The Easter weekend was relatively quiet on the racing front, but Dave Mathers offers his thoughts on some of the action and news in this edition of the Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com.
There has been some grumbling about Kyle Larson entering all three classes at Bristol and potentially depriving the lower-series regulars of some purse money. I disagree. I personally think he should be congratulated for winning—nay, dominating—the Cup race and the Xfinity race, and for finishing second in the Truck race. I can hardly wait for his Indy/Charlotte double!
Good news. The jungle tom-toms are beating much louder about a possible return of Stellantis (Dodge) to NASCAR. Apparently, they will start with the Truck Series next year.
Another piece of good news is the return to Rockingham Speedway, where Saturday’s event was sold out! Could the Cup Series be next to return? It was great to see both the Xfinity Series and the Trucks return to “The Rock.” The track has solid banking and is wide enough for three-wide racing. A big bonus—if Cup comes back—is Rockingham Dragway, located just across the road, which offers plenty of parking to complement the oval track’s facilities. Camera shots showed a full grandstand. More good news!
In a head-scratcher, the European Union wants to ban the use of carbon fiber in vehicles sold there. They have classified it as a “hazardous material,” apparently due to concerns about carbon fiber deterioration at the end of its life cycle and the risk of fiber contamination in the atmosphere.
Some wags have complained about the lack of cautions during the Bristol races. I’d suggest that those folks are more interested in carnage than in good racing. Personally, I liked both the Xfinity and Cup races. As a former car owner, I understand the costs involved with damaged race cars. Plus, the races wrapped up sooner! That said, if those same wags watched Rockingham, they definitely got their money’s worth.
I find it very interesting that NASCAR has renamed its “Drive for Diversity Program” to “Driver Development Program.” Add your own comments!
NASCAR Cup – Next race: Talladega, Sunday at 3 P.M. on TSN 5.
NASCAR Xfinity Series – Connor Zilisch won the pole for the Xfinity Series return to Rockingham Speedway, beating out Parker Retzlaff and Nick Sanchez (all in Chevrolets). Forty cars timed in for 38 spots: 28 Chevrolets, 5 Fords, and 5 Toyotas. Katherine Legge did not qualify but reportedly bought the ride qualified by J.J. Yeley in his return to the series. Former Cup regular, active sprint car driver, and teen heartthrob Kasey Kahne qualified fourth in his return to NASCAR.
The first yellow came on lap 16 when rookie Vicente Salas got loose exiting Turn 2 and had a solo spin. The second caution came on lap 52 when William Sawalich, while passing the lapped car of Legge, made slight contact. Legge appeared to slow, and Kahne ran into her. Sanchez won Stage 1. On lap 110, Justin Bonsignore slid up into Sheldon Creed, forcing him into the wall for another caution.
How cool was the coverage of the train ride to the track? Handing out little model cars on the ride was a great idea.
Stage 2 was won by Dean Thompson. On lap 128, Thomas Annunziata slid up into Josh Williams, who then collected Sawalich, sending him hard into the wall. On lap 138, last-place starter Greg Van Alst had a solo spin, bringing out another caution. Ten laps later, Retzlaff suffered a flat tire and slowed on track. At the same time, Patrick Emerling hit the wall, prompting another yellow.
On lap 159, Bonsignore spun on his own and hit the inside wall hard. More yellow. On lap 180, Kyle Sieg had a solo spin in Turn 2. Jeremy Clements lifted, only to be rear-ended by Ryan Ellis, who also spun—another yellow. On lap 227, Blaine Perkins blew a tire exiting the corner and hit the wall. Lap 235 brought a yellow for a spin by Daniel Dye, which collected both Kahne and Josh Bilicki.
On the following restart, Christian Eckes—second on the outside—either missed a shift or bogged, causing a stack-up and multi-car pileup behind him. Carnage, then yellow, then red. They went green with five laps to go. Could they make it to the end? Nope! That brought out the twelfth caution, the third red flag, and a NASCAR overtime finish. A lot of wrecked race cars.
At the checkered flag, it was Jesse Love over Sammy Smith and Retzlaff, who had rebounded from earlier bad luck. But—oops, TILT! Love was disqualified for violations involving trailing arm spacers and pinion angle shims. The win was awarded to Smith. In the points standings, Justin Allgaier leads Sam Mayer by 87 and Austin Hill by 100.
Next race: Talladega, Saturday at 4 P.M. on USA and CW.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – In qualifying for the Truck race at Rockingham, Jake Garcia took the pole over Chandler Smith and Ben Rhodes (all in Fords). Canadian Stewart Friesen (Toyota) started 20th. Thirty-five trucks participated: 17 Chevrolets, 10 Fords, and 8 Toyotas.
There was some confusion at the start of the broadcast due to an unrelated audio issue, but it was quickly fixed. I’m surprised Jamie Little is still using Rick Allen’s trite “green flag’s in the air” line.
Just two laps in, the fourth- and sixth-place starters—Connor Mosack and Bayley Curry—got together exiting Turn 4, prompting a quick yellow. Things ran smoothly through the end of Stage 1, which was won by Layne Riggs. Riggs also won the caution-free Stage 2.
On lap 109, Ty Majeski brought out the yellow and then the red when he got loose under another truck and backed into the wall hard. On lap 118, Rajah Caruth wiggled in front of Friesen (then running 7th), who lifted.
Friesen was then hit and spun by Matt Mills (9th) and Tanner Gray (13th), leading to another yellow and a second red. All three trucks were done for the day.
At the finish, Tyler Ankrum took the win over Garcia and Daniel Hemric. Friesen finished 29th. Two trucks were parked for being “too slow”—something we haven’t seen on a results sheet in quite a while. In the points, Corey Heim leads Chandler Smith by 22 and Ankrum by 62. Friesen sits 10th.
Next race: Texas, Friday, May 2.
Formula One – The series visited Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to race on the (temporary?) road course this past weekend. Free Practice 1 was topped by Pierre Gasly (Alpine)—yes, really—while Lando Norris (McLaren) led both FP2 and FP3. Unfortunately, Norris’s luck ran out in Q3 when he bounced over the curbing and hit the wall hard.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the pole by just 0.010 seconds over Oscar Piastri (McLaren), with George Russell (Mercedes) third. Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) qualified 16th.
At the start, Piastri beat Verstappen into Turn 1, but Max cut the corner and regained the lead. Chaos erupted behind them as Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine), starting eighth and ninth, collided and hit the wall, triggering a full-course yellow.
Tsunoda continued, but Gasly was out. Verstappen received a five-second penalty for leaving the track to gain an advantage—fair, though perhaps not harsh enough. At the halfway point, pit stops shuffled the field, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) emerged as the leader over Norris and Piastri.
The race ran cleanly to the end, with Piastri taking the win over Verstappen and Leclerc. In the Drivers’ Championship, Piastri now leads Norris by 10 points and Verstappen by 12. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren leads Mercedes by 77 and Red Bull by 99.
Next race: Miami, Sunday, May 4.
IndyCar – Next race: Barber Motorsports Park, May 4.
IMSA – Next race: Laguna Seca, May 11.
NHRA – Next race: Charlotte, Sunday at 7 P.M. on Fox Sports Racing.
NASCAR Canada Series – First race: Mosport (CTMP), May 18.
APC Series – First race: Sunset Speedway, May 18.
Ontario Sportsman Series – First race: Delaware Speedway, May 16.
Delaware Speedway – Opens Friday, May 9.
Ohsweken Speedway – Opens Friday, May 9.
Flamboro Speedway – Opens Saturday, May 3.
Buxton Speedway – Opens Saturday, May 10.
Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Opens Saturday, May 17.
Grand Bend Speedway – Opens Saturday, May 10.
Grand Bend Dragway – Opens weekend of May 18.
St. Thomas Dragway – Opens weekend of May 24–25.
Toronto Motorsports Park – Opens weekend of May 11.
Speed Promotions Racing (No Prep) – TMP, weekend of July 12.
Can-Am Stock/Super Stock – TMP, weekend of May 18.
PMRA – First race: Empire Dragway, June 21.
660 Sportsman Nationals – Race date: Grand Bend, October 5.
John Scotti NHRA Canadian Championship Series – First race weekend: May 18, TMP.
Shannonville Drags – Opens June 7–8.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers at motionman@rogers.com or via Facebook Messenger.
