Frontstretch Newsletter: April 8, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition L
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What to Watch: April 8-10
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- This will be a very busy weekend of racing. Today sees the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Coverage starts with NASCAR RaceDay - Xfinity Edition at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage starts at
7:30.
- The NASCAR Cup Series will race tomorrow night in the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400. Today, teams will practice and qualify. Practice starts at 4:30 p.m. on FOX Sports 1, while qualifying is at 5:30.
- Formula 1 teams have already completed their first two practices (see below for results). Tonight sees Free Practice No. 3 at 10:55 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Qualifying is scheduled for 1:55 a.m. Saturday morning on ESPN2. Race coverage starts at 12:55 a.m. ET Saturday night/Sunday morning on ESPN.
- NTT IndyCar Series teams are in Long Beach this weekend for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Today, they only have one practice session, scheduled for 6:15 p.m. ET today. Practice No. 2 is Saturday, along with qualifying. The race will be at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC.
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams have two practice sessions scheduled today in Long Beach, the first of which starts bright and early at 12:15 p.m. ET (9:15 a.m. local time). Qualifying for the race is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET tonight and will be streamed at IMSA.com and on Peacock. The race itself will be at 5 p.m. ET Saturday on USA.
FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:
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LONG
BEACH:
Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter
page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!
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Around the World in Motorsports: April 7
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- At Albert Park in Melbourne,
Ferraris topped both free practice sessions earlier today. Free Practice No. 1 saw Carlos Sainz Jr. go fastest with a lap at 147.959 mph. This lap was nearly six-tenths of a second faster than teammate Charles Leclerc. Red Bull's Sergio Perez was third, followed by teammate Max Verstappen. McLaren's Lando Norris was fifth quickest, over a second off the pace.
There were two red flags
during the session. The first was due to debris on the racing line. The second was due to Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel suffering from an engine failure late in the session. The failure resulted in Vettel missing Free Practice No. 2. He was also summoned to the stewards for requisitioning a scooter from a marshal and riding it back to the paddock during the red flag on the actual
track.
- In Free Practice No. 2, the
skies visibly darkened up, but no precipitation fell. At the end of 60 minutes, Leclerc was fastest with a lap at 149.510 mph. He was nearly a quarter of a second faster than Verstappen, with Sainz in third. Alpine's Fernando Alonso was fourth, while Perez was fifth.
Much like the first session, there
was a red flag due to debris being on-track. However, there were a number of off-course excursions on Friday. Leclerc took a trip to the gravel in turn 1 at one point. Lewis Hamilton went off into the gravel exiting turn 14 as well before he recovered.
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| | William Byron Scores Spire Motorsports’ 1st Truck Win at
Martinsville
William Byron chose an alternate pit strategy Friday night, making his one and only stop during a caution at lap 80. He took the lead when Ben Rhodes stopped at the end of
stage two, then held on to claim his first Martinsville win and his first Truck win since Homestead in 2016. Johnny Sauter came from last to finish second, then Kyle Busch, John Hunter Nemechek and Rhodes.
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| | Johnny Sauter Finishes 2nd at Martinsville: ‘This is the way it’s supposed to
be’
After qualifying for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200 was rained out, Johnny Sauter just barely squeaked into the field for Thursday night's race. Once there, he quickly moved up the order and held form late in the
race to finish second.
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| | Ty Gibbs Wins Xfinity Pole at
Martinsville
Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs won the pole for tonight's Call 811 Before You Dig 250 at Martinsville Speedway Thursday with a lap at 95.985 mph. It is his third straight
pole. Justin Allgaier starts second, then Noah Gragson, Ryan Truex and Sheldon Creed.
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| | Matt Jaskol Released by G2G
Racing
Matt Jaskol took to Instagram Friday and announced that he has parted ways with G2G Racing after attempting the first four races of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the
small team.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Seeking the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs: Ben Rhodes Claims Points Lead With 1-Stop Strategy
by Phil Allaway
Chandler Smith had a decent run Thursday night, but had more or less the oldest tires by the end of the race. He began to fade late before finishing sixth. Not terrible, but he also didn't earn any stage points.
Ben Rhodes won stage two and earned a race-high 18 stage points en route to a fifth-place finish. That resulted in Rhodes earning 19 more points than Chandler, allowing him to take the points lead. Rhodes' advantage is four points over Chandler Smith. Zane Smith charged back after a late pit stop to finish ninth after winning stage one.
That moved him up to third. Stewart Friesen got spun out in the final stage and finished 13th. That dropped him to fourth.
Christian Eckes and John Hunter Nemechek are tied for fifth. Eckes, despite spinning out Friesen, ended up 12th. That moved him up from sixth. Nemechek finished fourth and moved up from eighth. Tanner Gray had trouble in the pits that cost him a lap and contact on track. A 21st-place finish dropped him from
a tie for fourth to seventh. Ty Majeski is down two places to eighth after finishing 11th.
Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum are tied for ninth. Crafton finished a decent seventh to move up from a tie for ninth. Ankrum stays in a tie for ninth after finishing 10th. They are the final two drivers in the playoffs for the moment. Derek Kraus is a mere one point behind Crafton and Ankrum after finishing
14th. Carson Hocevar drops from a tie for 11th to 12th after finishing 17th.
Grant Enfinger is up one place to 13th after finishing eighth. Matt DiBenedetto is now 14th, while Austin Wayne Self dropped out late after his brakes caught fire. Finishing 31st dropped Self down to 15th. Timmy Hill is still in 16th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ben Rhodes 205, 2) Chandler Smith -4, 3) Zane Smith -21, 4) Stewart Friesen -25, t-5) Christian Eckes -44, t-5) John Hunter Nemechek -44, 7) Tanner Gray
-47, 8) Ty Majeski -52, t-9) Matt Crafton -73, t-9) Tyler Ankrum -73, 11) Derek Kraus -74, 12) Carson Hocevar -75, 13) Grant Enfinger -80, 14) Matt DiBenedetto -98, 15) Austin Wayne Self -105, 16) Timmy Hill
-113.
Note: If he were eligible for Camping World Truck Series points, Kyle Busch would be 13th.
Playoff Points: 1) Zane Smith 13, t-2) Chandler Smith -8, t-2) Corey Heim -8, t-4) John Hunter Nemechek -10, t-4) Ben Rhodes -10, 6) Stewart Friesen -12.
Note: If he were eligible for Playoff Points, William Byron would be tied for second with the points from winning at Martinsville.
Stage Points: 1) Ben Rhodes 64, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -9, 3) Chandler Smith -15, 4) Zane Smith -21, 5) Stewart Friesen -22, 6) Christian Eckes -23, 7) Derek Kraus -33, 8) Ty
Majeski -35, 9) Tanner Gray -36, 10) Matt Crafton -38, 11) Grant Enfinger -42, t-12) Carson Hocevar -45, t-12) Tyler Ankrum -45, 14) Matt DiBenedetto -50, t-15) Corey Heim -57, t-15) Jack Wood -57.
Note: If he were eligible, Kyle Busch would be 11th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Chandler Smith 136, 2) Zane Smith -10, 3) Ben Rhodes -11, 4) Stewart Friesen -15, 5) Tanner Gray -25, 6) Ty Majeski -30, 7) Christian Eckes
-33, 8) Tyler Ankrum -42, 9) Carson Hocevar -43, 10) John Hunter Nemechek -45, 11) Matt Crafton -49, 12) Grant Enfinger -52, 13) Derek Kraus -55, 14) Austin Wayne Self -61, 15) Matt DiBenedetto -63, 16) Timmy
Hill -69.
Note: If he were eligible, Kyle Busch would be eighth in Old Points.
WC Points (1-16): 1) Chandler Smith 765, 2) Ben Rhodes -20, 3) Zane Smith -47, 4) Stewart Friesen -58, 5) Tanner Gray -91, 6) Ty Majeski -107, 7) Christian Eckes -114, 8) John Hunter
Nemechek -140, 9) Tyler Ankrum -156, 10) Carson Hocevar -157, 11) Matt Crafton -174, 12) Grant Enfinger -187, 13) Derek Kraus -198, 14) Austin Wayne Self -217, 15) Matt DiBenedetto -220, 16) Timmy Hill -242.
Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Circuit of the Americas), Chandler Smith (Las Vegas), Corey Heim (Atlanta), William Byron (Martinsville)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade
Photography.
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Frontstretch Folio: Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Martinsville for the eighth race of the season. Coverage of the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 begins with NASCAR RaceDay at 7 p.m, while the green flag should fly around 7:45. Make note that the pre-race coverage runs against the end of the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox. There's a complete certainty that the game goes beyond 7 p.m., cutting into pre-race
coverage. If any schedule changes result from this, we will keep you updated. Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel
90).
Records and
facts
Last year's Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 saw Denny Hamlin dominate much of the race, leading 276 laps. However, teammate Martin Truex Jr. ran Hamlin down in the closing laps and took the lead with 16 laps to go. From there, Truex held on to take his second straight spring race
victory at Martinsville. Chase Elliott was second, then Hamlin, William Byron and Kyle
Larson.
Denny Hamlin is the winningest active driver at Martinsville with five career victories. Truex has three Martinsville victories, while the Busch brothers and Brad Keselowski each have
two.
All-time, Richard Petty is the leader with 15 career victories. Darrell Waltrip has 11 Martinsville victories, then Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson with nine. Rusty Wallace has seven wins and could have had an eighth if he didn't get black-flagged for jumping the final restart
from the lead in the 1997 Hanes 500. Three other drivers (Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt and Fred Lorenzen) have six wins
each.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 0.526-mile oval, 500 laps (263 miles)
Banking: 12 degrees
Straightaways: 800 ft.,
flat
Grandstand Seating:
55,000
Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Speed: 35 mph
Opened: 1947 (first Cup race in the inaugural season,
1949)
Website: http://www.martinsvillespeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartinsvilleSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MartinsvilleSwy
Pre-Race
Schedule:
Practice: Friday, April 8, 4:35 - 5:25 p.m. on FOX Sports
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Qualifying: Friday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m. on FOX Sports
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"With the speed that we had at the LA Coliseum for The Clash in the beginning of the season, we are very intrigued and curious to see how the speed that we had at a short track that is very similar to Martinsville’s shape and banking translates to the bigger of the two racetracks. With this new car, we saw that, at Richmond in particular, that with a similar tire, it raced a lot more like last year’s
car than we’ve seen at other races. I’m assuming that the tire isn’t much different, I haven’t heard anything about the tire yet. If that remains fairly close then I would think that the race will play out a lot like the races did with the last car, too. Richmond is always a long race filled with lots of opportunities to make a mistake that really changes the outcome of your day, that’s how it will be this weekend at Martinsville, too. Hopefully our setup is right for Saturday, and we can take
the things we learned from Richmond and put them into our plans. Track position and staying up front all day long is going to be very important. Outside of that, we just need to keep executing clean races and make the most out of our days." - Tyler
Reddick
"I think Martinsville has always been a good track for us especially with two top-five finishes last year. We just need to hit on the things that are crucial there and work on it. With the shape of the corners and the rhythm it takes, I feel like I have an eye for what a car should look like to get around there just from coming to so many races growing up. I think some of that translates to inside the car when you’re thinking through what lines to take and how
to pass somebody. Growing up short-track racing helps too. Similar to Denny [Hamlin], I grew up racing around the Southeast and running a lot of late model races. I’ve gone back and done some of that this year and that helps reaffirm how I race at tracks like this." - William
Byron
"I think we’ll see typical Martinsville – hard racing and a few guys mad at each other by the end of the race. In the past, brakes have come into play, guys using them up early in the race and having a hard time getting through the corners. And I think we’ll still see some issues where brakes are concerned but it might look a bit different than it has in the past. The track we raced on for the Clash is probably the closest to Martinsville, just half the size,
so a lot of what you saw with the longer straightaways and tighter corners, and how guys were setting up passes, is likely what we’ll see this weekend. At least, I hope that’s how it goes. We ran pretty well there so, hopefully, we can take what we did there and have it translate to Martinsville. It’s always a fun race, but a lot more fun if you’re up near the front and out of the trouble happening further back in the field." - Chase
Briscoe
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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