THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 7th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CLXXXVII
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 7th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CLXXXVII
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What To Watch For: Wednesday
- The Chase for the Sprint Cup gains a political tint, as the 12 participants in NASCAR's 2010 postseason are invited to meet President Obama at the White House. Only seven are expected to be in attendance, sparking a recent controversy over various scheduling conflicts that took precedence over the trip to Washington, D.C.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Jeff Gordon Snags Third 2011 Victory, Re-emerges as Title Threat
by Brody Jones
It may have taken nearly two days, but on a drizzling, foggy Tuesday in Atlanta there was drama in the "mist" during the final ten laps of NASCAR's rain-delayed, Advocare 500 down in Georgia. Jeff Gordon, in a classic display of good, hard, and clean racing on worn tires, held off a determined Jimmie Johnson by 0.598 seconds to truly earn his 85th career victory in the Advocare 500, placing him in sole possession of third all-time on the NASCAR victory list. To do it, Gordon had to earn his keep in a classic teacher-pupil battle down the homestretch; with both cars slip-sliding, struggling to simply keep from spinning off every turn the No. 48 car could get alongside Gordon but never ahead.
"Not too many people get to do that these days, and I didn't think I was going to be able to do it either," said the man nicknamed "Four-Time" of beating the Five-Time champ. "We got ahead of him on that run before that. The track was really tight after that rain delay, and our car was too tight at the beginning but boy, did it come on strong at the end. I was just trying to keep a distance between me and Jimmie (Johnson) because I knew I had to manage the tires a little bit, I was [on] a little bit longer run."
That distance, though, closed from 1.5 seconds to zero after one final round of green-flag stops. With ten laps to go, Johnson was breathing down Gordon's back bumper on-track and threatening to push ahead at every turn.
"I could hear his wheels spinning and revs pick up when he was underneath me," said Gordon. "That forced me to pick mine up and spin a little bit. A couple of times I slipped up and let him get underneath me, but somehow we kept the momentum and were able to stay on the outside. I think having that outside lane in one and two was a bonus for us. Great race by Jimmie and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports; [owner Rick Hendrick] is excited to have a one-two battle like that."
Johnson, whose car had such handling problems it nearly fell one lap down early in the race, was forced to settle for a runner-up finish. But despite losing out on the side-by-side battle, the Sprint Cup leader emerged ecstatic over what was a fun, fantastic performance for both fans and even other drivers to marvel at.
"I'm so glad I grew up racing in the dirt. If I didn't grow up racing around all those deserts and all those stadium tracks, I think I would have spun out four or five times there at the end," he chuckled post-race. "It was just a great effort for this Lowe's team. We started off the race really bad and made some great adjustments on pit road and the car came to life. We got ourselves up there in the mix and had a little bit more speed on Jeff (Gordon) there in the long haul, but I just couldn't get my Impala past his. So it was one of those deals."
Tony Stewart was third, with Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards rounding out the top-5 finishers. On this day, though, the post-race focus turned towards Gordon; his history-making performance left the former "Wonder Boy" behind only Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105) in all-time Sprint Cup career victories.
Good thing everyone else was there to tell Gordon about his great accomplishment.
"I totally forgot about that," he said. "I got so excited with the whole win and Jon Edwards (PR) didn't do his job back there telling me I won 85. Wow, that is unbelievable. I'm just blown away at the kind of day we had and the kind of year that we're having. I just feel rejuvenated in such a big way. It's because of this race team and the race cars I get to drive. 85, yeah!"
The race was hardly a Hendrick battle at the start; instead, Kasey Kahne won the pole for the race at 186.196 mph with Clint Bowyer on the outside, leading the field to the green flag. Kahne led the early stages of the race until the day's first caution came out on lap 11, when Bobby Labonte looped his car in the turn 4 grass. On the restart, Kahne lost the lead to Gordon, who held the lead until the lap 30 competition caution and maintained it after pit stops. Gordon would go on to lead 146 laps, a race high and his highest number at Atlanta for one race since the Spring of 1995.
The third caution of the day came out on Lap 93 for another Bobby Labonte spin, this time resulting in his car tagging the turn 2 inside wall hard and ending his day. Thirty-eight laps later, caution number four fell for debris from Andy Lally's flat tire; throughout, it turned into a battle with Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and even Denny Hamlin up front. The race would then go green until on lap 177, the caution falling for the stalled vehicle of David Gilliland - he spun trying to make pit road and broke a driveshaft in the process.
The race would go back to green until the sixth caution of the afternoon fell on lap 202 for heavy mist on the track, resulting in a brief but important red flag. At that moment, it looked like the race might actually tilt towards a tremendous upset; J.J. Yeley and Landon Cassill had stayed out, stretching their fuel tanks and hoping Mother Nature would hand them a 1-2 finish. But it wasn't to be; the race got back underway, despite another extended yellow for rain and shortening the 500-mile distance was never in question after that.
Perhaps the race's most controversial moment came during its eighth caution. Clint Bowyer, trying hard to make the Chase saw his chances turned to zilch - like the speed of his race car - once he and Juan Pablo Montoya made contact off Turn 4. The contact, on Lap 243 left Bowyer in the garage and raging over the Colombian's aggressive maneuvers on-track.
"He (Juan Pablo Montoya) races everybody that way, that is why he sucks," claimed Bowyer after the event. "You can't race that way in this sport, plain and simple and I'll call him out for it. I think that is how about everybody in the garage knows what they are up against anytime that 42 is around. He is like a pinball out there because he is a bully. There has got to be some give and take. You are out there racing for nothing. He dive bombs the restarts and then before you know it, he's in the way and wrecking somebody."
"It is just frustrating. I knew what I was up against anytime you are racing against him. It doesn't help my situation."
After the race went back to green with Johnson in the lead, the ninth and final caution of the day came out when Mark Martin got loose and tagged Regan Smith into the inside turn 2 wall. That set up a final, 71-lap green flag run with Johnson and Gordon taking center stage. The No. 48 started out front, only to get passed by Gordon with 49 to go; however, Johnson was not done with Gordon. In the final ten laps, the two drivers pursued each other with such passion and flair normally reserved for short-track racing.
"It was a nailbiter all the way to the end," confirmed Gordon. "He got real loose off of 4 coming to take the white. And I think that was the turning point. I really do. I think had he gotten underneath me off of 2, I was getting so loose over there, and if he could have got to the bottom into 3, I don't know if I could have held him off, off of 4. It would have been a great battle either way."
The end result gave Gordon his third win of the season, putting him in position to earn the Chase's top seed if he's victorious at Richmond Saturday night. In all, nine of 12 drivers have clinched Chase bids with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, and Denny Hamlin in solid position to claim the other three (see our Top 12 / 35 article below for more info).
The average race speed of the race was 124.623 mph with 9 cautions for 64 laps and 35 lead changes among 14 drivers. The attendance listed was a paltry 29,700, due largely to a rain-delayed race that took 4 hours, 58 seconds.
Brody Jones is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chasers: Ol' Five-Time Takes Sole Possession of The Lead
by Phil Allaway
At the start of Tuesday's AdvoCare 500, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team were basically out to lunch. Johnson was running as far back as 27th, within seconds of being lapped and taking away any chance at a solid finish. However, never count out Johnson as long as he has Chad Knaus in his corner. Johnson's team fixed the handling issues on the No. 48 and Johnson paced himself, moving up through the field slowly but steadily until getting a shot to challenge Gordon for the victory during the final, 71-lap green-flag run to end the race. The second-place finish was more than enough for Johnson to take over the points lead; however, with just one victory he will not be the top Chase seed heading into Chicagoland in mid-September.
Johnson's margin over former co-points leader Kyle Busch stands at 21 after a disappointing day for the No. 18, a Sprint Showdown finalist for the $3 million that was never claimed. Busch ran well early on, at or near the front but had a number of issues towards the middle of the race with handling; that resulted in a meeting with the outside wall, some angry exchanges over the radio and a car that struggled the rest of the day. His 23rd-place finish hurts right now, but it won't matter after Richmond next week due to the reset.
Behind Busch sits a pair of Fords, both of whom already had their Chase spots clinched. Carl Edwards is up one place to third after a fifth-place finish on Tuesday, at times challenging for the victory at one of the driver's strongest tracks. Edwards appears to be getting over his recent slump, and just in time for the Chase - the run was his best since re-signing at Roush-Fenway Racing with a long-term deal in midsummer. Meanwhile, despite leading in the middle stages on Tuesday, Matt Kenseth dropped one spot to fourth in points following a ninth-place finish. His car was at its worst when it counted the most, seemingly struggling on cue after crew chief Jimmy Fennig poo-pooed the car's handling on national TV... when Kenseth was running second.
Jeff Gordon, fresh off his third win of the season, moved up to fifth in the standings and has an outside shot at the Chase's top seed if he can win Richmond. Kevin Harvick, meanwhile, sits sixth in points but has to feel confident after a seventh-place run, a day in which the No. 29 team ran much better throughout. Overall, throughout the course of a 500-mile race it's the best result a Richard Childress Racing car has had in weeks.
Kurt Busch moves up one position to seventh after a fourth-place finish on Tuesday. At his best during the race's final green-flag run, Busch easily locked himself into the Chase along with eighth-place points man Ryan Newman. Newman's day wasn't flashy, but a 20th-place finish, at a track he won't see during the ten-race Chase was more than enough to get the job done.
Only two members of the top-10 in points remain vulnerable to losing their playoff spot at Richmond. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is ninth, is now 25 points ahead of Brad Keselowski in eleventh place. He finished 19th on Tuesday, but had a miserable day full of handling woes, once referring to his car as "crooked." It was a long day of losing confidence on the radio, at one point telling crew chief Steve Letarte "I won't run this %^&* again;" but in the end, a lead-lap finish should be plenty good enough to give the No. 88 their first Chase bid since 2008. Behind him, Tony Stewart had a great day, surging to third in a run that all but broke the No. 14 team out of their recent summer slump. Still tenth in points, his margin over Brad Keselowski grew to 23; all it will take is an 18th-place finish for Stewart to clinch his postseason bid.
As for Keselowski, while 11th in the standings he is locked into the Chase thanks to the "Wild Card" with three victories. Until Stewart made his charge, Keselowski was all set to close up a few more spots. However, the charge means that Keselowski actually lost ground despite his sixth-place finish. Denny Hamlin, meanwhile, used a seventh-place result to all but lock up his "wild card" position. Now 12th in the standings, he should be safe unless one of the one-win drivers takes the checkers at Richmond, one of Hamlin's best tracks on Saturday night.
Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 873, 2) Kyle Busch -21, 3) Carl Edwards -38, 4) Matt Kenseth -39, 5) Jeff Gordon -43, 6) Kevin Harvick -54, 7) Kurt Busch -84, 8) Ryan Newman -87, 9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -120, 10) Tony Stewart -122.
Wild Cards: 11) Brad Keselowski -145 (three wins), 12) Denny Hamlin -164 (one win (Michigan, June))
Note: Paul Menard (currently 20th) also has a win and can possibly steal a Chase berth by winning at Richmond. Marcos Ambrose is seven points out of the top 20 in 21st but could legitimately snag the last Chase spot with a win Saturday night. David Ragan and Regan Smith, who also have victories, are more or less out of the hunt for the final Chase spot. Finally, A.J. Allmendinger, winless and currently sitting 13th in points, can steal the final Chase Wild Card from Denny Hamlin by winning at Richmond and Hamlin finishing worse than tenth.
Tracking the Top 35: Front Row Motorsports Makes Slight Gains
Officially, there really wasn't all that much of an adjustment at the cut-off on Tuesday. However, Front Row Motorsports was able to make some gains on TRG Motorsports' No. 71. J.J. Yeley, normally the driver of the team's No. 55, was able to acquire a one-race deal with Vampt, a new malt liquor that is currently being rolled out in Arizona. As a result, he was shifted from the No. 55 to the No. 38 for the weekend, allowing him to run the distance with the organization.
Yeley made the most of his opportunity; qualifying the No. 38 in 31st, he managed to keep the car on the lead lap for most of the event. The team also took a huge gamble and stayed out once the leaders pitted under the sixth caution for rain. Heavy mist descended upon the 1.54-mile quad-oval, a move that gifted Yeley the lead at the time. When the field came down pit road for what turned out to be a brief red flag, Yeley and the Front Row Motorsports team were even in position to steal an improbable win. It took the better part of an hour, but Mother Nature did lift and get the cars back on track, forcing the No. 38 team down pit road and to the back of the lead lap. But even still, Yeley managed to finish 25th, only one lap down by the finish in one of the Front Row organization's better runs of the season.
For TRG Motorsports, it was a relatively dismal weekend after a more competitive outing in Bristol. Lally qualified at the back and rose only slightly above there for most of the day. In addition, he cut a tire and hit the wall around Lap 127, debris from that bringing out a yellow flag. Though Lally was able to continue, he ended up finishing six laps down in 30th with an ill-handling Interstate Moving Services Ford. That finish cost TRG Motorsports five points to the No. 38, but they are still comfortably "locked in" going forward.
For Tommy Baldwin Racing, they had a crisis on race morning. In between Sunday night and Tuesday morning, regular driver Dave Blaney came down with a case of kidney stones. As a result, he was not going to be able to go the distance on Tuesday. The team ended up working out a trade with Germain Racing to send Blaney over to S&P the No. 60, while Mike Skinner came over to race the Collective Soul / Golden Corral-sponsored No. 36. Skinner did a decent job to finish 27th, two laps down. The finish did not gain the Baldwin team any positions in the owner standings; however, thanks to a lap led under caution, it did gain the No. 36 two points on the No. 13, which finished in 28th.
Top 35 Summary:
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Gilliland), +136 points ahead of 36th.
32) Germain Racing (No. 13 - Casey Mears), +67 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 - Mike Skinner), +62 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 - Mike Bliss), +55 points ahead of 36th.
35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 - Andy Lally), +44 points ahead of 36th.
36) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - J.J. Yeley), -44 points behind 35th.
37) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 - Robby Gordon), -63 points behind 35th.
38) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), -99 points behind 35th.
39) MaxQ Motorsports (No. 37 - Tony Raines), -171 points behind 35th.
Phil Allaway is a Senior Writer and the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' 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 that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
Last season, Jeff Burton was clinching a spot in the Chase. This one? He's simply hoping to snag a top-10 finish. It's been a tough road for the No. 31 Chevrolet, whose crew chief, Todd Berrier was let go in late July and replaced by rookie head wrench Luke Lambert. It was a last resort move, designed to sink or swim a disappointing effort whose driver and sponsor had just signed long-term contract extensions… only to fizzle out.
But ever so quietly, making that switch has incited a boost in performance over at the No. 31. Shut out of the playoffs long ago, the new partnership can focus on 2012 and some risky chassis combinations are paying off in the consistency of top-15 performances. Sure, a 13th Sunday isn't exactly running up front; but in Burton's case, after the worst season of his career to date you've got to walk before you can run. A lead-lap car all day, Burton climbed steadily from 27th starting spot, kept his nose clean, and consistently improved the handling of RCR's Caterpillar Chevrolet. The result? His first back-to-back top-15 finishes all season in Sprint Cup. Is it the Chase? Absolutely not… but at least, after six months of struggle it's a step in the right direction. – Tom Bowles
STAT OF THE WEEK: 8. Number of top-5 finishes for Carl Edwards at Atlanta; he registered his eighth with a fifth-place performance on Tuesday. In 14 career starts at Atlanta, Edwards has run seventh or better ten times… and the others? Runs of 37th, 39th, 40th, and 42nd. Talk about Feast or Famine… - Tom Bowles
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Numbers Game: Advocare 500
by Brett Poirier
0.598
Jeff Gordon's victory margin over Jimmie Johnson on Tuesday.
1
Top-5 finishes for Carl Edwards in the last seven Sprint Cup races; he finished fifth at Atlanta.
1
Sprint Cup Showdown eligible drivers to finish in the top 15 on Tuesday; Brad Keselowski had a sixth-place performance, but never was in contention for victory down the stretch.
3rd
Jeff Gordon's position on the all-time Sprint Cup wins list after recording his 85th career victory on Tuesday.
4
Top-10 starters to finish in the top 10 on Tuesday. Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth were the only drivers to do so.
5
Victories for Jeff Gordon at Atlanta. He is second among active drivers to Bobby Labonte, who has six.
6
The consecutive number of top-10 finishes for Brad Keselowski; he was sixth at Atlanta on Sunday.
9
Drivers who have clinched a spot in the Chase for the Cup. Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski solidified their spots on Tuesday.
10
Times Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has finished outside the top 10 in his last 11 races; he was 19th on Tuesday.
17.7
The average finishing position of Sprint Cup drivers following a win in the previous Sprint Cup race in 2011. After winning at Bristol, Brad Keselowski finished sixth at Atlanta.
23
Points separating 11th-place Brad Keselowski from 10th-place Tony Stewart heading into the final race before the Chase for the Cup begins. If Keselowski can get in the top 10 at Richmond, it will open up a wild card spot for those underneath him.
35
Lead changes in Tuesday's Sprint Cup race at Atlanta; 14 different drivers led a lap.
35th
The average finishing position of Tuesday's front-row starters. Kasey Kahne finished 34th, while Clint Bowyer was 36th.
146
Laps led by Jeff Gordon at Atlanta on Tuesday. He had only led 108 laps at the track combined in his last eight starts heading into the race.
962
Laps completed this season by Joe Nemechek through 25 Sprint Cup races. He ran 27 laps at Atlanta on his way to a 40th-place finish.
1,184
Laps led this season by Kyle Busch in the Sprint Cup Series, a number that leads all drivers. He paced the field for 20 circuits and finished 23rd Tuesday at Atlanta, making the 1.54-mile track the 19th of 25 races this season Busch has led.
2007
The last year that Jeff Gordon recorded multiple victories in a season. His win on Tuesday was his third of 2011.
Brett Poirier is a Contributer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at brett.poirier@frontstretch.com.
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Hey, Frontstretch Readers!
We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look at how NASCAR, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
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Running Their Mouth: Advocare 500
by Brody Jones
Welcome to Running Their Mouth! Each week, we'll go through media reports, interviews, PR, and all of our own stuff to find the best quotes from the Sprint Cup race, capturing the story of how the weekend unfolded. It's the most original commentary you'll ever find: the truth, coming straight out of the mouths of the drivers, crew members, and car owners themselves. This week, here's a sneak peek at what they all were thinking following the rain-delayed AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
Best Quote:
"I think this is turning out to be a great year. Alan Gustafson (Crew Chief) and all the engineers and all the guys that work so hard; the awesome pit crew, man we're having a lot of fun right now. And when you can drive a race car that drives like that one, it makes me look like a hero but they're the heroes in my mind."- Jeff Gordon, winner, on whether he feels this is the year for him to capture his fifth championship
Jeff Gordon's late-career renaissance has been nothing short of remarkable this season. After going into 2011 with a nearly two-year winless streak, Gordon has found Victory Lane three times, first tying, then surpassing Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for third all-time on the wins list. Finding the perfect match in head wrench Alan Gustafson, the driver/crew chief combo has developed into one of the biggest threats against Jimmie Johnson for the season title. Could this be the year Gordon ends his title drought? We'll see... but as Gordon said himself on Tuesday, he's certainly looking "rejuvenated" at 40 years old.
Funniest Quote:
"Yeah, we're just having a terrible year. So hopefully we can pick things up a little bit. (CONTINUES TO LAUGH AND SMILE)."- Jimmie Johnson, finished second, on having the points lead by 21 points over Kyle Busch
For all the talk of people saying that Jimmie Johnson has struggled this year, those detractors may want to take a good look at the top of the point standings as ol' "Five-Time" is currently atop the leaderboard. Granted, his amount of wins this year, just one may make his stats look not as impressive as years past; but Johnson has, yet again, managed to replace victories with consistency that has left him at his peak heading into the postseason. Yeah, he won't be the top Chase seed but the fact that Johnson is currently leading the points on a so-called "down year" can only make those who follow the sport laugh at the irony of the statement.
Most Controversial Quote:
"He (Juan Pablo Montoya) races everybody that way, that is why he sucks. You can't race that way in this sport, plain and simple and I'll call him out for it. I think that is how about everybody in the garage knows what they are up against anytime that 42 is around. He is like a pinball out there because he is a bully. There has got to be some give and take. You are out there racing for nothing. He dive bombs the restarts and then before you know it he's in the way and wrecking somebody. It is just frustrating. I knew what I was up against anytime you are racing against him. It doesn't help my situation."- Clint Bowyer, finished 36th, on what happened with Juan Pablo Montoya
Add another driver to the growing "I Hate Juan Pablo Montoya" fan club. After Montoya made contact ten laps earlier with Clint Bowyer, the Kansas native claimed he was dive-bombed by Montoya when video evidence, if not completely vindicating the Colombian, certainly implicates both drivers for causing the incident that eliminated Bowyer off Turn 4. In my opinion, each driver could share the blame: Bowyer came up the track too soon, while Montoya had an opportunity to yield his line (and didn't). But the end result, considering past history with the No. 42 car is there is no benefit of the doubt here; instead, one more driver becomes irate with Montoya's overly aggressive nature. One has to wonder how many drivers will be sending Montoya a Christmas card this year...
Best of the Rest:
"Richmond was a fun race last May, it was well documented. I can't have people not stop talking about it. Maybe we can bounce back and get that behind us and go and attack Chicago, one of my favorite race tracks, and go and get in the groove of the Chase. Every position counts. Everyone needs to click on all eight cylinders on our team. Just our Dodges right now, Keselowski's in. We're in. We're a two-team effort for our Dodges and here we are with our Dodge Chargers running with the big boys. We're right in this mix. I feel really proud of my guys today."- Kurt Busch, finished fourth, on his Chase chances
"The starting and stopping makes it hell on everybody and it's no different in the seat. You just want to go, like c'mon, make this thing happen. There were a couple of times I was ready to race in the rain just to get going. That's the way it is but glad that we're all able to survive out a long week. Really happy and proud to get this race done for all the work everybody has put in from the track, to the teams to the fans that came back."- Brad Keselowski, finished sixth, on how difficult Tuesday's race was.
"After the rain, we didn't do anything to the car. We just put a set of tires on it and it was junk. We adjusted on it a little bit and put another set on, but we got really loose at the end and couldn't keep up. I don't really know what happened. We had a lot of speed and it was pretty fast the first half of the race, but I don't know what happened after that one rain delay. We just struggled after that."- Matt Kenseth, finished ninth
"We know the chances are still there. It's still wide-open when it comes to having a chance to go win and anything can happen after that, but, for me, like I said from the beginning, the Chase, for me, doesn't define the season. I'd love to get in the Chase, that's the ultimate goal, but as a race team we keep getting better. If we can go into these last 11 races that we have and get to Homestead and be far better than where we started, that, to me, is a great season. We're getting there. We still have a little ways to go, but every week I feel like we improve." - A.J. Allmendinger, finished tenth
"We'd have to look at the points and see how it's gonna shake out. I bet there's still a mathematical chance that we could win Richmond and get into the Top 20 and make the Chase, and that's certainly the mindset we're gonna have. We're not gonna give up no matter what. We can still have a great season. There are five or six tracks coming up where we'll be a threat to win at, but this is gonna make it a lot harder. The month of August was really tough for us. We had some speed in our car. We had a car that could have won the race in the right position, but you can't do that with no engine."- David Ragan, finished 35th
Brody Jones is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Bowles Thinks For Matt: Atlanta Race Recap & Analysis
by Tom Bowles
The Big Six: Advocare 500
by Amy Henderson
Jeff Gordon, The Fans, And How Time Has Brought The Two Together
by Summer Dreyer
Bubble Breakdown: Yeley Proves Underdogs Can Compete On Intermediates
by Tom Bowles
Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Atlanta
compiled by Mike Neff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
What To Watch For: Wednesday
- The Chase for the Sprint Cup gains a political tint, as the 12 participants in NASCAR's 2010 postseason are invited to meet President Obama at the White House. Only seven are expected to be in attendance, sparking a recent controversy over various scheduling conflicts that took precedence over the trip to Washington, D.C.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Jeff Gordon Snags Third 2011 Victory, Re-emerges as Title Threat
by Brody Jones
It may have taken nearly two days, but on a drizzling, foggy Tuesday in Atlanta there was drama in the "mist" during the final ten laps of NASCAR's rain-delayed, Advocare 500 down in Georgia. Jeff Gordon, in a classic display of good, hard, and clean racing on worn tires, held off a determined Jimmie Johnson by 0.598 seconds to truly earn his 85th career victory in the Advocare 500, placing him in sole possession of third all-time on the NASCAR victory list. To do it, Gordon had to earn his keep in a classic teacher-pupil battle down the homestretch; with both cars slip-sliding, struggling to simply keep from spinning off every turn the No. 48 car could get alongside Gordon but never ahead.
"Not too many people get to do that these days, and I didn't think I was going to be able to do it either," said the man nicknamed "Four-Time" of beating the Five-Time champ. "We got ahead of him on that run before that. The track was really tight after that rain delay, and our car was too tight at the beginning but boy, did it come on strong at the end. I was just trying to keep a distance between me and Jimmie (Johnson) because I knew I had to manage the tires a little bit, I was [on] a little bit longer run."
That distance, though, closed from 1.5 seconds to zero after one final round of green-flag stops. With ten laps to go, Johnson was breathing down Gordon's back bumper on-track and threatening to push ahead at every turn.
"I could hear his wheels spinning and revs pick up when he was underneath me," said Gordon. "That forced me to pick mine up and spin a little bit. A couple of times I slipped up and let him get underneath me, but somehow we kept the momentum and were able to stay on the outside. I think having that outside lane in one and two was a bonus for us. Great race by Jimmie and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports; [owner Rick Hendrick] is excited to have a one-two battle like that."
Johnson, whose car had such handling problems it nearly fell one lap down early in the race, was forced to settle for a runner-up finish. But despite losing out on the side-by-side battle, the Sprint Cup leader emerged ecstatic over what was a fun, fantastic performance for both fans and even other drivers to marvel at.
"I'm so glad I grew up racing in the dirt. If I didn't grow up racing around all those deserts and all those stadium tracks, I think I would have spun out four or five times there at the end," he chuckled post-race. "It was just a great effort for this Lowe's team. We started off the race really bad and made some great adjustments on pit road and the car came to life. We got ourselves up there in the mix and had a little bit more speed on Jeff (Gordon) there in the long haul, but I just couldn't get my Impala past his. So it was one of those deals."
Tony Stewart was third, with Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards rounding out the top-5 finishers. On this day, though, the post-race focus turned towards Gordon; his history-making performance left the former "Wonder Boy" behind only Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105) in all-time Sprint Cup career victories.
Good thing everyone else was there to tell Gordon about his great accomplishment.
"I totally forgot about that," he said. "I got so excited with the whole win and Jon Edwards (PR) didn't do his job back there telling me I won 85. Wow, that is unbelievable. I'm just blown away at the kind of day we had and the kind of year that we're having. I just feel rejuvenated in such a big way. It's because of this race team and the race cars I get to drive. 85, yeah!"
The race was hardly a Hendrick battle at the start; instead, Kasey Kahne won the pole for the race at 186.196 mph with Clint Bowyer on the outside, leading the field to the green flag. Kahne led the early stages of the race until the day's first caution came out on lap 11, when Bobby Labonte looped his car in the turn 4 grass. On the restart, Kahne lost the lead to Gordon, who held the lead until the lap 30 competition caution and maintained it after pit stops. Gordon would go on to lead 146 laps, a race high and his highest number at Atlanta for one race since the Spring of 1995.
The third caution of the day came out on Lap 93 for another Bobby Labonte spin, this time resulting in his car tagging the turn 2 inside wall hard and ending his day. Thirty-eight laps later, caution number four fell for debris from Andy Lally's flat tire; throughout, it turned into a battle with Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and even Denny Hamlin up front. The race would then go green until on lap 177, the caution falling for the stalled vehicle of David Gilliland - he spun trying to make pit road and broke a driveshaft in the process.
The race would go back to green until the sixth caution of the afternoon fell on lap 202 for heavy mist on the track, resulting in a brief but important red flag. At that moment, it looked like the race might actually tilt towards a tremendous upset; J.J. Yeley and Landon Cassill had stayed out, stretching their fuel tanks and hoping Mother Nature would hand them a 1-2 finish. But it wasn't to be; the race got back underway, despite another extended yellow for rain and shortening the 500-mile distance was never in question after that.
Perhaps the race's most controversial moment came during its eighth caution. Clint Bowyer, trying hard to make the Chase saw his chances turned to zilch - like the speed of his race car - once he and Juan Pablo Montoya made contact off Turn 4. The contact, on Lap 243 left Bowyer in the garage and raging over the Colombian's aggressive maneuvers on-track.
"He (Juan Pablo Montoya) races everybody that way, that is why he sucks," claimed Bowyer after the event. "You can't race that way in this sport, plain and simple and I'll call him out for it. I think that is how about everybody in the garage knows what they are up against anytime that 42 is around. He is like a pinball out there because he is a bully. There has got to be some give and take. You are out there racing for nothing. He dive bombs the restarts and then before you know it, he's in the way and wrecking somebody."
"It is just frustrating. I knew what I was up against anytime you are racing against him. It doesn't help my situation."
After the race went back to green with Johnson in the lead, the ninth and final caution of the day came out when Mark Martin got loose and tagged Regan Smith into the inside turn 2 wall. That set up a final, 71-lap green flag run with Johnson and Gordon taking center stage. The No. 48 started out front, only to get passed by Gordon with 49 to go; however, Johnson was not done with Gordon. In the final ten laps, the two drivers pursued each other with such passion and flair normally reserved for short-track racing.
"It was a nailbiter all the way to the end," confirmed Gordon. "He got real loose off of 4 coming to take the white. And I think that was the turning point. I really do. I think had he gotten underneath me off of 2, I was getting so loose over there, and if he could have got to the bottom into 3, I don't know if I could have held him off, off of 4. It would have been a great battle either way."
The end result gave Gordon his third win of the season, putting him in position to earn the Chase's top seed if he's victorious at Richmond Saturday night. In all, nine of 12 drivers have clinched Chase bids with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, and Denny Hamlin in solid position to claim the other three (see our Top 12 / 35 article below for more info).
The average race speed of the race was 124.623 mph with 9 cautions for 64 laps and 35 lead changes among 14 drivers. The attendance listed was a paltry 29,700, due largely to a rain-delayed race that took 4 hours, 58 seconds.
Brody Jones is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chasers: Ol' Five-Time Takes Sole Possession of The Lead
by Phil Allaway
At the start of Tuesday's AdvoCare 500, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team were basically out to lunch. Johnson was running as far back as 27th, within seconds of being lapped and taking away any chance at a solid finish. However, never count out Johnson as long as he has Chad Knaus in his corner. Johnson's team fixed the handling issues on the No. 48 and Johnson paced himself, moving up through the field slowly but steadily until getting a shot to challenge Gordon for the victory during the final, 71-lap green-flag run to end the race. The second-place finish was more than enough for Johnson to take over the points lead; however, with just one victory he will not be the top Chase seed heading into Chicagoland in mid-September.
Johnson's margin over former co-points leader Kyle Busch stands at 21 after a disappointing day for the No. 18, a Sprint Showdown finalist for the $3 million that was never claimed. Busch ran well early on, at or near the front but had a number of issues towards the middle of the race with handling; that resulted in a meeting with the outside wall, some angry exchanges over the radio and a car that struggled the rest of the day. His 23rd-place finish hurts right now, but it won't matter after Richmond next week due to the reset.
Behind Busch sits a pair of Fords, both of whom already had their Chase spots clinched. Carl Edwards is up one place to third after a fifth-place finish on Tuesday, at times challenging for the victory at one of the driver's strongest tracks. Edwards appears to be getting over his recent slump, and just in time for the Chase - the run was his best since re-signing at Roush-Fenway Racing with a long-term deal in midsummer. Meanwhile, despite leading in the middle stages on Tuesday, Matt Kenseth dropped one spot to fourth in points following a ninth-place finish. His car was at its worst when it counted the most, seemingly struggling on cue after crew chief Jimmy Fennig poo-pooed the car's handling on national TV... when Kenseth was running second.
Jeff Gordon, fresh off his third win of the season, moved up to fifth in the standings and has an outside shot at the Chase's top seed if he can win Richmond. Kevin Harvick, meanwhile, sits sixth in points but has to feel confident after a seventh-place run, a day in which the No. 29 team ran much better throughout. Overall, throughout the course of a 500-mile race it's the best result a Richard Childress Racing car has had in weeks.
Kurt Busch moves up one position to seventh after a fourth-place finish on Tuesday. At his best during the race's final green-flag run, Busch easily locked himself into the Chase along with eighth-place points man Ryan Newman. Newman's day wasn't flashy, but a 20th-place finish, at a track he won't see during the ten-race Chase was more than enough to get the job done.
Only two members of the top-10 in points remain vulnerable to losing their playoff spot at Richmond. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is ninth, is now 25 points ahead of Brad Keselowski in eleventh place. He finished 19th on Tuesday, but had a miserable day full of handling woes, once referring to his car as "crooked." It was a long day of losing confidence on the radio, at one point telling crew chief Steve Letarte "I won't run this %^&* again;" but in the end, a lead-lap finish should be plenty good enough to give the No. 88 their first Chase bid since 2008. Behind him, Tony Stewart had a great day, surging to third in a run that all but broke the No. 14 team out of their recent summer slump. Still tenth in points, his margin over Brad Keselowski grew to 23; all it will take is an 18th-place finish for Stewart to clinch his postseason bid.
As for Keselowski, while 11th in the standings he is locked into the Chase thanks to the "Wild Card" with three victories. Until Stewart made his charge, Keselowski was all set to close up a few more spots. However, the charge means that Keselowski actually lost ground despite his sixth-place finish. Denny Hamlin, meanwhile, used a seventh-place result to all but lock up his "wild card" position. Now 12th in the standings, he should be safe unless one of the one-win drivers takes the checkers at Richmond, one of Hamlin's best tracks on Saturday night.
Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 873, 2) Kyle Busch -21, 3) Carl Edwards -38, 4) Matt Kenseth -39, 5) Jeff Gordon -43, 6) Kevin Harvick -54, 7) Kurt Busch -84, 8) Ryan Newman -87, 9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -120, 10) Tony Stewart -122.
Wild Cards: 11) Brad Keselowski -145 (three wins), 12) Denny Hamlin -164 (one win (Michigan, June))
Note: Paul Menard (currently 20th) also has a win and can possibly steal a Chase berth by winning at Richmond. Marcos Ambrose is seven points out of the top 20 in 21st but could legitimately snag the last Chase spot with a win Saturday night. David Ragan and Regan Smith, who also have victories, are more or less out of the hunt for the final Chase spot. Finally, A.J. Allmendinger, winless and currently sitting 13th in points, can steal the final Chase Wild Card from Denny Hamlin by winning at Richmond and Hamlin finishing worse than tenth.
Tracking the Top 35: Front Row Motorsports Makes Slight Gains
Officially, there really wasn't all that much of an adjustment at the cut-off on Tuesday. However, Front Row Motorsports was able to make some gains on TRG Motorsports' No. 71. J.J. Yeley, normally the driver of the team's No. 55, was able to acquire a one-race deal with Vampt, a new malt liquor that is currently being rolled out in Arizona. As a result, he was shifted from the No. 55 to the No. 38 for the weekend, allowing him to run the distance with the organization.
Yeley made the most of his opportunity; qualifying the No. 38 in 31st, he managed to keep the car on the lead lap for most of the event. The team also took a huge gamble and stayed out once the leaders pitted under the sixth caution for rain. Heavy mist descended upon the 1.54-mile quad-oval, a move that gifted Yeley the lead at the time. When the field came down pit road for what turned out to be a brief red flag, Yeley and the Front Row Motorsports team were even in position to steal an improbable win. It took the better part of an hour, but Mother Nature did lift and get the cars back on track, forcing the No. 38 team down pit road and to the back of the lead lap. But even still, Yeley managed to finish 25th, only one lap down by the finish in one of the Front Row organization's better runs of the season.
For TRG Motorsports, it was a relatively dismal weekend after a more competitive outing in Bristol. Lally qualified at the back and rose only slightly above there for most of the day. In addition, he cut a tire and hit the wall around Lap 127, debris from that bringing out a yellow flag. Though Lally was able to continue, he ended up finishing six laps down in 30th with an ill-handling Interstate Moving Services Ford. That finish cost TRG Motorsports five points to the No. 38, but they are still comfortably "locked in" going forward.
For Tommy Baldwin Racing, they had a crisis on race morning. In between Sunday night and Tuesday morning, regular driver Dave Blaney came down with a case of kidney stones. As a result, he was not going to be able to go the distance on Tuesday. The team ended up working out a trade with Germain Racing to send Blaney over to S&P the No. 60, while Mike Skinner came over to race the Collective Soul / Golden Corral-sponsored No. 36. Skinner did a decent job to finish 27th, two laps down. The finish did not gain the Baldwin team any positions in the owner standings; however, thanks to a lap led under caution, it did gain the No. 36 two points on the No. 13, which finished in 28th.
Top 35 Summary:
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Gilliland), +136 points ahead of 36th.
32) Germain Racing (No. 13 - Casey Mears), +67 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 - Mike Skinner), +62 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 - Mike Bliss), +55 points ahead of 36th.
35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 - Andy Lally), +44 points ahead of 36th.
36) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - J.J. Yeley), -44 points behind 35th.
37) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 - Robby Gordon), -63 points behind 35th.
38) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), -99 points behind 35th.
39) MaxQ Motorsports (No. 37 - Tony Raines), -171 points behind 35th.
Phil Allaway is a Senior Writer and the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' 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 that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
Last season, Jeff Burton was clinching a spot in the Chase. This one? He's simply hoping to snag a top-10 finish. It's been a tough road for the No. 31 Chevrolet, whose crew chief, Todd Berrier was let go in late July and replaced by rookie head wrench Luke Lambert. It was a last resort move, designed to sink or swim a disappointing effort whose driver and sponsor had just signed long-term contract extensions… only to fizzle out.
But ever so quietly, making that switch has incited a boost in performance over at the No. 31. Shut out of the playoffs long ago, the new partnership can focus on 2012 and some risky chassis combinations are paying off in the consistency of top-15 performances. Sure, a 13th Sunday isn't exactly running up front; but in Burton's case, after the worst season of his career to date you've got to walk before you can run. A lead-lap car all day, Burton climbed steadily from 27th starting spot, kept his nose clean, and consistently improved the handling of RCR's Caterpillar Chevrolet. The result? His first back-to-back top-15 finishes all season in Sprint Cup. Is it the Chase? Absolutely not… but at least, after six months of struggle it's a step in the right direction. – Tom Bowles
STAT OF THE WEEK: 8. Number of top-5 finishes for Carl Edwards at Atlanta; he registered his eighth with a fifth-place performance on Tuesday. In 14 career starts at Atlanta, Edwards has run seventh or better ten times… and the others? Runs of 37th, 39th, 40th, and 42nd. Talk about Feast or Famine… - Tom Bowles
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Numbers Game: Advocare 500
by Brett Poirier
0.598
Jeff Gordon's victory margin over Jimmie Johnson on Tuesday.
1
Top-5 finishes for Carl Edwards in the last seven Sprint Cup races; he finished fifth at Atlanta.
1
Sprint Cup Showdown eligible drivers to finish in the top 15 on Tuesday; Brad Keselowski had a sixth-place performance, but never was in contention for victory down the stretch.
3rd
Jeff Gordon's position on the all-time Sprint Cup wins list after recording his 85th career victory on Tuesday.
4
Top-10 starters to finish in the top 10 on Tuesday. Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth were the only drivers to do so.
5
Victories for Jeff Gordon at Atlanta. He is second among active drivers to Bobby Labonte, who has six.
6
The consecutive number of top-10 finishes for Brad Keselowski; he was sixth at Atlanta on Sunday.
9
Drivers who have clinched a spot in the Chase for the Cup. Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski solidified their spots on Tuesday.
10
Times Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has finished outside the top 10 in his last 11 races; he was 19th on Tuesday.
17.7
The average finishing position of Sprint Cup drivers following a win in the previous Sprint Cup race in 2011. After winning at Bristol, Brad Keselowski finished sixth at Atlanta.
23
Points separating 11th-place Brad Keselowski from 10th-place Tony Stewart heading into the final race before the Chase for the Cup begins. If Keselowski can get in the top 10 at Richmond, it will open up a wild card spot for those underneath him.
35
Lead changes in Tuesday's Sprint Cup race at Atlanta; 14 different drivers led a lap.
35th
The average finishing position of Tuesday's front-row starters. Kasey Kahne finished 34th, while Clint Bowyer was 36th.
146
Laps led by Jeff Gordon at Atlanta on Tuesday. He had only led 108 laps at the track combined in his last eight starts heading into the race.
962
Laps completed this season by Joe Nemechek through 25 Sprint Cup races. He ran 27 laps at Atlanta on his way to a 40th-place finish.
1,184
Laps led this season by Kyle Busch in the Sprint Cup Series, a number that leads all drivers. He paced the field for 20 circuits and finished 23rd Tuesday at Atlanta, making the 1.54-mile track the 19th of 25 races this season Busch has led.
2007
The last year that Jeff Gordon recorded multiple victories in a season. His win on Tuesday was his third of 2011.
Brett Poirier is a Contributer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at brett.poirier@frontstretch.com.
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Hey, Frontstretch Readers!
We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look at how NASCAR, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
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Running Their Mouth: Advocare 500
by Brody Jones
Welcome to Running Their Mouth! Each week, we'll go through media reports, interviews, PR, and all of our own stuff to find the best quotes from the Sprint Cup race, capturing the story of how the weekend unfolded. It's the most original commentary you'll ever find: the truth, coming straight out of the mouths of the drivers, crew members, and car owners themselves. This week, here's a sneak peek at what they all were thinking following the rain-delayed AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway:
Best Quote:
"I think this is turning out to be a great year. Alan Gustafson (Crew Chief) and all the engineers and all the guys that work so hard; the awesome pit crew, man we're having a lot of fun right now. And when you can drive a race car that drives like that one, it makes me look like a hero but they're the heroes in my mind."- Jeff Gordon, winner, on whether he feels this is the year for him to capture his fifth championship
Jeff Gordon's late-career renaissance has been nothing short of remarkable this season. After going into 2011 with a nearly two-year winless streak, Gordon has found Victory Lane three times, first tying, then surpassing Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for third all-time on the wins list. Finding the perfect match in head wrench Alan Gustafson, the driver/crew chief combo has developed into one of the biggest threats against Jimmie Johnson for the season title. Could this be the year Gordon ends his title drought? We'll see... but as Gordon said himself on Tuesday, he's certainly looking "rejuvenated" at 40 years old.
Funniest Quote:
"Yeah, we're just having a terrible year. So hopefully we can pick things up a little bit. (CONTINUES TO LAUGH AND SMILE)."- Jimmie Johnson, finished second, on having the points lead by 21 points over Kyle Busch
For all the talk of people saying that Jimmie Johnson has struggled this year, those detractors may want to take a good look at the top of the point standings as ol' "Five-Time" is currently atop the leaderboard. Granted, his amount of wins this year, just one may make his stats look not as impressive as years past; but Johnson has, yet again, managed to replace victories with consistency that has left him at his peak heading into the postseason. Yeah, he won't be the top Chase seed but the fact that Johnson is currently leading the points on a so-called "down year" can only make those who follow the sport laugh at the irony of the statement.
Most Controversial Quote:
"He (Juan Pablo Montoya) races everybody that way, that is why he sucks. You can't race that way in this sport, plain and simple and I'll call him out for it. I think that is how about everybody in the garage knows what they are up against anytime that 42 is around. He is like a pinball out there because he is a bully. There has got to be some give and take. You are out there racing for nothing. He dive bombs the restarts and then before you know it he's in the way and wrecking somebody. It is just frustrating. I knew what I was up against anytime you are racing against him. It doesn't help my situation."- Clint Bowyer, finished 36th, on what happened with Juan Pablo Montoya
Add another driver to the growing "I Hate Juan Pablo Montoya" fan club. After Montoya made contact ten laps earlier with Clint Bowyer, the Kansas native claimed he was dive-bombed by Montoya when video evidence, if not completely vindicating the Colombian, certainly implicates both drivers for causing the incident that eliminated Bowyer off Turn 4. In my opinion, each driver could share the blame: Bowyer came up the track too soon, while Montoya had an opportunity to yield his line (and didn't). But the end result, considering past history with the No. 42 car is there is no benefit of the doubt here; instead, one more driver becomes irate with Montoya's overly aggressive nature. One has to wonder how many drivers will be sending Montoya a Christmas card this year...
Best of the Rest:
"Richmond was a fun race last May, it was well documented. I can't have people not stop talking about it. Maybe we can bounce back and get that behind us and go and attack Chicago, one of my favorite race tracks, and go and get in the groove of the Chase. Every position counts. Everyone needs to click on all eight cylinders on our team. Just our Dodges right now, Keselowski's in. We're in. We're a two-team effort for our Dodges and here we are with our Dodge Chargers running with the big boys. We're right in this mix. I feel really proud of my guys today."- Kurt Busch, finished fourth, on his Chase chances
"The starting and stopping makes it hell on everybody and it's no different in the seat. You just want to go, like c'mon, make this thing happen. There were a couple of times I was ready to race in the rain just to get going. That's the way it is but glad that we're all able to survive out a long week. Really happy and proud to get this race done for all the work everybody has put in from the track, to the teams to the fans that came back."- Brad Keselowski, finished sixth, on how difficult Tuesday's race was.
"After the rain, we didn't do anything to the car. We just put a set of tires on it and it was junk. We adjusted on it a little bit and put another set on, but we got really loose at the end and couldn't keep up. I don't really know what happened. We had a lot of speed and it was pretty fast the first half of the race, but I don't know what happened after that one rain delay. We just struggled after that."- Matt Kenseth, finished ninth
"We know the chances are still there. It's still wide-open when it comes to having a chance to go win and anything can happen after that, but, for me, like I said from the beginning, the Chase, for me, doesn't define the season. I'd love to get in the Chase, that's the ultimate goal, but as a race team we keep getting better. If we can go into these last 11 races that we have and get to Homestead and be far better than where we started, that, to me, is a great season. We're getting there. We still have a little ways to go, but every week I feel like we improve." - A.J. Allmendinger, finished tenth
"We'd have to look at the points and see how it's gonna shake out. I bet there's still a mathematical chance that we could win Richmond and get into the Top 20 and make the Chase, and that's certainly the mindset we're gonna have. We're not gonna give up no matter what. We can still have a great season. There are five or six tracks coming up where we'll be a threat to win at, but this is gonna make it a lot harder. The month of August was really tough for us. We had some speed in our car. We had a car that could have won the race in the right position, but you can't do that with no engine."- David Ragan, finished 35th
Brody Jones is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Bowles Thinks For Matt: Atlanta Race Recap & Analysis
by Tom Bowles
The Big Six: Advocare 500
by Amy Henderson
Jeff Gordon, The Fans, And How Time Has Brought The Two Together
by Summer Dreyer
Bubble Breakdown: Yeley Proves Underdogs Can Compete On Intermediates
by Tom Bowles
Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Atlanta
compiled by Mike Neff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Richmond's Spring race has been televised live almost every year since 1982. However, the September race took much longer to get traction on live television. Who would have televised those races back in the 1980's?
Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Tuesday's Answer:
Tuesday's Answer:
Q: In the 1992 Motorcraft 500 at Atlanta, Bill Elliott was able to win the event by a massive 18 seconds. It was his third consecutive victory. How did he manage to pull this off?
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!
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
-- Full Throttle by Mike Neff
-- What's Vexing Vito by Vito Pugliese
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice ... ? by Tom Bowles
Tom is back with a list of small but important observations as the NASCAR regular season winds down. Among them: tying up Chase loose ends, spreading out sponsorship and a few "quick hits" heading into another possible bout with Mother Nature at Richmond.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Your favorite midwestern writer is back with his unique take on the NASCAR world. Wanna know what he's writing about this week? So do we! Tune in tomorrow to find out!
Potts' Shots by John Potts
Fanning the Flames has become Potts' Shots, and John Potts is here to answer your questions in our weekly Fan Q & A. Do you have something you'd like to ask John? Don't sit on the sidelines! Send it to john.potts@frontstretch.com, and you just may see your question in print next week!
Five Points To Ponder by Danny Peters
Danny's back with his weekly edition of talking points to tie up Atlanta and get us set for the week of NASCAR news ahead.
Commentary by Mark Powell
Our professor of racing history "has at it" with another column pertinent to the sport at large. This week, Mark focuses on the possibility of a Mark Martin / Danica Patrick pairing for 2012 - and what it could mean for the development of the sport's newest female racer.
Top Ten by Jeff Meyer
Our weekly list based on the latest NASCAR controversy will start your morning off with a laugh -- guaranteed. This week, Jeff tackles the drivers' meeting with President Obama, occurring this afternoon.
Foto Funnies: AdvoCare 500 Edition by Kurt Smith
Kurt's back to leave you laughing with the best photos you didn't see in the papers from NASCAR at Atlanta.
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