THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
December 18th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXXXVII
Editor's Note: Remember, the Frontstretch Newsletter has scaled back over the offseason! The next scheduled edition, due to the holidays will NOT post until Thursday, December 27th -- plan accordingly! Perhaps a special one, between now and then if major news breaks but otherwise Christmas now takes center stage.
To our readers,
This holiday season comes with a heavy heart in America. Everyone on staff, from editors on down sends their deepest sympathies to the victims of the Newtown, CT tragedy that claimed so many innocent lives. Out of respect for their loss, which has caused a nation to grieve our NASCAR content was put on hold for a few days while we processed and debated matters far more important. Please consider a donation to the fund below as we all seek to let this community in crisis know we'll be there for them, every step of the way as they rebuild.
All the best this holiday season to you and your family.
Sincerely,
Tom Bowles
Editor-In-Chief
LEND YOUR SUPPORT TO VICTIMS IN THE WAKE OF THE SANDY HOOK TRAGEDY
After Friday's senseless shooting, Frontstretch sends its love and support to all of Newtown, CT as they grieve over the tragic Friday massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. That horror, the second-deadliest school incident in U.S. history claimed the lives of 26 innocent civilians -- including 20 first-grade children. No matter what you think we should do from here, there's one fact we can all agree on: these victims' families need us to come together and help. There's plenty of ways you can do it, and here at Frontstretch we've found a great charity to recommend: a fund set up by indie rock band OneRepublic. Click here and find out how, with a few simple clicks of the mouse you can send money to help rebuild the lives of so many that were unfairly torn apart. And together, let's make a commitment this holiday season to find a way to stop the violence -- whatever your solution, don't hesitate to speak up and make your voice heard.
BREAKING NEWS NOW: Kyle Busch Back To Joe Gibbs Racing In Nationwide Series? Kligerman To Drive No. 77 For KBM In 2013
by Tom Bowles and Mike Neff
On the heels of a major announcement by Kyle Busch Motorsports Tuesday, signing Parker Kligerman to drive their No. 77 entry in the Nationwide Series it turns out there's a driver he'll be replacing -- the owner himself. Multiple sources tell Frontstretch.com Kyle Busch is prepared to go Nationwide Series racing behind the wheel for 2013, but with Joe Gibbs Racing, leaving his operation a one-car outfit while trying to return to his winning ways in the sport's second-tier division.
Busch, with a car number TBD (either 54 or 18) will bring sponsor Monster Energy to the Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide outfit. Like full-time entries Brian Vickers (No. 20) and Elliott Sadler (No. 11), Busch will receive support from JGR engines and chassis in-house while pursuing a limited schedule of races (20-24). Sources claim the move was pushed not by the sponsor but by Gibbs, who wanted Busch to race under his roof if pursuing Nationwide Series competition in 2013.
Busch struggled in all levels of NASCAR in 2012, but nowhere was his slump more evident than the Nationwide Series. Running 22 events for his self-owned KBM operation, he went winless for the first time since his 2003 debut in that division while posting just nine top-5 finishes. How much of a change was there in Busch's competitiveness? Last season, he finished off the lead lap six times in those 22 starts, equal to his total from the previous _three years_ in that category. During that same three-year span, Busch won 30 times and collected 64 top-5 finishes.
While Busch moves back home, he's left the keys to the KBM castle with Parker Kligerman for 2013. Driving a No. 77 Camry with sponsorship TBA, Kligerman moves up from the Truck Series after finishing fifth in that division's championship in 2012. Forced to ride-hop between Brad Keselowski Racing and Red Horse Racing midseason, he ended the year on a tear -- four top-5 results, including a win at Talladega in the season's final five events.
There's no word at this time on the future of Mike Beam, who led the KBM effort in 2012 or sponsorship for Kligerman. Sources have the funding for the driver, who was announced as full-time secured for just half the 33 races at this point.
Top News From The Past Week
by Phil Allaway
NASCAR Holds Test Session at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Last week, NASCAR held an open two-day test at Charlotte Motor Speedway. For many teams, it was the first time that they had a chance to test out their new 2013 race cars, dubbed by NASCAR as "Gen 6" chassis.
However, the weather played a major factor in the test. Both days saw on-time track wiped out due to precipitation, while each featured unseasonably cold weather for North Carolina. With temperatures barely getting out of the 40s (especially on Day 2), speeds were up.
Last Tuesday saw Jeff Burton turn in the fastest lap of the day during the Morning session with an average speed of 190.833 mph. Kevin Harvick was second, followed by Austin Dillon, who was subbing in the No. 27 for Paul Menard. Kasey Kahne was fourth, while Joey Logano was fifth in his Shell/Pennzoil Ford. The session started roughly a half-hour late due to a wet track.
In the afternoon session, Regan Smith was quickest in the No. 24 (subbing for Jeff Gordon) at an average speed of 190.215 mph. Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Matt Kenseth. Harvick was fourth and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top 5.
On Wednesday, the cool, moist weather threatened once again. However, the speeds continued to escalate. Kahne turned in the fastest overall lap of the test during the morning session at 193.771 mph. That lap was faster than the track record (193.708 mph) set by Greg Biffle back in October. Kahne was still fastest in the afternoon session, but the rains returned and ended the offseason action after just 30 minutes of post-lunch track time.
For Hamlin, the test did not come without issues. 30 minutes into the morning session, Hamlin smacked the wall with the right side of his Toyota Camry. Hamlin was OK, but his car was done for the test.
Generally, drivers had a positive reaction surrounding the new cars.
"I felt really good in traffic," Kasey Kahne told NASCAR.com's David Caraviello. "I didn't really have a problem passing the car in front of me ... I think just having a nice, balanced race car like we've had for the last day and a half has helped. I didn't have a problem passing cars at all."
"You're going through the corners a lot faster than what we did before, because you're in the gas a lot more," Joey Logano said. "I think at certain tracks you will [break track records], and certain tracks you won't. It's interesting. ... With it being cooler out today, we're going even faster, so you take all of that with a grain of a salt. I think speeds will be up. I think there is definitely some possibility for track records being broke, but we have to kind of wait and see what the package is going to be when it's all said and done here from NASCAR."
Part of the reason that the cars felt more balanced were the rules specs given to teams by NASCAR. During the test, teams were running with spoilers measuring 7.25 inches tall, the largest ever outside of Daytona and Talladega. In addition, the splitter is a little bigger as well. As a result, the cars have more downforce than the outgoing COT's.
Frontstretch Senior Writer Amy Henderson was on hand for the test; for more on her take, check out Nine Things Learned From the December Charlotte Test. Also, check out our Facebook page for photos from the test session.
Front Row Motorsports Confirms 2013 Lineup
On Wednesday, Front Row Motorsports announced their 2013 driver lineup. There will be few changes from the 2012 season.
David Ragan will return to the No. 34 Ford, while David Gilliland will be back in the No. 38 and Josh Wise will return to the No. 26. The only difference will be that Wise will have what the team is calling a "more competitive schedule of race entries." MDS Transport will return to sponsor the No. 26 for the full season, one in which Wise start-and-parked for the majority of the schedule.
Team owner Bob Jenkins is happy with his team's stability and how it could translate to the upcoming 2013 season.
"You often see a lot of young teams going through a lot of changes trying to make it in the Sprint Cup Series," he said. "We've been fortunate that we've had a lot of stable partners, people who believe in our approach and are seeing year-to-year improvements as a result of that approach."
David Ragan, who scored just two top-10 finishes last season does remain confident going into his second year in the No. 34.
"There's always a learning curve whenever something new is thrown into the mix, whether it's a new driver, new crew chief, new car or new team members," Ragan said. "We have a new Ford Fusion for 2013, which I'm really excited about, so it will be really important and really helpful that all the other variables aren't changing. My crew chief, Jay Guy, and I built a great working relationship last year and that will help us be better this coming year."
Front Row Motorsports elected to skip last week's open test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However, the team plans to be at Daytona International Speedway from January 10-12 to attend the annual Preseason Thunder.
Other than MDS Transport, Front Row Motorsports did not announce any sponsorships in their release. House-Autry Mills, which sponsored the No. 38 team for a couple of races in 2012, has already left the team in favor of a limited schedule with JTG-Daugherty Racing. However, the team is still negotiating sponsorship deals with announcements for the 2013 season upcoming; Peanut Patch, it was announced on Tuesday will back Ragan and the No. 34 for four events.
McDonald's to Expand Sponsorship of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing No. 1 in 2013
As the World Turns...Left is reporting that in the wake of Bass Pro Shops leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's No. 1 team and moving over to Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14, McDonald's will step up their sponsorship of the team in order to fill some of the gaps. According to EGR's Jeff Dowling, the fast food chain would step up their commitment to the team, but that he didn't know just to what extent. The team will officially announce McDonald's full commitment to the team on January 23rd during the NASCAR Media Tour.
In 2012, McDonald's was the second biggest primary sponsor for the No. 1 team. Their red, yellow and black colors were on the No. 1 for 13 races during the season. Driver Jamie McMurray's best finish with the McDonald's colors was a seventh at Bristol in March. This run ultimately was McMurray's best finish of the whole 2012 season.
When Bass Pro Shops moved their primary backing over to the No. 14, they stated that they would still be open to providing some kind of support to the No. 1 team. It appears that it could still be possible for that scenario to occur. Dowling claims that the team is working on a deal with Bass Pro Shops to retain the outdoor supply chain as an associate sponsor with the team for the full season, with the possibility of one race as a primary sponsor. Such a move would effectively create a sponsorship swap, due to the fact that Bass Pro Shops served as an associate sponsor on Tony Stewart's No. 14 in 2012 while also serving as the primary sponsor of Ryan Newman's No. 39 Chevrolet at Talladega in May.
SPEED Announces Performer of the Year Finalists
On Friday, SPEED announced their finalists for the Performer of the Year Award, an award given to the all-around best driver in all of motorsports in a given year. The winner will receive the Mario Andretti Trophy, a 100-pound bronze sculpture on top of a wooden base. Andretti himself will award the trophy to the winner.
There are 16 finalists for this year's award. They come from 13 different series and seven different countries.
Finalists:
Brad Keselowski - 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion
Ryan Hunter-Reay - 2012 Izod IndyCar Series Champion
Sebastien Vettel - 2012 World Drivers Champion (Formula One)
Fernando Alonso - 2012 WDC Runner-Up
Antron Brown - 2012 NHRA Top Fuel Champion
Kyle Larson - Versatile racer in World of Outlaws, NASCAR K&N Pro Series and Camping World Truck Series
Donny Schatz - 2012 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Champion
Sammy Swindell - Legendary sprint car driver
Sebastien Loeb - Nine-time and defending WRC Champion
Jorge Lorenzo - 2012 motoGP Champion
Casey Stoner - Retiring motoGP legend
Max Biaggi - Retiring motoGP/World Superbike legend
Josh Hayes - 2012 AMA Pro Superbike Champion
Ryan Villopoto - 2012 AMA Supercross Champion
Scott Pruett - 2012 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype co-champion (with Memo Rojas)
Andre Lotterer - Lead driver of Toyota's factory prototype program
The Performer of the Year Award is voted on by a 23-member panel. This panel includes legendary racers Andretti, Darrell Waltrip, Dan Gurney, Don "The Snake" Prudhomme, Scott Russell Tommy Kendall and Dorsey Schroeder, in addition to TV personalities Dave Despain, Leigh Diffey, Bob Varsha and Ralph Sheheen. SPEED writers Robin Miller, Tom Jensen and Marshall Pruett also have votes. Finally, a number of SPEED producers experienced in motorsports have votes as well. The winner will be announced on January 27th as part of a special episode of SPEED Center after the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Townley Joins Red Horse Racing
Red Horse Racing announced on Tuesday that John Wes Townley will join the team for the 2013 Camping World Truck Series. Townley will take over driving duties in the No. 7 truck, with Mike Beam serving as crew chief. The No. 7 competed on a part-time basis in 2012, visiting victory lane twice, with John King at Daytona in February and with Parker Kligerman at Talladega in October.
Townley, 22, will be sponsored in all 22 races by Zaxby's, a restaurant chain for which Townley's father is the CEO. Townley competed in 21 Camping World Truck Series races for RAB Racing in 2012, posting two top-10 finishes, including a career-best eighth place at Pocono. He brings a career average finish of 20.6 with him to Red Horse Racing.
"I'm a competitive race car driver, and I want to race and compete for wins," said Townley in a RHR press release Tuesday. "Red Horse Racing has worked hard and continues to excel in the truck series. The success that this Red Horse Racing organization was able to accomplish last season, is the same success we are looking forward to next year."
The addition of the Georgia native brings stability to a team that struggled for sponsorship in 2012. Team Owner Tom DeLoach hopes that pairing him with Beam, who has led teams in all three NASCAR national divisions for more than 30 years, will help Townley mature as a driver. "John showed vast improvement on the track this past season. Red Horse Racing is eager to move him to the next level in his racing career," DeLoach explained Tuesday. "Pairing him with Mike Beam is a great way to give John the insight from Mike's impressive background. We had a fantastic 2012 season and we are anxious to see what 2013 will hold.
Beam began his NASCAR crew chief career in 1981 as head wrench for Kyle Petty in the Sprint Cup Series. He has three wins at that level and a combined 22 victories in the Nationwide and Truck Series. Most recently, Beam served as crew chief for Kurt and Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, for the 2012 season, winning once with Kurt Busch.
Beam says he's looking forward to helping Townley take his career to the next level. "The Truck Series proved to be the most competitive series in 2012. I want to be a part of that, and be a part of one of the top-tiered teams in the series. Playing an integral part in John's career is important to me and I'm anxious to see our results," said Beam.
Have news for Phil 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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The Eyes Have It!
Congratulations to Harry Colby, the first reader to correctly identify Keselowski in the photo.
Other readers with the correct answer include: Nikki Nash, Mike Jones, Lucia Bush, Gail Bannister, Kristian Aliexo and Betsy Ware.
Other guesses included Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ryan Newman, Jerry Nadeau, Rick Mast, Martin Truex, Jr., Kurt Busch, Joe Nemechek, and Michael Waltrip.
Our second photo last week featured Matt Kenseth.
Tom Bone had the first correct guess, congratulations, Tom! Melissa Johnson, Toni Teel-Hopper, Pam Johnson, Robert Snyder, Eileen Veach-Ginger, Rita McDonald, Frank Lopes, and Rogers Andrea were also correct.
Michael McDowell was also guessed.
We will run a new photo each week (sometimes twice!) throughout the offseason, and list the readers with the correct answer here in our newsletter (Facebook rules prohibit us giving a prize, but hey—at least you'll get your name in lights!). Go to our Facebook page to join the fun!
Help us make our Facebook page more awesome!
Hey race fans! We're looking to make out Facebook page bigger and better in 2013. We'd like to hear from you, our readers, more about what you'd like to see on our page. Would you like to see polls, trivia, and other items? How about Q & A sessions with our writers? More games, a caption contest? Something else? We want to make Frontstretch Race Page the best Facebook destination for race fans!
If there is something you would like to see added to our page? Please either post on our Facebook wall or email Amy at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com and let us know what you want to see in 2013.
TODAY AT THE FRONTSTRETCH:
DRIVER REVIEWS -- A FULL SCHEDULE IS UP! FIND THE ONES YOU MISSED AND GIVE US YOUR TAKE ON YOUR DRIVER'S FAVORITE SEASON.
OUT TODAY:
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Aric Almirola
by Matt Stallknecht
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Marcos Ambrose
by Mark Howell
Underdog City: Evaluating Cup's Smaller Teams In 2012
by Kevin Rutherford
And check out our articles from last week as well:
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
by Summer Dreyer
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Martin Truex, Jr.
by Brett Poirier
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Tony Stewart
by Jeff Wolfe
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Jeff Gordon
by S.D. Grady
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Kevin Harvick
by Tom Bowles
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Greg Biffle
by P. Huston Ladner
Nine Things Learned From the December Charlotte Test
by Amy Henderson
Mirror Driving: If You Were NASCAR King For A Day... And King Of The Unemployed
by the Frontstretch Staff
Throwback Thursday: Matt McLaughlin's The Way We Were
by Matt McLaughlin
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: If you look at the results for the 1989 Daytona 500 on Racing-Reference, you'll notice that Eddie Bierschwale finished a career-best tenth in the race and led his only career laps in the Cup Series. Yeah, not so fast. Yes, Bierschwale started the race, but he didn't finish it. Who did?
Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Last Monday's Answer:
Q. In the 1986 First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Rick Knoop crashed D.K. Ulrich's No. 6 Chevrolet in Turns 3 and 4 and put himself out of the race. However, no yellow was thrown for the incident despite Knoop's car coming to rest in harm's way. How was the car removed from danger despite being under green?
A. Believe it or not, NASCAR dispatched a tow truck to the beginning of pit road, where Knoop's Chevrolet was hooked up and hauled away to safety while the race continued under green. The incident can be seen in this clip. Such a move would never happen now (or then), but the tactic was used because NASCAR had no provisions to close pit road at the time. When the caution would come out, cars would fly onto the unrestricted pit road for stops even before the pace car picked up the field. The wreck ultimately led to NASCAR allowing for provisions to close pit road as early as the fall of 1987.
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!
Coming Thursday, December 27th in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more ... including our 2011 Driver Reviews!
Coming this week at Frontstretch:
2012 Driver Reviews by the Frontstretch Staff
Our driver reviews will continue this week with some more driver reviews from competitors in the Sprint Cup Series. Remember, the top-35 drivers in 2012 Sprint Cup points will be reviewed, as well as the top-5 in Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series points.
DRIVER REVIEWS -- A FULL SCHEDULE IS UP! FIND THE ONES YOU MISSED AND GIVE US YOUR TAKE ON YOUR DRIVER'S FAVORITE SEASON.
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Every Wednesday, throughout the offseason your favorite experts will convene to discuss some major NASCAR issues of 2012 -- and what the series faces heading into 2013.
Throwback Thursdays by the Frontstretch Staff
Come back, every Thursday to read some of your favorite articles from Frontstretch writers through the years! It's amazing how many predictions came true, what great features have long-term staying power and the beauty of our writers in crafting an incredibly story, start to finish. From Amy Henderson through Matt McLaughlin, we've got the best from our vault to keep you entertained this offseason.
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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