ACT I: Hurricane Trump

So I set out this past weekend to enjoy some sports -- a little football, a bunch of NASCAR, etc. -- and then Hurricane Trump hit on Friday and turned everything into a political circus.

Now here we are: It’s Tuesday, and all anyone can talk about online and at the water cooler is the stunning comments Trump made about the NFL protesters, how nearly every athlete and team in the country strongly responded against him (including Lebron James calling him a “bum”), and who’s right in this debate.

It’s a lot to unpack, and the reason I’m even talking about it here is that 45 brought NASCAR into the discussion, praising their lack of protests -- and a couple of NASCAR team owners made huge headlines in mainstream media with some pretty outrageous comments that don’t paint the sport in a very good light.

Lexus’ lineup has become increasingly bold-looking in recent years, particularly up front in their grille designs. But does the drive offer that same bold feel?

If you’re talking about the F Sport models they offer, absolutely. I recently tested a 2017 Lexus RX 350 F Sport, which isn’t your typical grocery-getter luxury midsize SUV, and I’m back with a full report.

LOOKS

Inside, the looks are typical for Lexus -- lots of refined, comfy, high-end materials, plus the extra wide, multi-paneled infotainment system screen to greet you.

Outside though is where things get interesting on the RX. It’s a bold and aggressive design for a luxury SUV, by any measure -- even moreso on the F Sport version -- and puts out a strong attitude before you even step in the vehicle. It’s a bold contrast against more stodgy SUV designs you’ll see from German automakers like Audi, Benz and BMW. And sales of the RX  show that this type of bold design is a hit with the public.

Inside the RX is still cozy, with a heated leather steering wheel, but the seat itself was at times not comfortable due to its crunched sport setup.

The F Sport package is what stands out here too, including:
-- 20-inch F Sport aluminum alloy wheels
-- F Sport tuned suspension with front and rear performance dampers

-- F Sport exclusive aluminum pedals

-- F Sport unique exterior trim

-- Chrome dual exhaust

This package not only affects the looks, but makes for a more engaging drive.

Since coming back into the U.S. market in 2011, the FIAT brand has maintained a small niche presence here, maintaining roughly one-quarter of one percent of total market sales. That’s mainly due to the fact that the small, sporty cars that they sell more rapidly in Europe and elsewhere are less likely to be chosen in the land where bigger is usually better and SUVS are all the rage.

But that doesn’t mean that the brand is giving up; in fact, they’re hoping to nudge in on the U.S. tastes with a couple of larger models. I recently tested the 2017 Fiat 500X, a compact SUV, and the 2017 Fiat 500L, an extended wagon-like 500 comparable to a Kia Soul and some Mini models, and I’m back with a full report.

The death of the Scion brand in 2016 was greatly exaggerated. It didn’t really die -- several of its models simply joined the Toyota lineup under new names.

Case in point: The hatchback formerly known as the Scion iM is now a hatchback version of the Toyota Corolla called the Corolla iM. I recently got a chance to test a 2017 Corolla iM and I’m back with a full report on whether it was worth the effort to bring it on board.

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Rivalries are important ... they're a big part of the reason people watch sports so religiously.

They're also something that seems to be lacking in today's NASCAR. There really hasn't been anything on the level of Petty vs Pearson or Gordon vs. Earnhardt for a long time. On the contrary it seems like most of the top Cup guys go fishing with each other each weekend, which is cool on one hand but also kind of makes Sunday a bit less engaging.

That may be changing though.

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Roush Fenway Racing has a long history of success at Michigan International Speedway, including 13 Cup wins, and a total of 23 wins, 89 top 5s, 148 top 10s in a total of 281 starts across the major NASCAR touring series.

As they return to MIS for this weekend's races, they hope to add to those accolades. In June, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. managed a top-10 finish, and is looking to improve on that this time around.

"After scoring a top-10 finish last time at Michigan, I'm really looking forward to this weekend. Every year we look at Michigan as a track that we want to do well at given Roush Fenway, Jack and Ford's success there in the past. We have been working really hard on our intermediate program, since it makes up a majority of the races in the playoffs. This weekend will give us the chance to evaluate our improvements."

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- As the drivers take to the track at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, there's a bit of drama behind that scenes on the minds of many in the sport.
As is often the case, it involves Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- the biggest name in the sport.

What's unique this time is that it involves a fellow driver being particularly critical of the perennial Most Popular Driver, who is retiring after this season.
It all starts with Kevin Harvick, who said on his radio show this week that since Dale Jr. is most popular driver but not running up front each week or winning regularly, it has limited the growth of the sport:

"I believe that Dale Jr. has had a big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR because he's got these legions of fans and this huge outreach of being able to reach different places that none of us have the possibility to reach, but he's won nine races in 10 years at Hendrick Motorsports and hasn't been able to reach outside of that," Harvick said.

As you can imagine, that didn't go over well among Jr. Nation, who were quick to call Harvick disrepectful (among other colorful terms) and also remind Harvick that he got his start in Cup after the tragedy that befell Earnhardt Sr. at Daytona in 2001.

Earnhardt has responded to the comments, expressing that he was hurt by them, also but staying positive and saying that he still respects Harvick:
"I found some of those comments hurtful," Earnhardt said. "I still respect him as a champion and ambassador for the sport. That's just the way it is, I guess. I hate that's how he feels."