Frontstretch Newsletter: Feb. 7, 2022
Volume: XVI, Edition VI
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With racing back underway, the Frontstretch Newsletter will return to five days a week as of today. Hope you enjoy the action.
Phil Allaway
Newsletter Manager, Frontstretch.com
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- Today, NASCAR Cup Series teams are traveling back to North Carolina after Sunday's Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Other NASCAR teams are at their shops, continuing their preparations for Daytona.
- Tonight is the start of the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park. There was originally only supposed to be practice time for Sprint Car teams tonight, but rain during last month's Sunshine Nationals means that there are double features for DIRTcar Pro Late Models. The action starts tonight at 5 p.m. at DirtVision.tv.
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Around the World in Motorsports: Jan. 31-Feb. 6
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- Saturday night saw the
first Triple Crown event of the year for Monster Energy AMA Supercross teams at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Both the 450cc and 250cc West classes ran three short races instead of one long one. Round results would be determined by adding the finishing positions in the three races. Lowest score wins.
In the 450cc class, Yamaha's Eli Tomac
grabbed the holeshot at the start of Race No. 1 was and never threatened en route to the victory. Jason Anderson wa second, then Malcolm Stewart, Ken Roczen and Marvin Musquin.
Race No. 2 saw Tomac once again grab
the holeshot and pull away from the pack. Meanwhile, Anderson went off-course and got stuck on a Tuffblox. This dropped him to the rear of the field, from which he recovered to 12th. Tomac once again held on for a flag-to-flag victory by 4.058 seconds over Stewart. Chase Sexton was third, then Musquin and Dylan Ferrandis.
The final race of the night saw Sexton
beat Tomac to the first turn and grab the holeshot. From there, the Honda rider opened up a decent advantage over Stewart and Tomac. Anderson moved up to second in the closing laps, but could do nothing to prevent Sexton from taking the win. Sexton ended up 2.539 seconds ahead of Anderson, while Tomac was third. Stewart was fourth, while Cooper Webb was fifth.
With a score of five between the three
races, Tomac is the round winner, followed by Stewart, Sexton, Anderson and Roczen. Through five rounds, Tomac's lead is now 11 points over Sexton. Anderson is third, then Stewart and Justin Barcia.
In the 250cc West class, it was once
again Christian Craig versus everyone else. Craig dominated the first race, winning by 14.294 seconds over Hunter Lawrence. Vince Friese was third, then Garrett Marchbanks and Jo Shimoda.
Race No. 2 was the key event. Friese got the holeshot, but Craig was right on
him. The two battled for a lap or so before entering the sand pit behind the starting gate. Friese originally had the inside line, then understeered directly into Craig. This took both riders out. Lawrence snagged the lead due to this and pulled away to take the win. Lawrence was 1.384 seconds ahead of Michael Mosiman, then Shimoda. Craig recovered from his crash to finish fourth, while Jalek Swoll was fifth. Friese ended up
10th.
Race No. 3 saw Craig re-assert himself
as the top dog. He led flag-to-flag to take his second win of the night, 6.093 seconds ahead of Lawrence. Shimoda was third, then Friese and Nate Thrasher.
The crash in Race No. 2 cost Craig his
fourth win of the year. Lawrence took the round victory with a total score of five, one less than Craig. Shimoda was third, then Marchbanks and Friese. Points-wise, Craig still leads Lawrence by eight points. Mosiman is third, then Shimoda and Thrasher.
- The 2022 Race of Champions was held
last weekend in Pite Havsbad, Sweden. Saturday's Nations Cup competition saw 10 teams compete against each other in primarily RallyCross cars with the Polaris RZR also being thrown in the mix.
The Norwegian father-son team of Petter and Oliver Solberg defeated the American team of Colton Herta and Jimmie Johnson three races to one in the final to win the Nations Cup. By virtue of score, Team Nordic's Tom Kristensen and Johan Kristoffersson finished third via more victories in the Semi-Finals.
Sunday's Race of Champions saw
nine-time WRC champion (and recent winner of the Monte Carlo Rally) Sebastien Loeb defeat Germany's Sebastian Vettel in the final to win the competition.
- Saturday saw the Intercontinental GT
Challenge wrap up the 2021 season with the delayed Joburg Kyalami 9 Hour. This race was dominated by AKKA-ASP's No. 89 Mercedes. The trio of Timur Boguslavskiy, Jules Gounon and Raffaele Marciello were fastest in nearly every on-track session on their way to victory. They ended up 15.668 seconds ahead of AF Corse's Ferrari. Audi Sport Team Sainteloc was third, followed by Audi Sport Team
WRT.
A grand total of 11 cars started the
event. The original entry was much bigger, but the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was identified 10 days before the original date for the race. The postponement plus travel restrictions limited the turnout for the event.
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| | Joey Logano Wins NASCAR’s Inaugural Busch Light Clash at L.A.
Coliseum
Team Penske's Joey Logano was able to get past pole sitter Kyle Busch with 35 laps to go Sunday and held on to win the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Busch was second, then Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Kyle
Larson.
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| | Clash For Justin Haley Ends Early After Showing Early Speed: ‘It was already a win coming
in’
Kaulig Racing's Justin Haley was one of the fastest drivers all weekend in Los Angeles in his LeafFilter Chevrolet. However, his day ended early when contact with Kyle Larson put him into the inside
wall.
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| | Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch Fail to Make NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash, Ty Dillon
Disqualified
With only 23 cars being able to start the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, there were going to be some big names that missed the show. Aric Almirola crashed out. So did Kurt Busch after leading. Ty Dillon
actually won the second Last Chance Qualifier, then got booted from the race after NASCAR determined that he jumped the final restart (his second penalty of the race).
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| | Floyd Mayweather’s The Money Team, Kaz Grala Attempting Daytona
500
The Money Team Racing, owned by Floyd Mayweather, officially announced their entry into the NASCAR Cup Series Tuesday. The team will run part-time starting at the Daytona 500 with Kaz Grala at the wheel of the No. 50
Chevrolet.
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| | MoneyLion Moves to 23XI for Bubba Wallace, Kurt Busch
Sponsorship
23XI Racing announced Thursday that MoneyLion, previously of Team Penske, has signed a deal that will see the company sponsor both Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch's cars in undisclosed races during the 2022
season.
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| | JJ Yeley Entering Daytona 500 for
MBM
MBM Motorsports announced Thursday that they will be entering a second car in the Daytona 500. That car, which will use No. 55, will be driven by JJ Yeley and have sponsorship from HEX.com.
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| | Christian Eckes Returning Full Time for
ThorSport
ThorSport Racing announced Thursday that Christian Eckes will drive the team's No. 98 Toyota full-time in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022. He formerly split the ride with Grant Enfinger.
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| | Kaz Grala Adds Truck Schedule With
Young’s
Young's Motorsports announced Thursday that Kaz Grala will drive the No. 02 Chevrolet in the Camping World Truck Series for 11 of the 23 races in 2022.
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| | Gateway, Nashville & Mid-Ohio Make Up 2022 Triple Truck
Challenge
Last Monday, NASCAR announced that the Triple Truck Challenge will return to the Camping World Truck Series in 2022. Those races will be at World Wide Technology Raceway, Nashville Superspeedway and Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course.
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| | Derek Griffith Added to Sam Hunt Racing
Lineup
Sam Hunt Racing announced Wednesday that they have signed Derek Griffitth to join the team's driver lineup for 2022. He will drive a limited schedule for the team starting at Martinsville.
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| | Josh Bilicki Running Daytona for
DGM
DGM Racing announced Wednesday that Josh Bilicki will drive the team's No. 36 Chevrolet in the season-opener Beef. It's What's For Dinner 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
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| | Matt Jaskol Running Full Truck Schedule for Glory 2 God, Johnny Sauter Joins
Team
Glory 2 God Racing announced their intentions Thursday to field a full-time two-truck team in the Camping World Truck Series in 2022. Matt Jaskol will be full-time in the No. 46, while the No. 47 will be shared by a number
of drivers including Johnny Sauter.
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| | Rick Ware Racing Enters WeatherTech Sprint Cup with Ryan Eversley, Aidan
Read
Rick Ware Racing announced Thursday that they will field a new Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 in the WeatherTech Sprint Cup in 2022. Ryan Eversley and driver/engineer Aidan Read will be the drivers.
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| | Racers Edge Motorsports, Wayne Taylor Racing Partner for GTD Pro Sebring
Entry
Wayne Taylor Racing announced Friday that they are partnering with Racers Edge Motorsports to field an Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 in the GTD Pro in next month's Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. The car will be driven by Ashton
Harrison, Tom Long and Kyle Marcelli.
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| | Ron Vandermeir Jr. Running Part-Time ARCA
Slate
Ron Vandermeir Jr. indicated to Frontstretch Thursday that he plans to run a part-time schedule in 2022 in the ARCA Menards Series. His eight-race schedule is scheduled to begin at Kansas in
May.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, NASCAR Media via Sean Gardner of Getty Images, Racing News Now and our own Phil Allaway.
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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Quotes to Remember: Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum
compiled by Phil
Allaway
"I can’t believe it. We’re
here. The L.A. Coliseum. We got the victory with the old Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. This is an amazing event. Congratulations, NASCAR. Such a huge step in our industry to be able to do this, put on an amazing race for everybody. I’m out of breath. I was so excited about this. This is a big win. My wife is having a baby tomorrow, our third one, so a pretty big weekend for us." - Joey Logano, race winner
"I was being perfect doing everything I needed to do – keep the
tires underneath me. When I got close, I was like, okay I’ve got to try more and pounce at an opportunity and just overheated the tires and smoked them in three laps and that was it. Disappointing, obviously, come out here and win the pole, and lead laps, run up front. The finish goes green and it’s not chaotic and we can’t win, so it sucks. Congratulations to my son (Brexton Busch) – he won yesterday. That’s cool. I was trying to match him. He’s winning more than me these days, so somebody
better send him a contract." - Kyle Busch, finished second
"Man, I don’t know. From where we were last night, it took a lot of
crazy fate and a little prayer last night. Talked to myself. We got it together today. The True Velocity Chevrolet was really fast in practice, I just struggled a little bit in qualifying and knew we would get in the race and be fine. The long run speed was there. Disappointed I couldn’t get those next two cars. I really wanted to get there. But all-in-all, a great race from where we were last night and everyone back home at RCR, good job. It was a good showing for us." - Austin Dillon,
finished third
"I was racing with [Ryan Blaney] there and he brake-checked me off of [turn 4] for no real reason. I didn’t appreciate that and felt like I showed it on the track. If we have a conversation, we have a conversation. It’s an exhibition race. We’re out here doing what we can. I was frustrated with the move that he made, so that’s what
happened.
"Overall, my No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevy was really good. It was a good weekend to come home fourth for us. It’s not a race that means a lot, as far as setting us up for the rest of the season. But nobody came out here not trying. It feels good to run good and we’ll hopefully we’ll carry that momentum to Daytona." - Erik Jones, finished
fourth
"It was an awesome experience all around. First race with the new car. This event was really neat. It seemed like a great atmosphere. I’m not able to ever sit in the stands and watch other races. I got to watch a Heat Race and the Last Chance Qualifiers. It seemed like a blast and I hope we can do more of this." - Kyle Larson, finished fifth
"Our race started out pretty decent and we were making progress after starting a little deeper in the field. I kept locking up the right front and unfortunately just got too loose and the car got around. Once I got that little bit of damage our NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet just didn’t drive the same. Congrats to everyone that had a hand in putting this event together
though. The fans certainly got an entertaining race." - Chase Elliott, finished 11th
"He destroyed me for seventh. It doesn’t really make any sense. I don’t know. I was kind of just riding around and just run in the back of you and killed our car. Yeah, I was mad, but you’ll have that." - Ryan Blaney, finished 17th
"We had a fast Chevrolet. The whole race, we were just kind of
pacing ourselves. And then obviously towards the end of the race, the cautions started falling and we just got put in a bad situation. But I’m glad we had speed with our LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. Any other day of the week, the cards could turn our way and we could have a good run. Happy to be in contention of a win and we’ll see what Daytona brings." - Justin Haley, finished 19th (Crashed out)
"The L.A. Memorial Coliseum exceeded expectations. The fans, the atmosphere, the intensity of the race itself. Just the intensity of the field and the drivers – it was an incredible experience. Certainly, the obvious big bummer is breaking our transaxle doing something I probably didn’t even need to do. We had one of the fastest cars on the race track. We were
just riding and managing the gap back to Kyle; trying to lap as many cars that we could so we wouldn’t have to worry about them later. But we never made it that far. It’s a tough lesson, but it’s a lesson we can learn from. Thankfully this wasn’t a points-paying race. It still stings to give away a race like that from the lead, but we’ll be able to learn, grow from it and be even more ready than I thought would be possible rolling into Daytona." - Tyler Reddick, finished 21st (Broken
transaxle)
"Mechanical. It looks like the power steering belt evidently came off and took the hose with it. We didn’t have any steering ability. This is something you will probably see a lot of this year. It’s just fixing all of the bugs that are going to happen. Unfortunately, had a power standing issue." - Denny Hamlin, finished 23rd (Power Steering
failure)
"Just got put in a bad spot on one of the restarts. When you are not managing the race and holding the white line, it puts you in a vulnerable spot. We needed to transfer. We needed to start off the year strong, and we did not. I’m just disappointed to not be in the A-main. We’re racing in the Coliseum. This is what it is all about. NASCAR did a great job putting
this all together. Thanks to Monster Energy, Toyota, Jumpman, everybody with this team. We’re supposed to be in the A-Main, and we’re not." - Kurt Busch, Crashed out of LCQ No. 2, DNQ
"I’m disappointed with the result of our Last Chance Qualifier, but
very happy with the effort. I’m back in the Cup Series and received a second chance to compete on Sundays full time. You don’t get that often. I wanted to go out there and race hard for the guys on my team, Maury Gallagher, Richard Petty and Black Rifle Coffee Company. Our No. 42 Chevrolet had a lot of speed and that is very encouraging for our team. I’m excited and happy for what’s to come this season." - Ty Dillon, penalized for jumping final restart in LCQ No. 2,
DNQ
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch
newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy
of NASCAR Media via Jared C. Tilton of Getty Images.
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