Frontstretch Newsletter: May 29, 2023
Volume XVII, Edition LXXXII |
- The weather has been miserable in Charlotte over the weekend. There has been no track activity on the 1.5-mile quad-oval since Friday
night. As a result, a doubleheader is on tap for today. The NASCAR Xfinity Series will start off the slate with the ALSCO Uniforms 300. Coverage will begin at 11 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. The NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600
will follow at 3 p.m. ET on FOX. If you have a ticket to the Coca-Cola 600, the track will allow ticketholders into the grandstands to watch the ALSCO Uniforms 300 in unoccupied seats. You may not necessarily have the same seat as you would for the 600, though. The weather for Monday in Charlotte is somewhat promising. There is a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms. Otherwise, you will have partly cloudy skies with a high around 69 degrees. - The World of Outlaws NOS Energy
Drink Sprint Car Series will be at Indiana's Lawrenceburg Speedway for the Memorial Day Spectacular. Coverage starts tonight at 6:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.tv. - The Super DIRTcar Series will make their first of two visits to Lebanon Valley Speedway tonight for the King of Spring 100. Coverage will start at 4:45 p.m. ET on DirtVision. Our own Phil Allaway will be there to cover the action.
FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH MONDAY IN CHARLOTTE THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES: Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Charlotte! |
| | Josef Newgarden Wins 107th Indianapolis
500 Team Penske's Josef Newgarden snookered Marcus Ericsson on the final lap with a backstretch pass to win the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Ericsson was
second, then Santino Ferrucci, Alex Palou and Alexander Rossi. |
| | Kyle Kirkwood, Felix Rosenqvist Involved in Major Indy
500 Crash Sunday's Indianapolis 500 nearly saw tragedy on lap 184. Felix Rosenqvist hit the wall exiting turn 1, then spun and was hit by Kyle Kirkwood. The left rear tire
was launched over the catchfence and nearly into the grandstands in turn 2. |
| | Coca-Cola 600 Postponed Due to
Rain Steady rains in Charlotte forced NASCAR to postpone the Coca-Cola 600. It is now scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET Monday
afternoon. |
| | RFK Partners With BlueForge Alliance for 10 Races in
2023 RFK Racing announced Sunday that BlueForge Alliance, a partner of the United States Navy, will sponsor the team in 10 races this year, split between Brad
Keselowski and Chris Buescher's cars. |
| | Charlotte Xfinity Race Postponed to Monday, Cup
Qualifying Canceled The ALSCO Uniforms 300 Saturday afternoon for the NASCAR Xfinity Series was postponed due to rain. It is scheduled to go green at 11 a.m. ET this
morning. |
| | Ben Rhodes Surges to Charlotte
Win ThorSport Racing's Ben Rhodes took the lead on lap 110 from Carson Hocevar and held on to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series North Carolina Education
Lottery 200 for his first win of the year. Corey Heim was second, then Dean Thompson in a career-best third, Hocevar and Grant Enfinger. |
| | Dean Thompson Makes a Little Luck, Scores Career-Best
Finish in Charlotte Friday night saw TRICON Garage's Dean Thompson show the field what could have been in Texas last month. He scored 16 stage points and finished a career-best
third. |
| | Max Verstappen Masters Mixed Conditions, Wins Monaco
Grand Prix Red Bull's Max Verstappen dominated Sunday in changeable conditions to win the Grand Prix of Monaco for his fourth win of the year. Fernando Alonso was second,
then Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. |
| | Jesse Love Wins 3 in a Row with ARCA Charlotte
Win Venturini Motorsports' Jesse Love led 67 of 103 laps en route to his third straight ARCA Menards Series victory in the General Tire 150 in Charlotte Friday. Dean
Thompson was second, then Taylor Gray, Grant Enfinger and Andy Jankowiak. |
| | Greg Van Alst Evaluating His ARCA Season Beyond
Berlin Greg Van Alst disclosed to Frontstretch Saturday that he is currently unsure of his future in the ARCA Menards
Series after being wrecked by Connor Mosack in Friday night's General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Joe Skibinski and Chris Owens of INDYCAR Media, Chris Graythen of Getty Images and our own Amy Henderson. 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: May 26-28 |
- The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series spent the weekend at Ohio's Atomic Speedway for two nights of racing. Friday night saw Brad Sweet lead flag-to-flag to score his fifth
win of the year. Kyle Larson was second, then Carson Macedo, David Gravel and Skyler Gee. Saturday night was a perfect night for Macedo. He was fastest in qualifying, won his heat race, claimed the pole by winning the Dash, then led flag-to-flag to claim the A-Main victory. Gravel was second,
then Donny Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild and Giovanni Scelzi. Through 23 races, Sweet has a 10-point lead in the standings over Gravel. Macedo is third, then Logano Schuchart and Schatz. - The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series were at Sharon Speedway for the Battle at the Border, three nights of racing starting Thursday night. Race No. 1 saw Chris Madden pass Drake Troutman on the first lap and pull away to take the win over Bobby Pierce, Mike Marlar, Brandon Sheppard and Nick Hoffman. Friday night saw Ryan Gustin lead all 25 laps to claim his second victory on the Ohio short track and his second win of the year. Kyle Bronson was second, then Sheppard, Marlar and Madden. Saturday night saw Madden approach the battling Gregg Satterlee and Tanner English just before halfway. With the two drivers side-by-side, Madden decided to go up the middle and make it three-wide. Madden was able to dispatch of both drivers to take the lead, then pulled away to win the final night of the Battle of the Border and take home $25,000. English ended up second, followed by Pierce and Brian Shirley. Marlar was fifth. Through 11 races, Madden has a 64-point lead over Pierce.
Hoffman is third, then Bronson and Gustin. |
These videos are just a sample of the 35 videos from Charlotte and Indianapolis that we have posted to our YouTube channel from the past weekend. For more Memorial Day weekend coverage and coverage from other race weekends, please subscribe and don't forget to click the bell to be notified of future videos. |
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Pre-Race Points Update
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Cup Series was scheduled to race Sunday night for 600 miles at Charlotte
Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, rain wiped it out. Weather permitting, it will be held starting at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
Ross Chastain will enter the Coca-Cola 600 with a 27-point lead over Christopher Bell.
Kevin Harvick is third in points, followed by Denny Hamlin and William Byron. At the cutoff, Chase Briscoe is 16th in points at the moment. He is five points ahead of Alex
Bowman, who has been out since getting injured in a crash at 34 Raceway. His status is currently unknown. Daniel Suarez is 18th in points with Ty Gibbs close behind. Austin Cindric is
20th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Ross Chastain 429, 2) Christopher Bell -27, 3) Kevin Harvick -29, 4) Denny Hamlin -36, 5) William Byron -42, 6) Martin Truex Jr. -44, 7) Ryan Blaney
-48, 8) Brad Keselowski -64, 9) Kyle Larson -66, 10) Tyler Reddick -68, 11) Kyle Busch -76, 12) Joey Logano -95, 13) Chris Buescher -100, 14) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -104, 15) Bubba Wallace -136, 16) Chase Briscoe -154. Note: Drivers in italics are either outside of the playoffs, or ineligible for points. Playoff Points: 1) William Byron 16, 2) Kyle Larson -4, 3) Kyle Busch -6, t-4) Denny Hamlin -9, t-4) Tyler Reddick
-9, t-4) Joey Logano -9, t-7) Martin Truex Jr. -10, t-7) Christopher Bell -11, t-7) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -11, t-7) Ross Chastain -11, t-11) Kevin Harvick -15, t-11) Brad Keselowski -15, t-11) Austin Cindric -15, t-11) Aric Almirola -15, t-11) Ryan Preece -15, t-11) Chase Elliott -15. Stage Points: 1) William Byron 127, 2) Ross Chastain -11, 3) Kyle Larson -31, 4) Denny Hamlin -34, 5) Kevin Harvick -44, 6) Christopher Bell -45, t-7) Tyler Reddick -53, t-7) Martin
Truex Jr. -53, 9) Brad Keselowski -55, 10) Joey Logano -60, t-11) Ryan Blaney -64, t-11) Alex Bowman -64, t-13) Kyle Busch -79, t-13) Austin Cindric -79, 15) Chris Buescher -82, 16) Daniel Suarez -89.
Outside of the top-16, but in the playoffs: t-17) Bubba Wallace -92, 23) Chase Briscoe -99, 24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -105. Note: The
Stage Points also include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Christopher Bell 380, t-2) Ross Chastain -4, t-2) Kevin Harvick -4, t-2) Ryan Blaney -4, 5) Martin Truex Jr. -10, 6) Denny
Hamlin -13, 7) Kyle Busch -19, 8) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -24, 9) Brad Keselowski -25, 10) Tyler Reddick -37, 11) Chris Buescher -41, 12) William Byron -45, 13) Kyle Larson -53, 14) Joey
Logano -54, 15) Bubba Wallace -66, 16) Chase Briscoe -78. Note: These standings are based on the old
point system that was used before stages were created. WC Points (1-16): 1) Christopher Bell 1735, 2) Ross Chastain -12, 3) Ryan Blaney
-25, 4) Kevin Harvick -35, 5) Martin Truex Jr. -61, 6) Denny Hamlin -82, 7) Kyle Busch -85, 8) Brad Keselowski -93, 9) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -121, 10) Tyler Reddick -142, 11) Chris Buescher -166, 12) Kyle Larson -167, 13) Joey Logano -177, 14) William Byron -189, 15) Bubba Wallace -236, 16) Chase Briscoe -276. 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, Talladega), William Byron (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Darlington), Joey Logano (Atlanta), Tyler Reddick (Austin), Kyle Larson (Richmond, Martinsville), Christopher Bell
(Bristol), Martin Truex Jr. (Dover), Denny Hamlin (Kansas)
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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Seeking the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs: Pre-Race Points Update
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Xfinity Series was scheduled to race Saturday for 300 miles at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, rain wiped it
out. Weather permitting, it will be held starting at 11 a.m. ET this morning. At the start of the race, John Hunter Nemechek will have a one-point lead over Austin Hill.
Justin Allgaier is third in points, followed by Josh Berry and Cole Custer. Daniel Hemric is the last driver in the playoffs on points in 11th. He has a 33-point lead over Parker
Kligerman. Jeb Burton, the Talladega winner, is 13th, followed by Brandon Jones. Kligerman and Jones are the only drivers outside of the playoffs within a race of Hemric at the moment. Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek
424, 2) Austin Hill -1, 3) Justin Allgaier -53, 4) Josh Berry -57, 5) Cole Custer -59, 6) Chandler Smith -84, 7) Sheldon Creed -94, 8) Sammy Smith -101, 9) Riley Herbst
-111, 10) Sam Mayer -115, 11) Daniel Hemric -117, 12) Parker Kligerman -150, 13) Jeb Burton -151, 14) Brandon Jones -160, 15) Ryan Sieg -180, 16) Brett Moffitt -190. Playoff Points: 1) Austin Hill
18, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -4, 3) Ryan Truex -11, t-4) Chandler Smith -12, t-4) Jeb Burton -12, 6) Sammy Smith -13, 7) Justin Allgaier -14, 8) Cole Custer -16, t-9) Josh Berry -17, t-9) Sheldon Creed
-17, t-9) Parker Kligerman -17. Note: If they were eligible for Xfinity Series points, AJ Allmendinger and Kyle Larson would be tied for third in playoff
points. Stage Points: 1) Austin Hill 107, 2) John Hunter Nemechek -3, 3) Sheldon Creed -14, 4) Justin Allgaier -18, 5) Cole Custer -23, 6) Riley Herbst -28, 7) Chandler Smith -29, 8) Josh Berry
-42, t-9) Sammy Smith -47, t-9) Brandon Jones -47, 11) Sam Mayer -48, 12) Daniel Hemric -55, 13) Ryan Truex -66, 14) Parker Kligerman -69, 15) Jeb Burton -82, 16) Ryan Sieg -84. Note:
If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be 16th in stage points. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek
373, 2) Austin Hill -6, 3) Josh Berry -22, 4) Cole Custer -43, 5) Justin Allgaier -44, 6) Chandler Smith -61, 7) Sammy Smith -62, t-8) Sam Mayer -75, t-8) Daniel Hemric -75, 10) Jeb Burton
-81, 11) Sheldon Creed -87, 12) Parker Kligerman -92, 13) Riley Herbst -95, 14) Ryan Sieg -107, 15) Brett Moffitt -111, 16) Parker Retzlaff -119. WC Points (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 1646, 2) Austin Hill -36, 3) Josh Berry -82, 4) Justin Allgaier -132, 5) Cole Custer -162, 6) Chandler Smith -222, 7) Sammy Smith -230, 8) Sam Mayer -276, 9) Daniel Hemric
-285, 10) Sheldon Creed -305, 11) Jeb Burton -322, 12) Parker Kligerman -333, 13) Riley Herbst -339, 14) Ryan Sieg -399, 15) Brett Moffitt -407, 16) Parker Retzlaff -429. Race Winners: Austin Hill (Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta), John Hunter
Nemechek (Fontana, Martinsville)), Sammy Smith (Phoenix), AJ Allmendinger (Austin), Chandler Smith (Richmond), Jeb Burton (Talladega), Ryan Truex (Dover), Kyle Larson (Darlington) 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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Seeking the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs: Corey Heim Expands Advantage With Strong Charlotte Run
by Phil Allaway
Corey Heim led a race-high 49 laps Friday night and finished a strong second to Ben Rhodes. That resulted in a race-high 54 points on the night and allowed him to expand his advantage to 26 points over Ty Majeski, who finished seventh. Zane Smith spun and hit Hailie Deegan, ruining a decent night. A 23rd-place finish keeps him in
third, but he lost a lot of ground. Grant Enfinger remains in fourth after finishing fifth. Rhodes' first win of the year moved him up one place to fifth. Rhodes jumped over Christian Eckes, who finished sixth. Matt
Crafton finished 12th, but lost nearly 30 points to Heim while staying in seventh. Carson Hocevar had an excellent race, finishing fourth and moving up three places to eighth. Tanner Gray qualified on pole and led early,
but dropped back to a 27th-place finish. He is now ninth in points. Matt DiBenedetto remains in 10th, but since Hocevar moved back into the top 10 in points, he is now the last driver in the playoffs on points. He has a one-point advantage over Stewart Friesen, who dropped back late to a 22nd-place finish. Nick Sanchez is still in 12th. Chase Purdy is still in 13th after a late tire gamble didn't pay off. Jake Garcia is 14th, while Tyler Ankrum crashed late in the race and dropped even further back. Deegan remains in 16th. Point Standings (1-16): 1) Corey Heim 425, 2) Ty Majeski -26, 3) Zane Smith -43, 4) Grant Enfinger
-63, 5) Ben Rhodes -76, 6) Christian Eckes -82, 7) Matt Crafton -110, 8) Carson Hocevar -123, 9) Tanner Gray -138, 10) Matt DiBenedetto -144, 11) Stewart Friesen -145, 12) Nick Sanchez
-155, 13) Chase Purdy -180, 14) Jake Garcia -192, 15) Tyler Ankrum -207, 16) Hailie Deegan -219.
Note: Drivers
in italics are either outside of the playoffs, or ineligible for the playoffs.
Playoff Points: 1) Christian Eckes 14, 2) Zane Smith
-3, 3) Corey Heim -5, 4) Carson Hocevar -7, t-5) Grant Enfinger -9, t-5) Ben Rhodes -9, 7) Nick Sanchez -12, t-8) Ty Majeski -13, t-8) Matt Crafton -13, t-8) Tyler Ankrum -13.
Note: If he were eligible for playoff points, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch would be tied for fourth with seven points. Stage Points: 1) Zane Smith
109, 2) Corey Heim -2, 3) Ty Majeski -17, 4) Christian Eckes -19, 5) Carson Hocevar -38, 6) Ben Rhodes -39, 7) Grant Enfinger -47, t-8) Matt Crafton -54, t-8) Matt DiBenedetto
-54, 10) Stewart Friesen -61, 11) Nick Sanchez -70, 12) Chase Purdy -73, 13) Tanner Gray -76, t-14) Dean Thompson -80, t-14) Rajah Caruth -80, 16) Tyler Ankrum -81. Note: If they were eligible for stage points, William Byron would be 10th and Kyle Busch 12th. Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Corey Heim 282, 2) Ty Majeski -15, 3) Grant Enfinger -24, 4) Ben Rhodes -42, 5) Zane Smith -49, 6) Matt Crafton
-63, 7) Christian Eckes -67, 8) Tanner Gray -70, t-9) Carson Hocevar -88, t-9) Nick Sanchez -88, 11) Stewart Friesen -92, 12) Jake Garcia -95, 13) Matt DiBenedetto -99, 14) Chase Purdy -111, 15) Hailie Deegan -133, 16) Tyler Ankrum -134. WC Points (1-16): 1) Corey Heim 1619, 2) Ty Majeski
-35, 3) Grant Enfinger -105, t-4) Zane Smith -157, t-4) Ben Rhodes -157, 6) Christian Eckes -221, 7) Tanner Gray -238, 8) Matt Crafton -240, 9) Carson Hocevar -302, 10) Stewart Friesen
-308, 11) Nick Sanchez -310, 12) Matt DiBenedetto -340, 13) Chase Purdy -386, 14) Jake Garcia -402, 15) Tyler Ankrum -458, 16) Hailie Deegan -473. Race Winners: Zane Smith (Daytona, Austin), Kyle Busch (Las Vegas), Christian Eckes (Atlanta, Darlington), Carson Hocevar (Texas), Joey Logano (Bristol), Corey Heim (Martinsville), Grant Enfinger (Kansas), Ben Rhodes (Charlotte)
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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