THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
January 25th, 2012
Volume V, Edition VII
SPRINT CUP MEDIA TOUR: DAY THREE. Attention, Frontstretch Readers! With the 2012 season gearing up, the Sprint Cup Media Tour is finally upon us and our website returns with full coverage. The Newsletter resumes its daily distribution, while writers Amy Henderson, Mike Neff, and Jay Pennell provide all the news and information you need directly from Charlotte.
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
January 25th, 2012
Volume V, Edition VII
SPRINT CUP MEDIA TOUR: DAY THREE. Attention, Frontstretch Readers! With the 2012 season gearing up, the Sprint Cup Media Tour is finally upon us and our website returns with full coverage. The Newsletter resumes its daily distribution, while writers Amy Henderson, Mike Neff, and Jay Pennell provide all the news and information you need directly from Charlotte.
Check out Frontstretch.com's Breaking News on the website, Amy's Twitter @Writer_Amy, Jay's Twitter @jaywpennell, our Twitter @TheFrontstretch and this Newsletter tomorrow for all the latest!
Top News From Tuesday's Media Tour
by Amy Henderson and Mike Neff
Sponsorship Stable at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Team Looks to Ramp Up Performance
Sponsorship Stable at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Team Looks to Ramp Up Performance
Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing With Felix Sabates kicks of 2012 with something many teams don't have: full sponsorship for both of the team's cars, driven by Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya. During the media gathering at the team's shop, owner Chip Ganassi praised the team's marketing department for raising millions at a time others in NASCAR are simply struggling to make it to the track.
The list of companies signed up this season are all over the map. Target will return as primary sponsor for Montoya, with additional backing from Energizer Batteries, Clorox, Huggies, and Degree for Men. Bass Pro Shops and McDonald's return to McMurray's team, which also unveiled three additional primary paint schemes, including the Belkin Chevrolet that will run at Martinsville this spring and the red, black and silver LiftMaster Chevy that will be seen at Loudon later this year.
Joining McMurray's team for the first time in 2012 is Banana Boat with a bright orange car reminiscent of the company's sunscreen bottles. The Banana Boat Cool Zone car will make its racetrack debut at Pocono on June. The company will also have a Cool Zone for fans at ten races this year, when fans can enter a sweepstakes to meet McMurray and his team. Banana Boat will cover Ganassi's entire organization in 2012, also adorning the rear wing of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti's race car.
With the money side taken care of, the talk heading into 2012 turns to performance. 2011 was a disappointing year for both Montoya and McMurray, who finished 21st and 27th in points, respectively. But nobody is panicking; at least, nobody left working there. Owner Ganassi made sweeping changes within the organization this offseason, cutting everyone from the bottom of the ladder to top executives in an effort to bring about a necessary change in chemistry. Now, says Ganassi, it's time to put the new personnel to the test, seeing how the adjustments shake out within the first few months.
"It's time to just go racing," Ganassi told the media on Tuesday. "It's a matter of putting the right people in place and letting them do their jobs. It was obviously time to make a change, and we took a big swipe at it… if more changes need to be done, we'll make those as well."
"It's behind us," echoed minority owner Felix Sabates, who added that what draws him to NASCAR is the people, both on the team and in the garage. "I own part of the Bobcats and you can't compare that to racing people. When you go in the garage, you're part of a big family."
Now, that family will work on pressing the reset button, with both Montoya and McMurray anxious to put 2011 in the rear-view mirror. "There were a lot of distractions," said Montoya, whose longtime crew chief Brian Pattie was fired midseason (Hendrick engineer Chris Heroy is the permanent replacement). "The teams were headed the wrong way. Chip handled it well and hired a bunch of people. You can see the changes, and I can't wait to get to the racetrack."
"When you have a season like that it makes you appreciate what we had in 2010 and hopefully what we're going to have this year…I think our excitement comes from the changes that we've seen," McMurray added. "We've made a lot of changes to our cars." McMurray won three times in 2010, including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 and hopes to return to the same level of success in 2012. - Amy Henderson
Charlotte Motor Speedway Prepares For Ambitious 2012
The hosts of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour, Charlotte Motor Speedway, unveiled an ambitious 2012 schedule that confirms their position as "The Greatest Place to See the Race." The megaplex that is the Charlotte Motor Speedway grounds will play host to no less than 114 events in 2012. There will be activities from NASCAR, NHRA, INEX and World of Outlaws as all three venues on the property - the 1.5-mile oval Charlotte Motor Speedway, the zMAX Dragway and the Dirt Track at Charlotte - will host multiple series throughout the year.
Activities will begin March 3rd with the first of four Saturdays of Spring Meltdown Test and Tune sessions at zMAX Dragway; they'll conclude on November 23rd with the annual race ticket and souvenir blowout. In between will be two NHRA events, including the Four-Wide Spring Nationals once again coming to the zMAX Dragway, the Legends Big Money 100, the Coca-Cola 600 and the World of Outlaws World Finals.
A new event that is going to take place in 2012 is the Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration that will be held on March 31st. The event, taking place with support from the USO of North Carolina and the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, is designed to honor those who served in the Vietnam War and will include live music, military displays and demonstrations, as well as military salutes.
As part of the Pre-Race activities for the All-Star race in May, three-time GRAMMY nominee Blake Shelton, CMA's reigning Male Vocalist of the Year will perform a concert. The show will take place in the infield between turns one and two and will be sponsored by Target. Shelton is not only the back-to-back Male Vocalist of the Year but was named Favorite Country Male Artist by the American Music Awards and is currently up for three GRAMMY awards: Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Song and Best Country Album. Shelton is also a coach on NBC's "The Voice" and will be performing a duet with his wife Miranda Lambert at this year's Super Bowl.
The Speedway is offering some outstanding discounts for fans with season ticket packages for both Charlotte Motor Speedway and zMAX Dragway. NASCAR fans will receive great value with the season ticket package that includes a pit pass for the All-Star race, a ticket to the Dollar General 300 Nationwide race, six free guest passes to the Speedway Club, 10 percent off of souvenirs, 10 percent off entry to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, VIP parking, a season ticket holder hard card and more.
For drag racing fans, they can pick up the NHRA season tickets which include six days of racing at the world's only four-lane, all concrete dragway. It also affords fans 15 percent off of tickets, VIP parking, 10 percent off souvenirs, a season ticket holder hard card and more.
2012 is going to be a banner year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and fans will have a myriad of opportunities to experience the thrilling action at all of the venues on the property. - Mike Neff
Roush Fenway Racing Celebrates 25 Years In 2012
The lunch stop on the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway was for Roush Fenway Racing, who is celebrating their 25th season in the Cup Series. The organization, which started as a one-car effort with driver Mark Martin and sponsor Stroh's Light in 1988 has come a long way from its humble beginnings. As part of the décor, there was a different trophy on every table that represented a different win or accomplishment in each of the 25 years of the company. Awards included the first win for the organization, which was scored by Mark Martin at Rockingham in 1989 and both Cup series championships captured by the organization (Matt Kenseth, 2003 and Kurt Busch, 2004). The lunch concluded with discussion time with most of the team's drivers or principals.
The lunch was highlighted by Jack Roush reviewing the successes of the company, including the 299 victories that have been notched by the organization. He concluded with looking forward to the 2012 season and the potential for success that lays in front of all of the teams under the Roush Fenway banner.
Some interesting news from the lunch included the state of their Nationwide program. At this point, the team has enough sponsorship to run one and a half Nationwide efforts this year, a full-time effort for defending champ Ricky Stenhouse and a part-time role for Trevor Bayne. There are negotiations underway that could lead to an announcement next week of a deal that would add a second full-time team to the lineup; Bayne, already set running a part-time schedule for the Wood Brothers in Cup has his fingers crossed the money comes through. What's notable is that Carl Edwards is not planning to run in the Nationwide Series at this time, cutting back his schedule to focus on Cup after seven years of "double dipping" full-time in that division. Roush also pointed out that the tough economic times resulted in the reduction of the Cup series efforts from four teams to three, which caused David Ragan to move to Front Row Motorsports.
Another fact about the Nationwide effort was that the championship team of Stenhouse had been gutted to move members up to various Cup teams within the company. To start 2012, there are only four members of the team who celebrated the 2011 series championship.
Roush hopes that getting to the 300-win count does not take longer than the first week of the racing calendar in 2012 but, looking at the tremendous success of the organization over the last 25 years, it shouldn't take very long for that checkered flag to be claimed. - Mike Neff
Ford Unveils 2013 Fusion Race Car
In the biggest announcement so far of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ford Racing took the wraps off of their 2013 Ford Fusion. The car incorporates common areas agreed upon by all manufacturers with style components unique to the 2013 production car to give fans a race car that truly resembles the street version of the Fusion. While there are most likely going to be some tweaks to the design the car is definitely a much needed change from the current race car and a vast improvement toward bringing the stock back to stock car racing.
The car was a collaborative effort across many different parts of the Ford organization. One of the key members of the project was Garen Nicoghosian, Design Manager for specialty vehicles who was oozing with pride over the car as the assembled members of the media commented on the great looks. He's a fan of the cars that used to race in the old Trans Am series and it shows in the end product. "I am a big fan of the flared fenders," Nicoghosian said. "The body style and the proportions we came up with lent itself to the flared fenders and the planted look that it gives to the car. It reminds you a lot of a Porsche 911 in how it just looks planted into the track."
While the other manufacturers have not yet unveiled their proposed cars for 2013, Ford has certainly set the bar high with their Ford Fusion. - Mike Neff
For more information on the Fusion, along with pictures please check out Jay Pennell's column on the subject below.
by Jay Pennell
Mirror Driving: Danica's Surprise, Carl & Kyle's Restriction, And Judging Underdogs
by the Frontstretch Staff
Time To Set Your Watches: Your Rolex 24 Preview, Part II
by Phil Allaway
Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
-- The list of companies signed up this season are all over the map. Target will return as primary sponsor for Montoya, with additional backing from Energizer Batteries, Clorox, Huggies, and Degree for Men. Bass Pro Shops and McDonald's return to McMurray's team, which also unveiled three additional primary paint schemes, including the Belkin Chevrolet that will run at Martinsville this spring and the red, black and silver LiftMaster Chevy that will be seen at Loudon later this year.
Joining McMurray's team for the first time in 2012 is Banana Boat with a bright orange car reminiscent of the company's sunscreen bottles. The Banana Boat Cool Zone car will make its racetrack debut at Pocono on June. The company will also have a Cool Zone for fans at ten races this year, when fans can enter a sweepstakes to meet McMurray and his team. Banana Boat will cover Ganassi's entire organization in 2012, also adorning the rear wing of IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti's race car.
With the money side taken care of, the talk heading into 2012 turns to performance. 2011 was a disappointing year for both Montoya and McMurray, who finished 21st and 27th in points, respectively. But nobody is panicking; at least, nobody left working there. Owner Ganassi made sweeping changes within the organization this offseason, cutting everyone from the bottom of the ladder to top executives in an effort to bring about a necessary change in chemistry. Now, says Ganassi, it's time to put the new personnel to the test, seeing how the adjustments shake out within the first few months.
"It's time to just go racing," Ganassi told the media on Tuesday. "It's a matter of putting the right people in place and letting them do their jobs. It was obviously time to make a change, and we took a big swipe at it… if more changes need to be done, we'll make those as well."
"It's behind us," echoed minority owner Felix Sabates, who added that what draws him to NASCAR is the people, both on the team and in the garage. "I own part of the Bobcats and you can't compare that to racing people. When you go in the garage, you're part of a big family."
Now, that family will work on pressing the reset button, with both Montoya and McMurray anxious to put 2011 in the rear-view mirror. "There were a lot of distractions," said Montoya, whose longtime crew chief Brian Pattie was fired midseason (Hendrick engineer Chris Heroy is the permanent replacement). "The teams were headed the wrong way. Chip handled it well and hired a bunch of people. You can see the changes, and I can't wait to get to the racetrack."
"When you have a season like that it makes you appreciate what we had in 2010 and hopefully what we're going to have this year…I think our excitement comes from the changes that we've seen," McMurray added. "We've made a lot of changes to our cars." McMurray won three times in 2010, including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 and hopes to return to the same level of success in 2012. - Amy Henderson
Charlotte Motor Speedway Prepares For Ambitious 2012
The hosts of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour, Charlotte Motor Speedway, unveiled an ambitious 2012 schedule that confirms their position as "The Greatest Place to See the Race." The megaplex that is the Charlotte Motor Speedway grounds will play host to no less than 114 events in 2012. There will be activities from NASCAR, NHRA, INEX and World of Outlaws as all three venues on the property - the 1.5-mile oval Charlotte Motor Speedway, the zMAX Dragway and the Dirt Track at Charlotte - will host multiple series throughout the year.
Activities will begin March 3rd with the first of four Saturdays of Spring Meltdown Test and Tune sessions at zMAX Dragway; they'll conclude on November 23rd with the annual race ticket and souvenir blowout. In between will be two NHRA events, including the Four-Wide Spring Nationals once again coming to the zMAX Dragway, the Legends Big Money 100, the Coca-Cola 600 and the World of Outlaws World Finals.
A new event that is going to take place in 2012 is the Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration that will be held on March 31st. The event, taking place with support from the USO of North Carolina and the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, is designed to honor those who served in the Vietnam War and will include live music, military displays and demonstrations, as well as military salutes.
As part of the Pre-Race activities for the All-Star race in May, three-time GRAMMY nominee Blake Shelton, CMA's reigning Male Vocalist of the Year will perform a concert. The show will take place in the infield between turns one and two and will be sponsored by Target. Shelton is not only the back-to-back Male Vocalist of the Year but was named Favorite Country Male Artist by the American Music Awards and is currently up for three GRAMMY awards: Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Song and Best Country Album. Shelton is also a coach on NBC's "The Voice" and will be performing a duet with his wife Miranda Lambert at this year's Super Bowl.
The Speedway is offering some outstanding discounts for fans with season ticket packages for both Charlotte Motor Speedway and zMAX Dragway. NASCAR fans will receive great value with the season ticket package that includes a pit pass for the All-Star race, a ticket to the Dollar General 300 Nationwide race, six free guest passes to the Speedway Club, 10 percent off of souvenirs, 10 percent off entry to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, VIP parking, a season ticket holder hard card and more.
For drag racing fans, they can pick up the NHRA season tickets which include six days of racing at the world's only four-lane, all concrete dragway. It also affords fans 15 percent off of tickets, VIP parking, 10 percent off souvenirs, a season ticket holder hard card and more.
2012 is going to be a banner year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and fans will have a myriad of opportunities to experience the thrilling action at all of the venues on the property. - Mike Neff
Roush Fenway Racing Celebrates 25 Years In 2012
The lunch stop on the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway was for Roush Fenway Racing, who is celebrating their 25th season in the Cup Series. The organization, which started as a one-car effort with driver Mark Martin and sponsor Stroh's Light in 1988 has come a long way from its humble beginnings. As part of the décor, there was a different trophy on every table that represented a different win or accomplishment in each of the 25 years of the company. Awards included the first win for the organization, which was scored by Mark Martin at Rockingham in 1989 and both Cup series championships captured by the organization (Matt Kenseth, 2003 and Kurt Busch, 2004). The lunch concluded with discussion time with most of the team's drivers or principals.
The lunch was highlighted by Jack Roush reviewing the successes of the company, including the 299 victories that have been notched by the organization. He concluded with looking forward to the 2012 season and the potential for success that lays in front of all of the teams under the Roush Fenway banner.
Some interesting news from the lunch included the state of their Nationwide program. At this point, the team has enough sponsorship to run one and a half Nationwide efforts this year, a full-time effort for defending champ Ricky Stenhouse and a part-time role for Trevor Bayne. There are negotiations underway that could lead to an announcement next week of a deal that would add a second full-time team to the lineup; Bayne, already set running a part-time schedule for the Wood Brothers in Cup has his fingers crossed the money comes through. What's notable is that Carl Edwards is not planning to run in the Nationwide Series at this time, cutting back his schedule to focus on Cup after seven years of "double dipping" full-time in that division. Roush also pointed out that the tough economic times resulted in the reduction of the Cup series efforts from four teams to three, which caused David Ragan to move to Front Row Motorsports.
Another fact about the Nationwide effort was that the championship team of Stenhouse had been gutted to move members up to various Cup teams within the company. To start 2012, there are only four members of the team who celebrated the 2011 series championship.
Roush hopes that getting to the 300-win count does not take longer than the first week of the racing calendar in 2012 but, looking at the tremendous success of the organization over the last 25 years, it shouldn't take very long for that checkered flag to be claimed. - Mike Neff
Ford Unveils 2013 Fusion Race Car
In the biggest announcement so far of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ford Racing took the wraps off of their 2013 Ford Fusion. The car incorporates common areas agreed upon by all manufacturers with style components unique to the 2013 production car to give fans a race car that truly resembles the street version of the Fusion. While there are most likely going to be some tweaks to the design the car is definitely a much needed change from the current race car and a vast improvement toward bringing the stock back to stock car racing.
The car was a collaborative effort across many different parts of the Ford organization. One of the key members of the project was Garen Nicoghosian, Design Manager for specialty vehicles who was oozing with pride over the car as the assembled members of the media commented on the great looks. He's a fan of the cars that used to race in the old Trans Am series and it shows in the end product. "I am a big fan of the flared fenders," Nicoghosian said. "The body style and the proportions we came up with lent itself to the flared fenders and the planted look that it gives to the car. It reminds you a lot of a Porsche 911 in how it just looks planted into the track."
While the other manufacturers have not yet unveiled their proposed cars for 2013, Ford has certainly set the bar high with their Ford Fusion. - Mike Neff
For more information on the Fusion, along with pictures please check out Jay Pennell's column on the subject below.
Have news for Amy, Jay, Mike and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us atashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Bold But Breathtaking Move: Ford Unveils 2013 Ford Fusion Body Styleby Jay Pennell
Mirror Driving: Danica's Surprise, Carl & Kyle's Restriction, And Judging Underdogs
by the Frontstretch Staff
Time To Set Your Watches: Your Rolex 24 Preview, Part II
by Phil Allaway
Just in case you missed them, we have completed our annual Driver Reviews. If you'd like to review them, JUST HEAD HERE AND YOU'LL FIND THEM ALL LISTED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: There have been quite a few Daytona Prototype chassis manufacturers over the past nine seasons. However, the manufacturer whose Daytona Prototype was used the least in the Rolex Sports Car Series was Chase. What car was the Chase designed to look like?
Q: There have been quite a few Daytona Prototype chassis manufacturers over the past nine seasons. However, the manufacturer whose Daytona Prototype was used the least in the Rolex Sports Car Series was Chase. What car was the Chase designed to look like?
Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Media Tour: Day Two Recap by Amy Henderson, Mike Neff, and Jay Pennell
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Coming This Week at The Frontstretch:
Epic Rolex 24 Preview: Four Parts by Phil Allaway
With Frontstretch having a presence this weekend at the Rolex 24 in Daytona Beach, we'll bring you a comprehensive preview of the twice-around-the-clock race.
Turning Back The Clock: 2003 Rolex 24 at Daytona by Phil Allaway
Also, in anticipation of the big race, we'll also bring a write-up of a classic Rolex event.
Coming Tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Media Tour: Day Two Recap by Amy Henderson, Mike Neff, and Jay Pennell
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Coming This Week at The Frontstretch:
Epic Rolex 24 Preview: Four Parts by Phil Allaway
With Frontstretch having a presence this weekend at the Rolex 24 in Daytona Beach, we'll bring you a comprehensive preview of the twice-around-the-clock race.
Turning Back The Clock: 2003 Rolex 24 at Daytona by Phil Allaway
Also, in anticipation of the big race, we'll also bring a write-up of a classic Rolex event.
Plus Media Tour coverage, the return of Mirror Driving, Tom Bowles' columns (finally) and so much more!
------------------------------
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©2012 Frontstretch.com
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!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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