Michigan Recap

After an exciting win by Kevin Harvick at Bristol, the NASCAR Cup series returned to Michigan Int'l Speedway.  The Pure Michigan 400 proved to be exciting as there was no dominant car at all during the race, but it was Kyle Larson, who was overdue to win, finally grab the checkered flag for his 1st career victory.  Larson's win has locked him into the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup, joining 11 other drivers who have already officially clinched spots.  Chris Buescher, who had won at Pocono just over a month ago, is still not locked into the Chase, as he is only 7 points inside the top-30 in the standings (David Ragan sits 31st), so he needs big finishes at Darlington & Richmond to be in the Chase.

With that said, there are 2 races remaining until the cutoff.  Chase Elliott, Ryan Newman & Jamie McMurray are in the top-16 in points, so they can try to stay in that window, or better yet, win one of the next 2 races to drive for a championship.  Darlington on Sunday night will be a big race.  In addition to the Throwback scheme that was also done in 2015, the race should be very entertaining throughout, so will we see a new winner this year, or a repeat?


INDYCAR
The IZOD IndyCar series has been very exciting the last 2 races as Will Power won at Pocono, and Graham Rahal edged out James Hinchcliffe for the win last Saturday night's conclusion of the Texas race.

The Texas race, originally set on June 9th, only saw the first 71 laps completed but called due to rain, so the last 177 laps were ran.  Hinchcliffe dominated the night, but lots of close racing, especially towards the final laps, were definitely to watch for.  Rahal beat Hinchcliffe by .08 seconds to get his 1st win of the season.  There are only 2 races left in 2016: Watkins Glen this weekend and Sonoma on September 18th.  Simon Pagenaud only has a 28-point margin over Will Power, and with points doubled at Sonoma, question is which Penske driver will win the championship.


FORMULA ONE
After F1 took the summer break, the series resumed last weekend in Belgium.  As usual, it was a dominating performance by Mercedes.  Nico Rosberg led every lap, while teammate Lewis Hamilton started 22nd, rallied to finish 3rd.  7 races remain.  Rosberg only trails Hamilton by 9 points.  The series continues this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.