🏎 Road Course Ringers

Friendly competition or is there a rivalry brewing at Red Bull?

March 23, 2023

"The best 5 minutes in motorsports"

- Money Lap 

Good morning! F1 is not in action this weekend but you wouldn't be able to tell with the star studded entry list at COTA. NASCAR heads to it's first road course of the season and they're bringing some star power with them. First off, Guenther Steiner will be in the booth while the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Conor Daly and more will be on the track. Strap in and take in some of the latest news in motorsports as we get ready to take some left and right turns this weekend! 

Why do DJ's make terrible drivers?

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Money Lap Fantasy by eRacr

Don't forget to join both our NASCAR and F1 fantasy leagues to compete with other Money Lap fans and win exclusive prizes throughout the season! Don't worry about joining late, we've added four drop weeks to compensate for lost time! Join using the links below: 

 Standings

Motorsports Moneyline

COTA Driver Odds (provided by BetMGM) 

+600 Kyle Larson

+700 Kyle Busch

+700 Ross Chastain

+900 Tyler Reddick

+900 William Byron

Trending Up 📈

AJ Allmendinger - NASCAR is heading to COTA and AJ is the OG Road Course Ringer. There isn't much more that needs said... 

Trending Down 📉

Denny Hamlin - Although Hamlin is having a much better start to his season than in 2022, he hasn't excelled on a road course in quite some time. In the past six road course events Denny has amassed 0 Top-10's and an average finish of just 18.833

eRacr's AI Generated Fantasy Lineup

Based on current trends and previous race statistics here is the ideal lineup for your NASCAR Fantasy team heading into Atlanta:

  1. Ross Chastain

  2. AJ Allmendinger

  3. Christopher Bell

  4. Ryan Blaney

  5. Martin Truex Jr.

Garage: Jordan Taylor

F1

No Love Lost in Jeddah

Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, says he is not expecting any tension between drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after both went after the fastest lap at the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Verstappen set the fastest lap, keeping him one point ahead of Perez in the early drivers' championship standings. Perez claimed he was told to drive to a set lap time and not try to beat his benchmark. Horner said he was comfortable with the situation, as both drivers had the information, and Perez gave up after the first couple of turns. He added that the team's biggest concern during the race was a high-pitched noise in Verstappen's car, but he made an amazing recovery from 15th to second place.

Ferrari Fumbles Tire Management

Ferrari's progress in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is being overlooked due to problems maintaining pace with the hard compound tire, according to team principal Fred Vasseur. While Red Bull set the pace in the race, Ferrari's car was expected to perform well at the Jeddah circuit and Charles Leclerc was within 0.2s of pole position in qualifying. Vasseur believes that the final result of sixth and seventh doesn't reflect the car's potential and that the team needs to better manage the different tire compounds over a race weekend. He admits it's tough to understand why there is such a pace difference at certain times for Ferrari compared to Red Bull and its rivals, but not at others.

“I can’t imagine that the car is able to be quick on one lap with the C4 and be nowhere with the long stint. Yeah (Red Bull) was much, much, much quicker than everybody with the hard. We have to understand exactly what’s happened because I can’t imagine that a car can perform on one lap and then have such a huge difference on the long stints."

Fred Vasseur

Aston Martin's Mixed Results

During the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll retired early due to a mechanical failure. The team has not yet found the root of the problem yet they have deducted that it was an energy recovery issue. Stroll was running in fourth place after passing Carlos Sainz on the opening lap before being forced to retire on lap 16. The cause of the energy recovery issue is still being investigated. Despite Stroll's retirement, Aston Martin is currently second in the championship and level with Mercedes.

More F1

🎥 Brazilian Actor Gabriel Leone to play Senna in new Netflix Series... A six episode mini series will showcase Senna's rise to greatness in Formula 1

NASCAR

McChicago Street Race

McDonald's has become the first founding partner of the first-ever Chicago Street Race Weekend, which will feature NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series races. The fast-food giant will have official presenting, marketing and promotional rights for the event, which is set to take place in downtown Chicago over the Fourth of July Weekend. McDonald's will have a visible presence throughout the event, including on-course branding and at the start-finish line. As a partner with 23XI Racing, McDonald's is the primary sponsor for multiple races for Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick in the 2023 Cup Series season.

Harvick Returns to his Roots

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick will race in a late model stock car at the CARS Tour event at North Wilkesboro Speedway, before competing in the All-Star Race later in the week. Harvick will pay tribute to his late father-in-law, John Linville, by running the No. 62 car. Linville was an accomplished short-track driver. Harvick also began his career on short tracks, winning five ARCA Menards West Series victories in 1998 on his way to winning the title. The CARS LMSC Tour special feature will be broadcast live on FloRacing.

Williams to Sit Out in COTA

NASCAR driver Josh Williams has been suspended for one race following his defiance of race control during last weekend's Atlanta race. Williams was involved in a wreck and placed under NASCAR's damaged vehicle policy but was then accused of "extending the caution" after debris came off his car on the ensuing restart. After arguing the call, Williams parked his car and walked across the infield and pit road while the race remained under caution. Williams, crew chief Bryan Berry and team owner Mario Gosselin met with series officials after the race for an extended period of time.

More NASCAR

🛻 Alex Bowman announces he'll compete in two truck races this season... Starting with this weekend in COTA

🚫 Three Reaume Brothers Racing team members suspended... Another driver reinstated after violating the substance abuse policy

IndyCar

IndyCar Heads South

Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles and VP Michael Montri recently visited the Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo circuit in Argentina to explore the possibility of holding a future IndyCar race there. The road course has previously hosted MotoGP and the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Juncos Hollinger Racing NTT IndyCar Series team also held demonstration runs in Argentina with Agustin Canapino in the off-season, which attracted a large and enthusiastic crowd. Juncos hopes that the demonstration and interest from IndyCar executives will lead to holding the series' first international round since the street race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, ended in 2013.

GLOBAL MOTORSPORT

Take a trip to far away motorsport lands

📈 GT4 European Series sees record number of entries... 31 teams and 52 cars will be represented for the full season

♻️ Is widespread hydrogen adoption in motorsports on the horizon?... Here's some of the hurdles that will have to be tackled first

Memes

ONBOARD OF THE DAY

Josef Newgarden Texas Motor Speedway 2021 Onboard

Get behind the visor of Josef Newgarden as he rips his Penske no. 2 around the Texas Motor Speedway for a few practice laps! 

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