End of Summer Break

With the NASCAR Sprint Cup series off next weekend in preparation for the 2-race dash for the Chase, I figure it's time to recap the summer of Penske & Gibbs.

From the end of June at Sonoma until this past weekend at Bristol, the summer has been dominated by Team Penske & Joe Gibbs Racing, who's drivers combined to win 8 of the last 9 races.  4 of those races were won by Kyle Busch, who has to stay in the top-30 to clinch a Chase berth at Richmond, but can very well do so with a win at Darlington on September 6th.  In the other 4 races, the winners were Joey Logano (Watkins Glen & Bristol) and Matt Kenseth (Pocono & Michigan) and are 2 top-contenders for a championship.  The other winner in this summer stretch was Dale Earnhardt, Jr, at Daytona.

With 2 races remaining in the regular season, 10 drivers have clinched a Chase spot.  With Kyle Busch as the 11th driver, there are 5 spots open for grabs and that includes any driver in the top-30 to win a race or by points. Right now, Jamie McMurray will make the Chase based on points, so will Paul Menard.  Jeff Gordon could use strong runs or a win, and the same goes for Kyle Larson & Clint Bowyer, who will be a free-agent after this season.  Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman are other drivers in the top-30 who need a win for an automatic berth.  The fun starts next Sunday, so let's see what happens then.

Meanwhile, in the Xfinity Series, even though the majority of winners have been Cup drivers, the regulars have been contenders as well.  Chris Buescher dominated the 2nd half at Bristol, but finished 11th and is the points leader over Ty Dillon by 19.  Chase Elliott is 3rd in standings, while Regan Smith & Elliott Sadler round out the top-5.  The series races Saturday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

The Truck Series has also been competitive.  Tyler Reddick is the points leader, but his lead is slim. The top-3 in points are separated by 7 points total and they are Reddick, Matt Crafton & Erik Jones.  9 races remain, so the battle will go all the way to Homestead starting Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario.


INDYCAR
The IndyCar Series went to Pocono for the final 500-mile race of the season on Sunday.  The race was filled with excitement as there were over 3 dozen lead changes and multiple wrecks.  Sadly, one of those wrecks took the life of Justin Wilson, who passed away late Monday night from a severe head injury from the debris of Sage Karam's race-car.  Wilson was a part-time driver this season, who finally found a ride with Andretti Autosport and helped the program in the last 4 races.  The former Rolex 24 winner and series race winner was helping to make the Honda program alot better after struggles early on in the season.  Sad day in motorsports.

The race was won by Ryan Hunter-Reay, but all eyes in the final race of the season this Sunday at Sonoma Raceway will be focused on remembering the life of Justin Wilson.

As far as the championship goes, Juan Pablo Montoya leads Graham Rahal by 34 points, but since this race will have double-points, a bad finish for Montoya will take him out of contention for the title.


FORMULA ONE
As the F1 series summer break ended, racing resumed in Europe at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa, Belgium.  As it has for the season, the race was dominated by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton claims the win.  Nico Rosberg & Romain Grosjean rounded out the podium.  The series resumes September 6th in Monza, Italy for the Italian Grand Prix.