THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 24th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXC
~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Race Fans! Do you think you can predict the finishing order of this year's Chase? If you can, we'll give you our shirt! If you want a chance to win a Frontstretch T-Shirt and a free FanVision rental for a race weekend in 2013, now is your chance. Simply submit a list of the 12 Chase drivers in the order you think they will finish. You have until the end of the race at Dover to make your picks - but after the checkered flag flies on that race, we will not accept any more submissions. Then, we'll hang on to all of your predictions until after the final race in Homestead and tally them up. If you can correctly place all 12, you win the t-shirt and the FanVision rental! If nobody places all 12 correctly, we'll give the prize to whomever can get the most drivers in their correct points positions at the end of the year. Please submit your entries to FrontstretchEditors@googlegroups.com by the moment of the checkered flag at Dover! We will accept only one entry per person (if you submit more than one list, we will only take the FIRST one you submitted!) Good luck!
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Hamlin Comes From 32nd to Dominate Loudon
by Jeff Wolfe
It's one thing to say you're going to do something.
It's another thing to make a statement about what you're going to do, then do it.
And then again, it's quite another thing to do it in dominating fashion.
Denny Hamlin came from 32nd position at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and led 193 of the final 206 laps en route to his fifth win of the season. It was the second of ten races in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, the sport's version of the playoffs, and the win put Hamlin seven points behind points leader and Sunday's second-place finisher Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin would be in the points lead if not for running out of gas on the last lap of last week's race at Chicagoland. He was set to finish ninth, only to drop to 16th when he ran out of gas.
But he knew the No. 11 team of the Joe Gibbs Racing wasn't out of the Chase picture because of one mediocre finish. After the race, Hamlin took to Twitter and wrote, "This is Week 1 of 10. We will win next week." [Editor's Note: Hamlin later stated that this was not a guarantee, like some other media members have written that the tweet was]
After qualifying, that statement didn't look like it held much water as he was 32nd fastest. But it was apparent early Sunday that Hamlin was fast as he picked his way through the field. He reached first place for the first time at lap 94 of the 300-lap, 317.4-mile race.
"I knew once we got to about lap 50 and started working our way to sixth, seventh position, I knew that we had the winning car," Hamlin said. "It's all those other things I talked about that you can't control that can keep you out of Victory Lane. It's the untimely cautions, things like that.
"For me that was the most nerve-wracking part; let's not find a way to lose, because I knew we had the fastest car today. You know, I've obviously got a great knack for this racetrack, so for me, it crosses your mind, and then it's extra motivation in my mind to prove yourself right."
It was the second career win for Hamlin at New Hampshire, the 22nd overall for him and the 100th win for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin finished second in the summer race at New Hampshire in July, so he was hoping for more good things Sunday.
"You know, you look at how many realistic shots we had at winning races, and there's no reason why we shouldn't have like six or seven or eight wins in this season based off of, you know, just obscene stuff happened that took us out of Victory Lane," Hamlin said. "That being said, we as a team have won some races. My team won it for me in Atlanta and all of those things. So the vindication, it's like, I always say, no track owes you anything. You've got to go out there and you have to perform and you have to do it yourself."
While Hamlin kept about a five-second gap on Johnson for much of the race, the contenders had one last chance to challenge Hamlin when the fourth and final caution came out for debris with 28 laps remaining. The first seven cars did not pit, but Hamlin was so fast, the strategy at the end didn't matter. Hamlin knew the car would be fast on the slightly used tires because the same thing happened about 20 laps earlier in the race.
"We had a similar run like that at the end of the race," Hamlin said. "We both had 20-lap green-flag runs leading into the final caution. So it was a no-brainer from (crew chief Darian Grubb). He even told me, you can come in if you want, but we are not going to do anything, we are just going to sit here behind the wall. It was a no-brainer for me after we tried that early in the race with no tires to take none at the end."
Johnson knew his only shot at Hamlin was on the final restart.
"If I could have gone into the corner on the outside of him and kind of pinned him down a little bit, I may have had a chance to get by," Johnson said. "But once I got into the turn, there's paving seams in the road, and I got my right sides on a paving seam; and I couldn't turn under it and I was kind of stuck on it; the 24 (Jeff Gordon) got close to me. I had a little bit of hope for just, you know, quarter of a lap there. And then it was like, uh-oh, don't lose second. And then pulled away from Jeff and got going from there."
The rest of the top-10 in front of a crowd of 98,000 after Johnson was Gordon in third, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman.
Stewart won this race last year in en route to the title. And he looked strong early, leading 38 laps. Then, before Hamlin could work his way to the front, Kyle Busch took the lead for 48 laps. But after lap 94, the only time Hamlin surrendered the lead was on the recycling of field during green flag pit stops.
Then in Victory Lane, Hamlin recycled bit of history with an imitation of baseball legend Babe Ruth's called shot at Wrigley Field.
"Definitely there was many people that called their shot with championships ahead of me," Hamlin said. "So I'm just a small, small little bug on the windshield."
Hamlin will get a chance to retake the points lead next Sunday at Dover, in a 2 p.m. start on ESPN.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
-- Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 24th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CLXC
~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Race Fans! Do you think you can predict the finishing order of this year's Chase? If you can, we'll give you our shirt! If you want a chance to win a Frontstretch T-Shirt and a free FanVision rental for a race weekend in 2013, now is your chance. Simply submit a list of the 12 Chase drivers in the order you think they will finish. You have until the end of the race at Dover to make your picks - but after the checkered flag flies on that race, we will not accept any more submissions. Then, we'll hang on to all of your predictions until after the final race in Homestead and tally them up. If you can correctly place all 12, you win the t-shirt and the FanVision rental! If nobody places all 12 correctly, we'll give the prize to whomever can get the most drivers in their correct points positions at the end of the year. Please submit your entries to FrontstretchEditors@googlegroups.com by the moment of the checkered flag at Dover! We will accept only one entry per person (if you submit more than one list, we will only take the FIRST one you submitted!) Good luck!
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Hamlin Comes From 32nd to Dominate Loudon
by Jeff Wolfe
It's one thing to say you're going to do something.
It's another thing to make a statement about what you're going to do, then do it.
And then again, it's quite another thing to do it in dominating fashion.
Denny Hamlin came from 32nd position at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and led 193 of the final 206 laps en route to his fifth win of the season. It was the second of ten races in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, the sport's version of the playoffs, and the win put Hamlin seven points behind points leader and Sunday's second-place finisher Jimmie Johnson.
Hamlin would be in the points lead if not for running out of gas on the last lap of last week's race at Chicagoland. He was set to finish ninth, only to drop to 16th when he ran out of gas.
But he knew the No. 11 team of the Joe Gibbs Racing wasn't out of the Chase picture because of one mediocre finish. After the race, Hamlin took to Twitter and wrote, "This is Week 1 of 10. We will win next week." [Editor's Note: Hamlin later stated that this was not a guarantee, like some other media members have written that the tweet was]
After qualifying, that statement didn't look like it held much water as he was 32nd fastest. But it was apparent early Sunday that Hamlin was fast as he picked his way through the field. He reached first place for the first time at lap 94 of the 300-lap, 317.4-mile race.
"I knew once we got to about lap 50 and started working our way to sixth, seventh position, I knew that we had the winning car," Hamlin said. "It's all those other things I talked about that you can't control that can keep you out of Victory Lane. It's the untimely cautions, things like that.
"For me that was the most nerve-wracking part; let's not find a way to lose, because I knew we had the fastest car today. You know, I've obviously got a great knack for this racetrack, so for me, it crosses your mind, and then it's extra motivation in my mind to prove yourself right."
It was the second career win for Hamlin at New Hampshire, the 22nd overall for him and the 100th win for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin finished second in the summer race at New Hampshire in July, so he was hoping for more good things Sunday.
"You know, you look at how many realistic shots we had at winning races, and there's no reason why we shouldn't have like six or seven or eight wins in this season based off of, you know, just obscene stuff happened that took us out of Victory Lane," Hamlin said. "That being said, we as a team have won some races. My team won it for me in Atlanta and all of those things. So the vindication, it's like, I always say, no track owes you anything. You've got to go out there and you have to perform and you have to do it yourself."
While Hamlin kept about a five-second gap on Johnson for much of the race, the contenders had one last chance to challenge Hamlin when the fourth and final caution came out for debris with 28 laps remaining. The first seven cars did not pit, but Hamlin was so fast, the strategy at the end didn't matter. Hamlin knew the car would be fast on the slightly used tires because the same thing happened about 20 laps earlier in the race.
"We had a similar run like that at the end of the race," Hamlin said. "We both had 20-lap green-flag runs leading into the final caution. So it was a no-brainer from (crew chief Darian Grubb). He even told me, you can come in if you want, but we are not going to do anything, we are just going to sit here behind the wall. It was a no-brainer for me after we tried that early in the race with no tires to take none at the end."
Johnson knew his only shot at Hamlin was on the final restart.
"If I could have gone into the corner on the outside of him and kind of pinned him down a little bit, I may have had a chance to get by," Johnson said. "But once I got into the turn, there's paving seams in the road, and I got my right sides on a paving seam; and I couldn't turn under it and I was kind of stuck on it; the 24 (Jeff Gordon) got close to me. I had a little bit of hope for just, you know, quarter of a lap there. And then it was like, uh-oh, don't lose second. And then pulled away from Jeff and got going from there."
The rest of the top-10 in front of a crowd of 98,000 after Johnson was Gordon in third, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers and Ryan Newman.
Stewart won this race last year in en route to the title. And he looked strong early, leading 38 laps. Then, before Hamlin could work his way to the front, Kyle Busch took the lead for 48 laps. But after lap 94, the only time Hamlin surrendered the lead was on the recycling of field during green flag pit stops.
Then in Victory Lane, Hamlin recycled bit of history with an imitation of baseball legend Babe Ruth's called shot at Wrigley Field.
"Definitely there was many people that called their shot with championships ahead of me," Hamlin said. "So I'm just a small, small little bug on the windshield."
Hamlin will get a chance to retake the points lead next Sunday at Dover, in a 2 p.m. start on ESPN.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chasing the Chase: Second Straight Second-place Finish Gives Johnson Points Lead
by Jeff Wolfe
Jimmie Johnson has had two straight second-place finishes in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship and that is enough to put him into the points lead after week two of the sport's 10-race playoff format. Johnson was second at Chicagoland last week after leading 150 laps, and then was second again Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, even though he led just two laps giving him a one-point lead over Brad Keselowski, last week's winner at Chicagoland.
The big winner on the day in the points race was race winner Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota started the day fourth in points 15 behind Keselowski, but is now in third-place just seven points behind Johnson after winning his fifth race of the season. Hamlin received the maximum of 48 points Sunday getting bonus points for the win, leading a lap and leading the most laps.
Keselowski came into the day with a three-point lead over Johnson. And while he had a solid day with a sixth-place finish, he was not a contender for the victory. Keselowski is now one point behind Johnson in the points race.
The biggest losers in the points race Sunday were Martin Truex, Jr. in 17th and Greg Biffle in 18th. Truex Jr. now sits in tenth in the standings, 34 behind Johnson and Biffle is ninth, 33 points out of first. Also, Matt Kenseth couldn't make up any ground in the standings. He finished 13th Sunday and remained in 11th place.
Maybe the biggest testament on how difficult it is to make up ground in the points standings was Jeff Gordon. The four-time champion finished third, but made up just two points, going from 47 out to 45 out, and remained 12th in the standings.
Solid finishes helped Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer remain within a realistic shot of the lead. Stewart finished seventh to remain ten points out, and Bowyer fourth and Kahne fifth to each stay within 15 points of the lead.
The next race Sunday at Dover though could give Johnson a chance to widen his lead. The five-time champion has dominated the one-mile concrete oval in recent years.
Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 2096, 2) Brad Keselowski -1, 3) Denny Hamlin -7, 4) Tony Stewart -10, t-5) Kasey Kahne -15, t-5) Clint Bowyer -15, 7) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -26, 8) Kevin Harvick -31, 9) Greg Biffle -33, 10) Martin Truex, Jr. -34, 11) Matt Kenseth -35, 12) Jeff Gordon -45
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch 831, 14) Ryan Newman -24, 15) Carl Edwards -34, 16) Paul Menard -39, 17) Marcos Ambrose -59
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas, Bristol 2, Atlanta, New Hampshire 2), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland 2), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas, Michigan 2), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover, Indianapolis), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono 1), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan 1), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma, Richmond 2), Jeff Gordon (Pocono 2), Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen).
Tracking The Top 35: The Gap Grows a Bit
The gap between the 35th and 36th place cars grew by four points after Sunday's race at New Hampshire, putting the gap between 35th and 36th place at 119 points. The top-35 in points are guaranteed a starting spot in each week's race, and as has been the case since the first two months of the season, the margin remains a wide one.
The No. 36 car driven by Tony Raines finished 40th, but the car owned by Tommy Baldwin Racing still gained four points on the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne, which did not run at New Hampshire as the Wood Brothers team is on a partial schedule this season.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff...
t-29) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 246 points ahead of 36th.
t-29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 246 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 242 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 220 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 172 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Mike Olsen), 141 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Tony Raines), 119 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 119 points behind 35th.
37) Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht), 122 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 152 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – Jason Leffler), 202 points behind 35th.
40) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 206 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 212 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
Races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway tend to bring the creme to the top. For example, this year's Chasers made up 12 of the top-13 finishers in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Ryan Newman, who finished tenth, was the sole exception. Here, Newman equaled his July performance.
However, another driver that had a decent run on Sunday, but got nowhere near the press was Paul Menard in the Menards Chevrolet. Menard kept himself out of trouble and kept him in the top-15 nearly all day, eventually coming home in 12th. It was just another steady run for Menard, who has definitively proven that he belongs in the Sprint Cup Series on merit alone. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 728. Amazingly, this represents the number of laps raced by the Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since the last wreck, a distance of nearly two and a half races. Both races this season on the 1.058 mile oval went wreck-free. The last incident occurred on Lap 173 of last year's Sylvania 300 when Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards came together. - Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes to Remember: Sylvania 300
"It just seems like I never got the corner flow right," said Newman, who started eighth and was in the top-15 all day. We got the balance halfway close, but we never go the entry-middle-exit quite right. So it was a decent finish for the Aspen Dental Chevrolet. It was just not what we wanted. We've had Aspen Dental as the primary sponsor twice this year, and we got a fifth at Daytona in July and a tenth today. Two top-10s aren't bad, but we'd like to get them a win, too." - Ryan Newman, finished tenth
"There was a lot of clawing today. We'd have liked to have been a little faster but we still had a decent day. Like my 2 crew does every week, they just keep digging and made something happen." - Brad Keselowski, finished fourth
"We were just battling overall grip. Our car just didn't have any grip right when we unloaded off the truck and never fixed it. We were way loose in the corner and had no rear grip. We chattered the front tires. We chattered the rear tires. There at the end we chattered all four, so it was just back and forth with all four tires chattering but no grip at all. We were doing really well in the middle part of the race and I thought, 'Man, we've got something. We're going.' We got up to 10th and then just went straight backwards. I don't know what happened." - Greg Biffle, finished 18th
"It was just frustrating. That's as fast as our car will go. We've got some work to do and we all know it, so we're just gonna go back and work really hard. I think the balance was as good as the guys could get it. I think Chad and those guys did a good job with it, but there is just something missing from our whole setup and that's what we've got to work on." - Carl Edwards, finished 19th
"We had a great race car, just not an amazing car like the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) had. We were best in class today; did a great job. I was telling the guys on the radio on the way in, to only leave seven points on the table in two races is pretty good. We missed that win last week, and this week, and we didn't lead the most this weekend, but it is probably seven total. That's not bad. Very proud of this Lowe's team." - Jimmie Johnson, finished second
~~~~~~~~~~
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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.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Loudon-2 Race Recap
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Inside A Hot Streak, Crowd Concerns And Dancing An Offseason Away
by the Frontstretch Staff
No Matter The Format, NASCAR Cream Rising To The Top In Chase
by Mike Neff
A Match Made In Hell: Why NHMS Doesn't Belong On The Schedule
by Matt Stallknecht
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Sylvania 300
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Kentucky 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
Chasing the Chase: Second Straight Second-place Finish Gives Johnson Points Lead
by Jeff Wolfe
Jimmie Johnson has had two straight second-place finishes in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship and that is enough to put him into the points lead after week two of the sport's 10-race playoff format. Johnson was second at Chicagoland last week after leading 150 laps, and then was second again Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, even though he led just two laps giving him a one-point lead over Brad Keselowski, last week's winner at Chicagoland.
The big winner on the day in the points race was race winner Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota started the day fourth in points 15 behind Keselowski, but is now in third-place just seven points behind Johnson after winning his fifth race of the season. Hamlin received the maximum of 48 points Sunday getting bonus points for the win, leading a lap and leading the most laps.
Keselowski came into the day with a three-point lead over Johnson. And while he had a solid day with a sixth-place finish, he was not a contender for the victory. Keselowski is now one point behind Johnson in the points race.
The biggest losers in the points race Sunday were Martin Truex, Jr. in 17th and Greg Biffle in 18th. Truex Jr. now sits in tenth in the standings, 34 behind Johnson and Biffle is ninth, 33 points out of first. Also, Matt Kenseth couldn't make up any ground in the standings. He finished 13th Sunday and remained in 11th place.
Maybe the biggest testament on how difficult it is to make up ground in the points standings was Jeff Gordon. The four-time champion finished third, but made up just two points, going from 47 out to 45 out, and remained 12th in the standings.
Solid finishes helped Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer remain within a realistic shot of the lead. Stewart finished seventh to remain ten points out, and Bowyer fourth and Kahne fifth to each stay within 15 points of the lead.
The next race Sunday at Dover though could give Johnson a chance to widen his lead. The five-time champion has dominated the one-mile concrete oval in recent years.
Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 2096, 2) Brad Keselowski -1, 3) Denny Hamlin -7, 4) Tony Stewart -10, t-5) Kasey Kahne -15, t-5) Clint Bowyer -15, 7) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -26, 8) Kevin Harvick -31, 9) Greg Biffle -33, 10) Martin Truex, Jr. -34, 11) Matt Kenseth -35, 12) Jeff Gordon -45
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch 831, 14) Ryan Newman -24, 15) Carl Edwards -34, 16) Paul Menard -39, 17) Marcos Ambrose -59
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas, Bristol 2, Atlanta, New Hampshire 2), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland 2), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas, Michigan 2), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover, Indianapolis), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono 1), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan 1), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma, Richmond 2), Jeff Gordon (Pocono 2), Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen).
Tracking The Top 35: The Gap Grows a Bit
The gap between the 35th and 36th place cars grew by four points after Sunday's race at New Hampshire, putting the gap between 35th and 36th place at 119 points. The top-35 in points are guaranteed a starting spot in each week's race, and as has been the case since the first two months of the season, the margin remains a wide one.
The No. 36 car driven by Tony Raines finished 40th, but the car owned by Tommy Baldwin Racing still gained four points on the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne, which did not run at New Hampshire as the Wood Brothers team is on a partial schedule this season.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff...
t-29) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 246 points ahead of 36th.
t-29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 246 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 242 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 220 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 172 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Mike Olsen), 141 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Tony Raines), 119 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 119 points behind 35th.
37) Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht), 122 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 152 points behind 35th.
39) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – Jason Leffler), 202 points behind 35th.
40) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 206 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 212 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
Races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway tend to bring the creme to the top. For example, this year's Chasers made up 12 of the top-13 finishers in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Ryan Newman, who finished tenth, was the sole exception. Here, Newman equaled his July performance.
However, another driver that had a decent run on Sunday, but got nowhere near the press was Paul Menard in the Menards Chevrolet. Menard kept himself out of trouble and kept him in the top-15 nearly all day, eventually coming home in 12th. It was just another steady run for Menard, who has definitively proven that he belongs in the Sprint Cup Series on merit alone. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 728. Amazingly, this represents the number of laps raced by the Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since the last wreck, a distance of nearly two and a half races. Both races this season on the 1.058 mile oval went wreck-free. The last incident occurred on Lap 173 of last year's Sylvania 300 when Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards came together. - Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes to Remember: Sylvania 300
"It just seems like I never got the corner flow right," said Newman, who started eighth and was in the top-15 all day. We got the balance halfway close, but we never go the entry-middle-exit quite right. So it was a decent finish for the Aspen Dental Chevrolet. It was just not what we wanted. We've had Aspen Dental as the primary sponsor twice this year, and we got a fifth at Daytona in July and a tenth today. Two top-10s aren't bad, but we'd like to get them a win, too." - Ryan Newman, finished tenth
"There was a lot of clawing today. We'd have liked to have been a little faster but we still had a decent day. Like my 2 crew does every week, they just keep digging and made something happen." - Brad Keselowski, finished fourth
"We were just battling overall grip. Our car just didn't have any grip right when we unloaded off the truck and never fixed it. We were way loose in the corner and had no rear grip. We chattered the front tires. We chattered the rear tires. There at the end we chattered all four, so it was just back and forth with all four tires chattering but no grip at all. We were doing really well in the middle part of the race and I thought, 'Man, we've got something. We're going.' We got up to 10th and then just went straight backwards. I don't know what happened." - Greg Biffle, finished 18th
"It was just frustrating. That's as fast as our car will go. We've got some work to do and we all know it, so we're just gonna go back and work really hard. I think the balance was as good as the guys could get it. I think Chad and those guys did a good job with it, but there is just something missing from our whole setup and that's what we've got to work on." - Carl Edwards, finished 19th
"We had a great race car, just not an amazing car like the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) had. We were best in class today; did a great job. I was telling the guys on the radio on the way in, to only leave seven points on the table in two races is pretty good. We missed that win last week, and this week, and we didn't lead the most this weekend, but it is probably seven total. That's not bad. Very proud of this Lowe's team." - Jimmie Johnson, finished second
~~~~~~~~~~
COME JOIN THE FRONTSTRETCH FAMILY!
Hey Frontstretch Readers,
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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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:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Loudon-2 Race Recap
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Inside A Hot Streak, Crowd Concerns And Dancing An Offseason Away
by the Frontstretch Staff
No Matter The Format, NASCAR Cream Rising To The Top In Chase
by Mike Neff
A Match Made In Hell: Why NHMS Doesn't Belong On The Schedule
by Matt Stallknecht
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Sylvania 300
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Series Breakdown: Kentucky 300
by Bryan Davis Keith
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1985, Bill Elliott was by far the fastest driver at then-Dover Downs International Speedway. He led over 300 laps and lapped the field to win in the Spring. He then led 173 laps and appeared likely to lap the field again in September. However, it was not to be. What took Elliott out of contention for a decent finish?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1995 New England 200, the final open-wheel race at then-New Hampshire International Speedway, was won by rookie Andre Ribeiro of Brazil. However, Mexican racer Adrian Fernandez had the complete opposite day, not even completing a half-mile before his day ended. What happened?
A: Fernandez, who qualified in tenth, appeared to simply lose control of his No. 10 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola in Turn 2 on his own on the first lap. The car then backed hard into the outside wall, littering the track with debris. The crash can be seen at the 7:40 mark of this clip. Fernandez got out of the car under his own power, but the car was simply done for the day.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Sylvania 300 by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup by StarCoach Race Tours: Loudon / Dover Edition by Brett Poirier
The Chase is here, and Brett takes a look at which drivers are in position to take the field by storm... and which ones are already taking a look ahead towards 2013.
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers where we'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of the sport.
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another commentary to make you think.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1985, Bill Elliott was by far the fastest driver at then-Dover Downs International Speedway. He led over 300 laps and lapped the field to win in the Spring. He then led 173 laps and appeared likely to lap the field again in September. However, it was not to be. What took Elliott out of contention for a decent finish?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1995 New England 200, the final open-wheel race at then-New Hampshire International Speedway, was won by rookie Andre Ribeiro of Brazil. However, Mexican racer Adrian Fernandez had the complete opposite day, not even completing a half-mile before his day ended. What happened?
A: Fernandez, who qualified in tenth, appeared to simply lose control of his No. 10 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola in Turn 2 on his own on the first lap. The car then backed hard into the outside wall, littering the track with debris. The crash can be seen at the 7:40 mark of this clip. Fernandez got out of the car under his own power, but the car was simply done for the day.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Sylvania 300 by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup by StarCoach Race Tours: Loudon / Dover Edition by Brett Poirier
The Chase is here, and Brett takes a look at which drivers are in position to take the field by storm... and which ones are already taking a look ahead towards 2013.
Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has his weekly edition of talking points to wrap up Loudon and get us ready for Dover.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup Series was in action at New Hampshire Moto tor Speedway for race No. 2 of the Chase. Meanwhile, the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series were each in action at Kentucky Speedway this week. Were the telecasts of these events "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers where we'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of the sport.
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another commentary to make you think.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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