Ricky Stenhouse Jr. already has his Sprint Cup ride set up for next year. He'll be in the No. 6 Toyota for Roush Fenway.
Austin Dillon doesn't have anything set up. At least nothing that has been announced.But he can't be far behind.Especially if he winds up winning another championship.Last year, he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. This year, he's second in the Nationwide Series, three points off the lead.Dillon, like Stenhouse, is a 20-something-year-old who looks like a big part of the future of Sprint Cup racing."I think we're sitting in a great spot right now," Dillon said in a conference call with reporters this week. "As a rookie team, we have accomplished so much this year. Anything from this point on is just going to be a bonus."But we don't look at it that way. We look at it as, we want to win a championship. We don't take just top-10s. That's getting by for us. We want to run up front each and every week. We want to be in the top three, and we want to compete with the Cup guys who come in."Dillon, the grandson of team owner Richard Childress, is going to compete with Cup guys down the line.But for now, to win the Nationwide title, he has to compete with his Richard Childress Racing stablemate, Elliott Sadler.Sadler is a veteran of many Sprint Cup and Nationwide races. He has 430 Cup starts and 181 Nationwide starts behind him. He's in the middle of what could be his best year, at any level.So Dillon wants to race him.He's got to master how to beat a veteran."Well, you know, we are a team here at RCR, and we have been working together, sharing information, just like we have from the start," Dillon said. "You know, some weeks Elliot is faster than I am, and we might use his setups. And some weeks, he might use our setups."But we are very close, each and every week, setup-wise. That's the best thing about RCR right now and our Nationwide program. We are helping each other. There's not a big ego over there trying to re-create something. Everybody is working together for one common goal. I think it will stay that way. And it should."Massey leadsFort Worth's Spencer Massey is in the points lead in NHRA Top Fuel drag racing after his fourth win this season. He heads to Bandimeer Speedway in Morrison, Colo., as the defending champion."It'll be tough racing in the altitude, but it's when the crew chiefs shine and hopefully, mine can do it again this year," Massey said. "Plus, it's an awesome track, and I love the town. The racing views are beautiful. I can't wait to get there."Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407Twitter: @calexmendez
Pit Stops
Who's hot: Jeff Gordon. It's closer to warm than hot, but the driver of the 24 Chevrolet looks better than he has all season. He's been sixth or better four times in the last month, and he's gotten up to 17th in the standings, matching his season high.
Who's not: Kyle Busch. It's just not happening for Rowdy, is it? He had it going for a while, comfortably in the top 10 in points. But in the past seven races, he's averaged a 22.6 finish. He's still got a wild-card spot, but it'll soon be in danger at this rate.
Series Updates
Sprint Cup
Low five: Carl Edwards, who switched crew chiefs this week when Bob Osborn stepped down because of health, has only two top-5s this year. Last year, he had 19. He hasn't been top-5 since March.
Back on a roll: Remember how Hendrick Motorsports was stuck at 199 wins? Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have since provided five wins in nine races.
Last break: The series is off this weekend, its final break. The next race is July 29 at Indianapolis.
Nationwide
New driver: Ryan Blaney joined Penske Racing and will drive at Iowa, Richmond and Kentucky.
Only Cupper: Kyle Busch is the only Sprint Cup driver entered this weekend. He has won twice at Chicago.
Camping World Truck
Good omen: Series leader Timothy Peters has an average finish of 5.4 this season. Last year's champion, Austin Dillon, won with an average finish of 9.3.
Triple 200: Todd Bodine will make his 200th start this weekend, becoming the first driver to make 200 starts in all three national series. He has 241 in Sprint Cup and 321 in Nationwide.
IndyCar
In 3s: Only three of the 21 drivers who have managed a three-race winning streak have failed to win the points title. This year, Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay both have three-race win streaks.
Four straight: It has been six years since an Indy driver won four consecutive races. Sebastien Bourdais did it in Champ Car in 2006. It has been since 1990 that an American, Al Unser Jr., did it.
NHRA
Where's the champ? With five races to go before the "Countdown to the Championship," defending Funny Car champion Matt Hagan is in 13th place in the point standings. He needs to be in the top 10 for a spot in the playoffs.
Close to 10th: In Pro Stock, four-time champ Jeg Coughlin is 11th, four points out of 10th.
Motocross
Five in a row: Ryan Dungey has won five consecutive races in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series. He has 19 career wins in the 450cc class.
19 Consecutive lead-lap finishes to start a season for Dale Earnhardt Jr., continuing to extend his Sprint Cup record. The previous mark was 14 by Matt Kenseth in 2007.
Quotable
"You could always count on him to win, and the only difference now is he's putting it all together, and he's executing week in, week out. In my opinion, he's the strongest guy in IndyCar Racing right now. He's strong in both disciplines, oval and road." Will Power, on IndyCar Series leader Ryan Hunter-Reay
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