The Frontstretch Newsletter: February 17th, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
February 17th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition XV

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NOTE: SPECIAL NEWSLETTER TO COME LATER FRIDAY WITH MORE NEWS, BUD SHOOTOUT PRACTICE RESULTS AND STAFF PREDICTIONS FOR 2012.

Today's Top News
by Tom Bowles

Robby Gordon To Run Daytona 500; Race Team "For Sale"

After a quiet offseason on the NASCAR front, Robby Gordon was at Daytona Media Day and ready for the daunting Speedweeks task ahead: qualifying for this year's Daytona 500 through speed or next Thursday's Gatorade Duel 150s. But what will happen after that for the driver/owner, who start-and-parked his self-owned No. 7 Dodge in several races last season?

According to an interview with Mike Mulhern, Gordon will do as much racing as he can "without going broke." But as the veteran struggles to scrounge up sponsorship, he's admitting to several possible options on the table, including selling his ownership stake to someone else while focusing on increasing distribution of his SPEED Energy Drink.

"I've got a 100,000-square foot building in Charlotte…and planes I can't even afford to use today, though I'm still making payments on them and still paying insurance on them," he said. "I'm stuck. Plain and simple. The race team's for sale. It's been for sale."

In a wide-ranging answer, Gordon claimed to be looking for private investors to help fund the car in the long-term, keeping him safely in the driver's seat. Without that funding, it looks like the single-car effort will only be able to run the full distance in a handful of events, currently starting the year outside the "locked in" top-35 spots in owner points. It was a tough year for the organization, as Gordon himself went without a top-10 finish in Cup for the first year since 1999. But the owner/driver still believes in putting up his organization against the sport's multi-car giants.

"This sport is great," he said. "I love this sport. I love NASCAR... if we could run the car, we're a top-25 team easily. But we can't afford to run the car."

Zest, Roush Fenway Strike Up Sponsorship Deal For Kenseth

Roush Fenway's financial future for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 car got a major lift on Thursday, when Zest soap announced a four-race primary sponsorship deal to be on the car. Choosing to back races at Las Vegas, Daytona (July), Kansas (October) and Martinsville (October) High Ridge Brands feels they're the perfect fit for the 2003 Cup Series champ.

"Matt and the Roush Fenway team are perennial winners with a loyal following," explained Jim Daniels, the President and CEO of the company. "[We] respect their ability to deliver high energy performances on the track and a first class, clean image off the track. We look forward to another successful year for Zest, Roush Fenway, and of course, Matt and his #17 Zest Ford."

For his part, Kenseth continues the quest to remain financially secure at RFR following the departure of primary sponsor Crown Royal. Best Buy, Valvoline, and Ford Eco Boost have also all stepped up to become primary sponsors for him this year. However, a number of the 36 races on the schedule have not been filled by sponsor dollars.

Entry List Update: Sprint Cup
Note: These entries are accurate as of Thursday night.  As always, they are subject to change.

Daytona 500:  49 cars entered

Team Merger: Whitney Motorsports No. 46 and HP Racing, LLC No. 66 merge to form Phil Parsons Racing No. 98

Number Changes From 2011 To 2012:
Michael Waltrip Racing changes from No. 00 to No. 55
BK Racing changes from No. 4 to No. 93
Front Row Motorsports changes from No. 55 to No. 26

Owner Points Switches:
Stewart-Haas Racing/Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 10 acquired points from Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 36.
Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 15 (new team) acquired points from Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00.
Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 36 acquired points from Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 35, forcing them to qualify on speed.
Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 acquired points from FAS Lane Racing's No. 32.

Drivers not eligible to earn points:
No. 09 - Kenny Wallace for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 6 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 10 - Danica Patrick for Stewart-Haas Racing/Tommy Baldwin Racing
No. 21 - Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23 - Robert Richardson, Jr. for R3 Motorsports
No. 26 - Tony Raines for Front Row Motorsports
No. 33 - Elliott Sadler for Richard Childress Racing
No. 37 - Mike Walace for Rick Ware Racing
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports

Driver Changes, From 2011 To 2012:
No. 5 - Kasey Kahne is in the seat, replacing Mark Martin. Kahne begins a multi-year deal with the team.
No. 6 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is in the seat, replacing David Ragan. Unsponsored beyond Daytona, this deal is expected to be for one race only.
No. 22 - A.J. Allmendinger is in the seat, replacing Kurt Busch. Allmendinger replaces Busch after the latter parted ways with Penske in December.
No. 26 - Tony Raines is in the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley. This deal is for one race only.
No. 32 - Terry Labonte returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell. Labonte will run a handful of races this season for the team with sponsor C&J Energy Services.
No. 33 - Elliott Sadler is in the seat, replacing Clint Bowyer. Sadler is in the car for one race only; Brendan Gaughan will run it starting at Phoenix.
No. 34 - David Ragan is in the seat, replacing David Gilliland. Ragan is signed for the full season.
No. 37 - Mike Wallace is in the seat, replacing Mike Skinner. Rookie Timmy Hill will hop in this seat starting at Phoenix.
No. 38 - David Gilliland returns to the seat, replacing Travis Kvapil. Gilliland has been moved to the "second car" at Front Row Motorsports following David Ragan's hiring.
No. 43 - Aric Almirola is in the seat, replacing A.J. Allmendinger. Almirola begins a multi-year deal after getting signed away from JR Motorsports and their No. 88 Nationwide Series car.
No. 51 - Kurt Busch is in the seat, replacing Landon Cassill. Busch has a full-season deal in place with Phoenix Racing and will run with or without sponsorship.
No. 55 - Mark Martin is in the seat, replacing David Reutimann. Martin will scale back to a partial schedule of about 25 races with his new team this season.
No. 83 - Landon Cassill is in the seat, replacing Brian Vickers. Cassill is driving for the new BK Racing team, who purchased Red Bull Racing's assets.
No. 93 - David Reutimann is in the seat, replacing Kasey Kahne. Reutimann is driving in a one-race deal for the new BK Racing team, who purchased Red Bull Racing's assets.
No. 97 - Bill Elliott is in the seat, replacing Kevin Conway. Elliott currently has a one-race deal in this car.

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 09 - Kenny Wallace for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 7 - Robby Gordon for Robby Gordon Motorsports
No. 21 - Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23 - Robert Richardson, Jr. for R3 Motorsports
No. 26 - Tony Raines for Front Row Motorsports
No. 30 - David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 32 - Terry Labonte for FAS Lane Racing (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 36 - Dave Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing
No. 37 - Mike Wallace for Rick Ware Racing/MaxQ Motorsports
No. 40 - Michael Waltrip for Hillman Racing
No. 49 - J.J. Yeley for Robinson-Blakeney Racing
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 97 - Bill Elliott for NEMCO Motorsports (Has second crack at the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 98 - Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing

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.

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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Winter Goes Out With a Whimper: Is The Budweiser Shootout Still Relevant?
by Amy Henderson

Part V Of Our NASCAR Season Preview: Whacking Those Cup Drivers Away
by the Frontstretch Staff

Kile, Andy Belmont Racing Seeking Return to ARCA Prominence in 2012
by Bryan Keith

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q: Sticking with NASCAR rules, the current rules that mandate vertical fins on the rear decklid are actually not unprecented in Sprint Cup (the height of them is unusual, though).  When did NASCAR mandate these vertical fins in the past?

 
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Thursday's Answer:

Q: The infamous roof spoilers were introduced to the Cup Series on restrictor plate tracks back in October, 2000.  However, two other rules packages preceded the use of the roof spoilers (and 70-degree rear spoilers) that season.  What were the teams forced to do for the 2000 Daytona 500?

A: NASCAR mandated the specific shocks that teams had to use on all four corners of the car.  There was also a minimum rear spring rate of 345 pounds, designed to eliminate squatting that had become common during qualifying sessions.  This dropped the pole speed from just over 195 mph (Jeff Gordon) to a little over 191 (Dale Jarrett).  The result of the new rules?  Possibly the most boring Speedweeks in recent memory.  There were a grand total of 14 lead changes between the Bud Shootout, the Gatorade Twin 125's and the Daytona 500.  For Talladega, front shock freedom was returned to the teams, but a drop in the plate hole openings to 7/8ths of an inch slowed the cars even more.

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! 

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Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Bud Shootout Recap from Jeff Wolfe
-- Weekend News & Daytona 500 Pole Recap from Tom Bowles & Phil Allaway
-- Secret Star Of The Shootout & Stat Of The Week from Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

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Monday on the Frontstretch:
 
2012 Sprint Cup Predictions (out later today) by the Frontstretch Staff
We'll have predictions for the upcoming season from the entire roster here at Frontstretch, just in time for the opening of Budweiser Shootout Practice.

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Budweiser Shootout by Matt McLaughlin
The website's resident racewriting legend returns for another year of recaps, analysis, and sarcastic humor. Matt's got you covered right from the start with a look at Saturday's 75-lap exhibition sprint at Daytona.

Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom has a storyline from Saturday night we'll need to follow all the way through Daytona Speedweeks.

Monday Morning Teardown by Ron Lemasters
Ron returns with his weekly look at the world of NASCAR.

Pace Laps: Daytona by the Frontstretch Staff
Your experts, in a new column form a roundtable and handpick storylines to watch following this weekend's stock car season debut of Sprint Cup, ARCA and more.

Big Six: Bud Shootout by Amy Henderson
Amy's back for 2012, returning for a weekly look at the Who, Where, What, When, Why, and How from the Daytona Speedweeks weekend that was.

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©2012 Frontstretch.com

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