I read a neat story online that ties in with the Team Penske disqualifications at St. Pete. IndyCar driver Santino Ferrucci apparently misspelled the first name of Penske driver Josef Newgarden in an online post. Newgarden replied, after correcting him, that ‘At Penske, we care about details’! Oops!!
After winning the inaugural Chicago NASCAR street race last year – and thus qualifying for the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway – it is disappointing to hear that Shane Van Gisbergen, the Aussie Super Car star, does not have a ride for the race.
Leading up to last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, it appears that the United States Congress wants to know why Andretti Global has not been admitted to Formula One. They sent a ‘stern’ letter to Liberty Media’s CEO Greg Maffei, who just happens to be an American.
And while commenting on the three Canadian drivers who were at the Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte a week ago, I completely missed Cody Krohn, who was driving the Paton Family Top Fueler and qualified 16th. The Patons have definitely stepped up their program of late.
NASCAR Cup Series: Christopher Bell (Toyota) won the pole for the Advent Health 400 at Kansas Speedway, in front of Ross Chastain (Chev) and Noah Gragson (Ford) – yeah, Gragson, who has made a great comeback from his ‘problems’ a year ago and even made a start in the NASCAR Canada race at Delaware Speedway in September. Well done.
Rain unfortunately delayed the start of the race by a little over three hours. The first stage ran green the whole way which, considering the track had been rained on for hours, was a pleasant surprise. Denny Hamlin won the stage.
Stage 2 also went caution-free and it was won by Chris Buescher. The first race caution of the day came on Lap 177, when Jimmie Johnson lifted for some reason and got hit from behind by Corey LaJoie, who then collected Austin Hill. Seven Time is ruining his legacy out there with an uncompetitive car and team. BEYOND time to retire.
On Lap 186, Hamlin slid up and pushed Austin Cindric into the wall. Cindric then collected Bubba Wallace and Michael McDowell for the second race caution. McDowell and Wallace carried on. On Lap 193, Harrison Burton got loose and spun down and off the track. Three cautions in 16 laps? Huh?
By the way – did anybody else have a problem with the audio not matching the video on the broadcast? Was that TSN’s problem or Fox Sports’? On Lap 198, Chase Briscoe slid up track a bit and Joey Logano spun, but with no contact from Briscoe. With six laps to go, Kyle Busch spun from the bottom lane all by himself, no outside help. NASCAR Overtime!!
WOW, talk about a close finish!! Kyle Larson won by half a millimeter over Chris Buescher. Live timing showed Buescher winning before changing to show Larson. Margin of victory – 0.001 of a second, apparently a new NASCAR record. Chase Elliott was third.
Larson continues to lead the points by 29 over Martin Truex Jr. and by 55 on Elliott. Their next race is Darlington Raceway, Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on TSN 5.
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Their next race is Darlington, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on TSN 2.
NASCAR Craftsman Trucks: Only 33 trucks showed up for the Heart of America 200 at Kansas Speedway. Chase Purdy (Chev) grabbed the pole, ahead of Ty Majeski (Ford) and Ty Dillon (Chev). Canadian Stewart Friesen (Toyota) started eighth.
On Lap 2, Majeski, who started on the outside of the front row, suffered a flat tire and slid up into the wall in corner one. On Lap 13, running 13th, Friesen hit the wall and had to pit for repairs, putting him a lap down. Corey Heim won Stage 1.
On the ensuing pit stops, Lawless Alan overcooked pit entry and hit a crew member. There were a bunch of penalties handed out from the pit stops. Zane Smith won Stage 2.
On Lap 110, Taylor Gray got a flat tire but made it back to the pits. Another flat tire on Lap 128 for Connor Mosack, but no caution. At the flag, it was Corey Heim over Zane Smith and Christian Eckes. Friesen was 25th.
Heim takes over the points lead by seven over Eckes and by 49 over Nick Sanchez. Friesen sits 15th. Their next race is North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, May 18.
Formula One: Qualifying for the Sprint Race at Miami saw Max Verstappen (Red Bull) unsurprisingly nab the pole, ahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull). Canadian Lance Stroll out qualified his Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso, as he was seventh, just ahead of eighth-place Alonso.
Once again, the ‘best drivers in the world’ can’t seem to make it through the first corner. It seems Alonso came out into Stroll, who then hit Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton may have caused the carnage as he came up inside of Alonso. A safety car on the first lap!!!!
Stroll and Norris were out of the race. Hamilton had a ‘spirited’ battle with Kevin Magnussen and some penalties were issued, three of them to Magnussen!! At the flag, it was Verstappen, Leclerc and Perez. The most impressive run was by Daniel Ricciardo, who started fourth and finished fourth. That should help him shut down some of the criticism about his driving. And Ferrari with blue wheels and decals? I don’t think so.
In qualifying for Sunday’s race, it was Verstappen, Leclerc and Perez, the exact same order as the Sprint finish. Stroll qualified 11th, with teammate Alonso 15th!! Sadly, Ricciardo started 18th!!
GREAT start!! Perez got smoked in the first corner, when he overcooked corner one entry, getting passed by Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz, falling to fifth. AND they all made it without any ‘offs.’ Well done!
When was the last time you saw a Greyhound bus (it was on the highway overpass) drive over top of an F1 course? That was funny!! On Lap 23, a virtual safety car was deployed to allow track workers to remove an errant safety cone from the racing surface. Haven’t seen that one before!!
On Lap 29, American driver Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Kevin Magnussen (Haas) got together for a full course caution. Sargeant hit the wall fairly hard after Magnussen tried to pass under him. NOT a smart move. With three laps to go, Alex Albon’s brain shorted out as he attempted to block Ricciardo and slid off track into the runoff area.
At the flag, it was Lando Norris over Verstappen and Leclerc for his first career win. Former U.S. president Donald Trump had visited the McLaren pits before the race and, of course, I wonder if he will claim that his visit is why they won the race.
And, following that trend, the announcers said that Norris had ‘Trumped’ the field!! AND it was great to hear God Save the King in the winner’s circle once again!!
In the Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen leads teammate Perez by 35 and Leclerc by 38. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Red Bull leads Ferrari by 48 and McLaren by 113. Their next race is Imola on Sunday, May 19.
IndyCar: Their next race is on the Indianapolis Road Course, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
IMSA: Their next race is Laguna Seca on Sunday.
NHRA: Their next race is Route 66 on Sunday, May 19.
IROC: Their first race is July 20 at Lime Rock Park.
NASCAR Canada Series: Their first race is at Mosport (CTMP) on Sunday May 19.
APC Series: Their first race is at Sunset Speedway on Saturday, May 18.
Ontario Sportsman Series: Their first race is at Delaware Speedway on Friday, May 17.
Delaware Speedway: Their first race is this Friday.
Ohsweken Speedway: Their first race is on Friday, May 17.
Flamboro Speedway: Their first race is this Saturday.
Southern Ontario Motor Speedway (Buxton): Their first race is on Saturday, May 25.
Full Throttle Motor Speedway: Their first race is this Saturday.
Grand Bend Speedway: Their first race is on Saturday, June 1.
Grand Bend Dragway: Their first race is the weekend of May 19.
St. Thomas Dragway: Their first race is the weekend of May 19.
Toronto Motorsports Park: Their first race is this weekend.
Shannonville Drags Their first race is this weekend.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
