The Frontstretch Newsletter: January 3rd, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
January 3rd, 2012
Volume V, Edition I

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Remember, the Newsletter is on a weekly edition this offseason; expect the next version to come out on Monday, January 9th.

 

Top News From The Past Week

by Phil Allaway

David Reutimann To Tommy Baldwin Racing

In late-breaking news this morning, Jim Utter has tweeted that David Reutimann is headed to Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 36 car for 2012. Reutimann, without a ride since being released from Michael Waltrip Racing in favor of Mark Martin will be locked in through the first five races because of the team's top 35 position in 2011 owner points. However, funding from Golden Corral or another sponsor has not been secured to run a full season, meaning this car will start and park in races where there's not enough money to run.

Kahne And Sweet To Share Nationwide Series No. 38 In 2012

 

At the end of the 2011 season, Turner Motorsports decided not to renew longtime driver Jason Leffler's contract to drive the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet.  To replace him, Turner sought a group of drivers that would allow the team to once again contend for victories on a weekly basis. 

Those replacements have finally been named. Monday, Turner Motorsports announced that Cup Series veteran Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet will share the No. 38 Chevrolet for the 2012 Nationwide Series season.  Kahne will up his Nationwide Series commitment from 12 to 15 races, all of which will be in the No. 38, while Sweet will drive in the remaining 20 events. 

 

Kahne is pleased to be returning to Turner Motorsports for more races in 2012.

"I have had such a longstanding relationship with Great Clips and it's been great teaming back up with them again," Kahne said.  "They gave me my first real shot in this sport and that is something I have never forgotten."

 

Sweet is very happy to have his first crack at driving in the Nationwide Series with Turner Motorsports and Great Clips.

 

"I can't begin to say how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity to compete in the Nationwide Series and to join Kasey in representing Great Clips both on and off the track," Sweet said.  "Turner Motorsports is a first class organization with equipment capable of contending for wins week in and week out.  I don't think I could be in a better position to take the next step in my racing career."

 

Both drivers are already known quantities to Great Clips.  For Sweet, Great Clips has sponsored him in all 18 of his starts in the Camping World Truck Series after backing him in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, too.  Kahne has been backed by Great Clips in the Nationwide Series off and on since 2003.

 

Last season, Kahne started 12 Nationwide races, split between two of Turner Motorsports' teams (Nos. 30 and 38) and the JR Motorsports' No. 7.  In those events, Kahne had five top-5 and six top-10 finishes with a best run of second in the Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in March while driving the No. 38.  Meanwhile, Sweet started the first eight races last season in Turner Motorsports' No. 32 in the Camping World Truck Series.  In those races, Sweet had two top-10 finishes.

 

The schedule for when Kahne and Sweet would be behind the wheel of the Great Clips Chevrolet in 2012 was not available at press time.

Stewart Takes Two Wins in Fort Wayne

 

Last weekend was the annual Rumble at Fort Wayne, an indoor racing event at the Memorial Coliseum Expo Center.  Tony Stewart had announced ahead of time that he would be entering the event with his Volkswagen-powered Munchkin midget built in the early 1990s by Mike Fedorcak.  Unlike the last time he raced the car, though he did not use a pseudonym to compete under the radar. 

His rivals, when all were said and done didn't care about the name; they simply wished Smoke didn't leave them in the dust. On Friday night, Stewart started third in the 50-lap feature and was easily the fastest car on the track.  He immediately moved up to second, then put the pressure on for the lead.  He took the advantage, lost it due to a yellow, then immediately got it back and was not challenged on the way to the win.

Saturday night saw Stewart take the lead on Lap 18 when leader David Gough's car suffered an ignition failure.  From there, Stewart was once again unchallenged for his second victory of the weekend.

 

Stewart was very pleased with himself after clinching his sweep.

"What a great way to finish the year," Stewart said to Classic Motorsports' Ron Ware.  "It's going to be hard to keep this up, but it's going to be a lot of fun trying."

Since September, Stewart has won five of the ten Chase races in Sprint Cup on his way to his third championship, and swept Fort Wayne.  In addition, he also won an All-Star Kart race at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

 

Dakar Rally Underway

 

During the NASCAR offseason, there are simply not very many events available to race in.  However, the New Year brings with it the Dakar Rally, stretching this year from Mar del Plata, Argentina on the Atlantic Coast to Lima, Peru. The race is considered to be wide open in the Car class since the defending champion Volkswagen Touraeg TDI's are not in the field.  Instead, the Mini X-Raid team (formerly the BMW X-Raid team) with their Mini Countryman vehicles are expected to contend.  Robby Gordon is back with his Speed Energy-sponsored Hummer, while defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah is driving Gordon's second vehicle.

Gordon was in contention to win the first stage on Sunday, but he was forced to stop due to the mechanical condition of Al-Attiyah's Hummer.  Al-Attiyah encountered some issues under the hood with a mile remaining in the timed section of Stage 1, requiring Gordon to tow Al-Attiyah's Hummer for more than 400 miles back to the bivouac (paddock).  Mini driver Leonid Novitsky wound up winning the stage, while Gordon's assistance stop dropped him back to fifth.  Al-Attiyah officially finished ninth.

On Monday, Al-Attiyah jumped back from his issues on Sunday to win Stage 2 by 54 seconds over nine-time winner (six on a motorcycle, three in a car) Stephane Peterhansel of France.  Gordon was third, 2:42 behind.  Entering today's third stage, Peterhansel leads overall by 2:28 over Gordon and 2:33 over Poland's Krzysztof Holowczyc.  Al-Attiyah is sixth, 8:47 behind.

In the Bike class, defending champion Marc Coma leads overall by 2:30 over Francisco Lopez.  Lopez won Stage 1 on Sunday by 14 seconds over Coma, but Coma won Monday's stage by nearly three minutes.  Past winner Cyril Despres is third overall, 2:52 behind.

Unfortunately, the bike class has already come face to face with mortality during the race.  On Sunday, rider Jorge Boero crashed 55 kilometers into Stage 1.  According to rally organizers, Boero went into cardiac arrest following his crash.  Medical staff reached the crash site by helicopter a few minutes after the incident, but were unable to revive him.  Boero, just 38 years old, passed away while being airlifted to the hospital.

 

In the Truck class, the retirements of Kamaz's top two drivers, Vladimir Chagin and Firdaus Kabirov has opened up the race substantially this year.  It is effectively a free-for-all.  Man's Marcel Van Vliet was a surprise winner of Stage 1 on Sunday, but Holland's Gerard de Rooy, driving an Iveco truck won Stage 2 and took the overall lead.  His advantage is 5:30 over Eduard Nikolaev, Chagin's protege who is driving the lead Russian Kamaz.  Hans Stacey is third, 5:49 behind.

 

Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
 
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:  Later this month, it is likely that the pole time for the Rolex 24 at Daytona could dip into the 1:39 bracket, just six seconds off of the all-time track record.  What car set the track record for Daytona International Speedway's Rolex 24, and when was it set?

Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In 1988, NASCAR staged two exhibition races at the Calder Park Thunderdome, a 1.098-mile high banked tri-oval near Melbourne, Australia.  Neil Bonnett won the first one (the Goodyear 500k), held in between the Richmond and Rockingham races in early March.  The second exhibition race was after the season ended around Christmastime.  Who went to Victory Lane in that second race?

 
A: The second race was won by Morgan Shepherd, driving for Rahmoc, the same team that Bonnett drove for when he won the 500-kilometer race in March.  Shepherd was right up in contention for most of the race, but he was not the most dominant driver.  Sterling Marlin had dominated the race in his No. 94 Sunoco Oldsmobile Delta 88, but he was forced to pit under green for a splash of fuel late.

 

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!
 
Hey, Frontstretch Readers!
We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest  feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look at how NASCAR, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
 
Coming Monday, January 9th in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

 

This Week On The Frontstretch:
Did You Notice? ... Santa Gave Us Silly Season After All? by Tom Bowles
Tom returns with a wrap-up of all the driver moves in December and January, who were the big winners and losers and sets us up for the month of Daytona testing and Media Tours ahead.

 

Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff

The Mirror Driving crew returns with another batch of post-holiday talking points.  Topics include which driver made out the best in the post-season seat swaps, whether NASCAR can keep up momentum in support from the end of 2011, the possibility of Kasey Kahne's breastfeeding incident causing a decrease in driver tweeting, and more.

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