Frontstretch Newsletter: Loudon, Lime Rock Get Underway

Published: Fri, 07/15/22

Frontstretch Newsletter: July 15, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition CXV

What to Watch: July 15-17

- For NASCAR teams, today is pull-in day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASCAR Cup Series teams will unload and get work down in the garage. NASCAR Xfinity Series teams have a full day of work ahead of them. Work on the cars, get through inspection, then practice and qualifying. Practice will start at 5 p.m. ET and will air live on USA. Qualifying follows immediately afterwards.

Saturday will have practice for Cup teams at 11:35 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying. Coverage will start on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. USA will pick up the coverage in progress at Noon.

Coverage of the Xfinity Series Crayon 200 starts at 2 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green on USA. Race coverage follows at 2:30.

Whelen Modified teams will race for 100 laps Saturday at 6 p.m. ET at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. That will be streamed live at FLORacing.com (subscription required).

- NTT IndyCar Series teams are scheduled to practice once at 2:30 p.m. ET today at Exhibition Place. That will be streamed live on Peacock.

Practice No. 2 is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET Saturday morning, while qualifying will be at 2 p.m. Following a morning warmup at 10:55 a.m. Sunday, race coverage will begin at 3 p.m. The entire weekend, including the race, is exclusive to Peacock.

- IMSA teams at Lime Rock have practice and qualifying all day today. The day will be capped off with qualifying for the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix at 5:35 p.m. ET today. This will be streamed at IMSA.com.

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge teams will race for two hours Saturday starting at 11:05 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live on Peacock starting at 11 a.m. The FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix is scheduled to go green at 3:10 p.m. The race will be streamed live on Peacock starting at 3 p.m. The race will air via tape delay on USA starting at 5 p.m. after the Crayon 200 from New Hampshire.

- ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams are in Brooklyn for a doubleheader weekend. That action starts with practice today at 4 p.m. ET. That session will be streamed on Formula E YouTube's channel starting at 3:55.

Saturday, teams will practice again at the extremely early time of 7 a.m. ET. Remember, this is in the Eastern time zone. Coverage will be streamed on the Formula E YouTube channel starting at 6:55 a.m. Qualifying will be streamed on CBS Sports HQ starting at 8:30 a.m. Race No. 1 will air live on CBS starting at 1 p.m. ET.

Sunday's schedule is identical to Saturday. A practice session at 7 a.m., then qualifying at 8:30. Race No. 2 will be on CBS at 1 p.m.

- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams will finish up their residency at Eldora Speedway. Tonight is the Knight Before the Kings Royal. Action starts at 6:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision (subscription required).

Saturday night is the 39th Annual Kings Royal, where $175,000 will go to the winner. Action on the high banks will start at 6:15 p.m. on DirtVision.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

LOUDON:

Amy Henderson (@Writer_Amy)

LIME ROCK:

Phil Allaway (@Critic84)

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

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: July 14

- The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series held their second race of the week at Eldora Speedway, the Historical Big 1, last night. Pennsylvania's Brent Marks started 14th, then proceeded to fly up the order in the 40-lap race. He was able to pass Tyler Courtney on lap 25 and pulled away to win the Historical Big 1 and grab a check for $100,000. Courtney was second, then Rico Abreu, Brad Sweet and Logan Schuchart. For more on this race, check out today's edition of Thinkin' Dirty at Frontstretch.

Today's Top News:

Emerling-Gase Fielding 2nd Xfinity Car Full Time in 2023

Emerling-Gase Motorsports announced their intentions Thursday to expand to two full-time entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2023. They want to have one full-time driver and the second car would be shared.

Kaden Honeycutt Joining On Point for 3 Races

OnPoint Motorsports announced Thursday that Kaden Honeycutt has been signed to drive the No. 30 Toyota in three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races starting at Pocono.

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.

Newsletter Exclusives:

Frontstretch Folio: Ambetter 301

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will make their only visit of the year to New England. Coverage of the Ambetter 301 will start at 12:30 p.m. Sunday with NASCAR RaceDay on FOX Sports 1. NBC Sports coverage will begin with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. on USA. Race coverage follows at 3 p.m. and the green flag is scheduled to drop around 3:15. In addition, the event can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). Drivers will compete for 301 laps (318.458 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Last year's Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 started under threatening skies. A mere three minutes after the green came out, the skies opened. That resulted in a number of frontrunners crashing, including Kyle Busch. A red flag followed.

Aric Almirola was able to run down Matt DiBenedetto and take the lead on lap 274. By that point, it was starting to get dark at NHMS. Teams had no real idea of when the race was going to end. On lap 283, NASCAR declared that there would be 10 laps to go. From there, Almirola was able to hold on to win his first unrestricted race in the NASCAR Cup Series. The race was declared complete due to darkness eight laps short of the scheduled distance.

Almirola ended up .697 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell at the finish. Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five.

Kevin Harvick has the most wins among active drivers at NHMS with four. Both of the Busch brothers, along with Denny Hamlin, have three Loudon victories.

All-time, Harvick and Jeff Burton are tied for the most victories at Loudon with four. In addition to the four active drivers with three wins, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart also have three victories.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.058-mile oval, 301 laps (318.458 miles)
Banking: 2-7 degrees
Straightaways: 1,500 ft., banked 2 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 95,491
Pit Road Speed: 40 mph
Pace Car Speed: 50 mph

Opened: 1990, first Cup race in 1993

Website: http://www.nhms.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nhmotorspeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NHMotorSpeedway

Say What?!

"No, none. New Hampshire is my worst racetrack by a lot. So yeah, we were in the sim there the other day, and it was a struggle. So don’t take anything from the Phoenix turnaround. I feel like everything I do as a driver never really works at New Hampshire. It’s a weird racetrack for me. It just doesn’t suit what I do, so we definitely need to figure it out. But I don’t have a lot of confidence going in there. But I didn’t have a lot of confidence going in Phoenix, either, and it worked out. So hopefully, we can go to New Hampshire and leave happy." - Chase Briscoe

"This weekend will be tough, I feel like. I think New Hampshire [Motor Speedway] is a fairly difficult track to get around but also to get around consistently lap after lap. When I first started racing, I did really well there and it was one of my best tracks, but for some reason I haven’t gotten the same results in Cup. This year, I wanted to really focus on getting better at the short tracks and New Hampshire [Motor Speedway] was one specifically that I wanted to work on. Between running Slinger [Speedway] on Monday and Tuesday and then being in the Xfinity car on Friday and Saturday this week, I’ll have done quite a bit of preparation for Sunday’s short-track race. The extra laps in general, but especially in the Xfinity Series race, I think will really get me in a good rhythm for the Cup Series race." - William Byron

"It’s mainly the corner entry and the braking zones at New Hampshire [that are a challenge]. And then, [turn 3] seems to get rougher and rougher each year, just with settling or track aging. It makes it a challenge to carve through there. If you get that right, that usually leads to a good day." - Kurt Busch

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.

Today at Frontstretch:

4 Burning Questions: What Went Wrong With Atlanta Attendance?

by Stephen Stumpf

Friday Faceoff: When will Denny Hamlin Pay Back Ross Chastain?

by the Frontstretch Staff

Fire on Fridays: RCR Needs to Go With a Free Agent This Time

by Kevin Rutherford

Stock Car Scoop: Was Tyler Reddick’s Team Change the Right Move?

with Adam Cheek and Alex Gintz

NASCAR 101: Most Prominent & Successful Team Switches

by Adam Cheek

Thinkin’ Dirty: 2022 Historical Big One at Eldora

by Bryan Keith

Tomorrow at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Loudon, Toronto, Lime Rock and Pevely.

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