THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 6th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CCX
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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.
Editor's Note: Yesterday, we noted that Kevin Harvick was the fastest Chaser in Phoenix testing (7th) while Jeff Gordon holds the Phoenix track record. Ryan Newman was actually the fastest in second, while the track record is held by Carl Edwards at 137.279 MPH... we apologize for the error.
Today's Top News
by Phil Allaway
On Wednesday, NASCAR wrapped up their two-day test at the newly repaved and reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway. The practices, held in much cooler weather than the recent Goodyear tire tests, were designed to help the teams adapt to the brand new track surface and design.
Tony Stewart turned in the fastest lap of the test with a 26.132-second (137.762 mph) lap. This is roughly one-tenth of a second quicker than the track record set by Carl Edwards back in February. Stewart's lap was just a few thousandths of a second quicker than Jimmie Johnson in second. Kevin Harvick was third, while Austin Dillon, driving Clint Bowyer's No. 33, was fourth. A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top-5 speeds.
Opinions of the track after the two days of testing appear to be positive, unlike when the tire test was held in 100-degree weather earlier this year.
"As we ran the track, it got a lot better with rubber," Edwards said. "As treacherous as this place was in the Goodyear tire test, as tough as it was to drive, it got better the whole day. I think we have a lot to look forward to once the track gets more rubber on it. To me, it's going to be pretty amazing [for Phoenix] to be the penultimate race and have all those opportunities for something crazy to happen, it could shake everything up. I don't know how all those dynamics are going to work out. I think as we see the other series run, we'll learn where the problem spots are."
"It's awesome. They've done an awesome job with the racetrack, plus they've done an awesome job on pit road," said Steve Addington, crew chief for Kurt Busch. "You look forward to picking a pit. All the pits should be good when we come back to race. I think that's going to be the action place. We were talking about it last night, about the double-file restarts, getting through two. Getting into the dogleg is going to be exciting. During the test, everybody is giving. When you catch a car, they let you go. But when they start racing, it's going to be pretty interesting through there. That's going to open up another can of worms to see how all the action takes place back through there. Getting into it, positioning yourself, where you get a run on the guy, whether it's on the outside or inside of him, the give and take is going to be pretty interesting."
Combined, many of the teams tested over 250 miles over the two days. The Hendrick Motorsports entry testing the new Electronic Fuel Injection systems for 2012 drove the most, with Aric Almirola turning 288 laps inside the car. However, none of the EFI-equipped cars were faster than 30th on the speed chart on Wednesday, while Penske Racing's EFI-equipped car did not take to the track at all.
For a full list of testing speeds from Day 2, click here.
Wheaties to Co-Sponsor Jeff Burton in 2012
On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing announced that General Mills will continue sponsoring their organization for 2012. However, instead of being the primary backer for the No. 33, with their Cheerios and Hamburger Helper brands, the Wheaties brand will be featured on the No. 31 Chevrolet of Jeff Burton in a multi-year deal beginning in 2012. It is currently unclear how many races Burton will run with Wheaties primary sponsorship. The press release issued mentioned that Wheaties will sponsor a number of "key races," in addition to associate sponsorship status for those events that they will not be the primary sponsor for.
Burton, understandably is thrilled to have another sponsor to fill out his races for 2012.
"I'm excited to have a company like General Mills and a brand like Wheaties join our No. 31 team," Burton said. "Wheaties is one of the most iconic brands in American history, and my kids use so many General Mills products that I'm sure we have a decent market share of the company in our pantry. I also like that they have worked hard to provide so many healthy choices."
The new deal will mark General Mills' fifth season of sponsorship with RCR. However, it will not mark the first time that the Wheaties brand will have been displayed on an RCR Chevrolet. More recently, there was a multi-race deal that saw General Mills advertise the then-new Wheaties Fuel cereal on the No. 33. And back in 1997, Wheaties' distinctive orange and white colors were displayed on the No. 3 of Dale Earnhardt during The Winston as a special paint scheme.
The official picture of the Wheaties Chevrolet also shows that BB&T will be an associate sponsor on the No. 31 in 2012. For the past few seasons, the Mid-Atlantic bank has served as an associate sponsor and part-time primary sponsor on RCR's No. 33. Caterpillar will also share the financial burden, serving as a primary for an undetermined number of races on Burton's car.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400: 46 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 32 - Mike Bliss for FAS Lane 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. 60 - Mike Skinner for Germain Racing
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 95 - David Starr for Leavine Family Racing
No. 98 - Austin Dillon for Richard Childress Racing/Curb Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 7 - Robby Gordon returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson. The team has sponsorship to run the full distance this weekend.
No. 38 - Travis Kvapil returns to the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley.
No. 55 - J.J. Yeley returns to the seat, replacing Travis Kvapil. This car will continue to start and park.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 7 - Robby Gordon for Robby Gordon Motorsports
No. 30 - David Stremme for Inception Motorsports*
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. 60 - Mike Skinner for Germain Racing*
No. 66 - Michael McDowell for HP Racing, LLC*
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports*
No. 95 - David Starr for Leavine Family Racing
No. 98 - Austin Dillon for Richard Childress Racing/Curb Agajanian Racing (First career attempt)
Wheaties to Co-Sponsor Jeff Burton in 2012
On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing announced that General Mills will continue sponsoring their organization for 2012. However, instead of being the primary backer for the No. 33, with their Cheerios and Hamburger Helper brands, the Wheaties brand will be featured on the No. 31 Chevrolet of Jeff Burton in a multi-year deal beginning in 2012. It is currently unclear how many races Burton will run with Wheaties primary sponsorship. The press release issued mentioned that Wheaties will sponsor a number of "key races," in addition to associate sponsorship status for those events that they will not be the primary sponsor for.
Burton, understandably is thrilled to have another sponsor to fill out his races for 2012.
"I'm excited to have a company like General Mills and a brand like Wheaties join our No. 31 team," Burton said. "Wheaties is one of the most iconic brands in American history, and my kids use so many General Mills products that I'm sure we have a decent market share of the company in our pantry. I also like that they have worked hard to provide so many healthy choices."
The new deal will mark General Mills' fifth season of sponsorship with RCR. However, it will not mark the first time that the Wheaties brand will have been displayed on an RCR Chevrolet. More recently, there was a multi-race deal that saw General Mills advertise the then-new Wheaties Fuel cereal on the No. 33. And back in 1997, Wheaties' distinctive orange and white colors were displayed on the No. 3 of Dale Earnhardt during The Winston as a special paint scheme.
The official picture of the Wheaties Chevrolet also shows that BB&T will be an associate sponsor on the No. 31 in 2012. For the past few seasons, the Mid-Atlantic bank has served as an associate sponsor and part-time primary sponsor on RCR's No. 33. Caterpillar will also share the financial burden, serving as a primary for an undetermined number of races on Burton's car.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400: 46 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 32 - Mike Bliss for FAS Lane 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. 60 - Mike Skinner for Germain Racing
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 95 - David Starr for Leavine Family Racing
No. 98 - Austin Dillon for Richard Childress Racing/Curb Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 7 - Robby Gordon returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson. The team has sponsorship to run the full distance this weekend.
No. 38 - Travis Kvapil returns to the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley.
No. 55 - J.J. Yeley returns to the seat, replacing Travis Kvapil. This car will continue to start and park.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 7 - Robby Gordon for Robby Gordon Motorsports
No. 30 - David Stremme for Inception Motorsports*
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. 60 - Mike Skinner for Germain Racing*
No. 66 - Michael McDowell for HP Racing, LLC*
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports*
No. 95 - David Starr for Leavine Family Racing
No. 98 - Austin Dillon for Richard Childress Racing/Curb Agajanian Racing (First career attempt)
* - Expected to start and park
Not Entered:
No. 50 - T.J. Bell for MAKE Motorsports
Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300: 50 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 4 - Kevin Harvick for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
No. 18 - Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22 - Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 27 - J.J. Yeley for Baker-Curb Racing/Go Canada Racing
No. 30 - James Buescher for Turner Motorsports
No. 32 - Brian Vickers for Turner Motorsports
No. 33 - Paul Menard for Kevin Harvick, Inc.
No. 50 - T.J. Bell for MAKE Motorsports
No. 60 - Carl Edwards for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 70 - David Stremme for ML Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 03 - Scott Riggs returns to the seat, replacing Marc Davis. This car is expected to start and park.
No. 04 - Danny O'Quinn, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Kelly Bires. This car will continue to be a second, start-and-park effort to help fund the No. 39.
No. 7 - Danica Patrick returns to the seat, replacing Jamie McMurray. The IndyCar Series is off this weekend, giving Patrick the opportunity to gain some more Nationwide experience for 2012.
No. 23 - Angela Cope is in the seat, replacing Scott Riggs. Cope brings sponsorship to take the ride.
No. 30 - James Buescher returns to the seat, replacing Jason Leffler. It's a one-race deal with Sporting Kansas City as the sponsor.
No. 32 - Brian Vickers returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson after his firing. Vickers drove the car on a fairly regular basis prior to his pulmonary embolism in 2010.
No. 33 - Paul Menard returns to the seat, replacing Clint Bowyer. Harvick continues his rotating schedule of drivers in the KHI seat.
No. 38 - Jason Leffler returns to the seat, replacing Kasey Kahne.
No. 39 - Joey Gase returns to the seat, replacing Fain Skinner.
No. 68 - Jeremy Petty returns to the seat, replacing Carl Long. If he qualifies, Petty would be making his Nationwide Series debut.
No. 70 - David Stremme returns to the seat, replacing Casey Roderick.
No. 74 - Mike Harmon returns to the seat, replacing Tony Raines. This car is expected to start and park.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 03 - Scott Riggs for R3 Motorsports*
No. 04 - Danny O'Quinn, Jr. for Go Green Racing*
No. 4 - Kevin Harvick for Kevin Harvick, Inc. (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 13 - Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing
No. 16 - Trevor Bayne for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 20 - Ryan Truex for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 27 - J.J. Yeley for Baker-Curb Racing/Go Canada Racing*
No. 41 - Johnny Chapman for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 42 - Tim Andrews for Key Motorsports*
No. 44 - Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Has second crack at the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 46 - Chase Miller for Key Motorsports*
No. 47 - Charles Lewandoski for Key Motorsports*
No. 48 - Dennis Setzer for Jay Robinson Racing*
No. 49 - Mark Green for Jay Robinson Racing*
No. 50 - T.J. Bell for MAKE Motorsports*
No. 68 - Jeremy Petty for Fleur-de-Lis Motorsports*
No. 71 - Matt Carter for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 74 - Mike Harmon for Harmon Motorsports*
No. 75 - Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 82 - Scott Wimmer for MacDonald Motorsports*
*- Expected to Start-and-Park
Withdrawn:
No. 10 - JJC 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.
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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 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
by Vito Pugliese
- What is a bigger crime: Reed Sorenson getting yanked out of the No. 32 Turner Motorsports car for the final five races, ending his hopes of making a late rally for a Nationwide Series Championship – or Brian Vickers being excited to the point of using exclamation marks in a press release about taking over the Dollar General Chevrolet? Both drivers have experienced getting the rug pulled out from under them this year, with Sorenson taking the brunt of Turner's topsy-turvy ride from former Cup regular to being bounced with a few races left and in contention for the title. Meanwhile, Vickers is getting released from the Red Bull Racing Team as they prepare to pull up the stakes and take the party back to Austria, for the most part.
Perhaps the biggest winner in all of this is sponsor Dollar General. They get maximum exposure from a big news story in a slow NASCAR news week, a Cup driver and former Nationwide champion Brian Vickers for this season, a rumored alliance with Kyle Busch Motorsports next year, and they just won an IndyCar Series race this past weekend at Kentucky with Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher (Editor's Note: Fisher noted in a Victory Lane interview that Dollar General is not returning to Sarah Fisher Racing for 2012). I guess it's good to have options.
- Here we are in October already, and there are drivers all around the sport – name drivers with a proven pedigree, who are unsure of their plans for 2012. Brian Vickers, Mark Martin, Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday... the list goes on. Even Clint Bowyer, who will be announcing that he is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing is a bit of a surprise free agent signing, and arguably a step down from driving RCR Chevrolets for the past six seasons.
- Travis Pastrana tweeted Wednesday night, Make no mistake, I'm doing X Games and I'm doing it in a Rally car!! I'm all for being a free spirit and everything, but if you missed your first NASCAR start because you were dicking around on a dirt bike, maybe it might be good to let the stunt stuff take a breather for a few months? When you see how hard it is to get sponsorship at any level of motorsports right now no matter who you are – or where you are in the championship standings – squandering opportunity and putting your return/debut at further risk and peril is not the best way to engender yourself to a community that is as tightly woven as those in NASCAR.
Speaking of tweeting, a number of NASCAR personalities were sending out messages of condolences to the family and loved ones of Apple founder and pioneer of just about everything that we hold dear electronically, Steve Jobs, who passed away following a bout with pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant. You may be reading this on an iMac, iPad, or iPhone, or listening to your iPod while perusing your e-mail, the result of one individual pursuing his life's passion.
- With all of the pink that was displayed around Dover last weekend, and just about every other professional sporting event, it is a reminder of no matter how much money you have, or much of an impact you have on the world as a whole, if you get sick, there isn't a whole lot you can do about it – for now. Please continue to support such organizations as the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, www.Livestrong.org, www.candlelighters.org, and the American Cancer Society. Over the last three years I have had three people very close to me in their late 20's and early 30's diagnosed with cancer – and all three are still here today thanks to the advances and gains in detection and treatment.
It isn't beat yet, but we're a lot farther along than even 35 years ago, when the first single-board computer named the Apple I was released.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@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
by Vito Pugliese
- What is a bigger crime: Reed Sorenson getting yanked out of the No. 32 Turner Motorsports car for the final five races, ending his hopes of making a late rally for a Nationwide Series Championship – or Brian Vickers being excited to the point of using exclamation marks in a press release about taking over the Dollar General Chevrolet? Both drivers have experienced getting the rug pulled out from under them this year, with Sorenson taking the brunt of Turner's topsy-turvy ride from former Cup regular to being bounced with a few races left and in contention for the title. Meanwhile, Vickers is getting released from the Red Bull Racing Team as they prepare to pull up the stakes and take the party back to Austria, for the most part.
Perhaps the biggest winner in all of this is sponsor Dollar General. They get maximum exposure from a big news story in a slow NASCAR news week, a Cup driver and former Nationwide champion Brian Vickers for this season, a rumored alliance with Kyle Busch Motorsports next year, and they just won an IndyCar Series race this past weekend at Kentucky with Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher (Editor's Note: Fisher noted in a Victory Lane interview that Dollar General is not returning to Sarah Fisher Racing for 2012). I guess it's good to have options.
- Here we are in October already, and there are drivers all around the sport – name drivers with a proven pedigree, who are unsure of their plans for 2012. Brian Vickers, Mark Martin, Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday... the list goes on. Even Clint Bowyer, who will be announcing that he is moving to Michael Waltrip Racing is a bit of a surprise free agent signing, and arguably a step down from driving RCR Chevrolets for the past six seasons.
- Travis Pastrana tweeted Wednesday night, Make no mistake, I'm doing X Games and I'm doing it in a Rally car!! I'm all for being a free spirit and everything, but if you missed your first NASCAR start because you were dicking around on a dirt bike, maybe it might be good to let the stunt stuff take a breather for a few months? When you see how hard it is to get sponsorship at any level of motorsports right now no matter who you are – or where you are in the championship standings – squandering opportunity and putting your return/debut at further risk and peril is not the best way to engender yourself to a community that is as tightly woven as those in NASCAR.
Speaking of tweeting, a number of NASCAR personalities were sending out messages of condolences to the family and loved ones of Apple founder and pioneer of just about everything that we hold dear electronically, Steve Jobs, who passed away following a bout with pancreatic cancer and a liver transplant. You may be reading this on an iMac, iPad, or iPhone, or listening to your iPod while perusing your e-mail, the result of one individual pursuing his life's passion.
- With all of the pink that was displayed around Dover last weekend, and just about every other professional sporting event, it is a reminder of no matter how much money you have, or much of an impact you have on the world as a whole, if you get sick, there isn't a whole lot you can do about it – for now. Please continue to support such organizations as the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, www.Livestrong.org, www.candlelighters.org, and the American Cancer Society. Over the last three years I have had three people very close to me in their late 20's and early 30's diagnosed with cancer – and all three are still here today thanks to the advances and gains in detection and treatment.
It isn't beat yet, but we're a lot farther along than even 35 years ago, when the first single-board computer named the Apple I was released.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com.
Tis The Season For Layoffs & Uncertainty In NASCAR
Shakedown Session
by Brody Jones
Make no mistake, NASCAR fans. The current economy has been none too kind to consumers and sports sponsorships in general, but the sport hit the hardest by the lack of revenue coming in has been NASCAR. Vanilla, blank cars are becoming more and more of the norm while some teams are having to rely on start-and-park efforts to simply survive. Even megateams like Roush Fenway Racing are facing a cloudy, at best, sponsorship picture in 2012 with two of their four Cup cars without primary backing.
Some organizations, however, have been hit harder than others. Teams have either suspended operations, have potential layoffs on the horizon, or, in some cases, shut down completely due to lack of funding. The days of sponsor-after-sponsor coming into the sport have long since passed and not only have team owners suffered, but crew members and drivers looking to support their families are now fighting to stay involved, period in the wake of their livelihood being pulled out from under them.
For example, Turner Motorsports, as reported by Frontstretch, has given their employees a notice of potential downsizing at the end of the season. This move comes as somewhat of a shock for a team that was fielding four Nationwide Series and three Camping World Truck Series teams. Now rumors are that the organization is downsizing to two full-time teams in each series with a possible third part-time effort in the Nationwide Series; and after what we've seen in the last 48 hours, one wonders if there will even be a program at all next season, despite sponsor Great Clips indicating they'll return.
Another team that has given the state of North Carolina official warning of potential layoffs is Germain Racing. While Casey Mears will be back with GEICO in the No. 13 Germain-owned car, the rest of the forecast in the organization is uncertain. What is known is that they're trying to line up sponsors next year for Todd Bodine, but it remains to be seen if he will be in the Camping World Truck Series or the Nationwide Series next year. It looks as if current Germain Truck Series drivers Brendan Gaughan and Max Papis will be gone in 2012, with Gaughan rumored to be shopping his sponsorship around elsewhere. For a team that started the year with four trucks and two Sprint Cup entries, it looks like they'll be lucky to have more than one and one next season. No word on how this will affect the Germain offshoot team Germain-Osceola Racing at press time.
Not even Kevin Harvick, Inc. could escape the job-axing epidemic. The storied Nationwide program has merged with Richard Childress Racing in 2012 and the Truck Series operation will cease to exist at the end of the season. This leaves Ron Hornaday, Jr., in particular, looking for employment elsewhere and an uncertain future for 140 KHI employees. While Eddie Sharp Racing has bought out the KHI Truck Series equipment, it has yet to be determined if all of the KHI employees will move on with the newly-expanded ESR operation.
And how could NASCAR fans forget the ailing Red Bull Racing team? Drivers such as Brian Vickers and Jacques Villeneuve have tried to round up investors to keep the two-car operation going, but to no avail as 150 RBRT employees will be facing uncertain futures - including current driver Vickers. One has to wonder if the $6.5 million lawsuit filed for wrongful termination by Scott Speed and the bad press caused by a former employee's inappropriate tweet have made potential investors a bit skittish to buy the assets of the organization?
But at the end of the day, a tough economy more than anything else becomes the brutally honest reality that the motorsports industry has to face. With sponsors not as eager to spend money frivolously, hand-over-fist on a sport such as NASCAR, it makes things all the tougher for those that are trying to survive. Sadly, these closings may only be the tip of the iceberg in the long run unless the economy improves to where sponsors are willing to come back to the sport. But the real question is whether these employees facing unemployment will wait that long to find a new job?
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
This piece will be a little bit more than just a look at the telecast, but at the race itself. The series never fails to amaze me, for all kinds of different reasons.
We'll skip the Firestone Indy Lights race. Not a whole lot of action there. The series has suffered from small fields for years, and Sunday's race was no exception. Only 13 cars started and five were eliminated by Turn 2 in this crash.
After the preliminary event, Versus still had about 25 minutes to kill prior to the start of IndyCar Central. During that time, they presented a somewhat offbeat feature where they followed Simona de Silvestro to Vevay, Indiana, a small town of 1,860 or so with Swiss heritage. What followed was de Silvestro being given a tour of the village, its history, and how it compares to the area in Switzerland where de Silvestro is from. Apparently, it compares quite well. However, de Silvestro cannot blow the giant horn to save her life.
Once IndyCar Central started, the main feature of the show was based around the brand new 2012 Dallara, which recently tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Honda trotted out their new single-turbo engine to test in the new chassis. Jon Beekhuis was on hand to point out some of the new features of the car, including the increased foam around the cockpit and the new, hand-operated clutch. Tony Cotman (head of the 2012 ICONIC committee that selected Dallara's design) pitched in some thoughts about the new car, as did Wheldon. Based on what I saw, the new car rides lower on track than the old one does. Also, the Honda engine has an interesting note. It's been compared to the turbocharged engines in Formula One back in the 1980's. Personally, I'm more intrigued about what the Lotus-badged Judd and Chevrolet engines, which will both be twin-turbos, will sound like.
Another feature followed Vitor Meira and Tony Kanaan as they train for the Ironman World Championship, based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. For those of you who are unaware, that particular triathlon is considered to be the toughest standard-length triathlon in all the world. Athletes must swim 2.4 miles in open water, then ride 112 miles across lava fields (granted, it's on paved roads, but they're over the hottest areas in all of Hawaii) then a full marathon on foot. Brutal. I already had previous knowledge of at least Meira attempting to do this. For example, I had already seen a picture of his custom road bike (painted to match his race car) months ago. Meira stated that he started doing triathlons because he was already doing all three aspects of the event in order to prepare for Izod IndyCar Series races. So, it was basically a "why not?" decision. By the way, the race is Saturday; NBC will cover the event December 10th in a highlighted fashion.
The race telecast itself had a very definite focus. That was the championship battle between Will Power and Dario Franchitti. Early on, Power ran away with the event, pulling away by two seconds over the rest of the front pack with no help at all. His car was literally that good. But following the first round of stops (more on that a little later), Franchitti was in control. Versus gave viewers constant verbal updates about what was going on with the points, but it led to ignoring a lot of the other drivers in the field.
For example, at some point in the event, E.J. Viso was forced to pit and lost eight laps on pit road. No mention was ever made about what happened. In fact, the only mention that Viso and his team really got all day was due to an unfortunate incident on pit road that had nothing to do with Viso's No. 59. There was almost no mention at all of Wade Cunningham all day, either despite the fact that he made his way into a battle for fifth late before dropping back to a seventh-place finish.
If you exclude the fact that Ed Carpenter picked up his first career victory, the biggest story that came out of Kentucky was the multiple incidents on pit road. When Power pitted out of the lead on Lap 49, he knocked himself completely out of contention by having contact with Ana Beatriz when he was entering his stall. This ripped a gash in his left side pod. After a number of repairs under a later caution, Power finished a disappointing 19th.
Later in the race, de Silvestro's car spun on pit road right after a pit stop (cold tires appeared to be the culprit). Her No. 78 spun into Viso's pit stall, hitting one of Viso's crewmembers and causing the second yellow of the race. The crewmember was very sore, but OK. Cold tires appeared to be the culprit here, similar to the crash on the warm-up lane during qualifying that forced Pippa Mann to start from the rear of the field. During that yellow, Marco Andretti and Alex Lloyd collided on pit road, knocking both drivers out of the race. The commentators seemed to not know what to say here. Definitely an unprecedented amount of pit road carnage, especially for a series that uses electronic rev limiters on pit road that would usually prevent something like de Silvestro's crash from happening.
Jenkins claimed after the first round of green flag pit stops that Versus was having issues with scoring. Basically, the entire booth was convinced that there was no way in heck that Franchitti (ninth before the stops) could have been leading after the first round of stops. However, Franchitti pitted about three laps after Power. He got the advantage of hot tires and momentum while the drivers in front of him had to contend with cold tires and getting held up in the pits. It took a good five minutes for them to square everything away, even though the scroll was right the whole time. Not too good.
Somewhat lost in all of the pit road craziness was the fact that Alex Tagliani had been bumped out of his No. 77 in favor of Wheldon for Kentucky and Las Vegas (Tagliani will drive the No. 98 for Bryan Herta Autosport in Las Vegas). Since he couldn't compete on Sunday, he joined the broadcast booth for the race starting on Lap 34. Tagliani is OK in the booth, but doesn't really bring all that much to the broadcast. He also goofed when referring to the idea of Wheldon getting an advantage by pitting under green right before a yellow. That strategy doesn't work when you have 24-second laps, unfortunately. Maybe two weeks earlier at the Twin Ring Motegi, it would have been different. Sorry.
The middle of the race was not really all that exciting. Franchitti led and easily held off any and all challengers. The action really didn't heat up until after the third and final caution ended with 22 laps to go. From there, it was side-by-side action between Franchitti and Carpenter with the rest of the remaining pack snarling behind. The booth was very enthusiastic about the on-track action. I'll admit that it was pretty exciting, all the way to the end.
Post-race coverage was somewhat typical in its scope, but with something extra. Versus gave viewers six driver interviews, plus interviews with the winning car owner (Sarah Fisher) and Carpenter's wife, Heather. In addition, there were the normal checks of the unofficial results and point standings. The extra coverage was mainly because Sunday was Versus' final Izod IndyCar Series broadcast of 2011 (the season finale in Las Vegas on October 16 will be on ABC). All seven of the on-air crewmembers talked about their favorite memories from the 2011 season. They ranged from Kevin Lee talking about his travels (he's the only one of the seven to go to either Japan or Brazil), to Marty Snider talking about J.R. Hildebrand's crash on the final lap in the Indianapolis 500 and so on. It was a nice way to finish off the season on Versus, much more friendly and low key as opposed to last year's travesty in Homestead where it seemed like they were at each other's throats.
I thought that the race was OK to watch, but far too focused on the top two in points. Once Power had his issues, he dropped off the planet. The cameras were focused on the front of the field for the rest of the race from that point on, missing notable stories along the way. That, along with the NFL playing its usual negative role, led to only 188,000 viewers watching the race (a 0.1 rating). Not good. The series needs to improve that badly. Versus needs to do more to promote the series. I think the DirecTV issues from last year still hurt the ratings, but if Versus considers IndyCar to be flagship programming for the summer months, they should treat it like it is. The IndyCar Open Wheel Weekly show, which only lasted a couple of weeks, was a good start. They should revisit that in 2012.
Versus' 2011 season was basically a year of near constant change. Wally Dallenbach missed multiple races due to his TNT Summer Series obligations. Snider did the same with that, along with obligations to cover NBA Playoff games. Robbie Floyd worked in a pinch-hitter role on pit road for much of the summer after being full-time for the past two years. Versus seemed to struggle with finding a role for Robin Miller all year. Dan Wheldon joined the broadcast booth a week after winning the Indianapolis 500.
After reading all that, you might think it was a mess. For the Japanese and Brazilian races, it was. However, Versus has created a trio in the booth that work really well together in Jenkins, Beekhuis and Dallenbach. Granted, Dallenbach has all but no experience at the highest levels of American Open-Wheel Racing, but he still can bring a lot to the booth. I'd say he's quite the upgrade over Robbie Buhl. Wheldon was quite a revelation in the booth, too despite the obvious fact that he'd rather be driving. It's a potential second career after he retires, though. I'm fine with Snider, Lee, Thackston and Floyd on pit road. Miller is a bit of a enigma. I don't know what his role officially is, even after watching for a full year. I don't know why he was in the booth for the Sao Paulo and Motegi rounds at all. Versus needs to define a role for Miller going forward. It needs to be more than "roving lunatic that all but wants to cuss people out on air," too. He simply lost his primary role when IndyCar Open Wheel Weekly was canned.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the Kentucky Indy 300. Next week, I'll be back with a look at the Kansas Lottery 98.9 for the ARCA Racing Series. Until then, enjoy the action from Kansas and Bathurst.
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Saturday night is the 50th running (technically, it's the 14th due to a split of touring car racing in Australia in 1997, resulting in two 1000k races, held weeks apart) of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. The late Peter Brock is the all-time winningest driver at Bathurst with nine victories in the race. However, the most recent win (1987) was kinda quirky. Why is this so?
A: It was unusual for two reasons. One, Brock was not originally planning on driving the No. 10 Holden Commodore that he eventually took the win in. He started his well-known No. 05 and was to co-drive with David Parsons. However, the car had to be retired after 34 laps due to mechanical problems. Brock and Parsons then slipped into the team car, the No. 10.
Brock's No. 10 originally finished third overall, three laps behind the winners, Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonne in a Ford Sierra RS500 run by the Eggenberger team out of Europe. Soper and Dieudonne's teammates, Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz, finished second, two laps down. However, the two Sierras were under investigation for illegal fuel at the time of the finish. This checked out OK, but the cars were later disqualified for illegal front fenders, giving the win to Brock's No. 10 in what turned out to be his final Bathurst for Holden for three years.
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 tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News & Frontstretch Folio: Kansas by Summer Dreyer
For example, Turner Motorsports, as reported by Frontstretch, has given their employees a notice of potential downsizing at the end of the season. This move comes as somewhat of a shock for a team that was fielding four Nationwide Series and three Camping World Truck Series teams. Now rumors are that the organization is downsizing to two full-time teams in each series with a possible third part-time effort in the Nationwide Series; and after what we've seen in the last 48 hours, one wonders if there will even be a program at all next season, despite sponsor Great Clips indicating they'll return.
Another team that has given the state of North Carolina official warning of potential layoffs is Germain Racing. While Casey Mears will be back with GEICO in the No. 13 Germain-owned car, the rest of the forecast in the organization is uncertain. What is known is that they're trying to line up sponsors next year for Todd Bodine, but it remains to be seen if he will be in the Camping World Truck Series or the Nationwide Series next year. It looks as if current Germain Truck Series drivers Brendan Gaughan and Max Papis will be gone in 2012, with Gaughan rumored to be shopping his sponsorship around elsewhere. For a team that started the year with four trucks and two Sprint Cup entries, it looks like they'll be lucky to have more than one and one next season. No word on how this will affect the Germain offshoot team Germain-Osceola Racing at press time.
Not even Kevin Harvick, Inc. could escape the job-axing epidemic. The storied Nationwide program has merged with Richard Childress Racing in 2012 and the Truck Series operation will cease to exist at the end of the season. This leaves Ron Hornaday, Jr., in particular, looking for employment elsewhere and an uncertain future for 140 KHI employees. While Eddie Sharp Racing has bought out the KHI Truck Series equipment, it has yet to be determined if all of the KHI employees will move on with the newly-expanded ESR operation.
And how could NASCAR fans forget the ailing Red Bull Racing team? Drivers such as Brian Vickers and Jacques Villeneuve have tried to round up investors to keep the two-car operation going, but to no avail as 150 RBRT employees will be facing uncertain futures - including current driver Vickers. One has to wonder if the $6.5 million lawsuit filed for wrongful termination by Scott Speed and the bad press caused by a former employee's inappropriate tweet have made potential investors a bit skittish to buy the assets of the organization?
But at the end of the day, a tough economy more than anything else becomes the brutally honest reality that the motorsports industry has to face. With sponsors not as eager to spend money frivolously, hand-over-fist on a sport such as NASCAR, it makes things all the tougher for those that are trying to survive. Sadly, these closings may only be the tip of the iceberg in the long run unless the economy improves to where sponsors are willing to come back to the sport. But the real question is whether these employees facing unemployment will wait that long to find a new job?
Brody Jones is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
The Critic's Annex: Kentucky Indy 300
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where I give my readers an additional look into the motorsports-related programming that is available to us race fans. In addition to the Camping World Truck Series Freeze-Out Saturday night (also known as the Kentucky 225), the Izod IndyCar Series raced Sunday afternoon at Kentucky Speedway in a doubleheader with Firestone Indy Lights.by Phil Allaway
This piece will be a little bit more than just a look at the telecast, but at the race itself. The series never fails to amaze me, for all kinds of different reasons.
We'll skip the Firestone Indy Lights race. Not a whole lot of action there. The series has suffered from small fields for years, and Sunday's race was no exception. Only 13 cars started and five were eliminated by Turn 2 in this crash.
After the preliminary event, Versus still had about 25 minutes to kill prior to the start of IndyCar Central. During that time, they presented a somewhat offbeat feature where they followed Simona de Silvestro to Vevay, Indiana, a small town of 1,860 or so with Swiss heritage. What followed was de Silvestro being given a tour of the village, its history, and how it compares to the area in Switzerland where de Silvestro is from. Apparently, it compares quite well. However, de Silvestro cannot blow the giant horn to save her life.
Once IndyCar Central started, the main feature of the show was based around the brand new 2012 Dallara, which recently tested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Honda trotted out their new single-turbo engine to test in the new chassis. Jon Beekhuis was on hand to point out some of the new features of the car, including the increased foam around the cockpit and the new, hand-operated clutch. Tony Cotman (head of the 2012 ICONIC committee that selected Dallara's design) pitched in some thoughts about the new car, as did Wheldon. Based on what I saw, the new car rides lower on track than the old one does. Also, the Honda engine has an interesting note. It's been compared to the turbocharged engines in Formula One back in the 1980's. Personally, I'm more intrigued about what the Lotus-badged Judd and Chevrolet engines, which will both be twin-turbos, will sound like.
Another feature followed Vitor Meira and Tony Kanaan as they train for the Ironman World Championship, based in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. For those of you who are unaware, that particular triathlon is considered to be the toughest standard-length triathlon in all the world. Athletes must swim 2.4 miles in open water, then ride 112 miles across lava fields (granted, it's on paved roads, but they're over the hottest areas in all of Hawaii) then a full marathon on foot. Brutal. I already had previous knowledge of at least Meira attempting to do this. For example, I had already seen a picture of his custom road bike (painted to match his race car) months ago. Meira stated that he started doing triathlons because he was already doing all three aspects of the event in order to prepare for Izod IndyCar Series races. So, it was basically a "why not?" decision. By the way, the race is Saturday; NBC will cover the event December 10th in a highlighted fashion.
The race telecast itself had a very definite focus. That was the championship battle between Will Power and Dario Franchitti. Early on, Power ran away with the event, pulling away by two seconds over the rest of the front pack with no help at all. His car was literally that good. But following the first round of stops (more on that a little later), Franchitti was in control. Versus gave viewers constant verbal updates about what was going on with the points, but it led to ignoring a lot of the other drivers in the field.
For example, at some point in the event, E.J. Viso was forced to pit and lost eight laps on pit road. No mention was ever made about what happened. In fact, the only mention that Viso and his team really got all day was due to an unfortunate incident on pit road that had nothing to do with Viso's No. 59. There was almost no mention at all of Wade Cunningham all day, either despite the fact that he made his way into a battle for fifth late before dropping back to a seventh-place finish.
If you exclude the fact that Ed Carpenter picked up his first career victory, the biggest story that came out of Kentucky was the multiple incidents on pit road. When Power pitted out of the lead on Lap 49, he knocked himself completely out of contention by having contact with Ana Beatriz when he was entering his stall. This ripped a gash in his left side pod. After a number of repairs under a later caution, Power finished a disappointing 19th.
Later in the race, de Silvestro's car spun on pit road right after a pit stop (cold tires appeared to be the culprit). Her No. 78 spun into Viso's pit stall, hitting one of Viso's crewmembers and causing the second yellow of the race. The crewmember was very sore, but OK. Cold tires appeared to be the culprit here, similar to the crash on the warm-up lane during qualifying that forced Pippa Mann to start from the rear of the field. During that yellow, Marco Andretti and Alex Lloyd collided on pit road, knocking both drivers out of the race. The commentators seemed to not know what to say here. Definitely an unprecedented amount of pit road carnage, especially for a series that uses electronic rev limiters on pit road that would usually prevent something like de Silvestro's crash from happening.
Jenkins claimed after the first round of green flag pit stops that Versus was having issues with scoring. Basically, the entire booth was convinced that there was no way in heck that Franchitti (ninth before the stops) could have been leading after the first round of stops. However, Franchitti pitted about three laps after Power. He got the advantage of hot tires and momentum while the drivers in front of him had to contend with cold tires and getting held up in the pits. It took a good five minutes for them to square everything away, even though the scroll was right the whole time. Not too good.
Somewhat lost in all of the pit road craziness was the fact that Alex Tagliani had been bumped out of his No. 77 in favor of Wheldon for Kentucky and Las Vegas (Tagliani will drive the No. 98 for Bryan Herta Autosport in Las Vegas). Since he couldn't compete on Sunday, he joined the broadcast booth for the race starting on Lap 34. Tagliani is OK in the booth, but doesn't really bring all that much to the broadcast. He also goofed when referring to the idea of Wheldon getting an advantage by pitting under green right before a yellow. That strategy doesn't work when you have 24-second laps, unfortunately. Maybe two weeks earlier at the Twin Ring Motegi, it would have been different. Sorry.
The middle of the race was not really all that exciting. Franchitti led and easily held off any and all challengers. The action really didn't heat up until after the third and final caution ended with 22 laps to go. From there, it was side-by-side action between Franchitti and Carpenter with the rest of the remaining pack snarling behind. The booth was very enthusiastic about the on-track action. I'll admit that it was pretty exciting, all the way to the end.
Post-race coverage was somewhat typical in its scope, but with something extra. Versus gave viewers six driver interviews, plus interviews with the winning car owner (Sarah Fisher) and Carpenter's wife, Heather. In addition, there were the normal checks of the unofficial results and point standings. The extra coverage was mainly because Sunday was Versus' final Izod IndyCar Series broadcast of 2011 (the season finale in Las Vegas on October 16 will be on ABC). All seven of the on-air crewmembers talked about their favorite memories from the 2011 season. They ranged from Kevin Lee talking about his travels (he's the only one of the seven to go to either Japan or Brazil), to Marty Snider talking about J.R. Hildebrand's crash on the final lap in the Indianapolis 500 and so on. It was a nice way to finish off the season on Versus, much more friendly and low key as opposed to last year's travesty in Homestead where it seemed like they were at each other's throats.
I thought that the race was OK to watch, but far too focused on the top two in points. Once Power had his issues, he dropped off the planet. The cameras were focused on the front of the field for the rest of the race from that point on, missing notable stories along the way. That, along with the NFL playing its usual negative role, led to only 188,000 viewers watching the race (a 0.1 rating). Not good. The series needs to improve that badly. Versus needs to do more to promote the series. I think the DirecTV issues from last year still hurt the ratings, but if Versus considers IndyCar to be flagship programming for the summer months, they should treat it like it is. The IndyCar Open Wheel Weekly show, which only lasted a couple of weeks, was a good start. They should revisit that in 2012.
Versus' 2011 season was basically a year of near constant change. Wally Dallenbach missed multiple races due to his TNT Summer Series obligations. Snider did the same with that, along with obligations to cover NBA Playoff games. Robbie Floyd worked in a pinch-hitter role on pit road for much of the summer after being full-time for the past two years. Versus seemed to struggle with finding a role for Robin Miller all year. Dan Wheldon joined the broadcast booth a week after winning the Indianapolis 500.
After reading all that, you might think it was a mess. For the Japanese and Brazilian races, it was. However, Versus has created a trio in the booth that work really well together in Jenkins, Beekhuis and Dallenbach. Granted, Dallenbach has all but no experience at the highest levels of American Open-Wheel Racing, but he still can bring a lot to the booth. I'd say he's quite the upgrade over Robbie Buhl. Wheldon was quite a revelation in the booth, too despite the obvious fact that he'd rather be driving. It's a potential second career after he retires, though. I'm fine with Snider, Lee, Thackston and Floyd on pit road. Miller is a bit of a enigma. I don't know what his role officially is, even after watching for a full year. I don't know why he was in the booth for the Sao Paulo and Motegi rounds at all. Versus needs to define a role for Miller going forward. It needs to be more than "roving lunatic that all but wants to cuss people out on air," too. He simply lost his primary role when IndyCar Open Wheel Weekly was canned.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the Kentucky Indy 300. Next week, I'll be back with a look at the Kansas Lottery 98.9 for the ARCA Racing Series. Until then, enjoy the action from Kansas and Bathurst.
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.
~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Did You Notice? ... As The Turner Disintegrates, Pit Stall Shenanigans & NASCAR Nasty
"So Clint Bowyer is signing with Michael Waltrip this Friday after all, huh? Guess they've mended fences after this 2008 incident at Bristol in August. Hope NAPA doesn't remember Bowyer did that… oops!" - Tom Bowles, on the more-than-likely move for Clint Bowyer to Michael Waltrip Racing for 2012.
"So Clint Bowyer is signing with Michael Waltrip this Friday after all, huh? Guess they've mended fences after this 2008 incident at Bristol in August. Hope NAPA doesn't remember Bowyer did that… oops!" - Tom Bowles, on the more-than-likely move for Clint Bowyer to Michael Waltrip Racing for 2012.
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!
~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
MPM2Nite: Tire-D Of This
by Matt McLaughlin
Going Green: Opportunity Gained? How One Chaser Is Overcoming Adversity
by Garrett Horton
~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
MPM2Nite: Tire-D Of This
by Matt McLaughlin
Going Green: Opportunity Gained? How One Chaser Is Overcoming Adversity
by Garrett Horton
by Brett Poirier
~~~~~~
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: The Bathurst 1000 has been curtailed short of its scheduled distance only twice since the inaugural race in 1962 (when it was just a 500-mile race). One of them was in 1981 due to massive crash that blocked the track at McPhilliamy Park, near the highest point on the course. The second time happened in 1992. Why was the race cut short?
~~~~~~
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: The Bathurst 1000 has been curtailed short of its scheduled distance only twice since the inaugural race in 1962 (when it was just a 500-mile race). One of them was in 1981 due to massive crash that blocked the track at McPhilliamy Park, near the highest point on the course. The second time happened in 1992. Why was the race cut short?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Saturday night is the 50th running (technically, it's the 14th due to a split of touring car racing in Australia in 1997, resulting in two 1000k races, held weeks apart) of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. The late Peter Brock is the all-time winningest driver at Bathurst with nine victories in the race. However, the most recent win (1987) was kinda quirky. Why is this so?
A: It was unusual for two reasons. One, Brock was not originally planning on driving the No. 10 Holden Commodore that he eventually took the win in. He started his well-known No. 05 and was to co-drive with David Parsons. However, the car had to be retired after 34 laps due to mechanical problems. Brock and Parsons then slipped into the team car, the No. 10.
Brock's No. 10 originally finished third overall, three laps behind the winners, Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonne in a Ford Sierra RS500 run by the Eggenberger team out of Europe. Soper and Dieudonne's teammates, Klaus Ludwig and Klaus Niedzwiedz, finished second, two laps down. However, the two Sierras were under investigation for illegal fuel at the time of the finish. This checked out OK, but the cars were later disqualified for illegal front fenders, giving the win to Brock's No. 10 in what turned out to be his final Bathurst for Holden for three years.
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 tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News & Frontstretch Folio: Kansas 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: Kansas by Mike Lovecchio
We'll have a preview of the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races this weekend at Kansas Speedway.
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: Kansas by Mike Lovecchio
We'll have a preview of the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races this weekend at Kansas Speedway.
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!
Nuts For Nationwide by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan returns with an intriguing commentary ahead of the series making their one and only trip of the year to Kansas.
Driver Diary: Kenny Wallace as told to Amy Henderson
The driver of the No. 09 Federated Auto Parts/American Ethanol/G-Oil/Family Farmers Toyota returns for another interesting look at the past month on and off the track. Knowing who it's coming from, it's sure to satisfy.
-----------------------------
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©2011 Frontstretch.com
-----------------------------
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©2011 Frontstretch.com
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