Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
February 24th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition XXI
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WHAT TO WATCH: SUNDAY
The 55th running of the Great American Race has arrived. Coverage begins at noon on FOX with the green flag at shortly after 1:20 ET. SPEED will have pre-race festivities covered as well, along with the latest on the Nationwide Series wreck / fan injuries from Saturday.
The Frontstretch's Tom Bowles was on Sunday morning, around 10:40 AM on 92.9 - The Game in Atlanta to speak about the tragedy at Daytona. Check out the Marc Ryan show archives to listen in.
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Frontstretch Live: Don't miss out on our at-the-track coverage of Daytona Speedweeks! Tom Bowles is here, from now through Sunday and will be reporting on all the action from the sport's top three series. Follow along on Twitter at @TheFrontstretch and @NASCARBowles for everything you need to know!
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Breaking News Update: Nationwide Series Wreck At Daytona
by Tom Bowles
At 9:30 this morning, Joie Chitwood III, Daytona track President addressed the media followed by NASCAR Vice President Steve O'Donnell. The theme of both pressers was simple: we are safe to race today. As for tomorrow? It's a long-term process, one that's still too early in its development to pin a cause on why the front o Kyle Larson's car disintegrated, injuring 28 fans in the grandstands on both the upper and lower level.
First, to the race today. Chitwood praised track workers on their catchfence repair; indeed, the area looks no different than any other in the tri-oval after their diligent efforts last night.
"At 8 AM, we met with NASCAR," he said. "We reviewed all of the repairs we made last evening. We worked late and are prepared to go racing today."
O'Donnell reemphasized that point. In response to a question that asked whether the series should still continue on at this racetrack, for years to come he responded, "We're very confident we'll still be racing here. Daytona is a place we will be at."
The crossover gate, which has been the source of speculation as to a factor that increased the severity of the wreck was not installed again for Sunday's event. However, Chitwood said no consideration was given to removing the crossover gates at other areas of the speedway. As for the car itself, O'Donnell actually expressed relief things weren't worse -- along with reassuring everyone the construction of the car's chassis helped minimize the damage.
"I think for the most part, the car held up," he said. "The tethers held up. Obviously, we can always learn. When a car gets up into the fence, that's something we have to take back, analyze everything we can. We'll do just that and the process has started."
So where was the trouble spot, the point at which smaller pieces of the car began to shred, got over the catchfence and turned dangerous? O'Donnell said it's too early to tell. "This will be an evolving process," he explained. "One we look at with outside experts. If there's something we can learn today, tomorrow we'll implement that."
Neither NASCAR nor the track itself would give a timetable for any improvements. I did ask O'Donnell what he would say to fans worried about attending a future Sprint Cup event.
"I would tell them that the fans are our first priority," he said. "Obviously, we want everybody to be safe at an event. We've talked to the Speedway. We're confident in what's in place at today's event. Certainly still thinking about those affected, but we're confident to move forward for this race."
The event is expected to start, as scheduled shortly after 1:20 PM ET.
Daytona 500 Starting Lineup
Row 1
10 - Danica Patrick, Chevy
24 - Jeff Gordon, Chevy
Row 2
29 - Kevin Harvick, Chevy
18 - Kyle Busch, Toyota
Row 3
16 - Greg Biffle, Ford
5 - Kasey Kahne, Chevy
Row 4
42 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy
33 - Austin Dillon, Chevy
Row 5
48 - Jimmie Johnson, Chevy
15 - Clint Bowyer, Toyota
Row 6
78 - Kurt Busch, Chevy
20 - Matt Kenseth, Toyota
Row 7
14 - Tony Stewart, Chevy
55 - Mark Martin, Toyota
Row 8
2 - Brad Keselowski, Ford
27 - Paul Menard, Chevy
Row 9
13 - Casey Mears, Ford
31 - Jeff Burton, Chevy
Row 10
88 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Chevy
1 - Jamie McMurray, Chevy
Row 11
20 - Joey Logano, Ford
34 - David Ragan, Ford
Row 12
47 - Bobby Labonte, Toyota
9 - Marcos Ambrose, Ford
Row 13
38 - David Gilliland, Ford
43 - Aric Almirola, Ford
Row 14
87 - Joe Nemechek, Toyota
17 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford
Row 15
26 - Michael Waltrip, Toyota
7 - Dave Blaney, Chevy
Row 16
95 - Scott Speed, Ford
35 - Josh Wise, Ford
Row 17
21 - Trevor Bayne, Ford (in on speed)
39 - Ryan Newman, Chevy (in on speed)
Row 18
11 - Denny Hamlin, Toyota (in on speed)
99 - Carl Edwards, Ford (in on speed)
Row 19
56 - Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota (owner points provisional)
98 - Michael McDowell (owner points provisional)
Row 20
32 - Terry Labonte (owner points provisional)
51 - Regan Smith (owner points provisional)
Row 21
36 - J.J. Yeley (owner points provisional)
83 - David Reutimann (owner points provisional)
Row 22
93 - Travis Kvapil (owner points provisional)
Failed To Qualify: 19 - Mike Bliss, 52 - Brian Keselowski
Have news for Tom and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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NATIONWIDE SERIES TRAGEDY COVERAGE:
Horror Story Ending To NASCAR's Nationwide Race: Latest News & Updates
by Tom Bowles
Voices From The Cheap Seats: Reality Of The Risk
by Jeff Meyer
NASCAR's Dark Side: The Price Of Passion
by Amy Henderson
NASCAR Nation: Outreach, Not Outcry, Should Be Our Approach
by Summer Bedgood
Nationwide Breakdown: COPD 300
by Tom Bowles
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: As you may remember, Davey Allison had an unusual crash early on in the 1989 Daytona 500 where he spun into the earthen bank separating the track from Lake Lloyd and performed one slow roll. During the caution after Allison's crash, another unusual incident occurred. What happened?
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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 Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Daytona 500 Race Recap by Tom Bowles
-- Daytona 500 News 'N' Notes, Quotes To Remember, Stat Of The Week & More by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Daytona 500 by Matt McLaughlin
Our popular, longtime columnist, now semi-retired comes back to tell you everything you needed to know about the 500 miles of action from Daytona this Sunday.
Commentary by Summer Bedgood
Summer takes a look at one of the biggest stories to come out of the 55th running of the Great American Race.
Big Six: Daytona 500 by Amy Henderson
As NASCAR's Super Bowl concludes, get in-depth with the 500 by finding out Who, When, What, Where, Why and How things happened during the race weekend.
Pace Laps: Post-Daytona by the Frontstretch Staff
Get yourself set for the week ahead, major racing series by series, with the biggest news story you should be focused on that spins forward from Speedweeks.
Full Throttle by Mike Neff
Fresh off a week at Daytona, Mike will use his inside knowledge to wrap up one of Speedweek's sidebar stories that developed before and through the 500.
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