2, 1 p.m.), race (ESPN2, 4:30 p.m.).

* Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

* Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

* 2006 winner: Dave Blaney.

All times Pacific

Associated Press

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STAT OF THE WEEK

* Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who lead NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup points battle, have a combined nine wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., site of Saturday night’s Cup race.

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LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

Dario Franchitti, Indianapolis 500 winner, on his first stock-car race last week at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway:

“Sometimes I made good moves and sometimes I made pretty bad moves.”