NASCAR Cup Series, Truck Series fire back up after 2 weeks off, F1, Larson wins in Sprint Cars
All Times Eastern
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Cook Out 400.
Site: Richmond, Virginia.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 5:35 p.m.; Sunday race, 6 p.m. (USA Network).
Track: Richmond Raceway.
Race distance: 400 laps, 300 miles.
Last year: Chris Buescher pulled away on a restart with three laps to go to win and lock up his playoff spot. Buescher finished ahead of Virginia native Denny Hamlin. Kyle Busch took third, followed by Joey Logano and Ryan Preece. The victory started a strong run by Buescher, who won twice more (a week later at Michigan and at Daytona) before the playoffs.
Last race: Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson held off Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick in overtime to collect the Indianapolis victory he tried to get at the Indy 500 in May. Larson’s try at the motorsports double two months ago ended as rain delayed the IndyCar event. Larson flew to Charlotte and the Coca-Cola 600, where rain also delayed that NASCAR Cup Series race. Larson never got on the track as rain and the late hour ended any attempt at finishing the race.
Fast facts: NASCAR returns from a two-week, mid-summer break with the Olympics finishing up in Paris this weekend. ... P oints leader Kyle Larson wasn't going to stop racing despite NASCAR's break and won a pair of sprint car races at Pevely, Missouri last weekend. ... There are four races left in NASCAR’s regular season with Michigan, Daytona and Darlington coming after the run at Richmond. ... Larson is 15 points ahead of Denny Hamlin in the driver standings. Christopher Bell is third and Larson’s Henrick Motorsports teammate William Byron is fourth.
Next race: Aug. 18, Brooklyn, Michigan.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
The Xfinity Series has one more weekend free before racing at Michigan on Aug. 17.
Fast facts: Stewart-Haas Racing will see if the extended break blunts its momentum. The team won the past two races with Cole Custer, the defending series champion, winning at Pocono on July 13 and teammate Riley Herbst winning at Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 20. ... Custer holds the series points lead with a 55-point edge of Justin Allgaier. ... There are six more races left in the Xfinity regular season. After Michigan, comes Daytona, Darlington, Atlanta, Watkins Glen and Bristol. The 12-driver playoff starts at Kansas on Sept. 28.
Next race: Aug. 17, Brooklyn, Michigan.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR TRUCK SERIES
Clean Harbors 250
Site: Richmond, Virginia.
Schedule: Saturday, practice, 2:30 p.m.; Saturday, qualifying, 3 p.m.; Saturday race, 7:30 p.m. (FS1).
Track: Richmond Raceway.
Race distance: 250 laps, 187.5 miles.
Last year: Carson Hocevar won the Truck Series race at Richmond after passing Ty Majeski with three laps to go. It was Hocevar's third of four wins on the season as he advanced to the series final four. Hocevar got his first career win at Richmond.
Last race: Majeski won for the second straight season at Indianapolis two weeks ago. Majeski overcame a restart violation on Lap 50 that sent him to the rear of the field, but he fought back for his first victory of the season and fourth of his career. Corey Heim finished second with Grant Enfinger third and Christian Eckes fourth.
Fast Facts: The series has been on a mid-summer break since the Indianapolis race. ... Richmond is the final race of the regular season with the playoffs starting at the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 25. ... Christian Eckes leads the driver standings by 50 points over Corey Heim, even though Heim has five victories this season to Eckes’ three. ... Seven drivers (Eckes, Heim, Majeski, Nick Sanchez, Rajah Caruth, Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger) have qualified for the 10-team playoffs.
Next race: Aug. 25, West Allis, Wisconsin.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA ONE
F1 is off for most of August, returning with the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug. 25.
Last race: Lewis Hamilton took the Belgian Grand Prix on July 28 when Mercedes teammate George Russell was disqualified after crossing the line first for an underweight car. ... Russell had held off Hamilton, despite the past series champion closing in on the leader over the final laps. Oscar Piastri had finished third behind Russell and Hamilton, but was moved up to second. Fourth-place Charles Leclerc was declared third after the disqualification.
Fast facts: Series leader Max Verstappen missed out on the podium despite moving from fifth to fourth after Russell’s DQ. Verstappen has not won since taking the last of seven victories this season in Spain on June 23. ... Verstappen’s drought has not dented his championship chances as he heads into Belgium with a 76-point lead over McLaren driver Lando Norris. Leclerc sits in third, 97 points behind Verstappen. ... Hamilton, who had earned his 200th career top-three finish in Hungary two weeks ago, followed that with his record 105th F1 win.
Next race: Aug. 25, Zandvoort, Netherlands.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
IndyCar is also off for the Olympics, returning in mid-August from its last race on July 21.
Fast facts: There are five races to go in the IndyCar season. ... After visiting World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis in two weeks, the series runs in Portland, Oregon, and then two races at the Milwaukee Mile before finishing up at the Nashville Superspeedway on Sept. 15. ... Alex Palou has a 49-point lead over Will Power. Scott Dixon is in third, four points behind Power.
Next race: Aug. 16, Madison, Illinois.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA DRAG RACING
Drag racing’s top series takes the second of its two weeks off before returning with the NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Last event: Antron Brown won in Top Fuel and Bob Tasca III won in Funny Car at Sonoma, California, on July 28.
Fast facts: John Force Racing will try and bring another title to Force, who continues his recovery from a horrific crash in Virginia two months ago. The team hired past champion Jack Beckman to run Force's Funny Car. NHRA rules allow a substitute driver to earn points for the original pilot in up to eight races. Force is sixth in the standings, 430 points behind JFR teammate and leader Austin Prock. ... Doug Kalitta has a 125-point lead over Shawn Langdon in the Top Fuel race.
Next event: Aug. 15-18, Brainerd, Minnesota.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Last events: Sprint car regulars hope NASCAR won't take any more breaks. Past Cup Series champion Kyle Larson won both races at Federated Auto Parts Raceway in Pevely, Missouri this past weekend. ... Larson went from 21st to first over 30 laps to win on Friday night. The next night, Larson drove past leader Giovanni Scelzi and went on to the Ironman 55 victory. “That was a fun race. I hope all of you fans enjoyed that. Ironman 55 is probably my favorite Sprint Car race of the year,” Larson said.
Fast facts: Larson has won the Ironman all three times he's entered (2020, 2023, 2024). ... After the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals this weekend, the series heads to Jackson, Minnesota. ... David Gravel leads the drivers' standings with 5,986 points, 98 in front of Donny Schatz.
Next events: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Knoxville, Iowa.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars
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