The Frontstretch Newsletter: April 22nd, 2011

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 22nd, 2011
Volume V, Edition LXXI

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Top News
by Summer Dreyer

Sprint Fan Vote Nears One Million Votes

Since voting for the 2011 Sprint Fan Vote for the Sprint All-Star Race began on March 23rd, 900,000 votes have already been cast by fans trying to vote their favorite drivers into the main event. The Fan Vote, which allows fans to cast votes for their favorite drivers who are ineligible for the All-Star Race, reached approximately 1.5 million votes in 2010 when Carl Edwards received a majority of votes.

Currently, the top 10 vote-getters (alphabetically) are A.J. Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Brad Keselowski, Bobby Labonte, Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Martin Truex, Jr. and Brian Vickers.

Voting will end Saturday, May 21st, at 5 PM ET and the winner of the vote will not be announced until after the Sprint all-Star Showdown. The winner of the Fan Vote must finish the Showdown on the lead lap and the car must be determined by NASCAR to be safe to race.

In order to be eligible for the Fan Vote, a driver is required to have finished in the top 50 of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race in 2010, or attempted to qualify for the 2011 Daytona 500.

This year's eligible drivers are A.J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Marcos Ambrose, Dave Blaney, Mike Bliss, Todd Bodine, Jeff Burton, Patrick Carpentier, Landon Cassill, Kevin Conway, Derrike Cope, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, David Gilliland, Robby Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Brad Keselowski, Brian Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Andy Lally, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Casey Mears, Paul Menard, Joe Nemechek, Max Papis, David Ragan, Tony Raines, Robert Richardson, Elliott Sadler, Regan Smith, Reed Sorenson, Scott Speed, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Steve Wallace, Michael Waltrip and J.J. Yeley.

The Sprint All-Star Showdown and Sprint All-Star Race will run on Saturday, May 21st with coverage beginning on SPEED at 7 PM ET.

Blake Feese Joins Turner Motorsports

Turner Motorsports announced Thursday that they have added Saybrook, Illinois native Blake Feese to their current driver line up. The 29-year-old will join the current lineup of Ricky Carmichael, Mark Martin, James Buescher and Brad Sweet in the Camping World Truck Series. Feese is set to make his debut with Turner Motorsports when the series returns to Nashville Superspeedway in July.

"I'm very happy to be joining the Turner Motorsports team and am excited about running in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series again with great teammates like Ricky Carmichael and James Buescher," Feese said. "I want to thank Mr. Turner for this opportunity. No one could be more excited about being a part of this great organization that I am right now."

Feese has two previous starts in the Truck Series: a 15th-place finish at Kentucky Speedway in 2005 and a 12th-place finish in Nashville in 2009.

Have news for Summer 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 at 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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In Case You Missed It
by Brett Poirier

Johnson Guest Stars on "Breaking In" on FOX

Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson guest starred in the New FOX comedy series, "Breaking In." Johnson's episode aired on Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. The driver played himself in the episode, approaching the high-tech security firm about need security assistance. Portions of Wednesday's episode were shot at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.

"[Director] Fred Savage was really encouraging and gave me great direction and I had a blast with Christian Slater. I think the hardest part was not laughing at Michael Rosenbaum [who plays character Dutch]. That guy is what you'd call high energy. The whole experience was great. I hope the fans enjoy seeing me do something different, but trust me, I won't be leaving my day job any time soon."

The series stars Slater as the mastermind of the security firm. The security team of "skilled oddball geniuses" often takes extreme measures to get the job done.

Denny Hamlin Showdown Drivers Test at Richmond

On Wednesday, several drivers were at Richmond International Raceway to test for the upcoming "Denny Hamlin Showdown" on April 28th. Denny Hamlin, Hermie Sadler and Jason White practiced in the afternoon. This will be the fourth year Hamlin has run his showdown race, but the first time it is being held at Richmond. The 2011 version is expected to have Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Michael Waltrip, Joey Logano, Travis Pastrana, Trevor Bayne and the host Hamlin battling some of Virginia's best late model drivers.

Talladega Superspeedway Partners with AARP's Drive to End Hunger

Talladega Superspeedway announced on Wednesday that it partnered with AARP's Drive to End Hunger program and is donating all of its extra food items from last weekend to a local shelter, Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.

"We are pleased that Talladega Superspeedway, through AARP's Drive to End Hunger, can make a significant difference for people in our community," Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch said. "In Alabama alone, more than 20 percent of people reported not having enough money to buy food in the last year. More than seven percent of seniors in Alabama are at risk of hunger. Particularly in these economic times, we want to do everything we can to support the folks in communities around the track. They are important to us, they are important to the sport, and solving this problem should be important to everyone in America."

The donations included bread, produce and other edible items.

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Keepin' It Short
Bubba "The Love Sponge" Buys a Short Track
by Mike Neff

Local short tracks are always trying hard to put cars in the pits and butts in the seats, while making some money for the people who own them. Unfortunately for many short track fans that last part ends up meaning the race track is sold to some investment partnership that turns it into a shopping mall. However, on April 13th we saw a nice change in that dynamic as syndicated radio personality "Bubba the Love Sponge" Clem purchased Ocala Speedway.

The Southeastern United States has lost two race tracks this year with Southside Speedway in Virginia and Tri-County Speedway in North Carolina shutting down for different reasons. There are several tracks rumored to be for sale at this point in time and it is very difficult to make a go of it running a race track during these trying economic times. It is refreshing to see someone with substantial resources who is willing to try to give back to the racers more than trying to turn a profit. Clem has the income from his syndicated radio show to help back him in this venture so this is being treated as an investment but also a labor of love.

The announcement from Thursday:

Bubba and his group of investors closed yesterday on the famed Ocala Speedway Wednesday, April 13th, 2011. Ocala Speedway, the oldest track in Florida, first opened in 1952 as a clay / dirt track. For 45 year in ran as a dirt track then turned to asphalt for 10 years before returning to its modern day surface clay in 2008. Ocala Speedway has hosted and continues to host some of the best dirt racing in America along with other speciality events, such as a special Monster Truck show this weekend with the Famed Grave Digger.

Racing sanctioning bodies such as USAC, WOO, ASCS, and UDLMS also have visited and will continue to visit the famed dirt oval located within 2.5 hours of almost anywhere in the state of Florida. Bubba, with his nationwide radio reach and relationships he has established within the racing community will market and promote the track quite aggressively.

"I obviously bought this place as a investment but also want to give back to the racers. I myself have raced here and other tracks in Florida and outside of Florida for over ten years, and for the most part track owners are greedy scum-bags," Clem said. "They want to make a great living at the expense of the racers. Very few track owners want to give back [but] those days are over at my track. Most tracks here in this area and even outside of Florida dont even offer very attractive end of the year point funds; that will change as well."

"And while we are changing things, I am announcing now the new name of the track will be Bubba Raceway Park. So if you're a track owner, be mad or change your ways, and if you're a racer, come to my track and have fun, be treated fair, and get paid square."

After this weekends Monster Truck show, we will be closing down until Friday, May 13th. We then will be having a Re-Grand opening: $5000 to win late model race named the first annual Bubba Army Open.

Look for our new website Bubbaracewaypark.com to be up by early next week for details about May 13th race. Also information regarding the new, revised 2011 schedule and the $32,000 end of the year points fund which will start the night of May 13th.

While Bubba has made a name for himself by doing some outrageous stunts on his radio program and stirring the pot for the sake of publicity he's not only a racing fan but he actually races. He's now putting his money where his mouth is and professing to actually give back to the local racers at his new race track. While that sounds good, it can be a lot harder to accomplish in reality than one might think. Hopefully Clem will be able to make a huge success of his race track and more promoters will jump on the bandwagon to make money off of the front gate instead of the back gate.

Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown

This Thursday night will see the fourth annual Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown take place at Richmond International Raceway. 40 of the top Late Model drivers in the country will be in attendance along with 15 NASCAR/Celebrity drivers. The event will be carried live on SPEED at 7:00 PM ET. If you're a local short track fan and can't make it to the race track it will be worth your time to watch the action on SPEED to see some of the best local guys taking on the best NASCAR has to offer in relatively equal equipment at RIR.

Racing scheduled for the upcoming week:

Fri : Apr 22 - Batesville Speedway ; Batesville : AR - MARS
Fri : Apr 22 - Five Flags Speedway ; Pensacola : FL - Pro Late Model Series
Fri : Apr 22 - Waycross Motor Speedway ; Waycross : GA - Southern All Star Racing Series
Fri : Apr 22 - Jacksonville Speedway ; Jacksonville : IL - POWRI Midgets
Fri : Apr 22 - Dodge City Raceway Park ; Dodge City : KS - USAC National Midgets
Fri : Apr 22 - Ponderosa Speedway ; Junction City : KY - STARS Midwest Dirt Racing League
Fri : Apr 22 - Hattiesburg Motorsports Park ; Hattiesburg : MS - Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series
Fri : Apr 22 - Callaway Raceways ; Fulton : MO - United Late Model Association
Fri : Apr 22 - Attica Raceway Park ; Attica : OH - American Late Model Series
Fri : Apr 22 - Nashville Superspeedway ; Nashville : TN - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Fri : Apr 22 - Boyd Speedway ; Boyd : TX - Sprint Series of Texas
Sat : Apr 23 - Firebird Int Raceway (west) ; Chandler : AZ - Professional AutoSports
Sat : Apr 23 - Canyon Speedway Park ; Peoria : AZ - Total Seal Late Model Dirt Series
Sat : Apr 23 - All American Speedwawy ; Rossville : CA - Airport Auto Brokers Late Models
Sat : Apr 23 - Bakersfield Speedway ; Oildale : CA - National 3/4 Midget Association
Sat : Apr 23 - Giant Chevrolet Speedway ; Hanford : CA - Western AllStar Dirt Racing Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Ocean Speedway ; Watsonville : CA - Golden State Challenge
Sat : Apr 23 - Salinas Sports Complex ; Salinas : CA - AMA Grand National Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Shasta Raceway Park ; Redding : CA - USAC Western Clasic Racing Series
Sat : Apr 23 - North Florida Speedway ; Lake City : FL - Florida Mini-Sprint Association
Sat : Apr 23 - Cochran Speedway ; Cochran : GA - Southern All Star Racing Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Gresham Motorsports Park ; Jefferson : GA - MMRA / Mini-Cups
Sat : Apr 23 - Gresham Motorsports Park ; Jefferson : GA - Outlaw Late Models
Sat : Apr 23 - Gresham Motorsports Park ; Jefferson : GA - Pro Late Models
Sat : Apr 23 - Magic Valley Speedway ; Twin Falls : ID - Rocky Mountain Challenge Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Avcom Park ; Avon : IL - IMRA TQ Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Macon Speedway ; Macon : IL - POWRI Midgets
Sat : Apr 23 - Brownstown Speedway ; Brownstown : IN - Midwest Mini-Sprint Association
Sat : Apr 23 - Terre Haute Action Track ; Terre Haute : IN - USAC Silver Crown
Sat : Apr 23 - Dodge City Raceway Park ; Dodge City : KS - USAC National Midgets
Sat : Apr 23 - Lake Cumberland Speedway ; Jamestown : KY - STARS Midwest Dirt Racing League
Sat : Apr 23 - Hagerstown Speedway ; Hagerstown : MD - Three State Flyers
Sat : Apr 23 - Deer Creek Speedway ; Spring Valley : MN - Cornbelt Clash
Sat : Apr 23 - Central Missouri Speedway ; Warrensburg : MO - United Late Model Association
Sat : Apr 23 - Lucas Oil Speedway ; Wheatland : MO - United Late Model Association
Sat : Apr 23 - Scotland County Speedway ; Memphis : MO - United Late Model Association
Sat : Apr 23 - Springfield Raceway ; Springfield : MO - ASCS / Sooner Region
Sat : Apr 23 - West Plains Speedway ; West Plains, MO - MARS
Sat : Apr 23 - Whynot Motorsports Park ; Meridian : MS - Mississippi State Championship Challenge Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Caraway Speedway ; Asheboro : NC - NASCAR Southern Modified Tour
Sat : Apr 23 - Charlotte Motor Speedway ; Concord : NC - ChumpCar World Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Hickory Motor Speedway ; Hickory : NC - Allison Legacy Race Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Hickory Motor Speedway ; Hickory : NC - PASS Southern Late Model Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Stateline Speedway ; Busti : NY - United Late Model Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Toledo Speedway ; Toledo : OH - CRA All-Star Tour
Sat : Apr 23 - Toledo Speedway ; Toledo : OH - USA Modifieds
Sat : Apr 23 - Salina Highbanks Speedway ; Salina : OK - WoO Sprint Cars
Sat : Apr 23 - Tri-State Speedway ; Pocola : OK - Show Me Racing Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Port Royal Speedway ; Port Royal : PA - PA Sprint Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Susquehanna Speedway ; Newberrytown : PA - Central Pennsylvania LegendCars
Sat : Apr 23 - Williams Grove Speedway ; Mechanicsburg : PA - Super Sportsmen
Sat : Apr 23 - Nashville Superspeedway ; Nashville : TN - NASCAR Nationwide Series
Sat : Apr 23 - Volunteer Speedway ; Bulls Gap : TN - SASE
Sat : Apr 23 - Lone Star Speedway ; Kilgore : TX - Southern Thunder Sprints
Sat : Apr 23 - Dodge County Fairgrounds ; Beaver Dam : WI - Interstate Racing Association
Sun : Apr 24 - Firebird International Raceway (west) ; Chandler : AZ - Professional AutoSports
Sun : Apr 24 - Willow Springs Motorsports Park ; Rosamond : CA - AHRMA Motorcycles Road Racing
Wed : Apr 27 - RPM Speedway ; Hays : KS - United Rebel Sprint Series
Thu : Apr 28 - US 30 Speedway ; Columbus : NE - Good Ol Time Racing Association
Thu : Apr 28 - Tri-State Speedway ; Pocola : OK - USMTS Modifieds
Thu : Apr 28 – Richmond International Raceway ; Richmond : VA – Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown
Thu : Apr 28 - Richmond International Raceway ; Richmond : VA - NASCAR Camping World East Series

Mike Neff is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via email at mike.neff@frontstretch.com.

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Rock and a Hard Place: What Do We Really Want?
by Amy Henderson

Four Burning Questions: Last Chances, Bogus Records and Musical Numbers
by Mike Lovecchio

Kenny Wallace Driver Diary: The Good, The Bad, and The Fluke
as told to Amy Henderson

Four Preseason Favorites Have Obstacles To Overcome
by Garrett Horton

Tearing Apart the Trucks: Five to Watch at Nashville
by Beth Lunkenheimer

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  The 1984 Coors 420 was a great race that came down to a duel between the quasi-teammates for Junior Johnson at the time (Darrell Waltrip and Neil Bonnett).  However, the finish of the race was actually disputed.  What happened?

Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Thursday's Answer:
 
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?
 
A:  During Practice, there was a multi-car crash on the backstretch involving Dave Blaney and Shane Hall.  McLaughlin, Stevie Reeves and Tim Fedewa then piled into the crash on the narrow backstretch.  Fedewa's No. 33 Kleenex Chevrolet ended up upside-down next to Blaney's Pontiac.  A clip of the crash, taken from the TNN broadcast, can be seen here.  No one was injured, but a fleet of backup cars had to be rolled out.  For those wondering, Fedewa finished eighth in his backup.
 
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 Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Weekend News by Phil Allaway
-- Secret Star and Stat of the Week by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Monday on the Frontstretch:

Monday Morning Tear-Down by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan takes a look at the biggest story from the Nationwide race over the weekend and analyzes it without pulling any punches.

Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom brings back his weekly post-race commentary with all of the insight you need from a weekend of racing at Nashville.

Potts' Shots by John Potts
Fanning the Flames has become Potts' Shots, and John Potts is here to answer your questions in our weekly fan Q & A. Do you have something you'd like to ask John? Don't sit on the sidelines! Send it to john.potts@frontstretch.com, and you just may see your question in print next week!

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Nashville 300 by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has all the post-race analysis you need after Saturday afternoon's Nationwide Series race from Nashville.

Tracking the Trucks: Bully Hill Vineyards 200 by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth has all the post-race analysis you need after Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race from Nashville.

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