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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 29th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CLXXVIII
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Keselowski Continues Amazing Form, Takes Third Win of Season
by Mike Neff
Brad Keselowski wishes August would never end. His competition? They're just sick of the Dog Days of Summer taking the form of a blue No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge blowing by them.
Keselowski made mincemeat of his competition once again Saturday night, winning for the second time in four races by leading the final 80 laps in Bristol's Irwin Tools Night Race. In this month alone, that makes two victories, a second and a third for a scintillating average finish of 1.75 that has catapulted him right into the thick of title contention.
"This sport works in cycles. I've been at the bottom of the cycle since I've come in and we're just now getting back to the top," he said. "And you've got to capitalize when you're at the top."
Mission accomplished. Keselowski technically has not locked up a spot in the Chase after winning his third race of the season, but it is really just a formality at this point after a crucial late-race pit stop put him in contention to take the victory. Starting on the front row for the final restart, on Lap 421 Keselowski took the lead away from Martin Truex, Jr. and never relinquished it to win the race that is most synonymous with the "Blue Deuce" that he drives. At times, his lead was nearly a full straightaway down the stretch as Truex, on just two fresh tires fended off Jeff Gordon for second; their side-by-side competition made it impossible for either driver to close until it was far too late.
That was a tough pill to swallow for Gordon, who had dominated up until that point, leading a race-high 206 laps. But too much time on pit road, taking four tires when others scooted out in front with two would ultimately prove to be his undoing.
"The longer that you ran, the less the two tires -- or four tires -- had an advantage," he admitted after the race. "[Truex] was running a great line up there on top holding momentum. We just couldn't quite get after it the way we needed to being on the inside lane on that last restart, and you know, I almost was clear of Martin when we were running hard there together. It was a great race between me and him and [I] couldn't quite clear him. I knew at that point we just didn't have enough laps to get back by him or get up to the No. 2 car."
Truex, who ran second, scored his best run since a runner-up finish with DEI at Michigan back in August, 2007. A solid, top-10 car all night the team finally received some good fortune after being dogged with bad luck for much of 2011.
"It was a great night for all of us on our NAPA Toyota," Truex said. "Just a little too tight on restarts to be able to stay with Brad there. On the long run, we were as good as anyone. Just couldn't quite hang with him on two and was a little disappointed because I thought we had a shot at it."
Jimmie Johnson, who led the race once for 76 laps, finished fourth while Jamie McMurray rounded out the top 5. For the No. 48 team, it was the longest they'd led since Dover in May as their Chase preparations hit high gear down the stretch.
"We had a very solid night all night long," Johnson said, one of several drivers to clinch a postseason spot while tying Kyle Busch for the point lead atop the Sprint Cup standings. "Just very proud of the effort and the way that we've been building and getting ourselves ready for the Chase - I think we're real close and we're there. Hopefully, I can get in there and do my job with this Lowe's Chevrolet once again and I know my team is going to be ready. We're going for that sixth championship. Very excited to lock in tonight... we'll go to these next two and see if we can get a W."
For most of the night, though, this race was teammate Gordon's for the taking. Blowing by polesitter Ryan Newman for the lead, on lap 5 Gordon would go on to pace the field five times. Leading until the first debris caution, on Lap 33 the No. 24 team had to wait patiently to regain control, though; first Brad Keselowski, then Matt Kenseth and Johnson took turns up front through track position and better pit stops. Still, over the course of a long run it was the No. 24 team that stood out as the fastest car in what became a relatively clean race at Bristol: just six cautions slowed the field for 42 laps, the fewest number since Gordon himself won the race back in the Spring of 1996 and only two drivers, David Reutimann and Mark Martin spent time behind the wall due to wrecks.
"I love racing here with the multiple grooves," Gordon said, referencing the clean night in Thunder Valley - no one even spun out until Lap 298 of 500. "I know there's not as many cautions and there's not as many guys upset at one another after the race is over, which makes for a good television show, I guess. But for us as drivers, it's very challenging to try to make a pass. You've got to set a guy up, and you've got to work him over and over and over, and sometimes you make the pass, sometimes you don't."
The clean event even led to a round of green flag pit stops midrace, a cycle that saw Keselowski, McMurray, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and David Starr lead before Kenseth wound up back out front again. Over the second half of the event, from lap 250 through lap 416 Kenseth, Gordon and Keselowski took turns leading three times each, in that exact order before Truex Jr. broke up the party through his two-tire stop, made on lap 416 under the final caution of the night for Kyle Busch hitting the wall in Turn 3. Keselowski came off pit road second, then took advantage of that track position to sew up the victory over his closest competition.
For Kenseth, who finished sixth it was a productive night as he joined Carl Edwards, Johnson and Kyle Busch (who had clinched at Michigan) as officially inside the postseason field. Kevin Harvick and Gordon need to run just 41st or better at Atlanta to secure their spots on points; their multiple victories virtually assure them a position in the field through a "wild card" regardless.
"My guys have been doing a great job this year and it feels good to clinch that spot," Kenseth said. "It was next to impossible to pass for nearly 20 laps and you had to get everything you could in the first 10 to 20 laps and then after that you just drive the track. The good qualifying effort, great pit stall and great pit stops kept us where we were all night. There were moments in the race where we seemed pretty good and other moments we were just kind of hanging out."
Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top-10 finishers. As for Keselowski, he now has three wins and can only miss the Chase for the Sprint Cup by falling out of the top-20 in points over the next two races. Keselowski, who has now won four times in 77 Sprint Cup starts scored his first victory at Bristol, a triumph which also qualified him a second time for Atlanta's $3 Million Sprint Showdown Sunday night. He'll be racing for two people at Atlanta next weekend; should he win the race next Sunday night, those two fans will split the million dollars.
"I don't know what more to say about Brad and the 2 team," said Gordon. "They're strong and you put them in position at the end of the race and they're going to pull off the wins. They're, to me, as strong of a team out there that there is right now."
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at mike.neff@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chasers: Busch's Wall Contact Creates Another Tie
by Phil Allaway
Going into Saturday night's race, Kyle Busch was considered to be an overwhelming favorite to claim yet another Bristol victory. However, it just wasn't meant to be. Kyle was never really a factor for the lead, running up front for just four laps, and contact with Terry Labonte on Lap 414 led to a meeting with the outside wall which ended any chance of a great finish. Still, Kyle persevered to come home 14th, just enough to keep him atop of the standings through a tiebreaker with Jimmie Johnson. The No. 18 team, with four victories has an edge over Johnson's one as both now have the same number of points.
For Johnson, Bristol was exactly what the doctor ordered as another solid, top-5 finish with great pit stops has them looking Chase-ready heading into September. He's got a 32-point edge on third-place Matt Kenseth, who had an excellent night as well with the No. 17 car; he led 110 laps and his pit crew got him out first on stops multiple times. Were it not for fighting two-tire competitors down the stretch, making Kenseth's Ford a victim of track position and pit strategy the 2003 Winston Cup champion would have run far higher than sixth.
Carl Edwards, fourth in points had a quiet, uneventful run to ninth after starting on the outside of the front row at Bristol. Edwards, who announced his contract extension with Roush Fenway Racing at Pocono has yet to score a top-5 finish following that long-term commitment. However Edwards, along with the three drivers in front of him have now officially clinched spots in the postseason - they're earned through their positions inside the top 10, meaning each driver will receive bonus points for any victory they've accumulated at the start of the Chase.
Behind them sits Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, who are now tied for fifth in points, 48 back of Kyle Busch and Johnson. Harvick gets the position thanks to his three wins. However, Gordon and Harvick's nights were substantially different. Gordon had the dominant car, leading a race-high 206 laps. However, he simply could not get by Martin Truex, Jr. and do anything with Brad Keselowski towards the end. Meanwhile, Harvick struggled throughout the race, running as low as 25th before finishing a lap down in 22nd.
"I'm excited about our race team. We've been running really strong, been leading a lot of laps, running up front at the big races," Gordon said. "To me, the most impressive thing about my racing was what improvement we made from the spring at this track to this evening. We were out to lunch earlier in the year, and I just think we've come a long way as a team, communication, confidence, and what we've learned together on how to make our race cars better and how to communicate better to get the most out of the cars. I'm having a blast right now, and when you're having fun it means you're competitive on a fairly consistent basis - I hope we can keep that going because we can definitely do some damage and give some guys a real run for their money in the Chase."
As for Harvick, his frustration was matched by the rest of the Richard Childress Racing squad; not a single driver among the four ended their night inside the top 10 at Bristol. "Not a good night," he tweeted after the event. "We gotta figure some things out fast..."
Ryan Newman, who started from the pole, had a very quiet, but solid night. Even though he only led four laps, Newman hung around the top-10 all evening and eventually brought his car home in eighth place. That's where Kurt Busch sits in the standings, but the driver left the track in a far worse mood after getting caught for speeding not once, but twice. "Officials are just puppets from up top," said a frustrated Busch on the radio, one of several anger-laced tirades en route to a disappointing 17th-place result.
Further back, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is still ninth in the standings after a 16th-place finish. Probably not what he was looking for, but it puts him in pretty good position to lock himself into the Chase with a good run in Atlanta considering how his competitors struggled. Tony Stewart had one of the worst weekends of his Sprint Cup career in Bristol; he started 42nd, failed to find the handle all weekend and finished 28th, three laps down. He is still tenth in points, but is now only 21 points ahead of race winner Brad Keselowski (as well as 18 points behind Earnhardt). Two more amazing races from Keselowski, who has surged this month and he could be in the top-10 and in definite championship contention (remember, wild card entrants cannot take advantage of the bonus points for wins).
Clint Bowyer, in 12th is the only other driver with a realistic shot to make it in on points. However, he and Stewart raced for the same piece of real estate, near or at the back of the pack all night; four laps down at one point, the No. 33 Chevy rallied to finish 26th, two laps back but is 22 points behind Stewart and needs a miracle to sneak into the postseason over Keselowski and/or the Stewart/Earnhardt combo. Behind him, Denny Hamlin has a decent grip on the final "wild card" spot; Paul Menard, the next-closest one-win driver in the standings is 41 points behind Hamlin's Toyota in 20th place.
Outside The Top 10: 11) Brad Keselowski -141. 12) Clint Bowyer -142. 13) Denny Hamlin -158.
Wildcard Drivers: Brad Keselowski (11th in points, three wins), Denny Hamlin (13th in points, one win)
Note: Paul Menard is inside of the top-20 in points with a win so far this season, but he is currently on the outside looking in. David Ragan, Marcos Ambrose and Regan Smith, also winners this season, are outside of the top-20 in points. Also, Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne is not eligible for the Chase because he is not running for Sprint Cup points.
Tracking The Top 35: The End for Robby Gordon Motorsports' Assault on the Top-35?
In the lead-up to Saturday night's Irwin Tools Night Race, team owner/driver Robby Gordon basically waved the white flag on his attempt to get his No. 7 team back into the top 35 in owner points. In an interview with Dustin Long, Robby stated that his team only has enough outside sponsorship (meaning, other than his own SPEED Energy brand) to run three more races to completion. Those are Chicago, Texas and Phoenix. Anything else would be completely dependent on additional sponsorship being obtained. As it stands, Saturday night was another S&P for Robby's No. 7, running a mere ten laps before dropping out due to "brake issues." As a result, the No. 7 team lost a spot and is now 37th in owner points, more than a full race out of 35th.
Robby's "brakes" allowed Andy Lally to relax a little bit Saturday night. Lally actually had a pretty good run to finish two laps down in 25th, the best performance for the freshman this year on an unrestricted oval track. Lally was much more competitive than he was back in March, and that is just plain encouraging as both driver and team continue to develop. In addition, Lally and TRG Motorsports' nearest competition, Travis Kvapil and Front Row Motorsports' No. 38, spent significant time behind the wall after burning up a gear. Kvapil did get back out to finish the race, but he was classified 37th, 129 laps down. That result dropped the No. 38 a whopping 49 points out of 35th. The poor result guarantees that regardless of what happens, the No. 71 is locked into both Atlanta and Richmond.
Further up the standings, Germain Racing's No. 13 and Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 36 swapped places on Saturday night after Dave Blaney blew an engine late in the race. While Blaney was credited with a 35th-place finish, Casey Mears had a decent night on track to finish one lap down in 23rd.
Top 35 Summary:
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Gilliand), +149 ahead of 36th place.
32) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), +71 ahead of 36th place.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), +64 ahead of 36th place.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Terry Labonte), +57 ahead of 36th place.
35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 – Andy Lally), +49 ahead of 36th place.
36) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 – Travis Kvapil), -49 behind 35th place.
37) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 – Robby Gordon), -53 behind 35th place.
38) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 – Trevor Bayne), -84 behind 35th place.
39) MaxQ Motorsports (No. 37 – Jeff Green), -156 behind 35th place.
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.
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments about 2011? John's got answers!
A new year means a new columnist to answer all your pressing questions about the sport! Our legendary flagman John Potts is taking over our Fan Q & A, so be sure to stack his inbox with plenty of queries and comments for the New Year! Send them his way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans!
Secret Star of the Race: The Race You Never Saw
When thinking which drivers are talented on short tracks, Kasey Kahne isn't exactly the first name that comes to mind. Sure, the 31-year-old got the first Cup victory of his career at Richmond, back in 2005 but none of his ten victories since have come on a track less than 1.5 miles in length. Instead, more often than not the Washington native winds up the victim of someone else's mess; most famously, he got caught in an August, 2008 wreck in Thunder Valley that took him right from the top-12 in points to right out of contention for the Chase.
So that's why Saturday night's run at Bristol was so important, postseason chances flickering on the light of an 11th-place performance. Constantly improving all night, the No. 4 Toyota kept its nose out of trouble, earned the Lucky Dog midrace after falling behind early and was rewarded with a result that kept Kahne solidly within striking distance of the No. 11 Toyota driven by Denny Hamlin. Now, heading to one of Kahne's best tracks, Atlanta, he remains just 16 points behind and knows a victory could catapult him not only past Hamlin but into the final "wild card" position for the Chase.
"We worked on the balance of the car all evening," he said afterwards. "The finish moved us up two spots in the points, which is great with two races left to get in the Chase. We head to Atlanta next week, which is one of my favorite tracks so looking forward to that."
Considering the state of Red Bull Racing, with Kahne leaving after the season and the future of the team in general in question all parties involved certainly have nothing to lose going forward. Should make for an interesting Sunday in Atlanta... - Tom Bowles
Nationwide Series Recap: Food City 250
by Mike Neff
Kyle Busch led four times for a race high 186 laps en route to his 50th career Nationwide victory Friday night, but it was not without excitement as his teammate, Joey Logano, drag raced him to the checkered flag, losing by a mere .019 seconds in a thrilling Bristol finish. The ending was the closest in the history of Bristol Motor Speedway in the Nationwide Series. Clint Bowyer followed the action closely from third place; Carl Edwards crossed under the checkered flag in fourth position while Aric Almirola ended the race fifth.
The ending was set up as Busch was working through traffic; Logano, a distant second at that point began to gain ground and Busch started to get loose. Over the final five laps, Logano dramatically ate into Busch's lead and got underneath him on the final lap in turns one and two. When they got to turn three Logano pushed Busch up the track and actually had his nose in front as they exited turn four. Busch, however had the greater momentum on the high side of the track and was able to get his nose inches ahead as they crossed the finish line.
The win gives Busch the all-time win record in the Nationwide Series with 50 victories in just 219 career starts. It broke a tie with Mark Martin who previously held the mark. His fourth triumph at Bristol Motor Speedway, it was definitely the hardest-fought as Logano's burst of speed nearly paid off.
"I don't know where he came from, to be honest with you," Busch said of Logano. "He had a rocket ship there at the end. I just kept getting a little bit looser and a little bit looser the more we ran there. Had to protect the bottom there a little bit and we just kept rolling the bottom because he wanted it. I thought that maybe the top was going to win the thing – just trying to pinch him down a little bit. He used me up right there through three and four. I'm sure the fans loved it – I'm sure they wanted to see him win too, anybody but Kyle."
Logano was very disappointed in the outcome. "So close," he said. "It's all you can really say about that. We were on old tires there. He was freeing up. I was catching him through the traffic and the last lap I had a good one and two, got underneath him and I did everything besides wreck him to try and pass him there and, man, it was just so close. It's frustrating when you're coming across the line and you're looking at his nose compared to yours and you're like, 'Argh,' like three inches. It's frustrating, but what a day for JGR. A one-two finish coming across the line that close rubbing doors. It's cool. I just wish I was the one celebrating on the front straightaway now."
For more on this race, please read Bryan Davis Keith's Nationwide Breakdown on the website.
Running Their Mouth: 2011 Irwin Tools Night Race
by Brody Jones
"An awesome race car. An awesome race team. Penske Racing. The night race at Bristol! This is the race that Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt win. It's the race of champions. I can't believe it. There are races that pay more. There are races that might have a little more prestige, but this is the coolest damn one of them all. We won it!" - Brad Keselowski, race winner
In the month of August, Brad Keselowski has been nothing short of remarkable. He has finished no worse than third the entire month and has done more than "all but locked up" a wild-card slot; with the way Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer have been running in recent weeks, Keselowski has a decent shot to crack the top-10 in Cup points. To come from outside the top-20 in points to where he currently stands is absolutely amazing, considering his ankle and back injuries. With all these factors in play, it is safe to say the breakout star of 2011 in NASCAR's top level has been Brad Keselowski.
Crew Chief Quote Of The Week:
"I'm so proud of everyone on this team. To have three wins now in this season from where we started the year just shows all the hard work that everybody has been doing back at the shop. All these guys on the pit crew, we had the pit stop that counted tonight. They did their deal. Everybody is doing their part. We're building fast Miller Lite Dodge Chargers and I'm just really proud of everyone." - Paul Wolfe, race-winning crew chief
Early in the season, it seemed as if the decision to bring Paul Wolfe up to the Sprint Cup level with Brad Keselowski was a bit of a blunder. But over the course of two months, Wolfe has gone from a so-so Cup crew chief to one of the most talked about figures in the garage area. What he has done with Keselowski has been just astounding, and a possible spot in the top-10 in points come time for the Chase isn't out of the question. It doesn't hurt that Wolfe is a former NASCAR driver himself, a rare advantage over many in the garage area that have not stepped behind the wheel of a car.
Most Controversial Quote:
"I don't know what happened. I think I might have had a loose wheel or something because the car was vibrating really, really bad and it wouldn't turn so I pitted for tires and they said they didn't see anything wrong with them but something was wrong with the car. I don't know what happened there. We were really loose when we unloaded off the truck and could never get it fixed. It is really frustrating because I run so good here and to have a car that far off and to see Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick have a night like they did doesn't make me feel much better but you know. This tire is awful on this race track. The rubber it puts down just doesn't make for good racing. It is real single file and the tire we had a couple generations before this was way better. Hopefully Goodyear will look at it and we will have something new next time." - Greg Biffle, 31st
When the most controversial quote from Bristol is a remark about tires instead of having to deal with a pair of pissed-off drivers, that just shows how much Bristol has changed. And while it was baffling to see guys like Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Tony Stewart mired back in the pack, one has to wonder if they were all having handling issues with their cars or if there was something bigger at play, such as tires. But Biffle does bring up a good point about Bristol becoming a single-file, "laissez-faire" race track with this latest set of Goodyears. Hopefully, the rubber company can come up with a better tire that can handle side-by-side racing in the future for Bristol, but until then? Fans have to pine for the way things used to be at "The World's Fastest Half-Mile."
Funniest Quote:
"That was a lot of work. Lots of work for a ninth-place. That is a tough race right there. We had a little loose condition off the corner, but I can't thank the fans enough for coming out here. To look up in the grandstands is really cool. I hope they enjoyed the race and we will go to Atlanta now and go for a win there and try to get another few bonus points and a trophy. Right now, I am proud to be in the Chase. That is a big accomplishment for our team. Overall we had a good performance, not a good result. We had Aflac Dental on the car and the first mission was to not knock the teeth out of the front of that paint scheme and we did that, we made it to the end. We struggled all night being loose off [the corners]. I would come off the corner and have the throttle down and the rear tires would light up. So those long runs were very difficult. We had good pit stops and good strategy and we locked into the Chase, so that is huge. That is the first mission of the season and we accomplished that." - Carl Edwards, ninth
Carl Edwards' night may not have been spectacular, but for a team that had been struggling in recent weeks after dominating much of the early portion of the season, a ninth-place finish was exactly what the doctor ordered. Edwards was even back to a bit more of his usual, jovial self post-race than he has been, especially after his problems last week at Michigan. Still, the fact remains that if Carl wants to be a serious Chase contender, he has got to step up his performance from here on out.
Best Of The Rest:
"We did what we had to do. I wish I could race harder and I wish I could do all those things, but at this point we have to have solid finishes. This is all the car would give me today. This is a step forward for this FedEx team. If we just handle business the next couple weeks then we'll be okay." - Denny Hamlin, seventh
"Off of past results this was an awesome night. With like 200 to go, we were running like sixth or seventh and we were just kind of going back and forth between being too loose and too tight and we got it too tight the rest of the night. Everybody just runs the top and especially when you are tight you can't do anything. I feel like 12th-place, I am pleased with it, not thrilled but pleased with it." - A.J. Allmendinger, 12th
"We're kind of confused. The first part of the race, we were really loose. They got the car better and we came from the back and my car was awesome. I drove all the way up to fifth and thought this thing was good enough to win. We made another run and kind of hung in there in fifth and then just got loose — just like a light switch. Then, we stayed loose for another run and then just gave up our center and at the end of the race, it was still loose. What happened when that happened? I don't know what the deal was. We had a better car at points than where we finished. I felt like we should have finished better than where we did. Just kind of confused right now, that's all." - Joey Logano, 13th
"We've just struggled since we got here with our Doublemint Camry. We just didn't quite have the balance that we were looking for the whole time. Unfortunately, we thought we were doing the right thing this morning and turns out we did the wrong things for the car for the race. Kind of a disappointing day, but proud of the guys. We never gave up, but we just never could get the car to where it would feel like it had in the past. That's kind of what we struggled with all weekend — just not being able to get that special Bristol feel." - Kyle Busch, 14th
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Bowles Thinks Out Loud For Matt: Bristol Night Race Edition
by Tom Bowles
Monday Morning Teardown: Superman And Kryptonite: How Stewart's Loss Could Be Keselowski's Gain
by Ron Lemasters
Bubble Breakdown: The Back Of The Field Weathers The Storm At Bristol
by Bryan Davis Keith
It's Time for NASCAR's Pit Road Rules to Change
by Garrett Horton
The Big Six: Irwin Tools Night Race
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Food City 250
by Bryan Davis Keith
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1994 Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the final Winston Cup start in a points race for Harry Gant's career. What did Leo Jackson Motorsports and sponsor Skoal do to commemorate the race?
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1999 Goody's Headache Powders is infamous for Dale Earnhardt "rattling Terry Labonte's cage" right out of the lead and creating a road block on the last lap. However, what happened to set up that situation?
A: Prior to the cage rattling, the caution was thrown for a crash on the backstretch involving Jeremy Mayfield. Since drivers could still race back to the line at the time, a couple of drivers attempted to get a lap back from Terry Labonte. Unfortunately, Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte had contact in Turn 4, spinning out the Kellogg's Corn Flakes Chevrolet and gifting the lead to Dale Earnhardt. Labonte was extremely angry, and performed a gigantic burnout upon leaving pit road. Of course, the rest is history now. The incident can be seen at the 6:00 mark of this clip.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get 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 Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Tom Bowles
-- Sitting In The Stands: A Fans' View by TBA
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with a commentary piece based on recent events in NASCAR.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Bristol-Atlanta Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer takes a look at post-Bristol numbers to see who's got the most momentum heading into Atlanta... and beyond.
Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan's back with his weekly edition of talking points to tie up Bristol and get us set for the week of NASCAR news ahead.
Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series made their second visit of the year to Bristol for the infamous night races. Were the race telecasts up to snuff, or were they missing something? Find out on this week's edition of the TV Critique.
Fact Or Fiction by Tom Bowles
Tom's back with a look at some intriguing subplots heaing into this weekend's Atlanta Motor Speedway Labor Day festivities.
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