THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 12th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CXCI
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Harvick Takes Fourth Victory of Year at Richmond
by Brody Jones
At Richmond International Raceway, there was plenty of side-by-side racing with retribution and ruthless aggression on the track. Oh, and there was also Kevin Harvick leading 202 out of 400 laps (more laps than he had led all year combined) en route to his 18th career victory.
"We had a really good Budweiser Chevrolet on the short runs," said an overjoyed Harvick post-race. "We had a good car up until about the last quarter of a run. (Jeff) Gordon was able to get by us, [then] we would just get really loose. On the green flag runs, we could take off for the first 40 or 50 laps really good. They got it a little bit too tight there at the end and Carl [Edwards] was actually a little bit better than we were. I finally just started hugging the bottom and parking it and figured he was either going to have to knock me out of the way or go around the outside. It was a good race. A lot of fun."
David Reutimann started the race on the pole at a speed of 127.383 mph, but gave way to Jamie McMurray at the drop of the green flag. The first caution of the night fell when Mike Bliss made conct with Andy Lally, sending him into the Turn 3 wall. The race went back to green on lap 7, only for a multi-car melee to take place in Turn 3 a couple of laps later. Clint Bowyer spun after rubbing against Reutimann. Behind Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Scott Speed, Denny Hamlin, David Gilliland, Casey Mears, Martin Truex, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Marcos Ambrose, Travis Kvapil, J.J. Yeley, and Robby Gordon all piled in. Speed and Robby Gordon's cars were done for the evening following the big wreck.
The race went back to green on lap 20 with Jimmie Johnson taking the race lead. Eight laps later, the third caution of the evening. came out when Kasey Kahne spun in turn 2. The race would briefly go back to green flag racing until Lap 38 when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made contact with Marcos Ambrose, sending him for a spin. Fifteen laps later, Ambrose again found himself in the middle of a skirmish that managed to take out both Red Bull drivers in Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers. An angry Vickers turned in front of Ambrose under caution to block his progress. Then, imitating Sean Avery's one-time tactics that resulted in a new rule being created in the NHL, he blocked Ambrose so that he could not restart. As a result, NASCAR held Vickers for several laps behind the wall after his repairs were completed.
Following the collection of wrecks, emotions calmed down for a little while. Things would stay green until lap 117 when Mike Bliss cut a tire and slapped the wall, coming out of turn 1 for caution number six. After another decent-sized run, the seventh caution of the day came out when, following on-track contact by Travis Kvapil, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dumped Kvapil into the turn 1 wall. Earnhardt, Jr. lost his chance at picking up the Lucky Dog due to his move. The leaders all pitted here, allowing Greg Biffle to briefly take the lead. However, Harvick regained the advantage right after the restart. A couple of laps later, caution number eight came out when Landon Cassill spun in turn 4.
The incidents kept coming. Right after the restart, caution number nine came out for Paul Menard hitting the turn 1 wall. Then, the tenth caution came out for a controversial incident when Kurt Busch locked his wheels trying to avoid Johnson and unintentionally sent Johnson into the Turn 1 wall. Juan Pablo Montoya also spun to avoid Johnson. Shortly after the restart, Carl Edwards took the lead away from Harvick and exerted substantial control over the race.
Fans wondered if there would be retaliation and sixty laps later, there was as Johnson made a kamikaze dive full-throttle into turn one to dump Kurt, but Johnson would again back into the wall with Busch just spinning and not losing a great deal of track position for the 11th caution of the race.
Johnson was very irritated with Kurt Busch following the incidents and spoke out after the event.
"I got run over going into one so you're spinning out you're spinning out, that's part of it." said Johnson. "I'm sure I'll go find him, talk to him and he'll run his mouth and we'll go from there. So we'll see what happens. I've worked very hard to not have any contact with him and even the Pocono thing I made a move to break the draft and I didn't touch his car and he ran into the side of me. If he can stop running into my Lowe's Chevrolet, everything would be just fine."
"We raced down into Turn 1 and I locked up the left front trying to avoid him." Kurt Busch stated about his part of the accident. "When he came back to us, you know, you could see it coming. That's not something you see from Jimmie Johnson every day, so I know we're in his head. If we're going to race this way, he's got to worry that there's ten other guys in this Chase, not just the 22."
Caution number twelve came out for Jeff Burton backing into the wall after a flat tire. Just after the green flag came back out, the 13th caution proved to be unlucky for Marcos Ambrose, who spun like his cartoon "Tasmanian Devil" counterpart for the second time in the race and was involved in his fourth caution of the race. The 14th caution came out on lap 309 when David Reutimann hit the wall after contact with Clint Bowyer in Turn 1.
Under the 14th caution, all of the frontrunners chose to pit, except for Carl Edwards. That gamble did not work out well. Harvick retook the lead on the restart and pulled away while Edwards dropped back on his older tires. Harvick held onto the top spot until Jeff Gordon took the lead with 23 laps to go. From there, Gordon checked out on the field and appeared to be in line for his fourth win of 2011 and potential 86th career win.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to the Victory Lane celebration. With 16 laps to go, the final yellow flew when Paul Menard spun exiting Turn 4 laps. This brought the leaders in for their final pit stops of the night. Coming out of the pits, it was "The Closer" Kevin Harvick getting out of the pits first with Gordon second followed by Edwards, Kyle Busch, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, and Greg Biffle.
When the green flag came out with 12 laps to go, the race for the win came down to Harvick and Carl Edwards. Despite Edwards' valiant effort, getting up to the bumper of Harvick, he had to settle for second as Harvick won his 18th career Cup race, and fourth win of the 2011 season.
Behind Harvick and Edwards was a disappointed Jeff Gordon in third with David Ragan and Kurt Busch, recovering from both tangles with Johnson, to round out the top-5. Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, and Mark Martin rounded out the top-10.
The average speed of the race was 89.910 mph, slowed by 15 cautions for 85 laps with Harvick's margin of victory at 0.139 seconds. The race took 3 hours, 20 minutes, and 12 seconds in front of a crowd of 88,000 and there were 11 lead changes among 7 drivers.
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
One driver whose Chase fate was sealed last month at Michigan was Kyle Busch. Entering the night second in points with four victoires in 2011, Busch looked to add another trophy along those valuable three bonus points for a win towards the Chase. It was a battle all night for the three-time Richmond winner, having to battle back from a lap down not once, but twice. Both times, he managed to get back onto the lead lap; however, it was clear he didn't have the race winning car like he has in years past. By the time the checkered flag flew, Busch, who drove the patriotic American flag paint scheme in honor of 9/11 came home in sixth, not the result he was hoping for. The good news is that Busch again is back atop the points, along with rival Kevin Harvick.
Harvick quickly established himself as the dominant car early, driving to the lead on lap 74. It wasn't easy all the way through, however; shortly past the halfway point, Harvick lost the handle on his machine, and quickly fell back to fifth. For the next 100 laps, the 29 team just rode around trying to get the balance back. It was on a lap 310 caution that brought most of the leaders down pit road, excluding Carl Edwards, who had been the fastest car during the last green flag run. Harvick's team got him out first among the teams that pitted and he was quickly able to pass Edwards on fresher tires. It looked like he would run away with things from there, but then a hard-charging Jeff Gordon was able to pass him with 22 laps remaining. Fortunately for Harvick, a caution a few laps latter sent the leaders back down pit road, and his crew once again got him the lead. The Budweiser Chevy did not relinquish it, but had to hold off Edwards for the final few laps. Harvick's fourth victory of 2011 puts him a in a tie with Busch for the point lead as they both have 12 bonus accumulated from the regular season. Busch is considered to be the leader via a tiebraker, though.
Jeff Gordon's race can be summed up as a roller coaster ride. He started the day off slow, then worked his way into the top-10, only to fall almost outside the top-20 during a long green flag run. His team was able to make the correct trackbar adustments to work his way back up. Gordon's car got really dialed in in the last 100 laps as the trackbar adjustments seemed to help it in the long run. He was able to get by Harvick for the lead with a handful of laps left, but once the caution came out, it pretty much ended his chances for a win as he wasn't as good on the short run. Still, he was able to hold on for third, and his three victories are good enough to start the Chase third overall.
Much like Gordon's night, Matt Kenseth also had an up and down race. Unlike Gordon however, Kenseth's night ended on a down note. After getting spun out on the race's first caution, Kenseth's team played the pit strategy game early, pitting when the leaders didn't. The result payed off later as he took the lead on lap 59 and led the next 15 laps. After that, it became a slow decline for the 2003 Cup champion, and eventually fell off of the lead lap after some right rear contact hurt the performance of his car. The end result was a dissappointing 23rd, but he will start the Chase in fourth, with wins at Texas and Dover helping him get six bonus points.
Carl Edwards reminded everyone that he is still a force to be reckon with, leading 113 laps en route to a runner up finish. This was the Edwards we were used to seeing earlier in the year, the man who led the points for most of the regular season. His lone win at Las Vegas puts him in a four way tie for fifth in the standings, nine markers behind Busch and Harvick. More importantly, back to back top-5s at Atlanta and Richmond have people once again believing that Edwards is a championship threat.
Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch continued their feud, with both spinning each other out. The first incident occured on lap 247 when Busch got into turn one too hard, and locked up his brakes trying to avoid Johnson, who was on his outside. The two made contact, with Johnson getting the bad end of the deal, spinning into the outside wall and eliminating any chance of victory. Johnson, frustrated after leading 38 laps early, would later retaliate on Busch, dive bombing him into Turn 1. Busch was able to keep his car off the wall and kept going while Johnson just damaged his vehicle further. The 2004 Cup champion would carry on to finish fifth, while five-time ended the day 31st. Both are tied with Edwards for fifth in the standings, nine points behind the lead.
Ryan Newman had a pretty quiet evening, considering how many drivers dealt with a chaotic night. After starting the race in 18th, Newman flirted with the top-10 for the first 200 laps before staying there for the final 100. He was able to keep his car clean and come home in eighth place. With his win at New Hampshire, Newman's three bonus points put him in a four way tie for the fifth position.
Newman's teammate and boss, Tony Stewart, needed to finish at least 18th in order to qualify for his seventh Chase. He was able to make it with ease, finishing seventh. He will start the Chase ninth in the standings, the first of four drivers with no bonus points.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his team and fans an early race scare, getting into the spinning car of Clint Bowyer on lap 9. It looked like Earnahrdt had suffered major damage on his front end grill, which had caved in and appeared to caused radiator damage. Fortunately, there was no further issues with overheating, but the handling on his car was terrible. Earnhardt went a lap down on three seperate occasions, but was able to get the free pas three times as well. He was able to battle back for a 16th-place finish, very resepectable considering everything he had to overcome. More importanlty, Earnhardt secured his first Chase berth since 2008, his freshman year at Hendrick Motorsports. He is tied with Stewart for ninth in points.
Brad Keselowski's hot streak cooled down somewhat at Richmond, as his 12th-place finish was the first time he finished outside the top-10 since Loudon seven races ago. He wasn't able to crack the top-10 in points, meaning that he made it in as the first wildcard and will not recieve any bonus points for his three wins towards the Chase. Keselowski joins Stewart and Earnhardt in ninth, 12 points out of the lead.
Denny Hamlin faced an uphill battle from the very beginning. He was involved in that lap 9 crash that included fellow Chase hopefuls Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. All the work to repair the car left Hamlin a lap down, but the car was still driveable. He was able to get the Lucky Dog, and slowly worked his way up through the top-20. At the end of the night, Hamlin finished ninth, and secured a spot in the Chase, something he has done every year as a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup series. Like Keselowski, Hamlin made it in as a wildcard and does not receive bonus points from his Michigan victory in June.
Standings: t-1) Kyle Busch 2012, t-1) Kevin Harvick 2012 3) Jeff Gordon -3, 4) Matt Kenseth -6, t-5) Carl Edwards -9, t-5) Jimmie Johnson -9, t-5) Kurt Busch -9, t-5) Ryan Newman -9, t-9) Tony Stewart -12, t-9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -12, t-9) Brad Keselowski -12, t-9) Denny Hamlin -12.
Tracking The Top 35: Strong Night For Germain Racing, TBR
Overshadowed by all of the the Chase hype, Tommy Baldwin Racing and Germain Racing had a very respectable night. Baldwin was fielding two cars with Dave Blaney in the Pepsi Max-sponsored No. 35 and Stephen Leicht in the No. 36, making only his second career Cup start. Both were able to stay out of trouble and Leicht was running as high as 12th on lap 260. Leicht, who drove the car Blaney has for most of the year, faded back in the final 140 laps, but still had a very solid perfomace, finishing in 24th. Of the drivers battling for the 35th spot, only Casey Mears had a better finish.
For Mears, his 17th-place effort was his best finish on the season. After starting the night in 30th, he slowly worked his up through the field, running as high as 14th by lap 300. He wasn't able to get any further to the front, but it was a much needed solid run for the Geico Toyota. Mears helped Germain Racing extend their lead over 36th-place Front Row Motorsports, whose driver Travis Kvapil was only able to finish 28th.
Top 35 Summary:
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Gilliland), +176 points ahead of 36th.
32) Germain Racing (No. 13 - Casey Mears), +78 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 - Stephen Leicht), +66 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 - Mike Bliss), +47 points ahead of 36th.
35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 - Andy Lally), +40 points ahead of 36th.
36) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - Travis Kvapil), -40 points behind 35th.
37) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 - Robby Gordon), -68 points behind 35th.
38) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), -111 points behind 35th.
Friday's Answer:
Q: After Neil Bonnett was fatally injured at Daytona in 1994, NASCAR's TV partners were sent scrambling for people to take Bonnett's place in the broadcast booth (at the time of his death, Bonnett did color commentary for CBS, TNN and TBS). For the Daytona 500, CBS made more use of Chris Economaki. However, when the series moseyed into Richmond for the Pontiac Excitement 400, who was the second color commentator in the booth?
A: After Bonnett's unfortunate death, TBS decided to go with a three-man booth from that point onward. For Richmond, they brought in Dave Marcis to serve as the second analyst. Marcis had failed to qualify his No. 71 for the race. He was joined by Kenny Wallace, who had also failed to qualify his No. 81 for the race as well. Kenny was far more calm than he would be today in the booth. 46 cars had attempted the race, which only had a 37-car grid.
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Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Tom Bowles
-- Sitting In The Stands: A Fans' View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
The Yellow Stripe by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan is back with a commentary piece based on recent events in NASCAR.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Richmond-Chicagoland Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer takes a look at post-Richmond numbers to see who's got the most momentum heading into Chicagoland... and beyond.
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 12th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CXCI
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Harvick Takes Fourth Victory of Year at Richmond
by Brody Jones
At Richmond International Raceway, there was plenty of side-by-side racing with retribution and ruthless aggression on the track. Oh, and there was also Kevin Harvick leading 202 out of 400 laps (more laps than he had led all year combined) en route to his 18th career victory.
"We had a really good Budweiser Chevrolet on the short runs," said an overjoyed Harvick post-race. "We had a good car up until about the last quarter of a run. (Jeff) Gordon was able to get by us, [then] we would just get really loose. On the green flag runs, we could take off for the first 40 or 50 laps really good. They got it a little bit too tight there at the end and Carl [Edwards] was actually a little bit better than we were. I finally just started hugging the bottom and parking it and figured he was either going to have to knock me out of the way or go around the outside. It was a good race. A lot of fun."
David Reutimann started the race on the pole at a speed of 127.383 mph, but gave way to Jamie McMurray at the drop of the green flag. The first caution of the night fell when Mike Bliss made conct with Andy Lally, sending him into the Turn 3 wall. The race went back to green on lap 7, only for a multi-car melee to take place in Turn 3 a couple of laps later. Clint Bowyer spun after rubbing against Reutimann. Behind Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Scott Speed, Denny Hamlin, David Gilliland, Casey Mears, Martin Truex, Jr., Matt Kenseth, Marcos Ambrose, Travis Kvapil, J.J. Yeley, and Robby Gordon all piled in. Speed and Robby Gordon's cars were done for the evening following the big wreck.
The race went back to green on lap 20 with Jimmie Johnson taking the race lead. Eight laps later, the third caution of the evening. came out when Kasey Kahne spun in turn 2. The race would briefly go back to green flag racing until Lap 38 when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made contact with Marcos Ambrose, sending him for a spin. Fifteen laps later, Ambrose again found himself in the middle of a skirmish that managed to take out both Red Bull drivers in Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers. An angry Vickers turned in front of Ambrose under caution to block his progress. Then, imitating Sean Avery's one-time tactics that resulted in a new rule being created in the NHL, he blocked Ambrose so that he could not restart. As a result, NASCAR held Vickers for several laps behind the wall after his repairs were completed.
Following the collection of wrecks, emotions calmed down for a little while. Things would stay green until lap 117 when Mike Bliss cut a tire and slapped the wall, coming out of turn 1 for caution number six. After another decent-sized run, the seventh caution of the day came out when, following on-track contact by Travis Kvapil, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dumped Kvapil into the turn 1 wall. Earnhardt, Jr. lost his chance at picking up the Lucky Dog due to his move. The leaders all pitted here, allowing Greg Biffle to briefly take the lead. However, Harvick regained the advantage right after the restart. A couple of laps later, caution number eight came out when Landon Cassill spun in turn 4.
The incidents kept coming. Right after the restart, caution number nine came out for Paul Menard hitting the turn 1 wall. Then, the tenth caution came out for a controversial incident when Kurt Busch locked his wheels trying to avoid Johnson and unintentionally sent Johnson into the Turn 1 wall. Juan Pablo Montoya also spun to avoid Johnson. Shortly after the restart, Carl Edwards took the lead away from Harvick and exerted substantial control over the race.
Fans wondered if there would be retaliation and sixty laps later, there was as Johnson made a kamikaze dive full-throttle into turn one to dump Kurt, but Johnson would again back into the wall with Busch just spinning and not losing a great deal of track position for the 11th caution of the race.
Johnson was very irritated with Kurt Busch following the incidents and spoke out after the event.
"I got run over going into one so you're spinning out you're spinning out, that's part of it." said Johnson. "I'm sure I'll go find him, talk to him and he'll run his mouth and we'll go from there. So we'll see what happens. I've worked very hard to not have any contact with him and even the Pocono thing I made a move to break the draft and I didn't touch his car and he ran into the side of me. If he can stop running into my Lowe's Chevrolet, everything would be just fine."
"We raced down into Turn 1 and I locked up the left front trying to avoid him." Kurt Busch stated about his part of the accident. "When he came back to us, you know, you could see it coming. That's not something you see from Jimmie Johnson every day, so I know we're in his head. If we're going to race this way, he's got to worry that there's ten other guys in this Chase, not just the 22."
Caution number twelve came out for Jeff Burton backing into the wall after a flat tire. Just after the green flag came back out, the 13th caution proved to be unlucky for Marcos Ambrose, who spun like his cartoon "Tasmanian Devil" counterpart for the second time in the race and was involved in his fourth caution of the race. The 14th caution came out on lap 309 when David Reutimann hit the wall after contact with Clint Bowyer in Turn 1.
Under the 14th caution, all of the frontrunners chose to pit, except for Carl Edwards. That gamble did not work out well. Harvick retook the lead on the restart and pulled away while Edwards dropped back on his older tires. Harvick held onto the top spot until Jeff Gordon took the lead with 23 laps to go. From there, Gordon checked out on the field and appeared to be in line for his fourth win of 2011 and potential 86th career win.
However, a funny thing happened on the way to the Victory Lane celebration. With 16 laps to go, the final yellow flew when Paul Menard spun exiting Turn 4 laps. This brought the leaders in for their final pit stops of the night. Coming out of the pits, it was "The Closer" Kevin Harvick getting out of the pits first with Gordon second followed by Edwards, Kyle Busch, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, and Greg Biffle.
When the green flag came out with 12 laps to go, the race for the win came down to Harvick and Carl Edwards. Despite Edwards' valiant effort, getting up to the bumper of Harvick, he had to settle for second as Harvick won his 18th career Cup race, and fourth win of the 2011 season.
Behind Harvick and Edwards was a disappointed Jeff Gordon in third with David Ragan and Kurt Busch, recovering from both tangles with Johnson, to round out the top-5. Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, and Mark Martin rounded out the top-10.
The average speed of the race was 89.910 mph, slowed by 15 cautions for 85 laps with Harvick's margin of victory at 0.139 seconds. The race took 3 hours, 20 minutes, and 12 seconds in front of a crowd of 88,000 and there were 11 lead changes among 7 drivers.
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chasers: Busch's Claims Share of Points Lead Via Points Reset
by Garrett Horton
One driver whose Chase fate was sealed last month at Michigan was Kyle Busch. Entering the night second in points with four victoires in 2011, Busch looked to add another trophy along those valuable three bonus points for a win towards the Chase. It was a battle all night for the three-time Richmond winner, having to battle back from a lap down not once, but twice. Both times, he managed to get back onto the lead lap; however, it was clear he didn't have the race winning car like he has in years past. By the time the checkered flag flew, Busch, who drove the patriotic American flag paint scheme in honor of 9/11 came home in sixth, not the result he was hoping for. The good news is that Busch again is back atop the points, along with rival Kevin Harvick.
Harvick quickly established himself as the dominant car early, driving to the lead on lap 74. It wasn't easy all the way through, however; shortly past the halfway point, Harvick lost the handle on his machine, and quickly fell back to fifth. For the next 100 laps, the 29 team just rode around trying to get the balance back. It was on a lap 310 caution that brought most of the leaders down pit road, excluding Carl Edwards, who had been the fastest car during the last green flag run. Harvick's team got him out first among the teams that pitted and he was quickly able to pass Edwards on fresher tires. It looked like he would run away with things from there, but then a hard-charging Jeff Gordon was able to pass him with 22 laps remaining. Fortunately for Harvick, a caution a few laps latter sent the leaders back down pit road, and his crew once again got him the lead. The Budweiser Chevy did not relinquish it, but had to hold off Edwards for the final few laps. Harvick's fourth victory of 2011 puts him a in a tie with Busch for the point lead as they both have 12 bonus accumulated from the regular season. Busch is considered to be the leader via a tiebraker, though.
Jeff Gordon's race can be summed up as a roller coaster ride. He started the day off slow, then worked his way into the top-10, only to fall almost outside the top-20 during a long green flag run. His team was able to make the correct trackbar adustments to work his way back up. Gordon's car got really dialed in in the last 100 laps as the trackbar adjustments seemed to help it in the long run. He was able to get by Harvick for the lead with a handful of laps left, but once the caution came out, it pretty much ended his chances for a win as he wasn't as good on the short run. Still, he was able to hold on for third, and his three victories are good enough to start the Chase third overall.
Much like Gordon's night, Matt Kenseth also had an up and down race. Unlike Gordon however, Kenseth's night ended on a down note. After getting spun out on the race's first caution, Kenseth's team played the pit strategy game early, pitting when the leaders didn't. The result payed off later as he took the lead on lap 59 and led the next 15 laps. After that, it became a slow decline for the 2003 Cup champion, and eventually fell off of the lead lap after some right rear contact hurt the performance of his car. The end result was a dissappointing 23rd, but he will start the Chase in fourth, with wins at Texas and Dover helping him get six bonus points.
Carl Edwards reminded everyone that he is still a force to be reckon with, leading 113 laps en route to a runner up finish. This was the Edwards we were used to seeing earlier in the year, the man who led the points for most of the regular season. His lone win at Las Vegas puts him in a four way tie for fifth in the standings, nine markers behind Busch and Harvick. More importantly, back to back top-5s at Atlanta and Richmond have people once again believing that Edwards is a championship threat.
Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch continued their feud, with both spinning each other out. The first incident occured on lap 247 when Busch got into turn one too hard, and locked up his brakes trying to avoid Johnson, who was on his outside. The two made contact, with Johnson getting the bad end of the deal, spinning into the outside wall and eliminating any chance of victory. Johnson, frustrated after leading 38 laps early, would later retaliate on Busch, dive bombing him into Turn 1. Busch was able to keep his car off the wall and kept going while Johnson just damaged his vehicle further. The 2004 Cup champion would carry on to finish fifth, while five-time ended the day 31st. Both are tied with Edwards for fifth in the standings, nine points behind the lead.
Ryan Newman had a pretty quiet evening, considering how many drivers dealt with a chaotic night. After starting the race in 18th, Newman flirted with the top-10 for the first 200 laps before staying there for the final 100. He was able to keep his car clean and come home in eighth place. With his win at New Hampshire, Newman's three bonus points put him in a four way tie for the fifth position.
Newman's teammate and boss, Tony Stewart, needed to finish at least 18th in order to qualify for his seventh Chase. He was able to make it with ease, finishing seventh. He will start the Chase ninth in the standings, the first of four drivers with no bonus points.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave his team and fans an early race scare, getting into the spinning car of Clint Bowyer on lap 9. It looked like Earnahrdt had suffered major damage on his front end grill, which had caved in and appeared to caused radiator damage. Fortunately, there was no further issues with overheating, but the handling on his car was terrible. Earnhardt went a lap down on three seperate occasions, but was able to get the free pas three times as well. He was able to battle back for a 16th-place finish, very resepectable considering everything he had to overcome. More importanlty, Earnhardt secured his first Chase berth since 2008, his freshman year at Hendrick Motorsports. He is tied with Stewart for ninth in points.
Brad Keselowski's hot streak cooled down somewhat at Richmond, as his 12th-place finish was the first time he finished outside the top-10 since Loudon seven races ago. He wasn't able to crack the top-10 in points, meaning that he made it in as the first wildcard and will not recieve any bonus points for his three wins towards the Chase. Keselowski joins Stewart and Earnhardt in ninth, 12 points out of the lead.
Denny Hamlin faced an uphill battle from the very beginning. He was involved in that lap 9 crash that included fellow Chase hopefuls Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. All the work to repair the car left Hamlin a lap down, but the car was still driveable. He was able to get the Lucky Dog, and slowly worked his way up through the top-20. At the end of the night, Hamlin finished ninth, and secured a spot in the Chase, something he has done every year as a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup series. Like Keselowski, Hamlin made it in as a wildcard and does not receive bonus points from his Michigan victory in June.
Standings: t-1) Kyle Busch 2012, t-1) Kevin Harvick 2012 3) Jeff Gordon -3, 4) Matt Kenseth -6, t-5) Carl Edwards -9, t-5) Jimmie Johnson -9, t-5) Kurt Busch -9, t-5) Ryan Newman -9, t-9) Tony Stewart -12, t-9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -12, t-9) Brad Keselowski -12, t-9) Denny Hamlin -12.
Tracking The Top 35: Strong Night For Germain Racing, TBR
Overshadowed by all of the the Chase hype, Tommy Baldwin Racing and Germain Racing had a very respectable night. Baldwin was fielding two cars with Dave Blaney in the Pepsi Max-sponsored No. 35 and Stephen Leicht in the No. 36, making only his second career Cup start. Both were able to stay out of trouble and Leicht was running as high as 12th on lap 260. Leicht, who drove the car Blaney has for most of the year, faded back in the final 140 laps, but still had a very solid perfomace, finishing in 24th. Of the drivers battling for the 35th spot, only Casey Mears had a better finish.
For Mears, his 17th-place effort was his best finish on the season. After starting the night in 30th, he slowly worked his up through the field, running as high as 14th by lap 300. He wasn't able to get any further to the front, but it was a much needed solid run for the Geico Toyota. Mears helped Germain Racing extend their lead over 36th-place Front Row Motorsports, whose driver Travis Kvapil was only able to finish 28th.
Top 35 Summary:
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Gilliland), +176 points ahead of 36th.
32) Germain Racing (No. 13 - Casey Mears), +78 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 - Stephen Leicht), +66 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 - Mike Bliss), +47 points ahead of 36th.
35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 - Andy Lally), +40 points ahead of 36th.
36) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - Travis Kvapil), -40 points behind 35th.
37) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 - Robby Gordon), -68 points behind 35th.
38) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), -111 points behind 35th.
Garrett Horton is a Contributor Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@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
We wrote a little bit about this topic in this week's edition of David vs Goliath, but it goes without saying that when there is carnage on track, usually, someone on the lower end of the scale can pick up the scraps and come up with a decent finish. Early and often, the beneficiaries of these incidents were the two Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolets, driven by Dave Blaney and Stephen Leicht. Blaney was relegated to the team's No. 35, sponsored this week in a one race deal by Pepsi Max. In reality, the Pepsi Max logos were on the No. 35 to publicize the fact that Pepsi Max is now available at Golden Corral. Meanwhile, Leicht was making his return to the upper levels of NASCAR. He hadn't started a "National" series race since 2009, when he was sharing the No. 29 in the Nationwide Series with Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton.
In addition, Leicht was making only his second career Sprint Cup start. The first start came five years ago at Pocono in a No. 90 CitiFinancial (now OneMain Financial) Ford for Robert Yates Racing, where he finished 33rd. Passed over for the No. 38 ride for the extremely hot (at the time) David Gilliland, Leicht's Cup prospects seemingly dropped off a cliff.
Neither of the two TBR cars qualified all that well. Blaney qualified the No. 35 in 34th, while Leicht qualified 40th. Being back there meant that they were both close to a lot of the early wrecks. However, both drivers avoided the incidents, especially the big crash on Lap 8. This allowed both drivers to run in the top-25. Attrition, handling issues and other problems eventually put both cars well into the top-20. Leicht ran as high as 12th during the race before a bad stop dropped him to a 24th-place finish. Blaney was able to stay on the lead lap all night and finished 19th. Just goes to show that if you're in the right place at the right time, you can avoid trouble and put up good results. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 24. Had there been no Chase, Kyle Busch would have regained the points lead as a result of his sixth-place finish on Saturday night. After Kyle's handling issues at Atlanta, he was trailing Jimmie Johnson by 21 points entering Saturday night's Wonderful Pistachios 400. However, since Johnson had his issues with Kurt Busch (twice) and finished 31st, Kyle would have gone from 21 points behind to three ahead, a 24-point swing. However, with the Chase points reset, Kyle knew that he would have been leading after Richmond, regardless of what happened on track. - Phil Allaway
Running Their Mouth: 2011 Wonderful Pistachios 400
by Brody Jones
Best Quote:
"Well, we had 398 other laps and with the way that we raced each other. I got into one hot, locked up my left fronts, slid up into 'em. And then you could just see the payback coming from a five-time chump. So this is where we stand. Cars that are racing, cars have been wrecked. We have a Chase to start to let's begin." - Kurt Busch, fifth, on his run-in(s) with Jimmie Johnson.
It's no secret in the NASCAR garage that Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch get along as well as oil and water. Since Pocono, the feud between these two has been simmering, and at Richmond Saturday night, everything came to a head. The Lap 186 incident between Busch and Johnson was clearly unintentional, as it was visible that Busch locked up the wheels to try and avoid hitting the No. 48. Jimmie uncharacteristically retaliated sixty laps later, ruining his car in the process. At least in the court of public opinion, Kurt Busch again comes out the winner as Johnson's actions and reactions came across as sour grapes. One really must wonder if Kurt Busch has finally succeeded at being the one guy to get in Johnson's head, where so many others have tried and failed.
Worst Quote:
"Okay; I got run over going into Turn 1. If you're going to spin me out, I'm going to spin you out. It's just part of it. I'm sure I'll go find him and talk to him and he'll run his mouth and we'll go from there. So we'll see what happens. I've worked very hard to not have any contact with him. And even the Pocono thing; I made a move to break draft. I didn't touch his car; he instigated and ran over the side of me. So, if he can stop running into my Lowe's Chevrolet, everything would be just fine." - Jimmie Johnson, 31st, on his latest episode with Kurt Busch.
If Johnson ever admitted fault for anything and actually bothered to look at the video evidence of the first incident, perhaps he wouldn't have retaliated at Busch on Saturday night. It was clear as day that Busch did everything he could to stay off of Jimmie, but Johnson decided to repay him 60 laps later and trash his car in the process. Plus, in the post-race interview, he came across looking very bad, blaming everyone but himself. It certainly seems like Jimmie's under the opinion of the 11th racing commandment, in his mind, being "Thou shalt not race aggressively with Jimmie Johnson." News-flash to Jimmie: This is NASCAR. Aggressive driving has, and always will be, a part of the sport. Don't like it? Find another sport.
Most Controversial Quote:
"I was in the outside lane and the outside lane just wasn't the place to be tonight especially for us. It was a great effort. Really fortunate to have Chase Card Services to support Drive To End Hunger and AARP. We sure appreciate them. Hope a lot of fans text Hunger [to] 50555 tonight. What an incredible race car and race team right now. We really had a battle tonight to get up to the front like that. We took the lead and something happened that had the No. 27 (Paul Menard) spun all by himself and that definitely made the difference plus we didn't get off pit road first. It was a great battle but I don't know, our car just didn't take off there at the end and we had to settle for, so it is still a great effort." - Jeff Gordon, third
Also residing in the "sour grapes department" was Jeff Gordon in implying that Paul Menard spun out to give his teammate a better chance to win. While this is certainly not unheard of in motorsports (Marco Andretti's first IndyCar win rumored to have been aided by a teammate who spun intentionally), on the surface it sounds so ludicrous that one has to wonder if Jeff Gordon thinks that we, as a nation, faked the moon landing as well?
Jeff Gordon's implied conspiracy theory almost sounded like it was on the level of Dale Gribble's conspiracy theories from "King Of The Hill." Of course, Gordon has a track record of coming across as a bit of whiner at times, and this seems to be no exception. If Gordon could completely stop his incessant whining, perhaps he could become as beloved of a driver as the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. But until that day? The NASCAR faithful will never completely, 100% embrace him.
Funniest Quote:
"Kevin wouldn't give me enough room to run into him. He stayed on the bottom because he said I knew I was going to hit him. I wanted to get him for Trevor last night (laughs). He did a good job staying on the bottom and I couldn't get a run to get up to him at all. That was a great race. As much as I am frustrated for not winning, tonight was about remembering our heroes and what America is about. I appreciate the fans coming out here. Hopefully, we bring all these troops home soon. It was a fun race and I am ready to go win this championship." - Carl Edwards, second
While it's unclear if Carl Edwards was joking or serious about retribution for Friday night's race when Harvick tangled with Trevor Bayne, one thing is for sure: Edwards needed a strong run going into the Chase about as badly as a drowning man needs a lifeguard. This second place finish gives Edwards some much-needed momentum going into the last ten races, and things are looking better for the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing team than they did a few weeks ago. It may be just one good finish, but it could not have come at a better time for a team that in the past several races, has been more up and down than a Cedar Point roller-coaster ride.
Best Of The Rest:
"That's what its all about in these first 26. We learned that last year, we didn't win enough races in the Chase and we didn't think we did a very good job of that in the last ten. It's all about the last ten races and we've got a little momentum now." - Kevin Harvick, winner, on being seeded 2nd in the reset Chase standings with his four wins.
"Not unless you can't build on a strong foundation here in the first three or four races. We proved failure in 2008, so we can't have that again." - Kyle Busch, sixth, on whether being the points leader after the first 26 races means anything.
"I mean, there's only one place to go from where we're at right now, and that's forward. We're very fortunate to be here, obviously, with the tough season that we've had and the ups and downs and the DNFs and what not. It's kind of a second lease on life for us and our season. Obviously, we're coming into the Chase now with three consecutive top-10s, which I'm not sure we've done that all year long. We've got some momentum. Who knows what's going to happen next week." - Denny Hamlin, ninth
"I don't know. I think we were racing for the Lucky Dog, and two or three times I got a run on him on the outside – obviously the hard way to pass – and he chopped me a couple times. So I gave him a tap at the start-finish line, and next time by he let me go and then he just wrecked me. It's just frustrating. Obviously, neither one of us was having a very good night, so it just made both of our night's worse. I feel like we had an OK car, we just caught up in that big wreck really early and it really messed our car up on both ends." - Travis Kvapil, 29th, on his incident with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
"Well they wrecked in front of me and I was basically stopped. I don't know what Scott Speed was doing but he just ran us over and killed our race car for no reason. That's the way it goes. We'll build another Dodge Charger." - Robby Gordon, 37th
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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:
Bowles Thinks Out Loud For Matt: Richmond-2 Race Recap And Analysis
by Tom Bowles
Monday Morning Teardown: Ripping Reporters: Busch, Stewart Highlight NASCAR Driver/Media Tension
by Tom Bowles
David vs. Goliath: Leicht, Blaney Among Few Successes At RIR
by Bryan Davis Keith
Full Moon, Rough Driving: Did Richmond Roughhousing Step Over The Line?
by Garrett Horton
The Big Six: Wonderful Pistachios 400
by Amy Henderson
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: Chicagoland Speedway doesn't have the most interesting history out there. There was the infamous track invasion from an inflatible orange during Busch qualifying in 2003, but for the most part, it's been relatively typical. That is, unless your name is Ryan Briscoe. In 2005, Briscoe had one of the two biggest crashes of his career at Chicagoland Speedway in the IndyCar Series. What happened?
"Well, we had 398 other laps and with the way that we raced each other. I got into one hot, locked up my left fronts, slid up into 'em. And then you could just see the payback coming from a five-time chump. So this is where we stand. Cars that are racing, cars have been wrecked. We have a Chase to start to let's begin." - Kurt Busch, fifth, on his run-in(s) with Jimmie Johnson.
It's no secret in the NASCAR garage that Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch get along as well as oil and water. Since Pocono, the feud between these two has been simmering, and at Richmond Saturday night, everything came to a head. The Lap 186 incident between Busch and Johnson was clearly unintentional, as it was visible that Busch locked up the wheels to try and avoid hitting the No. 48. Jimmie uncharacteristically retaliated sixty laps later, ruining his car in the process. At least in the court of public opinion, Kurt Busch again comes out the winner as Johnson's actions and reactions came across as sour grapes. One really must wonder if Kurt Busch has finally succeeded at being the one guy to get in Johnson's head, where so many others have tried and failed.
Worst Quote:
"Okay; I got run over going into Turn 1. If you're going to spin me out, I'm going to spin you out. It's just part of it. I'm sure I'll go find him and talk to him and he'll run his mouth and we'll go from there. So we'll see what happens. I've worked very hard to not have any contact with him. And even the Pocono thing; I made a move to break draft. I didn't touch his car; he instigated and ran over the side of me. So, if he can stop running into my Lowe's Chevrolet, everything would be just fine." - Jimmie Johnson, 31st, on his latest episode with Kurt Busch.
If Johnson ever admitted fault for anything and actually bothered to look at the video evidence of the first incident, perhaps he wouldn't have retaliated at Busch on Saturday night. It was clear as day that Busch did everything he could to stay off of Jimmie, but Johnson decided to repay him 60 laps later and trash his car in the process. Plus, in the post-race interview, he came across looking very bad, blaming everyone but himself. It certainly seems like Jimmie's under the opinion of the 11th racing commandment, in his mind, being "Thou shalt not race aggressively with Jimmie Johnson." News-flash to Jimmie: This is NASCAR. Aggressive driving has, and always will be, a part of the sport. Don't like it? Find another sport.
Most Controversial Quote:
"I was in the outside lane and the outside lane just wasn't the place to be tonight especially for us. It was a great effort. Really fortunate to have Chase Card Services to support Drive To End Hunger and AARP. We sure appreciate them. Hope a lot of fans text Hunger [to] 50555 tonight. What an incredible race car and race team right now. We really had a battle tonight to get up to the front like that. We took the lead and something happened that had the No. 27 (Paul Menard) spun all by himself and that definitely made the difference plus we didn't get off pit road first. It was a great battle but I don't know, our car just didn't take off there at the end and we had to settle for, so it is still a great effort." - Jeff Gordon, third
Also residing in the "sour grapes department" was Jeff Gordon in implying that Paul Menard spun out to give his teammate a better chance to win. While this is certainly not unheard of in motorsports (Marco Andretti's first IndyCar win rumored to have been aided by a teammate who spun intentionally), on the surface it sounds so ludicrous that one has to wonder if Jeff Gordon thinks that we, as a nation, faked the moon landing as well?
Jeff Gordon's implied conspiracy theory almost sounded like it was on the level of Dale Gribble's conspiracy theories from "King Of The Hill." Of course, Gordon has a track record of coming across as a bit of whiner at times, and this seems to be no exception. If Gordon could completely stop his incessant whining, perhaps he could become as beloved of a driver as the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. But until that day? The NASCAR faithful will never completely, 100% embrace him.
Funniest Quote:
"Kevin wouldn't give me enough room to run into him. He stayed on the bottom because he said I knew I was going to hit him. I wanted to get him for Trevor last night (laughs). He did a good job staying on the bottom and I couldn't get a run to get up to him at all. That was a great race. As much as I am frustrated for not winning, tonight was about remembering our heroes and what America is about. I appreciate the fans coming out here. Hopefully, we bring all these troops home soon. It was a fun race and I am ready to go win this championship." - Carl Edwards, second
While it's unclear if Carl Edwards was joking or serious about retribution for Friday night's race when Harvick tangled with Trevor Bayne, one thing is for sure: Edwards needed a strong run going into the Chase about as badly as a drowning man needs a lifeguard. This second place finish gives Edwards some much-needed momentum going into the last ten races, and things are looking better for the No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing team than they did a few weeks ago. It may be just one good finish, but it could not have come at a better time for a team that in the past several races, has been more up and down than a Cedar Point roller-coaster ride.
Best Of The Rest:
"That's what its all about in these first 26. We learned that last year, we didn't win enough races in the Chase and we didn't think we did a very good job of that in the last ten. It's all about the last ten races and we've got a little momentum now." - Kevin Harvick, winner, on being seeded 2nd in the reset Chase standings with his four wins.
"Not unless you can't build on a strong foundation here in the first three or four races. We proved failure in 2008, so we can't have that again." - Kyle Busch, sixth, on whether being the points leader after the first 26 races means anything.
"I mean, there's only one place to go from where we're at right now, and that's forward. We're very fortunate to be here, obviously, with the tough season that we've had and the ups and downs and the DNFs and what not. It's kind of a second lease on life for us and our season. Obviously, we're coming into the Chase now with three consecutive top-10s, which I'm not sure we've done that all year long. We've got some momentum. Who knows what's going to happen next week." - Denny Hamlin, ninth
"I don't know. I think we were racing for the Lucky Dog, and two or three times I got a run on him on the outside – obviously the hard way to pass – and he chopped me a couple times. So I gave him a tap at the start-finish line, and next time by he let me go and then he just wrecked me. It's just frustrating. Obviously, neither one of us was having a very good night, so it just made both of our night's worse. I feel like we had an OK car, we just caught up in that big wreck really early and it really messed our car up on both ends." - Travis Kvapil, 29th, on his incident with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
"Well they wrecked in front of me and I was basically stopped. I don't know what Scott Speed was doing but he just ran us over and killed our race car for no reason. That's the way it goes. We'll build another Dodge Charger." - Robby Gordon, 37th
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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:
Bowles Thinks Out Loud For Matt: Richmond-2 Race Recap And Analysis
by Tom Bowles
Monday Morning Teardown: Ripping Reporters: Busch, Stewart Highlight NASCAR Driver/Media Tension
by Tom Bowles
David vs. Goliath: Leicht, Blaney Among Few Successes At RIR
by Bryan Davis Keith
Full Moon, Rough Driving: Did Richmond Roughhousing Step Over The Line?
by Garrett Horton
The Big Six: Wonderful Pistachios 400
by Amy Henderson
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: Chicagoland Speedway doesn't have the most interesting history out there. There was the infamous track invasion from an inflatible orange during Busch qualifying in 2003, but for the most part, it's been relatively typical. That is, unless your name is Ryan Briscoe. In 2005, Briscoe had one of the two biggest crashes of his career at Chicagoland Speedway in the IndyCar Series. What happened?
Friday's Answer:
Q: After Neil Bonnett was fatally injured at Daytona in 1994, NASCAR's TV partners were sent scrambling for people to take Bonnett's place in the broadcast booth (at the time of his death, Bonnett did color commentary for CBS, TNN and TBS). For the Daytona 500, CBS made more use of Chris Economaki. However, when the series moseyed into Richmond for the Pontiac Excitement 400, who was the second color commentator in the booth?
A: After Bonnett's unfortunate death, TBS decided to go with a three-man booth from that point onward. For Richmond, they brought in Dave Marcis to serve as the second analyst. Marcis had failed to qualify his No. 71 for the race. He was joined by Kenny Wallace, who had also failed to qualify his No. 81 for the race as well. Kenny was far more calm than he would be today in the booth. 46 cars had attempted the race, which only had a 37-car grid.
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 S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
The Yellow Stripe by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan is back with a commentary piece based on recent events in NASCAR.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Richmond-Chicagoland Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer takes a look at post-Richmond numbers to see who's got the most momentum heading into Chicagoland... and beyond.
Five Points To Ponder by TBA
Danny is back in place of Bryan with our weekly edition of talking points to tie up Richmond 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 Richmond International Raceway. Were the race telecasts up to snuff, or were they missing something? Find out on this week's edition of the TV Critique.
Voice Of Vito by Vito Pugliese
Vito returns, on a special day with a special column on the state of the sport heading into the Chase.
------------------------------
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