Frontstretch Newsletter: Jan. 31, 2021
Volume: XVI, Edition V
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What to Watch: Jan. 31-Feb. 6
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- The NASCAR offseason is officially over. The Busch Light Clash at Daytona is Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Coverage will start on Saturday from the quarter-mile oval.
FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN LOS
ANGELES THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:
Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Los Angeles!!
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Around the World in Motorsports: Jan. 24-30
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- Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports suddenly fired Guy Cosmo, who was set up to drive for the team full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTD class in 2022, last Tuesday, two days before the start of Rolex 24 practice. Why? Because the team owner thought he was too slow and because of that, they failed to win the Rolex 24 Qualifying Race in
class (the team finished sixth). With James Davison driving in place of Cosmo, the team finished third in class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
- In Monster Energy AMA Supercross action, Ken Roczen won the holeshot Saturday night at Angel Stadium and led early. Jason Anderson ran him down and battled for the top spot. In a controversial moment, the two had contact in a sandy section, sending Roczen to the ground and Anderson to the lead. Roczen would get up, but ended up
13th.
Halfway through the race, Yamaha's Eli Tomac ran down Anderson and took the lead when Anderson made an unforced error off of a triple jump. Once out front, Tomac pulled away to take his first victory of the year and expanded his points lead.
Anderson was second, then Chase Sexton, Dylan Ferrandis and Malcolm Stewart. In the points, Tomac expanded his lead to six points over Sexton, then Anderson. Cooper Webb is fourth, while Justin Barcia is fifth.
- In the 250cc West class, Vince Friese won the holeshot, but was quickly usurped by San Diego winner Michael Mosiman. Points leader Christian Craig got a decent start, but had to charge late in the going to get to Mosiman. Craig took the lead away from Mosiman with under five minutes to go and held on for his third win of the
year.
Mosiman ended up third, followed by Hunter Lawrence, Nate Thrasher and Jalek Swoll. Friese's race ended early after he crashed in the whoops, then was hit in the head by Jo Shimoda.
Points-wise, Craig's lead is up to 11 points over Lawrence. Mosiman is third, then Shimoda and Thrasher.
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| | Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
Claims 2nd Rolex 24 Victory
Ohio-based Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian claimed victory in the 60th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona Sunday with the driver lineup of Tom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves,
Oliver Gavin and Simon Pagenaud. DragonSpeed won in LMP2, Riley Motorsports in LMP3, Pfaff Motorsports in GTD Pro and Wright Motorsports in GTD.
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| | Joey Hand Returning to
RWR
Rick Ware Racing announced Thursday that Joey Hand will return to the team to drive the No. 15 Ford in the six road course races in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.
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| | Ross Chastain Adds Moose Fraternity
Sponsorship
Trackhouse Racing announced Wednesday that the Moose Fraternity will continue as a primary sponsor on Ross Chastain's No. 1 Chevrolet in 2022. They are a holdover from Chip Ganassi Racing.
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| | Todd Gilliland Adds First Phase
Sponsorship for Daytona, Beyond
Front Row Motorsports announced Monday that SpeedyCash will return as a primary sponsor to the No. 38 Ford in 2022. They will co-sponsor the team with First Phase, a credit card.
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| | Xfinity Field Size Increased, Dash 4 Cash
Races Announced
NASCAR announced Monday that the Xfinity Series field size will increase from 36 cars back to 38 for 2022. In addition, the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash returns in
April.
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| | Mike Harmon Racing Has Fine, Crew Chief
Suspension Rescinded After Appeal
In a slight victory for Mike Harmon Racing Thursday, final appeals officer Roger Werner rescinded the $50,000 fine and six-race suspension given to crew chief Ryan Bell after an unapproved test. However, the No. 74 team
will still start the Xfinity Series season 75 points in the hole.
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| | Jeffrey Earnhardt Driving Second Hunt Car
at Daytona
Sam Hunt Racing announced Wednesday that Jeffrey Earnhardt, most recently of JD Motorsports, will drive Sam Hunt Racing's second entry in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona.
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| | Kyle Weatherman Moves to
DGM
DGM Racing announced Monday that Kyle Weatherman, previously of Mike Harmon Racing, will drive the team's No. 92 Chevrolet in a minimum of five races in 2022.
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| | Market Rebellion Returns to Sponsor Tommy
Joe Martins, More at APR
Alpha Prime Racing announced Tuesday that Marker Rebellion, a company that tracks cryptocurrencies, will return to the team to sponsor seven races in 2022 between the team's two entries.
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| | John Hunter Nemechek Returning to Hunt for
Limited Xfinity Run
Sam Hunt Racing announced Tuesday that John Hunter Nemechek will drive their No. 26 Toyota in both races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2022.
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| | Josh Bilicki Running Part Time for APR in
Xfinity
Alpha Prime Racing announced Thursday that Josh Bilicki will drive the No. 44 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series in six races in 2022.
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| | Howie DiSavino III Running Part-Time
Xfinity Schedule for APR
Alpha Prime Racing announced Wednesday that Howie DiSavino, III, most recently of the Camping World Truck Series, will join the team for a limited schedule in the Xfinity Series in 2022 starting at Phoenix.
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| | Stevan McAleer, Eric Filguerias Win BMW M
Endurance Challenge
Rennsport One's Stevan McAleer took the lead with 13 minutes to go from TeamTGM's Owen Trinkler and held on from there to win the BMW M Endurance Challenge, the season opener for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside Eric
Filguerias. KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering's Roy Block and Tim Lewis Jr. won in TCR.
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| | Ford Performance To Create New Mustang
GT3, GT4 Cars
In a press conference Friday at Daytona International Speedway, Ford Performance announced their intentions to build a new Ford Mustang GT3 car that is planned to debut in 2024. A new GT4-spec Mustang will also debut in
2023.
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| | Zane Smith Adds Michael Roberts
Construction Sponsorship
Front Row Motorsports announced Friday that Michael Roberts Construction will follow Zane Smith from GMS Racing to serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 38 Ford in the Camping World Truck Series in selected
races.
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| | Danny Bohn Joins Young’s for
Daytona
Young's Motorsports announced Tuesday that Danny Bohn, recently of On Point Motorsports, will drive the team's No. 20 Chevrolet in the season-opening NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
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| | SRX Announces 2022
Schedule
The Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) released their 2022 schedule Monday morning. Once again, all races will be Saturday night events live on CBS. The season will start at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola,
Fla.
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| | ARCA Announces 2022 Sioux Chief
Showdown
On Tuesday, ARCA announced a 10-race schedule for the Sioux Chief Showdown, a championship within a championship that is focused on short tracks, but also includes road courses. The championship starts at Phoenix in
March.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Mike Arning of TrueSpeed Communications, Ford Performance and our own Phil Allaway.
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