Well, I missed last week, which I will blame on my Indianapolis 500 hangover. It was a lot of buildup over the last month or so for a race that took three hours to run. I completely blew the call in my annual column as my pick Juan Pablo Montoya crashed on lap 63 (first time he's ever crashed at the track in an IndyCar) and finished 33rd.
Rookie Alexander Rossi nursed his fuel to the end to take a completely surprising win, the first American rookie to win at Indy since George Souders in 1927. I (along with just about everybody else) thought for sure there would be yellow flag in the last ten laps or so that would have really mixed things up. Alas, Rossi took the win by nearly five seconds over teammate Carlos Munoz.
When the Verizon IndyCar Series hit the Motor City last weekend for the Dual in Detroit, Sebastien Bourdais and Will Power both picked up their first wins of the season. This weekend, the series runs at Texas Motor Speedway for the Firestone 600 on Saturday night.
The IndyCar Series has raced at the 1.5-mile oval track since 1996, with Helio Castroneves claiming the win four times while Scott Dixon has won twice. Dixon, who is the defending race winner, is second in points behind Simon Pagenaud. Pagenaud had a troublesome month of May after winning three races in a row prior to the Indianapolis 500. He recovered last weekend to finish second in the second Detroit race and still sits 80 points ahead of Dixon.
It's such a wide-open field and obviously my skill at picking winners has taken a hit this season, but look for Castroneves to be strong as he tries to win his first race in over two years.
It should be an exciting race and is the last race until the series travels to Road America at Elkhart Lake for the Kohler Grand Prix on Sunday, June 26, a race that I will be attending.
Coverage of the Firestone 600 starts at 7 p.m. Saturday on NBC Sports Network.
NASCAR SPLITS BETWEEN MICHIGAN AND TEXAS
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday while the Xfinity Series will have the Menards 250 on Saturday. The Camping World Truck Series joins the IndyCar Series in Texas for the Rattlesnake 400 on Friday.
Sprint Cup has raced at the Brooklyn, Michigan track since 1969, a race that Cale Yarborough won. Yarborough took six career wins at the track while the only active drivers with multiple wins are Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch. Busch is the defending race winner and also won Monday at Pocono in a rain-delayed race.
Coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 600 starts at noon Sunday on Fox Sports 1. Xfinity race coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and you can catch the Truck Series at 8 p.m. Friday, both on Fox Sports 1.
F1 RETURNS TO CANADA
Formula One will return to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. The series has raced at the circuit since 1978, with its namesake Villeneuve winning that race. In the years since, Michael Schumacher won seven times while defending series and race champion Lewis Hamilton has won there four times.
Hamilton, who won two weeks ago at Monaco and is now 24 points behind his teammate and points leader Nico Rosberg. The runner-up at Monaco, Daniel Ricciardo, won here in 2014 and could be a threat this weekend. However, look for Hamilton to cut further into Rosberg's point lead by taking his fifth win at the track.
Coverage of the Canadian Grand Prix starts at 1 p.m. on NBC.
LOCAL RACES
—Madison International Speedway holds its Street Drags at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and the first round of the Badgerland Challenge, featuring NASCAR Late Models, Sportsman, Bandit and 6Shooters at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $14 adults, $12 seniors, $8 students ages 12-17 and $5 kids ages 6-11. Click here for more information.
—Jefferson Speedway will have the Ethanol Super Trucks along with Mid-American Stock Cars, Legends and Bandoleros starting at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $12 adults, $8 seniors and students ages 12-16 and $4 kids ages 8-11.
—Rockford Speedway hosts the ARCA Midwest All-Star 100 plus Late Models and Roadrunners at 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20 adults, $10 students ages 12-17 and $5 kids ages 6-11. Click here for more information.
