AUTO RACING: Buescher wins back to back at Richmond and Michigan, outlasting points leader Truex
All Times Eastern
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Site: Indianapolis, Indiana.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, 11:35 a.m., and qualifying, 12:35 p.m.; Sunday, race, 2:30 p.m. (NBC).
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Race distance: 82 laps, 200 miles.
Last year: Tyler Reddick won from the pole position.
Last race: Chris Buescher led 52 of the 200 laps and outran Martin Truex Jr. to win the rain-delayed Monday finish at Michigan, his second consecutive Cup Series victory.
Fast facts: Buescher is one of six multiple winners — he had two career wins before the past eight days — but stands 11th in points. ... Truex's lead over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin is now 57 points and he leads William Byron by 96. ... Truex had won twice in races completed on Mondays this year and has won four such races overall. ... Ford has won nine straight at Michigan, the longest winning streak by a manufacturer at a track that has hosted Cup races since 1969. ... Hamlin was third followed by Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson. ... 2020 champion Chase Elliott, who missed six races with a broken lag and another under suspension, likely needs to win one the last three regular season events to make the postseason.
Next race: Aug. 20, Watkins Glen, New York.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts
Site: Indianapolis, Indiana.
Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, 9:35 a.m., qualifying, 10:05 a.m., and race, 5:30 p.m. (USA).
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Race distance: 62 laps, 151.2 miles.
Last year: A.J. Allmendinger won from the pole position.
Last race: John Hunter Nemechek pulled away from pole winner Josh Berry after a restart with seven laps to go and won for the fifth time this season.
Fast facts: Nemechek beat Berry by 1.495 seconds with Brandon Jones, defending race winner Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer next in line. ... It was the 200th victory for Joe Gibbs Racing in the series and the seventh for Nemechek. ... Nemechek and Austin Hill are now tied atop the points standings, 34 ahead of Justin Allgaier and 86 ahead of Cole Custer with five races remaining before the 12-driver playoffs. ... The race will follow an IndyCar race earlier in the day on the same layout.
Next race: Aug. 10, Watkins Glen, New York.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
TSport 200
Site: Indianapolis, Indiana.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:30 p.m., qualifying 4:05 p.m., and race, 9 p.m. (FSI).
Track: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Race distance: 200 laps, 137 miles.
Last year: Grant Enfinger won after starting fifth.
Last race: Carson Hocevar won at Richmond in the last race before the playoff opener as three-time champion Matt Crafton claimed the final spot in the postseason grid.
Fast facts: Corey Heim heads into the seven-race playoffs with an 8-point lead over defending series champion Zane Smith, nine over Hocevar, 11 over Christian Eckes and 13 over Enfinger. ... Hocevar won a series-best three times while the other four in the top five won twice each. ... Heim, last year's top rookie, leads despite having started one fewer race, but he finished in the top 10 in 13 of his 15 starts.
Next race: Aug. 27, West Allis, Wisconsin.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
Last race: Two-time reigning Formula One champion Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix, his eighth consecutive victory and 10th in 12 races, to extend his points lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to 125 points.
Next race: Aug. 27, Zandvoort, The Netherlands.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
Gallagher Grand Prix
Site: Indianapolis, Indiana.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 9 a.m., qualifying, round 1, 12:30 p.m.-1:05 p.m., qualifying, round 2, 1:20 p.m.-1:30 p.m., qualifying, Firestone Fast 6, 1:45 p.m.-2 p.m., and practice, 4 p.m.; Saturday, race, 2 p.m. (USA).
Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Race distance: 85 laps, 207.32 miles.
Last year: Alexander Rossi won after starting second.
Last race: Kyle Kirkwood easily held off Scott McLaughlin over a final shootout and won in Nashville for his second career victory and second of the season.
Fast facts: Despite being one of only three drivers with more than one victory this season, Kirkwood is just ninth in the points race, 223 points behind leader Alex Palou. ... Palou's lead dropped from 98 points to 84 over Josef Newgarden with four races remaining. Both have four wins this season. ... The 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course incorporates portions of Turns 1 and 2 and the frontstraight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and the rest of the circuit is within the infield.
Next race: Aug. 27, Madison, Illinois.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA DRAG RACING
Last event: Justin Ashley won in Top Fuel and JR Todd won in Funny Car in Sonoma, California.
Next event: Aug. 13, Topeka, Kansas.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Next events: Aug. 9-12, Knoxville, Iowa.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
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