AUTO RACING: NASCAR heads to the Poconos, IndyCar takes on oval at Iowa with new hybrid engine

By The Associated Press The Associated Press

Alex Bowman gets out of his car after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Erin Hooley]

All Times Eastern

NASCAR CUP SERIES

Great American Getaway 400

Site: Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Schedule: Saturday practice, noon; qualifying, 12:45 p.m.; Sunday race, 12:30 p.m. (USA).

Track: Pocono Raceway.

Race distance: 160 laps, 400 miles.

Last year: Denny Hamlin led the final seven laps after a late restart and earned his milestone 50th Cup win under caution. He led a 1-2-3 Toyota sweep that included Tyler Reddick — in a ride co-owned by Hamlin and basketball great Michael Jordan — and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. Camrys claimed five of the top six spots in a race that featured 14 lead changes and 11 cautions.

Last race: Alex Bowman won the rain-shortened Grant Park 165 on the streets of Chicago to snap an 80-race drought. He overtook sports car expert Joey Hand on Lap 51 just before the fifth and final caution to win a race shortened from 75 to 58 laps following a rain delay of more than 100 minutes. Reddick was second as the event finished with a 20-minute clock to beat an 8:20 p.m. CDT cutoff in the twilight.

Fast facts: Bowman qualified for the Cup Series playoff and became the 12th driver to win this season, leaving four remaining postseason spots with six regular season events left. … New Zealand’s Shane Van Gisbergen, who made NASCAR history last year by winning the inaugural event in his Cup debut, was knocked out on lap 25 following contact with Chase Briscoe that heavily damaged his Chevy when he hit a temporary wall. Gisbergen won the Xfinity Series race a day earlier. … Kyle Larson, who won the pole, remains atop the driver standings but is just 11 points clear of Rick Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott. Reddick is 23 points back in third with Hamlin fourth, 42 behind.

Next race: July 21, Indianapolis.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

Explore the Pocono Mountains 225

Site: Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Schedule: Saturday practice, 10 a.m., qualifying, 10:30 a.m., Saturday race, 3 p.m. (USA).

Track: Pocono Raceway.

Race distance: 100 laps, 225 miles.

Last year: Austin Hill won in overtime, surviving a wild restart for his fourth victory of the season. Josh Berry had won the first two stages but wrecked late after a restart. Sam Mayer was second with 2020 Cup champion Chase Elliott third.

Last race: Shane Van Gisbergen started on the pole and outdueled Kyle Larson to win the first stage before getting past Ty Gibbs late in the final segment to win The Loop 110 on Chicago’s temporary street course. The New Zealander led four times for 14 laps to earn his series-best third win of the season in a Chevy. Gibbs was second and Larson third.

Fast facts: Inaugural Chicago race winner Cole Custer finished 18th following several issues but holds a 38-point lead over Justin Allgaier and 39 over Chandler Smith, who finished last in 38th place. … Chevy has won the past two events after Ford had claimed the previous three. … Berry will drive the No. 15 AM Racing Ford Mustang after the team and driver Hailie Deegan parted ways on Monday.

Next race: July 20, Indianapolis.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR TRUCK SERIES

CRC Brakleen 175

Site: Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

Schedule: Friday practice, 2 p.m., qualifying, 2:30 p.m., race, 5:30 p.m. (FS1).

Track: Pocono Raceway.

Race distance: 70 laps, 175 miles.

Last year: Kyle Busch’s last-lap pass of Corey Heim in the tunnel turn earned a hard-fought milestone 100th series victory for his KBM team. It marked Busch’s third win at the track and came against a former driver, who led 27 of 60 laps.

Last race: Christian Eckes led every lap to take the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Speedway on June 28. It was Eckes’ third win this season. Eckes finished ahead of Daniel Dye by more than two seconds.

Fast Facts: The race has increased 10 laps and will mark Pocono’s longest in the series. It will also be its first run on a Friday evening. Twelve of the previous 14 Truck races were held on Saturday, the others on Sunday. … Eckes leads the series by 40 points over Heim.

Next race: July 19, Indianapolis.

Online: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Last race: Lewis Hamilton held off points leader Max Verstappen at Silverstone for his record ninth British Grand Prix victory, the most by an F1 driver at any track. The seven-time champion also earned his 104th career win to snap a career-long drought of more than 50 races dating back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Lando Norris was third, followed by Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Fast facts: Hamilton’s triumph provided F1’s sixth different winner this season. … Verstappen has won 51 of the past 78 F1 races and increased his lead to 84 points over Norris and 105 over Charles Leclerc as he seeks his fourth consecutive series title. … George Russell began on the pole before yielding the lead to Hamilton because of a water system issue that knocked him out on the 34th of 52 laps.

Next race: July 21, Budapest, Hungary.

Online: http://www.formula1.com

INDYCAR

Hy-Vee Homefront 250, One-Step 250

Site: Newton, Iowa.

Schedule: Friday practice, 4:35 p.m.; Saturday qualifying, 3:45 p.m.; race 1, 8 p.m. (NBC, Peacock); Sunday race 2, 12:15 p.m. (NBC, Peacock).

Track: Iowa Speedway.

Race distance: 250 laps, 223.5 miles.

Last year: Josef Newgarden swept the weekend doubleheader for his fourth win in six starts on the .875-mile tri-oval.

Last race: Pato O’Ward took advantage of pole winner Alex Palou’s pit-road hiccup to seize the lead as Palou exited and led the final 24 laps to win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the series’ long-awaited debut of its hybrid engine. Palou’s Honda had dominated to that point before settling for second. O’Ward started second in a Chevy and earned his second win this season, the first on the track after inheriting a season-opening victory at St. Petersburg, Florida, after Newgarden’s disqualification for manipulating the push-to-pass system on his Chevy.

Fast facts: O’Ward’s on-track victory helped Arrow McLaren break through at the midpoint of a season dominated by Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. Palou’s three wins still top the series and he increased his points lead to 48 over Will Power, 70 over O’Ward and 71 over six-time champion Scott Dixon, who dropped a spot after starting the race 21 laps down when his Ganassi Honda wouldn’t start.

Next race: July 21, Toronto.

Online: http://www.indycar.com

NHRA DRAG RACING

Last event: Antron Brown won in Top Fuel and Bob Tasca III won in Funny Car at Norwalk, Ohio.

Fast facts: Doug Kalitta leads Top Fuel by 134 points over Justin Ashley and 136 over Shawn Langdon. Austin Prock leads Funny Car by 178 points over Tasca and 181 over Matt Hagan. … 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, 75, is out of intensive care and continuing to improve following a fiery crash in Virginia nearly three weeks ago. The family’s latest update said he has responded positively to treatment and can talk with relatives and medical personnel.

Next event: July 19-21, Kent, Washington.

Online: http://www.nhra.com

WORLD OF OUTLAWS

Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Track: Beaver Dam Raceway.

Last events: Logan Schuchart won the pole in the 30-lap finale, then held off the season’s two winningest drivers in David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild, to win at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin, on June 29. It was Schuchart’s first win of the season and came on the track where he won his first race in 2016.

Fast facts: Wednesday’s event is a makeup date for last month’s postponement of the finale because of showers. … David Gravel leads 10-time champion Donny Schatz by 58 points. … Haudenschild set the track lap record of 11.025 seconds in June 2022.

Next events: Friday and Saturday at Wilmot, Wisconsin.

Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars

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