THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 4th, 2012
Volume V, Edition CII
~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 4th, 2012
Volume V, Edition CII
~~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Johnson Captures Seventh Career Win At Monster Mile
by Jeff Wolfe
Jimmie Johnson's car had a different look. Jimmie Johnson actually had a different look. Jeff Gordon even looked to be having some different luck.
But as the laps wound down Sunday, it was the old No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team which got quite the familiar result at Dover International Speedway. Johnson led 289 of the 400 laps at the track called the Monster Mile, tying the track record with his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.
Johnson, driving a Madagascar 3 sponsored Chevrolet with teal as the primary color, also sported a rainbow-colored wig during driver introductions and then again in Victory Lane. Maybe it was that bit of good karma that allowed him to win his 57th career race, the 202nd overall for car owner Rick Hendrick, even though he admitted afterwards it was his other "boss" that should have been holding the trophy.
"It was a team effort, but I think that 24 was the car to beat," Johnson claimed. "But he had some troubles. The way we protected the win was on pit road. The hair growth … it's afro circus. All the characters wear this at some point in the movie. I couldn't resist it today."
Gordon wouldn't resist some of Johnson's good luck if it came his way. He led midway through the race and paced the field for 60 laps overall, building a four-second lead at points. But a loose left-rear tire brought him into the pits during a green flag stop on Lap 251, leaving him two laps down. He passed Johnson to get one of the laps back and actually led again when the green flag pit stops cycled around on Lap 298. But after pitting on Lap 325, he gave up the lead and could never get higher than his 13th-place finish the rest of the day.
"We had the best race car," said Gordon, who is third in the series in laps led (403) but has stumbled to just one top-5 finish all season. "We've just been talking about this too many times this year. We cannot afford to make mistakes. You cannot afford to get behind, especially to the No. 48.
"We had the car to win this race. Even with the problem, it was going to work out for us. If we don't get that debris caution, we have a chance."
That yellow on lap 341 hurt Gordon because he was the third car one lap down. Normally calm and controlled on the radio, the decision angered the four-time champion, who swore repeatedly as he failed to find a piece of metal the caution was called for. Without it, if the race went green he could have made one less pit stop than the rest, gotten back on sequence and possibly won the race.
"I can't wait to see that debris on TV," he said. "I'd like to see it because I certainly never saw it. I'm not going to make any comments until I see what they're reasoning for it was. I don't know who you blame if there really wasn't much out there because all the media has been talking about all week long is oh, there's no cautions, there's no cautions. It used to be debris cautions. So, who do you blame that on?"
With Gordon out of the picture, it was easy for the No. 48 to take control of the race - both cars were running in another time zone compared to everyone else. Johnson pulled away from the field on each of the last three restarts after a yellow flag, the final one on Lap 369 to coast to a 2.5-second victory over Kevin Harvick.
"The tricky part on the restarts is the hot tires would pick up rubber and it was so tough to keep tires clean," Johnson said. "The way track position is, it's tough to get by guys. That was the part I was most concerned about was hot tires."
Johnson also had a close call on pit road, where Matt Kenseth darted to the inside before the first timing line and nearly caused contact heading to their stalls. With the way the two Hendrick cars were running, the Ford driver knew he had to try something different to try to get ahead.
"I feel good about our position and obviously you want to be as high as you can in the points," Kenseth said - he closed within one of teammate Greg Biffle (11th) for the top spot. "But certainly, we know we have some work to do. I don't think anybody could run with the 24 and 48 today. They were in a league of their own."
There were seven cautions on the day for 32 laps, but the first one was the most interesting. On Lap 10, a 13-car crash began when Tony Stewart, who started 29th, nudged Landon Cassill coming out of Turn 2. When Stewart slowed to try and avoid a spin, he was then hit in the back by Regan Smith, proceeding to make a big mess that caused a 19-minute, 54-second red flag to clean up the carnage. The 13 cars were the most involved in a NASCAR accident this season, easily eclipsing the one-crash, one-car incident in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
"The 83 (Cassill) was trying to get down to the bottom," said Stewart, the defending Sprint Cup champion. "It was just not a real good deal at the beginning of the race like this. It was a crappy weekend. As far back as we started, I didn't have the luxury to be as patient as I wanted to be."
"Tony is one of the most patient drivers," claimed Cassill. "Especially in this part of the race. He was just barely there, when there's a car there it gets you real loose and I was already loose. Tony is a super patient driver -- he's one of the best. It's just too bad it tore up that many race cars."
Smith, the third car near the epicenter of it all took responsibility for the accident -- but even that was debatable.
"I got in the back of the 14 (Stewart) and started the whole thing," Smith said. "I didn't have time to get whoaed up with it."
All that chaos happened far behind Johnson, though who tied NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with seven wins apiece at this tricky, one-mile oval. Four of those wins have occurred in his last seven Monster Mile starts, leaving Johnson as the unquestioned modern-day king of this racetrack.
"It's just a huge honor," Johnson said of the record. "I was never one who paid attention to stats because truthfully I never thought I would be a guy who would build up any cool stats. But I'm very proud of the seven wins here and to be in that elite company."
The win also kept Hendrick Motorsports on a roll, giving the team its fourth straight victory, counting the non-points Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte. Johnson won at Darlington and the All-Star Race while Kasey Kahne won last week at the Coca-Cola 600.
"It's difficult to stay on top, but it's been a good solid 3-4 weeks for Hendrick Motorsports," Johnson said.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. underscored that, finishing fourth for his best Monster Mile finish in nearly five years. Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Martin Truex, Jr., Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose rounded out your top-10 finishers.
Next week, the Sprint Cup Series makes their first trip of the season to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400. Coverage is scheduled to begin with Countdown to Green at Noon EDT on TNT. Race coverage will begin at 1:00 PM EDT.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chase: Kenseth Just A Point From The Lead
by Jeff Wolfe
Matt Kenseth inched closer to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings with a third-place finish at Dover Sunday, leaving him just one point behind Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle, who was 11th. Kenseth and Biffle each have one victory and seven top-5 finishes this season; they're tied for the lead in the latter category.
Also creeping up in the points race is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with his fourth-place result - his first top-10 finish at Dover since the Fall of 2007. That leaves him just 10 points behind Biffle, easily his best performance in the standings since 2008. Even though Earnhardt Jr. has gone 142 races without a victory, he does have five top-5 finishes and 10 top-10s this season. He's also the only driver to complete every lap in the Sprint Cup Series this season. Denny Hamlin, who ran an almost-invisible 18th at one of his worst tracks, dropped a spot to fourth while Johnson rounds out the top 5 in the championship points.
Martin Truex, Jr. remains a Chase contender in sixth; he's one point ahead of Kevin Harvick, steadying the ship at Richard Childress Racing with Sunday's runner-up finish. What was probably the unlikeliest gain of the day was defending champion Tony Stewart, going from ninth to eighth in the standings. Even though Smoke suffered one of the hardest hits in that first, Lap 10 incident, his team repaired the car, he came back out and finished 25th, 69 laps down. That was four places better than Kyle Busch, who dropped to ninth after his motor expired halfway through the race.
Making a significant jump in the standings was Clint Bowyer, his fifth-place finish Sunday the best for the No. 15 Toyota team since March. He is now tenth in the standings and doesn't yet have the all-important victory to fall back on if he finishes NASCAR's 26-race regular season outside the top 10. Bowyer is five points ahead of 11th-place Brad Keselowski, who does have two wins this season and is the first "wild-card" qualifier at the moment. The race for the second and final "wild card" is also tight. Ryan Newman, with one win, is one point ahead of Charlotte winner Kasey Kahne. Newman is in 13th, 39 points behind Bowyer.
Taking a hit in the standings was last year's runner-up Carl Edwards. Hitting the wall hard Sunday, an unknown part breaking on the No. 99 Ford he dropped two spots to 12th and also does not have a win this year; that leaves him 15 points behind Bowyer to make it in the field. Edwards was running strong Sunday, moving from 19th to fifth before the incident; after repairs, the team finished a disappointing 26th.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 486, 2) Matt Kenseth -1, 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -10, 4) Denny Hamlin -22, 5) Jimmie Johnson -33, 6) Martin Truex, Jr. -45, 7) Kevin Harvick -46, 8) Tony Stewart -79, 9) Kyle Busch -80, 10) Clint Bowyer -81.
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski (11th in points, 2 wins); Ryan Newman (13th in points, 1 win).
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas); Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte).
Tracking the Top 35: Cushion Between 35th and 36th Remains Large
While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for the top 35 in the points standings each week, those close, or the team on, the 35th-place bubble still have plenty of cushion. Even with Sunday's multi-car incident, which destroyed many "backmarkers" in the Sprint Cup field there is a 54-point gap between the 35th-place car and 36th. The No. 36 car, driven by Dave Blaney sits in the 35th spot, but the lead over No. 33 car driven by Stephen Leicht is 54 points. Blaney finished 32nd Sunday and Leicht was 35th; both had damaged machines from that first, major crash.
Here's your owner point standings around the all-important cutoff. Note that all these teams, with the exception of Ragan either start-and-parked, did not enter Sunday's race or left the day with heavy crash damage:
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 103 points ahead of 36th.
30) BK Racing (No. 93 – Travis Kvapil), 91 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 87 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 68 points ahead of 36th.
33) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Reed Sorenson), 67 points ahead of 36th.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 63 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 54 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/ LJ Racing (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht) 54 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 57 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 60 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 83 points behind 35th.
40) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell) 106 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 107 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
2012 for Joey Logano has been defined by a "case of the Sundays." A dominant force in the Nationwide Series, winning at a 40 percent clip (four in ten starts) that momentum has fallen flat elsewhere, typically within the next 24 hours. In his three previous wins before taming the Monster Mile this Saturday, the three Sprint Cup starts he had afterwards resulted in finishes of 24th, 26th, and tenth, respectively - a gaudy average finish of only 20th place.
But the rollercoaster season for Logano, one that's only included two laps led on the Cup side finally began a turnaround at the Monster Mile. Ever so quietly, while his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates struggled, the No. 20 team sauntered its way into the top 10… and stayed there, until one of the most bizarre incidents we've seen at the track in some time. Under caution, for whatever reason the motor shut off on the Home Depot Camry, causing panic for others behind him with about 50 laps remaining - Martin Truex, Jr. actually thought Logano was saving fuel - and ultimately costing him spots ala Marcos Ambrose at Infineon Raceway a couple of years ago.
"I couldn't get it refired," explained "Sliced Bread," matter-of-factly. "It cost us a lot. We were able to work our way back up to eighth, which is a good finish considering we had a top-5 we could have got. Just have to look into it and see what happened."
But that result still gives the Joe Gibbs Racing driver plenty to build on moving forward. Gaining seven spots over those final 50 circuits, that earned him the best finish for his Cup ride all season and kept the team solidly within the top 20 in points. Sitting 16th in the standings, 55 points behind Clint Bowyer in tenth, a surge into the Chase for this driver through top-10 finishes is still unlikely. But if Logano can ever bring that winning magic back onto the Cup side? His career, and his postseason hopes would still survive. - Tom Bowles
STAT OF THE WEEK: 58.5%. That's the percentage of laps led by Jimmie Johnson in the last seven trips to the Monster Mile. Those 1,658 out of a possible 2,800 circuits spent up front have resulted in four wins, a second-place finish and well over $1.5 million in winnings. Somebody's taken the Monster Mile and turned him into a good-hearted soul. - Tom Bowles
by Jeff Wolfe
Jimmie Johnson's car had a different look. Jimmie Johnson actually had a different look. Jeff Gordon even looked to be having some different luck.
But as the laps wound down Sunday, it was the old No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team which got quite the familiar result at Dover International Speedway. Johnson led 289 of the 400 laps at the track called the Monster Mile, tying the track record with his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.
Johnson, driving a Madagascar 3 sponsored Chevrolet with teal as the primary color, also sported a rainbow-colored wig during driver introductions and then again in Victory Lane. Maybe it was that bit of good karma that allowed him to win his 57th career race, the 202nd overall for car owner Rick Hendrick, even though he admitted afterwards it was his other "boss" that should have been holding the trophy.
"It was a team effort, but I think that 24 was the car to beat," Johnson claimed. "But he had some troubles. The way we protected the win was on pit road. The hair growth … it's afro circus. All the characters wear this at some point in the movie. I couldn't resist it today."
Gordon wouldn't resist some of Johnson's good luck if it came his way. He led midway through the race and paced the field for 60 laps overall, building a four-second lead at points. But a loose left-rear tire brought him into the pits during a green flag stop on Lap 251, leaving him two laps down. He passed Johnson to get one of the laps back and actually led again when the green flag pit stops cycled around on Lap 298. But after pitting on Lap 325, he gave up the lead and could never get higher than his 13th-place finish the rest of the day.
"We had the best race car," said Gordon, who is third in the series in laps led (403) but has stumbled to just one top-5 finish all season. "We've just been talking about this too many times this year. We cannot afford to make mistakes. You cannot afford to get behind, especially to the No. 48.
"We had the car to win this race. Even with the problem, it was going to work out for us. If we don't get that debris caution, we have a chance."
That yellow on lap 341 hurt Gordon because he was the third car one lap down. Normally calm and controlled on the radio, the decision angered the four-time champion, who swore repeatedly as he failed to find a piece of metal the caution was called for. Without it, if the race went green he could have made one less pit stop than the rest, gotten back on sequence and possibly won the race.
"I can't wait to see that debris on TV," he said. "I'd like to see it because I certainly never saw it. I'm not going to make any comments until I see what they're reasoning for it was. I don't know who you blame if there really wasn't much out there because all the media has been talking about all week long is oh, there's no cautions, there's no cautions. It used to be debris cautions. So, who do you blame that on?"
With Gordon out of the picture, it was easy for the No. 48 to take control of the race - both cars were running in another time zone compared to everyone else. Johnson pulled away from the field on each of the last three restarts after a yellow flag, the final one on Lap 369 to coast to a 2.5-second victory over Kevin Harvick.
"The tricky part on the restarts is the hot tires would pick up rubber and it was so tough to keep tires clean," Johnson said. "The way track position is, it's tough to get by guys. That was the part I was most concerned about was hot tires."
Johnson also had a close call on pit road, where Matt Kenseth darted to the inside before the first timing line and nearly caused contact heading to their stalls. With the way the two Hendrick cars were running, the Ford driver knew he had to try something different to try to get ahead.
"I feel good about our position and obviously you want to be as high as you can in the points," Kenseth said - he closed within one of teammate Greg Biffle (11th) for the top spot. "But certainly, we know we have some work to do. I don't think anybody could run with the 24 and 48 today. They were in a league of their own."
There were seven cautions on the day for 32 laps, but the first one was the most interesting. On Lap 10, a 13-car crash began when Tony Stewart, who started 29th, nudged Landon Cassill coming out of Turn 2. When Stewart slowed to try and avoid a spin, he was then hit in the back by Regan Smith, proceeding to make a big mess that caused a 19-minute, 54-second red flag to clean up the carnage. The 13 cars were the most involved in a NASCAR accident this season, easily eclipsing the one-crash, one-car incident in Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
"The 83 (Cassill) was trying to get down to the bottom," said Stewart, the defending Sprint Cup champion. "It was just not a real good deal at the beginning of the race like this. It was a crappy weekend. As far back as we started, I didn't have the luxury to be as patient as I wanted to be."
"Tony is one of the most patient drivers," claimed Cassill. "Especially in this part of the race. He was just barely there, when there's a car there it gets you real loose and I was already loose. Tony is a super patient driver -- he's one of the best. It's just too bad it tore up that many race cars."
Smith, the third car near the epicenter of it all took responsibility for the accident -- but even that was debatable.
"I got in the back of the 14 (Stewart) and started the whole thing," Smith said. "I didn't have time to get whoaed up with it."
All that chaos happened far behind Johnson, though who tied NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison with seven wins apiece at this tricky, one-mile oval. Four of those wins have occurred in his last seven Monster Mile starts, leaving Johnson as the unquestioned modern-day king of this racetrack.
"It's just a huge honor," Johnson said of the record. "I was never one who paid attention to stats because truthfully I never thought I would be a guy who would build up any cool stats. But I'm very proud of the seven wins here and to be in that elite company."
The win also kept Hendrick Motorsports on a roll, giving the team its fourth straight victory, counting the non-points Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte. Johnson won at Darlington and the All-Star Race while Kasey Kahne won last week at the Coca-Cola 600.
"It's difficult to stay on top, but it's been a good solid 3-4 weeks for Hendrick Motorsports," Johnson said.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. underscored that, finishing fourth for his best Monster Mile finish in nearly five years. Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Martin Truex, Jr., Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose rounded out your top-10 finishers.
Next week, the Sprint Cup Series makes their first trip of the season to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400. Coverage is scheduled to begin with Countdown to Green at Noon EDT on TNT. Race coverage will begin at 1:00 PM EDT.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chase: Kenseth Just A Point From The Lead
by Jeff Wolfe
Matt Kenseth inched closer to the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings with a third-place finish at Dover Sunday, leaving him just one point behind Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle, who was 11th. Kenseth and Biffle each have one victory and seven top-5 finishes this season; they're tied for the lead in the latter category.
Also creeping up in the points race is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with his fourth-place result - his first top-10 finish at Dover since the Fall of 2007. That leaves him just 10 points behind Biffle, easily his best performance in the standings since 2008. Even though Earnhardt Jr. has gone 142 races without a victory, he does have five top-5 finishes and 10 top-10s this season. He's also the only driver to complete every lap in the Sprint Cup Series this season. Denny Hamlin, who ran an almost-invisible 18th at one of his worst tracks, dropped a spot to fourth while Johnson rounds out the top 5 in the championship points.
Martin Truex, Jr. remains a Chase contender in sixth; he's one point ahead of Kevin Harvick, steadying the ship at Richard Childress Racing with Sunday's runner-up finish. What was probably the unlikeliest gain of the day was defending champion Tony Stewart, going from ninth to eighth in the standings. Even though Smoke suffered one of the hardest hits in that first, Lap 10 incident, his team repaired the car, he came back out and finished 25th, 69 laps down. That was four places better than Kyle Busch, who dropped to ninth after his motor expired halfway through the race.
Making a significant jump in the standings was Clint Bowyer, his fifth-place finish Sunday the best for the No. 15 Toyota team since March. He is now tenth in the standings and doesn't yet have the all-important victory to fall back on if he finishes NASCAR's 26-race regular season outside the top 10. Bowyer is five points ahead of 11th-place Brad Keselowski, who does have two wins this season and is the first "wild-card" qualifier at the moment. The race for the second and final "wild card" is also tight. Ryan Newman, with one win, is one point ahead of Charlotte winner Kasey Kahne. Newman is in 13th, 39 points behind Bowyer.
Taking a hit in the standings was last year's runner-up Carl Edwards. Hitting the wall hard Sunday, an unknown part breaking on the No. 99 Ford he dropped two spots to 12th and also does not have a win this year; that leaves him 15 points behind Bowyer to make it in the field. Edwards was running strong Sunday, moving from 19th to fifth before the incident; after repairs, the team finished a disappointing 26th.
Standings: 1) Greg Biffle 486, 2) Matt Kenseth -1, 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -10, 4) Denny Hamlin -22, 5) Jimmie Johnson -33, 6) Martin Truex, Jr. -45, 7) Kevin Harvick -46, 8) Tony Stewart -79, 9) Kyle Busch -80, 10) Clint Bowyer -81.
Wild Cards: Brad Keselowski (11th in points, 2 wins); Ryan Newman (13th in points, 1 win).
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas); Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte).
Tracking the Top 35: Cushion Between 35th and 36th Remains Large
While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for the top 35 in the points standings each week, those close, or the team on, the 35th-place bubble still have plenty of cushion. Even with Sunday's multi-car incident, which destroyed many "backmarkers" in the Sprint Cup field there is a 54-point gap between the 35th-place car and 36th. The No. 36 car, driven by Dave Blaney sits in the 35th spot, but the lead over No. 33 car driven by Stephen Leicht is 54 points. Blaney finished 32nd Sunday and Leicht was 35th; both had damaged machines from that first, major crash.
Here's your owner point standings around the all-important cutoff. Note that all these teams, with the exception of Ragan either start-and-parked, did not enter Sunday's race or left the day with heavy crash damage:
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 103 points ahead of 36th.
30) BK Racing (No. 93 – Travis Kvapil), 91 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 87 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 68 points ahead of 36th.
33) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Reed Sorenson), 67 points ahead of 36th.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 63 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 - Dave Blaney), 54 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/ LJ Racing (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht) 54 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 57 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 - David Stremme), 60 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 83 points behind 35th.
40) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell) 106 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 107 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw
2012 for Joey Logano has been defined by a "case of the Sundays." A dominant force in the Nationwide Series, winning at a 40 percent clip (four in ten starts) that momentum has fallen flat elsewhere, typically within the next 24 hours. In his three previous wins before taming the Monster Mile this Saturday, the three Sprint Cup starts he had afterwards resulted in finishes of 24th, 26th, and tenth, respectively - a gaudy average finish of only 20th place.
But the rollercoaster season for Logano, one that's only included two laps led on the Cup side finally began a turnaround at the Monster Mile. Ever so quietly, while his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates struggled, the No. 20 team sauntered its way into the top 10… and stayed there, until one of the most bizarre incidents we've seen at the track in some time. Under caution, for whatever reason the motor shut off on the Home Depot Camry, causing panic for others behind him with about 50 laps remaining - Martin Truex, Jr. actually thought Logano was saving fuel - and ultimately costing him spots ala Marcos Ambrose at Infineon Raceway a couple of years ago.
"I couldn't get it refired," explained "Sliced Bread," matter-of-factly. "It cost us a lot. We were able to work our way back up to eighth, which is a good finish considering we had a top-5 we could have got. Just have to look into it and see what happened."
But that result still gives the Joe Gibbs Racing driver plenty to build on moving forward. Gaining seven spots over those final 50 circuits, that earned him the best finish for his Cup ride all season and kept the team solidly within the top 20 in points. Sitting 16th in the standings, 55 points behind Clint Bowyer in tenth, a surge into the Chase for this driver through top-10 finishes is still unlikely. But if Logano can ever bring that winning magic back onto the Cup side? His career, and his postseason hopes would still survive. - Tom Bowles
STAT OF THE WEEK: 58.5%. That's the percentage of laps led by Jimmie Johnson in the last seven trips to the Monster Mile. Those 1,658 out of a possible 2,800 circuits spent up front have resulted in four wins, a second-place finish and well over $1.5 million in winnings. Somebody's taken the Monster Mile and turned him into a good-hearted soul. - Tom Bowles
~~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes To Remember: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks
"You know, it's just way too early to talk championship. I mean, we are doing the things right now that will win one, but we need to do this in September and on. You know, it's nice to have the success right now because the last two years, we have been working very hard in a lot of areas and when you have success and continued success, you narrow down your focus in where you need to be. So you know, I think things are very good for our company. We know the areas where we found some raw speed and now we are fine-tuning from there. So honestly, first of all, have to make the Chase. And I think two wins puts us in a very nice position." - Jimmie Johnson
"I made a mistake on pit road there and got us back to about 20th. The car was good enough to be able to drive back through the pack, and for whatever reason, we were able to adjust our car well today when we needed to and we were able to keep up with the racetrack and keep our car better through the day. And I think that was a big key to getting through the traffic and putting ourselves back in position to at least have a chance." - Kevin Harvick, on his comeback to second after overshooting his pit stall during a midrace stop
"I'm real happy for Hendrick Motorsports, Rick (Hendrick) and everybody all the employees. We've got the fastest cars in the business right now. They ought to be real proud. We were just a little loose on breaking getting into the corner and couldn't really challenge Matt (Kenseth) or anybody really around us. Wherever you kind of settled in after the restart is kind of where you were. We had a good car though. We had good speed. I want to thank AMP, Diet Mountain Dew and National Guard, all our sponsors. It was a good day for us, a good point's day. I run as hard as I could run. I didn't have anything left. We are getting close. We are finishing good when we are not winning." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished fourth
"I can't say enough about all the guys on this team. The beginning of the year was not what we wanted and they all kept believing in me and being behind me and supporting me and working their guts out. It is days like last week when we qualified on the pole and this week coming here and finishing sixth, it is runs like that that make you realize how hard these guys work." - Aric Almirola, finished sixth
"Oh my goodness – beginning to not like this place so much anymore. It was tough. Man, we started in the back there 18th. I say it's the back, but it's not that far back, but it was tough back there. Track position is huge. We'd get out there by ourselves in clean air and I could run as fast as the leader and the car didn't drive so bad. Then, I'd catch the next guy ahead of me and I'd get to him and I'd about crash. It was just all I could do to hang on today a couple times. It was just a crazy day. This place is tough. You get in traffic and these cars are so sensitive that you just can't do nothing with them." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished seventh
"It was tough. We just fought balance all day. I would be a little loose in, real loose in the center and then plowing tight. We could never close that gap. I could make it way too tight and so loose that I couldn't drive it, but I could never balance the middle and off and in." - Greg Biffle, finished 11th
"We need to find more consistent speed in our car. We were OK today, but OK isn't going to win you races. We have some work to do before we come back here in a few months." -Brad Keselowski, finished 12th
"The fastest car doesn't always win the race. And we're sitting here in 13th or whatever; it's silly. Ultimately, we put ourselves in this position to get his finish. So, that's very frustrating. We've had things out of our control this year. And I'm not really sure what happened. But obviously something happened. And then I don't know. I don't know what happened." - Jeff Gordon, finished 13th
"The monkey is on us right now. It will get off one day but it seems like for the past year and a half or so, it's been on us pretty hard. We'll keep digging. I've never quit anything in my life and I won't quit this." - Jeff Burton, blew an engine and finished 22nd
"Just catastrophic engine failure. Unfortunately, they had a valve spring break and then dropped the valve which hit the pistons. All kinds of things went wrong." - Kyle Busch, finished 29th
~~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes To Remember: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks
"You know, it's just way too early to talk championship. I mean, we are doing the things right now that will win one, but we need to do this in September and on. You know, it's nice to have the success right now because the last two years, we have been working very hard in a lot of areas and when you have success and continued success, you narrow down your focus in where you need to be. So you know, I think things are very good for our company. We know the areas where we found some raw speed and now we are fine-tuning from there. So honestly, first of all, have to make the Chase. And I think two wins puts us in a very nice position." - Jimmie Johnson
"I made a mistake on pit road there and got us back to about 20th. The car was good enough to be able to drive back through the pack, and for whatever reason, we were able to adjust our car well today when we needed to and we were able to keep up with the racetrack and keep our car better through the day. And I think that was a big key to getting through the traffic and putting ourselves back in position to at least have a chance." - Kevin Harvick, on his comeback to second after overshooting his pit stall during a midrace stop
"I'm real happy for Hendrick Motorsports, Rick (Hendrick) and everybody all the employees. We've got the fastest cars in the business right now. They ought to be real proud. We were just a little loose on breaking getting into the corner and couldn't really challenge Matt (Kenseth) or anybody really around us. Wherever you kind of settled in after the restart is kind of where you were. We had a good car though. We had good speed. I want to thank AMP, Diet Mountain Dew and National Guard, all our sponsors. It was a good day for us, a good point's day. I run as hard as I could run. I didn't have anything left. We are getting close. We are finishing good when we are not winning." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished fourth
"I can't say enough about all the guys on this team. The beginning of the year was not what we wanted and they all kept believing in me and being behind me and supporting me and working their guts out. It is days like last week when we qualified on the pole and this week coming here and finishing sixth, it is runs like that that make you realize how hard these guys work." - Aric Almirola, finished sixth
"Oh my goodness – beginning to not like this place so much anymore. It was tough. Man, we started in the back there 18th. I say it's the back, but it's not that far back, but it was tough back there. Track position is huge. We'd get out there by ourselves in clean air and I could run as fast as the leader and the car didn't drive so bad. Then, I'd catch the next guy ahead of me and I'd get to him and I'd about crash. It was just all I could do to hang on today a couple times. It was just a crazy day. This place is tough. You get in traffic and these cars are so sensitive that you just can't do nothing with them." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished seventh
"It was tough. We just fought balance all day. I would be a little loose in, real loose in the center and then plowing tight. We could never close that gap. I could make it way too tight and so loose that I couldn't drive it, but I could never balance the middle and off and in." - Greg Biffle, finished 11th
"We need to find more consistent speed in our car. We were OK today, but OK isn't going to win you races. We have some work to do before we come back here in a few months." -Brad Keselowski, finished 12th
"The fastest car doesn't always win the race. And we're sitting here in 13th or whatever; it's silly. Ultimately, we put ourselves in this position to get his finish. So, that's very frustrating. We've had things out of our control this year. And I'm not really sure what happened. But obviously something happened. And then I don't know. I don't know what happened." - Jeff Gordon, finished 13th
"The monkey is on us right now. It will get off one day but it seems like for the past year and a half or so, it's been on us pretty hard. We'll keep digging. I've never quit anything in my life and I won't quit this." - Jeff Burton, blew an engine and finished 22nd
"Just catastrophic engine failure. Unfortunately, they had a valve spring break and then dropped the valve which hit the pistons. All kinds of things went wrong." - Kyle Busch, finished 29th
~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Dover-1 Race Recap
by Matt McLaughlin
The Big Six: Questions Answered After The FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks
by Amy Henderson
Pace Laps: Busch's Probationary Breakdown, Bassett's Busted, and Bye-Bye Bernard?
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Bryan Davis Keith
Taking The Boss For A Ride
by Tom Bowles
IndyCar Race Recap: A Bizarre Day in Detroit
by Matt Stallknecht
FROM THE WEEKEND:
Nationwide Series Breakdown: 5-Hour Energy 200
by Bryan Davis Keith
Tracking The Trucks: Lucas Oil 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
Taking The Boss For A Ride
by Tom Bowles
IndyCar Race Recap: A Bizarre Day in Detroit
by Matt Stallknecht
FROM THE WEEKEND:
Nationwide Series Breakdown: 5-Hour Energy 200
by Bryan Davis Keith
Tracking The Trucks: Lucas Oil 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1994, Geoff Bodine won the Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Pocono Raceway. What was the most notable fact about that race now?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In the 1993 Budweiser 500, Rusty Wallace's streak of bad luck (which included his infamous final-lap flip at Talladega) continued when he got caught up in a late-race wreck. What happened?
A: Wallace was very strong during the event and was battling Mark Martin for a spot in the top 5 when the two drivers collided exiting Turn 4. Wallace went hard into the wall, then spun down the track and hit the inside wall. Behind them, Jimmy Hensley spun his Matchbox-White Rose Collectibles No. 7 Ford and hit Wallace. And, only to make it worse, Geoff Bodine spun and also hit Wallace. The crash can be seen in this clip taken from the NASCAR '93 Year In Review video. Eli Gold narrates the clip.
The crash represented the 14th and final caution in the 500-mile race (the final 67 laps were run under green). Due to the high amount of attrition (12 of the 14 cautions were for crashes, and another yellow flew so that an ambulance could leave the track), Wallace was still classified 21st after his crash. Hensley and Bodine were also unable to continue and finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively.
Q: In 1994, Geoff Bodine won the Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Pocono Raceway. What was the most notable fact about that race now?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In the 1993 Budweiser 500, Rusty Wallace's streak of bad luck (which included his infamous final-lap flip at Talladega) continued when he got caught up in a late-race wreck. What happened?
A: Wallace was very strong during the event and was battling Mark Martin for a spot in the top 5 when the two drivers collided exiting Turn 4. Wallace went hard into the wall, then spun down the track and hit the inside wall. Behind them, Jimmy Hensley spun his Matchbox-White Rose Collectibles No. 7 Ford and hit Wallace. And, only to make it worse, Geoff Bodine spun and also hit Wallace. The crash can be seen in this clip taken from the NASCAR '93 Year In Review video. Eli Gold narrates the clip.
The crash represented the 14th and final caution in the 500-mile race (the final 67 laps were run under green). Due to the high amount of attrition (12 of the 14 cautions were for crashes, and another yellow flew so that an ambulance could leave the track), Wallace was still classified 21st after his crash. Hensley and Bodine were also unable to continue and finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively.
Coming Tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Kevin Rutherford
-- Sitting In the Stands: A Fan's View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Coming Tomorrow On The Frontstretch:
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another interesting commentary.
5 Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan returns with a series of storylines setting you up for Pocono.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup Presented by StarCoach Race Tours: Dover-Pocono Edition by Brett Poirier
With the lone 600-mile race in the books, Brett looks at what positive trends are developing in NASCAR's two top series and which drivers need a breather heading into Sunday's race in Pocono.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series competed at Dover International Speedway. For Sprint Cup, this event marked their final race of the season on FOX. Were the race telecasts for these events up to snuff? Find out in this week's edition of the TV Critique.
We'll have a special Cup Series guest stop by to discuss the technical aspects of our sport.
------------------------------
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