In this week’s Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers talks spotters, the NASCAR Canada Series finale, F1 Madrid and much more.
Spotters are the unsung heroes of stock car and sports car racing. Without them, there would probably be a lot more chaos on the tracks.
I’m going to talk about two high-profile spotters in the sport. Jeff Gotelaer and Joe Chisholm are long-time, experienced spotters who are always in demand.
Jeff has spotted for McLaren (IndyCar), Joe Gibbs Racing, Legacy Motor Club, RFK Racing, Andretti Autosport, as well as Rette-Jones Racing, Ed Hakonson Racing, DJK Racing and countless others. The drivers he’s worked with include Christian Lundgaard, Joe Nemechek, Ken Schrader, Christopher Bell, James Hinchcliffe, Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Rossi, D.J. Kennington and many more.
Chisholm has spotted for Kennington, Josh Stade, Nic Ramsay, Austin MacDonald (Rollie’s grandson) and several others.
I had questions.
Can you take a pee break? Nope.
Do you get paid? Yup.
Are your expenses covered? Yup.
Is it difficult? Sometimes.
Do you enjoy it? A HARD yup!
I spotted for Junior Hanley for many years. There was no chatter and no dialogue, just “going green next time by,” “yellow, yellow, stay low in Turn 4,” etc. Junior was totally focused on raceday and talk was kept to a minimum.
I also spotted for my son Paul in CASCAR, ACT and ASA. I had to watch the entire track all the time, but it was very enjoyable.
Finally, Delaware Speedway has replaced its risky “choose cone” procedure, where a track worker actually went out onto a live track to place and remove the cone. They’re now using the same system as NASCAR, with an arrow painted on the track. Well done.
I felt sorry for Delaware racer Jonnie Aarts, who had his trailer broken into and most of his equipment stolen a week before his return last Friday. He says he should be ready for the Great Canadian Weekend on September 25-26.
As previously announced, NASCAR Canada Ironman D.J. Kennington, the only driver to have competed in every race in series history, has sold his DJK Racing team to Rick Ware Racing.
Kennington will continue to operate the team from the shop in his backyard, and they will be adding a second car.
Castrol will continue to sponsor Kennington, making that relationship one of the longest-running partnerships in motorsports.
I suggested to D.J. that he should request a drive in Rick Ware Racing’s NHRA Top Fuel dragster driven by crowd favourite Clay Millican. And I told him that if he does, I’m sure he can get his father Doug to join him on the trip – and I would carry their bags!
It was great to see support from the ‘Ivory Tower’ on Volusia Avenue at last Saturday’s NASCAR Canada Series season finale at Delaware. New NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell – the big winner of “Survivor: Daytona Beach” – helicopter in for the race. I believe it was the first time NASCAR’s top executive has attended a Canadian series race.
I wonder what his thoughts were about meeting the “nasty Canadians” regularly referenced by the U.S. President? LOL.
NASCAR Cup Series: Joey Logano (Ford) nabbed the pole for Sunday night’s race at Gateway Raceway over Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) and Ryan Blaney (Ford). The 36-car field featured 17 Chevrolets, 10 Fords and nine Toyotas.
On Lap 6, Riley Herbst spun in Turn 4 and hit the wall to bring out the first caution. On Lap 15, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun solo off Turn 4 for another yellow.
And, of course, yellows breed yellows.
On the restart, coming out of Turn 2, the drivers went four-wide and it did NOT work. Noah Gragson, Shane van Gisbergen, Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell all spun, bringing out Caution No. 3 just 20 laps into the race.
On Lap 28, van Gisbergen got too close to A.J. Allmendinger and spun off Turn 2. Yellow.
Logano won Stage 1.
On Lap 56, Ty Gibbs moved Eric Jones up the track in Turn 1, although Jones avoided the wall. Yellow.
Three laps after the restart, Herbst cut down in front of van Gisbergen and then got together with Allmendinger before spinning. Carson Hocevar earned an honourable mention in the incident. Yellow.
On Lap 131, Zane Smith hit the wall hard in Turn 1, reportedly because of a broken brake rotor.
Kyle Larson won Stage 2.
On the restart lap, Bubba Wallace tried to go four-wide on the bottom entering Turn 1. As you might expect, it did NOT work. He spun and collected William Byron and Chase Briscoe.
On Lap 155, Blaney hammered the wall in Turn 1 after a brake rotor clearly exploded on the frontstretch. Yellow.
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On Lap 170, Ross Chastain cut down and got together with Briscoe on the frontstretch and spun. Caution.
One lap after the restart, Herbst’s bad day continued when he hit the wall in Turn 1 and significantly shortened the rear of the car. Yellow.
More brake problems surfaced on Lap 199 when Gragson hit the wall in Turn 2.
On Lap 214, Chase Elliott suffered brake failure and collected Briscoe as both hit the wall in Turn 1.
On the ensuing restart, Suarez, Gibbs, Allmendinger and Ty Dillon wrecked on the backstretch. The red flag was displayed for cleanup.
With 12 laps remaining, Chris Buescher lost his brakes and hit the wall in Turn 1.
And then, rinse and repeat.
On the restart, van Gisbergen lost his brakes entering Turn 1.
Wow.
At the finish, it was Larson over Alex Bowman and Logano.
I counted 16 caution flags and one red flag. I suspect there will be a LOT of inspections at the NASCAR R&D Center and a LOT of discussions about brake rotors.
Denny Hamlin (10th) leads the points standings by nine over Larson and by 18 over Christopher Bell.
Next Race: Bristol Motor Speedway, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on TSN3.
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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 Xfinity Series: Carson Kvapil won the pole for Saturday night’s race at Gateway Raceway over Jesse Love and Sheldon Creed (all Chevrolet drivers). The 36-car field consisted of 27 Chevrolets, six Toyotas and three Fords.
The first yellow came out on Lap 12 when Taylor Gray spun in Turn 1 while apparently trying to avoid Rajah Caruth.
Kvapil won Stage 1.
On Lap 71, Anthony Alfredo suffered a left-front tire failure and the caution waved for debris cleanup.
Love won Stage 2.
The yellow returned on Lap 127 when Lavar Scott got sideways in Turn 3 and tapped the outside wall with the right rear.
As always, yellows breed yellows.
Just after the restart, Corey Day slid into William Sawalich but did not spin him. Entering the next corner, Sawalich appeared to retaliate by turning down and sending Day hard into the inside wall. Justin Allgaier also sustained damage.
The children were not playing nicely.
Another caution came out with 30 laps remaining after a three-car incident involving Joey Gase, Brad Perez and Josh Bilicki.
The race ran cleanly to the finish, with Love taking the victory over Creed and Sam Mayer.
In the standings, Creed leads Allgaier by just three points and Kvapil by nine.
Next Race: Bristol Motor Speedway, Friday at 7:30 p.m. on USA Network and The CW.
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FLAMBORO SPEEDWAY: This Saturday night (September 19) is $15 Admission Night at Flamboro Speedway and will spotlight the Steel City Super Stock Series Championship Night. The Mini Stocks and Pure Stocks will also be in action. Watch for the ‘Walk-Out’ Driver Introductions, T-Shirt giveaways and fireworks! 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 Craftsman Truck Series: Next Race: Bristol Motor Speedway, Thursday, September 17 at 8 p.m. ET, tape delayed until Friday at 8 p.m. on REV TV’s CTV Speed Channel. And yes, that conflicts with the live Xfinity Series broadcast at 7:30 p.m.
Formula One: There were many comments about the new Madring circuit in Madrid, Spain, and most of them were not complimentary.
However, the “best drivers in the world” managed to make it work.
George Russell (Mercedes) was quickest in FP1, while teammate and points leader Kimi Antonelli topped both FP2 and FP3.
Unfortunately, FP3 was not kind to several drivers, with Oliver Bearman, Lewis Hamilton and Alex Albon all crashing.
In qualifying, Antonelli topped Q1, while Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was quickest in Q2.
In Q3, Lando Norris (McLaren) claimed the pole over Antonelli and Verstappen.
Canadian Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) started from the back of the grid after taking a new power unit.
The race featured another “interesting” start as Antonelli twice went off track on the opening lap. He wisely gave the position back to Norris to avoid a penalty.
More drama followed when Verstappen was ordered by his team to surrender positions and drop from second to fourth after a questionable pass on the opening lap. That allowed Antonelli and Hamilton to move ahead, although Verstappen soon passed Hamilton again.
On Lap 14, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed after Stroll stopped on track. Race leader Norris wasn’t allowed into the pits, but they were opened as soon as he passed ‘pit in’ and the call effectively ended his hopes for the win.
At the halfway mark, Charles Leclerc led Antonelli and Verstappen.
At the finish, it was Antonelli over Verstappen and Norris.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Antonelli leads Russell by 81 points and Hamilton by 101.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes leads Ferrari by 145 points and McLaren by 197.
Next Race: Baku, Sunday, September 27.
IMSA
Next Race: Indianapolis, Sunday at 3 p.m. on REV TV.
NHRA
Next Race: Rockingham, September 27.
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NASCAR Canada Series: The season finale took place Saturday night at Delaware Speedway. Series champion Marc-Antoine Camirand won the pole with a lap of 19.437 seconds, ahead of Donald Theetge and Kyle Steckly.
Eighteen cars took the green flag.
A competition caution for tire inspection came on Lap 76 with Theetge leading.
At halfway (Lap 100), Theetge led D.J. Kennington and Kevin Lacroix.
On Lap 134, Treyten Lapcevich hit the wall in Turn 3 for the second caution.
A second competition caution came on Lap 151, with the top three unchanged.
On Lap 191, Nicolas Barrette got loose entering Turn 2 and hit the wall hard, bringing out a red flag for cleanup.
At the same time, Andrew Ranger got into Connor Bell after Bell slowed for the caution, spinning him in Turn 3.
The race resumed with three laps remaining, and Theetge drove to victory. After finishing second in Friday night’s Late Model feature, it was a strong weekend for the Quebec racer.
Lacroix finished second, followed by Kennington, Camirand and Steckly.
Eleven cars finished on the lead lap.
An hour and a half to complete 200 laps under sunny skies and very pleasant conditions.
I think Race Monitor and the track scoreboard were having a lover’s quarrel because they couldn’t seem to agree on either the lap count or the running order. Funny.
Final Championship Standings: Camirand over LP Dumoulin by 87 points, Lacroix by 133, Kennington by 147 and Ranger by 151.
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APC Series: Next Race: Delaware Speedway, Saturday, September 26.
Ontario Sportsman Series: Next Race: Sauble Speedway, Saturday.
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BROCKVILLE ONTARIO SPEEDWAY: Brockville Ontario Speedway returns to action Sunday, September 20 with the Monster Enduro featuring several classes, including 4 Cylinder Ladies, Trucks/Vans, Men’s 4 Cylinder and Men’s 8 Cylinders. It’s a 1 p.m. start for this event at ‘The Bullring.’ Visit BrockvilleSpeedway.com for race reports on recent racing events at the BOS Bullring as well as info about upcoming events, including the Fall Nationals.
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Delaware Speedway: Fans were treated to two Late Model features on Friday night.
The first was the completion of a rain-delayed race from July 3. Brady Smith started on the pole ahead of Ray Morneau and Chad Corcoran. Morneau took the victory over Carson Nagy and Smith.
In regular weekly racing, Tyler DiVenanzo won Heat 1 and Donald Theetge captured Heat 2.
In the feature, Smith rolled to a stop on the backstretch on Lap 1, bringing out the caution. The race then ran green to the finish, with Connor Pritiko earning the win over Theetge and Brandon Watson.
In Super Stock action, Trevor Collver won Heat 1 and Ryan Dyson captured Heat 2.
The 50-lap feature went caution-free in 17:42, with Dyson taking the victory over Brendon Edgar and Collver.
On Saturday night, the V8 Stocks and Bone Stocks served as support divisions for the NASCAR Canada event.
Michael Verberne won the 30-lap Bone Stock feature over Donavin Clark and Mitchell Rawlings.
Jordan Morris won V8 Stock Heat 1, while Thomas Jermy captured Heat 2.
Those two battled door-handle-to-door-handle throughout the 40-lap feature, with Morris edging Jermy at the line. David Rockwood finished third.
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EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: If your name is Ryan, this night is for YOU! Be at Edmonton International Raceway Saturday, September 19th for “Ryan’s I Know” Night and enjoy FREE admission. Because every Ryan deserves a night at the races! And that’s just the beginning! Catch EIR’s last race night of the season with their Wrap Up Party featuring Meet the Drivers Autograph Session, and exciting racing from IMCA Modifieds, BUCK’s Race a Wreck Enduro, Stackers, and Cooper Equipment Hit to Pass. Bring your family, your friends, and especially the Ryans you know! It’s going to be a night full of laughs, horsepower, and unforgettable racing. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. Driver Autograph Session at 5:00 p.m. and racing starts at 6:00 p.m. Visit EdmontonRaceway.com for info.
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Upcoming Events:
Ohsweken Speedway – Thunder Stock & Mini Stock Nationals, Friday
Flamboro Speedway – Steel City Championship, Saturday
Buxton Speedway – UMP vs. Crate Late Models, Saturday
Full Throttle Motor Speedway – Championship Night, Saturday
Grand Bend Motorplex – Sportsman Nationals, October 3-5
St. Thomas Dragway – The DaSilva Shootout, this weekend
Toronto Motorsports Park – Canadian Sports Compact Series, Sunday
Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Series – St. Thomas Dragway, this weekend
John Scotti NHRA Canadian Championship Series – Napierville, this weekend
Shannonville Drags – September 20-21
Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or through Facebook Messenger.
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