NASCAR to make history on the streets of Chicago

NASCAR's top two series will make history this weekend. The Xfinity Series and the Cup Series will race on the streets of Chicago. It's the first street race in NASCAR history. Martin Truex Jr. remains the points leader after a second-place run behind Ross Chastain at Nashville. The Red Bull Ring in Austria will host the F1 series being dominated by Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. They've combined to win all eight race thus far. And IndyCar will race at Mid-Ohio with Alex Palou looking for a third straight victory and fourth in five races. NASCAR CUP SERIESGrant Park 220Site: ChicagoSchedule: Saturday, practice, 1:30 p.m, and qualifying, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, race, 5:30 p.m. (NBC)Track: Chicago road courseRace distance: 100 laps, 220 milesLast year: Debut eventLast race: Ross Chastain led 100 laps, including the last 34, at Nashville and held off points leader Martin Truex Jr. by 0.789 seconds for his first victory of the season and the third of his career.Fast facts: Truex expanded his overall points lead to 18 over William Byron and Chastain and 45 ahead of Christopher Bell. ... Truex led 50 laps and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin led 81 en route to a third-place finish. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson were fourth and fifth, respectively. ... Byron leads all drivers with seven stage wins, shares the lead with Ryan Blaney with seven top-five finishes and shares the lead with Bell and fifth-place Kyle Busch with 10 top-10 finishes. ... Chastain, who started on the pole for the first time, has finished in the top five in all three Cup races at Nashville.Next race: July 9, Hampton, Georgia.NASCAR XFINITY SERIESThe Loop 121Site: ChicagoSchedule: Saturday, practice, 11 a.m., qualifying, noon, and race, 5 p.m. (USA)Track: Chicago street courseRace distance: 55 laps, 121 milesLast year: Debut eventLast race: A.J. Allmendinger pulled away on a restart to begin the second overtime and won at Nashville, his second victory of the season.Fast facts: The victory was the 17th for Allmendinger in the series. ... The race had 11 different leaders and 17 lead changes. ... Only 16 drivers finished all 196 laps in a race with 11 cautions. ... Ty Gibbs won the first stage but crashed when Stage 2 began and could not continue. ... Riley Herbst finished second, followed by Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Josh Berry. ... John Hunter Nemechek retained the points lead by nine over Hill and 41 over Justin Allgaier.Next race: July 8, Hampton, Georgia.NASCAR TRUCK SERIESLast race: Carson Hocevar took the lead with 40 laps remaining in Nashville and held on through a restart with three laps to go for his second victory of the season.Next race: July 8, Lexington, Ohio.INDYCARHonda Indy 200 at Mid-OhioSite: Lexington, OhioSchedule: Friday, practice, 3:05 p.m.; Saturday, practice, 8:45 a.m., and qualifying, 2:45 p.m.; Sunday, race, 1:30 p.m. (USA)Track: Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseRace distance: 80 laps, 180.64 milesLast year: Scott McLaughlin won after starting second.Last race: Alex Palou won for the third time in the last four races, overcoming a crash in practice and outrunning defending race champion Josef Newgarden by 4.5610 seconds to expand his points lead and give Chip Ganassi Racing its 250th auto racing victory.Fast facts: Palou, the 2021 season champion, is the lone three-time winner through eight races and leads Marcus Ericsson by 74 points and Newgarden, a two-time champion (2017 and 2019), by 81. Pato O'Ward and six-time champion Scott Dixon are each 98 points back. ... With 17 races on the schedule, this race crosses the season from the first haf to the second half, with eight races to follow.Next race: July 16, Toronto, Canada.FORMULA ONEAustrian Grand PrixSite: Spielberg, AustriaSchedule: Friday, practice, 7:30 a.m., and qualifying, 11 a.m.; Saturday, sprint shootout, 6 a.m., and sprint, 10:30 a.m.; Sunday, race, 9 a.m. (ESPN)Track: Red Bull RingRace distance: 71 laps, 190.42 milesLast year: Charles Leclerc won from the pole position.Last race: Two-time defending champion Max Verstappen started on the pole in Canada and won for the sixth time in eight races, including the last four in a row. He tied Ayrton Senna for fifth with 41 career victories. It also was Red Bull's 100th victory in the series.Fast facts: Verstappen leads Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez by 69 points through eight races and could finish last in the next two races, earning no points, and still lead the standings, with a maximum of 26 points available for each race. Third-place Fernando Alonso is 78 points behind and seven-time series champion Lewis Hamilton is 93 points back. Next race: July 9, Northamptonshire, England.