Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Martinsville Qualifying Canceled, News 'N' Notes

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 29th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CCXXVIII

~~~~~~~~~~

DON'T FORGET! Your Frontstretch experts, Mike Neff and Amy Henderson are LIVE at Martinsville all weekend long! Be sure to follow them @TheFrontstretch, @Writer_Amy and on Facebook through Frontstretch Writers. They'll have all the late-breaking news you need!

~~~~~~~~~~

NEW PODCAST! Don't forget our new FREE weekly audio segments hosted by Doug Turnbull. Click here for the October 28th edition that features a special Talladega audio scrapbook.

~~~~~~~~~~

Breaking News
by Tom Bowles

Sprint Cup Qualifying Canceled For Martinsville; Field Set By NASCAR Rule Book

Looks like the one person least excited about Sunday's return to Sprint Cup short track racing is Mother Nature. Washing out all Sprint Cup practice yesterday, rain kept cars from the track this morning and officially canceled qualifying for Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500. Without any practice speeds to work with, NASCAR had to set the lineup by their alternate rulebook procedure which means the Chasers will line up by points. Carl Edwards will start on the pole, with Matt Kenseth alongside. Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5. Only two drivers failed to qualify: Dennis Setzer, driving Brian Keselowski's No. 92 and Derrike Cope in his self-owned No. 75.

NASCAR is trying to dry the track and have the Cup cars out for practice momentarily. Stay tuned to the Frontstretch for a full starting lineup and more.

Top News
by Amy Henderson

Rain is the Word of the Day on Friday at Martinsville

A cold rain fell on and off for most of the day on Friday at Martinsville Speedway, causing the postponement of morning practice sessions. The speedway tried valiantly to keep up with the weather, running jet dryers for much of the day until the rain got too heavy to continue.

The Camping World Truck Series was able to squeeze in one of two scheduled practice sessions between showers, but all other practice sessions for both Sprint Cup and Truck Series were canceled.


Hornaday Paces CWTS Practice at Martinsville

The Camping World Truck Series teams had a while to get on track at Martinsville due to the weather, but they did get some track time. Ron Hornaday moved to the top of the practice charts with a top lap speed of 95.583 miles per hour as he makes a bid for his fifth series title.  Denny Hamlin, driving the No. 18 for Kyle Busch Motorsports, was second with a top speed of 95.535.  Kevin Harvick was third, and Matt Crafton and defending series champion Todd Bodine rounded out the top 5.

Series points leader Austin Dillon was 15th on the chart with a fast lap of 93.910MPH.  Second-place James Buescher was 10th with a speed of 94.482. Final practice was cancelled due to the continuing bad weather at Martinsville; the Kroger 200 is set to go green at 2:00 PM on Saturday.


NASCAR considering more ways to limit tandem drafting

According to a report from ESPN.com, NASCAR is considering more rule changes before Daytona in an attempt to limit the two-car style of drafting that has become prevalent on restrictor-plate tracks.  There was a rule change prior to last week's race at Talladega that increased the opening in the restrictor plate and reduced the pressure needed to release the radiator pop-off valve in an attempt to break up the drafting a bit, but neither measure proved effective in the race.  One of the options being considered is to use a shorter spoiler, which would decrease rear downforce, making it difficult to drive the car in a bump-draft situation.  NASCAR has said that they will continue to look at options, but that driver safety will remain the number one priority and will not make changes that will jeopardize safety.

Have news for Amy 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 special 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.

~~~~~~~~~~

TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

The Rise and Fall of UPS in NASCAR-And Who They Helped Take Down With Them
by Amy Henderson

Frontstretch Podcast: October 28th Edition
hosted by Doug Turnbull

SUNDAY MONEY COLUMN IS NEW
Kraft Foods Extends Partnership With Stewart-Haas Racing

by Danny Peters

~~~~~~~~~~
 
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:
The 1991 Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway is famous for being the race that Harry Gant won to claim his fourth consecutive Cup Series victory, earning him the nickname, "Mr. September." However, Gant's win overshadowed an excellent run for Jimmy Hensley, who ran as high as fourth before dropping back to a tenth-place finish in his 26th career start. Who was Hensley driving for and what became of that team?

Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

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!

~~~~~~~~~~

Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- TUMS Fast Relief 500 Race Recap by TBA
-- Running Their Mouth: TUMS Fast Relief 500 by Brody Jones
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Monday on the Frontstretch:

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: TUMS Fast Relief 500 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday afternoon's action from the Martinsville.

David vs. Goliath by Bryan Davis Keith
Who's hot and who's not towards the back end of the owner points battle? Bryan brings the stories you didn't hear about into print from Sunday's race from Martinsville.

Monday Morning Teardown by Ron Lemasters
Ron returns for a website look at one of the big stories from Sunday's race from Martinsville.

Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom brings back his weekly post-race commentary with all of the insight you need from a weekend of racing from Martinsville.

Big Six: TUMS Fast Relief 500 by Amy Henderson
Looking for all you need to know leaving the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup? Amy has your who, what, when, where, why and how from a weekend of racing at Talladega.

Tracking the Trucks: Kroger 200 by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth has all the post-race analysis you need after Saturday afternoon's Camping World Truck Series race from Martinsville.

-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2011 Frontstretch.com

--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
 
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.

No comments:

Post a Comment