The Frontstretch Newsletter: June 28th, 2012

*THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
*June 28th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXX

*Editor's Note: We apologize for the late delivery of today's Newsletter.
This occurred due to circumstances beyond our control. Also, the
Newsletter may contain incorrect bolding. This is because there were
no computers available with an up-to-date internet browser. As a
result, we could not perform some of the basic tasks that you have
likely come to expect from e-mail. *
*
*
*What to Watch: Thursday

*The race weekend starts today with action for the Camping World Truck and
Nationwide Series. Two truck practice sessions will be held from
10:30-11:30am and 12:00pm-1:30pm. These sessions will not be televised.
Qualifying will be televised live on SPEED starting at 5:00pm. In-between
Camping World Truck Qualifying and the race is the opening practice session
for Nationwide teams from 6:30-7:25. Pre-race coverage starts with NCWTS
Setup at 7:30pm, with live coverage of the UNOH 225 starting at 8:00pm.
All times listed are in Eastern Daylight Time. Adjust your time based upon
where you live. Also of note, the projected high temperature in Sparta,
Kentucky (where the track is located) is 102 degrees with a fair amount of
humidity. That will make the task at hand just that much tougher.
*
Top News*
*by Phil Allaway*

*Andretti Autosport to Enter NASCAR in 2013?

*Andretti Autosport is currently a three-car operation in the Izod IndyCar
Series, fielding entries for Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan
Hunter-Reay. However, could the team possibly be starting a Sprint Cup
operation for next year? Possibly.

SI.com's Bruce Martin<http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/racing/news/20120627/michael-andretti-nascar/>is
reporting that Andretti Autosport is considering starting a Sprint Cup
team for the 2013 season. This is something that the car owner and former
IndyCar racer has been toying with for the past several years.

"We were looking at NASCAR real close last year, too, but it fell apart,"
Andretti told Martin. "We were looking at it just as hard last year and
the year before."

According to sources, Andretti could get a great deal of support from Dodge
if he decided to be the factory team (replacing the outgoing Penske Racing)
for Chrysler Group, LLC in NASCAR. Apparently, this would cost roughly
$5-6 million.

However, Andretti is not limiting himself to just Dodge.

"I'm always looking at all options," Andretti exclaimed. "I'd be stupid
not to listen to Dodge or any other manufacturers. It doesn't matter that
we are a [Chevrolet] IndyCar team. It might be nice if it was all under
one roof, but in our contract, we're a [Chevrolet] IndyCar team."

If Andretti were able to get their operation going, the first task that
would be necessary is to procure a shop. If they went with Dodge, they
could race out of the former Gillett-Evernham Motorsports shop in
Statesville, North Carolina. If not, then they would have to look for
another place to base operations. Regardless, it would create an
additional seat for an available driver to seek.*

Sam's Club to Sponsor Stenhouse for 3 races

*Roush Fenway Racing announced on Wednesday that they have reached a deal
with Sam's Club, the member's only warehouse division of Wal-Mart, to
sponsor the team's No. 6 Ford Mustang in the Nationwide Series for three
races. In those events, the No. 6 will be promoting the Member's Mark
Angus Beef and Castlewood Reserve. The sponsorship is a partnership
between Sam's Club and existing team sponsor Cargill Beef, who has a
12-race deal to sponsor the team.

Stenhouse is very happy to have Sam's Club onboard his Mustang.

"I am thrilled to have Sam's Club back on our Mustang this year," Stenhouse
said. "Cargill has been a huge supporter of our NO. 6 team the past two
years. We hope to bring recognition to Sam's exclusive brands of Member's
Mark Angus Beef and Castlewood Reserve by putting them in Victory Lane."

Sam's Club colors will return to the No. 6 starting in Friday night's Feed
the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway. Additional races include the
inaugural race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and the first
Nationwide race at the reconfigured Kansas Speedway in October.
*
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are
still subject to change.

Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400: 46 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 19- *Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing*
No. 87- *Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports*

Driver Changes:
No. 10- *David Reutimann returns to the seat, replacing Tomy Drissi.*
No. 19- *Mike Bliss returns to the seat, replacing Chris Cook.*
No. 30- *David Stremme returns to the seat, replacing Brian Simo.*
No. 32- *Ken Schrader returns to the seat, replacing Boris Said.*
No. 55- *Michael Waltrip returns to the seat, replacing Brian Vickers.*
No. 98- *Michael McDowell returns to the seat, replacing David Mayhew.*

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 19- *Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing**
No. 23- *Scott Riggs for R3 Motorsports**
No. 26- *Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports**
No. 30- *David Stremme for Inception Motorsports*
No. 33- *Stephen Leicht for LJ Racing*
No. 49- *J.J. Yeley for Robinson-Blakeney Racing*
No. 52- *Mike Skinner for Hamilton-Means Racing**
No. 74- *Stacy Compton for Turn One Racing**
No. 87- *Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports**
No. 95- *Scott Speed for Leavine Family Racing*
No. 98- *Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing*

Nationwide Series Feed the Children 300: 46 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18- *Denny Hamlin for Joe Gibbs Racing*
No. 22- *Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing*
No. 30- *James Buescher for Turner Motorsports*
No. 33- *Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing*
No. 42- *Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group*
No. 54- *Kurt Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports*
No. 75- *Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing*

Driver Changes:
No. 08- *Tim Andrews returns to the seat, replacing Matt Frahm.**
No. 4- *Danny Efland returns to the seat, replacing Matt Bell.*
No. 17- *Tanner Berryhill returns to the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley.*
No. 18- *Denny Hamlin returns to the seat, replacing Michael McDowell.*
No. 20- *Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Truex.*
No. 22- *Brad Keselowski returns to the seat, replacing Jacques Villeneuve.*
No. 23- *Jamie Dick returns to the seat, replacing Bill Prietzel.*
No. 24- *Jamie Mosley is in the seat, replacing Casey Roderick. Benny
Gordon was originally listed as the team's driver, but was officially
replaced on Tuesday. This will be Mosley's first Nationwide Series start
since 2007.*
No. 30-* James Buescher returns to the seat, replacing Nelson Piquet, Jr.*
No. 33- *Kevin Harvick returns to the seat, replacing Max Papis.*
No. 52- *An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Ryan Ellis.*
No. 70- *Johanna Long returns to the seat, replacing Tony Raines.*
No. 87- *Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing Alex Kennedy.*
No. 99- *Kenny Wallace returns to the seat, replacing Victor Gonzalez, Jr.*

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 10- *Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the
Past Champions' Provisional)**
No. 15- *Blake Koch for Rick Ware Racing**
No. 17- *Tanner Berryhill for Berryhill Racing*
No. 20- *Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing**
No. 36- *Ryan Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing*
No. 39- *Josh Richards for Go Green Racing*
No. 42- *Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group**
No. 41- *Timmy Hill for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 42- *Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group**
No. 46- *Chase Miller for Team Motorsports Group**
No. 47- *Matt DiBenedetto for Team Motorsports Group**
No. 50- *T.J. Bell for MAKE Motorsports**
No. 52- *Unknown driver for Means Motorsports**
No. 72- *John Jackson for Carter Racing**
No. 74- *Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing**
No. 75- *Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing**
No. 89- *Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures*
No. 98- *Reed Sorenson for Biagi-DenBeste Racing*

Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 20- *Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing (No sponsorship)*

Not Entered:
No. 26- *John Young for Young Motorsports*
No. 32- *Miguel Paludo for Turner Motorsports*
No. 59- *Kyle Kelley for Kelley Motorsports*
No. 75- *Kenny Habul for SunEnergy1 Racing, LLC*

Camping World Truck Series UNOH 225: 40 trucks entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 19- *Brad Keselowski for Brad Keselowski Racing*
No. 74- *Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing*
No. 86- *Scott Riggs for Clay Greenfield Motorsports*

Driver Changes:
No. 07- *Jeff Agnew is in the seat, replacing Johnny Chapman.*
No. 2- *Tim George, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Brendan Gaughan.*
No. 4- *Kyle Larson is in the seat, replacing Kasey Kahne. If Larson
qualifies, he will be making his Camping World Truck Series debut.*
No. 14- *Brennan Newberry returns to the seat, replacing Brandon Miller.*
No. 27- *C.E. Falk is in the seat, replacing Brandon Knupp.*
No. 38- Johnny Chapman is *in the seat, replacing Dennis Setzer.*
No. 84- *Chris Fontaine returns to the seat, replacing B.J. McLeod.*
No. 93- *Dennis Setzer is in the seat, replacing Brent Raymer.*

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 0- *Chris Lafferty for JJC Racing*
No. 01- *Jake Crum for Jake Crum Racing*
No. 02- *Tyler Young for Young's Motorsports*
No. 07- *Jeff Agnew for SS-Green Light Racing*
No. 10- *Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing*
No. 14- *Brennan Newberry for NTS Motorsports*
No. 19- *Brad Keselowski for Brad Keselowski Racing*
No. 38- Johnny Chapman for RSS Racing**
No. 39- *Ryan Sieg for RSS Racing*
No. 57- *Norm Benning for Norm Benning Racing*
No. 68- *Clay Greenfield for Clay Greenfield Motorsports**
No. 75- *Caleb Holman for Henderson Racing*
No. 84- *Chris Fontaine for Chris Fontaine, Inc.*
No. 86- *Scott Riggs for Clay Greenfield Motorsports**
No. 93- *Dennis Setzer for RSS Racing*

Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 83- B.J. McLeod for Chris Fontaine, Inc.
No. 92- David Reutimann for RBR Enterprises

*Not Entered:*
*No. 65- *Scott Stenzel for MB Motorsports*
No. 73- *Rick Crawford for Tagsby Racing*
*- Expected to Start-and-Park

Rolex Sports Car Series Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen: 34 cars entered (11
Daytona Prototypes, 23 Grand Tourers)
Note: This race also marks Race No. 2 of the North American Endurance
Championship

DP Entries:
No. 01- *Memo Rojas/Scott Pruett for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates*
No. 2- *Lucas Luhr/Alex Popow for Starworks Motorsport*
No. 5- *Terry Borcheller/David Donohue for Action Express Racing*
No. 7- *Scott Mayer/Colin Braun? for Starworks Motorsport*
No. 8- *Ryan Dalziel/Enzo Potolicchio/Sebastien Bourdais for Starworks
Motorsport*
No. 9- *Joao Barbosa/JC France/Darren Law for Action Express Racing
*No. 10- *Max Angelelli/Ricky Taylor for SunTrust Racing
*No. 60- *Oswaldo "Ozz" Negri, Jr./John Pew for Michael Shank Racing with
Curb-Agajanian
*No. 77- *Dr. Jim Lowe/Paul Tracy for Doran Racing
*No. 90- *Antonio Garcia/Oliver Gavin/Richard Westbrook for Spirit of
Daytona Racing
*No. 99- *Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney for GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing

*GT Entries:
No. 03- *Guy Cosmo/Mike Hedlund/Johannes van Overbeek for Extreme Speed
Motorsports*
No. 17- *Claudio Burtin/Martin Ragginger for Burtin Racing*
No. 31- *Eric Curran/Boris Said for Marsh Racing*
No. 40- *Patrick Dempsey/Joe Foster for Dempsey Racing*
No. 41- *Charles Espenlaub/Charles Putman for Dempsey Racing*
No. 42- *Dane Cameron/Wayne Nonnamaker for Team Sahlen*
No. 43- *Joe Nonnamaker/Will Nonnamaker/Joe Sahlen for Team Sahlen*
No. 44- *Andy Lally/Patrick Long/John Potter for Magnus Racing*
No. 51- *Dr. Jim Norman/Dion von Moltke for APR Motorsport*
No. 52- *Marc Basseng/Frank Stippler for APR Motorsport*
No. 56- *Rui Aguas/Robert Kauffman for AF-Waltrip*
No. 57- *John Edwards/Robin Liddell for Stevenson Motorsports*
No. 59- *Andrew Davis/Leh Keen for Brumos Racing*
No. 61- *Madison Snow/Melanie Snow for Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports*
No. 64- *Eduardo Costabal/Santiago Orjuela/Eliseo Salazar for TRG*
No. 66- *Damien Faulkner/Ben Keating/Bryan Sellers for TRG*
No. 67- *Steven Bertheau/Wolf Henzler/Spencer Pumpelly for TRG*
No. 69- *Emil Assentato/Jeff Segal for AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari*
No. 70- *Jonathan Bomarito/Sylvain Tremblay for SpeedSource*
No. 73- *Eric Foss/Patrick Lindsey for Horton Autosport*
No. 75- *Matt Bell/Ronnie Bremer for Stevenson Motrosports*
No. 88- *Paul Edwards/Jordan Taylor for Autohaus Motorsports*
No. 94- *Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana for Turner Motorsport*
**
**Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know;
email us at **phil.allaway@frontstretch.com** with a promising lead or tip*.

~~~~~~~~~~

*Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
*Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and, if you're
lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column
answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts'
Shots will run on Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and
Answers!

*Today's Featured Commentary
Quick Shots for June 28, 2012
What's Vexing Vito
**by Vito Pugliese

*- Matt Kenseth sent shockwaves through the Sprint Cup Series this week
when it was revealed he would not be back with the No. 17 team in 2013.
Kenseth, the 2000 Rookie of The Year, 2003 Winston Cup Champion (the last
non-Chase champion), and two-time Daytona 500 winner will be racing
elsewhere for the first time since 1999 next year.

The popular notion has Kenseth headed to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2013 – no
word on if it is to replace Joey Logano in the No. 20 Home Depot machine,
or the long-rumored fourth team at JGR. With Matt McLaughlin's piece this
week touting the number of interviews, minutes of interviews, and mentions
during a race that other drivers who have accomplished less this season, is
it little wonder that Matt Kenseth talks a mile a minute like the Micro
Machines and FedEx guy in those ads from the 1980s? *Editor's Note: It was
John Moschitta, Jr. who was known for his fast talking. This
clip<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJfT8_RV7Lo3t=1m25s>shows
Moschitta guest starring on an episode of Garfield and Friends
*.

Kenseth's departure also echoes a couple of disturbing trends as of late.
First off, the last two Daytona 500 winners apparently are incapable of
attracting any sort of sponsorship. Trevor Bayne, probably the nicest,
cleanest cut and living driver in the garage area, has had blank quarter
panels for over a year and a half now in the Nationwide Series, and still
competes only sparingly in the Cup Series when the Wood Brothers have
funding from Ford and their Motorcraft brand. Kenseth won this year's
prime-time jet fire fueled Daytona 500, his second in three years, and is
leading the points – but can't land a sponsor.

Wasn't the whole point of Fenway Sports Group buying into Roush Racing to
help them secure sponsorship into the future and during this troubled and
challenging economic times? If it wasn't for Ford Motor Company and Jamie
Allison opening up the checkbook and bankrolling half of their cars, would
the lights be shut off in Livonia? Explain to me how winning the biggest
race in the world two years running nets you part-time sponsorship, one of
them from an electronics super store that is boarding up half of their
locations and teetering on the brink of Circuit City-dom.

If Roush Fenway isn't losing sponsorship, it's also losing drivers left and
right. Where else than besides the company that he carried on his
surgically fused back for nearly a decade, would Mark Martin be told they
didn't have use for him in a Cup car, after he made a mockery of the Truck
Series races in competed in part time in 2006? Johnny Benson, Jr. was
dismissed after just two years *Editor's Note: Then-Roush Racing and Benson
agreed to "mutually split" at the end of the 1999 season prior to the
infamous Goody's Headache Powders 500 at Bristol in August that year*. and
nearly shocked the world by nearly winning the 2000 Daytona 500 in a
Pontiac that might as well been unsponsored (it had an eleventh hour
sponsorship from Lycos, but it turned out that they failed to pay for their
sponsorship, putting the team in dire straits by mid-season).

Jeff Burton jumped ship halfway through 2004, went to RCR, and helped to
resurrect an organization and his own career in the process. Kenseth's
abrupt departure makes one wonder just how involved Roush remains in the
decisions of who stays, who goes, and what sponsorship opportunities are
being pursued or rejected. After Martin's unceremonious release in 2006,
Roush blamed himself for not being more aware or involved in the process.

Given his brushes with mortality the past few years, one can forgive the
Cat in The Hat if he has had his attention drawn elsewhere.

While Kenseth will surely land on his feet, and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is a
very capable and Cup-ready young driver, this is a move that goes beyond
the "economy sucks/racecars are expensive" argument. The foundation of
what was originally Roush Racing has all but crumbled or left the building.

Since Roush Racing became Roush Fenway Racing, it has been one misstep
after another, from losing its core and backbone, and losing over a year of
relevance running flawed simulation software in 2009-2010, the lone bright
spots have been Matt Kenseth's Daytona 500 triumphs, and Stenhouse, Jr.'s
2011 Nationwide championship. Sure Carl Edwards nearly won the 2011 Sprint
Cup, but he lost on a tie breaker to a guy in a Chevrolet, who won five
times as many races, and had a chunk of Kurt Busch's bell housing in his
radiator in the process.

While it's sack-cloth and ashes at Roush Fenway Racing, there is cause for
rejoicing and celebration for the Danimaniacs following her performance
this past weekend at Road America. Finally, for the first time in her
brief fendered career, she looked like a real stockcar driver. Not racecar
driver – stockcar driver.

She drove from tenth to second, and then took the lead for a couple of
corners…before she biffed it and nearly parked it in the gravel trap.
Danica was door to door with the best drivers in the past 25 years of road
racing, including Ron Fellows and Jacques Villeneuve, yielding to nobody,
making them earn it, and none of the "Panica" moments we've come to hear
over the radio sometimes on ovals. She was running a smart race,
preserving her equipment, exercising patience, and waiting for the end of
the race to use up what was left. Everything was going swimmingly until she
got Jacqued-up from behind.

Th

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