Halfway Mark

Were at the halfway point of the 2016 racing season.  With the off week behind us, it's time to focus on the 2nd half of the season.

NASCAR
With 15 races down, there are 21 more to go and with only one more off week, it's safe to say it's halfway.  There are only 11 more races until the start of the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup.  10 drivers have already clinched Chase spots and 6 more are up for grabs.  This week's race at Sonoma Raceway is definitely an intriguing race for drivers like Tony Stewart, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who all have not won yet this season.  The twists and turns of the hills of Napa Valley will definitely favor drivers like Stewart & Allmendinger, who have had success on road courses in year's past.  The 110 lap race takes place Sunday.

INDYCAR
After a disastrous-weather related weekend 2 weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway, which forced the postponement of the Firestone 600, the IndyCar series starts the 2nd half of the 2016 season this weekend at Road America, a track that is returning to the series in nearly 10 years.  Although, the former Champ Car series raced at the track, drivers like Sebastien Bourdais & Simon Pagenaud have experience at the 4-mile track, while others like Josef Newgarden, Max Chilton & Takuma Sato will race in Elkhart Lake, WI for the first time come Sunday.  With Pagenaud's point lead starting to decrease, it's time for drivers like Scott Dixon & Will Power to close the gap, starting this week.

FORMULA ONE
Last weekend was a first for F1 on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan.  Nico Rosberg dominated the weekend, leading practices, qualifying and every lap of the 2016 Grand Prix of Europe.  The series is off, but continues the Europe swing next weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg next weekend.