This Week in Motorsports: April 10-16, 2023
· NCS/NXS/NCTS: Martinsville Speedway – April 14-16
· NHRA: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – April 16
PLANO, Texas (April 12, 2023) – After racing on a short track on the dirt, NASCAR returns to a pavement short track at Martinsville Speedway, while NHRA competes in their first four-wide event of the season at Las Vegas.
NASCAR National Series – NCS | NXS | NCTS
Bell plans to add to victory total… Christopher Bell led the final 100 laps in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday evening to score his first win of the season, and fifth of his Cup Series career. With the win, Bell took over the points lead on the strength of a series-leading five top-five and six top-10 finishes in the first eight events. Martinsville Speedway also brings back great memories for Bell as the Oklahoma-native scored the walk-off victory in October to earn his first Championship 4 spot.
Gibbs adds another top-10… Ty Gibbs scored another top-10 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway as the reigning Xfinity Series champion continues to impress in the Cup Series. The 20-year-old moved up two more spots in the NCS standings and sits less than 10 points out of a Playoff berth. He made his Martinsville Cup Series debut last fall and earned a top-20 finish, while owning multiple top-five finishes in the Xfinity Series at the track.
Hamlin, Truex multi-time Martinsville winners… Martinsville has been a great track for Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. over the years. Hamlin scored Toyota’s first Cup Series victory at the track in 2008 and has since added four additional wins, including a season sweep in 2010. Truex has won three of the last seven races at the track, including victories in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Nemechek battling for two wins this weekend… After a runner-up finish at Richmond Raceway, John Hunter Nemechek gets to battle for two wins this weekend. The finish qualified Nemechek as one of four drivers to run for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus against Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith and Josh Berry. Nemechek will also look to pick up his second grandfather clock for winning at Martinsville Speedway. He earned his first track win in the Truck Series in 2018.
Grala looks to keep up momentum… Kaz Grala delivered at Richmond Raceway as he earned his first top-five finish of the season and moved back inside the top-20 in the standings. Grala is making his Xfinity Series debut at Martinsville Speedway, but the Massachusetts-native made his NASCAR debut at the track in the Truck Series in 2016 and earned a top-10 finish there a year later.
Two for TRICON in Playoff field… Tanner Gray moved back inside the top-10 in the Truck Series points after his third top-10 finish of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, joining his teammate, Corey Heim. Gray made his Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway in 2019 and earned a track-best result of third in 2021. Heim, who has four top-10 finishes this season, has one Truck start at Martinsville – an 11th-place finish in 2021.
Sawalich debut… Toyota development driver William Sawalich makes his Truck Series debut this weekend in the fifth entry for TRICON Garage, the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. The 16-year-old has been impressive already this season, winning in his ARCA East debut last month after earning the pole and leading all 150 laps of the race. Martinsville is the first of six scheduled starts for the Minnesota native.
NHRA – Top Fuel | Funny Car
Capps continues to tally final round appearances…Reigning Funny Car champion Ron Capps continues to impress on-track. Capps has advanced to the final round in six of the last eight events on the NHRA schedule, including two of the first three events this season. The California-native is also the defending champion of the Las Vegas four-wide event.
Ashley on a roll… Justin Ashley has taken over the top spot in the Top Fuel standings after a stellar last two events. The New York-native has won back-to-back events, along with a #2Fast2Tasty victory and a No. 1 qualifying spot in Pomona. Ashley is looking to continue that momentum into Las Vegas and rebound from two opening round losses in the track’s events last season.
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