Frontstretch Newsletter: July 14, 2023
Volume XVII, Edition CXVI |
What to Watch: July 14-16 |
- NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series teams are loading in today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. No on-track activity for Cup
teams is scheduled. - NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will practice and qualify today. Practice is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and will be aired live on USA
Network. Qualifying will immediately follow. Coverage of the Ambetter Health 200 is scheduled to start with Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race
coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET with the green around 3:15 p.m. ET. - The ARCA Menards Series has a combination race Saturday with ARCA Menards Series East at Iowa Speedway. Qualifying is scheduled
for 3 p.m. ET this afternoon and will not be televised. Coverage of the Calypso 150 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Saturday night. The broadcast will air on both FOX Sports 2 and FLORacing.com. - The European Le Mans Series returns after a break of nearly three months at Circuit Paul Ricard in Southern France for the 4
Hours of Le Castellet. Qualifying is scheduled for 8:55 a.m. ET Saturday morning and will be streamed live on the European Le Mans Series YouTube channel. The four-race hour is scheduled to go green at 5:30 a.m. ET Sunday morning. The race will also be
streamed live on the European Le Mans Series YouTube channel. - The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams are at Eldora Speedway this weekend for the Kings Royal. $175,000
is on the line Saturday night for the winner. Tonight is the Knight Before the Kings Royal, a preliminary event. Coverage from Eldora starts at 6:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.tv. Saturday is the big show. Coverage of the Kings Royal and all of the theatrics that surround it begins at 6:15 p.m. ET on
DirtVision. FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:
ATLANTA: Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Loudon! |
| | Denny Hamlin Wins at Stafford in Rain-Shortened SRX
Debut Denny Hamlin was able to fight up to the lead and held on until the race was declared complete due to incoming severe weather to win the Camping World SRX Series
season opener Thursday night at Stafford Speedway. Ryan Newman was second, then Clint Bowyer, Paul Tracy and Hailie Deegan. |
| | SRX Cancels Thunder Road After Flooding, Replaces with
Stafford Due to a State of Emergency in Vermont after flooding, the scheduled Camping World SRX Series race scheduled for July 20 at Thunder Road International Speedbowl
has been cancelled. It has been replaced with a return visit to Stafford Speedway. |
| | Weather Cuts Short Ryan Newman’s Rally To Repeat at
Stafford Ryan Newman was forced to a backup car after trouble during the heats Thursday night. He was then able to charge up through the field to Denny Hamlin, but
lightning prevented him from challenging for the win. |
| | Ryan Preece Running 2nd Stafford SRX
Race Superstar Racing Experience announced Thursday that Ryan Preece will join the field in a 13th car for next week's second SRX event at Stafford
Speedway. |
| | William Sawalich Expanding Racing Schedule in
2024 In an interview with Frontstretch, William Sawalich indicated that his 2024 season will consist of a part-time
schedule in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, along with a part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series slate once he turns 18. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Eric Bronson of ARCA Racing, Superstar Racing Experience and our own Stephen Stumpf. 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: July 13 |
- In Eldora Thursday night, Logan Schuchart drew the
pole, then led all 50 laps to win the Eldora Million. With the victory, Schuchart takes home a check for $1,002,023, the biggest winner's check in the history of sprint car racing. Carson Macedo was second, then Brad Sweet, David Gravel and Rico Abreu. An open red flag for refueling and tire changes after
lap 20 led to chaos on the restart. Aaron Reutzel spun in turn 1 and triggered a nasty five-car wreck. Kyle Larson was sent flipping, along with Spencer Bayston among others. All of the drivers walked away, but there were some angry drivers afterwards. For more on the Eldora Million, please check out Bryan Keith's This Day in Dirt at Frontstretch. |
These are just samples of the 11 videos we posted to our YouTube channel Thursday from Stafford Speedway. For more content from Stafford, or from other race weekends, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the bell in order to be notified of future videos. |
Frontstretch Folio: Crayon 301
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will make their only visit of the year to New England. Coverage of the Crayon 301 will start at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday with NASCAR RaceDay on FOX
Sports 1. NBC Sports coverage will begin with Countdown to Green at 2 p.m. on USA Network. Race coverage follows at 2:30 p.m. ET and the green flag is scheduled to drop around 2:50. 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. Note that the weather forecast is not good for Sunday. AccuWeather's description for Sunday's weather (as of this writing) reads, "Humid with periods of rain, some heavy, and a thunderstorm; have rain gear handy for the race."
They are currently predicting a 96% chance of rain. WMUR, the ABC affiliate in Manchester (and the only TV station with news operations in New Hampshire) is predicting a 90% chance of precipitation with heavy rainfall likely. Needless to say, the possibility of rain delays at minimum are fairly high. In addition, New England has seen a lot of rain recently (see the Thunder Road postponement
above). If the race gets postponed, stay tuned to Frontstretch and we will provide you with the information necessary so that you'll be able to watch the race (or DVR it so that you can watch after you get off work). Records and
facts Last year's Ambetter 301 was dominated early on by Martin Truex Jr. He led 172 of the first 206 laps and won the first two stages. Then, the yellow flew for a wreck involving Todd Gilliland. A split pit sequence resulted.
Truex pitted for two tires and won the race off pit road, but lost the lead to Kurt Busch (in his most recent race), who stayed out. He would never regain it.
Busch ended up losing the lead when he had to stop for fuel under green. That left Chase Elliott and
Christopher Bell to fight it out for the win. Bell was able to get past Elliott with 52 laps to go and held on to take the win.
Bell was 5.439 seconds ahead of Elliott at the finish. Bubba Wallace was
third, then Truex and Kevin Harvick. Harvick has the most wins among active drivers at NHMS with four. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson (not entered) have three Loudon victories, while
Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have two. All-time, Harvick and Jeff Burton are tied for the most victories at Loudon with four. In addition to Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Johnson, Jeff Gordon, 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/NHMS Pre-Race
Schedule: Practice: Saturday,
July 15, Noon ET on USA Network Qualifying: Saturday,
July 15, 1 p.m. ET on USA Network "A few weeks ago, we
were one of the cars that got to do the tire test, so that was nice. We had a good run there last year. Kind of gave one away, I didn’t do a very good job there on the last run and that was frustrating. Loudon hasn’t been the greatest track for me in general, so the fact that we even had a shot to win was nice. I’m looking forward to going back. I thought we had a solid test. We weren’t the best, but I thought we made some gains and that’s always a good thing." - Chase Elliott "New Hampshire is fun. I enjoy going there, the fans are always huge supporters of our race coming to town and we have a great crowd every year so it’s always fun to go up to Loudon. The track itself is a tough place, it changes so much with whether they put down the resin or don’t put down the resin, it seems like it really changes the race a lot and what you need out of your racecar. You have to adjust for that and figure out
what you need from your car to go out and run well. It always seems like if you have a good turning car, you will go out and run well in New Hampshire. Hopefully, we can find that out and get some good track position early since track position is so important there, so I hope we can get it turning good and get out front." - Erik Jones "New Hampshire is a big part of my career and our families racing history.
When my dad got his win there it was his first big win and I was 12 when that happened. I grew up going up there for races and seeing the Busch car and the Cup cars there for the first time ever. The only time I got close to those cars was up there until I moved to North Carolina to race for a living. A lot of special memories there and that place was a big reason I finally got the opportunity to move south." - Martin Truex Jr. "I always say it’s my favorite race weekend of the year. I grew up going to the track with my father and grandfather. I had a lot of success here in the modifieds and it’s just a place I’m comfortable at. Driving in and out of the track each day still brings back a lot of memories. It’s a racers track, there’s really no place like it. Someone like me, I’ve had to fight to get where I am, and I don’t take any of it for granted
and this is a place that helped me achieve my goals. There will be a lot of people at the track this weekend that I know from all my time spent there and it’s always just a really special and fun weekend for me. I’m really looking forward to it. I’m heading up early for some appearances and to see some friends and family." - 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.
|
|
|
|
