The Frontstretch Newsletter SPECIAL EDITION: August 13th, 2011

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 2nd, 2011
Volume V, Edition CLX

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Stories to Watch: Saturday
by Phil Allaway

 

First up today is qualifying at Watkins Glen.  The Nationwide Series is first up with their "European Qualifying" format at 9:45am.  The entire field has been split into eight groups.  Each group will get five minutes of on-track action to turn as many laps as they can.

At 11:30am, the Sprint Cup Series comes out to qualify.  Unlike the Nationwide Series, the Cup Series drivers get just one lap to put up or shut up.

Following a break, the Nationwide Series teams will suit up and prepare for 82 laps around Watkins Glen International in the Zippo 200.  Pre-race coverage starts with a special one-hour edition of NASCAR Countdown at 1pm EDT, followed by the race broadcast at 2pm EDT.  Expect the green around 2:18pm EDT.

Finally, the Rolex Sports Car Series Presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 races this evening in the Canadian Tire 200.  The race will start at approximately 6pm EDT.  SPEED will provide live coverage.

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Today's Top News

by Phil Allaway

Kyle Busch Leads Opening Cup Practice, Ambrose blows away Field in Happy Hour

Friday afternoon was nothing but practice for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series at Watkins Glen.  Sprint Cup teams had just over three hours of practice, split into two sessions while the Nationwide Series had one two hour session.

In the first Sprint Cup session, Kyle Busch led the way with a lap of 70.242 seconds, or 125.566 mph.  This lap is a half a second faster than the track record, held by Jeff Gordon.  This lap was just five thousandths of a second faster than Juan Pablo Montoya and less than two hundredths of a second faster than AJ Allmendinger in third.

Unfortunately, the session was plagued by a series of spins.  Tony Stewart, a five-time winner at Watkins Glen, spun out twice on his own.  The first incident saw Stewart spin off the road in the Inner Loop.  The second saw Stewart simply enter Turn 9 too fast, get out of the groove, and spin.  Stewart's Office Depot Chevrolet came to rest in the middle of the track, undamaged.

Also, early on in the session, Casey Mears lost an engine in his GEICO Toyota.  Mears' No. 13 laid down a significant amount of fluid on track along with a large plume of smoke before coming to rest right before the entrance of Turn 1.  With the engine change, Mears will have to start from the rear of the field on Sunday.

In the second practice session, the teams couldn't even get up to speed before the first incident of the session.  Robby Gordon locked up his brakes in Turn 9 on his out lap.  As a result, Matt Kenseth had nowhere to go and ran into the back of Robby Gordon's No. 7 before spinning and kicking up some dirt onto the track.  David Ragan also spun in the Inner Loop later in the session, but continued without incident.  Finally, towards the end of the session, Brian Simo spun exiting Turn 1 and hit the Armco barrier.  Simo's No. 46, sporting new sponsorship from Fisher Nuts, suffered left rear damage in the crash.  The team is attempting to repair the damage.

Marcos Ambrose had the car to beat in the session, laying down a lap of 69.666 seconds (126.604 mph), a full second faster than the official track record.  Ambrose's lap led points leader Carl Edwards to describe Ambrose as "screaming fast" in a press conference.  Ambrose's lap was four and a half tenths of a second faster than Kurt Busch in second.  Carl Edwards turned the third fastest lap, followed by Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex, Jr.

Of those who must qualify on speed, Scott Speed was fastest (14th overall), while Robby Gordon was 18th overall and J.J. Yeley was 22nd.

Menard Sets Quickest Time in Nationwide Practice

In the Nationwide Series' lone two-hour practice session, incidents on track were once again the name of the game.  Before ten minutes even passed, Brian Scott and Trevor Bayne had each spun out in Turn 9.  Points leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. spun on his own in Turn 1 later on, but was able to continue easily.  Finally, Alex Kennedy had his own spin exiting Turn 9.  None of these spins resulted in wall contact.

On the charts, road course ringers and Sprint Cup regulars ruled the roost.  Paul Menard, driving the No. 33 for Kevin Harvick, Inc. this week, topped the charts with a lap of 72.227 seconds (122.115 mph).  That was almost two tenths of a second quicker than Elliott Sadler in second.  Jimmie Johnson, making his first start since Charlotte in October, 2008, was third quickest, followed by Kurt Busch (subbing for teammate Brad Keselowski) and Ron Fellows.

Only three of the ten fastest cars (Sadler, along with Jason Leffler in eighth and Aric Almirola in tenth) were driven by Nationwide Series regulars.  Of the teams that must qualify on time, Fellows in the No. 5 Canadian Tire Chevrolet, a third entry for JR Motorsports, was fastest with a lap of 72.816 seconds (121.127 mph).  Joey Logano was the second fastest driver (ninth overall), while Bayne had the third fastest time of those not locked into the field.  The drivers who need to find a little speed before qualifying are Tomy Drissi, Brian Simo, Chase Miller, Tim Andrews and Brian Keselowski.  These five drivers were the slowest drivers in practice that are not locked into the field for today's race.

Johnson Still Sore Over Conflict With Kurt Busch At Pocono

During his media availability at Watkins Glen International on Friday morning, five-time defending Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson took some time out of his schedule to discuss his run-in towards the end of the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 with Kurt Busch.  Needless to say, Johnson was none too pleased.

Johnson re-iterated that he was not to blame for the two cars originally coming together in Pocono.  However, he "leaned on him back" after the original hit.  The contact already made Johnson angry.

Then, the two drivers pulled onto pit road after the checkers.  At that point, the situation escalated.

"When you are in that moment and you're having words with someone and as the crowd starts to build around, that guy all of a sudden gets brave," Johnson said.  "When you think it's over and you walk away, that guy gets real tough.  I don't know about you, but that really makes me mad.  Bottom line, [Kurt Busch] started running his mouth."

Of course, this type of behavior is nothing new from Kurt Busch.  Many fans remember that the first couple of years of Kurt's Cup Series career consisted of a protracted rivalry with Jimmy Spencer that eventually culminated with Spencer punching Kurt Busch in the nose in Michigan after Kurt Busch tried to intentionally cut Spencer's left front tire.

As for the conflict coming to an end soon, don't bet on it.

"There is no secret about it that there is no love lost between the two of us," Johnson said.  "We know there has been plenty of history over the years.  And there are just things that just kind of boil to a head and when I hopped out of the car and started talking to [Kurt Busch], you know, he had one level of interaction with me while he was sitting in his race car.  And when he got out of the car, neither one of us were happy, but we were talking.  I walk away, and he got awfully tough.  That part frustrates me.  I mean, if you are going to say something, say it to the man's face and eye-to-eye when he is there.  Don't wait until he walks away."

Kurt Busch will have a chance to rebut Johnson's comments this morning in the Media Center at 9:00am EDT.

Logano Uninjured in Nasty Grand-Am Qualifying Crash

For a driver making his sports car racing debut, Joey Logano was having an excellent time.  Logano, driving the No. 31 Whelen-sponsored Chevrolet Corvette for Marsh Racing, was fastest in the Grand Touring (GT) class early on during Qualifying for Saturday evening's Canadian Tire 200.  However, while attempting to extract just a little more out of his Corvette, Logano got it all wrong in Turn 9.

Logano appeared to enter Turn 9 way too fast, much like Tony Stewart did earlier in the day in his Sprint Cup car.  However, unlike Stewart, Logano went straight off, then spun the car while trying to recover.  The result was that the Whelen Chevrolet went into the tire barriers left-rear first.  The car then swung around and hit the tires with the left-front corner.  This caused the car to spin around 270 degrees in the air before coming to rest.  Logano was able to exit the car under his own power, but the Corvette was thoroughly thrashed.

Logano's fastest lap of 74.541 seconds (118.324 mph) was good enough for the outside pole in the GT-Class.  However, the car may not be repairable at the track.

 

Have news for Phil and The Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

 

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Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Coke Zero 400 Race Recap by Phil Allaway

-- Mouthing Off: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen by Brody Jones

-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, Stat of the Week and more!

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Monday on the Frontstretch:

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Watkins Glen Race Recap by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday in Watkins Glen.

 

Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles

Tom's back with another interesting commentary about Sunday's action.

Special Commentary by Ron Lemasters
Ron returns for a website look at one of the big stories from Sunday's race in Watkins Glen.

 

Big Six: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen by Amy Henderson
Amy is back with the who, what, when, where, why and how of Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International.

 
Bubble Breakdown by Bryan Davis Keith
Who's hot and who's not towards the back end of the owner points battle? Bryan brings the stories you didn't hear about into print from Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International.

 

Nationwide Series Breakdown: Zippo 200 by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has all the post-race analysis you need after Saturday's Nationwide Series race from Watkins Glen International.

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