This Week in Motorsports: March 27-April 2, 2023
· NCS/NXS: Richmond Raceway – April 1-2
· NCTS: Texas Motor Speedway – April 1
· NHRA: Pomona Dragstrip – April 2
· ARCA WEST: Irwindale Speedway – April 1
PLANO, Texas (March 29, 2023) – It is the annual Toyota Owners weekend at Richmond Raceway this Saturday and Sunday, while the NASCAR Truck Series competes in Texas for the second straight weekend. The NHRA Drag Racing Series runs at iconic Pomona Dragstrip, while the ARCA cars are on-track on the West Coast in Irwindale, California.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Reddick looks to continue to impress… Tyler Reddick battled through multiple overtime restarts to win at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday. It was his first victory for 23XI Racing and Toyota, and fourth of his career. Reddick has now earned three consecutive top-five finishes and moved inside the top-10 in points. The California-native is looking for his first top-10 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond this weekend.
Hamlin ready for another home win… Denny Hamlin celebrated as a team owner on Sunday, and now the Chesterfield, Virginia-native is ready to pick up the victory while driving. Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart proved to have the right strategy one season ago as he passed William Bryon with five laps to go to earn the win – his fourth Cup Series victory at the track.
Smith plans to cash in… Sammy Smith led all full-time Xfinity Series drivers with a fourth-place finish at Circuit of the Americas, which qualified the 18-year-old to run as part of the first Dash 4 Cash race in Richmond, with the top-finishing driver earning $100,000. Smith will be making his Richmond Raceway debut in the ToyotaCare 250 on Saturday.
Home track for Hunt… Sam Hunt, owner of Sam Hunt Racing, will be heading home when his two Toyota GR Supras compete on Saturday. Hunt, a Midlothian, Virginia-native, owns the No. 24 Toyota GR Supra driven by Connor Mosack and Kaz Grala’s No. 26 Toyota GR Supra. The team scored its best finish – a third place result by John Hunter Nemechek – at the track in 2021.
Friesen looking to go back-to-back… Stewart Friesen clinched his Playoff berth and earned his first win at Texas Motor Speedway in this race one season ago. He led 60 laps (of 149) to earn his first victory aboard a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.
Ankrum continues strong start to the season… Tyler Ankrum earned a season-best fourth-place finish at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday – the third top-10 run in as many starts on the Austin road course – to move Ankrum inside the current Playoff field. The California-native has had multiple strong runs at Texas Motor Speedway – including a third-place finish in his track debut in 2019.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Ashley plans to add another Pomona win… Fresh off his first victory of the season in Phoenix, Justin Ashley heads to California to compete at the Pomona Dragstrip. The New York-native is the defending race winner at the Winternationals.
Torrence leads again… Steve Torrence is still looking for his first victory of the season, but his strong performance in the first two events has put him on-top of the Top Fuel standings. Torrence began the season in the final round in Gainesville, before adding a semi-final performance in Phoenix.
DeJoria running well to begin the season… Alexis DeJoria and her DC Motorsports team has had a stellar start to the season. In Phoenix, DeJoria won the first #2Fast2Tasty challenge on Saturday before registering her second straight semi-final performance. The Texan heads to Pomona inside the top-five in the point standings.
NASCAR Regional Series – ARCA West
Hingorani back close to home… One week after making his ARCA East debut, Sean Hingorani heads back closer to home to compete in ARCA West racing action at Irwindale Speedway. The California-native is making his track debut – one week after a top-five finish at Five Flags Speedway in Florida.
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