It’s a Good Friday edition of the Friday Morning Heat Race. Here’s what’s on our mind this weekend.
Hot Laps: Big Crowd
Grand Prix Ass’n of Long Beach President Jim Michaelian reported that the 50th annual event in the streets of Long Beach, Calif., attracted more than 200,000 over a three-day period.
Qualifying: 27
There is no NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend. When the series returns April 27 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, it will be the first of 27 consecutive weekends for the series. That’s a hell of a grind.
First Heat: More Litigation
In the ongoing saga between NASCAR, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, attorneys for the sanctioning body filed a motion to its countersuit against the two racing teams, which previously filed an anti-trust suit against NASCAR, to amend its counterclaim to include evidence that was uncovered during the discovery process.
The beat goes on, and the fans yawn again.
Second Heat: Counting Trophies
With nine NASCAR Cup Series races in the books, two teams have combined to win eight of the nine races. Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) has won five and Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) has gone to victory lane three times.
Christopher Bell (JGR) has three wins, Denny Hamlin (JGR) has two, Kyle Larson (Hendrick) has two his teammate William Byron won the Daytona 500.
The lone interloper is Josh Berry in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
Third Heat: Logan Less
Logan Seavey, the 2023 USAC Silver Crown Series champion aboard the Rice Motorsports-Abacus Racing entry, won last Sunday’s season-opening event for the series at Indiana’s Terre Haut Action Track.
But Seavey is scheduled to miss Saturday’s second round on the asphalt at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway while racing a late model in Oklahoma. He will be replaced in the No. 22 by veteran open-wheel ace Mario Clouser.
Fourth Heat: Knoxville Watch
While there is plenty of winged 410 sprint car racing at places such as Williams Grove Speedway, Attica Raceway Park, Lincoln Speedway, Port Royal Speedway, Fremont Speedway, Atomic Speedway and other places along the way this weekend, most sprint car fans will be watching the happenings at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway closely.
With two nights of World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series action and a massive field that represents multiple racing series, it’s the first chance to see what to expect during the big-money summer events on the sprint car slate.
We’ll be watching.
C Main: The Smoke Show
NHRA got a lot of mileage out of Tony Stewart’s inaugural Top Fuel victory last Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Stewart was in great demand and made numerous appearances on talk shows, pod casts and media teleconferences to talk not only about his milestone victory, but about other racing as well.
We find it interesting that Stewart believes NHRA’s four-wide format employed at Vegas and again April 25-27 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., favors him because of his experience racing in traffic.
Stewart is second in the Top Fuel standings, and in case you haven’t noticed the second NHRA event at zMAX Dragway this season is also a four-wide race. It comes during the Countdown to the Championship, and Stewart is already licking his chops.
B Main: Sold Out
Kudos to promoter Bob Sargent and everyone involved with the return of NASCAR racing to Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway. The grandstands are sold out for Saturday’s Xfinity Series event with Kasey Kahne the only driver in the field who raced in the most recent race for the series at the track in 2004.
It should be noted that many of the grandstands in place 21 years ago when the track was known as North Carolina Motor Speedway have been dismantled and put in use at other facilities. Nonetheless, it’s an impressive and exciting development for Rockingham and NASCAR.
To see photos of that 2004 event, check out the gallery elsewhere on SPEEDSPORT.com.
Feature: Embarrass Them
Kyle Larson’s comments earlier this week that he wants “to embarrass” younger drivers when he runs NASCAR Xfinity drivers when he has the opportunity to compete in that series gathered a lot of attention.
Interpretations of that statement were all over the board to ridiculing him for his thoughts, to lobbying for Cup drivers to be able to participate in more than five races in the Xfinity Series per season and everywhere in between.
I think if one pressed Larson, that mindset probably applies to his approach every time he pulls on his helmet and stands on the gas.
I believe 100 percent that when Larson straps into Paul Silva’s No. 57 sprint car tonight and tomorrow night at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway, his intent will not be just to win, but to embarrass the competition — veterans and youngsters alike … World of Outlaws and High Limit Racing competitors as well.
That’s mentality and the skillset to back it up is what makes Larson the best in the business right now.
