THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
January 21st, 2013
Volume VII, Edition IV
NOTE: Look for some special Newsletter editions this week with the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour. Amy Henderson and Mike Neff will be there with full coverage, along with reports from Tom Bowles and several of your Frontstretch favorites. Keep an eye on the website this week, because we're slowly coming out of "hibernation" with 2013 almost upon us!
Twitter: @TheFrontstretch
LEND YOUR SUPPORT TO VICTIMS IN THE WAKE OF THE SANDY HOOK TRAGEDY
After the senseless mass shooting last month, Frontstretch sends its love and support to all of Newtown, CT as they grieve over the tragic December 14th 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.
What to Watch This Week:
- For those of you who have been jonesing for some racing, we've finally got some on tap this week. This weekend is the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the season opener for the Rolex Sports Car Series and the official beginning of Speedweeks. The race weekend officially starts with support series practice sessions on Wednesday, then practice and qualifying on Thursday. Friday will be the Sunoco Grand-Am 200 for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC), while the 24 hour classic will start on Saturday. The CTSCC race will be aired live on SPEED2.com (check with your local cable/satellite provider for availability) at 2pm EST, while all 24 hours will be aired live on either SPEED or SPEEDtv.com Coverage on Saturday is scheduled to start at 3:00pm EST. Phil Allaway will be at the racetrack and giving you all the latest and greatest news.
- Meanwhile, today marks the start of the annual NASCAR Media Tour. Expect a number of announcements to come this week out of various Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series teams. Our own Amy Henderson and Mike Neff will be there to report: follow them both on Twitter at @Writer_Amy & @MNeffShortTrack, respectively.
Top News From The Past Week
by Phil Allaway and Amy Henderson
Weather Plays Havoc With Charlotte Test
Last week, NASCAR scheduled a two-day test for the new Gne6 Sprint Cup cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However,. Mother Nature had other plans. The first day was a complete washout due to heavy rains. Then, the cold front moved through the Charlotte area and changed the precipitation to snow and ice. Not much ain the way of accumulations were recorded at the track, but the track needed to be dried . The warming temperatures meant that ice built up behind the SAFER Barriers melted and kept soaking the track with cold water. As a result, it was nearly noon on Friday before drivers could venture out onto the 1.5 mile quad-oval. NASCAR extended the test to 7:30pm in order to help make up for the lost time.
Once the teams finally got out on the track, there was definitely speed to be found, especially after the sun set. Aric Almirola turned in the best lap of the test with a lap at 27.832 seconds (194.021 mph). This is faster than the previous official track record set by Greg Biffle in October, and a little faster than the best laps set during the previous test in December. Carl Edwards was second fastest, while Casey Mears completed an all-Ford top-3. Marcos Ambrose and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-5.
Denny Hamlin's Girlfriend Gives Birth to a Girl
On Sunday night, Denny Hamlin's girlfriend, Jordan Fish, gave birth to her first child, a little girl. Taylor James Hamlin was born at 8:20pm. She weighed in at six pounds, five ounces and measured 20 inches long. Both mother and child are said to be doing well. Hamlin posted a couple of pictures of little Taylor James on his Twitter feed Monday morning.
Hamlin substantially curtailed his testing schedule so that he could be at the hospital when Fish gave birth. In Daytona, he spent only one of the three days in Florida before flying back to Charlotte. He skipped the Charlotte test all together, enlisting Michael McDowell to substitute. We at Frontstretch congratulate Hamlin and Fish on their new arrival.
Sprint Unlimited Format to be Voted On by Fans
Sprint announced a brand-new format for the 75-lap Sprint Unlimited race at Daytona International Speedway that is scheduled for Saturday, February 16th on Monday. As in the past, the race will remain a 75-lap race, and as previously announced, it is once again a race for pole winners and previous Unlimited winners. That is roughly where the similarities end.
The race will be split into three segments this year. The lengths of the segments are up to a fan vote. The choices are either 40 laps, then 20, and 15, 35, 30, then ten, or 30, 25 and 20. Voting is open through February 13th on that question. Fans can vote until the end of Segment 1 as to whether a pit stop will be required, and whether teams will have to take no tires, two or four. Voting is open for whether none, two, four or six cars will be eliminated at the end of Segment 2. Finally, fans can even vote on what color firesuit Miss Sprint Cup wears in Victory Lane.
To vote, go to the above link and pick and choose your favorite options. You can vote as many times as you want. Also, if you vote using the new NASCAR Mobile '13 app, available for free for iOS, your vote counts twice.
NMPA Awards Handed Out; Keselowski Voted Driver of the Year
Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski; Rockingham Speedway owner Andy Hillenburg; Charlotte Motor Speedway Vice President of Communications Scott Cooper; and Jeff Dennison, Director of Media and Public Relations for Breaking Limits were all honored Sunday night at the annual awards dinner for the National Motorsports Press Association. The four were recipients of some of the organization's most prestigious awards for their contributions to racing and the media in 2012.
Keselowski took home Richard Petty Driver of the Year honors after winning his first Sprint Cup title in 2012. Keselowski's title was also the first for team owner Roger Penske, and his five wins tied Jimmie Johnson for the series lead in that category. Keselowski was also recognized as the third quarter winner of the NMPA/Speedway Motorsports Spiulrit Award for his Checkered Flag Foundations which assists military veterans. Keselowski is also known as an outspoken advocate for his sport and one of the leading drivers in the social media realm.
Hillenburg, who was the second quarter Spirit Award winner, also won the overall Spirit Award, which is voted on by the NMPA membership for "character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports." Hillenburg bought Rockingham Speedway (then North Carolina Speedway) at auction in 2007. While the other bidders wanted to develop the area into something else, Hillenburg had only one plan; to bring racing back to a track with a historic past. He fulfilled that promise the following year with an ARCA event, and the track has hosted several other racing events as well as Hillenburg's racing school and served as a testing facility for many NASCAR teams. It looked like NASCAR's days in Rockingham had ended in 2004, but Hillenburg overcame the odds and the fate of most other tracks that have lost NASCAR races, hosting the first NASCAR National touring series race at the track in nearly a decade with a Camping World Truck Series race last April, which was a resounding success with race fans. The series returns this year.
Cooper was presented with the Ken Patterson Helping Others Award for his contributions to the media in his role with CMS. The award is given annually to a public relations representative within the motorsports industry. Cooper, who has been seen working tirelessly by every media member who has covered a race in Charlotte, was voted by the NMPA membership as this year's recipient.
Dennison was chosen as the recipient of the the Joe Littlejohn Award for his help with the NMPA's Most Popular Driver award. Dennison won the honor, which is given each year in recognition of contributions to the NMPA, for his efforts in coordinating the NMPA's Most Popular Driver award. Dennison created the website that allowed fans to vote for their favorite drivers throughout the 2012 season.
In addition, there were a number of awards given out to media members. ESPN.com's Ryan McGee won the George Cunningham Writer of the Year award. MRN Radio's Dave Moody was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year, while Woody Cain was named Radio Producer of the Year. The Television Producer of the Year award went to Suzanne Clevette from SPEED's NASCAR RaceHub.
Finally, our own Amy Henderson won a post-race coverage award (fourth place) for her coverage of the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville in October. It is hers and Frontstretch's second NMPA Award. You can read Amy's award winning article here.
Cassill Leaves BK Racing, Reutimann to Drive No. 83 full-time
On Wednesday, BK Racing announced that Landon Cassill, who drove the team's No. 83 Burger King Toyota last season, has resigned from the race team, effective immediately.
Cassill was honest when asked about what caused him to leave.
"We just couldn't work it out," Cassill told NASCAR.com's David Caraviello. "There are a lot of balls in the air at BK [Racing], and it's just unfortunate. It kind of breaks my heart that I have to move on this late in the year. I was looking forward to hopefully [spending] many years there, but it just didn't work out."
Reports last week indicated that Cassill left the team not only because they couldn't come to terms for the 2013 season, but also because the team "failed to live up to their obligations for the 2012 season."
In 36 races in the No. 83, Cassill had no top-10 finishes. His best run was an 18th, accomplished three different times (Charlotte-May, Michigan-June and Kansas-October). He finished 31st in points.
As for Cassill's replacement in the No. 83, FoxSports.com's Lee Spencer is reporting that David Reutimann has been tapped to drive the No. 83 for the full season. Pat Tryson, who moved over to the team late last season, is expected to serve as Reutimann's crew chief.
For Reutimann, this will not be his debut with BK Racing. Last year, Reutimann was originally signed to drive the No. 93 in races where Danica Patrick was driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing. Ultimately, Reutimann only ended up driving the No. 93 in two races (the Daytona 500 and the Bojangles Southern 500). He also failed to qualify the part-time No. 73 for the Coca-Cola 600.
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.
The Eyes Have It!
In this Facebook feature, we post a photo of a driver inside a helmet, and ask you to identify which driver it is based only on his or her eyes. We posted two new mystery drivers recently. The first, posted on January 8th, was five-time Sprint Cup champ Jimmie Johnson.
Congratulations to Elaine Jarrell, the first reader to correctly identify Johnson in the photo.
Other readers with the correct answer include: Karri Banham, Connie Johnson, Tina Brown, Betsy Ware, Melissa Johnson, Son Vol, Rogers Andrea, and Michelle Sprague.
Other guesses included Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin.
The January 16th photo was NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Congratulations to Toni Teel-Hopper for being the first to recognize Stenhouse and to Ryan O'Hara, the only other reader with a correct guess!
Other guesses for the Stenhouse photo included Tony Stewart, Brendan Gaughan, Kurt Busch, Mike Bliss, Rusty Wallace, Austin Dillon, Timothy Peters, Jimmie Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Kerry Earnhardt, Joe Nemechek, and Frontstretch editor Vito Pugliese.
We will run a new photo periodically 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!
FRONTSTRETCH LINKS:
DRIVER REVIEWS -- A FULL SCHEDULE IS UP! FIND THE ONES YOU MISSED AND GIVE US YOUR TAKE ON YOUR DRIVER'S FAVORITE SEASON.
From Last Week:
Did You Notice? ... Landon's Loss, Testing Tidbits And The Danger Of NASCAR Stability
by Tom Bowles
Mirror Driving: Overrated And Underrated, The Best Of Both NASCAR Extremes
by the Frontstretch Staff
Weather Plays Havoc With Charlotte Test
Last week, NASCAR scheduled a two-day test for the new Gne6 Sprint Cup cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However,. Mother Nature had other plans. The first day was a complete washout due to heavy rains. Then, the cold front moved through the Charlotte area and changed the precipitation to snow and ice. Not much ain the way of accumulations were recorded at the track, but the track needed to be dried . The warming temperatures meant that ice built up behind the SAFER Barriers melted and kept soaking the track with cold water. As a result, it was nearly noon on Friday before drivers could venture out onto the 1.5 mile quad-oval. NASCAR extended the test to 7:30pm in order to help make up for the lost time.
Once the teams finally got out on the track, there was definitely speed to be found, especially after the sun set. Aric Almirola turned in the best lap of the test with a lap at 27.832 seconds (194.021 mph). This is faster than the previous official track record set by Greg Biffle in October, and a little faster than the best laps set during the previous test in December. Carl Edwards was second fastest, while Casey Mears completed an all-Ford top-3. Marcos Ambrose and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-5.
Denny Hamlin's Girlfriend Gives Birth to a Girl
On Sunday night, Denny Hamlin's girlfriend, Jordan Fish, gave birth to her first child, a little girl. Taylor James Hamlin was born at 8:20pm. She weighed in at six pounds, five ounces and measured 20 inches long. Both mother and child are said to be doing well. Hamlin posted a couple of pictures of little Taylor James on his Twitter feed Monday morning.
Hamlin substantially curtailed his testing schedule so that he could be at the hospital when Fish gave birth. In Daytona, he spent only one of the three days in Florida before flying back to Charlotte. He skipped the Charlotte test all together, enlisting Michael McDowell to substitute. We at Frontstretch congratulate Hamlin and Fish on their new arrival.
Sprint Unlimited Format to be Voted On by Fans
Sprint announced a brand-new format for the 75-lap Sprint Unlimited race at Daytona International Speedway that is scheduled for Saturday, February 16th on Monday. As in the past, the race will remain a 75-lap race, and as previously announced, it is once again a race for pole winners and previous Unlimited winners. That is roughly where the similarities end.
The race will be split into three segments this year. The lengths of the segments are up to a fan vote. The choices are either 40 laps, then 20, and 15, 35, 30, then ten, or 30, 25 and 20. Voting is open through February 13th on that question. Fans can vote until the end of Segment 1 as to whether a pit stop will be required, and whether teams will have to take no tires, two or four. Voting is open for whether none, two, four or six cars will be eliminated at the end of Segment 2. Finally, fans can even vote on what color firesuit Miss Sprint Cup wears in Victory Lane.
To vote, go to the above link and pick and choose your favorite options. You can vote as many times as you want. Also, if you vote using the new NASCAR Mobile '13 app, available for free for iOS, your vote counts twice.
NMPA Awards Handed Out; Keselowski Voted Driver of the Year
Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski; Rockingham Speedway owner Andy Hillenburg; Charlotte Motor Speedway Vice President of Communications Scott Cooper; and Jeff Dennison, Director of Media and Public Relations for Breaking Limits were all honored Sunday night at the annual awards dinner for the National Motorsports Press Association. The four were recipients of some of the organization's most prestigious awards for their contributions to racing and the media in 2012.
Keselowski took home Richard Petty Driver of the Year honors after winning his first Sprint Cup title in 2012. Keselowski's title was also the first for team owner Roger Penske, and his five wins tied Jimmie Johnson for the series lead in that category. Keselowski was also recognized as the third quarter winner of the NMPA/Speedway Motorsports Spiulrit Award for his Checkered Flag Foundations which assists military veterans. Keselowski is also known as an outspoken advocate for his sport and one of the leading drivers in the social media realm.
Hillenburg, who was the second quarter Spirit Award winner, also won the overall Spirit Award, which is voted on by the NMPA membership for "character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports." Hillenburg bought Rockingham Speedway (then North Carolina Speedway) at auction in 2007. While the other bidders wanted to develop the area into something else, Hillenburg had only one plan; to bring racing back to a track with a historic past. He fulfilled that promise the following year with an ARCA event, and the track has hosted several other racing events as well as Hillenburg's racing school and served as a testing facility for many NASCAR teams. It looked like NASCAR's days in Rockingham had ended in 2004, but Hillenburg overcame the odds and the fate of most other tracks that have lost NASCAR races, hosting the first NASCAR National touring series race at the track in nearly a decade with a Camping World Truck Series race last April, which was a resounding success with race fans. The series returns this year.
Cooper was presented with the Ken Patterson Helping Others Award for his contributions to the media in his role with CMS. The award is given annually to a public relations representative within the motorsports industry. Cooper, who has been seen working tirelessly by every media member who has covered a race in Charlotte, was voted by the NMPA membership as this year's recipient.
Dennison was chosen as the recipient of the the Joe Littlejohn Award for his help with the NMPA's Most Popular Driver award. Dennison won the honor, which is given each year in recognition of contributions to the NMPA, for his efforts in coordinating the NMPA's Most Popular Driver award. Dennison created the website that allowed fans to vote for their favorite drivers throughout the 2012 season.
In addition, there were a number of awards given out to media members. ESPN.com's Ryan McGee won the George Cunningham Writer of the Year award. MRN Radio's Dave Moody was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year, while Woody Cain was named Radio Producer of the Year. The Television Producer of the Year award went to Suzanne Clevette from SPEED's NASCAR RaceHub.
Finally, our own Amy Henderson won a post-race coverage award (fourth place) for her coverage of the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville in October. It is hers and Frontstretch's second NMPA Award. You can read Amy's award winning article here.
Cassill Leaves BK Racing, Reutimann to Drive No. 83 full-time
On Wednesday, BK Racing announced that Landon Cassill, who drove the team's No. 83 Burger King Toyota last season, has resigned from the race team, effective immediately.
Cassill was honest when asked about what caused him to leave.
"We just couldn't work it out," Cassill told NASCAR.com's David Caraviello. "There are a lot of balls in the air at BK [Racing], and it's just unfortunate. It kind of breaks my heart that I have to move on this late in the year. I was looking forward to hopefully [spending] many years there, but it just didn't work out."
Reports last week indicated that Cassill left the team not only because they couldn't come to terms for the 2013 season, but also because the team "failed to live up to their obligations for the 2012 season."
In 36 races in the No. 83, Cassill had no top-10 finishes. His best run was an 18th, accomplished three different times (Charlotte-May, Michigan-June and Kansas-October). He finished 31st in points.
As for Cassill's replacement in the No. 83, FoxSports.com's Lee Spencer is reporting that David Reutimann has been tapped to drive the No. 83 for the full season. Pat Tryson, who moved over to the team late last season, is expected to serve as Reutimann's crew chief.
For Reutimann, this will not be his debut with BK Racing. Last year, Reutimann was originally signed to drive the No. 93 in races where Danica Patrick was driving the No. 10 for Stewart-Haas Racing. Ultimately, Reutimann only ended up driving the No. 93 in two races (the Daytona 500 and the Bojangles Southern 500). He also failed to qualify the part-time No. 73 for the Coca-Cola 600.
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.
The Eyes Have It!
In this Facebook feature, we post a photo of a driver inside a helmet, and ask you to identify which driver it is based only on his or her eyes. We posted two new mystery drivers recently. The first, posted on January 8th, was five-time Sprint Cup champ Jimmie Johnson.
Congratulations to Elaine Jarrell, the first reader to correctly identify Johnson in the photo.
Other readers with the correct answer include: Karri Banham, Connie Johnson, Tina Brown, Betsy Ware, Melissa Johnson, Son Vol, Rogers Andrea, and Michelle Sprague.
Other guesses included Danica Patrick and Denny Hamlin.
The January 16th photo was NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Congratulations to Toni Teel-Hopper for being the first to recognize Stenhouse and to Ryan O'Hara, the only other reader with a correct guess!
Other guesses for the Stenhouse photo included Tony Stewart, Brendan Gaughan, Kurt Busch, Mike Bliss, Rusty Wallace, Austin Dillon, Timothy Peters, Jimmie Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Kerry Earnhardt, Joe Nemechek, and Frontstretch editor Vito Pugliese.
We will run a new photo periodically 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!
FRONTSTRETCH LINKS:
DRIVER REVIEWS -- A FULL SCHEDULE IS UP! FIND THE ONES YOU MISSED AND GIVE US YOUR TAKE ON YOUR DRIVER'S FAVORITE SEASON.
From Last Week:
Did You Notice? ... Landon's Loss, Testing Tidbits And The Danger Of NASCAR Stability
by Tom Bowles
Mirror Driving: Overrated And Underrated, The Best Of Both NASCAR Extremes
by the Frontstretch Staff
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1986, Roush Racing came within an hour of claiming class victories at both Daytona and Sebring in the GTO class. Two of those drivers were in the top Roush Mustang in both races. Scott Pruett was one of those drivers. Who was the other?
Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Last Monday's Answer:
Q. In 1993, Michael Andretti's short tenure in Formula One came to an end with his best career finish, a third, at the Grand Prix of Italy in Monza. However, there was a spectacular crash coming to the finish. What happened?
A. Damon Hill had already claimed the win for Williams-Renault and the rest of the field was coming back to the start-fijnish line. Christian Fittipaldi ran up on his much slower teammate Pierluigi Martini just meters from the line and ran over his right rear tire. Fittipaldi's Minardi did a flip in the air before coming back down on all fours and crossing the line to finish the race. Martini and Fittipaldi finished seventh and eighth in the Grand Prix, two laps down. Unfortunately, the rules at the time only gave points to the top six finishers. The incident can be seen here.
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 this week at Frontstretch:
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
New Year, old favorites. During the offseason, take a look at some of our columnists' best stories from 2012 -- and earlier in their careers -- as they share what features are near and dear to their heart. A guaranteed set of great reads that'll whet your appetite for racing to return in February.
------------------------------
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©2013 Frontstretch.com
-- Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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©2013 Frontstretch.com
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