In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers talks about news, events and racing action from Canadian and International motorsports, including NASCAR, F1, NHRA and more.
Okay, hands up everybody who saw F1 star Max Verstappen start DFL behind 100 karters and pass every one of them before halfway in the 14-lap race at Silverstone Circuit’s karting track in England. Outstanding, to say the least. What a talent. And, yes, he DID exceed ‘track limits’!! LOL
It appears that U.S. President Trump’s questionable war against Iran has caused another race cancellation. Formula 1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled back in April and now the FIA World Rally Championship finale, scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia on November 12, has been cancelled as well.
NASCAR has announced a new sponsor for its Truck Series, currently sponsored by Craftsman. FedEx Freight becomes the new title sponsor. Will we see a repeat of the wildly popular ‘Let’s race the (Big Brown) Truck’ from about twenty-five years ago with Dale Jarrett and UPS? I sure hope so.
The post-mortem comments on the Madring F1 race were quite interesting. Several of the drivers want more passing sections added to the circuit, as there were few spots for a pass in the first race on the track last weekend.
They compared the track to Monaco, where passing is almost impossible. The best thing about the race happened in the post-race TV room, where Lando Norris was spotted drinking a can of Coke. Apparently, that was a no-no, as Coke was not a sponsor. The drink required in that room was an unmarked bottle of water. Norris basically said, ‘fahgetaboutit’!!
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Speaking of F1, I saw an interesting list about the number of employees on each team and those numbers are really mind-blowing. Mercedes – 1,250, Red Bull – 1,200, Williams – 1,200, Caddy – 1,100, Ferrari – 1,050, McLaren – 1,000, Aston Martin – 1,000, Alpine – 1,000, Sauber – 750, Racing Bulls – 700 and Haas – 350. Which number jumps out, you ask? Haas – less than half the staff and yet they run mid-pack. Well done.
As I was watching the Bristol NASCAR races, I realized it was 35 years ago when I bought Rich Grady’s two tickets for the spring race. Linda and I parked the motorhome on the hill behind the track. We walked the drag strip where I had worked for NHRA in 1966 and 1967 and it brought back great memories. Two GREAT races.
On the trip home I drove to the Ohio Turnpike, where Linda took over. I went back to the bedroom and started to sleep. About five minutes later Linda yelled that she couldn’t see. I looked up front and it looked like somebody had pulled a white curtain down. Snow. She pulled over and I drove from Cleveland to Toledo in the middle lane and we saw no other vehicles. Very memorable.
Is NASCAR planning on racing in Europe? Their CEO Steve O’Donnell has indicated that they are definitely exploring that idea. They already have the NASCAR Euro Series running there, but it’s felt there is a market to bring over the big boys. Stay tuned. Did this effort get spurred by the upcoming release of Days Of Thunder 2? The original did VERY well in Europe 36 years ago and the new one will probably outdo it.
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PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY: With the regular season complete at Peterborough Speedway, all eyes turn to the 33rd Annual B&G Towing & Recovery Autumn Colours Classic. Billed as the ‘Superbowl of stock car racing,’ the event has turned into the biggest fall special in the region, featuring many different divisions, huge crowds and a packed camping area. The event runs October 9, 10 & 11 over the Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend. Watch PeterboroughSpeedway.com for more information about this fall stock car racing spectacular.
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NASCAR Cup Series
Joe Gibbs Racing wrapped the Ty Gibbs car in a full Kyle Busch wrap for this race. Quite a tribute to the late driver. Similar to the O’Reilly Series, qualifying was cancelled due to the weather for Saturday night’s Cup race at the bad-fast Bristol Motor Speedway, so the lineup was set using their ‘metric’ system. Clear and concise, nothing to see here!! LOL
As a result, number 2 in points Kyle Larson (Chev) started from the pole over Joey Logano (Ford) and points leader Denny Hamlin (Toyota). Chev/Ford/Toyota! Ya gotta love it!
After the bad weather, there was a mandatory Competition Caution thrown at lap 40 to check tires, with Larson still out front. The first race caution came out on lap 94 when Erik Jones brushed the wall off 4 and spun down the front straight. Logano won Stage 1. With two laps to go in Stage 2, Cody Ware spun on the front straight, bringing out the yellow and ending the stage. Ryan Blaney won Stage 2.
Things went well in the final stage until lap 392, when Riley Herbst spun on corner exit trying to keep off the car beside him. Yellow. The yellow came back out on lap 431 when Alex Bowman tried to move up on Ty Gibbs, but Cole Custer was outside Gibbs. This ended up with Bowman spinning off the nose of Gibbs. Caution.
Right after the restart, William Byron looped it on the backstretch. Yellow. Then on lap 458 Carson Hocevar dumped Blaney backwards into the wall in corner 1. Yellow. Black flag? Nope. Blaney was done for the night. And most interesting is that Denny Hamlin has now received the free pass more than once!!
With 23 laps to go Chase Elliott spun on the front straight. Caution. Two laps after the restart AJ Allmendinger spun on the backstretch. At the flag it was Logano over Larson and the unpenalized Hocevar. Logano’s burnout was epic.
Post-race action in the pits was also EPIC!!! Blaney correctly went after Hocevar. Hocevar threw the first punch and the fight was on!! A bit of a mismatch, as Blaney is 5’7″ while Hocevar is 6’4″. That fight will hit ALL the highlight reels for sure. Logano gave a cool interview while the fights were happening behind him. Awesome.
In the points, Larson is now one point ahead of Hamlin, with Logano now 3rd, 16 back. Blaney has fallen to 6th, 52 back, after his brake failure last week and getting dumped in this race. Ouch.
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Kansas, Sunday at 3:00 P.M. on TSN 5.
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FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY: This Saturday night (September 26) is Championship Night at Flamboro Speedway! The Can-Am TQ Midgets, Canadian Vintage Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Pure Stocks and SOMA Pro 4 Modifieds will all be in action at the Millgrove, Ontario speedway!
This is one of your last opportunities of the season to see real short track racing action in person. Pit gates open at 4:00 p.m. Spectator gates open at 5:00 p.m. with racing starting at 6:30 p.m. Visit FlamboroSpeedway.ca for more info.
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NASCAR O’Reilly Series
Qualifying was cancelled at Bristol Motor Speedway for Saturday’s race, so the lineup was set by the aforementioned ‘metric’ system. This put 4th-place points Jesse Love on the pole, followed by points leader Sheldon Creed and 5th-place points Sam Mayer (all in Chevs) in 3rd. Second-place points Justin Allgaier started 9th. There were 39 for the 38-car field – 31 Chevs, 6 Toyotas and 1 Ford.
Stage 1 went smoothly (and FAST!!), with Allgaier getting the stage win. The first race caution flew on lap 124 when Anthony Alfredo put the bumper to Natalie Decker on corner exit, spinning her down the track. Carson Kvapil won Stage 2. The laundry flew again on lap 273 when Patrick Staropoli had a slow spin on corner exit. After a lengthy cleanup the green came back out. And the action really picked up with several lead changes. However, with three laps to go it was yellow, yellow, yellow!! Ryan Sieg got into the wall after getting squeezed up by Corey Day and getting turned by Parker Retzlaff. NASCAR overtime!! At the flag it was Creed over William Sawalich and Brent Crews.
In the points, Creed leads Allgaier by 11 and Kvapil by 37.
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Las Vegas, Saturday, October 3.
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LEAF RACEWEAR: With the fall racing season in full swing, many teams are preparing for championship weekends, marquee events, and races like Super DIRT Week. If you’re thinking about updating your team’s look before the season wraps up, now is the time to take action.
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NASCAR Craftsman Trucks
Layne Riggs nabbed the pole Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway over Chandler Smith (both in Fords) and Kaden Honeycutt (Toyota). Canadians Stewart Friesen (Toyota) and Cole Butcher (Ford) started 5th and 18th. Thirty-seven entries timed for the 36 spots – 14 Chevs, 9 Fords, 8 Toyotas and 5 RAMS.
Riggs won the caution-free Stage 1 as well as the similar Stage 2. The first race caution came out on lap 169 when Nick Leitz bounced his truck off the wall after it appeared there was oil on the track. Red flag for cleanup. The caution flag came out again on lap 212 to clean up debris on the track. The race went green to the checker, with Jake Garcia getting the win over Bayley Currey and Friesen. Butcher finished 28th.
In the playoff points, Riggs leads Honeycutt by 3 and Smith by 30. Stewart sits out of the Chase in 12th, with Butcher 19th.
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Kansas, Saturday at 1 P.M., but tape-delayed to Sunday at 1 P.M. on CTV Speed.
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Formula One
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Baku, Sunday at 7:00 A.M. on TSN 5.
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PETERBOROUGH SPEEDWAY: The big one is coming!! The 33rd Annual Peterborough Speedway Autumn Colours Classic presented by B&G Towing and Recovery takes place October 9, 10 & 11!
Experience three days of motorsports history, tradition, and unforgettable memories at the Autumn Colours Classic.
Click HERE to purchase your tickets now. ** Please note Pit Passes can only be purchased in person at the Pit Gate **
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IMSA
Rain was also a factor for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, resulting in only the P cars setting times. The PRO and GTD classes were set by their season points standings!!! See NASCAR, it CAN be done the ‘old way’ with no ‘metrics’ whatsoever!!
Ironically, the Michael Shank Acura of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun won the GTP pole. Ironic because they just announced they will not be running next year. The Inter Europol car of Jeremy Clarke and Tom Dillman topped P2.
The Paul Miller BMW of Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi started first in PRO, while the Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus of Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen started first in GTD. The Canadian Pfaff Motorsports Lambo of Sandy Mitchell and Andrea Caldarelli started 4th in PRO. 44 cars.
First and foremost, a HUGE thank you to NBC for broadcasting the race. We got knowledgeable and understandable American commentators (emphasis on the understandable!!!!) and we did not need closed captioning like the ‘other’ broadcast requires.
Well, the website was a big disappointment. They used to have GTP, LMP2, GTD PRO and GTD. Now they have PRO, PRO-AM, AM and LB CUP. And, unlike before, it could not be customized to show each class on its own. Summer interns still there? Then, 27 minutes in, they corrected it!! AND it can now separate the classes as before. Well done.
Things ran smoothly and, with the big, wide racing surface and the grassed boundaries, there were no major incidents in the first half, but a few ‘moments.’ At the halfway mark it was Earl Bamber in the Whelan Caddy in P, Nick Boulle in the Era Motorsport in P2, pole-sitter Neil Verhagen in the Paul Miller Racing Bimmer in PRO and Dudu Barrichello in the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin leading GTD.
The yellow came out with about an hour left to go for debris on the track. That was because they wanted to go three-wide into one. This resulted in the rear end being ripped off the back of the De Phillippi Bimmer by the Vette of Nicky Catsburg.
At the flag it was Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor in the BMW M Team with the GTP win, Christian Rasmussen and Nick Boulle in the ERA Motorsport for the LMP2 win, Dennis Olsen and Ben Barker in the Ford Racing Mustang with the win in PRO (over the Pratt and Miller Vette!!) and Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher in the Turner Motorsport Bimmer in GTD. The Pfaff Lambo finished a stout 3rd, just 6.294 seconds back of the PRO class winner. Stout!!
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Road Atlanta, Petit Le Mans, Sunday, October 4.
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EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: The final checkered flag of the season has been displayed and stowed for next season. But there is still one major event left for the Edmonton International Raceway community and that’s the annual EIR Awards Night. It takes place Saturday, November 7 at Moose Hall in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Trophies will be handed out. Champions will be honoured and it’s a great opportunity for the racers, teams, officials and sponsors to get together one last time before the long winter sets in. The Awards Night celebration kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and runs until 11:00 p.m. Visit EdmontonRaceway.com for info.
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NHRA
Due to the ‘disruptions’ caused by the rise and fall of the ‘new’ IHRA, the race originally scheduled for Maple Grove was wisely rescheduled to the beautiful US 131 Dragway in Martin, Michigan, owned by Canadian Alex Pinsonneault.
Alex, a former CASCAR and ASA driver, even has the track sponsoring his grandson Chase, running at the head of the pack in a couple of U.S. short-track series. Saturday’s action was held up by rain, so typical this year.
Top Fuel – Not surprising, but Doug Kalitta grabbed the top spot, running a 3.660 at 338.86 to top the 16 entries. Billy Torrence actually went 241.43. Wow. In an interesting turn, Justin Ashley did not run as he was honouring Yom Kippur. Well done. Shawn Langdon topped Spencer Massey with a 3.664 at, wait for it, 346.15!!!! Holy crap. 6 upsets and 8 smokers (½ the runs).
Funny Car – Austin Prock put down a 3.859 at 331.61 to top the 16 entries. Canadian Spencer Hyde timed in at 9th. Jordan Vandergriff came out of the 16th spot to take out Matt Hagan in the final with a 3.858 at 329.43. 6 upsets and 9 smokers.
Pro Stock – Matt Hartford was quickest of the 14 entries with a 6.516 at 209.79. Canadians Matt and Eric Latino sat 7th and 10th. Troy Coughlin, Jr. took out Hartford in the final with a 6.515 at 209.69. 6 upsets and 1 smoker.
Pro Stock Bike – Ryan Oehler topped the 15 entries, running a 6.719 at 200.00. John Hall took out Marc Ingwersen in the final with a 6.808 at 194.22. 6 upsets.
Factory Stock – Lee Hartman topped the 19 entries for the 16-car field with a 7.558 at 182.56. Sixty years ago those would have been Top Fuel numbers!!! How the sport has evolved!
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Rockingham, next weekend at 3 P.M. on Fox Sports Racing.
APC Series
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Delaware, Saturday.
Ontario Sportsman Series
The season ending race for the series was held at Sauble Speedway on Saturday. Tim Tolton started on the pole ahead of Donavon Clark and Shawn McGlynn and the rest of the 18 entries. I got that off Race Monitor but something happened during the race and it stopped working at lap 87.
Apparently original winner Kevin Trevellin was DQ’d and he admitted to me that ‘the spool was not what I thought it was’. This gave the race win to Amber Balcaen and the season championship to Brimstone Games Racing.
Delaware Speedway
It was Championship Night for four of the five classes that run regularly at the track. The Late Models saw Jake Sheridan win Heat 1 and Jesse Kennedy win Heat 2. Sheridan started dead last in the feature and he had the lead just before halfway. He won over Brady Smith and Jesse. Kennedy was the Season Champion, making him a four-time winner.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS CULOS JR. STORY CONTINUED BELOW…
In the Super Stocks, Ryan Dyson won Heat 1, with Lucas Orr winning Heat 2. The feature was entertaining, as Nic Ramsay appeared to spin Dyson on the backstretch. Dyson took offence and proceeded to express his displeasure by ‘bumping’ into Ramsay. Dyson was then invited to park it after getting the black flag. Ramsay was the Season Champion.
The Modifieds saw Jay Cox win the Heat and then come back to win the feature over Marshall Schrenk and Ryan Dick. Schrenk was the Season Champion, making him a two-time winner.
The V8 Stocks saw a whole bunch of cars running just off the 21.10-second index and some stepped over the line and had to come to a stop at pit-in on the backstretch. Heat 1 went to Randy Martin, while Barry Watson won Heat 2. Cody Coburn won the feature over Watson and Jeff Ferguson. Watson was the Season Champion, making him a six-time winner.
There was a good car count, with 16 Late Models, 16 Super Stocks, 6 Mods and 19 V8 Stockers.
I felt sorry for Track Manager Alex Nagy, who had to run down (and up) the stairs after each feature to present the class champion. The fifth class, the Bone Stocks, will crown its champion at the Pumpkin Smasher season-ender on Saturday afternoon, October 3. A FUN race.
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Great Canadian Race Weekend – Bone Stock, Hot Rod and Mod, Friday. APC Late Model 300 and Super Stock 75, Saturday.
Flamboro Speedway
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Championship Night, Saturday.
Buxton Speedway
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – OTS, LM, TS, MM, MS + King of the Hill, Saturday.
Full Throttle Motor Speedway
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Championship Night, Saturday. Enduro Race, Sunday.
Grand Bend Dragway
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Sportsman Nationals, October 3 – 5.
St. Thomas Dragway
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Pro Street 519 No Prep, this weekend.
Toronto Motorsport Park
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Race Cayuga, Sunday.
Shannonville Drags
Upcoming Events:
Next Race – Jim Parkinson Memorial, October 11.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
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