Frontstretch Newsletter: Dec. 13, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CCXV
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What to Watch: Dec. 13-19
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- A new
90-minute E60 Special, Fistful of Steel: The Rise of Bubba Wallace, is scheduled to premiere Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN2. This should be an interesting show, but guaranteed to split the fanbase if only because it involves Bubba Wallace. Like all E60 episodes, there will be multiple re-airs. We will critique the E60 special and have thoughts in next week's edition of the Frontstretch
Newsletter.
- At Frontstretch,
our 2021 season review articles will continue. They will be running over the next couple of weeks. In addition to those articles, we'll have news for you as it breaks at Frontstretch.
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Around the World in Motorsports: Dec. 6-12
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- NASCAR held two test sessions last week for the NextGen car. Three teams were at Charlotte Motor Speedway, testing alterations to the car that would allow the car to race better on intermediate tracks.
Meanwhile, Stewart Friesen was at South Carolina's Lancaster Motor Speedway to do a Goodyear tire test for the NextGen car ahead of April's Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Modified racer Charlie Pasteryak died Friday at the age of 66. The Connecticut racer competed for over 25 years in what is now the Whelen Modified Tour. In the touring years of the series (since 1985), Pasteryak only earned one career victory (the 1994 Icebreaker at Thompson), but
had 46 top five and 126 top 10 finishes in 311 starts. We at Frontstretch send our condolences to the Pasteryak family.
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PREMA's Oscar Piastri locked up the FIA Formula 2 Championship Saturday by finishing third from pole in the first sprint race of the weekend in Abu Dhabi. Hitech Grand Prix's Jehan Daruvala won the race by 2.079 seconds over UNI-Virtuosi Racing's Felipe Drugovich. Piastri was third, then Robert Shwartzman and Liam Lawson.
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Sprint Race No. 2 saw Guanyu Zhou claim the victory by 3.413 seconds over Shwartzman and Ralph Boschung. Dan Ticktum was fourth, while Drugovich was fifth. Piastri was eliminated in an early incident.
- The
final Formula 2 Feature race of 2022 saw Piastri wrap up his championship season with his sixth win of the year by 3.288 seconds over Zhou. Drugovich was third, then Theo Pourchaire and Shwartzman.
- Corvette Racing announced Friday that they will enter two Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs in the GTD Pro class in next month's Rolex 24 at Daytona. Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy, who are WEC bound for 2022, will be joined by Marco Sorensen.
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NASCAR held two test sessions last week for the NextGen car. Three teams were at Charlotte Motor Speedway, testing alterations to the car that would allow the car to race better on intermediate tracks.
Meanwhile, Stewart Friesen was at South Carolina's Lancaster Motor Speedway to do a Goodyear tire test for the NextGen car ahead of April's Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- Modified racer Charlie Pasteryak died Friday at the age of 66. The Connecticut racer competed for over 25 years in what is now the Whelen Modified Tour. In the touring years of the series (since 1985), Pasteryak only earned one career victory (the 1994 Icebreaker at Thompson), but
had 46 top five and 126 top 10 finishes in 311 starts. We at Frontstretch send our condolences to the Pasteryak family.
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PREMA's Oscar Piastri locked up the FIA Formula 2 Championship Saturday by finishing third from pole in the first sprint race of the weekend in Abu Dhabi. Hitech Grand Prix's Jehan Daruvala won the race by 2.079 seconds over UNI-Virtuosi Racing's Felipe Drugovich. Piastri was third, then Robert Shwartzman and Liam Lawson.
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Sprint Race No. 2 saw Guanyu Zhou claim the victory by 3.413 seconds over Shwartzman and Ralph Boschung. Dan Ticktum was fourth, while Drugovich was fifth. Piastri was eliminated in an early incident.
- The
final Formula 2 Feature race of 2022 saw Piastri wrap up his championship season with his sixth win of the year by 3.288 seconds over Zhou. Drugovich was third, then Theo Pourchaire and Shwartzman.
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| | Max Verstappen Wins 1st World Championship Title on Last Lap
Pass
Red Bull's Max Verstappen benefitted from a late safety car period Sunday to slip in for soft tires. The race resumed in time for a one-lap shootout. Verstappen was able to get past Lewis Hamilton entering turn 6 and
held on to win the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi and the World Championship. Hamilton was second, then Carlos Sainz Jr., Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly.
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| | F1 Title Decided in 1-Lap Sprint, Mercedes Protests
Results
The one-lap sprint that decided Sunday's Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi didn't happen without controversy. The original plan was to not let lapped vehicles pass the leader. Then, race director Michael Masi changed his mind
on the final lap before the restart. As a result, Mercedes protested.
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It’s Official: Max Verstappen Is World Driver’s Champion
Mercedes' post-race protests took until well after 11 p.m. local time Sunday night to be heard. After significant deliberations, the protests were dismissed, officially confirming Max Verstappen as the World
Champion.
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| | Al Unser, 4-Time Indy 500 Champ, Dead at
82
Al Unser, the second driver to win four Indianapolis 500s and a multiple-time champion, died Thursday after a long battle with cancer. He was 82 years old.
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| | Chase Briscoe Adds Mahindra
Sponsorship
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Friday that Mahindra Tractors will serve as a primary sponsor on Chase Briscoe's No. 14 Ford in a multi-race deal during the 2022 season.
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| | Bubba Wallace Adds Wheaties
Sponsorship
23XI Racing announced Monday morning that General Mills, via their Wheaties brand, will serve as the primary sponsor on Bubba Wallace's No. 23 Toyota in selected races in 2022.
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| | GMS/Petty Merger Called Petty GMS
Motorsports
On Tuesday, the newly merged GMS Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports announced that they will now be known as Petty GMS Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. Ty Dillon's team, which was going to run as the No. 94, will
switch to No. 42.
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| | McDonald’s Expands 23XI
Sponsorship
23XI Racing announced Tuesday that McDonald's will expand their sponsorship of the operation in 2022. The fast food chain will sponsor additional races on Bubba Wallace's No. 23 while adding races on Kurt Busch's No.
45.
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| | Landon Cassill Joins Kaulig in
Xfinity
Kaulig Racing announced Thursday that Landon Cassill will drive the No. 10 Chevrolet full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2022. He will be sponsored by Voyager Digital.
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| | Josh Williams Moves to BJMM in
Xfinity
BJ McLeod Motorsports announced Wednesday that Josh Williams will move to the team and drive the No. 78 full-time in the Xfinity Series in a multi-year deal.
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| | Todd Bodine Returning to Trucks With Halmar
Friesen
Todd Bodine announced Monday morning that he will race part-time in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022 for Halmar Friesen Racing. He'll drive six races with Camping World sponsorship.
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| | Hill Motorsports Expanding to 2
Teams
Last Monday, Hill Motorsports announced that they are expanding their small operation to two full-time entries in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022. Timmy Hill will drive the existing No. 56 full-time, while the
second truck will be shared.
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| | Kris Wright Joining Niece
Motorsports
Niece Motorsports announced Tuesday that Kris Wright will move over from Young's Motorsports to drive the team's No. 44 Chevrolet full-time in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022. This was a part-time team in 2021 after
significant trouble put the team outside of the top 40 in points.
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| | Coyne/RWR Adds Takuma Sato for
2022
Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing announced Thursday that Takuma Sato will drive the No. 51 full-time in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2022. He replaces Romain Grosjean, who has moved to Andretti
Autosport.
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| | Sage Karam, Santino Ferrucci Entering Indy 500 With Dreyer &
Reinbold
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced Thursday that they will enter two cars in the Indianapolis 500 in 2022. Sage Karam will return to the No .24 entry, while Santino Ferrucci will be in the No. 23.
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| | Wright Motorsports Elevates Pilot Challenge Duo For
2022
Wright Motorsports announced Tuesday that 2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport class champion Jan Heylen will race the team's Porsche 911 GT3 R full-time in 2022 alongside Ryan Hardwick, who returns to the WeatherTech
SportsCar Championship after focusing on Pilot Challenge in 2021.
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| | Magnus Racing Switches to Aston Martin, Cuts Back For
2022
Magnus Racing announced Tuesday that they have separated from Archangel Motorsports. The team has cut back to just the Michelin Endurance Cup races and will contest those events with a new Aston Martin Vantage
GT3.
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| | CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing Switches to Lamborghini, Goes Full Time in
2022
CarBahn Motorsports with Peregrine Racing announced Thursday that they will be stepping up from the WeatherTech Sprint Cup for a full-time schedule in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2022. They will also
switch from Audi to Lamborghini.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Doug Matthews and Karl Zemlin of INDYCAR Media, Lars Baron and Peter Fox of Getty Images, and our own Phil Allaway.
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