It's only Wednesday, but another race week is upon us. For the third year in a row, the Camping World Truck Series heads to Tony Stewart's race track in the tiny town of Rossburg, Ohio to sling some dirt in the 1-800CarCash MudSummer Classic tonight at Eldora Speedway.
Before we go further, I got curious and wanted to find out exactly where in the world Eldora Speedway is located. As you look at the map provided here, you'll see it's pretty centrally located. Fans still have to drive to get there, but it's not necessarily a budget buster for those who live in Indianapolis, Columbus, or even Toledo and Cincinnati.
For those who want to see the race on TV, it begins at 9 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. where I live in Utah, and 6 p.m., Pacific (pre-race show hits the air 30 minutes earlier). Fox Sports 1 has the broadcast along with a story on how the whole evening will go. If you're thinking the show will be long, fear not. The track is only a half-mile around, but be prepared to witness a lot of heat racing to set the field.
Prediction: If everything's not wrapped up by midnight, it's a built-in excuse to call in sick to work Thursday. Just keep the ticket stub and/or parking pass in hiding.
Recent history at Eldora has shown that a good time and great racing are in store. Austin Dillon won the inaugural race before a packed house two years ago, and Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. is the defending champ. Last year's race went the full 150 laps, but the 2013 event needed three overtime laps to settle things.
Wallace's win was by a full five seconds over Ron Hornaday, but had the added element of seven caution flags that slowed the winning speed to 50.195 mph. Dillon was faster by 17 mph and 21 minutes of real time.
The weather forecast calls for no rain with comfortable temperatures in the low 60s by race's end. As for me, I'll be making sure to give it a look to see if Tyler Reddick or Erik Jones can close the gap on series leader Matt Crafton, who's only looking for his third straight championship.
Then we head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the XFINITY and Sprint Cup cars will race for the Lilly Diabetes 250 on Saturday and the Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday afternoon.
Storylines should be plentiful. Jeff Gordon is looking for his sixth and final Brickyard win. Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus are in the final year of their contracts at Hendrick Motorsports. And Kyle Busch is still on the march toward the Chase, needing to gain just 57 points over the final seven races to make the cutoff.
On the Gordon front, he's in reasonably decent shape despite going winless on the year. As they stand heading to Indy, the legend who claims Indiana as one of his home states ranks second out of the five non-winners who would make the Chase.
We're counting Kyle Busch among the Chasers because it's not a question of if he makes it, but when. And my feeling is it'll be well before they get to Richmond.
So sorry, Aric Almirola. You may have the final Chase spot right now, but the need for a win is urgent at this point.
Gordon is only a point behind Jamie McMurray, but 45 ahead of Paul Menard, the one who would be on the bubble if Kyle Busch barges his way into the top 30.
Prediction: Busch will be safely in the top 30 by the time they finish at Bristol on Aug. 22. That's how good he is right now.
As for Jimmie Johnson, he's going to retire as a Hendrick driver. No question, 48 fans. Please step away from the ledge. The guy has six championships, after all, and leads everyone with four wins this season.
Not so sure about Knaus, though. He's been with Johnson since Day 1, and the results are spectacular, with 74 career wins in 490 starts. That's one every 6.6 times they hit the race track.
Gordon didn't have Ray Evernham on the pit box when he won his fourth title in 2001 (Robbie Loomis was there). Wins usually do the talking in racing -- better attraction for sponsors that way -- but if money comes along that leads to a better opportunity, those in the know are the only ones who know what's best.
And it's best for the speculation to stay quiet for a while. It's healthier that way.
Tom Zulewski has covered motor sports in many forms through an 18-year career in journalism. Please read and share this post and follow him on Twitter @Tomzsports.
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