By Summer Bedgood, Managing Editor
Chandler Smith’s whirlwind weekend
16-year-old Chandler Smith has to be feeling on top of the world after leading virtually every racing event he’s participated in, in less than a 24-hour period.
Firstly, on Friday night at Madison International Speedway, Smith started from the pole after setting a track record, and went on to win after leading 166 of the 200 laps.
After celebrating his fourth victory in as many ARCA starts, Smith flew to Newton, Iowa and got a few hours of sleep before NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practice at 8:30AM.
He led that practice session, too.
Then, later on in the day after a torrential downpour at the racetrack, Smith was awarded the pole after qualifying was cancelled. Smith will share the front row with Grant Enfinger.
“I think it was more just a mental deal that I really had to do this weekend,” said Smith during a rain delay on Saturday night. “It’s flying out from Wisconsin and got here at two o’clock this morning. I needed to really be mentally prepared. I knew these guys would show up and I’d have good speed in my truck. Definitely was really just resting a lot this past week and hydrating a lot.”
Smith is driving the No. 51 Safelite AutoGlass Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports. The M&M’s 200 begins at 8:30PM ET on FS1.
~~~~~~~~~~
Xfinity Takes the Stage on Sunday
The NASCAR Xfinity Series has a rare Sunday afternoon all to themselves this weekend, with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series off this week and the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series running on Saturday night.
Their day will begin at 2:05PM ET with NXS qualifying. The broadcast will be on FS2.
The CircuitCity.com 250 presented by Tamron begins at 5:30PM ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The race distance is 218.75 miles. Stage 1 ends on lap 60; Stage 2 ends on lap 120. The race will conclude on lap 250.
Justin Allgaier is the defending race winner.
For the full weekend schedule at Iowa Speedway, click here.
For the at-track schedule, click here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kyle Larson Wins in Attica during Cup Series Off Week
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Kyle Larson is spending the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series off weekend racing.
Specifically, Larson is competing in several events during Ohio Sprint Speedweek in Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions.
On Friday night at Attica Raceway Park, Larson dominated the second half of the 40-lap event, crossing the finish line almost eight seconds ahead of second-place Dale Blaney and lapping all but the top 12 cars.
The victory is Larson’s ninth in the series, all of which came during Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
~~~~~~~~~~
Other Motorsports News and Notes
- Cole Seely is out for the rest of the 2019 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross season
- There are a few new ways that a driver can earn “superlicence points” in order to become eligible to race in F1
- The 2019-2020 Formula E schedule has been released and there are a few conflicts with other racing series
- You can be the new owner of one of Jeff Gordon’s personal cars
- The FIA has announced some new engine regulations for Formula E next season