In this edition of Dave Mathers’ Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave comments on recent news and events in the world of car racing, including NASCAR, F1, IndyCar, NHRA, Canadian series and more.
I noticed a listing on NHRA’s Quarter Mile Classifieds (below) that really got my attention – “Complete NHRA and Outlaw Pro Mod Racing Operation – Turnkey, Top Tier”!! And a picture of the Smokies Garage Mustang driven by Scott Wildgust. Whoever ends up buying this stuff will get the best of the best!! My connection to Scott is that Jack Hyde, uncle of Spencer Hyde, brought Scott’s father Chuck into the Central Chev High Performance Center in 1969, where I sold him a ’69 396/375 HP Nova. Small world!!
Elite Motorsports has announced a one-million-dollar, three-race Drag Illustrated Winter Series. I believe that is the series won by the above-mentioned Spencer Hyde a couple of years ago. This should show NHRA that there are a LOT of Pro Mods out there – unlike their two-team Pro Stock class.
If you haven’t seen the NASCAR promo video for the San Diego/Coronado race coming next year, go find it online at racer.com. VERY well done and quite funny.
If you like both baseball and auto racing, you just might be interested in the Atlanta/Cincinnati game August 7 at 7 P.M. on Fox. The reason? It’s being played on the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Apparently, a fake AI-generated online posting claimed that the Ford Motor Company and the Ford family were selling Ford Field to Elon Musk for $15 BILLION!! Wow – some people really have far too much time on their hands.
In 2004, desperate to offload their Jaguar F1 operation, Ford Motor Company sold the team to Dietrich Mateschitz, owner of Red Bull, for just $1. He had to promise to invest a LOT of money in the team going forward. I’d say he more than met that promise. An F1 team for a buck!! Such a deal!!
Cadillac F1 has released the names of the drivers for their entry into the world’s top racing series, Formula One, next year. Once their contracts are signed, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will start work helping to develop the new cars, giving their input to the engineers. I agree with the two picks. Perez never should have been allowed to leave Red Bull, and now that team sits fourth in the Constructor standings. Sadly, no American driver was picked, in spite of all the speculation.
NASCAR Cup Series – Toyotas dominated qualifying for the Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, taking the top five starting spots, while fellow Toyota driver Denny Hamlin started 39th after spinning in Turn 2 and nailing the inside wall on his qualifying run – the last one of the session. Chase Briscoe won the pole over Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones. 39 cars. 17 Chevs, 13 Fords, and 9 Toyotas.
Things ran smoothly on the tough track until lap 18, when Ross Chastain got hard into the Turn 3 wall after a ‘disagreement’ with Michael McDowell. Chastain appeared to come down on McDowell on corner entry. I loved the way-cool ‘air shock’ system on Chastain’s car, which, when activated by the safety crew, allowed the car to raise up enough to drive back to the pits. Pole-sitter Briscoe won Stage 1. On lap 90, Erik Jones had a problem with his right front wheel, causing him to spank the wall and bring out the yellow. Didn’t we see that same problem in the Xfinity race? Austin Cindric picked up the Stage 2 win. With five laps to go, the yellow came out for rain. I really had to laugh at the AI-generated Timeline feature that accompanies Live Timing, as it stated, “With five laps remaining at [Track Name], the race is under caution”!! Red flag for rain with Bubba Wallace in the lead. NASCAR Overtime!! Wallace took the flag over Kyle Larson and Hamlin.
Chase Elliott leads the points by 4 over William Byron and by 15 over Kyle Larson in the ‘All Hendrick’ top three.
Next race – Iowa, Sunday at 3:30 P.M. on TSN 5.
NASCAR Xfinity Series – Sam Mayer (Ford) nabbed the pole for the Xfinity race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ahead of Nick Sanchez (Chev) and Sheldon Creed (Ford). It didn’t take long for some excitement, as Harrison Burton spun coming off Turn 2 trying to avoid sliding up into Christian Eckes. Things ran smoothly to the end of Stage 1, which was won by Mayer. Stage 2 went smoothly with no cautions, and Justin Allgaier just nipped Connor Zilisch at the flag for the stage win. On the restart, Leland Honeyman and Carson Kvapil got together in Turn 2, causing Kvapil to spin and spank the wall for the second race caution. On the restart – TILT – raindrops keep falling on my race car!! Yellow. The green came back out with 15 laps to go. Just after the restart, leader Justin Allgaier got into the wall after contact with Kyle Larson, breaking Justin’s right front wheel. With ten to go, Aric Almirola got into Austin Hill, who then almost bounced off the wall but came down (intentionally ???) spinning Almirola, who then hit the wall and was out of the race. Red flag for rain. During the red flag delay, Race Control announced that Hill would be held for five laps. Good call (at press time, NASCAR was still “reviewing” the incident to see if a suspension is in order). The green came back out with 4 to go – and those four laps were worth the price of admission. Zilisch and Taylor Gray swapped the lead back and forth, with rookie phenom Zilisch taking the flag for his third win in a row over Mayer and Gray. The win gives JR Motorsports its 100th win. Earnhardt Jr. showed pure, unbridled emotion with the win. Good to see. Is he moving to Cup next year?
In the points, Allgaier leads Zilisch by 21 and Mayer by 48.
Next race – Iowa, Saturday at 4:30 P.M. on CW & USA.
NASCAR Craftsman Trucks – Corey Heim (Toyota) picked up the pole for the race Friday night at Indianapolis Raceway Park, followed by Ty Majeski and Chandler Smith (both in Fords). Canadian Stewart Friesen (Toyota) started 21st. Layne Riggs won the caution-free Stage 1. The first race caution came out on lap 100 when Alan Waller (there may have been a driver change) got into the wall from what appeared to be a cut right front tire. Riggs also won Stage 2. The third stage ran caution-free, with Riggs picking up the dominating win over Corey Day and Friesen. UPDATE – Friesen was DQ’d for a ‘ride height’ infraction. The team has wisely appealed the ruling.
In the points, Corey Heim leads Chandler Smith by 143 and Riggs by 148. Friesen sits 10th.
Next race – Watkins Glen, Friday, August 8 at 5 P.M. on CTVSpeed.
Formula One – McLaren continued its series domination this year at Spa, with Oscar Piastri topping P1 and qualifying first for the shootout, while Max Verstappen (Red Bull) won the Sprint race. Norris won the pole for Sunday’s race ahead of Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Canadian Lance Stroll started 20th, one spot behind teammate Fernando Alonso.
Rain in the Ardennes Forest? Unheard of!! The start of the race was delayed due to heavy rainfall. The race started under yellow, and the green came out at the end of lap 4. Surprisingly, things ran smoothly, with Piastri leading at the halfway mark over Norris and Leclerc. Even more surprising: it ran completely caution-free to the flag on a clearly damp surface, where Piastri won over Norris and Leclerc. Stroll finished 14th ahead of his teammate Alonso, who finished 17th.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Piastri leads Norris by 16 and Verstappen by 81. Stroll sits 12th, two spots ahead of Alonso.
In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren leads – nay, DOMINATES – the standings by 268 over Ferrari and by 294 over Mercedes.
Next race – Hungary, Sunday, 8:55 A.M. on TSN 4 & 5.
IndyCar – The second practice session at Laguna Seca was cancelled due to – wait for it – FOG!! In qualifying, runaway points leader Alex Palou nabbed the pole ahead of Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta. Canadian Devlin DeFrancesco started 27th. On lap 11, Jacob Abel got off track and into the tire barriers for a yellow. It appeared it might have been a stuck throttle. On lap 28, Kyle Kirkwood nailed Rinus VeeKay from behind and spun him for another yellow.
At the halfway mark, Palou led Herta and Josef Newgarden. On lap 78, Marcus Ericsson got loose on corner exit, then swapped ends and sat just off course for nearly a lap before the yellow came out. Another yellow followed on lap 84 for Santino Ferrucci, who backed into the gravel trap.
At the flag, it was Palou over Christian Lundgaard and Herta. DeFrancesco finished 20th, the first car one lap down.
Next race – Portland, Sunday, August 10.
IMSA – Next race – Road America, this weekend.
NHRA – The series drove down the west coast from Seattle to the wine country surrounding Sonoma to race on the drag strip inside the road course there.
Top Fuel – Only 10 cars made the trip to the West Coast, and Brittany Force topped the charts with a 3.645 at 343.16. You read that right – 343.16!!!!!! Brittany also won the #2Fast2Tasty Top Fuel Challenge, running a 3.869 at 324.75 to top Justin Ashley. Doug Kalitta put down a 3.752 at 334.57 to beat Antron Brown in the final.
Funny Car – Matt Hagan was quickest of the 18 entries, running a 3.861 at 332.59. Canadian Spencer Hyde was SECOND!! Ron Capps put down a 3.904 at 324.20 to win the #2Fast2Tasty Funny Car Challenge over Matt Hagan. Austin Prock turned a 3.904 at 333.82 to take out Hyde.
Pro Stock – Dallas Glenn was the fastest qualifier of the 17 entries, running a 6.471 at 211.79. Canadian Matt Latino qualified a strong 6th. Glenn won the #2Fast2Tasty Pro Stock Challenge, running a 6.471 at 211.79 to defeat Cody Coughlin. In the Family Final, dad Greg Stanfield took out son Aaron Stanfield with a 6.552 at 211.49.
Pro Stock Bike – Richard Gadson was quickest of the 12 bikes with a 6.702 at 200.77. Matt Smith won the Pro Bike Call Out over Gadson, laying down a 6.783 at 198.35. Gadson won the final over John Hall, running a 6.756 at 199.97.
Next race – Brainerd, August 17.
NASCAR Canada Series – In qualifying for the race at the cool Calabogie Motorsport Park, Gary Klutt picked up the pole over Andrew Ranger and Marc-Antoine Camirand. 24 cars qualified. The track reminds me so much of Mosport WAY back in the ’60s, when there were trees all over the facility – especially lining the track. As there was no live TV for the race, I scanned the REV TV listings for the next two weeks and couldn’t find this race – only about seven re-broadcasts of Race 1 at Mosport. Hmmm. So with their Race Center feature perpetually and fatally broken, it would be tough to cover the race!!
Thanks to Facebook for letting us learn that the race was won by Connor Bell over Alex Guenette and L.P. Dumoulin. In the points, Camirand leads D.J. Kennington (who finished 9th) by 9 and Andrew Ranger by 14. UPDATE: A race report from the event has been published on the NASCAR.ca website HERE.
Next race – Three Rivers, Sunday, August 10.
APC Series – Next race – Sauble, this Saturday.
Ontario Sportsman Series – The race scheduled last Saturday night at Full Throttle Motor Speedway was rained out and rescheduled to the final race, which would make it Saturday, August 30.
Next race – Peterborough, Saturday, August 9.
Delaware Speedway – 18 V/8 Stocks showed up in this fast-growing, fun class. Jordan Morris won Heat 1, Kaden Patrick won Heat 2, then Morris won the main over Barry Watson, Patrick, Jay Doerr, and Jeremy Taggart. In the Super Stocks, Pete Vanderwyst Jr. won Heat 1, Trevor Collver won Heat 2 and the feature over Brody Rickwood, Nic Ramsay, Carson Nagy, and Hudson Nagy. Heat 1 of the Late Models was won by Paul Major; Heat 2 was won by Jake Sheridan, who also won the feature over Matt Robblee, Marshal Schrenk, Ray Morneau, and Jonny Arts.
Next race – Super Late Model, Super Stocks, and Mini Stocks, Friday.
Ohsweken Speedway – Next race – Noelle Teal Memorial, Friday.
Flamboro Speedway – Next race – Kid’s Ride Night, Saturday.
Flamboro Speedway Hall of Fame Reunion – August 16.
Buxton Speedway – Next race – Enduro + Mini Stocks, Saturday.
Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Next race – 55 Years of Varney, Saturday.
Sunset Speedway – Next race – Hot Rods, Modifieds, Super Stocks, and Bone Stocks, Saturday.
Grand Bend Speedway – Next race – NASCAR Weekly Series, Saturday, August 9.
Grand Bend Motorplex – Next race – Canadian Nationals, this weekend.
St. Thomas Dragway – Next race – Chatham-Kent Nationals, ONDR and Can-Am Stock/Super Stocks, Sunday.
Toronto Motorsports Park – Next race – Canada Heads Up and Jspec Track Day, this weekend.
Can-Am Stock/Super Stock – Next race – St. Thomas Dragway, this weekend.
Quick 32 Sportsman Series, Pro Bike & Sled Series (PBSS), and 5.50 Super Series – August 15 & 16, Empire Dragway.
660 Sportsman Nationals – Race date – Grand Bend, October 5.
John Scotti NHRA Canadian Championship Series – Next race – Napierville, August 14–17.
Shannonville Drags – Next race – No Box Bonus Weekend, August 15–17.
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.
