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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 19th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CXCVI
Top News
by Phil Allaway
GEICO 400 Postponed by Rain
This time, it was not tropical moisture associated with any destructive storm that affected the Sprint Cup Series. Instead, it was a normal rainstorm that descended upon Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday. There was a 30 percent chance of rain predicted for Sunday ahead of the race. Unfortunately, by Sunday morning, the chances had increased to 70-80 percent. A persistent heavy mist to light rain began falling at the track Sunday morning, drenching the surface.
NASCAR made their best efforts to dry the track during lulls in the rainfall. However, every time the crews got the track close to being dry, another shower would move through. With the advantage of lights at the 1.5 mile tri-oval, the crews worked into the nighttime to get the track dry. They all but had the track dry around 7:20 PM. However, another band of rain moved over the track and completely wiped out all of the crew's progress from the previous two plus hours. Facing another two to three hours to dry the track before a start could be attempted, plus the threat of more rain coming in, NASCAR chose to postpone the event a little after 7:50pm local time. The start has been rescheduled for 11:00am CDT (12:00pm EDT). The telecast will be carried live by ESPN.
After a long period of time with little interruption by rain, this is the third Sprint Cup Series race to be postponed due to rain in the last six weeks. However, it is the first of the three to use the standard delay procedure. The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen and Advocare 500 were both postponed to 10am EDT starts due to more rain being forecasted. In the Advocare 500's case, NASCAR made no attempt to even race at all on Monday due to expected heavy rains and thunderstorms from Tropical Storm Lee and a desire not to tie up the region's first responders.
However, just because the race is postponed does not mean that precipitation won't be a factor. According to WMAQ (Chicago's NBC affiliate), there is a 40 percent chance of rain for Monday. However, most of that threat is for early in the morning. Depending on when the rain stops, the race could still start on time, or it could be delayed slightly while track drying is completed.
With the race being rescheduled, RaceBuddy will not be available for viewing at nascar.com. However, ESPN's race telecast will be available for free streaming at WatchESPN.com for subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOs and Bright House Networks via password protection. If you subscribe to either of those three services, you can obtain an access password for WatchESPN through your provider's website.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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, it's affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Monday Morning Teardown: Point Counterpoint Interesting in Chase
by Ron Lemasters
Voices From the Heartland: Umm... What Did You Think Was Going To Happen?
by Jeff Meyer
Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gain Heading Into NASCAR's Playoffs
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Dollar General 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
Tracking The Trucks: Fast Five 225
by Beth Lunkenheimer
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, home to next weekend's Sylvania 300, is a curious case. Unlike most tracks, it does not have a concrete inside wall on the backstretch. The actual wall structure was likely to blame for Tony Kanaan's rollover and port-a-john upending during the MoveThatBlock.com 225 last month. What is the wall structure on the inside of the backstretch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and why is this setup used?
by Phil Allaway
GEICO 400 Postponed by Rain
This time, it was not tropical moisture associated with any destructive storm that affected the Sprint Cup Series. Instead, it was a normal rainstorm that descended upon Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday. There was a 30 percent chance of rain predicted for Sunday ahead of the race. Unfortunately, by Sunday morning, the chances had increased to 70-80 percent. A persistent heavy mist to light rain began falling at the track Sunday morning, drenching the surface.
NASCAR made their best efforts to dry the track during lulls in the rainfall. However, every time the crews got the track close to being dry, another shower would move through. With the advantage of lights at the 1.5 mile tri-oval, the crews worked into the nighttime to get the track dry. They all but had the track dry around 7:20 PM. However, another band of rain moved over the track and completely wiped out all of the crew's progress from the previous two plus hours. Facing another two to three hours to dry the track before a start could be attempted, plus the threat of more rain coming in, NASCAR chose to postpone the event a little after 7:50pm local time. The start has been rescheduled for 11:00am CDT (12:00pm EDT). The telecast will be carried live by ESPN.
After a long period of time with little interruption by rain, this is the third Sprint Cup Series race to be postponed due to rain in the last six weeks. However, it is the first of the three to use the standard delay procedure. The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen and Advocare 500 were both postponed to 10am EDT starts due to more rain being forecasted. In the Advocare 500's case, NASCAR made no attempt to even race at all on Monday due to expected heavy rains and thunderstorms from Tropical Storm Lee and a desire not to tie up the region's first responders.
However, just because the race is postponed does not mean that precipitation won't be a factor. According to WMAQ (Chicago's NBC affiliate), there is a 40 percent chance of rain for Monday. However, most of that threat is for early in the morning. Depending on when the rain stops, the race could still start on time, or it could be delayed slightly while track drying is completed.
With the race being rescheduled, RaceBuddy will not be available for viewing at nascar.com. However, ESPN's race telecast will be available for free streaming at WatchESPN.com for subscribers of Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOs and Bright House Networks via password protection. If you subscribe to either of those three services, you can obtain an access password for WatchESPN through your provider's website.
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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, it's affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Monday Morning Teardown: Point Counterpoint Interesting in Chase
by Ron Lemasters
Voices From the Heartland: Umm... What Did You Think Was Going To Happen?
by Jeff Meyer
Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gain Heading Into NASCAR's Playoffs
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Dollar General 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
Tracking The Trucks: Fast Five 225
by Beth Lunkenheimer
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, home to next weekend's Sylvania 300, is a curious case. Unlike most tracks, it does not have a concrete inside wall on the backstretch. The actual wall structure was likely to blame for Tony Kanaan's rollover and port-a-john upending during the MoveThatBlock.com 225 last month. What is the wall structure on the inside of the backstretch at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and why is this setup used?
Friday's Answer:
Q: In 2001, Jimmie Johnson claimed his first (and to this point, only) career victory in the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) at Chicagoland Speedway. Who did he overtake for the win and what were the circumstances behind that pass?
A: Johnson was able to win the race off of pit road by making a two-tire pit stop while leader Ryan Newman took four and dropped to sixth. However, Newman quickly charged back up to second and ran down Johnson with just 15 laps to go. After shadowing Johnson for ten laps, Johnson approached the damaged No. 18 of Mike McLaughlin in Turn 4. Johnson passed McLaughlin on the outside and Newman attempted to follow. However, Newman made a rookie mistake and brushed against McLaughlin, damaging his left front fender. The fender immediately started rubbing, and two laps later, Newman hit the wall in Turn 1. Johnson drove away to claim his only win, while Newman was forced to the pits, where he stayed for the remainder of the race and was credited with 26th after leading the most laps. For those of you who like a visual with your trivia, the whole race was just recently uploaded to YouTube. The incident is visible at the 2 hour, 3 minute mark of this clip. Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach have the call for NBC.
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:
-- GEICO 400 Race Recap by Brody Jones
-- Running Your Mouth compiled by Brody Jones
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: GEICO 400 Race Recap by Tom Bowles
With Matt still out of commission, Tom will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Monday afternoon's action from Chicagoland.
The Yellow Stripe by TBA
Danny or Summer will fill all your post-race commentary needs from Chicagoland.
David vs. Goliath by Bryan Davis Keith
Looking for your weekend underdog report? Bryan Keith covers the underdog, underfunded teams fighting for a spot in the limelight each week.
The Big Six: GEICO 400 by Amy Henderson
Looking for all you need to know leaving the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup? Amy has your who, what, when, where, why and how from a weekend of racing at Chicagoland.
Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, NASCAR's top-3 series were each racing at Chicagoland Speedway. Find out how the broadcasts performed on this week's edition of the TV Critique.
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