Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Frontstretch Newsletter: June 20th, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 20th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXX

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Top News
by Brad Morgan

Tommy Baldwin Racing Recruits Tomy Drissi for Sonoma

Highly accomplished road racer Tomy Drissi has teamed with Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) to drive the No 10 Ice Age: Continental Drift Chevrolet in the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma this weekend.  The Trans Am Champion will make his first ever start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Despite the improbable odds of a road course "ringer" winning on Sunday, Drissi's presence in the race shouldn't be taken for granted by other drivers because he has won in both Trans Am and the American Le Mans Series.

"I am humbled to be able to drive with TBR in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and represent Ice Age: Continental Drift," Drissi said. "It is an honor to mix both of my worlds on America's biggest racing stage and to be racing the same number as Danica Patrick did in the Daytona 500 and other races this year. Our goal this weekend is to get a solid finish for TBR and some good exposure for Ice Age."

Drissi's prior experience in NASCAR could help protect the No. 10 team, currently 32nd in owner points, from falling out of the coveted top 35.  He has competed in NASCAR Nationwide Series and K&N Pro Series West events with a best career finish of 18th in the 2010 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Montreal.

"We are thrilled to have Tomy in the car," commented team owner Tommy Baldwin. "He is a good road course driver and a fun guy to be around. It's awesome to have Ice Age on the car. My kids and I have really enjoyed the first three movies and are excited to catch the fourth on July 13!"

The appearance of ringers – drivers who primarily race at Infineon and Watkins Glen – has declined in recent years as many teams have swayed towards sticking with full-time drivers to increase their chances of making the Chase.  Additionally, no ringer has captured victory in NASCAR's top series since Mark Donohue won at Riverside in 1973 while driving for Penkse Racing.

Ambrose Returns to Sonoma in Search of $1 Million

A win at Sonoma for Marcos Ambrose this weekend would mean more than just capturing his second career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.  If the former Australian V8 Supercar driver can win, his team will donate $1 million to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in conjunction with the Ace Hardware Foundation and the "Racing for a Miracle" initiative.

"Racing for a Miracle" is a campaign which is dedicated to benefiting sick and injured children.  For Ambrose, a win while supporting such an important cause would greatly benefit his team and those involved in the cause.

"There's nothing like added pressure, of course, and to win a race and $1 million for sick kids is definitely up there on the stakes of just trying to win the race.  We did this last year and came up a little bit short, so I'm doubly determined this year to try and win the race and help those kids and help our race team see the success that we all hoped," Ambrose said.  "We've got a huge effort this weekend to raise awareness for them and shed a bit of sunshine on their day."

The Aussie has come up just short in each of his trips to wine country, posting three top-6 finishes in his four attempts at Infineon.  But he will be one of the favorites to win this weekend especially after his victory at Watkins Glen last season.

"[The children] are going to be my good luck charms to help me end up in Victory Lane on Sunday," explained Ambrose.  "My team and I are honored to be able to host these children and show them what racing is all about.  It's just great to be a part of such a special program.  It means the world to my crew and me to see the smiles that will be on these kids' faces throughout the weekend."

Daytona Grandstands Now Smoke-free

Officials from Daytona International Speedway and members of Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) – a Florida based youth organization that educates the state's youth to stray away Big Tobacco in an effort to promote a tobacco free future– came together in Daytona to celebrate the move towards a smoke-free environment at the historic track.

The SWAT members, driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, the Volusia County Health Department, and representatives from Daytona International Speedway held a press conference outside the track to help commemorate the event on Tuesday.

"I'm proud that leading race organizations like Daytona are protecting our fans from tobacco smoke and are showing young fans that smoking is no longer acceptable," said NASCAR driver and Tobacco Free Florida spokesperson Jeffrey Earnhardt. "Families see drivers and venues like Daytona as legendary and this sends a healthy message to race fans."

The speedway's grandstands will be smoke-free for the first time during the running of the Subway Jalapeño 250 Powered By Coca-Cola on July 6. 

"We're honoring Daytona International Speedway for taking this important step to protect race fans from secondhand smoke, said Kahreem Golden, SWAT Youth Advocacy Board Chair. "We also want to encourage other outdoor venues in Florida to protect their patrons by adopting tobacco-free and smoke-free policies."

 

Have news for Brad and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
 
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

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Today's Featured Commentary
It's Not Rocket Science, They're Just Tires
Full Throttle
by Mike Neff


While I went to Purdue University, I am not an engineer, nor do I claim to have any kind of vast knowledge about building race tires. That said, I've been watching racing for over 40 years and I am continually dumbfounded by how complicated the sole tire supplier to NASCAR continues to make the process of putting race tires on the cars that work properly. The definition of working properly can vary from person to person but one thing is for sure, having chunks flying out of the surface of the tires or having them suddenly deflate while at speed are definitely not part of the definition. I lived through the tires wars in the 90's and while I do not advocate having multiple suppliers, the convoluted process that is currently in place is not working, either.

Pocono Raceway was the site of the Cup race the week before the series went to Michigan and its recently paved surface did not seem to provide any difficulties for the tires that were brought to the track. There were very few instances of blistering and there were no flats caused solely by tire wear. When the series got to Michigan it was a completely different story. The new track surface allowed the competitors to carry amazing speeds into the corners and, more importantly, get back to the gas much more quickly than the tire engineers had anticipated. The end result was excessive heat buildup in the tires, and eventually, blistering. In the end, the decision was made to bring out a rock hard tire for the left sides of the cars that was previously used when Charlotte Motor Speedway was repaved some six years ago. During the race on Sunday, the left sides did not have many problems, but several teams still saw right-side tires that blistered.

There was a tire test a couple of months before the race, but the engineers claim that the track was cooler and they didn't get a proper gauge on how the tires were going to wear. As a result, the compound that was brought to the track did not wear enough which added to the heat buildup and the eventual blistering. If this were the first time, or even the 10th time, a race track had been resurfaced since the start of NASCAR, it might be possible to overlook this incident, but there have been more than twenty track repaves since the modern era of NASCAR started in 1972, so by now it shouldn't be that difficult to know what the tires were going to do.

Mind you, the modern world of auto racing is extremely focused on safety, and everyone is thankful for that, but it has led to one very big problem from a racing perspective. The tires that come to the race track do not wear out enough. It is nearly impossible to abuse a modern Cup tire enough to make it wear completely through before the car runs out of gas. As a result, drivers don't have to manage their tires and everyone can race at roughly the same speeds. If NASCAR would make the manufacturer develop a tire that, depending on setup, would not make it for a full fuel run if it was pushed to the maximum, the racing would change dramatically. The people who make the tires will tell you that they don't want to be responsible for people being hurt by tires blowing out, but if NASCAR and Goodyear handled the public relations properly, it would not be blamed on the tire manufacturer, and the end result would be much better racing.

One other aspect that is still amazing is that the tires that are run in the Cup series are still made by hand. In the modern world there are robotic, laser controlled machines that are able to perform repetitive tasks within a 10,000th of an inch tolerance day in and day out. Try as you will, it is impossible to think that Don, who bowled a 135 with his 180 average in the league championship last night, while LeBron was lighting up the Thunder, and stayed out until 3:00 AM, can come in and lay the steel belts into a tire with that kind of precision. There may be some reasoning behind not adapting more modernized equipment, but it is time to shake off that mindset and embrace the future.

One final question is: do the teams who receive tires that blister receive a refund? A set of tires in the top series of NASCAR these days is something like $4,000. If you bought a $4,000 set of tires for your car that were supposed to last 50,000 miles and, after just 35,000 miles, started throwing chunks of rubber out of the tread, wouldn't you go back to the store that sold you the tires and demand a refund? I'd be willing to bet that race teams who not only spent money on tires that didn't make the distance but also lost tens of thousands of dollars in prize money thanks to having to make unscheduled pit stops didn't get a dime back on what they paid for those tires.

Racing tires are among the most important things on a race car. If the tires aren't holding air and staying in contact with the racing surface, the drivers of the cars cannot win races. Tires that don't blow out and keep the drivers safe are certainly preferable but, at some point in time, there needs to be some driver skill and strategy in the tire management end of the racing. If you attend a dirt race, you'll see cars that run on different compounds and routinely the drivers who pick soft tires gamble on making their rubber last until the checkered flag. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it is in the hands of the racers. The time has come for Cup series tires to wear out and the length of time they last to be in the hands of the racers instead of the manufacturer engineers.

We all grew up watching drivers like Cale Yarborough going like hell from the drop of the green while guys like David Pearson would show up at the end of the race to compete for the win. The reason that happened was that different drivers approached the race in different ways, and how they managed their tires determined the number of pit stops and how the race played out. If NASCAR wants to continue bringing fans back to the sport, they need to get back to that kind of racing and tires that wear out depending on how they're driven will provide that kind of racing.

Mike Neff is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at mike.neff@frontstretch.com

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Tweet 'N' Greet
by Summer Bedgood

Editor's Note: With the NASCAR Twitter community expanding by leaps and bounds, it remains a place for instantaneous news, reactions, and a whole lot of inside jokes. We understand if you don't want to join the Twitter community - but as a fan, it's important to know the news and info you're missing out on! That's why, every week, Summer Bedgood will sort through the thousands of messages and give us a little taste of what's going on each Wednesday.

So, without further ado, here's a look at what those in NASCAR were thinking over the past seven days...

@keselowski (Brad Keselowski): 4 those who saw the twitter commercial where I take a pic in the car here's the pic from victory lane @BMSupdates --> pic.twitter.com/vbtro2Z6

@SamanthaBusch: Relaxing night w @KyleBusch! Watched @storagewars, had some ice cream n played w the puppies. Nights like this make me smile. Sweet dreams!!

@ClintBowyer: Alarm going off 6am at building, ck. Testing all day at Bristol, ck. Come home pack for month leave for MIS tonight, ck. on track at 8 ck.

@ClintBowyer: Ran a bunch of compounds yesterday, from s****y, to mediocre, to good grip. Surely we can find one that will cause wrecks, fights, and E to win!

@KevinHamlin: @ClintBowyer You're getting the hang of this Twitter thing... Stirring the pot!

@Arlene_Martin: No not at all :) RT @JMcConnaughy77: @Arlene_Martin #tell the truth was Mark angry that Joey did the bump and run on him for the win?

@nateryan: James Finch said KuBu told him "I sat home this weekend & couldn't get it off my mind. My stomach hurt. I was just sick all weekend" #nascar

@RB_Mrs (Nicole Briscoe): Can't say I'm personally all that bummed hubs won't be racing in China...

@ClintBowyer: This is whats so boring at tests. I've literally spent a whole wk on Jackstands! Can't wait for some Laketime next wk pic.twitter.com/854XUJZJ

@KristineC48 (Kristine Curley): Paparazzi -Kid Style pic.twitter.com/a0mVcixW

@KyleBusch: Hello, yes thats right, its Kyle Busch here. LOL. Taking ticket orders @kyspeedway http://instagr.am/p/L0_2hVDlvC/

@WendyVenturini: Don't run on the painted grass Caleb!! #nascar frowns down upon that!! @MISpeedway pic.twitter.com/nRxQXKDz

@KevinHarvick: Trying to fit in a weeks worth of stuff into 3 days makes for a busy 3 days. Our last baby class tonight then heading to Michigan.

@DeLanaHarvick: took 1:37 sec for @KevinHarvick & i's morning phone call... what i learned: we're both doing "nuthin'" :)

@TheOrangeCone: Just heard from #nascar legal team. If Johanna Long married Jamie Dick they will not allow her to use a hyphenated last name.

@jpmontoya (Juan Pablo Montoya): its great to have all the family here in michigan!!! and we all heading to california next week!!!

SSPakeESPN (Shannon Spake): Hey, @martysmithespn is that shirt a smedium? pic.twitter.com/q1GohEIf

@JimmieJohnson: Man... This tire deal is killin me. I had big plans for tomorrow afternoon and now we have a practice. pic.twitter.com/NyC4Yeep

@ivandebosch (Ingrid Vandebosch): 5 more day's and our little Princess is turning 5! So proud of her, she is the best :)

@rchilders55 (Rodney Childers): Congrats to @napaknowhow crew chief Chad Johnston and his wife Stacey on the birth of their baby boy, Chase Allen Johnston..

@nascarcasm: Inspection-line fun: Every time template fits and they remove it, yell "WHEW! Got away with another one, high-five!" pic.twitter.com/GaNPT2Ey

@TheOrangeCone: Best part about extra practice is hearing all the people who get paid a lot of $$$ whining about having to work extra hours. #nailedit

@nascarcasm: It's hometown hero @keselowski, easily getting from point A to point B. #YeahNotSoMuch #nascar pic.twitter.com/abBRF0wx

@dennyhamlin: My excitement level for this new left side tire is pegged at 10. #outof100

@JimmieJohnson: I can now say I've run a 200 mph lap, so cool!

@DNewtonESPN (Dave Newton): So today we've had tires stranded outside the track, 3 spins by Danica Patrick and a runaway NW car under caution. Good times.

@TRDTuner (Jarrad Egert): Waiting on our driver....seems he is still celebrating from Nationwide win! #TeamJL pic.twitter.com/wSUS81xQ

@ivandebosch: Swimming on the rooftop in NYC! pic.twitter.com/WlURaTpS

@Kenny_Wallace: Someone in the TV compound just said this and I laughed: "It would take a Nuclear explosion for a caution to come out now" ha ha ha!

@nascarcasm: Think I see some debris in turn HAHAHAHA just kidding Jr. fans. Don't unfollow me. #NASCAR #MICHIGAN

@nascarcasm: Is that Reutimann slowing down over AHHAHAHAHA just kidding again. Don't unfollow this time either. #NASCAR #MICHIGAN

@WendyVenturini: There is more security at start finish line w 2 to go than I've ever seen for a finish. #NASCAR #DaleJr

@MikeDavis88: A magical day for this ol' fella. Thank you JR Nation for hanging with us. Won't ever forget it. #DaleJr #Lilly #NASCAR

@nascarcasm: Junior wins. But hate to break it to everyone - it wasn't Junior. It was Bruce Wayne. But he can never tell you. #BATMAN #NASCAR #MICHIGAN

@bobpockrass: Dale Jr asks "are you sure we won?" With a laugh. #nascar

@MonteDutton: #NASCAR Looking down at the grandstands, this seems to have been a popular victory.

@MikeMassaroESPN: A black car with a driver named Earnhardt wins on Father's Day. #HUGE #NASCAR

@SamanthaBusch: Congrats to the whole 88 crew n @TeamHendrick. The fans are loving this! Hard day in our camp not much that u can do but head to Sonoma

@DanicaPatrick: Way to go boss! Great to see jr back in victory lane!

@AllWaltrip (Darrell Waltrip): There are a lot of happy fathers that are proud of their sons today, I know there's one looking down smiling, way to go Junebug!

@TheOrangeCone: Told Jr to stare at his feet during during victory lane interviews otherwise his female fans may stick to the furniture. #nascar

@nascarcasm: Fleeing @MISpeedway. Smoke rising. Screaming. Windows being smashed. Fornicating in the streets. #JuniorWins #NASCAR

@2Spotter (Joey Meier): BLACK SPY @Tjmajors has been there for the WHOLE ride..He, along with entire 88 team, have earned it. #NASCAR

@dennyhamlin: Fire! Fire! I should have stripped down to my underwear and ran around like Ricky Bobby.

@MikeDavis88: "What's the fuss? He's won every race I've ever seen." -- Lillian Anne Davis #NASCAR

@KrisJohnson_NI: Pretty telling that drivers - and not just those from Hendrick - appear heartfelt in their congratulations for Junior. #nascar

@nateryan: Tony Stewart in a somewhat prickly mood when asked about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s win: "It's not a national holiday, guys." #nascar

@RutledgeWood: I'm in Cali shooting #TopGear thought there was an earthquake. Turns out Dale Jr Won! #NASCAR congrats Jr Nation

@nateryan: Still are a few hundred fans pressed up against the frontstretch catchfence while Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates about 200 feet away. #nascar

@MikeCalinoff: Congrats to #DaleJr @tireguyeighty8 and @tjmajors. When are you guys gonna win again? #NASCAR

@RossKenseth: Pretty excited jr won. Gas prices should go down, stocks go up, life is good!

@JimmieJohnson: I'm so happy for Jr and the entire #88 team. Way to go @SteveLetarte and all of @TeamHendrick.

@EarnhardtKelley (Kelley Earnhardt): Finally! The thrill of victory. So excited for HMS! Our family! Our friends! And JR Nation!!! Celebrate!

@WendyVenturini: Junior "I'm glad (girlfriend) Amy is here to celebrate with me...it's workin out...I'm a lot better person than I was years ago" #NASCAR

@DeLanaHarvick: heard #headinjury sometimes make people better at things, unfortunately @Mother_Function is still a crappie driver...

@rchilders55: The failure had nothing to do with our practice laps.. Same thing the 18 broke at Dover and the 55/15 broke at Kansas..

@Regan_Smith_: Really glad my blown tire didn't bring out a yellow, might have needed an armored car to get out of Michigan if it did

@bobpockrass: Dale Earnhardt Jr put a bobblehead on the podium for Rick Hendrick since Hendrick isn't here. #nascar pic.twitter.com/8mR5bPjU

@KurtBusch: This is what makes a bad day better pic.twitter.com/63wp5weh

@MikeDavis88: Contemplating a birth certificate change from Lillian Anne to Michig Anne. #NASCAR #DaleJr

@jeff_gluck: Dale Jr. on other drivers being happy for him: "I guess it means I'm an alright dude." #NASCAR

@jeff_gluck: Dale Jr.: "This was the worst feeling riding around there with 15 laps to go wondering what was going to happen, how you were going to lose"

@jeff_gluck: Dale Jr. on whether he feels like it's a national holiday: "I do. For me it is." #NASCAR

@MikeDavis88: Me to wife: "You ready to work on No. 3? Can't have another slump like this." #YoureWelcomeJuniorNation

@surfwax83 (Kevin Rutherford): Writing this commentary in complete and utter pain. WILL IT NEVER END?

@TheMiniChad: Of course all drivers are happy for Jr winning. When he wins all of their bank accounts go up. Ratings. Sponsors. ESPN. Fans.

@RickAllenracing: He's not done winning this year. I made the prediction before the season, multiple wins in 2012!

@Kenny_Wallace: Thank You to the @SPEED TV crew as they break down the cables and equipment and head to California

@KrisJohnson_NI: Reading stories about Junior's girlfriend and his PR guy...Twitter's effect on real journalism is undeniable. #nascar

@SteveLetarte: The list of people I need to thank won't fit in 140 characters. Just proud to be a part of this team!! @TeamHendrick #NASCAR

@JoelEdmonds: There's fireworks going off even where I live and I'm in BFE..

@MonteDutton: As many #NASCAR fans have noted, when Tony Stewart said, "It's not a holiday, guys," he, uh, forgot about Father's Day.

@SteveLetarte: Ok. So we may have stayed up and celebrated just a bit!!!

@MartySmithESPN: Hearing there's some confusion what "I'm the wrong guy to mess with" meant. All it meant is how fairly I've reported on Kurt Busch. (more)

@MartySmithESPN: On KuBusch cont: I was simply trying to say I'm the wrong person on whom to take out any frustration, b/c of how fairly I've reported on him

@MartySmithESPN: On Kurt Busch final: It was in no way, shape or form a threat. I didn't even raise my voice.

@AndyLally: Just saw that Mitt Romney has a Twitter account and noticed that Danica has more followers than he does.

@MikeDavis88: Gentleman across hall in maternity unit says he's DaleJr's cousin. I say l I'm Dale Jr's Comm. Director. We both think we're full of crap.

@SummerBedgood: Ya think?? RT @brentjordan29 ‪#DaleJr‬ win at Michigan is probably the most popular and biggest win of the ‪#Nascar‬ year so far

@JimmieJohnson: Look what showed up in the mail, thanks Champ! @ryanvillopoto2 http://instagr.am/p/MDqSDIkpeA/

@KevinHarvick: Haven't watched the news in a while so I turned it on this am and here's what I learned.... Politics SUCK!!!

@JimmieJohnson: Seeing this sign always trips me out! pic.twitter.com/rU2oDtwe

@JimmieJohnson: Really smoke... First you cross my number out but then you miss spell my name! Haha! pic.twitter.com/7sNZrwVF

Summer Bedgood is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached via email at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com.

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Mirror Driving: Maintaining Earnhardt Momentum, Fans' Fear Of FOX And A Rookie Champ?
by the Frontstretch Staff

Right-Turn Royalty: NASCAR's Five Current Road Course Aces
by Kevin Rutherford

Beyond The Cockpit: A Pocono Post-Mortem With The President
by Tom Bowles

Dictatorship: The Real Reason NASCAR Is More Popular Than IndyCar Today
by Toni Montgomery

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Michigan
compiled by Summer Bedgood

Top Ten Things That Came to Pass Between Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Most Recent Wins
by the Frontstretch Staff 

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: The 1999 Save Mart / Kragen 350k is best known for the two separate rollover crashes involving Steve Park and Ken Schrader. However, the race was red-flagged late in the going due to another incident. This incident resulted in no winner's interview on the telecast due to the race running up against Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. What happened here?

Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Tuesday's Answer:

Q: Lake Speed never really had much luck at Sears Point. A rather unusual spin in 1995 saw the entire rear end break on his No. 9 SPAM Ford with literally no damage at all to the car's body. The body of Speed's Quality Care Ford didn't exactly make out so well the year before. What happened to put Speed way down the finishing order?

A:  Speed simply went into Turn 6 (The Carousel) just a little too fast and got off the road. His No. 15 slid into the tires right side first, doing a significant amount of damage to the Quality Care Ford. Speed was able to drive away, but the first caution was thrown due to the fact that he had made a mess out of the tire barrier. The crash can be seen at the 8:20 mark of this clip. Speed continued in the race, but finished four laps down in 32nd.

Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee:  If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs!  If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE! 

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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
--
What's Vexing Vito by Vito Pugliese
--
Critic's Annex by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, the Line of the Week and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles (postponed from Wednesday)
Is Dale Jr.'s win a guarantee he'll be a championship contender? Tom has a comparison that might surprise you, a list of road course contenders and more in his list of small but important observations around the world of auto racing.

MPM2Nite by Matt McLaughlin
Matt McLaughlin is back again this season with his usual sarcastic sense of humor ... and incomparable insight.

Potts' Shots by John Potts
Fanning the Flames has become Potts' Shots, and John Potts is here to answer your questions in our weekly Fan Q & A. Do you have something you'd like to ask John? Don't sit on the sidelines! Send it to john.potts@frontstretch.com and you just may see your question in print next week!

Professor Of Speed by Mark Howell
Our professor of racing history "has at it" with another column pertinent to the sport at large. This week, Mark reflects on taking his 4 1/2-year-old son to Michigan last weekend to watch practice.

Truckin' Thursdays by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth is back this year on a new night, but it's the same great commentary you've come to enjoy on NASCAR's Truck Series! This week, Miguel Paludo drops by for his latest driver diary where he takes a look back at Texas, ahead to his Nationwide debut this weekend and so much more!

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