Frontstretch Newsletter: Grand Prix of Russia Cancelled

Published: Fri, 02/25/22

Frontstretch Newsletter: Feb. 25, 2022
Volume: XVI, Edition XX

What to Watch: Feb. 25-27

- NASCAR teams are loading in today in the garage at Auto Club Speedway. Xfinity teams have inspection today, but there will be no on-track action.

Saturday has practice and qualifying for both Cup and Xfinity, with the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 scheduled for 5 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.

- Formula 1 preseason testing wraps up today at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona. Once again, no TV coverage is available, but a live blog is being maintained at Formula1.com.

- In St. Petersburg, there is quite a bit of on-track action scheduled. GT America Powered by AWS will have their first race of the season at 2:35 p.m. this afternoon. Indy Pro 2000's first race of the year is at 11:40 a.m., while Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship's first race will follow shortly afterwards.

The first NTT IndyCar Series practice session of the season is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. this afternoon. That session will be streamed live on Peacock.

Finally, the Short Track Super Series Elite is having their first race of the year tonight at South Carolina's Cherokee Speedway. Action starts at 7 p.m. tonight and can be streamed at FLORacing.com (subscription required).

Don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Feb. 24-25

- Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest overall in Day No. 2 of Formula 1 preseason testing with a lap at 131.235 mph Thursday. That lap was nearly a quarter of a second faster than AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly. McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo was third, then Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr.

In addition to Sergio Perez's issues in the morning that we covered in Thursday's Newsletter, HAAS' Nikita Mazepin broke a fuel pump and stopped on track, causing a red flag. He was able to return to the track an hour after the failure.

- Friday's morning session dawned chilly and moist. As a result, there was a lot of trouble in the session. Alpine F1 chose to end their test early after Fernando Alonso had hydraulic issues that resulted in a smoky stop on-track.

Gasly crashed in turn 5, damaging the front wing and suspension on his AlphaTauri to bring out a second red flag. Later, Guanyu Zhou brought out two red flags, one for a spin into the gravel and another for stopping on the pit straight. Finally, Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel stopped on-track to bring out the fifth red flag.

At the end of this start-and-stop session, Russell ended up fastest with a lap at 131.990 mph, the fastest lap of the weekend to this point. He was a half-second faster than Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Vettel was third fastest before stopping on-course, followed by Leclerc and Williams' Nicholas Latifi.

- GT America Powered by AWS teams had two practice sessions Thursday in St. Petersburg. Jason Daskalos was fastest in both sessions with his first-generation Audi R8 LMS Ultra.

Daskalos' best lap in the first session was 86.607 mph, more than six-tenths of a second faster than DXDT Racing's David Askew. George Kurtz was third, then Jeff Burton and Jason Harward.

Session No. 2 saw Daskalos better his best lap to 87.938 mph. This was one-sixth of a second faster than Harward. Scott Smithson in the No. 08 DXDT Racing Mercedes was third, then Burton and Kurtz.

- In GT America qualifying, Daskalos continued his quick form by winning the pole for Race No. 1 with a lap at 89.015 mph. Daskalos was nearly two-thirds of a second faster than Smithson's Mercedes. Kurtz will start third, then Harward and Justin Wetherill.

Precision Racing's Adam Adelson put his Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS on the Invitational pole with a lap at 83.330 mph. This was three-quarters of a second faster than Robb Holland. In the GT4 class, Stephen Cameron Racing's Chris Cagnazzi was fastest with a lap at 82.105 mph. Cagnazzi's lap was five-hundredths of a second faster than GMG Racing's Jason Bell. Bryan Putt will start third in class, then Derek DeBoer and Moisey Uretsky.

- In Indy Pro 2000 practice Thursday, Nolan Siegel was fastest with a lap at 92 mph. His lap was four-thousandths of a second faster than Louis Foster. Christian Brooks was third fastest, then Enaam Ahmed and Reece Gold. The top five drivers were separated by a little over two-tenths of a second.

- Indy Pro 2000 qualifying at the bright and early time of 7:45 a.m. this morning saw Josh Green win the pole for Race No. 1 with a lap at 93.088 mph. Green's lap was three-hundredths of a second faster than Ahmed. Siegel will start third, then Foster and Braden Eves.

- Pabst Racing's Jace Denmark was fastest in Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship practice Thursday with a lap at 88.002 mph. The lap was five-hundredths of a second faster than teammate Myles Rose. Michael d'Orlando was third quickest, then Bijoy Garg and Trey Burke.

- In Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship qualifying, Thomas Nepveu was quickest with a lap at 89.100 mph. Nepveu's lap was less than a thousandth of a second faster than Denmark. Garg will start third, then Rowe and Jagger Jones. The top five drivers were separated by just over five-hundredths of a second.

Today's Top News:

Formula 1 Cancels Russian Grand Prix

The FIA announced early Friday that the Grand Prix of Russia at the Sochi Autodrom has been cancelled as a result of Russia invading Ukraine.

Ryan Truex Returning to JGR for 4 Xfinity Races

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Thursday that Ryan Truex will rejoin the team to race a part-time schedule in the No. 18 Toyota starting at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Meyer Shank Racing Signs Stoffel Vandoorne For Sebring

Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian announced Thursday that current Formula E racer Stoffel Vandoorne will join the team for the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring in place of Helio Castroneves.

Ryan Newman Joining SRX; Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip Returning

The Athletic is reporting that Ryan Newman will be joining the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) for the full six-race schedule. He'll be joined by Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Kirill Kudryavtsev of Getty Images and LAT Images.

Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip.

Newsletter Exclusive:

Frontstretch Folio: WISE Power 400

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, NASCAR Goes West as the NASCAR Cup Series will make their only visit of the year to Auto Club Speedway. Coverage of the WISE Power 400 will start at 2 p.m. Sunday with NASCAR RaceDay on FOX Sports 1. The coverage will then move to FOX at 3 p.m. for FOX NASCAR Sunday. The green flag is scheduled for roughly 3:45; the event can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 200 laps (400 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Last year's Auto Club 400 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the race itself moved to Daytona International Speedway, where the NASCAR Cup Series raced on the infield road course.

The most recent Auto Club Speedway race was in 2020, the third race of the season. This race was dominated by Alex Bowman, who led 110 of the 200 laps. Bowman took the lead for good with 34 laps to go and held on to take his most recent Cup victory.

Bowman's margin of victory was 8.904 seconds over Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch was third, then Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski.

Jimmie Johnson is the winningest driver in the history of Auto Club Speedway, claiming six wins on the high speed track. That includes his first Cup victory back in 2002. Among active drivers, Kyle Busch has four wins, including his first Cup victory back in 2005. No other active drivers have more than one victory.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2 mile D-shaped oval, 200 laps (400 miles)
Banking: 14 degrees

Frontstretch: 3,100 ft, banked 11 degrees

Backstretch: 2,500 ft., banked 3 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 68,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 60 mph
Opened: 1997

Website: http://www.autoclubspeedway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutoClubSpeedway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ACSUpdates

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice 1: Friday, February 28, 4 - 4:55 p.m. on FOX Sports 1

Happy Hour: Friday, February 28, 5:30 - 6:20 p.m. on FOX Sports 1

Qualifying: Saturday, February 29, 2:40 p.m. on FOX Sports 1

Say What?

"I love going to Auto Club. I’ve only raced there twice and never in Cup, but having the new car now really helps me in that area. I think we’re all still learning a lot about what we can do with the NextGen, so I don’t feel like I’m behind so much. It’s so slick and worn out and, with these cars being so on edge, I think it’s going to be really easy for some guys to get a little too close to that line that takes you too far over the edge and ruins your day. I’ve always said this kind of track works well with a dirt guy’s background. There are so many changes throughout the race and Auto Club is a track where you have to have the most throttle control out of anywhere we go. But you never know, it may end up being something completely different than what we’re expecting. That’s what these practice sessions are for, and we’ve got to do our best to use that time to our advantage." - Chase Briscoe

"I’m super excited to get to Fontana and race on that old worn-out surface. It’s an awesome race track full of character and lane choices. That really puts it in the drivers’ hands.

"The last time I was there I won my first Xfinity race. so that naturally makes it one of my favorites. One of the biggest challenges I expect is learning how this Next Gen car will handle slipping and sliding and which tools can the driver use to help get through those moments." - Harrison Burton

"Fontana is always a fun track – it’s one of the raciest tracks that we go to. I think the enthusiasm is really high from everyone throughout the industry to get back there, since we weren’t able to race there last year. I’m also excited to have a familiar partner of mine, Poppy Bank, on board our No. 11 Chevrolet on Saturday, as well as our No. 16 Camaro ZL1 on Sunday for the Cup race. I’m excited to share with them the vision and opportunity I’ve been provided with by Kaulig Racing." - Daniel Hemric

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Randy Lanning Photography.

Today at Frontstretch:

4 Burning Questions: Who Will Rebound at Auto Club?

by Stephen Stumpf

Fire on Fridays: Pump the Brakes on Austin Cindric

by Kevin Rutherford

Friday Faceoff: What to Do About Next Gen Wheels?

by the Frontstretch Staff

NASCAR 101: A Brief History of Auto Club Speedway

by Adam Cheek

Not Quite NASCAR: Kyle Busch on Dirt, California 410 Sprint Car Season Opens Within a Drive of Auto Club

by Bryan Keith

NASCAR Mailbox: What Is the Future of Auto Club Speedway?

by Davey Segal

Stock Car Scoop: Expectations for NASCAR’s Auto Club Return

with Adam Cheek and Bryan Nolen

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps of the action from Fontana and St. Petersburg this weekend. We'll also break these events down for your pleasure.

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