Frontstretch amassed massive growth on its YouTube page in 2022.
Starting the year with less than 200 subscribers, the page has grown to over 9,000 subscribers and amassing 6.5 million views this year alone. Our staff members looked back and picked their favorite videos of the year from Frontstretch‘s YouTube.
1. Dalton Hopkins’ Pick: Jeff Gordon Reacts to Joey Logano/William Byron Incident at Darlington
William Byron and Joey Logano battled for the race win late in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. Logano’s nudge to the No. 24’s rear sent Byron into the wall, and he settled for a 13th-place finish while Logano captured the win.
Byron was not happy with the move that Logano made for the win. Neither was NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and current Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon. He expressed his thoughts to Frontstretch‘s Dalton Hopkins, saying that Byron has to pay back Logano. This was a stark contrast to the Gordon seen in the NASCAR on FOX booth from 2016-21.
2. Bryan Nolen’s Pick: Noah Gragson vs. Ty Gibbs – Portland Edition
Noah Gragson‘s 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season could be described as eventful. On one hand, he won eight races and came up just shy of the championship. On the other hand, he got penalized for wrecking Sage Karam and a dozen other cars at Road America.
During the race weekend at Portland International Raceway, Ty Gibbs and Gragson were battling for the lead as Gragson moved Gibbs wide in the corner. In the next set of turns, Gibbs spun Gragson out of the lead.
With the race running long, TV only interviewed the top two finishing drivers of AJ Allmendinger and Myatt Snider. But Frontstretch‘s Bryan Nolen caught up with Gragson, who was not happy with how Gibbs raced and vowed that, “You’ll know when I get him back.”
3. Michael Massie’s Pick: Randy LaJoie & the Adventurous Pace Car
“Hit the pace car,” is what Harry Hogge told Cole Trickle to do in the movie Days of Thunder. That is also what we saw Tony Stewart do in a Superstar Racing Experience race this year when the pace car’s door wouldn’t shut.
The pace car had some kind of problem or another seemingly every week of SRX’s second season. Prior to the Stafford Motor Speedway race, pace car driver and two-time Xfinity champion Randy LaJoie chatted with Frontstretch’s Michael Massie about how the pace car was meant for a music video instead of being a functional pace car in SRX. Along with the door not staying latched, it also faced ignition problems.
Alas, the pace car did not have any problems at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the fourth race of the six-race season. Massie again chatted with LaJoie, asking if the feat warranted a celebration.
For the first time all season, the pace car didn’t have a problem!
I talked to @SaferRacer about that as well as letting @EddieGeorge2727 climb into the pace car but not @TheSceneVault. pic.twitter.com/BMSgVvhtEE
— Michael Massie (@m_massie22) July 10, 2022
4. Jared Haas’ Pick: AJ Allmendinger Racing Hard Against Ross Chastain at Homestead
Ross Chastain made himself into a household name in 2022 from the Hail Melon, making the Championship 4 and ruffling some feathers up on track with drivers like Denny Hamlin and Allmendinger.
At Circuit of the Americas, Chastain and Allmendinger battled for the win with Alex Bowman. Contact from Chastain sent Bowman and Allmendinger into each other, taking the No. 16 car spinning and out of contention for the race win.
During the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Allmendinger and Chastain were battling hard again for second place. The duo chatted on pit road after the race, with Allmendinger telling Frontstretch’s Jared Haas that he did not have an issue with how Chastain raced him and described it as “fun as s***.”
5. Joy Tomlinson’s Pick: Underdog Timmy Hill Scores 2nd Place at Daytona
In August at Daytona International Speedway, Timmy Hill started 37th and survived the carnage for a second-place finish. Like Portland, TV ran late into its window with the race being delayed due to rain. Winner Jeremy Clements was only the driver interviewed on TV after the race.
Frontstretch‘s Hopkins caught up with Hill, who expressed his excitement for scoring his career-best Xfinity finish and how big a deal it was for MBM Motorsports.
Honorable Mention:
During the playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway, there were eight tire failures. In a media bullpen, Goodyear’s Greg Stucker addressed the tire issues that the teams were having. Frontstretch’s Beth Lunkenheimer captured the availability, and FOX Sports 1 later used the video on an episode of NASCAR RaceHub.
Thank you @NASCARONFOX for the shoutout today on Race Hub! ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lVEVSy9Q55
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) September 26, 2022
About the author
The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.
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