Auto racing weekend roundup

1 Clint Bowyer’s run of seven straight top-10 finishes in the Sprint Cup series came to an end Saturday night. Bowyer, a native of Emporia, Kan., finished 15th in the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and is fifth in the Cup standings. He could have done a lot worse since he spent a lot of time off the lead lap.

2 Jack Roush and Geoff Smith of Roush Fenway Racing will have some tough decisions to make in the near future — they have more talented drivers than they do cars to put them in. The latest young Roush driver to emerge is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stenhouse got his first ARCA victory at Kentucky Speedway and moved into the points lead.

3 Then again, the stable of veteran drivers at Roush Fenway may soon shrink. Greg Biffle, who has been talking about extending his contract with the team and said last month he expects to stay with Roush, criticized the team after Saturday’s race. Biffle, who finished last, said he was frustrated with bad equipment he has been getting.

4 Eddie Cheever Jr. will never make it in his new job as an ESPN broadcaster. During pole day he showed that he doesn’t shout, he thinks questions through before answering them, he refuses to be drawn into the sleazy muck his partners spew and he apparently, gulp, thinks the sport is more important than he is.

5 During the GP2 support race before the Formula One race in Istanbul (yes, Turkey has a Formula One race and the United States doesn’t), Bruno Senna hit one of two dogs that had wandered onto the track. Bruno, nephew of the late Formula One star Ayrton Senna, was unhurt.