THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
March 6th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition XXXII
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What To Watch: TuesdayTruck Series regulars James Buescher, Jason Leffler and Timothy Peters will be at Rockingham Speedway for an official Goodyear tire test. The series is prepping for NASCAR's return to the speedway, as this division will run the Good Sam Club Roadside Assistance Carolina 200 on April 15th. Grandstands will be open to fans during the day, with admission free of charge as the Speedway hopes to reconnect with the community while posting record "practice" attendance for April's main event.
Today's Top News
by Kevin Rutherford
Sadler's Five-Race Deal With Michael Waltrip Racing Off
Elliott Sadler's tenure with Michael Waltrip Racing is over before it even began. After announcing a five-race deal in the Cup Series with the team this weekend, a limited schedule that started at Bristol on March 18th the veteran confirmed Monday the deal was nixed almost immediately by his Nationwide owner, Richard Childress.
Following Sadler's win in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix, the driver said that Childress and executives brought him into a private meeting and discussed their concerns. By the end of it, the Virginia native was on the outside looking in on the Cup opportunity. "I think Richard," Sadler told SPEED.com, "Along with some of the executives that he has, have just decided that it's probably not in our best interest to do that right now."
The motive behind squashing the move remains unknown; the driver claimed to ESPN.com's David Newton switching manufacturers for Cup was not an issue (Michael Waltrip Racing is a Toyota outfit, while Childress is a longtime Chevy supporter). It's also unclear whether Childress was made aware of Sadler's new deal before it was publicly announced.
Sadler was scheduled to run the No. 55 at both Bristol and Martinsville races, as well as the July 15 event at New Hampshire. No replacement has been named, although former Red Bull Racing driver Brian Vickers is a heavy favorite to land the seat.
Sprint Cup Will Have A Rookie Race After All
Two races into 2012, the Sprint Cup Series now has two drivers running for top freshman honors. Timmy Hill and Josh Wise have now officially announced their candidacy for Rookie of the Year, partnered with underfunded teams but armed with hope proper sponsorship gives them a chance to stay competitive.
Wise, who at the end of 2011 was rumored to be running for the award with Max Q Motorsports, will run the season in Front Row Motorsports' third car, the No. 26 instead. Ironically Max Q, changing direction has formed a partnership with Rick Ware Racing to run Hill, the defending Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Danica Patrick, who's participating in a ten-race limited schedule has chosen not to file for the award; however, with the current seven-race limit that will make her ineligible to compete as a rookie in 2013.
It is unclear whether or not both drivers will be able to run the full schedule, let alone the entire lap count of each race. Wise and Front Row's bid will be dependent on sponsorship, and while Hill has backing from Poynt.com, the team may put a more experienced driver in the seat to get the No. 37 in the top 35 of owner's points if need be. Hill was the lone driver who failed to qualify Sunday at Phoenix, his first ever Cup Series attempt.
News 'N' Notes Post-Phoenix
- NASCAR has announced its plans to have a pace car follow behind jet dryers when they are clearing the track. The change comes following Juan Pablo Montoya's spin into the safety equipment during last week's Daytona 500 - one which resulted in a head-on collision, scary fuel explosion and an over two-hour red flag for repairs.
Drivers of the jet dryers may also be required to wear helmets and fire suits. However, requiring officials to do so is a change agreed upon by officials at individual tracks - it won't become an official part of the NASCAR rulebook going forward.
- A day-plus after Phoenix, Tony Stewart and his team are still trying to diagnose their EFI issue. According to USA Today, Stewart's crew discovered that Stewart accidentally tripped a breaker switch when he shut his car off under caution on Lap 247. That led to the team using a variety of troubleshooting methods in order to get the engine restarted, costing the team two laps and leading to a 22nd-place result.
Have news for Kevin 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's Featured Commentary
EFI: Resetting our Expectations for NASCAR
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's Featured Commentary
EFI: Resetting our Expectations for NASCAR
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
Life used to be much simpler. If something turned off, you reached for the switch and turned it back on. Easy. I'm thinking that thought may have been flitting through Tony Stewart's mind as he sat on pit road flipping the ignition switch on his No. 14 over and over, with nothing happening.
Granted, it's always been difficult to get a car re-fired after it ran out of fuel, but if you ever wondered if there was going to be a learning curve with the new EFI, the answer is clearly yes. I couldn't help but chuckle as Tony's crew member climbed in the passenger window to fiddle with the new bit of circuitry mounted on the dashboard and the camera tried to focus on the only bit of action to be found around the No. 14 car at the moment--a man's hand as he reset the popped circuit breaker.
Couldn't you almost hear the conversation?
"Hit the ignition."
"I did, you idiot! What do you think I've been doing here? It won't turn back on."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Did you wait five seconds?"
You see the rolling eyes, short huff of breath and the muttered, "onetwothreefourfive" in rapid fire before his glove tries once again. At this point, if there wasn't a five-point harness holding him down, you'd think Tony would've been jumping up and down in his seat. I doubt his head could hit the steering wheel, either.
At least in the past not only did the viewing audience get to watch a team clamber around the pits in near panic as they grabbed the ether can, crossed their fingers, hit a handy piece of sheet metal and generally prayed to the racing gods for their machine to refire, but it gave the team something to do as well. Now it's a little more like a visit to the Geek Squad.
"So, tell me, what's it doing?"
"Not working."
"What do you mean, exactly."
"I hit the button and nothing happens."
Kevin Harvick, in his post-race Q&A referred to the restart process as, "a procedure that looks like a video game." It's all voodoo, to those of us at home watching on TV and apparently even to those following the checklist.
I probably wouldn't have given any real credence to the idea of EFI affecting the outcome of the race if there weren't further incidents of odd looking fuel mileage quirks in Phoenix. In days gone by a car would run out of gas, wiggle, sputter and just about stop. Harvick's No. 29 apparently emptied its tank on the final lap, but didn't stop. He sort of kept rolling, just not with any kind of competitive speed. That's something else that's new. The car will simply cut power when it has no more gas, to save the engine. Pretty cool! But definitely different. My eyes are going to need a whole new set of guidelines to determine exactly what's happening on the track.
And talk about anti-climatic, Denny Hamlin won! He freakin' won at the track that took away an entire championship in a fuel mileage run (cue Alanis Morrisette's "Isn't that Ironic?") He rolls down the frontstretch, throws his car into gear, stands on the gas. His No. 11 begins the expected burnout...and dies.
I looked for the telltale trail of smoke from under the hood or out the pipes. Nothing. Actually, he just kind of sat there all quiet and still. The FOX crew muttered among themselves for a few seconds, decided the car was out of gas and began to talk about something else. The camera started to pull back. We might've been going to commercial, as clearly the FedEx Office machine was destined to be pushed to Victory Lane. Ah! Not so fast. Suddenly the engine re-fired and DW declared, "He reset the system and got it re-fired."
Reset. Like reboot? Ah, so NASCAR has actually entered the 21st century, at long last. Like the televisions, phones and laptops that we all watch our favorite sport on, the cars finally have little computers in them capable of mucking up an afternoon to a fair-thee-well. They freeze. Anybody wondering of it's not just EFI gumming up the works, but possibly a Windows operating system as well?
It's called progress, folks. And in NASCAR lingo, change for consistency's sake. But never fear, I'm sure in a very short amount of time Jeff Hammond will have all new circuitry diagrams available on his cool new electronic cut-away car to explain to us exactly what just happened. At least I hope somebody will. Until then, I'll be wishing for the good ol' days where a broken part meant you could hold it in two hands.
Sonya's Weekly "Danica Patrick Stat":
Phoenix: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 30th
Finished: 21st (running, 3 laps down)
Points Position: 21st
by S.D. Grady
Life used to be much simpler. If something turned off, you reached for the switch and turned it back on. Easy. I'm thinking that thought may have been flitting through Tony Stewart's mind as he sat on pit road flipping the ignition switch on his No. 14 over and over, with nothing happening.
Granted, it's always been difficult to get a car re-fired after it ran out of fuel, but if you ever wondered if there was going to be a learning curve with the new EFI, the answer is clearly yes. I couldn't help but chuckle as Tony's crew member climbed in the passenger window to fiddle with the new bit of circuitry mounted on the dashboard and the camera tried to focus on the only bit of action to be found around the No. 14 car at the moment--a man's hand as he reset the popped circuit breaker.
Couldn't you almost hear the conversation?
"Hit the ignition."
"I did, you idiot! What do you think I've been doing here? It won't turn back on."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Did you wait five seconds?"
You see the rolling eyes, short huff of breath and the muttered, "onetwothreefourfive" in rapid fire before his glove tries once again. At this point, if there wasn't a five-point harness holding him down, you'd think Tony would've been jumping up and down in his seat. I doubt his head could hit the steering wheel, either.
At least in the past not only did the viewing audience get to watch a team clamber around the pits in near panic as they grabbed the ether can, crossed their fingers, hit a handy piece of sheet metal and generally prayed to the racing gods for their machine to refire, but it gave the team something to do as well. Now it's a little more like a visit to the Geek Squad.
"So, tell me, what's it doing?"
"Not working."
"What do you mean, exactly."
"I hit the button and nothing happens."
Kevin Harvick, in his post-race Q&A referred to the restart process as, "a procedure that looks like a video game." It's all voodoo, to those of us at home watching on TV and apparently even to those following the checklist.
I probably wouldn't have given any real credence to the idea of EFI affecting the outcome of the race if there weren't further incidents of odd looking fuel mileage quirks in Phoenix. In days gone by a car would run out of gas, wiggle, sputter and just about stop. Harvick's No. 29 apparently emptied its tank on the final lap, but didn't stop. He sort of kept rolling, just not with any kind of competitive speed. That's something else that's new. The car will simply cut power when it has no more gas, to save the engine. Pretty cool! But definitely different. My eyes are going to need a whole new set of guidelines to determine exactly what's happening on the track.
And talk about anti-climatic, Denny Hamlin won! He freakin' won at the track that took away an entire championship in a fuel mileage run (cue Alanis Morrisette's "Isn't that Ironic?") He rolls down the frontstretch, throws his car into gear, stands on the gas. His No. 11 begins the expected burnout...and dies.
I looked for the telltale trail of smoke from under the hood or out the pipes. Nothing. Actually, he just kind of sat there all quiet and still. The FOX crew muttered among themselves for a few seconds, decided the car was out of gas and began to talk about something else. The camera started to pull back. We might've been going to commercial, as clearly the FedEx Office machine was destined to be pushed to Victory Lane. Ah! Not so fast. Suddenly the engine re-fired and DW declared, "He reset the system and got it re-fired."
Reset. Like reboot? Ah, so NASCAR has actually entered the 21st century, at long last. Like the televisions, phones and laptops that we all watch our favorite sport on, the cars finally have little computers in them capable of mucking up an afternoon to a fair-thee-well. They freeze. Anybody wondering of it's not just EFI gumming up the works, but possibly a Windows operating system as well?
It's called progress, folks. And in NASCAR lingo, change for consistency's sake. But never fear, I'm sure in a very short amount of time Jeff Hammond will have all new circuitry diagrams available on his cool new electronic cut-away car to explain to us exactly what just happened. At least I hope somebody will. Until then, I'll be wishing for the good ol' days where a broken part meant you could hold it in two hands.
Sonya's Weekly "Danica Patrick Stat":
Phoenix: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 30th
Finished: 21st (running, 3 laps down)
Points Position: 21st
S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached via e-mail at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna.
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Numbers Game: Subway Fresh Fit 500k
by Garrett Horton
1
It took Denny Hamlin just two races to match his win total from all of last year, when his one victory came at Michigan last June.
3rd
Greg Biffle has finished third in the first two races this year. His best finish all of last season was a third-place result, but it took him 28 races to get that finish. Additionally, he had just three top-5 runs in 2011, just one more than his total already two weeks into the season.
4
With Hamlin's victory at Phoenix, new crew chief Darian Grubb has now won races with four different drivers. He was atop the pit box for Jimmie Johnson in 2006 when Chad Knaus was suspended for four races, winning two races, including the Daytona 500. He made the race winning call a year later for Casey Mears in the Coke 600, gambling on fuel mileage which was Mears first, and only, victory in his career. Of course, we all know the run he had with Tony Stewart, winning five times in the Chase last year. Grubb's total win count as a crew chief now stands at 15.
7.315
Hamlin's margin of victory of second place finisher Kevin Harvick. Harvick had been gaining on Hamlin in the concluding laps, getting within one second of the lead before running out of fuel with a lap and a half to go.
8
Joey Logano currently sits eighth in the Sprint Cup standings, matching the highest he has ever been. The last time he was this far up in points was in 2010, when he was eighth after three races.
15
There were 15 different leaders on Sunday, breaking the track record.
37th
Thanks to a rough week a Daytona, which saw him finish 42nd and a 25 point penalty handed down from NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson is tied with J.J. Yeley for 37th in the standings. Without the penalty, he would currently be sitting 27th overall.
198
The No. 11 has now visited victory circle 198 times, and is now tied with the 43 for most trips to the winners circle by a car number.
931
Jimmie Johnson has led 931 laps at Phoenix for his career, a track record. He padded his stats Sunday by leading for 55 circuits.
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ADVERTISEMENT
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Five Points to Ponder: Hamlin On-Track, Sadler Off-Track? and a Big Homecoming for Kurt Busch
by Bryan Davis Keith
The Biff is Back!
by Danny Peters
Who's Hot/ Who's Not: Phoenix - Las Vegas Edition
by Brett Poirier
Couch Potato Tuesday: Phoenix Shows Relative Strength for FOX, ESPN Struggles
by Phil Allaway
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1999 Las Vegas 400 is best known for the battle for the win between the Burton brothers. However, rookie Tony Stewart's day was effectively over before it even started. What happened?
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Numbers Game: Subway Fresh Fit 500k
by Garrett Horton
1
It took Denny Hamlin just two races to match his win total from all of last year, when his one victory came at Michigan last June.
3rd
Greg Biffle has finished third in the first two races this year. His best finish all of last season was a third-place result, but it took him 28 races to get that finish. Additionally, he had just three top-5 runs in 2011, just one more than his total already two weeks into the season.
4
With Hamlin's victory at Phoenix, new crew chief Darian Grubb has now won races with four different drivers. He was atop the pit box for Jimmie Johnson in 2006 when Chad Knaus was suspended for four races, winning two races, including the Daytona 500. He made the race winning call a year later for Casey Mears in the Coke 600, gambling on fuel mileage which was Mears first, and only, victory in his career. Of course, we all know the run he had with Tony Stewart, winning five times in the Chase last year. Grubb's total win count as a crew chief now stands at 15.
7.315
Hamlin's margin of victory of second place finisher Kevin Harvick. Harvick had been gaining on Hamlin in the concluding laps, getting within one second of the lead before running out of fuel with a lap and a half to go.
8
Joey Logano currently sits eighth in the Sprint Cup standings, matching the highest he has ever been. The last time he was this far up in points was in 2010, when he was eighth after three races.
15
There were 15 different leaders on Sunday, breaking the track record.
37th
Thanks to a rough week a Daytona, which saw him finish 42nd and a 25 point penalty handed down from NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson is tied with J.J. Yeley for 37th in the standings. Without the penalty, he would currently be sitting 27th overall.
198
The No. 11 has now visited victory circle 198 times, and is now tied with the 43 for most trips to the winners circle by a car number.
931
Jimmie Johnson has led 931 laps at Phoenix for his career, a track record. He padded his stats Sunday by leading for 55 circuits.
~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Five Points to Ponder: Hamlin On-Track, Sadler Off-Track? and a Big Homecoming for Kurt Busch
by Bryan Davis Keith
The Biff is Back!
by Danny Peters
Who's Hot/ Who's Not: Phoenix - Las Vegas Edition
by Brett Poirier
Couch Potato Tuesday: Phoenix Shows Relative Strength for FOX, ESPN Struggles
by Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1999 Las Vegas 400 is best known for the battle for the win between the Burton brothers. However, rookie Tony Stewart's day was effectively over before it even started. What happened?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: In 2007, Downtown Las Vegas played host to what turned out to be a one-off street race that served as the season opener for the ChampCar World Series. However, a modification to the track had to be made before the race. What was this, and why?
A: The organizers were forced to install a temporary chicane right in front of Sam Boyd's California Hotel & Casino on West Odgen St. due to the fact that there was a liftoff risk for the then-new Panoz DP01's. Odgen St. fell away dramatically in order to enter a tunnel right afterwards, so the move was undertaken to slow the cars before the dropoff.
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 tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from TBD
-- Full Throttle by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice? ... by Tom Bowles
How some early 2012 gambles are playing out? Tom Bowles takes a Las Vegas look, tackles the Elliott Sadler snafu and more in his weekly look at small but important observations around the Sprint Cup circuit.
Going Green by Garrett Horton
Granted, we're only two weeks into the season right now. However, it is still possible for certain drivers to be shaking in their silver booties. Garrett will look at those drivers and others who have a lot to look forward to after great starts.
Frontstretch Top Ten by Jeff Meyer
Jeff's sarcastic sense of humor is back in action, getting you revved and ready for the 2012 NASCAR season with another one of his classic Top Ten lists.
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Our weekly roundtable of experts are back! This week's topics include the upcoming Hendrick Motorsports appeal of Chad Knaus' suspension, what Dodge will do in order to replace Penske in their fold for 2013 and more.
Top 15 Power Rankings after the Subway Fresh Fit 500k compiled by Summer Dreyer
Your favorite weekly rankings are back, with a twist! Media experts from multiple platforms, not just Frontstretch come together in a racing-style AP Poll to rank the top 15 NASCAR drivers entering the season. And oh, they have plenty of sarcastic one-liners, too!
Tech Talk by Mike Neff
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers, a special crew chief stopping by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of our sport. Find out who and what by checking out this column tomorrow.
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©2012 Frontstretch.com
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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©2012 Frontstretch.com
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