Good morning! Welcome to Thursday! Only one day till the weekend and while there isn’t nearly as much on-track action as last weekend, there is no shortage of motorsports news. NASCAR heads to Phoenix to get a preview of things to come in the 2023 Championship Finale while F1 and IndyCar take the week off. 

Why do Swiss drivers have the fewest number of F1 victories?

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Money Lap Fantasy by eRacr

BIG NEWS! Our entry limit to our NASCAR Fantasy league has finally been increased! You can now join both our NASCAR and F1 fantasy leagues to compete with other Money Lap fans and win exclusive prizes throughout the season! Join using the links below: 

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 Standings

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Motorsports Moneyline

Phoenix Driver Odds (provided by BetMGM) 

+800 Joey Logano

+800 Ryan Blaney

+900 Kyle Larson

+1000 Ross Chastain

+1000 Kyle Busch

+1000 Denny Hamlin

Trending Up 📈

Bubba Wallace – With an average finishing position of P25, Wallace didn’t exactly get the start to 2023 that he had hoped for. However, after leaving Vegas with a Top 5, it seems that he and the 23XII crew have started to figure some things out. Look for him to be competing for more Top 5’s as we get further into the season.

Trending Down 📉

Josh Berry – Berry was thrown to the wolves this weekend filling in for Chase Elliott in the no. 9 car on such short notice. However, with all three of his Hendrick Motorsport teammates finishing on the podium, a P29 finish doesn’t look the greatest. Don’t look for a Cinderella-story scenario until Berry gets some more seat time and proves he can run up front.

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F1

Vasseur’s Vow

Ferrari’s Team Principal Fred Vasseur has promised to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of Charles Leclerc’s retirement from the third position in the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. Ferrari left Bahrain with 12 points, with Carlos Sainz finishing fourth and Leclerc retiring. Vasseur did not confirm whether the engine parts replaced before the race caused Leclerc’s retirement. Vasseur said that Ferrari was on par with Red Bull in qualifying pace, but their long-run deficit was clear. He promised to improve tyre management and reliability problems.

Mercedes in Mayhem

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has said the team’s car concept needs major changes after the opening race of the 2023 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, where it finished 50 seconds behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Mercedes’ “zero-sidepod” concept has been proven wrong, according to Wolff, who said it might only be possible to make the necessary changes for a better 2024 season. Wolff called the Bahrain Grand Prix “one of our worst days in racing” and said the team needs to take risks and radically change its approach to compete this season.

Box, Box Lando

McLaren driver Lando Norris was forced to pit six times during the Bahrain Grand Prix due to a “pneumatic pressure leak” in his car, resulting in him finishing last of the classified runners. Norris tried to make light of the situations stating it was “good pit stop practice for the mechanics.”

Lando had started the race from 11th on the grid and initially moved up to ninth, but was soon overtaken and then suffered a power unit issue that required him to pit frequently. The team’s other driver, Oscar Piastri, retired early due to an electrical issue. Despite the setbacks, McLaren’s Team Principal Andrea Stella said a top-10 finish was possible if not for the reliability problems.

More F1

💪 American Logan Sargeant impresses in F1 Debut… Albon says his teammate will keep him on his toes all season

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NASCAR

Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor Tabbed as Elliott’s Replacements

So honored to be asked by @TeamHendrick to fill in for Chase at Circuit of the Americas in the #9 car. This is obviously under difficult circumstances with Chase being injured. It is going to be a heck of a learning curve, but I hope we can make him proud while he’s recovering.

— Jordan Taylor (@jordan10taylor)
Mar 7, 2023

Hendrick Motorsports announced that Josh Berry and Jordan Taylor will share the driving duties of the No. 9 car until Chase Elliott returns from his injury. Elliott suffered a fractured tibia in a snowboarding accident and his expected recovery time is about six weeks. Berry, who competes full-time in the Xfinity Series, will drive Elliott’s car at upcoming oval tracks, while Taylor will drive for the No. 9 car at Circuit of the Americas. Elliott is rehabilitating in Colorado and could return for the April 23 race at Talladega Superspeedway if his recovery goes as scheduled.

Kimi is back at COTA

Kimi Räikkönen, the 2007 Formula One World Champion, will return to the NASCAR Cup Series on March 26 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas to race PROJECT91’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This will be his second Cup Series race after debuting with PROJECT91 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on Aug. 21 last year. Unlike the Watkins Glen track, Räikkönen is familiar with COTA, racing on the road course eight times during his Formula One career. Räikkönen will race the No. 91 Onx/iLOQ Chevrolet Camaro at COTA fielded by a Trackhouse crew led by 23-time winning crew chief Darian Grubb.

Chastain’s Wall Ride Preserved in History

It was an honor having @RossChastain with us today @MartinsvilleSwy to remove the “Hail Melon Wall.”  I was happy to present him with his own piece of the wall.

— Clay Campbell (@WClayCampbell)
Mar 7, 2023

Martinsville Speedway has decided to remove and preserve a section of the wall that Ross Chastain hit during his famous “Hail Melon” wall-ride, which helped him pass five cars on the final lap and vaulted him into the Championship 4. Chastain was present to help remove the wall and even signed it before it was taken down. He was later presented with a framed piece of the wall by the track president. The move went viral across social media and gave Chastain the opportunity to fight for the championship in the 2022 title-decider at Phoenix, where he finished as the runner-up. NASCAR has since banned the wall-ride for safety reasons in January.

More NASCAR

📸 Ty Gibbs focused on ‘bigger picture’… He knows past success doesn’t provide any guarantees

🖊 Hocevar inks Xfinity Series Deal… He’ll race for Spire Motorsports for six races with a technical partnership with JR Motorpsorts

🏙 Chicago Street Course announces name of inaugural event… Name, race length and other details announced for the July 2nd event

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IndyCar

Chevy Claims Fault for Missed Opportunity in St. Pete

Chevrolet’s IndyCar program manager, Rob Buckner, apologized to Pato O’Ward and the Arrow McLaren team for an issue that occurred during the recent St. Petersburg race that cost O’Ward a win. During the race, O’Ward was leading when his car lost power for a second, allowing Marcus Ericsson to pass him and ultimately win the race.

Buckner explained that the issue was a “plenum event” caused by a once-in-a-million combination of settings during very heavy transient events, like O’Ward coming off the hairpin. This caused the fuel/air mixture in the plenum to be fully consumed and the torque output of the engine to plummet momentarily. Buckner expressed regret for the event and said that Chevrolet and Ilmor staff would conduct a thorough investigation to reduce the chances of a repeat occurrence.

More IndyCar

🃏Chip Ganassi Racing unveils new trading cards… Alex Palou reveals a 37 card set spanning several different racing disciplines

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GLOBAL MOTORSPORT

Take a trip to far away motorsport lands

💸 Rolex 24 Winners fined $50k… Meyer Shank Racing penalized because of a tire infraction

🚨 Simon Pagenaud makes his Le Mans Return… His last Le Mans start was in 2011 where he finished P2

📢 FIA Introduces new rule to make WRC Rally1 Cars louder… WRC Rally1 cars will be louder when EV mode is engaged

👥 Entry list for GT World Challenge Europe released… A record 40 car grid for the Sprint Cup Rounds, 56 for Endurance Cup

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Memes

McLaren sponsors after seeing the result in Bahrain

— F1 MEMES (@f1trolls_)
Mar 8, 2023

Red Bull sponsors when the car is so fast it’s not even broadcasted

— F1 MEMES (@f1trolls_)
Mar 7, 2023

6 more weeks till he’s back! #prayersforchase#nascar#nascarmemes

— Jimmie Logano (@JimmieLogano)
Mar 8, 2023

Worldwide privacy tour

📷: Influence-Fragrant  #f1

— Inside The Paddock | Best F1® Memes (@PaddockMemes)
Mar 8, 2023

Finally, nailed it.

📷: RareGollum  #f1

— Inside The Paddock | Best F1® Memes (@PaddockMemes)
Mar 7, 2023

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ONBOARD OF THE DAY

Giancarlo Fisichella Melbourne 2000 Onboard

Take a lap around the Melbourne with Giancarlo Fisichella hearing the roar of the Benneton-Playlife B200. The Italian would qualify P9 and finish the race P5 in the 2000 Australian GP. 

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