THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 15th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCVII
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BREAKING #1: NASCAR Signs Extension With FOX Through 2022 Season
NASCAR on FOX will be streamed into your living room for years to come. The network signed an eight-year extension with the sport Monday, keeping the first 13 Cup races on the network through the conclusion of the 2022 season. The AP is reporting yearly rights fees for the package jumped up 33%, to $300 million for a deal that also includes the sport's signature race, February's Daytona 500.
FOX's current deal was scheduled to expire at the conclusion of the 2014 season; however, they had been negotiating an extension for months. Among the perks in the contract is an agreement for the network to now live-stream any event, beginning next season as the sport acknowledges the increase of internet and mobile phone viewing.
There had been whispers FOX would increase its involvement in the sport but ultimately, the network stood pat on its current deal. ESPN, TNT and other networks are expected to bid for the second half of the sport's 36-race slate, a negotiation period which won't begin until the summer of 2013 at the earliest.
FOX has also acquired full rights to the Camping World Truck Series as part of its new contract. There's no word on how or where the division will be covered; SPEED is transitioning to a new all-sports network by the conclusion of the 2014 season.
BREAKING #2: AJ Allmendinger To Drive The No. 51 At Kansas
An open-wheel convert trying to keep his stock car career alive will get another chance to audition at Kansas this weekend. AJ Allmendinger, released by Penske Racing earlier this season following a NASCAR suspension for failing a drug test, will slide behind the wheel of the Phoenix Racing Chevy for a second straight race this month. The 'Dinger was 24th Saturday in his Cup Series return, driving the No. 51 car after being reinstated from said suspension following the sport's vigorous rehabilitation program.
"Team worked so hard," the driver said on Twitter following the event. "Made me feel wanted and for that I am thankful."
A source told Frontstretch that at Charlotte, Allmendinger offered to drive for free which elevated him above other candidates, including the Truck Series' James Buescher. But owner James Finch was pleased with the on-track performance, one that had Allmendinger competitive with Phoenix's former driver, Kurt Busch who ran 21st in his Furniture Row Racing debut.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: It's Another Walk to Victory Lane For Bowyer
by Jeff Wolfe
Clint Bowyer doesn't care how he gets to Victory Lane, even if it means going by foot rather than car.
Bowyer won for the third time this season in a fuel-mileage saving effort to take Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the driver's eighth career win and significantly helped his chances in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, moving him up to fourth in points at the halfway mark of the sport's playoff contest.
Bowyer had just enough fuel left, running empty doing the traditional victory burnout after the checkered flag. It was the perfect mix of saving and speed, Bowyer doing just enough to hold off Denny Hamlin by slightly less than half a second and earn himself the best type of stroll in racing possible -- right to the Winner's Circle.
"Yes, I definitely hope to walk the next five weeks for sure," Bowyer joked, referring to the final five races of the season. "I need exercise after these races. I need all the exercise I can get. It's fun to walk to Victory Lane. Let me tell you, that's the best walk you could ever have. I think that's my new trademark. I'll walk home if it means Victory Lane."
While Bowyer won for the first time on a 1.5-mile oval, Chase leader Brad Keselowski was in command midway through the 334-lap, 501-mile race. But the driver of the No. 2 Dodge ran out of gas while leading with 58 laps to go. That opened the door for Bowyer, not only to win the race, but to put himself back into legitimate contention for the title as he is 28 points back of Keselowski.
"Saving fuel really helps me because I back the corner up and the car rotates and it's kind of like slapping you in the face, saying oh, this is how it's supposed to feel," Bowyer said. "But I'm telling you, I wouldn't have -- I don't think I would have won the race had I not moved up and tried to figure out that outside line. A couple times Jimmie (Johnson) was running me down, and I was like, I'm going to go up here, and back the corner up and try to make the arc of the radius as big as possible, starting backing the corner up to get the thing to turn, and next thing you know you're going faster and saving gas."
But Bowyer didn't start changing strategy just at the end of the race. When the final caution came out for debris, on Lap 224 of the 334-lap scheduled distance the team was already trying to figure out exactly how far they could go to make it on one more stop.
"Truly I think the run that won us the race wasn't the last one, " said Bowyer, who also won with fuel-mileage runs at Sonoma and in the fall race at Richmond. "It was the run before that, the next to last one, where Brian went out and it was a gusty call to go out and stretch it as long as possible on the last run, and if we would have pitted one lap earlier I think we would have ran out of gas."
Keselowski was left wishing he had pitted one lap earlier when his fuel tank didn't hold up. Staying out too long on that green-flag run, the team's critical mistake left the No. 2 Dodge coasting to pit road, then struggling to restart on a stop that killed any chance the team had to take the victory.
"Yeah, it's like playing blackjack," Keselowski said. "Sometimes you're going to get a good deal but you're not going to win 'em all. You know that. You hope that you're sitting there with 13 and not have a lot of chips in the pile. We didn't. We didn't lose too much."
Keselowski did drop 12 spots by the time he was done coasting back to the pits, needing a 22-second pit stop to get going again after the car needed to be restarted. He led a race-high 139 laps but saw chief contenders Denny Hamlin and Johnson finish second and third. Johnson is now second in the championship, seven points back and Hamlin is third, 15 back.
Hamlin felt he could have challenged Bowyer, but he, too was in fuel-saving mode.
"You're just running the race backwards basically," Hamlin said. "You're just seeing how slow you can go and maintain your track position. It's just the way these cautions are falling. I think this one was a debris caution, but it was like right where it puts everyone in kind of a weird window.
"It's tough because I'm sitting there thinking, I can go by this 15 (Bowyer) or catch him just about any time I want. As a race car driver, anyone can really save gas and be efficient with it. It's just a matter of how close is the guy behind you and whether he's going to pass you."
Johnson said he wasn't surprised to see Keselowski try to play the fuel game close, as that team has been successful at it this year. But he wasn't rejoicing too much when saw the No. 2 slow down after running out of gas.
"I don't know, I've been doing this long enough, too, when you see something happen, in your mind you're like there's an opportunity and before you know it happens to you," Johnson said. "I still had a few laps to go. I wasn't really having bad thoughts or too excited seeing him run out because I didn't want to run out myself."
Following Bowyer, Hamlin and Johnson in the top 10 were Greg Biffle in fourth, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr. in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000.
Biffle, who started on the pole, also contended for much of the night as he led 71 laps. But he needed a late stop for fuel for his No. 16 Ford.
"It's amazing those guys can run that far on a tank of gas," Biffle said. "It's just unbelievable, but we had a really fast car. We finished fourth here in the spring in the 600, but I just want to win one of these races. We had the fastest car at the end, but couldn't make it on fuel."
There were five cautions for 23 laps, with the final one coming on lap 224. Three of the first yellows came inside the first 41 laps, for wrecks by Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton, respectively before the rest of a race developed a green-flag, spread out look. Only the first six cars finished the event on the lead lap.
The next stop in the 10-race Chase for the Championship is Bowyer's home track, Kansas, for a 2 p.m. start Sunday on ESPN.
"That's probably the biggest thing is to come off this win, going into your hometown, the family and friends, everybody that goes there, it's just so important to be able to roll in on a positive note," Bowyer said. "And to be able to win there some day, we've gotten close, if we could possibly pull this off again in Kansas, it would be -- that's my -- do you dare say Daytona 500, but it truly is. That's the biggest race you can possibly win is in front of your hometown."
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 15th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCVII
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BREAKING #1: NASCAR Signs Extension With FOX Through 2022 Season
NASCAR on FOX will be streamed into your living room for years to come. The network signed an eight-year extension with the sport Monday, keeping the first 13 Cup races on the network through the conclusion of the 2022 season. The AP is reporting yearly rights fees for the package jumped up 33%, to $300 million for a deal that also includes the sport's signature race, February's Daytona 500.
FOX's current deal was scheduled to expire at the conclusion of the 2014 season; however, they had been negotiating an extension for months. Among the perks in the contract is an agreement for the network to now live-stream any event, beginning next season as the sport acknowledges the increase of internet and mobile phone viewing.
There had been whispers FOX would increase its involvement in the sport but ultimately, the network stood pat on its current deal. ESPN, TNT and other networks are expected to bid for the second half of the sport's 36-race slate, a negotiation period which won't begin until the summer of 2013 at the earliest.
FOX has also acquired full rights to the Camping World Truck Series as part of its new contract. There's no word on how or where the division will be covered; SPEED is transitioning to a new all-sports network by the conclusion of the 2014 season.
BREAKING #2: AJ Allmendinger To Drive The No. 51 At Kansas
An open-wheel convert trying to keep his stock car career alive will get another chance to audition at Kansas this weekend. AJ Allmendinger, released by Penske Racing earlier this season following a NASCAR suspension for failing a drug test, will slide behind the wheel of the Phoenix Racing Chevy for a second straight race this month. The 'Dinger was 24th Saturday in his Cup Series return, driving the No. 51 car after being reinstated from said suspension following the sport's vigorous rehabilitation program.
"Team worked so hard," the driver said on Twitter following the event. "Made me feel wanted and for that I am thankful."
A source told Frontstretch that at Charlotte, Allmendinger offered to drive for free which elevated him above other candidates, including the Truck Series' James Buescher. But owner James Finch was pleased with the on-track performance, one that had Allmendinger competitive with Phoenix's former driver, Kurt Busch who ran 21st in his Furniture Row Racing debut.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: It's Another Walk to Victory Lane For Bowyer
by Jeff Wolfe
Clint Bowyer doesn't care how he gets to Victory Lane, even if it means going by foot rather than car.
Bowyer won for the third time this season in a fuel-mileage saving effort to take Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the driver's eighth career win and significantly helped his chances in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship, moving him up to fourth in points at the halfway mark of the sport's playoff contest.
Bowyer had just enough fuel left, running empty doing the traditional victory burnout after the checkered flag. It was the perfect mix of saving and speed, Bowyer doing just enough to hold off Denny Hamlin by slightly less than half a second and earn himself the best type of stroll in racing possible -- right to the Winner's Circle.
"Yes, I definitely hope to walk the next five weeks for sure," Bowyer joked, referring to the final five races of the season. "I need exercise after these races. I need all the exercise I can get. It's fun to walk to Victory Lane. Let me tell you, that's the best walk you could ever have. I think that's my new trademark. I'll walk home if it means Victory Lane."
While Bowyer won for the first time on a 1.5-mile oval, Chase leader Brad Keselowski was in command midway through the 334-lap, 501-mile race. But the driver of the No. 2 Dodge ran out of gas while leading with 58 laps to go. That opened the door for Bowyer, not only to win the race, but to put himself back into legitimate contention for the title as he is 28 points back of Keselowski.
"Saving fuel really helps me because I back the corner up and the car rotates and it's kind of like slapping you in the face, saying oh, this is how it's supposed to feel," Bowyer said. "But I'm telling you, I wouldn't have -- I don't think I would have won the race had I not moved up and tried to figure out that outside line. A couple times Jimmie (Johnson) was running me down, and I was like, I'm going to go up here, and back the corner up and try to make the arc of the radius as big as possible, starting backing the corner up to get the thing to turn, and next thing you know you're going faster and saving gas."
But Bowyer didn't start changing strategy just at the end of the race. When the final caution came out for debris, on Lap 224 of the 334-lap scheduled distance the team was already trying to figure out exactly how far they could go to make it on one more stop.
"Truly I think the run that won us the race wasn't the last one, " said Bowyer, who also won with fuel-mileage runs at Sonoma and in the fall race at Richmond. "It was the run before that, the next to last one, where Brian went out and it was a gusty call to go out and stretch it as long as possible on the last run, and if we would have pitted one lap earlier I think we would have ran out of gas."
Keselowski was left wishing he had pitted one lap earlier when his fuel tank didn't hold up. Staying out too long on that green-flag run, the team's critical mistake left the No. 2 Dodge coasting to pit road, then struggling to restart on a stop that killed any chance the team had to take the victory.
"Yeah, it's like playing blackjack," Keselowski said. "Sometimes you're going to get a good deal but you're not going to win 'em all. You know that. You hope that you're sitting there with 13 and not have a lot of chips in the pile. We didn't. We didn't lose too much."
Keselowski did drop 12 spots by the time he was done coasting back to the pits, needing a 22-second pit stop to get going again after the car needed to be restarted. He led a race-high 139 laps but saw chief contenders Denny Hamlin and Johnson finish second and third. Johnson is now second in the championship, seven points back and Hamlin is third, 15 back.
Hamlin felt he could have challenged Bowyer, but he, too was in fuel-saving mode.
"You're just running the race backwards basically," Hamlin said. "You're just seeing how slow you can go and maintain your track position. It's just the way these cautions are falling. I think this one was a debris caution, but it was like right where it puts everyone in kind of a weird window.
"It's tough because I'm sitting there thinking, I can go by this 15 (Bowyer) or catch him just about any time I want. As a race car driver, anyone can really save gas and be efficient with it. It's just a matter of how close is the guy behind you and whether he's going to pass you."
Johnson said he wasn't surprised to see Keselowski try to play the fuel game close, as that team has been successful at it this year. But he wasn't rejoicing too much when saw the No. 2 slow down after running out of gas.
"I don't know, I've been doing this long enough, too, when you see something happen, in your mind you're like there's an opportunity and before you know it happens to you," Johnson said. "I still had a few laps to go. I wasn't really having bad thoughts or too excited seeing him run out because I didn't want to run out myself."
Following Bowyer, Hamlin and Johnson in the top 10 were Greg Biffle in fourth, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr. in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000.
Biffle, who started on the pole, also contended for much of the night as he led 71 laps. But he needed a late stop for fuel for his No. 16 Ford.
"It's amazing those guys can run that far on a tank of gas," Biffle said. "It's just unbelievable, but we had a really fast car. We finished fourth here in the spring in the 600, but I just want to win one of these races. We had the fastest car at the end, but couldn't make it on fuel."
There were five cautions for 23 laps, with the final one coming on lap 224. Three of the first yellows came inside the first 41 laps, for wrecks by Matt Kenseth, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton, respectively before the rest of a race developed a green-flag, spread out look. Only the first six cars finished the event on the lead lap.
The next stop in the 10-race Chase for the Championship is Bowyer's home track, Kansas, for a 2 p.m. start Sunday on ESPN.
"That's probably the biggest thing is to come off this win, going into your hometown, the family and friends, everybody that goes there, it's just so important to be able to roll in on a positive note," Bowyer said. "And to be able to win there some day, we've gotten close, if we could possibly pull this off again in Kansas, it would be -- that's my -- do you dare say Daytona 500, but it truly is. That's the biggest race you can possibly win is in front of your hometown."
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: Bowyer Puts Himself back in Contention with Win
by Jeff Wolfe
Clint Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie know they have a lot of work to do if they want to take the lead in the Chase for the Championship, but they got a chunk of that work done with Saturday night's win at Charlotte.
Bowyer's third victory of the season brought him within 28 points of Chase leader Brad Keselowski after the 501-mile race at the 1.5-mile oval. Keselowski, who led the most laps in the race ran out of gas with 58 laps to go, opening the door for Bowyer and others to make some strides in the points race.
Bowyer came into the event 40 points behind and was on the edge of falling out of contention.
"Twenty-eight points is achievable over the next five weeks," Pattie said. "It's a lot better than 40, how we started the weekend. I don't know, it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of help, and we're still fourth in points. There's three guys you've got to pass."
Also making significant gains were second-place finisher Denny Hamlin and third-place finisher Jimmie Johnson. Keselowski's 11th-place finish allowed Johnson to cut the points lead in half, to seven, and Hamlin to go from 23 to 15 down. Two other drivers to make gains were Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne. Biffle finished fourth to cut his gap from 49 to 43 markers and Kahne finished eighth to cut one point off. He's now 35 off the top spot.
The rest of the field missed at the opportunity to make up ground on Keselowski. Jeff Gordon was caught speeding on pit lane and after a drive-through penalty was relegated to an 18th-place finish, pushing him from 42 to 50 points back. Also, Tony Stewart was caught up in an early accident; while he rallied a bit to finish 13th, the gap for the Chase's defending champ grew from 46 to 50. That'll make a comeback tough.
Others held serve, but left disappointed on a night they simply needed to be better. Even though Martin Truex, Jr. finished 10th, one place ahead of Keselowski, he lost a point as Keselowski picked up bonus points for leading a lap and leading the most laps.
Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick also each lost ground. Kenseth was 14th, wrecking early and lost five points to the leader to fall to 67 back. Harvick was 16th, fighting an ill-handling car and lost seven points -- he's now 56 back.
Also, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who did not race at Charlotte and will not race at Kansas Sunday due to a concussion, fell to 81 points back in the 12th and final Chase spot.
Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Brad Keselowski 2214 points, 2) Jimmie Johnson -7, 3) Denny Hamlin -15, 4) Clint Bowyer -28, 5) Kasey Kahne -35, 6) Greg Biffle -43, 7) Martin Truex, Jr. -49, t-8) Tony Stewart -50, t-8) Jeff Gordon -50, 10) Kevin Harvick -56, 11) Matt Kenseth -67, 12) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -81.
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch -951, 14) Ryan Newman -62, 15) Carl Edwards -70, 16) Paul Menard -104, 17) Joey Logano -119, 18) Marcos Ambrose -123.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500, Talladega 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 By Quite a Bit
The gap between the 35th and 36th place remained significant after Saturday night's race at Charlotte, even though the gap between 35th and 36th shrunk from 120 points down to 99. 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 Dave Blaney finished 43rd after dropping out early and sits in the 35th spot, while the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne finished 22nd and sits in 36th. Bayne is driving a partial schedule for the Wood Brothers this season.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 262 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 261 points ahead of 36th.
31) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 247 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 214 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 163 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Timmy Hill), 142 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 99 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 99 points behind 35th.
37) Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Cole Whitt), 144 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 160 points behind 35th.
39) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 200 points behind 35th.
40) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – Jason Leffler), 228 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 230 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
Races that are decided on fuel mileage can often have jumbled finishing orders, with very few drivers on the lead lap. Saturday night was no exception, with a mere six drivers finishing on the lead lap and only Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin within 15 seconds of the lead. However, if you managed to make it to the end of the race without having to make that emergency fuel stop, you could gain a bunch of positions, regardless of whether you were on the lead lap or not. Aric Almirola, who won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 back in May, was able to take advantage of this twist to finish one lap down in 12th. This marks only the fourth top-15 finish of the season for Almirola. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 1. Officially, only one fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been run at a faster clip than Saturday night's Bank of America 500. That was in October, 1999 when Jeff Gordon won a race that featured only two cautions for 11 laps. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500
"I was following the 2 car (Brad Keselowski) there, and he had to check up, big time, for whatever was going on in front of him. Man, I drilled him. And the further back you were, the worse it made it. It really screwed up the nose of our race car. I'm really proud of our guys here at Stewart-Haas Racing. This Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy was pretty good. That's the best we've been here for a while. I'm proud of the effort of these guys. I thought we might get a top-10 out of it tonight, but I'll take this." - Tony Stewart, finished 13th
"We definitely took a hit with the engine change. We had a really fast Quicken Loans Chevrolet in practice and in qualifying here at Charlotte, and it wasn't the same in the race. Losing that practice on Friday night because of the engine hurt us, too, because we never quite got the car to handle the way I needed it to so that I could make up the ground that we had lost having to start in the back. It was a tough night for us. We had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the car this weekend, and it would have been nice to get them and Quicken Loans in Victory Lane tonight." - Ryan Newman, finished 20th
"As a competitive racer you always want to go out there and be a contender, but on the other hand when you're starting something new you need to focus on the big picture and that big picture is to get primed and ready for the start of the 2013 season. Finishing 21st might not appear that we made progress, but the fact of the matter is that we did [this] in our first three days together at the track. It initially appeared that we had the No. 78 hooked up and all systems looked solid, but then we ran into a binding problem with the car and it started to slow down." - Kurt Busch, finished 21st
"We had a really good race car, and I felt like we had a winning car barring circumstances and how they played out. Just tight on landing, loose on throttle – just trying to figure out that and rebalance that as the night went on but just couldn't quite figure that out. The guys fought hard, and they fought hard yesterday. We were kind of trying to fix all those and made it a little bit better today, but just didn't have enough to be a winning car." - Kyle Busch, finished fifth
"It was great to get back into a Cup car, and I just want to thank James Finch and everyone at Phoenix Racing for giving me this opportunity--I'm really grateful. I was hoping I could have repaid that favor with a little bit stronger finish. But it was great to get back in the car and compete again. It was a solid weekend all around despite everything coming together so quickly. I want to also thank everyone who has been so supportive through this entire process. It meant a lot, and now we are all focused on building on this and looking forward to whatever comes next." - AJ Allmendinger, finished 24th
"No, we are still looking at everything. I think the important part was is that we had a really fast race car. We had a good first adjustment there, went just a little too far with it and got a little too free. Needed one more stop and I think we would have had it dialed in and then just chased the weather from that point on. It's disappointing. It's a good team, it's a good car and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports does a great job. I'm looking forward to next week. We get three days to test when we get there to Kansas and we will see if we can get the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet up front there. I feel confident we will have the same speed we had here." - Regan Smith, finished 38th (blown engine)
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Charlotte-2 Race Recap
by Tom Bowles
NASCAR's Hidden Gem... For How Much Longer?
by Tom Bowles
Pace Laps: Time Running Out for Title Contender and "As the Concussion Turns"
by the Frontstretch Staff
Keselowski Opens A Door Johnson Can't Quite Step Through?
by Mike Neff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Bank of America 500
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Breakdown: Dollar General 300
by Mike Neff
Chasing the Chase: Bowyer Puts Himself back in Contention with Win
by Jeff Wolfe
Clint Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie know they have a lot of work to do if they want to take the lead in the Chase for the Championship, but they got a chunk of that work done with Saturday night's win at Charlotte.
Bowyer's third victory of the season brought him within 28 points of Chase leader Brad Keselowski after the 501-mile race at the 1.5-mile oval. Keselowski, who led the most laps in the race ran out of gas with 58 laps to go, opening the door for Bowyer and others to make some strides in the points race.
Bowyer came into the event 40 points behind and was on the edge of falling out of contention.
"Twenty-eight points is achievable over the next five weeks," Pattie said. "It's a lot better than 40, how we started the weekend. I don't know, it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of help, and we're still fourth in points. There's three guys you've got to pass."
Also making significant gains were second-place finisher Denny Hamlin and third-place finisher Jimmie Johnson. Keselowski's 11th-place finish allowed Johnson to cut the points lead in half, to seven, and Hamlin to go from 23 to 15 down. Two other drivers to make gains were Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne. Biffle finished fourth to cut his gap from 49 to 43 markers and Kahne finished eighth to cut one point off. He's now 35 off the top spot.
The rest of the field missed at the opportunity to make up ground on Keselowski. Jeff Gordon was caught speeding on pit lane and after a drive-through penalty was relegated to an 18th-place finish, pushing him from 42 to 50 points back. Also, Tony Stewart was caught up in an early accident; while he rallied a bit to finish 13th, the gap for the Chase's defending champ grew from 46 to 50. That'll make a comeback tough.
Others held serve, but left disappointed on a night they simply needed to be better. Even though Martin Truex, Jr. finished 10th, one place ahead of Keselowski, he lost a point as Keselowski picked up bonus points for leading a lap and leading the most laps.
Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick also each lost ground. Kenseth was 14th, wrecking early and lost five points to the leader to fall to 67 back. Harvick was 16th, fighting an ill-handling car and lost seven points -- he's now 56 back.
Also, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who did not race at Charlotte and will not race at Kansas Sunday due to a concussion, fell to 81 points back in the 12th and final Chase spot.
Chase for the Championship Standings: 1) Brad Keselowski 2214 points, 2) Jimmie Johnson -7, 3) Denny Hamlin -15, 4) Clint Bowyer -28, 5) Kasey Kahne -35, 6) Greg Biffle -43, 7) Martin Truex, Jr. -49, t-8) Tony Stewart -50, t-8) Jeff Gordon -50, 10) Kevin Harvick -56, 11) Matt Kenseth -67, 12) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -81.
Best of the Rest: 13) Kyle Busch -951, 14) Ryan Newman -62, 15) Carl Edwards -70, 16) Paul Menard -104, 17) Joey Logano -119, 18) Marcos Ambrose -123.
Race Winners: Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500, Talladega 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 By Quite a Bit
The gap between the 35th and 36th place remained significant after Saturday night's race at Charlotte, even though the gap between 35th and 36th shrunk from 120 points down to 99. 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 Dave Blaney finished 43rd after dropping out early and sits in the 35th spot, while the No. 21 car driven by Trevor Bayne finished 22nd and sits in 36th. Bayne is driving a partial schedule for the Wood Brothers this season.
Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 262 points ahead of 36th.
30) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan), 261 points ahead of 36th.
31) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), 247 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 214 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing / Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – David Reutimann), 163 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Timmy Hill), 142 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 99 points ahead of 36th.
36) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 99 points behind 35th.
37) Circle Point, LLC (No. 33 – Cole Whitt), 144 points behind 35th.
38) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 160 points behind 35th.
39) Phil Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 200 points behind 35th.
40) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – Jason Leffler), 228 points behind 35th.
41) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 230 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
Races that are decided on fuel mileage can often have jumbled finishing orders, with very few drivers on the lead lap. Saturday night was no exception, with a mere six drivers finishing on the lead lap and only Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin within 15 seconds of the lead. However, if you managed to make it to the end of the race without having to make that emergency fuel stop, you could gain a bunch of positions, regardless of whether you were on the lead lap or not. Aric Almirola, who won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 back in May, was able to take advantage of this twist to finish one lap down in 12th. This marks only the fourth top-15 finish of the season for Almirola. - Phil Allaway
STAT OF THE WEEK: 1. Officially, only one fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been run at a faster clip than Saturday night's Bank of America 500. That was in October, 1999 when Jeff Gordon won a race that featured only two cautions for 11 laps. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500
"I was following the 2 car (Brad Keselowski) there, and he had to check up, big time, for whatever was going on in front of him. Man, I drilled him. And the further back you were, the worse it made it. It really screwed up the nose of our race car. I'm really proud of our guys here at Stewart-Haas Racing. This Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevy was pretty good. That's the best we've been here for a while. I'm proud of the effort of these guys. I thought we might get a top-10 out of it tonight, but I'll take this." - Tony Stewart, finished 13th
"We definitely took a hit with the engine change. We had a really fast Quicken Loans Chevrolet in practice and in qualifying here at Charlotte, and it wasn't the same in the race. Losing that practice on Friday night because of the engine hurt us, too, because we never quite got the car to handle the way I needed it to so that I could make up the ground that we had lost having to start in the back. It was a tough night for us. We had the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the car this weekend, and it would have been nice to get them and Quicken Loans in Victory Lane tonight." - Ryan Newman, finished 20th
"As a competitive racer you always want to go out there and be a contender, but on the other hand when you're starting something new you need to focus on the big picture and that big picture is to get primed and ready for the start of the 2013 season. Finishing 21st might not appear that we made progress, but the fact of the matter is that we did [this] in our first three days together at the track. It initially appeared that we had the No. 78 hooked up and all systems looked solid, but then we ran into a binding problem with the car and it started to slow down." - Kurt Busch, finished 21st
"We had a really good race car, and I felt like we had a winning car barring circumstances and how they played out. Just tight on landing, loose on throttle – just trying to figure out that and rebalance that as the night went on but just couldn't quite figure that out. The guys fought hard, and they fought hard yesterday. We were kind of trying to fix all those and made it a little bit better today, but just didn't have enough to be a winning car." - Kyle Busch, finished fifth
"It was great to get back into a Cup car, and I just want to thank James Finch and everyone at Phoenix Racing for giving me this opportunity--I'm really grateful. I was hoping I could have repaid that favor with a little bit stronger finish. But it was great to get back in the car and compete again. It was a solid weekend all around despite everything coming together so quickly. I want to also thank everyone who has been so supportive through this entire process. It meant a lot, and now we are all focused on building on this and looking forward to whatever comes next." - AJ Allmendinger, finished 24th
"No, we are still looking at everything. I think the important part was is that we had a really fast race car. We had a good first adjustment there, went just a little too far with it and got a little too free. Needed one more stop and I think we would have had it dialed in and then just chased the weather from that point on. It's disappointing. It's a good team, it's a good car and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports does a great job. I'm looking forward to next week. We get three days to test when we get there to Kansas and we will see if we can get the AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet up front there. I feel confident we will have the same speed we had here." - Regan Smith, finished 38th (blown engine)
~~~~~~~~~~
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Charlotte-2 Race Recap
by Tom Bowles
NASCAR's Hidden Gem... For How Much Longer?
by Tom Bowles
Pace Laps: Time Running Out for Title Contender and "As the Concussion Turns"
by the Frontstretch Staff
Keselowski Opens A Door Johnson Can't Quite Step Through?
by Mike Neff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Bank of America 500
by Amy Henderson
Nationwide Breakdown: Dollar General 300
by Mike Neff
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: This weekend is the Armor All Gold Coast 600 for the V8 Supercars in Surfer's Paradise in Australia. The event has only been a official endurance event for a few years, but for how long has the Streets of Surfer's Paradise been on the V8 Supercars schedule?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2000 UAW-GM Quality 500 at then-Lowe's Motor Speedway was an excellent race. Bobby Labonte won an event that had 46 lead changes. However, broadcaster Turner Sports introduced a new innovation that day for the race telecast. What was it?
A: Turner Sports unveiled "No Brakes Coverage" for their telecast from Charlotte. No Brakes Coverage was essentially side-by-side commercial segments instead of regular commercials. Full commercials did still air for local commercial breaks, though. Unfortunately, these breaks did not make the transition to NBC/TNT's coverage when the series-wide TV deals started in 2001. Cost was the likely reason due to the fact that the rights were much more expensive than in 2000. This was years before it was adapted by ESPN for their IndyCar Series telecasts.
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: Charlotte / Kansas 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: This weekend is the Armor All Gold Coast 600 for the V8 Supercars in Surfer's Paradise in Australia. The event has only been a official endurance event for a few years, but for how long has the Streets of Surfer's Paradise been on the V8 Supercars schedule?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2000 UAW-GM Quality 500 at then-Lowe's Motor Speedway was an excellent race. Bobby Labonte won an event that had 46 lead changes. However, broadcaster Turner Sports introduced a new innovation that day for the race telecast. What was it?
A: Turner Sports unveiled "No Brakes Coverage" for their telecast from Charlotte. No Brakes Coverage was essentially side-by-side commercial segments instead of regular commercials. Full commercials did still air for local commercial breaks, though. Unfortunately, these breaks did not make the transition to NBC/TNT's coverage when the series-wide TV deals started in 2001. Cost was the likely reason due to the fact that the rights were much more expensive than in 2000. This was years before it was adapted by ESPN for their IndyCar Series telecasts.
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: Charlotte / Kansas 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 Keith
Bryan has his weekly edition of talking points to wrap up Charlotte and get us ready for Kansas.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were both in action at Charlotte Motor 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.
-----------------------------
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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