Hello, motorsports enthusiasts! Welcome to another edition of Seven Points with Kobe Lambeth and Kenneth Lee Jr. We will provide weekly commentary, discussing various topics in motorsports. The majority of our content will focus on NASCAR but other disciplines will be discussed as well.
Lambeth is a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who is a Communications major (mass media concentration) and minor in Journalism. In addition, he contributes to motorsports coverage at The Podium Finish. Lee is a graduate of Tuskegee University with a bachelor's degree in Communications, an alumnus of the NASCAR Diversity Internship Program and an Associate Producer in Content Development for the Motor Racing Network. 1. Last Friday night, Kyle Larson returned to the track for the first time since using the n-word during a live stream of an iRacing event hosted by NASCAR driver Landon Cassill called “Monza Madness.” As a result, Larson was dropped by his sponsors and fired by Chip Ganassi Racing. Then, he was suspended indefinitely from NASCAR and forced to complete sensitivity training. While he remains suspended from NASCAR competition, the World of Outlaws allowed him to compete in a sprint car event at Knoxville Raceway, following his completion of the sensitivity training. In the A-Main, Larson started 18th and ultimately ended his night in 10th-place. Have we seen the last of Kyle Larson in NASCAR? Or will there be a path for him to return to the top level of stock car racing? Lambeth: Although I do not think Kyle Larson's NASCAR career is necessarily over, he will have to overcome some steep hills if he wants to return. Using the n-word in the first place was totally unnecessary and uncalled for. In my opinion, nobody should ever say that word. As a result, he was punished significantly by losing his sponsors and Cup ride at Ganassi. Without question, it will take time for him to repair his image for a new team and sponsors to take a chance on him. In all honesty, I think he will have a path to return to the NASCAR Cup Series at some point. However, the road there will not be an easy one. Lee: Despite Larson being cleared to race in the World of Outlaws, the biggest question to many is when will his NASCAR return happen? Honestly, I don’t think there’s a proper timetable for him to return. Losing Chevrolet was a huge deal but being a major image liability to companies is going to be the biggest harm. He must be “clean” in the eyes of sponsors for him to return to a competitive ride. 2. Formula 1 silly season started with a bang as it was announced that Scuderia Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel would part ways at the end of 2020. What’s next for Vettel? Lambeth: At this point, I am not sure if Vettel has any options unless he is interested in going to Mercedes. It would be odd to see him being teammates with Lewis Hamilton. If he does not join the Silver Arrows, then he could always sign with a midfield team, but it is hard imagining that he would be content riding around in uncompetitive equipment. At age 32 and four titles on his resume, Vettel does not have anything else to prove. If he wanted to retire from Formula 1 at the end of 2020, he would still be considered one the most successful drivers in the sport's history. Lee: After the fallout with Ferrari, I’m not sure if it’s going to be a simple road for Sebastian Vettel, due to all the drama that transpired. The four-time world champion is currently 32 years old. Regarding his age, it isn’t a nail in the coffin for his career but his options are limited. With Daniel Ricciardo signing with McLaren, it seems pretty grim at the moment for Vettel to be in a Formula 1 car next year. This one will be tricky for him moving forward. 3. Following the news of four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel’s tenure at Ferrari ending later this year, Maranello was quick to name Carlos Sainz as Vettel’s replacement for the 2021 season alongside young star Charles Leclerc. Did Ferrari make the right move to pursue Sainz, instead of promoting Italian driver Antonio Giovinazzi from Alfa Romeo Racing? Lambeth: No one can deny that Ferrari is planning to build the team around Charles Leclerc. They gave him a contract extension, locking up the young talent for the foreseeable future. I think Sainz is a safe choice by Ferrari. He has always been a prospect with tons of potential. For any driver, having the opportunity to race for Ferrari is quite a blessing. As for Giovinazzi, I am not surprised that he did not receive the promotion from Alfa Romeo. When Leclerc drove for the same team, he put together dazzling performances that left many impressed. I have not seen the same from Giovinazzi. However, when the 2020 season starts, the Italian driver will get his chance to show Ferrari they made a mistake. Lee: Carlos Sainz moving to Ferrari was a move that I wasn’t thinking about at all, if I’m being honest. I thought Antonio Giovinazzi was going to be the next up in the order. It will be interesting to see the 25-year-old driver paired up with the even younger Charles Leclerc. This one remains questionable in my eyes. In a year, we may come back to this and say it was a great move. 4. With Carlos Sainz leaving for Ferrari, McLaren chose to sign seven-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo to a multi-year contract, beginning in 2021. Ricciardo joins Lando Norris as the entire team continues its march up the grid. Is Ricciardo the right fit for McLaren? Lambeth: I think McLaren really fits Daniel Ricciardo. He almost signed with the team a few years ago, before ultimately deciding to join Renault. Him and Lando Norris should be an interesting pair. His Formula 1 experience will be important for the McLaren operation, hoping to keep rising up the grid. Ricciardo can be a team leader and young Norris will have an experienced and race-winning teammate to learn from. Lee: It’s been quite the road for Daniel Ricciardo moving along in his Formula 1 career. I’d imagine off the jump Ferrari would be a better fit but that team has had a lot of drama recently. Same thing along the line of what happened at Red Bull, being an understudy to the younger driver. For a change, this might be a solid move for him but we shall see. 5. If the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans occurs as scheduled (Sept. 19-20), GTE-Pro will lose four entries from IMSA’s GTLM class. Two factory Porsches fielded by CORE autosport and both C8.Rs from Corvette Racing have been withdrawn recently. Given the current state of the world, are you shocked by the decision? Lambeth: Given the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, tough decisions must be made for these teams to survive financially. It does not shock me at all to see Corvette withdraw their entries and Porsche pull their IMSA GTLM cars from Le Mans. Without cash flowing during these unprecedented times, teams have to do whatever it takes to survive until racing resumes. Lee: As time continues to move along, I’m not surprised. We see more and more teams drop out of events. Money is more than likely really tight and efforts are going to have to be changed throughout time in racing. I’m sure the large travel effort was a big component of their withdrawal. 6. After the firing of Kyle Larson, Chip Ganassi Racing chose 2003 NASCAR Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the remainder of the 2020 season. Given his experience and success behind the wheel, why is Kenseth the right choice at Ganassi? Lambeth: Kenseth is the perfect choice for the 42 car. While most expected Ross Chastain to fill the seat, it sent shockwaves through the NASCAR community when Ganassi brought the 2003 Cup champion back to the grid. Kenseth holds years of experience as another veteran alongside Kurt Busch. After receiving a waiver, it would not surprise me if Kenseth makes the playoffs. Ganassi brings fast cars to the track and the 48-year-old still has the fire burning inside to be competitive. Lee: I think Kenseth is the right choice in this situation for Chip Ganassi Racing, especially with the way the season is going to resume. Having a veteran, championship-winning driver is going to be crucial without practice or qualifying in these events. I think he should have a good run at Darlington in both races. 7. With NASCAR returning on Sunday afternoon with the Cup Series at Darlington Raceway and a set schedule through June 21, will this serve as a much needed distraction from the coronavirus pandemic? What are the chances that new viewers starving for sports will turn to NASCAR for entertainment for at least the next month? Lambeth: Many folks all over the country are hungry for live sports on television. Luckily, NASCAR returns in a few days. During tough times, sports have always been a way to escape problems in the real world. NASCAR should serve as a nice distraction for some while others may be intrigued for the first time. I agree with Kenny about not seeing a massive blow up, like the one that put the sport on the map nationally. However, we will likely see a good number of people watch the race, who do not typically follow racing. Lee: I think a lot of people are looking for live sports to return in some form. I don’t think this will be the original blow up that helped NASCAR out decades ago, but it will be a good chance for eyes that normally wouldn’t watch. As long as everything goes according to plan, I think this will be quite entertaining especially with limited time to set up the cars. Bonus Point: During NASCAR’s hiatus, virtual racing took spotlight on the national stage. In general, what did you think of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series? Lambeth: I think it was a good way for NASCAR to take advantage of the unique circumstances. While we could not watch real racing on the track, virtual racing was the next best thing. In my opinion, showing iRacing on television was better than having no racing at all. NASCAR, FOX and iRacing deserve credit for putting together the Pro Invitational Series. As we got closer to the end of the series, I honestly lost some interest, on a personal level. As Kenny mentioned, they should have taken advantage of being able to host races at tracks that NASCAR does not go to in real life. In addition, it disappointed me that we never got to see Formula 1 driver Lando Norris or IndyCar drivers get an invite. I think these two factors would have been helpful. However, that does not matter now because NASCAR returns to real racing at Darlington in two days! Lee: With the hiatus, I think they took advantage of something that most people would’ve never expected to blow up. After a ton of debates about why people don’t like iRacing (particularly boomers), yet it became the forefront of attention. I think it was cool to see it on the national stage for someone who is an online racer himself. The one thing I wish NASCAR took advantage of was to go to “fantasy” venues on iRacing during this time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |