Motorsport

The regular season leg of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Season has came to a wild close today where we saw a few “Big One” dramas through the wall, while others have made it home – although one came out lucky to seal the 16th & final Playoffs berth – at the big tracks of Daytona. It’s great to see two Roush Fenway Keselowski cars dominating once again off the back from the end of Stage 2 & last stage, with Chris Buescher (No.17 Ford) on red hot form after his 3rd race win of 2023 ahead of team-mate & co-owner Brad K (No.6 Ford – S2 winner) who finished 2nd.

Now some are gutted not to get that win whereas others were less fortunate when it comes to wrecks on what has been a last-minute situation to get inside the 16-man Playoffs bubble. But as said, there can only be one lucky person who will be getting a Playoffs lifeline going into next weekend’s Labor Day round at Darlington & his name is Bubba Wallace (No.23 Toyota for 23XI Racing). He too may have been stuck through the middle of the field after a great start to the night (6th in Stage 1), but some persistence from others dropping out later on saw him finish not far from the Top 10 mark in 12th spot.

What a moment from Bubba to take part in his first Playoffs year since joining 23XI two years ago. Plus, shoutout to the two Spire Chevy cars finishing together in 10th & 11th from the back by Corey LaJoie (No.7) & Ty Dillon (No.77) – even though both of them were not far from the front row places. And Martin Truex Jr. is your regular-season champion (No.19 Toyota for JGR) despite finishing in 24th. Let’s bring on the Playoffs now where there’s 10 races left starting with the 3 x Round of 16.

#NASCAR #Daytona #RFKRacing #ChrisBuescher #BradKeselowski #Ford #BubbaWallace #23XIRacing #Toyota #SpireMotorsports #Chevy #CoreyLaJoie #TyDillon

It’s been a while in victory lane from Hendrick Motorsports’s William Byron in the No.24 Chevy Camaro on what has been his first road course Cup win, having started from 2nd in Stage 1 before he went one better thanks to the McDowell pit penalty not long after the restart & stayed there through the end at Watkins Glen.

With four wins so far this year, he’s now tops the drivers’ points ahead of this weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona. We thought the race was gonna be last week’s winner from Indy again in Michael McDowell (No.34 Ford Mustang) at Front Row Motorsports thanks to a great start from 3rd that got him the Stage 1 win. But then there’s drama when a penalty by going past a few pit boxes + a mechanical issue later on sadly saw his day done early. His team-mate Todd Gilliland (No.38) had a great day though from 25th to a solid 2nd half finish in 11th.

While McDowell does have a Playoffs spot being locked up safe, there are others who will walk into a much win situation like Daniel Suarez (No.99 Chevy for Trackhouse – early spin) & Chase Elliott (No.9 Chevy for Hendrick – running out of fuel). Although Austin Dillon (No.3 Chevy for Childress) may been spun on the last lap with Kyle Larson (No.5 Chevy for Hendrick), but he’s the defending winner of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 there as anything can be possible for AD to race yet another year in the Playoffs.

It was awesome seeing Front Row Motorsports win another Cup race this time where their main man Michael McDowell has been excellent all along up front on his favoured road course experience under the infield oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He finished 1st in stage 1 from 4th on the grid followed by 2nd in stage 2 & got one spot back to hold that off through to the finish line thanks to that Daniel Suarez final pit error.

So much progress has been made since McDowell & the team’s Daytona 500 breakthrough from 2021 as he’s now back for another extended crack in the upcoming Playoffs starting this September. He might not have won a regular season race or any race last year but he has been excellent in the Top 15 ever since including some more occasional Top 5-10s here & there.

Look out for Mike & the No.34 Ford Mustang to at least hopefully get through the first round. If he can hang in there, then we could see him go all the way through to the Round of 8 – especially when you got two medium to big track races + the last Roval race at Charlotte up for grabs. Exciting times ahead at FRM.

Meanwhile, we got two of our current Aussie Supercars drivers in action as well at the same time where the returning Shane Van Gisbergen (Trackhouse) – currently at Triple 8 – was joined by his fellow rival Brodie Koesteki from Erebus Motorsport (Richard Childress Racing).

Yes, we would’ve loved to see another fairytale win from SVG following his debut Cup heroics at the new Chicago street course early last month. Now it might not been possible earlier today when he struggled to push the No.91 into the Top 5 during the 1st half from 8th on the grid (9th in Stage 1 & 14th in Stage 2), but he took his time well however on the run home with a respectable 10th place finish.

SVG will be happy to take some positives out of his 2nd Cup race including the Trucks debut on a oval where he was in & out of the Top 20 the other day after a 19th placed finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park for Niece Motorsports.

Then we thought that Kostecki would start

start outside the Top 10 after he was 11th fastest beforehand in qualifying, but then he had to start from the back after he crashed out at the same time before RCR had to get a back up race car for him ahead of race day. He has made some lost time right away as soon as the race has started which is a not a bad start.

Although he couldn’t gain something further out of a different chassis than the one he was in yesterday as the result could’ve been better if if wasn’t for the crash, but he did stay closer to the Top 20 though for the rest of the afternoon in P22.

Both drivers will now be heading back here to resume their respective normal Supercars duties ahead of the next event over at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia this weekend. Now there isn’t room for both of them to return at all for one last Roval race of the year at Charlotte Motor Speedway as they both got the Bathurst 1000 to face on the same October 8 weekend, but who knows what will come next for them going into 2024?

For now, we got another road course race at Watkins Glen in New York in a week’s time before we round off the regular season for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona at the last weekend of this month.

My first reaction when I saw this announcement like Wow!! I couldn’t believe it thinking at first if it was fake news, but yes, it did turn out to be real after Toyota has officially welcomed Legacy Motor Club to their NASCAR Cup Series line-up from next year onwards alongside the flagship Joe Gibbs Racing team (four cars) & 23XI Racing (two cars).

Plus, it’s going to be great to see the TRD talent alumni Noah Gragson (No.42) & Erik Jones (No.43) return to Toyota once again at Legacy Motor Club, whom they have been racing & winning races under these race cars in the past. And the co-owner & 7 x NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson will race other than a Chevy for the first time too when he too will pop up at selected races in the No.84 like the Daytona 500. It’s not the first time he drove a non-Chevy race car when JJ was racing a Honda engine in IndyCar (Open-Wheel) back in 2021 & 2022 at Ganassi.

So yes there’s going to be some NASCAR fans & predominately old timers in particular as to why Jimmie Johnson, Maury Gallagher & Richard Petty switched to a Japanese car or foreign manufacturing, having seen JJ been loyal to Chevy that saw win accomplish so many races & championships while “The King” has raced & ran various other American car makes for most of his life. 

But the thing is that the world has changed these days and they’re doing this to hopefully win races & potentially championships over the long run. Also, Toyota has invested a whole lot of manufacturing, jobs & service parts right here in America where their Camry road cars have been made over in Georgetown, Kentucky since 1988 – so much history there that makes Toyota so great for many Americans including their participation in NASCAR over the last 15 to 20 years.

What will happen with the change of manufacturers going forward?

Now that the switch has been made official, LMC doesn’t need a technical alliance with JGR but will of course build their own cars while receiving engines & data from Toyota – the same thing Trackhouse exactly operates with their Cup Series program alongside Chevy. 

Plus, will we see them acquire a 3rd full-time charter & revive the No.44 numberplate perhaps? Unless NASCAR is going to take away one of the bottom 3 charter entries (No.15 Rick Ware Ford, No.77 Spire Chevy & No.78 Live Fast Chevy) – should they continue finishing there for the third year in a row, I don’t think any of them will sell up unless they’d be happy to take the money & run. 

But yes, that is something LMC can hopefully make that happen at some point depending on the next TV rights deal from 2025 including sponsorship of course & have one of the Toyota Racing youngsters in there to build some Cup experience like Sammy Smith or Corey Heim. Otherwise, they can always poach Austin Hill from Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity team who is outstanding right now just like 23XI did to Tyler Reddick (No.45 now) last year.

And lastly, I don’t think Toyota will put LMC out of business after let’s say a few years when co-owners Jimmie Johnson & Maury Gallagher has more than enough decent amount of money combined to generate & keep them afloat while chasing more on-track success. I see no problem with Denny Hamlin & Michael Jordan so far at 23XI, so no doubt LMC will be a great success as 23XI there.

One Australian Superbike legend Wayne Maxwell may have retired recently after he wrapped up his decorated career in the No.1 Ducati bike at McMartin Racing, having won three titles to his name (2013, 2020-2021). However, look out as there’s another ASBK legend who can easily fill Maxwell’s shoes very perfectly with a perfect start to the 2023 ASBK season in none other than Josh Waters (No.21).

He too got away with all three wins throughout the opening race weekend including pole position; Plus, he also became the new lap record holder of the premier class category here at Phillip Island. Race 1 didn’t bother him too much despite the red flag restart & fared even better with the new lap record of 1:30:75, before Waters built on such a healthy lead during the last two Sunday races on the Yamaha duo of Cru Halliday (3rd in Race 2 & 2nd in Race 3) who rebounded after his Race 1 DNF from Saturday & so does the current champion (also 3 times) in Mike Jones (4th in Race 1, 3rd in Race 2 & 2nd in Race 3). This is going to be a great two if not three way battle as this season goes on throughout 2023 for the riders’ crown. 

Then we take a quick look over at the secondary Supersport category where Harrison Voight had a great weekend for the No.29 Yamaha bike collecting two wins in between Races 1 & 3 plus the pole position, even though he held off such a huge threat from Olly Simpson on the run home during the 3rd & final race of the weekend. Although he may be disappointed with a DNF despite building a healthy lead before Voight was slipped away into the gravel that gave Ty Lynch a free run up front in Race 2, but still a red-hot start to his 2023 season nonetheless.

We’ll see if Voight can build on the two opening round wins & stay battling up front as the new Supersport category season progresses before looking dethrone current champion John Lytras for the championship come early December at The Bend Motorsports Park in SA.

For now, the ASBK will make their next stop at Sydney Motorsports Park in Eastern Creek for the first time in several years on Friday 24th-Saturday 25th later this month. Also another first time moment, a night event on Saturday where we will get to get some brilliant racing across several categories under the lights including the premier Superbike class. 

It’s going to be such a great weekend out just like the opening round that was accompanied by the World Superbikes’ Australian Round support bill a few days ago. One round done, six more left of the 2023 ASBK season as you can watch every race live both on SBS & Stan Sport.

Stenhouse was crowned winner of the 2023 Daytona 500 after an exciting race in which he passed Joey Logano on the last lap. A crash behind him sealed his victory in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

The 35-year-old driver took the lead for the first time in the race with a push from Kyle Larson in the first overtime, but a crash sent the race to a second two-lap overtime. In the restart, Logano got ahead of Stenhouse, but a great push from Christopher Bell allowed Stenhouse to pass Logano. Travis Pastrana and Aric Almirola were involved in a crash, which brought out the yellow flag.

Since Stenhouse had already taken the white flag, the race was over and he was declared the winner. This is his first victory in the NASCAR Cup since 2017 and the third of his career, all of which have been on superspeedway tracks.

It is also JTG Daugherty Racing’s first win since A.J. Allmendinger’s victory in 2014 at Watkins Glen, New York. The race set a duration record, with 212 laps or 530 miles. Joey Logano finished second, Christopher Bell third, Chris Buescher fourth, and pole winner Alex Bowman completed the top five.

After the caution between Stages 2 and 3, most of the leading cars pitted. Almirola was the first to exit. However, Ross Chastain was penalized for speeding and had to restart the race from the back. Bell also had to go to the back due to an over-the-wall violation, and Noah Gragson was penalized for an uncontrolled tire.

On the restart on lap 138, Bubba Wallace, who chose not to pit, led the race, followed by Almirola, Buescher, and Byron. However, on lap 140, NASCAR had to show a caution due to debris in turn 2, specifically a blown tire from Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Ford. At that time, Bowman had to turn around upon exiting the caution.

With 35 laps to go, Buescher stayed in the lead with team owner Brad Keselowski right behind him. Almirola was in third and Austin Cindric was in fourth. Wallace, who did not pit during the stage break, made his green-flag stop on lap 172, coming down the pit road by himself.

Stenhouse was penalized for speeding and had to serve a pass-through penalty. When the green-flag stops were over, Ryan Preece slowed down and slid into the middle of the field, causing a multi-car crash on lap 182 that brought out the fifth caution of the race. With five laps to go, a group of nine cars led the race, with Keselowski still in the lead. Busch, with the help of other Chevrolets, managed to take the lead on the outside.

On lap 198, Daniel Suárez lost control in turn 4 and ended up in the infield grass, bringing out a caution and taking the race into a two-lap overtime. For the start of the extra time, Busch led the race followed by Austin Dillon, Byron, Logano, Larson, Keselowski, Stenhouse, and Buescher. In turn 3 after the restart, Byron collided with Austin Dillon and spun him, causing another multi-car crash and taking the race into a second overtime. 

Stenhouse, who was being pressured by Larson, emerged as the leader. At the beginning of the second overtime, Stenhouse was followed by Larson, Bell, Logano, Busch, Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin, and Bowman. Then the last overtime attempt towards the checkered flag eventually finished under yellow where Pastrana sent Larson into the wall also collecting Almirola & several others, before the race officials confirmed Stenhouse as the first-time Daytona 500 winner. Thanks to his breakthrough moment yesterday, he & JTG has now booked his Playoffs ticket into the Round of 16 come early September. 

Next stop – Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California – where NASCAR is set for a three-week West Coast tour beginning this Sunday for the Pale Casino 400.