Frontstretch Newsletter: Toyota Is Not In The Best Place Right Now

Published: Fri, 10/18/24

Frontstretch Newsletter: Oct. 18, 2024
Volume XVIII, Edition CXCI

Help Those In Need From Hurricane Helene

As you're likely aware of by now, Hurricane Helene has devastated a significant chunk of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Florida. In western parts of North Carolina, some areas have experienced flooding that hasn't been seen since the 18th century. To that end, we at Frontstretch want to help the relief efforts.

To that end, Frontstretch is supporting Operation Airdrop's Operation Helene, which is organizing donations in the Charlotte area and airlifting supplies to areas that have been cutoff due to flooding. If you are able, you can donate financially to the effort here.

If you're local to the Charlotte area, you can volunteer to help with the effort. In addition, there is a designated spot to drop off donations at the Walmart Supercenter in Concord, N.C. The address is 5825 Thunder Rd. NW, Concord, NC 28027. This is off Exit 49 of Interstate 85 (Concord Mills Boulevard/Bruton Smith Boulevard). The donations are picked up every day at 5 p.m. ET so that they can be hustled to nearby Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (for plane flights) or to Hickory Regional Airport (for helicopters) for the airlifts.

What to Watch: Oct. 18-20

- Today is a fairly busy day in Las Vegas. NASCAR Xfinity Series teams will pull into the garage in a few minutes and prepare for their race. Meanwhile, NASCAR Cup Series teams will get themselves situated later tonight.

- NASCAR Xfinity Series teams are scheduled to practice today at 6:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on USA Network. Qualifying will follow shortly afterwards.

Coverage of the Ambetter Health 302 will start with NASCAR Countdown Live at 7 p.m. ET Saturday on The CW. Race coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET with the green flag around 7:40 p.m. ET.

- Formula 1 teams are in Texas this weekend for the United States Grand Prix. With the friendly time zone setting for most of our readers, no on-track action has occurred as of yet. Practice is scheduled for 1:25 p.m. ET this afternoon and will air live on ESPN2.

This is a Sprint weekend, so Sprint Qualifying is scheduled for 5:25 p.m. ET today. That will also air on ESPN2.

Saturday will start off with the Sprint race. Coverage of that will air at 1:55 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS. Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix is scheduled for 5:55 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPNEWS.

Coverage of the United States Grand Prix will start with Formula 1: Grand Prix Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Race coverage will start at 2:55 p.m. ET with the formation lap starting at 3 p.m. ET.

- The zMAX CARS Tour will wrap up their season this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Tonight is qualifying and the last chance races. Those events will be streamed live on FLORacing starting at 6:45 p.m. ET. The race coverage will start at 6:45 p.m. ET Saturday night.

- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams are at Dirt Oval 66 in Joliet, Ill. (it's directly adjacent to Chicagoland Speedway) for the Federated Auto Parts Route 66 Showdown. Coverage from Joliet will air both tonight and Saturday night on DirtVision at 7:15 p.m. ET.

- The European Le Mans Series will wrap up their season Saturday with the 4 Hours of Portimao. Coverage from the Algarve International Circuit will begin at 9:10 a.m. ET on SpeedSport1.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

LAS VEGAS:

Dalton Hopkins (@PitLaneCPT)

Bryan Nolen (@RealBryanNolen)

NORTH WILKESBORO:

Chase Folsom (@cfolsom_racing)

Michael Massie (@m_massie22)

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

TV Schedule: Here

Today's Top News:

Dawson Sutton Running Full 2025 Truck Schedule for Rackley WAR

Rackley WAR announced Thursday that Dawson Sutton will retain his seat in the No. 25 Chevrolet for the full 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule.

Read more

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.

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. 17-18

- European Le Mans Series teams practiced Thursday at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal. In Free Practice No. 1, Richard Mille by TDS' Mathias Beche was fastest overall in his LMP2 Pro-Am entry with a lap at 112.824 mph. Beche was .007 seconds faster than Inter Europol Competition's Tom Dillmann. COOL Racing's Malthe Jakobsen was third, then Algarve Pro Racing's Alex Lynn. Felipe Drugovich in the Vector Sport entry was fifth.

Beche's lap in LMP2 Pro-Am was .543 seconds faster than DKR Engineering's Laurents Hoerr. Algarve Pro Racing's Alex Quinn was third, then AF Corse's Alessio Rovera. Team Virage's Tristan Vautier was fifth.

Manuel Espirito Santo was fastest in LMP3 with a lap at 105.955 mph in his COOL Racing No. 17. He was .715 seconds faster than Racing Spirit of Leman's Antoine Doquin. Inter Europol Competition's Pedro Perino was third, then DKR Engineering's Wyatt Brichacek. WTM by Rinaldi Racing's Oscar Tunjo was fifth.

LMGT3 was topped by Kessel Racing's Daniel Serra with a lap at 101.282 mph in his Ferrari. His lap was .047 seconds faster than the similar Ferrari of GR Racing's Riccardo Pera. Iron Dames' Michelle Gatting was third, then Proton Competition's Matteo Cressoni. Formula Racing's Conrad Laursen was fifth.

Free Practice No. 2 saw Panis Racing's Charles Milesi go fastest with a lap at 113.443 mph. He was .246 seconds faster than IDEC Sport's Job van Uitert. Inter Europol Competition's Dillmann and Clement Novalak were third and fourth, while Lynn was fifth.

Nick Yelloly was fastest in LMP2 Pro-Am with a lap at 112.305 mph, 11th overall. He was one-tenth of a second faster than Vautier. Richard Mille by TDS' Gregoire Saucy was third, then Hoerr and AF Corse's Matthieu Vaxiviere.

RLR MSport's Gael Julian was fastest in LMP3 with a lap at 104.774 mph. He was .407 seconds faster than Doquin. Team Virage's Gillian Henrion was third, then Espirito Santo and Brichacek.

In LMGT3, Racing Spirit of Leman's Valentin Hasse-Clot was fastest with a lap at 101.474 mph. He was .234 seconds faster than the Ferrari of JMW Motorsport's Ben Tuck. Proton Competition's Julien Andlauer was third, then David Perel and Jonny Adam.

Frontstretch Video:

Bringing The Heat: Doug Rice Hits His Final Turn on His Last Lap

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 saw Kyle Larson lead nearly half of the race. Ty Gibbs crashed on lap 217 to bring out the final caution of the day. On the restart from the Gibbs crash, Larson was able to get past Brad Keselowski for the lead.

From there, Larson held off a late charge from Christopher Bell to take the victory. Bell was just .082 seconds behind at the finish. Kyle Busch was third, then Keselowski and Ross Chastain.

Among active drivers, Jimmie Johnson has the most victories with four. Larson, Keselowski and Joey Logano each have three wins, while 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. Larson Keselowski, Logano and Matt Kenseth all have three wins at Las Vegas, while Truex, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Harvick 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. 19, 4:30 - 5:20 p.m. ET on USA Network

Qualifying: Saturday, Oct. 19 at 5:25 p.m. ET on USA Network

Say What?!

"I love going out to the track in Vegas. I enjoy that it has two dates on the schedule and enjoy that it’s in playoffs because it does put on a really good race. I feel like that track is very underrated as far as race-ability and the type of shows that it puts on, but I think everyone loves that track. It has so much character in it and you always have to worry about the bumps. They get worse every year and the wind is always a factor because you’re out there in the desert and never know which way it will swirl. It’s a good track to kick off this round, not only for the drivers and teams, but I think for the fans to come and watch a great event. Vegas has always been a good track for us, not only as the 12 team but for Team Penske as well. It’s one of those tracks where I feel we always run really strong at, but I haven’t won there yet. I feel like we’re always there and in contention and that’s what you have to do. You have to put yourself in contention to win these races and this is a place where we’ve been really good in the past and you hope that what you learned since the spring at that race can apply." - Ryan Blaney

"I think we can be really strong this weekend at the Vegas intermediate. This year we were really good at Kansas. Vegas is normally a good place for us. We had some issues there in the spring with the car but I think that was an oddly bad race for us. Other than that, we typically race pretty good there. Definitely excited about this weekend." - Alex Bowman

"It’s an interesting place, it’s fast and high-speed and has tire falloff but, for whatever reason, it’s a place that has unique asphalt, and when the tires cool off, you can fire off and run one or two fast laps. These days, with these cars, if you can get that clean air and get those two to three car lengths out in front of guys who are on better tires behind you, and guys between you and the four-tire guys, you have a huge advantage for a few laps. It’s all about what the other guy does. You can be the only guy on two tires and you are a sitting duck, but if you have four to five guys behind you on two tires, you have a bit of a buffer, so it just depends on what goes on around you." - Martin Truex Jr.

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: Times Are Changing for JGR

by Stephen Stumpf

Friday Faceoff: Who Will Advance to Cup’s Championship 4?

by the Frontstretch Staff

Fire on Fridays: Hendrick Should’ve Gone To Bat for Alex Bowman

by Anthony Damcott

NASCAR 101: Don’t Look Now, But Toyota Is On An Icy Cold Streak

by Tanner Marlar

NASCAR on TV This Week: Oct. 18-20

by Phil Allaway

Short Track Weekly: What to Expect From CARS Tour Championship Weekend

by Chase Folsom

Weekend Primer: South Point 400

by Stephen Stumpf

Bringing the Heat: Doug Rice Hits the Final Turn of His Last Lap

with Trey Lyle, Doug Rice and Stephen Stumpf

Tomorrow at Frontstretch.com:

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

Talk Back!

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