MAY 2, 2018

(LAT Image)
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku was a chaotic, action-packed race, which saw the Aston Martin Red Bull teammates - Max Verstappen (No. 3) and Daniel Ricciardo (No. 33) - take each other out and then, on a restart with four laps to go, Sebatian Vettel (No. 5 Scuderia Ferrari) attempted to take the lead from Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes AMG Petronas) in a late-braking move inside at Turn 1, but instead suffered a huge lock-up, dropping all the way down to fourth, allowing Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes AMG Petronas) to move into P2 and Kimi Raikkonen (No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari) into P3. But that wasn't the end, because with victory seemingly in his grasp, Bottas ran over a piece of debris on the track, suffering a puncture and allowing Hamilton to cruise to his first Grand Prix victory this season. Hamilton now leads Vettel in the driver standings, 70 points to 66, with Raikkonen third ahead of Bottas, 48 to 40. In the constructors' stakes, Ferrari has retaken the lead on 114 points to 110. “It was a really quite an emotional race," said Hamilton. "It was very fortunate today. It feels odd to be up here but I’ve got to take it. I didn’t give up, I kept pushing. To come out with a win, I feel incredibly grateful. You have to take the ups with the downs. I can’t complain that I won.” 
(EC Stagg/NASCAR Digital Media)
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford) survived the usual crash-fest at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, beating Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford) to the checkered flag by .127 seconds to win the GEICO 500, the 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Logano led the final 42 of 188 laps, a race-high 70 overall, and controlled the action after a 14-car wreck on Lap 166 wiped-out half the field. Logano led the field to the green flag for the final restart on Lap 172 and stayed out front the rest of the way. The victory was Logano’s third at Talladega and the 19th of his career. “I’m so proud to get this team back in Victory Lane – it’s been a year!” Logano exulted in Victory Lane. “It feels so good to be back in Victory Lane. There is no feeling like this. It feels so good." Ford drivers claimed six of the top seven positions, the only exception being third-place finisher Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet).
(FIA World Rallycross Championship)
Johan Kristoffersson (No. 1 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden) extended his lead in the FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy after taking his second straight win of the season in the Bompiso World RX of Portugal. Sebastien Loeb (No. 9 Team Peugeot Total) was second, with Petter Solberg (No. 11 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden) placing third in the final, which was run in a blizzard at the end of a weekend of mixed weather. "I felt like I had great pace all weekend and from the semi-final my PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polo R worked very well," commented Kristoffersson, who won his first World RX final in Portugal three years ago. "It was snowing in the final and it was very, very slippery but I had a great launch and was able to get into the first corner in the lead. From there I just kept pushing as hard as I could for five laps so I could take the Joker on the last lap." Loeb took the Joker in lap one and climbed to second place as the race progressed. Solberg joined Loeb in taking his Joker early before chasing his rival all the way to the checkered flag for his first podium of the season. The two-time World RX Champion acknowledged the wild weather was a test of his considerable experience. "We have had just about every type of condition," he said. "I competed in rallying for many years and I know how to drive in the snow, on gravel, wet mud and asphalt. But until I came to Montalegre, until I came to World RX of Portugal, I have never driven in all of those conditions in one day. It was unbelievable to be racing in a snow storm, but quite cool as well!"
(PWC)
James Sofronas and Alex Welch (No. 14 GMG Racing Audi Sport R8 LMS) won the Pirelli World Challenge GTS SprintX race Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway in the Grand Prix of Virginia presented by Audi Sport. Sofronas, the reigning GTA and GT SprintX Pro-Am champion, and Welch, a longtime PWC racer, recorded their second GTS SprintX victory of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge series with an impressive performance against a strong 38-car field at the 3.27-mile, 17-turn road circuit. Saturday's GTS SprintX Pro-Am winners Trent Hindman and Alan Brynjolfson (No. 77 Volt Racing Ford Mustang GT4) finished second on Sunday, and Lawson Aschenbach and Andy Pilgrim (No. 1 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R) ran third. The GTS SprintX Round 3 and 4 races will be featured on CBS Sports Network set for Wednesday, May 9, at 8 p.m. EDT.

(PWC)
Mike Skeen (No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3) took over from teammate Scott Heckert on lap 16 and chased down the GT overall leading duo of Maxime Soulet/Rodrigo Baptista (No. 3 K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3) with three laps remaining to win Sunday's 60-minute Pirelli World Challenge GX SprintX Round 4 race at VIRginia International Raceway as part of the PWC Grand Prix of Virginia presented by Audi Sport. Baptista, the Am driver who won overall in Saturday’s Round 3 GT SprintX race with Soulet, turned in another sensational drive in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Skeen, but the 21-year-old Brazilian slid off the track in turn three with three laps remain and finished fifth overall in the 34-lap feature at the 3.27-mile, 17-turn road circuit. The No. 3 Bentley still won the Pro-Am class Sunday at VIR. Scott Hargrove/Wolf Henzler (No. 96 Pfaff Motorsports/Castrol Porsche 911 GT3 R) finished second in GT and Michael Christensen/Spencer Pumpelly (No. 24 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) finished third. Rounds 5 and 6 of the Pirelli World Challenge GT SprintX series are scheduled for May 25-26 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.