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Lawless Alan to run full 2022 Trucks for Niece

The 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series grid just gained one of the best names in racing. On Thursday, Niece Motorsports announced Lawless Alan will drive the #45 Chevrolet Silverado full-time in 2022.

Alan joined Niece for a four-race schedule beginning with the playoff opener at Darlington in September, where he finished twenty-seventh. This was followed by starts at Bristol (eighteenth) and Talladega (thirty-eighth), and he is also scheduled to run Friday’s season finale at Phoenix. Prior to joining Niece, he was running part-time for Reaume Brothers Racing with five starts, three of which including his Truck début came on road courses.

Prior to the Trucks, he competed in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2019 and 2020. He ran the first four races of 2020 for Bill McAnally Racing before the effort was halted; he had recorded a pair of top tens with a best finish of sixth in the opener at the Las Vegas Bullring.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to run for a championship with Niece Motorsports next year,” Alan stated. “Niece Motorsports is an organisation that regularly contends for wins, and I am looking forward to contributing to their winning tradition.”

Alan will team up with Carson Hocevar, who returns for a second season after making the playoffs as a rookie, and Dean Thompson, who was himself promoted to a full-time seat on Tuesday. Thompson is set to make his series début at Phoenix.

Devlin DeFrancesco to Pilot No. 29 for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport

Italian-Canadian Indy Lights driver Devlin DeFrancesco has been unveiled as the driver of the No. 29 Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda, the fourth and final driver in Andretti’s 2022 IndyCar lineup.

DeFrancesco finished sixth in the 2021 Indy Lights championship racing for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport, with nine top-five finishes including two podiums. In 2020, he was the runner-up in the Indy Pro 2000 championship and was named rookie of the year. The 21-year-old will join the team’s IndyCar program on a multi-year deal taking over for fellow Canadian James Hinchcliffe.

Michael Andretti, CEO and Chairman of Andretti Autosport, was impressed by DeFrancesco’s performance during a test with the team earlier this week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is excited to welcome the Road to Indy graduate.

“Devlin has been a great addition to our Indy Lights program and has showed a lot of growth and strength at the recent test days. I think he’ll continue to grow with INDYCAR and I’m really glad that we could again partner with George and the Steinbrenner Racing team for the No. 29.” 

“Two years ago, we started a journey with Devlin with the intent to one day take him all the way to the NTT IndyCar Series and I’m thrilled that day has come,” said George Steinbrenner IV, CEO of Steinbrenner Racing.

Sheldon Creed enters Phoenix with McLeod, first Xfinity start since 2019

Sheldon Creed‘s hopes of winning a second straight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship were dashed when he was eliminated in the penultimate race of the year, but his 2022 looks bright as he prepares for his maiden full-time season in the Xfinity Series. To prepare him for NASCAR’s second-highest tier, he will get some track time in the series’ season finale at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday. He will drive the #78 Chevrolet Camaro for B.J. McLeod Motorsports in his first Xfinity start since 2019. Global Industrial Company, an industrial and business equipment supplier, will serve as primary sponsor.

Creed is one of the top drivers in the Truck Series, winning the title in 2020 with GMS Racing and beginning the 2021 playoffs by winning the first two races. However, a crash at Las Vegas and finish outside the top ten at Talladega placed him in a precarious position entering the Round of 8’s final event at Martinsville. Despite finishing ninth, he was knocked out of the playoffs as he was bumped below the top four in points needed to advance to the Championship Round. While his title defence came to an end, he enters the last race at Phoenix as the defending winner.

In September, Richard Childress Racing announced Creed will compete for Xfinity Rookie of the Year honours in 2022, driving the #2 car. He first débuted in the series in 2017, when he was still more recognised for his successes in the Stadium Super Trucks, as a road course ringer for JD Motorsports. However, mechanical issues plagued his two starts for the team as he finished thirty-fourth and thirty-eighth.

He returned to the Xfinity Series in 2019, a year removed from his maiden stock car title in the ARCA Menards Series, at the Daytona July race. Racing for JR Motorsports, who operates the Drivers Edge Development programme alongside GMS and Chevrolet, his night came to an abrupt end when he was caught in the Big One on lap 71 and classified thirty-fourth. Creed did not race in the series in 2020 as he exclusively focused his NASCAR competition on the Truck Series.

“We are incredibly excited to partner with a renowned racing organisation in Richard Childress Racing and championship driver, Sheldon Creed,” said Global Industrial senior vice persident Klaus Werner in a release. “This is a unique and thrilling opportunity to market the Global Industrial brand on a premier national racing stage.”

“It’s really great to be heading back to Mexico City” – Lando Norris

The Mclaren Formula One Team go into this weekend’s returning Mexican Grand Prix, with both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo ready for another intense battle with Scuderia Ferrari at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit.

Formula One enters its final triple header of the season this weekend at Mexico City, with Norris hoping for a better race than last time out at the Circuit of the Americas. The British driver lost out early on after battling with his current team-mate Ricciardo, and his former team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr.

Norris is very happy to be heading back to Mexico this weekend, the 2020 Mexican Grand Prix was cancelled over the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic meaning that the Mexican fans will be more excited than ever before to have Formula One back in the country.

“After nearly two years away from Mexico City, it’s really great to be heading back. It’s an awesome city with a cool circuit right in the middle of it, which always makes for a great atmosphere. It’s quite a unique track, but one I enjoyed driving in 2019, so I was disappointed when we didn’t race there last year.

“Mexico marks the start of a long triple-header, with an intense run of races over the next three weeks. Despite that I’ve been working hard on my preparations in the sim, making use of the time since Austin to prepare for all three tracks. I’m feeling ready to get back to it, and I can’t wait to get on track again.”

“This year has shown that anything is possible” – Mercedes’ Toto Wolff

The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, go into one of their most historically weak Grand Prix’s of the season, the Mexican Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton may have a mountain to climb at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit to beat Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Racing stronghold but anything is possible.

Mercedes saw their constructors’ standings lead over Red Bull close to just 22.5pts at the United States Grand Prix after Verstappen’s victory. This also meant Hamilton slipped to twelve points behind the Dutchman.

Mercedes still have it all to do if they want to retain both titles, making this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix even more important. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit hasn’t been particular kind to Mercedes over recent years and has seen them finish well off the pace. However 2021 has taught us all that this season absolutely anything is possible, something which Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff is keeping in mind going into the start of the final triple header of the season.

“We’re all excited to be back in Mexico City, it’s such a vibrant place, full of character and we always receive a warm welcome. We’re looking forward to being back there and the atmosphere at the track is always electric.
 
“Red Bull have gone well there in the past and it hasn’t been our strongest circuit. But this year has shown that anything is possible and circuits where you were previously weak, you are suddenly strong, and vice versa. So, it adds a layer of unknown in the build-up, which only increases the excitement.
 
“We’ll keep taking things race by race and preparing the best we can, and we’ll land in Mexico ready to hit the ground running on Friday, get a good understanding of the car’s performance and build from there.”

“I have good memories from racing in Mexico” – Max Verstappen

The final triple header of the season gets underway this weekend with Sergio Pérez’s home race, the Mexican Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen will be looking to further extend his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen goes into the first Mexican Grand Prix since 2019 due to the ongoing pandemic, having won at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit twice before. It is a circuit which is notoriously strong for Red Bull Racing and particularly weak for the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team.

If history repeats itself then Verstappen will be starting the final triple header in perfect fashion, and the team may even move to the top of the Constructors’ standings. Nevertheless Verstappen is raring to go in Mexico City.

“I have good memories from racing in Mexico with my two race wins. I’m looking forward to racing here again especially after not being able to travel here for a while. I know we will have a lot more fans now with Checo in the Team too so I’m looking forward to seeing all of them at the track and of course hopefully we can have a competitive weekend.”

“My country has been so supportive” – Sergio Pérez

Sergio Pérez goes into his first home race since 2019 on the back of an excellent podium at the United States Grand Prix, a repeat performance this weekend would send his adoring fans into pandamonium, a sight which would be incredible to see.

Myatt Snider joins Anderson for 2022 Xfinity

Myatt Snider‘s third season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series will come with Jordan Anderson Racing. On Wednesday, Anderson announced Snider has joined the team for the 2022 slate, driving the #31 Chevrolet Camaro. TaxSlayer will follow him as sponsor.

“Welcome to the team Myatt Snider,” posted Anderson on social media. “I’m grateful that Myatt, TaxSlayer and all our other partners see the real potential for future growth and development of our team as we continue on this journey together.”

Snider is currently in his first and only full season with Richard Childress Racing, after spending his rookie year in 2020 splitting between RCR and RSS Racing. His 2021 started strong with a win at Homestead, though he was eliminated from the playoffs after the opening round. Entering the season finale, he is ninth in points with the win being his lone top five to go with eleven top tens.

In October, RCR announced Camping World Truck Series driver Sheldon Creed would take over Snider’s #2 for 2022, but intended to keep him within the RCR/Chevrolet programme. This caveat meant Snider could move to any RCR ally with an open slot. Anderson, who fields the #31 for multiple drivers including himself and has a technical partnership with RCR, thus took advantage and signed a single, permanent driver.

“Back in @NASCAR_Xfinity y’all! So excited to see what the future holds for myself, @j66anderson, and everyone on the 31 team. Gonna be a great 2022 season,” tweeted Snider.

“The race presents a lot of interesting challenges” – George Russell

The Mexican Grand Prix returns this weekend after a year out due to the Coronavirus pandemic, with Williams Racing’s George Russell and Nicholas Latifi both being very excited to get back out on the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit.

Russell had a disappointing United States Grand Prix, so will be hoping for a return to the top ten this weekend in Mexico. The circuit see’s the drivers race at the highest altitude all season. Russell will be circulating at 2,238m above sea level at the historic track, where he can’t wait to see all the incredible Mexican support.

“I am really looking forward to heading to Mexico for the Mexico City Grand Prix. The race presents a lot of interesting challenges such as the high altitude, which affects us as drivers but also the performance of the car, and we have to take into consideration these things when preparing for the weekend. Equally, these challenges offer us an opportunity and I also can’t wait to see all the amazing fans and support we’ve come to associate this race with.”

“The atmosphere in Mexico is always great” – Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Latifi has never raced at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit before, the Canadian does have some minor experience at the venue though. Latifi took part in Free Practice One at the track back in 2018 and 2019, giving him some knowledge of the fast and twisty circuit.

Latifi is aware of the importance of finding the correct set-up this weekend, especially with the incredible altitude raced at.

Mexican Grand Prix “often an unpredictable race” – Pirelli’s Mario Isola

This weekend’s return of the Mexican Grand Prix see’s the start of the final triple-header of the season, with both championships still all to play for at the strategically unpredictable Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit.

The Mexican Grand Prix was another race which was cancelled in 2020 due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, however nothing can stop this weekend’s trip to Mexico City from taking place!

Pirelli have opted for the medium range of their tyres to be used this weekend, with the C2, C3 and C4 compounds in operation. The same compounds were used in 2019. The same tyres were used last time out at the Circuit of the Americas, although the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit is considerably smoother than the American venue.

The track which sits at the highest altitude to be raced on this season, may be particularly slippery during Friday’s sessions, the circuit has seen very little running during the pandemic.

Mario Isola, Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli, is expecting the weekend to throw up a number of challenges for the teams and drivers.

Loris Hezemans wins 2021 NWES championship, bolsters resume for Cup run

When Loris Hezemans makes his NASCAR Cup Series début in 2022, he will be touted as a two-time Whelen Euro Series champion. A fifth-place finish in the final race at Autodromo di Vallelunga was enough to secure him his second EuroNASCAR PRO championship and first since 2019, capping off a strong four-win season.

Entering 2021 after finishing third in points the previous year, Hezemans got off to a hot start as he won the first two races at Valencia. He notched two more victories at Brands Hatch and Grobnik, and he finished worse than second only once in the opening eight races.

However, Hezemans was also keen on dabbling in the United States. In March, he began racing on a part-time basis in the Xfinity Series as he finished thirty-first at Phoenix (his first oval start in America and first in the series since 2019) for MBM Motorsports. Additional races came with DGM Racing and Reaume Brothers Racing, the latter of whom will help field Hezemans’ Cup ride in 2022 with the newly formed Team Hezeberg. The Charlotte Roval race in October, where Team Hezeberg’s formation was announced, forced him to skip the NWES race at Zolder which allowed championship rivals Gianmarco Ercoli and Vittorio Ghirelli to gain some ground on him in the standings.

At Vallelunga, the three title hopefuls were separated by just nine points. As Jacques Villeneuve swept the weekend’s two races, Hezemans finished tenth and fifth while Ghirelli crashed in the final round. While both of Hezemans’ runs were inferior to Ercoli’s third and second, he needed to win the race to leapfrog Hezemans for the top spot. With Villeneuve winning instead, Hezemans finished the year with 412 points to Ercoli’s 409 while Ghirelli sank to fifth.

With a pair of European championships under his belt, Hezemans plans to head back to America for an increased schedule in 2022. He intends to continue racing in the Xfinity Series and the Cup road courses for Hezeberg. Team Hezeberg was co-founded by his father Toine Hezemans, and the younger Hezemans will be the first Dutch driver to compete at NASCAR’s highest level. Hezemans tested the new team’s Next Gen car at the Roval in October, where he was thirteenth quickest among twenty-one cars.

Dean Thompson to run full 2022 NASCAR Trucks for Niece

On Friday night at Phoenix Raceway, Dean Thompson will race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the first time. Days before his planned début, he has already committed to becoming a regular in the division as he intends to run the full 2022 schedule for Niece Motorsports.

With the exception of two races due to a positive COVID-19 test, Thompson races full-time in the ARCA Menards Series West for High Point Racing in alliance with Sunrise Ford Racing. Entering the final race of the season at Phoenix on Saturday, he is eleventh in points with a best finish of second at his home track Irwindale, a race that he started on the pole. He notched a second pole in October at All American Speedway.

“To say I’m excited for next season is definitely an understatement,” said Thompson. “I’m honoured to have the chance to drive these Niece Motorsports Chevrolets. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Carson (Hocevar) and am looking forward to having him as a teammate.”

Thompson joined Niece last month for the national ARCA Menards Series‘ season finale at Kansas, where he finished eighth. He previously competed against the national division at Phoenix in March when it and ARCA West held a combination round, which he finished fifteenth overall.

He will be joined by Hocevar, who made the playoffs in 2021 and reached as far as the Round of 8. Niece also fields multi-driver trucks with the #44 and #45, neither of which have announced pilots for 2022. Ryan Truex, who drives the #40 full-time, has not revealed if he will return to the team.

Matt Brabham, Jacob Abel provide SST flavour at Chris Griffis Memorial Test

The tenth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield road course took place on 30/31 October, seeing potential prospects driving Road to Indy cars across the three feeder series. Two drivers in the fourteen-person Indy Lights test came with experience in a radically different form of racing: Stadium Super Trucks. Matt Brabham, a former Road to Indy rising star, ran an official Indy Lights session for the first time since 2015 while Jacob Abel continues his ascent up the ladder.

Brabham, the two-time defending SST champion on the verge of securing a third, drove the #83 for Andretti Autosport in a four-car effort. He has raced in SST since 2015, shortly after his meteoric rise up the Road to Indy ladder came to an abrupt halt: despite winning the U.S. F2000 and now-Indy Pro 2000 Championships in 2012 and 2013 to reach Indy Lights with Andretti by 2014, he lost the ride three races into 2015 due to sponsorship issues. He scored one win in Indy Lights on the Indianapolis RC during his first yea. In forty-seven career Road to Indy starts, Brabham won eighteen for a win percentage of 38.3%, the highest in the system’s history before newly crowned Indy Lights champion and Andretti driver Kyle Kirkwood topped him at the end of 2021 with 62.5%. He would also make two starts in the IndyCar Series in 2016, including the Indianapolis 500.

With few open-wheel opportunities available outside of piloting the two-seater IndyCar and being a driving coach, Brabham has since made SST his playground. He has twenty-five career race wins and finished on the podium in every race in 2021 with a pair of victories. Until series founder Robby Gordon broke the trend at Long Beach, Brabham was riding a six-round streak of being the fastest in qualifying that dated back to the 2020 season opener in Adelaide.

Across the Open Test’s six sessions, Brabham was typically in the middle of the group, with his best effort coming in the fourth where he set the fifth-fastest time. Session 3 saw his best lap time in ninety-nine total laps of 1:25.78. At twenty-seven years of age, he was the oldest driver of the fourteen by a wide margin, which is to be expected as the feeder series generally has drivers in their teens or early twenties. Ernie Francis Jr., a seven-time Trans-Am Series champion and open-wheel newcomer, is the closest to Brabham’s age at four years younger.

“It’s just so good to be back at the IMS,” said Brabham in a video from Indy Lights. “It feels a little weird, especially for me, coming back. There’s a few memes online making fun of my age and stuff, but… I mean, I’m just having a blast. It’s been so long and I just got to blow the rust off, blow the cobwebs out, and it’s been so much fun.”

Alex Bowman wins Xfinity 500, clashes with Hamlin

When it is the final race before the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Round, every option seems reasonable as playoff hopefuls fight for the four spots and non-title contenders want to play spoiler. Alex Bowman fits into the latter category as he made contact with playoff driver Denny Hamlin late in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway before holding off a desperate Kyle Busch to win his fourth race of the year.

Kyle Larson, already locked into the final round, started on the pole while Hamlin faced an uphill battle almost immediately after failing pre-race inspection twice and had to start at the back. Larson led the first 55 laps before Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Elliott passed him and became the leader at the lap 62 competition caution. Hamlin had climbed up to nineteenth by the yellow, but suffered a speeding penalty that relegated him back to the rear for the lap 68 restart.

Larson retook the lead at the green. Ryan Newman spun on lap 72 for the first race-related caution of the day. Elliott reclaimed first on lap 85 and led through the end of the stage. Following him were Larson, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Busch, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola.

A speeding penalty on Larson between stages placed Truex on the front row alongside Elliott to start Stage #2. Elliott led until Dillon’s right-front tyre went down and sent him into the turn two wall on lap 196. Truex and Elliott traded the lead after the restart, and the latter drove off to win the stage again and clinch his spot in the Championship Four. Bowman and Byron climbed through the order to record a Hendrick 1–2–3. Truex, Hamlin, Almirola, Christopher Bell, Keselowski, and Kyle and Kurt Busch rounded out the top ten.

Similar to the Xfinity and Truck Series support races on Saturday, the Cup race saw only a handful of cautions across the first two stages before mounting in the longer Stage #3; after just two race-related yellows in Stages #1 and 2, the final segment saw ten. Josh Bilicki and Corey LaJoie spun on lap 309 for the first, followed by Quin Houff and Bilicki’s contact on lap 322. Houff then spun Bilicki under caution, resulting in him being held on pit road for five laps. Lap 338 saw Newman get turned by Cole Custer into Ross Chastain. Daniel Suárez and Dillon also produced single-car incidents of their own, while Elliott was clipped by Keselowski. JTG Daugherty Racing‘s Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. caused cautions as well.

American Grand Prix “a fantastic strategic duel” – Pirelli’s Mario Isola

Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing were victorious over Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team at the Circuit of the Americas, in what was an intense strategic battle to the flag.

Verstappen who started on pole won the race with a two-stop strategy, pitting before Hamilton on both occasions. Hamilton had overtaken Verstappen on the opening lap however the Dutchman regained the lead thanks to the powerful undercut. This did give Hamilton healthier tyres at the end of the race though, although the British driver was unable to overtake Verstappen, ending up just a second behind the championship leader.

Mario Isola, Head of F1 and Car Racing at Pirelli, thoroughly enjoyed the strategic battle between two of the greatest Formula One drivers.

“Tyre wear was high as we expected on this hot and abrasive circuit, which led to nearly everyone choosing the medium to start the race on and then focussing on the hard as the main race tyre. This stood up extremely well to the demands on it, with some long stints that helped to set up a thrilling finale to this race between the championship protagonists.

“Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had exactly the same tyre allocation left before the race but used it in very different ways, with Hamilton making the most of his younger tyres at the end, and Verstappen capitalising on the track position gained by his ‘undercuts’. The result was a fantastic strategic duel that led to a thrilling finale between two drivers absolutely on top of their game, managing their tyres perfectly.”

2022 EuroNASCAR schedule features 12 rounds, Italy All-Star, ice exhibition

In what has been branded “a season for the ages”, the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series schedule will feature perhaps its most versatile slate yet. The season consists of twelve points rounds across six tracks in as many countries, but the series has also added two exhibition races: an all-star race in Italy and a special exhibition race on snow/ice at the end of the year.

“With some of the most iconic circuits and a new revolutionary NASCAR on ice event, the stage is set for an amazing EuroNASCAR season,” said EuroNASCAR head Jerome Galpin. “Our great circuit partners are already at work to welcome fans back at the track and offer them the best racing show in Europe in great American festivals. After two challenging years, it is truly a pleasure to gather again to share our passion for pure racing.”

The season will begin at Hockenheimring in Germany, which was on the schedule from 2017 to 2019 but never as the first race. Hockenheim was removed in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Circuit Ricardo Tormo, which has been the longtime site of the season opener (with the exception of 2020 for pandemic-related reasons), is bumped back to be the second round. This is followed by Brands Hatch’s Indy Circuit layout, which has welcomed the NWES for nearly a decade.

Brands Hatch marks the conclusion of the season’s first half before an all-star event in Italy is to take place sometime in the summer. A specific location and date were not immediately provided, though the Vallelunga Circuit near Rome is the site of the 2021 season finale.


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