THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 26th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXVIII
- Nelson Piquet, Jr. will speak to the media in a national presser following Saturday's thrilling win at Road America. Piquet became the first Brazilian to win a NASCAR race when he took the checkers in just his third Nationwide Series start.
- TV ratings should be revealed for Sunday's race at Sonoma. It'll be intriguing to see whether Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s victory at Michigan - NASCAR's Most Popular Driver - resulted in a short-term boost in viewership for the sport.
Today's Top News
by Tom Bowles
Vickers Expanding With MWR In 2013?
After two top-5 finishes with Michael Waltrip Racing, in just three starts Brian Vickers could be on his way to a long-term contract with the team. Owner Michael Waltrip told FOX Sports' Lee Spencer Monday Toyota "believes in the fact" the organization could expand to four cars, opening the door to keep Vickers if at all possible. That would mean sponsorship is needed for the driver, whose part-time efforts in the No. 55 have been supported by patchwork deals for 2013. But the owner, pleased with the 28-year-old's effort inside the car is optimistic funding can be found under the right circumstances.
At MWR, Martin Truex, Jr. is in a contract year which also leaves the possibility of the No. 56 NAPA Toyota for Vickers. However, Truex is inside the top 10 in points and likely to re-sign with the team. Vickers' next ride with the organization is scheduled to be at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in mid-July; in his place, Waltrip will run the No. 55 car at Kentucky and Daytona the next two weeks.
Kenseth Future Remains Uncertain
All was quiet Monday after a weekend in which Matt Kenseth's future with Roush Fenway Racing was brought into question. The 2003 Cup Series champ, whose contract with RFR expires after the season was revealed to be talking to other teams by several reports at Sonoma. Entering the season with just a limited sponsorship deal from Best Buy, the No. 17 car remains without funding for a few 2012 events, along with the No. 99 Ford of Carl Edwards. Without a major partner signed for the majority of the 2013 schedule, that uncertainty has the 13-year Sprint Cup veteran looking elsewhere.
Among potential options for Kenseth are Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske Racing or even Richard Petty Motorsports, who currently partners with Kenseth's former sponsor DeWalt. Penske adamantly denied any talk over the weekend, claiming they are committed to AJ Allmendinger and crew chief Todd Gordon for 2013. But the switch to Ford makes any transition to the organization easy for this longtime Blue Oval driver. JGR, in contrast, declined to discuss any possible negotiations for either a fourth team expansion or having Kenseth replace Logano in their No. 20. It's the second time in two years an RFR driver has been linked to the ride; Carl Edwards was offered the spot in 2011 before ultimately choosing to sign a long-term extension with Ford last year.
News Bites
- Phoenix is still looking for a Fall title race sponsor to replace Kobalt Tools, who didn't re-sign for the penultimate Sprint Cup race on the schedule. But perhaps more interesting, couched within a USA Today article from the weekend is the 2013 brochure has already listed track dates for two Cup races: March 1st - 3rd and November 7th - 10th. Those placements likely mean the Daytona 500's move to one week later in February will remain, at least for now. If Phoenix remains the second race on the schedule, the 500 would be run on Sunday, February 24th.
- Nationwide Series driver Morgan Shepherd has picked up sponsorship from A+ Building Services, an Ohio-based janitorial company. The one-race deal is hoped to give the Faith Motorsports outfit money to go the distance; they have only finished two of their 11 starts this season, with a best run of 22nd. At 70, Shepherd remains the oldest full-time driver in any of NASCAR's top three divisions.
- Valvoline NextGen will return as primary sponsor for Casey Mears' No. 13 Ford at Kentucky Speedway this Saturday. The single-car, Germain Racing outfit continues to put patchwork deals together to fill the 12-race gap in which GEICO will not be supporting their car.
Have news for Tom and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
The Best Race We Never Saw
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Featured Commentary
The Best Race We Never Saw
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
Ah, man! This restart was going to be the best of the season. Look! Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch rolled around Turn 11 as the pace car drove off into Gilligan's Island. The overhead shot illustrated the snaking form of the entire field and the flag man readied the checkers. Wait for it... wait for it...
And then, the helicopter bearing the camera flew behind the grandstands and all of America watching TNT became blind. Did Kurt put his fender to Clint? Was Tony crawling up the No. 51's bumper? Was Jeff Gordon able to snare yet another spot in his daylong scramble from disappointment?
Who the hell knows.
TNT's broadcast of the Toyota Save Mart 350 was possibly the worst Cup race of the year. Not the racing -- no, that was stellar. I really was holding on to my seat during the final 20 laps of the afternoon. No, I'm talking about the abysmal effort of whoever it is in the production truck that decides which camera to select at any given moment and when to feed cues to the boys in the booth.
Like when Jeff Gordon took the lead for the first time in an eternity, but the booth continued to mumble on about -- what was it? It wasn't important. Because there was a lead change! Which I didn't see -- and apparently neither did the booth -- until the truck cued up the replay oh... maybe two minutes later. Mr. Producer, please pay no attention to the head of the field. Lead changes aren't important. Physical presentations of the appearance of a broken tach are far more key to the outcome of the race.
Or did you know Ryan Newman spun early in the event? No? Color me shocked. Thank goodness for Twitter. Tell me again why I should even turn on the television if #NASCAR does a better job of doing play-by-play than the guys who are paid the big bucks.
There were minute long shots of a single car rolling over the Sonoma hills and another focused on somebody's brake pedal. Kyle Petty and Adam Alexander spent a nice thirty seconds literally arguing over whether Jimmie Johnson had been in second the previous lap. In short, just about any amateurish snafu that's been exercised in the past on a NASCAR broadcast, this crew brought out of the closet to prove that they are worthy of sharing the racing podium with FOX.
Yes, road courses are the most difficult of the tracks to cover with a camera, as there is no convenient oval in which to trap all the competitors in a single shot. But the beauty of the road course is the ability to set up basically static cameras to cover sweeping segments of the turns in order to present the most competition possible. With the right positioning, you can include ten cars in a scramble around Turn 4.
And yet, this video presentation did not happen on Sunday. Instead of letting the wide angles tell the story, once again NASCAR Nation was subjected to a minimal selection of tight shots that held no visual value in themselves.
What makes the disappointment in Sunday's broadcast even more keen is that in years past TNT has been widely regarded by the fan base as the superior coverage team on the Sprint Cup calendar. I looked forward to the end of the DW and Larry Mac, good ol' boys duet and welcomed the return of less creative voices Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach. But truly, when the entire production group decides to ignore actual physical occurrences on the track in favor of repeating the same bit of patently obvious information -- were you aware the only passing zones are in Turns 7 & 11? Yeah, I thought you did -- it's clear they've just given up.
The Summer Series calendar is full of classic races. Sonoma, with its improbable leaders and late race tension, should have been one of them. Unfortunately, the 2012 Toyota Save Mart 350 will forever be remembered as the race nobody got to see. Somebody should take some TNT to TNT and start all over.
Here's hoping the plunge is taken before the traffic jam starts at Kentucky.
Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat
Road America: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 12th (lead lap)
Points Position: 10th
by S.D. Grady
Ah, man! This restart was going to be the best of the season. Look! Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch rolled around Turn 11 as the pace car drove off into Gilligan's Island. The overhead shot illustrated the snaking form of the entire field and the flag man readied the checkers. Wait for it... wait for it...
And then, the helicopter bearing the camera flew behind the grandstands and all of America watching TNT became blind. Did Kurt put his fender to Clint? Was Tony crawling up the No. 51's bumper? Was Jeff Gordon able to snare yet another spot in his daylong scramble from disappointment?
Who the hell knows.
TNT's broadcast of the Toyota Save Mart 350 was possibly the worst Cup race of the year. Not the racing -- no, that was stellar. I really was holding on to my seat during the final 20 laps of the afternoon. No, I'm talking about the abysmal effort of whoever it is in the production truck that decides which camera to select at any given moment and when to feed cues to the boys in the booth.
Like when Jeff Gordon took the lead for the first time in an eternity, but the booth continued to mumble on about -- what was it? It wasn't important. Because there was a lead change! Which I didn't see -- and apparently neither did the booth -- until the truck cued up the replay oh... maybe two minutes later. Mr. Producer, please pay no attention to the head of the field. Lead changes aren't important. Physical presentations of the appearance of a broken tach are far more key to the outcome of the race.
Or did you know Ryan Newman spun early in the event? No? Color me shocked. Thank goodness for Twitter. Tell me again why I should even turn on the television if #NASCAR does a better job of doing play-by-play than the guys who are paid the big bucks.
There were minute long shots of a single car rolling over the Sonoma hills and another focused on somebody's brake pedal. Kyle Petty and Adam Alexander spent a nice thirty seconds literally arguing over whether Jimmie Johnson had been in second the previous lap. In short, just about any amateurish snafu that's been exercised in the past on a NASCAR broadcast, this crew brought out of the closet to prove that they are worthy of sharing the racing podium with FOX.
Yes, road courses are the most difficult of the tracks to cover with a camera, as there is no convenient oval in which to trap all the competitors in a single shot. But the beauty of the road course is the ability to set up basically static cameras to cover sweeping segments of the turns in order to present the most competition possible. With the right positioning, you can include ten cars in a scramble around Turn 4.
And yet, this video presentation did not happen on Sunday. Instead of letting the wide angles tell the story, once again NASCAR Nation was subjected to a minimal selection of tight shots that held no visual value in themselves.
What makes the disappointment in Sunday's broadcast even more keen is that in years past TNT has been widely regarded by the fan base as the superior coverage team on the Sprint Cup calendar. I looked forward to the end of the DW and Larry Mac, good ol' boys duet and welcomed the return of less creative voices Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach. But truly, when the entire production group decides to ignore actual physical occurrences on the track in favor of repeating the same bit of patently obvious information -- were you aware the only passing zones are in Turns 7 & 11? Yeah, I thought you did -- it's clear they've just given up.
The Summer Series calendar is full of classic races. Sonoma, with its improbable leaders and late race tension, should have been one of them. Unfortunately, the 2012 Toyota Save Mart 350 will forever be remembered as the race nobody got to see. Somebody should take some TNT to TNT and start all over.
Here's hoping the plunge is taken before the traffic jam starts at Kentucky.
Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat
Road America: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 12th (lead lap)
Points Position: 10th
S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached via e-mail at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna.
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Numbers Game: Toyota / Save Mart 350
by Tom Bowles
Editor's Note: Garrett Horton is off this week. He'll return to the column next Tuesday; for this week, we offer a shortened version.
2
The number of cautions at Sonoma Raceway Sunday, a new record for the fewest ever. That's even more impressive considering the race used to be just 74 laps; it was expanded to 112 after a track reconfiguration prior to 1998.
3
Sprint Cup wins for Robby Gordon in 396 career Sprint Cup starts. Gordon, whose Sprint Cup future is in question after Sunday - Sonoma is his final scheduled Cup race of 2012 - ran just 39th after the steering broke on his Dodge.
5
The number of DNFs Joe Gibbs Racing has had in the month of June - an average of slightly more than one per event. The three-car team had just one DNF within their three-car program through Memorial Day.
6
The number of years since Jeff Gordon last won a NASCAR race on a road course. The driver of the DuPont Chevrolet, who won a remarkable nine of his first 27 Cup road course starts hasn't tasted victory since the Summer, 2006 race at Sonoma.
22.2
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s average career finish on both the road courses of Sonoma and Watkins Glen. 23rd on Sunday, Earnhardt has yet to record a top-10 finish at Sonoma since entering the Cup Series full-time in 2000.
76,850
The number of dollars J.J. Yeley's underfunded, one-car effort won for going the distance at Sonoma. Yeley ran a total of 107 laps.
80,450
The number of dollars rookie Stephen Leicht won for start-and-parking at Sonoma. Leicht ran a total of just 22 laps, saving valuable miles on his engine and several Goodyear tire bills in the process.
Tom Bowles is Editor-In-Chief for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.bowles@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NASCARBowles.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Five Points to Ponder: Newsworthy or Not? Road Racing Ringers and Winners
by Bryan Davis Keith
Couch Potato Tuesday: TNT Lost the Bleeps, Sweeps and Creeps
by Phil Allaway
Tech Talk with Dave Rogers: New Rules, Old Tires & No Global Warming
by Mike Neff
Who's Hot/Who's Not in NASCAR: Sonoma/Kentucky Edition
by Brett Poirier
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 2006 Meijer 300 is best known as the race in which David Gilliland pulled the upset of the decade in pulling out his first career Busch victory. However, Jeff Fuller had a nasty crash early in the race. What happened?
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Numbers Game: Toyota / Save Mart 350
by Tom Bowles
Editor's Note: Garrett Horton is off this week. He'll return to the column next Tuesday; for this week, we offer a shortened version.
2
The number of cautions at Sonoma Raceway Sunday, a new record for the fewest ever. That's even more impressive considering the race used to be just 74 laps; it was expanded to 112 after a track reconfiguration prior to 1998.
3
Sprint Cup wins for Robby Gordon in 396 career Sprint Cup starts. Gordon, whose Sprint Cup future is in question after Sunday - Sonoma is his final scheduled Cup race of 2012 - ran just 39th after the steering broke on his Dodge.
5
The number of DNFs Joe Gibbs Racing has had in the month of June - an average of slightly more than one per event. The three-car team had just one DNF within their three-car program through Memorial Day.
6
The number of years since Jeff Gordon last won a NASCAR race on a road course. The driver of the DuPont Chevrolet, who won a remarkable nine of his first 27 Cup road course starts hasn't tasted victory since the Summer, 2006 race at Sonoma.
22.2
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s average career finish on both the road courses of Sonoma and Watkins Glen. 23rd on Sunday, Earnhardt has yet to record a top-10 finish at Sonoma since entering the Cup Series full-time in 2000.
76,850
The number of dollars J.J. Yeley's underfunded, one-car effort won for going the distance at Sonoma. Yeley ran a total of 107 laps.
80,450
The number of dollars rookie Stephen Leicht won for start-and-parking at Sonoma. Leicht ran a total of just 22 laps, saving valuable miles on his engine and several Goodyear tire bills in the process.
Tom Bowles is Editor-In-Chief for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.bowles@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NASCARBowles.
~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Five Points to Ponder: Newsworthy or Not? Road Racing Ringers and Winners
by Bryan Davis Keith
Couch Potato Tuesday: TNT Lost the Bleeps, Sweeps and Creeps
by Phil Allaway
Tech Talk with Dave Rogers: New Rules, Old Tires & No Global Warming
by Mike Neff
Who's Hot/Who's Not in NASCAR: Sonoma/Kentucky Edition
by Brett Poirier
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 2006 Meijer 300 is best known as the race in which David Gilliland pulled the upset of the decade in pulling out his first career Busch victory. However, Jeff Fuller had a nasty crash early in the race. What happened?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: Prior to the construction of Kentucky Speedway, the Camping World Truck Series raced at Louisville Motor Speedway. The races on the .437-mile gumdrop (for lack of better terms) were definitely on the rough and tumble side. The start of the first race there was no different. What happened?
A: After a quick spin exiting Turn 4 by John Nemechek, all heck broke loose on Lap 4. Pole sitter Jack Sprague caught Nemechek to lap him and chose to go to the outside to make the pass. However, a complete lack of grip allowed Joe Ruttman to take the lead. When Tobey Butler tried to follow Ruttman by, the the two trucks collided, resulting in Sprague spinning. Mike Skinner hit Sprague when this hit occurred, while Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Scott Lagasse were also involved. Behind the crash, Jerry Glanville and Steve Portenga spun in a completely separate incident in Turn 1. The incidents can be seen in this clip. Everyone continued after their crashes, but the field was jumbled up significantly.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Brad Morgan
-- Full Throttle by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Did you notice the way in which the "wild card" race is evolving? Tom has that, the Kenseth controversy, worries about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. post-victory and more in his list of small but important observations around the Sprint Cup circuit.
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different topics, including whether Kurt Busch's performance on Sunday was for real, whether there is a real threat of Matt Kenseth leaving Roush Fenway, and much more.
Frontstretch Top Ten by Jeff Meyer
We'll have a top ten list that will tickle your funny bone, guaranteed.
Sprint Cup Power Rankings compiled by Summer Bedgood
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. got punted with less than two laps to go at Michigan. Was that enough to drop him from the top of our Power Rankings? You'll have to check it out in order to see where the drivers stand going into Kentucky.
Open-Wheel Wednesday by Matt Stallknecht
It's a new weekly article here at Frontstretch covering the Izod IndyCar Series. And yes, the name is very similar to the themed day on rpm2night back in the 1990s.
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©2012 Frontstretch.com
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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