Frontstretch Newsletter: May 13, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition LXXV
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- Today is simply a load-in day at Kansas Speedway. There is no on-track action scheduled, although NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are scheduled to be in the garage until 10 p.m. ET.
- Practice for IMSA teams starts bright and early at Mid-Ohio with all the teams in action having practice and/or qualifying.
- At Indianapolis, the race weekend technically started Thursday with practice sessions for Road to Indy series. Practice and qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix is scheduled for today. Those sessions will be streamed on Peacock. The first Indy Lights race will be on today at 5:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on
Peacock.
Saturday brings a very busy day of on-track action at Kansas Speedway. That starts with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice and qualifying. You then have the ARCA Menards Series Dutch Boy 150, which will air live on FOX Sports 1. NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying will be on FOX Sports 2 due to FOX Sports' baseball responsibilities. The Camping World Truck
Series Heart of America 200 will wrap up the night on FOX Sports 1.
- In Indianapolis, there will be two races each for Indy Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship teams. Indy Lights will have their second race of the weekend prior to the GMR Grand Prix, which will air live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET.
- At Mid-Ohio, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams will qualify at 1:15 p.m. ET for the Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. This will be streamed live at IMSA.com and on Peacock. IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge teams will compete in the Mid-Ohio 120 at 4:05 p.m. ET. That is a Peacock exclusive.
- Due to time difference, it is technically considered to be a Sunday race, but this weekend will see the 2021 season for the Intercontinental GT Challenge wrap up with the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour. This race is scheduled to go green at 5:15 a.m. local time, which equates to 4:15 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon. The race will be available on MotorTrend+
(subscription required) and GT World YouTube.
- Sunday will have the European Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Imola, which is scheduled to go green at 5:30 a.m. ET and will be streamed on the European Le Mans Series YouTube channel. Afterwards, NASCAR takes center stage with the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. The race will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 3 p.m.
Directly opposite of much of the Cup race is the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Lexus Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. This race is scheduled to go green at 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday. Coverage will air live on USA at 2 p.m.
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Around the World in Motorsports: May 12-13
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- There have been
multiple changes to the entry lists for this weekend at Mid-Ohio. For Sunday's Lexus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, the entry has dropped to 31 cars. In the LMP3 class, the Forty7 Motorsports No. 7 of Mark Kvamme and Trenton Estep has been withdrawn. In GTD, the expected withdrawal of NTe Sport's Lamborghini was joined by Alegra Motorsports, leaving GTD with only 11 entries.
In addition, Tower Motorsport has
signed Will Stevens to share the No. 8 ORECA 07-Gibson in the LMP2 class with John Farano. Louis Deletraz is racing in the European Le Mans Series this weekend in Imola.
- In the IMSA Michelin Pilot
Challenge, the entry list has increased to 40 with the addition of the Rennsport One Porsche for Stevan McAleer and Alexandre Premat that was left off the original list. In addition to Tiago Monteiro being added into the LA Honda World Racing No. 37 as noted in yesterday's Newsletter, Bryan Herta Autosport has tapped Gabby Chaves to drive the No. 33 in place of Mark Wilkins this weekend.
- Opening practice for the NTT IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix is complete. Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou was fastest with a lap at 124.623 mph. This was less than four-thousandths of a second faster than Juncos Hollinger Racing's Callum Ilott. Team Penske's Will Power was third, then Team RLL's Graham Rahal. Arrow McLaren SP's Felix Rosenqvist was fifth.
The top 22 drivers were separated by less than three-quarters of a second.
- Michelin Pilot Challenge opening
practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is already complete. BGB Motorsports' Spencer Pumpelly was quickest in his Porsche with a lap at 92.684 mph. This was nearly a third of a second faster than the Mercedes of Murillo Racing's Kenton Koch. VOLT Racing's Trent Hindman was third, then Christian Szymczak in the second Murillo Mercedes. KohR Motorsports' Billy Johnson was fifth in his Ford Mustang
GT4.
In TCR, JDC-Miller MotorSports'
Chris Miller was fastest with a lap at 90.972 mph, good for 22nd overall. He was roughly one-sixth of a second faster than Bryan Herta Autosport's Stephen Simpson. Ryan Norman was third, then Jon Morley and Monteiro.
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| | Matt Crafton, ThorSport Win Darlington
Appeal
ThorSport Racing's appeal of Matt Crafton's disqualification last Friday night at Darlington was heard Thursday. The National Motorsports Appeals Panel determined that there was no wrongdoing, and in effect, gave
Crafton his fifth-place finish back.
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Photo is 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: Point Update After Matt Crafton's DQ Rescindment
by Phil Allaway
With Matt Crafton and ThorSport Racing's victory in front of the National Motorsports Appeals Board Thursday, there are substantial changes to the point standings. Crafton is now back in 10th, the last driver in the playoffs, instead of 13th. Nearly everyone else is affected in some way, shape or form.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ben Rhodes 282, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -28, 3) Chandler Smith -32, t-4) Stewart Friesen -42, t-4) Zane Smith -42, 6) Carson Hocevar -59, 7) Ty Majeski
-62, 8) Christian Eckes -64, 9) Grant Enfinger -80, 10) Matt Crafton -81, 11) Tanner Gray -95, 12) Parker Kligerman -112, 13) Tyler Ankrum -116, 14) Derek Kraus -124, 15) Matt DiBenedetto -146, 16) Timmy
Hill -155.
Playoff Points: 1) Zane Smith 13, 2) Ben Rhodes -3, 3) John Hunter Nemechek -5, t-4) Chandler Smith -8, t-3) Corey Heim -8, t-6) Stewart Friesen -12, t-6) Carson Hocevar
-12, t-6) Parker Kligerman -12.
Note: If he were eligible for Playoff Points, William Byron would be tied for fourth.
Stage Points: 1) Ben Rhodes 89, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -15, 3) Chandler Smith -25, 4) Stewart Friesen -38, 5) Ty Majeski -42, 6) Christian Eckes -43, 7) Zane Smith -46, 8) Carson
Hocevar -47, 9) Grant Enfinger -53, t-10) Parker Kligerman -54, t-10) Matt Crafton -54, t-12) Derek Kraus -57, t-12) Tanner Gray -57, 14) Tyler Ankrum -70, 15) Matt DiBenedetto -74, 16) Corey Heim -82.
Note: If they were eligible, Kyle Busch would be 14th and Ross Chastain 15th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Zane Smith 175, 2) Ben Rhodes -5, 3) Stewart Friesen -11, 4) Chandler Smith -13, 5) John Hunter Nemechek -17, 6) Carson Hocevar -18, 7) Christian Eckes
-27, 8) Ty Majeski -28, 9) Grant Enfinger -35, 10) Matt Crafton -36, 11) Tanner Gray -45, 12) Tyler Ankrum -55, 13) Parker Kligerman -58, 14) Derek Kraus -76, 15) Matt DiBenedetto -79, 16) Timmy Hill
-81.
Note: If he were eligible, Kyle Busch would be tied for 16th in Old Points.
WC Points (1-16): 1) Ben Rhodes 1018, 2) Zane Smith -19, 3) John Hunter Nemechek -43, 4) Chandler Smith -47, 5) Stewart Friesen -54, 6) Carson Hocevar -60, 7) Christian Eckes
-95, 8) Ty Majeski -100, 9) Grant Enfinger -128, 10) Matt Crafton -134, 11) Tanner Gray -165, 12) Tanner Gray -201, 13) Derek Kraus -269, 14) Matt DiBenedetto -285, 15) Timmy Hill -286, 16) Parker Kligerman
-322.
Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Circuit of the Americas), Chandler Smith (Las Vegas), Corey Heim (Atlanta), William Byron (Martinsville), Ben Rhodes (Bristol), John Hunter Nemechek (Darlington)
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Frontstretch Folio: AdventHealth 400
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Kansas Speedway for the first of two visits in 2021. Coverage of
the AdventHealth 400 starts with NASCAR RaceDay at 1:30 p.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage begins at 3 p.m. with the green flag around 3:10. It can be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel
90).
Records and
facts
Last year's Buschy McBusch Race 400 (so named because of a Name the Race contest from Busch Beer) had a dominant driver in Kyle Larson, who led 132 of 267 laps. Larson was up front until Kyle Busch was able to pass him on a restart with 11 laps to go. After a crash in turn 4 involving Christopher Bell and JTG-Daugherty Racing teammates Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Busch was able to hold on during the final two-lap sprint to
win.
Busch ended up a third of a second ahead of Kevin Harvick. Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Matt DiBenedetto and Chase Elliott. Kyle Larson ended up finishing a disappointing
19th.
Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano all have three wins at Kansas, which is tied for the most all-time along with the now-retired Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Five separate drivers have two wins each. Of the three active drivers with three Kansas victories, only Hamlin has a win there that came before the track was reconfigured in
2012.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.5-mile tri-oval, 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Banking: 17-20
degrees
Frontstretch: 2,721 feet, banked 10
degrees
Backstretch: 2,207 feet, banked 5
degrees
Grandstand Seating: 64,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened:
2001
Website: http://www.kansasspeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KansasSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/kansasspeedway
Pre-Race
Schedule:
Practice: Saturday, May 14, 5 - 5:50 p.m. on FOX Sports
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Qualifying: Saturday, May 14, 6:10 p.m. on FOX Sports
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Say
What?!
"At Fontana, we were able to run really close to the wall, so I would imagine it’s pretty easy to
run next to the wall at Kansas. I love Kansas – it’s definitely one of my favorite tracks. It does have multiple lanes, typically. If that top lane gets going really fast, it does make it hard to pass. I hope we can run the bottom, middle and top." - Kyle
Larson
"I think this
weekend’s race at Kansas Speedway is going to be a lot like the races we’ve seen at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race will be a very unforgiving one. There will be a lot of running the wall with little to no room for error. The margin of error is so small and if you make one mistake, you could take yourself and others out of the race. It’s going to be a lot of strategy and deciding when the right time is to take a risk. Certainly, with my driving style, running the wall is going to be a huge
part of my race but it’s also important to listen to my crew chief and spotter and weight the risk versus reward. You don’t want to get out there in the first stage and dive into the wall and end up finishing 38th." - Tyler
Reddick
"I’m excited
to get to Kansas. I think we’ve shown a lot of improvement on the mile-and-a-halves this year and we’ve definitely [had] speed. If we can put everything together and get a good starting spot I think we should be able to turn things around. The last few weeks haven’t been the best but we’ve got a good group of guys who don’t give up and I know we’re capable of more, we just need everything to go right to put ourselves in position for another
win.
"It helps to
know I have been successful at Kansas, but the Cup Series is a whole different level of competition. Now, I got the win earlier this year and we’ve been up front more in these first few races than in all of last season, so I think mentally I’m more prepared for what’s coming than I was last year. We can’t really compare what we saw last year to what is coming because of the new car. I’m used to adapting, that’s something you have to do a lot in dirt racing, and we’ve had to do it a lot with this
new car. Once we get on track for practice and see what we’ve got I think I’ll be better able to judge what I need to be comfortable and then I can start thinking about how I can use what I know about Kansas to run my best race." - Chase
Briscoe
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade
Photography.
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