Richmond/Barber Recap

So, once again, life at the Gradzki Mansion has kept me busy for the last month, due to various reasons beyond my control, has kept me from writing and giving my racing thoughts.  Well, I'm back for now.  It's been over a month since I've blogged, but here's my recap.

SPRINT CUP
Since I've last written on here, its been the Joe Gibbs Racing show as Kyle Busch won 2 races at Martinsville & Texas, but now it's Carl Edwards turn who won at Bristol last weekend and now at Richmond earlier today.

The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway has proven a few things: 1-a race at RIR should run during daylight, which has worked well for a 2nd year in a row and 2-a lot more passing than ever at the track.  There was no dominant car, but the driver out front was always different.  Early on in the race, it was Jimmie Johnson, who led 44 laps and ran on different lines on the track, giving way to Carl Edwards, who led over 150 laps of the day, most of them in the first half of the race.  Then it was Kyle Busch & Kurt Busch, who traded the lead a few times, before the 18 of Kyle took the lead for good with 35 laps to go.  Most of the cautions dealt with debris, but there were some spinouts and some minor crashes.  The last caution with nearly 35 laps to go, set up a good finish between KyBusch and Edwards, with the latter taking the lead at turn 3 of the final lap, pushing into the defending champion and going onto win his 2nd race of the season, further solidifying his Chase spot.

The series resumes next Sunday at the Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500.


XFINITY SERIES
Kyle Busch has won 4 early races in the Xfinity Series, but in the last 2 races, we've seen different, intriguing formats for the Bristol race last weekend and this weekend's Richmond race.  I'm talking about 2 Heat Races, which will determine the 4 drivers eligible for the "Dash For Cash", winning $100,000.  Erik Jones won the Bristol race & the DFC Bonus and also a spot in the 2016 Xfinity Chase, while Ty Dillon finished 2nd at Richmond and gets the extra bonus paycheck.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race.

The Heat Races are similar to what IndyCar runs at Iowa, basically 35 lap qualifying races, and have definitely made racing more exciting, especially in the main event.  There are 2 more DFC races this season: Dover in May and Indianapolis in July.


INDYCAR SERIES
After Juan Pablo Montoya won at St. Pete, Scott Dixon dominated IndyCar's return to Phoenix and now Simon Pagenaud is dominating the series at this point.  After a controversial move to cut out pit exit at Long Beach to win, Pagenaud dominated today's race at Barber Motorsports Park, leading 84 of the 90 laps ran.  There were some intriguing pit strategies that would've came into play if a late-caution flew, but it wasn't the case.  However, towards the end of the race, Graham Rahal did lead a few laps, but a block by Mikhail Aleshin's machine costed damage to the 15 car, run by Rahal, which ended up in a 2nd place finish, just like in last year's event.  Going into the month of May, Simon Pagenaud has a 48 point lead over Scott Dixon.

With 4 races now in the books, the Verizon IndyCar Series now sets its sights on Indianapolis, first with the Indy GP before the 500.


FORMULA ONE
So far, there have been 3 Grand Prixs raced, all won by Mercedes and its driver Nico Rosberg, who has won 6 races in a row, dating back to the Mexican Grand Prix last November.  Meanwhile, the other Silver Arrow driver and defending champion Lewis Hamilton has had issues all season, including bad starts at Australia & Bahrain, and mechanical issues at China.  Ferrari has stepped up and has become a contender to Mercedes, while the Haas team has greatly impressed so far this season.  The series resumes racing next weekend at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.