{"id":2000,"date":"2023-02-26T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/?p=2000"},"modified":"2023-02-27T21:45:29","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T02:45:29","slug":"2023-nascar-cup-series-race-two-fontana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/2023\/02\/2023-nascar-cup-series-race-two-fontana\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 NASCAR Cup Series Race Two Fontana"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cloudy skies blanket the track as 36 cars take warm-up laps. Christopher ‘CBell’ Bell (20) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr (47) will start at the front of the field after qualifying was cancelled due to weather. The stages for today’s race are 65-65-80.<\/p>\n

Caution – competition caution on lap 15 of 200.<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 20 of 200 at 1611 eastern; MRN reports it is 45 degrees, but not snowing.<\/p>\n

Caution on lap 41 of 200 for a spin by Brad ‘It’ Keselowski (6) after a light tap on the left rear quarter panel.<\/p>\n

Kyle ‘KyBu’ Busch (8) will have to serve a speeding penalty.<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 46 of 200 with Ryan Blaney (12) up front.<\/p>\n

On the final lap of stage one for some reason we’re stuck looking at what appears to be holes in the windscreens of a couple of cars. Apparently the tv folks didn’t find the race nearly as exciting as the race MRN was calling.<\/p>\n

Ross Chastain (1) crosses the line ahead of Ryan Blaney (12). <\/p>\n

Daniel Suarez (99) penalized for speeding on pit road.<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 72 of 200.<\/p>\n

The skies around the track continue to look dark and ominous.<\/p>\n

MRN reports on a spin by AJ Allmendinger (16) bringing out the caution on lap 74 of 200 while we’re stuck looking at a replay of Joey Logano (22) driving. When that’s over we see replays of AJ Allmendinger’s spin. I guess they’re running under the idea of better late than never, but I thought the idea of a ‘Live sports broadcast’ was for the viewing fan to actually see the action as it occurs. It seems, these days, the NASCAR broadcasts<\/p>\n

Martin ‘MTJ’ Truex Jr (19) has a lot of smoke trailing from his left front tire. MRN reports the tire was not secured – though it is still on the car. The tire came off on the backstretch of the speedway as MTJ was heading to the pits to repair the tire. NASCAR changed the rules about tires coming off for 2023, so the 19 team will be penalized two laps and two team members will be suspended for two races.<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 79 of 200 with Austin Dillon (3) out front after staying out.<\/p>\n

Caution on lap 81 of 200 for a slide into the infield by Corey LaJoie (7).<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 86 of 200 with Joey Logano (22) out front.<\/p>\n

Crash on the restart involving CBell, Tyler Reddick (45), Afterburner, 77, and others. CBell, TyRed, Afterburner are stuck in the wet grass. TV isn’t showing a decent view to determine which cars were involved and then they go to commercial.<\/p>\n

MRN is reporting that the crash was due to Joey Logano playing games\/strategy in the newly expanded restart zone caused the field to get stacked up and in the accordion they began wrecking. Involved were Brad ‘It’ Keselowski (6), Aric ‘Afterburner’ Almirola (10), Ryan Blaney (12), Christopher ‘CBell’ Bell (20), Justin Haley (31), Todd Gilliland (38), Ryan Preece (41), Tyler ‘TyRed’ Reddick (45), Cody Ware (51), and Ty Dillon (77).<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 92 of 200 with Joey Logano (22) leading them to the green flag.<\/p>\n

Almirola (10) says he “went from second to third on the restart and everybody in front of [me] stopped”. He said he “believed the leader was making a ‘mickey mouse move in the restart zone to block the run coming behind him’ and stacked up the field”. He said he couldn’t stop on a dime. He also said he “should’ve known better”.<\/p>\n

Stage two ends with Ross Chastain (1) out front.<\/p>\n

The race was interesting for a while, with frequent three and four-wide racing for positions and, seemingly, the ability to gain positions in the field. That seems to have ended and now they appear to be logging laps; so that was a snoozer of a stage.<\/p>\n

TV is showing three people riding in recliners somewhere at the track. There are people on bicycles around them. The two guys and one woman look relatively comfortable, though the path appears a bit bumpy, but they have extra padding in their recliners.<\/p>\n

MRN says this track produces exceptional racing year after year. Todd Gordon says the sport will evolve and we’ll have to wait and see if the forthcoming short track with higher banking will also produce great racing. MRN is calling an exciting race. TV is showing a bunch of gimmick shots, so we’re not seeing much of the race anymore.<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 137 of 200 with Kevin ‘Happy\/KHarv’ Harvick (4) and Kyle ‘KyBu’ Busch (8) on the front row.<\/p>\n

I don’t understand how FOXSports used to provide great views of the race and now seems to be unable to capture the racing action in a manner that tells the story of the race and builds excitement and drama.<\/p>\n

Caution on lap 140 of 200 for Ty Dillon (77) who has come to a stop on the apron.<\/p>\n

MRN is now discussing how exciting the restarts are at this track due to its width – that it has five grooves available for the drivers and they use them all.<\/p>\n

Fontana used to have a place in my list of favorite races of the Cup season. For several years the drivers produced non-competitive, totally boring events and the crowds dwindled. Pocono and Michigan racing also deteriorated during the same period of time. I listen to the guys on MRN and wonder if they’re remembering those years, or if this is another case of great racing at the track, but horrible television coverage leading viewers to avoid the track due to the mistaken belief that what they see on tv is what they’ll see at the track. Having witnessed the death of exciting, competitive racing in Atlanta, I’m unsure. The racing at the track and on the television broadcasts diminished in Atlanta in parallel. So I am less than inclined to believe the racing at the track in Fontana was better than the television coverage. I have seen evidence of a better race at the track than the crap shown in the broadcasts – kids, fans, the track surface, bumpers, the wall, blimp shots, drivers’ feet, drivers driving – but it has not been consistent like the decline at Fontana and Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Restarting on lap 145 of 200 with ‘KyBu’ (8) and ‘KHarv’ (4) up front.<\/p>\n

MRN is reporting on lap 165 of 200 that Joey Logano (22) is falling through the field after possibly making contact with the outside wall. He pits under the green flag.<\/p>\n

Leader Kyle Busch (8) and Ross Chastain (1) pit under green on lap 166 of 200. Martin ‘MTJ’ Truex Jr (19) also pits.<\/p>\n

On lap 168 of 200 more cars make green flag pit stops.<\/p>\n

Green flag pit stops continue on lap 169 of 200.<\/p>\n

MRN reports everybody is going with four tires on the pit stops.<\/p>\n

Darrell ‘Bubba’ Wallace (23) has smoke coming from the engine compartment on lap 172 of 200. MRN reports his day is over as the team pushes the car back to the garage.<\/p>\n

Current ‘KyBu’ is 4.359 seconds ahead of second place Chase Elliott (9) on lap 187 of 200. Can you say logging laps?<\/p>\n

The MRN crew are trying to spot Richard Childress Racing (RCR) owner Richard ‘RC’ Childress. 2023 sees Kyle ‘KyBu’ Busch (8) leaving Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) after fifteen years and moving over to RCR. RC is often visible – pacing – during races.<\/p>\n

On lap 192 of 200 MRN reports ‘Desperate’ Denny Hamlin (11) tapped the fence and loses a position for ‘Happy’ Harvick (4).<\/p>\n

Brad ‘It’ Keselowski (6) brushed the wall, but continues going.<\/p>\n

TV has found RC and keeps showing him intermittently.<\/p>\n

On lap 196 of 200 we have a split screen of KyBu’s crew chief and RC. Kyle remains 3.381 seconds ahead of second place Chase Elliott (9).<\/p>\n

MRN says the bulldozers will move in on Monday.<\/p>\n

TV is now showing a split screen of RC and Kyle Busch (8).<\/p>\n

Kyle Busch (8) takes the white flag.<\/p>\n

Kyle ‘KyBu’ Busch (8) wins finishing 3.988 seconds ahead of Chase Elliott (9).<\/p>\n

I’m glad Kyle Busch got the win. The event had some competitive, fun racing in the first couple of stages. The third stage was more pedestrian overall. It didn’t feel like a waste of time like the Daytona 500. The final Cup race at Fontana was okay; not the best, not the worst. It was better than most of the recent races at the track. I will miss the enjoyable races from my early NASCAR days. I will not miss the super boring races from my more recent NASCAR viewing. I have little interest in another short-track race. They don’t put on a good show on television. Since I don’t live on the west coast, television will likely be my only means of seeing the show. Television broadcasts of short-track racing have been boring at best, unwatchable at worst. Recent history doesn’t predict future excitement at the reworked California Speedway.<\/p>\n

Motorsport News:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. \n
      \n
    1. \n
        \n
      1. Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway is sold out<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      2. Consistency Is Key for Blake Harris & the No. 48 Team<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      3. Kevin Harvick Returns to Native Southern California, Where Future for Racing Remains Unclear<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      4. F1 Champ Jenson Button Interested in NASCAR Road Courses<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      5. Haas test ‘almost boring’ compared to ’22<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      6. Drugovic to make F1 debut if Stroll ruled out<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      7. 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: Travel situation keeps Oskar Andersson out<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      8. 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: 5 stages of desert await<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      9. 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: Al-Attiyah, Quintanilla lead Prologue<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      10. World Superbikes: Alvaro Bautista claims Phillip Island hat-trick<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      11. Bad news for Verstappen’s F1 rivals as Red Bull looks better<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      12. Mechanical issue hampers Kyle Larson at Auto Club Speedway<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      13. Matos grabs third Sebring TA2 victory in season opener<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      14. Marks opens first full-time TA season with pole at Sebring<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      15. “We’re not quite where we want to be, but it’s a good platform to start from” – Hamilton<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      16. Trans Am Sebring TA live stream<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      17. Restart stack-up triggers multi-car crash at Fontana<\/a>.<\/li>\n
      18. Brabham leads CD Racing one-two in TA Sebring opener<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Next Race: Las Vegas<\/h3>\n

        GO 48 – GO 9 – GO 8!!!!<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Cloudy skies blanket the track as 36 cars take warm-up laps. Christopher ‘CBell’ Bell (20) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr (47) will start at the front of the field after qualifying was cancelled due to weather. The stages for today’s race are 65-65-80.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily","category-sports","category-things"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briari.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}