Frontstretch Newsletter: Dec. 5, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition CCIV |
- IMSA is holding a second GTP
test Tuesday and Wednesday this week at Daytona International Speedway. While Frontstretch is not going to be at the test, it is open to the media. Times from the sessions will not be released (we only reported on "highly unofficial" lap times from the Road Atlanta test in October because our own Phil Allaway was there and timed some laps manually).
- McAnally-Hilgemann Racing will announce their 2023 plans Tuesday afternoon. We will learn their driver lineup for the upcoming season and if any changes will be made. It has been rumored that Colby Howard will be out of the No. 91 Chevrolet, but nothing beyond that.
- The Intercontinental GT Challenge wraps up their 2022 season with the Gulf 12 Hours this weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The race is scheduled to start at 1 a.m. ET Sunday morning. The race will be streamed live on the SRO's YouTube channel, GT World. Tape-delayed and highlighted coverage will air at a future date on CBS Sports Network.
- Tonight, Interstate Batteries Monday Night Racing continues with the drivers racing INDYCAR Dallara IR18 cars at the virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Coverage of the fifth round of the season starts at 7:45 p.m. ET on Podium eSports' Twitch channel. It will also be streamed on their Twitter feed. For this season, Frontstretch has entered into a sponsorship deal with Monday Night Racing. During the offseason, we will weekly 5 Points to Ponder columns about each event, in addition to a post-race show on our YouTube channel. That is in addition to race recaps. We will have a recap of tonight's MX-5 race and anything else that breaks today at Frontstretch.
- This week at Frontstretch, we are starting our offseason content. We'll have award articles for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Formula 1, the NTT IndyCar Series, ARCA Menards Series, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and dirt. We'll also take a more detailed look at Silly Season. |
Around the World in Motorsports: Nov. 28-Dec. 4 |
- Derek Thorn dominated the 55th Annual Snowball Derby Sunday at Five Flags Speedway, leading 307 of 318 laps and
holding on after a late restart to finally claim the Tom Dawson Trophy. Sammy Smith was second, then Stephen Nasse, Casey Roderick and Cole Butcher. - Saturday's Snowflake 100 was delayed by rain. Once the track dried, Roderick went untouched, leading all 100 laps
to win the Pro Late Model feature that finished after 1 a.m. Jake Garcia was second, then Jackson Boone, Jeremy Doss and Dylan Fetcho. - Thursday night marked NASCAR's annual awards ceremony in Nashville. There, all of NASCAR's champions were feted.
Speeches were made by champions of NASCAR's National-level series (NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series). In the days leading up to the banquet, a series of award winners were announced. Trackhouse Racing Team's Justin
Marks won the Myers Brothers Award for outstanding contributions to stock car racing. Ralph Maccarone won the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award in recognition of his work with Who We Play For, a foundation
designed to help fund heart screenings for originally just student athletes before being expanded to kids in general. Chase Elliott won the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award for the fifth straight year in the NASCAR Cup Series. The
Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver went to Noah Gragson, while Hailie Deegan won the award for the Camping World Truck Series. - JDC-Miller MotorSports revealed to SportsCar365.com Thursday that they will enter a Duqueine M30-D08-Nissan in the LMP3 class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's Michelin Endurance Cup races in
2023. The LMP3 car will be the team's only entry in the Rolex 24 at Daytona due to the fact that the team will not receive their Porsche 963 in time to race at Daytona in the GTP class. No drivers for the LMP3 car were announced. - In Australia, Chaz Mostert took advantage of Cameron Waters getting penalized for contact to win Race No. 1 of the
VALO Adelaide 500 Saturday in a Walkinshaw Andretti United one-two with teammate Nick Percat. James Courtney was third, then former ARCA Menards Series East driver Brodie Kostecki and Tim Slade. Race No. 2 on Sunday saw Triple Eight Race Engineering's Broc Feeney snag the lead early to claim his first career
Supercars victory by .9644 seconds over Mostert, who won the round. Anton De Pasquale was third, then Waters and Andre Heimgartner. Shane van Gisbergen had already clinched the championship prior to Adelaide. His weekend was marked by a crash on
Saturday and a late penalty neutralizing a charge on Sunday. Despite that, he still celebrated by doing donuts around the championship trophy. |
| | 2023 Chinese Grand Prix Canceled Due To
COVID-19The FIA announced Friday that the 2023 Grand Prix of China, scheduled for April 16, has been cancelled due to the country's current Covid Zero
policies. |
| | Live Fast Running Chevrolets in 2023Live Fast Motorsports announced Thursday that they are switching from Ford to Chevrolet for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series
season. |
| | Brennan Poole Running Full Xfinity Schedule for
JDMJD Motorsports announced Friday that Brennan Poole, who drove for the team in a couple of races in 2022, will drive the No. 6 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity
Series full-time in 2023. |
| | Sage Karam Returning to APR for
2023Alpha Prime Racing announced Friday that Sage Karam will return to the team to race a limited schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2023. It is unclear which
car that Karam will drive starting at Atlanta. |
| | Dean Thompson Moving to TRICON for
2023TRICON Garage announced Monday that Dean Thompson will move to the team from Niece Motorsports to drive the No. 5 Toyota in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in
2023. |
| | Cadillac Rounds Out WeatherTech Lineup With Scott Dixon, Jack
AitkenCadillac Racing officially filled their final two driver slots for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in their new V-LMDhs. Scott Dixon will be the third driver in Chip
Ganassi's No. 01, while Jack Aitken will make his IMSA debut with Action Express Racing. |
| | Pfaff Motorsports Announces Klaus Bachler, Patrick Pilet As Full-Time
DriversPfaff Motorsports announced Monday morning that Klaus Bachler and Patrick Pilet will drive full-time for the team in their GTD Pro Porsche in 2023. Laurens Vanthoor will join for the endurance
races. |
| | Wright Motorsports Expands To 2 Cars With Alan Brynjolfsson, Trent
HindmanWright Motorsports announced Friday that they will expand to two cars in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023 with a new Porsche for 2022 IMSA
Michelin Pilot Challenge champions Alan Brynjolfsson and Trent Hindman. |
| | Casey Carden Returning to ARCA With
ClubbClubb Racing Inc. announced Friday that Casey Carden will return to the team for the two ARCA Menards Series road course races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and
Watkins Glen International in 2023. |
| | David Schildhouse Edges Joey Padgett in Monday Night Racing Event at
TexasLast Monday night, David Schildhouse got to the inside of Joey Padgett on the last lap and beat him back to the line by a nose to win the Interstate Batteries
Monday Night Racing Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child 300k. Collin Fern was third, then DJ Cummings and Garrett Smithley. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, LAT Images, IMSA, iRacing via Justin Melillo and our own Phil Allaway and Mark Kristl. 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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