Welcome to Hooniverse’s weekly look ahead to who’s racing what and where this weekend. This weekend’s events are overshadowed almost entirely by the Race Formerly Known as the Brickyard 400 and its bevy of support races, but you can also find a good variety of North American grassroots racing and a 24-hour race in Yurp to whet your motorsports appetite. Get the details after the jump.

• NASCAR and Friends at and around Indianapolis Motor Speedway

• 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

• A Hungary F1 (Those puns never get old, right?)

• The 24 Hours of LeMons, featuring live updates here on Hooniverse!

• And a whole boatload more!

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Crown Royal presents Your Hero’s Name Here 400 at the Brickyard (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

There was a time, fellow Hoonitarian Hooniversalists, when the very existence of a NASCAR race on the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis was considered heresy. Before 1994, Indianapolis Motor Speedway had only hosted the Indy 500, but IMS that year opened the door to NASCAR. Jim Nabors sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” before the race (Of course he did) and the inaugural NASCAR visit was won by young phenom Jeff Gordon. Perhaps more memorably, the race’s name was simple and poignant: the Brickyard 400. Surely, the series would leave a dignified race name like that alone. Right? Fast forward 20 years and the series has tarnished that simple name with an sponsor-sodden, 11-word race name that the announcers will now be obligated to say. They will likely say the race name so much that there will be little time for any of the folksy broadcasting so ingrained in the fiber of NASCAR-dom. Along with whatever grains of salt you take this writer’s comments, take knowledge that NASCAR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide races serve as a coda—important or not? I don’t know how you feel about codas—to a week of motorsports drum-beating.

Website: NASCAR site. IMS site. Brickyard 400 page. Weekend schedule. Supporting series: Lilly Diabetes 250 (Nationwide). Live coverage: Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN (TV) and IMSRadioNetwork (Radio/Streaming audio). Nationwide – Saturday @ 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and Motor Racing Network (Radio/Streaming audio).

   Tudor United Sportscar Series: Brickyard Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

Before NASCAR graces the Speedway on the weekend, TUSC will run on the IMS road course, configured in a manner similar to the Indy Grand Prix run by IndyCar in May. The track will then be restored to the oval setup Friday night so NASCAR can shove practice, qualifying, and races for two series into the weekend.

This will be the first time many teams have race IMS, so expect some of the PC- and GTLM-class cars to struggle with setup. In the top prototype class, expect one of the four former Dayona prototypes to hold a slight advantage.Want something to watch for? The diesel Mazda prototypes have progressed slowly but seem to be almost up to the speed of the PC cars. They’re not going to win any races for a bit, but Mazda are out to prove that their stock-block, 2.2-liter diesel (The same engine from last year’s GX-class Mazda6) can take a beating and keep circulating. If TUSC is going to be successful, they will need manufacturer involvement like that provided by Mazda. Sadly, the DeltaWing doesn’t appear on the entry list, likely related to its fire two weeks ago at Canadian Tire Motorsports park.

Website: TUSC site. IMS site. Event page. Weekend schedule. Entry list. Supporting series: Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Live coverage: Friday @ 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 (TV). CTSCC – Friday @ 2:35 p.m. ET on IMSA.com (Live stream).

 

ARCA: Scott Get Geared Up 200 presented by Federated Car Care (Lucas Oil Raceway | Brownsburg, IN)

Of course, the “opening” acts for the Race Formerly Known as the Brickyard 400 extend beyond the confines of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. By the time you read this, the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series has run Wednesday night at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway, a dirt track. And also off-site, ARCA will run at the 2/3-mile oval of Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly known as Indianapolis Raceway Park) on Friday night immediately after the TUSC race concludes. If you have Fox Sports 1, you can even watch them back-to-back.

Website: ARCA site. Lucas Oil Raceway site. Event page with weekend schedule. Entry list. Live coverage: Friday @ 9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1 (TV).

Blancpain Endurance Series: 24 Hours of Spa

The world of endurance racing is burgeoning at the moment and while 24-hour races have been held at many venues for decads, they seem to grow in popularity each year. This year’s 24-hour race at Belgium’s fabled Spa Francorchamps will be a round of the Blancpain Endurance Series and will be, in fact, the first BES round longer than three hours. The Nurburgring 1000km race follows this round, so the Blancpain teams will be put to the test in the coming weeks.

One could spend a few thousand words previewing this race, but the key thing to note is this: 24-hour GT races bring out sportscar racing’s superstars. Nearly all of the teams in the PRO (no amateur drivers required, although they are allowed to run) have a good shot at a win and, like all GT3-spec races, variety will be incredible: 5 Audi R8 LMS Ultras, 2 Bentley Continental GT3s, 5 Mercedes AMG SLS GT3s, an Aston Martin Vantage, 3 McLaren MP4-12Cs, and  a pair of BMW Z4s.

It promises to be a good race and one that’s almost certainly unavailable for live viewing the United States. Why? Because Blancpain signed a TV deal with CBS Sports Network, who it turns out only are planning a one-hour highlight show Monday. But a TV contract is a TV contract, so the free livestream on Blancpain’s site will likely be geoblocked in the U.S.

Website: Blancpain site. Spa Francorchamps site. Event page. Weekend schedule. Entry list. Supporting series: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe. GT4 European Series. Belgian Racing Car Championship. British Formula 3. Live coverage: Possibly streaming video on the Blancpain site unless the CBS Sports Network contract is geoblocked. CBS SN will run a one-hour highlight show Sunday @ 10 p.m. ET. Live streaming audio on Radio Le Mans.

 

Formula One: Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)

Last weekend’s German Grand Prix, despite attendance woes, turned into one of the great races of this F1 season that has been surprisingly entertaining even with its utter domination by Mercedes’ duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg claimed the win at his home race in Germany, but Hamilton stole the show with a drive to the podium from P20 at the start after brake failure in qualifying. McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen made his own great run. After a first-lap incident dropped him to last, Magnussen finished in the points in ninth.This weekend finds the F1 carnival in Hungary, a race that Lewis Hamilton has owned in recent history with four wins in the last eight seasons.

Website: F1 site. Hungaroring site. Event page with weekend schedule. Supporting series: GP2. GP3. Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Live coverage: Sunday @ 8 a.m. ET on CNBC (TV).

 

NHRA: Sonoma Nationals (Sonoma Raceway)

After a weekend at altitude, NHRA heads to California’s wine country for a nice bouquet of methanol that pairs wonderfully with serious hearing protection. One of the great things about Sonoma’s drag strips is how it runs right through the middle of Sonoma’s road course. Cool stuff, that. The drag racing series comes off the mile-high strip at Bandimere, where Funny Car legend John Force set another track record.

Website: NHRA site. Sonoma Raceway site. Event page. Weekend schedule. Entry list. Live coverage: Live coverage Sunday @ 2 p.m. ET on ESPN3.com (Streaming video only). Tape-delay broadcast Sunday @ 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 (TV).

  Global RallyCross: Charlotte Motor Speedway

After a weekend in the Big Apple, GRC heads to the home of NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway. Last year’s circuit was a 3/4-mile setup on the oval’s front straight in front the grandstand with a tight handbrake turn onto pitlane and plenty of dirt, mud, and jumps to prompt the correct number Oohs and Aahs.

Website: GRC site. CMS site. Event page. Live coverage: Saturday @ 2 p.m. ET on NBC (TV).

  Red Bull Air Race: Gdynia (Poland) The airplane racing series heads to the Baltic port of Gdynia for the fourth Air Race of the year. Austrian Hannes Arch leads Brit Paul Bonhomme in the championship, but there’s still plenty of time in the season for Bonhomme, Brit Nigel Lamb, and Canadian Peter McLeod to make up the points. Website: Air Race site. Event page. Live coverage: Live streaming on Red Bull TV, except in the U.S. Tape-delayed highlights on Fox Sports 1 on TBA.   NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: National 250 (Autodrome St. Eustache | St. Eustache, Quebec, Canada)

The Quebec autodrome contains an interesting mix of facilities that includes a tight 1.1-mile road course and a 0.4-mile non-banked oval that overlaps part of the road course. While this writer would love to see a two-wide train of grunting tubeframe racers on the road course, the Canadian Tire Series will instead tangle side-by-side on the narrow oval.

Website: CTS site. St. Eustache site.  Live coverage: No live coverage. Tape-delay August 3 @ 11 a.m. & 8 p.m. on TSN (Canadian TV).

  Canadian Touring Car Championship: Shannonville Motorsports Park (Shannonville, ON)

CTCC now heads into its stretch run, the race at Shannonville the first of the series’ final three 2014 events. The top of the standings in the Super Class are tight with Roger Ledoux leading the championship by 26 points from Remy Audette, who in turn leads Nick Wittmer by 26 points. If you’re in Ontario, check it out. If you’re not in Ontario, check out their snazzy new website.

Website: CTCC site. Shannonville site. Event page.  Live coverage: None, very unfortunately.

 

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West: NAPA Auto Parts 150 (Colorado National Speedway | Dacono, CO)

K&N run another short-track round, Colorado Nation’s 3/8-mile partially banked oval. The remaining K&N West rounds are all held on ovals a mile and shorter, save for the race at Miller Motorsports Park’s road course in September.

Website: K&N West site. Colorado Nat’l Speedway site. Event page. Live coverage: Saturday night. Live timing on RaceMonitor app for smartphones and devices.

  SCCA Majors Tour North: Road America The SCCA Majors tour runs its penultimate round for the Northern Region, this time at the intimidating four-mile circuit of Road America. Turnout for this race is a shadow of those at the massive June Sprints a month ago, but a good crowd of Spec Racer Fords (24), a regional specialty, should show up. And if you’ve never seen a gaggle of Spec Miatas bump-draft around America’s National Park of Speed, well, it’s spectacular. Website: Majors Tour site. Road America site. Event page. Weekend schedule. Entry list. Live coverage: Live timing on Majors Tour site and on RaceMonitor app for smartphones and devices.   24 Hours of LeMons: Autobahn Country Club LeMons undertakes two firsts: A single-session, 14 hour race and track reconfigure in the middle of the race (from the South Course to the 3.56-mile Full Course). This writer will be working in the Penalty Box, so check back Saturday (all day) for updates from the racetrack. Website: LeMons site. Autobahn site. Event page with weekend schedule. Hooniverse preview. Live coverage: Live timing on Specialty Timing site and on RaceMonitor app for smartphones and devices. AND LIVE UPDATES SATURDAY ON HOONIVERSE.  

ChumpCar World Series: High Plains Raceway

ChumpCar runs at Colorado’s gem in the middle of nowhere. High Plains’ rolling elevation changes and technical requirements reward quality driving. This race sees the increasingly popular 12+6 format with a 12-hour race Saturday and a shorter Sunday race to allow teams an earlier start on the (sometimes) long tow home Sunday night.

Website: CCWS site. High Plains site. Event supplements with weekend schedule. Live coverage: Live timing on CCWS site and on RaceMonitor app for smartphones and devices.

  [Lead photo copyright 2014 Hooniverse/Eric Rood | Other photos: NASCAR, Blancpain GT Series, Red Bull, SCCA]