THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 16th, 2012
Volume V, Edition CXXXIII
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 16th, 2012
Volume V, Edition CXXXIII
~~~~~~~~~~~
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kahne Avoids Pit Road Pitfalls to Win in New Hampshire
by Jeff Wolfe
Kasey Kahne didn't have to do anything spectacular on the way to victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday.
He and his team just didn't make any big mistakes. And sometimes, that can be enough; for on a day where Kahne was not the fastest car, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy wound up the winning one.
Kahne took the lead for good on the final restart and then outlasted a hard-charging Denny Hamlin to win his second Sprint Cup Series race of the season and 14th of his career. Kahne led the final 66 laps after coming out of the pits first after the third and final caution on lap 236 of the 301-lap race.
"We ran in [the] top six most of the day and Denny obviously had the best car," said Kahne. "We just had to battle hard the whole race. We got track position and we were able to lead those final laps."
Hamlin had dominated much of the race, leading 150 circuits. However, on the final stop, he had a miscommunication with crew chief Darian Grubb, who thought Hamlin wanted four tires. So, when the rest of the leaders each took two tires on the final stop, that pushed Hamlin from first to 13th with 62 laps remaining when the green flag dropped.
"It was just a miscommunication," Hamlin said. "I told Darian all I needed was tires and that was it. He took it that I needed four tires. We still had a shot at the end, but didn't quite have enough for the win. Its the best car I've had here. We'll get the one here that counts and that's in September."
Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, made his pit stop call count Sunday, going with the two tires on the final stop. That got Kahne the ever-so-precious track position and clean air at the front the pack that can make a big difference on how the cars handle at the 1-mile oval.
After Kahne held off Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle early in that final run, it was just a matter of Hamlin passing enough cars fast enough to reach Kahne. Hamlin, driving his No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, had worked his way up to second with 22 laps remaining, but still was about three seconds behind Kahne. And while he gained about a one-tenth of a second on each lap, he never got close enough to seriously challenge Kahne in the closing laps in front of an estimated crowd of 95,000.
"I was definitely focused on the lap cars and how I could clear them quickly," Kahne said. "I had lost a ton of forward drive and Denny was coming on four (tires). I was paying attention to where he was, but felt pretty good about the lead we had."
Two contenders who didn't feel good about that last caution were Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. They each came onto pit road under green on lap 232 for what would be their final pit stops. But the caution came out on lap 235 when the engine let go on the No. 10 car of David Reutimann before any of the other leaders had pitted, leaving Johnson and Busch each a lap down. Johnson was the Lucky Dog, the first car one lap down, so he got his lap back, while Busch took the wave around to get back on the lead lap. However, their chances of victory were essentially over.
"I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that caution," said Johnson, who rallied to finish seventh. "There was a lot of speed in that car. There were Gibbs cars and the Hendrick cars today and at times, I was [the] fastest Hendrick car."
The fastest Gibbs car early in the race was Busch, who started on the pole. He led the first 66 laps and looked to be the car to beat early. But, his first pit stop proved disastrous. The crew appeared to have trouble getting the lug nuts on the right rear tire. That resulted in confusion for the jackman, when the NASCAR official pointed at the right rear. Fortunately, he didn't have to put the jack down again and went back to the left side. Then, when Busch left the pits, he was caught speeding on pit road. That put him in 22nd-place after the pit stops cycled through.
Busch, who finished 16th, also hurt himself on that final pit stop, when his car slid just over the edge of the his pit box line, adding about four seconds to the pit stop as the crew had to push the car back.
After Kahne and Hamlin, the rest of the top-10 were Bowyer in third, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman.
Keselowski had an impressive day after starting 22nd and making 74 green flag passes, the most of any driver on the day.
"I passed a lot of cars today," Keselowski said. "With a little more track position at the end, we could have been second or third."
Kahne, now though, feels good about his team with seven races left in the regular season and the two wins helping his chances in to reach the Chase for the Championship, the final ten races of the season.
"We've feel like we've been pretty tough all year, we just haven't finished them off all the time," Kahne said. From here on out, we just have to stay after it. We can't wait for some of these other tracks coming up."
Hamlin feels like his team is ready to contend for a title as well.
"If we're not wrecking, we're in contention to win every week," he said. "That's all I can ask of this team. I'm very pleased with where we are at right now."
The Sprint Cup series will have next weekend off, then returns to action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 for the Crown Royal's Your Hero's Name Here 400 (Editor's Note: The hero has yet to be announced). Coverage will begin at 12:00pm with NASCAR Countdown and race coverage will begin at 1:00pm on ESPN.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chase: Second Win Puts Kahne in Prime Chase Position
by Jeff Wolfe
Kasey Kahne's second victory of the season put him in prime position to make the Chase for Championship, NASCAR's version of the playoffs, the final 10 races of the season.
Kahne won at New Hampshire Sunday and is now 12th in the Sprint Cup points standings. While the top-10 in points are guaranteed a place in the Chase, the next two drivers with the most wins inside the top-20 in points will qualify with a wild card position. Kahne is the only driver not in the top-10 with two wins this season. It represents quite a rally for the No. 5 team, which had a string of bad luck early in the season and was 27th in points after the first five races.
"I'd say I felt really confident coming into the season, jumping into such a fast racecar," said Kahne, who has been hampered by four DNFs this year. "But, I also knew, myself and (crew chief) Kenny (Francis) talked last year, that it's not going to be easy. We still have to figure out how to go fast. We just have a lot of good people to work with now."
Kahne is two points ahead of the other current wild card qualifier Kyle Busch, who has one win this season and finished 16th Sunday. The odds of either Kahne or Busch reaching the top-10 are getting longer, as Kahne is 66 points behind 10th-place Brad Keselowski.
Other drivers not in the top-10 in points with a win are Ryan Newman, who is nine points behind Busch and Joey Logano, 12 points behind Busch. Other drivers who could become a factor in the Chase if they get a first win include Carl Edwards, who is 11th in points, 46 behind Keselowski; Paul Menard, who is 15th points, 11 behind Busch; and Jeff Gordon who is 17th in points, 21 behind Busch.
The biggest gainer inside the top-10 in points was Denny Hamlin, who jumped from seventh to fifth with his second-place finish Sunday. Tony Stewart, who was 12th, dropped from fifth to seventh. There are just 15 points between the fifth and 10th spots.
However, Stewart and Keselowski have the edge for the start of the Chase. Even though Matt Kenseth is in the points lead, Stewart and Keselowski are the only drivers with three wins. The standings at the start of the Chase will be reset based on victories for drivers in the top-10.
There are now seven races remaining in NASCAR's regular season. The final regular season race is at Richmond Sept. 8.
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Standings: 1) Matt Kenseth 707, 2) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -16, 3) Greg Biffle -40, 4) Jimmie Johnson -51, 5) Denny Hamlin -79, 6) Kevin Harvick -85, 7) Tony Stewart -89, 8) Martin Truex, Jr. -90, 9) Clint Bowyer -93, 10) Brad Keselowski -94.
Wild Cards: Kasey Kahne 12th in points, 2 wins; Kyle Busch 13th in points, 1 win.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma).
Tracking the Top 35: Margin Between 35th and 36th Shrinks Slightly, but Still Huge
While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for the top-35 in the owners points standings each week, those close, or the one on, the 35th-place bubble still have a big cushion to rely on. The gap between the 35th-place car and the 36th-place car did shrink slightly Sunday; however, there is still a 78-point gap. The No. 36 car driven by Dave Blaney sits in the 35th spot and the No. 33 car driven by Stephen Leicht is in 36th. Blaney finished 39th Sunday while Leicht, whose team ran the whole race, was 32nd.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff.
29) BK Racing (No. 93 – Travis Kvapil), 154 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 152 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 141 points ahead of 36th.
32) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 110 points ahead of 36th.
33) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 103 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), 97 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 78 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing / LJ Racing (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht) 78 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 114 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – Dave Stremme), 123 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 126 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 143 points behind 35th.
41) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 150 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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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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Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
Admittedly, Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 did not contain many surprises. 11 of the top-12 starters in Sunday's race finished there. The sole exception to that rule was pole-sitter Kyle Busch, who finished 16th after a litany of problems. Hard charger Brad Keselowski, who finished fifth, took his place.
However, out of those drivers that had good runs on Sunday, the one that likely got the least coverage on TNT's broadcast was Brian Vickers in the No. 55 for Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers, who was carrying the colors of MyClassicGarage.com, was not mentioned all that much on the telecast. However, he was in position to earn a top-5 finish after staying on the lead lap all day. In the end, during the final segment handling problems caused Vickers' fade to 15th which, incidentally is where he started the race. Regardless, it's another good run for the No. 55 team, which seems determined to throw a wrench in the Chase proceedings. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 116.226. This number represents the average speed of Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301. It is not a record, but it is very close to being one (the track record average speed is a shade over 117 mph, set in July, 1997). However, unlike other races, this race was very similar to the last race at Loudon from 2011. Both races had only three cautions. However, while two of the yellows last fall were due to wrecks, no one spun out the whole race on Sunday. - Phil Allaway
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by Jeff Wolfe
Kasey Kahne didn't have to do anything spectacular on the way to victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sunday.
He and his team just didn't make any big mistakes. And sometimes, that can be enough; for on a day where Kahne was not the fastest car, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy wound up the winning one.
Kahne took the lead for good on the final restart and then outlasted a hard-charging Denny Hamlin to win his second Sprint Cup Series race of the season and 14th of his career. Kahne led the final 66 laps after coming out of the pits first after the third and final caution on lap 236 of the 301-lap race.
"We ran in [the] top six most of the day and Denny obviously had the best car," said Kahne. "We just had to battle hard the whole race. We got track position and we were able to lead those final laps."
Hamlin had dominated much of the race, leading 150 circuits. However, on the final stop, he had a miscommunication with crew chief Darian Grubb, who thought Hamlin wanted four tires. So, when the rest of the leaders each took two tires on the final stop, that pushed Hamlin from first to 13th with 62 laps remaining when the green flag dropped.
"It was just a miscommunication," Hamlin said. "I told Darian all I needed was tires and that was it. He took it that I needed four tires. We still had a shot at the end, but didn't quite have enough for the win. Its the best car I've had here. We'll get the one here that counts and that's in September."
Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, made his pit stop call count Sunday, going with the two tires on the final stop. That got Kahne the ever-so-precious track position and clean air at the front the pack that can make a big difference on how the cars handle at the 1-mile oval.
After Kahne held off Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle early in that final run, it was just a matter of Hamlin passing enough cars fast enough to reach Kahne. Hamlin, driving his No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, had worked his way up to second with 22 laps remaining, but still was about three seconds behind Kahne. And while he gained about a one-tenth of a second on each lap, he never got close enough to seriously challenge Kahne in the closing laps in front of an estimated crowd of 95,000.
"I was definitely focused on the lap cars and how I could clear them quickly," Kahne said. "I had lost a ton of forward drive and Denny was coming on four (tires). I was paying attention to where he was, but felt pretty good about the lead we had."
Two contenders who didn't feel good about that last caution were Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. They each came onto pit road under green on lap 232 for what would be their final pit stops. But the caution came out on lap 235 when the engine let go on the No. 10 car of David Reutimann before any of the other leaders had pitted, leaving Johnson and Busch each a lap down. Johnson was the Lucky Dog, the first car one lap down, so he got his lap back, while Busch took the wave around to get back on the lead lap. However, their chances of victory were essentially over.
"I'm going to keep my mouth shut on that caution," said Johnson, who rallied to finish seventh. "There was a lot of speed in that car. There were Gibbs cars and the Hendrick cars today and at times, I was [the] fastest Hendrick car."
The fastest Gibbs car early in the race was Busch, who started on the pole. He led the first 66 laps and looked to be the car to beat early. But, his first pit stop proved disastrous. The crew appeared to have trouble getting the lug nuts on the right rear tire. That resulted in confusion for the jackman, when the NASCAR official pointed at the right rear. Fortunately, he didn't have to put the jack down again and went back to the left side. Then, when Busch left the pits, he was caught speeding on pit road. That put him in 22nd-place after the pit stops cycled through.
Busch, who finished 16th, also hurt himself on that final pit stop, when his car slid just over the edge of the his pit box line, adding about four seconds to the pit stop as the crew had to push the car back.
After Kahne and Hamlin, the rest of the top-10 were Bowyer in third, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman.
Keselowski had an impressive day after starting 22nd and making 74 green flag passes, the most of any driver on the day.
"I passed a lot of cars today," Keselowski said. "With a little more track position at the end, we could have been second or third."
Kahne, now though, feels good about his team with seven races left in the regular season and the two wins helping his chances in to reach the Chase for the Championship, the final ten races of the season.
"We've feel like we've been pretty tough all year, we just haven't finished them off all the time," Kahne said. From here on out, we just have to stay after it. We can't wait for some of these other tracks coming up."
Hamlin feels like his team is ready to contend for a title as well.
"If we're not wrecking, we're in contention to win every week," he said. "That's all I can ask of this team. I'm very pleased with where we are at right now."
The Sprint Cup series will have next weekend off, then returns to action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29 for the Crown Royal's Your Hero's Name Here 400 (Editor's Note: The hero has yet to be announced). Coverage will begin at 12:00pm with NASCAR Countdown and race coverage will begin at 1:00pm on ESPN.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
Tracking The Chase: Second Win Puts Kahne in Prime Chase Position
by Jeff Wolfe
Kasey Kahne's second victory of the season put him in prime position to make the Chase for Championship, NASCAR's version of the playoffs, the final 10 races of the season.
Kahne won at New Hampshire Sunday and is now 12th in the Sprint Cup points standings. While the top-10 in points are guaranteed a place in the Chase, the next two drivers with the most wins inside the top-20 in points will qualify with a wild card position. Kahne is the only driver not in the top-10 with two wins this season. It represents quite a rally for the No. 5 team, which had a string of bad luck early in the season and was 27th in points after the first five races.
"I'd say I felt really confident coming into the season, jumping into such a fast racecar," said Kahne, who has been hampered by four DNFs this year. "But, I also knew, myself and (crew chief) Kenny (Francis) talked last year, that it's not going to be easy. We still have to figure out how to go fast. We just have a lot of good people to work with now."
Kahne is two points ahead of the other current wild card qualifier Kyle Busch, who has one win this season and finished 16th Sunday. The odds of either Kahne or Busch reaching the top-10 are getting longer, as Kahne is 66 points behind 10th-place Brad Keselowski.
Other drivers not in the top-10 in points with a win are Ryan Newman, who is nine points behind Busch and Joey Logano, 12 points behind Busch. Other drivers who could become a factor in the Chase if they get a first win include Carl Edwards, who is 11th in points, 46 behind Keselowski; Paul Menard, who is 15th points, 11 behind Busch; and Jeff Gordon who is 17th in points, 21 behind Busch.
The biggest gainer inside the top-10 in points was Denny Hamlin, who jumped from seventh to fifth with his second-place finish Sunday. Tony Stewart, who was 12th, dropped from fifth to seventh. There are just 15 points between the fifth and 10th spots.
However, Stewart and Keselowski have the edge for the start of the Chase. Even though Matt Kenseth is in the points lead, Stewart and Keselowski are the only drivers with three wins. The standings at the start of the Chase will be reset based on victories for drivers in the top-10.
There are now seven races remaining in NASCAR's regular season. The final regular season race is at Richmond Sept. 8.
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Standings: 1) Matt Kenseth 707, 2) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -16, 3) Greg Biffle -40, 4) Jimmie Johnson -51, 5) Denny Hamlin -79, 6) Kevin Harvick -85, 7) Tony Stewart -89, 8) Martin Truex, Jr. -90, 9) Clint Bowyer -93, 10) Brad Keselowski -94.
Wild Cards: Kasey Kahne 12th in points, 2 wins; Kyle Busch 13th in points, 1 win.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma).
Tracking the Top 35: Margin Between 35th and 36th Shrinks Slightly, but Still Huge
While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for the top-35 in the owners points standings each week, those close, or the one on, the 35th-place bubble still have a big cushion to rely on. The gap between the 35th-place car and the 36th-place car did shrink slightly Sunday; however, there is still a 78-point gap. The No. 36 car driven by Dave Blaney sits in the 35th spot and the No. 33 car driven by Stephen Leicht is in 36th. Blaney finished 39th Sunday while Leicht, whose team ran the whole race, was 32nd.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff.
29) BK Racing (No. 93 – Travis Kvapil), 154 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 152 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 141 points ahead of 36th.
32) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 110 points ahead of 36th.
33) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 103 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), 97 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 78 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing / LJ Racing (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht) 78 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 114 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – Dave Stremme), 123 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 - J.J. Yeley), 126 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 143 points behind 35th.
41) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 150 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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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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Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
Admittedly, Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 did not contain many surprises. 11 of the top-12 starters in Sunday's race finished there. The sole exception to that rule was pole-sitter Kyle Busch, who finished 16th after a litany of problems. Hard charger Brad Keselowski, who finished fifth, took his place.
However, out of those drivers that had good runs on Sunday, the one that likely got the least coverage on TNT's broadcast was Brian Vickers in the No. 55 for Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers, who was carrying the colors of MyClassicGarage.com, was not mentioned all that much on the telecast. However, he was in position to earn a top-5 finish after staying on the lead lap all day. In the end, during the final segment handling problems caused Vickers' fade to 15th which, incidentally is where he started the race. Regardless, it's another good run for the No. 55 team, which seems determined to throw a wrench in the Chase proceedings. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 116.226. This number represents the average speed of Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301. It is not a record, but it is very close to being one (the track record average speed is a shade over 117 mph, set in July, 1997). However, unlike other races, this race was very similar to the last race at Loudon from 2011. Both races had only three cautions. However, while two of the yellows last fall were due to wrecks, no one spun out the whole race on Sunday. - Phil Allaway
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: New Hampshire-1 Race Recap
by Matt McLaughlin
The Big Six: Questions Answered After The Lenox Industrial Tools 301
by Amy Henderson
Pace Laps: Off Week Strategies, A Blonde Moment And Bowman Breaks Out
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Tom Bowles
All That's Come and Gone: NASCAR 15 Years Later
by Matt Stallknecht
Tracking the Trucks: American Ethanol 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
All That's Come and Gone: NASCAR 15 Years Later
by Matt Stallknecht
Tracking the Trucks: American Ethanol 200
by Beth Lunkenheimer
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: This weekend is the Izod IndyCar Series' annual trek to Edmonton to race at City Centre Airport. However, two years ago, the race turned into the poster child for former Race Director Brian Barnhart's unusual rules. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In the 1998 Jiffy Lube 300, Jeff Burton had a relatively easy time of it, leading 191 laps on his way to his second consecutive win at Loudon. Meanwhile, a number of drivers got involved in a big crash on Lap 35. What happened?
A: For lack of better words, we had a big 'ol wreck. Geoff Bodine briefly got out of the groove in Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Andy Hillenburg (yes, the present owner of Rockingham), driving the No. 91 for LJ Racing, to attempt a move to the inside. Hillenburg got into Bodine's left rear exiting Turn 4 and spun out the No. 7 in front of a number of drivers. Hut Stricklin spun Lake Speed out from behind, then went head-on into the wall. Steve Grissom hit Stricklin, resulting in the Kodiak Chevrolet bursting into flames. Joe Nemechek and Jimmy Spencer were also involved. The crash can be seen at the 7:20 mark of this clip (turn your speakers up). Eli Gold, Dick Berggren and Buddy Baker have the call for TNN.
Grissom, Stricklin and Speed were all eliminated from the race on the spot. Bodine went behind the wall for repairs, but came back out and completed 184 laps before retiring in 37th. Nemechek also continued after repairs behind the wall. Spencer was the only one of the six in the crash to continue without spending time off track. He ended up finishing 25th, two laps down. For Speed, this turned out to be his final Winston Cup start. In the incident, he aggravated an injury that he suffered a few weeks earlier in a practice session at Sears Point (in that race, Butch Gilliland drove in Speed's place). The 50-year-old Speed chose at that point to walk away. Jerry Nadeau, who ended up getting fired out of the Elliott-Marino Racing No. 13 after this race, took his place.
Q: This weekend is the Izod IndyCar Series' annual trek to Edmonton to race at City Centre Airport. However, two years ago, the race turned into the poster child for former Race Director Brian Barnhart's unusual rules. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In the 1998 Jiffy Lube 300, Jeff Burton had a relatively easy time of it, leading 191 laps on his way to his second consecutive win at Loudon. Meanwhile, a number of drivers got involved in a big crash on Lap 35. What happened?
A: For lack of better words, we had a big 'ol wreck. Geoff Bodine briefly got out of the groove in Turns 3 and 4. This allowed Andy Hillenburg (yes, the present owner of Rockingham), driving the No. 91 for LJ Racing, to attempt a move to the inside. Hillenburg got into Bodine's left rear exiting Turn 4 and spun out the No. 7 in front of a number of drivers. Hut Stricklin spun Lake Speed out from behind, then went head-on into the wall. Steve Grissom hit Stricklin, resulting in the Kodiak Chevrolet bursting into flames. Joe Nemechek and Jimmy Spencer were also involved. The crash can be seen at the 7:20 mark of this clip (turn your speakers up). Eli Gold, Dick Berggren and Buddy Baker have the call for TNN.
Grissom, Stricklin and Speed were all eliminated from the race on the spot. Bodine went behind the wall for repairs, but came back out and completed 184 laps before retiring in 37th. Nemechek also continued after repairs behind the wall. Spencer was the only one of the six in the crash to continue without spending time off track. He ended up finishing 25th, two laps down. For Speed, this turned out to be his final Winston Cup start. In the incident, he aggravated an injury that he suffered a few weeks earlier in a practice session at Sears Point (in that race, Butch Gilliland drove in Speed's place). The 50-year-old Speed chose at that point to walk away. Jerry Nadeau, who ended up getting fired out of the Elliott-Marino Racing No. 13 after this race, took his place.
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:
5 Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan brings you a series of storylines setting you up for the off-week.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in NASCAR Presented by StarCoach Race Tours: Loudon-Off Week 2 Edition by Brett Poirier
We're just past the halfway point of the season now. While here, Brett looks at what positive trends are developing in NASCAR's two top series and which drivers will get a well-needed breather heading into the final off-week of the season (for the Sprint Cup Series, at least).
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
After a one week hiatus, our TV Critic returns to take a look at the Sprint Cup and Nationwide races from New Hampshire Motor Speedway, along with the Camping World Truck Series' American Ethanol 200 from Iowa Speedway. Were these telecasts up to snuff? We'll find out.
Tech Talk by Mike Neff
We'll have a special Cup Series guest stop by to discuss the technical aspects of our sport.
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