Frontstretch Newsletter: William Byron Joins Rackley W.A.R. For Truck Series Return

Published: Fri, 06/04/21

Frontstretch Newsletter: June 4, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition XC

What to Watch: Friday

- ARCA Menards Series teams are at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. There is a 45-minute practice/qualifying session scheduled for 2:45 p.m.

The race is scheduled to go green a little after 6 p.m. for 150 kilometers of racing. The race will air live on FOX Sports 1.

- Xfinity teams should be arriving at Mid-Ohio to begin preparations for tomorrow's B&L Transport 170. Cup teams are currently en route to Sonoma for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350k. If anything of note breaks, we'll have it for you.

Don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!!

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: June 4

- Chevrolet broke ground Thursday on the new Charlotte Technical Center, a 130,000 square foot complex that will help support the brand's racing endeavors in NASCAR, INDYCAR, IMSA and the new Extreme E Championship. It is designed to develop new technology and collaboration with race teams. The new complex is located in Concord, not too far away from Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is currently scheduled to be complete in early 2022.

- Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fastest in Free Practice No. 1 in Baku with a lap at 130.136 mph. He was four-hundredths of a second faster than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz Jr. was third, then Sergio Perez and McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo.

Haas F1's Nikita Mazepin's suspect season continued here as he balked Verstappen late in the session. Shortly afterwards, Mazepin spun out and made contact with the barriers.

- Perez was quickest in Free Practice No. 2 with a lap at 131.499 mph, one-tenth of a second faster than teammate Verstappen. Sainz was third, then Leclerc and AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.

Things weren't so great for Ferrari here. Despite setting the third fastest time in the session, Leclerc locked up his wheels and slid into the Tecpro barrier in turn 15 30 minutes into the session. The impact broke Leclerc's front wing, but the car was otherwise unhurt.

Mercedes had a terrible session, something that has been extremely rare in recent years. Lewis Hamilton was 11th quickest, a little more than a second off of Perez. Valtteri Bottas was 16th.

- In Formula 2 practice, Hitech Grand Prix's Juri Vips was fastest with a lap at 116.552 mph, three-quarters of a second faster than Campos Racing's Ralph Boschung. Theo Pourchaire was third fastest, then Robert Shwartzman and Oscar Piastri.

Qualifying saw Hitech Grand Prix close out the front row. Liam Lawson claimed the pole for Saturday's first sprint race with a lap at 117.566 mph, one-seventh of a second faster than Vips. Piastri will start third, then Pourchaire and Dan Ticktum.

Sprint Race No. 1 will be streamed live on ESPN3 at 3:25 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Sprint Race No. 2 will be at 9:40 a.m. ET Saturday.

- G-Drive Racing's Nyck de Vries was fastest overall in Free Practice No. 1 for the European Le Mans Series at Paul Ricard. De Vries' lap at 125.359 mph was less than two-hundredths of a second faster than United Autosports' Phil Hanson. Job van Uitert in the second United Autosports entry was third, then Roberto Merhi in the second G-Drive entry. Panis Racing's James Allen was fifth quickest.

Team Virage's Garret Grist was fastest in LMP3 with a lap at 118.372 mph, nearly a quarter of a second faster than Graff Racing's David Droux. United Autosports' Wayne Boyd was third, then Laurents Hoerr in the fastest of the Duqueine-M30-D08's in fourth for DKR Engineering. Duncan Tappy in the second United Autosports Ligier JS P320 was fifth.

In GTE, TF Sport's Ross Gunn was fastest with a lap at 114.555 mph. His lap was two-tenths of a second faster than the Ferrari of Iron Lynx's Miguel Molina. The No. 6o Iron Lynx Ferrari of Paolo Ruberti was third, then Matt Griffin and the Porsche of Richard Lietz.

Today's Top News:

William Byron, Rackley WAR Team for Nashville

Rackley W.A.R. announced Thursday that they will expand to two trucks for the upcoming race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. William Byron will drive the team's No. 27 Chevrolet.

Photo is 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.

Newsletter Exclusive:

Frontstretch Folio: Toyota/Save Mart 350

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the West Coast for their first of three road races this season. Coverage of the Toyota/Save Mart 350k can be seen on FOX Sports 1 starting at 2:30 p.m. ET Sunday with NASCAR RaceDay. The green flag is scheduled to fly around 4:10. The race can also be heard on PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

There was no race last year at Sonoma Raceway due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years ago, the NASCAR Cup Series raced on the long course for the first time since 1997. Unlike the first nine races at Sonoma, this race was 90 laps instead of 74. It also ended up being the cleanest Cup race at Sonoma.

Martin Truex Jr. led 59 of 90 laps. The final 46 laps of the race were run under green, allowing the duo of Truex and Kyle Busch to run away from the rest of the field and settle it among themselves. Truex was able to hold on to win his second straight Sonoma race. Busch was 1.861 seconds behind in second, then Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto and Denny Hamlin.. DiBenedetto was more than 30 seconds behind at the finish despite finishing fourth.

The last time NASCAR raced at Sonoma Raceway, they used the high downforce rules with brake ducts substituted for aero ducts. Sunday's event is likely to be more taxing on braking systems than the 2019 race was. Tire wear should also be very high.

Among active drivers, Truex has the most victories at Sonoma Raceway with three. Kyle Busch has two wins, while Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick each have one.

All-time, Jeff Gordon is the winningest Cup driver at Sonoma with five wins. He swept the three races run on the 1.949 mile short course (1998-2000), then won two more once the short course was reconfigured into the 1.99-mile configuration in 2001. Truex and Tony Stewart have three career wins at Sonoma, while Kyle Busch, Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd all have two wins at Sonoma. Only Rudd and Truex have won on both the short course and the long course.

For the long course, Irvan, Wallace and Rudd each claimed two wins. The other events were won by Davey Allison (1991), Geoff Bodine (1993), Dale Earnhardt (1995) and Mark Martin (1997).

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.52-mile road course, 90 laps (226.8 miles)

Grandstand Seating: 47,000
Pit Road Speed: 40 mph
Pace Car Speed: 45 mph
Opened: 1968 (as Sears Point Raceway), first Cup race in 1989

Website: http://www.racesonoma.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/racesonoma

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RaceSonoma

Say What?!

"I’ve never seen or step foot on property at Sonoma Raceway, but I’m really excited about this weekend. Obviously, the road courses are something myself and my team have worked really hard on being better at. I feel like the things we made gains on and I made gains on as a driver at COTA will help if we get into a tire management on a road course situation. I’ve also got a lot more sim time planned and scheduled for this week, but we’ve been working on Sonoma for quite a while now. AJ Allmendinger has been a big help as well, coming over and sharing some of his knowledge with me on how to approach the course. He has really helped me on the road courses over the past few years and changed the way I approach them. I have zero laps of experience, so it’s going to be a learning process on Sunday but I’m ready for it with the No. 8 Childress Vineyards team." - Tyler Reddick

"It’s great that we’re finally able to come back to California and Sonoma. It’s just a great area, a great track with great fans. We’ve always had a great time with our partners from Love’s Travel Stops and Speedco in the area and it’s just something our sport has missed.

"This is a weekend where we can score stage points and have a good points day. It’s more of a challenge for us to get points at some races, but this is a track where we can make that happen. I love the fight that we have and we’re going to put up another strong effort this Sunday." - Michael McDowell

"I think it is good to stay sharp on road-course racing. We have not been to the Sonoma Raceway for over a year, but we have been doing a lot of other road course racing. I feel like I have stayed up-to-date. Sonoma is a place where I have been enough times where I feel pretty comfortable. Getting on the simulator before this weekend is going to help keep me sharp and keep me ready to go on that front, as well.”

"I am excited to get back to Sonoma. I really enjoy racing there during this time of year. It is always super nice out there. A little warm, but definitely a cool part of the country to be in." - Erik Jones

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of our own Danny Peters.

Today at Frontstretch:

Friday Faceoff: Has Ryan Newman Had a Hall-of-Fame Career?

by the Frontstretch Staff

4 Burning Questions: Is Kurt Busch Going to 23XI?

by Michael Finley

Fire on Fridays: Here’s Who Should Replace Brad Keselowski in the No. 2

by Kevin Rutherford

ARCA President Ron Drager Talks State of Series

by Mark Kristl

Stock Car Scoop: What to Expect in Sonoma?

by Adam Cheek and Bryan Nolen

History’s Greatest Motorsports Blunders

by the Frontstretch Staff

NASCAR 101: Hall-of-Fame Winners at Sonoma

by Brad Harrison

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Sonoma and Mid-Ohio. It should be an interesting weekend of road racing.

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