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Auto Racing Glance

[June 06, 2019] MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 (200 laps, 400 miles around a 2-mile D-shaped oval), Michigan International Speedway; Brooklyn, Mich.

TV: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 2:18 p.m. ET) - FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: Going from the "Tricky Triangle" at Pocono to one of the other mammoth tracks on the schedule, Michigan presents the challenge of getting the cars to work in multiple grooves and making drivers comfortable as tire wear becomes an issue. ... Kyle Busch won last week at Pocono for his fourth victory of the year. He has combined with Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. to dominate the season, winning 10 times so far between them. ... This is the 15th of 36 races this season and will be the 100th time Cup cars have raced at Michigan since it opened in 1969. ... Clint Bowyer won this race last season, with Kevin Harvick winning the August race. ... *Busch leads the Cup standings with 568 points, followed by *Joey Logano (564), *Chase Elliott (511), *Keselowski (509), Harvick (500), *Denny Hamlin (465), *Truex (452), Kurt Busch (437), Ryan Blaney (406) and Bowyer (402) rounding out the top 10.

BEST BETS: It's the usual suspects at the top, with Busch again the favorite to win at 11/4, followed by Harvick at 5/1, Truex at 6/1, Keselowski at 8/1 with Logano and Elliott at 10/1. Kyle Larson won three straight races here from 2016-17 and is 14/1. William Byron will win, sooner or later, and is a good deal at 40/1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman and Paul Menard could be surprise winners at 200/1.

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

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

TV: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 1:48 p.m. ET) - FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: The 13th of 33 races on the season sees the series head to the Irish Hills of Michigan and the wide sweeping turns that are the hallmark of the track. ... The facility opened in 1969 and the Xfinity series has raced on it every season since 1992. This will mark the 28th series race at the track. ... Cup Series regular Austin Dillon won this race last year. ... With the race run in the in the backyard of the "Big Three" American automakers, Ford and Chevrolet have a particular interest in winning here. ... Cole Custer won last week at Pocono. ... *Tyler Reddick leads the Xfinity standings with 572 points, followed by *Christopher Bell (495), *Custer (473), Austin Cindric (455), Justin Allgaier (439), Chase Briscoe (410), John Hunter Nemechek (388), Noah Gragson (381), *Michael Annett (367) and Justin Haley (361).

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

NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES: SPEEDYCASH.COM 400 (167 laps, 250.5 miles [400 kilometers] around a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Texas Motor Speedway; Fort Worth, Texas.

TV: Friday, 9 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 9:16 p.m. ET) - FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: After two weeks off, the trucks head into a weekend with the IndyCar Series at Texas for one of the bigger events on the calendar and embarks on four consecutive weekends of racing for the first time in 2019. ... This will be the series' 44th race at Texas, where it has made two trips annually since 1999. ... The Speedway opened in 1997. ... Johnny Sauter won this race last season, with Justin Haley winning in the fall. With a schedule change, Kyle Busch won the first race at Texas this season held on March 29. Semi-retired NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle is entered in this race in a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra. ... Busch won two weeks ago at Charlotte, but is not entered in this race. ... Grant Enfinger leads the Truck standings (331 points), followed by Stewart Friesen (316), Brett Moffitt (298), Ben Rhodes (297), Matt Crafton (294), * Sauter (273), *Austin Hill (264), Todd Gilliland (253), Harrison Burton (252) and Sheldon Creed (219).

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

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NTT DATA INDYCAR SERIES: DXC TECHNOLOGY 600 (240 laps, 360 miles [600 kilometers] around a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Texas Motor Speedway; Fort Worth, Texas.

TV: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (approx. green flag 8:10 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: Coming off the doubleheader event in Detroit last weekend, the IndyCar set heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the fastest -- and potentially most dangerous -- race of the year. ... The race is 600 kilometers, thus the 600 in the name, and sees the cars running flat out all the way around the high-banked oval. ... This is the ninth of 17 races this season and dates back to 1997. ... Scott Dixon won this race last year and he won Race 2 in Detroit on Sunday. ... Josef Newgarden won Race 1. ... American Newgarden leads the standings (316), followed by American Alexander Rossi (301), France's Simon Pagenaud (291), New Zealand's Dixon (264) and Japan's Takuma Sato (255) rounding out the top five.

Standings per INDYCAR.com.

FORMULA ONE: CANADIAN GRAND PRIX (70 laps, 189.694 miles around a 13-turn, 2.709-mile permanent road circuit), Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; Montreal.

TV: Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 2:10 p.m. ET) -- ABC (Radio: SiriusXM Radio Channel 132).

THIS WEEK: Run in its current form since 1978, the Canadian Grand Prix is a highlight of the F1 calendar, run on a circuit named for Canadian hero and champion Gilles Villeneuve, who won the 1978 race. After a week off, the 13-turn course sets up as one of the fastest in the sport with large crowds teeming at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. ... This is the seventh of 21 races on the season. ... Germany's Sebastian Vettel won the race last year. ... Great Britain's Lewis Hamilton leads the standings with 137 points, with Finland's Valtteri Bottas second (120), followed by Vettel, Ferrari (82), Belgium's Max Verstappen, Red Bull (78) and Monaco's Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (57).

Standings per F1.com.

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION: MENARDS NHRA HEARTLAND NATIONALS, Friday-Sunday, at Heartland Motorsports Park; Topeka, Kan.

TV: Eliminations, Sunday, 5:30 p.m. ET (Tape-delayed) FS1

THIS WEEK: The NHRA travels to Kansas after spending last week outside Chicago. ... This is the 10th of 24 events this season and the second of four straight weekends of action. ... Winners last week in the Route 66 Nationals were Steve Torrence in Top Fuel, Tommy Johnson Jr. in Funny Car, Deric Kramer in Pro Stock and Matt Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The motorcycles are off this weekend. ... Torrence leads the Top Fuel standings (820 points), followed by Doug Kalitta (574), Mike Salinas (573), Brittany Force (572) and Antron Brown (544) rounding out the top five. ... The NHRA has not updated Funny Car or Pro Stock standings after the Route 66 events, but leaders coming were Robert Hight in Funny Car (717), followed by J.R. Todd (556), Ron Capps (548), Tommy Johnson Jr. (527) and John Force (524). ... Bo Butner was on top in Pro Stock (545), followed by Alex Laughlin (358), Jason Line (328), Matt Hartford (318) and Greg Anderson (305). ... Andrew Hines leads Pro Stock Motorcycle (606), followed by Eddie Krawiec (534), Hector Arana Jr. (514), Smith (444) and Karen Stoffer (349).

Standings per NHRA.com.

--By K. Lee Davis, Field Level Media

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