Frontstretch Newsletter: Jan. 18, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition III
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Around the World in Motorsports: Jan. 11-17
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- Kyle Larson successfully defended his victory in the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire Saturday night in Tulsa. He was able to take the lead on the second attempt at the start and held off a charging Christopher Bell for much of the race. After Bell crashed out in a spectacular roll that he walked away from, Larson held on for the win. Justin Grant was second, followed by Tanner Thorson (who won B-Main No. 1 to qualify for the A-Main). Cannon McIntosh was fourth, while Daryn Pittman finished fifth after starting 20th. A more detailed recap of the
race can be found in this week's edition of Thinkin' Dirty.
- The Dakar Rally wrapped up on Friday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Jose Ignacio Cornejo had an 11-minute lead in Stage 10 and looked good to win. However, he had a big crash and was forced to withdraw. That gave the overall lead to Kevin Benavides, who held on to win
by four minutes and 56 seconds over Ricky Brabec. Sam Sunderland was nearly 16 minutes back in third, followed by Daniel Sanders in fourth. American Skyler Howes ended up fifth, 52 minutes behind.
A mere 11 quads finished the Dakar Rally with eligibility to win. Manuel Andjuar took the lead after the seventh stage and won by 33 minutes over Ginovanni Enrico. Pablo Copelli was three hours back in third. Kamil Wisniewski was fourth, then Tomas Kubiena.
- In the Car class, X-Raid MINI JCW Team's Stephane Peterhansel broke his own record with his 14th Dakar overall victory. He won by nearly 14 minutes over Toyota's Nasser Al-Attiyah. Carlos Sainz was an hour behind in third, followed by Jakub Przygonski. Nani Roma ended up fifth, more than three
hours behind.
- The Kamaz dominance of the Truck class continues. Dmitry Sotnikov claimed victory by 39 minutes and 38 seconds over teammate Anton Shibalov. Sotnikov took the lead during the first regular stage and held it all the way to the end. Airat Mardeev made it a Kamaz 1-2-3 despite being 74
minutes behind at the finish. Martin Macik finished fourth, while Ales Loprais was two hours behind in fifth.
- K-PAX Racing announced their GT World Challenge America powered by AWS plans for 2021 Monday morning. The team will be back full-time with two Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVOs in the team's first year as a Lamborghini Squadra Corse
customer. Lamborghini No. 3 will be shared by Andrea Caldarelli and Jordan Pepper, while No. 6 will be driven by Corey Lewis and Giovanni Venturini.
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What to Watch: Jan. 18-24
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- This week is the ROAR Before the 24, the official start of the IMSA season. There's a new wrinkle this year in that the grid for the Rolex 24 at Daytona will be set by a 100-minute qualifying race, the Motul Pole Award 100.
In addition, IMSA Prototype Challenge also starts their 2021 season this weekend as well. There will be news updates all weekend from Daytona. We'll also have plenty of other news to share.
- INDYCAR teams will be at Sebring International Raceway this week, testing ahead of the 2021 season. Jimmie Johnson will be there to get some more reps in his Carvana-sponsored No. 48.
- INDYCAR also has a major announcement Tuesday for their Race for Equality & Change initiative. The RSVP e-mail indicates that there will be exciting news announced at 11 a.m. that has to do with the Indianapolis 500.
- GPX Racing claimed overall victory in last weekend's Hankook 24H Dubai, the first Creventic event of 2021. The driver quintet of Julien Andlauer, Frederic Fatien, Alain Ferte, Mathieu Jaminet and Axcil Jefferies dominated the race and won by three minutes over an Audi R8 LMS GT3 from Team WRT.
- Finally, we are starting our 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season preview articles. An informal ranking amongst the staff at Frontstretch has created a list of the top 30 drivers entering the season. We'll have previews of those 30 drivers over the next three
weeks.
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| | Pitbull Joins Trackhouse Racing as Team Partner
Trackhouse Racing Team announced Friday that Armando Christian Perez, better known as the rapper Pitbull, has purchased an ownership share in
the race team and will be partnered with Justin Marks.
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| | Ryan Newman Adds Kohler Sponsorship
Roush Fenway Racing announced a new sponsorship Tuesday with Kohler Generators. They will sponsor the No. 6 Ford for eight
races.
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| | Cody Ware to Run Full Cup Season for Rick Ware Racing
Rick Ware Racing announced Monday morning that Cody Ware will drive the No. 51 Chevrolet with sponsorship from Nurtec ODT for the full 2021
NASCAR Cup Series season.
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| | Adrenaline Shoc Joins Chase Elliott As 2-Race Primary Sponsor
Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday that Adrenaline Shoc will serve as a primary sponsor on Chase Elliott's No. 9 Chevrolet in two
races in 2021.
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| | Kaz Grala Will Attempt Daytona 500 For Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing announced Wednesday that they will field the No. 16 Chevrolet in the Daytona 500. Kaz Grala will drive in what will be his
second NASCAR Cup Series attempt.
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| | Noah Gragson to Make Daytona 500 Debut for Beard Motorsports
Beard Motorsports announced Thursday that they have signed Noah Gragson to drive the No. 62 Chevrolet. He will attempt to make his
NASCAR Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500.
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| | Miguel Paludo Joins JR Motorsports for 3 Road Course Xfinity Races
JR Motorsports announced Wednesday that Miguel Paludo will return to NASCAR to compete in three Xfinity Series road races in the No. 8
Chevrolet. They will be Paludo's first NASCAR starts since 2013.
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| | Kris Wright Joins Sam Hunt Racing for Xfinity Road Course Events
Sam Hunt Racing announced Thursday that Kris Wright will drive the No. 26 Toyota in the seven Xfinity Series road course races in
2021.
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| | Brandon Gdovic Returning to Sam Hunt Racing for Limited 2021 Schedule
In addition to Kris Wright's schedule, Sam Hunt Racing also announced that Brandon Gdovic will return to the team for a limited schedule in
2021.
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| | Mason Massey Returning to BJMM for 12-Race Xfinity Run
BJ McLeod Motorsports announced Tuesday that Mason Massey will be back with the team for a 12-race schedule in the No.
99.
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| | Stefan Parsons Running Part-Time Xfinity Schedule With BJMM
In addition to Mason Massey being back with the team, BJ McLeod Motorsports announced last Monday that Stefan Parsons will be back with the
team for a part-time schedule.
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| | Hailie Deegan Ordered to Undergo Sensitivity Training
Last Monday, NASCAR ordered Hailie Deegan to go through sensitivity training prior to the start of the 2021 Camping World Truck Series
season after she used a derogatory term for the mentally challenged during a stream.
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| | Bret Holmes, Sam Mayer to Compete Part Time in ARCA and Truck Series
Bret Holmes Racing will split their time between the ARCA Menards Series and the Camping World Truck Series in 2021. The team is
currently scheduled to run at least six truck races (five with Sam Mayer driving and one with Holmes at the wheel).
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| | Formula 1 Shifts Bahrain to Season Opener, Imola Replaces China
The FIA announced a series of changes to the World Championship schedule Tuesday. The Grand Prix of Australia has been postponed due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that the season will now start back in Bahrain. China has been dropped and replaced by Imola.
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| | Marco Andretti Stepping Down from Full-Time IndyCar Racing in 2021
Marco Andretti announced Friday that he will no longer race full-time in the NTT IndyCar Series. He plans to run at Indianapolis and
possibly race sports cars.
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| | Entry List: ROAR Before the 24/Rolex 24 at Daytona
50 teams will take part in testing at Daytona International Speedway for the upcoming Rolex 24 at Daytona. Meanwhile, 37 IMSA Michelin
Pilot Challenge teams will be on hand as well to test.
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| | Scott Dixon Rejoins Chip Ganassi Racing for Rolex 24; Robert Megennis Joins Vasser Sullivan
Chip Ganassi Racing announced Thursday that Scott Dixon will serve as the team's endurance driver in 2021. Vasser Sullivan has placed
Robert Megennis in a similar role in their No. 12 Lexus.
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| | NTe Sport Announces Rolex 24 Effort With Audi
NTe Sport announced Friday that they will make their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. They have
a driver lineup led by JR Hildebrand and sponsorship from iFly.
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| | SunEnergy1 Racing Returns To IMSA For Rolex 24
Mercedes-AMG confirmed Tuesday that SunEnergy1 Racing will return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time since 2018
at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
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| | Corey Heim Running Full ARCA Season With Venturini
Venturini Motorsports announced last Monday that Corey Heim, who won the ARCA Menards Series season finale at Kansas, will return to the team
for the full 2021 season.
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| | Nick Sanchez to Drive ARCA Full Time for Rev Racing in 2021
REV Racing announced their first full-time season in the ARCA Menards Series Friday. Nick Sanchez will drive the team's No. 6 Chevrolet
on a full-time basis.
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| | ARCA Announces 2021 Sioux Chief Showdown Schedule
The ARCA Menards Series is known for their championships within the championship and 2021 will not be an exception to the rule. Last
Monday, ARCA announced the 10-race schedule for the 2021 Sioux Chief Showdown.
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| | Drew Dollar Returning to Venturini in Limited ARCA Schedule
Venturini Motorsports announced Tuesday that Drew Dollar will return to the team for the 2021 ARCA Menards Series season, but in a part-time
role.
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| | Gracie Trotter Racing Part-Time ARCA with Venturini Motorsports
Gracie Trotter will step up to the ARCA Menards Series in 2021, inking a deal to run part-time for Venturini Motorsports in 2021.
Trotter earned a victory at The Bullring at Las Vegas and finished third in ARCA Menards Series West points.
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| | Derek Griffith Joins Venturini for Two ARCA Races
Venturini Motorsports announced Thursday that Derek Griffith will drive a two-race schedule for the team in their No. 55 Toyota with
sponsorship from SpotOn.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, ARCA Racing, Chris Owens and James Black of INDYCAR Media, IMSA and Anthony Lumbis Sr. In addition, we have photos from our own Phil Allaway and Mike Neff.
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