The Frontstretch Newsletter: August 21st, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 21st, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXVI

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Top News
by Tom Bowles

Shane Wilson Ousted As Crew Chief For Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick will head to a new Bristol armed with a new head wrench. Shane Wilson, after just 23 races as Harvick's crew chief was reassigned Monday, replaced by Gil Martin with less than a month until the postseason. Wilson, who ran Clint Bowyer's team at RCR for the past two seasons had struggled with the No. 29 car, particularly over the summer months as Harvick openly complained about a lack of speed. With the driver 16th at Michigan, he's now gone ten races without a top-5 finish and is using an early-season cushion to hold onto his 8th-place point standing in the Chase.

In an interview with FOXSports.com, who broke the story Martin explained the move is designed to boost morale and shake up chemistry with the team still seemingly eligible to win a championship.

"We're just trying to turn things around to make sure we get in the Chase, then be competitive once we get in," Martin told FOXSports.com. "It's not a question of us knowing each other's history, we've worked together before."

Martin, in an ironic twist was indeed Harvick's crew chief, from 2009 to 2011 before Harvick reportedly asked for changes in a closed-door meeting with Richard Childress at Phoenix last November. Now, the configuration returns although the team is insisting the arrangement is on a week-to-week basis, leaving the door open for Wilson to return at some point.

Harvick sits 44 points ahead of 11th-place Kasey Kahne with three regular season races remaining. He can clinch a Chase bid by averaging a 10th-place finish.

Martin's Pit Road Crash Under Scrutiny By NASCAR

Mark Martin's near-tragic accident is getting a closer look this Tuesday by NASCAR Safety officials. NASCAR Vice President Robin Pemberton informed several media outlets Monday the organization will use aerial photos to study the incident, speak with Martin's team about the construction of the car, interview witnesses and more as part of a comprehensive review. Martin's No. 55 was nearly torn in half, just behind the driver's compartment after a scary wreck where the car slammed into a sharp angle on the pit road wall, an opening where cars routinely exit and enter the garage area.

Michigan International Speedway also released a statement acknowledging the potential to redesign their pit road for future events.

"The safety of the drivers is paramount," the Speedway informed the Associated Press and other major media outlets. "So we will seek NASCAR's opinion and work with them on any recommendations they may have on how we can improve any part of the competition area - that includes pit road, pit wall, the track, anything competition-related."

NASCAR Going Spanish

NASCAR broadcasting is reaching a new audience as part of the series' push to go global. FOX Deportes announced Monday they've reached a deal to broadcast 15 NASCAR races over their airwaves, including next February's Daytona 500. That will be the first time in the 54-year history of the race the event has been telecast by a Spanish-only network. A total of six live Sprint Cup races are on the Deportes schedule, while the others will be put on tape delay. The telecasts will combine with original NASCAR programming and features on the No. 1 Latino Sports Network in order to bring stock car racing to a wider audience.

FOX Sports is currently in negotiations to extend the American portion of their television contract with NASCAR; that deal is set to expire at the end of the 2014 season.

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
When Fate...er...Idiots Steal Your Glory: Danica Patrick and Me
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

Look, things like this aren't supposed to happen.  I was going to get home, feed the cats, check all the dishes, laundry, messages then climb into the truck and we'd be off.  I was not supposed to be sitting on the side of the highway five miles from home staring at a smoking heap of rubber that looked like it just came off Kurt Busch's car.  The track -- Bristol, baby! -- was the whole point of hooking up the trailer, not so we could blow a tire minutes from the house.

Find a solid object, apply head, cry a little on the inside, say a few unsavory words then get out the wrench, jack, compressor and generator.  We move on.  Right?  There's nobody to point a finger at here.  We checked the pressure, the lugs and looked at the wheel before we rolled out of the neighborhood.  There was, however, that segment of pavement in downtown undergoing construction.  Heavy sigh.

Yes, writing from somewhere on I-81 in Virginia, the destroyed piece of rubber is riding very comfortably in the truck bed and we are only slightly behind schedule.  There is also rain blocking our view of the truck in front of us.  We simply keep plugging, adjusting as things happen, but life moves along.

So does the No. 7 GoDaddy machine.  Now, before everybody gets out their shoes and throws them at me, I've been very good this year.  I really thought on Saturday I'd be writing a different kind of column today -- the one where Danica Patrick finally won a race fair and square using a good machine and some savvy driving skills.  But, no.  That did not happen.

Instead, my weekly Danica stat looks like this:

Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat
Montreal: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 4th
Led: 20 laps
Finished: 27th (running, six laps down)
Points Position: 11th

It could have been worse.  After nailing a shoe flung by an observer onto the track, the GoDaddy machine's rear end started sliding around.  From first to the garage area, Patrick's potential win suffered the ignominy of not just a cruel twist of fate, but malicious interference.  Danica and her team should not just "get over" the existence of the object that ruined their day.  (I have a hard time understanding how a shoe made out of plastic and rubber can gut the underpinnings of a car, but here we are.)  Unlike me and my moment of utter devastation, there is somebody at fault for the loss of the race.

At the beginning of the season, I offered up the opportunity for NASCAR's golden girl to prove herself without comment.  As in any sport, performance always trumps public image.  Many fans gathered together declaring Danica's either perfect or flawed records, as they saw fit to interpret her on-track performance to date.  I would wait for the podium finishes and points positions to tell the story.  Still, I left Patrick to do what she would and hoped for the best.  I always do wish for great things where new drivers are concerned.

The positive results were starting to happen over the summer.  She found her inner brute and instead of giving room to pushy drivers, she started to take.  Her fenders didn't look so clean and I was beginning to believe.  A win could happen.  She might be truly ready to leap up to the Cup level and not get eaten by the sharks.

But you know, when idiots decide to take the future of our sport away from the drivers and place it in their hands, NASCAR has nearly lost the battle.  Or perhaps it has.

Yet, even though the GoDaddy team stumbled -- or rather tripped -- they did not give up.  They fixed the broken rear axle, got back out on the track and finished the race much closer to the front than I thought possible.  I didn't witness any stomping of feet or outright tantrums.  ESPN aired the moment of frustration and disbelief and then the team did get over it.

We move on. 

Why?  For there is another race, this weekend, in Bristol.  Where hope tells us that the re-engineering of the track again will result in a week of beatin', bangin', rip-roaring fun worthy of a follow-up column. Perhaps there might even be a win for a driver whose moment was stolen by a creature who should be so lucky as to be run over by a 3,000 lb. stockcar.

I certainly hope so.

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: Pure Michigan 400
by Garrett Horton

3
In three of the last four races, Jimmie Johnson has been the race leader with under ten laps to go, but has only managed to win once, which was at Indy.  He lost the lead in the rain-shortened Pocono event on lap 90 of 98 when a flat tire caused him to spin on the final restart, then blew an engine as the race leader on Sunday with just under six laps left.

4
Greg Biffle returned to a familiar spot Sunday, reclaiming the points lead after being atop the standings for 11 weeks earlier in the year.  The lead change marked the fourth time in the last five races we have had a different points leader, with Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Matt Kenseth taking turns.

6.3
The average final points position of the August Michigan winner for the last six years, none of which went on to win the championship.  In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1998 when a winner of the second Michigan event went on to win the title in the same year -- that's when Jeff Gordon accomplished the feat.

18
With his victory on Sunday, points leader Greg Biffle moved into a tie for 42nd on the all-time wins list with 18, joining Geoff Bodine, Harry Gant, Neil Bonnett, and Kevin Harvick.

29th
Regan Smith's finishing position at Michigan.  Smith was coming off of back-to-back ninth-place finishes at Pocono and Watkins Glen, the first time in his six-year career he had posted consecutive top-10 results.

54
Pole-sitter Mark Martin led 54 laps at Michigan before getting involved in a crash on lap 64.  It was the most laps he has led in a race in nearly three years; he led 68 laps en route to his most recent Cup victory, coming at Loudon in the Fall of 2009.

217
Over the last six races, Ryan Newman has scored 217 points, behind only Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne.  Newman, who currently holds the second "wild card" spot in the Chase, had gone without a top-10 performance in the 11 races before that.

236
A sour motor prevented Tony Stewart from maintaining minimum race speed on Sunday, and as a result was credited with a DNF due to engine failure.  This result marks the first time in 236 races that Stewart has had an engine failure.  You have to go all the way back to the second race in 2006, at Fontana where Smoke finished dead last after leading 28 laps.

Garrett Horton is a Contributor to Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @Garrett_Horton.

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Five Points to Ponder: Imaginary Feuds, Keselowski's Accusations, and Villainizing Villeneuve
by Bryan Davis Keith

Who's Hot/ Who's Not in NASCAR: Michigan/ Bristol Edition
by Brett Poirier

Tech Talk with Paul Wolfe - Going Into Old, Familiar Bristol...Blind
by Mike Neff

Call of the Wild: Who Will Get The Two Coveted Chase Spots?
by Danny Peters

SPEED's Action Is Tops, While ESPN Needs To Expand Coverage
by Phil Allaway
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  The 1995 Goody's 500 at Bristol is undoubtedly best known for Terry Labonte winning the race, but crashing just after the checkers after contact from Dale Earnhardt.  However, Bill Elliott had a wild crash on Lap 203 that took him out of any real contention.  What happened?
 
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Friday's Answer:

Q:  The 1993 Bud 500 at Bristol was won from the pole by Mark Martin, despite Rusty Wallace leading more than 80 percent of the race by himself.  However, the early portions of the race were marred by a big wreck in Turn 1.  What happened?

A:  What is a definite is that Bobby Hamilton, driving the No. 20 FINA Ford for Moroso Racing, spun out entering Turn 1 after contact from Sterling Marlin.  A giant oil slick was also laid down.  This caused Terry Labonte, Jimmy Spencer, Darrell Waltrip and Ken Schrader to all slide into the wall.  Spencer then ran over the left rear of Labonte's No. 14 and nearly rolled.  The crash can be seen at the 2:35 mark of this clip. 

Labonte and Hamilton were eliminated right on the spot.  Waltrip, Schrader, Marlin and Spencer all spent a substantial amount of time behind the wall for repairs, but they all eventually returned to the race.  Marlin finished best of the bunch in 23rd, 126 laps down.  Schrader was 24th, 146 laps down, while Spencer was 25th, 175 laps down.  Finally, Waltrip finished in 29th, 254 laps down.

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
-- Commentary Article by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- 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... how Kevin Harvick shot himself in the foot? Tom Bowles with that and a bunch of other small but important observations around the NASCAR circuit.

Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different topics. Among them: Whether Greg Biffle has a chance to win the championship, whether Mark Martin's freak accident on Sunday should lead to new regulations regarding walls on pit road, Turner Motorsports and whether they should move up to Sprint Cup, and more.

Kevin's Corner by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is back with another interesting commentary.

Frontstretch Top Ten by the Frontstretch Staff
We'll have a top ten list that will tickle your funny bone, guaranteed.

Open-Wheel Wednesday by the Frontstretch Staff
We'll have another round table discussion about the Izod IndyCar Series ahead of this weekend's GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Beyond The Cockpit: Patrick Long as told to Phil Allaway
Patrick Long is a very busy man.  He recently made his Sprint Cup debut at Watkins Glen, but events prior to the race made it impossible to compete.  Long took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to us.
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