THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 2nd, 2012
Volume V, Edition LIII
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 2nd, 2012
Volume V, Edition LIII
~~~~~~~~~~~
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: Newman Claims A Clock In A Wild Finish
by Jeff Wolfe
The fastest car doesn't always win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. But rarely is the outcome decided by the slowest car on the track.
That was case Sunday at Martinsville, as Ryan Newman eventually brought home the victory and the grandfather clock trophy on the famed .526-mile, paper-clip oval in front of an estimated crowd of 63,000 fans. He was fortunate and he knew it. That's because race leaders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were unfortunate. Everyone knew that, too.
Johnson and Gordon appeared to be ready to battle for the race victory as they were side-by-side with four laps to go. They had combined to lead 440 laps of the race, including 328 by Gordon, with one of them set to deliver Hendrick Motorsports its 200th career Sprint Cup win.
But in those final laps, David Reutimann was trying to nurse home his No. 10 Chevrolet to keep the vehicle in the top 35 in owner's points and therefore give the car a guaranteed starting spot in the April 14th race at Texas. Instead, it turned into one big mess for Reutimann and eventually Gordon, Johnson, and Clint Bowyer.
Reutimann felt a suspension part break in those final laps and while staying on the track at a snail-like pace, didn't come into the pits. Then, just after NASCAR gave him the black flag, his engine - and car - stopped on the backstretch.
"I just hate that I was involved in anything that changed the complexion of the race," Reutimann said. "I was just trying to limp around there to try and stay in 35th. I would not have stopped on the freaking racetrack. I would have limped around there and come to pit road. The motor had been breaking up the last couple of laps. NASCAR gave me a black flag and I was going to come into the pits and the thing just quit going down the backstretch. I can't get out and push the thing. It's just that simple. I know it sucks and I hate it for everybody affected."
Nobody was hating more than Gordon or Johnson. The ensuing yellow flag put the race into NASCAR's version of overtime, the green-white checkered, which is two extra laps. While Gordon, the leader, and Johnson, in second, did not pit, the rest of the cars on the lead lap did. So, when the restart happened, that left Gordon and Johnson spinning their well-worn tires a bit with the field immediately behind them with fresh rubber. As the cars came up to speed Bowyer, after a nice bump from Newman, dove down into the inside of Gordon and Johnson, who was on the outside. Johnson also got a shove from Brad Keselowski. He went low into Gordon and Bowyer, and all three spun. Newman snuck through on the low side to take the lead, and the win on the ensuing restart for his first victory of 2012.
"It was just circumstances with the No. 10 doing whatever he did there," Newman said. "We had a lot of long green flag runs today. I think my left foot was ready to retire. It was an awesome day for us. We just got the circumstances there at the end to put us back in position."
Newman and Johnson had some bad circumstances early in the race when they were each caught speeding on pit road on lap 102 of the 500-lap race. Newman was even a lap down at one point, but he became the first Sprint Cup driver to win after a pit road speeding penalty since Carl Edwards at Michigan in June of 2007.
It looked like Johnson might be the guy to do that in the final 100 laps of the race. He worked his way back to the front and took the lead from Denny Hamlin with 107 laps to go. Gordon, however, whose car was fastest most of the day gradually closed the gap to set up what looked to be another classic finish at Martinsville. But that ended when Bowyer made it a three-wide race on the first green-white-checkered attempt.
"I didn't get the best restart," Gordon said. "[Bowyer] came through with such speed. I had nowhere to go and Jimmie had nowhere to go.
"We didn't want to see that last caution. We had such a great battle with the No. 48 (Johnson). I felt like I had the position to get the lead. My car was better on entry [to the turns] while his was better on exit."
Bowyer felt he didn't have much choice on where to go on the restart.
"It was just a bad situation for everybody," he said. "The Hendrick cars were the class of the field for the whole race. I don't know what the No. 10 car was doing. He drove around there for ten laps with no brakes and finally just stopped. That was ridiculous. I hate it for those guys and hate it for our guys. We ended up tenth, but we should've been easily a fourth-place finish. The No. 39 hit us in the rear and if I didn't go down there, he would have."
Johnson hung on to finish 12th, while Gordon finished a lap down in 14th.
"The No. 15 (Bowyer) threw a dive bomb in there and I'm sure once he was in there, he wished he was not," Johnson said. "That inside is awfully inviting to dive bomb people here. It turned me around and the No. 24 (Gordon) around. It is what it is. Its short-track racing."
Newman held off A.J. Allmendinger on the final restart; still, the Penske driver wound up with a career-best second-place finish after struggling through his first five races with his dream ride.
"We had a really good car on the long run," said Allmendinger, who was feeling ill before the race and had to make a visit to the Infield Care Center. "On restarts, we didn't have great runs. I would have loved to have won the race. These guys are used to running up front."
The rest of the top 10 included Dale Earnhardt, Jr. third, Matt Kenseth fourth, Martin Truex, Jr. fifth, Hamlin sixth, Tony Stewart seventh, Aric Almirola eighth, Brad Keselowski ninth and Bowyer.
There were 19 lead changes among 10 drivers and seven cautions for 56 laps, the fewest at Martinsville in over fifteen years; the race certainly had a green-flag feel until the finish. Early on, the cars ran for 141 consecutive circuits on the tight track without a caution, and were working on 130 straight just before the No. 10 car stopped.
by Jeff Wolfe
The fastest car doesn't always win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. But rarely is the outcome decided by the slowest car on the track.
That was case Sunday at Martinsville, as Ryan Newman eventually brought home the victory and the grandfather clock trophy on the famed .526-mile, paper-clip oval in front of an estimated crowd of 63,000 fans. He was fortunate and he knew it. That's because race leaders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were unfortunate. Everyone knew that, too.
Johnson and Gordon appeared to be ready to battle for the race victory as they were side-by-side with four laps to go. They had combined to lead 440 laps of the race, including 328 by Gordon, with one of them set to deliver Hendrick Motorsports its 200th career Sprint Cup win.
But in those final laps, David Reutimann was trying to nurse home his No. 10 Chevrolet to keep the vehicle in the top 35 in owner's points and therefore give the car a guaranteed starting spot in the April 14th race at Texas. Instead, it turned into one big mess for Reutimann and eventually Gordon, Johnson, and Clint Bowyer.
Reutimann felt a suspension part break in those final laps and while staying on the track at a snail-like pace, didn't come into the pits. Then, just after NASCAR gave him the black flag, his engine - and car - stopped on the backstretch.
"I just hate that I was involved in anything that changed the complexion of the race," Reutimann said. "I was just trying to limp around there to try and stay in 35th. I would not have stopped on the freaking racetrack. I would have limped around there and come to pit road. The motor had been breaking up the last couple of laps. NASCAR gave me a black flag and I was going to come into the pits and the thing just quit going down the backstretch. I can't get out and push the thing. It's just that simple. I know it sucks and I hate it for everybody affected."
Nobody was hating more than Gordon or Johnson. The ensuing yellow flag put the race into NASCAR's version of overtime, the green-white checkered, which is two extra laps. While Gordon, the leader, and Johnson, in second, did not pit, the rest of the cars on the lead lap did. So, when the restart happened, that left Gordon and Johnson spinning their well-worn tires a bit with the field immediately behind them with fresh rubber. As the cars came up to speed Bowyer, after a nice bump from Newman, dove down into the inside of Gordon and Johnson, who was on the outside. Johnson also got a shove from Brad Keselowski. He went low into Gordon and Bowyer, and all three spun. Newman snuck through on the low side to take the lead, and the win on the ensuing restart for his first victory of 2012.
"It was just circumstances with the No. 10 doing whatever he did there," Newman said. "We had a lot of long green flag runs today. I think my left foot was ready to retire. It was an awesome day for us. We just got the circumstances there at the end to put us back in position."
Newman and Johnson had some bad circumstances early in the race when they were each caught speeding on pit road on lap 102 of the 500-lap race. Newman was even a lap down at one point, but he became the first Sprint Cup driver to win after a pit road speeding penalty since Carl Edwards at Michigan in June of 2007.
It looked like Johnson might be the guy to do that in the final 100 laps of the race. He worked his way back to the front and took the lead from Denny Hamlin with 107 laps to go. Gordon, however, whose car was fastest most of the day gradually closed the gap to set up what looked to be another classic finish at Martinsville. But that ended when Bowyer made it a three-wide race on the first green-white-checkered attempt.
"I didn't get the best restart," Gordon said. "[Bowyer] came through with such speed. I had nowhere to go and Jimmie had nowhere to go.
"We didn't want to see that last caution. We had such a great battle with the No. 48 (Johnson). I felt like I had the position to get the lead. My car was better on entry [to the turns] while his was better on exit."
Bowyer felt he didn't have much choice on where to go on the restart.
"It was just a bad situation for everybody," he said. "The Hendrick cars were the class of the field for the whole race. I don't know what the No. 10 car was doing. He drove around there for ten laps with no brakes and finally just stopped. That was ridiculous. I hate it for those guys and hate it for our guys. We ended up tenth, but we should've been easily a fourth-place finish. The No. 39 hit us in the rear and if I didn't go down there, he would have."
Johnson hung on to finish 12th, while Gordon finished a lap down in 14th.
"The No. 15 (Bowyer) threw a dive bomb in there and I'm sure once he was in there, he wished he was not," Johnson said. "That inside is awfully inviting to dive bomb people here. It turned me around and the No. 24 (Gordon) around. It is what it is. Its short-track racing."
Newman held off A.J. Allmendinger on the final restart; still, the Penske driver wound up with a career-best second-place finish after struggling through his first five races with his dream ride.
"We had a really good car on the long run," said Allmendinger, who was feeling ill before the race and had to make a visit to the Infield Care Center. "On restarts, we didn't have great runs. I would have loved to have won the race. These guys are used to running up front."
The rest of the top 10 included Dale Earnhardt, Jr. third, Matt Kenseth fourth, Martin Truex, Jr. fifth, Hamlin sixth, Tony Stewart seventh, Aric Almirola eighth, Brad Keselowski ninth and Bowyer.
There were 19 lead changes among 10 drivers and seven cautions for 56 laps, the fewest at Martinsville in over fifteen years; the race certainly had a green-flag feel until the finish. Early on, the cars ran for 141 consecutive circuits on the tight track without a caution, and were working on 130 straight just before the No. 10 car stopped.
However, the ending gave us the fifth green-white-checkered finish in Martinsville's history. Whether it was necessary will remain a question this week, even for Earnhardt, Jr., who moved to within five points of Greg Biffle for the Sprint Cup points lead even as he saw his winless streak reach 135 races.
"I just don't know what the No. 10 was thinking," he said. "Driving around there at 15 mph with a broken sway bar or whatever for two or three laps. He just needed to get on pit road and get out of the race. It shouldn't end like that."
Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series takes their traditional weekend off for Easter. However, they will return on April 14th for the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. A new wrinkle for 2012 will see the race moved to Saturday night from Sunday afternoon, which is sure to create excitement.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chase: Earnhardt Jr. Continues to Cut Into Biffle's Lead
by Jeff Wolfe
Greg Biffle saw his points lead shrink Sunday at Martinsville, but narrowly remained the leader over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Biffle finished 13th while Earnhardt Jr. was third to move within six points of the Roush Fenway Racing driver. Biffle, who is not known as a short track racer remains without a top-5 finish at Martinsville in 19 career starts at the track. Meanwhile, Earnhardt registered his third top-5 finish in six 2012 races; that's one less than his total for all of 2011 combined.
A host of several other drivers also moved up or remained close to Biffle. Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. are each 12 points behind, creating a four-way tie for third. All of them except Harvick, who struggled during the race's second half (19th) finished solidly inside the top 10 on Sunday. That left him with the biggest hit inside the top 10 in points; the Richard Childress Racing veteran was second heading into the event.
"I just don't know what the No. 10 was thinking," he said. "Driving around there at 15 mph with a broken sway bar or whatever for two or three laps. He just needed to get on pit road and get out of the race. It shouldn't end like that."
Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series takes their traditional weekend off for Easter. However, they will return on April 14th for the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. A new wrinkle for 2012 will see the race moved to Saturday night from Sunday afternoon, which is sure to create excitement.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking the Chase: Earnhardt Jr. Continues to Cut Into Biffle's Lead
by Jeff Wolfe
Greg Biffle saw his points lead shrink Sunday at Martinsville, but narrowly remained the leader over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Biffle finished 13th while Earnhardt Jr. was third to move within six points of the Roush Fenway Racing driver. Biffle, who is not known as a short track racer remains without a top-5 finish at Martinsville in 19 career starts at the track. Meanwhile, Earnhardt registered his third top-5 finish in six 2012 races; that's one less than his total for all of 2011 combined.
A host of several other drivers also moved up or remained close to Biffle. Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. are each 12 points behind, creating a four-way tie for third. All of them except Harvick, who struggled during the race's second half (19th) finished solidly inside the top 10 on Sunday. That left him with the biggest hit inside the top 10 in points; the Richard Childress Racing veteran was second heading into the event.
Looking further back in the standings, Denny Hamlin is 16 points back in seventh place. The Virginian pulled out a sixth-place finish at his hometown track, one where he's typically a favorite for the victory. However, on Sunday, the No. 11 car led just 31 laps. Winner Ryan Newman sits eighth in points, followed by two of the three combatants whose wreck gave him the victory - Bowyer and Johnson.
The big points winner of the day was Brad Keselowski, who moved up four spots to 12th with an ninth-place finish. He remained 14 points behind Johnson in tenth while Carl Edwards is in 11th, ten points behind Johnson. Edwards has yet to lead a lap this season, and sits precariously on the edge of the Chase: he'd be the final "wild card" driver if the season ended today.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 226, 2) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -5, t-3) Tony Stewart -12, t-3) Martin Truex, Jr. -12, t-3) Kevin Harvick -12, t-3) Matt Kenseth -12, 7) Denny Hamlin -16, 8) Ryan Newman -24, 9) Clint Bowyer -34, 10) Jimmie Johnson -37, 11) Carl Edwards -44, 12) Brad Keselowski -51.
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski (12th in points, one win), Carl Edwards (11th in points)
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol), Ryan Newman (Martinsville).
Tracking The Top 35: Reutimann's Multiple Issues Puts the No. 10 Out To Pasture
When it comes to the 2012 season, being inside the top 35 in owner points matters now. If you're not in, you're not guaranteed a starting spot in the next Sprint Cup race, which is April 14th at Texas. Just ask David Reutimann about the pressure to remain there. He tried to keep the injured No. 10 Chevrolet on track with what was apparently a broken tie rod and engine issues just for that reason Sunday at Martinsville. Unfortunately, staying out only caused an array of problems at race's end, with his disappointing finish (35th) leaving the car now in 36th, one point out of the guaranteed spot. The beneficiary for Reutimann's misfortune? How about the No. 83 BK Racing car, driven by Landon Cassill, which now claims that 35th and final position. Cassill drove a conservative race to finish 29th, eight laps down, as his new team tries to build momentum and notes while the year progresses.
Here's your owner point standings near the all-important cutoff. Of note is Sunday's polesitter, Kasey Kahne, whose blown engine continues an array of awful performances to start the year. The well-funded No. 5 Chevrolet sits 32nd in owner points, just 16 above 36th and risks falling out with a Texas DNF next Saturday night.
t-29) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 21 points ahead of 36th.
t-29) BK Racing (No. 93 - Travis Kvapil), 21 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 20 points ahead of 36th.
32) Hendrick Motorsports (No. 5 - Kasey Kahne) 17 points ahead of 36th.
33) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 - Ken Schrader), 16 points ahead of 36th.
34) Richard Childress Racing / Joe Falk (No. 33 - Hermie Sadler), 4 points ahead of 36th.
35) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 1 point ahead of 36th.
36) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 - David Reutimann), 1 point behind 35th.
37) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 14 points behind 35th.
38) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 28 points behind 35th.
39) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 31 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!
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Quotes To Remember From Martinsville
"I mean, it's frustrating at times. I want to be up there every weekend, just like these guys do. They deserve to be up there every weekend. I was kind of lost. I'm working so hard, I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself because these guys are used to running up front and deserve to run up front. Hopefully this will give us an idea and we can keep working on it." - A.J. Allmendinger, finished second, on his season to dateThe big points winner of the day was Brad Keselowski, who moved up four spots to 12th with an ninth-place finish. He remained 14 points behind Johnson in tenth while Carl Edwards is in 11th, ten points behind Johnson. Edwards has yet to lead a lap this season, and sits precariously on the edge of the Chase: he'd be the final "wild card" driver if the season ended today.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 226, 2) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -5, t-3) Tony Stewart -12, t-3) Martin Truex, Jr. -12, t-3) Kevin Harvick -12, t-3) Matt Kenseth -12, 7) Denny Hamlin -16, 8) Ryan Newman -24, 9) Clint Bowyer -34, 10) Jimmie Johnson -37, 11) Carl Edwards -44, 12) Brad Keselowski -51.
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski (12th in points, one win), Carl Edwards (11th in points)
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol), Ryan Newman (Martinsville).
Tracking The Top 35: Reutimann's Multiple Issues Puts the No. 10 Out To Pasture
When it comes to the 2012 season, being inside the top 35 in owner points matters now. If you're not in, you're not guaranteed a starting spot in the next Sprint Cup race, which is April 14th at Texas. Just ask David Reutimann about the pressure to remain there. He tried to keep the injured No. 10 Chevrolet on track with what was apparently a broken tie rod and engine issues just for that reason Sunday at Martinsville. Unfortunately, staying out only caused an array of problems at race's end, with his disappointing finish (35th) leaving the car now in 36th, one point out of the guaranteed spot. The beneficiary for Reutimann's misfortune? How about the No. 83 BK Racing car, driven by Landon Cassill, which now claims that 35th and final position. Cassill drove a conservative race to finish 29th, eight laps down, as his new team tries to build momentum and notes while the year progresses.
Here's your owner point standings near the all-important cutoff. Of note is Sunday's polesitter, Kasey Kahne, whose blown engine continues an array of awful performances to start the year. The well-funded No. 5 Chevrolet sits 32nd in owner points, just 16 above 36th and risks falling out with a Texas DNF next Saturday night.
t-29) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 21 points ahead of 36th.
t-29) BK Racing (No. 93 - Travis Kvapil), 21 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 20 points ahead of 36th.
32) Hendrick Motorsports (No. 5 - Kasey Kahne) 17 points ahead of 36th.
33) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 - Ken Schrader), 16 points ahead of 36th.
34) Richard Childress Racing / Joe Falk (No. 33 - Hermie Sadler), 4 points ahead of 36th.
35) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 1 point ahead of 36th.
36) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 - David Reutimann), 1 point behind 35th.
37) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 14 points behind 35th.
38) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 28 points behind 35th.
39) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 31 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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes To Remember From Martinsville
"I think maybe I need to go to the nurse's office every week and take a shot (smiles)." - A.J. on how he earned a second-place finish (was sick Sunday morning)
"I don't know but the inside on restarts is vulnerable and once you come here enough, and you get screwed a couple times, you realize it's not the thing to do and every once in awhile someone will try to take the carrot and it will end up in a crash." - Jimmie Johnson, on his late-race incident
"Clint (Bowyer) is a friend of mine. He is a great race car driver. It was not like him to do that. He said he got a hit from behind from the No. 39. I didn't get the best restart. The tires are really old. I spun the tires a slight bit. When I saw him go down to the inside of me I knew we were all in trouble. All I could do was just hold on tight. The No. 48 couldn't go anywhere, I couldn't go anywhere. He was just coming with so much speed. It won the race for the No. 39. Yeah, that's Martinsville right?" - Jeff Gordon, on his late-race incident
"For us, at Martinsville it was pretty good. We've just got to keep working because even when we had the balance perfect I just couldn't run with those guys, but, overall, we came home in the top 10 at Martinsville and to not have anybody mad and not be mad at anybody is probably a pretty good day." - Matt Kenseth, talking about fourth at Martinsville and staying away from incidents this time (see: Brian Vickers, 2011 Fall race)
"We probably should have been in the top 10, but we had an issue with the lucky dog twice – once by the No. 39 that is in Victory Lane. It's not really his fault, but you can't start four positions in front of where you're supposed to start. The car in front of me is supposed to line up on the outside and I was supposed to be on the bottom and then the No. 39 would have been beside me. I go to the bottom and I see that guy is not gonna move, so the No. 39 drives all the way up three rows ahead of me. I tried to get my spot back, but he just blocked me in and I couldn't get up there to get my spot. So he gets the lucky dog two runs before we did to work our way back. This place is all about track position, so that was a bad break for us." - Greg Biffle, the point leader on Ryan Newman "catching a break" while he struggled to 13th
"That was really, really uncalled for and ruined the day for a lot of people, Jeff (Gordon), Jimmie (Johnson) and myself, from having a lot better finishes. I think we're all really, really frustrated with that guy." - Brad Keselowski on David Reutimann
"I just don't know what the No.10 (Reutimann) was thinking with a broken sway bar and driving around there at 15 mph for two or three laps. Come on pit road; hell, how many laps down are you? Get on pit road. Get out of the race. It shouldn't have ended like that. It was unfortunate." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished third, on Reutimann
"I saw he couldn't turn the wheel so I would think he was afraid to get in the corner and try to steer around and end up wrecking somebody. I didn't mind it personally because we could have been one of the cars he ran into — looked like something with the front end was amiss." - Denny Hamlin, finished sixth on Reutimann
"I was just trying to finish the day out and trying to stay inside the top 35, which is why we were trying to limp around out there. They gave me the black flag. We were coming to pit road, and it shut off. And that's far as I could go." - David Reutimann on his unfortunate ending
"This place is just tough and it seems to change on every single run and it changes five or six times throughout a run — as the rubber gets laid down and as the rubber starts moving up. You're just constantly searching for grip. That's the one thing I've always fought here is grip when the rubber gets down and being able to keep that drive off the corner." - Martin Truex, Jr., fifth, on how tough Martinsville was on Sunday
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Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
OK, so with the amount of beating and banging he did on Sunday Aric Almirola was pretty hard to ignore. However, you can't go through a whole Newsletter without mentioning the Richard Petty Motorsports driver and his top-10 performance. It was the best for him in the famed No. 43 this year, his first top-10 result since the Homestead season finale of 2010 and a clear momentum-builder for an organization that, despite a season filled with misfortune has this "rookie" 19th in driver points.
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
OK, so with the amount of beating and banging he did on Sunday Aric Almirola was pretty hard to ignore. However, you can't go through a whole Newsletter without mentioning the Richard Petty Motorsports driver and his top-10 performance. It was the best for him in the famed No. 43 this year, his first top-10 result since the Homestead season finale of 2010 and a clear momentum-builder for an organization that, despite a season filled with misfortune has this "rookie" 19th in driver points.
"It's exactly what we needed," said the driver, who has just 41 career Cup starts under his belt. "Overall, it was a good day. "As long as we kept having those long, green-flag runs our Smithfield Ford was fast. We did a really good job in the pits. I'm proud of everybody on pit road. We maintained and gained spots all day - I was proud of that."
"The way we've been running, to be able to come back and rebound and go into a weekend off with a top 10 is important."
Almirola, whose best finish through five races had been 12th at Phoenix claimed just his second lead-lap finish this year. It was a good day for Richard Petty alumni all around; A.J. Allmendinger, last year's No. 43 driver was second while former Petty Enterprises driver Bobby Labonte was a solid 16th in the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Toyota. – Tom Bowles
STAT OF THE WEEK: 38. That's the number of caution flags we've had through six races this season, the fewest at this point since 2000. On Sunday, the seven yellows were the fewest we've seen in a Martinsville event since 1996. At an average of slightly more than six per race, with many clustered towards the finish that's allowed us to see extended green-flag races at all tracks on the circuit. – Tom Bowles
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Martinsville-1 Race Recap
by Matt McLaughlin
The Big Six: Questions Answered After The Goody's Fast Relief 500
by Amy Henderson
IndyCar Race Recap: "Power"ing Through the Honda Grand Prix Of Alabama
by Toni Montgomery
Pace Laps: Is Reutimann's Job In Jeopardy? Massa's Major Concern & More
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Ron Lemasters
This April Fools' Day, The Joke's On NASCAR's Most Powerful Team
by Bryan Davis Keith
This April Fools' Day, The Joke's On NASCAR's Most Powerful Team
by Bryan Davis Keith
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1992 Mountain Dew 500 at Hickory Motor Speedway, held on Easter Weekend, is best known for the track breaking up, resulting in an all-time record of 26 cautions and two red flags to sweep the excess pavement away. However, this race was not supposed to be run in April. When was it supposed to go off?
Q: The 1992 Mountain Dew 500 at Hickory Motor Speedway, held on Easter Weekend, is best known for the track breaking up, resulting in an all-time record of 26 cautions and two red flags to sweep the excess pavement away. However, this race was not supposed to be run in April. When was it supposed to go off?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1996 Goody's Headache Powders 500 is best known as the race in which Terry Labonte overtook Richard Petty with his 514th consecutive start (nowadays, the record is 787 by Ricky Rudd). However, it also marked the surprise Cup Series debut of Stacy Compton, whose late model team put together an effort to qualify ninth. Where did the Dean Monroe-owned team get their equipment from?
A: Compton's team acquired Cup equipment at an auction. The A.G. Dillard team (No. 31 Hardee's Chevrolet) folded after the 1995 season and the team acquired some equipment from that auction. Compton qualified for both Martinsville races in first round qualifying, and also attempted to qualify for the Brickyard 400. However, Compton did not have the speed to get into the field.
Coming Tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Kevin Rutherford
-- Sitting In the Stands: A Fan's View by S.D. Grady
This week's topic: Exciting Race Finishes and Health
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Coming Tomorrow On The Frontstretch:
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup by StarCoach Race Tours: Martinsville-Off Week No. 1 Edition by Brett Poirier
With six races in the books, Brett looks at what trends are developing in NASCAR's two top series and which drivers are sizzling hot to start the season... while others are still stuck as if it never began.
Five Points To Ponder by Danny Peters
Danny, in for Bryan this week has his weekly edition of talking points to tie up Martinsville weekend and get us squared away for the off week.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series raced at Martinsville Speedway. Meanwhile, the Izod IndyCar Series was back in action at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. Were the race telecasts for these events up to snuff? Find out in this week's edition of the TV Critique.
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers where we'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of our sport.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom has his take on a wild Martinsville ending for the ages.
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©2012 Frontstretch.com
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Today's Feedback:
Kudos to Amy's article today concerning Redemption.
Well-written, easily understood, unbiased, and well-aimed. Thank you, Amy. it was great. And it is a keeper.
If you were local, I'd run right over and have you autograph my copy, but alas... you're not local and my printer died a few days ago! lol.
---
JeanW
SoCA Reader
Well-written, easily understood, unbiased, and well-aimed. Thank you, Amy. it was great. And it is a keeper.
If you were local, I'd run right over and have you autograph my copy, but alas... you're not local and my printer died a few days ago! lol.
---
JeanW
SoCA Reader
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