The Frontstretch Newsletter: April 21st, 2011

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 21st, 2011
Volume V, Edition LXX
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Today's Top News
by Phil Allaway

NASCAR Announces Postseason Schedule

Yes, we're only eight races into the Sprint Cup schedule, but it is never too early to plan the end of season fireworks.  On Wednesday, NASCAR announced the schedule and sites for all of the events that make up Champions' Week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Of course, the main event is the Sprint Cup Series Banquet.  That will be held on Friday, December 2nd at the Wynn Las Vegas.  Once again, only the top-10 drivers will be featured on stage, despite the fact that the Chase for the Sprint Cup features 12 of them.

The NASCAR Victory Lap also returns for 2011.  This very popular attraction sees the top drivers drive show cars down the Las Vegas Strip, stopping to do some donuts at various intervals.  Last year, large crowds lined the Strip to watch the display.

The NMPA Myers Brothers Awards Luncheon and the NASCAR After the Lap Top 12 Q&A are on the docket as well.  However, locations for those events have not been announced yet.

The Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series will continue to hold a joint banquet in Miami, Florida.  It will be at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel in South Beach on November 21, the night after the Ford 400.  It is expected that the top-5 drivers from each series will be honored.

Finally, NASCAR's lower-tier series will once again hold their banquets in Charlotte, North Carolina at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  The Whelen All-American Series Banquet will be on Friday, December 9.  Meanwhile, the rest of NASCAR's touring series will have their own celebration the next night.  That banquet, the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Banquet, will celebrate the champions of NASCAR's Grand National Divisions (K&N Pro Series East and West, the Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Mexico Series presented by Toyota), and the Whelen Modified Tours (Northern and Southern Divisions).

Farmers Insurance to Sponsor Martin For Five Races; Martin to Honor Richmond at All-Star Race

Early on Wednesday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that they have signed Farmers Insurance to serve as the primary sponsor of Mark Martin's No. 5 Chevrolet for five races (four point races, plus the Sprint All-Star Race).  In addition, the insurance agency will serve as an major associate in the races in which they are not the primary sponsor.

The Sprint All-Star Race will be where Farmers makes its primary debut, and they are celebrating with a retro scheme.  Martin will drive a renumbered No. 25 Chevrolet with a special red paint scheme harkening back to 1986, when Hendrick Motorsports expanded to a second car with Folgers Coffee sponsorship and Tim Richmond behind the wheel.

Following the Sprint All-Star Race, Martin will race under the Farmers Insurance colors at Kansas, Pocono and Infineon Raceway in June, along with the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol in August.

Martin is quite excited about the opportunity to represent a company that he makes use of on a regular basis.

"I'm proud to be associated with Farmers Insurance," Martin said.  "I've been a customer for more than five years — my agent is in Searcy, AR — so I know it's a terrific company that offers the highest quality products and services."

Car owner Rick Hendrick is also pleased about the new business pairing for the No. 5 team.

"We're excited about this new partnership with Farmers and the opportunity to represent its nearly 24,000 employees and more than 50,000 agents," Hendrick said.  "It's an innovative company with very strong corporate values, and I'm confident that we'll continue to work together for a long time to come."

When it came to the 1986 retro scheme, Hendrick was all smiles.

"When you have a partner that's essentially new to the sport, kicking off a program with a nod to the past is a unique approach. The No. 25 was my dad's car, and it's always held a special place in our history.  Farmers choosing this paint scheme for its first race with Mark and Hendrick Motorsports means a lot, and I think our fans will really like it."

The new deal will be Farmers' second foray into the Sprint Cup Series.  In 2009, they served as the primary sponsor for Yates Racing's No. 28 Ford and driver Travis Kvapil.  Kvapil finished in 18th, one lap down that day.  It was tied for his best finish of the season before the team folded due to lack of sponsorship.

Entry List Update
Note:  These entries are accurate as of Wednesday evening.  However, they are still subject to change.

Nationwide Series Nashville 300:  43 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18 - Kyle Busch for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 20 - Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22 - Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 33 - Austin Dillon for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
No. 60 - Carl Edwards for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 64 - David Reutimann for Rusty Wallace Racing
No. 87 - Kevin Conway for NEMCO Motorsports

Driver Changes:
No. 7 - Josh Wise returns to the seat, replacing Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
No. 30 - Mikey Kile is in the seat, replacing James Buescher. He's attempting only his second career Nationwide start.
No. 33 - Austin Dillon is in the seat, replacing Clint Bowyer. It's Dillon's debut with KHI.
No. 39 - Danny O'Quinn, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Josh Wise. O'Quinn has been filling in for Wise when the latter jumps into his part-time schedule with JR Motorsports.
No. 41 - Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Jennifer Jo Cobb. The team is expected to start and park.
No. 52 - Tim Schendel returns to the seat, replacing Danny Efland.
No. 68 - Matt Carter returns to the seat, replacing Carl Long. The team is expected to start and park.
No. 70 - David Stremme is in the seat, replacing Dennis Setzer. This race marks Stremme's return to the series; he will run a part-time schedule with this team and the new No. 64 of Rusty Wallace, Inc.
No. 75 - Johnny Chapman is in the seat, replacing Carl Long (from Texas). The team is expected to start and park.
No. 81 - Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing Donnie Neuenberger.
No. 87 - Kevin Conway returns to the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek. Extenze sponsorship is also on board.
No. 99 - Ryan Truex returns to the seat, replacing Michael Waltrip.

Since only 43 cars are entered, no one will miss the race.  However, these cars must still qualify on speed:
No. 05 - Willie Allen for Day Enterprises
No. 41 - Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing
No. 44 - Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 49 - Dennis Setzer for Jay Robinson Racing
No. 52 - Tim Schendel for Means Motorsports
No. 64 - David Reutimann for Rusty Wallace Racing
No. 67 - J.R. Fitzpatrick for Go Canada Racing (making its series debut)
No. 68 - Matt Carter for Fleur-de-Lis Motorsports
No. 70 - David Stremme for ML Motorsports
No. 74 - Mike Harmon for Harmon Motorsports
No. 75 - Johnny Chapman for Rick Ware Racing
No. 79 - Tim Andrews for 2nd Chance Motorsports
No. 89 - Morgan Shepherd for Faith Motorsports

Camping World Truck Series Bully Hill Vineyards 200:  40 trucks entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18 - Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 21 - Elliott Sadler for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
No. 63 - Nick Hoffman for Mittler Brothers Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 07 - Butch Miller returns to the seat, replacing Caleb Roark.
No. 1 - An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Jeffrey Earnhardt.  Sponsor Fuel Doctor left the team to go to Turn One Racing recently.
No. 10 - Jennifer Jo Cobb returns to the seat, replacing Chase Mattioli.
No. 73 - Brian Johnson, Jr. is in the seat, replacing Rick Crawford.

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 02 - Jamie Dick for Stott Classic Racing
No. 07 - Butch Miller for SS-Green Light Racing
No. 10 - Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing

No. 16 - John King
No. 20 - Johanna Long for Panhandle Motorsports
No. 21 - Elliott Sadler for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
No. 38 - Mike Garvey for SES Motorsports
No. 39 - Ryan Sieg for SES Motorsports
No. 51 - Justin Johnson for Vision Aviation Racing
No. 57 - Norm Benning for Benning Racing
No. 63 - Nick Hoffman for Mittler Brothers Racing
No. 73 - Brian Johnson, Jr. for Tagsby Racing
No. 99 - Chase Mattioli for Chase Mattioli Racing

 

Have news for Phil and The Frontstretch?  Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Hey Frontstretch Readers!
We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look how NASCAR, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
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Editor's Note: What's Vexing Vito will not be seen this week.  Vito simply didn't have anything that was Vexing him this week.  Tune in next Thursday to see if something is grinding his gears.
 
Today's Featured Commentary
Who Will Be The Odd Man Out At Roush?

Shakedown Session
by Brody Jones

Over the years, there have been many great debates in American society. Whether it's Coke or Pepsi, chocolate or vanilla ice cream, the Red Sox or the Yankees, Hulk Hogan or The Rock, Sammy Hagar or David Lee Roth, or even the debate of paper or plastic, our society likes to debate which side is better. Well in the world of NASCAR, there is a potential debate brewing that, amazingly, few have publicly addressed during a Silly Season that will slowly start gaining steam the next few weeks. It's the question of who will wind up potentially being the odd man out at Roush Fenway come 2012: Trevor Bayne or Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.?
 
On the surface, it appears that Roush is committed to both drivers. Bayne has become quite the media darling since his Daytona 500 triumph while Stenhouse has been rather quietly leading the Nationwide Series points for much of the early part of the season. Had this question been asked this time a year ago, the answer would have been pretty much cut-and-dry as Bayne was contending for top-10's with the then-Diamond-Waltrip Racing organization while Stenhouse was auditioning for the role of NASCAR's official crash test dummy with all the wrecks he kept having. Fast forward to a year later, though, and it's not so crystal clear on who there won't be room in the Roush-Fenway inn for.
 
Granted, Trevor Bayne does have the one thing Stenhouse has yet to attain in the form of a Sprint Cup victory in NASCAR, scoring the sport's ultimate triumph with a 500 upset for the ages. However, Stenhouse Jr. - the Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year for 2010 - has yet to race at the Cup level, so that comparison isn't entirely fair. Plus, the growing question lately with Bayne is will he be a long-term success? Ever since his stunning victory, he hasn't finished higher than 17th in a race in the Cup Series and he lags behind Stenhouse on the Nationwide side, scoring just one top-5 finish and sitting seventh in the standings through eight events.
 
Stenhouse, Jr., by comparison in just less than a year's time has gone from the brink of being yet another failed USAC to NASCAR transplant to being one of the few legitimate threats to win a Nationwide race that is not a Cup regular. Look at the first half of his rookie Nationwide Series campaign, for example. Last year, through the first 18 races he only had one top 5 and two top 10s in that time. Since then, though the light switch turned on: in his last 24 starts, he's earned three top-5s, 11 top-10s, and sits fourth in Nationwide points after leading during the early part of this season.
 
However, let's not discount what Bayne has accomplished in the Nationwide Series as a whole; during his career, he has outperformed Stenhouse with seven top-5s and 17 top-10s with four pole positions compared to two for his rival. Perhaps the best comparison, then, is since both drivers have been racing for Roush-Fenway. During 14 starts as teammates, both Bayne and Stenhouse, Jr. have a pair of top-5s, but Stenhouse, Jr. has eight top 10s compared to five for Bayne. Those numbers don't lie: Stenhouse appears to have the edge.
 
So what does Jack Roush do? Logic would dictate that he needs to find a way to keep both drivers in his stable; potential young superstars are tough to find these days. But with Greg Biffle just signing a contract extension, Carl Edwards likely to do the same in a short matter of time and Matt Kenseth locked under contract, the only potential Sprint Cup seat that might be open at RFR would possibly be the No. 6 UPS Ford driven by David Ragan. Should Ragan be released, that leads to one empty seat for two immensely talented drivers. Who will get the call-up to the next level? It's a very tough decision for Roush, which might be made tougher if Stenhouse was to win the Nationwide Series championship.

 

Hopefully, that decision will be made on the track, two talented drivers fighting hard to earn their way up the ladder. But the fact of the matter is there's another place where the decision could be swayed: the boardroom. For NASCAR, in its current state, is driven by the economy and if a company is more adept to sponsor one driver over the other, the argument of who's more talented takes a back seat to which one can offer up more cash.

Either way, the answer to this question likely will not come until the end of this season; but even then, it will be one of the more agonizing decisions Jack Roush has had to make.

Brody Jones is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch.com.  You can contact Brody via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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The Critic's Annex:  Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and Long Beach 100

by Phil Allaway
 
Hello, race fans, and welcome back to the Critic's Annex, the weekly additional look at the race broadcasts that us fans like to watch.  As I've mentioned previously, there were six major races last weekend alone.  ARCA, Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series were all in Talladega while Formula One was in Shanghai, China for what turned out to be an excellent race.  Finally, the Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series and the Izod IndyCar Series (not to mention Firestone Indy Lights) were in Long Beach, California.

 

This week, I'll be covering both the Firestone Indy Lights and the Izod IndyCar Series since it is (basically) one long broadcast. 

 

Long Beach 100

 

Versus came on air at 11 AM local time with live coverage of the Firestone Indy Lights Long Beach 100.  Kevin Lee, the pit reporter from last season, now serves as a de facto host of the coverage.  He has been replaced as pit reporter by Jake Query.  Mike King continues in his play-by-play role, but he has been joined by Willy T. Ribbs in the booth, while Wally Dallenbach, Jr. chimed in from time to time.  An unusual choice, to be honest.  I had only previously seen Ribbs do commentary once before, a Trans-Am race at Long Beach in 2002 for SPEED.  I thought he was quite mellow on that telecast.

 

Ribbs seems to have a "relaxed style" in the booth.  By that, I mean that he tends to speak a lot slower than most commentators that I'm used to hearing on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, the relaxed style makes him come off as wooden.  He does have the tendency to let out a good one-liner every once in a while.  For example, in describing Esteban Guerrieri's pole run, he exclaimed, "Esteban was the bomb!"  However, for the most part, I found Ribbs' commentary to be quite boring although he should improve while adjusting to being on television regularly.

 

Mike King seems to come from a radio background.  As a result, he is generally easy to listen to.  I have no real problems with his performance.  However, I guess even Versus thought that Ribbs' performance was somewhat substandard.  Dallenbach was not even billed as a commentator for the broadcast, yet he came in and more or less took over Ribbs' role for the second half of the race.  If I were Ribbs, I would be embarrassed.

 

Post-race coverage was relatively brief.  There were interviews with winner Conor Daly and Josef Newgarden, who stuffed his car in the tire wall with three laps to go while leading.  There were also checks of the unofficial results and point standings before the coverage shifted into pre-race for the IndyCar Series.

 

As I mentioned earlier, the main aspect of Firestone Indy Lights coverage to focus on this season will be the education of Ribbs in the broadcast booth.  The conversationalist style can work in spots, but it just isn't all that engaging for viewers.  At other times, Ribbs has almost nothing to add, forcing King to kill time, or in this case, for Dallenbach to intervene.  Also, I doubt that viewers can really learn much off of Ribbs' commentary, which is one of the main roles of an analyst.  It also should be noted that other viewers have similar opinions of Ribbs in the booth.

 

As it stands, Ribbs' performance is bringing down the overall quality of Firestone Indy Lights broadcasts.  Its still too early to write him off, but it's not looking too good so far.

 

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

 

The IndyCar coverage began with a quick ProfessorB segment on repainting race cars.  Its a labor intensive and apparently quite expensive process.  Before a new scheme is applied, the entire car must be sanded down by hand (paint removal products cannot be used because of the carbon fiber).  Then, the paint is applied in a single layer, followed by one clear coat layer.  As a result, everything is seamless.  Wally did another segment as a passenger in the Izod 2-Seater, this time with Al Unser, Jr. behind the wheel.

 

The main feature in the pre-race programming was a conversation with Ryan Hunter-Reay, the defending champion of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.  To Hunter-Reay, Long Beach is important because of how many major events in his life have revolved around the race weekend.  He described how his mother basically hooked him up with his now-fiancé in a restaurant there in 2008 thanks to an overcrowding instance.  He got engaged a year later there, and won last year after his mother died from colon cancer.  It was an interesting look at Hunter-Reay, who is one of the top drivers in the series.

 

IndyCar Central also brought on seven driver interviews with people as varied as Scott Dixon and Paul Tracy.  And, since it was Long Beach, there were also highlights of the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, the annual ten-lap event featuring a smattering of professional drivers taking on celebrities in identically prepared Scion tC's.  William Fitchner from Prison Break won the race.

In the race itself, there really wasn't all that much action up front.  Because of that, Versus decided to pan back through the field and show viewers some action back in the pack.  That was good to see. 

 

Versus managed to catch the vast majority of everything that happened in the race, but they did miss a couple of things.  First off, they never managed to show us a replay of what happened to cause Simona de Silvestro to spin exiting Turn 11.  That spin brought out the first caution.  Luckily, they got Robin Miller to come on after the restart and said (in his typical style that viewers of Wind Tunnel are used to) that Tracy spun her out and got penalized for it.  Better than nothing, but still not great.

 

Under that caution, they also missed an incident in which one of Oriol Servia's crewmembers was struck by the No. 38 of Graham Rahal, injuring the man's ankle.  It appeared that contact with Vitor Meira caused Rahal to enter Servia's pit.  Luckily, there were no serious injuries.

 

However, Versus did catch the pit road crash involving Sebastien Bourdais and Marco Andretti.  Andretti turned his car to the left to avoid Justin Wilson.  Unfortunately, Bourdais was there and both cars ended up in the wall and out of the race.  They also caught some salty language over the radio from Bourdais.  Yes, the F-bombs were flying and it was pretty obvious that the Frenchman was not pleased.  Jenkins apologized for the F-bombs (which I still maintain is not necessary) from Bourdais, but did not apologize for another series of profanities from what appeared to be members of Andretti's crew.  They believed that the No. 26 could be fixed, so they were imploring Andretti to get back in the car.

 

Towards the end of the race, Versus was a little slow in providing replays of incidents.  However, a pass can be given in that instance because about four or five incidents all happened within about eight laps.

 

Despite the fact that the race ended within two or three minutes of the scheduled end of the telecast, Versus still provided a good amount of post-race coverage.  In addition to the standard checks of the unofficial results and point standings, there were also ten post-race interviews and some post-race analysis before Versus left the air.  As a result, the telecast ended 20 minutes after it was supposed to.

All in all, the telecast was not all that bad to watch.  Races at Long Beach tend to be relatively short on action, except for a couple of short stretches.  Sunday's race played to that script, more or less.

Phil Allaway is a Senior Writer and the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Frontstretch Line of the Week
 
From Jeff Meyer's Calling It Like I See It: Contrived NASCAR Controversy

 

"I'm a fan of racing first! I penned my first column many years ago as a drunken fan in a bar on a bet. I'm not afraid of clapping for what I think is right or a great thing. What I write in this space has always been my opinion, and mine alone. I respect if you don't agree with it, but that is your prerogative. I shoot straight and I use common sense. (A trait that is severely lacking in a lot of today's so called NASCAR fans.)" - Jeff Meyer's personal manifesto, in one paragraph.

 
Have a nominee for Line of the Week? Email Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com and you may see yourself in this space next week!
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
 
MPM2Nite:  Clearing Off The Desk

by Matt McLaughlin
 
Voices From The Heartland:  Calling Like I See It: Contrived NASCAR Controversy

by Jeff Meyer
 
Fantasy Insider:  Suprises And Disappointments of 2011

by Brett Poirier
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  The 1998 BellSouth Mobility/Opryland 320 was a slightly less wreck-filled race as compared to normal at then-Nashville Speedway USA.  Mike McLaughlin took his No. 34 Goulds Pumps Chevrolet to Victory Lane.  It's likely arguable, though, that the teams got some of the wrecking out of their systems the day before the race. What happened?

 
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Wednesday's Answer:
 
Q:  For Brendan Gaughan, the 2009 Federated Auto Parts 300 was a race that he'd rather forget.  A terrible handling No. 62 Toyota guaranteed a bad night.  However, another instance just put the icing on the cake.  What happened?

 

A:  Gaughan had to make a late pit stop.  At the same time, Marc Davis, who was driving the No. 10 for Braun Racing as a result of bringing sponsorship from Howard University's WHUR 96.3 FM and The Word Network, was pulling his Toyota into the garage.  Gaughan put his car into neutral in preparation to come into his stall just past the entrance to the garage when Davis turned left right in front of him.  The result was an embarrassing collision, one that Gaughan put 100 percent blame on Davis for.  The crash can be seen at the 2:45 mark at this clip.  At the time, Gaughan was a lap down, but still running 11th due to other teams simply not being on pace.  The damage resulted in a 24th-place finish, 11 laps down.

 
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee:  Take the shirt off our backs!  If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Summer Dreyer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- In Case You Missed It by Brett Poirier
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
 
Goin' Green by Garrett Horton
We're now in the traditional Easter Off-Week.  Some of the Cup teams are bummed out since they're doing so well at the moment.  However, others welcoming the break as a time to regroup.  Garrett talks about certain teams, which category they fit, and what they plan to do coming out of the break in Richmond.

 
Four Burning Questions: Nashville by Mike Lovecchio
Mike brings us his look at important things to look forward to at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend in our racing preview.
 
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns with another interesting commentary.
 
Driver Diary: Kenny Wallace as told to Amy Henderson

Herman returns to talk a little bit about the past few weeks of his life on and off the track in the latest edition of his Frontstretch Driver Diary.
 
Tearing Apart the Trucks by Beth Lunkenheimer

Beth's back with another interesting look into the Camping World Truck Series ahead of Friday night's Bully Hill Vineyards 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.
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