Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 12th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition LXXXII
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Frontstretch at the Track: Amy Henderson and Mike Neff are live at Darlington Raceway for this weekend's events. Stayed tuned to the Breaking News box, Twitter (@thefrontstretch and @writeramy) and Facebook for all of the latest news coming out of the "Track Too Tough to Tame."
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Biffle Cleans the Table en Route to Darlington Pole
by Amy Henderson
Jimmie Johnson felt he left something on the table after his qualifying lap at Darlington. Johnson was holding onto the pole with just a handful of drivers left to make an attempt, tied with Kasey Kahne on time and hoping to give Saturday night's grid an all-Hendrick Motorsports front row.
Until Greg Biffle came along and took everything Johnson left on the table for himself. Biffle blistered through turns 3 and 4 to for a lap time of 27.281, good enough to take the pole away from Johnson by .104 seconds. Johnson and Kahne actually ran identical lap times of 27.386, but Johnson will start second because he is higher in driver points than Kahne, who will share row 2 with Ryan Newman. Kyle Busch rounds out the top 5.
Matrin Truex, Jr. took a big step toward his second career win with his sixth-place effort. Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin will share row 4, starting seventh and eighth. Regan Smith and Jeff Burton round out the top 10.
The Bojangles' Southern 500 is set to run on Saturday night under the lights at Darlington. The race starts at 7 PM and will air on FOX.
Have news for The Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.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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Hamlin Dominates, But Logano Makes it Two In a Row on Friday Night
by Amy Henderson
Friday looked like Denny Hamlin's night. The Virginia native dominated the night at Darlington in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, but the Lady in Black proved to be a fickle dance partner, and when the checkered flag flew, it was Hamlin's teammate Joey Logano who visited Victory Lane for the second week in a row in the Nationwide Series. Logano took the lead on the last caution flag of the night and got the restart he needed to put enough distance between his No. 20 and Hamlin so that Hamlin couldn't get close enough to make a move in the two-lap green-white-checkered run to the end. Hamlin came home second, and Brad Keselowski, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Austin Dillon rounded out the top 5.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. led the field to the green flag, but Darlington is known for being a difficult track to race, and the caution flew on just the second lap for rookie Ryan Blaney, who got loose in turn 2 and hit the wall. The chain reaction caught up Matt Frahm, Casey Roderick, Chase Miller and Blake Koch as well as each suffered some degree of damage.
After the restart, Hamlin tipped his hand to everyone, taking over the lead and opening up to several seconds within the next 30 laps. Mike Wallace brought out the second caution on lap 35 after a cut tire sent his No. 01 into the wall. Just four laps after the restart from that incident, T.J. Bell tried to pass Josh Richardson on the inside, but didn't give Richardson enough room on top, and the result was a mangled racecar for Bell.
It was Hamlin on point for the restart, and he led Logano, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Kurt Busch and Elliott Sadler when the green came out. Busch made a brief bid for the lead, but Hamlin got back by on lap 52, and he took the field to school for the ensuing green-flag run, opening up a six-second lead by lap 110.
Busch lost a tire on lap 126, scraping the wall in the No. 54. The leaders pitted with just 20 laps to go in the race, and a two-tire strategy put Sadler in front of the field for the restart with 15 laps to go. Sadler held off second-place Joey Logano as Logano fought Hamlin for second. Hamlin was able to get by Logano and was just starting to work over Sadler for the lead when Brendan Gaughan had a tire let go and brought out the yellow again with ten laps remaining. This time, nobody came to pit road.
Sadler would restart with the lead, but the two-tire move showed its weakness as Hamlin and Logano were able to challenge. Logano made a move to the inside, but clipped Sadler's left rear, squeezing Sadler up the track directly into Hamlin's line. Sadler hit the wall and Hamlin suffered damage that would relegate him to second in the race. Kasey Kahne was also caught in the fracas. Sadler was able to limp to pit road, but a broken oil line made for a lengthy cleanup and set up the green-white-checkered.
Logano got a big jump on what proved to be the race's final restart. He held off a charging Hamlin to take back-to-back wins for the second time in his career. Logano made a point of calling Sadler immediately to apologize for the unintentional contact that ended Sadler's night and cost him the points lead. The win was the first for Logano at Darlington and his 12th Nationwide victory overall.
Sadler had hoped to gain ground on point leader Stenhouse, but his 24th-place finish allowed Stenhouse to stretch the lead to 23 on the strength of his own 6th-place run. Sadler remains second in points. Dillon is currently third, 35 behind Stenhouse, and Hornish and Cole Whitt round out the top 5 in Nationwide Series points.
The series heads to Iowa next week.
Amy Henderson is a Co-Managing Editor for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached via email at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com.
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The Big Six: Questions Answered After the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200
by Amy Henderson
Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday's race? Amy Henderson has you covered with each week with the answers to six race day questions, covering all five W's and even the H…the Big Six
Who…gets my shoutout of the race?
Talk about quiet. Sam Hornish, Jr. is quiet off the track, and on Friday night, he slipped under the radar until the end. But that's where the quiet ended, as Hornish waged a furious battle with Austin Dillon for a fourth-place finish, beating Dillon by inches at the line. Hornish is showing steady improvement after being given a chance to start over in the Nationwide Series after a less-than-stellar couple of years in a Sprint Cup car. If he continues to race like he did on Friday, he'll have another chance in Cup…and this time he'll be ready.
What… was THAT?
One thing that you would never see back in the day at Darlington was a two-tire pit stop. Before the most recent repave, the track was hell on tires, and teams took every chance for fresh rubber. Friday night's race saw Elliott Sadler use a two-tire strategy to take the lead after a caution flew on lap 126. But while Sadler's and Brendan Gaughan's teams tried to gain position, it proved to still be the wrong move at this track. Gaughan wound up in a wreck just a handful of laps later, and when Sadler didn't get the bite he needed on the subsequent restart, Joey Logano got into his bumper, putting Sadler in the wall. The more things change…
Where…did the first-timers wind up?
Darlington has long held the reputation of being hard to figure out, and she lived up to her reputation on Friday night. Ryan Blaney, who wowed fans with his seventh-place run ar Richmond in his NNS debut, found out just how cruel the Lady in Black can be on lap 2, when the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing machine broke loose under him and Blaney became the night's first casualty, winding up with a 43rd-place finish.
The other Darlington newbies fared better, all finishing in the top 20. Travis Pastrana, also making just his second start, finished 17th. Danica Patrick, who in the past has spent the month of May in Indianapolis, came home 12th in her debut. Cole Whitt and Austin Dillon not only survived, but each scored a top-10 finish as they wound up tenth and fifth, respectively.
When…will I be loved?
This section goes to the biggest villain of the race, who is surely wondering where the love went after whatever transpired on the racetrack. While all the drivers were on their best behavior, several learned that if you try too hard to race your opponent and not the racetrack, bad things can happen. Just 45 laps into the race, T.J. Bell and Josh Richardson tried to take it three-wide. Bell didn't give Richardson enough room on the high side, and the result was a squashed No. 50 for Bell. The with just five to go, Joey Logano tried to clear teammate Denny Hamlin on a restart just as Hamlin tried to make a move outside of race leader Elliott Sadler. Sadler ended up going from contender to a DNF in the blink of an eye. None of the incidents were intentional, but they illustrate well how tricky this racetrack can be.
Why…were some Sprint Cup regulars eager to race on Friday night?
Winning at Darlington is extra special because of the bragging rights for beating the track as much as the field. But for a handful of drivers Friday night's race was also a dress rehearsal for 500 miles on Saturday. For Denny Hamlin, who dominated the race, it may prove to be the prologue to his second Sprint Cup win at the track. For others, like Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano the Nationwide race was a chance to test the waters on the changing track surface. For Danica Patrick, seat time was critical as she prepares for her first non-restrictor-plate Cup start Saturday night. Whatever the reason, for some, it seems, the allure of dancing with the Lady in Black is simply irresistible.
How…much do I love Darlington?
Darlington is a great track for so many reasons. Nicknamed the Lady in Black for the black marks that inevitably cover the walls after a race and The Track Too Tough to Tame for its notoriously difficult racing surface, it's slippery, it eats tires (though not as much as it used to) and you get the sense that the racing is a lot like it was when the track opened as NASCAR's original superspeedway. Unlike many of the intermediate ovals today, Darlington was purpose-built for stock cars, not as a multi-use racetrack and it shows. Winners get a lifetime parking spot just behind pit road, so names like Baker, Earnhardt, Petty, and Ned Jarrett are among the likes of Gordon, Johnson and Regan Smith. It's hard to sit in the grandstands or walk through the garage here and not feel the ghosts of NASCAR's past around you. Darlington is one of the few tracks left on the Cup circuit that both clearly remembers NASCAR's long and storied history and lives up to its reputation. That makes this Lady the grand dame of the sport. There are only a few tracks on the circuit truly worth the cost of a plane ticket.
Like this column? Amy brings you the big six questions Monday after every Sprint Cup race on the Website. If you haven't checked it out, make sure to tune in to www.frontstretch.com on Monday to see what Amy has to say about the Bojangles' Southern 500.
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The Sounds of the Media Center – Quotes from pre-race at Darlington
by Mike Neff
Tony Stewart was asked if he thought Danica Patrick could become frustrated during the race Saturday.
"Sure, anytime you go somewhere new it's hard. The races that we picked this year were not meant to be easier races. They are all harder races that we think are valuable for different reasons. It's very easy that this weekend could be a frustrating weekend but it's all a part of a bigger plan. I think that is part of what will keep it from being frustrating is that she knows that this is set out to be a tough weekend. It's with a bigger picture in mind and a bigger goal in mind at the end of the day."
Regan Smith talked about last year's win and what it meant to come back to Darlington to defend his title.
"I was an extremely happy guy the last time I was in here. I remember this seat pretty well it was in the same spot I think. That win meant the world to me. It was certainly a pretty special place to get a first win, here at Darlington. The way that we did it with the old tires and thing like that, this is a track that I have always enjoyed racing at right from the first time I came here. I still remember the first time I came here, standing over in turn two. At the time the grandstands with the roof were still sitting over there and I remember thinking 'man this is old school here, this place has got a lot of history'. I never anticipated that we would get our first win with Furniture Row Racing or myself here, but couldn't have picked a better place really. It made it extra special to do it here."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked about working out with his pit crew.
"I don't train with my guys. I don't think I could keep up with them. I don't really work out a lot. I play sports in the spring, summer and fall. This probably the past 12 months, I've changed my diet quite a bit. I've lost quite a bit of weight. I think it gets harder and harder the older you get just to maintain your weight. I'm trying to get a hold on that and knowing what I need to do as far as my calorie intake to manage my weight a bit better. I try to eat more healthy kind of things and it makes you feel better and gives you better fuel. It's something that I take pretty seriously, but I've been learning a lot the last four or five years just being around Jimmie (Johnson) and Jeff (Gordon) and those guys. Jimmie, he's like an expert at everything. He understands everything that's happening to his body at all times as far as what he's eating and what he needs to be doing. He's a good guy to be around when you're concerned about those things."
Kevin Harvick was asked about the lack of 'dustups' during this season.
"This isn't boxing (laughs). This is racing. Sometimes you get frustrated and you have things happen and you have those dustups. It's not something that is going to happen every week like everybody wants it to happen. There is just no way you can make things happen like that. It's just unique events happen at unique times; it's just not going to happen every week though. Nobody's getting any pressure from NASCAR or sponsors or anything about it. It's just not going to happen like everybody thinks it should."
Jimmie Johnson spoke about Danica Patrick running at Darlington after only running on restrictor plate tracks previously.
"I didn't realize. Did she test on a short track or anything, with the additional power? Does anybody know?" 'She tested at Nashville' "When you get to about half-throttle in the Cup car, that's what a Nationwide car feels like (laughs). There's a lot left from that point down in a Cup car. As far as tracks go, this track in my opinion has the highest sensation of speed over any other track we go to. And it's due to it being so narrow. But it will be an eye-opening experience. Fortunately she's been real fast in other cars so hopefully it doesn't affect her too much. But we've all looked at this race on her schedule and know it is going to be tough for her. And it certainly will. This is not an easy race track to get around but she's going to do it and we'll see how it goes."
Denny Hamlin was asked about his opinion on racing at Darlington in the 60s.
"That's what's so amazing to me is you see the old video and it definitely doesn't do it justice. These guys had no air conditioning, no power steering, no nothing. They had to man through it and tough through it and when you saw them after the race and their face is all black and everything. That's how it used to be. These guys were iron men back then. Nowadays, the cars are hot because we're closed in and not as much air comes in the cars today as what it used to be. You had to have some arms on you. You had to have mental toughness back then. That still applies today, but it's just a different beast all together. It's still racing and it's still about beating 42 other guys."
Marting Truex Jr was asked about the success at Michael Waltrip Racing and when it started.
"It did (start last year). At the end of last year, towards the middle part of the year – I've told this story a lot this year, but we made a lot of changes with the way we were building our cars and a lot of personnel changes and things. I think for our team, Chad Johnston (crew chief) and myself still getting to know each other and getting on the same page. A lot of that was a big part of the turnaround for the end of last year too. Just across the board, Michael Waltrip Racing as a whole – all three teams – we've got better equipment, smarter people, we understand our cars better. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) provides us with really good engines and they've gotten better too. The whole package has been better. That's all you can really say about it."
Travis Pastrana was asked how his first day at Darlington went.
"Never really been scared in NASCAR until today, for sure. Everyone says every track you go to, 'Oh, this is the hardest track or this is this or this is different or challenging,' but never before have I been that scared that far along. It's definitely faster than it looks on TV and you have so much room to the inside, but there's only one line. You have to hit – especially turn one – you have to hit the inside, it slides all the way to the top no matter how slow or fast you go, so you might as well hold it pinned and see what happens. I kept lifting right at the end and they said, 'Well, the good drivers around here will hold it pinned,' so I did that and spun a 720 down the backstretch and was able to keep it off the walls and realized maybe I'm not a good driver yet. We'll learn on that."
Matt Kenseth waxed philosophic on racing at Darlington.
"I really enjoy it and appreciate it. I was riding my motorcycle down here last night and I was thinking – I really enjoy the couple hours of quiet time – and I was thinking about how cool it was the first few times you came here when it was Labor Day and it was always in the nineties and you were just sweating standing there, and then you had to get in there and drive 500 miles. The track would slow up so much and it seemed like it was almost a five-hour race and you were just totally done and spent when you were done with the race. I always remember how special that event was and being part of that, so I'm glad we still get to come down here. I'm glad the Southern 500 is still alive, but I spent some time thinking about that last night and how cool that was because it was a race you always looked forward to, but you were always making sure you were in shape and drinking a lot of Gatorade, and you were hydrateed, and everything was right in the car because it was always a marathon, and it was always hot, slick and treacherous."
Carl Edwards was asked about racing on the old pavement vs. the new pavement.
"I think all the drivers really liked the old pavement. I think the new pavement, intially, took something away from the racing here, but I don't know if it's just me, I don't know if other guys feel the same way, but I feel like this year compared to last year has been a big step forward. It seems like it's aged a little bit. The Goodyear tires are falling off a little bit more. It's not so white-knuckle, on the edge. The car can slide a little bit. You can mess up and kind of slide the car and gather it back up, so there's a little big of forgiveness there and I think all of that leads to better racing, so I'd say we're 50% there or something like that. But I think every year we come back here it's just gonna get better and better."
Jeff Gordon spoke about Tony Stewart's diatribe after Talladega last week.
"No, there is no deep message there (laughs). I can't keep a straight face. That's what so impressed me about what Tony did. I wasn't even there and I was laughing. And right now, I can't keep a straight face. I thought it was unbelievable. I thought it was awesome."
Why?
"Why? Because all the things that he had to say are things that weigh on all of our minds as drivers and you want to get that message across but there's only a slight few that can do it in a certain way but gets the message out there as well, very clear. I don't know. I thought that took some real skill, too. I sent him a text saying I thought that was awesome."
Asked if anything can be done to address those issues.
"I still like the Figure 8 idea. I'm leaning toward the Figure 8."
Greg Biffle spoke about tire runs on the old and new surface.
"Before, you could directly relate like a math equation. You could run any lap time you wanted, but every tenth or two-tenths you went faster on new tires, you could subtract 10 off the back end you're gonna slow down a second. So you could go as fast as you wanted for those first 10 or eight laps on new tires, you were like Superman, but you had to drive them like you had an egg with a soft shell on it. You just had to take care of them and, if you wanted to, you just crammed the throttle down and could smoke off a lap, but it's kind of like nine lives – you just took a bunch off the back end of that tire. After 10 laps, the thing dropped dramatically, so it's nothing like that."
Danica Patrick was asked about how big her involvement was to the community and the sport.
"That's very nice of you to say, but there's a heck of a lot of big name drivers here. Quite honestly, it's my honor to finally be here at a place like Darlington with so much history and tradition. I think I heard it was the first paved track. Is that true? And that's why it's called the Lady in Black because it finally got paved. I'm learning my history and it's good to be here. I had a lot of repect for this place coming in, but having finally hit the track in both cars, I've got even more now."
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at mike.neff@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Beyond the Cockpit with Eric McClure
by Mike Neff
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This Weekend on the Frontstretch:
Nationwide Breakdown: VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has all of the post race analysis you need following Friday evening's Nationwide Series race from Darlington.
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1996, Dale Jarrett had the chance to win the Winston Million. He even had a special helmet painted up for the occasion with the different tracks included in the Winston Million promotion on it. However, it just wasn't to be. What happened?
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Thursday's Answer:
Q: Tim Richmond won the 1986 Southern 500 at Darlington. However, something incredibly weird occurred during the race. What happened?
A: Allegedly, a woman actually attempted to drive her personal car out onto the track during the race from the opening in the wall at the end of the frontstretch pits. The attempt not make air on ESPN because of on and off rain showers that resulted in the race taking the better part of eight hours to run (ESPN chose to jump back and forth between different live events that day to compensate). Thankfully, the woman was stopped before venturing out into traffic.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 totrivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Bojangles' Southern 500 Race Recap by Jeff Wolfe
-- Secret Star and Stat of the Race by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Monday on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Bojangles' Southern 500 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Saturday evening's action from Darlington.
Monday Morning Teardown by Ron Lemasters
Ron returns for a website look at one of the big stories from Saturday's race from Darlington.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom brings back his weekly post-race commentary with all of the insight you need from a weekend of racing at Darlington.
Big Six: Bojangles' Southern 500 by Amy Henderson
Looking for all you need to know leaving Saturday's event at Darlington? Amy has your who, what, when, where, why and how from a weekend of racing.
Pace Laps: Darlington Weekend by the Frontstretch Staff
In our newest column this season, we'll take a look at the biggest stories to keep an eye on in each series after a weekend at Darlington.
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