Frontstretch Newsletter: Corey LaJoie Out For Michigan; Kamui Kobayashi On Le Mans Pole

Published: Fri, 08/20/21

Frontstretch Newsletter: Aug. 20, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CXLVIII

What to Watch: Friday

- Today is a busy day of on-track activity, especially at World Wide Technology Raceway. There, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires will practice and qualify. Indy Lights teams also have their first 75-lap race of the weekend at 6:30 p.m. that will be streamed live on Peacock (subscription required).

- After the Road to Indy action wraps, the Camping World Truck Series will take center stage with the Toyota 200. Coverage starts with NASCAR RaceDay - CWTS Edition at 8 p.m. on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage follows at 9 p.m.

- The ARCA Menards Series will be in action today at Michigan International Speedway. Coverage of the Henry Ford Health System 200 will be broadcast live on MAVTV at 6 p.m. It will also be streamed live on NBC Sports' TrackPass.

- Tonight is the final night of preliminary competition for the NoS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series 60th Annual NoS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's General Store. Action begins at 8 p.m. at DirtVision.tv.

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MICHIGAN

Mark Kristl (@MarkKristl)

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Christopher DeHarde (@CdeHarde)

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TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Aug. 19

- Thursday was a rather expensive day at the Circuit de la Sarthe as a number of teams found trouble on-track. The Era Motorsport-run No. 17 entry for IDEC Sport has been forced to withdraw from the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to Dwight Merriman's second crash of the week during Free Practice No. 3.

- Free Practice No. 3 saw Signatech Alpine's Nicolas Lapierre go quickest with a lap at 147.576 mph, nearly a second and a half quicker than Toyota GAZOO Racing's Mike Conway. Brendon Hartley in the second Toyota was third, then Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus' Olivier Pla.

JOTA Sport's Antonio Felix da Costa continued to show the best single-lap pace in LMP2, leading the class with a lap at 145.036 mph. He was nearly a half-second faster than United Autosports' Fabio Scherer. Scherer's teammate Paul di Resta was third, then Panis Racing's James Allen. Team WRT's Robin Frijns was fifth.

GTE-Pro was led by Porsche GT Team's Kevin Estre with a lap at 133.647 mph. This lap was nearly a second and a third faster than WeatherTech Racing's Earl Bamber. Richard Lietz was third in the No. 91 Porsche, followed by the Ferraris of AF Corse's Alessandro Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra.

Dempsey-Proton Racing's Julien Andlauer was fastest in GTE-Am with a lap at 132.462 mph, six-tenths of a second faster than Team Project 1's Matteo Cairoli. Matt Campbell in the second Dempsey-Proton Porsche was third, followed by Harry Tincknell. Nicklas Nielsen was fifth in the best of the Ferraris.

The three-hour session was marred by a series of incidents. In addition to Merriman's crash that caused Era Motorsport's withdrawal, Juan Pablo Montoya went off at the Dunlop Chicane in his DragonSpeed-entered ORECA 07-Gibson. Kazuki Nakajima also crashed his Toyota at Indianapolis, knocking the rear wing off of the Toyota GR010 Hybrid. Nakajima was able to drive back to the pits after being extricated from the gravel trap.

- Nakajima was fastest overall in Free Practice No. 4, the second and final night practice session, with a lap at 146.583 mph. Nakajima's lap was two-sevenths of a second faster than Lapierre, who managed to split the Toyotas. Kamui Kobayashi was third quickest, then Ryan Briscoe.

G-Drive Racing's Franco Colapinto was fastest in LMP2 with a lap at 144.212 mph, good for fifth overall. Colapinto was nearly a half-second faster than Racing Team Nederland's Job van Uitert. Filipe Albuquerque was third, then Gabriel Aubry and Antonio Felix da Costa.

GTE-Pro saw WeatherTech Racing's Laurens Vanthoor top the chart with a lap at 133.577 mph. Vanthoor was a full second faster than Porsche GT Team's Gianmaria Bruni. Corvette Racing's Antonio Garcia was third fastest, followed by teammate Alexander Sims. HubAuto Racing's Alvaro Parente was fifth.

GTE-Am was topped by AF Corse's Nicklas Nielsen with a lap at 131.665 mph. Nielsen's lap was one-eighth of a second faster than Inception Racing's Ben Barnicoat. Tincknell was third, then Absolute Racing's Alessio Picariello and JMW Motorsport's Thomas Neubauer.

For Inception Racing, things weren't all great. Ollie Millroy crashed the Inception Racing Ferrari into the tires at the Ford Chicane, causing a red flag that resulted in the session ending early. Millroy was ok, but the car was extensively damaged in the right rear corner.

- Kyle Larson had an almighty fight on his hands Thursday night at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He dueled for over half of the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink with Thomas Meseraull, Justin Grant and Brady Bacon to record the Indianapolis sweep. For Larson, it is his 24th career USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship victory.

Grant finished second, followed by Bacon. Daison Pursley, who led early on, finished fourth, while Emerson Axsom was fifth. Chase Briscoe was 11th after getting into the feature through the Semi/B-Main.

- Brandon Sheppard emerged victorious Thursday night after a spirited side-by-side battle in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series race at Orange County Fair Speedway with Max Blair. Blair ended up second, then Tyler Bruening, who overcome mechanical issues earlier in the night. Camping World Truck Series regular Stewart Friesen was fourth, while Dan Stone was fifth.

Today's Top News:

Corey LaJoie Out at Michigan Due to COVID-19 Protocols, Josh Berry Subbing

Spire Motorsports announced Thursday that Corey LaJoie will have to miss Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway due to being in close contact with a person that tested positive for COVID-19. Since he's unvaccinated, he has to quarantine for a week.

IndyCar Going Back to Iowa for Doubleheader in 2022

INDYCAR announced that after a one-year hiatus, the NTT IndyCar Series will return to Iowa Speedway starting in 2022 for a doubleheader weekend. Grocery store chain Hy-Vee will sponsor the race weekend.

Josh Berry to Be Sponsored By Harrison’s for 8 Races in 2022

JR Motorsports announced Thursday that Harrison's Workwear will sponsor Josh Berry's No. 8 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series for eight races in 2022.

Martin Truex Jr., Auto-Owners Insurance Extend Partnership

Joe Gibbs Racing announced Thursday that they have signed a contract extension with Auto-Owners Insurance that will see the insurance provider continue to sponsor the No. 19 Toyota through at least 2022.

Kamui Kobayashi Wins 24 Hours of Le Mans Pole

Toyota GAZOO Racing's Kamui Kobaayshi won the overall pole for this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans Thursday evening with a lap at 149.526 mph. Antonio Felix da Costa won the LMP2 pole, Dries Vanthoor in GTE-Pro and Julien Andlauer in GTE-Am.

Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Chris Jones of INDYCAR Media and IMSA.

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: FireKeepers Casino 400

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series will return to Michigan International Speedway in the Irish Hills of Michigan for their only visit of the season. Coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 will begin Saturday with NASCAR America Saturday at 2 p.m. on NBCSN, followed by Countdown to Green at 2:30 p.m. The green flag should fall around 3:05.

Records and facts

Last year, Michigan hosted two 500-kilometer races over the span of one weekend. These weekends were still billed as 400s even though they weren't.

The FireKeepers Casino 400 was dominated by Kevin Harvick, who led a race-high 92 laps. However, a late crash for Cole Custer set a three-lap sprint to the finish. On that restart, a multi-car crash broke out involving Ryan Newman, Christopher Bell, Austin Dillon and Michael McDowell. That resulted in a Green-White-Checker restart.

Harvick was able to hold on during the GWC to take the win. Brad Keselowski was second, then Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch.

The next day brought the Consumers Energy 400, which was more of the same. Harvick led 90 of 156 laps. He ultimately took the lead from teammate Aric Almirola with 45 laps to go and held off a large charge from Denny Hamlin to sweep the weekend.

Behind Harvick and Hamlin was Truex in third. Kyle Busch was fourth, then Joey Logano.

Among active drivers, Harvick, on the strength on his doubleheader sweep from last year, has the most victories with five. Kurt Busch, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson have three wins each. Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman have two apiece.

All-time, David Pearson is the winningest driver at Michigan with nine career victories, including three in a row at one point. His first Michigan win came in the Yankee 600, an attempt to run a 600-mile race at Michigan. It ended up being rain-shortened to 165 laps of the scheduled 300.

Cale Yarborough is second all-time at MIS with eight wins, followed by Bill Elliott with seven. Harvick, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace both have five victories apiece.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2-mile "D-Shaped" oval, 156 laps (312 miles)
Banking: 18 degrees
Frontstretch: 3,600 ft., banked 12 degrees

Backstretch: 2,242 ft., banked 5 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 71,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 1968 (first Cup race in 1969)

Website: http://www.mispeedway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MISpeedway

Say What?!

"Michigan is such an important racetrack, not only for teams but for manufacturers – Chevrolet, most importantly. It’s a fun race that’s all about bragging rights for them on who had the most power, the most downforce, and things like that. I feel like we are heading into this race with a really good shot to get it done for Chevy. We have really fast cars on the 1.5-mile and 2-mile tracks. So, I’m excited to see how things play out for us and hopefully we can be the ones to give the bragging rights to Chevy at the end of the day." - William Byron

"Michigan has been a hit-or-miss place for us. I remember winning there on the final race of the old pavement and that was super cool. Ever since the repave, it’s been stuck up there in lane number two and where everyone wants to run. Last year, we got to put on more side-by-side racing and I ended up third. Looking forward to coming back there with a fast Interstate Batteries Camry. Our 550-horsepower race package has been pretty good for us this year, so hope it bodes well for us there this weekend. [Kevin] Harvick and [Joey] Logano and, really, the Ford’s in general have been really quick over the last few years there. It seems like they either have their engine or aero packages squared away there a little bit more than us. This year, it’s been more about the Hendrick guys, so they are probably the group you have to race to win there, as opposed to what it’s been at Michigan the last few years.

"I always get pumped up to go to Michigan (International Speedway). For me, growing up about an hour away from there, the fan support I have there is unmatched. Not only that, but getting to go home and see friends and family, spend the week up there, and getting to do some cool stuff. There is a lot of neat events going on during that week in Flint and the surrounding areas with the Back to The Bricks and the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit. I have a lot of events going on and for me, having all that happening and getting to be a part of some of it is usually pretty cool." - Erik Jones

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:

Friday Faceoff: Should NASCAR Allow Testing At New or Reconfigured Speedways?

by the Frontstretch Staff

4 Burning Questions: The Choice to Not Care

by Michael Finley

Fire on Fridays: Will the Spotlight Ever Shine Again on Kevin Harvick?

by Michael Massie

Podcast: Christopher Bell on Playoff Preparation, His Feud With Kyle Larson

with Christopher Bell, Daniel McFadin and Davey Segal

Stock Car Scoop: Who Are the Favorites at Michigan?

by Adam Cheek and Bryan Nolen

Monday at Frontstretch:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Michigan, Gateway and Le Mans.

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