Frontstretch Newsletter: March 29, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition XLI
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Around the World in Motorsports: March 26-28
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- In addition to Formula 1, Bahrain International Circuit hosted the first weekend for the FIA Formula 2 Championship under their new three-race format. Race No. 1 on Saturday saw Hitech Grand Prix's Liam Lawson lead flag-to-flag to claim his maiden win in his F2 debut. Carlin Racing's Jehan Daruvala was second, followed by Charouz Racing System's David Beckmann. PREMA Racing's Robert Shwartzman and Oscar Piastri were fourth and fifth.
- Sprint Race No. 2 saw Piastri, the defending FIA Formula 3 championship, pass UNI-Virtuosi Racing's Guanyu Zhou on the final lap to claim his first F2 victory. ART Grand Prix's Christian Lundgaard was able to snag second from Zhou on the final lap. Daruvala was fourth, while MP Motorsport's Richard Verschoor was fifth.
- Sunday's Feature Race saw Zhou able to fight back from a bad start to win from the pole. It is his first career Feature race victory. Carlin Racing's Dan Ticktum and Lawson were on the podium, while Verschoor was fourth. DAMS' Marcus Armstrong finished fifth.
- Sunday also saw MotoGP start their 2021 season at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Yamaha's Maverick Vinales was able to hold off the pack to take the victory in an exciting affair. Johann Zarco was 1.092
seconds back in second, then Francesco Bagnaia, defending champion Joan Mir and Fabio Quartararo.
- The World of Outlaws NoS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series dealt with dodgy track conditions at Lake Ozark Speedway Saturday night for the Jason Johnson Classic. The race, shortened from 41 to 30 laps, saw Brad Sweet earn his
third win of the year. Sheldon Haudenschild was second, then James McFadden, Logan Schuchart and Carson Macedo.
- World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series teams were at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C. for the Rock Gault Memorial. Friday night's action was split into two 25-lap
features.
Race No. 1 saw Jimmy Owens survive a tricky track to earn the victory over Jonathan Davenport. Trent Ivey was third, then Tim McCreadie and Brent Larson. Race No. 2 saw Brandon Sheppard run down Dale McDowell in the closing laps and steal victory away from the veteran
racer. Brandon Overton was third, followed by Scott Bloomquist and Jeff Smith.
Saturday night's action at Cherokee Speedway was postponed due to rain. A rain date has not been announced, but the series is currently looking for one.
- Saturday's Nurburgring Endurance Series season opener was cancelled due to wintry winter on the Nordschleife. Qualifying had been red-flagged due to snow and the snow and ice made for unsafe racing
conditions.
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- If the track surface and the surrounding area allows it, there is a doubleheader on the dirt today at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt is scheduled for Noon on FOX Sports 1, while the NASCAR Cup
Series Food City Dirt Race is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. on FOX. There is no rain in the forecast, but the track has taken in a lot of moisture over the past few days. We'll have to see if the surface can handle 40 trucks. If not, it could be a very long day.
Don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch for updates on Bristol!
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| | Cup, Truck Bristol Dirt Races Postponed to Monday
A combination of heavy rains, an unraceable surface and flooding at Bristol Motor Speedway has resulted in the postponement of both the
Cup and Truck races this past weekend. With some luck, they'll both be held Monday.
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| | Lineups Announced for Cup, Truck Races After Rain Axes Heat Races at Bristol
Overnight rains Friday night resulted in NASCAR being forced to cancel both the Cup and Truck heat races after only one lap of the first Truck
heat due to unraceable conditions. As a result, Kyle Larson earns the pole for the Food City Dirt Race, while John Hunter Nemechek starts up front in the Truck race.
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| | Heat Races Cancelled, Bristol Dirt Truck Race Postponed to Sunday Due to Rain
After additional rain started around 6 p.m. Saturday, NASCAR was forced to postpone the Camping World Truck Series Pinty's Truck Race On
Dirt. At the time, the race was postponed to 9 p.m. Sunday night.
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| | Stage, Tire Changes Made Ahead of Bristol Dirt Cup Race
Friday's practice sessions at Bristol showed that Cup teams were dealing with unexpectedly high tire wear. As a result, two competition
cautions have been added to allow for tire changes and the stage lengths have been changed.
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| | Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney Lead Cup Practices at Bristol Dirt
On Friday, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman was fastest overall in the first Cup practice session on the dirt at 89.308 mph. Happy hour
was led by Team Penske's Ryan Blaney with a lap at 89.233 mph. Kyle Larson was forced to change an engine here due to overheating.
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| | Raphael Lessard, Ben Rhodes Lead Bristol Dirt Truck Practices
In Friday's Camping World Truck Series practice sessions, GMS Racing's Raphael Lessard turned in the fastest lap of the weekend right at
the beginning of the first session at 92.860 mph to lead the day. Ben Rhodes was fastest in the second session at 86.944 mph.
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| | Lewis Hamilton Kicks off the 2021 F1 Season With a Win in Bahrain
Mercedes-AMG's Sir Lewis Hamilton gambled on running the final 26 laps of Sunday's Grand Prix of Bahrain on one set of hard tires. Max
Verstappen ran him down and took the lead with four laps to go, but violated track limits to do. He had to let Hamilton back past, but could not take it back as Hamilton claimed his record-extending 96th career victory. Valtteri Bottas was third, then Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography and FIA Media.
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Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Quick Points Update
by Phil Allaway
Ahead of today's racing in Bristol, let's quickly update the points. Denny Hamlin, despite not winning this year, enters the race with a 43-point lead over Kyle Larson. Larson is viewed as a major favorite, but has to come from the rear of the
field. Joey Logano is third in points, followed by Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski.
Point
Standings (1-16): 1) Denny Hamlin 277, 2) Kyle Larson -43, 3) Joey Logano -63, 4) Martin Truex Jr. -65, 5) Brad Keselowski -71, 6) Kevin Harvick -74, 7) Ryan Blaney -86, 8) William Byron -89, t-9) Christopher Bell -94, t-9) Chase Elliott -94, 11) Austin Dillon -107, 12) Kyle Busch -114, 13) Michael McDowell -119, 14) Alex Bowman -120, 15) Kurt Busch -125, 16) Chris Buescher
-133.
Playoff
Points: 1) Kyle Larson 8,
t-2) William Byron -2, t-2) Ryan Blaney -2, t-4) Michael McDowell -3, t-4) Christopher Bell
-3, t-4) Martin Truex Jr. -3, 7) Denny Hamlin -5, t-8) Brad Keselowski -5, t-8) Joey Logano -5, t-8) Chase Elliott -5, t-8) Chris Buescher -5.
Stage
Points: 1) Denny Hamlin 85, 2) Kyle Larson -23, 3) Joey Logano -28, 4) Ryan Blaney -30, t-5) Brad Keselowski -33, t-5) Chase Elliott -33, 7) William Byron -39, 8) Martin Truex Jr. -43,
9) Kurt Busch -51, 10) Kyle Busch -52, t-11) Kevin Harvick -53, t-11) Austin Dillon -53, 13) Christopher Bell -54, 14) Alex Bowman -61, 15) Chris Buescher -63, 16) Bubba Wallace -64.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the playoffs: 21) Michael McDowell -79.
Note: Stage Points include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona.
Old Point
Standings (1-16): 1) Denny Hamlin 222, 2) Kyle Larson -20, t-3) Martin Truex Jr. -26, t-3) Kevin Harvick -26, 5) Joey Logano -35, 6) Brad Keselowski -41, t-7) Christopher Bell -45, t-7) Michael
McDowell -45, 9) William Byron -53, t-10) Austin Dillon -59, t-10) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -59, 12) Ryan Blaney -60, 13) Chase Elliott -64, 14) Kyle Busch -68, 15) Alex Bowman -72, 16) Chris Buescher -75.
Outside of the top-16, but still in the playoffs: 18) Kurt Busch -81.
Race
Winners: Michael McDowell (Daytona-1), Christopher Bell (Daytona-2), William Byron (Homestead), Martin Truex Jr. (Phoenix), Ryan Blaney (Atlanta)
Note: Race wins in Italics do not count towards playoff eligibility.
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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Seeking the Xfinity Series Playoffs: Off-Week Update No. 1
by Phil Allaway
The Xfinity Series was off last weekend. Their next race is scheduled for April 9 at Martinsville Speedway. When the series travels to Southern Virginia, Austin Cindric will have a 46-point lead over
Daniel Hemric. Harrison Burton is third in points, while AJ Allmendinger is fourth. Kaulig Racing teammates Justin Haley and Jeb Burton are fifth and sixth, respectively.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Cindric 277, 2) Daniel Hemric -46,
3) Harrison Burton -65, 4) AJ Allmendinger -83, 5) Justin Haley -84, 6) Jeb Burton -90, 7) Myatt Snider -98, 8) Justin Allgaier -106, 9) Jeremy Clements -112, 10) Brandon Jones -122, 11) Brandon Brown -135, 12) Riley Herbst -142, 13) Michael
Annett -143, 14) Noah Gragson -163, 15) Landon Cassill -165, 16) Tommy Joe Martins -171.
Note No. 1: Drivers in Bold have locked into the playoffs.
Note No. 2: Drivers in italics are ineligible for the playoffs.
Note No. 3: If he were eligible for points, Brett Moffitt would be 12th in points.
Playoff Points: 1) Austin Cindric 14, t-2) AJ Allmendinger
-8, t-2) Ty Gibbs -8, t-4) Myatt Snider -9, t-4) Justin Allgaier -9, 6) Daniel Hemric -12, 7) Brandon Jones -13.
Note: If they were eligible for points, Martin Truex Jr. would be tied for sixth in playoff points, while Brett Moffitt would be tied for eighth with Brandon Jones.
Stage Points: 1) Austin Cindric 73, 2) Harrison Burton -14, t-3)
Daniel Hemric -15, t-3) Justin Allgaier -15, 5) Justin Haley -16, 6) Brandon Jones -26, 7) AJ Allmendinger -40, 8) Riley Herbst -41, 9) Noah Gragson -43, 10) Myatt Snider -45, 11) Michael Annett -48, 12) Jeremy Clements -50, 13) Jeb Burton
-54, 14) Ty Dillon -55, 15) Brandon Brown -58, 16) Ty Gibbs -60.
Note: If they were eligible for points, Martin Truex Jr. would be 13th in stage points, while Brett Moffitt would be 16th.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Cindric 236, 2) Daniel Hemric -35,
3) Jeb Burton -43, 4) AJ Allmendinger -49, 5) Harrison Burton -59, 6) Myatt Snider -61, 7) Jeremy Clements -69, 8) Justin Haley -73, 9) Brandon Brown -83, 10) Justin Allgaier -98, 11) Landon Cassill -101, 12) Brandon Jones -103, 13)
Michael Annett -105, 14) Tommy Joe Martins -106, 15) Josh Williams -107, 16) Riley Herbst -115.
Note: If he were eligible for points, Brett Moffitt would be 12th in old points.
Race Winners: Austin Cindric (Daytona-1, Phoenix), Ty Gibbs (Daytona-2), AJ Allmendinger (Las Vegas), Myatt
Snider (Homestead), Justin Allgaier (Atlanta)
Note: Wins that are ineligible for playoff ineligibility are in italics.
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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Seeking the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs: Quick Points Update
by Phil Allaway
A quick points update ahead of today's rescheduled 150-lap race in Bristol. John Hunter Nemechek enters today's race with a 47-point lead over Ben Rhodes. Sheldon Creed is
third, then Matt Crafton and Stewart Friesen.
Point
Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 204,
2) Ben Rhodes -47, 3) Sheldon Creed -50, 4) Matt Crafton -59, 5) Stewart Friesen -82, 6) Austin Hill -89, 7) Johnny Sauter -101, 8) Zane Smith -105, 9) Grant Enfinger -109, 10) Carson Hocevar -111, 11) Chandler Smith -111, 12) Todd Gilliland -115,
13) Brett Moffitt -116, 14) Austin Wayne Self -122, 15) Derek Kraus -135, 16) Ryan Truex -136.
Note: If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be seventh in points.
Playoff
Points: t-1) Ben Rhodes 10, t-1) John
Hunter Nemechek 10, t-3) Raphael Lessard -8.
Note: If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be third in playoff points.
Stage
Points: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 66, 2) Sheldon Creed -29, t-3) Matt Crafton -35, t-3) Stewart Friesen -35, t-5) Ben Rhodes -37, t-5) Raphael Lessard -37, 7) Austin Hill -39, 8) Chandler Smith -47, t-9)
Zane Smith -51, t-9) Grant Enfinger -51, 11) Johnny Sauter -52, t-12) Brett Moffitt -56, t-12) David Gilliland -56, t-14) Austin Wayne Self -59, t-14) Christian Eckes -59, t-16) Todd Gilliland -60, t-16) Ryan Truex -60, t-16) Derek Kraus
-60.
Note: If they were eligible for stage points, Kyle Busch would be third, while Ross Chastain would be 13th and Kaz Grala 16th.
Old Point
Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 127, 2) Ben Rhodes -14, 3) Sheldon Creed -21, 4) Matt Crafton -27, 5) Carson Hocevar -49, 6) Stewart Friesen -50, 7) Austin Hill -53, 8) Zane Smith -54, 9)
Grant Enfinger -55, 10) Johnny Sauter -57, 11) Todd Gilliland -59, 12) Brett Moffitt -62, 13) Chandler Smith -64, 14) Austin Wayne Self -67, 15) Ryan Truex -76, 16) Tanner Gray -77.
Race
Winner: Ben Rhodes (Daytona-1, Daytona-2), John Hunter Nemechek (Las Vegas), Kyle Busch (Atlanta)
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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