2022 Predictions with ICOB Sports!
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2022 Predictions with ICOB Sports!
by BJA95 Tue Feb 19, 2019 4:15 am
The 2022 STARS Lowe's International Series season grid has been confirmed ahead of the green flag drops at New York in a few weeks time with a lot of changes coming to teams and the series. Today we will be looking at how we think these teams and drivers will fare in the upcoming season.
KEY –
An asterisk (*) means a car is NOT locked in on points for the first 5 races.
An (R) means that the driver will be partaking in Rookie of the Year honours.
ATK Motorsports - Chevrolet
#1 - Evie Vance
#2 - Lucia Ohara
#21 - Kanon Matsubara
#27 - Ben Atkins
#28 - Madison Baszler (R)
ATK Motorsports have been the team to beat over the last few years, with them taking out both the owners and drivers championship for the first time in 2021, with rookie Kanon Matsubara triumphing. Despite her taking the title, Daniel Leckliter, Lucia Ohara and Ben Atkins all were strong contenders, with all four drivers making the chase and finishing top 10 in points, with Leckliter taking the owners title.
Evie Vance will be replacing her husband Joe Branch, taking back the car she won her drivers championship in 2019. In her limited races in 2021, Vance was a factor in just about all of them. A spirited drive at Iowa saw her take a very damaged car to a P3 finish. Vance has established herself as one of the best on the current grid, and deservedly so. Expect Vance to be a serious contender for the championship despite her hiatus.
Lucia Ohara was by far the most consistent driver of anyone in the series in 2021. She was always in the top 5 in points, and even when she struggled at the beginning of the first round in the chase, she recovered by putting a clinic on the field in a flag to flag victory at Martinsville. If Ohara can start winning races consistently like she can get top 10 finishes, then she has potential to be a force to be reckoned with. Another potential championship contender.
Kanon Matsubara is the defending champion, which will give her some confidence, but she was the least likely of the final four of 2021 to take out the championship. Despite her three wins and title, Matsubara was fairly inconsistent throughout the year. If she can find that consistency that was missing, then she could easily repeat her success, but it will take a lot for her to earn a double.
Ben Atkins was the fourth best driver in the ATK stable last year, but still took out a win and earned an 8th place in the championship. Atkins was also denied a final four spot as a result of factors arguably out of his control. Atkins has been consistently good over the last few years, and we can safely expect more of the same coming into 2022.
ATK's wildcard driver is truck champion Madison Baszler, who, along with previous teammate Kazami Kazuki, absolutely took the truck series by storm. Baszler nearly won the Empire State 300 in her first attempt in the 99 car for Sawatari Ichigaya Racing, and I think she will be looking to go a few positions better in 2022. We can expect all 5 ATK cars to take at least one win in the next season.
µ’s Racing - Chevrolet
#3 – Joe Branch
#54 – You Watanabe
#55 – Honoka Kousaka
#88 – Maki Nishikino
µ’s Racing were perhaps the early powerhouses in the 2021 season, with Maki Nishikino, Honoka Kousaka, You Watanabe and Nico Yazawa all winning multiple races, including the teams first Empire State 300 when Yazawa stole the race at the death. With the improvements made with the then-newly forged alliance with ATK Motorsports, this team has gone from strength to strength and will continue to aim high come 2022.
Despite a patchy rookie campaign with ATK Motorsports, Joe Branch’s solid performance in that car was enough to get him signed up for the µ’s Racing slot left vacant by the retiring Nico Yazawa after her stunning swansong season. With how speedy µ’s Racing have been over the last couple of years, I would expect Joe Branch to perform this season, with his well earned first win surely coming his way.
You Watanabe finished last season 10th in points after a fantastic season which saw her take 2 wins. While she may not have always been the highlight at this team, Watanabe will be eager to etch her name into the win records a few more times in 2022, and we should expect good performances to continue from her.
Honoka Kousaka was a driver that not many people expected to come into her own in 2021. Kousaka was consistently fast, and after her first win at Eurospeedway, the floodgates truly opened for her. She was the best driver in the early proceedings of the chase and unfortunately missed out on a shot at the final four. Kousaka led the series in top 10’s in 2021, earning 17 in 34 races, while also winning 3 races. Expect Kousaka to be a serious championship factor in 2022.
Maki Nishikino has been the flagship driver for µ’s Racing for the past few years, and while the current form of Honoka Kousaka and You Watanabe may have people thinking she will be feeling pressure, this won’t be the case. Nishikino has been runner-up in the championship twice in the last three years, and she will be hungry for her first championship. Nishikino will be another driver to watch for the championship.
Satou Medical - Toyota
#4 – Rosemary Black *
#5 – Chiyo Minami
#8 – Ruby Kurosawa *
#9 – Kazuki Kazami (R) *
#48 – Arisa Ichigaya/Emi Satou/Scarlett Sanders (PT) *
The recent shock announcement that Toyota would be putting their manufacturer support efforts into Satou Medical instead of longtime partners McBrien Racing makes this a hard team to predict a future for. It could go either way for the team but looking at their fierce driver lineup for 2022 makes it hard to think that it could go wrong for the expanding team. Last year, the team did not have a car in the playoffs despite Chiyo Minami’s consistent blistering speed, and Murasaki Ikoma’s occasional brilliance, and they will be looking to improve on their 2021, but with only one car locked in in the early season, this may prove to be more difficult than anticipated.
Rosemary Black has always been seen as an excellent driver ever since she took the truck series by storm with her 2019 championship, When she took the checkered flag at Rockingham in 2020, pledge her loyalty to Team Kwik Fit despite approaches from ATK Motorsports, we expected wins to come flying in for the Philadelphia driver… but this wasn’t the case. Black will be eager to improve in 2022, but her new surroundings may prove as a factor in this.
Chiyo Minami was the only driver Satou Medical retained for 2022, and it was a solid choice. Also a Team Kwik Fit former driver, like Rosemary Black, Minami left after a disappointing final four race at Las Vegas in 2020. While her speed was apparent, Minami could not quite grasp that win. I would expect Minami to get that win in 2022 and make the chase.
Ruby Kurosawa is a wildcard driver in a wildcard team. If I’m honest, she didn’t exactly set the world alight with Aqours Racing, but the team haven’t exactly established themselves as a top tier ride, and Kurosawa, at times, made that team look really good. I would expect Kurosawa to break through and earn that first win, but she may not necessarily get it in time to make the playoffs.
Another wildcard within this wildcard team, Kazuki Kazami set the truck series alight with her unrivaled pace… until it all came crashing down when she wrecked her truck teammate Aya Maruyama and ruined her own playoffs, burning all bridges with ATK Motorsports and getting booted early. The talent is there, but she may be her own worst enemy. If she can keep herself in order, Kazami could be a serious threat in 2022.
Arisa Ichigaya’s departure from Ichigaya Sawatari was not a surprising one, and her part-time role shared with Emi Satou and Scarlett Sanders is about building a future for all three of these drivers on the long run. A smart move to get driver development going for the team.
Carter-Miller Racing - Toyota
#6 – Bailey Bliss *
Let’s say the obvious, firstly. 2021 was not a good year for this team. Connor Swift proved to be the most worthless signing of all the off-season, and quite frankly, Bradley Carlisle seemed to give up once he was too slow to make races every week. Dallas Hammond was the only shining factor for this team in 2021… and they let him go at the end of the season.
Bailey Bliss is an excellent driver in the trucks series, but she has never seemed to get a grasp on the LIS cars. Occasionally, she will show incredible pace, and it isn’t uncommon to see her run top 10 early in a race, but she almost always loses grasp of that position. With her being the only driver at the team, though, she may find being the main focus of a team to be beneficial for her. I think Bliss will ultimately be a reliable choice for the team to rebuild around.
The Motorsports Team – Toyota
#7 – AJ Murphy (R) *
#17 – Maddie Anderson *
The Motorsports Team spent their 2021 being guinea pigs for Toyota as they used the team to test their new Camry models out, which will now be used for all Toyota teams in 2022. The results were better than ever for the team, with Alex Phillips notching an incredible duo of second place finishes at Orange Show and Pensacola, and with Neveah Laughlin earning multiple great results for the team. Now they have an advantage with how these Toyota’s will handle, they may be able to pull off something great.
However, it probably won’t be with AJ Murphy. I understand a team like TMT need a driver with a stable financial income, but they could have at least grabbed a trucks driver that did something in the lower tiers. Murphy has one win in 2019 to his credit but has never had a points finish inside the top 20. I don’t see Murphy taking the world by storm any time soon.
On the other hand, it very well could be with Maddie Anderson, who was in the chase last year with a huge win at Oklahoma Motorsports Stadium earning her that spot. Despite her first round elimination, Anderson finished 11th in points and was Kwik Fit’s best driver in 2021. It was a baffling decision by her former team to ditch her, as she was an incredibly fast and reliable driver. TMT have picked up and absolute gem here, and she could provide something special for her new team.
Team Kwik Fit – Ford
#00 – Kailin Donohue (R)
#02 – Lilly Samson
#12 – Alex Phillips
#20 – Aurora Sullivan
#22 – Autumn Collins
Team Kwik Fit’s season in 2021 was incredibly underwhelming. Only two cars in the chase, and both of them being eliminated at the first round. It was an unbridled disaster for the team, frankly. It was easy to understand why they chose to clean out there lineup, although they lost Rosemary Black through no choice of their own. The choice to boot Maddie Anderson, as aforementioned, was also baffling, but as a result, the team are now entered with 5 full time entries with completely fresh faces.
Kailin Donohue is the only driver to have ran multiple races with the team in 2021, as she did several races in the 12 car in the LIS series, and was full time in the trucks series. She shared the fifth car with Lillie Corden, but neither driver particularly looked too comfortable in the car. If anything, Corden was the more consistent of the two in the LIS car despite her only being 16 last year! Donohue finished 16th in truck points, so I would expect this year to be used to have Donohue settle into the team.
Lilly Samson was Mach 5’s only glimmer of hope in an extremely tough season which saw the team spectacularly collapse in 2021. On top of that, Samson has driven a Team Kwik Fit car before, when Joey Clagett was injured in a crash at Daytona in 2020. Samson earned a P2 finish on her debut at Saitama in a stunning race, and has continued to show excellence behind the wheel since. My my, I think a win might be on the cards for Samson!
Alex Phillips is an excellent driver. There is no denying that he performed miracles in The Motorsports Team over the last few years. Whether it was his sensational set of runner-up finishes last year, or his spectacular charge to the lead at Auto Club in 2020, Phillips has always shown pizazz behind the wheel. I would expect Phillips to made a deep charge into the playoffs this year.
Aurora Sullivan might be as quiet as a mouse off the track, but on the track, she has proven herself to be a very handy driver. While she may not have hit the heights of her teammate and best friend Autumn Collins, she has done more than enough to prove herself worthy of the opportunity she has been given. I think Sullivan may finally break through this season.
Autumn Collins stunned everyone with her win at Wiscasset in 2020, despite her being a ways off making that years playoffs, and she stunned everyone again by finishing consistently inside the top 5 at the end of the season last year. Collins shines like a Summer Star, and this opportunity with Team Kwik Fit may be all she needs to become the Rockstar she dreams of being.
Aqours Racing – Dodge
#03 – Mari Ohara
#06 – Ako Udagawa (R) *
#09 – Vigne Tsukinose (R)
Aqours Racing weren’t the team to set the world alight last year, but I think a lot of people forget that Hanamaru Kunikida was very high in the points for a good chunk of the season, and she actually led the points for a few weeks early in the season. This team hit a few snags in the road as the season progressed, but the potential was certainly present, and this year is about expanding on that. Another snag has already presented itself, however, with the departure of Ruby Kurosawa and Hanamaru Kunikida.
Mari Ohara is the only returning driver to the team from last year but she is also, arguably, the one that is currently on form the most. Ohara has moments of brilliance, such as her stunning run from the pole at Milwaukee last year. If things fall into place, she could have a trophy in her cabinet nice enough to yell “SHINY!” at.
Ako Udagawa is an odd signing. She has not been in a STARS racecar for over a year but suddenly the team are bringing her back to drive an LIS car full time. This sounds like it was a little bit of a panic signing by the team, but perhaps Udagawa could surprise us in her rookie season.
Vigne Tsukinose’s promotion to the LIS, however, is not at all a surprise. Tsukinose made her presence known in the trucks series, and it was difficult for Aqours Racing to not promote her with how consistently well she drove last year. Tsukinose could prove to be invaluable to the team, and she could perhaps earn herself some good results.
Macintosh Motorsports, Inc. – Chevrolet
#10 – Daniel Leckliter
#14 – Neveah Laughlin
#15 – Grant Macintosh
#51 – Ruby McBrien
MMI entered 2021 with high hopes. They were fresh off a drivers/owners championship double in 2020, and were favourites to repeat their accomplishment in 2021. However, it didn’t quite go that way. Chevrolet engines proved unreliable, and the team has to wait until Milwaukee to win a race. AJ Stratton caused issues during the playoffs, and had an infamous rivalry with Ben Atkins, while Ruby McBrien couldn’t get going. Grant Macintosh’s confidence appeared to be at an all-time low until he got his victory.
The team have started their assault at the 2022 season by signing Daniel Leckliter to their team, and they could not have picked a better driver to poach. Leckliter was incredible for ATK Motorsports and for MMI to swoop in and earn his services for 2022 was a sublime move. He will be able to earn MMI wins plenty in the upcoming season.
Neveah Laughlin was excellent for The Motorsports Team in 2021, and it was a matter of not if, but when she could get snatched up by a bigger team. Finally, she has earned her big break with MMI, and I would expect Laughlin to perform to the pressure. Her social media prowess may also earn her and the team a lot of loyal fans in the upcoming season.
Grant Macintosh is a future hall of famer. He has won everything there is to win in the sport. He rose from the bottom, from winning races and overperforming for Marc McAllister’s team, to becoming a champion of the series, then rising to become a champion car owner. Macintosh may not have excelled last year, but don’t expect him to have another off-year. He will be a factor this year.
Ruby McBrien has surprisingly struggled ever since making the final four in both of her first two seasons. She missed the playoffs entirely in 2019, scraped in only to be eliminated early in 2020, and couldn’t recover from losing the Chicagoland race late, missing the playoffs again in 2021. A lot of people have called McBrien a one season wonder, but the competition in the series has heated up, and McBrien will be eager to perform like she did circa 2017 again. With this teams rise to the top, I would look forward to seeing McBrien at her best again in 2022.
McBrien Racing – Toyota
#11 Misaki Andou
#19 Sadie McDowell
#29 Makina Irisu
#90 Joey McBrien (R)
#92 Casey Lester
This year may prove to be a challenge for McBrien Racing. Out of the larger teams in the paddock, they were by far the quietest of the bunch, despite all five cars finding victory lane over the course of the season. The only multi race winners were Sadie McDowell and Casey Lester, who the team have retained for 2022. With Toyota backing moving to Satou Medical, this may be a year McBrien Racing take a step back and reevaluate their team.
Misaki Andou was electric in the truck series last year. Five wins after she took a season in the trucks after a somewhat miserable LIS campaign in 2020. I think a lot of people forget that Andou has won races in the LIS season, one in 2019 and two in 2020, and she has not missed the playoffs in her limited time in the series. I would expect Andou to shine for McBrien if it was a normal season for them, but even with the circumstances, I think it’s a safe bet that Andou will see victory lane this year.
Sadie McDowell is an exceptional driver. She has improved year after year, and has won a race every season in her LIS career, including her limited races where she replaced Braxton Laughlin all the way back in 2019. McDowell was unfortunate to not make the final four this year but this year, she may not have the car to do it. If anyone is going to stand out at this team, it will be McDowell.
Makina Irisu made an unexpectedly deep run into the chase following her win at Daytona last year. Making the round of 8, she slumped to a 13th place finish in points following a miserable third round, but that was realistically where she belonged. Irisu proved to be a very capable driver in flashes in her rookie season, and she has the potential to build on a decent season and do even better.
I will start this bluntly. Yes, Yuuji Kazami’s playoffs were a disaster, but he was an incredibly reliable driver who got that 90 car in the playoffs with a dominating win at Denver, and he scored 13 top 10’s. His season was fine, but even with that, Frank McBrien decided to replace him with his son, Joey, who has yet to score a top 15 result in late model racing. Nope. Not trucks. Not even USRC. IN. LATE. MODELS. Joey McBrien might get a top 10 at a superspeedway but outside of that, he will be cleaning out his father’s wallet when he’s tearing cars up in qualifying races every week; and it will be entirely Frank McBrien’s own fault.
Casey Lester FINALLY broke through after an incredibly long spell without victory. Then he won again. Then again. The floodgates finally opened for Lester, but if he isn’t going to be getting the equipment, then it might be the start of another winless streak for Lester. I wouldn’t be surprised if his season doesn’t go great, but he winds up with a ride at a team like Satou Medical or ATK Motorsports. The talent is there with Lester, and he is starting to peak. It’s just the matter of his equipment.
RoadRunner Racing - Toyota
#40 – Joshua Sanders *
#42 – Luke Forrister *
Okay, look. I know I’ve gone into great detail about every other team and driver, but I’m not really sure if there’s much point for this team. The team, with both cars combined, made a grand total of 7 starts last year. Out of 68. They DNQ’d 61 times. I don’t think you can expect anything different out of this team entering 2022.
Joshua Sanders looked decent in 2020. He was making races in that car and was embarrassing Jon Beaufort. Then in 2021, we were brought back to reality. It’s clear his Geico associations have landed him a return to this team for a staggering fourth season in a row, but it probably won’t go well for him.
What’s to be said about Luke Forrister? He looked decent in 2016 and 2017 and threw it all away with his bad attitude. He landed a ride in trucks… and sucked. Again, this must be a matter of $$$ because there is no way in hell any talent level got him this ride.
Hadaway Racing - Ford
#32 – Cam Bennett *
#38 – Corbin Rhodes *
Hadaway Racing are an unusual team. They looked incredible in 2021 with Corbin Rhodes. They looked like a threat in several races, but other races they would simply drop the ball. On top of that, Taryn Murillo was a waste of space and resources for the team before an unfortunate career-ending injury in a crash at Charlotte. It really could go either way with Hadaway Racing.
Okay guys. If we start predicting Cam Bennett’s season now, then we might… MIGHT… be able to save him enough funding to get him a 15th place finish in a qualifying race at Charlotte! Wait! I didn’t consider that people are using AdBlock programs now! Oh no, how do we ever get back from this?!?
Corbin Rhodes, the 2020 Empire State 225 winner, is a vastly underrated driver. Yes, he had his inconsistencies during his tenure at RA Racing, but he did consistently notch decent results for Hadaway Racing, despite 6 DNQ’s over the season. I think it’s a matter of confidence for Corbin Rhodes. If he is with the right team, I think the results will start coming in good. I’m not sure if he is with that right team at the moment, though.
Gabriel Macena Racing – Chevrolet
#50 – Gabriel Macena *
#71 – Vitor Silveira *
Good lord. What went wrong at Gabriel Macena Racing? Macena is a race winner in the STARS series, but then… his team suddenly just dropped out of relevance. Macena seems to be punching well above his weight at time too, but the equipment simply isn’t there.
Macena has proven himself a capable driver, but perhaps it’s time to concede defeat, close the team down, and drive for a decent team. He will find himself back in the limelight in no time.
Vitor Silveira just really wants you to come to Brazil, okay?!?
RA Racing – Chevrolet
#56 – Barney Ward
#66 – Sylvia Renou (R) *
#76 – Murasaki Ikoma/Riley McKee *
RA Racing were once the powerhouses of the STARS Lowe’s International Series. However, they failed to progress with the changing times, and they simply just fell into midfield obscurity. Despite having some decent drivers in the recent past, such as Dean Donohue and Maddie Anderson, this team have failed to materialize anything of worth recently, apart from the Empire State 225 in 2020 with Corbin Rhodes, but they ended up quickly abandoning him.
It’s not a secret that RA Racing really wanted to keep hold of Maddie Anderson following 2020. She had been brilliant for the team, but she simply got a better offer at a better team. Barney Ward has been a reliable driver for RA Racing, and he seems to have settled into a home there. I don’t think there will be any surprises from Ward, but he should be able to do what he did last season; keep that car relevant.
Sylvia Renou is a damn exciting prospect. The French-Canadian caught a lot of attention over the course of her trucks campaign last season, where she ended up qualifying for the final four. I feel like despite only one season in trucks, Renou is completely ready for the challenge that LIS may provide. She will be a star in 2022, and I think this season will be her trying to impress even more so.
Murasaki Ikoma’s departure from Satou Medical shocked me. Sure, she was completely annihilated by Chiyo Minami in the internal team battle, but she was fast. She needed more time to settle. Thankfully, she is getting that opportunity in a split season with RA and ISR. I think Murasaki Ikoma will continue to be like a ninja; staying under the radar. Riley McKee will share the car with her in an obvious role to simply drive the car to make it full time.
Last 2 First Racing – Chevrolet
#75 Chad Andrews (R)/Kokoro Tsurumaki *
Why?
Kingslayer Racing – Dodge
#63 Elias Sutton (R) *
#64 Lillie Corden (R) *
This team excites me. A completely new face to the LIS season with the assets of Mach 5, Kingslayer Racing have already got a lot going for them even before the first drop of the green flag for 2022. Two young drivers, and potentially two very fast race cars. I think Kingslayer will be turning heads for the right reasons this season.
Elias Sutton burst onto the LIS scene last year with a great debut at Talladega Superspeedway, where he led laps and got himself an excellent finish with MDM. Sutton will now get a shot at a full time LIS campaign with Kingslayer Racing, and I think this will be a great combo. Sutton has a lot of speed, and if the cars are right for him, he might provide a few surprises.
Okay, Lillie Corden didn’t set the world alight in her rookie trucks season, and it is a huge risk giving her a full time LIS campaign at 17, but I’m going to argue that this is the best Silly Season signing made this year. Clearly, Jamie King needed someone to build the team around, so why not get someone who will be on the scene for a long time to come? Corden has a lot of potential. She has merit in the lower tiers of British Motorsports, such as a Ginetta Juniors championship. Give Corden time, and I think she will possibly become one of the greats. An incredibly bold prediction, but I would not be surprised if we see Corden in victory lane and in the playoffs this season.
Ichigaya Sawatari Racing – Chevrolet
#91 – Lacey Starling
#96 – Tohka Shishigaya (R)
#97 – Murasaki Ikoma/Tanner Clason/Amane Suou (R)/Jack Kelley-Whitt *
#99 – Ellie Thuram
Ichigaya Sawatari Racing have played the role of ATK’s number two team for a couple of years now, but they are beginning to shine themselves. With Ichigaya paying into the series big time, perhaps this isn’t a surprise, but this team have been reliable for a win or two every season, and I think this is a trend that will continue.
Lacey Starling is criminally underrated. She has been fantastic in every single car she has been in, even though she has ride hopped every season she has been in the LIS so far. People often forget her incredible 2019 season when she took a Jenkins Performance car deep into the chase with her consistent brilliance. With this being her second season in the #91 car, and with Starling putting in stellar performances to keep that car where it needs to be in the points, you have to wonder if anything more is on the cards for Starling. I think she will be the highlight of this team in 2022, and we should see her return to victory lane.
Tohka Shishigaya is another driver brought in by Ichigaya from the Japanese ranks of racing. A former classmate of teammate Murasaki Ikoma, Shishigaya recently won the Super Formula championship with a convincing margin, earning her a golden ticket into the LIS. While her car is locked in for the early season, I think she will do well enough to keep it there for the entire season, and I could see her making a serious bid at Rookie of the Year.
The split car for Ichigaya Sawatari has always seemed to be the fastest. Baszler and Kazami were insanely fast in the 99 when they got seat time last year, and with the returning Tanner Clason, they got that car locked in on owners points for the 2022 season. ISR have done the smart thing and put a full-time driver with Ellie Thuram in the 99 car, but it would not surprise me if this line-up does exactly the same by the end of this season. On top of that, I could see them getting a few spoiler wins to shake up proceedings.
Ellie Thuram was the one glimmer of hope on MDM’s driver lineup last year. Dan Kelly lost everything good from 2020 that he had going, and Max Winfield was, to be brutally honest, completely hopeless last season. While it took some time to get Thuram going, she did make herself noticed, especially in the race at Orlando where she looked like the only driver who wanted to challenge Sadie McDowell for the win, eventually earning a driver of the day award with a 4th place finish. I think Thuram will settle in well at Ichigaya and will be reliable for that car.
MDM Motorsports, Inc. – Toyota
#93 – Zane Vajihollahi (R) *
#94 – Caitlin Conway *
#95 – Tanner Steele *
MDM Motorsports, Inc had a horrific season last year. While Tanner Steele guided McBrien’s B team to their first win at Memphis in 2020, the following season saw all three cars get a combined 5 top 10s in a combined 63 races, with only 1 top 5 in those results. Whether it was down to poor driver selection or the team’s equipment, it’s clear there is a lot of room for improvement.
The team chose to retain Vajihollahi for the 2022 season, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The 93 car was the worst of the bunch last year by some distance, but Vajihollahi got that car into the races at a better ratio than Dan Kelly. Hopefully he can have a better year than the last one.
Caitlin Conway’s return to STARS isn’t what surprises me. It’s the fact that she was willing to put pen to paper for MDM. She could have walked into a McBrien or Kwik Fit ride, but instead, she chose to go to an organization that couldn’t make races consistently next year. While she may be remembered for scraping into the chase and spectacularly failing during Big Bang’s massive meltdown in 2019, we should be excited for her return. I think Conway will bring this team back to what it was.
And if Conway can’t do it, then their original hero, Tanner Steele, most certainly can. Steele has proven to many that he definitely has what it takes, but unfortunately, things at McBrien did not work out (despite an amazing Indianapolis win!). I think there is potential to get Steele back in victory lane, but MDM will need to pull their weight if he’s to do it. It’s not a matter of the driver in this instance.
Official Predictions
First-time winners: Lilly Samson, Joe Branch, Kazuki Kazami, Ruby Kurosawa, Mari Ohara, Madison Baszler, Neveah Laughlin, Alex Phillips, Aurora Sullivan, Lillie Corden
Most wins in a season: Evie Vance (5)
Upset of the year: Lillie Corden wins at a superspeedway to make the playoffs.
Disappointments: McBrien Racing don’t live up to expectations.
Best race of 2017: Indianapolis
Worst race of 2017: CTMP
Retirees at season end: None.
Driver of the year: Evie Vance
Reject of the year: Joey McBrien
Most likely to lose ride in the middle of the season: AJ Murphy
Empire State 300 Winner: Evie Vance
DP Enterprises 200 Winner: Joe Branch
STARS Springfield Shootout Winner: Lilly Samson
STARS Short Track Challenge Winner: Ben Atkins
STARS Championship 200 Winner: Rosemary Black
Champion: Honoka Kousaka
Runner-up: Grant Macintosh
KEY –
An asterisk (*) means a car is NOT locked in on points for the first 5 races.
An (R) means that the driver will be partaking in Rookie of the Year honours.
ATK Motorsports - Chevrolet
#1 - Evie Vance
#2 - Lucia Ohara
#21 - Kanon Matsubara
#27 - Ben Atkins
#28 - Madison Baszler (R)
ATK Motorsports have been the team to beat over the last few years, with them taking out both the owners and drivers championship for the first time in 2021, with rookie Kanon Matsubara triumphing. Despite her taking the title, Daniel Leckliter, Lucia Ohara and Ben Atkins all were strong contenders, with all four drivers making the chase and finishing top 10 in points, with Leckliter taking the owners title.
Evie Vance will be replacing her husband Joe Branch, taking back the car she won her drivers championship in 2019. In her limited races in 2021, Vance was a factor in just about all of them. A spirited drive at Iowa saw her take a very damaged car to a P3 finish. Vance has established herself as one of the best on the current grid, and deservedly so. Expect Vance to be a serious contender for the championship despite her hiatus.
Lucia Ohara was by far the most consistent driver of anyone in the series in 2021. She was always in the top 5 in points, and even when she struggled at the beginning of the first round in the chase, she recovered by putting a clinic on the field in a flag to flag victory at Martinsville. If Ohara can start winning races consistently like she can get top 10 finishes, then she has potential to be a force to be reckoned with. Another potential championship contender.
Kanon Matsubara is the defending champion, which will give her some confidence, but she was the least likely of the final four of 2021 to take out the championship. Despite her three wins and title, Matsubara was fairly inconsistent throughout the year. If she can find that consistency that was missing, then she could easily repeat her success, but it will take a lot for her to earn a double.
Ben Atkins was the fourth best driver in the ATK stable last year, but still took out a win and earned an 8th place in the championship. Atkins was also denied a final four spot as a result of factors arguably out of his control. Atkins has been consistently good over the last few years, and we can safely expect more of the same coming into 2022.
ATK's wildcard driver is truck champion Madison Baszler, who, along with previous teammate Kazami Kazuki, absolutely took the truck series by storm. Baszler nearly won the Empire State 300 in her first attempt in the 99 car for Sawatari Ichigaya Racing, and I think she will be looking to go a few positions better in 2022. We can expect all 5 ATK cars to take at least one win in the next season.
µ’s Racing - Chevrolet
#3 – Joe Branch
#54 – You Watanabe
#55 – Honoka Kousaka
#88 – Maki Nishikino
µ’s Racing were perhaps the early powerhouses in the 2021 season, with Maki Nishikino, Honoka Kousaka, You Watanabe and Nico Yazawa all winning multiple races, including the teams first Empire State 300 when Yazawa stole the race at the death. With the improvements made with the then-newly forged alliance with ATK Motorsports, this team has gone from strength to strength and will continue to aim high come 2022.
Despite a patchy rookie campaign with ATK Motorsports, Joe Branch’s solid performance in that car was enough to get him signed up for the µ’s Racing slot left vacant by the retiring Nico Yazawa after her stunning swansong season. With how speedy µ’s Racing have been over the last couple of years, I would expect Joe Branch to perform this season, with his well earned first win surely coming his way.
You Watanabe finished last season 10th in points after a fantastic season which saw her take 2 wins. While she may not have always been the highlight at this team, Watanabe will be eager to etch her name into the win records a few more times in 2022, and we should expect good performances to continue from her.
Honoka Kousaka was a driver that not many people expected to come into her own in 2021. Kousaka was consistently fast, and after her first win at Eurospeedway, the floodgates truly opened for her. She was the best driver in the early proceedings of the chase and unfortunately missed out on a shot at the final four. Kousaka led the series in top 10’s in 2021, earning 17 in 34 races, while also winning 3 races. Expect Kousaka to be a serious championship factor in 2022.
Maki Nishikino has been the flagship driver for µ’s Racing for the past few years, and while the current form of Honoka Kousaka and You Watanabe may have people thinking she will be feeling pressure, this won’t be the case. Nishikino has been runner-up in the championship twice in the last three years, and she will be hungry for her first championship. Nishikino will be another driver to watch for the championship.
Satou Medical - Toyota
#4 – Rosemary Black *
#5 – Chiyo Minami
#8 – Ruby Kurosawa *
#9 – Kazuki Kazami (R) *
#48 – Arisa Ichigaya/Emi Satou/Scarlett Sanders (PT) *
The recent shock announcement that Toyota would be putting their manufacturer support efforts into Satou Medical instead of longtime partners McBrien Racing makes this a hard team to predict a future for. It could go either way for the team but looking at their fierce driver lineup for 2022 makes it hard to think that it could go wrong for the expanding team. Last year, the team did not have a car in the playoffs despite Chiyo Minami’s consistent blistering speed, and Murasaki Ikoma’s occasional brilliance, and they will be looking to improve on their 2021, but with only one car locked in in the early season, this may prove to be more difficult than anticipated.
Rosemary Black has always been seen as an excellent driver ever since she took the truck series by storm with her 2019 championship, When she took the checkered flag at Rockingham in 2020, pledge her loyalty to Team Kwik Fit despite approaches from ATK Motorsports, we expected wins to come flying in for the Philadelphia driver… but this wasn’t the case. Black will be eager to improve in 2022, but her new surroundings may prove as a factor in this.
Chiyo Minami was the only driver Satou Medical retained for 2022, and it was a solid choice. Also a Team Kwik Fit former driver, like Rosemary Black, Minami left after a disappointing final four race at Las Vegas in 2020. While her speed was apparent, Minami could not quite grasp that win. I would expect Minami to get that win in 2022 and make the chase.
Ruby Kurosawa is a wildcard driver in a wildcard team. If I’m honest, she didn’t exactly set the world alight with Aqours Racing, but the team haven’t exactly established themselves as a top tier ride, and Kurosawa, at times, made that team look really good. I would expect Kurosawa to break through and earn that first win, but she may not necessarily get it in time to make the playoffs.
Another wildcard within this wildcard team, Kazuki Kazami set the truck series alight with her unrivaled pace… until it all came crashing down when she wrecked her truck teammate Aya Maruyama and ruined her own playoffs, burning all bridges with ATK Motorsports and getting booted early. The talent is there, but she may be her own worst enemy. If she can keep herself in order, Kazami could be a serious threat in 2022.
Arisa Ichigaya’s departure from Ichigaya Sawatari was not a surprising one, and her part-time role shared with Emi Satou and Scarlett Sanders is about building a future for all three of these drivers on the long run. A smart move to get driver development going for the team.
Carter-Miller Racing - Toyota
#6 – Bailey Bliss *
Let’s say the obvious, firstly. 2021 was not a good year for this team. Connor Swift proved to be the most worthless signing of all the off-season, and quite frankly, Bradley Carlisle seemed to give up once he was too slow to make races every week. Dallas Hammond was the only shining factor for this team in 2021… and they let him go at the end of the season.
Bailey Bliss is an excellent driver in the trucks series, but she has never seemed to get a grasp on the LIS cars. Occasionally, she will show incredible pace, and it isn’t uncommon to see her run top 10 early in a race, but she almost always loses grasp of that position. With her being the only driver at the team, though, she may find being the main focus of a team to be beneficial for her. I think Bliss will ultimately be a reliable choice for the team to rebuild around.
The Motorsports Team – Toyota
#7 – AJ Murphy (R) *
#17 – Maddie Anderson *
The Motorsports Team spent their 2021 being guinea pigs for Toyota as they used the team to test their new Camry models out, which will now be used for all Toyota teams in 2022. The results were better than ever for the team, with Alex Phillips notching an incredible duo of second place finishes at Orange Show and Pensacola, and with Neveah Laughlin earning multiple great results for the team. Now they have an advantage with how these Toyota’s will handle, they may be able to pull off something great.
However, it probably won’t be with AJ Murphy. I understand a team like TMT need a driver with a stable financial income, but they could have at least grabbed a trucks driver that did something in the lower tiers. Murphy has one win in 2019 to his credit but has never had a points finish inside the top 20. I don’t see Murphy taking the world by storm any time soon.
On the other hand, it very well could be with Maddie Anderson, who was in the chase last year with a huge win at Oklahoma Motorsports Stadium earning her that spot. Despite her first round elimination, Anderson finished 11th in points and was Kwik Fit’s best driver in 2021. It was a baffling decision by her former team to ditch her, as she was an incredibly fast and reliable driver. TMT have picked up and absolute gem here, and she could provide something special for her new team.
Team Kwik Fit – Ford
#00 – Kailin Donohue (R)
#02 – Lilly Samson
#12 – Alex Phillips
#20 – Aurora Sullivan
#22 – Autumn Collins
Team Kwik Fit’s season in 2021 was incredibly underwhelming. Only two cars in the chase, and both of them being eliminated at the first round. It was an unbridled disaster for the team, frankly. It was easy to understand why they chose to clean out there lineup, although they lost Rosemary Black through no choice of their own. The choice to boot Maddie Anderson, as aforementioned, was also baffling, but as a result, the team are now entered with 5 full time entries with completely fresh faces.
Kailin Donohue is the only driver to have ran multiple races with the team in 2021, as she did several races in the 12 car in the LIS series, and was full time in the trucks series. She shared the fifth car with Lillie Corden, but neither driver particularly looked too comfortable in the car. If anything, Corden was the more consistent of the two in the LIS car despite her only being 16 last year! Donohue finished 16th in truck points, so I would expect this year to be used to have Donohue settle into the team.
Lilly Samson was Mach 5’s only glimmer of hope in an extremely tough season which saw the team spectacularly collapse in 2021. On top of that, Samson has driven a Team Kwik Fit car before, when Joey Clagett was injured in a crash at Daytona in 2020. Samson earned a P2 finish on her debut at Saitama in a stunning race, and has continued to show excellence behind the wheel since. My my, I think a win might be on the cards for Samson!
Alex Phillips is an excellent driver. There is no denying that he performed miracles in The Motorsports Team over the last few years. Whether it was his sensational set of runner-up finishes last year, or his spectacular charge to the lead at Auto Club in 2020, Phillips has always shown pizazz behind the wheel. I would expect Phillips to made a deep charge into the playoffs this year.
Aurora Sullivan might be as quiet as a mouse off the track, but on the track, she has proven herself to be a very handy driver. While she may not have hit the heights of her teammate and best friend Autumn Collins, she has done more than enough to prove herself worthy of the opportunity she has been given. I think Sullivan may finally break through this season.
Autumn Collins stunned everyone with her win at Wiscasset in 2020, despite her being a ways off making that years playoffs, and she stunned everyone again by finishing consistently inside the top 5 at the end of the season last year. Collins shines like a Summer Star, and this opportunity with Team Kwik Fit may be all she needs to become the Rockstar she dreams of being.
Aqours Racing – Dodge
#03 – Mari Ohara
#06 – Ako Udagawa (R) *
#09 – Vigne Tsukinose (R)
Aqours Racing weren’t the team to set the world alight last year, but I think a lot of people forget that Hanamaru Kunikida was very high in the points for a good chunk of the season, and she actually led the points for a few weeks early in the season. This team hit a few snags in the road as the season progressed, but the potential was certainly present, and this year is about expanding on that. Another snag has already presented itself, however, with the departure of Ruby Kurosawa and Hanamaru Kunikida.
Mari Ohara is the only returning driver to the team from last year but she is also, arguably, the one that is currently on form the most. Ohara has moments of brilliance, such as her stunning run from the pole at Milwaukee last year. If things fall into place, she could have a trophy in her cabinet nice enough to yell “SHINY!” at.
Ako Udagawa is an odd signing. She has not been in a STARS racecar for over a year but suddenly the team are bringing her back to drive an LIS car full time. This sounds like it was a little bit of a panic signing by the team, but perhaps Udagawa could surprise us in her rookie season.
Vigne Tsukinose’s promotion to the LIS, however, is not at all a surprise. Tsukinose made her presence known in the trucks series, and it was difficult for Aqours Racing to not promote her with how consistently well she drove last year. Tsukinose could prove to be invaluable to the team, and she could perhaps earn herself some good results.
Macintosh Motorsports, Inc. – Chevrolet
#10 – Daniel Leckliter
#14 – Neveah Laughlin
#15 – Grant Macintosh
#51 – Ruby McBrien
MMI entered 2021 with high hopes. They were fresh off a drivers/owners championship double in 2020, and were favourites to repeat their accomplishment in 2021. However, it didn’t quite go that way. Chevrolet engines proved unreliable, and the team has to wait until Milwaukee to win a race. AJ Stratton caused issues during the playoffs, and had an infamous rivalry with Ben Atkins, while Ruby McBrien couldn’t get going. Grant Macintosh’s confidence appeared to be at an all-time low until he got his victory.
The team have started their assault at the 2022 season by signing Daniel Leckliter to their team, and they could not have picked a better driver to poach. Leckliter was incredible for ATK Motorsports and for MMI to swoop in and earn his services for 2022 was a sublime move. He will be able to earn MMI wins plenty in the upcoming season.
Neveah Laughlin was excellent for The Motorsports Team in 2021, and it was a matter of not if, but when she could get snatched up by a bigger team. Finally, she has earned her big break with MMI, and I would expect Laughlin to perform to the pressure. Her social media prowess may also earn her and the team a lot of loyal fans in the upcoming season.
Grant Macintosh is a future hall of famer. He has won everything there is to win in the sport. He rose from the bottom, from winning races and overperforming for Marc McAllister’s team, to becoming a champion of the series, then rising to become a champion car owner. Macintosh may not have excelled last year, but don’t expect him to have another off-year. He will be a factor this year.
Ruby McBrien has surprisingly struggled ever since making the final four in both of her first two seasons. She missed the playoffs entirely in 2019, scraped in only to be eliminated early in 2020, and couldn’t recover from losing the Chicagoland race late, missing the playoffs again in 2021. A lot of people have called McBrien a one season wonder, but the competition in the series has heated up, and McBrien will be eager to perform like she did circa 2017 again. With this teams rise to the top, I would look forward to seeing McBrien at her best again in 2022.
McBrien Racing – Toyota
#11 Misaki Andou
#19 Sadie McDowell
#29 Makina Irisu
#90 Joey McBrien (R)
#92 Casey Lester
This year may prove to be a challenge for McBrien Racing. Out of the larger teams in the paddock, they were by far the quietest of the bunch, despite all five cars finding victory lane over the course of the season. The only multi race winners were Sadie McDowell and Casey Lester, who the team have retained for 2022. With Toyota backing moving to Satou Medical, this may be a year McBrien Racing take a step back and reevaluate their team.
Misaki Andou was electric in the truck series last year. Five wins after she took a season in the trucks after a somewhat miserable LIS campaign in 2020. I think a lot of people forget that Andou has won races in the LIS season, one in 2019 and two in 2020, and she has not missed the playoffs in her limited time in the series. I would expect Andou to shine for McBrien if it was a normal season for them, but even with the circumstances, I think it’s a safe bet that Andou will see victory lane this year.
Sadie McDowell is an exceptional driver. She has improved year after year, and has won a race every season in her LIS career, including her limited races where she replaced Braxton Laughlin all the way back in 2019. McDowell was unfortunate to not make the final four this year but this year, she may not have the car to do it. If anyone is going to stand out at this team, it will be McDowell.
Makina Irisu made an unexpectedly deep run into the chase following her win at Daytona last year. Making the round of 8, she slumped to a 13th place finish in points following a miserable third round, but that was realistically where she belonged. Irisu proved to be a very capable driver in flashes in her rookie season, and she has the potential to build on a decent season and do even better.
I will start this bluntly. Yes, Yuuji Kazami’s playoffs were a disaster, but he was an incredibly reliable driver who got that 90 car in the playoffs with a dominating win at Denver, and he scored 13 top 10’s. His season was fine, but even with that, Frank McBrien decided to replace him with his son, Joey, who has yet to score a top 15 result in late model racing. Nope. Not trucks. Not even USRC. IN. LATE. MODELS. Joey McBrien might get a top 10 at a superspeedway but outside of that, he will be cleaning out his father’s wallet when he’s tearing cars up in qualifying races every week; and it will be entirely Frank McBrien’s own fault.
Casey Lester FINALLY broke through after an incredibly long spell without victory. Then he won again. Then again. The floodgates finally opened for Lester, but if he isn’t going to be getting the equipment, then it might be the start of another winless streak for Lester. I wouldn’t be surprised if his season doesn’t go great, but he winds up with a ride at a team like Satou Medical or ATK Motorsports. The talent is there with Lester, and he is starting to peak. It’s just the matter of his equipment.
RoadRunner Racing - Toyota
#40 – Joshua Sanders *
#42 – Luke Forrister *
Okay, look. I know I’ve gone into great detail about every other team and driver, but I’m not really sure if there’s much point for this team. The team, with both cars combined, made a grand total of 7 starts last year. Out of 68. They DNQ’d 61 times. I don’t think you can expect anything different out of this team entering 2022.
Joshua Sanders looked decent in 2020. He was making races in that car and was embarrassing Jon Beaufort. Then in 2021, we were brought back to reality. It’s clear his Geico associations have landed him a return to this team for a staggering fourth season in a row, but it probably won’t go well for him.
What’s to be said about Luke Forrister? He looked decent in 2016 and 2017 and threw it all away with his bad attitude. He landed a ride in trucks… and sucked. Again, this must be a matter of $$$ because there is no way in hell any talent level got him this ride.
Hadaway Racing - Ford
#32 – Cam Bennett *
#38 – Corbin Rhodes *
Hadaway Racing are an unusual team. They looked incredible in 2021 with Corbin Rhodes. They looked like a threat in several races, but other races they would simply drop the ball. On top of that, Taryn Murillo was a waste of space and resources for the team before an unfortunate career-ending injury in a crash at Charlotte. It really could go either way with Hadaway Racing.
Okay guys. If we start predicting Cam Bennett’s season now, then we might… MIGHT… be able to save him enough funding to get him a 15th place finish in a qualifying race at Charlotte! Wait! I didn’t consider that people are using AdBlock programs now! Oh no, how do we ever get back from this?!?
Corbin Rhodes, the 2020 Empire State 225 winner, is a vastly underrated driver. Yes, he had his inconsistencies during his tenure at RA Racing, but he did consistently notch decent results for Hadaway Racing, despite 6 DNQ’s over the season. I think it’s a matter of confidence for Corbin Rhodes. If he is with the right team, I think the results will start coming in good. I’m not sure if he is with that right team at the moment, though.
Gabriel Macena Racing – Chevrolet
#50 – Gabriel Macena *
#71 – Vitor Silveira *
Good lord. What went wrong at Gabriel Macena Racing? Macena is a race winner in the STARS series, but then… his team suddenly just dropped out of relevance. Macena seems to be punching well above his weight at time too, but the equipment simply isn’t there.
Macena has proven himself a capable driver, but perhaps it’s time to concede defeat, close the team down, and drive for a decent team. He will find himself back in the limelight in no time.
Vitor Silveira just really wants you to come to Brazil, okay?!?
RA Racing – Chevrolet
#56 – Barney Ward
#66 – Sylvia Renou (R) *
#76 – Murasaki Ikoma/Riley McKee *
RA Racing were once the powerhouses of the STARS Lowe’s International Series. However, they failed to progress with the changing times, and they simply just fell into midfield obscurity. Despite having some decent drivers in the recent past, such as Dean Donohue and Maddie Anderson, this team have failed to materialize anything of worth recently, apart from the Empire State 225 in 2020 with Corbin Rhodes, but they ended up quickly abandoning him.
It’s not a secret that RA Racing really wanted to keep hold of Maddie Anderson following 2020. She had been brilliant for the team, but she simply got a better offer at a better team. Barney Ward has been a reliable driver for RA Racing, and he seems to have settled into a home there. I don’t think there will be any surprises from Ward, but he should be able to do what he did last season; keep that car relevant.
Sylvia Renou is a damn exciting prospect. The French-Canadian caught a lot of attention over the course of her trucks campaign last season, where she ended up qualifying for the final four. I feel like despite only one season in trucks, Renou is completely ready for the challenge that LIS may provide. She will be a star in 2022, and I think this season will be her trying to impress even more so.
Murasaki Ikoma’s departure from Satou Medical shocked me. Sure, she was completely annihilated by Chiyo Minami in the internal team battle, but she was fast. She needed more time to settle. Thankfully, she is getting that opportunity in a split season with RA and ISR. I think Murasaki Ikoma will continue to be like a ninja; staying under the radar. Riley McKee will share the car with her in an obvious role to simply drive the car to make it full time.
Last 2 First Racing – Chevrolet
#75 Chad Andrews (R)/Kokoro Tsurumaki *
Why?
Kingslayer Racing – Dodge
#63 Elias Sutton (R) *
#64 Lillie Corden (R) *
This team excites me. A completely new face to the LIS season with the assets of Mach 5, Kingslayer Racing have already got a lot going for them even before the first drop of the green flag for 2022. Two young drivers, and potentially two very fast race cars. I think Kingslayer will be turning heads for the right reasons this season.
Elias Sutton burst onto the LIS scene last year with a great debut at Talladega Superspeedway, where he led laps and got himself an excellent finish with MDM. Sutton will now get a shot at a full time LIS campaign with Kingslayer Racing, and I think this will be a great combo. Sutton has a lot of speed, and if the cars are right for him, he might provide a few surprises.
Okay, Lillie Corden didn’t set the world alight in her rookie trucks season, and it is a huge risk giving her a full time LIS campaign at 17, but I’m going to argue that this is the best Silly Season signing made this year. Clearly, Jamie King needed someone to build the team around, so why not get someone who will be on the scene for a long time to come? Corden has a lot of potential. She has merit in the lower tiers of British Motorsports, such as a Ginetta Juniors championship. Give Corden time, and I think she will possibly become one of the greats. An incredibly bold prediction, but I would not be surprised if we see Corden in victory lane and in the playoffs this season.
Ichigaya Sawatari Racing – Chevrolet
#91 – Lacey Starling
#96 – Tohka Shishigaya (R)
#97 – Murasaki Ikoma/Tanner Clason/Amane Suou (R)/Jack Kelley-Whitt *
#99 – Ellie Thuram
Ichigaya Sawatari Racing have played the role of ATK’s number two team for a couple of years now, but they are beginning to shine themselves. With Ichigaya paying into the series big time, perhaps this isn’t a surprise, but this team have been reliable for a win or two every season, and I think this is a trend that will continue.
Lacey Starling is criminally underrated. She has been fantastic in every single car she has been in, even though she has ride hopped every season she has been in the LIS so far. People often forget her incredible 2019 season when she took a Jenkins Performance car deep into the chase with her consistent brilliance. With this being her second season in the #91 car, and with Starling putting in stellar performances to keep that car where it needs to be in the points, you have to wonder if anything more is on the cards for Starling. I think she will be the highlight of this team in 2022, and we should see her return to victory lane.
Tohka Shishigaya is another driver brought in by Ichigaya from the Japanese ranks of racing. A former classmate of teammate Murasaki Ikoma, Shishigaya recently won the Super Formula championship with a convincing margin, earning her a golden ticket into the LIS. While her car is locked in for the early season, I think she will do well enough to keep it there for the entire season, and I could see her making a serious bid at Rookie of the Year.
The split car for Ichigaya Sawatari has always seemed to be the fastest. Baszler and Kazami were insanely fast in the 99 when they got seat time last year, and with the returning Tanner Clason, they got that car locked in on owners points for the 2022 season. ISR have done the smart thing and put a full-time driver with Ellie Thuram in the 99 car, but it would not surprise me if this line-up does exactly the same by the end of this season. On top of that, I could see them getting a few spoiler wins to shake up proceedings.
Ellie Thuram was the one glimmer of hope on MDM’s driver lineup last year. Dan Kelly lost everything good from 2020 that he had going, and Max Winfield was, to be brutally honest, completely hopeless last season. While it took some time to get Thuram going, she did make herself noticed, especially in the race at Orlando where she looked like the only driver who wanted to challenge Sadie McDowell for the win, eventually earning a driver of the day award with a 4th place finish. I think Thuram will settle in well at Ichigaya and will be reliable for that car.
MDM Motorsports, Inc. – Toyota
#93 – Zane Vajihollahi (R) *
#94 – Caitlin Conway *
#95 – Tanner Steele *
MDM Motorsports, Inc had a horrific season last year. While Tanner Steele guided McBrien’s B team to their first win at Memphis in 2020, the following season saw all three cars get a combined 5 top 10s in a combined 63 races, with only 1 top 5 in those results. Whether it was down to poor driver selection or the team’s equipment, it’s clear there is a lot of room for improvement.
The team chose to retain Vajihollahi for the 2022 season, and it wasn’t hard to see why. The 93 car was the worst of the bunch last year by some distance, but Vajihollahi got that car into the races at a better ratio than Dan Kelly. Hopefully he can have a better year than the last one.
Caitlin Conway’s return to STARS isn’t what surprises me. It’s the fact that she was willing to put pen to paper for MDM. She could have walked into a McBrien or Kwik Fit ride, but instead, she chose to go to an organization that couldn’t make races consistently next year. While she may be remembered for scraping into the chase and spectacularly failing during Big Bang’s massive meltdown in 2019, we should be excited for her return. I think Conway will bring this team back to what it was.
And if Conway can’t do it, then their original hero, Tanner Steele, most certainly can. Steele has proven to many that he definitely has what it takes, but unfortunately, things at McBrien did not work out (despite an amazing Indianapolis win!). I think there is potential to get Steele back in victory lane, but MDM will need to pull their weight if he’s to do it. It’s not a matter of the driver in this instance.
Official Predictions
First-time winners: Lilly Samson, Joe Branch, Kazuki Kazami, Ruby Kurosawa, Mari Ohara, Madison Baszler, Neveah Laughlin, Alex Phillips, Aurora Sullivan, Lillie Corden
Most wins in a season: Evie Vance (5)
Upset of the year: Lillie Corden wins at a superspeedway to make the playoffs.
Disappointments: McBrien Racing don’t live up to expectations.
Best race of 2017: Indianapolis
Worst race of 2017: CTMP
Retirees at season end: None.
Driver of the year: Evie Vance
Reject of the year: Joey McBrien
Most likely to lose ride in the middle of the season: AJ Murphy
Empire State 300 Winner: Evie Vance
DP Enterprises 200 Winner: Joe Branch
STARS Springfield Shootout Winner: Lilly Samson
STARS Short Track Challenge Winner: Ben Atkins
STARS Championship 200 Winner: Rosemary Black
Champion: Honoka Kousaka
Runner-up: Grant Macintosh
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