Keep track of this weekend's busy race schedule
If you ever needed to watch racing virtually non-stop, then this is your weekend! It’s Halloween and there’s plenty of ghoulish mysteries yet to be solved and the truth will be revealed on Sunday.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Well, we’re going to start the racing action this weekend on Thursday at Martinsville Speedway for the conclusion of the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Modified Series.
Jon McKennedy is seeking his fifth title and is going to have to hold off a very competitive Ronnie Silk, who trails by six points. Still in the running are defending champion Justin Bonsignore and Eric Goodale.
The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200 streams online at 8:00 p.m. EDT on FloRacing.com.
NASCAR Cup
With championship contention still in play, yep, it’s all on the line for the divisions of NASCAR. Who will be the other three to make the march to Phoenix in joining Joey Lagano for NASCAR’s Championship 4 next weekend.
Now the next stepping stone is the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This Fall Brawl has Chase Elliott marked as the favorite, but Ross Chastain and William Byron will have something to say about that.
Everyone knows Virginian Denny Hamlin is on the outside of the Cup points total of the playoffs and Martinsville Speedway couldn’t have come at a better time. The five-time winner -- with two of those in the fall of the year -- has been the master of Martinsville in the past. Along with Hamlin is Ryan Blaney who has never won there, but does have two runner-up finishes.
Unfortunately, drivers Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe find themselves out of contention unless one of the two can go out and win the Xfinity 500 and punch their ticket to Phoenix, thus knocking somebody out.
When H. Clay Earles built Martinsville Speedway in 1947, his purpose was to provide the best racing action and the best track in NASCAR. Little did he know the paperclip design would provide such great racing and it’s one of the cleanest tracks serving the best hot dogs -- the famous "Martinsville Hot Dogs" -- anywhere. The Round of 8 ends on Sunday and the top 4 will be the only drivers still standing for the championship race next weekend at Phoenix.
The unique Half-Mile of Mayhem will provide tons of fender-grinding action and tempers will be flaring. Could reprisal scenarios present themselves in the latter stages of the race that could completely change the outcome on Sunday? Stay tuned.
NBC will air the Xfinity 500 at 2:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday.
NHRA
NHRA is on special notice this weekend as three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart will make his quarter-mile debut as a drag racer steering a competitive Top Alcohol Dragster this weekend on the strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His announcement on Tuesday definitely has turned heads and how he will do remains to be seen.
The Nevada Nationals will feature the entire Camping World Series and it appears that newcomer Justin Ashley with his crew chief, Mike Green, have turned back Brittany Force, Antron Brown and defending champ Steve Torrence in 2022.
Funny Car is the one to watch. Robert Hight has a slim 10-point over last year’s champ, Ron Capps. Every qualifying round will be under scrutiny and Sunday’s eliminations will be pivotal in who is in command going into Pomona for points and a half in two weeks.
Pro Stock is pretty much a pathway in seeing Erica Enders reach her fifth title and rule supreme in the class. And in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Smith has a 51-point lead over Joey Gladstone and if Smith can continue his momentum, he seems unstoppable.
All the NHRA coverage is on Sunday, Oct. 30 with a qualifying show in the morning and the finals airing on FS1 at 5:00 p.m. EDT.
Formula One
Formula One has three events remaining and although the championship has already been decided with Max Verstappen repeating as the World Champion, there’s still plenty left to be decided. It’s a battle for second between Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez. It’s Perez’s home track and the crowd is definitely behind him.
This weekend finds the F1 teams at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for the Mexico City Grand Prix. The anticipated crowd of over 400,000 has always been a hotbed for F1 and it’s still a hard-fought race for pride and solid work. The excitable crowd will bring enthusiasm and the feel will be electric.
Be sure to check the Auto Racing Digest’s Motorsports TV Schedule to get the exact times and places. We don’t want you to miss a single event.
Be safe and wishing everyone a great racing weekend.
Follow Jay Wells on Twitter @jaywells500.
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