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 and serves as the co-host of GRID Live. 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. The ACO announced a new schedule for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is set to get underway on Sept. 19. The schedule is condensed with only four days of track action. As other racing series around the world get back into the swing of things, will a condensed schedule help lower the costs during these unprecedented times? Other ways to reduce costs? Lambeth: Racing series across the globe will not have a choice, but to find ways to reduce costs for race teams. They were put in quite an unfortunate situation and must take the necessary steps to ensure their future. As for the revised schedule for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I think they could further reduce costs by eliminating some of the practice sessions. These teams are professionals and should be able to prepare for the race with limited practice. Then again, you have Le Mans rookies who need to get track time, in order to be prepared to take on the demanding, high speed circuit. Lee: At this point, I think you have to always think on a bigger scale when it comes to racing. If you want teams to survive during this time, I think having a reduced schedule can help with the cost of going from track to track. Of course, rookies in this situation may run into problems at Le Mans, but that’s going to be the risk this year. 2. Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wright Motorsports had to withdraw one of their Porsches from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTD Sprint Cup Championship. The No. 91 entry was set to be shared by Jeroen Bleekemolen and Anthony Imperato, with sponsorship from Henry’s Repeating Arms. Unfortunately, the sponsor is experiencing some tough times, following the shutdown. With a lot of businesses struggling to get restarted, do you think it will be more challenging for race teams and drivers to secure sponsorship? Lambeth: As we look ahead to the future, it may get a little challenging for drivers and teams to find sponsors to support their racing programs. While some businesses are slowly but surely finding their footing again, there are still quite a number of them still struggling to get going. This is a sad situation for both sides. Unfortunately, it is hard to determine what will happen next with the sponsorship situation, but I can imagine that it may be difficult for some to secure deals for the remainder of the racing season into next year. Lee: This may be a challenging time for teams trying to gain sponsors for a limited schedule rather than having a full season of sponsorship. It’s going to be hard once things get back to normal somewhat. It could be a tough time moving forward for many teams as we get through these strange times. 3. IndyCar announced that fans will return to the track during the doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway next month. As more fans are beginning to return to the grandstands, are racing series taking the precautions needed to ensure the safety of the fans? Lambeth: As long as the tracks are following guidelines from health professionals and doing exactly what they should be doing, I think you can definitely reduce the spread of COVID-19. Of course, there will still be positive cases. You cannot escape that fact. However, being as safe as you can be should reduce those chances. I hope the fans who are fortunate enough to attend races during this time period enjoy themselves but I want them to be safe as well. If a track is not going to look after the health of its paying spectators, then people can take matters into their own hands to protect themselves from getting infected or infecting others. Lee: As time moves forward, we’ve had more tracks announce that fans will be able to attend races. Despite there being a limited number of fans in the stands, I think every track needs to make sure everyone is wearing a mask. While this is a personal risk for more people, I believe that the main goal should be making the environment as safe as possible at all times. 4. During last weekend's Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Joey Logano held up race leader Chase Elliott, allowing eventual winner Denny Hamlin to take the lead. Do you think this was payback from the incident at Bristol Motor Speedway? Lambeth: Without a doubt, Joey Logano saw a perfect opportunity to return the favor to Chase Elliott. Luckily, Elliott did not get wrecked but Logano held him up long enough to aid Denny Hamlin. No harm, no foul. After Elliott took away Logano’s chance to win at Bristol, Logano switched roles and ruined Elliott’s hopes of winning at Homestead. Is this little feud over? Stay tuned. Lee: I’m not sure “payback” is the exact word in this case, but more so a driver’s memory is pretty long. Drivers don’t forget about the way you race them and Joey Logano was a prime example of that. He didn’t wreck Elliott or anything but he actually put some action behind making it difficult for another driver. Is it anything bigger than that? We’ll have to wait and see. 5. In 2021, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer will get inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Did the voters get it correct? Do you think Carl Edwards' shock retirement will end up hurting his chances of getting in down the road? Lambeth: The voters did a solid job with the selection of next year’s NASCAR Hall of Fame class. Junior, Stefanik and Farmer are very deserving. If I had a vote, I would probably choose the same three. I think Carl Edwards will get inducted at some point, but he probably would have a stronger case without the early retirement. To make this perfectly clear, Edwards' decision to walk away from the sport was his choice and I totally respect him for deciding to leave during his prime years. If he stayed, I think he would have accomplished a lot more and maybe secure the Cup title that escaped him. He will get in at some point. Lee: I think this was a pretty solid class! I’m super ecstatic about Red Farmer being part of the class. He’s one of those guys that I’ve been rooting for to get into the NASCAR Hall of Fame and I think a lot of people will be amazed by his story. I’m not sure if Edwards’ shock retirement will be his downfall because he has a case based on others that have made it in. 6. Initially, open-wheel and sports car racing veteran James Davison was set to make his NASCAR Cup Series debut this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. However, NASCAR decided that it was not the best idea for him to debut at this particular track. Therefore, Davison's Cup debut will have to wait until Pocono. Did NASCAR make the right decision to prevent the five-time Indianapolis 500 starter from competing this weekend? Lambeth: Absolutely. Given his resume, I typically would not have an issue with a driver like Davison making his Cup debut at Talladega. However, without practice, qualifying and changes to the aero package, I think holding off until Pocono is a smart idea. Superspeedway racing is a different animal. Honestly, I think he would have been fine competing in the Cup race at Talladega if he entered the ARCA or Xfinity race to gain experience. Typically, at the beginning of the season, you will see several drivers enter the ARCA Menards Series season opener at Daytona to gain approval to run at superspeedways in the national series. Lee: I think they made a solid decision. I know people are on the “Well, he raced at Indy, so this should be no problem at all.” But a guy that’s never been in a Cup car, I don’t think it’s just that simple. Along with that, this isn’t new at all. Even Juan Pablo Montoya had to make an ARCA superspeedway start in 2006 just to be prepared for that style of racing. 7. Following Ryan Newman's terrifying crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500, NASCAR made several changes to the superspeedway package. How do you think the changes will impact the on-track product? Lambeth: Due to changes with the superspeedway package, we are heading into Talladega with a few unknowns. During the early laps of the race, it would not surprise me if the drivers get in a single-file line and log laps for learning purposes. When they get more laps under their belt, I think we will see the action intensify. I am not an engineer so I have no clue what the on-track product is going to look like. The speeds should be lower in the pack, given less horsepower this time around. However, I still believe that we should still witness a wild Talladega race filled with intense action, crashes and close calls. More importantly, I wish for a safe race. Newman’s crash prompted NASCAR to respond accordingly as an effort to keep all drivers safe at these speeds and racing conditions. Lee: The removal of the ducts from the car and a reduction of horsepower will be done for Sunday’s race and we may see drivers play it conservative in the opening stage. They may not get super racey until the middle of the race, but I think we should still get a pretty good race this weekend.
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