Thursday, September 13, 2012

The Frontstretch Newsletter: September 13th, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 13th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXXXIII
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Top News

by Phil Allaway

Ryan Pemberton to JR Motorsports

Last weekend, JR Motorsports announced that the team had parted ways with Tony Eury, Sr.  The elder Eury had started off this season as the crew chief on Cole Whitt's No. 88 Chevrolet before being moved to the Competition Director role.

Now, it appears that the team has found their replacement.

Sporting News' Bob Pockrass is reporting that JR Motorsports has hired Ryan Pemberton, most recently of Tommy Baldwin Racing, to serve in a somewhat similar role at JR Motorsports to what Eury, Sr. had until recently.  The team has not officially stated that "Competition Director" will be Pemberton's title, however.

JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is very happy to have Pemberton in the fold.

"[Pemberton] started Monday and he's come in to help Kelley [Earnhardt-Miller, team co-owner], help us with some ideas on what direction we can go to get better," Earnhardt Jr. said.  "We want to be better, performance-wise.  Its a very challenging position to be in in that series and we're just looking for him to come in here and give us some ideas on how to improve."

Currently, JR Motorsports operates two full-time Nationwide Series teams, the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Danica Patrick and the No. 88 TaxSlayer/Clean Coal/Degree Chevrolet for Whitt.  Whitt is currently seventh in points with three top-5 and ten top-10 finishes.  Meanwhile, Patrick is 11th in points with two top-10 finishes.  Through 25 races, her performances are actually not as good as they were during last season's limited schedule.  The No. 88 team has not won a race since Jamie McMurray won the Great Clips 300 two years ago in Atlanta.  Meanwhile, the No. 7 team has never visited Victory Lane.

Up until last week, Pemberton was serving as crew chief of the No. 36 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing and regular driver Dave Blaney.  No replacement for Pemberton has been named.

NMPA Announces Most Popular Driver Finalists

On Wednesday, the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) announced their finalists for the 2012 NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award.  Voting has been ongoing online for months and vote totals will now be zeroed for the remaining drivers.  Those drivers (in numerical order) are:

- Kasey Kahne
- Tony Stewart
- Matt Kenseth
- Kyle Busch
- Jeff Gordon
- Kevin Harvick
- Bobby Labonte
- Jimmie Johnson
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Carl Edwards

In order to vote for the finalists, fans can go to mostpopulardriver.com and submit their selection.  One vote can be registered per day.  This second round of voting will continue over the ten-week long Chase for the Sprint Cup, with voting shutting down at 11:59pm on November 18, the day of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  The winner will be announced at the annual NMPA Myers Brothers Luncheon during Champions' Week in Las Vegas.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has won the Most Popular Driver award each of the last nine years.  None of the other nine finalists have ever won the award.  In fact, only five drivers (Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott and Darrell Waltrip) have won the award since 1980.

Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night.  However, they are still subject to change.

Sprint Cup Series GEICO 400: 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. 21-
Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 22-
Sam Hornish, Jr. for Penske Racing
No. 32-
T.J. Bell for FAS Lane 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. 32-
T.J. Bell returns to the seat, replacing Ken Schrader.

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 19-
Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing*
No. 21-
Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 23-
Scott Riggs for R3 Motorsports*
No. 26-
Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports*
No. 30-
David Stremme for Inception Motorsports
No. 33-
Stephen Leicht for Circle Point, LLC
No. 37-
J.J. Yeley for Tommy Baldwin Racing/MaxQ Motorsports*
No. 49-
Jason Leffler for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
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. 0- Mark Green for SS Motorsports

Nationwide Series Dollar General 300: 44 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18-
Joey Logano for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22-
Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 28-
Tony Raines for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 33-
Paul Menard for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42-
Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 47-
J.J. Yeley for Team Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 54-
Kurt Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 75-
Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 08-
Tim Andrews returns to the seat, replacing Paulie Harraka.
No. 4-
Danny Efland returns to the seat, replacing Jeremy Clements.
No. 15-
Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Matt Carter.
No. 18-
Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Denny Hamlin.
No. 22-
Brad Keselowski returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Blaney.
No. 23-
Jamie Dick returns to the seat, replacing Robert Richardson, Jr.
No. 24-
Benny Gordon returns to the seat, replacing Derek White.
No. 28-
Tony Raines is in the seat, replacing Kevin Lepage.
No. 30-
Alex Bowman is in the seat, replacing James Buescher.  This will be Bowman's Nationwide Series debut.
No. 33-
Paul Menard returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Harvick.
No. 50-
An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing David Starr.
No. 51-
Jeremy Clements returns to the seat, replacing Ty Dillon.
No. 71-
Matt Carter returns to the seat, replacing Carl Long.
No. 99-
Kenny Wallace returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Truex.

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 00-
Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports*
No. 08-
Tim Andrews for Randy Hill Racing/Go Green 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. 28-
Tony Raines for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 42-
Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 46-
Chase Miller for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 47-
J.J. Yeley for Team Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 50-
Unknown driver for MAKE Motorsports*
No. 52-
Joey Gase for Means Motorsports
No. 71-
Matt Carter for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 74-
Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing*
No. 75-
Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 86-
Kevin Lepage for Deware Motorsports
No. 89-
Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures

Not Entered:
No. 17-
Tanner Berryhill for Berryhill Racing
No. 20-
Darrell Wallace, Jr. for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 60-
Travis Pastrana for Roush Fenway Racing

Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200: 38 trucks entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18-
Drew Herring for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 19-
David Mayhew for Brad Keselowski Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 0-
Chris Lafferty returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 4-
Augie Grill is in the seat, replacing Kyle Larson.  If he qualifies, Grill will be making his Camping World Truck Series debut.
No. 5-
An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Aric Almirola.
No. 18-
Drew Herring is in the seat, replacing Kyle Busch.  This will be Herring's Camping World Truck Series debut.
No. 19-
David Mayhew is in the seat, replacing Ryan Blaney.
No. 27-
Ryan Lynch is in the seat, replacing Stephen Leicht.  This will be Lynch's Camping World Truck Series debut.
No. 65-
Justin Jennings returns to the seat, replacing Scott Stenzel.
No. 73-
An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Rick Crawford.
No. 84-
Chris Sevey is in the seat, replacing Chris Fontaine.  This will be Sevey's Camping World Truck Series debut.
No. 93-
Dennis Setzer returns to the seat, replacing Chris Jones.
No. 98-
An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Dakoda Armstrong.  Armstrong and ThorSport Racing parted ways on Monday.

Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 0-
Chris Lafferty for JJC Racing*
No. 07-
Johnny Chapman for SS-Green Light Racing*
No. 4-
Augie Grill for Turner Motorsports
No. 7-
Parker Kligerman for Red Horse Racing
No. 10-
Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing
No. 14-
Brennan Newberry for NTS Motorsports
No. 19-
David Mayhew for Brad Keselowski Racing
No. 47-
Benjamin Reynolds for Coyle Racing
No. 57-
Norm Benning for Norm Benning Racing
No. 65-
Justin Jennings for MB Motorsports
No. 73-
Unknown driver for Tagsby Racing
No. 96-
Todd Peck for Peck Motorsports
No. 97-
Jeff Choquette for Adrian Carriers Racing Team
*- Expected to Start-and-Park

Not Entered:
No. 8-
Max Gresham for Eddie Sharp Racing
No. 37-
Jeff Green for RSS Racing
No. 38-
RSS Racing
No. 74-
Scott Riggs for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 75-
Caleb Holman for Henderson Motorsports
No. 92-
Chad McCumbee for RBR Motorsports

Izod IndyCar Series MavTV American Real 500: 26 cars entered

Driver Changes:
No. 67-
Josef Newgarden returns to the seat, replacing Bruno Junqueira.  Newgarden had surgery and was forced to miss Baltimore following his big wreck with Sebastien Bourdais at Sonoma.

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. 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

Not Entered:
No. 7-
Sebastien Bourdais for Dragon Racing

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.
 
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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 Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

Today's Featured Commentary
Quick Hits for September 13th
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese

So Kyle Busch has missed The Chase for the second time in four years.  How did it come to this?  The three consecutive blown engines this summer?  Hmm – I thought TRD was supposed to be the cure to all of the engine woes suffered by JGR last season?  Wasn't it Busch who opted to stay put with what worked all season last year while his teammates carried the TRD banner?

Once again, proof that having our own engine department helps ensure your performance, and puts quality control back into the race teams' hands.  Yeah, I know – Tony Stewart gets his engines from Hendrick Motorsports.  He also gets his cars and engineering support from there too.  Making it…a Hendrick Motorsports car.  Considering the five straight titles they won from 2006-2010 – and the two they nearly won in 2004 and 2005 – that's probably not such a bad thing.

With the season in shambles, what is KyBu to do?  Run some more truck races?  Hop in the flat black 54 for the weekend?  Word form J.D. Gibbs is that crew chief Dave Rogers isn't going anywhere.  Probably for the best since he's proven to be the only crew chief who can handle Kyle, or at least tolerate him.  In all fairness to Kyle Busch, the failure to qualify for The Chase does not rest solely on his shoulders.  He doesn't build the exploding engines, oil down Watkins Glen (that was a fellow TRD TuRD) on the last lap, or miss the one to go call from NASCAR when debating on whether or not to pit, and only having to beat one car that needed to be adjusted with freaking BOLT CUTTERS.

What are the chances the Busch turns it on and reels off a few wins in The Chase out of spite, running with reckless abandon?  Eh, probably not that great.  All eyes and attention will be directed to teammate Denny Hamlin – who is a consistently calm and positive force within the organization; not volatile, mercurial, and self-destructive – and for prepping the next generation Car of Tomorrow bodies for 2013.  Maybe that's why Busch wanted the okay to start running some more Truck Series races – so he'd have a chance to win in something.

Of note, Hamlin has emerged as a leader and calming presence within JGR, and Matt Kenseth bringing veteran leadership, poise, and a decade's worth of Roush Fenway Racing processes and performance, is Kyle Busch's value to Joe Gibbs Racing in decline?  Guessing bailing on Happy Hour at MIS in order to compete in his Nationwide Car in Montreal last month didn't help acquire the extra point needed to make the Chase.  Dave Rogers took the blame, stating he put the wrong shock package under the car.

Perhaps if his driver had been there to provide some feedback....
-------------------
Usually this time of year, I'd pump out some stat-laden pontification prognostication of each Chase race and who will win what.  We can do that again this year, however I'll spare you the 1800 word rationalization that usually goes out the window as soon as the green flag drops. 

The Champ?  Denny Hamlin.  Bridesmaid?  Brad Keselowski.  The Chump?  Jeff Gordon.  Sorry, Jeff – I know you're pumped to get in and well you should, but with the 48 being freaky fast on 1.5-milers and looking for title No. 6, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., winding up the regular season second in points, it's not looking so good.

Keselowski, Hamlin, and Harvick are three drivers who don't have any teammates in The Chase; I won't count Stewart with his HMS affiliation.  The MWR cars have speed, but they haven't quite been here before, and Truex needs to win a race this year before they can start counting Cups.
---------------------
One of the rumors circulating within the garage area is that Richard Petty Motorsports will become a satellite operation of Richard Childress Racing – much as the Wood Brothers are a satellite team of Roush Fenway Racing.  At face value, this may seem sacrilege; everybody knows a bowtie doesn't go with a cowboy hat and Ray Bans.  It's kind of a slap in the face to The King and company that Ford is unwilling or unable to sign them up for another season.  Keep in mind it was RPM who got Roush Fenway Racing pointed in the right direction, after nearly two years of traveling down the wrong road due to flawed data simulation and whacked out front-end geometry.

Now before you Petty partisans get your Pontiac and Plymouth panties in a bunch, take a deep breath and stop wielding that massive belt buckle at your monitor. The King's seventh title in 1979 was won splitting time between Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles, and say what you will, The General takes care of their race teams.  While long-time fans of Richard Petty would have loved to see a Dodge Charger with a 43 on it again, it's not happening anytime soon.  Pontiac and Plymouth have gone the way of Oldsmobile and AMC, and the options are dwindling.

Hey, as long as Richard Petty is atop of a semi-trailer with Dale Inman running stop watches next year, I could care less if they fielded a Fiat 500.  These are tough times, and as the old adage goes, tough times don't last – tough people do.

Count The King among the latter.

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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Today's Featured Extra Commentary
Beth's Brief
Checking Chase Chances Part II
by Beth Lunkenheimer

Author's Note: Yesterday in the Frontstretch Newsletter, we previewed the first half of the 2012 Chase field. Up next are those drivers that are seeded seventh through 12th. Did you miss the first half of the group? Click here to take a look at them.

7th - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (-9 points)

1 Win, 10 Top 5s, 17 Top 10s


Is it just me or does Dale Earnhardt, Jr. seem like a different person this year?  His interviews come across as a bit more carefree and happy to be racing week after week.  Add in the win at Michigan that broke a four-year streak outside of Victory Lane, and you've got a driver that's more motivated than ever to prove he deserves the equipment he's piloting.  While I'm not quite convinced that Junior has what it takes to run a strong ten races to close out the season, the pairing with Steve Letarte appears to be coming along nicely.

8th - Matt Kenseth (-9 points)
1 Win, 10 Top 5s, 16 Top 10s


Matt Kenseth may be in a lame duck position as he finishes off the 2012 season with Roush Fenway Racing before heading to Joe Gibbs Racing next year, but that doesn't mean he'll step aside and let the other 11 Chasers have at it for the championship.  After winning the Daytona 500, Kenseth has 16 top-10 finishes in 26 starts and just one DNF, and you can bet he'll want to leave RFR wondering why they were unable to garner enough sponsorship for comfort.  Though he may not have enough for the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, Kenseth could quietly sneak in take it all just as he's headed out the door.

9th - Kevin Harvick (-12 points)
0 Wins, 4 Top 5s, 11 Top 10s


Though he has yet to visit Victory Lane this year, Kevin Harvick has shown some improvement since being reunited with crew chief Gil Martin two weeks ago in Atlanta.  In fact, in their first race back together, the driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet led 101 laps and appeared poised to grab his first win of the year until he faded late in the running.  However, that fifth-place finish in Atlanta followed by a 10th-place run at Richmond proves Martin and Harvick should have never split up.  And as a driver that has the knack for sneaking up on the field and competing for the win at the end of a race, Harvick could surprise everyone, though I have a feeling he needs more time with Martin atop the pit box before he can make a serious run at the championship.  But it would be a surprise if he couldn't pull out at least one victory before season's end.

10th - Martin Truex, Jr. (-12 points)
0 Wins, 6 Top 5s, 14 Top 10s


How impressive is it that Michael Waltrip Racing has two of its three teams inside the Chase this year?  Martin Truex, Jr. has definitely grown into his own behind the wheel of the No. 56 Toyota.  And while there's not a huge chance that either MWR driver will win the championship, I wouldn't count Truex out when it comes to his shot at Victory Lane in the remaining ten races.  After all, he's led laps in ten of the events this year, including a race-high 173 laps at Kansas where he finished in the runner-up spot.  And if that's not enough, he led 40 laps and came so close to Victory Lane in Atlanta.

Wild Cards

11th - Kasey Kahne (-12 points)
2 Wins, 7 Top 5s, 13 Top 10s


In his new home at Hendrick Motorsports, Kasey Kahne has fulfilled his role nicely, having scored two victories and nearly jumping into the top-10 before the Chase began.  But the question that remains is whether he can win the championship this year.  The simple answer is no.  While he does have the backing and equipment from HMS and will likely run well throughout the remaining ten races, he doesn't quite have the edge needed to beat those with a significantly larger amount of experience in the Chase.  But with that being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet snag at least one more win before the season is up.

12th - Jeff Gordon (-12 points)
1 Win, 7 Top 5s, 12 Top 10s


For Jeff Gordon, the anxiety level at Richmond was probably higher than most, except perhaps Kyle Busch.  In fact, it was quite interesting to see the transformation in his mood from the rain delay interview given while walking down pit road to the point where he got out of the car as the 12th and final Chase driver.  More importantly, sneaking in by a slim one-point advantage should bring new life to the No. 24 team that has suffered some horrific luck this year.  Add in the hideous mustache that Gordon has promised to bring back because he made the Chase, and we just might see a bit of the mid-90s driver that lit up the track and snagged four championships.

----------

In the end, the only part of the first 26 races this year that means anything are those victories that have given the top-8 contenders a small jumpstart on Harvick, Truex, Kahne and Gordon, and with that being said, anything can happen in these final ten races.  And while it's highly unlikely that another driver will be able to accomplish the feat that Tony Stewart did last season, winning five of the last ten races, it still could happen.  When it comes down to it, there's a high possibility that it will be one of those four Hendrick Motorsports drivers that ends up holding up the championship trophy at Homestead.  The question that remains is which one, though it's hard to bet against Johnson and Knaus when they've come out on top so many times.

Beth Lunkenheimer is a Co-Managing Editor and Senior Writer for Frontstretch.  She can be reached via e-mail at beth.lunkenheimer@frontstretch.com.  Follow her on Twitter at @Beth_Frntstrtch.
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COME JOIN THE FRONTSTRETCH FAMILY!

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We are looking for someone who shares our enthusiasm for NASCAR and has an experienced background in web design. Specifically, we are looking for someone who can help maintain and enhance our website, increase our SEO, and upgrade our publishing platform while producing a limited amount of content throughout the season. This job presents a perfect opportunity for someone with a technical background, a person who wants their work to gain national exposure.
 
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Editor's Note: The Critic's Annex will return next week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frontstretch Line of the Week


From Where Next for Kyle Busch, No. 18 Team?

"
You know, we were both speechless.  We went up there [in the hauler] and looked at each other and nodded and said, 'We'll talk later.' But we didn't say much. Kyle did a good job of keeping his composure and took it on the chin like a man, and went back to his bus."- Dave Rogers, on how he and Kyle Busch handled their elimination from championship contention at Richmond on Saturday night (Quote was told to NASCAR.com).
~~~~~~~~~~

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Frontstretch Fan Q & A: Focus On The Chase
by Summer Bedgood

Five Hundred Miles For All The Marbles

by Toni Montgomery

Professor Of Speed: The Fickle Force of Fate
by Mark Howell

Truckin' Thursdays: Sponsorship Problems Sideline Another Young Talent
by Beth Lunkenheimer

Beyond the Cockpit: Talking Engines and EFI with Doug Yates
as told to Mike Neff

Charity Corner: NAPA, Truex, Jr. To Reward Wounded Soldiers At Chicagoland
by Beth Lunkenheimer
~~~~~~~~~~

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  Right now, Ryan Briscoe is worrying about where he'll be racing in 2013.  In 2005 at Chicagoland Speedway, Briscoe (and everyone in attendance at the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300) was worried about far more than that.  What happened to Briscoe?

Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Wednesday's Answer:

Q:   Jimmie Johnson, driving for Herzog Motorsports, claimed his one and only victory in the now-Nationwide Series at Chicagoland Speedway in 2001, outfoxing Ryan Newman.  However, he got some help.  What helped Johnson get the lead away from Newman?

A:   Johnson was able to take the lead on Lap 158 by a pit strategy move.  Johnson took two tires while Newman's Penske crew bolted four tires on his No. 02.  Newman did run Johnson down under green late in the race, but ran into the back of the lapped car of Mike McLaughlin, damaging his left-front fender and eventually finishing 26th.

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: Chicagoland by Tom Bowles
Tom is in for Summer this week.  He'll help prepare you for the first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup in Joliet, Illinois.


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 Saturday's Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.


Driver Diary: Michael Annett as told to Toni Montgomery
Michael returns to talk about his past month on and off the track.

Izod IndyCar Series Preview: Auto Club Speedway
by P. Huston Ladner
Huston's back with a preview of Saturday night's MavTV American Real 500, which will decide the 2012 Izod IndyCar Series championship.

Formula One Fridays by Andy Hollis
Andy returns with another look at the World Championship while the teams prepare for the final seven flyaways of the year.
-----------------------------
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©2012 Frontstretch.com

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