Texas Motor Speedway

Andy Belmont drew inspiration from Tug McGraw's chest-thumping antics as a relief pitcher for the 1980 world champion Phillies. Today, Belmont hopes to return the favor as McGraw recovers from surgery to remove a brain tumor. Belmont's No. 91 Pontiac will carry two special messages - "Get Well Tug McGraw" and "You Gotta Believe" - in this afternoon's Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. "Having grown up near Philly, I had to do something," said Belmont, a Penndel native.

Dickies 500 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas TV/Radio: Channel 6/WNPV (1440-AM), WDSD (94.7-FM) Race course: 1.5- mile tri-oval Race distance: 501 miles/334 laps. Last year's race winner: Carl Edwards Last year's pole winner: Jeff Gordon Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers, 196.235 mph (27.518 seconds) in November 2006. Track facts: Edwards hasn't won since last year's season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He swept Texas' races in 2008 ... Brad Keselowski will replace David Stremme in the No. 12 Dodge this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Matt Kenseth won the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 yesterday despite running only five laps in practice at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. His few laps came Friday, before he blew an engine. Saturday's practice was rained out, and more wet weather Sunday postponed the race, leaving everyone guessing about chassis setups on the repaved 1 1/2-mile oval. Kenseth found the answer, holding the lead with a late-race, two-tire stop and driving to an easy victory in his No. 17 Roush Racing Ford.

Dickies 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas When: Sunday, 3:30p.m. TV/Radio: Channel 6/WXTU (92.5-FM), WNPV (1440-AM) Race course: 1-mile oval Race distance: 334 laps/501 miles Last year's race winner: Tony Stewart Last year's pole winner: Brian Vickers, 196.235 mph (track qualifying record) Track facts: Jimmie Johnson was runner-up in last year's race; Kevin Harvick was third . . . Jeff Burton's victory in the spring race at Texas makes him the only two-time winner in 13 Cup races at the track . . . Matt Kenseth was runner-up in the spring race . . . Johnson has won the last two Chase races.

The highly anticipated Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight that figures to be one of boxing's richest ever will be held at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 5. The designation of the site by Golden Boy Promotions was made yesterday - 5 weeks after an announcement saying the pair would meet for De La Hoya's 154-pound WBC title in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. The live gate could exceed a Nevada-record $18 million, which would better the $16.8 million generated by the Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield rematch in 1999.

One of the greatest of the two-way pro football players, George "Moose" Connor, died yesterday in Chicago after a long illness. He was 78. Connor was All-NFL at offensive and defensive tackle, and became the first of the big, mobile linebackers when the Bears needed the 6-3, 240-pounder to stop the sweeps of the Eagles' great running back, Steve Van Buren, in the late 1940s. Connor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1975. Connor was an All-America at Holy Cross before World War II interrupted his college career.

Perhaps you've been wondering what the big deal is about NASCAR Winston Cup races. Why would communities want races? Money, that's why. Each Winston Cup race brings in an estimated $60 million to $80 million, with average attendance ranging from 100,000 to 150,000. For the region where a track is located, the economic impact is similar to hosting a Super Bowl weekend. Stock-car racing is the fastest-growing sport in the country with annual revenues of NASCAR now estimated at more than $2 billion.

For years, NASCAR has loudly touted itself as the fastest-growing spectator sport in the country. Hearing this, most of the country lying outside the borders of the old Confederacy responded with an unstifled yawn. The 49-year-old racing organization has trotted out facts about exploding attendance and soaring TV ratings and how its fans are demonstrably more "brand loyal" than any others. It has bragged about the 38 percent of its fans who are women and the 40 percent with incomes above $75,000, and pointed to hugely successful races in the decidedly non-Southern locales of Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire.

Samsung Mobile 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. TV/radio: Fox/WNPV (1440-AM) Race course: 1.5-mile oval Race distance: 334 laps/501 miles Last year's winner: Denny Hamlin Last year's pole winner: Tony Stewart, 191.327 mph Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers, 196.235 mph (Nov. 2006) Track facts: Denny Hamlin swept the Sprint Cup races at Texas last year. Jimmie Johnson was runner-up in the spring race . . . Carl Edwards' three victories at Texas lead all drivers.

Kyle Busch's racing triple weekend ended with a bump and a spin. On Lap 48 of yesterday's Pocono 500, Busch's Toyota veered to the right on the front straightaway and made contact with Jamie McMurray's Ford. Accompanied by the cheers of fans who consider Busch the biggest villain in the Cup series, he drove his damaged car to the garage area and later resumed racing. "I saw the [No.] 26 [McMurray] get high and thought he faded back further than what he did," Busch said. "I didn't know he was out there still.

Kyle Busch will attempt to make history this weekend by competing in NASCAR's three national series in three states. For stock-car racing's newest villain, the whirlwind tour triples his chances of being booed. The itinerary begins today at Pocono Raceway, where Busch expects to qualify for Sunday's Pocono 500 before being whisked away for tonight's Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. It has Busch flying back to Pocono to participate in tomorrow morning's Sprint Cup Series practice session, then catching another flight to Nashville Superspeedway for tomorrow night's Nationwide Series event, before returning to Pocono for Sunday's main event.

When Jeff Burton won for the first time in the inaugural race at the Texas Motor Speedway at Fort Worth in 1997, he was a young driver still trying to prove himself. A decade later, Burton is still proving things, and still winning. Burton passed Matt Kenseth on the final lap for his only lead of yesterday's Samsung 500, to become the first repeat winner in 13 NASCAR races at Texas. "I feel like I did then. I feel like a guy that just came back," said Burton, who turns 40 in June.

The highly anticipated Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight that figures to be one of boxing's richest ever will be held at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 5. The designation of the site by Golden Boy Promotions was made yesterday - 5 weeks after an announcement saying the pair would meet for De La Hoya's 154-pound WBC title in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. The live gate could exceed a Nevada-record $18 million, which would better the $16.8 million generated by the Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield rematch in 1999.

Brian Vickers, the last of 50 drivers to make a qualifying attempt yesterday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, knocked Elliott Sadler off the pole for NASCAR's Dickies 500 before Sadler even had time to get out of his car. Moments after Sadler posted a lap of 195.390 m.p.h. to bump Kurt Busch off the top spot for tomorrow's Nextel Cup race, Vickers, driving a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, topped them with a 196.235. The top four drivers surpassed the previous track record of 194.224, set by Bill Elliott in April 2002.

Tony Stewart can be thankful that no two races are alike. That's because if today's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway turns out to be anything like his last ride on the 1.5-mile quad oval, Stewart will leave the Lone Star state both burned and bummed out. In the Samsung/RadioShack 500 on April 17, Stewart led 45 laps and was running eighth when his engine erupted, spewing flames into the cockpit of the No. 20 Chevrolet and leaving Stewart...