AUTO RACING: Hamlin heads home with momentum while Verstappen remains untouchable in Formula 1
All Times Eastern
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Cook Out 400
Site: Richmond, Virginia.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, 12:35 p.m., and qualifying, 1:20 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3 p.m. (USA).
Track: Richmond Raceway.
Race distance: 400 laps, 300 miles.
Last year: Kevin Harvick won after starting 13th.
Last race: Denny Hamlin pulled away on the final restart and won his record seventh race at Pocono and the 50th of his career.
Fast facts: Hamlin became just the 15th driver in NASCAR's 75 years to win 50 races. His victory was also the 600th in NASCAR for Joe Gibbs Racing. ... Hamlin and Kyle Larson battled for the lead nearing the end before Larson crashed, finishing 20th. Larson claimed Hamlin nudged him; Hamlin said he did not. ... The victory came a year after Hamlin and then-teammate Kyle Busch were both disqualified after finishing 1-2 at the track. ... Hamlin's teammate, Martin Truex Jr., expanded his points lead to 30 over William Byron with Hamlin 55 back.
Next race: Aug. 6, Brooklyn, Michigan.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Road America 180
Site: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 5 p.m., and qualifying, 6 p.m.; Saturday, race, 3 p.m. (NBC).
Track: Road America.
Race distance: 45 laps, 182.16 miles.
Last year: Ty Gibbs won from the pole position.
Last race: Austin Hill grabbed the lead when dominant Josh Berry slammed the wall on a restart in overtime at Pocono. It was Hill's fourth victory of the season.
Fast facts: Hill ended a 13-race winless drought and tied points leader John Hunter Nemechek for the victories lead. ... The two overtime laps were the only ones Hill led in the race. ... Berry won both stages before crashing. He finished 24th. ... Sam Mayer was second, followed by Cup Series regular Chase Elliott, Riley Herbst and Daniel Hemric. ... With six races left to determine the 12-car field for the playoffs, five spots remain open. ... Nemechek, who had won two straight, finished 32nd.
Next race: Aug. 5, Brooklyn, Michigan.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
Worldwide Express 250
Site: Richmond, Virginia.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 5:05 p.m., and qualifying, 5:35 p.m.; Saturday, race, 7:30 p.m. (FS1).
Track: Richmond Raceway.
Race distance: 250 laps, 187.5 miles.
Last year: Chandler Smith won after starting second.
Last race: Kyle Busch passed points leader Corey Heim on the final lap at Pocono and gave his Kyle Busch Motorsports its 100th victory in the truck series.
Fast facts: Busch has won twice in five starts in the series this year. His two wins tie him with five series regulars. ... Heim, with one fewer start than the rest of the contenders, stretched his points lead from 26 over defending champion Zane Smith to 42 points over Smith with Grant Enfinger, Ty Majeski and Ben Rhodes 59 back. ... The Richmond race is the last one to gain a spot in the 10-driver playoffs.
Next race: Aug. 11, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
Belgian Grand Prix
Site: Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 7:30 a.m., and qualifying, 11 a.m.; Saturday, sprint shootout, 6 a.m., and sprint, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday, race, 9 a.m. (ESPN).
Track: Circuit De Spa-Francorchamps
Race distance: 44 laps, 191.398 miles.
Last year: Max Verstappen won after starting the 14th, the deepest starting spot on the grid for any winner all season and during a five-race winning streak.
Last race: Verstappen passed pole-sitting seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the first turn in Hungary and extended his winning streak to seven races.
Fast facts: Verstappen, the two-time defending series champion, and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez (two wins) have combined to win 12 straight races, including all 11 this season. That breaks the record the team shared with McLaren, which won 11 in a row in 1988. ... Verstappen extended his points lead to 110 points over Perez, a cushion of more than four races in which he doesn’t score a point with a maximum of 26 available in each race. ... Fernando Alonso is 142 behind in third.
Next race: Aug. 27, Zandvoort, North Holland, the Netherlands.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
Last race: Josef Newgarden swept a weekend doubleheader in Iowa, matching Alex Palou with a series-best four wins this season, but he still trails Palou by 98 with just five races remaining.
Next race: Aug. 6, Nashville, Tennessee.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA DRAG RACING
Last event: Steve Torrence won in Top Fuel and Tim Wilkerson won in Funny Car in Washington state.
Next event: July 30, Sonoma, California.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Next events: July 29 & 30, Weedsport, New York.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
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