Frontstretch Newsletter: Aug. 27, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition CLIII
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- Today is a busy day of racing. The Xfinity Series will race tonight at Daytona International Speedway. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. with Countdown to Green on
NBCSN.
- World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series teams will be at Nebraska's I-80 Speedway for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown. Coverage from there starts at 6:45 p.m. on DirtVision.tv (subscription required). In addition, the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series
continues with the second night of the Quad Cities 150 at Davenport Speedway.
- SRO America teams are practicing today at Road America ahead of this weekend's races. Racing is scheduled to be held all day Saturday and Sunday and will be seen on a combination of CBS Sports Network and the GT World YouTube
channel.
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Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!!
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Around The World In Motorsports: Aug. 26-27
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- Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was quickest in Free Practice No. 1 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with a lap at 148.929 mph. The lap was one-sixth of a second faster than Red Bull's Max Verstappen. AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly was third, followed by Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. Lewis Hamilton was a surprising 18th, more than three seconds slower than
Bottas. This was due to running up on Williams' Nicholas Latifi on a quick lap late in the session.
The session was held in changeable conditions. The track was damp for much of the session as a result of light sprinkles and fog. However, the circuit was not wet enough for intermediate tires.
- In between the practice sessions, it rained heavily. By the time Free Practice No. 2 started, the rain had stopped and the track was slightly damp. A couple of drivers (Bottas, Lando Norris) ventured out briefly on intermediates before determining that it was too dry for them.
Verstappen was quickest with a lap at 149.966 mph. Unfortunately, it was not a clean session for him. Verstappen ended the session three minutes early when he spun at the Malmedy corner and backed into the wall, damaging his Red Bull.
Verstappen was four-hundredths of a second faster than Bottas. Hamilton recovered to get up to third, then Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Gasly.
The session was also red-flagged with 16 minutes to go after Charles Leclerc got loose exiting Les Combes and hitting the wall. Both Verstappen and Leclerc walked away from their incidents, but their teams will have a lot of work ahead of them.
- The Heart of Racing announced Thursday that they will expand to two Aston Martins for the three remaining WeatherTech Sprint Cup events. The No. 27 Aston Martin will be shared by Alex Riberas, who has spent the last 18 months or so in New Zealand and was unable to compete in IMSA due to COVID-19, and team manager Ian James.
- Devin Moran took the lead early Thursday night and held on for the remainder of the event to win Night No. 1 of the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Quad Cities 150 from Davenport Speedway. Bobby Pierce was second, then Frank Heckenast Jr., Shannon Babb and Nick Hoffman.
Passing points are also in play over the three-night show. Moran's victory puts him at the top of the table. Cade Dillard, who finished sixth Thursday, accumulated enough points to jump Babb and Hoffman into fourth.
Once the mess was cleaned up, Veloce W Series Team's Jamie Chadwick (who is missing this weekend's Extreme E Arctic X-Prix in Kangerlussaq, Greenland due to the conflict) won the pole for Saturday's race.
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| | Jack Wood Running Full Truck Schedule in 2022 for GMS
GMS Racing announced Thursday that Jack Wood will continue to drive the No. 24 Chevrolet in the Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2022.
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| | Dylan Lupton Joining Sam Hunt Racing for 2 Races
The good news continues for Dylan Lupton. After Wednesday's announcement of a one-off race in the Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Sam Hunt Racing announced that Lupton will compete in two upcoming
races in the team's No. 26 Toyota in the Xfinity Series.
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| | Sergio Perez Continuing With Red Bull in 2022
Red Bull announced Friday morning that Sergio Perez will return to the team in 2022, continuing as Max Verstappen's teammate.
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| | Fernando Alonso Staying With Alpine Through 2022
Alpine F1 announced Thursday that Fernando Alonso has signed a one-year contract extension that will see him continue to race for the team in 2022.
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| | Venturini Team Members Fined After ARCA Michigan Race
ARCA announced Thursday that Drew Dollar, and the Reeds (Kevin Sr. and Kevin Jr.) have been fined after the events of last Friday's Henry Ford Health System 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Kevin Reed Jr. has also
been suspended indefinitely for reportedly yelling homophoic slurs at a David Gilliland Racing employee.
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Photos are courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography, Maxim Shemetov of Getty Images and Zach Catanzareti.
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Frontstretch Folio: Coke Zero Sugar 400
by Phil Allaway
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Daytona for the final race of the regular season. Coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 starts with NASCAR
RaceHub on FOX Sports 1 at 3 p.m. NBC Sports' coverage starts with the television premiere of the documentary Chase at 5 p.m. on NBCSN. That is followed by NASCAR America Saturday at 6 p.m., then Countdown to Green. The coverage moves to NBC solely for race coverage at 7 p.m. with the green scheduled for around 7:10. The race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90). There are a number of
markets that plan to pre-empt the race in favor of preseason NFL football. We will have a complete list on Frontstretch's schedule page prior to the start of the race.
Records and
facts
Last year's Coke Zero Sugar 400 came down to a Green-White-Checker restart after an 11-car crash on lap 159 in turn 1. Denny Hamlin had the lead, but William Byron was able to draft past on the restart. He was then able to hold the pack back to take his first
career victory and lock himself into the playoffs.
Teammate Chase Elliott was second, followed by Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. Bubba Wallace recovered from being in the aforementioned big crash to finish
fifth.
Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin has the most victories with three, while Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray (not entered) has two. 10 other active drivers have one Daytona victory.
All-time, Richard Petty is the winningest driver in points races at Daytona with 10 career victories, including seven wins in the Daytona 500. Cale Yarborough has nine wins, followed by David Pearson with eight, Fireball Roberts with seven, then Jeff Gordon and Junior Johnson tied with six. Note that win statistics for drivers such as Junior Johnson, Roberts and Pearson are slightly inflated because the races now known as the Bluegreen Vacatoin Duels were point races up until
1971. Also of note, Dale Earnhardt had 34 victories at Daytona in seemingly everything except the Rolex 24. However, only three of them were in Cup Series point races.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.5-mile oval, 200 laps (500 miles)
Banking: 31 degrees
Frontstretch: 3,800 ft, banked 18 degrees in tri-oval, 6 degrees in chutes
Backstretch: 3,400 ft., banked 3 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 101,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Opened: 1959
Website: http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DISUpdates
Say
What?!
"Last year was stressful for most of the race. It was one of those Game 7-type moments that you go into knowing it’s do or die. I actually really like that sensation. You know exactly what you need to do to get the job done
instead of trying to count points. It was interesting how that race played out, though. With things that happened on track with other guys, I was in a position that I could make it in on points as long as I finished. So, during that red flag, it was really a mindset change for me of, ‘Okay we don’t need to win, but if we can, we will to seal the deal.’ It’s nice to not be in that bubble situation this year. Now I can watch and see how it plays out. We’re still in a similar situation of going
into this race with a clear objective – secure playoff points and a win to set us up better moving forward." - William
Byron
"You have to be aggressive just for the fact that if you’re not aggressive, it always seems like you’re not going to be where you need to be. Nine times out of 10, the aggressor is going to be the guy who comes out on the good side of things just for the fact that you’re
making things happen and you’re not waiting for something else to happen. When you wait for something else to happen, that’s usually when you get in trouble because it’s usually someone else’s mess. You can still get in trouble if you’re aggressive, but with this rules package and the way things are, it’s best to stay aggressive and try to stay up front." - Kevin
Harvick
"I played a big part in that excitement in the last Daytona cutoff race. I think you’ll expect to see drivers that were as desperate as I was in that race to try and get up front and get control of the race and win for their team and all their partners. It’s just going to be
a matter of trying to have an understanding in the back of your head or have a point that you kind of have within yourself. Like okay, this is my fun meter. If we can stay within, we’re good. If we go over here, etc. We’re trying to make the Playoffs, right? But we’re also trying to get tenth and get that extra point if we can, too. So, there are a lot of things around. We’re going to try and control what we can. Someone going in and winning that race in Daytona is something that we can’t really
control unless we win that race. But it’s a tough spot to be in." - Tyler
Reddick
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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