THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 29th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition XCVIII
What To Watch: Tuesday
- The assets of the former TRG Motorsports team are being auctioned off today through Gavel Auction in Denver, NC, starting at 11:00 AM. The organization, which fielded cars in 106 Cup Series starts for David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte, Andy Lally and several others returned to a focus on Grand Am / sports car racing following the 2011 season.
- Kasey Kahne is poised to speak with the NASCAR media following his first win with Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne, who has six straight top-10 finishes driving the No. 5 car cruised to victory after pushing his way to the front during the final 100 miles of Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
by Kevin Rutherford
Earnhardt Unveils 'Dark Knight' Scheme for Michigan
The spring and summer months of the NASCAR season often bring new paint schemes that deviate from a team's normal colors. In the Coca-Cola 600 alone, drivers from Juan Pablo Montoya, to Brad Keselowski, to Landon Cassill sported special colors.
Now, count NASCAR's Most Popular Driver among those changing it up a bit. The coat on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s No. 88 team for Hendrick Motorsports at June's Quicken Loans 400 Sprint Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway will come courtesy of "The Dark Knight Rises," the newest Batman film that will be released July 20th.
The paint scheme, which was made possible in part by regular Earnhardt sponsor Mountain Dew, will be black with green numbers, and will feature the Bat Shield, Batman, and Bane, Batman's new adversary. It was chosen after a week and a half of voting at DEWCrew.com.
"DEW and 'Dark Knight' fans have spoken, and it's pretty cool that the paint scheme they picked is the one I helped create," said Earnhardt, Jr. "Now that the winning design has been selected, I can't wait to see how fans will react to the car on the track in Michigan."
An image of the car can be found on Mountain Dew's Facebook page. Michigan is the site of Earnhardt's last Cup win, in June of 2008 and he'll hope to break the drought if it continues up to the race.
Rusty Wallace Supports Shorter Series Schedule
Since 2001, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has traveled to 36 different events on its schedule, an increase from smaller numbers in years past. According to recent Hall of Fame inductee Rusty Wallace, that number should decrease once again.
"Personally, I wish the schedule were 32 again," Wallace said in a press conference Sunday, honoring his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. "It's the classic case of supply and demand. Too much supply and not enough demand."
A change in the length of the schedule may come as a welcome alteration for many teams, as NASCAR's top series is afforded only a handful of off weeks per season. Currently, there are just two packed within a 38-race slate that runs from Daytona Speedweeks in February to the November weekend before Thanksgiving.
Some were clearly surprised that the driver, who doubles as an ESPN analyst would vote to take dates and potential millions in revenue from both NASCAR and the area surrounding individual tracks that would lose a date. But Wallace defended himself. "I think it's OK for me to give my opinion," he said. "I don't think NASCAR would get upset about that. Maybe take four races off the schedule and increase that demand that means so much."
It should be noted that the Cup Series ran 32 events only once in the Modern Era. That was in 1997. The sale of North Wilkesboro Speedway to Bruton Smith and Bob Bahre allowed the new Texas Motor Speedway and then-New Hampshire International Speedway to claim each of North Wilkesboro's former dates. A brand-new race at then-California Speedway (now Auto Club Speedway) was added in June. For 1998, the schedule expanded to 33 races with addition of Las Vegas to the slate in March.
Truck Series Drivers Promoting Autism Awareness at Dover
Over a third of the teams competing in the June 1st Lucas Oil 200 Camping World Truck Series event at Dover will be supporting a cause familiar to those affiliated with the Delaware track -- Autism Speaks. For the sixth straight year, NASCAR teams -- 13 in all on the Truck level -- will carry a special decal, the Autism Speaks puzzle piece logo, to help create autism awareness.
At the Lucas Oil 200, Kevin Harvick, Ty Dillon, Paulie Harraka, Ross Chastain, Ron Hornaday, Jr., Joey Coulter, Max Gresham, Jeb Burton, Parker Kligerman, Nelson Piquet, Jr., James Buescher, Miguel Paludo and Cale Gale will carry the decal. Meanwhile, the Cup race on Sunday will also be known as the FedEx 400... benefiting Autism Speaks.
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
Remembering More Than The Flyover On Sundays
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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Featured Commentary
Remembering More Than The Flyover On Sundays
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
Yes, there is something exquisite about a day that welcomes you with the twisting course of Monaco, feasts on the flat rectangle of Indy and toasts the night with 600 miles at Charlotte. Racing in all shapes and sizes. Fast cars, enthusiastic fans, panoramas of some of our favorite international locales; all of these fill the day with fun.
But there is something else especially important about the last weekend in May, at least to Americans. Memorial Day is a chance for us to pause and thank all those who have served in our military, present and past. Fortunately, we are fans of a sport that honors the men and women of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, National Guard and the Coast Guard each and every week.
One of NASCAR's traditions includes the pre-race flyover, often executed by aircraft from the very military we strive to thank. How awesome is it when you listen to the closing bars of the Star Spangled Banner, only to have the last note drowned out by the jet engines of a pair of F-18's? Surely, Sunday's edition ranked up there with the lumbering presence of the B-52. Beautiful.
Yes, it is exhilarating to watch a jet buzz the stadium in which you stand. The feel of the ground shaking under your feet as the pilot hits the afterburners cannot be duplicated in any other circumstance. I am always suitably impressed by the technological wonder that just passed by; but in the process, I too easily dismiss the human in the pilot's seat.
We become accustomed to the appearance of the presentation of the color guard, barely listen to our national anthem, and yes, even voice our disappointment when the planes overhead aren't the fastest from the Air Force's arsenal. However, in this day and age, where the headlines often include the loss of one of our soldiers in foreign lands on any given day, it's critical not to lose sight of the purpose of that flying fortress. Capable of flying to any corner of the globe and delivering a payload of the scariest kind of weaponry, the B-52 still represents the starkest realities of the world we inhabit -- where a day at the races is truly a privilege we can never take for granted. Another plane will appear in the distance next week, in another country and everyone on it will be risking their lives in order to protect us.
These planes are engineered for a purpose, one that is horrid and far too often necessary. Men and women walk into battle across our planet protecting those that are subjected to acts of terror. Soldiers do pay the ultimate price fighting so that we may fire up the grill on a hot summer night and share a few beers with the neighbors.
The military provides flyovers at various public events across the world funded by their much discussed recruiting and training budgets, logging the flights as training cruises -- all in the name of maintaining a positive public image. It is truly an effective use of budget dollars, as I am always captured by their graceful and noisy appearance. But when we are dazzled by these winged heroes it is entirely up to us, the ticket holders, to take that moment of adrenaline-pumping glory and transform it into something more.
We're looking forward to Dover this week, the home of the 436th Airlift Wing. There's no doubt we'll be treated to a visit from one of their monstrous cargo planes. And I'm hoping every fan in the stands remembers that the mission of freedom is not one already etched into the history books.
So cheer for the flyover, for it is a truly beautiful aviation moment. And then cheer for those that offer up their very existence so you live in peace. It is the very least we can do for our men and women in uniform, where forgetting their service should never be the price they pay for our freedom.
Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat
Charlotte: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 3rd
Finished: 13th
Points Position: 9th
Charlotte: NSCS in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 40th
Finished: 30th (running, five laps down)
Not eligible for points in 2012
by S.D. Grady
Yes, there is something exquisite about a day that welcomes you with the twisting course of Monaco, feasts on the flat rectangle of Indy and toasts the night with 600 miles at Charlotte. Racing in all shapes and sizes. Fast cars, enthusiastic fans, panoramas of some of our favorite international locales; all of these fill the day with fun.
But there is something else especially important about the last weekend in May, at least to Americans. Memorial Day is a chance for us to pause and thank all those who have served in our military, present and past. Fortunately, we are fans of a sport that honors the men and women of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, National Guard and the Coast Guard each and every week.
One of NASCAR's traditions includes the pre-race flyover, often executed by aircraft from the very military we strive to thank. How awesome is it when you listen to the closing bars of the Star Spangled Banner, only to have the last note drowned out by the jet engines of a pair of F-18's? Surely, Sunday's edition ranked up there with the lumbering presence of the B-52. Beautiful.
Yes, it is exhilarating to watch a jet buzz the stadium in which you stand. The feel of the ground shaking under your feet as the pilot hits the afterburners cannot be duplicated in any other circumstance. I am always suitably impressed by the technological wonder that just passed by; but in the process, I too easily dismiss the human in the pilot's seat.
We become accustomed to the appearance of the presentation of the color guard, barely listen to our national anthem, and yes, even voice our disappointment when the planes overhead aren't the fastest from the Air Force's arsenal. However, in this day and age, where the headlines often include the loss of one of our soldiers in foreign lands on any given day, it's critical not to lose sight of the purpose of that flying fortress. Capable of flying to any corner of the globe and delivering a payload of the scariest kind of weaponry, the B-52 still represents the starkest realities of the world we inhabit -- where a day at the races is truly a privilege we can never take for granted. Another plane will appear in the distance next week, in another country and everyone on it will be risking their lives in order to protect us.
These planes are engineered for a purpose, one that is horrid and far too often necessary. Men and women walk into battle across our planet protecting those that are subjected to acts of terror. Soldiers do pay the ultimate price fighting so that we may fire up the grill on a hot summer night and share a few beers with the neighbors.
The military provides flyovers at various public events across the world funded by their much discussed recruiting and training budgets, logging the flights as training cruises -- all in the name of maintaining a positive public image. It is truly an effective use of budget dollars, as I am always captured by their graceful and noisy appearance. But when we are dazzled by these winged heroes it is entirely up to us, the ticket holders, to take that moment of adrenaline-pumping glory and transform it into something more.
We're looking forward to Dover this week, the home of the 436th Airlift Wing. There's no doubt we'll be treated to a visit from one of their monstrous cargo planes. And I'm hoping every fan in the stands remembers that the mission of freedom is not one already etched into the history books.
So cheer for the flyover, for it is a truly beautiful aviation moment. And then cheer for those that offer up their very existence so you live in peace. It is the very least we can do for our men and women in uniform, where forgetting their service should never be the price they pay for our freedom.
Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat
Charlotte: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 3rd
Finished: 13th
Points Position: 9th
Charlotte: NSCS in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 40th
Finished: 30th (running, five laps down)
Not eligible for points in 2012
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: Coca-Cola 600
by Garrett Horton
0
Jimmie Johnson failed to lead a single lap in the Coke 600, only the third race he has failed to do so in 2012.
3
Kasey Kahne and Dario Franchitti won their third Coke 600 and Indy 500s, respectively, on Sunday.
4
Kahne has now won driving for four different manufacturers (Chevy, Toyota, Dodge, Ford), more than any other active driver. Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman all have won for three different manufacturers.
5
Should Kyle Busch manage to score a top-5 finish this weekend at Dover, it will match his career high of five consecutive top-5 results. The last and only time he has done so was back in 2008, when he finished third or better from Races 9-13 (Talladega, Richmond, Darlington, Charlotte and Dover, a stretch in which Busch picked up three victories).
6
Denny Hamlin has six top 5s this season, already eclipsing his total of five from last year.
7th
The starting position for race winner Kahne, continuing a trend in 2012 where the race winner has started 13th or higher.
29
It has now been 29 straight races since a pole winner has won an event, tying an all-time NASCAR record (set twice during the 1980s). Ryan Newman was the last to do so, when he won New Hampshire last July starting from the top spot.
30th
Danica Patrick finished 30th on Sunday, her first career top-30 result on the Cup level.
155.687
The average speed for Sunday night's Coke 600, a new race record. It eclipsed the former mark of 151.952 mph set by Bobby Labonte in 1995.
204
Greg Biffle led 204 laps Sunday, only the third time in his career he has led at least 200 laps in a race. That's also the first time he's done so at a track other than Fort Worth.
3,888
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has completed all 3,888 laps of Sprint Cup competition this year. With Matt Kenseth finishing one lap down Sunday night, Earnhardt is now the only driver who has run every lap.
Garrett Horton is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.
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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:
Grading the NASCAR Cup Field with 12 Races Down and 24 to Go
by Danny Peters
Five Points to Ponder: Enough with the Whining and Debris Already
by Bryan Keith
Couch Potato Tuesday: Coca-Cola 600: Fox's Commercials Bite Them Again
by Phil Allaway
NASCAR Tech Talk: Taking on the Monster Mile with Crew Chief Kenny Francis
by Mike Neff
Who's Hot / Who's Not in NASCAR: Charlotte-Dover Edition
by Brett Poirier
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 2000, Mike Wallace finished the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover in the 12th spot, but he was very upset at the outcome. Why was this so?
~~~~~~~~~~
Numbers Game: Coca-Cola 600
by Garrett Horton
0
Jimmie Johnson failed to lead a single lap in the Coke 600, only the third race he has failed to do so in 2012.
3
Kasey Kahne and Dario Franchitti won their third Coke 600 and Indy 500s, respectively, on Sunday.
4
Kahne has now won driving for four different manufacturers (Chevy, Toyota, Dodge, Ford), more than any other active driver. Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman all have won for three different manufacturers.
5
Should Kyle Busch manage to score a top-5 finish this weekend at Dover, it will match his career high of five consecutive top-5 results. The last and only time he has done so was back in 2008, when he finished third or better from Races 9-13 (Talladega, Richmond, Darlington, Charlotte and Dover, a stretch in which Busch picked up three victories).
6
Denny Hamlin has six top 5s this season, already eclipsing his total of five from last year.
7th
The starting position for race winner Kahne, continuing a trend in 2012 where the race winner has started 13th or higher.
29
It has now been 29 straight races since a pole winner has won an event, tying an all-time NASCAR record (set twice during the 1980s). Ryan Newman was the last to do so, when he won New Hampshire last July starting from the top spot.
30th
Danica Patrick finished 30th on Sunday, her first career top-30 result on the Cup level.
155.687
The average speed for Sunday night's Coke 600, a new race record. It eclipsed the former mark of 151.952 mph set by Bobby Labonte in 1995.
204
Greg Biffle led 204 laps Sunday, only the third time in his career he has led at least 200 laps in a race. That's also the first time he's done so at a track other than Fort Worth.
3,888
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has completed all 3,888 laps of Sprint Cup competition this year. With Matt Kenseth finishing one lap down Sunday night, Earnhardt is now the only driver who has run every lap.
Garrett Horton is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
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:
Grading the NASCAR Cup Field with 12 Races Down and 24 to Go
by Danny Peters
Five Points to Ponder: Enough with the Whining and Debris Already
by Bryan Keith
Couch Potato Tuesday: Coca-Cola 600: Fox's Commercials Bite Them Again
by Phil Allaway
NASCAR Tech Talk: Taking on the Monster Mile with Crew Chief Kenny Francis
by Mike Neff
Who's Hot / Who's Not in NASCAR: Charlotte-Dover Edition
by Brett Poirier
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 2000, Mike Wallace finished the Craftsman Truck Series race at Dover in the 12th spot, but he was very upset at the outcome. Why was this so?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: In the 1992 Budweiser 500 at then-Dover Downs International Speedway, Derrike Cope and Wally Dallenbach, Jr. crashed hard on the frontstretch. That's not necessarily out of the ordinary since Dover is a "self-cleaning" racetrack. What is unusual is that the yellow was out for an astonishing 37 laps. Why?
A: The wreck for Cope and Dallenbach is described as a pretty bad wreck in the comments on Racing-Reference, but that would not create a 37-lap yellow. However, rain would do it. The race had already started under a yellow-green situation due to wet weather and the yellow had flown once for the drops returning. During the cleanup from the crash, the skies opened again, forcing a red flag. After the track was 96 percent (or so) dry, NASCAR would put the race back under yellow at the time and finish drying with the cars on-track, thus creating the long caution scenario.
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 Brad Morgan
-- Full Throttle by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Just how few crashes we've had? Tom Bowles takes a look at just how historic this run of green-flag racing has been. Plus, the key to the future of IndyCar racing, a laughable rookie of the year battle and A.J. Allmendinger's psyche, all part of his weekly small but unique observations on the state of racing across the country.
Going Green by Garrett Horton
Garrett returns with another interesting commentary. This week, the focus is on the "new" Kyle Busch. No, it's not what you think...
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different topics, including whether the lack of action in races this season is simply because drivers have gotten used to each other, Joey Coulter's time with RCR, reaction to Rusty Wallace's recent comments on shortening the schedule and more.
Frontstretch Top Ten by Jeff Meyer
We'll have a top ten list that will tickle your funny bone.
Sprint Cup Power Rankings compiled by Summer Bedgood
Did Biffle manage to keep himself at the top of the rankings after Sunday's Coca-Cola 600? See who your favorite NASCAR experts from around the web voted to the top of our power rankings poll prior to Sunday's FedEx 400.
Beyond The Cockpit: Travis Kvapil as told to Amy Henderson
What is with the water out in Wisconsin? Travis talks about how he, Matt Kenseth, and so many others have turned into NASCAR regulars from the cheese state. Plus, the challenge of starting up a new team, life with a fast-food sponsor and more in this detailed one-on-one with Amy.
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©2012 Frontstretch.com
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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