Frontstretch Newsletter: April 7, 2023
Volume XVII, Edition XLVI |
- All on-track activity scheduled for Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway has been cancelled due to rain. Due to the sketchiness
involved in moving anything into and out of the infield on a wet dirt track, the garage will also not open. - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams will be on-track Saturday for their heat races starting at 4:30 p.m. ET. These races will
air live on FOX Sports 1. Pre-race coverage starts with NASCAR RaceDay - NCTS Edition at 7 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET, live on FOX Sports
1. - World
of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams will be at US 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo. tonight for the Osborn Sprint Car Showdown. Coverage starts at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision. - Tomorrow night, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series travels to 81 Speedway for the Fifth Annual Jason
Johnson Classic. Coverage starts at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision. FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN BRISTOL THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUE: Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from
Bristol! |
| | Hendrick’s Nos. 24, 48 Cup Teams Penalized After
Richmond NASCAR announced multiple penalties Thursday. Both Alex Bowman and William Byron's cars were found with illegal greenhouse modifications and have been hit with
60-point penalties. Three Truck teams were also given 10-point penalties. |
| | NASCAR Unveils All-Star Race
Format NASCAR unveiled the format for May's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It will be a 200-lap race with heat races on Saturday. Three fresh sets of tires
will be in the pits. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography and Chris Owens of HHP. Have news for Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com with a promising lead or tip. |
Around the World in Motorsports: April 6 |
- The National Motorsports Appeal Panel of former SPEED president Hunter Nickell, Bowman Gray Speedway promoter Dale Pinilis and
retired racer Lyn St. James completely upheld the 25-point penalty and $50,000 fine given to Denny Hamlin Thursday for putting Ross Chastain in the wall intentionally on the final restart at Phoenix. After the ruling, Hamlin recorded a 32-minute "emergency edition" of his podcast, Actions Detrimental, where he described
what went into his appeal, including his entire opening statement. He stated that he thought that he had a favorable panel (especially with Pinilis being there) and says that NASCAR officials told him outright that the podcast is the only reason that he got penalized. He admits to being shocked by the outcome, which apparently was announced after a 10-minute deliberation with no explanation. He
did not state whether or not he intends to appeal the ruling to the Final Appeals Officer. - In the wake of Thursday's appeal, NASCAR instituted a new rule to address Hamlin's statement. Justification for why a penalty is
upheld or rescinded will now be guaranteed to be provided to the appellant. It will also be indicated in the press release when the decision is announced. |
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Ross Chastain Reclaims Points Lead After Alex Bowman's Penalty
by Phil Allaway
Once again, we have penalties that have reshaped the point standings. Alex Bowman was in the lead by four points
after Richmond. However, as you see above, he was penalized 60 points for a greenhouse violation. This has changed the standings significantly. Ross Chastain has reclaimed the points lead as a result of the penalty. He is 30 points ahead of
Christopher Bell. Kevin Harvick is third, then a tie for fourth between Kyle Larson and Joey Logano. Kyle Busch is sixth in points, followed by Bowman, who went from four points ahead and 56 points
behind. Martin Truex Jr. is up to fifth, followed by Brad Keselowski and a tie for 10th between Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Tyler Reddick is 12th, then Austin Cindric. William Byron's penalty drops him
from fourth to 14th. Chris Buescher is the last driver currently in the playoffs on points in 15th. Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 16th. Buescher has a six-point lead over Daniel Suarez, who finished 23rd. Michael McDowell is up one
place to 18th after finishing sixth, his best career finish on a short track. Corey LaJoie is down one place to 19th, while Ty Gibbs remains in 20th. Point Standings
(1-16): 1) Ross Chastain 259, 2) Christopher Bell -30, 3) Kevin Harvick -32, t-4) Kyle Larson -37, t-4) Joey Logano -37, 6) Kyle Busch -44, 7) Alex Bowman -56, 8) Martin
Truex Jr. -61, 9) Brad Keselowski -63, t-10) Denny Hamlin -71, t-10) Ryan Blaney -71, 12) Tyler Reddick -72, 13) Austin Cindric -84, 14) William Byron -91, 15) Chris Buescher -99, 16) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -102.
Note: Drivers in italics are either outside of the playoffs, or ineligible for points. Playoff Points: 1) William Byron
10, t-2) Kyle Larson -4, t-2) Joey Logano -4, t-2) Tyler Reddick -4, t-5) Kyle Busch
-5, t-5) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -5, 7) Ross Chastain -7, t-8) Brad Keselowski -9, t-8) Austin Cindric -9, t-8) Denny Hamlin -9. Stage
Points: 1) William Byron 83, 2) Ross Chastain -15, 3) Kyle Larson -25, t-4) Joey Logano
-29, t-4) Alex Bowman -29, t-4) Christopher Bell -29, t-7) Denny Hamlin -30, 8) Kevin Harvick -33, 9) Brad Keselowski -35, 10) Austin Cindric -40, 11) Martin Truex Jr. -47, 12) Tyler Reddick -49, 13) Ryan Blaney
-51, 14) Chris Buescher -52, 15) Daniel Suarez -62, 16) Michael McDowell -63.
Outside of the top-16, but in the playoffs: 17) Kyle Busch -64, t-18) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -70.
Note: The Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at
Daytona. Old Point Standings (1-16):
1) Kyle Busch 226, 2) Ross Chastain -1, 3) Kevin Harvick -17, 4) Christopher Bell -18, 5) Joey Logano -25, 6) Kyle Larson -30, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -33, 8) Ryan Blaney -39, 9) Alex Bowman -40, 10) Brad Keselowski -43, 11) Tyler Reddick -46, 12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -49, 13) Corey LaJoie -51, 14) Denny Hamlin
-52, 15) Ty Gibbs -57, 16) Daniel Suarez -59. Outside of the
top 16, but still in the playoffs: 18) Chris Buescher -62, 19) Austin Cindric -64, 23) William Byron -94. Note: These standings are based on the old point system that was used before stages were
created. WC Points (1-16): 1) Ross Chastain 1000, 2) Kyle Busch -11, 3) Christopher Bell -43, 4) Kevin Harvick
-62, 5) Joey Logano -81, 6) Kyle Larson -94, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -131, 8) Ryan Blaney -133, 9) Alex Bowman -137, 10) Brad Keselowski -139, 11) Tyler Reddick -150, 12) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -175, 13) Corey LaJoie -186, 14) Denny Hamlin -198, 16) Daniel Suarez -201, 16) Ty Gibbs -207. Outside the top-16, but still in the playoffs: 17) Chris Buescher -210, 19) Austin Cindric
-220, 26) William Byron -343. Note No. 1: The WC points are based on the original points system created by Bob Latford in 1975. Race Winners: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Fontana), William Byron (Las Vegas, Phoenix), Joey Logano (Atlanta), Tyler Reddick (Austin), Kyle Larson (Richmond)
Note: Race wins in Italics do not count towards playoff eligibility.
Phil Allaway is
the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Points Update by Phil Allaway
In addition to the penalties handed down to Hendrick Motorsports Thursday, 10-point penalties were levied to both Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers (Jack Wood and Chase Purdy) and Rev Racing's Nick Sanchez. Unlike the Cup penalties, these do not have that big of an impact on the point standings. Purdy's penalty broke a tie between himself and Corey Heim. As a result, Heim now has sole possession of seventh, while Purdy is now eighth. Sanchez remains in ninth, the last driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series playoffs on points. Sanchez's advantage over 10th-place Tyler Ankrum is down to four points from 14. Wood, who is not full-time in the No. 51, dropped from 22nd to
24th. Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of our own Phil Allaway.
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Frontstretch Folio: Food City Dirt Race
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to Bristol Motor Speedway for their third try on the loose surface. Coverage of the Food City Dirt Race will start at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday afternoon with an Easter Celebration on FOX Sports 1 that will feature, among others, Tim Tebow. That will be followed by NASCAR
RaceDay at 5:30 p.m. NASCAR RaceDay moves to FOX at 6 p.m. Race coverage starts at 7 p.m. with the green flag scheduled to drop around 7:15. In addition, the event can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 250 laps (133.25 miles) en route to the checkered flag.
Records and facts Last year's Food City Dirt Race was plagued by rain. Two separate rain delays interrupted the action. In addition, overnight rains resulted in the track surface being too muddy, resulting in an early mandatory stop to clean grilles. The race came down to a duel between Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe, who had dominated early before a flat tire put him in the back. On the final lap, Briscoe attempted a wild slide job on Reddick that resulted in both drivers spinning
out. Reddick was able to get back going and still had the lead,
but third-place Kyle Busch was able to sweep around the outside of Reddick a couple hundred feet short of the start-finish line to steal what turned to be his only victory of 2022. Kyle Busch won by .33 seconds over Reddick. Joey
Logano was third, then Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. Briscoe ended up having to settle for 22nd. All-time, Darrell Waltrip has the most Bristol wins with 12, including a stretch of seven in a row in the early 1980s. He won 11 races on asphalt and the 1992 Bud 500, which was the first Cup race run on concrete at Bristol. Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Cale Yarborough have nine wins apiece.
Kyle Busch's nine victories are tops among active drivers (eight on concrete, one on dirt). Older brother Kurt has six Bristol victories, including his first Cup win in the 2002 Food City 500. Logano, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski have three Bristol wins a piece, while Denny Hamlin has
two. Track
Facts
Track / Race Length: .500 mile-oval, 250 laps (125 miles)
Banking: ~16-18
degrees Straightaways: 650 feet, banked 4-9 degrees Grandstand Seating: 153,000
Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Speed: 35 mph
Opened: 1961
Website: http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bristolmotorspeedway Twitter: http://twitter.com/ItsBristolBaby Pre-Race Schedule: Heat Races: Saturday, April 8, 6 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 Say What? "I definitely get excited to go to Bristol for the dirt race. People probably look at me being a favorite, but it’s so different than the dirt racing that I do throughout the week. I don’t really feel like I have an advantage like some people might think. Either way, I know our race cars are fast everywhere we go, so that gives me
the most confidence. Hopefully, the track conditions are right, we can put on a good race and I can find my way to the front. Getting a win there would be pretty neat." - Kyle Larson "It’s just another race in the schedule. I’ll do the best I can in our Interstate Batteries Camry. I’ve never experienced dirt in a Cup car, it will be fun to see how that is. I’ve raced on dirt in the past at
Millbridge Speedway. I raced karts out there and a few other things, so I don’t have a ton of experience. We’ll just be patient, I’ll try to learn as much as I can and we’ll see how it plays out. It will be much different than anything I’ve done in a stock car, so looking forward to it." - Ty Gibbs "Nothing really compares. I don’t think I have anything to compare the dirt at Bristol to.
It’s so different than anything else we do and it’s nothing like what I grew up doing, either. I don’t think any asphalt experience is going to translate to Bristol dirt. But I like trying new things and I’m looking forward to it. My team isn’t preparing any differently than how we’ve been preparing all season. We know what we have to do, and we know what’s at stake. Like I said before, we’re on offense right now. Just because we’re at a track that looks different than all the others we go to
doesn’t change that. We’ll be as prepared as we can be and use the practice sessions to get a gauge on where our car is at. From there, we’re looking to qualify well and hopefully will be there at the end of the night on Sunday." - Ryan Preece Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
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