Motorsport Monday: 26th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout, 2020 Sebring Vintage Classic, NASCAR Auto Club Results, and Coronavirus Check-In
In sunny Florida, the season-opening 26th annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout did not disappoint, with action ranging from factory drag racing to celebrity grudge matches. Similarly, the 2020 Sebring Vintage Classic, which kicked off SpeedTour 2020 and opened the Trans Am Series, delivered three full days of competitive excitement. On a higher level, NASCAR hit the Auto Club Speedway, while F1 wrapped up testing in Spain and begins facing scheduling challenges due to coronavirus fears.
26th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout
The 26th Annual NMRA Spring Break Shootout wrapped up Sunday March 1 at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida. After two days of testing, tuning, and qualifying, Saturday ramped up the action with elimination rounds and a massive True Street competition. Ford Formula Drift drivers Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Chelsea Denofa faced off for a little drag action, much to the delight of their fans, and a grudge match Discovery Channel’s Street Outlaws star Chris “Boosted GT” Hamilton with local racer Sai Li took place during the NMRA After-Hours.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9MnAFjBT-g/
Nose-to-nose final racing continued Sunday, with big horsepower and big thrills. Domenic DiDonato took the Street Outlaws class with a 5.09 run at 132 mph, beating out reigning champ Vinny Palazzolo. Jason Davis proved its not always about who’s fastest off the line, piloting his 2015 Mustang to the win in the JDM Engineering Limited Street with an 8.71 run at 159.23 mph. And G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock driver Frank Paultanis made history with the first 9-second pass in class history.
There, he squared off against number-two qualifier Kevin McMullen’s 1994 Mustang Cobra. Though McMullen left first, Paultanis had the steam to take the win (10.09 vs. 10.16).” Source: NMRA Digital
Click here for a comprehensive recap of all the action.
2020 Sebring Vintage Classic
In nearby Sebring, Florida, another grassroots racing event kicked off this weekend as well: the 2020 Sebring Vintage Classic. With almost 20 feature races on the famous road racing facility’s 3.74-mile course, plus a Hagerty Cars & Caffeine car show, a Saturday night party, vendors, and a charity auction, attendees had plenty to enjoy.
This weekend also acted as the opener for the 54th Trans Am season. In the flagship TA class, reigning champ Ernie Francis Jr. captured pole position for the opening race and charged to victory as he pursues his seventh-consecutive Trans Am championship. In TA2, Mike Skeen took the lead after a restart with less than two laps remaining, taking the checkered flag 0.489-seconds ahead of two-time TA champion Cameron Lawrence.
Click here for more coverage of Sunday’s Trans Am opener.
Adam Andretti paid tribute to his late brother, John, opening the 2020 Trans Am Series at Sebring with this No. 43 ECC Motorsports Dodge Challenger with ‘Petty blue’ livery. Source: RACER
NASCAR Auto Club Results
On the other side of the country, NASCAR hit the Auto Club Speedway for a sunny weekend in SoCal. The excitement kicked off Saturday, when Harrison Burton held off teammate Riley Herbst during the closing laps of the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300, charging the 19-year-old rookie to his first career win in the series.
Burton, driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, led by a mere .455 seconds over Herbst’s No. 18 Camry at the finish, making the most of a few accidents that shuffled the field. This is the first full season for Burton, who comes from a racing family. Coincidentally, his uncle Ward Burton also collected his first Xfinity Series win on a leap day, Feb. 29, 1992.
On Sunday, Alex Bowman gave Chevy its first win of the season, sailing his new Camaro to victory in the Auto Club 400 after leading 110 of 200 laps. Ryan Blaney was holding onto second place, but a corded tire forced him to pit with only three laps left. That allowed Kyle Busch to come in as runner-up, 8.904 seconds behind Bowman. Rounding out the top five finishers were Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, and Brad Keselowski.
F1, Coronavirus Check-In
As Formula 1 wraps up six days of pre-testing in Barcelona, Mercedes emerges as the clear leader with Red Bull, Renault, and Racing Point all putting in solid performances as well. But amid the growing concerns over the coronavirus, will we get to see every player on the grid?
Despite the postponement of the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 organizers insist the season-opening Australian Grand Prix will go ahead as planned. Now, some teams worry that travel bans and quarantines will restrict vital staff from actually entering Melbourne. Italy, in particular, faces a tricky situation as a recent spike of cases rock the country.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto told AutoSport that more than just the Italian teams are at risk if staff cannot get to the races. “We are supplying assistance to Haas and the Alfa Sauber team, so it will be four teams at least, plus the Pirelli situation which we need to understand,” he said. “So, what will [happen] if eventually four teams cannot run?
A statement from Australian Grand Prix Corporation CEO Andrew Westacott stated that they continue to monitor the situation but “at this stage, there is no indication of further travel bans, nor is there any indication that Formula 1 and the teams will not be arriving as usual.”
Remember to check back in with us next week, as we’ll get you up to speed on the Mint400, Daytona Bike Week, and more. In the meantime, check out our round-up of upcoming racing events.
