This Week In Action Motorsports: April 1-3, 2022
Image via NHRA
Gear up for events from the biggest series in action motorsports with our weekend preview of the most exciting races in the world! From the premier open-wheel circuits in the world to both two and four-wheel events in the dirt, check in here each week to find out who’s running up front and how to watch.
NHRA at Las Vegas (Sunday, 7PM ET, FS1)
For the first time this season, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series goes four-wide in Las Vegas. After a light March that consisted only of the legendary Gatornationals in Gainesville, Las Vegas kicks off a busy April with three events, including both of this year’s four-wide rounds.
Three rounds into the season, Steve Torrence hasn’t been quite as dominant in Top Fuel as he has been in years past, but he’s still been the winner of six of the past seven four-wide races in the series. Instead, it’s Arizona Nationals winner Mike Salinas who currently leads the division standings. He’s joined at the top by Robert Hight in Funny Car, Aaron Stanfield in Pro Stock, and Karen Stoffer in Pro Stock Motorcycle.
SCORE San Felipe 250 (Saturday, 1PM ET)
The four-race World Desert Championship kicks back into gear for 2022 with a visit to San Felipe, with a single 277-mile loop standing between drivers’ hopes of starting the year off on a high note. Bryce Menzies is the defending overall winner in Trophy Truck, while Jason Coleman (TT Spec), Shelby Reid (Class 1), Brandon Schueler (Pro UTV Forced Induction), and Kristen Matlock (Pro UTV NA) were among last year’s winners.
Menzies is just one of many marquee names on the entry list of 42 premier trucks, including defending class champion Rob MacCachren, all three McMillins, Justin Lofton, Cameron Steele, Larry Roeseler, Alan Ampudia, and many more. Matlock joins both her husband Wayne and defending Pro Stock UTV winner Mike Cafro in a bolstered Pro UTV Open class, while Schueler leads more than two dozen Pro UTV FI teams looking to take over the class and overall series titles from Phil Blurton in 2022.
Formula Drift at Long Beach (Saturday, 5:45PM ET, formulad.com/live)
The long-awaited return of Long Beach to its rightful April stop at the head of the Formula Drift calendar is finally upon us. The first of eight rounds in this year’s championship sees one of the most diverse fields in motorsports take on part of the same course used the following week for IndyCar’s Long Beach Grand Prix.
Odi Bakchis is the defending Long Beach winner from last fall, while Fredric Aasbo is the defending series champion. While Aasbo only scored one win last year in St. Louis, his six appearances in the final four were good enough to beat Matt Field by 31 points in the 2021 standings, and Bakchis, who tied Chelsea Denofa with a series-high three victories, by 34.
Additional Broadcasts
· Formula Drift at Long Beach Knockout Qualifying: Friday, 6:15PM ET, formulad.com/live
· NHRA Las Vegas Friday Qualifying: Friday, 7PM ET, FS1
· Trans-Am at Charlotte: Saturday, 6AM ET, CBSSN
· Amsoil Championship Snocross: Saturday, 8:30AM ET, CBSSN (3 consecutive shows)
· Formula Drift at Long Beach Top 32: Saturday, 1:30PM ET, formulad.com/live
· Trans-Am at Road Atlanta: Saturday, 6PM ET, CBSSN; Sunday, 10AM ET and 5:30PM ET, CBSSN
· NHRA Las Vegas Saturday Qualifying: Sunday, 12:30PM ET, FS1