It’s Monday, September 25, 2023 and this is Racing Recap, your summary of last weekend’s motorsports action. William Byron secured Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Texas Motor Speedway. Red Bull Racing clinched the F1 Constructors’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix as Max Verstappen cruised to victory. MotoGP held its inaugural Indian Grand Prix despite visa issues and a last-minute track homologation.
Byron Wins At Texas, Larson Crashes During Lead Duel
The history books will remember AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 for being Hendrick Motorsports’ 300th NASCAR Cup Series victory. However, William Byron wasn’t the most likely driver to take the milestone win. His teammate Kyle Larson had the strongest car all day but crashed out with 19 laps to go. Larson was battling with Bubba Wallace through Turns 1 and 2. The Hendrick driver got loose on the inside and slid back into the outside wall.
Wallace, the polesitter, had the speed to win but couldn’t hold back Byron. The eventual race-winner got around Bubba with six laps to go. Wallace said In a post-race interview with NBC, “I know what I did and I choked.” The 23XI driver is sitting below the playoff cut-line, and a win would have instantly qualified him for the next round.
Race Results
1. – William Byron (Hendrick)
2. – Ross Chastain (Trackhouse) – +1.863 seconds
3. – Bubba Wallace (23XI) – +2.196 seconds
4. – Christopher Bell (Gibbs) – +2.468 seconds
5. – Denny Hamlin (Gibbs) – +3.668 seconds
Red Bull Clinches Constructors Despite Perez DNF
The rumors of Red Bull Racing’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. After losing their first race of the season in Singapore, Max Verstappen took pole for an incredible margin in qualifying in Japan. The reigning world champion was over a half-second faster than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who earned his first-ever front-row start.
Verstappen would go on to win the Japanese Grand Prix by 19.3 seconds. During the three-wide run to the first corner, Piastri was passed by his teammate Lando Norris and the podium order remained the same at the finish. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez didn’t make it to the finish after colliding with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen during the early portion of the race. However, Perez would rejoin the race briefly 15 minutes later to serve a penalty for the crash so it wouldn’t be applied as a grid penalty at the next race.
Verstappen’s points haul was enough for Red Bull to clinch the World Constructors’ Championship despite Sergio Perez’s DNF. The results were emblematic of Red Bull’s season as a whole.
Race Results
1. – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. – Lando Norris (McLaren) – +19.387 seconds
3. – Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +36.494 seconds
4. – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +43.998 seconds
5. – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – +49.376 seconds
MotoGP Title Race Tightens As Bagnaia Crashes Again
There were worries earlier in the week that the Indian Grand Prix wouldn’t take place. Riders, team personnel and championship staff suffered difficulties obtaining visas to enter the country. Also, the Buddh International Circuit wasn’t homologated for MotoGP use at the start of the week. Thankfully, the issues were resolved and the races went on as scheduled.
Sunday’s race saw yet another swing in the title race. VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi comfortably won the Grand Prix from pole. Pramac’s title contender Jorge Martin held off Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo to finish second. The reigning world champion and points leader Francesco Bagnaia took home zero points. The Ducati rider crashed out of the race with eight laps to go. The gap between Bagnaia and Martin is now only 13 points.
Race Results
1. – Marco Bezzecchi (VR46)
2. – Jorge Martin (Pramac) – +8.649 seconds
3. – Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) – +8.855 seconds
4. – Brad Binder (KTM) – +12.643 seconds
5. – Joan Mir (Honda) – +13.214 seconds