THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 23rd, 2012
Volume V, Edition LXIX
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 23rd, 2012
Volume V, Edition LXIX
~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Sprint Cup Race Recap: With Some Help From The Sun, Hamiln Is Victorious In Kansas
by Jeff Wolfe
Timing can mean everything and that's especially true in auto racing. So when the sun broke through clouds late in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway, it couldn't have come at a better time for Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin and the rest of the field had chased Martin Truex, Jr. for much of the race. But the sunshine and a loose-handling car for Truex after the final pit stop was enough to give Hamlin his second victory of the year and 19th of his career.
"Yeah, I mean, whether it was a coincidence or not, the car to the field was better once the sun came out," Hamlin said. "I felt like our car lost a lot of grip when the sun came out, but I guess a lot of guys did when that happened.
"Really, I felt like all day I was behind the 56 (Truex) and his car looked so superior to the field. We just needed some kind of change, weather or adjustments or something to get where he was at, and we kind of got both of them."
Hamlin made the winning pass with 30 laps to go and pulled away from Truex for a few laps. But Truex, looking for his first win since 2007 at Dover, did his best to return to Victory Lane. He got to within about a car length of Hamlin on the final laps, but couldn't get close enough to make the pass.
"The car had been really good all day, we put the last set (of tires) on and I was wrecking loose for the first 20 laps of that last run, and Denny was able to get by me and once he did the race was over," Truex said of his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. "The car got better longer in the run and I was able to get back to him, but I'd get three, four car lengths from him and pick up the aero push. Frustrating day, but good day overall, and it's definitely a good step for us and in the right direction and we'll come back next week and try to finish the deal."
Truex showed his superiority for major stretches of the race. Starting on lap 47, he led for 44 laps, then starting on lap 97 he led for 80 more. He also led for 42 laps starting on lap 181 of the 267-lap event on the 1.5-mile oval. Overall, there were 14 lead changes among nine drivers. Truex just wishes there would have been one less, or maybe one more, lead change.
"You know, as disappointed as I am with this second-place, this is a big day for us as a team. Its kind of a statement for us that we're here for the long haul," Truex said. "We're here for the rest of the season. This isn't -- we're not just a flash in the pan. We've been solid each week, and I know our wins are going to come. We just need to keep running like we are."
Hamlin joined Tony Stewart as the first two drivers to win two races this season. Hamlin also won at Phoenix in the second race of the season, and his late charge at Kansas mirrored that victory in at least some ways.
"Yeah, it felt a lot like Phoenix in the sense of we kind of hung around in the top-5 all day, and at the end we just kind of make our charge, make our run, and there were some things that had to happen the last run really for us to work out, and those things happened," Hamlin said. "We got our car a little bit better and it looked like the 56 struggled a little bit more than what he had previous.
"So I knew with the second to last run when we were able to maintain with them and even gain on them right before we pitted that we were going to have -- it was going to be a close battle at the end, and when we came out from that green flag pit stop and we were side by side, I knew that that was pretty much the race for the win."
The top-10 was dominated by NASCAR's more elite teams. Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson was third, Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle were fourth and fifth, Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick was sixth, Hendrick's Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kasey Kahne were seventh and eighth, Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards was ninth and Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was 10th.
Much like last week at Texas, this race was filled with long green flag runs. There were just three caution flags for 18 laps, one for Clint Bowyer's spin on lap 53 and two others for debris, the final one on laps 188 through 192.
There were also a number of milestones at work in this race. Hendrick Motorsports is still looking for its 200th Sprint Cup victory and Earnhardt, Jr.'s winless streak stretched to 137. However, Hamlin's victory did give the No. 11 199 career wins, the most in Sprint Cup history, beating out the famous No. 43 (Richard Petty has 195 of those wins, while Bobby Hamilton has two and John Andretti one).
But Hamlin was happy just to get one more win Sunday.
"You know, at the end it's a no-lose situation for myself because I'm a fan of Martin's, I'm a fan of Michael Waltrip, and they've really done some great things with that program," Hamlin said. "But, my job is to win for my guys and really drive as hard as I can to get them those wins because they're so hard to come by now that you have to just do everything you can. And I knew that he was driving his heart out as well as I was driving mine."
The next Sprint Cup race of the season is Saturday night in Richmond. Coverage starts with pre-race at 7:00pm EDT on FOX.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chase: Truex's Exquisite Run Puts Him Squarely In The Hunt
by Jeff Wolfe
There's weren't any tremendous gains or losses by those in the top-10, or those trying to get to the top-10, in the Sprint Cup points standings Sunday.
But if there were any doubts about whether the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driven by Martin Truex, Jr. was simply an early season pretender, they should be gone by now. Truex dominated much of the race and ended up settling for a second-place finish. He's now second, 15 points behind leader Greg Biffle, who finished fifth Sunday.
Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards, last year's runner-up in the Sprint Cup standings, did lead his first lap of the year Sunday, and went to finish ninth. That helped jump him two spots in the standings to ninth. Other than Truex and Edwards, no driver in the top-10 lost or gained more than one spot.
A couple of drivers trying to reach the top-10 did go in the wrong direction. Paul Menard fell from 12th to 14th with an 18th-place finish and Jeff Gordon fell one spot from 17th to 18th when late-race engine problems relegated him to a 21st-place finish.
Jamie McMurray did reach the top-20, now in 19th, meaning if he did get a victory he would be eligible for one of the two wild card positions, 11th and 12th, which will go to the drivers outside the top-10 with the most wins (if any are eligible). McMurray gained four places with a 14th-place finish Sunday.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 312, 2) Martin Truex, Jr. -15, 3) Matt Kenseth -17, 4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -21, 5) Denny Hamlin -23, 6) Kevin Harvick -25, 7) Jimmie Johnson -37, 8) Tony Stewart -47, 9) Carl Edwards -61, 10) Ryan Newman -63;
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski, 1 win, 15th in points; Clint Bowyer, 11th in points.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas).
Tracking The Top 35: Joe Falk's Struggles Serve To Solidify The Top-35
On Saturday morning, Joe Falk's newest hired gun, Jeff Green, failed to get the former RCR No. 33 into Sunday's race. As a result, the gap between the all-important 35th spot and 36th spot grew to 11 points after Sunday's race at Kansas. This is despite the mechanical problems that dropped Landon Cassill and the No. 83 team to a 34th-place finish. The top-35 cars in owners points are guaranteed a starting spot in Saturday's race at Richmond.
There were no changes between that line, one car gained some a level of comfort, while another one moved a little closer to the edge. Travis Kvapil drove the No. 93 car to a 25th-place finish to gain two spots in the standings up to 31st in the standings and now a 32-point lead pn 36th. On the contrary, the No. 36 driven by Dave Blaney finished 37th and fell two spots in the standings and has a 21-point lead on the 36th spot.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff.
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 36 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motor Sports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 33 points ahead of 36th.
31) BK Racing (No. 93 - Travis Kvapil), 32 points ahead of 36th.
32) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 -Reed Sorenson), 30 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 21 points ahead of 36th.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 - David Reutimann), 19 points ahead of 35th.
35) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 11 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing (No. 33 - Jeff Green), 11 points behind 35th.
37) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 28 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 32 points behind 35th.
39) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne) 41 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 45 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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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!
by Jeff Wolfe
Timing can mean everything and that's especially true in auto racing. So when the sun broke through clouds late in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway, it couldn't have come at a better time for Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin and the rest of the field had chased Martin Truex, Jr. for much of the race. But the sunshine and a loose-handling car for Truex after the final pit stop was enough to give Hamlin his second victory of the year and 19th of his career.
"Yeah, I mean, whether it was a coincidence or not, the car to the field was better once the sun came out," Hamlin said. "I felt like our car lost a lot of grip when the sun came out, but I guess a lot of guys did when that happened.
"Really, I felt like all day I was behind the 56 (Truex) and his car looked so superior to the field. We just needed some kind of change, weather or adjustments or something to get where he was at, and we kind of got both of them."
Hamlin made the winning pass with 30 laps to go and pulled away from Truex for a few laps. But Truex, looking for his first win since 2007 at Dover, did his best to return to Victory Lane. He got to within about a car length of Hamlin on the final laps, but couldn't get close enough to make the pass.
"The car had been really good all day, we put the last set (of tires) on and I was wrecking loose for the first 20 laps of that last run, and Denny was able to get by me and once he did the race was over," Truex said of his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota. "The car got better longer in the run and I was able to get back to him, but I'd get three, four car lengths from him and pick up the aero push. Frustrating day, but good day overall, and it's definitely a good step for us and in the right direction and we'll come back next week and try to finish the deal."
Truex showed his superiority for major stretches of the race. Starting on lap 47, he led for 44 laps, then starting on lap 97 he led for 80 more. He also led for 42 laps starting on lap 181 of the 267-lap event on the 1.5-mile oval. Overall, there were 14 lead changes among nine drivers. Truex just wishes there would have been one less, or maybe one more, lead change.
"You know, as disappointed as I am with this second-place, this is a big day for us as a team. Its kind of a statement for us that we're here for the long haul," Truex said. "We're here for the rest of the season. This isn't -- we're not just a flash in the pan. We've been solid each week, and I know our wins are going to come. We just need to keep running like we are."
Hamlin joined Tony Stewart as the first two drivers to win two races this season. Hamlin also won at Phoenix in the second race of the season, and his late charge at Kansas mirrored that victory in at least some ways.
"Yeah, it felt a lot like Phoenix in the sense of we kind of hung around in the top-5 all day, and at the end we just kind of make our charge, make our run, and there were some things that had to happen the last run really for us to work out, and those things happened," Hamlin said. "We got our car a little bit better and it looked like the 56 struggled a little bit more than what he had previous.
"So I knew with the second to last run when we were able to maintain with them and even gain on them right before we pitted that we were going to have -- it was going to be a close battle at the end, and when we came out from that green flag pit stop and we were side by side, I knew that that was pretty much the race for the win."
The top-10 was dominated by NASCAR's more elite teams. Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson was third, Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle were fourth and fifth, Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick was sixth, Hendrick's Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kasey Kahne were seventh and eighth, Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards was ninth and Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch was 10th.
Much like last week at Texas, this race was filled with long green flag runs. There were just three caution flags for 18 laps, one for Clint Bowyer's spin on lap 53 and two others for debris, the final one on laps 188 through 192.
There were also a number of milestones at work in this race. Hendrick Motorsports is still looking for its 200th Sprint Cup victory and Earnhardt, Jr.'s winless streak stretched to 137. However, Hamlin's victory did give the No. 11 199 career wins, the most in Sprint Cup history, beating out the famous No. 43 (Richard Petty has 195 of those wins, while Bobby Hamilton has two and John Andretti one).
But Hamlin was happy just to get one more win Sunday.
"You know, at the end it's a no-lose situation for myself because I'm a fan of Martin's, I'm a fan of Michael Waltrip, and they've really done some great things with that program," Hamlin said. "But, my job is to win for my guys and really drive as hard as I can to get them those wins because they're so hard to come by now that you have to just do everything you can. And I knew that he was driving his heart out as well as I was driving mine."
The next Sprint Cup race of the season is Saturday night in Richmond. Coverage starts with pre-race at 7:00pm EDT on FOX.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chase: Truex's Exquisite Run Puts Him Squarely In The Hunt
by Jeff Wolfe
There's weren't any tremendous gains or losses by those in the top-10, or those trying to get to the top-10, in the Sprint Cup points standings Sunday.
But if there were any doubts about whether the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driven by Martin Truex, Jr. was simply an early season pretender, they should be gone by now. Truex dominated much of the race and ended up settling for a second-place finish. He's now second, 15 points behind leader Greg Biffle, who finished fifth Sunday.
Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards, last year's runner-up in the Sprint Cup standings, did lead his first lap of the year Sunday, and went to finish ninth. That helped jump him two spots in the standings to ninth. Other than Truex and Edwards, no driver in the top-10 lost or gained more than one spot.
A couple of drivers trying to reach the top-10 did go in the wrong direction. Paul Menard fell from 12th to 14th with an 18th-place finish and Jeff Gordon fell one spot from 17th to 18th when late-race engine problems relegated him to a 21st-place finish.
Jamie McMurray did reach the top-20, now in 19th, meaning if he did get a victory he would be eligible for one of the two wild card positions, 11th and 12th, which will go to the drivers outside the top-10 with the most wins (if any are eligible). McMurray gained four places with a 14th-place finish Sunday.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 312, 2) Martin Truex, Jr. -15, 3) Matt Kenseth -17, 4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -21, 5) Denny Hamlin -23, 6) Kevin Harvick -25, 7) Jimmie Johnson -37, 8) Tony Stewart -47, 9) Carl Edwards -61, 10) Ryan Newman -63;
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski, 1 win, 15th in points; Clint Bowyer, 11th in points.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas).
Tracking The Top 35: Joe Falk's Struggles Serve To Solidify The Top-35
On Saturday morning, Joe Falk's newest hired gun, Jeff Green, failed to get the former RCR No. 33 into Sunday's race. As a result, the gap between the all-important 35th spot and 36th spot grew to 11 points after Sunday's race at Kansas. This is despite the mechanical problems that dropped Landon Cassill and the No. 83 team to a 34th-place finish. The top-35 cars in owners points are guaranteed a starting spot in Saturday's race at Richmond.
There were no changes between that line, one car gained some a level of comfort, while another one moved a little closer to the edge. Travis Kvapil drove the No. 93 car to a 25th-place finish to gain two spots in the standings up to 31st in the standings and now a 32-point lead pn 36th. On the contrary, the No. 36 driven by Dave Blaney finished 37th and fell two spots in the standings and has a 21-point lead on the 36th spot.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff.
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 36 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motor Sports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 33 points ahead of 36th.
31) BK Racing (No. 93 - Travis Kvapil), 32 points ahead of 36th.
32) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 -Reed Sorenson), 30 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 21 points ahead of 36th.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 - David Reutimann), 19 points ahead of 35th.
35) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 11 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing (No. 33 - Jeff Green), 11 points behind 35th.
37) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 28 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 32 points behind 35th.
39) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne) 41 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 45 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
Usually in this space, we chronicle a driver that finished in the top-10, but got there very quietly. With the entire top-10 consisting of top drivers for big teams, that was not the case on Sunday. However, there were a couple of drivers that had decent days in the top-20 that didn't generate much press.
One of those drivers was Jamie McMurray in the No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet. McMurray qualified way back in 36th and managed to stay out of trouble throughout the entire day. He was lapped in the final couple of laps of the race, but held on to finish 14th. After struggling early on in the season, McMurray's finish moved him up to 19th in points. Yes, he's still 59 points out of the top-10 and a guaranteed Chase berth, but compared to last year, things are looking up. – Phil Allaway
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
Usually in this space, we chronicle a driver that finished in the top-10, but got there very quietly. With the entire top-10 consisting of top drivers for big teams, that was not the case on Sunday. However, there were a couple of drivers that had decent days in the top-20 that didn't generate much press.
One of those drivers was Jamie McMurray in the No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet. McMurray qualified way back in 36th and managed to stay out of trouble throughout the entire day. He was lapped in the final couple of laps of the race, but held on to finish 14th. After struggling early on in the season, McMurray's finish moved him up to 19th in points. Yes, he's still 59 points out of the top-10 and a guaranteed Chase berth, but compared to last year, things are looking up. – Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 2. Sunday's STP 400 marked the second consecutive Sprint Cup race in which an all-time track record average speed was set. Sunday's race, which was run in two hours, 46 minutes and 44 seconds, had an average speed of 144.122 mph. Just one more sign that Sprint Cup races are much cleaner than they once were. – Phil Allaway
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: 2012 Kansas-1 Race Recap
by Matt McLaughlin
The Big Six: Questions Answered After The STP 400
by Amy Henderson
Pace Laps: Troubled Waters at Gibbs? Which Way to Brazil? Can Peters Hang On?
by the Frontstretch Staff
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: We'll make today's trivia question easy. Last year, the Spring Nationwide race at Richmond was pre-empted off of ESPN's family of networks and aired live on SPEED instead. Why?
Q: We'll make today's trivia question easy. Last year, the Spring Nationwide race at Richmond was pre-empted off of ESPN's family of networks and aired live on SPEED instead. Why?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus have basically been the "Enlightened Monarchs" of the Chase ever since it was created for 2004. However, Johnson's chances to win the inaugural Chase took a nasty hit at Kansas. What happened?
A: Just after a restart, Johnson lost it exiting Turn 2, spun and hit the wall nose first. The No. 48 team took the car to the garage and immediately got to work on it. They were able to repair the car and Johnson took it back out for 25 more laps before pulling in for the day. That moved him up a couple of places in the finishing order. The crash, along with Ryan Newman's crash that brought out the previous caution, can be seen in this clip
Coming Tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Kevin Rutherford
-- Sitting In the Stands: A Fan's View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Coming Tomorrow On The Frontstretch:
5 Points To Ponder by Bryan Keith
Bryan's back with plenty of storylines that will have you thinking hard about racing this Tuesday.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup by StarCoach Race Tours: Kansas-Richmond Edition by Brett Poirier
With eight races in the books, Brett looks at what trends are developing in NASCAR's two top series and which drivers are doing great, and who simply aren't.
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny returns with another thoughtful commentary looking ahead to Richmond.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and camping World Truck Series raced at Kansas Speedway. Meanwhile, Formula One had to deal with political turmoil in Bahrain. Were the race telecasts for these events up to snuff? Find out in this week's edition of the TV Critique.
We'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of our sport.
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