|
 TV: Sunday, Aug. 2, 1:30 p.m. ET -- NBCSN (Radio: Motor Racing
Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).
THEN AND NOW: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the defending winner of this
race, having won both races at the Tricky Triangle in 2014. ...
Martin Truex Jr. won the last Sprint Cup race at Pocono on June 7.
... Jeff Gordon failed in his bid to win a final Brickyard 400 race
this past Sunday at Indianapolis after being collected in a wreck
with Clint Bowyer. Gordon finished 42nd. ... Kyle Busch won his
first Brickyard 400, earning his third straight Sprint Cup win and
fourth in the last five races. The win leaves Busch just 28 points
out of 30th place, which is what he must reach to be eligible for
the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Busch has made up 150 points in the
last five races in his quest to reach 30th position. ... There are
six races remaining before the start of the Chase at Chicago on
Sept. 20. ... Kevin Harvick remains atop the Sprint Cup point
standings, holding a 69-point lead over Joey Logano and a 100-point
margin over Earnhardt. Jimmie Johnson is in fourth place, 102 points
back, while Truex is fifth (109 points back).
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: U.S. Cellular 250 Presented by New Holland,
Iowa Speedway; Newton, Iowa.
TV: Saturday, Aug. 1, 8 p.m. ET -- NBCSN (Radio: Motor Racing
Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).
THEN AND NOW: Brad Keselowski is the defending winner of this race
and has won two of the last four races at Iowa. ... Chris Buescher
won the most recent Xfinity race at Iowa on May 17. ... Kyle Busch
won last week's Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis, and then
doubled up the next day to win the Brickyard 400 Sprint Cup race
there. ... Chris Buescher remains atop the Xfinity points standings,
but saw his lead once again shrink slightly for the second straight
week. He still leads second-ranked Chase Elliott, but that margin
dipped from 31 to 25 points after Indianapolis. Third-ranked Ty
Dillon also closed the margin on Buescher, from 38 to 30 points
after Indy. ... Saturday's race is the fifth of a stretch of 16
consecutive weeks of racing for Xfinity Series drivers before the
final off-weekend of the season in October.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: Pocono Mountains 150, Pocono
Raceway; Long Pond, Pa.
TV: Saturday, Aug. 1, 1 p.m. ET -- Fox Sports 1 (Radio: Motor Racing
Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).
THEN AND NOW: Austin Dillon is the defending winner of this race,
having won at Pocono last August. ... This is only the sixth Truck
race ever held at Pocono, a streak that began in 2010. ...
Christopher Bell won the most recent race, the Mud Summer Classic,
on July 22, at Eldora Speedway -- the only NASCAR race in any of the
three major series to be run on dirt. ... One big thing to watch in
this race: Kyle Busch will make his first Truck Series start of
2015. ... Matt Crafton saw his points margin drop slightly after
Eldora, going from a 20-point lead over No. 2-ranked Tyler Reddick
to just 14 races. No. 3-ranked Eric Jones also closed in from 29 to
24 points behind Crafton.
[to top of second column] |
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio; Lexington, Ohio.
TV: Sunday, Aug. 2, 1:30 p.m. ET -- NBCSN.
THEN AND NOW: Scott Dixon is the defending winner of this race.
Dixon has all but owned IndyCar races at Mid-Ohio, having won three
of the last four and five of the eight overall races run there since
the series began racing there in 2007. ... The series was off last
weekend and resumes action Sunday. Ryan Hunter-Reay won the most
recent race, the Iowa Corn 300, at Iowa on July 18. ... There are
only three races remaining on the schedule for this season: Sunday
at Mid-Ohio, Aug. 23 at Pocono and the season finale at Sonoma on
Aug. 30. ... As he has since the first race of the season (which he
won in St. Petersburg, Fla.), Montoya remains No. 1 in the point
standings. Montoya leads No. 2 ranked Graham Rahal by 42 points, and
leads third-ranked Dixon by 48 points. Helio Castroneves is fourth
(minus-54) and Will Power is in fifth (minus-55).
NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES: Sonoma
Nationals, July 31-Aug. 2, Sonoma Raceway; Sonoma, Calif.
TV: Saturday, Aug. 1, qualifying, ESPN2, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET;
Sunday, Aug. 2, final rounds of eliminations, ESPN2, 9 p.m. to 12
a.m. ET (tape delay).
THEN AND NOW: Defending winners of this race from last year are
Khalid alBalooshi (Top Fuel), Courtney Force (Funny Car), Jason Line
(Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle). ... This is
the second race of the annual "Western Swing," which began last week
at Denver and continues next week at Seattle. ... Winners at Denver
this past Sunday were: Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman
(Funny Car), Larry Morgan (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock
Motorcycle). Of note, it was Beckman's fourth win of the season and
Torrence's first win in more than two years. ... This will be the
15th race on the 24-race NHRA national event schedule. ... Tony
Schumacher maintains his lead on the Top Fuel standings, with an
85-point edge over teammate Antron Brown and a 206-point edge over
Larry Dixon. ... In Funny Car, Matt Hagan maintains his lead in the
standings, but Jack Beckman moved into second place after his win at
Denver. Beckman is 145 points back. John Force moved into third
place, 192 points back. ... In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson saw his
points lead drop from 66 to 37 points over No. 2-ranked Erica
Enders, while Jason Line remains No. 3, 2013 points back. ... In Pro
Stock Motorcycle, Eddie Krawiec holds a 36-point lead over Hector
Arana Jr., while defending series champ Andrew Hines remains in
third, 91 points back.
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