Frontstretch Newsletter: Blake Harris Tapped To Replace Retiring Greg Ives

Published: Fri, 10/14/22

Frontstretch Newsletter: Oct. 14, 2022
Volume XVI, Edition CLXX

What to Watch: Oct. 14-16

- Today, NASCAR Xfinity Series teams are scheduled to load into the Neon Garage in Las Vegas within the hour. There will be a couple of hours of garage work before inspection starts for practice.

Practice is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET tonight and will air live on USA. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.

Coverage of the ALSCO Uniforms 302 is scheduled to start with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon on NBC. Race coverage starts at 3:30 with the green flag at 3:45 p.m. Check your local listings as it could be possible for affiliates to pre-empt the broadcast in favor of something like syndicated college football.

- Kurt Busch is scheduled to have a press conference at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 11 a.m. ET Saturday morning. The press conference will be carried on NASCAR.com's Press Pass.

NASCAR Cup Series teams will be loading into the Neon Garage as well today. However, they have no on-track activity until Saturday morning (Pacific time).

- European Le Mans Series teams are already done practice for today in Portimao. They have another free practice session scheduled for 5:40 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Qualifying for the four-hour season finale is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET Saturday and will be streamed live on a combination of the European Le Mans Series YouTube channel and MotorTrend+.

The actual 4 Hours of Portimao is scheduled to go green at 8 a.m. ET. Coverage will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET on the European Le Mans Series YouTube channel and MotorTrend+.

- MotoGP is at the Philip Island Circuit this weekend in South Australia. Practice is more or less already complete. Coverage of qualifying day begins at 6 p.m. ET tonight on MotoGP.com (subscription required). Race day coverage will also begin at 6 p.m. ET Saturday.

The motoGP World Championship Grand Prix of Australia is scheduled for 11 p.m. for the live streamers. It will air in the United States via tape delay at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC, prior to Countdown to Green for the Cup race.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN LAS VEGAS THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUE:

Daniel McFadin (@DanielMcFadin)

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

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Oct. 14

- The European Le Mans Series is wrapping up their season this season at Portugal's Algarve International Circuit. The first free practice session is already complete. Racing Team Turkey's Jack Aitken was fastest overall with a lap at 112.403 mph in his ORECA 07-Gibson. Aitken's lap was .237 seconds quicker than Inter Europol Competition's Pietro Fittipaldi. TDS Racing x Valliante's Mathias Beche was third fastest, then United Autosports' Tom Gamble and Prema's Louis Deletraz.

In LMP3, Inter Europol Competition's Guilherme Oliveira was fastest with a lap at 109.838 mph, good for 17th overall. Oliveira's lap was .019 seconds ahead of COOL Racing's Malthe Jakobsen. United Autosports' Kay van Berlo was third, then RLR MSport's Valentin Catalano and Antoine Doquin in the second COOL Racing entry.

In GTE, Oman Racing with TF Sport's Jonny Adam was fastest in class with a lap at 105.884 mph, good for 30th overall. Adam's lap was .086 seconds faster than the Porsche of Absolute Racing's Martin Rump. Rinaldi Racing's Nicolas Varrone and Fabrizio Crestani were third and fourth, separated by .013 seconds. Kessel Racing's Nicklas Nielsen was fifth quickest.

Today's Top News:

Blake Harris Crew Chief for Alex Bowman in 2023

Hendrick Motorsports announced Friday morning that Blake Harris will move to the operation to replace Greg Ives as crew chief for Alex Bowman in 2023.

Read more

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: South Point 400

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will make their fourth fall visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This time, the race has been pushed back a month into mid-October in order to make things more hospitable. 100 degree weather every year is not particularly swell. Coverage of the South Point 400 will start with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. ET on NBC. The green flag is scheduled to fly around 2:45 p.m. Remember that Las Vegas is in the Pacific time zone. As a result, the race will start before Noon local time. The event can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 267 laps (400.5 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Last year's South Point 400 started the Round of 12 and was dominated by two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. The two drivers combined to lead 232 of 267 laps.

While there were 21 lead changes during the lead between 10 drivers, the big pass of the day came on lap 153 when Hamlin was able to get by Larson for the lead. Hamlin effectively led the rest of the way outside of pit stop sequences to take the win. He finished .442 seconds ahead of Chase Elliott. Kyle Busch was third, then Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney.

Among active drivers, Brad Keselowski has the most victories with three. Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. each have two wins, while five others have one.

Jimmie Johnson has the most victories all-time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with four, including three in a row from 2005-2007. His most recent win there was in 2010. Keselowski and Matt Kenseth both have three wins at Las Vegas, while Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Harvick, Logano and Truex each have two..

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.5-mile tri-oval, 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Banking: 24 degrees

Frontstretch: 2,275 ft, banked 9 degrees

Backstretch: 1,572 ft., banked 5 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 81,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 1996

Website: http://www.lvms.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/LVMotorSpeedway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, Oct. 15, 12 - 12:50 p.m. ET on USA

Qualifying: Saturday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. ET on USA

Say What!

"I love going to Las Vegas. It’s always been one of my favorite tracks. We were pretty good there earlier this year, and we’ve only gotten better on the mile-and-a-half tracks, so I’m excited to get there and see how things go. This round definitely plays more into my strengths and we’re coming into it with a lot of momentum. We’ve gotten so much better at places like Las Vegas and we had a really good test at Homestead a few weeks ago. Martinsville isn’t a place where I’ve been great in the past but we’ve been really good on the flat, short tracks, so I think we’d be OK if we had to race our way in there." - Chase Briscoe

"I honestly can’t even tell you what happened in the first race, it’s been so long. We’ve just been through so many tests and so many simulator sessions and so many different forms of setups and things with the car, and the evolutions of the setups and the tires, and the understanding of the vehicle is just in a massively different spot than where we were at the beginning of the year. That progression of the sport that naturally comes year after year after year is just much more rapid this year because of the new car, so it’ll be interesting to see how Las Vegas is this weekend with our GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang. A lot of it depends on just how hot it is. We’re expecting hot, but I think the falloff will be dictated by that, and which tire we bring with which stagger, will also be a little bit of a difference than we had the first time." - Kevin Harvick

"Las Vegas is a track that was pretty good to us earlier this year as far as our speed. I thought we had probably a top three car but had some issues throughout the day that kept us further back in the field. We drove through the field a couple of times and ended up towards the front at the end. I made a mistake and got myself in the wall and got us a DNF at the end of the day. That was early in the season, and I think we’ve gotten our cars even better since then and I’ve learned a lot since then as a driver with this car and what it wants. I’m excited to get back to Las Vegas and see if we have similar speed and can have another solid run." - Erik Jones

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: Can Noah Gragson Win 10 Xfinity Races This Season?

by Stephen Stumpf

Friday Faceoff: How Will Hailie Deegan’s Xfinity Debut Go?

by the Frontstretch Staff

Fire on Fridays: NASCAR Should Be Alarmed by Tony Stewart’s Comments

by Anthony Damcott

Dirty (Half) Dozen: Brad Sweet Playing High Limits, New Purses in 2023?

by Bryan Keith

NASCAR 101: 1.5-Mile Tracks’ Renaissance Dominates Round of 8

by Adam Cheek

Stock Car Scoop: How Will Las Vegas Compare to Other 2022 1.5-Mile Races?

with Adam Cheek and Alex Gintz

Tomorrow at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Las Vegas.

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