THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 23rd, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXVIII
--
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Peters Goes Flag-to-Flag to Win UNOH 200
Timothy Peters took the lead from pole-sitter Cale Gale on the very first lap of the event and simply could not be touched. Peters led all 204 laps on his way to his second Camping World Truck Series victory of the season. Parker Kligerman finished second, creating a Red Horse Racing 1-2. Ross Chastain finished a career-best third.
This was the first time that a driver led every lap in a Camping World Truck Series race since Ron Hornaday pulled the feat off at the now-closed 7/16ths of a mile Louisville Motor Speedway in 1997. It was the second time that year Hornaday had gone flag-to-flag, having done the same at Bristol. For more, check out this week's edition of Truckin' Thursdays at Frontstretch.
Menard Penalized for Illegal Modifications
NASCAR impounded the No. 27 Menards Chevrolet for a random teardown at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina following Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International. During that teardown, NASCAR found that the frame rails had been manipulated. This is a no go.
Normally, when teams make unauthorized modifications on pieces that are laser-measured, the hammer will be dropped on that team and hard. On Wednesday, NASCAR announced big penalties for the No. 27.
Crew Chief Slugger Labbe has been fined $100,000, suspended through October 3 and placed on probation through the end of the year. As a result, Labbe will miss six races. Car Chief Craig Smokstad has also been suspended for the next six weeks and placed on probation through the end of the year. Crew member Grant Hutchens will also have to serve a six-race suspension and has been been placed on probation until the end of the year. Finally, Menard has been penalized 25 driver points, and owner Richard Childress has been penalized.
In their press release, NASCAR stated that the No. 27 team violated Sections 12-1 (Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing), and 12-4K of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Rule Book. Section 12-4K refers to equipment that has already been certified by NASCAR being modified illegally. In this case, the modification was done to the frame rails in an attempt to fool NASCAR's inspectors.
The penalty drops Menard from 15th to 16th in points, 77 points out of tenth. Team owner Richard Childress has already indicated that he plans to appeal the ruling. As a result, Labbe, Hutchens and Smokstad will likely all be in Bristol this weekend.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race: 47 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 10- Danica Patrick for Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing
No. 22- Sam Hornish, Jr. for Penske Racing
No. 49- Jason Leffler for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 91- Reed Sorenson for Humphrey-Smith Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 10- Danica Patrick returns to the seat, replacing David Reutimann.
No. 19- Mike Bliss returns to the seat, replacing Jason Leffler.
No. 32- Ken Schrader returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 55- Brian Vickers returns to the seat, replacing Mark Martin.
No. 98- Michael McDowell returns to the seat, replacing Mike Skinner.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing*
No. 26- Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports*
No. 30- David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 33- Stephen Leicht for LJ Racing
No. 37- J.J. Yeley for Front Row Motorsports/MaxQ Motorsports
No. 49- Jason Leffler for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 79- Kelly Bires for Go Green Racing*
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports*
No. 91- Reed Sorenson for Humphrey-Smith Racing*
No. 95- Scott Speed for Leavine Family Racing
No. 98- Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing
Not Entered:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
Nationwide Series Food City 250: 45 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18- Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 30- Nelson Piquet, Jr. for Turner Motorsports
No. 33- Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 38- Kasey Kahne for Turner Motorsports
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 50- David Starr for MAKE Motorsports
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 75- Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing
No. 99- John Wes Townley for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
Driver Changes:
No. 00- Blake Koch is in the seat, replacing Derek White (from Watkins Glen).
No. 08- Tim Andrews returns to the seat, replacing Louis-Phillipe Dumoulin.
No. 4- Danny Efland returns to the seat, replacing Daryl Harr.
No. 15- Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Chris Cook.
No. 18- Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Michael McDowell.
No. 22- Brad Keselowski returns to the seat, replacing Jacques Villeneuve.
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Dexter Stacey.
No. 24- Benny Gordon returns to the seat, replacing Derek White (from Montreal).
No. 30- Nelson Piquet, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Alex Tagliani.
No. 33- Kevin Harvick returns to the seat, replacing Brendan Gaughan.
No. 36- Ryan Blaney returns to the seat, replacing Bobby Santos, III.
No. 38- Kasey Kahne returns to the seat, replacing Brad Sweet.
No. 39- Josh Richards returns to the seat, replacing Tim Andrews.
No. 42- Josh Wise returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 50- David Starr is in the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 52- Joey Gase returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Ellis.
No. 60- Trevor Bayne returns to the seat, replacing Billy Johnson.
No. 70- Johanna Long returns to the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek.
No. 87- Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing Alex Kennedy.
No. 99- John Wes Townley returns to the seat, replacing Patrick Carpentier.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 00- Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports
No. 08- Tim Andrews for Randy Hill Racing
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 15- Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 36- Ryan Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 46- Chase Miller for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 47- Matt DiBenedetto for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 50- David Starr for MAKE Motorsports
No. 52- Joey Gase for Means Motorsports
No. 60- Trevor Bayne for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 71- Matt Carter for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 75- Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 86- Kevin Lepage for Deware Motorsports*
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Racing Ventures
Not Entered:
No. 26- John Young for Apex Racing
No. 27- Andrew Ranger for GC Motorsports International
No. 53- Eric Curran for NDS Motorsports
No. 59- Kyle Kelley for Kelley Motorsports
No. 75- Kenny Habul for SunEnergy1 Racing, LLC
Izod IndyCar Series GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma: 27 cars entered
Driver Changes:
No. 83- Charlie Kimball returns to the seat, replacing Giorgio Pantano.
Entries:
No. 2- Ryan Briscoe for Team Penske
No. 3- Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 4- J.R. Hildebrand for Panther Racing
No. 5- E.J. Viso for KV Racing Technologies
No. 6- Katherine Legge for Dragon Racing
No. 7- Sebastien Bourdais for Dragon Racing
No. 8- Rubens Barrichello for KV Racing Technologies
No. 9- Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10- Dario Franchitti for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 11- Tony Kanaan for KV Racing Technologies with SH Racing
No. 12- Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14- Mike Conway for AJ Foyt Enterprises
No. 15- Takuma Sato for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 17- Sebastian Saavedra for AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport
No. 18- Justin Wilson for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19- James Jakes for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 20- Ed Carpenter for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 22- Oriol Servia for Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
No. 26- Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27- James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport
No. 28- Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 38- Graham Rahal for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 67- Josef Newgarden for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 77- Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports
No. 78- Simona de Silvestro for Lotus-HVM Racing
No. 83- Charlie Kimball for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 98- Alex Tagliani for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
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
Vexing Vito: Harvick's Hard Bargain, Busch's Bad Moment And Tricks Of The Trade
by Vito Pugliese
The team and crew chief merry-go-round at RCR continues, with Shane Wilson out as Kevin Harvick's head wrench starting this Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Gil Martin will return to the role he held last year as Harvick's signal caller, before being reassigned as the Competition Director for their Nationwide programs. Harvick currently sits eighth in the standings with no wins, just 44 points ahead of 11th place with three races remaining. A bad finish at Bristol could put him in the precarious position of missing the Chase, with tenth-place Denny Hamlin and 11th-place Kasey Kahne both having victories. It also highlights the inability for RCR to put a team together for Harvick that either he or the crew chief can cope with.
In 2009, RCR swapped the teams and crew chief of Harvick's then-pit boss Todd Berrier with the Gil Martin-led team of Casey Mears. They did so despite having won two races earlier that season with Berrier, seemingly enjoying good chemistry with Harvick on a team that made the Chase. Then, in October of 2010 following the fall Martinsville race, Childress swapped the pit crews of Bowyer and Harvick mid-Chase, reacting after some pit road foul-ups had resurfaced. Harvick was just 62 points out at that stage, under the old points system that awarded a maximum of 195 points for winning. Bowyer had won the opening race of the playoffs that year at Loudon but was fined 150 points for a controversial post-race measurement that effectively ended his chances before they began.
So why is Kevin Harvick virtually impossible to keep a team together with? Could it be his ultra-critical comments and complete lack of leadership over the radio? While Harvick did win four races last year, and was the points leader for the regular season and first Chase race, he did go through a stretch from 2007-2010 where, if not for green-white-checker restrictor plate wreckfests, he'd have one non-plate track victory.
Four years with one legit non video-game finish win? Please, again, show me your primadonna credentials.
Harvick also leads the series in getting choke-slammed onto hoods (Carl Edwards in 2008), and was rumored to be virtually out the door after burning a number of bridges at RCR throughout the years in 2009. Harvick ended up remaining, merging his KHI Nationwide team with RCR this season to become even more dependent on the No. 29 ride. Weirdly enough, while the RCR Nationwide teams of Elliott Sadler and Childress' grandson Austin Dillon have flourished under the new environment the Cup program has struggled mightily. Part of the problem appears to follow the departure of Competition Director Scott Miller, the man who now heads up Michael Waltrip Racing -- one of the most consistent and competitive operations in 2012.
I feel sorry for Martin in a way. He had a good gig going working with the Nationwide teams who are on the verge of a championship and Rookie of The Year honors with Dillon. Instead, he gets to endure the abuse and berating of who might be the most miserable and unsupportive driver in all of NASCAR. Just because there is a tiny No. 3 on the driver's door doesn't mean you have the No. 3's pull there, Captain Combover...
--
Brad Keselowski made allusions to the Hendrick Motorsports cars running trick rear ends as the reason for their speed and dominance lately at intermediate-sized tracks following this past Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at MIS. Jimmie Johnson was leading handily with seven laps remaining before his engine promptly laid down and exploded with five laps left. Kasey Kahne, who was second rebounded after a lap 64 accident that saw him pile into Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Monotya, then spin down through the infield grass.
Three of the last four downforce wins have been HMS cars, with dominating performances from Kasey Kahne at Kansas, and Jimmie Johnson's outside lane pass on Keselowski to win the Brickyard 400.
"There's parts and pieces on the car that are moving after inspection that makes the cars more competitive," Keselowski said after the race. "Some guys have it, some don't. There's a question as to the interpretation of the rule. Penske Racing errs on the safe side because we don't want to be the guys that get the big penalty."
Its usually about this time of year that teams start rolling out the new pieces and evaluating what will work come Chase time, and the No. 48 team is no exception. It was October of last year where Chad Knaus instructed Johnson to crack up the back of the car had he won, and several years ago at Dover, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. remarked over the radio that the No. 48 looked like a monster truck from behind, courtesy of some trick shocks that were quickly made illegal once NASCAR inspected them.
I can see where Keselowski would be leery of bending the rules and having something turn up during inspection. After all, it was at Loudon last year when the No. 22 of Kurt Busch was late getting through tech and not on the grid until the engines fired. That triggered a caught on camera outburst to ESPN reporter Jamie Little, as well as an observed meltdown during driver introductions that many teams warned their drivers about prior to the green flag flying. Another blow up with Dr. Jerry Punch that was a YouTube sensation following the season finale at Homestead brought about Busch's dismissal from Penske Racing.
Probably best to play it on the safe side, and check with NASCAR first....avoid any potential ugly on-air incidents or 150-point/car-confiscating fines.
--
Should the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team and Kyle Busch miss The Chase this season, they can likely look at Michigan as the reason why. Busch skipped Saturday's Happy Hour to fly to Montreal to drive his No. 54 Monster Energy entry in the Nationwide race. The choice was described as a "business decision," with Busch needing to honor a sponsor commitment for his Kyle Busch Motorsports team. Once there, Busch drove to a lackluster 13th-place finish, disappointing considering he was the defending race champion. Now, he'll desperately needing a victory to secure a "wild card" spot in the Chase in three weeks.
After the race at MIS Sunday, Crew Chief Dave Rogers took the blame, saying he put the wrong shock package under the No. 18.
Perhaps if Busch was there to drive the car in final practice, they would have discovered this and put the right shock package under it. After all, Busch is one of the few drivers who is adept at chassis tuning and providing accurate mechanical input to the team. Besides, hasn't Busch proved enough in Nationwide by winning the most races in Series history? Hasn't it been the No. 18 team's failure to have a complete, solid, Championship-contending Chase that has always drawn his ire and negative comments?
I understand he's running his own operation and sometimes you have to do what the sponsor requests… but come on, a Nationwide race in Quebec? Is Monster the official energy drink of secession or something? Like you couldn't get Boris Said or another road race ace to man the controls for that weekend. I'm sure Rusty still has some trail-braking chops left in him, and would have gladly squeezed through the window hole.
Perhaps when committing to races for the year with Monster he was looking at the races on the schedule and was figuring which ones he could conceivably miss. If not for the last lap oil incident at Watkins Glen – or the three races in a row with failures of TRD supplied engines (which were brought in lieu of the JGR engine program for increased reliability…) – Busch would not be in the position that he's in now. Whatever the case, if you're a Cup driver, you're a Cup driver, and that should be your main focus.
Besides, after getting benched by M&M's for a race last year following the Truck Series wreck at Texas, I would be more concerned with their status than running the Nationwide car north of the border.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @VitoPugliese.
~~~~~~~~~~
COME JOIN THE FRONTSTRETCH FAMILY!
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 23rd, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXVIII
--
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Peters Goes Flag-to-Flag to Win UNOH 200
Timothy Peters took the lead from pole-sitter Cale Gale on the very first lap of the event and simply could not be touched. Peters led all 204 laps on his way to his second Camping World Truck Series victory of the season. Parker Kligerman finished second, creating a Red Horse Racing 1-2. Ross Chastain finished a career-best third.
This was the first time that a driver led every lap in a Camping World Truck Series race since Ron Hornaday pulled the feat off at the now-closed 7/16ths of a mile Louisville Motor Speedway in 1997. It was the second time that year Hornaday had gone flag-to-flag, having done the same at Bristol. For more, check out this week's edition of Truckin' Thursdays at Frontstretch.
Menard Penalized for Illegal Modifications
NASCAR impounded the No. 27 Menards Chevrolet for a random teardown at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina following Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International. During that teardown, NASCAR found that the frame rails had been manipulated. This is a no go.
Normally, when teams make unauthorized modifications on pieces that are laser-measured, the hammer will be dropped on that team and hard. On Wednesday, NASCAR announced big penalties for the No. 27.
Crew Chief Slugger Labbe has been fined $100,000, suspended through October 3 and placed on probation through the end of the year. As a result, Labbe will miss six races. Car Chief Craig Smokstad has also been suspended for the next six weeks and placed on probation through the end of the year. Crew member Grant Hutchens will also have to serve a six-race suspension and has been been placed on probation until the end of the year. Finally, Menard has been penalized 25 driver points, and owner Richard Childress has been penalized.
In their press release, NASCAR stated that the No. 27 team violated Sections 12-1 (Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing), and 12-4K of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Rule Book. Section 12-4K refers to equipment that has already been certified by NASCAR being modified illegally. In this case, the modification was done to the frame rails in an attempt to fool NASCAR's inspectors.
The penalty drops Menard from 15th to 16th in points, 77 points out of tenth. Team owner Richard Childress has already indicated that he plans to appeal the ruling. As a result, Labbe, Hutchens and Smokstad will likely all be in Bristol this weekend.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Irwin Tools Night Race: 47 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 10- Danica Patrick for Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing
No. 22- Sam Hornish, Jr. for Penske Racing
No. 49- Jason Leffler for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports
No. 91- Reed Sorenson for Humphrey-Smith Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 10- Danica Patrick returns to the seat, replacing David Reutimann.
No. 19- Mike Bliss returns to the seat, replacing Jason Leffler.
No. 32- Ken Schrader returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 55- Brian Vickers returns to the seat, replacing Mark Martin.
No. 98- Michael McDowell returns to the seat, replacing Mike Skinner.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing*
No. 26- Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports*
No. 30- David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 33- Stephen Leicht for LJ Racing
No. 37- J.J. Yeley for Front Row Motorsports/MaxQ Motorsports
No. 49- Jason Leffler for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 79- Kelly Bires for Go Green Racing*
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports*
No. 91- Reed Sorenson for Humphrey-Smith Racing*
No. 95- Scott Speed for Leavine Family Racing
No. 98- Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing
Not Entered:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
Nationwide Series Food City 250: 45 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18- Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 30- Nelson Piquet, Jr. for Turner Motorsports
No. 33- Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 38- Kasey Kahne for Turner Motorsports
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 50- David Starr for MAKE Motorsports
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 75- Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing
No. 99- John Wes Townley for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
Driver Changes:
No. 00- Blake Koch is in the seat, replacing Derek White (from Watkins Glen).
No. 08- Tim Andrews returns to the seat, replacing Louis-Phillipe Dumoulin.
No. 4- Danny Efland returns to the seat, replacing Daryl Harr.
No. 15- Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Chris Cook.
No. 18- Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Michael McDowell.
No. 22- Brad Keselowski returns to the seat, replacing Jacques Villeneuve.
No. 23- Robert Richardson, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Dexter Stacey.
No. 24- Benny Gordon returns to the seat, replacing Derek White (from Montreal).
No. 30- Nelson Piquet, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Alex Tagliani.
No. 33- Kevin Harvick returns to the seat, replacing Brendan Gaughan.
No. 36- Ryan Blaney returns to the seat, replacing Bobby Santos, III.
No. 38- Kasey Kahne returns to the seat, replacing Brad Sweet.
No. 39- Josh Richards returns to the seat, replacing Tim Andrews.
No. 42- Josh Wise returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 50- David Starr is in the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 52- Joey Gase returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Ellis.
No. 60- Trevor Bayne returns to the seat, replacing Billy Johnson.
No. 70- Johanna Long returns to the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek.
No. 87- Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing Alex Kennedy.
No. 99- John Wes Townley returns to the seat, replacing Patrick Carpentier.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 00- Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports
No. 08- Tim Andrews for Randy Hill Racing
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 15- Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 36- Ryan Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 46- Chase Miller for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 47- Matt DiBenedetto for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 50- David Starr for MAKE Motorsports
No. 52- Joey Gase for Means Motorsports
No. 60- Trevor Bayne for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 71- Matt Carter for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 75- Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 86- Kevin Lepage for Deware Motorsports*
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Racing Ventures
Not Entered:
No. 26- John Young for Apex Racing
No. 27- Andrew Ranger for GC Motorsports International
No. 53- Eric Curran for NDS Motorsports
No. 59- Kyle Kelley for Kelley Motorsports
No. 75- Kenny Habul for SunEnergy1 Racing, LLC
Izod IndyCar Series GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma: 27 cars entered
Driver Changes:
No. 83- Charlie Kimball returns to the seat, replacing Giorgio Pantano.
Entries:
No. 2- Ryan Briscoe for Team Penske
No. 3- Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 4- J.R. Hildebrand for Panther Racing
No. 5- E.J. Viso for KV Racing Technologies
No. 6- Katherine Legge for Dragon Racing
No. 7- Sebastien Bourdais for Dragon Racing
No. 8- Rubens Barrichello for KV Racing Technologies
No. 9- Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10- Dario Franchitti for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 11- Tony Kanaan for KV Racing Technologies with SH Racing
No. 12- Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14- Mike Conway for AJ Foyt Enterprises
No. 15- Takuma Sato for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 17- Sebastian Saavedra for AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport
No. 18- Justin Wilson for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19- James Jakes for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 20- Ed Carpenter for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 22- Oriol Servia for Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
No. 26- Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27- James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport
No. 28- Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 38- Graham Rahal for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 67- Josef Newgarden for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 77- Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt-Hamilton Motorsports
No. 78- Simona de Silvestro for Lotus-HVM Racing
No. 83- Charlie Kimball for Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 98- Alex Tagliani for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
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
Vexing Vito: Harvick's Hard Bargain, Busch's Bad Moment And Tricks Of The Trade
by Vito Pugliese
The team and crew chief merry-go-round at RCR continues, with Shane Wilson out as Kevin Harvick's head wrench starting this Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Gil Martin will return to the role he held last year as Harvick's signal caller, before being reassigned as the Competition Director for their Nationwide programs. Harvick currently sits eighth in the standings with no wins, just 44 points ahead of 11th place with three races remaining. A bad finish at Bristol could put him in the precarious position of missing the Chase, with tenth-place Denny Hamlin and 11th-place Kasey Kahne both having victories. It also highlights the inability for RCR to put a team together for Harvick that either he or the crew chief can cope with.
In 2009, RCR swapped the teams and crew chief of Harvick's then-pit boss Todd Berrier with the Gil Martin-led team of Casey Mears. They did so despite having won two races earlier that season with Berrier, seemingly enjoying good chemistry with Harvick on a team that made the Chase. Then, in October of 2010 following the fall Martinsville race, Childress swapped the pit crews of Bowyer and Harvick mid-Chase, reacting after some pit road foul-ups had resurfaced. Harvick was just 62 points out at that stage, under the old points system that awarded a maximum of 195 points for winning. Bowyer had won the opening race of the playoffs that year at Loudon but was fined 150 points for a controversial post-race measurement that effectively ended his chances before they began.
So why is Kevin Harvick virtually impossible to keep a team together with? Could it be his ultra-critical comments and complete lack of leadership over the radio? While Harvick did win four races last year, and was the points leader for the regular season and first Chase race, he did go through a stretch from 2007-2010 where, if not for green-white-checker restrictor plate wreckfests, he'd have one non-plate track victory.
Four years with one legit non video-game finish win? Please, again, show me your primadonna credentials.
Harvick also leads the series in getting choke-slammed onto hoods (Carl Edwards in 2008), and was rumored to be virtually out the door after burning a number of bridges at RCR throughout the years in 2009. Harvick ended up remaining, merging his KHI Nationwide team with RCR this season to become even more dependent on the No. 29 ride. Weirdly enough, while the RCR Nationwide teams of Elliott Sadler and Childress' grandson Austin Dillon have flourished under the new environment the Cup program has struggled mightily. Part of the problem appears to follow the departure of Competition Director Scott Miller, the man who now heads up Michael Waltrip Racing -- one of the most consistent and competitive operations in 2012.
I feel sorry for Martin in a way. He had a good gig going working with the Nationwide teams who are on the verge of a championship and Rookie of The Year honors with Dillon. Instead, he gets to endure the abuse and berating of who might be the most miserable and unsupportive driver in all of NASCAR. Just because there is a tiny No. 3 on the driver's door doesn't mean you have the No. 3's pull there, Captain Combover...
--
Brad Keselowski made allusions to the Hendrick Motorsports cars running trick rear ends as the reason for their speed and dominance lately at intermediate-sized tracks following this past Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at MIS. Jimmie Johnson was leading handily with seven laps remaining before his engine promptly laid down and exploded with five laps left. Kasey Kahne, who was second rebounded after a lap 64 accident that saw him pile into Mark Martin and Juan Pablo Monotya, then spin down through the infield grass.
Three of the last four downforce wins have been HMS cars, with dominating performances from Kasey Kahne at Kansas, and Jimmie Johnson's outside lane pass on Keselowski to win the Brickyard 400.
"There's parts and pieces on the car that are moving after inspection that makes the cars more competitive," Keselowski said after the race. "Some guys have it, some don't. There's a question as to the interpretation of the rule. Penske Racing errs on the safe side because we don't want to be the guys that get the big penalty."
Its usually about this time of year that teams start rolling out the new pieces and evaluating what will work come Chase time, and the No. 48 team is no exception. It was October of last year where Chad Knaus instructed Johnson to crack up the back of the car had he won, and several years ago at Dover, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. remarked over the radio that the No. 48 looked like a monster truck from behind, courtesy of some trick shocks that were quickly made illegal once NASCAR inspected them.
I can see where Keselowski would be leery of bending the rules and having something turn up during inspection. After all, it was at Loudon last year when the No. 22 of Kurt Busch was late getting through tech and not on the grid until the engines fired. That triggered a caught on camera outburst to ESPN reporter Jamie Little, as well as an observed meltdown during driver introductions that many teams warned their drivers about prior to the green flag flying. Another blow up with Dr. Jerry Punch that was a YouTube sensation following the season finale at Homestead brought about Busch's dismissal from Penske Racing.
Probably best to play it on the safe side, and check with NASCAR first....avoid any potential ugly on-air incidents or 150-point/car-confiscating fines.
--
Should the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team and Kyle Busch miss The Chase this season, they can likely look at Michigan as the reason why. Busch skipped Saturday's Happy Hour to fly to Montreal to drive his No. 54 Monster Energy entry in the Nationwide race. The choice was described as a "business decision," with Busch needing to honor a sponsor commitment for his Kyle Busch Motorsports team. Once there, Busch drove to a lackluster 13th-place finish, disappointing considering he was the defending race champion. Now, he'll desperately needing a victory to secure a "wild card" spot in the Chase in three weeks.
After the race at MIS Sunday, Crew Chief Dave Rogers took the blame, saying he put the wrong shock package under the No. 18.
Perhaps if Busch was there to drive the car in final practice, they would have discovered this and put the right shock package under it. After all, Busch is one of the few drivers who is adept at chassis tuning and providing accurate mechanical input to the team. Besides, hasn't Busch proved enough in Nationwide by winning the most races in Series history? Hasn't it been the No. 18 team's failure to have a complete, solid, Championship-contending Chase that has always drawn his ire and negative comments?
I understand he's running his own operation and sometimes you have to do what the sponsor requests… but come on, a Nationwide race in Quebec? Is Monster the official energy drink of secession or something? Like you couldn't get Boris Said or another road race ace to man the controls for that weekend. I'm sure Rusty still has some trail-braking chops left in him, and would have gladly squeezed through the window hole.
Perhaps when committing to races for the year with Monster he was looking at the races on the schedule and was figuring which ones he could conceivably miss. If not for the last lap oil incident at Watkins Glen – or the three races in a row with failures of TRD supplied engines (which were brought in lieu of the JGR engine program for increased reliability…) – Busch would not be in the position that he's in now. Whatever the case, if you're a Cup driver, you're a Cup driver, and that should be your main focus.
Besides, after getting benched by M&M's for a race last year following the Truck Series wreck at Texas, I would be more concerned with their status than running the Nationwide car north of the border.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @VitoPugliese.
~~~~~~~~~~
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The Critic's Annex: UNOH Perfect Storm 150
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where I take an additional look at motorsports-related programming. Normally, this piece covers a race telecast that runs the weekend prior that I simply could not fit into the regular critique. Not so this week. While the Camping World Truck Series raced last night in a rather short 200-lap race (it was done in about 80 minutes), the Whelen Modified Tour and the Whelen Southern Modified Tour had a combination race that served as the preliminary event on the docket.
As of right now, last night's UNOH Perfect Storm 150 is the only Modified race scheduled to be televised at all in 2012, at least according to the listings at NASCAR Home Tracks, NASCAR's website for the regional divisions (K&N East and West, the Canadian Tire Series, etc.). That, of course, is a dang shame, simple as that. Some of the best races out there involve these two Modified series, especially the two races each year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
For a race like this one, SPEED tends to bring out their most knowledgeable personalities about the class. No shooting the race and recording commentary in post-production here. Mike Joy and the semi-retired Dick Berggren were in the broadcast booth for SPEED. This is easily the best duo to have upstairs for a race like this. Joy doesn't spend a lot of time in the Northeast these days, but still has lots of information about the series and their drivers. Berggren is also well-versed in Modified racing. The duo was a joy to listen to. They're both very enthusiastic about this type of racing and it shows in their commentary.
Prior to the race, there was a pre-race interview with Mike Stefanik and a recap of qualifying, where Donny Lia busted up the "Mystic Missile" and was forced to race Todd Szegedy's backup car (Note: If you're wondering who Tim Connolly, who drove the No. 24 for SR2 Motorsports in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen is, he drove the aforementioned Missile back in the 1990's and was very successful). Now, this race was advertised as being aired live. However, I believe that the race was time-shifted, at least early on. The red flag for the big pileup was reported as being 13 minutes long. It seemed more like five minutes. Mind you, there was a commercial in there, but it wasn't an eight-minute break. However, the various yellows and two red flags (three if you count the Halftime Break) pushed the race long, so it was completely live by the end.
During that first yellow, SPEED showed pictures of some old-school Modifieds from Stafford Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl (a couple of short tracks in Northeast Connecticut that are within 30 miles of each other). Those pictures from between the 1940's and 1960's showed off the old days of Modified racing. In reality, there really wasn't all that much of a difference between pavement and dirt Modifieds until the mid-to-late 1970's.
Joy explained that the main reason why the race had a Halftime Break is so that teams didn't need to spend extra money on ultra-fast pit crews. That's fine and all. However, Bob Dillner probably should not get in the way of the jackman during a stop. I feel like Szegedy's jackman was about to give Dillner a forearm shiver while he was trying to do an interview. While I have no problem with doing interviews during the Halftime Break, you have to be aware of your surroundings. Can't get in the way of the crews doing their work. I'd argue that that's day one-type stuff.
Also of note, SPEED did have their scroll in use for the race. However, it was only there part-time. As a result, Joy and Berggren had to keep viewers informed of the running order audibly, something that happens only sparingly in telecasts that are usually covered here. Luckily, both Joy and Berggren are longtime veterans of race commentary, so they were able to take care of that without a problem.
Since the race ran so long, post-race coverage was limited. There was an interview with the winner, Ron Silk, along with a check of the Unofficial Results before SPEED moved on to NCWTS Setup.
As sad as this sounds, the Modifieds are the only series in NASCAR (at least the only series that are still around) that have not benefitted from SPEED's commitment to NASCAR. The two series received limited coverage on the network via tape delay, than got farmed out to Versus (now the NBC Sports Network). You might remember those telecasts as being the ones where Jimmy Spencer served as an expert analyst (yes, he's a former champion in Modifieds, but he's also Jimmy Spencer). Versus didn't return for 2011, so the series got limited coverage on SPEED and I'm confident that 2012 will be the least televised season in over 20 years for the series.
As a result of this lack of coverage, SPEED's telecast took an educational slant. Yes, I'm familiar with the series, but a lot of race fans no longer are. Some of the drivers (Szegedy, Lia, Stefanik) have raced in the upper levels of NASCAR in the past. Lia won the Camping World Truck Series Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park in 2008, while Szegedy nearly got crushed by a giant orange in 2004 at Chicagoland Speedway. Ryan Newman is Ryan Newman.
I did enjoy watching the race on SPEED. However, it seems like even though the Camping World Truck Series race (the UNOH 200) was right after this event, some of the production staff that SPEED had at the track chose not to work the telecast. I know they only had two in-car cameras, which meant that one controller from BSI could take a powder break, but it seems like half the replay officials were out enjoying a pizza or something. A number of the incidents in the race didn't even have any replays to help viewers figure out what the deuce happened. Since there was so much going on in the race, Joy and Berggren were often focusing on something else when these wrecks happened.
That's all for this week. Check out next week's edition of the Critic's Annex, when I'll take a look at the NBC Sports Network's telecast of the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma from Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Until then, enjoy the racing this weekend from Bristol and Sonoma.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Potts' Shots: How To Flag On A Road Course
"I also recall having to black flag a Ferrari at an open practice once for taking the wrong route. Only problem was, I picked up the wrong flag; the car owner was understandably furious. Turned out he wasn't as mad as the Italian driver, though who stormed up to me and shouted, "You gave-a me de meat-a-ball!"" - John Potts, on an occasion when he screwed up while flagging at Indianapolis Raceway Park's road course.
~~~~~~~~~~
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 tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
--
The Critic's Annex: UNOH Perfect Storm 150
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where I take an additional look at motorsports-related programming. Normally, this piece covers a race telecast that runs the weekend prior that I simply could not fit into the regular critique. Not so this week. While the Camping World Truck Series raced last night in a rather short 200-lap race (it was done in about 80 minutes), the Whelen Modified Tour and the Whelen Southern Modified Tour had a combination race that served as the preliminary event on the docket.
As of right now, last night's UNOH Perfect Storm 150 is the only Modified race scheduled to be televised at all in 2012, at least according to the listings at NASCAR Home Tracks, NASCAR's website for the regional divisions (K&N East and West, the Canadian Tire Series, etc.). That, of course, is a dang shame, simple as that. Some of the best races out there involve these two Modified series, especially the two races each year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
For a race like this one, SPEED tends to bring out their most knowledgeable personalities about the class. No shooting the race and recording commentary in post-production here. Mike Joy and the semi-retired Dick Berggren were in the broadcast booth for SPEED. This is easily the best duo to have upstairs for a race like this. Joy doesn't spend a lot of time in the Northeast these days, but still has lots of information about the series and their drivers. Berggren is also well-versed in Modified racing. The duo was a joy to listen to. They're both very enthusiastic about this type of racing and it shows in their commentary.
Prior to the race, there was a pre-race interview with Mike Stefanik and a recap of qualifying, where Donny Lia busted up the "Mystic Missile" and was forced to race Todd Szegedy's backup car (Note: If you're wondering who Tim Connolly, who drove the No. 24 for SR2 Motorsports in the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen is, he drove the aforementioned Missile back in the 1990's and was very successful). Now, this race was advertised as being aired live. However, I believe that the race was time-shifted, at least early on. The red flag for the big pileup was reported as being 13 minutes long. It seemed more like five minutes. Mind you, there was a commercial in there, but it wasn't an eight-minute break. However, the various yellows and two red flags (three if you count the Halftime Break) pushed the race long, so it was completely live by the end.
During that first yellow, SPEED showed pictures of some old-school Modifieds from Stafford Motor Speedway and Waterford Speedbowl (a couple of short tracks in Northeast Connecticut that are within 30 miles of each other). Those pictures from between the 1940's and 1960's showed off the old days of Modified racing. In reality, there really wasn't all that much of a difference between pavement and dirt Modifieds until the mid-to-late 1970's.
Joy explained that the main reason why the race had a Halftime Break is so that teams didn't need to spend extra money on ultra-fast pit crews. That's fine and all. However, Bob Dillner probably should not get in the way of the jackman during a stop. I feel like Szegedy's jackman was about to give Dillner a forearm shiver while he was trying to do an interview. While I have no problem with doing interviews during the Halftime Break, you have to be aware of your surroundings. Can't get in the way of the crews doing their work. I'd argue that that's day one-type stuff.
Also of note, SPEED did have their scroll in use for the race. However, it was only there part-time. As a result, Joy and Berggren had to keep viewers informed of the running order audibly, something that happens only sparingly in telecasts that are usually covered here. Luckily, both Joy and Berggren are longtime veterans of race commentary, so they were able to take care of that without a problem.
Since the race ran so long, post-race coverage was limited. There was an interview with the winner, Ron Silk, along with a check of the Unofficial Results before SPEED moved on to NCWTS Setup.
As sad as this sounds, the Modifieds are the only series in NASCAR (at least the only series that are still around) that have not benefitted from SPEED's commitment to NASCAR. The two series received limited coverage on the network via tape delay, than got farmed out to Versus (now the NBC Sports Network). You might remember those telecasts as being the ones where Jimmy Spencer served as an expert analyst (yes, he's a former champion in Modifieds, but he's also Jimmy Spencer). Versus didn't return for 2011, so the series got limited coverage on SPEED and I'm confident that 2012 will be the least televised season in over 20 years for the series.
As a result of this lack of coverage, SPEED's telecast took an educational slant. Yes, I'm familiar with the series, but a lot of race fans no longer are. Some of the drivers (Szegedy, Lia, Stefanik) have raced in the upper levels of NASCAR in the past. Lia won the Camping World Truck Series Ohio 250 at Mansfield Motorsports Park in 2008, while Szegedy nearly got crushed by a giant orange in 2004 at Chicagoland Speedway. Ryan Newman is Ryan Newman.
I did enjoy watching the race on SPEED. However, it seems like even though the Camping World Truck Series race (the UNOH 200) was right after this event, some of the production staff that SPEED had at the track chose not to work the telecast. I know they only had two in-car cameras, which meant that one controller from BSI could take a powder break, but it seems like half the replay officials were out enjoying a pizza or something. A number of the incidents in the race didn't even have any replays to help viewers figure out what the deuce happened. Since there was so much going on in the race, Joy and Berggren were often focusing on something else when these wrecks happened.
That's all for this week. Check out next week's edition of the Critic's Annex, when I'll take a look at the NBC Sports Network's telecast of the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma from Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Until then, enjoy the racing this weekend from Bristol and Sonoma.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Potts' Shots: How To Flag On A Road Course
"I also recall having to black flag a Ferrari at an open practice once for taking the wrong route. Only problem was, I picked up the wrong flag; the car owner was understandably furious. Turned out he wasn't as mad as the Italian driver, though who stormed up to me and shouted, "You gave-a me de meat-a-ball!"" - John Potts, on an occasion when he screwed up while flagging at Indianapolis Raceway Park's road course.
~~~~~~~~~~
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 tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Potts' Shots: How To Flag On A Road Course
by John Potts
Professor Of Speed: A Mindful Mind Full
by Mark Howell
Truckin' Thursdays: Through Ups And Downs, Red Horse Racing Remains Red Hot
by Beth Lunkenheimer
~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Bristol has played host to multiple bumping matches over the years. The 2001 Sharpie 500 was no different. Who got into it multiple times with each other during the race?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: For Geoff Bodine, the 1997 Goody's Headache Powders 500 was actually a pretty good race. Bodine managed to avoid the various wrecks and came home on the lead lap in ninth. However, he lost something important during the race. What was it?
A: Bodine lost his Crew Chief during the race. Pat Tryson, now at Front Row Motorsports, literally up and quit during the race, leaving Bodine to serve as his own crew chief for the rest of the night. Apparently, Tryson was unhappy with how orders were being given with the team, so he just walked away. ESPN's Bill Weber can be heard describing what happened at the 9:10 mark of this clip.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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Jeff Wolfe
-- In Case You Missed It by Nick Schwartz
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Bristol by Summer Bedgood
The race weekend is already underway in Bristol, but Summer will help prepare you for the remainder of Bristol's slate of night races.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns this week with another interesting Friday commentary.
Friday Fast Forward Into NASCAR's Future by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan returns with another interesting commentary piece on the Nationwide Series to prepare you for Friday night's Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Driver Diary: Regan Smith as told to Tony Lumbis
Regan returns to discuss his past month on and off the track. Should be interesting since Todd Berrier has taken over as crew chief since his last entry.
-----------------------------
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