Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 29th, 2011
Volume V, Edition C
~~~~~~~~~~
Nationwide Series Recap: Kenseth Wins At Charlotte
by Mike Neff
The Roush Fenway Racing organization continues to reestablish themselves as the dominant force on intermediate racetracks as Matt Kenseth passed his teammate Carl Edwards with two laps to go to score the victory in the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The win was especially rewarding for the No. 16 team after their car did not run last weekend at Iowa because of Trevor Bayne's continuing recovery from an undiagnosed illness.
Kyle Busch followed Edwards to the line, in the process adding to the owner point lead for the No. 18 with a third-place result. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., the winner last week at Iowa, battled back late in the race to take fourth while Reed Sorenson rounded out the top-5 finishers. Further back, Elliott Sadler used the free pass during the last caution to get back on the lead lap, improving his car enough to grab 10th and hold onto the points lead by one point over Stenhouse.
In Victory Lane after the race, Kenseth relished the moments of being a dad with his daughter Kaylin. "Every day when I come home I look forward to seeing my wife and girls and Ross, but Kaylin is just starting to get some vocabulary and there is nothing better in the world, I don't think, than coming home and getting out of your car in the garage and you see the door fly open and she yells, 'Hi, Dada!' It is pretty cool that she made it down here," said Kenseth afterward.
Stenhouse reflected on a solid, if slightly disappointing race. "We started off really good," he said. "We got the pole and we led the first few laps. I could tell it was gonna get tight on us and it finally did and we kind of backed up and just tried to maintain the rest of the race there in the top five and just have a good, solid points day and it worked out. We just never really could get the front grip that we needed but, again, thanks for Fastenal. I missed the 1-2-3 finish like we were looking for, but it was still a good day for us."
Stenhouse was also asked about the emotional momentum that seems to be building for the No. 6 Ford. "The confidence is definitely high," he said. "But I think it's because of Jack Roush and everybody at Roush Fenway and Ford Racing sticking behind me – and Carl Edwards. Confidence is huge for us. Like you said, we were lacking it last year. Obviously, when you crash 12 times in the first half of the season, nobody's confidence is going to be very high. We started questioning whether we could do this or not, but what I like about it is the great group of guys that are with me right now were with me all through last year. They went through it with us and stuck it out and nobody left or gave up and quit. Blackwell Angus Beef came on last year even when we were struggling and that kind of helped turn us around at Daytona. We got a third-place there and they came back this year, so it's huge."
Edwards spoke after the race on the Roush Fenway Racing organization turnaround. "I remember when I first saw it and that was Daytona last summer," he said. "The first time I really believed we were back was about 50 laps or 40 laps into the Phoenix Cup race this year. Yes, we did crescendo with our performance all the way until Homestead last year and then I thought 'Man, I'm not gonna get too excited. I've got to go through a long winter here.' and I was anxious to see how fast we would be when we got back to the race track in the spring and it's picked up even better than it left off. I saw the glimpses of it at Daytona and then it took all the way until about Phoenix this year for me to really feel like, 'Hey, we are back.' and feel that confidence and that's good. It feels like it's here to stay. I hope it can last the rest of the season. That would be huge. Ten wins out of how many races, it can't be too many, so that's a very big percentage," Edwards said.
The race marks Kenseth's 26th Nationwide Series victory in 248 series starts. This is his third victory and 11th top 10 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 20 career Nationwide starts. Edwards' second-place finish was his ninth top 10 this season, while Busch's third-place performance marked his 13th top-10 finish in 16 career starts at CMS. Busch was also the winner in the pit road time competition with a total of 124.476 seconds and an average pit road time of 41.492 seconds. Joe Gibbs Racing continues to leads the owner points standings; they have 496 points for their No. 20 car and 481 for the No. 18. The No. 60 owned by Jack Roush is sitting in third position, one point behind the 18.
Busch praised the Goodyears that were used for the race. "The tires were really good – same compound and everything as the Cup side," he explained. "It didn't seem like there were falling off much. Maybe a half a second to a second – that's actually a little less than normal. Tires had really good grip all day. Surprising for as slick as this place is typically how good the tires were and how much grip that we did have today. All in all, the cars all seem to drive relatively good, I guess – mine did anyways. Some of the other guys were probably struggling."
~~~~~~~~~~
Big Six: Top Gear 300
by Amy Henderson
Who… gets my shoutout of the race?
When you're running 29th following an unscheduled pit stop, the top 10 looks a long way off, but Aric Almirola managed to climb back up there, finishing ninth. The finish gained Almirola one spot in the points race, leaving him sixth unofficially, 51 behind leader Elliott Sadler. Almirola came into the 2011 season a favorite to win the Nationwide Series title, but hasn't posted the expected results. Almirola has six top 10's in 13 races, but hasn't cracked the top 5 yet this year. The ninth-place run at Charlotte was his second top 10 in three races; perhaps a turnaround is in the works.
What… was THAT?
Everything was hot pink in the media center at Charlotte on Saturday,-pink show cars, pink-and-white checkered flags, even pink cupcakes. Why? CMS announced that the fall Nationwide race will be the Dollar General 300 miles of courage in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness. Reed Sorenson will drive a pink car instead of the trademark Dollar General yellow, and will no doubt be joined by several others in various shades. Cancer survivors will be honored at the track. As crazy as the world of racing is, it's nice to have a good answer to the weekly WTH.
Where… did the polesitter wind up?
After winning in Iowa last week, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. probably wasn't thrilled with a fourth-place run, but Stenhouse has a lot to celebrate. He's just one point off the series lead, and he was the highest-finishing Nationwide regular in the race. Considering that just a year ago, Stenhouse's job looked to be in jeopardy after a horrendous start and a string of wrecked racecars, and now he could be putting the pressure on David Ragan for the No. 6 Cup seat, life must be a lot more fun for Stenhouse in 2011
When… will I be loved?
The race was so tame that nobody needs to go home wondering what happened to the love, but Kasey Kahne might have a short Everly Brothers moment after he got into Kevin Harvick on the last restart of the day, pushing Harvick's fender in enough to cause a bad tire rub, forcing Harvick to pit road and out of the running. Kahne clearly drove up into Harvick's door on the replay, but it's not exactly something to lose sleep over. Nobody else did…
Why… does this series race at the mile-and-a-half tracks, again?
In the not-too-distant past, the Nationwide (then Busch) Series was a thriving series with an independent identity which ran a large part of the schedule on short tracks, with a handful of the bigger tracks and a couple of road courses thrown in. But as NASCAR has robbed the series of it's identity, the races were scheduled more and more with the Cup races at the bigger, faster tracks. It's not a service to the series or its fans. Saturday's race was poorly attended, but it's hard to convince fans to come out to these races when they're slightly more exciting than watching cement dry but a bit less amusing than your kid brother's ant farm. The short tracks were a huge part of the series' identity, and they provided good racing. As the series dies a slow death, wouldn't some great racing breathe a new life into it?
How… did former F-1 champ Kimi Raikkonen fare in his first Nationwide race?
If anybody expected Raikkonen to set the world on fire in his first race, that person might be sorely disappointed. But realistically, Raikkonen did just fine. He had a hard time getting a feel for the car, scraping the wall a couple of times and running over some debris, ending up four laps down as a result, but he stayed out of real trouble and worked on learning how to communicate with a NASCAR crew chief, and in the end, finished right about where a rookie drivers in his first race is likely to finish. It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't painful to watch, either.
Amy Henderson is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch.com. Contact her by clicking here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Frontstretch Readers!
Get THE ANNUAL, 2011 Racing Preview for your mobile device!
Go to Frontstretch.com and click on "The Annual" link on the right side to order and download this special issue that includes: Track Information, Driver profiles and In-Depth Features.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Frontstretch Podcast: May 27th Edition
hosted by Doug Turnbull
~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1994 Champion 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was won by Phil Parsons in his No. 29 Matchbox/White Rose Collectibles Chevrolet, in what was considered to be an upset at the time. However, the race was marred by a nasty crash on a restart. What happened?
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Coca-Cola 600 Race Recap by Jay Pennell
-- Big Six: Coca-Cola 600 by Amy Henderson
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Monday on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Coca-Cola 600 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday afternoon's action from Charlotte.
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 Charlotte.
Running Their Mouth: Coca-Cola 600 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 Sunday afternoon's race from Charlotte.
Special Post-Race Commentary From Charlotte by Mike Neff
Get instant analysis from Mike at the track following NASCAR's longest race of the year.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2011 Frontstretch.com
-- Kyle Busch followed Edwards to the line, in the process adding to the owner point lead for the No. 18 with a third-place result. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., the winner last week at Iowa, battled back late in the race to take fourth while Reed Sorenson rounded out the top-5 finishers. Further back, Elliott Sadler used the free pass during the last caution to get back on the lead lap, improving his car enough to grab 10th and hold onto the points lead by one point over Stenhouse.
In Victory Lane after the race, Kenseth relished the moments of being a dad with his daughter Kaylin. "Every day when I come home I look forward to seeing my wife and girls and Ross, but Kaylin is just starting to get some vocabulary and there is nothing better in the world, I don't think, than coming home and getting out of your car in the garage and you see the door fly open and she yells, 'Hi, Dada!' It is pretty cool that she made it down here," said Kenseth afterward.
Stenhouse reflected on a solid, if slightly disappointing race. "We started off really good," he said. "We got the pole and we led the first few laps. I could tell it was gonna get tight on us and it finally did and we kind of backed up and just tried to maintain the rest of the race there in the top five and just have a good, solid points day and it worked out. We just never really could get the front grip that we needed but, again, thanks for Fastenal. I missed the 1-2-3 finish like we were looking for, but it was still a good day for us."
Stenhouse was also asked about the emotional momentum that seems to be building for the No. 6 Ford. "The confidence is definitely high," he said. "But I think it's because of Jack Roush and everybody at Roush Fenway and Ford Racing sticking behind me – and Carl Edwards. Confidence is huge for us. Like you said, we were lacking it last year. Obviously, when you crash 12 times in the first half of the season, nobody's confidence is going to be very high. We started questioning whether we could do this or not, but what I like about it is the great group of guys that are with me right now were with me all through last year. They went through it with us and stuck it out and nobody left or gave up and quit. Blackwell Angus Beef came on last year even when we were struggling and that kind of helped turn us around at Daytona. We got a third-place there and they came back this year, so it's huge."
Edwards spoke after the race on the Roush Fenway Racing organization turnaround. "I remember when I first saw it and that was Daytona last summer," he said. "The first time I really believed we were back was about 50 laps or 40 laps into the Phoenix Cup race this year. Yes, we did crescendo with our performance all the way until Homestead last year and then I thought 'Man, I'm not gonna get too excited. I've got to go through a long winter here.' and I was anxious to see how fast we would be when we got back to the race track in the spring and it's picked up even better than it left off. I saw the glimpses of it at Daytona and then it took all the way until about Phoenix this year for me to really feel like, 'Hey, we are back.' and feel that confidence and that's good. It feels like it's here to stay. I hope it can last the rest of the season. That would be huge. Ten wins out of how many races, it can't be too many, so that's a very big percentage," Edwards said.
The race marks Kenseth's 26th Nationwide Series victory in 248 series starts. This is his third victory and 11th top 10 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 20 career Nationwide starts. Edwards' second-place finish was his ninth top 10 this season, while Busch's third-place performance marked his 13th top-10 finish in 16 career starts at CMS. Busch was also the winner in the pit road time competition with a total of 124.476 seconds and an average pit road time of 41.492 seconds. Joe Gibbs Racing continues to leads the owner points standings; they have 496 points for their No. 20 car and 481 for the No. 18. The No. 60 owned by Jack Roush is sitting in third position, one point behind the 18.
Busch praised the Goodyears that were used for the race. "The tires were really good – same compound and everything as the Cup side," he explained. "It didn't seem like there were falling off much. Maybe a half a second to a second – that's actually a little less than normal. Tires had really good grip all day. Surprising for as slick as this place is typically how good the tires were and how much grip that we did have today. All in all, the cars all seem to drive relatively good, I guess – mine did anyways. Some of the other guys were probably struggling."
~~~~~~~~~~
Big Six: Top Gear 300
by Amy Henderson
Who… gets my shoutout of the race?
When you're running 29th following an unscheduled pit stop, the top 10 looks a long way off, but Aric Almirola managed to climb back up there, finishing ninth. The finish gained Almirola one spot in the points race, leaving him sixth unofficially, 51 behind leader Elliott Sadler. Almirola came into the 2011 season a favorite to win the Nationwide Series title, but hasn't posted the expected results. Almirola has six top 10's in 13 races, but hasn't cracked the top 5 yet this year. The ninth-place run at Charlotte was his second top 10 in three races; perhaps a turnaround is in the works.
What… was THAT?
Everything was hot pink in the media center at Charlotte on Saturday,-pink show cars, pink-and-white checkered flags, even pink cupcakes. Why? CMS announced that the fall Nationwide race will be the Dollar General 300 miles of courage in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness. Reed Sorenson will drive a pink car instead of the trademark Dollar General yellow, and will no doubt be joined by several others in various shades. Cancer survivors will be honored at the track. As crazy as the world of racing is, it's nice to have a good answer to the weekly WTH.
Where… did the polesitter wind up?
After winning in Iowa last week, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. probably wasn't thrilled with a fourth-place run, but Stenhouse has a lot to celebrate. He's just one point off the series lead, and he was the highest-finishing Nationwide regular in the race. Considering that just a year ago, Stenhouse's job looked to be in jeopardy after a horrendous start and a string of wrecked racecars, and now he could be putting the pressure on David Ragan for the No. 6 Cup seat, life must be a lot more fun for Stenhouse in 2011
When… will I be loved?
The race was so tame that nobody needs to go home wondering what happened to the love, but Kasey Kahne might have a short Everly Brothers moment after he got into Kevin Harvick on the last restart of the day, pushing Harvick's fender in enough to cause a bad tire rub, forcing Harvick to pit road and out of the running. Kahne clearly drove up into Harvick's door on the replay, but it's not exactly something to lose sleep over. Nobody else did…
Why… does this series race at the mile-and-a-half tracks, again?
In the not-too-distant past, the Nationwide (then Busch) Series was a thriving series with an independent identity which ran a large part of the schedule on short tracks, with a handful of the bigger tracks and a couple of road courses thrown in. But as NASCAR has robbed the series of it's identity, the races were scheduled more and more with the Cup races at the bigger, faster tracks. It's not a service to the series or its fans. Saturday's race was poorly attended, but it's hard to convince fans to come out to these races when they're slightly more exciting than watching cement dry but a bit less amusing than your kid brother's ant farm. The short tracks were a huge part of the series' identity, and they provided good racing. As the series dies a slow death, wouldn't some great racing breathe a new life into it?
How… did former F-1 champ Kimi Raikkonen fare in his first Nationwide race?
If anybody expected Raikkonen to set the world on fire in his first race, that person might be sorely disappointed. But realistically, Raikkonen did just fine. He had a hard time getting a feel for the car, scraping the wall a couple of times and running over some debris, ending up four laps down as a result, but he stayed out of real trouble and worked on learning how to communicate with a NASCAR crew chief, and in the end, finished right about where a rookie drivers in his first race is likely to finish. It wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't painful to watch, either.
Amy Henderson is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch.com. Contact her by clicking here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Frontstretch Readers!
Get THE ANNUAL, 2011 Racing Preview for your mobile device!
Go to Frontstretch.com and click on "The Annual" link on the right side to order and download this special issue that includes: Track Information, Driver profiles and In-Depth Features.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Frontstretch Podcast: May 27th Edition
hosted by Doug Turnbull
~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1994 Champion 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was won by Phil Parsons in his No. 29 Matchbox/White Rose Collectibles Chevrolet, in what was considered to be an upset at the time. However, the race was marred by a nasty crash on a restart. What happened?
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Coca-Cola 600 Race Recap by Jay Pennell
-- Big Six: Coca-Cola 600 by Amy Henderson
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Monday on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Coca-Cola 600 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday afternoon's action from Charlotte.
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 Charlotte.
Running Their Mouth: Coca-Cola 600 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 Sunday afternoon's race from Charlotte.
Special Post-Race Commentary From Charlotte by Mike Neff
Get instant analysis from Mike at the track following NASCAR's longest race of the year.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2011 Frontstretch.com
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