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Auto Racing Glance

[April 13, 2017] The Sports Xchange

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: The series is off this weekend for the Easter holiday. The next scheduled race (No. 8 of 36) will be the Food City 500, April 23, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

THIS WEEK: There is no race this weekend. ... NASCAR announced on Tuesday the format for the May 20 Monster Energy All-Star Race. In homage to the 25th anniversary of the first All-Star Race run at night under the lights, this year's race will be similar to the original 1992 night race, with three 20-lap segments followed by a 10-car, 10-lap final segment for the $1 million winner's prize. ... Jimmie Johnson snapped his winless streak in 2017 with his O'Reilly Auto Parts win Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had his best finish of the season at Texas (fifth). ... Kyle Larson (315 points) continues to lead the NASCAR Cup standings. Chase Elliott is second (298), followed by Martin Truex Jr. (275), Brad Keselowski (274), Joey Logano (243), Ryan Blaney (224), Kyle Busch (211), Jamie McMurray (209), Clint Bowyer (204) and Kevin Harvick (198).

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: The series is off this weekend for the Easter holiday. The next scheduled race (No. 7 of 33) will be the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300, April 22, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

THIS WEEK: There is no race this weekend. ... Erik Jones dominated last Saturday's race, leading 112 of 200 laps, to win the My Bariatric Solutions 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. ... Elliott Sadler remains atop the Xfinity Series points (225), followed by William Byron (219), Ryan Reed (183), Darrell Wallace Jr. (176), Justin Allgaier (174), Matt Tifft (139), Daniel Hemric (136), Brennan Poole (134), Michael Annett and Blake Koch (both tied for ninth with 130 points each). ... In a unique oddity, Darrell Wallace Jr. (Bubba Wallace) has now finished sixth in each of the last five races. Coincidentally, Wallace drives the No. 6 Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: The series is off again this weekend and does not resume action until Friday, May 12, in the Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway, the fourth race of the 23-race season.

THIS WEEK: Chase Elliott won the most recent Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 1. ... Points leaders are: Johnny Sauter (140), Christopher Bell (136), Matt Crafton (117), Timothy Peters (110), Kaz Grala and Ben Rhodes (tied for fifth with 103 points each), Chase Briscoe (93), Grant Enfinger (84), Regan Smith (81) and Brett Moffitt (73).

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES: The series is off this weekend. The next race is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, April 23, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

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This week: Even though there is no race this weekend, there will be an open test for all teams Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway in preparation for the Rainguard Water Sealers 600 on June 10. Texas completed a full repaving of the track shortly before last weekend's NASCAR races. The IndyCar teams need to analyze how their cars will handle on the new TMS surface, as well as determine the best type of tires to use in the June race. ... The series has completed two of the 17 races on the 2017 schedule. Sebastien Bourdais won in the season-opening race at St. Petersburg, Florida (March 12), while James Hinchcliffe won this past Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. ... Points leaders (after two races): Bourdais (93 points), Hinchcliffe (74), Simon Pagenaud (71), Scott Dixon (70), Josef Newgarden (59), Helio Castroneves (51), Ed Jones (48), Ryan Hunter-Reay (46), Takuma Sato (43) and Marco Andretti (36).

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION, MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES: No race this weekend (next race is NHRA SpringNationals, April 21-23, at Royal Purple Raceway in suburban Houston).

This week: With no race last weekend or this, NHRA teams - especially those that have struggled early on - continue to retool their efforts after the first four races in the 24-race national event schedule. ... Winners at the last national event, two weeks ago at Las Vegas, were Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car) and Tanner Gray (Pro Stock). ... Points leaders: Top Fuel - Tony Schumacher (382 points), Leah Pritchett (376); Antron Brown (357), Doug Kalitta (301), Brittany Force (258); Funny Car - Matt Hagan (368), Tommy Johnson Jr. (324), John Force (314), Ron Capps (275), Courtney Force (218); Pro Stock - Greg Anderson (380), Jason Line (367), Bo Butner (299), Tanner Gray (296), Shane Gray (278); Pro Stock Motorcycle - Eddie Krawiec (120), Andrew Hines (97), Joey Gladstone (81), Steve Johnson (74), Jerry Savoie (63).

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