In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report, Dave Mathers talks about the Earl Ross Memorial, which was held this past weekend in Ailsa Craig, Ontario. He also touches on the recent Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductees, as well as NASCAR and other action.
THE EARL ROSS MEMORIAL: Racing Legends Reunion, a fund raiser for the Ailsa Craig Museum, so capably organized by Bill Daniels was a knock down, drag it out, to use an MLB expression, HOME RUN!!
Although final numbers are not yet complete it would appear that over 500 were in attendance. I had no idea there was so much memorabilia left about not only Earl and the Carling Racing Team but Copperhead, Jack Monaghan, Bill Daniels Racing and so much more.
The autograph session had over 20 signing various pieces of history and the conversations went on for hours. When was the last time that you saw a ‘nail head’ Buick? Well, how about THREE of them in three old Super Modifieds out in the parking lot.
It was great to see so many racers many from WAY back in the day. I won’t even try listing the names as I would probably miss half of them.
THE CANADIAN MOTORSPORT HALL OF FAME: The inductees were recently announced for the 2022 class, and I have a connection with some of them.
I reached out to shake Russ Urlin’s hand at the Delaware Fall Brawl welcoming him to the Hall. He advised me he wouldn’t accept the nomination.
When I asked him why, he said he was all about the future not the past. His accomplishments definitely qualify him to be inducted. I actually partially sponsored him from Motion in the day and I bought his truck, trailer and all his shop equipment when he retired in 1991 to concentrate on his Budget business with the exception of his two Lumina race cars which went to Rollie McDonald (Hall inductee – 2004) in Pictou, Nova Scotia.
I met Gary Elliott when I supplied a Motion Pace Car to the Hobby Club and actually hired him as my Service Manager at Motion. His son David came along with the deal as an apprentice mechanic.
Two good people and Gary, based on his incredible longevity in the sport, is a fitting addition to the Hall. I ‘may’ have given Gary and David a ‘little’ sponsorship help along the way!!
Dave Lloyd was very soft-spoken doing PR for CASCAR and he knew all the players in the media, the sponsors and the teams and did a great job for Tony Novotny. I didn’t really know much about his motorcycle background although I had heard some stories. Another good addition.
Bruce Biegler can best be described as the Dave Franks (Hall inductee – 2018) of drag racing. Like Franks, who can be found at EVERY major Stock Car race, Bruce hits seemingly every major drag race in the area.
His knack of being in the right spot for that great shot is quite unique and reminds me of Al de la Plante (Hall inductee – 2021) who always got/gets the most magical F1 shots. A good addition as well to the Hall.
Second generation stock car racer Derek Lynch is also a great new fit for the Hall. His father Dave was one of the smoothest and nicest Late Model competitors and Derek perfectly followed in his steps. Of course, Derek married into Racing Royalty when he married American Canadian Tour creator Tom Curley’s daughter Cait!! LOL
On a sad note, we just heard that the Paton family has announced the passing of their patriarch, Barry Paton, a legendary figure in Canadian drag racing. Barry was inducted into the CMHF in 2002. Condolences to Barry’s family and friends.
NASCAR CUP SERIES: Tyler Reddick in an RCR Chev picked up the pole for the Cup race at Las Vegas ahead of Austin Cindric (Ford) and William Byron (Chev). Byron had the top starting spot of al of the Round of Eight cars.
Kyle Busch brought out the first yellow on lap 82 when he spun off the wall and down into the infield grass. A little cosmetic damage and four new tires and he was able to continue.
On lap 95 Kyle Larson went below two cars and then slid up close to Bubba Wallace. Neither car lifted and Bubba bounced off the wall and spun Larson. Then, in a move that should result in a MAJOR penalty, he turned down taking out both cars as well as one of the cars still in the Top Eight Christopher Bell.
Bubba then got out of his car and marched over to Larson’s car apparently unstopped by the safety crew and proceeded to push Larson several times. That too should result in a MAJOR penalty!! Instead of a little damage from the wall and continuing on like Busch had done Wallace took out THREE cars including TWO playoff cars. NOT smart.
As I had heard so many times in the Cup Driver’s Meetings over the years ‘if you are going to take out one of the points leaders you had better go back out and take out all of them’!! Wallace just put a BIG target on his back!! Wait for it.
On the subsequent restart proving that old adage that ‘cautions breed cautions’ Ricky Stenhouse was in the middle of a four wide pack and spun down and off the track but, fortunately, did not take out any other cars.
On lap 195 JJ Yeley had a slow spin coming out of two and spun down onto the infield grass. Replays showed that he had a flat tire that but it’s uncertain if it was flat before or after the spin.
On lap 201 Byron ‘ran out of traction’ and slid up the track into Ryan Blaney. However unlike a previous ‘brain dead’ incident both cars were able to continue without anybody getting wrecked, pushed, shoved, etc.!! See Bubba it CAN be done!!
On lap 228 Blaney wiggled and hit the outside wall, spun across the track missing everybody and then hit the inside wall. Apparently the result was ‘another’ broken toe link!!! On the subsequent yellow Kyle Busch lost his left front wheel after exiting pit road and ‘the crowd went wild’!! Again!
On lap 241 Reddick slid up in front of Daniel Suarez and took the air off his front/hood causing Suarez to spin down the track creating another caution.
With 21 laps to go Landon Cassill appeared to have problems possibly because of what appeared to be a hole in the grille and spun for another yellow.
In the closing laps Logano pulled the gun all the way out of the holster and blasted by Ross Chastain to take the flag by nearly a full second. Kyle Busch recovered from his ‘close encounter’ with the wall to finish 3rd, the only non-points driver in the top five. Chase Briscoe was 4th with Denny Hamlin 5th. Wallace won Stage 1 while Blaney won Stage 2.
Logano leads the points by 21 over Chastain and 22 over Elliott. Only Homestead and Martinsville remain before the Final Four at Phoenix. Seems strange to not finish at Homestead. The big teams must be taking notice of this upstart Trackhouse Racing team which, like the Phoenix, has risen so successfully from the ashes of the former Chip Ganassi Racing team. Their two drivers, Chastain and Suarez, both ran in the 10 nearly all day and have been strong all season.
Their next race, Homestead, is Sunday at 2.30 P.M. on TSN 1.
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: A.J. Allmendinger (Chev) nabbed the pole at Las Vegas ahead of the Toyotas of Trevor Bayne and Ty Gibbs. Bayne had a ‘tank slapper’ early in the race but saved it and kept going avoiding a caution.
On lap 162 Brandon Jones had a similar wobble and kept going but this time the yellow came out. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had the best comment on that head scratcher – ‘a little quick on the button’!! I couldn’t agree more. And, more importantly, why?
At the checker it was Josh Berry over teammates Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier all driving JR Motorsports Chevs. Gibbs won Stage 1 with Gragson winning Stage 2. Post race it appears that Bayne collapsed while waiting for an interview.
He said his crush panels got damaged letting fumes enter the cockpit. He was reported to be fine after being checked out. Truck racer Hailie Deegan finished a stout 13th in her Xfinity debut.
Gragson leads the Round of Eight by 19 over Gibbs and 29 atop Allgaier.
Their next race, Homestead, is Saturday at 4.30 P.M. on TSN 2.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS: Their next race, Homestead, is Saturday at 1 P.M. on Fox Sports Racing
FORMULA ONE: Their next race is at COTA, in Austin, Texas on Sunday at 2.30 P.M. on TSN 5.
NHRA: They dropped into the Texas Motorplex on the weekend, and they were treated to one of the better prepped races of this year.
Team Force member Austin Prock topped the qualifying in Top Fuel but lost in the final to Points leader Justin Ashley.
Matt Hagan grabbed the number 1 spot in Funny Car but, like Top Fuel, lost in the final to Ron Capps.
Only 11 Pro Mods showed up and Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson qualified number 1 but lost in the second round Stan Shelton who, in turn, lost to Kris Thorne in the final.
Erica Enders continued her dominance in Pro Stock by qualifying first and marching through the field beating Greg Anderson in the final.
In Pro Stock Bike Angelle Sampey took the number one spot but lost in the first round. Hector Arana, Jr. Came out of the number 6 slot and beat Jerry Savoie in the final.
Factory Stock had 20 entries and Aaron Stanfield, doing a little better in this class than in Pro Stock, nabbed the top spot then won in the final when Bill Skillman, who broke in the semis, couldn’t make the call.
In the points Ashley leads Top Fuel by 14 over Steve Torrence and Britanny Force by 30.
Robert Hight still leads the floppers by 46 ahead of Capps and Hagan by 103.
In Pro Mod Throne leads Rickie Smith by 65 and Jackson by 102.
Enders leads Pro Stock by 120 over Stanfield and Kyle Koretsky by 153.
Matt Smith leads the Scooters by 21 over Joey Gladstone and 90 over Angie Smith.
Their next race is Las Vegas, October 30.
IMSA: Here are the the final points:
DPi – Jarvis/Blomqvist, Acura – 3432, R.Taylor/Albuquerque, Acura – 3346, Bourdais/van der Zande, Cadillac – 3220.
LMP 2 – Farano – 2018, Dalziel – 1892, Merriman – 1892.
LMP 3 – Bennett – 2002, Braun – 2002 (tie), Robinson – 1948.
GTD PRO – Campbell/Jaminet, Pfaff Porsche – 3497, Barnicoat, Lexus – 3277, Garcia/J. Taylor, Corvette – 3194.
GTD – DeAngelis, Aston Martin – 2898, Hardwick/Heylen, Porsche – 2875, McAleer, Mercedes 2860.
DELAWARE SPEEDWAY: Their next event is their Annual Banquet, Friday. Times confusing on website.
APC SERIES: The final points for the series classes are as follows:
APC LATE MODELS: Champion J.R. Fitzpatrick over Kyle Steckley, Rick Spencer Walt, Josh Stade and Andrew Gresel.
SUPER STOCKS: Champion Pete Vanderwyst over Gerrit Tiemersma, Lane Zardo, Trevor Collver and Ryan Dyson who tied for fifth with Shawn Chenoweth.
NASCAR PINTY’S SERIES: The final standings are as follows:
Marc Antoine Camirand won the 2022 Championship over Kevin Lacroix, D.J. Kennington, Treyton Lapcevich and Alex Tagliani.
ONTARIO SPORTSMAN SERIES: The final standings are as follows:
Champion Kevin Trevellin ahead of Michael Hryrniuk, Jr., Chad McGlynn, Brendan Patrick and Mark Patrick.
FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY: Their next big race is the Halloween Enduro 250 plus Demolition Derby this Saturday.
LOCAL DRAG RACING: I will be adding big events only for the three local drag strips as they run regular bracket races each and every weekend.
GRAND BEND DRAGWAY: Their Annual Banquet will be held November 5.
TORONTO MOTORSPORT PARK: Their next big race is the Race Cayuga Sportsman Series this weekend.
ST. THOMAS DRAGWAY: Their Annual Banquet will be held November 5
MY ‘VIEW’: We hear about ‘single source’ components for the new car and how modifications to them are not allowed. However, a common thread all season has been bent ‘toe links’ when cars got into the wall or into another car.
That problem did not exist with the old car(s). Maybe, just maybe, the smartest guys in the garage should be allowed to ‘modify’ that particular part and try to eliminate the problem? Just asking.
– Canadian IndyCar driver Dalton Kellett has left the AJ Foyt team. He finished 25th in the 2022 IndyCar Championship standings, two spots back of fellow Canuck Devlin DeFrancesco. Hopefully he will land another ride for next year.
– Mike Shiplett, crew chief for Cole Custer, has been fined and suspended indefinitely for his radio communications to Cole to when he said, “I think you’ve got a flat, checkup, checkup, checkup”!!
This allowed teammate Chase Briscoe to dive below the two cars behind Custer and get into the Round of Eight by two points over defending champion Kyle Larson. AWKWARD!!! I’m glad I didn’t have to make THAT decision!! I’m willing to bet that Stewart-Haas will come up with some code words going forward!!
– Is there a connection between the Next Gen car and the number of concussions suffered this year by Cup drivers? Is the car too stiff? Hmmm. Let’s hope and pray that the problem, if there is one, get’s fixed and soon.
– There has been much discussion about getting NASCAR to reduce the speeds in the Next Gen cars due to the spate of injuries of late. NHRA reduced the length of the track from 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet after the death of Scott Kalitta at Englishtown in 2008.
And, guess what? The fans barely noticed the drop in speeds. Now, racers being racers, the speeds are right back up there again, higher in fact. I defy a fan to identify the difference between 195 and 180 at Daytona.
NASCAR did this before when Bobby Allison took out the starter’s stand at ‘Dega in 1987. I still remember watching the race and seeing the starter still waving the yellow flag with his stand torn apart. The result – the dreaded and much maligned restrictor plates!!
So, here’s my position, much shorter races at reduced speeds. The new fans NASCAR wants to attract have an attention span of about half a millisecond and that is why they are being draw to F1. A 1.5-hour race makes much more sense than the mind-numbing enduros currently presented by NASCAR. Think about it.
– Who came up with the 10 minute ‘damaged vehicle’ idea? How many times in the past have we seen damaged cars come back out on track and put on a show, coming back up through the pack. And ‘putting on a show’ should be the business model for NASCAR!!
Until next week!!
– Dave Mathers
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