Formula One, taking advantage of its newfound U.S. popularity due in part to the Netflix series “Drive to Survive,” is expanding its presence here.
This weekend is the inaugural Miami Grand Prix, the first of two F1 races in the U.S this year. Next season Las Vegas will make three.
The 3.36 mile, 19-turn Miami street circuit features three DRS zones including two long high-speed sections leading into tight corners, ideal for passing. Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas, who has experienced the track on the simulator, thinks it will be great fun. Crowds are expected to be smaller than at the 10-year old Circuit of the Americas event due to more restricted viewing areas and a higher-end demographic target.
ESPN will broadcast Saturday’s qualifying session at 12:55 p.m. with the race airing at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
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There was another new winner in NASCAR Cup last Sunday, as Chase Elliott became the fourth and final Hendrick Motorsports driver to score a victory this season. Hendrick is now the only multi-car team to have all its drivers in the win column.
Gibbs drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell are still winless; Chase Briscoe is the only Stewart-Haas driver to score; Austin Cindric is the lone Penske winner; Ross Chastain has two wins for Trackhouse while teammate Daniel Suarez hasn’t won, and no Roush Fenway Keselowski, 23XI, Kaulig, Childress, or Petty driver has yet visited victory circle.
This weekend Darlington hosts a rare Mother’s Day race. It’s the 12th race of 2022, 1/3 of the way through the season, and half of the 16 playoff spots are locked in with wins. Elliott leads the points with the winless Ryan Blaney second, followed by William Byron, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Chastain, and Kyle Larson.
Six currently active drivers have won at the “Lady in Black” and “Track Too Tough to Tame,” as Darlington is known. Denny Hamlin leads the pack with four wins including last fall’s Southern 500. Kevin Harvick has won three times at Darlington, Martin Truex twice including last spring, and Eric Jones, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch once each.
As usual, 2021 champion Larson is the favorite of the oddsmakers at 5-1, while Truex and Hamlin are at 7-1. Dover winner Elliott rates an 8-1 nod, Kyle Busch is 9-1, and Byron is 10-1. Chastain is 12-1 with the trio of Harvick, Bowman, and Blaney all at 14-1. My dark horse pick is Stewart-Haas driver Aric Almirola, who goes off at 100-1.
Cup qualifying is Saturday at 8:05 a.m. with the Xfinity race at 10:30. Sunday, the Cup race airs at 12:30 p.m. All are on FS1.
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In NTT IndyCar series action, Arrow McLaren SP driver Pato O’Ward broke the Penske win streak at Barber Motorsports Park last Sunday in the Alabama Grand Prix. Defending winner and 2021 champion Alex Palou chased him to the checker in a close finish. O’Ward’s win moves him to fifth in points, 30 behind leader Palou and one point ahead of five-time champion Scott Dixon.
The series moves to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the rest of the month with the GMR Grand Prix of Indy on the road course May 14. The following weekend will see qualifying for the Indy 500 with the big race scheduled May 29.
There was earlier speculation that there would not be a full field of 33 cars for this year’s 500, but it now appears there will. But with only 33 entries there will be no bumping. The pole run on the final day will be new this year, mirroring the pole procedure for the rest of the season. The top 12 drivers on time will run for the top six positions, and those six will then vie for the pole.
