Frontstretch Newsletter: July 26, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CXXXI
|
With the general lack of content coming up recently, we are going to cut the Frontstretch Newsletter down to three days a week for this week. Your next newsletter will be delivered Wednesday morning. Have a great week, everyone!
Phil Allaway
Newsletter Manager, Frontstretch.com
|
- Indiana Sprint Week continues tonight with a rescheduled night of racing at Gas City I-69 Speedway. This replaces a card originally scheduled for Friday night that was rained out. Action is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on FLORacing (subscription
required).
- NASCAR teams are at their shops, working on their cars for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, drivers are either relaxing at home or vacationing. In the case of one driver, he is currently making his buttocks dance at a resort. If anything of note breaks, we'll have it for
you at Frontstretch.
|
Around the World in Motorsports: July 23-25
|
- ABB FIA Formula E World Championship teams descended upon London for a doubleheader last weekend. Saturday's race saw BMW i Andretti Motorsport's Jake Dennis take the lead from Alex Lynn on lap 12 and pull away to win by 5.341 seconds over Mercedes' Nyck de Vries. Lynn had to settle for third, then Andre Lotterer and Rene
Rast.
Race No. 2 on Sunday was very controversial. Audi Sport ABT Speedline's Lucas di Grassi gained the lead during a safety car period despite coming into the pit lane during the race. This is highly unusual in that since the second-generation Formula E cars have come into use, no one generally pits during a race.
Furthermore, the Audi pit was conveniently located behind the flagstand, so cameras could not see whether di Grassi had stopped or not. Regardless, things seemed rather fishy when di Grassi moved up from seventh to the lead despite entering the pits. Di Grassi was given a drive-through penalty for the maneuver. When that was not served, it was converted into a black flag
(disqualification).
Even after receiving the black flag, di Grassi continued to stay out and technically won the race on the road. With the DQ dropping him to the rear, it was Mahindra Racing's Lynn that took the victory over de Vries and Jaguar Racing's Mitch Evans. Envision Virgin Racing's Robin Frijns was fourth, while Pascal Wehrlein was fifth.
With only the season-ending doubleheader at the Templehof airport circuit in Berlin to go, de Vries has taken the championship lead. His advantage is six points over Frijns. Dennis and Sam Bird are tied for third, while Antonio Felix da Costa is fifth.
- In World of Outlaws NoS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series action, Sheldon Haudenschild led flag-to-flag from pole Friday night to win Night No. 1 of the Champion Racing Oil Summer Nationals at Pennsylvania's Williams Grove Speedway. Lance Dewease was second, then James McFadden, Donny Schatz and Brent Marks.
Saturday night saw Marks, often referred to as the "Myerstown Missile," snatch the lead away from Schatz on lap 21 and held off Haudenschild to take the victory. It is the first World of Outlaws NoS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win for a member of the Pennsylvania Posse who is not full-time in the series since 2019. Haudenschild was second, then Schatz, Carson Macedo and
Dewease.
Through 49 races, Brad Sweet continues to lead. His advantage is 112 points over Macedo. David Gravel is third, then Schatz and Haudenschild.
- Honda's Chase Sexton led flag-to-flag to win 450cc Moto No. 1 at Washougal in Washington Saturday afternoon. Eli Tomac was second, then Marvin Musquin, Justin Barcia and Dylan Ferrandis.
Moto No. 2 saw Ferrandis take the lead from holeshot winner Cooper Webb on the first lap. Unlike the first race, Ferrandis was under near constant pressure for the entire moto. In the final laps, Tomac ran Ferrandis down. However, Ferrandis found a little bit more on the final lap and took the win by 4.5 seconds. Sexton was third, then Aaron Plessinger and Musquin.
With a score of four, Sexton took his first round victory of the season over Tomac, Ferrandis, Musquin and Barcia. Through seven of 12 rounds, Ferrandis now has a 47-point lead over Ken Roczen. Tomac is third, then Barcia and Sexton.
In the 250cc class, Chaparral's Carson Mumford took the holeshot and held the advantage for the first eight minutes of the race before Yamaha's Justin Cooper took the advantage. Cooper had to deal with RJ Hampshire for much of the race, but was able to pull away in the closing minutes to win by 2.8 seconds. Jeremy Martin was third, then Michael Mosiman and Hunter
Lawrence.
Moto No. 2 saw Cooper win the holeshot at the start and lead early, but Martin was able to run him down 10 minutes in and passed him in the whoops to take the lead. Cooper tried to get the lead back, but crashed in the process. That allowed Martin to pull away to an easy win by 11.8 seconds over Jett Lawrence. Hampshire was third, then Pierce Brown and Jo Shimoda.
With an overall score of four, Martin earned his second straight round victory. Hampshire was second, then Cooper, Jett Lawrence and Brown.
|
| | Ty Gibbs Wins Back-to-Back Iowa ARCA Races
Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs dominated Saturday night in Iowa Speedway. He led 149 of 150 laps to win the combination ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East Shore Lunch 150. Daniel Dye was second, then
Taylor Gray, Corey Heim and Nick Sanchez.
|
| | Sage Karam Making Xfinity Debut at Indianapolis
Jordan Anderson Racing announced Monday that Sage Karam will make his Xfinity Series debut in the No. 31 Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 14. Sponsorship will be provided by Montage Mountain
Resorts.
|
| | Taylor Gray Racing Part Time Trucks, ARCA in 2022
Taylor Gray has indicated to Frontstretch that his 2022 plans will look similar to what he originally planned for 2021 before a car accident on the road derailed his season. He'll be part-time in the ARCA Menards Series
and try to do a couple of Camping World Truck Series events.
|
Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Joe Skibinski of INDYCAR Media and our own Mark Kristl.
|
Seeking the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs: Off-Week Update No. 3
by Phil Allaway
The NASCAR Cup Series was off last weekend as part of the Olympic break. The series will resume with the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 8.
Denny Hamlin will enter Watkins Glen with a 13-point advantage over Kyle Larson. William Byron is still third despite a poor showing in Loudon, followed by Kyle Busch.
There is one shift in the standings despite the downtime. Last week's engine allocation penalties given to Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman have resulted in a change. Joey Logano moved back up to fifth due to Elliott's 25-point penalty. Elliott is down to sixth. Bowman didn't lose the 11th spot due to his penalty, but he's now more
than a full race behind Kevin Harvick in 10th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Denny Hamlin 874, 2) Kyle Larson -13, 3) William Byron
-125, 4) Kyle Busch -134, 5) Joey Logano -141, 6) Chase Elliott -163, 7) Martin Truex Jr. -178, 8) Ryan Blaney -185, 9) Brad Keselowski -198, 10) Kevin Harvick
-201, 11) Alex Bowman -262, 12) Tyler Reddick -278, 13) Austin Dillon -283, 14) Kurt Busch -322, 15) Christopher Bell -342, 16) Chris Buescher -399.
Outside the Top 16, but still in the Playoffs: 19) Michael McDowell
-426, t-23) Aric Almriola -497.
Playoff
Points: 1) Kyle Larson 32, 2) Martin Truex Jr. -13, 3) Alex Bowman -17, 4) Kyle Busch -19, 5) Chase Elliott -21, 6) Ryan Blaney -23, t-7) Joey Logano -24, t-7) William Byron -24, t-7) Kurt Busch -24, 10) Brad Keselowski -26, t-11) Christopher Bell -27, t-11) Denny Hamlin -27, t-11) Michael McDowell -27, t-11) Aric Almirola -27, t-15) Tyler Reddick -31, t-15) Chris Buescher
-31, t-15) Matt DiBenedetto -25, t-15) Bubba Wallace -31, .
Stage
Points: 1) Kyle Larson 253, 2) Denny Hamlin -3, 3) William Byron -60, 4) Chase Elliott -79, 5) Kyle Busch -88, 6) Ryan Blaney -95, t-7) Joey
Logano -103, t-7) Martin Truex Jr. -103, 9) Brad Keselowski -118, 10) Alex Bowman -145, 11) Kevin Harvick -148, 12) Kurt Busch -153, 13) Tyler Reddick -160, 14) Austin Dillon
-182, 15) Christopher Bell -186, 16) Bubba Wallace -203.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the playoffs: 18) Aric Almirola -219, 20) Michael McDowell -222.
Note: Stage Points include the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Denny Hamlin 734, 2) Kyle Larson -27, 3) Joey Logano
-53, 4) Kyle Busch -61, 5) Kevin Harvick -74, 6) Chase Elliott -78, 7) William Byron -79, 8) Martin Truex Jr. -90, 9) Brad Keselowski -95, 10) Ryan Blaney
-110, t-11) Alex Bowman -123, t-11) Austin Dillon -123, 13) Tyler Reddick -143, 14) Christopher Bell -177, 15) Kurt Busch -202, 16) Chris Buescher -210.
Outside of the Top 16, but still in the playoffs: 19) Michael
McDowell -225, 25) Aric Almirola -303.
Race Winners: Michael McDowell (Daytona-1), Christopher Bell (Daytona-2), William Byron (Homestead), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas, Charlotte, Sonoma, All-Star Race, Nashville), Martin Truex Jr. (Phoenix, Martinsville, Darlington), Ryan Blaney (Atlanta-1), Joey Logano (Bristol),
Alex Bowman (Richmond, Dover), Brad Keselowski (Talladega), Kyle Busch (Kansas), Chase Elliott (Circuit of the Americas, Road America), Kurt Busch (Atlanta-2), Aric Almirola (Loudon)
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.
|
|
|
Seeking the Xfinity Series Playoffs: Off-Week Update No. 5
by Phil Allaway
The Xfinity Series was off last weekend. They are scheduled to return to action in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 7.
When the teams return to the track, Austin Cindric will have an 82-point lead over AJ Allmendinger. Daniel Hemric is third, then Justin Allgaier and Harrison
Burton. Michael Annett, who has missed the last two races after suffering a stress fracture during the Knoxville truck weekend, is the last man in the playoffs right now with a 32-point advantage over Riley Herbst.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Cindric 797, 2) AJ Allmendinger -82, 3) Daniel Hemric -113, 4) Justin Allgaier
-144, 5) Harrison Burton -182, 6) Jeb Burton -208, 7) Justin Haley -220, 8) Noah Gragson -253, 9) Brandon Jones -308, 10) Jeremy Clements -329, 11) Michael Annett -347, 12) Myatt Snider -371, 13) Riley Herbst
-379, 14) Brandon Brown -388, 15) Josh Berry -400, 16) Ryan Sieg -422.
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 Xfinity points for the full season, Brett Moffitt would be 15th in points.
Playoff Points: 1) Austin Cindric 27, 2) AJ Allmendinger -12, t-3) Ty Gibbs -16, t-3) Justin Allgaier
-16, 5) Josh Berry -21, t-6) Jeb Burton -22, t-6) Myatt Snider -22, t-6) Daniel Hemric -22, 9) Justin Haley -24, t-10) Noah Gragson -25, t-10) Harrison Burton -25, t-11) Brandon Jones
-26.
Note: If they were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would have the most with 29, while Christopher Bell's season debut would put him in sixth. Martin Truex Jr. would be tied for 12th. If he had run the full season for Xfinity points, Brett Moffitt would be tied
for 15th.
Stage Points: 1) Austin Cindric 222, 2) Daniel Hemric -36, 3) AJ Allmendinger -39, 4) Justin Allgaier
-48, 5) Harrison Burton -59, 6) Noah Gragson -72, 7) Justin Haley -81, 8) Brandon Jones -105, 9) Jeb Burton -134, 10) Michael Annett -153, 11) Ty Gibbs -164, 12) Josh Berry -166, t-13) Myatt Snider
-168, t-13) Riley Herbst -168, 15) Jeremy Clements -176, t-16) Brandon Brown -195, t-16) Ty Dillon -195.
Note: If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be tied for 10th in stage points.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) Austin Cindric 670, 2) AJ Allmendinger -52, 3) Daniel Hemric -81, 4) Jeb Burton
-90, 5) Justin Allgaier -106, 6) Harrison Burton -139, 7) Justin Haley -157, 8) Jeremy Clements -170, 9) Noah Gragson -198, 10) Brandon Brown -208, 11) Myatt Snider -221, 12) Michael Annett -223, 13) Brandon Jones -224, 14) Riley Herbst -235, 15) Ryan Sieg -237, 16) Josh Berry -264.
Note: If he were eligible for Xfinity points for the whole season, Brett Moffitt would be ninth in old
points.
Race Winners: Austin Cindric (Daytona-1, Phoenix, Dover, Pocono), Ty Gibbs (Daytona-2, Charlotte), AJ Allmendinger (Las Vegas, Mid-Ohio), Myatt Snider (Homestead), Justin Allgaier (Atlanta-1, Darlington), Josh Berry
(Martinsville), Jeb Burton (Talladega), Kyle Busch (Circuit of the Americas, Texas, Nashville, Road America, Atlanta-2), Christopher Bell (Loudon)
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.
|
|
|
Seeking the Camping World Truck Series Playoffs: Off-Week Update No. 10
by Phil Allaway
The Camping World Truck Series was off last weekend. They will not be in action again until the United Rentals 176 at Watkins Glen on Aug. 7. That race will be the final race of the regular
season.
When the teams get to Watkins Glen, John Hunter Nemechek will have an 85-point lead over Ben Rhodes, having already clinched the regular season championship. Austin Hill, who won in Knoxville, is third, followed
by Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith. Only two spots are up for grabs in the playoffs and the chances of Derek Kraus or Tyler Ankrum getting in are not great.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 605, 2) Ben Rhodes -85, 3) Austin Hill -95, 4) Todd Gilliland -147, 5) Zane Smith -154, 6) Matt Crafton
-175, t-7) Sheldon Creed -192, t-7) Grant Enfinger -192, 9) Carson Hocevar -233, 10) Stewart Friesen -241, 11) Chandler Smith -254, 12) Derek Kraus -294, 13) Tyler Ankrum -298, 14) Johnny Sauter
-305, 15) Austin Wayne Self -334, 16) Ryan Truex -353.
Note: If he were eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be 16th in points.
Playoff Points: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 34, 2) Ben Rhodes -23, 3) Todd Gilliland -27, 4) Sheldon Creed
-28, 5) Austin Hill -29, t-6) Zane Smith -31, t-6) Derek Kraus -31, 8) Raphael Lessard -32, t-9) Chandler Smith -33, t-9) Grant Enfinger -33,
Note: If they were
eligible for points, Kyle Busch would be second in playoff points while Martin Truex Jr. would be fourth and Ryan Preece seventh.
Stage Points: 1) John Hunter Nemechek 167, 2) Austin Hill
-47, 3) Ben Rhodes -54, 4) Sheldon Creed -58, 5) Zane Smith -76, 6) Matt Crafton -78, 7) Stewart Friesen -80, 8) Derek Kraus -83, 9) Todd Gilliland -84, 10) Chandler Smith -99, 11) Grant Enfinger
-107, 12) Raphael Lessard -127, 13) Carson Hocevar -134, 14) Tyler Ankrum -138, 15) Johnny Sauter -142, 16) Kaz Grala -153.
Note: If they were eligible for stage points,
Kyle Busch would be 10th.
Old Point Standings (1-16): 1) John Hunter Nemechek 396, 2) Ben Rhodes -38, 3) Todd Gilliland -47, 4) Austin Hill -58, 5) Zane Smith
-85, 6) Grant Enfinger -87, 7) Matt Crafton -107, 8) Carson Hocevar -110, 9) Sheldon Creed -129, 10) Chandler Smith -156, 11) Tyler Ankrum -165, 12) Stewart Friesen -167, 13) Johnny Sauter -176, 14) Austin
Wayne Self -185, 15) Ryan Truex -202, 16) Derek Kraus -211.
Race Winners: Ben Rhodes (Daytona-1, Daytona-2), John Hunter Nemechek (Las Vegas, Richmond, Charlotte, Pocono), Kyle Busch (Atlanta, Kansas), Martin Truex Jr. (Bristol), Sheldon Creed (Darlington), Todd Gilliland (Circuit of the Americas), Ryan Preece (Nashville), Austin Hill
(Knoxville)
Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.
|
|
|
|
