Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Frontstretch Newsletter: 2013 Nationwide Series Schedule

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!

November 13th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXXVIII
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Top News
by Tom Bowles

2013 Nationwide Series Schedule Announced

NASCAR's second-tier division is now officially set for next season. The Nationwide Series released its 33 races for 2013 with a press conference in Columbus, Ohio that also helped to highlight the sport's newest addition: Mid-Ohio Raceway. The 2.4-mile facility, which has played host to plenty of Indy and sports car races is just one hour, 15 minutes from Nationwide's headquarters -- where the schedule announcement was held -- and will add the Nationwide Series to its list next year as a third road course, joining Watkins Glen and Road America.

"With Mid-Ohio on the schedule, the NASCAR Nationwide Series has another opportunity to lead the way at a new venue," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR Senior Vice President of racing operations in a release announcing the move. "This gives us the opportunity to bring the series' signature side-by-side racing to a new fan base, and build enthusiasm among race fans that have yet to experience the unparalleled experience of attending a NASCAR event."

Mid-Ohio will replace Montreal, left off the Nationwide Series schedule for 2013 with no Canadian replacement. It was previously reported here Trois-Rivieres, Quebec would be added as a third road course but funding to support the event reportedly did not materialize, leading to a breakoff in negotiations. That, along with the Ohio/Nationwide connection caused NASCAR to look in another direction; several venues up north are under consideration to add to the Truck Series schedule for next season.

Beyond the addition of Mid-Ohio, the schedule has minimal change with 33 races, 27 of them companion events with Sprint Cup. Mid-Ohio will be run on August 17th, joining Road America, Chicagoland Speedway (July), Kentucky Speedway (September) and two dates at Iowa Speedway as the Series' lone standalone venues. On the weekend of NASCAR's Brickyard 400, in Indianapolis the feeder series will also continue to race at the large, 2.5-mile oval for the second straight year rather than at Indianapolis Raceway Park down the street.

2013 Nationwide Series Schedule

2/23                  Daytona International Speedway                                                          

3/2                    Phoenix International Raceway                                                              

3/9                    Las Vegas Motor Speedway                                                                

3/16                  Bristol Motor Speedway                                                                                  

3/23                  Auto Club Speedway                                                                            

4/12                  Texas Motor Speedway                                                                        

4/26                  Richmond International Raceway                                                          

5/4                    Talladega Superspeedway                                                                    

5/10                  Darlington Raceway                                                                              

5/25                  Charlotte Motor Speedway                                                                    

6/1                    Dover International Speedway                                                              

6/8                    Iowa Speedway                                                                                    

6/15                  Michigan International Speedway                                                          

6/22                  Road America                                                                                      

6/28                  Kentucky Speedway                                                                            

7/5                    Daytona International Speedway                                                          

7/13                  New Hampshire Motor Speedway                                                          

7/21                  Chicagoland Speedway                                                                        

7/27                  Indianapolis Motor Speedway                                                              

8/3                    Iowa Speedway                                                                                    

8/10                  Watkins Glen International                                                                    

8/17                  Mid-Ohio                                                          

8/23                  Bristol Motor Speedway                                                                                  

8/31                  Atlanta Motor Speedway                                                                      

9/6                    Richmond International Raceway                                                          

9/14                  Chicagoland Speedway                                                                        

9/21                  Kentucky Speedway                                                                            

9/28                  Dover International Speedway                                                              

10/5                  Kansas Speedway                                                                                

10/11                Charlotte Motor Speedway                                                                    

11/2                  Texas Motor Speedway                                                                        

11/9                  Phoenix International Raceway                                                              

11/16                Homestead-Miami Speedway  
        

Gordon Fined, Docked 25 Points For Clint Bowyer Wreck

It didn't take NASCAR long to react to the Jeff Gordon - Clint Bowyer brouhaha at Phoenix. Monday afternoon, Gordon was fined $100,000, docked 25 points and placed on probation through the rest of the year for his role in starting the fracas, intentionally slamming into Bowyer's car through Turns 3 and 4 with a move that wrecked them both, along with innocent bystanders Joey Logano and Aric Almirola. Car owner Rick Hendrick was also hit with a loss of 25 owner points, deductions with drop the team to 11th in the Cup Series owner and driver standings, respectively.

Crew chief Alan Gustafson was also placed on probation, found in violation of Section 9-4A in the NASCAR rulebook where the crew chief assumes responsibility of his driver, car owner, and team members. On Bowyer's side, crew chief Brian Pattie received a similar infraction, with came with the same probation along with a $25,000 fine. The fine for Pattie was presumably because his team started the brawl inside the garage area, creating an altercation with No. 24 team members and Gordon once he stepped out of his damaged vehicle.

Of note, Bowyer, who went on a dead sprint to confront Gordon and then had some racy postrace interviews was not fined or punished for his role. Both he and Gordon will be allowed to race at Homestead this weekend in any of NASCAR's top three series without penalty.

Once the consequences were finalized, both sides issued statements in response to the penalty. On the No. 24 car's side, Gordon did not respond on Twitter but did his talking through an official statement in tandem with his team owner.

"I've always respected Jeff for standing his ground," said owner Hendrick. "We also respect that NASCAR needs to police the sport and send a message when situations like this occur. It's been a great year, and we're going to put our focus on finishing in a positive way this weekend."

"I take responsibility for my actions on the racetrack," added Gordon. "I accept NASCAR's decision and look forward to ending the season on a high note at Homestead."

As for the No. 15 team's side, Michael Waltrip Racing released a statement which read: "We accept the penalties announced by NASCAR today and look forward to finishing what has been a breakthrough season for Michael Waltrip Racing." Waltrip is previously on the record as discussing how the brawl did not live up to the professional standards established by MWR through the years. Bowyer, for his part joked on Twitter about first pulling a hamstring, then the benefits of having 5-Hour Energy to respond to a situation like Sunday's incident.

"And if anyone ever doubted , yesterday's activities should be proof of potential," he said. "Mixed with pissedoffness it's unreal!!!!!!"

Keselowski Fined $25,000 For Having Phone In Car

In a surprising move Monday, NASCAR also fined championship contender Brad Keselowski $25,000 for having his cell phone inside the No. 2 Dodge. The penalty, which was based in part on Section 20-6.7A (cars and drivers will not be permitted to carry onboard computers, automated electronic recording devices, electronically actuated devices, power distribution modules, power conditioners, micro-processors, recording devices, electronic digital memory chips, traction control devices, digital readout gauges and the like, even if inoperable or incomplete) also comes with probation through December 31st. Keselowski had carried his cell phone previously in the car, including the infamous tweets at the Daytona 500 under red flag conditions but had not been penalized for in-car communications from it until now.

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
If You're Bored with NASCAR Now, You Might Want to Get a Checkup
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

I'm betting a simple thing this week:  You're having a really good time chewing over the events of the past Phoenix weekend.   If there's a fan out there who has decided they'd rather be at the dentist office rather than deliberate on who was right, who was wrong, the timing of flags, the fickleness of Lady Luck and whether the fines and points dedections were right...well, I think they just might be dead.

As we've enjoyed/endured the Chase, much has been said of the cookie-cutter tracks and their inevitable impact on the final outcome of the Sprint Cup Championship.  However, all along this little voice in the back of my head just kept saying, "Wait for Phoenix." 

Nobody did.  Much of NASCAR Nation had already handed JJ a premature sixth Cup going into this weekend as Johnson continued to stick to his straight line to Chase success.  Brad Keselowski did insist on staying in his shadow, kind of stepping on Five-Time's heels as we went along.  There were poles and victories for the pair, the sort of racing that lulls you to sleep on your couch or simply gets you to say, "You know, I've got leaves to rake."  We think of something--anything!--to distract us.  Wash the dog, take the recycling out, study how to deep-fry a turkey; you know, the really important things in life.

But along came Phoenix.  The weekend dawned bright and chilly.  Crews and media grumbled about early morning practices and broadcasts while they wondered where the desert heat might have gotten to.  Cars began to slide into the wall, as driver after driver tried to nail down how to navigate that troublesome kink off of Turn 2.   Backups were pulled out and tempers started to shorten. 

The Championships were all on the line, and now they had a flat-track, funky corners, hard tires and a little bit of anxiety all rolled into one.  Something had to give.  And give it did.

In the Trucks with three laps to go, James Buescher slid into the wall, putting a dent in his lead for the Series Championship.  For Nationwide, Elliot Sadler just plain out wrecked in the closing laps of his race, pretty much handing Stenhouse Jr. a consecutive series trophy, unless the young gun self-detonates in Florida next week. 

Then along came Sunday and the Cup boys.  We knew nothing was a given.  Those running for the titles this week seemed to be having rough days, and the track wasn't being kind to anybody.  Jimmie, starting in 24th, and Brad, seated a tad more comfortably in 14th on the starting grid, had their work cut out for them.  The green flag dropped and so did our attention.

For about 230 laps life progressed much as we expected.  The field strung out, Kyle Busch did his best to remind us he really should have been in the Chase and our Chasers quietly logged their time.  If you fast-forwarded through the race, you didn't miss anything. Until...

The Phoenix pixie jumped out and grabbed onto Johnson's car, melted a bead and slammed the No. 48 into the wall.  Yep, time to wake up people.  His quietly and carefully constructed Chase points lead vanished in a puff of smoke, quite literally.  Meanwhile, those who remained on the track were getting really tired of slipping up the track off of Turn 2.  If somebody lingered on your outside, it didn't help your aero one bit.  Fenders started to meet as the cautions began to mount up.  This is one little track where cautions do act like rabbits.

What happened?  I'm sure you know, but it makes for good telling.  ESPN didn't always show it, but Mr. Gordon and Mr. Bowyer did spend an inordinate amount of time next or near to one another during the late laps of the race.  One may have cut the other off as he passed and slipped up in front of his year-long adversary.  Side by side, their cars tried mightily to share the same real estate, and ultimately Mr. Gordon decided he didn't want to play anymore.  His fender was dinged, his tire didn't have white letters on it anymore and by golly, that No. 15 was going to pay for it.  Jeff lined up the 5-Hour Energy machine in his sights and aimed...and missed.  Well, sort of.  The attempt put his No. 24 in the wall.  But he was so not done.  If his car was finished, he was ready to make sure Bowyer's was, too.

Gordon waited.  Eventually the No. 15 made it back around the track and Gordon took him out.  Completely and totally premeditated.  Bowyer's car burst into flames, as did the tempers on his team.  In the pits, Gordon climbed from his car only to be jumped by those lying in wait for him.  Mayhem!  Drama! Clint Bowyer sprinted through the garage area, not to be outdone by the four-time champion in the getting-the-last-word department.  Police officers sprouted up, NASCAR officials jumped into the melee.  But what about back on the track?

It was kind of funny that the red flag was thrown while the cameras remained fixed on the brawl in the garage.  You'd think they halted the race so we could watch Gordon fight.  But no, the reality was that the four-car pileup, thanks to shortened tempers, had dumped oil just about everywhere.

This fracas should have been enough to leave us something to talk about.  But we weren't done!  On the GWC restart, Jeff Burton tried to cut through the dogleg but only succeeded in killing Danica Patrick's car.  As she drove around the bottom, the No. 10 put down something akin to an oil slick used by 007.  No yellow was thrown and ultimately the predictable happened.

More calamity as the field hit the slick coming out of Turn 4.  Ryan Newman, Patrick, Martin, Menard, Kurt Busch and...wait for it...Brad Keselowski all met one another after losing traction in the oil.  Newman spent his time in the wreck as the pinball, while Patrick tried to drive over his hood.  Mark Martin slammed both sides of his No. 55.  Basically, we were awarded a very ugly finish.

Oh! And there was a winner.  Mr. Kevin Harvick did break his 44-race losing streak, after passing Kyle Busch with just eight laps to go on a restart.  Yes!  Little Keelan got to visit Victory Lane for the first time.

Usually we're done with the excitement after the checkers fly.  But no.  With one of the most respected veteran drivers in the garage pulling a complete boner, every driver had to add their two-cents to the circus.  Bleeps and bloops and pixalated mouths appeared to cover the replies to the questions of, "Tell us how you feel about that finish!"

I am entertained.  I've rewound the final 70 laps of the event several times over as I and family members tried to dissect what happened.  I am not bored, there's no way I could be.  I am completely and totally psyched for the final race of the season. 

Will Keselowski suffer a random mechanical failure?  Will Bowyer take out Gordon just for the fun of it?  Will NASCAR leave the yellow flag alone, even after the track gets littered by cars and thoroughly visible debris?

We've always said anything can and will happen in NASCAR.  It was awesome to see that axiom come true one more time, and at one of the most ignored venues on the circuit.  Never count out the little gem in the desert, Phoenix almost never disappoints. It certainly didn't this time!

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: AdvoCare 500k
by Garrett Horton

0
Kurt Busch has failed to win a race this year, and if he is unable to take the checkered flag at Homestead, it would snap a streak of ten consecutive season with at least one win.  It is currently the third longest active streak behind Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, and is tied for the 12th longest streak of all-time.

3
Chevy has now won the last three races after going 11 events without a trip to Victory Lane.

6
Six of the top-10 finishers were involved in the big wreck on the final lap.

6.08
The average number of cautions per race this year.  The most was 14 at Kansas last month and the fewest number of yellows was at the rain-shortened Fontana event this spring, when the only caution came out for precipitation. 

8
Kyle Busch has failed to win in the last eight races in which he led the most laps, five of which have come this year.  The last time he won after the leading the most laps was in the inaugural Kentucky race last season.

8.86
Jimmie Johnson's average finish in the 23 races this year he has started tenth or better.

9
Jimmie Johnson failed to lead a lap on Sunday, ending a nine-race streak of leading at least one lap.

9.1
Brad Keselowski's average finish in the ten races he has started tenth or higher this year.

10.04
Brad Keselowski's average finish in 25 races this year where he has started outside the top-10.

13.5
Jimmie Johnson's average finish in 12 races this year where he has started outside the top-10.

15
Brad Keselowski will be your 2012 Sprint Cup champ as long as he finishes 15th or higher at Homestead, regardless of what Jimmie Johnson does.  Keselowski is looking to become just the second driver in NASCAR history to win both a Nationwide and Sprint Cup title.  Bobby Labonte (Nationwide in 1991, Cup in 2000) is the only driver to have accomplished this feat.

18
The worst lead lap finish Brad Keselowski has this year was an 18th in the June race at Pocono.

28
The most laps led Jimmie Johnson has led in a single Homestead event.

38
Harvick's win on Sunday snapped a 38-race winless streak for the Richard Childress Racing organization.  RCR's last win came a little over a year ago, when Clint Bowyer took the checkered flag at Talladega.

1359
Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch have combined to lead 1359 laps in the nine Chase races this year.  No other driver has led that many laps all year.

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:

Double Standards in Play As Gordon Avoids a Deserved Suspension
by Danny Peters

Who's Hot/Who's Not in NASCAR: Phoenix/Homestead-Miami Edition

by Brett Poirier

Couch Potato Tuesday: Fracas Coverage Good, Focus Again Hurts ESPN
by Phil Allaway

Five Points to Ponder: The Latest Failings of a Failed Sanctioning Body

by Bryan Davis Keith


Tech Talk: Making a Car Stick in the Florida Sun with Bob Osborne
by Mike Neff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  The 2000 Pennzoil 400 is best known as the race where Bobby Labonte clinched his only Winston Cup Championship.  However, for PPI Racing, it was an absolute worst-case scenario for them.  What happened?
 
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Monday's Answer:

Q:  The now-Camping World Truck Series officially held their first points race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 1996, which was won by Dave Rezendes.  However, that was not the first time that trucks took to the "Mini-Indy" version of Homestead's 1.5 mile oval.  When was the first time, and who won?

A:  The first time that the trucks took to Homestead's 1.5 mile rectangle was in November, 1995.  It was a short demonstration race of only ten trucks for 20 laps, held immediately after the Homestead 150 for the Goody's Dash Series (primary support to the Busch Grand National Jiffy Lube Miami 300).  The race was necessary since the trucks didn't race on an oval longer than Phoenix in their entire inaugural season.  Geoff Bodine won the event in what turned out to be an excellent race.

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.

Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different subjects.  This week's topics include whether the penalties that NASCAR levied on Monday were appropriate, whether it's a good idea to Harvick to sign with Stewart-Haas so early for 2014, the points races going into Homestead, and more.

Sprint Cup Power Rankings compiled by Summer Bedgood
Did Sunday's on-track action significantly shake up our Power Rankings according to our experts?  You'll have to check it out in order to see where the drivers stand going into Sunday's Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kevin's Corner by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is back with another interesting commentary.

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

Open-Wheel Wednesday by P. Huston Ladner
Huston returns with another interesting commentary about the Izod IndyCar Series.
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