How The NASCAR Community Remembers J.D. Gibbs: What You Need To Know For January 13, 2019

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NASCAR community honors J.D. Gibbs on social media

The announcement that J.D. Gibbs had passed away came late Friday night, so many in the NASCAR community woke up to the news on Saturday morning.

Throughout the day, multiple competitors, fans, colleagues, etc. took to social media to express their thoughts and condolences to the Gibbs family and their memories on J.D. …

https://twitter.com/mattdracing/status/1084077254936793088
https://twitter.com/jgibbs_11/status/1084280784612139008

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Testing concludes for ARCA Racing Series in Daytona

A two-day test session for the ARCA Racing Series at Daytona International Speedway has concluded, with 43 drivers making at least one lap over the course of Friday and Saturday.

Natalie Decker, who won the pole position for last year’s ARCA season-opener at Daytona, had the quickest lap time on Saturday — 49.472 seconds at 181.921 mph. Gus Dean was second quickest in the morning session, followed by Dave Mader III. Bret Holmes and Travis Braden rounded out the top five.

In the afternoon session, C.J. McLaughlin led the way with a time of 49.851 seconds at 180.538 mph. Thad Moffitt was second quickest, followed by Branden Queen, Sean Corr, and Andy Seuss.

Venturini Motorsports driver Leilani Munter still held the fastest lap time of the weekend — 48.896 seconds at 184.064 mph. In fact, Munter and her teammates Christian Eckes, Harrison Burton, and Michael Self all had the fastest lap times of the two-day test session, which all occurred on Friday while drafting.

The ARCA Racing Series will take the green flag for the Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire in Daytona on Saturday, February 9th, which will also signal the start of the 2019 season. The race will be broadcast live on FS1 beginning at 4:30PM ET.

https://twitter.com/LeilaniMunter/status/1084147349407055872

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Jerome D’Ambrosio wins Formula E race at Marrakesh

It has been said that “luck” is when opportunity and preparation meet.

Perhaps Jerome D’Ambrosio would agree with that statement following the Marrkesh e – Prix on Saturday.

Antonio Felix de Costa, who won the season opener in Saudi Arabia, had been leading for much of the race and, as the countdown timer began to wind closer to zero, his BMW i Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Sims got just a tad impatient.

As Sims attempted a pass in turn seven, both drivers locked up and crashed, allowing D’Ambrosio to take over the lead and win the race.

Robin Frijns finished second, followed by Sam Bird in third. Sims was able to hang on to a fourth-place finish. Defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top five.

D’Ambrosio now holds a 12-point championship lead over de Costa and Vergne with 11 races left in the season.

The next event will be in two weeks on the streets of Santiago, Chile on Saturday, January 26.

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Max Verstappen completes first day of public service at Marrakesh E-prix

When Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen shoved Esteban Ocon at the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix, he was given two days of public service as a repercussion.

He served one of those days on Saturday in Morocco at the Marrakesh E-Prix for the Formula E race. Verstappen was on hand to, in a sense, “shadow” the stewards to see how they go about their decision-making.

After his time with the stewards was over, Verstappen referred to the day as “constructive”, saying, “It’s good to experience different things in racing rather than just sitting in the car.”

Verstappen’s second day of public service is at the discretion of the FIA and has not yet been announced.

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Driver excluded from Dakar Rally after accident involving spectator

Andrey Karginov, a driver in the Dakar Rally in the truck category, has been excluded from the remainder of the race after colliding with a spectator in Stage 5. The individual was a 60-year-old man who suffered a broken femur from the incident. Karginov was disqualified, not for the incident itself, but for failing to stop and assist the injured man.

The injured spectator was standing with a group of four other individuals away from the designated spectating zones. Karginov was running third when he struck the individual.

Karginov is a former Dakar Rally winner and had won two of the five stages in this event so far.

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