Good morning! The 2023 NASCAR season officially began with the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. Although a slew caution flags were thrown, it set the tone for an exciting season ahead, building anticipation for the upcoming Daytona 500 in two weeks. Furthermore, Ford vs Ferrari will see an F1 edition and Kyle Busch was recently detained in Mexico. Read on for all the latest happenings in motorsports!

Did you know that Ford is the third most successful engine manufacturer in F1 history? How many grand prix victories does Ford have in F1?

*Answer at the bottom

As always, at the bottom, we'd appreciate your feedback in our poll.

NASCAR

Crash at the Coliseum

Martin Truex Jr. emerged as the winner of the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. In front of an enthusiastic crowd, Truex held off a hard charging Austin Dillon by a mere 0.786 seconds and led the final 25 laps of the 150-lap event. Dillon's new teammate, Kyle Busch, finished third. The race saw a whopping 16 cautions. Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson rounded out the Top 5, while Ryan Preece led the most laps but had to settle for seventh due to a fuel-pump issue. The NASCAR Cup Series now moves East to Florida for the regular season-opening Daytona 500 on February 19.

Is Truex Back?

Martin Truex Jr. is determined to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 season. Despite being competitive last season, Truex went winless for the first time since 2014 and failed to make the playoffs. Although the Busch Light Clash is a non-points exhibition, Truex has kicked off the 2023 season with a win nonetheless. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team have been working hard this off-season. Truex's crew chief, James Small, has noticed a change in Truex, who is more motivated and focused than ever. Truex stated he is "mad" and "fired up" to make the best of the 2023 season.

Autoclub's Leave of Absence

The Auto Club Speedway will not host a NASCAR race in 2024 and this could extend into the 2025 season, according to the track president. The timeline for turning the speedway into a short track is still undetermined. The design of the racetrack is still being worked on and the timeline for completion will determine if there will be a race in 2025. The reconfiguration plans were announced over two years ago but have been delayed due to the global pandemic. NASCAR and the Auto Club Speedway continue to work on their plans for the track and surrounding land. The track hopes to share milestones and announcements throughout the year regarding the progress.

Kyle Busch Detained in Mexico

In January, Kyle Busch was detained in Mexico after a handgun was found in his luggage during airport screening. Busch has a valid concealed carry permit, but was not aware of Mexican law. He fully cooperated with authorities and accepted the penalties before returning to North Carolina. He apologized for the mistake and "considers the issue closed."

More NASCAR

🎙 Harvick reveals retirement plans... He's joining the FOX Sports Booth in 2023

✌️ Jimmie Johnson announces his second Cup Series race... Brand new track and no charter could be a tall order for Johnson

F1

Ford's F1 Return with Redbull

Red Bull Racing has partnered with Ford for their power unit starting in 2026. The partnership was made after discussions with Porsche and Honda fell through. According to Red Bull's Team Principal, Christian Horner, the deal with Ford felt natural and aligned with the team's outlook. Ford's global director for Motorsports, Mark Rushbrook, says the company was attracted to the sport's commitment to sustainability and electrification, and the growing and diverse fan base.

The deal with Ford is an eight-year agreement, rumoured to be worth around $30 million per year, and covers the period 2023-2030. The cost cap for the F1 power units requires a baseline figure of $130 million per year from 2026, but manufacturers have a $95 million allowance for 2023-2025. New power unit manufacturers, like Red Bull, have an additional allowance of $10 million in 2023 and 2024 and $5 million in 2025. Red Bull has created a separate company named "Red Bull Powertrains 2026" to handle the new engine project.

The challenge for Red Bull will be to catch up with the existing knowledge of F1 engine technology that has been built up by other engine companies. Even though the designs will be all-new, the existing knowledge is significant and efforts are being made to maximize carryover technology in the bottom end of the engine. The last independent engine to find success in F1 was in 2002 when Eddie Irvine claimed third place at Monza in a Cosworth-powered Jaguar.

Williams Introduces the FW45

Mental Health in Motorsports

In an interview, Valtteri Bottas revealed he was forced to seek psychological help after suffering from an eating disorder while driving for Williams. Bottas said he "trained himself to pain physically and mentally," and that he was almost like a robot who only wants to reach his goal and has no feelings at all. The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix crash that eventually took Jules Bianchi's life also had a profound effect on Bottas. Bottas joined Mercedes from Williams in 2017, but he still doubted himself and had to seek guidance from a psychologist in 2021 due to concerns over his future in F1.

F1 Drivers Speak Out on their Inability to Speak Out

Formula 1 drivers are concerned about the FIA's recent move to change the International Sporting Code (ISC) to require approval for certain statements. This would give the FIA the ability to issue sporting sanctions for unapproved statements about political, religious or personal matters. Alex Albon says there is confusion between Formula 1 and the FIA and that drivers are seeking clarity from the FIA about the motivation behind the decision. Albon believes drivers have a responsibility to raise awareness of global issues and wants to see open dialogue between the FIA and the drivers to ensure they can continue to speak freely to some extent.

America's F1 driver

IndyCar

IndyCar's New Marketing Strategy: Exclusivity

The NTT IndyCar Series held a two-day "Spring Training" test at The Thermal Club in California, a motorsports country club with a high-speed race course. The facility is located in a private gated community and caters to wealthy automotive enthusiasts. The test was open only to members of the Thermal Club and a limited number of guests. Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles believed the event sent a message to the public, promoters, drivers and team owners that IndyCar is committed to growth this year and is doing things differently. The Thermal Club was created by Tim Rogers, who hopes to host an IndyCar race there one day, but the IndyCar leadership is not ready to make that decision yet.

Marcus Ericsson set the fastest time on the final day of IndyCar's pre-season test at Thermal Club in Palm Springs, beating Colton Herta's Thursday effort with a 1m38.422s lap. Ericsson took only four laps to lower the IndyCar lap record at the venue. Kyle Kirkwood, who replaces Alexander Rossi in Andretti Autosport-Honda's line-up for 2023, was the fastest representative for Andretti's squad, 0.366s off the top spot. Christian Lundgaard was second quickest, followed by Callum Ilott and Marcus Armstrong. The test saw multiple red flags due to drivers falling off the circuit.

GLOBAL MOTORSPORT

Take a trip to far away motorsport lands

📈 Endurance racing sees another record crowd to start off 2023... More than 50k fans attended the Bathurst 12 hr over the weekend

🤝 Ford reconfirms commitment to WRC... Ford's F1 ventures won't distract from WRC efforts

👤 Ex-Audi boss finds new home... Dieter Gass will lead this WEC Hypercar Program

Memes

Motorsports Zen

ONBOARD OF THE DAY

2003 F1 Spanish GP Giancarlo Fisichella Onboard 

Ride onboard with Giancarlo Fisichella in an ill-handling Jordan EJ13. Watch him wrestle his Ford V10 around the Circuit de Catalunya for a lap. Fisichella would eventually retire from the race finishing in P11.  

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS

*Answer

Ford has won 174 Grand Prix victories and boasts an impressive 13 driver's championships and 10 constructor's championships. 

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