|
 TV: Sunday, Sept. 6, 7 pm ET - NBC (Radio: Motor Racing
Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).
THEN AND NOW: After enjoying its final off-weekend of the season,
the Sprint Cup Series returns to action this Sunday at Darlington
Raceway. This will be a significant race, as it marks the return of
the Southern 500 to its traditional Labor Day weekend race date,
which it had held from 1950 through 2003. This is also the
second-to-last race before the start of the 10-race Chase for the
Sprint Cup. ... Kevin Harvick won the last Sprint Cup race at
Darlington, held April 12, 2014. ... Jeff Gordon leads all active
drivers with five Southern 500 wins in his career, and seven
triumphs overall at Darlington. ... There have been 111 Sprint Cup
races to date at Darlington, which has two unique nicknames: The
Lady In Black and the Track Too Tough To Tame. ... More than two
dozen Sprint Cup teams will have retro looks/paint schemes on their
race cars, most from the 1970s. ... Joey Logano won the most recent
Sprint Cup race, two weeks ago at Bristol, his third win of the
season (Daytona, Watkins Glen were the others). ... Kevin Harvick
remains atop the point standings, holding a 43-point lead over No.
2-ranked Joey Logano. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is third, 89 points behind,
followed by Brad Keselowski (115 points back) and Jimmie Johnson
(116 points back).
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: VFW SPORTCLIPS HELP A HERO 200; Darlington
(S.C.) Raceway.
TV: Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 pm ET - NBC (Radio: Motor Racing
Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).
THEN AND NOW: Sprint Cup regular Paul Menard won the most recent
Xfinity Series race last Saturday at his home track of Road America
in his native Wisconsin. ... This will mark the 55th time the
Xfinity Series has raced at the so-called "Track Too Tough To Tame."
... Chase Elliott won this race last season, while Kyle Busch has
won two of the last four Xfinity races at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped
oval track. ... Chris Buescher saw his points lead tighten even more
for the third consecutive week. He now leads Chase Elliott by just
16 points and Ty Dillon by 19 points. Regan Smith is a distant
fourth, 50 points back.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: The Truck series is off for the
next two weekends. The next race is Friday, Sept. 18, at Chicagoland
Speedway.
THEN AND NOW: Erik Jones outdrove veteran drivers Alex Tagliani and
Matt Crafton to capture this past Sunday's Chevrolet Silverado 250
at the twisting Canadian Tire Motorsport Park road course circuit in
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. ... Jennifer Jo Cobb was fined $7,500
by NASCAR on Tuesday for having a cell phone with her during a
practice session Friday. Cobb was seen exiting her truck with a
phone in her hand, a violation of NASCAR rules. ... There was a big
shakeup in the point standings after the race in Canada. Tyler
Reddick dropped to third place, while Erik Jones vaulted into the
series lead. Matt Crafton is in second, just three points behind
Jones, while Reddick slipped to third, 15 points back.
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES: Scott Dixon won the season-ending GoPro
Grand Prix of Sonoma this past Sunday, also capturing the series
championship. It was Dixon's fourth IndyCar Series championship,
having previously won in 2003, 2008 and 2013.
[to top of second column] |
THEN AND NOW: Dixon was in disbelief after Sunday's race. "Did we
really win (the championship)?" he asked after taking the checkered
flag. Yes, he did, indeed, winning both the race and the series
title. ... This was the first time that the series had its
season-ending race at Sonoma. Ironically, Dixon won the 2014 race at
Sonoma in August. His win this past Sunday made it three triumphs
for Dixon at Sonoma in his career. ... Juan Pablo Montoya was
involved in an early-race wreck at Sonoma this past Sunday with Team
Penske teammate Will Power. While Montoya was able to continue
racing, that mishap arguably cost him the championship. He had led
the points since his season-opening win at St. Petersburg, Florida.
... The mood was rather somber at Sonoma, with grief still evident
following the tragic death of IndyCar driver Justin Wilson the
previous Monday after being struck in the head by a piece of the
front cowling of Sage Karam's car a day earlier at Pocono Raceway.
... Here's how the final top 10 for the season ended up: Dixon,
Montoya, Power, Graham Rahal, Helio Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay,
Josef Newgarden, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Sebastien Bourdais.
NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES: 61ST
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE U.S. NATIONALS; Sept. 2-7, Lucas Oil Raceway;
Brownsburg, Indiana (suburban Indianapolis).
TV: Sunday, Sept. 6, 11 am - 3:30 pm ET (ESPN); 11 pm - 1:30 am
(Sept. 7) ET, ESPN2; Sept. 7, 4-7 pm ET (ESPN).
THEN AND NOW: After a weekend off, the NHRA convenes for its biggest
race of the year, the U.S. Nationals. ... Defending winners from
last year's race are Richie Crampton (Top Fuel), Alexis DeJoria
(Funny Car), Shane Gray (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock
Motorcycle). ... Also to be contested during this weekend's U.S.
Nationals is the Traxxas Shootout, with the winner earning $100,000.
... The U.S. Nationals are the final race before the six-race
Countdown to the Championship, which is similar to NASCAR's Chase
for the Sprint Cup. ... Spencer Massey was released as a driver for
Shoemacher Racing last week for undisclosed violations of team
policy, according to team officials. Massey was in contention to
race in the Traxxas Shootout, but will be replaced by J.R. Todd. ...
Winners of the last race, two weeks ago at Brainerd, Minn., were
Richie Crampton (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Erica Enders
(Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle). ... Heading
into this weekend, Tony Schumacher leads the point standings in Top
Fuel with a 53-point edge over teammate Antron Brown. Richie
Crampton has jumped up to third, 255 points back. ... In Funny Car,
Jack Beckman leads defending Funny Car champ Matt Hagan by 50 points
and Tommy Johnson Jr. by 121 points. ... In Pro Stock, defending
champ Erica Edwards has a 16-point edge over former world champ Greg
Anderson. Chris McGaha is third, 137 points back. ... Lastly, in Pro
Stock Motorcycle, Eddie Krawiec holds a 166 point lead over Hector
Arana Jr., and a 177 point margin over defending PSM champ Andrew
Hines.
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