The Frontstretch Newsletter: April 8th, 2011

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 8th, 2011
Volume V, Edition LXI

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Stories to Watch: Race Weekend
by Beth Lunkenheimer

- On track action continues today with two practice sessions for the Nationwide Series (10:30 am ET and 12:15 pm ET) and one for the Sprint Cup Series (3:00 pm ET).

- It's Pole Day at Texas Motor Speedway. Nationwide Series teams will take to the track for qualifying at 5:00 pm ET followed by Sprint Cup Series qualifying at 6:30 pm ET.

- The Nationwide Series will run the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 tonight starting at 8:30 pm ET on ESPN 2.

- Don't forget the Sprint Cup Series will run the Samsung Mobile 500 Saturday night at 7:30 pm ET on FOX.

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Top News
by Summer Dreyer

"Teens Ride FREE" At Richard Petty Driving Experience

As if riding in a stock car at 180+ mph isn't exciting enough, the Richard Petty Driving Experience is giving teenagers even more incentive to show up: It's free!

"Teens Ride FREE" is a new program that has been launched at RPDE where any person aged 14-19 will be given a complimentary 3-lap Ride-Along when accompanied by a paying adult. The program is scheduled to run at approximately 20 different racetracks in the United States.

"We're hoping to accomplish several things with this program," said Mike Bartelli, Chief Marketing Officer of Petty Holdings and RPDE. "We need to engage more young people in what we do and we want to encourage more of our customers to think of a day with Richard Petty Driving Experience as a family event. More broadly, we're committed to doing what we can to help cultivate the next generation of NASCAR fans. We know from plenty of experience, that one of the best ways to create a fan is to get someone inside of a race car."

Ride-Alongs usually cost anywhere from $99-$135. Ride and drive programs and prices can be viewed by going to www.drivepetty.com.

TRG and FAS Lane Racing Pick Up Sponsors for Texas

FAS lane Racing and TRG Motorsports have landed sponsors for this weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Big Red, Inc. has signed on to sponsor Ken Schrader when he gets behind the wheel of the No. 32 FAS Lane Racing Ford in this weekend's Samsung Mobile 500. The No. 32 car is locked into the top 35 in owner points, which means Schrader will start the race with Big Red on the car on Saturday night.

"We are excited to have Big Red come on board with us this week," said Frank Stoddard, FAS Lane Racing team owner. "We are coming off another solid top-25 effort last week at Martinsville and this FAS Lane Racing team is building momentum and improving each week. The efforts and hard work of everyone on the team has put us solidly in the ever important top-35 owner's points and we look forward to continuing that with another solid performance this week with Big Red on board."

Schrader finished 22nd at Martinsville Speedway last weekend.

Meanwhile, Interstate Moving Services has committed to Andy Lally and TRG Motorsports for the next two weekends at TMS and Talladega Superspeedway. This will also be the first weekend the team runs with a Ford engine under the hood, and driver Lally will need to rely on the Ford power and his own driving ability to qualify the No. 71 Ford on time for Saturday's Samsung Mobile 500.

"This is a really big weekend for TRG Motorsports", said TRG Motorsports team owner Kevin Buckler. "In addition to welcoming Interstate as a new primary sponsor, we have also completed the switch to Ford Fusions with Roush/Yates power. This should provide our team with a big boost."

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

"Go Green" Day Declared in Fort Worth, TX

Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief proclaimed today as "Go Green" day in the city in support of Texas Motor Speedway's first NASCAR weekend of 2011, featuring Sunday's Samsung Mobile 500 Sprint Cup Series race. Residents and employees are expected to wear green-colored clothing to show support of the speedway, which annually has the largest attendance of any sporting event in the state.

The Fort Worth Water Gardens and The Fort Worth Avenue of Light are already doing their part. The Fort Worth Water Gardens dyed the aerated water in their garden green to support the track and The Fort Worth Avenue of Light changed the lighting color six stainless steal sculptures to green in honor of NASCAR's visit to Fort Worth.

Added Entertainment at TMS

Texas Motor Speedway is also adding some entertainment to the weekend. The rock band 3 Doors Down will perform a free pre-race concert on the frontstretch of the speedway beginning at 5 p.m., leading up to the first ever Sprint Cup night race at Texas. The speedway is offering fans a chance to get even closer to the action.

For an additional $79, fans can purchase a "mosh pit" ticket. The ticket puts fans right in front of the stage for the concert and the driver introductions for the Samsung Mobile 500. A "mosh pit" ticket can be purchased by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com or calling the ticket office at (817) 215-8500.

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Frontstretch Folio: Samsung Mobile 500
by Summer Dreyer

This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the Samsung Mobile 500. Saturday's race will be the seventh race of the season. The Samsung Mobile 500 will be broadcast live Saturday, April 9th on FOX at 7:30 PM ET and PRN Radio at 7:00 PM ET. Drivers will compete for 334 laps (501 miles) before taking the checkered flag.

Records and Facts

Brian Vickers holds the track qualifying record with a lap of 27.518 sec at 196.235 mph in the 2006 Dickies 500. Vickers finished 27th and one lap down after leading five laps. The pole was his only one of the season. Vickers went on to win one race, five top 5s, nine top 10s, and a 15th-place finish in points.

Carl Edwards holds the record for the fastest race run at Texas Motor Speedway, with a speed of 151.055 mph in the 2005 Dickies 500. Edwards led 82 of the 334 laps run and had a margin of victory of .584 sec over second-place Mark Martin. Matt Kenseth finished third, followed by Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson. The victory was Edwards' fourth and final win of the 2005 season. In the 36 races that year, Edwards grabbed 13 top 5s, 18 top 10s, and an average finish of 14th. He went on to finish second in points.

Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner of this event, leading 12 of the 334 laps to win the 2010 Samsung Mobile 500 by .152 sec over second-place Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch finished third, followed by Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne to round out the top 5. The win was Hamlin's second of the season, and he would go on to win six more before the 2010 season was out. Hamlin grabbed 14 top 5s, 18 top 10s, and an average finish of 13th to finish second in points.

Track Facts

Track/Race Length: 1.5-mile quad oval, 334 laps (501 miles)
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Degree of Banking: 24 degrees
Frontstretch: 2250 ft., 5 degrees of banking
Backstretch: 1330 ft., 5 degrees of banking
Grandstand Seating: 122,377

Pre-race Schedule

Practice: Thursday, April 7, 5:10 – 6:50 PM ET on SPEED
Qualifying: Friday, April 8, 6:40 PM ET on SPEED
Happy Hour: Friday, April 8, 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET on SPEED

Race Day Forecast

Saturday: Partly cloudy/wind
High: 92
Low: 69

Say What?!

"My first thought is what the hell are we doing with this weird schedule at Texas? We practice on Thursday night and all the other stuff that's going on. So I'm still trying to get my head around that (laughs). But we're excited to go back to Texas; obviously is a great spot for our circuit with a lot of great fans. Night races are always good. I hope it's warm. We have a chance where it can be awfully cold there. But I'm looking forward to going back. The Dallas/Ft. Worth area has been very supportive of NASCAR and it'll be good." -Jimmie Johnson

"Texas really is a unique racetrack and a unique layout. From above it looks like any normal 1.5-mile track, but the transitions into and off of the corners are quite a bit different than Charlotte, Las Vegas or any of the other mile-and-a-halfs. There is a lot of banking into the corners, which means you can carry a lot of speed in and to the center, but you lose that speed on exit as the track flattens out. It's difficult because normally you can carry the same amount of grip and speed on both corner entry and corner exit. You have to adjust accordingly and sometimes that's hard to do at 180 miles per hour. It's easy to find yourself in trouble, especially off of Turn 2." -Brad Keselowski

"Texas is a track that we really like a lot. It's a fun racetrack and a place where I enjoy going. For some reason it's been a racetrack that I've enjoyed running ever since my days in the truck series. It's one of my favorite racetracks. I think I probably like it so much because we've run so well there in the past – that probably helps a lot. In the end I think it's just the overall design of the racetrack and the fans that come out for the event and the way they promote it. The feel of the whole weekend just makes it a fun weekend. I don't know exactly what it is, but we definitely enjoy running there. I've always ran well there and I haven't had a chance to run two races in a weekend there in some time. This may be my only shot all year to run both races, so I'm going to go out there and try to make the most of it." -David Reutimann

Summer Dreyer is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached via email at summer.dreyer@frontstretch.com.

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Keepin' It Short
Breaking the Ice in Connecticut
by Mike Neff

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has been putting on races for 26 years and, during that time, they've run 112 races at Thompson International Speedway, more than any other speedway on the schedule. The track itself opened in 1940 and is the oldest asphalt speedway in the United States. Thompson is one of the three oval tracks in Connecticut, all of which are very famous in the New England area. This weekend Thompson will be hosting their annual Icebreaker weekend which will include the season opening race for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

The Icebreaker weekend includes racing from seven divisions besides the Whelen Modifieds. There will be racing on the 5/8ths-mile track in Sunoco Modifieds, Super Late Models, Late Models, Thompson Modifieds, Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks and Sunoco Lite Modifieds. The feature races for all of the divisions will be on Sunday except for the Sunoco Lite Modifieds which will have their feature on Saturday and the Sunoco Modifieds which will run twin features with one race on Saturday and the other on Sunday.

In anticipation of the race this weekend NASCAR sent out a statistical advance for the race which included a multitude of factoids including the following:

•    Thompson has one of the oldest NASCAR affiliations in the country
•    The track held Cup series races in 1951, 1969 and 1970.
•    The modified tour has seen 29 different winners at Thompson with Mike Stefanik taking the trophy home 14 times, more than anyone else.
•    This will be the 10th year in a row that the Whelen Modified Tour has opened their season at Thompson and 15th all time.
•    Bobby Santos won last years Icebreaker from the pole with a new modified qualifying track record.
•    Ted Christopher has won five of the last seven modified races at Thompson including the Icebreaker in 2009.
•    Christopher and Rick Fuller are tied with the most Icebreaker wins all-time with three each.
•    Jamie Tomaino will attempt to continue his consecutive start streak at Thompson where he has started all 112 races in the history of the track.

The NWMT schedule this season will visit eight different race tracks in four states and will make its first international start at Delaware Speedway in Ontario, Canada. Bobby Santos is the defending series champion and will try and become the third driver in history to open up his title defense by winning the season opener. Jerry Marquis in 2001 and Ted Christopher in 2009 are the other two drivers to pull off that feat.

For those of you in the Northeast who are tired of the Winter weather Thompson Speedway is ready to break the ice with some competitive racing this weekend. If you're in the area it will be well worth the trip. If you aren't close enough to hit the races at Thompson this weekend there are quite a few other races taking place around the country. Get out and enjoy some fantastic local short track racing at the following events.

Friday April 8th – Five Flags Speedway – Pensacola, FL – Modified Special
Friday April 8th – Heartland Park Topeka – Topeka, KS – Midwest Late Model Racing
Friday April 8th – Beebe Speedway – Beebe, AR – MSRA Late Models
Saturday April 9th – Ukiah Speedway – Ukiah, CA – Airport Auto Brokers Late Models
Saturday April 9th – North Wilkesboro Speedway – North Wilkesboro, NC – PASS South
Saturday April 9th – Lanier National Speedway – Braselton, GA – Super Six
Saturday April 9th – Kingsport Speedway – Kingsport, TN – UARA
Saturday April 9th – Mobile International Speedway – Mobile, AL – Pro Late Models
Saturday April 9th – Lancaster Speedway – Lancaster, SC – Carolina Clash
Saturday April 9th – 34 Raceway – West Burlington, IA – Deery Series
Saturday April 9th – Brownstown Speedway – Brownstown, IN – Lucas Oil Late Models
Saturday April 9th – Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MO – Midwest Late Model Racing
Saturday April 9th – Whynot Motorsports Park – Meridian, MS – Mississippi State Challenge Series
Saturday April 9th – Riverside International Speedway – West Memphis, AR – MSRA Late Models
Saturday April 9th – Volunteer Speedway – Bulls Gap, TN – Weekly Racing Show
Saturday April 9th – Richmond Raceway – Richmond, KY – Southern Regional Racing
Saturday April 9th – Tyler County Speedway – Middlebourne, WV – UFO Race Championship
Saturday April 9th – North Georgia Speedway – Chatsworth, GA – Volunteer Racing Series
Sunday April 10th – Yakima Speedway – Yakima, WA – Apple Cup
Sunday April 10th – Thompson International Speedway – Thompson, CT – NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
Sunday April 10th – Quincy Raceway – Quincy, IL – Deery Series
Thursday April 14th – Elko Speedway – Elko, MN – Cornbelt Clash

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:

And Another Thing...
by Amy Henderson

Four Burning Questions: What's Happened to Denny Hamlin and Who Is the Real Closer?
by Brody Jones

Casey Mears Driver Diary: Improvement and the Big Picture
as told to Amy Henderson

Better, But Not Back: Way Too Early to Say Earnhardt Has Returned
by Garrett Horton

As the Nationwide Series Breaks New Ground at Texas, Much of the Old Guard is On the Sidelines
by Bryan Davis Keith

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  Steve Kinser had a lot of bad luck while representing the World of Outlaws in the International Race of Champions (IROC).  In 2006, his near perpetual bad luck struck again late in the race at Texas Motor Speedway.  What happened?

Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Thursday's Answer:
 
Q:  Today, Davey Hamilton races on a part-time basis in the Izod IndyCar Series.  Driver-wise, he is one of the last throwbacks to the all-ovals early period of the Indy Racing League.  However, his career nearly ended at Texas Motor Speedway in 2001.  What happened?

 

A:  The No. 6 of Jeret Schroeder blew an engine exiting Turn 2 on Lap 72.  Schroeder then got in his own oil and spun right in front of Hamilton, who had nowhere to go.  Hamilton tried to go high, but got clipped in the left rear by the spinning No. 6.  Hamilton's No. 99 spun and hit the wall with the right rear corner first.  The hit caused the car to try to roll over.  This resulted in the nose of the car striking the catchfence.  The crash can be seen in this clip.  Bob Jenkins has the call for ESPN.

There was severe damage to the No. 99 that Hamilton was driving, especially in the footwell.  As a result, Hamilton suffered severe foot and leg injuries.  The crash was originally considered to be a career-ending crash, as Hamilton required over a dozen surgeries to repair his extremities.  However, he returned after a six year retirement at Indianapolis in 2007.

 

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:
-- Samsung Mobile 500 Race Recap by TBA
-- Big Six: Samsung Mobile 500 by Amy Henderson
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Monday on the Frontstretch:

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Samsung Mobile 500 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Saturday night's action from Texas.

Monday Morning Tear-Down by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan takes a look at the biggest story from 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 Texas.

Running Their Mouth: Samsung Mobile 500 by Brody Jones
Did he really say that?  You bet he did! Brody brings you the most interesting, unusual, and downright crazy quotes to come from the drivers after Saturday night's race from Texas.
 
Bubble Breakdown by TBA
Take a look at the backmarkers battling for the 35th and final "locked in" spot and sees how their performances pay off at Texas.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has all the post-race analysis you need after Friday night's Nationwide Series race from Texas.

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