THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 3rd, 2012
Volume VI, Edition LXXVI
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 3rd, 2012
Volume VI, Edition LXXVI
~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's Note: Frontstretch has a brand new, redesigned Facebook page. Click Here to "Like" Us and get a direct connect to all your Frontstretch favorites along with polls, interaction with fans and so much more.
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Penalties Announced for RCR and Turner Motorsports Nationwide Teams
On Tuesday evening, NASCAR officially announced the penalties from the illegal bumper modifications found on six Nationwide cars last weekend in Richmond. After the fallout from the penalties against Hendrick Motorsports' No. 48 team stemming from the C-Post at Daytona in February, many inside of the sport were looking to see how NASCAR would dole out punishments for the violations. The actual penalties handed down were more lenient than expected.
All six crew chiefs (Luke Lambert for Elliott Sadler, Danny Stockman for Austin Dillon, Trent Owens for James Buescher, Jimmy Elledge for Justin Allgaier, Ernie Cope for Kevin Harvick and Mike Shiplett for Kasey Kahne) have been fined $10,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year. In addition, the team's car chiefs (Phil Gould for Sadler, Robert Strmiska for Dillon, Shannon Rursch for Buescher, Ronnie Hornaday III for Allgaier, Paul Balmer for Harvick and Christopher Meyers for Kahne) have also been placed on probation until the end of the year. No drivers or owners points were deducted from any of the offending teams.
In their release, NASCAR stated that the six teams violations multiple sections of the 2012 Nationwide Series Rule Book. They included the standard violations that cover any penalties involving confiscated parts. These include sections 12-1 (Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing) and 12-4-J (Determination by NASCAR officials that equipment does not conform to NASCAR rules). In addition, the six teams were judged to have violated Sections 20A-2.1E (Streamlining of the contours of the car beyond what is approved by the series director will not be permitted) and 20A-3.10A (Front bumper cover must be from the respective OEM manufacturer and must be approved by NASCAR. Unless otherwise authorized by the series director, cutting and reshaping of bumper covers will not be permitted).
RAB Racing with Brack Maggard and SR2 Motorsports Announce Collaboration, Townley to Drive
On Wednesday, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard announced a collaboration between themselves and SR2 Motorsports, a team in the Nationwide Series, for this weekend at Talladega. On paper, the deal is basically that RAB Racing with Brack Maggard will operate the No. 24 at Talladega. John Wes Townley, the team's full-time driver in the Camping World Truck Series, will be behind the wheel of the No. 24.
In addition, the team announced a new sponsorship from Toyota. Townley's No. 24 this weekend will be carrying decals for Toyota's "Save In May" Sales Event on the car. The No. 24 will be a Toyota from RAB Racing with Brack Maggard's shops instead of the Chevrolets that SR2 Motorsports usually fields. Chris Rice, Townley's crew chief in the Camping World Truck Series, will also serve in that role this weekend.
Townley is excited about returning to the Nationwide Series this weekend.
"I'm really looking forward to racing in the Nationwide Series again," Townley said. "Talladega has always been a strong track for me. I've always had good runs at the superspeedway races. I've got to thank Toyota for making this all possible. I'm happy to have the Toyota "Save In May" Sales Event on the side of our Camry this weekend."
Toyota's Save In May Sales Event will also serve as the primary sponsor of Townley's No. 09 Toyota in the Camping World Truck Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on May 18.
Townley has one previous start in the Nationwide Series at Talladega. In 2009, Townley started 31st and finished on the lead lap in 18th while driving RAB Racing with Brack Maggard's No. 09. He also has a seventh-place finish at Talladega in the ARCA Racing Series back in 2008.
Skinner to Drive for Hamilton Means Racing
Hamilton Means Racing announced on Wednesday that the team has signed veteran driver Mike Skinner to drive their No. 52 Toyota for the remaining races that the team will attempt in the 2012 season. Skinner will officially replace Scott Speed, who made the team's inaugural attempt at Martinsville. Partially due to a fluid leak from Mike Bliss' No. 19, Speed could not muster the appropriate time to qualify for the race, despite turning in laps in practice that would have gotten the team in.
"We are incredibly excited to have Mike come onboard," said Hamilton Means Racing's Kelly Owen. "He will certainly bring a great deal of knowledge and wisdom to our team's efforts for the remainder of the season. Best of all, he brings stability [to the team] so that we can make our plans knowing that we [have] a commitment from an experienced driver that can get the job done."
The No. 52 team was originally entered in last weekend's Capital City 400 Presented by Virginia Is For Lovers without a named driver. They quietly withdrew early in the week. Skinner will be in the No. 52 starting next week at Darlington. Crusader Staffing, a company owned by team co-owner Dell Hamilton, will serve as primary sponsor.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. for R3 Motorsports
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. is in the seat, replacing Scott Riggs.
No. 32- Terry Labonte returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson.
No. 33- Tony Raines returns to the seat, replacing Stephen Leicht.
No. 55- Michael Waltrip is in the seat, replacing Mark Martin. This is the first of Waltrip's scheduled races in his own seat.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. for R3 Motorsports
No. 26- Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports*
No. 30- David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 33- Tony Raines for Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing
No. 49- J.J. Yeley for Robinson-Blakeney Racing
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 97- Bill Elliott for NEMCO Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 98- Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing*
Not Entered:
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing
No. 74- Cole Whitt for Turn One Racing
No. 95- Scott Speed for Leavine Family Racing
Nationwide Series Aaron's 312: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 1- Kurt Busch for Phoenix Racing
No. 5- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for JR Motorsports
No. 18- Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 24- John Wes Townley for SR2 Motorsports/RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 30- James Buescher for Turner Motorsports
No. 33- Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group
No. 47- Scott Speed for Team Motorsports Group
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 08- Tim Andrews returns to the seat, replacing Casey Roderick.
No. 4- Danny Efland returns to the seat, replacing Steve Wallace.
No. 15- Jeffrey Earnhardt returns to the seat, replacing Scott Riggs.
No. 18- Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Denny Hamlin.
No. 20- Ryan Truex returns to the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 24- John Wes Townley is in the seat, replacing Tanner Berryhill. This will be Townley's first Nationwide start since Iowa in September, 2010.
No. 38- Brad Sweet returns to the seat, replacing Kasey Kahne.
No. 39- Josh Richards is in the seat, replacing Matt Frahm. If Richards qualifies on speed, he will be making his Nationwide Series debut.
No. 54- Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing his brother Kurt.
No. 99- Kenny Wallace returns to the seat, replacing Travis Pastrana.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 1- Kurt Busch for Phoenix Racing
No. 5- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for JR Motorsports (Has second crack at the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 15- Jeffrey Earnhardt for Rick Ware Racing
No. 20- Ryan Truex for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 39- Josh Richards for Go Green Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 46- Chase Miller for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 47- Scott Speed for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 50- T.J. Bell for MAKE Motorsports
No. 52- Kevin Lepage for Means Motorsports
No. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing*
No. 75- Blake Koch for Rick Ware Racing
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
Not Entered:
No. 17- J.J. Yeley for Berryhill Racing
No. 36- Ryan Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing
ARCA Racing Series International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250: 46 cars entered
Notables:
No. 08- Clay Campbell for Spraker Racing
No. 1- Mikey Kile for Belmont Racing
No. 5- Bobby Gerhart for Bobby Gerhart Racing
No. 6- Milka Duno for Eddie Sharp Racing
No. 15- Ryan Reed for Venturini Motorsports
No. 16- Matt Lofton for Coulter Racing
No. 17- Chris Buescher for Roulo Brothers Racing
No. 29- Brian Keselowski for K-Automotive Motorsports (possibly withdrawn)
No. 32- Brandon McReynolds for Win-Tron Racing
No. 44- Frank Kimmel for ThorSport Racing
No. 52- Tom Hessert for Ken Schrader Racing
No. 55- Kevin Swindell for Venturini Motorsports
No. 58- Chad Hackenbracht for CGH Motorsports
No. 61- Joey Coulter for Coulter Motorsports
No. 66- Mark Thompson for Venturini Motorsports
No. 82- Sean Corr for Empire Racing
~~~~~~~~~~
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 Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Featured Commentary
Caution Preventing Cautions in the Cup Series and Beyond
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
There sure has been a lot of hand-wringing this week over the final restart at Richmond last Saturday night. From restart boxes to allegations of NASCAR telling Tony Stewart's spotter that he was the leader – and Edwards' spotter overhearing it and relaying that to the No. 99 team – about every angle has been critiqued and criticized during the last five days. I offer two points of contention: 1. Why not just use the guy in the elevated box at the start-finish line that waves a big green flag, and 2. Nobody seems overly concerned that the outcome was due to the equivalent of the dreaded "phantom caution" that precipitated the anti-caution/get back to our roots/Have-At-It-Boys mantra of the past couple of years.
During the last few weeks, everybody has marveled at the lack of cautions (i.e., wrecks) in the races, including the final 234 laps at Texas that went yellow free – despite constant 40mph winds. There were but a pair of cautions at TMS – one of which was for what was clearly a hat that had blown onto the track and well up out of the groove, and all of three at Kansas the following race. At Richmond, a beer can was rolling around with 12 laps left so the yellow came out. There was a time when starters would routinely fall off the cars in midrace, and they'd wait until they went skittering to the inside of track and didn't bother with them.
After a very un-Bristol like Bristol which led to its undoing and repaving, as well as Martinsville that took until overtime for it to get dicey, coupled with the marathon of green flag pit stops at Texas, surely there had to be some sort of door bangin' restart at Richmond, right?
Personally, I don't really see anything wrong with the advent of these caution-less races. Formula One seems to get on just fine without having photo finishes every week, and their pit stops only last about four seconds now. There was close racing for the lead and the win late in the going at Texas and Kansas, despite the absence of yellow flag fever. What I am afraid is that with all the talk surrounding the lack of caution flags we're now going to see just that; the pendulum swing the other way as it did in 2007, when there was a caution flag thrown at the slightest hint of any disturbance, puff of smoke, or rollbar padding tossed out of Robby Gordon's window.
Many have theorized as to what is behind this unusual stretch of green flag fun. Some have cited tires that don't wear out (except Bruton Smith at a Bristol presser), others increased reliability of the cars (but don't tell the drivers of TRD-powered cars at Kansas), but I believe the answer lies in the most important place of all for any race team: the bank account.
Look how many organizations can barely put together a full season of sponsorship. Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne have both won the Daytona 500 in the last two years, but neither one has a complete season of fully-funded sponsorship to show for it just yet. Richard Childress had to part ways with Clint Bowyer and essentially shelve the No. 33 team for the most part, even though Bowyer now stars in a commercial for 5-Hour Energy or Sprint that airs every 14 seconds somewhere in the United States. Rusty Wallace had to scuttle his Nationwide operation due to lack of funds, while his brother Kenny, one of the most enthusiastic and recognized pitchmen in the sport, has been reduced to a part-time capacity due to difficulty finding dollars to race with.
Why destroy and beat up cars simply for the sake of trying to finish 13th in April? Okay, if it's Daytona I can understand it; look at Kurt Busch and Phoenix Racing – they're just now digging out of that hole of depleted inventory. Its the first race of the year and you need to make some headlines and Daytona is the place to do it. These cars cost a lot of money to fix, and not just when NASCAR starts fretting about the contours of the C-pillars on the roof, or the area between the splitter and bumper, fore of the wheel opening on a short track RCR and Turner Motorsports entry.
With an all-new COT coming out for 2013, why make your team invest a ton of money unnecessarily, to build a bunch of new cars that are going to become obsolete in six months? Resources and manpower are being thinned out across even the top teams (Jack Roush's flagship No. 6 has now achieved milk carton status), there are less people to do the same amount of work – and that task just got a bit harder with an all-new car design dawning in half a year.
The budgets and bandwidth are not what they were the last time NASCAR debuted a new Sprint Cup car over five years ago, and that is not going to improve anytime soon. Besides, with a points system that rewards consistency and avoiding bad things happening through August, there's not much motivation to go out and make ill-advised attempts at overtaking, unless it's for the win. Or unless you're Carl Edwards and lined up against a guy who wasn't able to get out of his own way on every single restart last Saturday night.
Carnage lovers however, take heart. We're going to Talladega this weekend and Darlington the next. I'm sure we'll find a way to wad up more than a few of them for you.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
COME JOIN THE FRONTSTRETCH FAMILY!
Editor's Note: Frontstretch has a brand new, redesigned Facebook page. Click Here to "Like" Us and get a direct connect to all your Frontstretch favorites along with polls, interaction with fans and so much more.
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Penalties Announced for RCR and Turner Motorsports Nationwide Teams
On Tuesday evening, NASCAR officially announced the penalties from the illegal bumper modifications found on six Nationwide cars last weekend in Richmond. After the fallout from the penalties against Hendrick Motorsports' No. 48 team stemming from the C-Post at Daytona in February, many inside of the sport were looking to see how NASCAR would dole out punishments for the violations. The actual penalties handed down were more lenient than expected.
All six crew chiefs (Luke Lambert for Elliott Sadler, Danny Stockman for Austin Dillon, Trent Owens for James Buescher, Jimmy Elledge for Justin Allgaier, Ernie Cope for Kevin Harvick and Mike Shiplett for Kasey Kahne) have been fined $10,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year. In addition, the team's car chiefs (Phil Gould for Sadler, Robert Strmiska for Dillon, Shannon Rursch for Buescher, Ronnie Hornaday III for Allgaier, Paul Balmer for Harvick and Christopher Meyers for Kahne) have also been placed on probation until the end of the year. No drivers or owners points were deducted from any of the offending teams.
In their release, NASCAR stated that the six teams violations multiple sections of the 2012 Nationwide Series Rule Book. They included the standard violations that cover any penalties involving confiscated parts. These include sections 12-1 (Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing) and 12-4-J (Determination by NASCAR officials that equipment does not conform to NASCAR rules). In addition, the six teams were judged to have violated Sections 20A-2.1E (Streamlining of the contours of the car beyond what is approved by the series director will not be permitted) and 20A-3.10A (Front bumper cover must be from the respective OEM manufacturer and must be approved by NASCAR. Unless otherwise authorized by the series director, cutting and reshaping of bumper covers will not be permitted).
RAB Racing with Brack Maggard and SR2 Motorsports Announce Collaboration, Townley to Drive
On Wednesday, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard announced a collaboration between themselves and SR2 Motorsports, a team in the Nationwide Series, for this weekend at Talladega. On paper, the deal is basically that RAB Racing with Brack Maggard will operate the No. 24 at Talladega. John Wes Townley, the team's full-time driver in the Camping World Truck Series, will be behind the wheel of the No. 24.
In addition, the team announced a new sponsorship from Toyota. Townley's No. 24 this weekend will be carrying decals for Toyota's "Save In May" Sales Event on the car. The No. 24 will be a Toyota from RAB Racing with Brack Maggard's shops instead of the Chevrolets that SR2 Motorsports usually fields. Chris Rice, Townley's crew chief in the Camping World Truck Series, will also serve in that role this weekend.
Townley is excited about returning to the Nationwide Series this weekend.
"I'm really looking forward to racing in the Nationwide Series again," Townley said. "Talladega has always been a strong track for me. I've always had good runs at the superspeedway races. I've got to thank Toyota for making this all possible. I'm happy to have the Toyota "Save In May" Sales Event on the side of our Camry this weekend."
Toyota's Save In May Sales Event will also serve as the primary sponsor of Townley's No. 09 Toyota in the Camping World Truck Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on May 18.
Townley has one previous start in the Nationwide Series at Talladega. In 2009, Townley started 31st and finished on the lead lap in 18th while driving RAB Racing with Brack Maggard's No. 09. He also has a seventh-place finish at Talladega in the ARCA Racing Series back in 2008.
Skinner to Drive for Hamilton Means Racing
Hamilton Means Racing announced on Wednesday that the team has signed veteran driver Mike Skinner to drive their No. 52 Toyota for the remaining races that the team will attempt in the 2012 season. Skinner will officially replace Scott Speed, who made the team's inaugural attempt at Martinsville. Partially due to a fluid leak from Mike Bliss' No. 19, Speed could not muster the appropriate time to qualify for the race, despite turning in laps in practice that would have gotten the team in.
"We are incredibly excited to have Mike come onboard," said Hamilton Means Racing's Kelly Owen. "He will certainly bring a great deal of knowledge and wisdom to our team's efforts for the remainder of the season. Best of all, he brings stability [to the team] so that we can make our plans knowing that we [have] a commitment from an experienced driver that can get the job done."
The No. 52 team was originally entered in last weekend's Capital City 400 Presented by Virginia Is For Lovers without a named driver. They quietly withdrew early in the week. Skinner will be in the No. 52 starting next week at Darlington. Crusader Staffing, a company owned by team co-owner Dell Hamilton, will serve as primary sponsor.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. for R3 Motorsports
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. is in the seat, replacing Scott Riggs.
No. 32- Terry Labonte returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson.
No. 33- Tony Raines returns to the seat, replacing Stephen Leicht.
No. 55- Michael Waltrip is in the seat, replacing Mark Martin. This is the first of Waltrip's scheduled races in his own seat.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. for R3 Motorsports
No. 26- Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports*
No. 30- David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 33- Tony Raines for Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing
No. 49- J.J. Yeley for Robinson-Blakeney Racing
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 97- Bill Elliott for NEMCO Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 98- Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing*
Not Entered:
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing
No. 74- Cole Whitt for Turn One Racing
No. 95- Scott Speed for Leavine Family Racing
Nationwide Series Aaron's 312: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 1- Kurt Busch for Phoenix Racing
No. 5- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for JR Motorsports
No. 18- Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 24- John Wes Townley for SR2 Motorsports/RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 30- James Buescher for Turner Motorsports
No. 33- Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group
No. 47- Scott Speed for Team Motorsports Group
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 08- Tim Andrews returns to the seat, replacing Casey Roderick.
No. 4- Danny Efland returns to the seat, replacing Steve Wallace.
No. 15- Jeffrey Earnhardt returns to the seat, replacing Scott Riggs.
No. 18- Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Denny Hamlin.
No. 20- Ryan Truex returns to the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 24- John Wes Townley is in the seat, replacing Tanner Berryhill. This will be Townley's first Nationwide start since Iowa in September, 2010.
No. 38- Brad Sweet returns to the seat, replacing Kasey Kahne.
No. 39- Josh Richards is in the seat, replacing Matt Frahm. If Richards qualifies on speed, he will be making his Nationwide Series debut.
No. 54- Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing his brother Kurt.
No. 99- Kenny Wallace returns to the seat, replacing Travis Pastrana.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 1- Kurt Busch for Phoenix Racing
No. 5- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for JR Motorsports (Has second crack at the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 15- Jeffrey Earnhardt for Rick Ware Racing
No. 20- Ryan Truex for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 39- Josh Richards for Go Green Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 46- Chase Miller for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 47- Scott Speed for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 50- T.J. Bell for MAKE Motorsports
No. 52- Kevin Lepage for Means Motorsports
No. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing*
No. 75- Blake Koch for Rick Ware Racing
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
Not Entered:
No. 17- J.J. Yeley for Berryhill Racing
No. 36- Ryan Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing
ARCA Racing Series International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250: 46 cars entered
Notables:
No. 08- Clay Campbell for Spraker Racing
No. 1- Mikey Kile for Belmont Racing
No. 5- Bobby Gerhart for Bobby Gerhart Racing
No. 6- Milka Duno for Eddie Sharp Racing
No. 15- Ryan Reed for Venturini Motorsports
No. 16- Matt Lofton for Coulter Racing
No. 17- Chris Buescher for Roulo Brothers Racing
No. 29- Brian Keselowski for K-Automotive Motorsports (possibly withdrawn)
No. 32- Brandon McReynolds for Win-Tron Racing
No. 44- Frank Kimmel for ThorSport Racing
No. 52- Tom Hessert for Ken Schrader Racing
No. 55- Kevin Swindell for Venturini Motorsports
No. 58- Chad Hackenbracht for CGH Motorsports
No. 61- Joey Coulter for Coulter Motorsports
No. 66- Mark Thompson for Venturini Motorsports
No. 82- Sean Corr for Empire Racing
~~~~~~~~~~
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 Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Featured Commentary
Caution Preventing Cautions in the Cup Series and Beyond
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
There sure has been a lot of hand-wringing this week over the final restart at Richmond last Saturday night. From restart boxes to allegations of NASCAR telling Tony Stewart's spotter that he was the leader – and Edwards' spotter overhearing it and relaying that to the No. 99 team – about every angle has been critiqued and criticized during the last five days. I offer two points of contention: 1. Why not just use the guy in the elevated box at the start-finish line that waves a big green flag, and 2. Nobody seems overly concerned that the outcome was due to the equivalent of the dreaded "phantom caution" that precipitated the anti-caution/get back to our roots/Have-At-It-Boys mantra of the past couple of years.
During the last few weeks, everybody has marveled at the lack of cautions (i.e., wrecks) in the races, including the final 234 laps at Texas that went yellow free – despite constant 40mph winds. There were but a pair of cautions at TMS – one of which was for what was clearly a hat that had blown onto the track and well up out of the groove, and all of three at Kansas the following race. At Richmond, a beer can was rolling around with 12 laps left so the yellow came out. There was a time when starters would routinely fall off the cars in midrace, and they'd wait until they went skittering to the inside of track and didn't bother with them.
After a very un-Bristol like Bristol which led to its undoing and repaving, as well as Martinsville that took until overtime for it to get dicey, coupled with the marathon of green flag pit stops at Texas, surely there had to be some sort of door bangin' restart at Richmond, right?
Personally, I don't really see anything wrong with the advent of these caution-less races. Formula One seems to get on just fine without having photo finishes every week, and their pit stops only last about four seconds now. There was close racing for the lead and the win late in the going at Texas and Kansas, despite the absence of yellow flag fever. What I am afraid is that with all the talk surrounding the lack of caution flags we're now going to see just that; the pendulum swing the other way as it did in 2007, when there was a caution flag thrown at the slightest hint of any disturbance, puff of smoke, or rollbar padding tossed out of Robby Gordon's window.
Many have theorized as to what is behind this unusual stretch of green flag fun. Some have cited tires that don't wear out (except Bruton Smith at a Bristol presser), others increased reliability of the cars (but don't tell the drivers of TRD-powered cars at Kansas), but I believe the answer lies in the most important place of all for any race team: the bank account.
Look how many organizations can barely put together a full season of sponsorship. Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne have both won the Daytona 500 in the last two years, but neither one has a complete season of fully-funded sponsorship to show for it just yet. Richard Childress had to part ways with Clint Bowyer and essentially shelve the No. 33 team for the most part, even though Bowyer now stars in a commercial for 5-Hour Energy or Sprint that airs every 14 seconds somewhere in the United States. Rusty Wallace had to scuttle his Nationwide operation due to lack of funds, while his brother Kenny, one of the most enthusiastic and recognized pitchmen in the sport, has been reduced to a part-time capacity due to difficulty finding dollars to race with.
Why destroy and beat up cars simply for the sake of trying to finish 13th in April? Okay, if it's Daytona I can understand it; look at Kurt Busch and Phoenix Racing – they're just now digging out of that hole of depleted inventory. Its the first race of the year and you need to make some headlines and Daytona is the place to do it. These cars cost a lot of money to fix, and not just when NASCAR starts fretting about the contours of the C-pillars on the roof, or the area between the splitter and bumper, fore of the wheel opening on a short track RCR and Turner Motorsports entry.
With an all-new COT coming out for 2013, why make your team invest a ton of money unnecessarily, to build a bunch of new cars that are going to become obsolete in six months? Resources and manpower are being thinned out across even the top teams (Jack Roush's flagship No. 6 has now achieved milk carton status), there are less people to do the same amount of work – and that task just got a bit harder with an all-new car design dawning in half a year.
The budgets and bandwidth are not what they were the last time NASCAR debuted a new Sprint Cup car over five years ago, and that is not going to improve anytime soon. Besides, with a points system that rewards consistency and avoiding bad things happening through August, there's not much motivation to go out and make ill-advised attempts at overtaking, unless it's for the win. Or unless you're Carl Edwards and lined up against a guy who wasn't able to get out of his own way on every single restart last Saturday night.
Carnage lovers however, take heart. We're going to Talladega this weekend and Darlington the next. I'm sure we'll find a way to wad up more than a few of them for you.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
COME JOIN THE FRONTSTRETCH FAMILY!
Hey Frontstretch Readers,
We are looking for someone who shares our enthusiasm for NASCAR and has an experienced background in web design. Specifically, we are looking for someone who can help maintain and enhance our website, increase our SEO, and upgrade our publishing platform while producing a limited amount of content throughout the season. This job presents a perfect opportunity for someone with a technical background, a person who wants their work to gain national exposure.
If you are interested, contact frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com. Please include references to your past work in your e-mail.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Critic's Annex: Top Gear Meets NASCAR
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, the not-so-small section of Thursday's Newsletter where we take another look at motorsports-related television available to the general public. Today, we take a short break from actual race telecast critiques to take a look at a TV show.
On Monday, BBC America premiered the second episode of Series 18 of the popular series Top Gear. On this particular episode, Richard Hammond (the shortest of the hosts) made the trip to Texas to learn about NASCAR. This episode, originally premiering in the UK on February 5th, was but one part of the 90-minute episode, but we're going to look at the whole thing.
Let's just say that Jeremy Clarkson is...Jeremy Clarkson. No sooner did the show start did he try to throw NASCAR under the bus. Of course, he tried to compare it to Formula One. There are almost no comparisons that can be made between the two series, other than the fact that both types of cars that are raced have four wheels. Here, he went after a stock car's apparent lack of technology and rough shod style of operation, while standing next to a former Red Bull Racing Team show car (it was painted up like Brian Vickers' No. 83 from 2010).
However, as stated above, Clarkson didn't make the trip to Dallas. Maybe its better that he didn't because he probably would have done something weird.
Hammond's piece on NASCAR started out with a brief history of the sport's origins. I think this was the first time I'd ever heard of bootleggers referred to as "naughty." Just because this is Top Gear, the producers acquired the use of a restored 1941 Ford Business Coupe for the piece that had actually been used for bootlegging purposes. For the British home audience for the show, seeing something along the lines of this probably would be considered interesting (secret compartments abound).
Hammond spent time talking with Jimmie Johnson about the basics of his Chevrolet Impala COT. You know, the kind of the stuff that if you're reading this critique, you probably already know (roof flaps, horsepower, those little vertical strips on the roof parallel to the car that were added in the late 1980's, etc.) However, for an overseas audience, that might not be so.
In Britain, Sprint Cup races are aired live and commercial-free on Premier Sports, a subscription (read: Premium) channel available only to Sky TV customers. From what I understand, they snag the live telecast off of a satellite and use whichever broadcast crew is working the race in the United States. When NASCAR races were still on NASN (North American Sports Network), they would have commentators from that network talk a little bit during the American commercials. According to "their website":http://www.premiersports.tv/, access costs nearly $13 a month (£7.99), although if you subscribe for a full year, you only pay for ten months. Remember, that's for one channel. Not cheap.
In addition to Johnson, Hammond spent time talking with Juan Pablo Montoya, who talked about his transition to Cup from Formula One and the differences in handling characteristics for the two cars. Jeff Gordon also discussed turbulent air and how other drivers can affect you.
I suspect that a fair amount of NASCAR's notoriety overseas stems from the more rudimentary means that some drivers settle their differences. The BBC didn't fail to throw in a montage of confrontations (Montoya and Kevin Harvick confronting each other at Watkins Glen, the infamous fight of '79, etc.) in order to quench viewers' appetites.
After Hammond drove the pace car during the pace laps, he spent the race in the pits toting tires for Mark Martin's team. This aspect of the piece was not all that different from what ESPN had a number of their non-NASCAR on-air personalities do last year as part of a "field trip," or even when Steve Phelps did Undercover Boss on CBS (probably one of the dumber ideas that show has ever done).
Finally, the day after the AAA Texas 500, he got some track time in a driving experience car with Kyle Petty in the passenger seat (the car appeared to be an older-spec car painted up to resemble Tony Stewart's No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet). Hammond appeared to be pretty enthused. I don't think he had much in the way of pre-conceived notions about how the car would drive, but he was impressed. Later on, Petty jumped in another car, a COT No. 43 Valvoline Dodge resembling one that Reed Sorenson drove in 2009 and gave chase, with Hammond screaming the whole way.
Following the piece, Clarkson basically gave Americans a series of backhanded compliments for "being easily amused." However, he continued to state that being easily amused has resulted in wildly entertaining sports created out of what amounts to sports played by little kids in Britain. He did appear to be impressed with Hammond's work.
Top Gear definitely came into the piece as outsiders, not really knowing all that much about the sport. There's nothing wrong with that. The somewhat elementary tone of the piece when discussing the cars is understandable. Remember, the piece wasn't designed for us die-hard fans. Prior to getting in a car himself, Hammond was surprised that people could participate in something like the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Apparently, the sheer thought of that was nuts to him. However, you can pay £1599 ($2588) to do a racing experience at The Racing School at Three Sisters Race Circuit halfway between Liverpool and Manchester. The two-day session (the price includes an overnight hotel stay) builds you up to briefly driving an actual Formula One car. However, these cars are either a Forti from 1996, or a Footwork from 1994 (knowing what I know about Formula One in that era, I'd take the Footwork, raced by Christian Fittipaldi and Gianni Morbidelli). Also, the circuit is like a go-kart track, so you wouldn't be able to leg the car out very much.
The only aspect of the piece that I didn't really like was the almost obligatory look at the fans that populate the infield in Texas. Invariably, the type of fan that was referenced were the fans that come to races and spend the whole weekend drinking brewskis and acting like fools. That's not necessarily the only type of fan that camps out at a Cup race. Granted, I'm sure that if you look around, you can find those types of fans without too much of a problem. I've seen campers in Daytona with signs asking women to show their breasts before. I can't attest as to whether these guys succeeded or not, though (probably not). However, there is more to NASCAR fans than simple debauchery and meat eating (not that there's anything wrong with eating meat).
After some news pieces, there was a look at the new Mercedes SLS AMG, the gull wing door-equipped two door coupe. Clarkson isn't exactly a fan of the gull wing setup, so he preferred the SLS AMG Roadster, which has a more traditional door setup. The main idea behind Clarkson's piece is basically that the car is for people who don't care about being sensible in any way. That notion would definitely make sense since the roadster he test drove cost the same as a Rolls-Royce.
Eventually, the SLS AMG Roadster was handed over to "The Stig," the show's resident car tester and trainer for celebrities in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment. Compared to Clarkson, who drove the car on the airport circuit like he was at Lebanon Valley Speedway, The Stig was very smooth with the 571 horsepower 6.3 liter V8.
Speaking of the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment, Matt LeBlanc (you probably remember him from Friends) had at it with a Kia Cee'd on Top Gear's Test Track. He appeared to be very laid back while driving around the track and not nervous at all. It showed. He turned in the best-ever celebrity time on the show.
Finally, the show closed with a feature on the exploding car industry in China. Up until 20 years ago, car ownership there was quite rare. Now, there's 85 million cars on the road and major manufacturers have factories there. Buick survived a potential axing only because of the Chinese market (Buick is GM's preferred brand there).
The Chinese auto industry for the quasi-general public began with random companies buying up the rights to manufacture cars from other companies. Nowadays, car companies in China often blatantly copy designs of vehicles from more mainstream companies. Examples were shown of Chinese vehicles that were blatant rip-offs of BMW's, Daewoos, Renaults and Minis.
However, the guys did find a Chinese-developed car to try out. The Flybo XF150ZK-4 is a strange looking (to say the least) three wheeled contraption that looks like a small van. Clarkson sat down and the seat fell backwards to expose the very small, motorcycle engine. Let's just say that driving the 12 horsepower vehicle was quite an adventure. Shifting the transmission was quite a challenge. Clarkson had quite the time trying to shift up from first to second. Note that this car was only a few years old, but the technology was almost straight out of the 1950's. Eventually, the vehicle stalls in the middle of traffic, forcing a end to the review.
Clarkson and James May continued to try out some more Chinese machinery, including the Haval M2, a love child of a Suzuki XL7 and a Chevrolet HHR, I guess. The information given on the car contained a healthy amount of "Engrish," just enough to elicit strange looks and chuckles.
Eventually, they brought two cars, a GAC Trumpchi (based on a now-obsolete Alfa Romeo 166) and the Roewe 350 (a future MG that will be sold in Britain) that they thought were halfway decent. To put them through their pace, another Stig, this one obsessed with the marital arts, was brought in to put the cars through the paces on a road course.
The cars were not quite as quick as their European counterparts, a relatively dire circumstance for the Roewe since it will be in Europe within a year or two. However, the creature comforts were not terrible. In conclusion, neither May nor Clarkson would buy their cars in Britain. But, these examples do show how far China's automotive industry has come in a few short years.
Generally, I do find Top Gear to be a cool show to watch. There are many classic bits that I love to watch, the infamous Ford Fiesta test amongst them. I actually enjoyed their piece on Chinese machinery more than their piece on NASCAR. People like myself, and by extension, almost everyone reading this article, are not in the intended audience for the NASCAR feature. As a result, it drags. Sorry, but its the truth.
I hope you enjoyed this look at Monday night's episode of Top Gear. Check back next Thursday for another edition of the Critic's Annex. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action at Talladega.
Phil Allaway is a Senior Writer and the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Beyond the Cockpit: A Surging Sophomore Relives His Rise To NASCAR
"I do have funny thing that people who follow me on Twitter will know, I have a large, stuffed animal, giraffe, that we consider our pet at my apartment. He's the best pet in the world because you don't have to clean up after him and he doesn't do anything. We don't have to do anything for him, he's self-sufficient so he's the best pet I can ask for." - Parker Kligerman on his "pet."
~~~~~~~~~~
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 tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
MPM2Nite: This Ain't My First Rodeo, Cowgirl
by Matt McLaughlin
~~~~~~~~~~
The Critic's Annex: Top Gear Meets NASCAR
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, the not-so-small section of Thursday's Newsletter where we take another look at motorsports-related television available to the general public. Today, we take a short break from actual race telecast critiques to take a look at a TV show.
On Monday, BBC America premiered the second episode of Series 18 of the popular series Top Gear. On this particular episode, Richard Hammond (the shortest of the hosts) made the trip to Texas to learn about NASCAR. This episode, originally premiering in the UK on February 5th, was but one part of the 90-minute episode, but we're going to look at the whole thing.
Let's just say that Jeremy Clarkson is...Jeremy Clarkson. No sooner did the show start did he try to throw NASCAR under the bus. Of course, he tried to compare it to Formula One. There are almost no comparisons that can be made between the two series, other than the fact that both types of cars that are raced have four wheels. Here, he went after a stock car's apparent lack of technology and rough shod style of operation, while standing next to a former Red Bull Racing Team show car (it was painted up like Brian Vickers' No. 83 from 2010).
However, as stated above, Clarkson didn't make the trip to Dallas. Maybe its better that he didn't because he probably would have done something weird.
Hammond's piece on NASCAR started out with a brief history of the sport's origins. I think this was the first time I'd ever heard of bootleggers referred to as "naughty." Just because this is Top Gear, the producers acquired the use of a restored 1941 Ford Business Coupe for the piece that had actually been used for bootlegging purposes. For the British home audience for the show, seeing something along the lines of this probably would be considered interesting (secret compartments abound).
Hammond spent time talking with Jimmie Johnson about the basics of his Chevrolet Impala COT. You know, the kind of the stuff that if you're reading this critique, you probably already know (roof flaps, horsepower, those little vertical strips on the roof parallel to the car that were added in the late 1980's, etc.) However, for an overseas audience, that might not be so.
In Britain, Sprint Cup races are aired live and commercial-free on Premier Sports, a subscription (read: Premium) channel available only to Sky TV customers. From what I understand, they snag the live telecast off of a satellite and use whichever broadcast crew is working the race in the United States. When NASCAR races were still on NASN (North American Sports Network), they would have commentators from that network talk a little bit during the American commercials. According to "their website":http://www.premiersports.tv/, access costs nearly $13 a month (£7.99), although if you subscribe for a full year, you only pay for ten months. Remember, that's for one channel. Not cheap.
In addition to Johnson, Hammond spent time talking with Juan Pablo Montoya, who talked about his transition to Cup from Formula One and the differences in handling characteristics for the two cars. Jeff Gordon also discussed turbulent air and how other drivers can affect you.
I suspect that a fair amount of NASCAR's notoriety overseas stems from the more rudimentary means that some drivers settle their differences. The BBC didn't fail to throw in a montage of confrontations (Montoya and Kevin Harvick confronting each other at Watkins Glen, the infamous fight of '79, etc.) in order to quench viewers' appetites.
After Hammond drove the pace car during the pace laps, he spent the race in the pits toting tires for Mark Martin's team. This aspect of the piece was not all that different from what ESPN had a number of their non-NASCAR on-air personalities do last year as part of a "field trip," or even when Steve Phelps did Undercover Boss on CBS (probably one of the dumber ideas that show has ever done).
Finally, the day after the AAA Texas 500, he got some track time in a driving experience car with Kyle Petty in the passenger seat (the car appeared to be an older-spec car painted up to resemble Tony Stewart's No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet). Hammond appeared to be pretty enthused. I don't think he had much in the way of pre-conceived notions about how the car would drive, but he was impressed. Later on, Petty jumped in another car, a COT No. 43 Valvoline Dodge resembling one that Reed Sorenson drove in 2009 and gave chase, with Hammond screaming the whole way.
Following the piece, Clarkson basically gave Americans a series of backhanded compliments for "being easily amused." However, he continued to state that being easily amused has resulted in wildly entertaining sports created out of what amounts to sports played by little kids in Britain. He did appear to be impressed with Hammond's work.
Top Gear definitely came into the piece as outsiders, not really knowing all that much about the sport. There's nothing wrong with that. The somewhat elementary tone of the piece when discussing the cars is understandable. Remember, the piece wasn't designed for us die-hard fans. Prior to getting in a car himself, Hammond was surprised that people could participate in something like the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Apparently, the sheer thought of that was nuts to him. However, you can pay £1599 ($2588) to do a racing experience at The Racing School at Three Sisters Race Circuit halfway between Liverpool and Manchester. The two-day session (the price includes an overnight hotel stay) builds you up to briefly driving an actual Formula One car. However, these cars are either a Forti from 1996, or a Footwork from 1994 (knowing what I know about Formula One in that era, I'd take the Footwork, raced by Christian Fittipaldi and Gianni Morbidelli). Also, the circuit is like a go-kart track, so you wouldn't be able to leg the car out very much.
The only aspect of the piece that I didn't really like was the almost obligatory look at the fans that populate the infield in Texas. Invariably, the type of fan that was referenced were the fans that come to races and spend the whole weekend drinking brewskis and acting like fools. That's not necessarily the only type of fan that camps out at a Cup race. Granted, I'm sure that if you look around, you can find those types of fans without too much of a problem. I've seen campers in Daytona with signs asking women to show their breasts before. I can't attest as to whether these guys succeeded or not, though (probably not). However, there is more to NASCAR fans than simple debauchery and meat eating (not that there's anything wrong with eating meat).
After some news pieces, there was a look at the new Mercedes SLS AMG, the gull wing door-equipped two door coupe. Clarkson isn't exactly a fan of the gull wing setup, so he preferred the SLS AMG Roadster, which has a more traditional door setup. The main idea behind Clarkson's piece is basically that the car is for people who don't care about being sensible in any way. That notion would definitely make sense since the roadster he test drove cost the same as a Rolls-Royce.
Eventually, the SLS AMG Roadster was handed over to "The Stig," the show's resident car tester and trainer for celebrities in the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment. Compared to Clarkson, who drove the car on the airport circuit like he was at Lebanon Valley Speedway, The Stig was very smooth with the 571 horsepower 6.3 liter V8.
Speaking of the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment, Matt LeBlanc (you probably remember him from Friends) had at it with a Kia Cee'd on Top Gear's Test Track. He appeared to be very laid back while driving around the track and not nervous at all. It showed. He turned in the best-ever celebrity time on the show.
Finally, the show closed with a feature on the exploding car industry in China. Up until 20 years ago, car ownership there was quite rare. Now, there's 85 million cars on the road and major manufacturers have factories there. Buick survived a potential axing only because of the Chinese market (Buick is GM's preferred brand there).
The Chinese auto industry for the quasi-general public began with random companies buying up the rights to manufacture cars from other companies. Nowadays, car companies in China often blatantly copy designs of vehicles from more mainstream companies. Examples were shown of Chinese vehicles that were blatant rip-offs of BMW's, Daewoos, Renaults and Minis.
However, the guys did find a Chinese-developed car to try out. The Flybo XF150ZK-4 is a strange looking (to say the least) three wheeled contraption that looks like a small van. Clarkson sat down and the seat fell backwards to expose the very small, motorcycle engine. Let's just say that driving the 12 horsepower vehicle was quite an adventure. Shifting the transmission was quite a challenge. Clarkson had quite the time trying to shift up from first to second. Note that this car was only a few years old, but the technology was almost straight out of the 1950's. Eventually, the vehicle stalls in the middle of traffic, forcing a end to the review.
Clarkson and James May continued to try out some more Chinese machinery, including the Haval M2, a love child of a Suzuki XL7 and a Chevrolet HHR, I guess. The information given on the car contained a healthy amount of "Engrish," just enough to elicit strange looks and chuckles.
Eventually, they brought two cars, a GAC Trumpchi (based on a now-obsolete Alfa Romeo 166) and the Roewe 350 (a future MG that will be sold in Britain) that they thought were halfway decent. To put them through their pace, another Stig, this one obsessed with the marital arts, was brought in to put the cars through the paces on a road course.
The cars were not quite as quick as their European counterparts, a relatively dire circumstance for the Roewe since it will be in Europe within a year or two. However, the creature comforts were not terrible. In conclusion, neither May nor Clarkson would buy their cars in Britain. But, these examples do show how far China's automotive industry has come in a few short years.
Generally, I do find Top Gear to be a cool show to watch. There are many classic bits that I love to watch, the infamous Ford Fiesta test amongst them. I actually enjoyed their piece on Chinese machinery more than their piece on NASCAR. People like myself, and by extension, almost everyone reading this article, are not in the intended audience for the NASCAR feature. As a result, it drags. Sorry, but its the truth.
I hope you enjoyed this look at Monday night's episode of Top Gear. Check back next Thursday for another edition of the Critic's Annex. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action at Talladega.
Phil Allaway is a Senior Writer and the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Beyond the Cockpit: A Surging Sophomore Relives His Rise To NASCAR
"I do have funny thing that people who follow me on Twitter will know, I have a large, stuffed animal, giraffe, that we consider our pet at my apartment. He's the best pet in the world because you don't have to clean up after him and he doesn't do anything. We don't have to do anything for him, he's self-sufficient so he's the best pet I can ask for." - Parker Kligerman on his "pet."
~~~~~~~~~~
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 tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
MPM2Nite: This Ain't My First Rodeo, Cowgirl
by Matt McLaughlin
Dollars And Sense: NASCAR Official Sponsor ServiceMaster Clean Still Benefiting From Daytona Disaster
by Jesse Medford
Potts' Shots: Healing Up, Tire Tricks and Beating Girls
by John Potts
Professor Of Speed: A Clean Slate (of Expectations)
by Mark Howell
Truckin' Thursdays: Young Guns and Veterans Keeping the Excitement High
by Beth Lunkenheimer
~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: We're going a little bit obscure for this question. The 1993 Winston 500 at Talladega is undoubtedly best known for Rusty Wallace's barrel roll at the finish. However, it also marked a first for ESPN. What was this first?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In the same DieHard 500 in 1990, there was a scary moment in the pits. What happened?
A: On Lap 55, the second (and final) caution came out due to debris. This brought the leaders onto pit road for a round of stops. Stanley Smith, making his Winston Cup debut in the No. 68 Interstate Batteries Pontiac, had completed his four-tire stop and left his stall. What happened next was not caught by cameras, but Smith was hit by an unnamed driver and put out in the grass. In the grass, Smith lost control and spun right into the No. 72 of Tracy Leslie, and Leslie's crew. Five of Leslie's crew members suffered various injuries in the crash. This was the first of two terrible pit crashes in 1990 that ultimately led to the crazy pit rules banning tire changes under caution coming into effect for the beginning of 1991. The incident can be seen towards the end of this clip.
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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Jeff Wolfe
-- In Case You Missed It by Nick Schwartz
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Talladega Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer is back with a four-part look at some interesting stories as we look forward to Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy's back with another interesting commentary.
Friday Fast Forward Into NASCAR's Future by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan returns with another interesting commentary piece on the Nationwide Series ahead of their race in Talladega.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Driver Diary: Kenny Wallace as told to Amy Henderson
Wallace, who returns to the now-renumbered No. 99 Toyota this weekend in Talladega, returns to talk about the past few weeks on and off the track.
Formula One Friday by Andy Hollis
Tuesday was the 18th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna. Andy returns with some memories of the three-time Brazilian World Champion.
-----------------------------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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Jeff Wolfe
-- In Case You Missed It by Nick Schwartz
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Talladega Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer is back with a four-part look at some interesting stories as we look forward to Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy's back with another interesting commentary.
Friday Fast Forward Into NASCAR's Future by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan returns with another interesting commentary piece on the Nationwide Series ahead of their race in Talladega.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Driver Diary: Kenny Wallace as told to Amy Henderson
Wallace, who returns to the now-renumbered No. 99 Toyota this weekend in Talladega, returns to talk about the past few weeks on and off the track.
Formula One Friday by Andy Hollis
Tuesday was the 18th anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna. Andy returns with some memories of the three-time Brazilian World Champion.
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 --
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.
No comments:
Post a Comment