THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 22nd, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXII
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What to Watch For: Monday
- Today, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will drive in a super secret test session at an undisclosed location, rumored to be Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia. If all goes well, Earnhardt Jr. will officially be cleared to return to the drivers' seat this weekend at Martinsville after a Tuesday re-evaluation. The test is closed to both the public and media.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kenseth A Kansas Survivor in Crash-Filled Race
by Jeff Wolfe
Matt Kenseth seems to have the skill of taking a less than ideal situation and turning it into a pretty good one. Earlier this season, it was announced that the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver would be leaving the only team he's known, Roush Fenway Racing, for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013. Still, Kenseth went out and was one of the 12 drivers to qualify for the Chase for the Championship as a "lame duck."
Then, once the playoffs began, Kenseth ran into some bad luck and found himself in the 12th and final spot in the standings. His bid for the title was effectively over as soon as Dover, three races in.
Some drivers might have given up. Kenseth? He's just turned up the wick.
Two weeks after emerging victorious at Talladega, Kenseth led 78 laps at Kansas, including the final 49 to take his second Sprint Cup race trophy in three weeks. The driver of the No. 17 Ford overcame adversity yet again, hitting the wall about two-thirds of the way through the event with a scrape that could have easily eliminated his chance for victory. Turns out that worked to Kenseth's favor, tweaking the handling of the car in the right direction while a crucial two-tire call took care of the rest. He was the fastest off pit road on his final stop, leaving him in position to control the restarts up front in a race where there were only two on-track passes under green at the 1.5-mile oval -- on Lap 1 and for a mid-race wreck.
That left Kenseth in the rare position of going from wreckers to checkers.
"I got into the wall with about 80 laps to go and we had to come in, get the fenders off and fix it up," said Kenseth after his first victory at Kansas and his third of the year. "Then, when we made that last pit stop, I didn't need as much fuel as everybody else and it was a great pit stop."
Kenseth wasn't sure how bad the damage was to his car, and wasn't sure how well the crew could fix it. But crew chief Jimmy Fennig gave Kenseth a bit of pep talk to reassure the 14-year veteran of RFR.
"He didn't say it, but he was probably thinking I should stop whining about it," Kenseth said. "He said it was fine. I knew I hit it really hard but thought it was centered up in the door real good and we had a similar thing happen at Homestead last year. As soon as we got the fender back where it was supposed to be, it was fine. I was happy, as hard as I hit it that my steering wheel was still in the right place."
Kenseth wasn't the only one to hit the wall on the first race on the track since it was re-paved following the Spring event. Several cars had their right-front tire go down, which largely contributed to the season and track-high 14 yellow flags that led to 66 caution laps. Among those who had promising runs "deflated" by bad Goodyears or self-induced mistakes were AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola.
"I'm ready to go home and have a couple of beers," said a relieved Brad Keselowski, who has a seven-point lead over Jimmie Johnson in the points race after finishing eighth Sunday. "It's just a long day. Everybody was asking all season where the cautions have been. The answer is they flew to Kansas and they've been hanging out here. It seemed like every caution today happened right in front of me. We dodged a bullet of race."
One of the least fortunate drivers on the day was the driver whose spin forced Kenseth's Ford into the backstretch wall: Almirola. The driver of the No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports had one of the strongest cars early and led 69 laps on the day, surpassing his career total in 66 previous Sprint Cup starts. He first smacked the wall on lap 121 while leading. Repairs were made, returning him to contention but then spun out on a Lap 173 restart while battling Mark Martin for the lead, again. After pitting under green and losing a lap, then getting the Lucky Dog, Almirola was put out of his misery with another tire failure that demolished his car and hopes for victory.
"I am disappointed," Almirola said. "I have never in my entire life had a race car that good. It was so fast and so easy to drive -- we had a spectacular car. I hate that it ends like this but I have always been told you have to give a few away before you can win one and I feel like we certainly gave one away today."
Johnson, who in his case rallied from a Turn 2 crash to finish ninth, felt the same way as he led 44 laps. But his result could have been much worse, too.
"That's pretty tore up," said Johnson after surveying his No. 48 Chevrolet that could have had a brand of duct tape as a sponsor. "I'm definitely proud of this team that we never give up and try to get any points that we can."
Johnson's wreck, with 130 laps remaining could have easily sent him to the garage and left him 30th. But crew chief Chad Knaus, over a five-lap yellow-flag period led a series of adjustments that kept the rear of the car intact without losing a lap. Remarkably, despite the high speed of the hit the main parts remained intact enough the driver could use the "patch job" to not only remain in the race but pass competitors with ease. Towards the end of the event, the No. 48 car was one of the fastest on-track.
Still, considering what could have been its driver spent his postrace daydreaming of points simply left on the table.
"I crashed the car," Johnson said. "I was trying to get inside the 56 (of Martin Truex, Jr.). He bobbled a little in front of me and I thought that was an opportunity to jump on the gas real hard. When I did that, I couldn't catch it. I thought I could've been to Victory Lane and stretched some points on these guys."
There were also a few back-and-forth jabs between frustrated drivers taken out by on-track bumping. Kyle Busch, who led the race at one point threatened to retaliate in future events after a tap by Ryan Newman destroyed his No. 18 Toyota. Danica Patrick threatened Landon Cassill after their contact, intentional on Patrick's part led to both drivers wrecking in Turn 1. Cassill continued on while Patrick failed to finish, leading to a quip on Cassill's radio that "the number one rule in stock car racing is to wreck someone without wrecking yourself."
But besides the crashes, passing was difficult as was showcased by Kenseth pulling away with ease on the final restarts of the race. The rest of the top-10 finishers, in front of an estimated crowd of 78,000 following Kenseth were Truex Jr. in second, Paul Menard (with his best finish since winning Indianapolis in July, 2011), Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Regan Smith, Keselowski, Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Kahne, who started on the pole, also felt he would have had a shot for the win if not for an electrical failure when his car didn't restart after he turned the engine off to save fuel. Second at the time of the incident, Kahne was penalized by NASCAR for not maintaining race pace under yellow and lost four spots.
"It just wouldn't refire," he said after fighting back to fourth. "I'm disappointed, but, we got up through there and had a good car. We passed a lot of cars. There was a lot of tire and fuel strategy throughout."
And for Kenseth, a lot of celebrating for at least one more time while driving for owner Jack Roush. It's something the 40-year-old Wisconsin native isn't taking for granted as he enjoyed his 24th career victory, tying him for 26th on the all-time list with Kyle and Kurt Busch.
"I will say you never know when or if your next win is," Kenseth said. "Like I always am, especially as you get older, you really appreciate it more. I'm really thankful and humble to be sitting up here, honestly. It's just a pleasure to drive that stuff. We still have some races left we want to win. I just think it says a lot about these guys sitting here."
Kenseth's next opportunity to capture the Sprint Cup checkered flag will be Sunday at Martinsville. The seventh race of the ten-race Chase will go green at 2 p.m. 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!
October 22nd, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXII
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch For: Monday
- Today, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will drive in a super secret test session at an undisclosed location, rumored to be Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia. If all goes well, Earnhardt Jr. will officially be cleared to return to the drivers' seat this weekend at Martinsville after a Tuesday re-evaluation. The test is closed to both the public and media.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kenseth A Kansas Survivor in Crash-Filled Race
by Jeff Wolfe
Matt Kenseth seems to have the skill of taking a less than ideal situation and turning it into a pretty good one. Earlier this season, it was announced that the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver would be leaving the only team he's known, Roush Fenway Racing, for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013. Still, Kenseth went out and was one of the 12 drivers to qualify for the Chase for the Championship as a "lame duck."
Then, once the playoffs began, Kenseth ran into some bad luck and found himself in the 12th and final spot in the standings. His bid for the title was effectively over as soon as Dover, three races in.
Some drivers might have given up. Kenseth? He's just turned up the wick.
Two weeks after emerging victorious at Talladega, Kenseth led 78 laps at Kansas, including the final 49 to take his second Sprint Cup race trophy in three weeks. The driver of the No. 17 Ford overcame adversity yet again, hitting the wall about two-thirds of the way through the event with a scrape that could have easily eliminated his chance for victory. Turns out that worked to Kenseth's favor, tweaking the handling of the car in the right direction while a crucial two-tire call took care of the rest. He was the fastest off pit road on his final stop, leaving him in position to control the restarts up front in a race where there were only two on-track passes under green at the 1.5-mile oval -- on Lap 1 and for a mid-race wreck.
That left Kenseth in the rare position of going from wreckers to checkers.
"I got into the wall with about 80 laps to go and we had to come in, get the fenders off and fix it up," said Kenseth after his first victory at Kansas and his third of the year. "Then, when we made that last pit stop, I didn't need as much fuel as everybody else and it was a great pit stop."
Kenseth wasn't sure how bad the damage was to his car, and wasn't sure how well the crew could fix it. But crew chief Jimmy Fennig gave Kenseth a bit of pep talk to reassure the 14-year veteran of RFR.
"He didn't say it, but he was probably thinking I should stop whining about it," Kenseth said. "He said it was fine. I knew I hit it really hard but thought it was centered up in the door real good and we had a similar thing happen at Homestead last year. As soon as we got the fender back where it was supposed to be, it was fine. I was happy, as hard as I hit it that my steering wheel was still in the right place."
Kenseth wasn't the only one to hit the wall on the first race on the track since it was re-paved following the Spring event. Several cars had their right-front tire go down, which largely contributed to the season and track-high 14 yellow flags that led to 66 caution laps. Among those who had promising runs "deflated" by bad Goodyears or self-induced mistakes were AJ Allmendinger, Greg Biffle and Aric Almirola.
"I'm ready to go home and have a couple of beers," said a relieved Brad Keselowski, who has a seven-point lead over Jimmie Johnson in the points race after finishing eighth Sunday. "It's just a long day. Everybody was asking all season where the cautions have been. The answer is they flew to Kansas and they've been hanging out here. It seemed like every caution today happened right in front of me. We dodged a bullet of race."
One of the least fortunate drivers on the day was the driver whose spin forced Kenseth's Ford into the backstretch wall: Almirola. The driver of the No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports had one of the strongest cars early and led 69 laps on the day, surpassing his career total in 66 previous Sprint Cup starts. He first smacked the wall on lap 121 while leading. Repairs were made, returning him to contention but then spun out on a Lap 173 restart while battling Mark Martin for the lead, again. After pitting under green and losing a lap, then getting the Lucky Dog, Almirola was put out of his misery with another tire failure that demolished his car and hopes for victory.
"I am disappointed," Almirola said. "I have never in my entire life had a race car that good. It was so fast and so easy to drive -- we had a spectacular car. I hate that it ends like this but I have always been told you have to give a few away before you can win one and I feel like we certainly gave one away today."
Johnson, who in his case rallied from a Turn 2 crash to finish ninth, felt the same way as he led 44 laps. But his result could have been much worse, too.
"That's pretty tore up," said Johnson after surveying his No. 48 Chevrolet that could have had a brand of duct tape as a sponsor. "I'm definitely proud of this team that we never give up and try to get any points that we can."
Johnson's wreck, with 130 laps remaining could have easily sent him to the garage and left him 30th. But crew chief Chad Knaus, over a five-lap yellow-flag period led a series of adjustments that kept the rear of the car intact without losing a lap. Remarkably, despite the high speed of the hit the main parts remained intact enough the driver could use the "patch job" to not only remain in the race but pass competitors with ease. Towards the end of the event, the No. 48 car was one of the fastest on-track.
Still, considering what could have been its driver spent his postrace daydreaming of points simply left on the table.
"I crashed the car," Johnson said. "I was trying to get inside the 56 (of Martin Truex, Jr.). He bobbled a little in front of me and I thought that was an opportunity to jump on the gas real hard. When I did that, I couldn't catch it. I thought I could've been to Victory Lane and stretched some points on these guys."
There were also a few back-and-forth jabs between frustrated drivers taken out by on-track bumping. Kyle Busch, who led the race at one point threatened to retaliate in future events after a tap by Ryan Newman destroyed his No. 18 Toyota. Danica Patrick threatened Landon Cassill after their contact, intentional on Patrick's part led to both drivers wrecking in Turn 1. Cassill continued on while Patrick failed to finish, leading to a quip on Cassill's radio that "the number one rule in stock car racing is to wreck someone without wrecking yourself."
But besides the crashes, passing was difficult as was showcased by Kenseth pulling away with ease on the final restarts of the race. The rest of the top-10 finishers, in front of an estimated crowd of 78,000 following Kenseth were Truex Jr. in second, Paul Menard (with his best finish since winning Indianapolis in July, 2011), Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Regan Smith, Keselowski, Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Kahne, who started on the pole, also felt he would have had a shot for the win if not for an electrical failure when his car didn't restart after he turned the engine off to save fuel. Second at the time of the incident, Kahne was penalized by NASCAR for not maintaining race pace under yellow and lost four spots.
"It just wouldn't refire," he said after fighting back to fourth. "I'm disappointed, but, we got up through there and had a good car. We passed a lot of cars. There was a lot of tire and fuel strategy throughout."
And for Kenseth, a lot of celebrating for at least one more time while driving for owner Jack Roush. It's something the 40-year-old Wisconsin native isn't taking for granted as he enjoyed his 24th career victory, tying him for 26th on the all-time list with Kyle and Kurt Busch.
"I will say you never know when or if your next win is," Kenseth said. "Like I always am, especially as you get older, you really appreciate it more. I'm really thankful and humble to be sitting up here, honestly. It's just a pleasure to drive that stuff. We still have some races left we want to win. I just think it says a lot about these guys sitting here."
Kenseth's next opportunity to capture the Sprint Cup checkered flag will be Sunday at Martinsville. The seventh race of the ten-race Chase will go green at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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Chasing the Chase: Holding Steady Atop The Championship Chart
by Jeff Wolfe
There were no big winners or losers Sunday when it came to gaining or losing points in the Chase for the Championship. But as we learned last year, when Tony Stewart won the title in a tiebreaker over Carl Edwards, every point counts.
So with that in mind, one driver in contention for the title who did lose some ground on the leader was Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota finished 13th, not a disaster, but it also cost him five points to Chase leader Brad Keselowski. Hamlin went from 15 points behind to start the day to 20 behind; he was a victim of bad luck when a caution came out shortly after making a green-flag stop. That left the No. 11 Toyota back in the pack, forced to use the wavearound to remain on the lead lap and the team could only battle back so far in the race's final 100 miles.
The gap between Keselowski and second-place Jimmie Johnson remained at seven points, the same as last week. Keselowski finished one spot ahead of Johnson, but did not lead any laps, while Johnson led 44 to give him one bonus point.
Two drivers trying to put themselves in the thick of title contention are Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. Bowyer finished sixth and did pick up three points on Keselowski and is now 25 points out. Kahne also made a slight gain with a fourth-place finish, and with leading one lap for a bonus point, gained five points on the lead and is now 30 out.
Some other drivers made minimal gains, but remained without a realistic chance to catch Keselowski. Martin Truex, Jr. finished second and cut six points off of his gap, surging to sixth in the standings but is now 43 points out of the lead. Tony Stewart finished fifth, cutting three points off of his gap, yet remains a full race points deficit - 47 - outside the top spot. Stewart avoided a disaster of a day as he was involved in an accident and also had a stop-and-go penalty when a wrench was left in the top rear of his car, where a wedge adjustment is made, as he pulled off pit lane.
The biggest gainer on the day was race winner Matt Kenseth. He gained 12 points and is now 55 behind, but also realizes he has no realistic chance to catch Keselowski.
"The only way we're going to catch him is if he doesn't show for a race," Kenseth said. "Unfortunately, we've had two really good races and four really bad races."
A Kenseth teammate who had a bad day was Greg Biffle. He saw a chance for a top-10 finish disappear when he crashed on lap 176 of the 267-lap race and finished 27th. That cost him 19 points in the standings and he is now 62 points back in 11th.
Elsewhere, Jeff Gordon finished tenth and lost one point to drop to 51 back; Kevin Harvick finished 11th and lost three points to drop to 59 back. They're also in need of a miracle to contend for the title.
Finally, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who did not race at Charlotte and Kansas due to a concussion, fell to 122 points back in the 12th and final Chase spot. Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday he is hopeful Earnhardt Jr. will be cleared to race at Martinsville on Sunday, the seventh race of the 10-race Chase.
Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Brad Keselowski 2250 points, 2) Jimmie Johnson -7, 3) Denny Hamlin -20, 4) Clint Bowyer -25, 5) Kasey Kahne -30, 6) Martin Truex, Jr. -43, 7) Tony Stewart -47, 8) Jeff Gordon -51, 9) Matt Kenseth -55, 10) Kevin Harvick -59, 11) Greg Biffle -62, 12) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -122.
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch 964, 14) Carl Edwards -53, 15) Ryan Newman -61, 16) Paul Menard -75, 17) Marcos Ambrose -104, 18) Joey Logano -107.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500, Talladega 2, Kansas 2), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas, Bristol 2, Atlanta, New Hampshire 2), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland 2, Dover 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, Charlotte 2), Jeff Gordon (Pocono 2), Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen).
Tracking The Top 35: The Gap Shrinks Once Again
The gap between the 35th and 36th place teams remained significant after Sunday's race at Kansas, even though the gap between 35th and 36th shrunk from 99 points to 81. The top-35 teams 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 Dave Blaney finished 39th after dropping out early and sits in the 35th spot, while the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne finished 21st and sits in 36th. The 21st-place finish came even though Bayne was involved in an accident with Marcos Ambrose in Turn 3 just after halfway. Bayne is driving a partial schedule for the Wood Brothers this season.
Here's your owner point standings around the all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 262 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 261 points ahead of 36th.
31) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 231 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 217 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – Danica Patrick), 152 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Timmy Hill), 141 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 81 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 81 points behind 35th.
37) Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Cole Whitt), 149 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 165 points behind 35th.
39) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 204 points behind 35th.
40) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – Jason Leffler), 233 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 235 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
Events that have a substantial number of wrecks often allow smaller, "minnow teams" to earn better finishes than they would otherwise have been capable of earning. Restrictor plate races are the same way. Thus was the day for Timmy Hill and FAS Lane Racing. The 19-year-old Nationwide Series regular qualified a distant 42nd, armed with the goal of keeping himself out of trouble all day. However, Hill's car was a bit off the pace, so he lost a lap under green early in the race. The constant wrecking around halfway eventually allowed Hill to get back onto the lead lap via the Lucky Dog, though. From there, Hill held serve, battled with some of the drivers towards the back of the field and moved up a couple of places to finish 22nd. It was the fifth time this season (and seventh overall) that FAS Lane's No. 32 has finished on the same lap as the leaders; however, it's the first time they've pulled that feat off on a regular oval. The previous six were in restrictor plate events, or on road courses. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 6. This represents the number of right-front tire failures during Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400. They affected Aric Almirola (twice), Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears, and Sam Hornish, Jr. Only Kurt Busch, who had a tire go down in the last 15 laps of Sunday's race, managed to finish the event. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Hollywood Casino 400
"I'm not real sure what happened out there other than the fact that he (Kyle Busch) got loose, and I ended up hitting him in the middle of (turns) three and four and spinning him around. Then we got clobbered by the No. 22 (Hornish). It was a chain of events, but he (Busch) just got loose in front of me, and it's so fast here it's hard to check up when he is getting sideways. I saw he already lost control of the car once earlier in the race. It's kind of treacherous on the tires." - Ryan Newman, finished 30th (Retired due to Crash Damage)
"Our guys led by (crew chief) Steve Addington – they never gave up today. Really proud of their effort. We probably had to pass more cars than anybody today, but that seems to be our M.O. We seem to have to do that every week. We've got a little bit of work to do, but we're gaining on it. We worked with a little different package this week. We still didn't get it right, but we got pretty close." - Tony Stewart, finished fifth
"Our overall performance was indeed much better than our finish. There was just too much to overcome. But on the bright side, we have a race team that proved today that we can run up front. There is no doubt in my mind that we had at least a top-5 car. We were severely handicapped after [the Lap 255 wall contact], but didn't quit. We still felt we could salvage a respectable finish." - Kurt Busch, finished 25th
"All the guys on this Farmland Ford Fusion did a great job and we just had a really great race car and we were here in Farmland's headquarters and we were trying really hard to double their money to Harvesters Food Bank if we won but we were unable to do that, not from lack of effort." - Aric Almirola, finished 29th(Crashed out)
"I knew it was going to be like that and the Nationwide race was kind of like that but I didn't plan on it being me. I don't know what happened. I had no indication, no little wiggle, no sideways anything. It just took off. It just got away from me and it killed our day." - Greg Biffle, finished 27th
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Kansas-2 Race Recap
by Tom Bowles
Underdogs Shine In Kansas... And Beyond
by Summer Bedgood
Pace Laps: Decision 2012 For 'Dinger And Finch, George Goes Kaput & Title Dreams
by the Frontstretch Staff
Johnson's Big Loss Or Keselowski's Big Break? More Than One Kind Of Championship Effort
by Mike Neff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Hollywood Casino 400
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Breakdown: Kansas Lottery 300
by Summer Bedgood
Chasing the Chase: Holding Steady Atop The Championship Chart
by Jeff Wolfe
There were no big winners or losers Sunday when it came to gaining or losing points in the Chase for the Championship. But as we learned last year, when Tony Stewart won the title in a tiebreaker over Carl Edwards, every point counts.
So with that in mind, one driver in contention for the title who did lose some ground on the leader was Denny Hamlin. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota finished 13th, not a disaster, but it also cost him five points to Chase leader Brad Keselowski. Hamlin went from 15 points behind to start the day to 20 behind; he was a victim of bad luck when a caution came out shortly after making a green-flag stop. That left the No. 11 Toyota back in the pack, forced to use the wavearound to remain on the lead lap and the team could only battle back so far in the race's final 100 miles.
The gap between Keselowski and second-place Jimmie Johnson remained at seven points, the same as last week. Keselowski finished one spot ahead of Johnson, but did not lead any laps, while Johnson led 44 to give him one bonus point.
Two drivers trying to put themselves in the thick of title contention are Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. Bowyer finished sixth and did pick up three points on Keselowski and is now 25 points out. Kahne also made a slight gain with a fourth-place finish, and with leading one lap for a bonus point, gained five points on the lead and is now 30 out.
Some other drivers made minimal gains, but remained without a realistic chance to catch Keselowski. Martin Truex, Jr. finished second and cut six points off of his gap, surging to sixth in the standings but is now 43 points out of the lead. Tony Stewart finished fifth, cutting three points off of his gap, yet remains a full race points deficit - 47 - outside the top spot. Stewart avoided a disaster of a day as he was involved in an accident and also had a stop-and-go penalty when a wrench was left in the top rear of his car, where a wedge adjustment is made, as he pulled off pit lane.
The biggest gainer on the day was race winner Matt Kenseth. He gained 12 points and is now 55 behind, but also realizes he has no realistic chance to catch Keselowski.
"The only way we're going to catch him is if he doesn't show for a race," Kenseth said. "Unfortunately, we've had two really good races and four really bad races."
A Kenseth teammate who had a bad day was Greg Biffle. He saw a chance for a top-10 finish disappear when he crashed on lap 176 of the 267-lap race and finished 27th. That cost him 19 points in the standings and he is now 62 points back in 11th.
Elsewhere, Jeff Gordon finished tenth and lost one point to drop to 51 back; Kevin Harvick finished 11th and lost three points to drop to 59 back. They're also in need of a miracle to contend for the title.
Finally, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who did not race at Charlotte and Kansas due to a concussion, fell to 122 points back in the 12th and final Chase spot. Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday he is hopeful Earnhardt Jr. will be cleared to race at Martinsville on Sunday, the seventh race of the 10-race Chase.
Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Brad Keselowski 2250 points, 2) Jimmie Johnson -7, 3) Denny Hamlin -20, 4) Clint Bowyer -25, 5) Kasey Kahne -30, 6) Martin Truex, Jr. -43, 7) Tony Stewart -47, 8) Jeff Gordon -51, 9) Matt Kenseth -55, 10) Kevin Harvick -59, 11) Greg Biffle -62, 12) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -122.
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch 964, 14) Carl Edwards -53, 15) Ryan Newman -61, 16) Paul Menard -75, 17) Marcos Ambrose -104, 18) Joey Logano -107.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500, Talladega 2, Kansas 2), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas, Bristol 2, Atlanta, New Hampshire 2), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona 2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky, Chicagoland 2, Dover 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, Charlotte 2), Jeff Gordon (Pocono 2), Marcos Ambrose (Watkins Glen).
Tracking The Top 35: The Gap Shrinks Once Again
The gap between the 35th and 36th place teams remained significant after Sunday's race at Kansas, even though the gap between 35th and 36th shrunk from 99 points to 81. The top-35 teams 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 Dave Blaney finished 39th after dropping out early and sits in the 35th spot, while the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne finished 21st and sits in 36th. The 21st-place finish came even though Bayne was involved in an accident with Marcos Ambrose in Turn 3 just after halfway. Bayne is driving a partial schedule for the Wood Brothers this season.
Here's your owner point standings around the all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 262 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 261 points ahead of 36th.
31) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 231 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 217 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – Danica Patrick), 152 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Timmy Hill), 141 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 81 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 81 points behind 35th.
37) Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Cole Whitt), 149 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 165 points behind 35th.
39) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 204 points behind 35th.
40) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – Jason Leffler), 233 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 235 points behind 35th.
Jeff Wolfe is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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Secret Star of the Week: The Race You Never Saw
Events that have a substantial number of wrecks often allow smaller, "minnow teams" to earn better finishes than they would otherwise have been capable of earning. Restrictor plate races are the same way. Thus was the day for Timmy Hill and FAS Lane Racing. The 19-year-old Nationwide Series regular qualified a distant 42nd, armed with the goal of keeping himself out of trouble all day. However, Hill's car was a bit off the pace, so he lost a lap under green early in the race. The constant wrecking around halfway eventually allowed Hill to get back onto the lead lap via the Lucky Dog, though. From there, Hill held serve, battled with some of the drivers towards the back of the field and moved up a couple of places to finish 22nd. It was the fifth time this season (and seventh overall) that FAS Lane's No. 32 has finished on the same lap as the leaders; however, it's the first time they've pulled that feat off on a regular oval. The previous six were in restrictor plate events, or on road courses. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 6. This represents the number of right-front tire failures during Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400. They affected Aric Almirola (twice), Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Casey Mears, and Sam Hornish, Jr. Only Kurt Busch, who had a tire go down in the last 15 laps of Sunday's race, managed to finish the event. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Hollywood Casino 400
"I'm not real sure what happened out there other than the fact that he (Kyle Busch) got loose, and I ended up hitting him in the middle of (turns) three and four and spinning him around. Then we got clobbered by the No. 22 (Hornish). It was a chain of events, but he (Busch) just got loose in front of me, and it's so fast here it's hard to check up when he is getting sideways. I saw he already lost control of the car once earlier in the race. It's kind of treacherous on the tires." - Ryan Newman, finished 30th (Retired due to Crash Damage)
"Our guys led by (crew chief) Steve Addington – they never gave up today. Really proud of their effort. We probably had to pass more cars than anybody today, but that seems to be our M.O. We seem to have to do that every week. We've got a little bit of work to do, but we're gaining on it. We worked with a little different package this week. We still didn't get it right, but we got pretty close." - Tony Stewart, finished fifth
"Our overall performance was indeed much better than our finish. There was just too much to overcome. But on the bright side, we have a race team that proved today that we can run up front. There is no doubt in my mind that we had at least a top-5 car. We were severely handicapped after [the Lap 255 wall contact], but didn't quit. We still felt we could salvage a respectable finish." - Kurt Busch, finished 25th
"All the guys on this Farmland Ford Fusion did a great job and we just had a really great race car and we were here in Farmland's headquarters and we were trying really hard to double their money to Harvesters Food Bank if we won but we were unable to do that, not from lack of effort." - Aric Almirola, finished 29th(Crashed out)
"I knew it was going to be like that and the Nationwide race was kind of like that but I didn't plan on it being me. I don't know what happened. I had no indication, no little wiggle, no sideways anything. It just took off. It just got away from me and it killed our day." - Greg Biffle, finished 27th
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Kansas-2 Race Recap
by Tom Bowles
Underdogs Shine In Kansas... And Beyond
by Summer Bedgood
Pace Laps: Decision 2012 For 'Dinger And Finch, George Goes Kaput & Title Dreams
by the Frontstretch Staff
Johnson's Big Loss Or Keselowski's Big Break? More Than One Kind Of Championship Effort
by Mike Neff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Hollywood Casino 400
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Breakdown: Kansas Lottery 300
by Summer Bedgood
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1990 Goody's 500 at Martinsville, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader had an excellent day, leading a combined 156 laps. However, this race ended in the worst possible way for the duo. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: 2003 was the height of pack racing at intermediate ovals in the now-Izod IndyCar Series. The Kansas Indy 300 was no different. Yes, there were only ten lead changes, but the races were still exciting. Unfortunately for Dan Wheldon and Felipe Giaffone, they didn't quite make it to the finish on this day, but they would return to fight again. What happened to put them out of the race?
A: Giaffone made a move to the inside entering Turn 1 on Lap 56. However, Wheldon appeared to come down on Giaffone. The two collided and Wheldon spun. Giaffone had nowhere to go and pile-drove both cars into the wall hard. Both drivers were OK, but done for the day. The crash can be seen in this clip.
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: Bank of America 500 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: Kansas / Martinsville Edition by Brett Poirier
The Chase is here, which means 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. This week, it's all about Martinsville and what makes it stand out for so many fans as their favorite track on the circuit.
-----------------------------
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 the 1990 Goody's 500 at Martinsville, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader had an excellent day, leading a combined 156 laps. However, this race ended in the worst possible way for the duo. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: 2003 was the height of pack racing at intermediate ovals in the now-Izod IndyCar Series. The Kansas Indy 300 was no different. Yes, there were only ten lead changes, but the races were still exciting. Unfortunately for Dan Wheldon and Felipe Giaffone, they didn't quite make it to the finish on this day, but they would return to fight again. What happened to put them out of the race?
A: Giaffone made a move to the inside entering Turn 1 on Lap 56. However, Wheldon appeared to come down on Giaffone. The two collided and Wheldon spun. Giaffone had nowhere to go and pile-drove both cars into the wall hard. Both drivers were OK, but done for the day. The crash can be seen in this clip.
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: Bank of America 500 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: Kansas / Martinsville Edition by Brett Poirier
The Chase is here, which means 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 Keith
Bryan has his weekly edition of talking points to wrap up Kansas and get us ready for Martinsville.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and ARCA Racing Series were all in action at Kansas Speedway. 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. This week, it's all about Martinsville and what makes it stand out for so many fans as their favorite track on the circuit.
-----------------------------
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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