THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 20th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CCXXI
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Frontstretch sends its well wishes, prayers, and support to all our fans affected by the swath of horrible storms over the past few months. To help out recovery efforts, text "GIVE" to 80888 to donate $10 towards disaster relief efforts in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri and Vermont through the Salvation Army.
Also, according to Izod IndyCar Series representatives, a Trust Fund has been set up in memory of Dan Wheldon. Donations can be sent to Fifth Third Private Bank, attention Dan Wheldon Family Trust, 251 North Illinois St., Suite 1000, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
Editor's Note: We apologize for the inconsistent Newsletters of the past few days. Beginning tomorrow, the Newsletter will be back on a regular schedule. Due to a medical emergency, our Managing Editor was out of commission - a broken ankle in the culprit - and caused scheduling confusion. We look forward to bringing you the Newsletter on a daily basis, with the latest and greatest news and information and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Today's Top News
by Phil Allaway
On Wednesday, NASCAR finally released the schedule for the Nationwide Series' 2012 season. The schedule is one race shorter next year, down to 33 races from 34 as a result of one of the Nashville dates not being replaced.
As previously announced, Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis has been dropped from the schedule in favor of a new race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after 30 years. The length of that new race has not been announced yet, but the event will run on Saturday, July 28. In addition, the new second race at Kentucky Speedway will run on Saturday, September 22. This is during the Cup weekend in New Hampshire
Other changes mirror the Sprint Cup schedule that was previously announced. The season will start a week later on February 25 in Daytona. That move was made in an attempt to get out of the way of an expected extension of the NFL season that would have saw the Super Bowl scheduled for the same day as the Daytona 500. That rumored move did not come to pass.
The Kansas race has been pushed back to October 20 to allow for completion of Kansas Speedway's track renovations. Talladega will be on May 5, roughly two weeks later due to a switch to allow Kansas' spring Cup race to run in April. Chicagoland's standalone race has been pushed back to July 22, which is an off-weekend for the Cup Series.
The NAPA Auto Parts 200 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal is still on the schedule for 2012. ISC will no longer co-promote the event, but Octane has obtained a lease for the race from the City of Montreal.
2012 Nationwide Series Schedule:
2/25 Daytona
3/3 Phoenix
3/10 Las Vegas
3/17 Bristol
3/24 Fontana (Auto Club Speedway)
3/31 Off
4/7 Off
4/13 Texas
4/21 Off
4/27 Richmond
5/5 Talladega
5/11 Darlington
5/20 Iowa
5/26 Charlotte
6/2 Dover
6/9 Off
6/16 Michigan
6/23 Elkhart Lake (Road America)
6/29 Kentucky
7/6 Daytona
7/14 New Hampshire
7/22 Chicagoland
7/28 Indianapolis
8/4 Iowa
8/11 Watkins Glen
8/18 Montreal (Circuit Gilles Villeneuve)
8/24 Bristol
9/1 Atlanta
9/7 Richmond
9/15 Chicagoland
9/22 Kentucky
9/29 Dover
10/6 Off
10/12 Charlotte
10/20 Kansas
10/27 Off
11/3 Texas
11/10 Phoenix
11/17 Homestead
El Monterey to Sponsor Stewart at Talladega
Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Wednesday that El Monterey, the country's best selling brand of frozen Mexican food, will serve as the primary sponsor on Tony Stewart's No. 14 this weekend at Talladega. The company has served as an associate sponsor on Stewart's car all season.
Stewart is very pleased to have El Monterey on his car for this weekend.
"We're obviously very proud to have El Monterey join Office Depot this weekend at Talladega," said Stewart. "It's a partnership that has only grown since they joined Stewart-Haas Racing, and to see El Monterey on the hood tells me that this partnership works well for them, too."
This will be El Monterey's first primary sponsorship in the Sprint Cup Series. However, it will not be their first time with their blue colors on a race car. Last year, the company served as the primary sponsor for Phoenix Racing in the Nationwide Series' CampingWorld.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway. With Ryan Newman behind the wheel, the No. 1 Chevrolet qualified tenth and finished seventh.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Good Sam RV Parks and Resorts 500: 46 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 37- Josh Wise for MaxQ Motorsports
No. 38- Travis Kvapil for Front Row Motorsports
No. 46- Scott Speed for Whitney Motorsports
No. 51- Landon Cassill for Phoenix Racing
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 97- Kevin Conway for NEMCO Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 32- Terry Labonte returns to the seat, replacing Mike Bliss.
No. 38- Travis Kvapil returns to the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley.
No. 55- J.J. Yeley returns to the seat, replacing Travis Kvapil.
No. 71- Andy Lally returns to the seat, replacing Hermie Sadler.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 7- Robby Gordon for Robby Gordon Motorsports
No. 15- Michael Waltrip for Michael Waltrip Racing
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 35- Geoff Bodine for Tommy Baldwin Racing
No. 37- Josh Wise for MaxQ Motorsports
No. 38- Travis Kvapil for Front Row Motorsports
No. 46- Scott Speed for Whitney Motorsports
No. 55- J.J. Yeley for Front Row Motorsports
No. 66- Michael McDowell for HP Racing, LLC
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 97- Kevin Conway for NEMCO Motorsports
Withdrawn:
No. 77- TRG Motorsports
Not Entered:
No. 30- David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 60- Mike Skinner for Germain Racing. This team appears to be "parked" for the season.
Camping World Truck Series Coca-Cola 250 Powered by Fred's: 42 trucks entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 10- Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing
No. 16- Donnie Neuenberger for Rick Ware Racing
No. 18- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 99- Patrick Sheltra
Driver Changes:
No. 09- Charlie Vest returns to the seat, replacing Bryan Silas.
No. 1- Jeffrey Earnhardt returns to the seat, replacing Jack Sprague. Sprague was named as a replacement for Earnhardt earlier this season, but the team did not return to the track with Sprague.
No. 18- Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing Brian Ickler.
No. 33- Mike Wallace is in the seat, replacing Cale Gale.
No. 66- J.J. Yeley returns to the seat, replacing Max Gresham.
No. 76- Ryan Hackett is in the seat, replacing Alli Owens.
No. 93- Mike Garvey returns to the seat, replacing BJ McLeod.
No. 99- Patrick Sheltra is in the seat, replacing Wayne Edwards.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 02- Jamie Dick for Stott Classic Racing
No. 09- Charlie Vest
No. 1- Jeffrey Earnhardt for Rick Ware Racing
No. 10- Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing
No. 16- Donnie Neuenberger for Rick Ware Racing
No. 20- Johanna Long for Panhandle Motorsports
No. 28- Wes Burton for FDNY Racing
No. 51- Josh Richards for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 57- Norm Benning for Norm Benning Racing
No. 63- Jack Smith for Mittler Brothers Racing
No. 68- Clay Greenfield for Alger Motorsports
No. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 76- Ryan Hackett for Hackett Racing
No. 82- Grant Enfinger for Bragg Racing Group
No. 84- Chris Fontaine for Chris Fontaine, Inc.
No. 98- Dakoda Armstrong for ThorSport Racing
No. 99- Patrick Sheltra
Not Entered:
No. 27- RSS Motorsports
No. 38- RSS Motorsports
No. 75- Norm Benning Racing
Have news for Phil and The Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
~~~~~~~~~~
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, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
~~~~~~~~~~~
What's Vexing Vito will return next week. However, we have extra content to run today.
Full Throttle: The Time Has Come For The Valence To Go Away
by Mike Neff
This past weekend, the fifth race of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While there was some excitement at the end of the race, quite a bit of the event was marked by single-file racing where cars were unable to pass. Even when the leaders of the race caught up to the back of the pack, they were unable to pass cars that were slower than they were simply because of the aerodynamics of the modern race car. Most of the blame is laid at the feet of the aero push that develops when a car approaches another from behind and the airflow over the front of the car is reduced, causing the front tires to slide across the track. While push has always been a problem, it has been exacerbated since 1984, when the front valence of the car was dramatically extended from the front bumper down to the ground and the reliance on aerodynamics to make downforce became a crutch for making race cars work.
Millions of dollars have been spent over the years--many of them on time in wind tunnels--to try and make race cars slide through the air as efficiently as possible. The latest version of the Sprint Cup race car has a splitter at the bottom of the valence and the race teams spend inordinate amounts of time getting that splitter as close to the ground as possible, without hitting it, in order to minimize the air flowing under the car which will slow it down. Because most of that effort is expended when cars are running by themselves on a race track or in a wind tunnel, the minute they get behind another car and the air flow is reduced, and as a result, the downforce is also reduced. The tires then slide across the track instead of digging into it, the car won't turn as easily and the driver has to slow down or hit the wall. It's a great situation for a team if they can have their car in front of the pack for the entire race. Unfortunately, there is only one car that can lead out of the 43 on the track and staying in that position can be hard to do through pit stops and restarts. Since drivers will ultimately find themselves behind other cars most of the time, they have to deal with the push, but attempting to set up to be in the back means that getting to the front will cause the front end to compress too much, the splitter will hit the ground, and then the front tires will not grip.
With the amount of money that is invested in this sport, by teams and by fans, the sport itself deserves to be treated better than it is by the current car configuration. Yes, the front end of the car has had a valence for nearly 30 years, but there have been other changes in NASCAR to things that were in place for that long--or even longer. Next year the cars will have fuel injection for the first time after 62 years with a carburetor. While the cars would be intensely harder to drive and the tires would have to be completely revisited, the end product will be far more interesting because cars should handle the same--or virtually the same--behind other cars or out in front. Not only would the cars be more consistent, but the ability to make them go fast would be much more back into the hands of the drivers instead of the engineers and the computers behind the wall, on top of the pit box.
This past week, after the Bank of America 500, Carl Edwards made the comment in his post-race interview that they should take the spoilers and splitters off and let the cars race. Several years ago, Ray Evernham made the same comment during a media discussion about spoilers and making the cars less aero dependent. The cars would handle more like dump trucks, but they'd be similar to dump trucks that would handle the same in traffic or in front. And as an added bonus, the cars would also look at least somewhat more like what the fans of the sport drive on the street. NASCAR is touting fuel injection as a step towards making the cars on the track more "stock" than they have been in years since there hasn't been a carbureted car sold new in the U.S. since 1994. Taking the valence off the front of the car will make them look like a street car and just might help bring some fans back to the sport, not to mention how many fans would return if the racing was put back in the hands of the drivers again.
Stock car racing is still at a crossroads, and the economy is recovering tremendously slowly. Fans have been forced to be far more discerning about spending their money, and while the racing is good, much of it seems to be manufactured. There are many cars on the lead lap at the end of races and there are quite a few cars capable of winning every week, but fans are still put off by the imperceptible differences between the manufacturers and by the seemingly manufactured race finishes. Taking the valence off the front of the cars will allow the best cars to rise to the top through driver ability and teamwork and the cars will be more recognizable for their nameplate than by just the decals on the front and back.
The cars in 1984 were at the forefront of aerodynamics coming into NASCAR and the valence was put on to exploit the ability to increase downforce on the front of the cars and make them turn better. While that still is the case with the valence and the splitter, the changes to the rest of the car have made it so dependent on the air hitting that deflector below the front bumper that a lack of air severely dampens a car's ability to function at its peak performance. While taking the valence off of the car will make it far harder to handle and the drivers will most certainly complain vehemently, in the end it will make the final product, the racing, much better.
When it comes right down to it those of us involved in the sport, whether watching as fans, writing as media, or working as crew and drivers, are just the stewards of the sport for the future, and unless we bite the bullet now and make the change, there may not be a sport to steward before too much longer.
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at mike.neff@frontstretch.com.
Today's Featured Commentary~~~~~~~~~~
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, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
~~~~~~~~~~~
What's Vexing Vito will return next week. However, we have extra content to run today.
Full Throttle: The Time Has Come For The Valence To Go Away
by Mike Neff
This past weekend, the fifth race of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While there was some excitement at the end of the race, quite a bit of the event was marked by single-file racing where cars were unable to pass. Even when the leaders of the race caught up to the back of the pack, they were unable to pass cars that were slower than they were simply because of the aerodynamics of the modern race car. Most of the blame is laid at the feet of the aero push that develops when a car approaches another from behind and the airflow over the front of the car is reduced, causing the front tires to slide across the track. While push has always been a problem, it has been exacerbated since 1984, when the front valence of the car was dramatically extended from the front bumper down to the ground and the reliance on aerodynamics to make downforce became a crutch for making race cars work.
Millions of dollars have been spent over the years--many of them on time in wind tunnels--to try and make race cars slide through the air as efficiently as possible. The latest version of the Sprint Cup race car has a splitter at the bottom of the valence and the race teams spend inordinate amounts of time getting that splitter as close to the ground as possible, without hitting it, in order to minimize the air flowing under the car which will slow it down. Because most of that effort is expended when cars are running by themselves on a race track or in a wind tunnel, the minute they get behind another car and the air flow is reduced, and as a result, the downforce is also reduced. The tires then slide across the track instead of digging into it, the car won't turn as easily and the driver has to slow down or hit the wall. It's a great situation for a team if they can have their car in front of the pack for the entire race. Unfortunately, there is only one car that can lead out of the 43 on the track and staying in that position can be hard to do through pit stops and restarts. Since drivers will ultimately find themselves behind other cars most of the time, they have to deal with the push, but attempting to set up to be in the back means that getting to the front will cause the front end to compress too much, the splitter will hit the ground, and then the front tires will not grip.
With the amount of money that is invested in this sport, by teams and by fans, the sport itself deserves to be treated better than it is by the current car configuration. Yes, the front end of the car has had a valence for nearly 30 years, but there have been other changes in NASCAR to things that were in place for that long--or even longer. Next year the cars will have fuel injection for the first time after 62 years with a carburetor. While the cars would be intensely harder to drive and the tires would have to be completely revisited, the end product will be far more interesting because cars should handle the same--or virtually the same--behind other cars or out in front. Not only would the cars be more consistent, but the ability to make them go fast would be much more back into the hands of the drivers instead of the engineers and the computers behind the wall, on top of the pit box.
This past week, after the Bank of America 500, Carl Edwards made the comment in his post-race interview that they should take the spoilers and splitters off and let the cars race. Several years ago, Ray Evernham made the same comment during a media discussion about spoilers and making the cars less aero dependent. The cars would handle more like dump trucks, but they'd be similar to dump trucks that would handle the same in traffic or in front. And as an added bonus, the cars would also look at least somewhat more like what the fans of the sport drive on the street. NASCAR is touting fuel injection as a step towards making the cars on the track more "stock" than they have been in years since there hasn't been a carbureted car sold new in the U.S. since 1994. Taking the valence off the front of the car will make them look like a street car and just might help bring some fans back to the sport, not to mention how many fans would return if the racing was put back in the hands of the drivers again.
Stock car racing is still at a crossroads, and the economy is recovering tremendously slowly. Fans have been forced to be far more discerning about spending their money, and while the racing is good, much of it seems to be manufactured. There are many cars on the lead lap at the end of races and there are quite a few cars capable of winning every week, but fans are still put off by the imperceptible differences between the manufacturers and by the seemingly manufactured race finishes. Taking the valence off the front of the cars will allow the best cars to rise to the top through driver ability and teamwork and the cars will be more recognizable for their nameplate than by just the decals on the front and back.
The cars in 1984 were at the forefront of aerodynamics coming into NASCAR and the valence was put on to exploit the ability to increase downforce on the front of the cars and make them turn better. While that still is the case with the valence and the splitter, the changes to the rest of the car have made it so dependent on the air hitting that deflector below the front bumper that a lack of air severely dampens a car's ability to function at its peak performance. While taking the valence off of the car will make it far harder to handle and the drivers will most certainly complain vehemently, in the end it will make the final product, the racing, much better.
When it comes right down to it those of us involved in the sport, whether watching as fans, writing as media, or working as crew and drivers, are just the stewards of the sport for the future, and unless we bite the bullet now and make the change, there may not be a sport to steward before too much longer.
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at mike.neff@frontstretch.com.
The Exclusive Sponsorship Catch-22
Shakedown Session
by Brody Jones
Much ado has been made in recent weeks of current Sprint Cup Series championship contender Matt Kenseth and his quest for sponsorship in 2012. Teammate David Ragan is also in the boat of looking for a sponsor. On the Nationwide side of things, guys like Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne and current points leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., among others are also looking for sponsorship, either partial or full-season deals in nature.
What exactly could be the cause of so many of these Roush drivers and even a guy like Justin Allgaier looking for additional backing? Could it truly be the economy? While that is a likely reason why these drivers are searching for funding to continue their careers, could the bigger issue point to NASCAR's irritating "exclusive sponsorship" clause?
Case in point, the saga of Verizon Wireless, a company that desperately wanted to break into NASCAR's top level, but due to the annoying meddling by the Series sponsor in Sprint, Verizon was reduced to the Nationwide Series with, ironically, Justin Allgaier. NASCAR's official top series title sponsor put their foot down and said Verizon could not have a car in the Sprint Cup Series, which ultimately led to the cellular giant's outright withdrawal from the sport.
While it could be argued perhaps that Sprint was merely "protecting its interests," the fact remains that the exclusive sponsor clause pretty much blacklisted what could have been a fresh face to the sponsorship game. This is not the first time Sprint has pulled a power play like this. In a 2007 race at Atlanta, Robby Gordon was going to be sponsored by Motorola. However, the series title sponsor once again pitched a fit and denied another team additional revenue. Notice a trend here? (Editor's Note: The parallel here is that Motorola came to Robby Gordon's team by way of, you guessed it, Verizon Wireless)
Other examples over the years is when Domino's Pizza was an official sponsor of NASCAR, it kept companies like Pizza Hut, who had been rumored at different times to have an interest in sponsoring a car in the sport, on the outside looking in. Bank of America's "official bank of NASCAR" title has kept banks like MBNA out of the sport. Dish Network has been locked out by the presence of DirecTV in NASCAR.
Incredulously, NASCAR wonders why they can't get any new sponsors to invest money in the sport. Hmm, let's see… could it be because the sanctioning body has an official beer/tire/styrofoam cooler/whatever piece of crap Michael Waltrip can shill endlessly sponsor of NASCAR and has, well, to put it bluntly, basically cockblocked additional revenue from coming in? Maybe if NASCAR loosened up on their "exclusivity clauses," the series could again be lucrative to sponsors wanting to get into NASCAR.
Sadly, NASCAR realizing they've made a mistake with something and owning up to it is about as likely as Ron Paul getting elected the next president of the United States (no offense, Ron Paul supporters). One can only hope that there is some "change" in the sponsorship climate or there will be a whole lot of drivers looking for employment. Ragan's future is uncertain, at best, even with a win this year. Trevor Bayne's future is up in the air. Hell, even Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., due to lack of sponsorship, may become the next Stephen Leicht if NASCAR doesn't wise up and loosen the reigns of sponsorship. But the big $64,000 question is, can they do so before it's too late?
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
Tweet n' Greet
by Jay Pennell
Editor's Note: With the NASCAR Twitter community expanding by leaps and bounds, it remains a place for instantaneous news, reactions, and a whole lot of inside jokes. We understand if you don't want to join the Twitter community - but as a fan, it's important to know the news and info you're missing out on! That's why, every week, Jay Pennell will sort through the thousands of messages and give us a little taste of what's going on each Wednesday.
@danwheldon: Green!!!!
@Riceman61 (Doug Rice): The ABC team is doing a strong job under tremendous stress.
@ClaireBLang: Nothing is louder than engines roaring -- nothing quieter than the absence of cars racing and teams waiting in silence at a moment like this
@DeLanaHarvick: It horrifies me when ppl cheer when drivers wreck. whether u like them or not, they are ppl too & they have families & friends who love them
@maxpapis: I will miss u forever @danwheldon forever
@TonyKanaan: No words to describe the pain. See you on the other side my dear friend. You will be missed.
@landoncassill: This is tragic. #DanWheldon
@bigdalsky (Brandon Igdalsky): Shaking heads and lots of tears, never a good sign. I love this sport, but sometimes it is not fun. Prayers to all @INDYCAR.
@drlynnechiro (Dr. Lynne Kush): It's times like these that we r painfully aware of the constant risks our drivers/husbands/family take every single time they go on a track
@keselowski (Brad Keselowski): idk most of these guys. But I know RP's #notgood "@TheTy6:@keselowski does the body language of the drivers tell you what it tells me?"
@jjyeley1: This is the darkside of our sport. Prayers to the Wheldon family. A true loss the the sport of Indy car and racing. R.I.P
@JeffGordonWeb (Jeff Gordon): Spent a little time with Dan Wheldon several years ago in Paris for Race of Champions. Great guy, great driver. Will certainly b missed,#JG
@JimmieJohnson: My thoughts and prayers go out to the Wheldon family... My heart hurts for all of the IRL community.
@Tbayne21 (Trevor Bayne): I'm sick at my stomach right now over Dan Wheldon. I just hung out w/ him a month ago and he was such an awesome guy w/ so much life in him
@maxpapis: Here thinking of all my indycar friends, I never thought we would have gone through again this after Greg ...let's learn out of it
@DanicaPatrick: There are no words for today. Myself and so many others are devastated. I pray for suzi and the kids that god will give them strength.
@Brendan62 (Brendan Gaughan): Had lunch with him on Wednesday. What we choose to do can be dangerous... Everyone give your family a hug today and tell them you love them
@MikeCalinoff: Days like today really put a few hours of glory last night into perspective. Thinking of the Wheldon family and my friend @dariofranchitti.
@KyleBusch: We lost another star in the off road industry. Rick Huseman was 1 of the best I ever saw. Again, our prayers go to his family and loved ones.
@BrianIckler: Shocked to see we've lost Rick Huseman today. Truely a dark day in the motorsports world. Our thoughts and prayers with the Huesman family
@Brendan62: Sitting at home alone and just put my son to bed, suddenly today becomes reality and I can't stop watching my son sleep. Love can overcome
@dennyhamlin: Today was a reminder to all of us what can happen every time we strap in behind the wheel. At times i think we all take things for granted.
@dennyhamlin: Life shouldn't be one of those things. We lost a great driver in motorsports and he will not be forgotten. Rest in peace Dan Wheldon
@RyanBriscoe6: I'd like to see future IndyCar / Openwheelers with closed cockpits one day, like modern LeMans LMP1 cars have today.
@TerryBlountESPN: One of the saddest moments I ever have witnessed in 30 years as a sports reporter
@TonyKanaan: Thanks for all the messages, it has been one of the most difficult days of my career, you guys are the reason the we still do this.
@paultracy3: Sadness turning to anger now , indycar needs to put the 5mil in a trust for dan's kids !!!!
@NASCARBowles (Tom Bowles): I literally am shaking watching this tribute right now. Chills. Agree with @DGodfatherMoody - these are some pretty strong drivers. #indycar
@Brendan62: I'm so tired of listening to people who have NO CLUE what they are talking about and trying to put blame in different places!
@Beth_Frntstrtch (Beth Lunkenheimer): RIP @danwheldon Absolutely heartbroken. My prayers go out to everyone dealing with this tragedy right now...especially his wife and two kids.
@JimmieJohnson: I'm at CMS for the EFI test today and things are going well. Still a bit sore from sat night but doing good, thanks all for asking.
@AndyLally: I'm seeing some Indy car bashing, not now please. Yes, things need to change, it was the last race of the season. They have time to... Cont..
@AndyLally: figure things out in the off season, be constructive and send someone your thoughts. Today and the next few are not the days to spout off.
@AndyLally: I have my own thoughts too, but just spend a few days remembering a talented guy who got to live his dream with great success.
@JennaFryer: Lay off @JimmieJohnson, folks. He said same thing many others are saying, and he said it from a place of genuine concern.
@JimmieJohnson: I hate some of you don't understand my opinion of Indy Cars not running on ovals... I don't want to see my friends hurt or another tragedy.
@JimmieJohnson: It's only because I care... I'm a huge fan of open wheel racing and all things racing.
@maxpapis: I agree with u @JimmieJohnson if indycar can't find another a way on 1.5 ovals they should not race even if we raced safely in CART days
@paultracy3: @JimmieJohnson I think there needs to be a clear ballistic plexi sheet on the fence to stop cars getting tangled up in it
@paultracy3: @JimmieJohnson right now indycars and nascars get caught in the fence and it rips the cars apart , if it could slide along it would
@paultracy3: @JimmieJohnson be much safer
@DanicaPatrick: Can't stop thinking about Dan. The more I read and look at pics of him, the less real it seems.
@GrahamRahal: I'm going to auction off my Las Vegas helmet, proceeds going to the Wheldon boys trust fund. I hope everyone will take part.
@queers4gears: Sam Schmidt,"Right before Dan got in the car he was confident, his last words on the radio were "let's go, i'm ready to do this,""
@GrahamRahal: Sounds like the new car will be named after Dan thanks to his efforts in developing it. @AutoweekRacing
Jay Pennell is a Contributor to Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at jay.pennell@frontstretch.com.
The Critic's Annex: Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where I provide a second look into the motorsports-related programming available to viewers. This past weekend was a normal one in that all three of NASCAR's top series were in action. As a result, the original grandmaster plan was to cover the Izod IndyCar Series race in this space. As you know by now, the plan changed.by Phil Allaway
If this were two years ago, I would have tried to cram all three NASCAR races and the IndyCar race into the Tuesday critique. That simply wouldn't have worked, for multiple reasons. The first of those reasons would have been that it would have simply been too long and irritated our group of editors here at Frontstretch. Of course, now that I'm a full editor here, I have to be compassionate to their needs as well.
Something had to be swapped out from the main critique in order to go into the Annex in place of the IndyCar race. By importance, the Camping World Truck Series race would usually have been the first to go. However, the Truck race featured a number of incidents and I thought that it tangentially may have previewed Sunday's action. So, it stayed. Since Sprint Cup takes precedence over everything else, the Nationwide Series got bumped down to the Annex.
Friday night saw ESPN return to the well for another Nationwide Series telecast, their 30th of the season. With Marty Reid (along with Vince Welch and Jamie Little) in Las Vegas for the IndyCar race, Allen Bestwick was pressed into double-duty for the weekend in the booth. Bestwick brought his A-game upstairs, but did ESPN bring their best? Let's find out.
Countdown was the usual half-hour setup, heavy on pre-race analysis. Mike Massaro hosted this in place of Nicole Briscoe, who was in Las Vegas as well, but not working. I already ranted about the whole "why the deuce are you making him wear a suit when he's gotta pit report as well in a fire suit" thing on Tuesday, so I'm not going to rehash that here.
The Ricky vs. Trevor challenge returned to ESPN for edition No. 4 on Friday night. This time, the teammates spent their home week on Lake Norman, not too far away from Charlotte Motor Speedway. There, they had a wakeboarding competition. As Bayne had an experience advantage over Stenhouse, Bayne was given the more difficult side of the wake to start from. Despite having the harder task, Bayne appeared to win the challenge easily. I don't know, but it seems like the challenges that are shown on ESPN are more complicated each time they air. In contrast, the battles shown on the rickyvstrevor.com website are more simple, something that wouldn't cost a fortune to do. Heck, even the first ESPN competition featured high school pep rally (ok, at least my high school) standbys like Chubby Bunny. For the uninitiated, that's the game where you stuff marshmallows in your mouth and try to say Chubby Bunny three times. I enjoy some of the more simplistic battles more. On the website, the most recent battle is the hilarious Just Dance competition at Roush Fenway Racing's tweet-up that Jeff Gluck just so happened to be at (they were dancing (and not very well, I guess) to The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men").
Aside from the Ricky vs. Trevor feature and the pre-race analysis, ESPN gave viewers five pre-race interviews (Edwards, Bayne, Stenhouse, Elliott Sadler and Ryan Truex), and a Tech Garage feature on the tapered spacer.
Once the race got started, it was clear that there were a few people that were going to get the lion's share of coverage. Those drivers were Edwards, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch from the Cup Series, along with Stenhouse and Elliott Sadler from the Nationwide Series. Beyond that group, there just wasn't much coverage to go around. This was a problem during the Cup race Saturday night as well. It's almost like ESPN uses this super-focused coverage as a crutch. It's not new, either.
I'll admit that I've been watching a lot of sports car racing on the all-powerful YouTube lately. Yeah, that's right, I get away from writing about race telecasts by watching race telecasts. That's an Xzibit meme just waiting to happen right there. As far back as the late 1980's, ESPN had a couple of stories that they liked to focus on for their IMSA telecasts (usually something having to do with Nissan's dominance in the headlining class, or the god-awful bumpiness of seemingly every track they raced at back then). Deviations were only made when the conditions warranted them. Heck, even Marty Reid was around (he was a pit reporter at the time).
What I'm saying is that the traditional technique of covering a race like a baseball game doesn't necessarily work anymore. Even though the Nationwide Series has struggled with an excessive amount of S&P'ing over the past couple of years and a lack of sponsorship, all of these drivers out there have fans to a varying degree. It almost seems like the time for people outside the top-10 to get their exposure is qualifying. "Robby Gordon said something to that degree to Dustin Long a while back.":http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/robby-gordon-says-he-plans-start-and-park-many-remaining-cup-races. That shouldn't be the case.
Since Friday night's race was on ESPN 2, the coverage was typical in terms of...terminology. I have to make that distinction because Saturday night's Cup telecast was seemingly dumbed down to benefit those new fans. It seems that ESPN thought that the audience generally knew what was going on, so Bestwick didn't have to give any extraneous explanations.
I did have a couple of technical gripes with the telecast. ESPN has been getting into the knack of not always giving viewers the number of tires taken on rounds of pit stops under caution. Under normal circumstances, this might not be an issue, but every time ESPN doesn't show this, a few people take two tires and people wonder how they got there. Not too good.
Towards the end of the race, there was a technical issue where ESPN basically lost their feed. When that happened, the audio all dropped out and the screen went to aqua. Or, at least that's what I saw. Can't vouch for anyone else. Luckily, this was only a brief outage. No reference to the issue was made on-air.
Since the race went by fairly quickly on Friday night, I expected a decent amount of post-race coverage. Instead, ESPN gave viewers a typical amount. There were six driver interviews and an interview with winning crew chief Mike Beam. During Elliott Sadler's interview, he was joined by Joe and Barbara Thornton, who won $100,000 as a result of being paired up with Sadler as part of the Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash.
After a check of the point standings, ESPN chose to leave the air ten minutes early. I have no clue why they did this. What is the advantage of doing so? It is a Friday night and there wasn't another sporting event to get to. Do that many more people watch the 11pm SportsCenter on a Friday night than a live Nationwide Series race? I don't know. It was a little early to claim that there wasn't anyone else willing to do an on-air interview. ESPN has done nearly a dozen post-race interviews multiple times this year, so that theory goes out the window. I guess it's just plain ol' laziness. And that is bush league.
I hope you enjoyed this look back at the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage. Since there are only three notable races to be televised this weekend, there is only so much to cover. I have not decided what to look at for next week's Annex column yet, but whatever I choose, it will be good. Until then, enjoy this weekend's tight action in Talladega and in Surfer's Paradise.
Phil Allaway is a Senior Writer and the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
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Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Access ARCA: UARA's Best and Brightest Teaming Up at Venturini Motorsports
"It's quite a bit different, coming into an ARCA race. At the UARA races, we are complete enemies. Now we're just partial enemies." - Clint King, on being teammates with Brennan Poole, a rival of his in the UARA Late Models. Just what is a "partial enemy" anyway? Are they cordial to each other in people, then mutter behind the other's back?
"It's quite a bit different, coming into an ARCA race. At the UARA races, we are complete enemies. Now we're just partial enemies." - Clint King, on being teammates with Brennan Poole, a rival of his in the UARA Late Models. Just what is a "partial enemy" anyway? Are they cordial to each other in people, then mutter behind the other's back?
Have a nominee for Line of the Week? Email Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com and you may see yourself in this space next week!
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
MPM2Nite: 11/15/92
by Matt McLaughlin
Going Green: One Big Pack Or Not, Restrictor Plate Racing Is The Best Option
by Garrett Horton
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
MPM2Nite: 11/15/92
by Matt McLaughlin
Going Green: One Big Pack Or Not, Restrictor Plate Racing Is The Best Option
by Garrett Horton
by Brett Poirier
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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.
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Earlier in the 1990 DieHard 500, there was a notable incident that set the wheels in motion for the insane pit rules instituted for the beginning of the 1991 season (and the more sane pit road speed limits that followed). What happened?
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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: Earlier in the 1990 DieHard 500, there was a notable incident that set the wheels in motion for the insane pit rules instituted for the beginning of the 1991 season (and the more sane pit road speed limits that followed). What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Tuesday's Answer:
Q: Jimmy Spencer has had plenty of success at Talladega, winning in July of 1994 and compiling multiple other great finishes. In the 1990 DieHard 500, Spencer, driving the No. 57 Heinz Pontiac for Rod Osterland, finished a mediocre 24th, two laps down. However, his final lap was quite interesting. What happened?
A: No footage of what happened to Spencer exists. CBS simply didn't cover it. Here's the finish of the race, as shown on CBS. Ned Jarrett references the yellow being out, but there is no discussion of what caused it. Here is what happened. On the final lap, a number of cars came together exiting Turn 2 roughly 12 seconds behind the leaders. Spencer's No. 57 was pitched into a roll on the backstretch in the crash. However, Spencer was able to drive his stricken car to the finish. Only one black and white picture showing Spencer's car getting back onto all fours exists. CBS clearly dropped the ball here.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 & Frontstretch Folio: Charlotte by Summer Dreyer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- In Case You Missed It by Brett Poirier
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Talladega by Mike Lovecchio
We'll have a preview of the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series races this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
-- In Case You Missed It by Brett Poirier
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Talladega by Mike Lovecchio
We'll have a preview of the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series races this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy's back with another interesting commentary.
Voices From The Heartland by Jeff Meyer
For the rest of the season, Jeff's weekly column will run on Fridays. He's sure to satisfy with his off-beat style and sarcastic sense of humor!
Voices From The Heartland by Jeff Meyer
For the rest of the season, Jeff's weekly column will run on Fridays. He's sure to satisfy with his off-beat style and sarcastic sense of humor!
Tearing Apart the Trucks by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth returns with an intriguing commentary ahead of the series making their yearly voyage to the high banks in Alabama.
Driver Diary: Casey Mears as told to Amy Henderson
The driver of the No. 13 GEICO Toyota returns for another interesting look at the past month on and off the track.
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