Frontstretch Newsletter: May 17, 2024
Volume
XVIII, Edition |
- Today is a busy day at North Wilkesboro Speedway as teams from both the NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be on-track today to prepare for their races. - NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams will practice today at 3 p.m. ET. The coverage will air live on FOX Sports 1. Qualifying is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday morning. The session will air live on FS1, but there will be a very short turnaround for anyone who has trouble.
Coverage of the Wright Brand 250 will start with NASCAR RaceDay - NCTS Edition at 1 p.m. ET on FS1. Race coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. ET with the green flag
around 1:40 p.m. ET.
- NTT IndyCar Series teams are preparing for the Indianapolis 500. Today, the boost is increased on the cars ahead of qualifying. Practice No. 5 is underway right now on Peacock. Kyle Larson has already turned laps at over 232 mph. Saturday is the first day
of qualifying. The day will start with a one-hour practice session bright and early at 8:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. Qualifications will start at 11 a.m. ET. Remember that it won't be straight qualifying until 6 p.m. ET. It is possible that the track opens for practice if no one is in line to qualify (and the track is dry) at any time during the session. Sunday will have Practice No. 7
starting at Noon ET on Peacock. This will be split between those drivers going for the pole in one session and those in the Last Chance session in the other. Pole qualifying and the Last Chance qualifying will begin at 3 p.m. ET Sunday and will air live on NBC. - Formula 1 is at
Imola for the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna. Friday's practice activity is already complete (see below). Free Practice No. 3 is scheduled for 6:25 a.m. ET Saturday morning and will air live on ESPN2. Qualifying will also be on ESPN2 at 9:55 a.m. ET. A pre-qualifying show will be on ESPN3 starting at 9:10 a.m. ET. Coverage of the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna will start with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. Race coverage starts at 8:55 a.m. ET with the formation lap starting precisely at 9 a.m. ET. - ARCA Menards Series East teams will be at Flat Rock Speedway Saturday night for the Dutch Boy 150. Coverage from
Flat Rock will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on FLORacing. - SRO America teams are at Circuit of the Americas in Texas this weekend for racing. Today is a practice
day for the teams. Saturday will have five races and Sunday four. All nine races will be streamed live on the GT World YouTube channel. - World of
Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams will be at Ohio's Attica Raceway Park tonight for more action. Coverage will start at 5:30 p.m. ET on DirtVision. - Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series teams will be at Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y. tonight for the Double Down at Utica-Rome. The race will be streamed live on FLORacing starting at 6:15 p.m. ET. FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR
COLLEAGUES: NORTH WILKESBORO: INDIANAPOLIS: Also, don't forget to follow our
Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates from North
Wilkesboro. |
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| Eddie Gossage, Former Texas Motor Speedway President, Dead
at 65 Eddie Gossage, the president of Texas Motor Speedway from the track's founding until 2021 and a former PR rep in NASCAR, died Thursday at the age of 65. |
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| Justin Bonsignore To Make Xfinity Debut for JGR at New
Hampshire Joe Gibbs Racing announced Thursday that three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Justin Bonsignore will make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with the team at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. |
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| Jade Buford Back in Xfinity With
Harmon Mike Harmon Racing announced Friday that Jade Buford will drive the team's No. 74 Chevrolet on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting at Charlotte. |
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| Pato O’Ward Fastest, Marcus Ericsson & Linus Lundqvist
Crash in Thursday’s Indianapolis Practice Arrow McLaren SP's Patricio O'Ward was fastest in Practice No. 4 for the Indianapolis 500 with a lap at 228.681 mph. The day was overshadowed by the first two wrecks of the month, particularly a big hit exiting turn 4 for Marcus
Ericsson. |
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Jeff Gross of Getty Images, NASCAR Media via Adam Glanzman of ARCA Racing and Joe Skibinski of Penske Entertainment. 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 16-17 |
- Front Row Motorsports announced Thursday that the Chicago White Sox will serve as the
primary sponsor of Michael McDowell's No. 34 Ford during the Grant Park 165 street race in July. This follows up on the team's International League AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights, serving as the primary sponsor on McDowell's car this weekend at North Wilkesboro. - In Free Practice No. 1 in Imola, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fastest overall with a lap at 142.616 mph around the
3.05-mile Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, pleasing the Tifosi in the process. The lap was .104 seconds faster than Mercedes' George Russell. Carlos Sainz Jr. in the second Ferrari was third, then Red Bull's Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. The session saw a red flag come out when Williams' Alexander Albon stopped on-track with mechanical issues. There were also a
series of issues. For Verstappen, he had two off-track excursions in the final 10 minutes, including a trip to the gravel at Acque Minerali. Free Practice No. 2 was more of the same. Leclerc was quickest again, this time with a lap of 144.653 mph. He was the only driver to turn a lap under 76 seconds all day. Leclerc's lap was .192 seconds faster than McLaren's Oscar Piastri. RB's Yuki Tsunoda was third, then Lewis Hamilton and Russell. Williams was able to make repairs to Albon's No. 23, allowing him to run in Free Practice No. 2. He ended up 18th fastest, 1.229 seconds off of Leclerc.
There were no red flags in the session, but there were a couple of issues. Verstappen, who was seventh fastest, went wide at Rivazza and ended up taking a ride through the gravel. Alpine's Pierre Gasly also had a spin during the session, but was able to continue.
- At Outlaw Speedway Thursday night, Brad Sweet was able to sweep around Zeb Wise on lap 16, then held
on to win the Kubota High Limit Sprint Car Series feature. Tyler Courtney was second, then Wise, James McFadden and Anthony Macri. In the points, Sweet currently has a 36-point lead over Courtney. Brent Marks is third, then Corey Day and Rico Abreu. |
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Frontstretch Folio: NASCAR All-Star Race
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series is back at North Wilkesboro Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race. The field
will first be filled out with the All-Star Open. Coverage of the 100-lap preliminary event is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX Sports 1. All-Star Race coverage starts with NASCAR RaceDay at 7 p.m. ET. Race coverage
starts at 8 p.m. ET. Both the All-Star Open and All-Star Race race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
Records and facts Last year's
NASCAR All-Star Race was not particularly the most competitive race. Daniel Suarez started from pole and led the first 54 laps. Then Kyle Larson took the lead. He was not seriously threatened for most of the rest of the race. He only lost the lead during a round of pit stops under caution due to the placement of his pit stall en route to victory. Larson won by 4.537 seconds over Bubba Wallace. Tyler Reddick was third, then Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott. All-time at North Wilkesboro, Richard Petty is the winningest driver on the tricky oval with
15 career victories. Darrell Waltrip, who will be in the booth Sunday, has 10 wins. Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough each had five wins, while Bobby Allison, Terry Labonte and Junior Johnson each had four. No driver is still active that competed at North Wilkesboro while it was still on the NASCAR Cup Series calendar as a points race.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: .625-mile oval, 200 laps (125 miles) for All-Star Race, 100 laps (62.5 miles) for All-Star Open
Banking: 14 degrees Frontstretch: 990 ft. Backstretch: 990 ft. Grandstand Seating: 25,000
Pit Road Speed: 35 mph
Pace Car Speed: 40 mph
Opened: 1947, re-opened 2022
Website: https://www.northwilkesborospeedway.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWBSpeedway Twitter: https://twitter.com/NWBSpeedway Pre-Race Schedule: Practice: Friday, May 17, 4:30 - 5:25 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 Qualifying: Friday, May 17, 5:45 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 Heat Races: Saturday, May 18, 5 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 (All-Star Race participants only) Say What?! "I remember watching races from [North Wilkesboro] when I was growing up. For me, it’s neat to be racing on that track where so many legends of the sport did. I remember races of the past and how cool the races were there and what it was like to watch. I expect it to be fun. The All-Star Race is something that’s supposed to be fun. It’s something unique and different and I think it
will be. I’m looking forward to working on our car in practice and the heat races and hope we can have a strong run there with our Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE. "I think they
are exactly that, pretty big unknowns. I know Ty [Gibbs] tested there and the lap times were really fast, you throw in the options of tires and it definitely could make it interesting. Obviously when you repave these places, it tends to make them one-groove for a while until the pavement wears out, so we’ll see how the tire selection comes into play and just keep try to learn every lap the entire weekend." - Martin Truex Jr.
"[North Wilkesboro Speedway] is a cool place for sure. I didn’t get to run there last year due to my injury so I’m excited to go to North Wilkesboro [Speedway] and get to hit the track. We’ve obviously got to race our way into the main event, so hopefully we can do that for Ally and Hendrick Motorsports. Our pit crew has been strong all year so I’ve got faith in them too. Hopefully
we can put all the pieces together and race for a shot at one million dollars this Sunday." - Alex Bowman "With North Wilkesboro’s repave and all the improvements to the racetrack, some of that takes away from the tire fall-off. However, at the same time, I had the opportunity to go there earlier this year to do a tire test, and it’s still the same North Wilkesboro that all of us love. It should be an exciting weekend from both a competition and entertainment
standpoint. "Going back to North Wilkesboro, a track that was closed for many years, seeing the improvements that have been made to the facility is really good to see. It really
has been a resurrection. It’s been a resurrection of the town and the racetrack. North Wilkesboro is an important place for our sport and certainly an important place for our sport to continue to be and grow with into the future." - Ryan Preece "I think it’s awesome! I mean obviously the elephant in the room is that the short tracks have been a struggle and I think anything is great
to try to learn and make it better and I think this is the perfect opportunity to do that. There has been some conversation with the softer tire being made from the rain tire rubber and I’ve heard how much faster it is and obviously, the fall off. What we want is tire fall off. So, I’m excited to see how that is but just having options is going to be great. It’s going to be an exciting weekend!" - Zane Smith 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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