Pocono Recap/Michigan Preview

NASCAR
After Brad Keselowski dominated the majority of the Pocono 400, leading 95 of the 160 laps, the eventual winner happened to be his former boss: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  Junior led the last 5 laps after having a stronger car in the end, beating Keselowski to the line, claiming his 2nd win of the season.  After 14 of the first 26 races complete, there still are 10 drivers locked into the chase.  With races like Sonoma, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen & Bristol to continue, who knows what to expect.  Right now, drivers still looking for their first wins of the season to possibly clinch a playoff spot are Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray.  12 races to go, anything can happen.  That is what is going to take place Sunday at Michigan Int'l Speedway, a very fast 2-mile track which will feature 400 miles of exciting racing.  I definitely see fuel mileage strategy taking place and tires could be an issue. 

INDYCAR
The IndyCar series will be on vacation for the next 2 weeks.  Will Power dominated the 1st half of the Texas race, leading 145 of the 248 laps, but a pit-road speeding violation costed him track position, dropping outside the top-5 at one point.  A late yellow with 7 laps to go thanks to Takuma Sato's engine woes allowed Power to make a pit stop for fresher tires to be able to contend with Juan Pablo Montoya & race-leader Ed Carpenter.  Speaking of Montoya, he will be racing at Michigan this weekend in the Cup series.  The strategy proved success as Power went from 6th to 2nd in 2 green flag laps, not enough to catch Carpenter, who won the Firestone 600.  Now, Ed Carpenter Racing has won 2 events (Mike Conway in Long Beach) in 2014.  The series resumes June 28th for another double-header weekend at Reliant Park in Houston.

FORMULA ONE
Going into last weekend, I felt Bahrain was the best race of the 2014 season, but Montreal changed my opinion.  This race featured 6 lead changes and for the first time this season, Mercedes drivers did not lead every lap.  Lewis Hamilton started 2nd and had mechanical issues near the end of the race.  Nico Rosberg won the pole, led the majority of the event and had some issues of his own, losing the lead to Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo with 3 laps to go.  Felipe Massa & Sergio Perez looked solid until a wreck on the last lap took both drivers out of the race.  With that, Ricciardo won his first career Grand Prix, Rosberg finished 2nd and Sebastian Vettel finished 3rd in a wild Canadian GP.  The series is off this weekend, resuming next weekend in Austria.

OTHER NOTES
This weekend also features one of the world's premier events, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Another year, another storyline in the battle between Audi & Toyota.  So far in the FIA endurance season, there's been 2 races, both won by Toyota, notably the 8 car (Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi).  Those races were 6 hours long at Silverstone, England and Spa, Belgium.  This race is twice-around-the-clock.  Definitely see alot of battle between these two teams, but also in other categories as well, specifically the GTE-Pro category between Corvette Racing, Aston Martin Racing & AF Corse.  Not sure what to expect for sure, definitely a wild race.