Frontstretch Newsletter: Engine Issues Plague Zandvoort Practice

Published: Fri, 09/03/21

Frontstretch Newsletter: Sept. 3, 2021
Volume: XV, Edition LXII

What to Watch: Friday

- Teams are loading up today for the short haul to Darlington for this weekend's races. If anything of note breaks, we'll have it for you at Frontstretch.

Also, don't forget to follow our Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates on Darlington!!

TV Schedule: Here

Around the World in Motorsports: Sept. 3

- Formula 1 practice Friday at Zandvoort was tricky as teams did not get a lot of track time due to red flags.

Practice No. 1 saw a 37-minute red flag after Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel blew his engine on the frontstretch. He coasted to a halt at pit exit and got out without issue. However, the safety crew couldn't quite ascertain whether or not the car was completely grounded. The vast majority of the delay was due to attempting to ground the car.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was fastest with a lap at 133.225 mph. He was one-tenth of a second faster than Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. were third and fourth, while Valtteri Bottas was fifth.

- Free Practice No. 2 saw two more red flags. Hamilton stopped on-course a few minutes into the session with a oil system issue after completing only three laps. At the time of his failure, he was second quickest. He ended up 11th on the chart.

Later on, Haas F1's Nikita Mazepin entered the Hans Ernst Boche (turn 11) too quickly and spun into the gravel trap to bring out another red flag. Both drivers were ok.

Leclerc was fastest with a lap at 134.349 mph around the 2.646-mile seaside course. That lap was one-sixth of a second faster than teammate Sainz. Alpine's Esteban Ocon was third fastest, then Bottas. Verstappen was fifth quickest, disappointing the thousands of fans that crowded the stands. He stated on the radio that the red flags made it very difficult to get a clean lap.

- PREMA Racing's Dennis Hauger won the pole for Saturday's first FIA Formula 3 Championship race with a lap at 111.846 mph. Hauger was one-seventh of a second ahead of David Schumacher. Victor Martins will start third, then Jack Doohan and Clement Novalak.

- Fresh off her W Series victory at Spa last weekend, Emma Kimilainen won the pole for Saturday's sixth race of the year with a lap at 100.986 mph. She also won a bet with her engineer. He'll have to sing a Spice Girls song on TV. Kimilainen was seven-hundredths of a second quicker than Alice Powell. Points leader Jamie Chadwick will start third, then Nerea Marti and Abbi Pulling.

Today's Top News:

Charlie Kimball Driving for Foyt in IndyCar Finale

AJ Foyt Enterprises announced Thursday that Charlie Kimball will return to the team to drive their third entry, No. 11, in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Photo is courtesy of Chris Owens of INDYCAR Media.

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: Cook Out Southern 500

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the oldest superspeedway on the schedule, Darlington Raceway, for their second visit of the year to start the playoffs. Coverage of the Cook Out Southern 500 can be seen starting on NBCSN with NASCAR America Sunday at 5 p.m., followed by Countdown to Green at 5:30. The green flag is scheduled to drop around 6:16 p.m. The race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's Cook Out Southern 500 was dominated by Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott. The two drivers combined to lead 310 of 367 laps. In the closing laps, the two drivers dueled for the lead. Then, they came together with less than 15 laps to go, resulting in both drivers going into the wall.

The contact resulted in Kevin Harvick sweeping past and holding on to win. Harvick was one-third of a second ahead of Austin Dillon at the finish. Joey Logano was third, followed by Erik Jones and William Byron. Elliott ended up 20th, while Truex was 22nd.

All-time, David Pearson has the most wins at the "Track Too Tough to Tame" with 10, the most recent of the wins coming in the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 in 1980. Dale Earnhardt has nine wins, including season sweeps in 1987 and 1990. Jeff Gordon is third with seven career wins, while four different drivers (Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Darrell Walrip and Cale Yarborough) have five each.

Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have the most wins with three each. Martin Truex Jr. has two, including the spring race this year. No other active driver on the circuit has more than one.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, 367 laps (501.322 miles)
Banking: 25 degrees in Turns 1-2, 23 degrees in Turns 3-4

Frontstretch: 1,229 ft., banked 3 degrees

Backstretch: 1,229 ft., banked 3 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 58,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 50 mph
Opened: 1950

Website: http://www.darlingtonraceway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TooToughToTame

Say What?!

"We are super excited for Darlington this weekend. These next three weeks are exciting races. Three, I feel like, really cool racetracks with fun environments for us. It’s getting to be that time of year. Fall is an exciting time of year for a lot of things around sports and our season is getting down to it, as well. We are just excited to get going. It’s hard to believe we are 26 weeks in. It doesn’t really seem like it, but here we are starting another playoffs and heading into the final 10 of the year. It goes by fast, but over two months of racing is still a long time. They will click off and you’ll get in certain moments that you might like, some you might not like, and we’ll make the most of them all." - Chase Elliott

"That’s going to be interesting, for sure. I feel like you are going to be slow into turn one and into turn 2, and you are going to get to the grip patch and you are just going to be hauling butt off of turn 2. You are going to go as fast as you can. I haven’t seen it, yet, so I don’t see where it ends. I don’t know if it’s on the end of the turn or onto the straightaway on where it ends, but if you can get a good run off of turn 2 and be fast off of that corner, you are going to be getting off into turn three way quicker than you need to be for the asphalt grip you’ll have going into turn 3." - Kyle Busch

"Darlington is a track that has a lot of character. I feel like you really have to drive your car to its limit all while understanding the grip and limit of your tires. You can’t exceed that level every lap. You have to stay within a certain limit. I think that is a factor at just about every track, but it’s really magnified at Darlington. Any time the drivers are challenged like they are at Darlington, it brings out the desire and passion within all of us. It just makes it that more intense when it’s kicking off the most intense part of our season with the playoffs. It’s definitely a cool race if you can win it track-wise but also because it sets the tone for how the next nine races go." - William Byron

"I don’t know. Since my first race there, I’ve run that [low line in turn 2]. I don’t know that it’s right or wrong. A lot of guys run higher. I get to the fence and almost scrape it in the center and diamond the corner. I just use the apron to get my car to turn. As the race goes on, there are times when it has more grip and then may lose it, but I guess it’s just a comfort thing for me and how I’ve always done it.

"I really think this will be a good racetrack for us. It’s too bad we’re not in the playoffs, but we ran really well there in the spring and nearly had a top-10. We’ve got a good baseline to work off of and hopefully we can keep chipping away at it this weekend and show the progress we’ve made." - Chase Briscoe

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: Can Kurt Busch Win With 23XI?

by the Frontstretch Staff

4 Burning Questions: Who’ll Be Eliminated in Each Cup Playoff Round?

by Michael Finley

Cup Series Returns to Darlington After Turn 2 Repave

by Daniel McFadin

NASCAR Nuggets: Cup Drivers Talk Playoffs, New Packages & New Teams

by Dalton Hopkins

Stock Car Scoop: Who Will Prevail at Darlington, Be Eliminated in the Round of 16?

by Adam Cheek and Bryan Nolen

Monday at Frontstretch.com:

We'll have recaps and breakdowns of all the action from Darlington and Zandvoort.

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