Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Longtime NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner/driver Norm Benning hopes to make his first start of the 2022 season on Saturday at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt. Circle B Diecast will serve as sponsor of his #6 Chevrolet Silverado.

Benning has been involved in the Truck Series for over two decades, making his début in 2002. Despite his longevity, his Norm Benning Racing team is one of the smallest in any series, operating out of his home and having friends as crew. With little funding to field a competitive truck, his best Truck career finish is twelfth (Talladega 2013) with just thirty-three top twenties in 244 starts, and it is not uncommon to see Benning fail to qualify for races.

In spite of his perennial backmarker status, Benning is a respected and liked driver by fans and peers. Much of this came in the inaugural Truck Series race on dirt at Eldora Speedway in 2013, where he barely held off Clay Greenfield for the final transfer spot in the Last Chance Qualifier to make the final. In six starts at Eldora, his best finish is thirteenth in 2017 which followed another top twenty the previous year of nineteenth.

Benning attempted seventeen races last year, missing four and recording a best run of seventeen at Talladega. He made the Bristol Dirt final but was parked shortly before the halfway mark for a spin that NASCAR ruled intentional and was classified thirty-seventh. Another dirt start came later in the year at Knoxville Raceway, where he ran the full distance and finished nineteenth.

On Sunday, the team posted on social media, “We are ready to go to dirt track racing! We are happy to announce that we have Circle B Diecast aboard for the Bristol Dirt race! We want to thank the whole Circle B Diecast / Plan B Sales & Marketing family for coming aboard last minute and allowing us to go racing!! Without them coming aboard, we wouldn’t have been able to make the race.”

The 2022 GB3 Championship begins at Oulton Park in its traditional Easter Bank Holiday weekend slot for the first time since 2019, with over half the grid competing in the series for the first time.

The Checkered Flag takes a look back at last year’s running in Cheshire, and ahead to the curtain-raiser to come.

Last time at Oulton Park

Oulton Park hosted the penultimate round of the 2021 season, with mixed conditions throughout the weekend making for three characteristically unpredictable races.

Eventual champion Zak O’Sullivan won Saturday’s race, one of seven victories from 24 starts, with Luke Browning taking top honours in Race 2 after a tangle with O’Sullivan and Roman Bilinski winning Race 3 in full-wet conditions.

O’Sullivan has since moved onto the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Carlin, while Bilinski will compete in Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine this year with Trident.

Chandler Smith, who is currently second in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings, will begin dabbling in the Xfinity Series on 23 April when he runs the first of three races for Sam Hunt Racing at Talladega Superspeedway. Additional starts will come at Dover Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway on 30 April and 22 October, respectively.

He will drive the #26 Toyota GR Supra with sponsorship from Charge Me. His Truck spotter Chris Lambert also works for SHR, which will give him a familiar voice in his helmet for the three races.

One of the top late model racers, Smith is an ascending prospect in the Toyota camp now in his second full season of Truck competition for Kyle Busch Motorsports. As a rookie in 2021, he won two races and Rookie of the Year honours as he placed eighth in points. Five races into 2022, he has a win at Las Vegas and three more top tens.

“The experience just being able to come up and do a longer race and have more pit stops with a different car instead of a truck is going to be all in all a lot different than what I’m accustomed to,” said Smith. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s big for me to join Sam’s team. SHR is still kind of a smaller team. They are still learning a lot and in their baby years, and I feel like I may have a little bit to bring to the table myself to help them excel and to bring a new aspect to the team. Hopefully I can be an asset and help a little bit with their development and growth. I can’t wait to be a small part of this team’s huge success as it continues to grow.”

Halfords Racing with Cataclean pre media day unveiled their livery for the 2022 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season with a mix of matt white, gloss silver and chrome vinyl set to adorn the Honda Civic Type R’s of Gordon Shedden and Dan Rowbottom.

This hit track for the first time on Wednesday at Thruxton and as Matt Neal, Team Principal for Team Dynamics said in the announcement, it harks back to his first season in the BTCC and what livery adorned his BMW M3 which will now be used by ‘Flash’ and ‘Rowbo’ from next weekend at Donington Park.

“I love the look of the new car,” said Team Principal Matt Neal. “It harks back to my first full season in BTCC in the black and silver BMW M3, a car that to this day is one of my favourite of all time. 

“We’ve got a strong package this year with Dan [Rowbottom] and [Gordon Shedden] back at the helm – they gelled together really well last season and we are targeting titles this year with no shadow of a doubt.  Hybrid testing has been going well and we feel we’ve got a good understanding of the technology; the big thing now is applying that in a race environment where I think a lot of strategies will be played out by all the teams!”

Nic Hamilton remains with Team HARD. Racing for the upcoming 2022 British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season, it was confirmed on Tuesday (12APR) before Media Day took place with the 29-year-old set for his third campaign with the Kent-based team.

Hamilton known as one of the most inspirational drivers in motorsport has steadily got better over the course of his BTCC career so far and after sealing a best qualifying position and a maiden points finish will aim for further consistency in the CUPRA Leon partnering Aron Taylor-Smith in the Yazoo with Safuu.com Racing set up.

“I am a fighter and did everything in my power to confirm a drive for this season,” said Hamilton. “I’d like to thank Team HARD. Racing and my sponsors, without them I would not be on the grid this year.

“Today is an incredibly proud moment for me personally, having overcome the recent challenges, I am more determined than ever to maximise the season and return to the grid with Team HARD.”

“It’s great that Nic has chosen to remain with the team for 2022,” added the squad’s Managing Director, Tony Gilham. “He has been a fantastic asset to the team thus far and his determination to develop as a driver has seen him make great gains over his time with us.

The BWT Alpine F1 Team where left with mixed-emotions following the recent Australian Grand Prix, with Esteban Ocon finishing inside the points in seventh but with Fernando Alonso ending up towards the back, despite electric pace at the Albert Park Circuit.

Ocon continued his run of finishing in the points at every race so far this season, after a great seventh place finish last weekend. It really should’ve been a double-points finish for Alpine though with Alonso having incredible pace all weekend. The Spaniard who started tenth after crashing in final qualifying whilst on-track for pole, pitted deep into the race and was then unable to fight his way through the field despite being on the superior tyre to those around him.

It left Alpine CEO, Laurent Rossi, disappointed with the team’s weekend after only managing a seventh and seventeenth place finish with both drivers.

“We are generally disappointed with today’s result, however, it’s a good sign that we’re not satisfied as it underlines how far we have progressed as a team. We know that we had the speed, and the potential, for a much better result with both cars today but the race weekend just didn’t quite unfold in our direction. The track proved very difficult for overtaking, especially in comparison to the previous two races, and we knew that Saturday’s qualifying result would play a huge part in the outcome of Sunday’s race.”

Rossi knew that it would be tough for his drivers, especially Alonso to make progress. The Spaniard suffered from graining on the medium tyres whilst trying to fight through the midfield pack, largely caused by the lengthy DRS train caused by a mid-race Safety Car bunching up the field.

Esteban Ocon continued his run of finishing in the points at every race so far this season, after claiming seventh place at the Australian Grand Prix. BWT Alpine F1 Team team-mate, Fernando Alonso, wasn’t quite as fortunate after suffering a disastrous end to the Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit.

Despite struggling for most of the weekend in what he deemed as a “difficult weekend”, Ocon performed well last Sunday to extend his run of points finishes this season. The Frenchman and his side of the team used what they’d learnt across the weekend, to give them the best chance possible of a points finish during the race.

Ocon was left with mixed emotions though after the race despite finishing seventh, after his team-mate suffered a disappointing race.

“This weekend has ended with some mixed feelings for us. Of course, finishing the race in seventh is a decent result, especially after what was a difficult weekend for me. Yesterday was not our strongest day and that definitely made a difference in how today played out. So, there’s lots of learning for us to do from the last couple of days with the team as we know we’ve got more potential to unlock.

“All in all, I’ve been in the points in three out of three races, and I am leaving Australia satisfied with how my season has started. I am hungry for more and excited for the next one.”

McLaren F1 Team recorded their first double-points finish of the season at the recent Australian Grand Prix, with Lando Norris finishing fifth and home-boy Daniel Ricciardo finishing sixth at the Albert Park Circuit.

It was a great performance by McLaren and by far their best of the season so far, McLaren Team Principal, Andreas Seidl, was very happy with the result and was quick to thank everyone who has helped the team get out of their rut, after a tough start to the season.

“P5 and P6 today. Two cars home and our first double-points finish of the season. This is a great result for the team, thanks to everyone in the garage, back at the factory for all their hard work and to our colleagues at Mercedes HPP. It was good to see that we could confirm the progress we made in terms of car performance over the weekend also in the race.”

Seidl was of course also quick to thank both of his drivers, who performed very well all weekend at the recently renovated circuit in Melbourne.

“Special thanks to Lando and Daniel for their excellent work behind the steering wheel all weekend, extracting everything we have out of the car. I don’t want to forget to mention our pit-crew. Again, two excellent pit-stops today. We take this result as motivation to keep working hard to bring more performance to the car.”

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, enjoyed a successful Australian Grand Prix last weekend, with George Russell claiming his first podium for the team in third and with Lewis Hamilton finishing close-by in fourth.

Mercedes did well to capitalise on Max Verstappen’s second reliability-based retirement of the season, turning what looked like a fourth and fifth placed finish for team into third and fourth at the Albert Park Circuit.

It means the Silver Arrows remain second in the Constructors’ Championship, however Mercedes Team Principal, Toto Wolff, is aware that despite the promising position the team remain behind their rivals. Wolff was also full of praise for his two star drivers.

“We are leaving Melbourne in a better state than when we arrived- more lessons learned, more data to analyse and more points on the board. Clearly we haven’t got the pace yet to challenge Ferrari and Red Bull but we know where we need to seek performance. One factor that leaves me very optimistic for the future is the mindset and strength of the team. Everyone in the UK, in Stuttgart and in the travelling race team is pulling together every ounce of effort we have to tackle the performance gaps with determination and a deep hunger.

“Seeing Lewis and George perform at an exceptionally high level today with a tool that is clearly not on the pace of the leaders is another example of the spirit of this team. We are optimistic yet realistic on the timeline for improvement and the advantage our competitors have, but P3 and P4 helps us leave Australia with a good feeling. Both drivers deserved the podium today, Lewis was unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car but the partnership between the two and how they work with one another epitomises the overall spirit of the team.”

When people think of Jenson Button, they picture the 2009 Formula One World Driver’s Champion who prided himself in an exceptionally smooth driving style across paved circuits. Since his retirement from formula racing, however, he has been getting his hands dirty in another discipline.

In recent years, Button has participated in off-road competition with increasing frequency, following in the footsteps of his late father John who competed in rallycross in the 1970s. Jenson himself is set to do the same as he announced Tuesday that he will contest the 2022/23 Nitro Rallycross Championship for XITE Energy Racing, serving as a team-mate to Oliver Bennett.

Button is no stranger to driving a rallycross car, having tested a JRM Racing World Rallycross car at Lydden Hill in 2015 alongside David Coulthard for a BBC feature, followed by an Olsbergs MSE Honda at Sebring in 2017. The latter run, coupled with his departure from F1, led to the possibility of him competing in Red Bull Global Rallycross though it never came to fruition.

F1 and rallycross might be worlds apart as a pavement open-wheel discipline versus mixed-surface closed-wheel cars, though crossover is not too uncommon. Scott Speed, the 2021 Nitro RX runner-up to Travis Pastrana, competed alongside Button in F1 in 2006 and much of 2007 before being replaced by future four-time WDC Sebastian Vettel, who incidentally has an invitation from Pastrana to race in NRX if willing and able. NRX’s spiritual predecessors GRC and Americas Rallycross saw the likes of Nelson Piquet Jr. and 1997 WDC Jacques Villeneuve, while both drivers, Gianni Morbidelli, Markus Winkelhock, and Alexander Wurz have competed in FIA World RX.

“Rallycross is night and day different to Formula One and that’s why I love it,” Button stated after joining XITE. “I left F1 after seventeen years because I wanted to try something new. I’m all about new challenges. I’m a racing driver, not a Formula One driver, so new challenges are what I’m all about. I felt I achieved what I needed to in Formula One so it’s nice to try different things.”

Lando Norris looked back at a ‘decent’ Australian Grand Prix for the McLaren F1 Team as the Briton followed up his excellent performance in Saturday’s Qualifying session to finish a season’s best fifth on Sunday.

Norris did not have the best of starts as he slipped behind the two Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team drivers, but he was able to keep them pretty much in view all afternoon long, and was able to profit from Max Verstappen’s retirement to claim fifth.

Although there is still plenty of work to do with the MCL36 before it is truly competitive this year, Norris felt they did everything they could with what they had in Albert Park to score a good haul of points.

“A decent race,” said Norris.  “We didn’t have the best of first laps but I think by the end we were still in good positions for us as a team, and we couldn’t have done a lot more.

“I think Mercedes had much better pace than us today, so we’re happy with where we ended up. Good points for us, a great pit-stop and good progress from the team.

George Russell achieved his first podium finish with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team at the Australian Grand Prix, having moved up the grid with a consistent drive, bolstered by a well-timed pit stop under the safety car and the reliability-related retirement of Max Verstappen ahead. 

“You’ve got to be in it to win it and capitalise from other’s misfortune, and the guys at Brackley and Brixworth have been working so hard on giving us a reliable car,” said the Briton. “We got a little bit lucky today, probably twice, but we take it.

“There’s so much hard work going on back at base to try and get us back at the front so to be standing on the podium today is [a] special reward for all their hard work. We’re never going to give up, we’ve got to keep on fighting.”

Russell’s podium comes in spite of the struggles the team has had since the start of the season to keep up at the sharp end of the grid pace-wise. He said that the team is still “on the back foot”, but will take advantage of the opportunities they receive to remain competitive. Ultimately, he is confident in the team’s ability to continue developing and rejoin the front of the pack as the season moves forward. 

“This weekend we were a long way behind our rivals but here we are standing on the podium. We’ve got to keep this up while we are on the back foot, maximise our points opportunities and I am sure we will get there after a few more races.”

Mike Marlar will return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Race, driving the #33 for Reaume Brothers Racing. The team announced the pickup on Tuesday.

With the addition of the Bristol Dirt Race in 2021, Marlar signed with Hill Motorsports for the Truck race and Hill affiliate MBM Motorsports for the Cup Series event. He was the first driver to lead a lap on the dirt configuration when he led the opening lap of Heat #1 before the rest of the race and other heats were cancelled due to rain. After finishing twenty-eighth in the former, his Cup début ended in thirty-first after being involved in a spin with nine laps remaining.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to race for Reaume Brothers again, and to get to do it at Bristol just makes it that much sweeter,” said Marlar. “I’m really a lucky guy to get opportunities like this. I have to say a special thanks to Tom and Rocky Smith and everyone involved, who is making this happen for me.

“We didn’t have a bad outing last year, but hopefully, this year we can do that much better. With the surface being covered in dirt, it does give me a little advantage over some of the guys who only know pavement, However, the reality is that they are all really good drivers, and they are tough to beat no matter what surface you are racing on.”

Marlar mainly competes in dirt late models, winning the World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship in 2018. Last year, he finished eighth in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings with one top five.

Spire Motorsports‘ NASCAR Camping World Truck Series programme has basically become a playground for Hendrick Motorsports. After two of Hendrick’s four drivers have made starts in the #7 Chevrolet Silverado RST with Alex Bowman and William Byron, Chase Elliott is the next man up as he plans to run Saturday’s Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Race.

The 2020 Cup Series champion and current points leader has a fairly limited Truck résumé with just sixteen starts between 2013 and 2021, including seven in his first year ahead of moving up to the now-Xfinity Series a year later. He has three wins in the series. Elliott’s most recent Truck start came in 2021 at Texas where he finished second.

“Driving the #7 Chevy Silverado at Bristol this weekend is definitely something I’m looking forward to,” Elliott commented. “These trucks always look like a lot of fun to race on dirt, and this team has had some great runs this year and put together a solid programme in a short amount of time. I’m excited to see what we can go out there and do on Saturday night.”

Much like Bowman at COTA and Byron at Martinsville, the Truck start at Bristol is intended to give Elliott more track time ahead of the Cup event the next day. He finished tenth in the inaugural Cup Bristol Dirt Race in 2021. His team-mates saw strong runs in their one-offs, with Bowman contending for the lead before last-lap contact relegated him to twenty-sixth, while Byron won his race.

While Elliott is not too familiar with dirt track racing, especially compared to team-mate Kyle Larson whom many had predicted to be in the Spire #7, he has sought to refine his skills in such a discipline by competing in quarter midgets. In January, he ran the prestigious Chili Bowl Nationals where he won a heat race but flipped into the fence. The month prior, he dabbled in Nitro Rallycross at the Florida International Rally and Motorsports Park.

The New York Stock Exchange was greeted by an Spark ODYSSEY 21 on Tuesday, particularly that of McLaren XE‘s to celebrate its new partnership with Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE). The team and company signed a “multi-year partnership” that turns ICE into an Official Partner for the team; ICE logos were already present on the car during the season-opening Desert X Prix in February. The ICE oversees global exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and the futures market.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown was present at the NYSE along with driver Tanner Foust and engineer Leena Gade. The trio closed the day’s trading by ringing the bell in the evening.

“Partnering with a leading global name in financial markets like ICE is a fantastic moment for McLaren Racing,” said Brown. “Like us, ICE targets authentic brand engagement driven by data and technology, and we look forward to joining them at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate this new partnership.

“ICE aligns with our commitment to sustainability, including DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion). This makes Extreme E a perfect platform to carry our partnership and raise awareness of the impact of climate change, while promoting a more level playing field for gender equality.”

Brown’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion is based around Extreme E’s emphasis on gender equality, hence each team having one male and female driver each. Foust shares the #58 with Emma Gilmour, who was not in New York as she is recharging after competing in New Zealand’s Otago Rally over the weekend.