Hello, motorsports enthusiasts! Welcome to another edition of Seven Points with Kobe Lambeth and Kenneth Lee Jr. We will provide a weekly discussion each Wednesday on various topics in motorsports. Most content will focus on NASCAR but other racing series will be discussed as well.
Lambeth is a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, who is a Communications major with a concentration in mass media and minor in journalism. He is a contributor to The Podium Finish and RockinghamNow. 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. Under NASCAR’s new rule, for illegal vehicles, Ross Chastain was disqualified from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway. After sweeping both stages and dominating, the Niece Motorsports truck was declared “extremely low” in post-race inspection. With Chastain’s victory given to Brett Moffitt and a major hit to the #MelonManChallenge, do you think Niece Motorsports can secure a playoff berth? Lambeth: This disqualification likely caught everybody by surprise. Many individuals begged NASCAR to completely disqualify illegal vehicle for years. While I am disappointed for Ross Chastain and Niece Motorsports, I am truly glad that NASCAR is standing up and taking away wins now. I believe the majority of racing series, across the globe, have rules for disqualification and NASCAR is finally joining the party. You could see how excited Chastain and his team were in victory lane. They were tickled to death with joy and excitement. I bet it was heartbreaking when they got the confirmation. Nevertheless, I still believe in their ability to win again and get safely inside the top-20, in points. Despite the setback, I fully expect the #MelonManChallenge to be one of the top storylines to follow in the Truck Series. Lee: It took halfway through the year to finally get a disqualification and it happened to be a fan favorite, with Ross Chastain failing post-race inspection at Iowa. Just of note, the ride height rule is really an unfortunate deal for the trucks, with them already being so low to the ground. Personally, I think that should be done away with as a rule. He still has a shot at making the playoffs, given a few of the drivers he has to pass aren’t running full-time schedules this season. This will be interesting to keep track of as the regular season dwindles down. 2. Johnny Sauter and Austin Hill were involved in some on-track drama in Iowa. Hill did not appreciate how Sauter raced him, so he decided to take care of the matter and send Sauter spinning into the wall. Afterwards, Sauter retaliated by wrecking Hill under caution. Do you think this was totally uncalled for? Should Sauter receive a suspension? Lambeth: Apparently, there was bad blood between Sauter and Hill, in the past, leading up to their argy bargy on the track. It seems like Hill got tired of putting up with Sauter's antics and decided to do something about it. Since both are locked in to the playoffs, wrecking Sauter is probably not the smartest thing to do. Ask Joey Logano what happens when you make an enemy and how it ends in the playoffs. As for Sauter, I think intentionally dumping Hill under caution is totally uncalled for. NASCAR made the right decision to park him for that action. I would rather see drivers get out of their cars and settle it post-race, instead of tearing up equipment. Based on history, I think a suspension for Sauter would make sense, if NASCAR remains consistent. However, I would not be mad if Sauter avoided suspension. Well, he got suspended for the upcoming race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Life moves on. Lee: Sauter and Hill had a run-in back at Texas, just a week ago. To nobody’s surprise, Sauter simply was being himself. The social media world erupted when Sauter wrecked Hill under the caution and it was quite the show for those at Iowa. While I don’t think NASCAR should suspended him, for the wreck, it would surprise me if they ended up doing it (NASCAR suspended Sauter for one race). There’s a lot of inconsistency when it comes to these types of decisions. 3. Rising talent Chandler Smith made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut last weekend at Iowa Speedway. Smith started on the pole, thanks to the cancellation of qualifying. However, the 16-year-old led some laps and ended the day in the top-10. Do you think Smith will become the next young star from Toyota Racing Development? Lambeth: Like many others, I have read about Chandler Smith's amazing performances on short tracks. He appears to be the real deal. In his Truck Series debut, he led a good amount of laps and earned a respectable finish. If he continues this form, I believe that he could follow in the footsteps of Erik Jones and Christopher Bell. Lee: Iowa has been a very kind track to the young drivers. The 16-year-old driver led a good deal of laps, in the opening stage of Sunday’s race. Once his truck was in traffic, that’s where he found a few problems but still had a solid day overall. TRD has been the king of finding talent, so it will be interesting to see Smith development as he moves up the stock car racing ladder. 4. Christopher Bell earned his fourth victory of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season last Sunday at Iowa Speedway. At this point of the season, last year, Bell only had a single win. Is he the championship favorite? Do you expect the “Bell to Cup” rumors to pick up even more as the weeks progress? Lambeth: Without a doubt, I think Bell is the favorite to win the championship. But Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick will be in the mix too. It has been a joy to watch these three develop into superb talents over the years. We will likely continue to hear speculation about Bell's future until his 2020 plans are confirmed. Lee: There’s no way you can tell me that Bell isn’t the favorite to win the Xfinity Series championship. I think the fight will come down to him, Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Justin Algaier when we reach Miami in November. The rumors are going to keep ramping up as many of us in the NASCAR world know how talented he is. It’s tough being in the Gibbs camp with almost nowhere to go at this point. 5. Toyota Gazoo Racing claimed its second-consecutive victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid of Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Fernando Alonso captured back-to-back Le Mans victories, but the trio also captured the world championship. Would you consider this a successful Super Season for Japanese manufacturer? Lambeth: It was an all-Toyota affair during the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship season. The Japanese manufacturer easily dominated the LMP1 class. The non-hybrids had no chance to truly compete. Toyota were in a class all of their own. However, I do not want to discredit their accomplishments this season. Toyota deserves praise for executing their plans and collecting the prizes at the end. I am gutted for the No. 7 Toyota though. Jose Maria Lopez, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi were in the perfect spot to win Le Mans until problems struck, late in the race. Maybe their luck will turn around next season! Lee: Toyota have done it again at Le Mans, in a dominating fashion this past weekend. Toyota has flat out dominated the LMP1 category and their hybrid program is clearly the class of the field. People have complained about “no competition.” If you look back on history, in the fastest class, no matter the era, there’s been strings of manufacturers dominating for years. For some reason, there is an odd desire for “parity,” which is something that never existed at any level of professional racing or sports. Kudos to Toyota, for dominating one of the biggest races on the calendar. 6. The 24 Hours of Le Mans ended early for the No. 64 Corvette C7.R, due to an incident with a GTE-Am car. Marcel Fassler, who was behind the wheel of the GTE-Pro Corvette, tried overtaking Satoshi Hoshino’s No. 88 GTE-Am Porsche and resulted in a heavy shunt for the 64. Ultimately, this forced Corvette to retire one of its entries, early in the race. Race officials claimed that Fassler was at fault for the incident and fined him. In your opinion, did the officials make the correct call? Lambeth: To be honest, I think they made the wrong call to blame Fassler for the incident. Could Fassler have waited, before overtaking Hoshino? Absolutely. If you watch the replay, you can clearly see Hoshino move slightly to the left and clip the Corvette, sending it for a wild wide. I think it was an error on Hoshino's part. Lee: Tough break for the Corvette team this past weekend, after being taken out very early and then blamed for the incident. I’m not sure what the race officials were thinking, fining the car that was shunted into the barrier. It doesn’t make much sense honestly. 7. Keating Motorsports' GTE-Am class victory no longer exists as the No. 85 Ford GT was disqualified from the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Felipe Fraga are no longer class winners. Ultimately, handing the win to the No. 56 Team Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR of Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Lindsey and Egidio Perfetti. How would you feel if you were disqualified from one of the biggest races in the world, after initially being declared the winners? Lambeth: My world would be completely shattered if my Le Mans victory was taken away from me. I cannot imagine the range of emotions at Keating Motorsports. You spend months preparing for the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic and it is all taken away from you. Ultimately, the rules are the rules. Wins should be taken away if a car does not meet the proper regulations. Ben Keating responded to the heartbreak in a classy manner and he will move on from here. Lee: Can you imagine having the weekend of your life, in France, just to get a call like this on Monday morning? I’d be absolutely gutted to find out the news about being disqualified from Le Mans. You just have no idea when you’ll be back at Le Mans, let alone compete at the same level that they did last weekend. Extra Point: Road course racing will be the theme this weekend. NASCAR makes their annual visit to wine country for some fun at Sonoma Raceway, while IndyCar will tackle the twists and turns of Road America. Why should race fans plan for a weekend in front of the television? Lambeth: Fans of road course racing will enjoy a great weekend of motorsports. I am excited to watch the NASCAR drivers take on the full Sonoma circuit. Only if a certain track could #RunTheBoot next….. IndyCar at Road America should be a decent show as well. I recommend planning your weekend, watching all of the action at Sonoma and Road America. Road course racing is one of my favorites and I expect nothing but entertainment. Lee: It is finally time for the first road course race of the season for NASCAR as the Cup Series and K&N Series take on the full circuit at Sonoma. It should be quite the race with the new configuration. Also, IndyCar takes on Road America, which is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. It should be a fun event. A full weekend of road course racing is always great. Definitely watch both this weekend!
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