Hi there! Welcome to Grid Notes, the new Friday edition of the Road & Track newsletter. I'm Alanis King, and I now have the honor of writing to you every week about what's going on in Formula One, NASCAR, IndyCar, and the rest of the motorsports world. |
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| I've been a motorsports reporter since I was about 18 years old, and I just wrote my first book, Racing with Rich Energy: How a Rogue Sponsor Took Formula One for a Ride. The book chronicles an ill-fated sponsorship from the 2019 F1 season, when a British energy-drink startup signed a $20-million annual sponsorship deal with the Haas F1 Team a year after records showed it having a mere $770 in the bank. It took three years to write, report, edit, and fact-check, and the first copies printed last week. It's probably the biggest accomplishment of my life. Speaking of accomplishments, a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated NASCAR's trip to Texas Motor Speedway by taking Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick to Medieval Times in Dallas. We had a lovely time eating without utensils and buying souvenirs we didn't need. Two days later, Reddick won the Cup race in Texas. I like to think we helped. But that's enough about me. We have more important things to discuss. |
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What Are We Talking About This Week? |
Since this is our first week, we'll use it to catch up with some major topics—namely, NASCAR's Next Gen race car, cost caps in Formula 1, and the end of the IMSA season. |
Logan Riley | Getty Images Alex Bowman to Miss Second-Straight Race with Concussion-Like Symptoms The safety of the NASCAR Next Gen car—new in the Cup Series this year—is a big debate among drivers right now. They've complained of more pain and soreness in crashes throughout the season, and longtime driver Kurt Busch hasn't raced since getting a concussion when the right rear of his car hit the wall at Pocono Raceway in July. The crash occurred before the start of NASCAR's playoffs, which Busch had already qualified for. He opted to waive his eligibility and give another driver the spot. Nearly two weeks ago in Texas, Alex Bowman hit the wall with the right rear of his car. The Thursday after the crash, Bowman announced that he wouldn't drive at Talladega that weekend due to concussion-like symptoms, and he's out again for this weekend's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Bowman's currently in the NASCAR playoffs, but he'll be automatically eliminated after the Roval on Sunday—meaning two drivers have been taken out of contention for the Cup championship this year due to injuries sustained during Cup races. Kevin Harvick, who won the 2014 Cup championship, has been particularly vocal. He tweeted recently: "Completely unacceptable that those in charge have let things get to this point. I remember it like it was yesterday @dennyhamlin in the presentation of the new car to the drivers pleading that the car was to[o] stiff. Data didn't agree. TIME TO LISTEN TO THE DRIVERS CRASHING THEM!" |
Mohd Rasfan | Getty Images Red Bull and Aston Martin Reportedly Breach 2021 F1 Cost Cap It's audit season in Formula 1, and reports are that the Red Bull and Aston Martin teams might have breached the series' spending cap in 2021. The cost cap discussion is in an even hotter spotlight since Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the 2021 drivers' title in controversial fashion (thanks to a decision by race control, not Red Bull). If Red Bull or Aston Martin did breach the cost cap, F1's governing body, the FIA, has a big decision to make. The cap began in 2021 as an attempt to level the field in a sport that's long been dominated by money and hardware, meaning these penalties—if needed—will set a precedent for future seasons. If they're too low, teams could decide the risk is worth it, offsetting the goal of the cap. The basic idea is that if teams overspend by less than five percent, it constitutes smaller penalties, like reprimands or retroactive points deductions from the season the spend occurred. More than that, though, and there's a potential to be excluded from the year's championship—a big yikes for Red Bull. The FIA said it would release the results of the audit on Wednesday of this week, but missed its own deadline. The new deadline is Monday. |
Icon Sportswire | Getty Images Meyer Shank Racing Acura Wins Petit Le Mans, IMSA Title IMSA was at Road Atlanta for its Petit Le Mans season finale last weekend, and the fight for the championship in its top class, Daytona Prototype International, came down to the final minutes of the 10-hour race. Two Acura teams—the Meyer Shank Racing No. 60 car and the Wayne Taylor Racing No. 10—entered Petit with a shot at the title. With 14 minutes to go, Tom Blomqvist led the race in the No. 60, while Filipe Albuquerque followed in the No. 10. Onboard cameras showed Albuquerque making dives on Blomqvist when, out of nowhere, he made contact with a lapped car and slowed. The hit gave No. 10 some nasty suspension damage, while the Meyer Shank car drove away with the title in the final minutes of the race. Ouch. |
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There was lots of drama this week, and there will probably be even more next week. In the meantime, I'm going to grab my souvenir glass from Medieval Times and pour a drink. Bye! |
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What's Coming Up This Weekend? |
Hello! Fred Smith here! I'm Road & Track's Motorsports Editor. I'm also the person who will be keeping Grid Notes readers up to date on the storylines and TV times for upcoming top-level races. This week, F1 and NASCAR are both in action: NASCAR Cup Series — Charlotte Roval Sunday, 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC NASCAR's playoffs are supposed to have a rhythm, and in the Round of 12 that rhythm is one calm intermediate race at Texas Motor Speedway before two chaotic events at Talladega and the Charlotte road course. This year, that rhythm was flipped on its head by a Texas race full of flat tires and intentional on-track contact. Then, in an even stranger turn, Talladega finished without a massive wreck. All that sets up a strange race at the Roval, the infield road course built into Charlotte Motor Speedway. Alex Bowman's out of the car with a concussion again, so only Christopher Bell is in an effective must-win situation. Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, meanwhile, are the only two drivers more than 20 points clear of the cutoff line. That leaves eight other drivers fighting for six remaining spots in the playoff field on points. At the Roval, that's a recipe for the chaos Talladega lacked. Formula 1 — Japanese Grand Prix Sunday, 1:00. a.m. ET on ESPN2 After two years away from the schedule for COVID-related reasons, one of Formula 1's greatest tracks is back. Unfortunately for drivers, the fast and challenging Suzuka Circuit was wet throughout Friday's practice sessions and is expected to be wet for Sunday's race. In today's qualifying, a dry track is expected—a unique test since it should be the only dry day of the weekend. Max Verstappen can mathematically clinch his second career championship on Sunday, so this one might be worth staying up for. |
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