NASCAR Cup Series closes regular season at Darlington, IndyCar doubles up at Milwaukee Mile
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
Cookout Southern 500
Site: Darlington, South Carolina.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, 1:20 p.m.; qualifying, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, race, 6 p.m. (NBC).
Track: Darlington Raceway.
Race distance: 367 laps, 501.32 miles.
Last year: Kyle Larson won for the first time at Darlington and kicked off the NASCAR playoffs with a victory at the Southern 500. Larson led the final 55 laps, finally taking the checkered flag at a track where he had led 715 laps in his career heading into the last Southern 500. Tyler Reddick was second, followed by Chris Buescher, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace.
Last race: Surprise! Harrison Burton pulled off a stunner at Daytona, winning there to qualify for the NASCAR playoffs. The son of former driver Jeff Burton passed two-time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch on the last lap in overtime for his first Cup Series win. Burton also became the 13th driver to lock up a spot in the series' 16-team playoffs, which start in Atlanta in two weeks. Busch finished second, followed by Christopher Bell, Cody Ware and Ty Gibbs.
Fast facts: NASCAR's regular season ends at Darlington, an egg-shaped layout where chaos is easy to find without the pressure of trying to keep a team's championship hopes alive. ... The “Lady in Black” had started the playoffs the past couple of seasons, but the Olympic break and Darlington's traditional Labor Day weekend slot necessitated it end the regular season. ... Busch, who sits 16th in the points standings, is 106 points out of the playoffs and would need his first Darlington win since 2008 to advance. ... The three winless drivers in the grid are 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher. ... Bubba Wallace, who made the round of 12 in the playoffs last year, sits 17th on the playoff grid, 21 points in a back of Buescher.
Next race: Sept. 8, Hampton, Georgia.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
Site: Darlington, South Carolina.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, 10:30 a.m., qualifying, 11:10 a.m.; race, 3:30 p.m.. (USA Network)
Track: Darlington Raceway.
Race distance: 147 laps, 200.8 miles.
Last year: Cup Series regular Denny Hamlin used overtime to pass Austin Hill and win the Xfinity race at Darlington a year ago. Hill finished second and John Hunter Nemechek was third. Hamlin, then 42, was told he was the oldest winner at Darlington since the late Dick Trickle won at 56 years old in 1998. Hamlin joked he would not be chasing Trickle's age mark at the track “Too Tough To Tame.”
Last race: Ryan Truex won the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway last week. He took the checkered flag under caution following an overtime finish. Truex won for the second time in eight starts this season. But he's ineligible for the Xfinity playoffs because he's a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex’s JGR teammate, Chandler Smith, finished second, with Parker Kligerman, Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg rounding out the top five.
Fast facts: The countdown is on for the Xfinity playoffs with four races left in the regular season, starting this week at Darlington. Races at Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Bristol are the last before the 12-team playoffs. ... Justin Algaier leads the point standings with Chandler Smith second, Austin Hill third and defending champion Cole Custer in fourth. ... Shane Van Gisbergen leads with series with three victories this season. Gisbergen was tapped by Trackhouse Racing to drive the team's third car, the No. 88, in the Cup Series next season.
Next race: Sept. 7, Atlanta.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
Last race: There was an unexpected winner in the Truck Series' opening playoff race with 22-year-old Layne Riggs winning his first ever race at the Milwaukee Mile last week. Riggs was not part of the 10-team playoff chase. But he held off championship contender Ty Majeski for the victory.
Fast Facts: The series is off until Bristol in three weeks. ... The playoff field will be cut from 10 to eight after races at Bristol and Kansas. ... Christian Eckes, who finished third behind Riggs, leads the playoff standings. After one race, Ben Rhodes and Rajah Caruth are behind the cut line, ninth and 10th in the standings. ... Riggs, the son of former NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, dislocated his shoulder celebrating his landmark victory. The team popped it back in place.
Next race: Sept. 19, Bristol, Tennessee.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
Italian Grand Prix
Site: Monza, Italy.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 7:30 a.m.; practice, 11 a.m.; Saturday, practice, 6:30 a.m.; qualifying 10 a.m.; Sunday race, 9 a.m. (ESPN).
Track: Autodromo Nazionale Monza.
Distance: 53 laps, 306.72 kilometers (190.58 miles).
Last year: Max Verstappen won his record-setting 10th straight F1 race of the season at the Italian Grand Prix. His run would end in the next race at Singapore before he went on to win the final seven races of his Red Bull team's dominant season. Sergio Perez was second, followed by Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and George Russell.
Last race: Doesn't Verstappen's amazing run seem so long ago? The defending series champion failed to win for a fifth straight race, his longest drought since 2020. The Dutch driver was seeking his fourth straight win at the Dutch Grand Prix this past week, but was passed by rival Lando Norris, who held on for the victory. Verstappen's last win — his seventh this season — came in Spain back at the end of June. Leclerc was third.
Fast facts: F1 is right back to racing in Italy after returning from a month-long break a week ago. The series takes another two weeks off before running in Azerbaijan (Sept. 15) for the first of two straight events. Racers are off another month before coming to the United States to race in Austin, Texas, in mid-October. ... Verstappen's second place ended his run of non-podium finishes, which began after winning his Spain. ... Verstappen remains atop the driver standings with a 70-point lead over Norris. Leclerc is third, 103 points behind Verstappen.
Next race: Sept. 15, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 (two races)
Site: West Allis, Wisconsin.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 3:35 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 2:15 p.m.; race, 6 p.m. (Peacock).; Sunday, race, 2 p.m. (USA Network)
Track: Milwaukee Mile.
Distance: Race 1, 250 laps, 402.366 kilometers (250 miles); Race 2, 250 laps, 402.366 kilometers (250 miles)
Last race: Will Power took the lead from the second position on the opening lap and went on to lead 101 of 110 laps to win in Portland last week and remain in the championship series hunt with just three races to go. Power took advantage of an alliance between his Team Penske group and A.J. Foyt Racing pole-sitter Santino Ferrucci to move in front early. Power won for the series-leading third time this season. Series points leader Alex Palou was second.
Fast Facts: Power's run cut Palou's points lead from 66 to 54 with a doubleheader at Wisconsin State Fair Park before the series' finale outside of Nashville two weeks later. ... IndyCar is running the Milwaukee Mile for the first in nine years. ... IndyCar has had a long history at the Milwaukee Mile for almost eight decades before giving up its date there after Sebastien Bourdais' 2015 win. ... Palou is looking for his third title in four seasons. ... Colton Herta is third, 67 points behind Palou. Scott McLaughlin is fourth and Scott Dixon is fifth.
Next races: Sept. 15, Lebanon, Tennessee.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA DRAG RACING
Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals
Aug. 28-Sept. 2.
Site: Indianapolis.
Track: Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Last event: Justin Ashley won in Top Fuel and Blake Alexander took the Funny Car title at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota. Ashley outran Shawn Langdon in the final round for his 14th career victory. Alexander and his team bounced back after an explosion took them out in Sonoma with his first victory of the season. Alexander won when defending world champion Matt Hagan went red in the final four.
Fast facts: Past champion Jack Beckman is racing in place of Funny Car great John Force, who continues his recovery from a horrific crash in Virginia two months ago. ... Doug Kalitta leads the Top Fuel standings, 84 points ahead of Langdon. Ashley sits third, followed by Steve Torrence and Antron Brown. ... In Funny Car, Austin Prock has a 218-point lead over Bob Tasca III. Hagan is third, followed by J.R. Todd and John Force’s team with Beckman the pilot.
Next event: Sept. 12-15, Mohnton, Pennsylvania.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Huset's Hustle, Huset's High Bank Nationals, Brandon, South Dakota.
Last events: Carson Macedo won both races in North Dakota last week, taking his third event in the past four World of Outlaw races. Macedo came from sixth to win on Friday night at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota, then won from the pole at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo the next night. It was Macedo's first weekend sweep since April 2022. He's got 41 career World of Outlaw victories, tied for 20th most in series history.
Fast facts: David Gravel widened his points lead again. He’s got 6,636, 110 ahead of Donny Schatz in second. Macedo remained in third, 114 points in back of Gravel. ... The Huset's races in South Dakota were originally scheduled for June 19-22, but flooding that week caused them to be postponed until this week.
Next events: Sept. 6, Stockton, California; Sept. 7, Hanford, California.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
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