(NASCAR)—Martin Truex, the only two-time winner in NASCAR Cup racing this year, is now the only three-time winner.  Truex held off Kyle Larson to win at Darlington by almost 2.6 seconds.

Truex dominated the race, leading 248 of the 293 laps, to get his thirtieth career cup win.

Nine drivers have one victory each so far this year. Truex also won at Phoenix and Martinsville.  Kyle Busch, William Byron and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

Nine other drivers led the race but only Ross Chastain led as many as ten laps.

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NASCAR has announced that three races later this season will be held in front of full grandstands.  COVID limits will be lifted for the August races at Daytona, the Darlington playoff race in September, and the Kansas playoff race in late October.

(FORMULA 1)—Lewis Hamilton’s win in the Spanish Grand Prix has been described by one observer as an “epic” drive.  Hamilton, on a two-stop pit strategy, went from 22 seconds behind his chief rival this year, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, to pass him six laps from the end and win by almost sixteen seconds.

The win is his third in four races this year, the 98th F1 victory in his career, and gives him a 14-point lead in the standings as he seeks a record eighth championship.

Verstappen grabbed the lead from Hamilton, the pole sitter, on the first lap and led 54 of the 66 laps in the race. Hamilton teammate Valtteri Bottas was third.

(INDYCAR)—INDYCAR will be on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Sunday with six-time series champion Scott Dixon leading the points but with two of the young lions of the sports nipping at his heels.  Dixon leads with 153 points but Pato O’Ward, who also has a victory this year, is just 22 back and Alex Palou is 26 behind. He also has a win this year.

They are part of a strong group of young drivers elbowing their way into contention with veterans who have been the mainstays of the sport for many years.

In fact, three of the youngsters are considered legitimate threats to one of the oldest records at the old track: Troy Ruttman’s record of winning the Indianapolis 500 at the age of 22 years and 80 days old in 1952.

The Speedway notes that O’Ward turned 22 just last Thursday.  Colton Herta, who has a victory under his belt this year, was 21 years and 61 days old this weekend.  Even younger is Rinus Veekay 20 years and 261 days old.

Ruttman was the last driver to win the 500 in the dirt track-style upright front-engine car.  The “roadsters” took over the next year, cars with lower profiles and engines tilted so the drive shaft ran alongside the driver rather than beneath his seat.  The roadsters dominated until Jim Clark won the race in 1965 in a rear-engine Lotus.