LDN - Sports

Auto Racing Glance

[August 22, 2019] MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES

THIS WEEK: NASCAR's top series takes its last week off before the stretch run to end the season the Sunday before Thanksgiving. ... There are two races left before the playoff field is set, and so far, nine of the 16 spots are spoken for. ... Denny Hamlin won Saturday night's race at Bristol, his fourth win of the season. ... With only two potential new winners on the season before the playoffs begin, the next five spots look all but secure, but the final two should come down to four drivers, Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson. Bowyer and Johnson are currently on the outside looking in, with Johnson trailing 16th place by 26 points. ... Next up for the series is the annual trip to Darlington Raceway on Sept. 1 for a "throwback weekend" as teams use paint schemes that hearken back to the sport's past. ... *Kyle Busch leads the Cup standings with 932 points, followed by *Joey Logano (893), *Hamlin (855), *Martin Truex Jr. (838), *Kevin Harvick (830), *Brad Keselowski (794), *Chase Elliott (757), *Kurt Busch (741), Ryan Blaney (686) and *Alex Bowman (675) rounding out the top 10.

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: CTECH MANUFACTURING 180 (45 laps, 180.36 miles around a 4.008-mile, 14-turn permanent road course), Road America; Elkhart Lake, Wis.

TV: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 3:15 p.m. ET) -- NBCSN (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: The 23rd of 33 races on the season, the series makes its third trip to a road course in four weeks, this time the long and fast track at Road America. ... This will be the 10th race at the track, with the series coming back once a year since the inaugural race in 2010. ... Tyler Reddick won Friday's race at Bristol, leaving just four races for the Xfinity full-timers in the regular season before the playoffs begin at Richmond on Sept. 20. ... Justin Allgaier won this race last year and Road America has been a showcase for series drivers, and not just a race dominated by Cup drivers stepping down in class. ... 12 drivers will make the Xfinity playoffs, with six spots still up for grabs for a first-time winner. ... *Reddick leads the standings with 968 points, followed by *Christopher Bell (924), *Cole Custer (839), Justin Allgaier (819), *Austin Cindric (785), *Chase Briscoe (742), Noah Gragson (728), *Michael Annett (695), Justin Haley (661), and John Hunter Nemechek (653) rounding out the top 10. Brandon Jones is 11th (609) and Ryan Sieg is 12th (591) with Sieg's nearest pursuer 97 points back.

*Denotes race winner and playoff berth. Standings per NASCAR.com.

NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES: CHEVROLET SILVERADO 250 (64 laps, 253.2 miles around a 2.957-mile, 10-turn permanent road course), Canadian Tire Motorsport Park; Bowmanville, Ontario.

TV: Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 2:42 p.m. ET) -- FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: The playoffs started last week and the Trucks head into the second race of the Championship Round of 8 with a trip north of the border to Ontario and the final road-course race of the season. ... This will be the seventh series race at the track as the Trucks have been back every year since the inaugural in 2013. ... This is the 18th of 23 races on the season. ... Seven drivers have three races to ensure they make the Round of 6, with mighty Talladega serving as the cutoff on Oct. 12. ... Justin Haley won this race last year. ... Brett Moffitt won the race last weekend at Bristol and will advance at least beyond Talladega. ... *Moffitt leads the Truck standings (2,081 points) followed by Ross Chastain (2,065), Stewart Friesen (2,057), Grant Enfinger (2,053), Matt Crafton (2,053), Johnny Sauter (2,043), Austin Hill (2,040) and Tyler Ankrum (2,030) rounding out the eight drivers vying for the championship.

*Denotes race winner and playoff advancement. Standings per NASCAR.com.

[to top of second column]

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 (248 laps, 310 miles/498.4 kilometers around a 1.25-mile/2.01-km four-turn egg-shaped oval), Gateway Motorsports Park; Madison, Ill.

TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (approx. green flag 8:05 p.m. ET) -- NBCSN (Radio: Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 214, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app).

THIS WEEK: After a rain-shortened race at Pocono on Sunday won by Will Power, the series heads to a night race at the short, fast and technical Gateway Motorsports Park, the 15th of 17 races on the season. ... This is the final oval race of the season before the season ends at a street course in Portland and the road course in Monterey, Calif. ... This will be the sixth series race at Gateway, the third since a return in 2017. Power won this race last year. ... The track has a tight-radius trip through turns 1 and 2 and then a wider radius through 3 and 4, much like Darlington in NASCAR. ... Scott Dixon is on a roll, having won a race and finished second three other times over the last four contests. ... American Josef Newgarden leads the standings (535 points), followed by American Alexander Rossi (500), France's Simon Pagenaud (495), New Zealand's Dixon (483) and Australia's Power (407) rounding out the top five.

Standings per INDYCAR.com.

FORMULA ONE

THIS WEEK: The final week of the summer break has arrived. After 12 of 21 races this season, F1 racing will resume at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sept. 1. ... Great Britain's Lewis Hamilton won in Hungary earlier in the month, and barring an injury, the championship will be Hamilton's running away. ... Hamilton leads the standings with 250 points in his Mercedes, with Finland's Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, second (188), followed by Belgium's Max Verstappen, Red Bull (181), Germany's Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari (156), and Monaco's Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (132).

Standings per F1.com.

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION

THIS WEEK: After the annual trip to Minnesota, the NHRA looks forward to the "Big Go," the U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend in Indianapolis. Indy will be the last chance for drivers and teams with playoff aspirations to get in or to really ready their machines for the drive to the championship. ... Winners in Minnesota were Leah Pritchett in Top Fuel, Ron Capps in Funny Car and Jason Line in Pro Stock. Pro Stock Motorcycle had the weekend off. All four classes will race in Indy. ... The playoffs will consist of 10 drivers in each class. ... *Steve Torrence leads the Top Fuel standings (1,650 points), followed by *Brittany Force (1,015), *Doug Kalitta (1,013), *Clay Millican (1,009), *Antron Brown (998), *Mike Salinas (986), *Leah Pritchett, Austin Prock, Richie Crampton and Terry McMillen rounding out the top 10. ... *Robert Hight leads Funny Car (1,397), followed by *Tommy Johnson Jr. (1,218), *John Force (1,199), *Capps (1,171), *Jack Beckman (1,098), *Matt Hagan (1,047), *Bob Tasca III (1,038), *J.R. Todd (981), *Shawn Langdon (914) and Tim Wilkerson (824). ... *Bo Butner is on top in Pro Stock (874), followed by *Greg Anderson (802), *Alex Laughlin (794), *Line (774), *Matt Hartford (753), *Deric Kramer (709), *Erica Enders (697), Jeg Coughlin Jr. (663), *Chris McGaha *581) and Kenny Delco (363). ... *Andrew Hines leads Pro Stock Motorcycle (967), followed by *Eddie Krawiec (770), *Matt Smith (712), *Hector Arana Jr. (658), *Karen Stoffer (452), Angie Smith (419), Ryan Oehler (408), Hector Arana (400), Angelle Sampey (397) and Jerry Savoie.

*Denotes playoff berth. Standings per NHRA.com.

--By K. Lee Davis, Field Level Media

Back to top