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June 23rd, 2011
Volume V, Edition CXX
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Frontstretch sends its well wishes, prayers, and support to all our Southern U.S., Joplin, MO and Western Massachusetts fans affected by the swath of tornadoes over the past few weeks. To help out recovery efforts, text "GIVE" to 80888 to donate $10 towards disaster relief efforts in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts and Missouri through the Salvation Army.
Today's Top News
by Phil Allaway
Stewart Denies Potential Zipadelli Move to Stewart-Haas Racing
"I laughed when I saw that," Stewart said to Sports Illustrated's Tim Tuttle. "It's not the first time I've read something that's not true."
If such a plan would have come to fruition, Zipadelli would have taken over for Darian Grubb as crew chief of Stewart's No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1/Burger King Chevrolet. Grubb would have moved into a management role within Stewart-Haas Racing.
Yesterday, we reported that Justin Lofton has left Germain Racing's No. 77 Toyota, and that he would announce his new ride later this week. Well, that is exactly what Lofton has done.
On Wednesday, an agreement was announced that will see Lofton move over to the No. 46 for Eddie Sharp Racing for the remainder of the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season. Lofton will be replacing Craig Goess, who was recently released from the team.
The move is not described as a "firing" by any means, but has been termed as a beneficial move for Lofton's career.
"Eddie [Sharp] and I talked at length about this and we feel it's the best decision for Justin's career," Germain Racing General Manager Mike Hillman, Sr. said. "Justin earned his championship with ESR and that's a special bond we can certainly respect. Winning championships is about chemistry as much as it is about being the best. We wish Justin and ESR success in finding that chemistry together again soon."
Lofton will be leaving his crew chief, Rudy Fugle, behind in the move back to Eddie Sharp Racing. His new crew chief will be Trip Bruce, who works with both the team's No. 46 in the Camping World Truck Series, but also their part-time entries in the ARCA Racing Series.
For Lofton, the move will be a reunion of sorts. Lofton drove for Eddie Sharp in ARCA for two seasons, winning the 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Championship by just five points over Parker Kligerman before moving up to the trucks last season.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350k: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 38- Tony Ave for Front Row Motorsports
No. 60- Mike Skinner for Germain Racing
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 32- Terry Labonte returns to the seat, replacing Mike Bliss.
No. 37- Tomy Drissi is in the seat, replacing Tony Raines. If Drissi qualifies, he would be making his Sprint Cup debut.
No. 38- Tony Ave is in the seat, replacing Travis Kvapil.
No. 46- Andy Pilgrim is in the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley. If Pilgrim qualifies, he would be making his Sprint Cup debut.
No. 51- Boris Said is in the seat, replacing Landon Cassill.
No. 77- P.J. Jones is in the seat, replacing Scott Wimmer.
No. 81- Brian Simo is in the seat, replacing Scott Riggs.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 37- Tomy Drissi for Front Row Motorsports/MaxQ Motorsports
No. 38- Tony Ave for Front Row Motorsports
No. 46- Andy Pilgrim for Whitney Motorsports
No. 60- Mike Skinner for Germain Racing*
No. 66- Michael McDowell for HP Racing, LLC*
No. 71- Andy Lally for TRG Motorsports
No. 77- P.J. Jones for Robby Gordon Motorsports*
No. 81- Brian Simo for Whitney Motorsports
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports*
Nationwide Series Bucyrus 200: 41 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18- Michael McDowell for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 30- Ricky Carmichael for Turner Motorsports
No. 33- Max Papis for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
No. 60- Carl Edwards for Roush Fenway Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 7- Ron Fellows is in the seat, replacing Josh Wise.
No. 18- Michael McDowell returns to the seat, replacing Kyle Busch.
No. 22- Jacques Villeneuve is in the seat, replacing Brad Keselowski.
No. 23- Alex Kennedy returns to the seat, replacing Robert Richardson, Jr.
No. 30- Ricky Carmichael returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson. Carmichael drove four races in the car last season when it was still the No. 10.
No. 32- Reed Sorenson returns to the seat, replacing Mark Martin.
No. 33- Max Papis returns to the seat, replacing Paul Menard. Papis drove the No. 33 in Montreal last season, just missing out on victory.
No. 39- Josh Wise returns to the seat, replacing Danny Efland.
No. 41- Doug Harrington is in the seat, replacing Carl Long. This will be Harrington's first career Nationwide Series start.
No. 52- Tim Schendel returns to the seat, replacing Tony Raines.
No. 64- Jason Bowles is in the seat, replacing David Reutimann.
No. 70- Dennis Setzer returns to the seat, replacing David Stremme. Jay Robinson Racing is using ML Motorsports' number for the weekend.
No. 75- Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Andy Ponstein.
No. 87- Kevin Conway returns to the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek.
Since there are only 41 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these drivers must qualify on speed:
No. 13- Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing
No. 16- Trevor Bayne for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 41- Doug Harrington for Rick Ware Racing
No. 42- Tim Andrews for Key Motorsports*
No. 44- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports*
No. 46- Chase Miller for Key Motorsports*
No. 53- Andrew Ranger for NDS Racing
No. 55- Brett Rowe for Faith Motorsports
No. 64- Jason Bowles for Rusty Wallace Racing
No. 67- J.R. Fitzpatrick for Go Canada Racing
No. 75- Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing*
Notable Absentees:
No. 20- Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 68- Fleur-de-Lis Motorsports/Rick Ware Racing
No. 99- Pastrana-Waltrip Racing
*- Expected to Start-and-Park
Izod IndyCar Series Iowa Corn Indy 250: 26 cars entered
Driver Changes: None
Entries:
No. 06- James Hinchcliffe for Newman/Haas Racing
No. 2- Oriol Servia for Newman Haas/Racing
No. 3- Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 4- J.R. Hildebrand for Panther Racing
No. 5- Takuma Sato for KV Racing Team
No. 6- Ryan Briscoe for Team Penske
No. 7- Danica Patrick for Andretti Autosport
No. 9- Scott Dixon for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10- Dario Franchitti for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 12- Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14- Vitor Meira for AJ Foyt Racing
No. 18- James Jakes for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19- Alex Lloyd for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 22- Justin Wilson for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
No. 24- Ana Beatriz for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
No. 26- Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27- Mike Conway for Andretti Autosport
No. 28- Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 34- Sebastian Saavedra for Conquest Racing
No. 38- Graham Rahal for Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 59- E.J. Viso for KV Racing Technologies
No. 67- Ed Carpenter for Sarah Fisher Racing
No. 77- Alex Tagliani for Sam Schmidt Motorsports
No. 78- Simona de Silvestro for HVM Racing
No. 82- Tony Kanaan for KV Racing Technologies
No. 83- Charlie Kimball for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing
Czarniak Leaves NBC Washington for ESPN
Working at WRC's Sports department has been Czarniak's primary job since 2005. In addition to work on NASCAR telecasts, she also worked the Olympic Games in Torino, Italy and Beijing, China for NBC.
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 this week? It appears nothing in particular. However, don't worry. Vito will be back next week with another rant piece.
Today's Featured Commentary
This Week's Special Guests: A Look At Infineon's Road Course Ringers
by Brody Jones
The first driver to cover is Tony Ave. Ave is a veteran of Grand-Am, Formula Atlantic, and Trans Am competition with a trio of Indy Lights starts in 1993 and one in the Indy Pro Series in 2003. Ave made his NASCAR debut at Watkins Glen in 2004, where he retired from the race early. Such has been the pattern for Ave's NASCAR foray, for the most part. However, at Road America last year, he had a Top-10 run going for TriStar Motorsports until a spin on the final lap bumped him out of the top-10. This week, he will be piloting the #38 Long John Silver's Ford for Front Row Motorsports, usually driven by Travis Kvapil, in order to possibly work the No. 38 team into a top-35 points position.
Next on the list is NASCAR newcomer Tomy Drissi, who finds himself in the #37 Max Q Motorsports-leased entry as part of an alliance with Rick Ware Racing to have him race in selected NASCAR road course races and possibly even a few oval tracks this year. Drissi has competed in the ALMS (American Le Mans Series), Trans-Am, SPEED World Challenge, and vintage racing circuits. His trip to Sonoma this week will mark the potential first career NASCAR start for Drissi, provided he can make the race on speed.
A NASCAR road-course main-stay over the years has been P.J. Jones, the son of Indy racing legend & NASCAR race winner Parnelli Jones. P.J. has competed off and on in NASCAR circles since 1993 with a best finish of fourth in A.J. Foyt's Conseco Pontiac at Watkins Glen in 2002. He has also run sporadically in the NASCAR Busch/Nationwide Series and in the Camping World Truck Series with some mild success along with Indy Car, Champ Car, IMSA GT, & ALMS experience. He also has a 1993 24 Hours of Daytona win to his credit in the IMSA GT series driving for the All American Racers team. This weekend, he is in the second Robby Gordon Motorsports entry, likely to start and park.
Another driver vying for his Sprint Cup Series debut this weekend is Andy Pilgrim of Nottingham, England. Pilgrim got his start in the IMSA Renault Cup entry-level series before making his first 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in 1996. He joined the Chevrolet Corvette factory team in 1999. In 2001, he was a co-driver with the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the Daytona 24 in a Chevrolet Corvette C5R. After the race, Dale Sr. promised to put Andy Pilgrim in one of his cars, but unfortunately, Earnhardt Sr. lost his life at Daytona two weeks later and that promise was put on hold. But Dale Jr. did not forget his father's promise and six years later, signed Pilgrim to drive in a pair of road course events in the Nationwide Series for his Jr. Motorsports team. He is also the 2002 SPEED World Challenge driver's champion. This weekend, he will be piloting the #46 Whitney Motorsports entry and is rumored to be going the full distance this weekend.
Next is a driver with a bit of a cult following in NASCAR, with fans adorning wigs in his honor and calling themselves "Said-Heads" in Boris Said. Said has quite the road racing acumen and is usually considered to be a legitimate contender for victory at these type of races. He was the 1988 SCCA Rookie of the Year and ran in IMSA competition for a number of years. He was the 1997 & 1998 24 Hours of Daytona winner and in 1998 won the 12 Hours of Sebring. He is also the first American to win at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring back in 2005 with co-drivers Pedro Lamy, Duncan Huisman, and Andy Priaulx. He has also competed off and on in NASCAR since 1995 with a Truck Series win at Infineon and last year winning the Nationwide Series race at Circuit Gillies Villeneuve. His best Sprint Cup finish was a third place finish at Watkins Glen back in 2005. This week, he takes Landon Cassill's place in the No. 51 Phoenix Racing entry to try and become the first "ringer" to win a NASCAR race since Mark Donohue in 1973 at Riverside.
The last ringer is a veteran of Trans-Am competition and the creator of the No Fear clothing line in Brian Simo. Simo has run sporadically in NASCAR road course events since 2000, driving for such diverse teams as Donlavey Racing and Richard Childress Racing, for whom he earned his lone Sprint Cup top-10 for back in 2005 at Infineon. This week, his task is to get the No. 81 Whitney Motorsports entry into the starting grid and, like team-mate Andy Pilgrim, word is that the No. 81 will be attempting the full distance.
While these ringers take a lot of flak from some segments of the NASCAR fan-base that loathe road course competition, it's not as if they do not have the credentials to compete against the best stock car drivers in the world. And while it's been nearly 40 years since a "ringer" won a NASCAR road course event, it does not stop these guys from trying to buck that trend. Will one of them rewrite history this weekend? Only time will tell.
Brody Jones is a Website Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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The Critic's Annex: Raineater Wiper Blades 200
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where I take an additional look at the race broadcasts that we watch. At Michigan, the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards served as the tertiary series on the schedule, racing late Friday afternoon at the two-mile "D-Shaped" oval.
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
"Jay Frye's refusal to replace Brian Vickers with Justin Bieber to appeal to a younger demographic."- Say what you want about Bieber's boyish features, but his slight stature would actually be an advantage in a race car, because he would the car's center of gravity.
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: 50 Questions -- The 2011 NASCAR Trivia Quiz
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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.
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: If you look at the official results for the 1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at then-Sears Point Raceway, you'll notice that Ricky Craven qualified a career-best (on a road course) third on the grid. However, as this was a week after his infamous barrel roll at Talladega, he did not qualify the car. Who qualified Craven's No. 41, and who was the special guest driver who drove the car (different from the man who qualified the car) in Happy Hour?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Infineon Raceway has a long and unfortunate history of spectacular crashes over the years. In 1987, Bob Wollek was involved in a nasty crash in his Porsche 962. What happened?
A: Wollek, driving the No. 67 BFGoodrich Porsche, was leading when he blew a right rear tire in Turn 1. The car then spun and impacted the hillside. This hit put the car into a roll, eventually coming to rest on its side. Wollek came away from the crash with bruising and a broken rib, but was otherwise ok despite being airlifted to a hospital. Three weeks later, Wollek started on pole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in his native France. The 962 was totaled. The crash can be seen in this clip. Bob Varsha and Lyn St. James have the call for ESPN.
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:
Four Burning Questions: Sonoma by Brody Jones
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns with another intriguing commentary heading into Sonoma.
Goin' Green by Garrett Horton
Garrett returns with more commentary and insight.
Driver Diary: Regan Smith as told to Tony Lumbis
Nuts For Nationwide by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan returns to take a look inside the Nationwide Series ahead of Saturday's Bucyrus 200 at Road America.
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