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Motorsport

NASCAR: RICKY STENHOUSE JR. CROWNED CHAMPION AT THE 2023 DAYTONA 500 FOR JTG DAUGHERTY RACING

by Admin

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.

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Motorsport

A lookback of the 2022 Australian Superbike Championship season finale from The Bend Motorsports Park in the Supersport, Supersport 300 & Oceania Junior Cup support categories

by Sports Benches

Also looking back at a bright weekend of the 2022 ASBK finale from Tailem Bend in SA was the support categories, where we saw three more of their own class champions being crowned alongside Mike Jones in the Premier Class.

We’ll start with the SuperSport 300 Race 3 edition and we saw two thrilling battles that defied the Top 3 podium. The first battle for 2nd during the first-half of the seven lap distance was Taiyo Asku & Sam Pazetta – who fought very hard back and forth for P2 – before Pazetta  spun out into the gravel that sadly ended his race early with an DNF.

If that’s not enough, why not check out Cameron Swain v Hayden Nelson for the last podium place when the early DNFs of Henry Snell & Sam Pazetta saw them move up a few track positions. Nelson may have had a sniff a few times on Swain’s No.26 bike, but we love the way Swain held off Nelson on the run home in P3 behind runner-up Asku & race winner + champion Cameron Dunker who had an outstanding 2022 in the SS300.

Then we move onto the second-tier SuperSport group in Race 2, with Harrison Voight being too good all along from start to finish in 1st. Ty Lynch finished 2nd after a decent fire off from P5 on the grid – even though he’s still limping some pain ahead of Dallas Skeer who rounds off your Top 3- while John Lytras finished in 9th where a Top 10 run here was enough to keep Lynch out of reach with the SS title. 

Congratulations to John as he may not have the budget to move into the Superbike class just yet, but this 17-year-old has a huge future ahead regardless of wherever he ends up next year which could mean another SS year here as the defending champion.

And we round off with one more support category champion left to crown in the Oceania Junior Cup (Race 3). It was a quiet first 2-3 laps when Bodie Paige led the way before Teerin Fleming & Ryan Larkin came knocking on his door with two laps left. In the end, it was Larkin who took home the race win on what has been an amazing finish by the Top 3 riders, with Harrison Watts winning back-to-back titles after he finished P8.

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Motorsport

Mike Jones is Australian Superbike Championships’s main man of 2022 with MotoGP regular Jack Miller back for another one-off ride at Tailem Bend

by Sports Benches

What a way to wrap the 2022 Australian Superbike Championship at Tailem Bend in South Australia with a special guest returning there in none other than MotoGP regular Jack Miller in the No.43 Ducati bike – where he was accompanied by a jam-packed race field alongside few overseas riders flying over on one-off stints to bring you the two Sunday Main Event races. Let’s go!!

Well, the opening lap or two was a non-starter; One we saw a red flag when Billy McConnell & Bryan Staring made contact with each other through the gravel, and another on the restart when Jack Miller sadly suffered a DNF due to a mechanical issue. Meanwhile, Arthur Sissis (No.61 Yamaha) fired off really well from P6 to up top during the first 5 of 10 laps, before Troy Herfoss (No.17 Honda) got around Sissis for the lead. Although Wayne Maxwell provided a decent threat to Herfoss over in the No.1 Ducati for a while, but Herfoss managed to hold off Maxwell on the run home with the Race 1 win. If that’s not enough, Glenn Allerton (No.14 BMW) rounds off the podium as Mike Jones’s P6 finish behind Sissis was enough to crown him the championship.

Then we fast forward to the final ASBK race of 2022 where Jack Miller was flying high unchallenged in the first half distance of Lap 11. But his time up top was done when Champion-elect Mike Jones got around the current MotoGP rider at Turn 1 on Lap 7. Although Maxwell briefly demoted Jones to 2nd for a short time, but Jones fought back immediately & never looked until the finish line on a very high note that saw him top so much merit in the No.46 Yamaha. 

Meanwhile, that last lap drama between Troy Herfoss & Glenn Allerton paved the way for the emerging Senna Agius to lock up P2 in the No.81 Honda ahead of veteran & now-retired Wayne Maxwell who rounds off the Top 3, with Miller in P4 even though he was given the honorary treatment at the podium area. Let’s hope he comes back here for another one-off occasion next year, as Miller will switch MotoGP teams from Ducati to KTM.

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Motorsport

Jack Passfield was lightning fast around Phillip Island with Tom Bramich dominating both Sunday races in the Supersport ASBK class

by Sports Benches

Also part of the World Superbike Australian round support bill here at Phillip Island was the second-tier Michelin Supersport class from yesterday.

Earlier in Race 2, we were gutted to see Ty Lynch and Dallas Skeer being taken down at Turn 2 while they both tussled for 5th on Lap 2 of 10. Lynch must’ve limped away even though he came here this weekend with two broken ankles as reported on commentary, but Ty never wanted to give up as he was okay to ride again for Race 3 with good sportsmanship there from Skeer.

Then we saw such a three-way battle for first between Tom Bramich who led the most laps, as well as John Lytras trying to get on hold of the race leader & Jack Passfield where not only he won Race 1, but he has been incredibly fast as always around Phillip Island that saw him enter Bramich’s and Lytras’s radar. 

In the end, Passfield overcooked it going out wide at Turn 10 on the final lap before Bramich saw the winning move on the inside with two corners left and he held off both Passfield and Lytras towards the checkered flag on what has been an excellent finish in Race 2 by only a few milliseconds.

And we round off the weekend with Race 3 of 3 where we saw another front row battle between race leader Bramich and the ever-fast Passfield for top spot. Sadly, there was drama along the way with two laps left (8 of 10) when Passfield couldn’t hold on at Siberia Corner (Turn 6), especially when struggling with a fractured wrist before he lost control into the gravel which left Passfield disappointed out of this race. It paves the way for Bramich to close out Race 3 unchallenged who had an outstanding with back-to-back wins in this class.

It all comes down to the final round of this year’s Michelin Supersport class season this weekend at The Bend in South Australia, as one rider will walk away with the Championship.

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Motorsport

Ducati’s rule at Phillip Island but Wayne Maxwell’s two DNFs puts Mike Jones on the box seat now to take home the 2022 ASBK Championship this weekend at Tailem Bend

by Sports Benches

It’s been a while but the Australian Superbike Championship is back for Round 6 of 7 in 2022, as we join the support bill by the main Australian World Superbike Championship leg here at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria.

Race 1 was wet & wild for a start when Daniel Falzon fired off well ahead of polesitter Josh Waters due to an excellent qualifying run beforehand that saw him start in 2nd. Although his bike is capable  of Top 7-10 finishes, but then it was difficult to stay ahead when trying to keep up with the regular front runners. 

We saw one rider lost control not long later into the gravel in Wayne Maxwell (No.1 Ducati) after he put on the gas a bit too early down at Turn 2, before there was a three way battle on the run home between the two Ducati’s of Josh Waters & Bryan Staring, as well as the No. 14 BMW of Glenn Allerton. But the winner goes to Bryan Staring (No.67 Ducati) ahead of Allerton & Waters, as he won his first race since Round 1 at this same venue back in February this year.

Then we fast forward into Sunday morning with improved weather this time in Race 2 of 3. The centre of attention focused on the two Ducati riders battling side-by-side in Maxwell and Waters for the Race 2 win; and it was Maxwell who bounced back beautifully following a successful late winning move on Waters with two laps to go (10 of 12) while Cru Halliday (No.65 Yamaha) joined them on the podium in P3.

And we round off the second-last weekend of this year’s ASBK season in Race 3, where Maxwell endured another early heartbreaking moment this time down at Turn 4. He made contact with the back end of Troy Herfoss while trying to get past him for P3 before he lost control into the grass that not only marked another DNF, but it also dented his title hopes with one round to go. Plus, We also a few other riders fell off at the same corner as Maxwell when Senna Agius & Daniel Falzon spun off while battling for 5th before it collected Cru Halliday, as all three riders joined Maxwell back into pit lane. 

As the race goes on, we saw a couple of big movers along the way, particularly Mike Jones (No.46 Yamaha) & Bryan Staring before they began battling each other for 2nd. But it’s gotta be Josh Waters’s moment (No.21 Ducati) who got his first race win of 2022 ahead of Staring who got around a late move on Jones. Although Jones may not have stopped Ducati’s outstanding weekend at Phillip Island, but he’s in the box seat right now to take home the 2022 ASBK for the 3rd time going into this weekend’s finale at The Bend in SA. The last time a Yamaha rider won the ASBK was Jamie Stauffer back in 2007.

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Motorsport

Thoughts on Stewart-Haas Racing replacing Cole Custer with Ryan Preece in the No.41 Ford Mustang from next year

by Sports Benches

It’s good to see Ryan Preece being given the chance to prove himself in a top-notch race car by Stewart-Haas Racing, where he will replace Cole Custer in the No.41 Ford Mustang from next season. 

There has been division for some time between the co-owners – Gene Haas & Tony Stewart – about choosing Custer or Preece for the best driver to drive the No.41 team next year – but Custer had his ample chances over the last three Cup years with mostly average results despite the one regular-season win that earned him both a Playoffs spot (finished 16th in points) and the Rookie of the Year award back in 2020 – as SHR demoted Custer down back to their Xfinity team in the No.00 alongside No.98 of Riley Herbst. 

Although, I would’ve liked to see Custer help out Rick Ware Racing as SHR’s satellite team and get them up to speed on-track, but then he will most likely be racing for them part-time in the No.15 Cup machine. Sadly, there is nothing much RWR can do other than keep running multiple drivers in the No.15 unless they can find a driver that can cover full season sponsorship, while Rick’s son Cody will always be driving full-time in the No.51 with Nurtec ODT backing.

Meanwhile, on the flip side, this is Ryan’s chance now to turn the No.41 around as a regular front-runner again, which hasn’t really been the case after Kurt Busch last drove for SHR back in 2018. His replacements, Daniel Suarez (2019) and Cole Custer (2020-2022) couldn’t replicate to Kurt’s level on the race track ever since.

If Preece can show that he is capable of winning races in a top-notch car, then it looks like that SHR will have their own Ross Chastain, who had an unreal 2022 campaign finishing 2nd behind champion Joey Logano (No.22 Team Penske Ford) in the No.1 Chevy Camaro ZL1 at Trackhouse. 

And as for Custer, going back to Xfinity will help him get used to running upfront again and winning races which hasn’t happened a lot for the majority so far at Cup level. But I’m sure Custer will be ready to go back to Cup again at some point either in the No.10 car or even the No.41 again, with Preece moving to the No.4 team in place of Kevin Harvick after his expected retirement at the end of 2024. 

Now we will have to see what Almriola has to say about his long-term future after 2023, especially when he reversed his retirement plans a few months ago. If he does decide to retire this time, then it will be up to Herbst if Custer’s presence will benefit his on-track improvements at last next season. Otherwise, SHR will have to find elsewhere and pluck someone from another team like Erik Jones or Noah Gragson at Petty GMS.

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Motorsport

Nathan Herne outstanding in 2022 in the Trans-Am while Tony D’Alberto took home the TCR Australia title as this SpeedSeries season all ends here at Bathurst International

by Admin

The Bathurst International was held this weekend, and boy oh boy it did not disappoint. For those who don’t know, the Bathurst International is a weekend with plenty of racing in a lot of different categories. So let’s look over the highlights from the Trans-Am and TCR Australia.

In the Trans-Am, Nathan Herne took the pole position for Race 1, and managed to hang on to it for a great win for him and Team Valvoline. He managed to hold off the Supercheap Auto of Nash Morris, as well as the TPS Caravans of Brett Holdsworth and the Garry Rogers car piloted by Owen Kelly. After a less than ideal practice, Benjamin Grice made a fantastic recovery and was in the top 10 by lap 3. However, the Safety Car was brought out for a spin by Zach Losicalpo at Murray’s Corner, where he became beached. At the end of Race 1, Nathan Herne took the top step of the podium, with Owen Kelly and Holdsworth completing the top 3.

In Race 2, Nathan Herne could not be stopped and stormed to another win. It was a front-row lockout for the Garry Rogers Mustangs, but an error from Owen Kelly at Hell Corner allowed Herne to pull away, with Holdsworth getting racy with Kelly at Griffin’s Bend. There was a shunt between the SupaFSeries Mustang and the Chevy of John Holinger at Forrest’s Elbow. Zach Loscialpo made a great recovery from last on the grid, crossing the line in 11th place. Herne took the second win of the weekend, with Holdsworth in second, but contact at the high-speed Chase corner between Morris and Kelly allowed Lochie Dolton to finish the podium.

In the Turtle Wax 100, Nathan Herne once again took the chequered flag to round off his hat-trick of wins this weekend. There were some mega drives, with Aaron Teb and Jack Sipp up 11 and 8 places respectively. Even though Grice was still recovering from a crash in Practice, he was challenging in the top 5 throughout. Lochie Dalton got a bit too confident at the chase, beaching his car and bringing out a short Safety Car period. On the final lap, Robert Noaker had to roll into the pits with power loss, with Herne finishing first, with Ben Grice in second and Nash Morris in third to round off a great race and a great weekend of racing.

In the TCR, the opener was a great way to start off this weekend. Young hotshot Bailey Sweeney met the chequered flag first. For most of the title contenders it was a race to forget, riddled with retirements and struggle. It was an eventful race, with lots of great battles in the midfield. Kangaroos brought out the safety car on lap 12, which bunched the field up for even more close racing. At the restart, King passed Cox into 10th position, which is essential for his title hopes. Hanson had a heavy shunt at Reid Park, but emerged relatively unharmed. At the flag, it was Sweeny from O’Keeffe and Morcom to round off the top 3.

Will Brown won the final TCR race of the weekend, but missed out on the title. That honour went to Tony D’Alberto, who took the 2022 TCR Australia Championship. Will Brown put in all the effort, with some spectacular overtakes to put himself in the lead, but D’Alberto managed to maintain 11th to give him enough points to clinch the title. There were plenty of battles throughout with a few scrapes and retirements. The top 3 were Will Brown, Bailey Sweeny and Josh Buchan, with D’Alberto taking the title by 2 points.

What a great weekend the Bathurst International turned out to be, but next year will definitely be even better! See you then!

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Motorsport

Thoughts on Stewart-Haas Racing’s No.41 car plans for 2023 between Ryan Preece or Cole Custer, as well as their long-term outlook for the No.4 & 10 cars

by Sports Benches

I’d like to see Preece being given a go at Rick Ware Racing full-time in the No.15 first next year if SHR chooses to keep Custer in the No.41 for another year; as long as SHR can help RWR a bit more with technical support on their equipment & hopefully post some good results on-track in order to avoid charter repossession by the sport.

When it comes to the long-term makeup though at SHR, I think Harvick will get a one-year extension in the No.4 car going into 2024 and then retire in time for the next TV rights deal in 2025 & be an analyst with Clint Bowyer & Mike Joy/Adam Alexander (if Joy retires) during the first half of the season for FOX/FS1.

His replacement? I know Hailie Deegan did so well on her Xfinity debut at Las Vegas last week but we’ll wait and see if Ford will give her a full-time Xfinity opportunity next year & try to post more Top 10-15 results on a regular basis after two full years at Trucks level.

Meanwhile, Riley Herbst still needs more time to challenge upfront every week in order to boost his chances of winning races in the No.98 SHR Xfinity car. Now he may have sponsorship but his average/inconsistent results tells me that he is not ready to take the mantle from Harvick or Almirola at this stage and then hope for the best because SHR is a top-notch team wanting to challenge for the championship. So another two years at least would hopefully see Herbst be on the same standard as Custer and Briscoe when they were racing Xfinitys really well at the time before it’s safe to say that he can finally proceed to Cup racing.

Although I do see him as a like-for-like replacement for Aric Almirola in the No.10 car, who also brings similar strong sponsorship packages like Herbst as he’s also into his 40s like Harvick; but again, consistent results will be his major issue to solve over the next year or two, otherwise he will have to try his luck elsewhere.

Now who would be the best person to step up into Harvick’s No.4 car if Deegan is either not ready, gone into Almirola’s No.10 car instead of Herbst or is poached by Toyota or Chevy? Maybe convince Erik Jones to join SHR? He too is doing so well at Petty-GMS with a win last month that ended a long-running drought of eight years for the No.43 team in victory lane, despite missing the playoffs. He brings so much talent to deliver top-half finishes with the right equipment where he was well treated by Toyota Racing during his earlier days with a Truck Series title at Kyle Busch Motorsports, as well as finishing 2nd in Xfinity level back in 2016 and also won a couple of Cup races here and there at Joe Gibbs Racing before he was replaced by Christopher Bell last year. Now Erik may have signed another contact extension with Petty-GMS lately but should Harvick retire, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see SHR throwing out some money to get him onboard.

And although Ross Chastain would be a good get from Trackhouse who is doing outstanding right now, but again SHR can develop their own Ross in Ryan Preece & help him find a full-time ride with vaulable equipment, while Custer will still be driving Cup cars for long time regardless of where he will end up either in the No.41 car for a fourth straight season or being shipped to their satellite team alongside Cody Ware at RWR.

All eyes on the long-term futures of the No.4 and No.10 Stewart-Haas cars going into 2024 and 2025, as the team prepares for life without Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola once they both hang up their racing career.

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Motorsport

Christopher Bell made a sensation at Charlotte Roval 400, champion eliminated

by Admin

Christopher Bell scored an incredible victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. With this victory, Bell secured a place among the eight drivers who will continue the fight for the championship title. Bell was not the fastest on the track, but he took advantage of the incidents at the end of the race to take a sensational victory. Before this race, Bell was as much as 45 points below the zone where there were eight drivers potentially continuing the championship fight.

“Man, you’ve just got to be there at the end of these things,” “I keep watching all these races where the fastest car doesn’t always win. No secret that road courses have not been our strength this year”. “We were just there at the right time. We obviously weren’t in position to win (before taking tires). We rolled the dice, gambled, and it paid off for us.”

Kyle Larson, the guy who won the title last year won’t have a chance to repeat the feat of the previous season after making too many mistakes throughout the season. Quite rightly, he was very disappointed after this race.

“I just made way too many mistakes all year long,” Larson said. “Made another one today. Ultimately cost us an opportunity to go chase another championship.“Just extremely mad at myself. I let the team down a number of times this year, and let them down in a big way today.”

Larson lacked only 2 points to pass among the top 8 drivers, but Chase Briscoe was placed in his place as the last driver in the further stage. Throughout the season, Larson struggled to find the right rhythm in a vehicle that had undergone changes compared to the previous season. Last season was fascinating because he achieved as many as 10 victories while this season he recorded only 2 triumphs.

“It’s been tough,” Larson said. “I mean, there’s been no real rhythm to it for me and our team, but we fought hard all year to get better. And we’re gonna continue to fight, continue to work hard to be better for the rest of the season as well as be more prepared for next year.”

In the end, Austin Cindric and Daniel Suarez were left without a place in the top 8, as they also had accidents in this race. Briscoe was out of the top 20 after the restart on lap 111, but in the end he achieved a placement which guaranted him the top 8.

“Yeah, man, what a wild day,” Briscoe said. “It took every bit of it there at the end. To be easily in, then that debris caution comes out (on Lap 104). Still, I thought we had a really good shot of making it in. Get wrecked on the backstretch. Crazy at the end of these races, especially the road-course races, how much can change so quickly”.

Bell almost certainly would not have won if a whole series of incidents had not happened at the end of the race and with a good strategy he reached a big victory. Those developments helped him find his place among the top 8 drivers who continue to fight for the title next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Motorsport

Watkins Glen: Larson scores second straight win, Raikkonen retires in Nascar debut

by Admin

Kyle Larson claimed victory in a thrilling race at Watkins Glen International that was delayed several times due to bad weather. It was the second straight win for the defending Nascar Cup Series champion and his 18th career win overall. In a dramatic finish, Larson made a great maneuver to pass Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott. Despite ultimately finishing the race in fourth place, Elliott finished the regular season of the Nascar championship in first place, which he secured by winning the first place after the first stage at Watkins Glen.

After the race, Larson commented on a key maneuver in the race: “I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him. I feel like our cars were pretty equal today. Had a lot of fun after the green-flag cycle trying to chase him down. Kind of burned my stuff up a little bit.” But the restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. I’m proud of my guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen and get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs, we haven’t had a lot here this year.” Elliot congratulated his teammate on the victory: “Congratulations to Kyle and everybody on the 5 team and at Hendrick Motorsports for getting the win.” AJ Allmendinger and Joey Logano finished the race ahead of Elliott.

The race at Watkins Glen was special because never before had a larger number of international drivers had the opportunity to compete in a single race within the Nascar Cup Series. At the aforementioned race, we had the opportunity to watch drivers from as many as seven countries. Most of the drivers are, quite logically, competitors from the USA. In addition, at Watkins Glen we had the opportunity to see drivers from Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Finland and England. This data shows that Nascar is becoming more and more popular outside the American continent from year to year. Of the international drivers at Watkins Glen, the best position was achieved by Daniel Suarez, who took fifth place.

The mentioned race, which is the penultimate in the regular part of the season, was marked by the debut of Kimi Raikkonen, the former world champion in F1. His debut performance in Nascar ended in ingloriously, although at one point the Finnish driver was among the top ten ranked drivers. Kimi started the race in the 27th position, and at one point he was occupying a high eighth position. Unfortunately, he ended the race prematurely by crashing into the guard rail. Regardless of the fact that he finished the race in the mentioned way, Raikkonen is satisfied with the new experience in his already rich racing career.

“Yeah, for sure, but it’s always hard to know especially now here like what states (of the pit) stop and you know the tire life on that,” he said. “I felt that we had very good speed and especially after the pit stops but maybe I was a bit too harsh on the tires on the one of the sets.”

The other internationals didn’t make a name for themselves at Watkins Glen either. The best place was achieved by the German driver, Mike Rockenfeller, who finished the race in 30th place. Dutchman Loris Hezemans was three positions lower. At the very back with Raikkonen were his former colleague from F1, Daniel Kvyat and the Englishman Kyle Tilley.

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