It was a light weekend for motorsports, with Formula One and IndyCar off. The NASCAR Cup Series was at Richmond Raceway for the Toyota Owners 400 and Denny Hamlin held off Kevin Harvick and William Byron for his 47th career NASCAR Cup Series victory.
There have been seven different winners this season for the first seven Cup Series races.
After seven races Ryan Blaney sits atop the standings followed by Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Will Byron and Joey Logano.
While there wasn’t a lot of on-track news, there was plenty taking place away from the circuit:
* Las Vegas was added to the 2023 F1 calendar. In November 2023 the global circuit will race on a Saturday night at The Las Vegas Strip. This will be the second time around for F1 in Sin City. For two years, 1981 and 1982, F1 made an annual stop in Las Vegas for the Caesars Palace Grand Prix that was held in a makeshift track in the casino’s parking lot.
* The Brumos Collection will run the No. 59 Porsche GT2 RS Clubsport in the Pikes Peaks Hill Climb on June 26, 2022. It will be driven by David Donohue making his 120th start for Brumos and is the first race since 2013 for Brumos.
* Honda tested the next generation of their new IndyCar engine. The 2.4-liter E85 bio-fueled engine was tested by 6-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. In 2024 hybrid power units will make their debut in IndyCar.
“This is an important step for HPD, Honda and INDYCAR as the series moves into the electrified era, and it was a successful day,” said David Salters, HPD president and technical director, “but there are many more steps to take before the full, hybrid power unit debuts in 2024.
* The W Series released its 2022 schedule. The season opens with a pair of support races at the F1 Miami Gran Prix from May 6-8. With 10 races on the 2022 schedule, the W Series will run support races at eight F1 grand prix weekends.
Up next:
F1: Australian Grand Prix, April 10
IndyCar: Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 10
NASCAR Cup Series: Blu-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400, April 9
Supercars Championship: Beaurepaires Melbourne 400, April 7-10
