NASCAR
Truex, Jr. wins at Dover: #78-Martin Truex, Jr. won the Citizen Soldier 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway for his 4th win of the season, 2nd win at Dover and 7th career win. Truex, dominated most of the race, leading 187 of the 400 laps and winning by more than 7 seconds. There were just 6 cars on the lead lap at the finish.
#18-Busch finished 2nd followed by #24-Elliott, #2-Keselowski, #20-Kenseth, #22-Logano, #48-Johnson, #3-Dillon, #11-Hamlin, and #88-Gordon.
A number of Chase drivers had problems:
#4-Harvick suffered a broken track bar mount early in the race and had to go to the garage for repairs. He finished 37th.
#42-Larson lost power to his car under the first caution. He then was penalized for too many crew members over the wall. He fell 3 laps down. Later he hit the wall and lost another lap. He finished 25th.
#1-McMurray lost an engine just before halfway. He finished 40th.
#48-Johnson led 89 laps but was penalized for a crew member over the wall too soon with just over 100 laps remaining. He finished 7th, 1 lap down.
#14-Stewart, #42-Larson, #1-McMurray, and #34-Buescher are the four drivers eliminated from the Chase.
Texas to create limited driver bobbleheads for 2017: Texas Motor Speedway will create a driver bobblehead series around its three major race weekends in 2017 featuring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, Sprint Cup Series star Danica Patrick and defending Firestone 600 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Graham Rahal. Patrick will kick off the limited-edition series as the featured bobblehead for the fan promotional giveaway at the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, April 9. The Rahal bobblehead will be showcased at the Texas Indy 600 Verizon IndyCar Series race on Saturday, June 10, and the bobblehead of Harvick, the 2014 Sprint Cup champ, will culminate the series at the AAA Texas 500 Cup race on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. Texas Motor Speedway will produce 30,000 each of the seven-inch bobbleheads of the Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Patrick and Harvick, and 20,000 of the Rahal bobbleheads. The series was spurred by the overwhelming response following the announcement of Texas Motor Speedway honoring three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart's final season with a limited-edition bobblehead at the upcoming AAA Texas 500. The speedway will distribute Stewart bobbleheads to the first 30,000 fans attending the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday, Nov. 6.The Stewart bobbleheads will be distributed in Texas Motor Speedway's Fan Zone beginning at 8:00am/ct on race day. Fans must show their individual AAA Texas 500 race ticket in order to receive a bobblehead.(Texas Motor Speedway)(10-1-2016)
NEXT RACE: This Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway; TV on NBC at 3:45 p.m. PT
NHRA
JOHNSON JR., BROWN, NOBILE AND KRAWIEC RACE TO VICTORY AT DODGE NHRA NATIONALS
Tommy Johnson Jr. raced to the Funny Car victory at the Dodge NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway on Sunday. Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Vincent Nobile (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were also victorious in their respective categories at the 21st event of 24 on the 2016 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule. The Dodge NHRA Nationals is the third race of the six-race NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
Johnson Jr. powered his Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T to a 3.895-second pass at 330.63 mph in the final round to defeat teammate and points leader Ron Capps' 3.911 at 324.12 at the controls of his Napa Auto Parts Dodge Charger R/T. Johnson Jr., who has raced to the final round in all three NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship events, claimed his 14th career victory, second of the season and first at Maple Grove Raceway. He is second in the points trailing Capps by only 24. Johnson Jr. beat Cruz Pedregon, Mike Smith and Jack Beckman en route to his fifth final round of the season.
In Top Fuel, Brown raced his Matco Tools dragster to a 3.721 at 317.34 to beat Brittany Force's 3.721 at 324.67 in her Monster Energy dragster. Brown had a better reaction time and won on a holeshot. The defending and two-time world champion tallied his 60th career win, sixth of the season and second consecutive at Maple Grove. Brown held on to his first-place standing in Top Fuel with the win. He raced past Sonoma winner J.R. Todd, Clay Millican and three-time 2016 event winner Shawn Langdon in the earlier rounds.
NEXT RACE: AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, Oct. 13-16.
INDYCAR
ALEXANDER ROSSI RETURNS TO INDYCAR SERIES WITH ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT
Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion and 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year Alexander Rossi will remain in the American open-wheel series with Andretti-Herta Autosport.
The Andretti-Herta collaboration - a result of a merger between Andretti Autosport and Bryan Herta Autosport - which fielded the No. 98 entry of Rossi for the 2016 campaign formed just weeks prior to the season start and will remain intact for the 2017 season.
The California-native will return alongside 2016 teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 DHL Honda) and Marco Andretti (No. 27 hhgregg Honda) for the 2017 IndyCar effort while a fourth car entry remains in the works for the Andretti stable.
SONOMA RACEWAY
- Wednesday Night Drags and Sonoma Drift this Wednesday
