Frontstretch Newsletter: Riley Herbst Re-signs with SHR; Ford Performance Reveals Driver Lineup

Published: Fri, 10/13/23

Frontstretch Newsletter: Oct. 13, 2023
Volume XVII, Edition CLXXXI

What to Watch: Oct. 13-15

- NASCAR Xfinity Series teams have a full day of work today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Inspection will take place this morning, then practice is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET today. The session will air live on USA Network. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.

Coverage of the Alsco Uniforms 302 will start Saturday with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network. Race coverage will follow at 3:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 3:45 p.m. ET.

- At Road Atlanta today, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams are scheduled to qualify at 3:15 p.m. ET this afternoon. The session will be streamed live at IMSA.com and on Peacock.

The Motul Petit Le Mans is scheduled to go green at 11:40 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Coverage will start at 11:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. TV coverage will pick up in progress on USA Network at 6:30 p.m. ET following the conclusion of the Alsco Uniforms 302.

- Today, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season will come to an end with the FOX Factory 120. Coverage is scheduled to start at 12:20 p.m. ET on Peacock.

- ARCA Menards Series West teams will compete in tonight's Star Nursery 150 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race will stream live at 10 p.m. ET on FLORacing.com.

- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams continue to wind down their season with a visit to 81 Speedway near Wichita, Kan. for the Kansas Outlaw Klassic (yes, they spelled it with a K). Coverage will start tonight at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.com.

Saturday night, the Outlaws move to Lakeside Speedway near Kansas City for the Lakeside Showdown. Action from Lakeside Speedway will begin at 7:15 p.m. ET on DirtVision.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

LAS VEGAS:

Michael Massie (@m_massie22)

Bryan Nolen (@TheBryanNolen)

Danny Peters (@dannypeters)

ROAD ATLANTA:

Phil Allaway (@Critic84)

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

TV Schedule: Here

Today's Top News:

Riley Herbst Returning to SHR for 2024

Stewart-Haas Racing announced Thursday that Riley Herbst will return to the team and continue to drive the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford in 2024.

Read more

Matt Mills Joins Niece Motorsports Full Time in 2024

Niece Motorsports announced Thursday that Matt Mills will drive the No. 42 Chevrolet full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2024, replacing Carson Hocevar.

Read more

Ford Multimatic Motorsports Announces 2024 Lineup

Ford Performance revealed in a press conference Thursday that Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller, Mike Rockenfeller and Harry Tincknell will drive the new Ford Mustang GT3s full-time in IMSA in 2024.

Read more

IMSA Holds State of the Sport; Announces 2024 Full-Time Teams

Thursday saw IMSA hold their annual State of the Sport address. Here, it was revealed that WeatherTech has extended their contract as title sponsor through 2030 and that 48 teams are confirmed for the full 2024 WeatherTech season.

Read more

Alex Filsinger Wins FOX Factory 120 Pole

Motorsports In Action's Alex Filsinger won the pole for today's IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge FOX Factory 120 with a lap at 106.004 mph.

Read more

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography and our own Phil Allaway.

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: Oct. 12

- In IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice Thursday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Chip Ganassi Racing's Sebastien Bourdais was fastest overall for the day with a lap at 131.245 mph in his Cadillac VSeries.R during the second session. Bourdais was also fastest in the opening practice with a lap two seconds slower. Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport's Filipe Albuquerque was fastest in night practice with a lap at 128.253 mph.

LMP2 was topped by TDS Racing's Mikkel Jensen with a lap at 125.547 mph, set during the night practice session. Jr III Racing's Garret Grist was fastest overall in LMP3 with a lap at 119.168 mph set during the opening practice session.

In the GT ranks, Corvette Racing's Antonio Garcia was fastest of all GT runners and quickest in GTD Pro with a lap at 114.957 mph during the GTP and GTD Pro-only section of Practice No. 2. The fastest driver in GTD was Paul Miller Racing's Madison Snow with a lap at 114.686 mph, third overall of all GT cars.

There were some incidents during the sessions. Cetilar Racing's Antonio Fuoco got loose on a patch of wet pavement exiting turn 1 in the opening session and backed his Ferrari into the wall. The team made repairs to the rear end before coming back out later in the day.

In the second practice, TDS Racing's Giedo van der Garde crashed his No. 35 ORECA 07-Gibson in turn 3. He was towed back into the paddock, where the car was repaired in time for night practice.

Frontstretch Videos:

The Happy Hour Podcast: Favorite Emotional NASCAR Wins

Newsletter Exclusive:

Frontstretch Folio: South Point 400
by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will make their second visit of the year to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to kick off the Round of 8. 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 will be best remembered for the crash between Kyle Larson and Bubba Wallace exiting turn 4 that saw Wallace confront Larson on the frontstretch. For walking down the frontstretch unprotected in order to confront Larson, Wallace was suspended for Homestead.

Ross Chastain had the lead late and was in position to advance to the Championship 4. However, Joey Logano was able to run him down and take the lead away with three laps to go. From there, Logano held on to take the win.

Logano beat Chastain by .817 seconds. Kyle Busch was third, then Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin.

Among active drivers, Jimmie Johnson (not entered) has the most victories with four. Logano and Brad Keselowski each have three wins, while Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. have two.

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, Logano and Matt Kenseth both have three wins at Las Vegas, while Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Harvick 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, 12:30 - 1:20 p.m. ET on USA Network

Qualifying: Saturday, Oct. 15 at 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network

Say What?!

"Vegas is a great track that’s wide and you can run all over. We saw a lot of guys run high the last three races there with the bumps. I feel like the car has evolved and we’ve gotten better at being able to get through the bumps and move around. I expect it to be a great race out in Vegas. I love going out there and it’s a great racetrack. The last couple of races there, we were in contention right to the very end with our Bass Pro Shops Camry and were fighting for the lead and eventually the caution came out and the strategy didn’t work out." - Martin Truex Jr.

"Las Vegas has a lot of tire fall-off, so it’s important to have a good-handling racecar. It’s also a track where you’re constantly moving around trying to find the right grip." - Kevin Harvick

"Las Vegas is your traditional mile and a half racetrack. Both ends are a little bit different, it’s a very smooth racetrack through [turns 3 and 4] a little bit of bumps through [turns 1 and 2]. We’ve had good speed there and ran near the front, earning a top 10 finish in the fall race last year. I think we can go there, be competitive and keep building on the speed that we’ve had in our cars. We have the potential to have a strong finish to the year and Vegas is one of those races I have circled as an opportunity to run upfront and put ourselves in position to have a solid run." - 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.

Today at Frontstretch:

4 Burning Questions: Has the Sun Set on Fontana?

by Stephen Stumpf

Friday Faceoff: How Pivotal Is Winning at Las Vegas?

by the Frontstretch Staff

A Tale of 2 Ty Dillons

by Jared Haas

Fire on Fridays: The Joe Gibbs Racing Land Rush

by Anthony Damcott

NASCAR 101: It’s All in the (Poor) Timing

by Anthony Damcott

Inside IndyCar: No Longer Stuck in the Mud

by Tom Blackburn

Short Track Question: Can Deac McCaskill Return to CARS Championship Form?

by Chase Folsom

Bringing the Heat: Daniel Hemric Talks Return to NASCAR Cup Series

with Jared Haas, Daniel Hemric, Trey Lyle and Stephen Stumpf

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

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

Talk Back!

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