Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com - August 27 2024 (2024)

In this week’s busy Motion Motorsport Report for InsideTrackNews.com, Dave Mathers covers a lot of ground with commentary and coverage of events in Canada and around the world.

Denny Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Toyota team have each incurred a 75-point penalty, 10 playoff points and their crew chief has been fined $100,000. Apparently, Denny’s NASCAR sealed motor was inadvertently sent back to the TRD engine facility in Costa Mesa, California after the March 17 race at Bristol where it was taken apart and rebuilt. This violated a section of the NASCAR Rule Book. TRD has graciously accepted full responsibility for the mistake. I’m not sure how many tears were shed for Denny!!

In my opinion NBC has made a mistake. The tall foreheads at the network have decided to drop their smooth talking, knowledgeable and very enjoyable announcer, Rick Allen, for their NASCAR Cup races with Leigh Diffey the Australian who has been announcing IMSA and IndyCar races where he is best suited. Apparently, NBC did NOT ‘read the room’, a room full of American (and Canadian) die hard race fans (read: rednecks!!). Allen will continue to do the Xfinity races.

How absolutely refreshing was it to hear Kyle Larson apologize for taking out several competitors because of his spin at Michigan. Other drivers, who shall stay nameless, blame other drivers, the track, the wind, the tires but never admit responsibility. VERY well done.

The CARS Tour Appeals Panel has reinstated the race win by Treyten Lapcevich at Martinsville Speedway. A protest from a competitor came in two days after the race that the car had a nine-inch Ford rear end and not a quick change. A key member of the Panel was David Hoots a man well known and respected in NASCAR as the former Cup Series Race Director. How many times have we heard him say ‘put it out’!! However, it was a hollow victory as he got the win but not the points or the money. I guess the series wanted to follow NASCAR’s treatment of Austin Dillon.

I have had several people, including some at Grand Bend Motorplex’s Canadian Nationals, ask me how I figure out the ‘upsets’ (lower qualified car wins) and ‘smokers’(one or both cars spun the tires) for each NHRA event.

I do it by printing out the ladders with the qualifying on the back of the page. I then follow the eliminations both online (Drag Race Central) and on TV (Fox Sports Racing). I have done that for many years. I have added some photos with the top right-hand box being the ‘upsets’ and the right bottom box being the ‘smokers’.

I mention below about the full parking lot at Delaware Friday night. At our first ACT Motion 200 in 1989, advertised as a match race between Junior Hanley and Don Biederman (in my car), the lot was similarly full, but we also filled the entire field across from the entrance right to the Thames River and along both sides of Gideon Drive in both directions for about half a mile. Different times. Back then NASCAR had full houses for every race.

In the Michigan 200 ASA race at Owosso Speedway, Michigan Kyle Steckly started 2nd and finished 6th. Chase Pinsonneault started 4th and finished 8th. The race was won by Xfinity driver Chandler Smith (he started on the pole Friday at Daytona and finished 2nd). 21 cars.

As the Trucks returned to the Milwaukee Mile, I am reminded of an ASA race there about 35 years ago when a very good racer from London, Ontario, who will go unnamed, went the wrong way on I-94 after the race and drove two hours west before realizing his mistake.

Targa Newfoundland: There are just over two weeks until the start of Targa Newfoundland. Teams are continuing to register for this unique event.

Laird Raceway: Laird Raceway held its big, season-ending doubleheader race weekend. The field for Saturday’s Mike Parsons Memorial Super Late Model race drew an impressive line-up of racers, including J.R. Fitzpatrick. The Ayr, ON racer won the event and pocketed the $10,000 prize. It was definitely worth the trip to Sault Ste. Marie, ON for the talented driver.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park: This coming weekend, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) will play host to its annual Labour Day Sprints weekend.

The final ‘major event’ of the season at the legendary track will feature the NASCAR Canada Series, the return of the Trans-Am Series, FEL Motorsports’ Sports Car Championship Canada (SCCC) and Emzone Radical Cup Canada series, and the Nissan Sentra Cup.

The Formula Regional Americas Championship and the Formula 4 United States Championship round out the busy schedule.

NASCAR Canada Series: Andrew Ranger topped the 24 entries for the Evirum 100 at Circuit ICAR, located on the parking lot of the ill-fated former Mirabel Airport north of Montreal. Kevin Lacroix started 2nd followed by Alex Guenette.

At the halfway mark it was Lacroix over Ranger, Guenette, Marc-Antoine Camirand and Steve Cote. At the flag it was Ranger, Lacroix, Camirand, Guenette and Alex Labbe. 14 cars were on the lead lap at the end.

In the points Camirand leads Ranger by 23 and Lacroix by 33.

Their next race is at Mosport (CTMP), Sunday.

Brockville Ontario Speedway: This Saturday, Brockville Ontario Speedway holds its Championship Night for all its weekly classes. Looking further down the road, BOS is set to welcome the Super DIRTcar Series Big Blocks on Thursday, September 5. The date is a make-up following a rainout in July.

United Racing Series – APC Late Models: In qualifying for the Stewart’s Equipment 100 lap race Saturday night at Sauble Speedway Tom Gibbons, with a run of 14.347, grabbed the Late Model pole ahead of Kyle Steckly and Andrew Gresel. 18 cars. With the inversion (6) Connor Pritiko started first ahead of Ray Morneau and Josh Stade.

At the halfway mark it was Steckly, Morneau, Josh Stade, Pritiko and Jr. Farrelly. At the flag it was Steckly, Morneau, Stade, Gresel and Jo Lawrence. In the Late Model points Steckly leads Wickett by 31 and Lawrence by 32.

Meanwhile the Mods and Hot Rods were running at Sunset Speedway Friday night. In the Mods the win went to T.J. Edwards over A.J. Emms, Johny Morrison, Steve Trendell and Tyler Liscum. Veteran Mark Dilley won the Hot Rod race ahead of Rick Spencer Walt, Rob Bromely, Kenny McNicol and Steve McCaw.
Their next race is at Delaware for The Great Canadian Weekend, Friday and Saturday, September 7 & 8. All four classes – Late Model, Super Stock, Mods and Hot Rods will be there.

Toronto Motorsports Park: Their next race is the Labour Day Spectacular, this weekend (Friday through Sunday). The on-track action includes: NHRA National Open, Bone Shaker Jet Truck, Wheel Standing Truck, Nitro Funny Cars, Nostalgia Funny Cars, Northern Warrior Jet Dragster, Pro/Mods, A/Gassers, AA/Gassers, NHRA Stock/Super Stock, Outlaw FAST 16 Shootout, CJR Hellcats, Top Sportsman/Dragster, Supercomp, Super, Super Street & ET and Bracket Racing.

Delaware Speedway: As the late, great Rodney Dangerfield used to say ‘What a crowd, what a crowd’!! The park was FULL Friday night for the racing action. Super Stock points leader (and race winner) Trevor Collver did his annual ‘Fill the Park’ promotion by buying 740 tickets and distributing them to his sponsors, friends and customers. The parking lot was full right down to the road.

Seventeen V/8 Stocks came out to do battle with Cody Coburn winning Heat 1, Barry Watson taking Heat 2 and in a wild finish Kaden Patrick won the main. Wild because the first car to cross the line was Watson but he went too quick with a 20.929 (break out time is 21.10), second place finisher Jordan Morris ran a 21.063 thus giving the win to Patrick. Points leader Doug Stewart was 2nd with Dave Evison 3rd. Stewart leads Watson by 11 and Jeff Ferguson by 13.

Heat 1 of the 19 Super Stocks was won by Brody Rickwood, Heat 2 by Carson Nagy and the main was won by points leader Collver over Nagy, Rickwood, Lane Zardo and Ryan Dyson. Collver was the only car to dip into the 19s with a 19.985. Collver leads Nagy by 15 and Zardo by 23.

Late Model Heat 1 was won by Brady Smith, Heat 2 by Jaden Chapman while the main was taken by points leader Ray Morneau followed by Marshall Schrenk, Matt Robblee, Ron Beauchamp, Jr. and Gary Adriaensen. Morneau leads Schrenk by 19 and Adriaensen by 24.

The King of the Hill was won by a Camaro over a Honda. We won’t print the drivers’ names as insurance companies have been known to cancel policies for participating!! Their next race is Friday with the Late Models, Super Stocks and Bone Stocks.

Flamboro Speedway: Their next race is the Flamboro Memorial, Saturday.

Grand Bend Motorplex: Their next race is their Thunder by the Beach, Labour Day weekend. It’s also Championship Weekend for the Thunder, Junior & Extreme 32 Series, and CSN Collision Open Comp. Also watch for the Nitro Dragster vs. Jet Dragster match races, Pro Mods, TD/TS, Jet Funny Cars, Quick 8 Heads-up Bike Series and more. The action runs Friday through Sunday.

St. Thomas Dragway: Their next race is the Hot Rod Reunion, Saturday and Sunday, September 7 & 8.

NASCAR Cup Series: In qualifying for the co*ke Zero Sugar 400 Saturday night at Daytona Michael McDowell nabbed the pole over teammate Todd Gilliland and Joey Logano (all in Fords – Fords had the top 6 spots). However, Gilliland failed tech three times and will keep his starting spot but his car chief got suspended and he lost his pit selection. 40 cars qualified for the race.

It didn’t take long for them to be running three-wide all the way back in the pack. The first stage went clean and green with Josh Berry picking up the stage win. On the subsequent pit stops Daniel Suarez’s car caught on fire at the rear. He went back out on the track but came right back in on fire with damage to the rear of the car. Apparently, the fire was reportedly started from the exhaust of Denny Hamlin’s car.

Lap 59 and it was wreck city when Ross Chastain got turned and then Noah Gragson got ‘bump drafted’ from Corey LaJoie and went sideways collecting a bunch of cars. Almost half the field (18) were involved in the melee. 33 cars took the green on the restart. Several things happened on lap 82 starting with Erik Jones blowing a tire and almost hitting the outside wall. Then, right around the same time, Shane Van Gisbergen blew up big time putting out a lot of smoke.

Martin Truex also blew a tire. As well there were reports of a fire having to be put out on pit road. And there were still 31 cars on the lead lap. Logano won Stage 2.

On lap 139 John Hunter Nemechek got bumped hard by Kyle Larson and he slid down and off the rear straightaway but kept going for a yellow. With 8 laps to go another ‘big one’ occurred tearing up a bunch more cars when Austin Cindric got bumped from behind and then got into McDowell sending him spinning across the front of the whole field. McDowell then got airborne but didn’t hit the wall. I counted 15 cars damaged in the mess.

With 2 to go, there was another big one. Josh Berry got upside down landing on his roof while Austin Cindric, who got pushed again, and several other cars wrecked as well. 10 cars involved. RED flag. NASCAR overtime.

At the flag it was Harrison Burton in the legendary Wood Brothers Mustang (he’s losing his job at the end of this year) over Kyle Busch (0.047 seconds back), Christopher Bell, Cody Ware and Ty Gibbs. The emotional hug from his father, NBC announcer Jeff Burton, was epic to say the least!!

In the points Tyler Reddick leads Larson by 17 and Chase Elliott by 18.

Their next race is Darlington, Sunday at 6 P.M. on TSN 5.

NASCAR Xfinity Series: In qualifying for the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway Friday night Chandler Smith (Toyota) won the pole over Austin Hill and A.J. Allmendinger (both in Chevs). 38 cars. Hill started from the back after making changes to the car after qualifying (steering box replacement). It didn’t take long for chaos to unfold.

On the first lap Jeremy Clements got loose going into 3 and spun down off the track. Several cars following him lifted and then they got into each other collecting seven more cars. After the clean up the kids played nicely for the rest of Stage 1 won by Justin Allgaier. With one lap to go in Stage 2 two cars (Jesse Love and Anthony Alfredo) touched but didn’t wreck. Sam Mayer lifted and spun down off the track. Allgaier also won Stage 2.

On lap 70 Brandon Jones spun by himself and went down and off the track for a yellow. The Big One happened on lap 78 when about ten cars spun in the tri-oval for another caution. With five laps to go they stacked them up again. Six cars were involved on corner 4 exit resulting in a red flag for cleanup.

On the last lap of the NASCAR overtime Dinger and Parker Kligerman got together in 1 with Dinger spinning down off track. At the flag it was Ryan Truex over Chandler Smith and Kligerman. In the points Allgaier leads Cole Custer by 33 and Chandler Smith by 75.

Their next race is Darlington, Saturday at 3.30 on TSN 2.

NASCAR Craftsman Trucks: Ty Majeski (Ford) won the pole for the LiUNA! 175 on the Milwaukee Mile Sunday afternoon ahead of Tanner Gray (Toyota) and Christian Eckes (Chev). Canadian Stewart Friesen (Toyota) started 23rd. 36 trucks.

This was the first race for the Truck playoffs. On lap 49 Jayson Alexander hit the wall flattening the right side and then he rolled to a stop on track in corner 3 for the first caution. Ty Dillon won Stage 1. Christian Eckes won the caution-free Stage 2. At the flag 22-year-old Layne Riggs, son of former Truck driver Scott Riggs, picked up his first career Truck win over Majeski, Eckes, Nick Sanchez and Taylor Gray.

In the points Eckes leads Majeski by 16 and Corey Heim by 19.

Their next race is Bristol, Sunday, September 19 at 8 P.M. on Fox Sports Racing.

Formula One: Lando Norris (McLaren) topped FP1 Friday for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Netherlands. George Russell (Mercedes) was quickest in FP2, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) topped FP3 and Norris won the pole ahead of Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren).

Canadian Lance Stroll who had a major off in FP3 hitting the barriers hard for a red flag started a stout 9th considering the work required to get him back out for qualifying. Logan Sargeant (Williams) also had an off in FP3 and his car caught fire forcing him to get out fast. Alex Albon (also in a Williams) lost his 8th place starting position when the floor of his car did not pass tech so he started from the rear. Lewis Hamilton was penalized three spots for ‘impeding’ another car during qualifying moving him from 11th to 14th.

Verstappen dove past Norris just after the initial start and proceeded to drive away from the field. However, Norris got past Max on lap 18 to retake the lead with a slingshot move. The race went caution free green to checker with Norris finishing an astounding 22.896 seconds in front of Verstappen and 25.439 seconds in front of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

In the Drivers’ Championship Verstappen leads Norris 70 points and Leclerc by 103.

In the Constructors’ Championship Red Bull leads McLaren by 30 and Ferrari by 64. Their next race is Monza, Italy, Sunday at 8.55 A.M. on TSN 3.

IndyCar: Santino Ferrucci (I didn’t see that coming!) won the pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Speedway ahead of Will Power and Alex Palou. 28 cars.

Well, that didn’t take long. On the first lap Scott Dixon got punted off the track and into the armco for a hard hit and a yellow flag. At the halfway mark it was Power, Palou, Joseph Newgarden, Ferruci and Colton Herta. On lap 63 Romain Grosjean had a solo spin and then turned right in front of another car, twice. He then drove back to the pits with a flat left rear tire.

The race was very clean and at the flag it was Power over Palou, Newgarden, Herta and Marcus Armstrong. In the points Palou leads Power by 54 and Herta by 67.

Their next race is Milwaukee, Saturday and Sunday at 3 P.M. on TSN 5.

IMSA: The Snow/Sellers BMW won the PRO pole for the all GT race at Virginia International Raceway ahead of the Sims/Garcia Corvette and the Rockenfeller/Tincknell Multimatic Mustang.

The Jarvis/Kirchhöfer Pfaff McLaren PRO car started 7th in class and 10th overall.

The Lewis/Levorato Mustang started first in GTD ahead of the Koch/Grenier Mercedes and the Skeer/Adelson Porsche. 9 PRO cars and 14 GTDs.

What a beautiful circuit with several elevation changes to make things interesting. At the halfway mark it was Gunn (Aston Martin), Sellers (BMW) and Rockenfeller (Mustang) in PRO. In GTD it was Koch (Mercedes), Robichon (Aston Martin) and Lewis (Mustang). With 33 minutes to go in the race the McLaren of Schandorff blew up and smoked big time almost all the way around the course for a full course yellow. After a more than 10 minutes yellow period the green came back out. It then went green all the way to the end.

At the flag in PRO, it was the pole sitter Snow/Sellers BMW over the Rockenfeller/Tinknell Mustang and the Riberas/Gunn Aston Martin which had started last in class. The Jarvis/Kirchhöfer Pfaff McLaren finished 5th.

In GTD it was the Koch/Grenier Mercedes ahead of the Robichon/De Angelis Aston Martin and the Spinelli/Goikhberg Lamborghini.
Their next race is Indy, Sunday, September 22.

NHRA: Their next race is Indy Nationals, this weekend, Monday at 2 on Fox Sports Racing.

Ohsweken Speedway: Their next race is the I.L.A. Sports & Brant County Tire night Friday.

Buxton Speedway: Their next regular race is Saturday.

Full Throttle Motor Speedway: Their next race is Saturday with fireworks and Demolition Derby, Sunday.

Grand Bend Speedway: Their next race is Championship Night, Saturday.

Can-Am Stock/Super Stock Series: Their next races are this weekend at TMP, part of the Labour Day Spectacular.

PMRA: Their next event is September 13 & 14 with Quick 32 Sportsman Series plus Pro Bike & Sled Series, Empire Dragway.

Shannonville Drags: Their next race is September 21 & 22.

Ontario Sportsman Series: They were rained out prior to the feature, on Saturday at Flamboro. Their next race is at Sauble, on Saturday.

Any comments can be sent to Dave Mathers via email at motionman@rogers.com or by Facebook Messenger.