The Frontstretch Newsletter: October 9th, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 9th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCIII

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What To Watch: Tuesday

- Tuesday is typically penalty day in NASCAR. If any fines or suspensions are handed down to Kurt Busch for the multiple rules violations after his crash on Sunday, they will likely be issued.  We'll put out a Breaking News Update if this happens.

Top News
by Tom Bowles

Controversial Talladega Last-Lap Results Made Official

After grumbling by several teams on where they finished Sunday, NASCAR's official results Monday showed little change. Among those upset was Brad Keselowski, whose Penske Racing crew had argued they should have been listed higher. The team had argued through this picture they were fourth on the track when the caution lights came on; however, NASCAR determined the No. 2 car did not maintain caution speed throughout, allowing for other cars to pass and the championship leader to slip to seventh by the checkered flag.

With the order virtually unchanged, Keselowski now has a 14-point lead on Jimmie Johnson with six races left to go in the Chase. Denny Hamlin, at 23 points back is third in points; those are the only three drivers that still "control their own destiny" when it comes to the race for the title. Even Kasey Kahne, who is fourth, 36 markers back of the leader cannot assure himself of a trophy if he wins every race from here on out and gets the bonus points for leading the most laps.

TaxSlayer Renews With JR Motorsports

One prominent Nationwide Series sponsor will continue its support in 2013. TaxSlayer.com, which had aligned itself with JR Motorsports the past two seasons has signed a long-term deal that will increase its primary sponsorship of a car to 17 events. The company will back Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in February at Daytona, driving a No. 5 Chevy then transition to another one of the team's drivers in either the No. 88 or No. 7 Chevys.

Currently, JR Motorsports employs Danica Patrick and Cole Whitt full-time in their cars, but Patrick will move up to the Cup Series full-time in 2013. The company claims their driver lineup for next season will be announced in the near future; Whitt is expected to return full-time, while Patrick scales back to a limited schedule.

News Bites

- Two prominent drivers will reach career milestones this week in Charlotte. Mark Martin is scheduled to make his 850th Cup Series start, continuing his limited schedule behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron's Toyota. Martin, who at age 53 this season has four top-5 finishes in 19 starts, has no plans to retire next season and will come close to moving up the all-time starts ladder even further by the end of 2013. He's currently fifth in career starts, as you can see by the table below:

NASCAR Cup Series Career Start Leaders
Richard Petty - 1,184
Ricky Rudd - 906
Dave Marcis - 883
Terry Labonte - 881
Mark Martin - 849

Over in the Nationwide Series, Mike Wallace will reach a big number with his 750th career start in one of NASCAR's top three divisions. 445 of those races will have come in the Nationwide Series, with the other 305 spread out across Trucks (115) and Cup (190). Wallace began his career in Nationwide, then became a full-time Sprint Cup driver during the mid-1990s before returning to the sport's lower divisions over the past several years.

- Brian Scott has been named as a driver for Kyle Busch's Truck team later this month at Martinsville. Scott, who is without a ride for next season has been running a limited schedule with the team.

- Regan Smith is running this weekend at Charlotte for Phoenix Racing, taking over the No. 51 vacated by Kurt Busch but industry sources say it's just a one-race deal. Other drivers will likely take a turn at the wheel, auditioning while Phoenix negotiates which potential sponsors for 2013.

Have news for Tom and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

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GOT A NASCAR QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
That's right; our Fan Q & A column has a new sheriff in town. Send your question Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print on Thursday when she does her weekly column. It's all part of our daily mission to give back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Racing Back to the Line: A Rule That Should Not Return
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

The pack flew out of Turn One, three-wide and wobbling all over kingdom come.  Turn Two made me bite my nails and close one eye.  But they did it.  The competitors continued to lay everything they had out there... until somebody did something wonky.  In the blink of an eye, half the field spread across the backstretch in an attempt to miss the 180mph ping-pong balls that looked like trucks.  And the race was over, due to the NASCAR rule that once the white flag has flown, a caution will bring an immediate end to the race.  The field will be scored according to the last completed scoring loop prior to the wreck, minus those in the wreck.

And so ended Saturday's Fred's 250 Powered by Coca-Cola.

As the wreck happened, decimating the field, the outcome was inevitable.  Half of the NASCAR Twitterverse exploded with, "It's too bad they couldn't race back to the line."  Why not?  Look at the mile plus of empty asphalt laid out before the leaders.  Why couldn't the guys that weren't in it drive their little hearts out to the finish?

I hit my head with my hand.  Are we really going through this controversy again?  I hear this complaint almost every time we finish a race under caution.

However, the ending to Sunday's 44th Annual Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 gave us the perfect illustration for why this rule exists. 

Once again, the field lined up for a GWC finish.  Matt Kenseth led them to the green and the battle was on.  He blocked Clint Bowyer, pushing the No. 15 way down below the yellow line and ensuring Clint didn't manage to nudge his way forward.  Meanwhile, Stewart took the train on the outside, driving to the fore.  Now, with just one lap left, and the pack bunched up into a four by seven grid, everybody was driving like hell to grab every inch of track they could.  Suddenly, the No. 55 appeared out of nowhere on the bottom and the No. 14 went down to block.  And the carnage was on.

However, unlike the truck race, it wasn't only the back of the pack that was going to need a tow back to the garage.  The entire field played bumper cars all the way through Turns 3 and 4.  The freeway was blocked and it looked like somebody ought to be putting out detour signs.  What a mess!

Yet not a single soul suggested we ought to race back to anywhere, mostly because there wasn't anybody left to do it.  But, really, it had to do with common sense.  There were cars, debris (the visible kind) and safety crews everywhere.  This moment was no place or time to be worried about changing positions in the final stretch of the event.

The Cup race was surely the extreme example of why this rule exists in NASCAR.  You simply don't want anybody plowing through a battlefield with the wounded still strewn about.  OK. Well then, why couldn't we sort of have a if/then caveat to the rule?  If the wreck happens between the start line and the backstretch and if the wreck happens in the second half of the field, then those in front of the wreck can continue on their merry little way. 

Uh huh.   We'd have Mr. NASCAR Driver waving his hand after the race was over crying, "I was in 11th and the wreck started in 12th.  I should've been allowed to race!  Not stopped with those who wrecked."

Or there would be random decisions by the tower that the initial contact occurred a few more inches closer to Turn 3 than Turn 2, so the rule didn't apply.

It's a can of worms that just doesn't need to be opened.

The fact is most rules in our world that are concerned with safety rotate around worst case scenarios, not the most likely.  In a green-white-checkered ending, it is most likely that we'll see a spin that will have little impact on a field continuing to race to the finish line.  However, isn't it a better world knowing that when "the Big One" takes out most of the field, those trapped in their cars -- and who haven't decided if they stopped on their lid or not -- don't have to worry about being nailed by someone still trying to better his finishing position?

NASCAR may not have a ton of rules in their little black book that make sense to those in the real world, but this precaution is one they've got right.  We don't race back to the finish line under yellow, first lap or last lap.  It's a bad idea and one we got rid of years ago.  Let's keep it that way.

Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat

Danica Patrick did not race this week.

Author's Note:  I've finally made it to Facebook!  Come visit with me at http://facebook.com/Author.SDGrady

S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch.com.  She can be reached via e-mail at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com.  Follow her on Twitter at @laregna.

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Numbers Game: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500
by Garrett Horton

2.3
If you take away his disaster at Chicago, Jeff Gordon's average finish is a 2.3 since Bristol.  His last three performances consist of third at Loudon, second at Dover, and second at Talladega.  Before his accident at Chicago that left him with a 35th-place result, he had an identical streak going on, with a third at Bristol, second at Atlanta, and second at Richmond.

3
Matt Kenseth is looking to become the third Roush driver in the last four seasons to get his last win for the RFR organization at a restrictor plate race.  Jamie McMurray's win in this event in 2009 and David Ragan's victory in last year's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona were their last wins (and in Ragan's case, his only one) in a Roush car.  Should Kenseth go winless in the last six races of 2012, he will continue that trend.

4
Along with Kenseth, Jeff Burton was the only driver to finish inside the top 10 in all four plate races this year.

5
Regan Smith, who just drove his last race in the Furniture Row Chevrolet, ended his tenure with the team on a high note, finishing fifth at Talladega.  Smith, who began driving for Barney Visser's team at the beginning of the 2009 season, had one win, three top 5s, and 8 top 10s in 190 races driving the No. 78.  In comparison, no other driver has had a top 10 for the team since Visser became a Sprint Cup owner in 2005.

6
With David Ragan's fourth-place finish at Talladega, it marked his sixth career top-5 result in restrictor plate races.  In non-restrictor plate races, he has just seven top-5 results.  Additionally, his only two top 10's in 2012 have come at Talladega.

7
Brad Keselowski finished seventh on Sunday, his sixth career top-10 finish in eight races at Talladega.  He has more top 10's here than any other facility and improved his average finish up to 12.2, the best among active drivers.

8
Tony Stewart was a quarter of a lap away from winning Sunday's race before triggering the massive wreck that saw him go airborne over several cars.  This misfortune extended his cold spell at the 2.66-mile speedway – since winning this event in 2008, Stewart has now gone eight straight races without a top 5 at Talladega.

14
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has led at least one lap in the last 14 Talladega races.

25
The number of cars collected in Sunday's wild last-lap wreck.  Seven of the 25 involved were able to finish in the top 10.

38
Jamie McMurray led 38 laps on Sunday.  His total in his previous 29 races this season was only 20.   McMurray's 38 laps led, which was more than any other driver, was the lowest a driver has been credited for leading the most laps in a race this season. The previous low was at Watkins Glen, when Kyle Busch got the extra point bonus for leading 43 circuits.

54
There were 54 lead changes on Sunday, easily the most this season, but nowhere close to the average number of lead changes in the two Talladega races last year of 80.

97
When Travis Kvapil crossed the finish line eighth in Sunday's Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, it snapped a steak of 97 races run without a top-10 effort.  It was his first top 10 since the 2008 season finale at Homestead, where he came home seventh in the Yates Racing entry.  Kvapil's top-10 result at Talladega also marked the best finish for the BK Racing organization in their rookie campaign.

2004
Matt Kenseth finished third or better in all four restrictor plate races this season, something that hasn't been accomplished since 2004 when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. managed to place inside the top 3 in every restrictor plate race in a year.  Like Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 that year, along with the fall race at Talladega.

$72,464
The winnings for Sunday's last-place finisher Josh Wise.  Wise, who just completed five laps before retiring due to "overheating," collected a little over $16,000 more than Saturday's victor in the Camping World Truck Series race, Parker Kligerman, who won $56,000 for his efforts.

Garrett Horton is a Contributor to Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @Garrett_Horton.

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Five Points to Ponder: A Sad Season, Not-So Fab 4 and Captain's Hope
by Danny Peters

Who's Hot/Who's Not in NASCAR: Talladega/Charlotte Edition
by Brett Poirier

Couch Potato Tuesday: Sunspots Detract from Race Broadcasts
by Phil Allaway

Enough of the Petulant Kurt Busch
by Bryan Davis Keith

Tech Talk: Night Racing at Charlotte with Tony Gibson and the No. 39
by Mike Neff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  The 1996 UAW-GM Quality 500 featured a wild crash involving Ernie Irvan and Robby Gordon that brought out a red flag (Gordon broke the inside wall exiting Turn 2).  However, the DEI Chevrolet that Robby was driving was not the normal ride for the team (they were sponsored by Racing for Kids Magazine at the time).  Where did DEI get the car that Robby thoroughly thrashed in the race?
 
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Monday's Answer:

Q:  In the 1995 UAW-GM Quality 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt was forced to take a Past Champions' Provisional in order to get into the field.  However, he didn't stay back there very long.  How long did it take Earnhardt to get up to second, which is where he ultimately finished?

A:  Not very long.  Despite starting 43rd, Earnhardt carved the field apart like the Grinch carved up the roast beast at Christmas.  By Lap 38, Earnhardt followed Sterling Marlin past Jeff Gordon into the second spot.  Earnhardt ultimately only led two laps in the event, but he definitely put on quite the show.

Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee:  If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs!  If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!

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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Brad Morgan
-- Beth's Brief by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Tom returns with a series of "quick hit" discussion points. Among them: Talladega attendance, Charlotte question marks and more.

Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different subjects.  This week's topics include what can be done about the restrictor plate package at Daytona and Talladega, what should be done to Kurt Busch after his latest issues, the race for the title in the Camping World Truck Series, and more.

Sprint Cup Power Rankings compiled by Summer Bedgood
Did Sunday's action in Dover significantly shake up our Power Rankings?  You'll have to check it out in order to see where the drivers stand going into Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Kevin's Corner by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin's back with another interesting commentary. This week, he takes a look back at Kurt Busch's rocky tenure with Phoenix Racing.

Frontstretch Top Ten by the Frontstretch Staff
We'll have a top ten list that will tickle your funny bone, guaranteed.

Open-Wheel Wednesday: 2012 Team Reviews Part 1 by the Frontstretch Staff
With the driver reviews now complete, it is time to take a look at the individual teams' seasons in this year's Izod IndyCar Series.
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