Frontstretch Newsletter: Sept. 22, 2023
Volume
XVII, Edition CXLVI |
What to Watch: Sept. 22-24 |
- Today is a work day for NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series teams in the garage at Texas Motor Speedway. However, there is no on-track activity scheduled. - NASCAR Xfinity Series teams are scheduled to practice Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET. The session will be streamed live at NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports App. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards. Coverage of the Andy's Frozen Custard 300
will start with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. The race coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:45 p.m. ET. - Formula 1 is in Japan for the Grand Prix of Japan. Friday activity is already complete (see below). Saturday activity begins with Free Practice No. 3 at 10:25 p.m. ET tonight (gotta love the time difference) on ESPN2.
Qualifying is scheduled for 1:55 a.m. ET Saturday morning on ESPN2. We're talking DVR Theater here. Coverage of the Grand Prix of Japan will start with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 11:30 p.m. ET Saturday night on ESPN2. Race coverage will start at 12:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap at 1 a.m. ET. - SRO America teams are at Sebring International Raceway in South Florida. Normally, Friday would be just a practice day. However, Pirelli GT4 America SprintX teams have already practiced twice. They are running a race today at 4:50 p.m. ET that will make up the race originally scheduled for April 29 at NOLA Motorsports Park that was cancelled due to thunderstorms and darkness. That race will be streamed live (for free) on
the GT World YouTube channel and SpeedSport1, along with the paid Motorsport.tv. Saturday and Sunday will have additional races for Pirelli GT4 America SprintX, along with Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, GT America powered by AWS and TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School. GT America and TC America races will be on all three services, but Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by
AWS races are exclusive to the GT World YouTube channel. - World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams are at Eldora Speedway for the BeFour the Crowns event, held as part of the Four Crowns weekend. Coverage is scheduled to start at 5:45 p.m. ET at DirtVision.com. Note that the evening is split between the World of Outlaws, USAC's three primary touring series
and Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions. As a result, the broadcast will be split between DirtVision and FLORacing.com. FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN TEXAS THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES: Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from Texas. |
Around the World in Motorsports: Sept. 22 |
- In Free Practice No. 1 at Suzuka Circuit, Red Bull's Max Verstappen charged back into form Friday. He was fastest overall with a lap at 141.726 mph. The lap was .626 seconds faster than Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren's Lando Norris was third, then Charles Leclerc and Yuki Tsunoda. Free Practice No. 2
saw Verstappen continue his strong form. He was fastest once again with a lap at 143.225 mph, which was .320 seconds faster than Leclerc. Norris was third, then Sainz and George Russell.
There were no red flags during the sessions. There was some development work undertaken as the FIA gave each team two sets of prototype C2 tires in addition to their normal allotment of 13 sets per weekend. Every team ran
those tires during Free Practice No. 1, while a couple of teams also ran them during Free Practice No. 2.
- For today's makeup Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race, Conquest Racing/JMF Motorsport's Jesse Webb should start from the pole. He originally won the pole for the cancelled race at NOLA Motorsports Park in April that this race is replacing. Zac Anderson will be
alongside, then Tyler Gonzalez, Kevin Boehm and Chandler Hull. |
Frontstretch Folio: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Texas for the first of two visits to Kansas Speedway. Coverage of the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 begins with NASCAR RaceDay at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. It picks up again with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race coverage will start at 3:30 p.m. ET, while the green should fly around 3:48 p.m. ET. Radio coverage
will be provided by local MRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). Note that this will be the final Cup race of 2023 on USA Network. The remainder of the season will be on NBC. Records and facts Last year's AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 had a track record 16 cautions for 91 laps and a red flag due to lightning for 30 minutes. In and around the wrecks (including one that concussed Alex Bowman and put him out for five races and a nasty crash for Cody Ware, you had a fairly competitive
race in which no one led more than 70 laps. Tyler Reddick took the lead with 54 laps to go and held on to take the victory. He was 1.190 seconds ahead of Joey Logano at the finish. Justin Haley was third, then Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe. Among active drivers, Kyle Busch is the winningest driver at Texas Motor Speedway with four career wins. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have three wins each, while Kyle Larson and Logano have one each.
All-time, Jimmie Johnson has the most victories at Texas with seven. Kyle Busch is tied for second with Carl Edwards with four, then Hamlin and Harvick.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.5-mile quad-oval, 334 laps (501 miles)
Banking: 24 degrees Frontstretch: 2,250 ft., banked 5 degrees Backstretch: 1,330 ft., banked 5 degrees Grandstand Seating: 128,655 Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 1997 Website: http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/texasmotorspeedway Twitter: http://twitter.com/TXMotorSpeedway Pre-Race Schedule: Practice: Saturday, Sept. 23, 12:35 - 1:15 p.m. ET on USA Network Qualifying: Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1:20 p.m. ET on USA Network Say What?! "Texas went through a reconfiguration and a repave a few years ago. I would say this configuration is definitely the most challenging from a driver’s perspective and from a crew chief’s perspective on how to get both ends of the racetrack to feel similar or to feel good, so that makes it tough on all of us. When I
first started, Texas had a lot of grip and was really fast and then right before the repave there it was kind of worn out and you’d slide around a little bit more. You could move around the racetrack, though, which was really cool. You could run low, you run middle, you could run high, and it was pretty fun how the place spread out. Now it seems like there’s one particular groove that you want to run in Turns 1 and 2 and one particular groove that you want to run in [turns] 3 and 4, so it’s
really tough to make speed and make passes. The mile-and-a-half package has been really good this year and I’m excited about getting to Texas." - Kyle Busch "Texas is unique in the fact the two ends are so different. When they
changed the racetrack, they made the width of the racetrack a lot wider through [turns 1 and 2] than what it used to be. It’s a lot flatter, as well. It’s a very technical corner both in order to get your car positioned correctly and in order to make your car turn and stay in the throttle. You have to have your car handling on one end, and on the other end you just have to be pretty brave and hold the throttle down." - Kevin Harvick
"Texas is one of the more challenging mile and a half race tracks that we go to with both ends of the race track being completely different. I had a lot of fun in the All-Star race there last year. It’s a tough racetrack, probably one of the fastest we go to. I think we can go there and build off the speed we’ve had at mile and a half tracks this year. It’ll
be a fun, hot, slick race and I am looking forward to the challenge." - AJ Allmendinger 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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