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Auto Racing Glance

[June 13, 2017] The Sports Xchange

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400, (200 laps, 400 miles around a 2-mile oval), Michigan International Speedway; Brooklyn, Mich.

TV: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET -- Fox Sports 1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: This will be the 96th NASCAR Cup race held at Michigan, known as the fastest track in NASCAR. If the conditions are ideal, don't be surprised if we see new national speed and elapsed time records. ... This the first of two races at Michigan within a two-month period. The defending winner of this race is Joey Logano. Kyle Larson won last August's second race, his first career Cup victory. ... Ryan Blaney won his first career NASCAR Cup race this past Sunday at Pocono. ... Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. finished 26th in his NASCAR Cup debut at Pocono. Wallace, who became the first African-American to drive in a Cup race since Bill Lester did so in 2006, is replacing the injured Aric Almirola in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford for roughly the next 7-8 races. ... Martin Truex Jr. remains atop the NASCAR Cup point standings (584 points), followed by Kyle Larson (583), Kevin Harvick (480), Kyle Busch (463), Brad Keselowski (454), Chase Elliott (438), Jimmie Johnson (421), Jamie McMurray (418), Denny Hamlin (386) and Clint Bowyer (369).

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: IRISH HILS 250 (125 laps, 250 miles around a 2-mile oval), Michigan International Speedway; Brooklyn, Mich.

TV: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET -- FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: This will be the 26th Xfinity Series race at MIS. ... Daniel Suarez won this race last year. ... Keselowski won the most recent Xfinity race, Saturday at Pocono. It was only the second Xfinity race ever run there. ... Justin Allgaier overtook Elliott Sadler to become the No. 1-ranked driver in the Xfinity standings. Sadler, meanwhile, fell to second place, but is only one point behind Allgaier (409 to 408). William Byron is third (347), followed by Darrell Wallace Jr. (321) and Daniel Hemric (314). ... Wallace is done for the rest of the season as his No. 6 Xfinity team has suspended operations due to lack of sponsorship. However, Wallace has moved up to NASCAR Cup to replace the Almirola in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford for roughly the next 7-8 races.

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES: GATEWAY 200 (160 laps, 200 miles around a 1.25-mile oval), Gateway Motorsports Park; Madison, Ill.

TV: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET -- Fox Sports 1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network/SiriusXM Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: This will be the 16th Truck Series race at Gateway Motorsports Park, just outside St. Louis. ... This will also be the first of two consecutive standalone races for the Truck series, which visits Iowa Speedway on Friday, June 23. ... Christopher Bell won this race last year. ... Bell also won this past Friday's race at Texas Motor Speedway, his second win of the season and fourth of his Truck series career. ... Points leaders are: Johnny Sauter (338), Christopher Bell (298), Matt Crafton (268), Chase Briscoe (257), Ben Rhodes (248), Ryan Truex (227), Grant Enfinger (226), Kaz Grala (228), Timothy Peters (194) and Noah Gragson (181). ... Peters returned to the series after missing Dover due to his team suspending operations after the Charlotte race. Peters is now driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Silverado for MDM Motorsports. Peters had a good run going in his MDM debut in Friday's race at Texas until he was involved in a next-to-last lap wreck that saw him flip end over end and land on his roof. He walked away uninjured.

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VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES: No race this weekend. Next race is Kohler Grand Prix, June 25, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

THIS WEEK: Teams look to regroup after this past Saturday night's crash-filled race at Texas Motor Speedway. ... Will Power won at Texas, joining Graham Rahal (won both races at Belle Isle the previous weekend) as the only drivers to win two races thus far this season. ... Winners of the first nine races have been Sebastien Bourdais (St. Petersburg), James Hinchcliffe (Long Beach), Josef Newgarden (Alabama) Simon Pagenaud (Phoenix), Will Power (IndyCar Grand Prix), Takuma Sato (Indy 500) and Graham Rahal (both Belle Isle races) and Power (Texas). ... Scott Dixon (326 points) remains No. 1 in the IndyCar standings, followed by Pagenaud (313 points), Sato (312), Helio Castroneves (305), Power (286), Rahal (283), Newgarden (277), Tony Kanaan (264), Alexander Rossi (254) and Hinchcliffe (232).

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION, MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING SERIES: THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS, June 16-18, Bristol Dragway; Bristol, Tenn.

TV: Live coverage of final eliminations, Sunday, June 11, 6:30-8 p.m. ET -- Fox Sports 1.

THIS WEEK: This will be the 11th race on the 24-race national event schedule. ... This past Sunday's winners at Englishtown, New Jersey were Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Jerry Savoie (Pro Stock Motorcycle). ... Points leaders: Top Fuel -- Antron Brown (878 points), Torrence (871), Leah Pritchett (842), Tony Schumacher (766), Doug Kalitta (648); Funny Car -- Ron Capps (931), Matt Hagan (802), Jack Beckman (652), Courtney Force (648), Robert Hight (645); Pro Stock -- Bo Butner (837), Greg Anderson (797), Tanner Gray (758), Jeg Coughlin (701), Jason Line (668); Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Eddie Krawiec (358), L.E. Tonglet (356), Savoie (322), Andrew Hines (263), Scotty Pollacheck (250).

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