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Auto Racing Glance

[August 03, 2017] The Sports Xchange

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: I LOVE NEW YORK 355 (90 laps, 220.5 miles on a 2.450-mile road course), Watkins Glen International; Watkins Glen, N.Y.

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET -- NBCSN (Radio: Motor Racing Network/SiriusXM NASCAR radio).

THIS WEEK: This will be the 35th NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen. The first race was in 1957 and was won by Buck Baker. ... Denny Hamlin won this race last year. ... Kyle Busch broke a 36-race winless streak that dated back to the 2016 Brickyard 400 when he won this past Sunday's Overton's 400 at Pocono Raceway. Busch is now one of 13 drivers qualified for the upcoming 16-driver NASCAR Cup playoffs. ... Martin Truex Jr. (823 points) continues to lead the NASCAR Cup standings after Pocono. Kyle Larson is second (738), followed by Kevin Harvick (726), Busch (723), Brad Keselowski (649), Hamlin (649), Chase Elliott (616), Jamie McMurray (615), Matt Kenseth (594) and Clint Bowyer (577).

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: ZIPPO 200 AT THE GLEN (82 laps, 200.9 miles around a 2.450-mile road course), Watkins Glen International; Watkins Glen, N.Y.

TV: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET -- NBCSN (Radio: Motor Racing Network /SiriusXM Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: This will be the 24th Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen. ... Joey Logano has won the last two Xfinity races there. ... Ryan Preece dominated last Saturday's race at Iowa Speedway to earn his first career Xfinity Series win. ... Elliott Sadler (707 points) remains No. 1 in the Xfinity driver rankings. William Byron remains second (653), followed by Justin Allgaier (564), Brennan Poole (518), Daniel Hemric (488), Cole Custer (474), Matt Tifft (436), Ryan Reed (424), Dakoda Armstrong (388) and Blake Koch (374).

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: The series is off this weekend. It resumes on Aug. 12, with the LTI Printing 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

THIS WEEK: Christopher Bell won the most recent Truck Series race, held last Saturday at Pocono Raceway. It was Bell's fourth win, eighth top-5 and 11th top-10 finish in 12 Truck Series starts this season. ... With his win at Pocono, Bell took over the points lead (528 points) in the Truck Series, overtaking previous points leader Johnny Sauter (510). Third through 10th are Chase Briscoe (470), Matt Crafton (464), John Hunter Nemechek (396), Ben Rhodes (387), Ryan Truex (386), Grant Enfinger (382), Noah Gragson (345) and Austin Cindric (324).

VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES: The series is off this weekend and next weekend. The next race is the ABC Supply 500, Aug. 20, at Pocono Raceway.

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THIS WEEK: Josef Newgarden won this past Sunday's Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course. It was Newgarden's second win in a row (he also won two weeks earlier at Toronto) and his third overall win in his first season with Team Penske, which has now won seven of the first 13 IndyCar races, with four races remaining on the schedule. ... Rumors began over the weekend at Mid-Ohio that Helio Castroneves may not be back in an IndyCar for Team Penske next season, even if he were to win this season's championship. However, even if Castroneves does not race for Penske in IndyCar next season, he'll likely remain with the team and shift over to sports car racing for the team with Juan Pablo Montoya. ... Winners of the first 13 races have been Sebastien Bourdais (St. Petersburg), James Hinchcliffe (Long Beach), Newgarden (Alabama, Toronto, Mid-Ohio) Simon Pagenaud (Phoenix), Will Power (IndyCar Grand Prix), Takuma Sato (Indy 500), Graham Rahal (both Belle Isle races), Power (Texas), Scott Dixon (Road America) and Castroneves (Iowa). ... Dixon (423 points) remains No. 1 in the IndyCar standings, followed by Castroneves (420 points), Pagenaud (404), Newgarden (400), Power (359), Rahal (359), Takuma Sato (351), Alexander Rossi (330), Tony Kanaan (306) and Hinchcliffe (297). ... With his win at Mid-Ohio, Newgarden jumped into the lead in the IndyCar points standings. He has 453 points, seven points ahead of Castroneves (446 points). Third through 10th are Dixon (445 points), Pagenaud (436), Power (401), Rahal (395), TSato (381), Rossi (358), Kanaan (320) and Hinchcliffe (316).

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION, MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES: NORTHWEST NATIONALS, Pacific Raceways; Kent, Wash.

TV: Sunday, Fox Sports, live from 4 to 7 pm ET.

THIS WEEK: This is the final round of the three-week "West Coast Swing" for the NHRA. ... Winners at last weekend's Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., were Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Tanner Gray (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle). ... Points leaders: Top Fuel -- S Torrence (1,369), Antron Brown (1,294) Leah Pritchett (1,250), Tony Schumacher (1,008) and Brittany Force (935); Funny Car -- Ron Capps (1,276), Matt Hagan (1,093), Jack Beckman (1,049), Robert Hight (1,035) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (982); Pro Stock -- Bo Butner (1,341), Greg Anderson (1,150), Gray (1,091), Jason Line (988) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (940); Pro Stock Motorcycle -- L.E. Tonglet (780), Eddie Krawiec (636), Hector Arana Jr. (567), Jerry Savoie (535) and Matt Smith (499).

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