Frontstretch Newsletter: Jan. 10, 2022
Volume: XVI, Edition II
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What to Watch: Jan. 10-16
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- Today is the first day of the 36th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla. On-track activity started at 10 a.m. ET and will run until roughly 11 p.m. ET (assuming that things stay on schedule). A record entry will result in 33 mains on Saturday. Our own Christopher DeHarde is in Tulsa this week to cover the
action.
- Creventic has their biggest race of the year, the Hankook 24H Dubai, scheduled for this Saturday. This will be available for live streaming at the 24H Series YouTube channel and on MotorTrend+.
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Around the World in Motorsports: Jan. 3-9
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- Ken Roczen dominated Saturday night at Angel Stadium to win the season opener for Monster Energy AMA Supercross. Cooper Webb was second, then Justin Barcia. Marvin Musquin just edged out Chase Sexton at the line for fourth. Sexton had been right with his teammate Roczen before the first of two crashes in the main event. Musquin crashed with Husqvarna's Malcolm Stewart and had to make his own recovery
ride.
In the
250cc West season opener, Yamaha's Christian Craig took the lead halfway through the first lap and pulled away to take the win. Seth Hammaker was second, then Hunter Lawrence, Garrett Marchbanks and Vince Friese.
The heat races saw two big crashes. Colt
Nichols, the defending 250cc East champion, crashed hard in Heat No. 1 and ended his night early. Meanwhile, Jalek Swoll crashed hard in Heat No. 2, bringing out a red flag and complete restart. Swoll stated on his Instagram that "I was told I was out when [the medical team] got to
me."
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| | Aric Almirola Retiring at End of
2022
Aric Almirola announced Monday that he will retire from racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at the end of the 2022 season.
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| | Ryan Preece Joins SHR as Reserve
Driver
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Thursday that Ryan Preece has been signed to the team to serve as a reserve driver. He'll also run limited schedules in the Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.
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| | Josh Bilicki Moving to
Spire
Josh Bilicki and Spire Motorsports announced Monday morning that Bilicki will move from Rick Ware Racing to Spire Motorsports to drive the No. 77 Chevrolet full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.
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| | Rheem Sponsoring Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch in Cup in
2022
Joe Gibbs Racing announced Thursday that Rheem will continue to serve as a primary sponsor for the organization in the NASCAR Cup Series. They will split time between Kyle Busch's No. 18 and Christopher Bell's No.
20.
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| | Bubba Wallace, Leidos Team for
2022
23XI Racing announced Tuesday that Leidos, an engineering company with multiple divisions, will serve as a primary sponsor on Bubba Wallace's No. 23 Toyota in six races in 2022.
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| | Drew Blickensderfer Crew Chief for Aric
Almirola in 2022
Stewart-Haas Racing announced Tuesday that they have signed Drew Blickensderfer from Front Row Motorsports to serve as the new crew chief for Aric Almirola.
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| | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Adds SweetLeaf
Sponsorship
JTG-Daugherty Racing announced Wednesday that SweetLeaf has joined the Kroger family of racing brands and will have their colors on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s No. 47 Chevrolet in a number of 2022 races.
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| | Blake Harris New Crew Chief for Michael
McDowell
Front Row Motorsports announced Thursday that Blake Harris will serve as the crew chief for Michael McDowell during the 2022 season.
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| | Sage Karam Moving to APR for Part-Time
Schedule
Alpha Prime Racing announced Wednesday that they will be fielding two full-time entries in the Xfinity Series in 2022. Sage Karam has also joined the team and will run 12-16 races, but it is unclear which car he will
drive.
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| | Noah Gragson Picks Up Luke Lambert as Crew
Chief
JR Motorsports announced Tuesday that Luke Lambert will serve as Noah Gragson's crew chief in 2022, replacing the departed Dave Elenz.
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| | Matt DiBenedetto Running Full Truck Schedule for Rackley
WAR
Rackley WAR announced Thursday that former Cup Series regular Matt DiBenedetto will drive the No. 25 Rackley Roofing Chevrolet full-time in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022.
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| | Hill, MBM Add UNITS
Sponsorship
Hill Motorsports and MBM Motorsports jointly announced Friday that UNITS Moving and Storage will serve as the primary sponsor of the Hill Motorsports No. 56 truck for six races and additional races in the Xfinity Series in
2022.
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| | Spencer Boyd Moving to No. 12 for
Young’s
Young's Motorsports announced Friday that Spencer Boyd will remain with the organization for the 2022 Camping World Truck Series season. He will move from the No. 20 to the No. 12 to replace Tate
Fogleman.
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| | Change at Aston Martin F1 as Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer
Departs
Aston Martin F1 announced Wednesday that their team principal, Otmar Szafnauer, has left the team, effective immediately.
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| | Landon Pembelton Debuting in ARCA for
Venturini
Venturini Motorsports announced Thursday that Landon Pembelton will drive a part-time schedule for the team in the ARCA Menards Series in 2022.
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| | Jonathan Shafer Making ARCA Debut for
Venturini
Venturini Motorsports announced Tuesday that Jonathan Shafter will drive a part-time schedule in the No. 15 Toyota in the ARCA Menards Series in 2022, starting at Iowa.
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| | Conner Jones Joining Venturini for Limited
Schedule
Venturini Motorsports announced Wednesday that Connor Jones will join the team on a limited schedule in 2022, starting at Iowa Speedway.
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| | Chip Ganassi Racing Rounds Out Rolex 24 Lineup With INDYCAR Drivers, Kevin
Magnussen
Chip Ganassi Racing announced Friday that they have filled out their driver lineups for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Joining the four regular drivers will be Ganassi's INDYCAR drivers Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Alex
Palou, along with Kevin Magnussen.
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| | Tower Motorsport by Starworks Returns With Louis
Deletraz
Tower Motorsport by Starworks announced Friday that Louis Deletraz will join the team for the full 2022 season in the LMP2, replacing Gabriel Aubry. Rui Andrade and Ferdinand Habsburg are also part of the
squad.
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| | Sean Creech Motorsports Returns To IMSA in 2022 After 8-Month
Break
Sean Creech Motorsports announced Thursday that they will return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship full-time after having not competed since May. Joao Barbosa and Dr. Lance Willsey will be the regular
drivers.
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| | Paul Miller Racing Switches To BMW; To Miss Rolex
24
Paul Miller Racing announced Tuesday that they will switch to the new BMW M4 GT3 for the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. However, they will miss the Rolex 24 at
Daytona because they will not have their chassis until after the race.
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| | NTe Sport Expands To Full-Time 2022 IMSA Schedule With
Lamborghini
NTe Sport announced Friday that they will compete full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTD class in 2022. Jaden Conwright, Don Yount, Markus Palttala and Benjamin Hites will drive in the Rolex 24
at Daytona.
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| | Gradient Racing Switches to Endurance Cup For
2022
Gradient Racing announced Tuesday that the team will switch from WeatherTech Sprint Cup to Michelin Endurance Cup competition in 2022. Mario Farnbacher, Kyffin Simpson and Till Bechtolsheimer will drive in all four
races.
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| | Inception Racing Commits to Full 2022 IMSA
Schedule
Optimum Motorsport announced Friday that they will field an effort for Inception Racing full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTD class in 2022. Brendan
Iribe and Ollie Millroy will be the full-time drivers.
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| | Bryan Herta Autosport Expands to 6 Cars In Pilot Challenge For
2022
Bryan Herta Autosport announced Thursday that their assault on IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge's TCR class in 2022 will be an all-Elantra N TCR affair with six of them on the grid for the full season.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Karl Zemlin of INDYCAR Media, FIA Images, IMSA, Christian Koelle and our own Phil Allaway.
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