Green beer, NCAA basketball and the middle of march bring us a steady uptick of events in the motorsports world. This week’s activities include the 12 Hours of Sebring, the World of Outlaws first visit of the season to Pennsylvania and a busy NASCAR weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Here’s what to watch for…
Outlaws Vs. Posse
Usually reserved for May, if the weather cooperates the traveling World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series will make a mid-March visit to Pennsylvania Posse territory.
Friday’s St. Patrick’s Day night race at Williams Grove opens the season at the historic half-mile track, with the series scheduled to visit Lincoln Speedway, where Freddy Rahmer has won two of the three features run this season, on Saturday.
David Gravel leads the WoO standings with three wins in five races, while ageless veteran Lance Dewease, Anthony Macri and Danny Dietrich will lead the Posse contingent.
Can Chevy Win Again?
Chevrolet drivers have won the first four NASCAR Cup Series races to start the season.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. topped the Daytona 500 for JTG Daugherty Racing, Kyle Busch put Richard Childress Racing in victory lane at Auto Club Speedway and William Byron claimed back-to-back victories for Hendrick Motorsports at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
Look for Byron’s teammate, Kyle Larson, to break through at Atlanta with Toyota and Ford racers continuing to play the role of chaser.
Sokola Shootout
The Sokola Shootout will open the new season at Perris (Calif.) Auto Speedway Saturday night with the AMSOIL USAC-CRA Sprint Car Series making its 243rd appearance at the half-mile dirt track. Forty-two different drivers have earned victories, with recently retired Damion Gardner leading the way with 51 triumphs. Tony Jones won the first Sokola Shootout in 2001 and Matt Mitchell topped last year’s event.
Bumpy Road
Sebring (Fla.) Int’l Raceway is well known for being one of the bumpiest racing circuits in America.
IMSA’s new GTP cars showed remarkable reliability during the Rolex 24 At Daytona on the ultra-smooth Daytona Int’l Speedway road course, but despite a race that’s 12 hours shorter the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, set at the former World War II airbase, may be the ultimate test for the WeatherTech Championship’s new Hybrid racing machines.
Saturday Doubleheader
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will share Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday with both series hitting the 1.54-mile race track. The Trucks will take the green flag shortly after 2 p.m., with the Xfinity cars set for a 5 p.m. start.
The Weather
Unpredictable late winter early spring weather will without a doubt impact the weekend’s racing schedule. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Case Construction Late Model Series had each canceled their weekends of racing before lunchtime on Wednesday, while the season opener at Attica Raceway Park was also among events impacted by rain, cold or snow.
No doubt, there will be a few more.