Frontstretch Newsletter: Dec. 12, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition CCV |
What to Watch: Dec. 12-18 |
- Our own Tom Bowles will be a
guest today on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's On Track with hosts Larry McReynolds and Danielle Trotta. The broadcast is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET.
- Testing ahead of the 2023 season
continues for a number of IMSA teams. Daytona International Speedway will be the site of a number of private tests over the next week.
- This weekend will see Porsche
host their annual Night of Champions in Stuttgart, Germany. Here, we will learn the official driver lineups for Porsche's factory efforts in IMSA and the WEC.
- Interstate Batteries Monday
Night Racing continues their season tonight with a visit to the virtual Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with Next Gen Cup cars. Action starts tonight at 7:45 p.m. ET. The action will be simulcast on both Podium eSports' Twitch and Frontstretch's own YouTube channel.
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 continuing our offseason content with the first five major storylines of the season. We'll also have additional articles, including a look at ARCA and INDYCAR's recent TV news. |
Around the World in Motorsports: Dec. 5-11 |
- AF Corse's James Calado, Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi dominated Sunday at the Yas Marina Circuit to win the Gulf 12 Hours, the season finale for the Intercontinental GT
Challenge. They won by 14.388 seconds over teammates Nicklas Nielsen, Davide Rigon and Alessio Rovera. Sainteloc's No. 25 Audi for Erwan Bastard, Christopher Haase and Patric Niederhauser were third, then the GetSpeed Mercedes of Al Faisal Al Zubair, Fabian Schiller and Luca Stolz. SunEnergy1 Racing's Philip Ellis, Kenny Habul and Martin Konrad were a lap down in fifth, good enough to win the Pro-Am class. The championship went to Mercedes' Daniel Juncadella, who could only have lost the title by failing to score points while the No. 77 Mercedes won overall. Juncadella started on the front row, but was never a factor before dropping out in the second hour with water pressure issues. - Last week saw all four LMDh manufacturers, along with a couple of other new GT3 cars, descend upon Daytona for two days of testing. Similar to the test at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in October, speeds were down a little bit as compared to with the DPi cars, but not enough for most fans to notice. Wayne Taylor Racing's No. 10 Acura ARX-06 was unofficially fastest overall with a lap at 133.357 mph. It is a couple of mph off of the pole time from 2022, but still plenty fast. - SportsCar365.com reported Wednesday that there
have been over 70 teams that have expressed interest in entering next month's Rolex 24 at Daytona. As a result, a reserve list of entries will be required. The sanctioning body has set a limit of 61 teams that can compete in the race, primarily due to pit space. Teams that are full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will get priority, followed by those committed to the Michelin Endurance Cup. - Optimum Motorsport announced in Abu Dhabi Friday that they will race full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTD class in 2023 with their McLaren 720S GT3 under the Inception Racing banner. Brendan Iribe and Frederik Schandorff will race full-time, while Ollie Millroy will compete in the Michelin Endurance Cup races. Marvin Kirchhoefer will drive at Daytona only. - VasserSullivan announced Thursday that Jack Hawksworth and Ben
Barnicoat will be back in the No. 14 Lexus RCF GT3 full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's GTD Pro class in 2023. - TeamTGM announced Thursday that they will switch from the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS CS to the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 for the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. The move goes hand in
hand with their one-off Rolex 24 effort switching from Porsche to Aston Martin. The driver lineups are unchanged from 2022 as the Plumb brothers (Hugh and Matt) will share the No. 46, while team owner Ted Giovanis and Owen Trinkler will share the No. 64. |
| | Josh Bilicki Driving for Live Fast in
2023Live Fast Motorsports announced Monday morning that Josh Bilicki will drive a part-time schedule in the No. 78 Chevrolet in 2023, starting at Circuit of the
Americas in March. |
| | John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Truex Returning to 2023 JGR Xfinity
LineupJoe Gibbs Racing announced Thursday that John Hunter Nemechek will drive the No. 20 full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2023. The No. 19 will be an all-star car
with multiple drivers. Ryan Truex is the first driver announced for that effort. |
| | Sammy Smith Running Full Xfinity Schedule for
JGRJoe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday that Sammy Smith will move up from ARCA to drive the No. 18 Toyota full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in
2023. |
| | Kaz Grala Running Full Time for Sam Hunt in 2023, Connor Mosack Part
TimeSam Hunt Racing announced Thursday that the team will expand to two full-time entries in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2023. Kaz Grala will drive the team's No. 26
Toyota full-time, while Connor Mosack has a 20-race deal to drive the No. 24. |
| | Jarrett Back With Josh Berry for More Races in
2023JR Motorsports announced last Monday that Jarrett, a logistics company, will return to serve as a primary sponsor of Josh Berry's No. 8 Chevrolet for six races in
2023. |
| | Rajah Caruth Moving to GMS in
2023GMS Racing announced Tuesday that Rajah Caruth will move up from the ARCA Menards Series to drive the No. 24 Chevrolet full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series in 2023. |
| | Christian Eckes Moving to McAnally for 2023 Truck
SeasonMcAnally-Hilgemann Racing announced their 2023 full-time driver lineup on Tuesday. Christian Eckes will move from ThorSport Racing to replace Derek Kraus in the
No. 19, while Jake Garcia will drive the No. 35 (renumbered from No. 91) in place of Colby Howard. |
| | Carson Hocevar Back at Niece in
2023Niece Motorsports announced Thursday that Carson Hocevar will be back in the No. 42 Chevrolet full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2023. Worldwide
Express will continue to sponsor the team. |
| | All ARCA Races to Be Broadcast By FOX in
2023ARCA announced Friday that they have signed a new two-year TV deal with FOX Sports that will see all 20 races broadcast live on either FOX Sports 1 or FOX Sports
2. Some races will be streamed on FLORacing.com as well. |
| | William Sawalich Joining JGR ARCA
ProgramJoe Gibbs Racing announced Friday that they have signed William Sawalich to a developmental deal. He will drive for the team full-time in ARCA Menards Series East,
while also competing in selected ARCA Menards Series races starting at Phoenix in March. |
| | Romain Grosjean Joins Lamborghini, To Make IMSA Debut at Rolex
24Lamborghini Squadra Corse announced Tuesday that Romain Grosjean has been signed as a factory driver for the organization. He will drive a limited schedule in GT3
equipment in 2023 starting at the Rolex 24 at Daytona while helping to develop Lamborghini's new LMDh prototype. |
| | Wayne Taylor Racing, Racers Edge Motorsports Expands Partnership In
2023Wayne Taylor Racing and Racers Edge Motorsports jointly announced Friday that they will enter an Acura NSX Evo22 in all four Michelin Endurance Cup races. Ashton
Harrison, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal will drive in all four races, while Ryan Briscoe joins for Daytona. |
| | SRX Returning in 2023, Moving to
ESPNThe Superstar Racing Experience announced Monday morning that they will be moving from CBS to ESPN in 2023. Races will be held on Thursday nights as part of a
revival of Thursday Night Thunder. |
| | Presley Sorah Claims Monday Night Racing Victory at
IndyPresley Sorah was able to survive a wreckfest of an event to win the Interstate Batteries Monday Night Racing Next Level Racing 125 at the virtual Indianapolis
Motor Speedway. Collin Fern was second, then Matt Stallknecht, Ford Martin and Mark Rebilas. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, James Black of INDYCAR Media, IMSA, Superstar Racing Experience and iRacing via Brandon Hauff 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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