This Weekend in Auto Racing (July 4th, 2021) - RoadandTrack.com

Formula 1 - Austrian Grand Prix
Sunday, July 4th - 9:00 a.m. ET - ESPN - Streaming on the ESPN app

If this race seems familiar, it would be because we ran it last weekend too.

F1 is back in Austria for its second year of what will hopefully be a two-year tradition, a doubleheader at the Red Bull Ring. As this race was run last weekend, the balance of power will look very familiar: Max Verstappen will start on pole, Lewis Hamilton will be the biggest threat to his chance at a win, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will be expected to battle for third.

There are a few wrinkles, though. McLaren's Lando Norris made a big splash in qualifying and will start P2 after missing out on pole by less than half a tenth of a second. He finished his now-customary first of the non-contenders last week, but this weekend he will look to catch and pass them. George Russell also impressed in qualifying, starting ninth for a Williams team that has not recorded a point in quite some time. The entire field is also bracing for the possibility of rain tomorrow, something that was threatened last Sunday but never came.

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IndyCar - Mid-Ohio
Sunday, July 4th - 12:00 p.m. ET - NBC - Streaming on the NBC Sports app

IndyCar's Summer break starts on Monday, but first comes another race on a natural terrain road course. Josef Newgarden, who has threatened to win two of the last three races before losing the lead on a final restart, will start from pole over Colton Herta after setting a lap just 3/1000ths of a second faster. Surprise championship leader Alex Palou will start a respectable seventh, directly behind his teammate Scott Dixon in fifth. It is a less encouraging story for the other contenders.

Rinus VeeKay, Simon Pagenaud, and Patricio O'Ward, the other three in the top six of the championship standings with seven races left to run, roll off 11th, 15th, and 20th in tomorrow's race. Getting into the top ten will be a tall order for all three, which could lead them to make dramatic strategy calls early. VeeKay and Pagenaud, in particular, are well behind Palou in the standings. If they want to win a championship, they better start winning races quickly.

nascar cup series jockey made in america 250 presented by kwik trip practice

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NASCAR - Road America
Sunday, July 4th - 2:30 p.m. ET - NBC - Streaming on the NBC Sports app

After years as an Xfinity standalone venue, NASCAR has finally brought its top-tier Cup Series to the hallowed Road America. Wisconsin's gem of a natural terrain road course has proven over the past decade that it can host exceptional stock car races, so expect this one to be one of the better road course races of the year. Expect another thing, too.

Road America is 4 miles long, but NASCAR has historically refused to adjust its caution procedures for the track. That means a single caution period over three laps means travelling 12 miles, the equivalent of 24 laps at the shortest tracks on the schedule, at pace car speeds. Because the series mandates two stage breaks, that will happen at least twice. If an overtime period is called, it could happen an infinite number of times. The racing will be electric, but the breaks will be as tedious as a break can be.

In the race itself, look out for Chase Elliott to bring Hendrick Motorsports back to winning ways after disappointing by their own standards and winning just one of two Cup Series races last weekend. Elliott has been a star on road courses for three years, making him the prohibitive favorite in every Cup Series race with right turns until the cars are changed entirely next season.

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