The Morning Warmup: Exhaustion Effects Sideline Kahne
Kahne Out at Indy Kasey Kahne won't defend his Brickyard 400 win. By Aaron Bearden
THE PODIUM: TOP THREE STORIES
P1: Illness sidelines Kahne at Indy (NASCAR)
Kasey Kahne won't be at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to defend last year's Brickyard 400 win. Leavine Family Racing announced Thursday that Kahne will miss Sunday's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway due to lingering effects from extreme heat exhaustion in last weekend's Southern 500.
Kahne went to the infield care center at the end of the Darlington Raceway event. The release noted that Kahne "opted to consult with several physicians who recommended that he sit out from this weekend’s events at Indianapolis until further testing and evaluations are completed."
Regan Smith will fill in for Kahne, continuing a trend of fill-in drives. The former Darlington winner has held reserve roles for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Aric Almirola, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch in the past five years.
No timeframe has been set for Kahne's return. The Washington native will retire from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of 2018.
P2: SPM releases update on Robert Wickens (IndyCar)
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and the Wickens family released an update on the status of Robert Wickens on Thursday. Wickens was injured in a crash during an August 19 race at Pocono Raceway.
Per the release, Wickens "underwent surgeries this week at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to repair fractures to both of his legs and hands." He is expected to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility shortly to begin the recovery process. The severity of his spinal cord injury remains indeterminate.
In an effort to showcase the severity of Wickens' situation after Pocono following incorrect details shared by others on social media, the Wickens family also listed off the Canadian's complete injury list.
Wickens will remain out of the car for the foreseeable future. Carlos Munoz piloted his No. 6 Honda at Portland, and will do so again at at Sonoma.
P3: Brady Bacon wins wet Indy dirt opener
The inaugural BC39 wasn't without its share of maladies -- heavy afternoon rains forced significant delays to the event and a cancellation of many mains, and Robert Dalby was admitted to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after this scary crash -- but in the end the USAC National Midget field put on thrilling 39-lap feature.
Brady Bacon rose from seventh to bring home the race win, overtaking Kevin Thomas Jr. and fending off a late challenge from Chad Boat to secure his first USAC Midget win of 2018.
Boat followed in second, with Thomas rounding out the podium. Xfinity Series regular Christopher Bell rose from 17th to claim fifth at race's end.
The full rundown can be found here. Whether it will be the only rundown from the current temporary dirt track remains to be seen. IMS track president Doug Boles voiced happiness with the event, but remained noncommittal about future plans after the feature.
Other News and Notes Rainout at Lucas Oil Raceway
With a host of Super Late Model racing's biggest names set to flock to Brownsburg, Indiana, Saturday's planned Speed51 Super Select was poised to be a marquee event on the weekend. But a foul weather forecast for the weekend forced race officials to cancel the event until next year.
Blaney stays armored up
How about some good sponsor news? Team Penske announced Thursday that BODYARMOR Sports Drink is staying with the team as a sponsor for Ryan Blaney after inking a multi-year extension.
IS IT RACE DAY?
If you're an ARCA fan, yes! Coverage from Lucas Oil Raceway is planned to begin at 9 p.m. ET on MAVTV. The World of Outlaws also race at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Reminder: This newsletter is ad-free and fan-funded. If you enjoy it, consider becoming a Patron and supporting it. Want to contact me? You can do so on my Twitter.)