4 races, 3 days, at 2 venues, all rapped in 1 weekend! Indianapolis will host short track racing for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the Indy road course will host IndyCar, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Cup Series. All are in different times of their respective series as the quest for the highest honor to be champion continues on in this late summer! First, let's start off with the Truck Series playoff opener.

Truck predicted winner: Corey Heim

This season has seen Corey Heim not put a wheel wrong all year. The last time Heim did not get a top 10 in a race he was in was the Bristol dirt rac, the consistency is incredible. In the 3 short track races for 2023, he won in dominating fashion against Kyle Busch and got 2 6th place finishes. Some have come up with the phrase "Heim time" It could be Heim time to start the 2023 Truck playoffs.

Gallagher Grand Prix predicted podium:

1st Marcus Ericsson

It has been a rough stretch for Ericsson since the Indy 500. He has not stood on the podium ever since then. It almost looked like he could contend for a championship once again, but that is very much out of reach now. The Indy road course may be a chance for the man known as the "Sneaky Swede" to finish off 2023 strong with a win while not on the oval, that he was disappointed to miss out on the last time he was there.

2nd Felix Rosenqvist

McLaren was fast at the GMR grand prix earlier this year when Pato O'ward and Alexander Rossi finished 2nd and 3rd. Felix has not had a lot of luck this year with only 1 podium, but in races like Iowa, he had a chance to win. A late race restart not only lost him the win but the podium as well. With 2024 in doubt, the sooner Felix can get a podium the better it'll look with if he returns with Arrow McLaren SP

3rd Christian Lundgaard

This road course has given Christian Lundgaard great memories. He made his IndyCar debut there qualifying an amazing 4th in his first try. He got his first podium there in 2022 and got hus first career pole at the GMR grand prix at Indianapolis. It has the feel of a Formula One racetrack in Europe, which Christian grew up racing before joining IndyCar full-time. With all of that in mind another podium in a breakout year for Lundgaard is very possible.

Xfinity predicted winner: Justin Allgaier

Allgaier has been strong on road courses with 4 top 10s on the 5 races. The only time that didn't happen was when he dominated Road America, nearly leading the entire race but did not get the win after a mistake with 2 laps to go. Insult to injury Justin Allgaier had a chance to win Michigan, but a mistake by his team cost him a strong result. He responded, saying they all have to look in the mirror. With better speed than they started out this season, and if they all can execute better than win #2 can come at Indianapolis.

Cup predicted winner: Michael McDowell

This 34 car has been having a stellar year. McDowell is in a position to get Front Row Motorsports in the Cup playoffs for the 3rd time in the organization's history, but 2023 has a different feeling to it. Yes, Chris Buescher won at Pocono in 2016 with a fog shortened race, and Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500 in 2021, but the team did not have the consistent speed in every race. Now, they are 16th in points without a win. The team is overacheving this year and is improving all the time. Considering Zane Smith won the Truck championship last year for Front Row Motorsports and McDowell is confirmed to be in the Cup Series for the organization in 2024, the future is looking bright!