THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 20th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXXXVIII
--
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Hal Martin to Drive for TriStar Motorsports
Driver Hal Martin and TriStar Motorsports announced on Wednesday that the Louisiana native has signed a deal that will see him drive for the team in three races this season in the Nationwide Series. The first of those events will be the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway in October. This will be followed by additional starts at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. In addition, Martin will be with the team full-time in 2013 and run for Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year honors.
Martin is very excited about being able to make the move up to Nationwide, and to do it in his own, unique way.
"I'm so proud to be from the Louisiana Gulf Coast, and it's exciting to be able to highlight a really diverse part of the country in my NASCAR career," Martin said. "It's been a whirlwind so far, but I can't wait to be in NASCAR and have the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business at some very fast tracks. I'm grateful for the opportunity to race and know where I'm driving - something a lot of drivers can't say right now, unfortunately."
Unfortunately, there are a few unknowns that have yet to be answered by the press release. TriStar Motorsports has been operating four full-time teams in the Nationwide Series this season (Nos. 10, 14, 19 and 44). According to the release, "the sponsor portfolio and number will be announced at a later date." The Nos. 14 and 19 have full sponsorship from Hefty/Reynolds Wrap and G-Oil, respectively. The team's best car this season has been the No. 44 driven by Mike Bliss. However, Bliss does not have full sponsorship. A potential scenario could see Bliss drive the No. 10 while Martin drives the No. 44 and is locked into the field. However, if such a scenario would occur, the team would likely pull out a fifth car, the No. 91, for such an instance.
As for sponsors, Martin has a history of incorporating sponsors from his native Louisiana into his portfolio and his venture into the Nationwide Series appears likely to be similar. Past sponsors during his time in ARCA include U.S. Forensic, a company that specializes in "forensic engineering" (in this case, it means the study of structures in order to determine the cause of loss). Another past sponsor is the NOLA Motorsports Park, a country club-esque racing circuit currently under development in Avondale, Louisiana, just a few miles southwest of New Orleans.
Previously, Martin has made 11 starts in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards for a variety of teams. He has been quite competitive, earning one top-5 finish (a third at Chicagoland Speedway in 2009) and three top-10 results. He also has one career start in the Camping World Truck Series from back in 2009 at Memphis Motorsports Park for Fast Track Racing.
Crawford to Drive for BRG Motorsports
On Wednesday, BRG Motorsports announced a number of changes to the team for the immediate future. Firstly, they announced the signing of Rick Crawford to drive for the organization. He replaces Grant Enfinger, who has spent much of the season driving in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards for Allgaier Racing.
Secondly, the team is throwing out their current chassis and replacing them. Gone are the red and blue Ford F-150's, with new chassis from Kyle Busch Motorsports in their place. This move also necessitates a manufacturer change from Ford to Toyota. The team has also reached a deal to run Joe Gibbs Engines.
Finally, to complete the team' re-invention, the team has changed their number from No. 82 to No. 20. This re-invented version of the Bragg Racing Group will debut on track at Talladega in the Fred's 250 Powered by Coca-Cola in October. As of now, that is the team's only scheduled race for the rest of 2012, although the release does state that the team could run additional races this season. The team is also confirmed for the 2013 NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona. Finally, Josh Bragg, who is an up and coming late model driver in his own right, will continue to serve as Crew Chief.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300: 47 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 19 - Jeff Green 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 - David Reutimann returns to the seat, replacing Danica Patrick.
No. 19 - Jeff Green is in the seat, replacing Mike Bliss.
No. 32 - Mike Olsen is in the seat, replacing T.J. Bell. This will be Olsen's Sprint Cup Series debut.
No. 33 - Stephen Leicht returns to the seat, replacing Cole Whitt.
No. 36 - Tony Raines returns to the seat, replacing Dave Blaney. Blaney will practice and qualify the No. 22 in place of Sam Hornish, Jr., who will be in Kentucky with his Nationwide team.
No. 55 - Brian Vickers returns to the seat, replacing Mark Martin.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 19 - Jeff Green for Humphrey-Smith 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. 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 Kentucky 300: 43 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 22 - Ryan Blaney for Penske Racing
No. 30 - James Buescher for Turner Motorsports
No. 33 - Brendan Gaughan for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42 - Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 50 - David Starr for MAKE Motorsports
No. 54 - Kurt Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 75 - Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 08- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Tim Andrews.
No. 10- Charles Lewandoski is in the seat, replacing Jeff Green.
No. 15- Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Timmy Hill.
No. 18- Drew Herring is in the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 22- Ryan Blaney returns to the seat, replacing Brad Keselowski.
No. 30- James Buescher returns to the seat, replacing Alex Bowman.
No. 33- Brendan Gaughan returns to the seat, replacing Paul Menard.
No. 39- Josh Richards returns to the seat, replacing Dexter Stacey.
No. 41- Timmy Hill returns to the seat, replacing Juan Carlos Blum.
No. 47- Matt DiBenedetto returns to the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley.
No. 54- Kurt Busch returns to the seat, replacing his brother Kyle.
No. 75- Scott Riggs returns to the seat, replacing Matt Carter.
Since there are only 43 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these drivers must qualify on speed:
No. 00- Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports/Ruch Motorsports
No. 08- Unknown driver for Randy Hill Racing/Go Green Racing
No. 8- Scott Lagasse, Jr. for Lagasse Motorsports
No. 10- Charles Lewandoski for TriStar Motorsports*
No. 15- Carl Long for Rick Ware 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. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing*
No. 75- Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 86- Kevin Lepage for Deware Motorsports
Not Entered:
No. 28- Tony Raines for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 71- Rick Ware Racing
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
Camping World Truck Series Kentucky 201: 36 trucks entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 0- Blake Koch for JJC Racing
No. 18- Brian Scott for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 19- David Mayhew for Brad Keselowski Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 0- Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing Chris Lafferty.
No. 07- Jeff Agnew returns to the seat, replacing Caleb Roark.
No. 4- Dakoda Armstrong is in the seat, replacing Augie Grill.
No. 5- John King is in the seat, replacing Aric Almirola.
No. 18- Brian Scott returns to the seat, replacing Drew Herring.
No. 27- Travis Miller returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Lynch.
No. 38- Chris Jones returns to the seat, replacing Dennis Setzer.
No. 74- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Mike Harmon.
No. 84- Chris Fontaine returns to the seat, replacing Wayne Edwards.
No. 93- Dennis Setzer returns to the seat, replacing Chris Jones.
Since there are only 36 trucks entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these teams must still qualify on speed:
No. 0- Blake Koch for JJC Racing*
No. 01- Jake Crum for Crum Motorsports
No. 4- Dakoda Armstrong for Turner Motorsports
No. 5- John King for Wauters Motorsports
No. 7- Parker Kligerman for Red Horse Racing
No. 8- Max Gresham for Eddie Sharp 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. 38- Chris Jones for RSS Racing*
No. 74- Unknown driver for Mike Harmon Racing*
Not Entered:
No. 47- Benjamin Reynolds
No. 65- Justin Jennings for MB Motorsports
No. 96- Todd Peck for Peck Motorsports
No. 97- Jeff Choquette for Adrian Carriers Racing
*- Expected to Start-and-Park
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 Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
Today's Featured Commentary
Quick Hits for September 20th
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
As the face of the sport continues to change, the final remaining cogs of what were Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s heydays at DEI officially severed ties with JR Motorsports. Both Tony Eury, Sr. and Jr. were released from the company over the past week, with the level of competition exhibited by Cole Whitt and Danica Patrick in the Nationwide Series apparently not up to expectations. While that may be true, is that really the fault of Tony Jr. or Sr.?
Let's take a look at the history here; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earned 15 of his 19 Cup Series wins with Pops on the box, and until he hooked up with Steve Letarte, was the one guy on the radio that could communicate to Dale Jr. and get the most out of him. Tony Eury, Jr. was dismissed in early 2009 in favor of Lance McGrew on the Cup side at Hendrick Motorsports, which proved to nearly be Junior's undoing. Weird beards and lackluster performances followed, along with the sort of malaise and depression usually associated with a bread line and dust bowls.
This season has shown vast-improvement for Danica Patrick, who has gone from spinning out early in the going, to consistently displaying top-10 runs, to leading, and being a legitimate threat to win at the road courses and restrictor plate tracks. She has been caught up in a number of wrecks not of her doing – although there have been a few of her doing as well. All part of the learning curve, and she was progressing steadily, shaking off monstrous hits at Daytona (both races), and showing signs of taking things to the next level. Cole Whitt has had flashes of brilliance, however it may be a case of resource allocation being dedicated to the No. 7 machine, and the No. 88 is left wanting.
Tony Eury, Jr. has stated that he and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s relationship is "perfect" -- however, seeing family members dismissed from the company that was created for his sons and daughters might not have sat too well with the old man if he was still around…
-----------
Tuesday word came down that A.J. Allmendinger had been re-instated by NASCAR. Wow, that was quick. While the public relations gaffe in the days following the admission of Adderall usage and the somewhat bizarre explanation that followed is still fresh in the minds of many, the reinstatement of Allmendinger by NASCAR came as a bit of a surprise. While his one-time indiscretion was not the sort of habitual use that led to the indefinite suspensions of drivers before him (Shane Hmiel and Aaron Fike come to mind) endured, Allmendinger's options for 2013 are limited at best. While a Tier A or B Cup Series ride seems a bit of a long shot at this point, the smart money would have him transitioning to the Izod IndyCar Series. Allmendinger was a guest of Roger Penske this past weekend in Fontana, California for the Izod IndyCar Series season finale. "I told AJ I wanted him to come to a race; I think he had been kind of undercover for quite a bit of the time, and I thought it would be good for him to get out and see people here, talk to some of the team owners," said Penske. The Captain also said that AJ was, "someone we would consider" as far as driving for the organization again. With Ryan Briscoe's future an uncertainty, might AJ be primed for a return to open wheel?
There may also be a home for Allmendinger in the Nationwide Series, or perhaps more likely, as part of Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series, which is owned by NASCAR. Allmendinger was part of the winning Daytona Prototype effort in the 24 Hours of Daytona this February for owner Michael Shank. Shank has reiterated his support of Allmendinger after the incident, and with the announcement that Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series will be merging for 2013, defending his 24 Hour win may be just what Allmendinger needs to revive his career and get things back off on the right foot for next year.
--------------
Here we are all of one race into The Chase, and the pundits are already writing people off.
Jeff Gordon who dominated the storyline leading up to the Chase is 47 points out – essentially one race win and leading the most laps out – after a stuck throttle cause him to crash at Chicagoland last weekend. Am I the only one who sees that Talladega still remains on the calendar as well as Martinsville? Talladega doesn't discriminate when it comes to Chasers or non-Chasers alike. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick found that out last year, as well as Kurt Busch. When the 24 went spinning this spring off the bumper of Clint Bowyer at Martinsville, remember the No. 48 went with him as well. Matt Kenseth got into it with Brian Vickers there last fall, and helped to seal his Chase fate. A flat tire there under green will put you nearly three laps down mighty quick, and broken gears and burned up brakes are always lurking over the neatly manicured bushes in each turn.
Sure the No. 2 and No. 48 are going to be tough to beat in the Chase, as well as the No. 11 and 88. We knew that going into it, but one race does not determine ten weeks of competition. A bad batch of valve springs can ruin an entire weekend, and cars wrecking with wheels flying off at 200mph tend to not care about points standings or pre-race predictions either.
Come talk to me after Talladega, and maybe Martinsville – I'll let you know who's in and who's out then.
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!
September 20th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXXXVIII
--
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Hal Martin to Drive for TriStar Motorsports
Driver Hal Martin and TriStar Motorsports announced on Wednesday that the Louisiana native has signed a deal that will see him drive for the team in three races this season in the Nationwide Series. The first of those events will be the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway in October. This will be followed by additional starts at Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. In addition, Martin will be with the team full-time in 2013 and run for Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year honors.
Martin is very excited about being able to make the move up to Nationwide, and to do it in his own, unique way.
"I'm so proud to be from the Louisiana Gulf Coast, and it's exciting to be able to highlight a really diverse part of the country in my NASCAR career," Martin said. "It's been a whirlwind so far, but I can't wait to be in NASCAR and have the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business at some very fast tracks. I'm grateful for the opportunity to race and know where I'm driving - something a lot of drivers can't say right now, unfortunately."
Unfortunately, there are a few unknowns that have yet to be answered by the press release. TriStar Motorsports has been operating four full-time teams in the Nationwide Series this season (Nos. 10, 14, 19 and 44). According to the release, "the sponsor portfolio and number will be announced at a later date." The Nos. 14 and 19 have full sponsorship from Hefty/Reynolds Wrap and G-Oil, respectively. The team's best car this season has been the No. 44 driven by Mike Bliss. However, Bliss does not have full sponsorship. A potential scenario could see Bliss drive the No. 10 while Martin drives the No. 44 and is locked into the field. However, if such a scenario would occur, the team would likely pull out a fifth car, the No. 91, for such an instance.
As for sponsors, Martin has a history of incorporating sponsors from his native Louisiana into his portfolio and his venture into the Nationwide Series appears likely to be similar. Past sponsors during his time in ARCA include U.S. Forensic, a company that specializes in "forensic engineering" (in this case, it means the study of structures in order to determine the cause of loss). Another past sponsor is the NOLA Motorsports Park, a country club-esque racing circuit currently under development in Avondale, Louisiana, just a few miles southwest of New Orleans.
Previously, Martin has made 11 starts in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards for a variety of teams. He has been quite competitive, earning one top-5 finish (a third at Chicagoland Speedway in 2009) and three top-10 results. He also has one career start in the Camping World Truck Series from back in 2009 at Memphis Motorsports Park for Fast Track Racing.
Crawford to Drive for BRG Motorsports
On Wednesday, BRG Motorsports announced a number of changes to the team for the immediate future. Firstly, they announced the signing of Rick Crawford to drive for the organization. He replaces Grant Enfinger, who has spent much of the season driving in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards for Allgaier Racing.
Secondly, the team is throwing out their current chassis and replacing them. Gone are the red and blue Ford F-150's, with new chassis from Kyle Busch Motorsports in their place. This move also necessitates a manufacturer change from Ford to Toyota. The team has also reached a deal to run Joe Gibbs Engines.
Finally, to complete the team' re-invention, the team has changed their number from No. 82 to No. 20. This re-invented version of the Bragg Racing Group will debut on track at Talladega in the Fred's 250 Powered by Coca-Cola in October. As of now, that is the team's only scheduled race for the rest of 2012, although the release does state that the team could run additional races this season. The team is also confirmed for the 2013 NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona. Finally, Josh Bragg, who is an up and coming late model driver in his own right, will continue to serve as Crew Chief.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300: 47 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 19 - Jeff Green 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 - David Reutimann returns to the seat, replacing Danica Patrick.
No. 19 - Jeff Green is in the seat, replacing Mike Bliss.
No. 32 - Mike Olsen is in the seat, replacing T.J. Bell. This will be Olsen's Sprint Cup Series debut.
No. 33 - Stephen Leicht returns to the seat, replacing Cole Whitt.
No. 36 - Tony Raines returns to the seat, replacing Dave Blaney. Blaney will practice and qualify the No. 22 in place of Sam Hornish, Jr., who will be in Kentucky with his Nationwide team.
No. 55 - Brian Vickers returns to the seat, replacing Mark Martin.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 19 - Jeff Green for Humphrey-Smith 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. 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 Kentucky 300: 43 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 22 - Ryan Blaney for Penske Racing
No. 30 - James Buescher for Turner Motorsports
No. 33 - Brendan Gaughan for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42 - Josh Wise for Team Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 50 - David Starr for MAKE Motorsports
No. 54 - Kurt Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 75 - Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 08- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Tim Andrews.
No. 10- Charles Lewandoski is in the seat, replacing Jeff Green.
No. 15- Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Timmy Hill.
No. 18- Drew Herring is in the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 22- Ryan Blaney returns to the seat, replacing Brad Keselowski.
No. 30- James Buescher returns to the seat, replacing Alex Bowman.
No. 33- Brendan Gaughan returns to the seat, replacing Paul Menard.
No. 39- Josh Richards returns to the seat, replacing Dexter Stacey.
No. 41- Timmy Hill returns to the seat, replacing Juan Carlos Blum.
No. 47- Matt DiBenedetto returns to the seat, replacing J.J. Yeley.
No. 54- Kurt Busch returns to the seat, replacing his brother Kyle.
No. 75- Scott Riggs returns to the seat, replacing Matt Carter.
Since there are only 43 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these drivers must qualify on speed:
No. 00- Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports/Ruch Motorsports
No. 08- Unknown driver for Randy Hill Racing/Go Green Racing
No. 8- Scott Lagasse, Jr. for Lagasse Motorsports
No. 10- Charles Lewandoski for TriStar Motorsports*
No. 15- Carl Long for Rick Ware 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. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing*
No. 75- Scott Riggs for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 86- Kevin Lepage for Deware Motorsports
Not Entered:
No. 28- Tony Raines for Robinson-Blakeney Motorsports
No. 71- Rick Ware Racing
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
Camping World Truck Series Kentucky 201: 36 trucks entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 0- Blake Koch for JJC Racing
No. 18- Brian Scott for Kyle Busch Motorsports
No. 19- David Mayhew for Brad Keselowski Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 0- Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing Chris Lafferty.
No. 07- Jeff Agnew returns to the seat, replacing Caleb Roark.
No. 4- Dakoda Armstrong is in the seat, replacing Augie Grill.
No. 5- John King is in the seat, replacing Aric Almirola.
No. 18- Brian Scott returns to the seat, replacing Drew Herring.
No. 27- Travis Miller returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Lynch.
No. 38- Chris Jones returns to the seat, replacing Dennis Setzer.
No. 74- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Mike Harmon.
No. 84- Chris Fontaine returns to the seat, replacing Wayne Edwards.
No. 93- Dennis Setzer returns to the seat, replacing Chris Jones.
Since there are only 36 trucks entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these teams must still qualify on speed:
No. 0- Blake Koch for JJC Racing*
No. 01- Jake Crum for Crum Motorsports
No. 4- Dakoda Armstrong for Turner Motorsports
No. 5- John King for Wauters Motorsports
No. 7- Parker Kligerman for Red Horse Racing
No. 8- Max Gresham for Eddie Sharp 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. 38- Chris Jones for RSS Racing*
No. 74- Unknown driver for Mike Harmon Racing*
Not Entered:
No. 47- Benjamin Reynolds
No. 65- Justin Jennings for MB Motorsports
No. 96- Todd Peck for Peck Motorsports
No. 97- Jeff Choquette for Adrian Carriers Racing
*- Expected to Start-and-Park
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 Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
Today's Featured Commentary
Quick Hits for September 20th
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
As the face of the sport continues to change, the final remaining cogs of what were Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s heydays at DEI officially severed ties with JR Motorsports. Both Tony Eury, Sr. and Jr. were released from the company over the past week, with the level of competition exhibited by Cole Whitt and Danica Patrick in the Nationwide Series apparently not up to expectations. While that may be true, is that really the fault of Tony Jr. or Sr.?
Let's take a look at the history here; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earned 15 of his 19 Cup Series wins with Pops on the box, and until he hooked up with Steve Letarte, was the one guy on the radio that could communicate to Dale Jr. and get the most out of him. Tony Eury, Jr. was dismissed in early 2009 in favor of Lance McGrew on the Cup side at Hendrick Motorsports, which proved to nearly be Junior's undoing. Weird beards and lackluster performances followed, along with the sort of malaise and depression usually associated with a bread line and dust bowls.
This season has shown vast-improvement for Danica Patrick, who has gone from spinning out early in the going, to consistently displaying top-10 runs, to leading, and being a legitimate threat to win at the road courses and restrictor plate tracks. She has been caught up in a number of wrecks not of her doing – although there have been a few of her doing as well. All part of the learning curve, and she was progressing steadily, shaking off monstrous hits at Daytona (both races), and showing signs of taking things to the next level. Cole Whitt has had flashes of brilliance, however it may be a case of resource allocation being dedicated to the No. 7 machine, and the No. 88 is left wanting.
Tony Eury, Jr. has stated that he and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s relationship is "perfect" -- however, seeing family members dismissed from the company that was created for his sons and daughters might not have sat too well with the old man if he was still around…
-----------
Tuesday word came down that A.J. Allmendinger had been re-instated by NASCAR. Wow, that was quick. While the public relations gaffe in the days following the admission of Adderall usage and the somewhat bizarre explanation that followed is still fresh in the minds of many, the reinstatement of Allmendinger by NASCAR came as a bit of a surprise. While his one-time indiscretion was not the sort of habitual use that led to the indefinite suspensions of drivers before him (Shane Hmiel and Aaron Fike come to mind) endured, Allmendinger's options for 2013 are limited at best. While a Tier A or B Cup Series ride seems a bit of a long shot at this point, the smart money would have him transitioning to the Izod IndyCar Series. Allmendinger was a guest of Roger Penske this past weekend in Fontana, California for the Izod IndyCar Series season finale. "I told AJ I wanted him to come to a race; I think he had been kind of undercover for quite a bit of the time, and I thought it would be good for him to get out and see people here, talk to some of the team owners," said Penske. The Captain also said that AJ was, "someone we would consider" as far as driving for the organization again. With Ryan Briscoe's future an uncertainty, might AJ be primed for a return to open wheel?
There may also be a home for Allmendinger in the Nationwide Series, or perhaps more likely, as part of Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series, which is owned by NASCAR. Allmendinger was part of the winning Daytona Prototype effort in the 24 Hours of Daytona this February for owner Michael Shank. Shank has reiterated his support of Allmendinger after the incident, and with the announcement that Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series will be merging for 2013, defending his 24 Hour win may be just what Allmendinger needs to revive his career and get things back off on the right foot for next year.
--------------
Here we are all of one race into The Chase, and the pundits are already writing people off.
Jeff Gordon who dominated the storyline leading up to the Chase is 47 points out – essentially one race win and leading the most laps out – after a stuck throttle cause him to crash at Chicagoland last weekend. Am I the only one who sees that Talladega still remains on the calendar as well as Martinsville? Talladega doesn't discriminate when it comes to Chasers or non-Chasers alike. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick found that out last year, as well as Kurt Busch. When the 24 went spinning this spring off the bumper of Clint Bowyer at Martinsville, remember the No. 48 went with him as well. Matt Kenseth got into it with Brian Vickers there last fall, and helped to seal his Chase fate. A flat tire there under green will put you nearly three laps down mighty quick, and broken gears and burned up brakes are always lurking over the neatly manicured bushes in each turn.
Sure the No. 2 and No. 48 are going to be tough to beat in the Chase, as well as the No. 11 and 88. We knew that going into it, but one race does not determine ten weeks of competition. A bad batch of valve springs can ruin an entire weekend, and cars wrecking with wheels flying off at 200mph tend to not care about points standings or pre-race predictions either.
Come talk to me after Talladega, and maybe Martinsville – I'll let you know who's in and who's out then.
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: American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where recapping and breaking down racing-related programming is the name of the game. Normally, I cover races outside of NASCAR's three "National" series in this piece. After all, we're primarily a NASCAR website. However, I believed long before the races were even run last weekend that the MavTV American Real 500 at Auto Club Speedway was ultimately a more important race to cover than the Camping World Truck Series event in Iowa, almost regardless of what happened.
Luckily, we got a pretty good race in Iowa Saturday night. Let's see how well SPEED did with the telecast.
Before I even start, I should explain that I was having really bad pixilation issues with SPEED throughout both the Setup and the race itself. As you can imagine, this would make it very hard to watch anything. The weird thing is that we had perfect weather here in Upstate New York Saturday night and the Izod IndyCar Series event in Fontana (which aired at the same time) was just fine. However, I don't believe that this was an issue with everyone. I hope I wasn't the only one.
The Setup started out with a montage-style look at the six drivers who had claimed their first career victories this year prior to Saturday night (King, Buescher, Justin Lofton, Coulter, Piquet and Ty Dillon). I was fine with this, especially with what eventually happened.
Last year, the SPEED Spotlight was simply a short segment during the pace laps where SPEED's commentators would draw attention to certain drivers. Just who those drivers were depended on who was in the race, and what stories were breaking that week. Now, the SPEED Spotlight has more or less evolved into an enhanced version of the Radio Recap segment from earlier this season. The result is that less drivers are covered, but those that are will get more coverage.
This week, we learned a little bit about Truck Series debutant Drew Herring, who drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports in their No. 18. This was a great move. While Herring has performed admirably in the Nationwide Series in his rare appearances over the past couple of years, we don't really know much about him. This piece filled in the gaps a little (the short version is that he's a late model hotshoe from the Southeast who caught the eye of Denny Hamlin, self-appointed grandmaster of the late models). We also saw Herring working with crew chief Eric Phillips during practice on Friday. This was interesting to watch, probably on a similar level (at least during the practice session) to the one with Parker Kligerman a couple of weeks ago.
There were also six pre-race interviews during the Setup, much higher than normal. Personally, I like this format for the Setup for the rest of the season if there aren't any bonafide feature pieces. You get a good number of interviews that help SPEED properly preview the race and drivers get airtime.
The race telecast was pretty good. There was plenty of action for position out on the track and SPEED did a great job showing us that action. However, having what amounted to a standalone race meant that the event didn't get the best footage.
By "best footage," I mean all of the typical views that you can count on during a race broadcast. Yes, there weren't too many issues when it came to showing racing for position on track, but when it came to incidents on track, we never seemed to ever get a good view of anything. The best example I can give of this was when Ron Hornaday crashed on Lap 69. At the same time that Hornaday crashed, Augie Grill and Jason White got together and hit the wall exiting Turn 4. We got a decent view of that incident in a replay (SPEED cut to Grill slowing on the frontstretch live, but a little after the wall contact).
In the case of Hornaday, SPEED suddenly cut to Hornaday's shortened No. 9 Chevrolet and noted that he had crashed and was likely done for the night. I'm not going to dispute the "he's likely done for the night" statement because it turned out to be the truth. However, the only view that we ended up getting of this crash was from a roof cam. That shot was from quite a distance away and made it look like Nelson Piquet, Jr. got into Hornaday and caused the wreck.
Then, after the green came back out, SPEED aired an interview with Hornaday where the 51-time winner claimed that Piquet never hit him. Instead, he claimed that he just got loose. The booth commentators took this statement from Hornaday at face value and let Piquet off the hook. Piquet ultimately finished the race in sixth, but we didn't get to see an interview with him. As Piquet has not referenced the incident since the race, we're generally at a loss as to what really happened. My best guess is that Piquet might have just grazed him entering Turn 1 and spun him. However, this grazing would have been done so lightly so that Hornaday didn't feel it. Not intentional in the least.
A lesser example of this can be seen when Ryan Lynch spun out on Lap 23 to bring out the first caution. The yellow was thrown, and there was confusion at first as the trucks came around to the yellow. It was only then that the commentators noticed Lynch's No. 27 facing the wrong direction. The camera angles made it look like the truck was undamaged from the crash. However, you could just make it out on the replay that Lynch nosed into the inside wall, necessitating a brief visit behind the wall for repairs.
The gist of the argument here is that for a standalone event like Saturday night's truck race, SPEED might not send as many cameras to cover the race. As a result, we might not be able to see as much as we would during a support event. That is nothing short of a shame.
Allen, Parsons and Waltrip did a great job on Saturday night in covering the on-track action. There was plenty of enthusiasm on display, and some amazement of some of the action, especially in and around restarts. I have to admit that some of it was outright insane (I believe that there was a stretch where a group of drivers were four-wide for an entire lap). They're just a joy to listen to, especially now that Waltrip isn't talking over everyone all the time.
Since the race ran a little long due to the late cautions, post-race coverage was relatively short. SPEED provided viewers with four post-race driver interviews, additional interviews with the winning crew chief (Doug Randolph) and winning father (Dave Blaney), and a check of the point standings. There was also one gratuitous celebration in which Ryan Blaney was doused with cold water/ice from a cooler in Victory Lane.
I hope you enjoyed this look at SPEED's coverage of the American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee from Saturday night. Stay tuned for next week's edition, when we'll bring you a look at SPEED's Saturday afternoon coverage from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. There is a Whelen Modified Tour race, the F.W. Webb 100, that will be televised live at the very least. Until then, enjoy the action this weekend in New Hampshire, Kentucky and Singapore.
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 IndyCar Round Table: Season Finales, American Champions, and Doubleheaders
"Will needs to get serious about running them. Instead of whining and complaining about how he dislikes ovals and how they are brainless to drive on, he should focus on getting better at them, whether that be on the simulator or simply by putting more focus into practice sessions. Will has always had a very snobbish attitude towards oval racing, and he will never, and I repeat, never have success on these tracks if he continues to undervalue and loathe them. He is a talented enough driver to get it done; he just needs to get his mind right."- Matt Stallknecht, on Will Power, his lack of success on ovals, and a possible self-fulfilling prophecy.
~~~~~~~~~~
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: American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where recapping and breaking down racing-related programming is the name of the game. Normally, I cover races outside of NASCAR's three "National" series in this piece. After all, we're primarily a NASCAR website. However, I believed long before the races were even run last weekend that the MavTV American Real 500 at Auto Club Speedway was ultimately a more important race to cover than the Camping World Truck Series event in Iowa, almost regardless of what happened.
Luckily, we got a pretty good race in Iowa Saturday night. Let's see how well SPEED did with the telecast.
Before I even start, I should explain that I was having really bad pixilation issues with SPEED throughout both the Setup and the race itself. As you can imagine, this would make it very hard to watch anything. The weird thing is that we had perfect weather here in Upstate New York Saturday night and the Izod IndyCar Series event in Fontana (which aired at the same time) was just fine. However, I don't believe that this was an issue with everyone. I hope I wasn't the only one.
The Setup started out with a montage-style look at the six drivers who had claimed their first career victories this year prior to Saturday night (King, Buescher, Justin Lofton, Coulter, Piquet and Ty Dillon). I was fine with this, especially with what eventually happened.
Last year, the SPEED Spotlight was simply a short segment during the pace laps where SPEED's commentators would draw attention to certain drivers. Just who those drivers were depended on who was in the race, and what stories were breaking that week. Now, the SPEED Spotlight has more or less evolved into an enhanced version of the Radio Recap segment from earlier this season. The result is that less drivers are covered, but those that are will get more coverage.
This week, we learned a little bit about Truck Series debutant Drew Herring, who drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports in their No. 18. This was a great move. While Herring has performed admirably in the Nationwide Series in his rare appearances over the past couple of years, we don't really know much about him. This piece filled in the gaps a little (the short version is that he's a late model hotshoe from the Southeast who caught the eye of Denny Hamlin, self-appointed grandmaster of the late models). We also saw Herring working with crew chief Eric Phillips during practice on Friday. This was interesting to watch, probably on a similar level (at least during the practice session) to the one with Parker Kligerman a couple of weeks ago.
There were also six pre-race interviews during the Setup, much higher than normal. Personally, I like this format for the Setup for the rest of the season if there aren't any bonafide feature pieces. You get a good number of interviews that help SPEED properly preview the race and drivers get airtime.
The race telecast was pretty good. There was plenty of action for position out on the track and SPEED did a great job showing us that action. However, having what amounted to a standalone race meant that the event didn't get the best footage.
By "best footage," I mean all of the typical views that you can count on during a race broadcast. Yes, there weren't too many issues when it came to showing racing for position on track, but when it came to incidents on track, we never seemed to ever get a good view of anything. The best example I can give of this was when Ron Hornaday crashed on Lap 69. At the same time that Hornaday crashed, Augie Grill and Jason White got together and hit the wall exiting Turn 4. We got a decent view of that incident in a replay (SPEED cut to Grill slowing on the frontstretch live, but a little after the wall contact).
In the case of Hornaday, SPEED suddenly cut to Hornaday's shortened No. 9 Chevrolet and noted that he had crashed and was likely done for the night. I'm not going to dispute the "he's likely done for the night" statement because it turned out to be the truth. However, the only view that we ended up getting of this crash was from a roof cam. That shot was from quite a distance away and made it look like Nelson Piquet, Jr. got into Hornaday and caused the wreck.
Then, after the green came back out, SPEED aired an interview with Hornaday where the 51-time winner claimed that Piquet never hit him. Instead, he claimed that he just got loose. The booth commentators took this statement from Hornaday at face value and let Piquet off the hook. Piquet ultimately finished the race in sixth, but we didn't get to see an interview with him. As Piquet has not referenced the incident since the race, we're generally at a loss as to what really happened. My best guess is that Piquet might have just grazed him entering Turn 1 and spun him. However, this grazing would have been done so lightly so that Hornaday didn't feel it. Not intentional in the least.
A lesser example of this can be seen when Ryan Lynch spun out on Lap 23 to bring out the first caution. The yellow was thrown, and there was confusion at first as the trucks came around to the yellow. It was only then that the commentators noticed Lynch's No. 27 facing the wrong direction. The camera angles made it look like the truck was undamaged from the crash. However, you could just make it out on the replay that Lynch nosed into the inside wall, necessitating a brief visit behind the wall for repairs.
The gist of the argument here is that for a standalone event like Saturday night's truck race, SPEED might not send as many cameras to cover the race. As a result, we might not be able to see as much as we would during a support event. That is nothing short of a shame.
Allen, Parsons and Waltrip did a great job on Saturday night in covering the on-track action. There was plenty of enthusiasm on display, and some amazement of some of the action, especially in and around restarts. I have to admit that some of it was outright insane (I believe that there was a stretch where a group of drivers were four-wide for an entire lap). They're just a joy to listen to, especially now that Waltrip isn't talking over everyone all the time.
Since the race ran a little long due to the late cautions, post-race coverage was relatively short. SPEED provided viewers with four post-race driver interviews, additional interviews with the winning crew chief (Doug Randolph) and winning father (Dave Blaney), and a check of the point standings. There was also one gratuitous celebration in which Ryan Blaney was doused with cold water/ice from a cooler in Victory Lane.
I hope you enjoyed this look at SPEED's coverage of the American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee from Saturday night. Stay tuned for next week's edition, when we'll bring you a look at SPEED's Saturday afternoon coverage from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. There is a Whelen Modified Tour race, the F.W. Webb 100, that will be televised live at the very least. Until then, enjoy the action this weekend in New Hampshire, Kentucky and Singapore.
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 IndyCar Round Table: Season Finales, American Champions, and Doubleheaders
"Will needs to get serious about running them. Instead of whining and complaining about how he dislikes ovals and how they are brainless to drive on, he should focus on getting better at them, whether that be on the simulator or simply by putting more focus into practice sessions. Will has always had a very snobbish attitude towards oval racing, and he will never, and I repeat, never have success on these tracks if he continues to undervalue and loathe them. He is a talented enough driver to get it done; he just needs to get his mind right."- Matt Stallknecht, on Will Power, his lack of success on ovals, and a possible self-fulfilling prophecy.
~~~~~~~~~~
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:
Fans Have Questions, We Have Answers: NASCAR Thursday Roundup
by Summer Bedgood
A Regal Entrance: John King, Other Rookies Return at Kentucky
by Kevin Rutherford
Professor Of Speed: Focused on Renewed Devotion?
by Mark Howell
Truckin' Thursdays: Could Kentucky Determine the Champion?
by Beth Lunkenheimer
~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1993 New England 200, Raul Boesel was right up in the battle up front with Nigel Mansell. However, it all went wrong for Boesel while they were negotiating through lapped traffic. What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Building on Tuesday's question, the NASCAR North Series splitting at the end of 1985 created a quandry when NASCAR added the Oxford 250 to the Busch Grand National schedule for 1986. What unusual site resulted out of this when the series made their first trek to Maine?
A: The upper levels of short track racing in New England were in flux at the time (1986 was the year in between the end of NASCAR North and the beginning of the Busch North Series). With the remnants of NASCAR North essentially becoming what's now the ACT Tour, the majority of the region's best drivers were racing late models. Also, note that Oxford, Maine would have been the longest haul on the schedule from the Carolinas at the time. Thus, the 1986 Oxford 250 was open to both Busch Grand National cars and late models.For example, check out the cars on this page. This treasure trove contains pictures from various Oxford 250 weekends, but this particular page linked has photos from 1986. With the high number of entries (the race had the fourth-highest purse in Busch Grand National that season, higher than all but Daytona and the two Charlotte races), three-digit numbers and numbers with letters in them were allowed. This is the only time that three-digit numbers have been allowed in the modern era of the series. The No. 132 Chevrolet Camaro in the link was driven to a tenth-place finish by Randy Porter. The race was ultimately won by Chuck Bown driving a Skoal-sponsored Pontiac 6000 carrying a crudely affixed No. 67 on top of its normal No. 7.
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: New Hampshire by TBA
We'll help prepare you for the Sylvania 300, Race No. 2 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
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 Kentucky 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Driver Diary: Kenny Wallace as told to Amy Henderson
Kenny returns to talk about his past month on and off the track. Expect plenty of dirt track racing to be covered here.
Formula One Fridays by Andy Hollis
Andy returns with another look at the World Championship ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix of Singapore.
-----------------------------
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