The Frontstretch Newsletter: August 11th, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 11th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLVIII

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Fronstretch at the Track: Phil Allaway will be live at Watkins Glen this weekend for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races. Stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter (@Critic84 and @TheFrontstretch) as well as the Breaking News box for all of the latest information coming out of this weekend's events. 

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First Sprint Cup Session Washed Out; Kurt Busch Fastest in Late Afternoon 
by Phil Allaway

Friday at the track was marked by rains that continued until a little after noon local time.  At that point, the sun came out and there were hopes that the track could be dried to allow the Sprint Cup cars on-track.  Unfortunately, the track could not be dried quick enough, forcing the opening practice to be cancelled.

However, the rains let up around two in the afternoon.  The Nationwide Series, which will race today rain or shine, went out for their one and only practice session on rain tires.  The cars on track, along with clearing skies and a good breeze allowed the track to dry itself.  After some additional work with jet dryers, NASCAR proclaimed the track ready to go.

In the practice session, the teams were quite a bit off the pace compared to last year.  Then, multiple teams were able to break into the 69-second bracket.  However, times around 71.5 seconds were more the norm.  Defending race winner Marcos Ambrose and last year's runner-up, Brad Keselowski, were the class of the field early on.

However, as the track continued to rubber in, different drivers come to the front of the field.  At the end of the session, it was Kurt Busch in the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet that was fastest with a time of 70.529 seconds (125.055 mph).  This is still three-quarters of a second slower than last year's pole.  Ryan Newman was second quickest, followed by Keselowski in third.  Five-time Watkins Glen winner Tony Stewart was fourth, while four-time winner Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-5.

The session was not without incident, though.  Patrick Long, who is making his Sprint Cup debut for Inception Motorsports this weekend, had an engine failure entering the Esses.  The fluids from his Toyota shot him into the Armco barrier in Turn 2.  Long was ok, but the fluids caught Denny Hamlin out.  Hamlin lost it in Long's oil and spun into the wall as well.  Jeff Burton then piled into the back of Hamlin.

All three drivers were uninjured and all three teams went to backup cars.  Long's Inception Motorsports team did not have a backup car on hand, so they had to borrow one from Humphrey-Smith Racing.

NASCAR announced late Friday that an additional practice session will be added for Sprint Cup teams.  That will be held Saturday morning from 8:00-9:25am.  This is not due to the first session getting wiped out on Friday, but due to what little rubber that got laid down during the session getting washed away by a thunderstorm that pushed through the area a couple of hours after on-track activity finished up.  The session will not be televised.

Have news for 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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Brad Keselowski Paces Nationwide Practice with Changeable Conditions
by Phil Allaway

In the Nationwide Series, the start of practice saw drivers on their tiptoes around the very slippery 2.45 mile circuit.  Since this was the only scheduled practice session for the series, NASCAR made an edict that all teams had to set a time in the session in order to be classified for qualifying order.  The  sanctioning body does have the option to disallow teams from qualifying if they don't practice.  However, this did not come into play.

Carl Edwards, making his return to the Nationwide Series in a second car for Roush Fenway Racing this weekend, was the first driver on track.  He did one lap around the circuit at an average of 79.275 mph and then brought it in, having done the minimum required.  He did go back out later on, but failed to complete a timed lap.  This was good enough for 46th quickest.

Despite the slippery track conditions, there were no spins or crashes during the practice session.  This was a testament to careful maneuvering on track and general cautiousness.

Drivers like Tim Connolly and J.J. Yeley topped the charts early on, but those laps were at only 106 mph.  Eventually, the track finally dried out and allowed teams to switch to regular, or "slick" tires.  When that happened, the speeds escalated quite a bit.

By the end of practice, Keselowski had set the fastest lap with a time of 74.588 seconds (118.250 mph).  This is still three seconds off the pole speed from last year, but a full nine seconds faster than Yeley and Connolly's laps.

Kyle Busch was second quickest, but he paid the price.  With a few minutes remaining in the session, the engine blew on the Monster Energy Toyota exiting the Inner Loop.  Kyle will have to start today's Zippo 200 at the rear of the field, regardless of where he qualifies.  Ryan Truex was third fastest, followed by Justin Allgaier and Brian Scott.

Of those who have to qualify on speed, Ryan Truex in third was the fastest of the group with a lap of 75.140 seconds (117.381 mph).  Ron Fellows, driving the No. 5 Canadian Tire Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, was second fastest of the go-or-go-homers (seventh overall) with a lap of 75.548 seconds (116.747 mph).  Joe Nemechek, driving a second entry for NEMCO Motorsports, was third fastest of the go-or-go-homers.  Those who need to pick up the pace for qualifying are Morgan Shepherd, Jeff Green, Josh Wise, Derek White, Matt DiBenedetto and Edwards.  These drivers were the six slowest that have to qualify on speed.  While Edwards' only lap was right at the beginning of the session, the others turned in their laps later on.

Nationwide Series Qualifying is scheduled for 9:35am this morning.  Coverage can be found on ESPN 2.

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Ricky Taylor Claims DP Pole for Continental Tire 200; Said on GT Pole
by Phil Allaway

Rolex Sports Car Series qualified Friday evening for their event, the Continental Tire 200 presented by Dunn's Tire, which is scheduled to run at 6:00pm this evening.  Despite doing all their practice in the wet, qualifying was bone dry, forcing teams to go to their notebooks for the proper setup.

As it turned out, those with the best notebook won out.  Ricky Taylor won the Daytona Prototype pole in his No. 10 SunTrust Racing Chevrolet Corvette DP with a lap of 66.039 seconds (133.557 mph).  This is his third pole in the last four races at Watkins Glen.  Antonio Garcia qualified second quickest with a lap of 66.192 seconds (133.249 mph) in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet Corvette DP.  Alex Popow in the No. 2 Starworks Motorsport Ford Riley Mk XX was third.

In the Grand Touring class, Boris Said won the pole (and tenth overall) with a lap of 72.674 seconds (121.364 mph) in his No. 31 Whelen-sponsored Chevrolet Corvette for Marsh Racing.  His margin was nearly seven-tenths of a second over John Edwards in the No. 57 Chevrolet Camaro GT.R for Stevenson Motorsports.  Eric Foss qualified the No. 73 Horton Autosport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in a season-best third in class.

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News Bites
by Phil Allaway

- NEMCO Motorsports announced on Friday that Rochester-based Genesee Brewing Co. will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 87 Sprint Cup car, via their Genny Light brand.  Genny Light's blue, silver and white colors are emblazoned on Nemechek's Toyota.

- As reported here in the Frontstretch Newsletter on Thursday morning, TriStar Motorsports officially announced that Alex Popow will be driving the No. 19 G-Oil Toyota normally driven by Tayler Malsam in today's Zippo 200.  Popow has also brought sponsorship to the team from Soloson Import, a company that assembles products for vendors, mainly in the agriculture and motorcycle fields.

- Chris Cook is now listed as the driver of the No. 19 Toyota for Humphrey-Smith Racing, replacing Mike Bliss.  In addition, both the No. 19 of Cook and the No. 30 Inception Motorsports Toyota driven by Patrick Long have some sponsorship from Plinker Tactical, a company that makes .22 caliber magazines for Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 guns.  This likely helped to facilitate the deal for Inception Motorsports to use Humphrey-Smith Racing's backup car after Long crashed in practice.

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Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen Race Recap by Phil Allaway
-- Secret Star and Stat of the Race by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Monday on the Frontstretch:

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday afternoon's race from Watkins Glen.

Monday Morning Teardown by TBA
A website look at one of the big stories from Sunday's race from Pocono.

Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom brings back his weekly post-race commentary with all of the insight you need from a weekend of racing at Pocono.

Big Six: Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen by Amy Henderson
Looking for all you need to know leaving Sunday's event at Watkins Glen? Amy has your who, what, when, where, why and how from a weekend of racing.

Pace Laps: Watkins Glen Weekend by the Frontstretch Staff
In our newest column this season, we'll take a look at the biggest stories to keep an eye on in each series after a weekend at Watkins Glen.

Nationwide Breakdown: Zippo 200 at the Glen by Bryan Davis Keith
All the post-race analysis you need following Saturday afternoon's Nationwide Series race from Watkins Glen.

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