THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
February 18th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition XV
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Monday
- Today, the UNOH Battle at the Beach gets underway with the Whelen All-American Series on the temporary 2/5ths of a mile oval that has been constructed on the Superstretch. Practice starts at 9am sharp and will be streamed online at NASCARHomeTracks.com. Ken Squier will provide commentary. Coverage of the race will be at 7:00pm ET on SPEED.
- Also, today is the 12th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death. There will be a candlelight vigil tonight at Dale Earnhardt Inc. starting at 6pm ET that will celebrate the memory of the seven-time champion.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Harvick Holds Off Pace to Win Sprint Unlimited
by Phil Allaway
Coming into the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night, no one really knew what to expect. Every time a group of drivers had gotten on track together to practice drafting, a wreck brought the festivities to a halt. With spare parts and equipment at a premium, Saturday night's race was a toss-up.
Fans were likely expecting a wild race with everything in doubt up to the start-finish line on the final lap. Instead, they got a race that was a little similar to last year's restrictor plate races.
The fans' role was ultimately muted by the actions in the event, and during Friday practice. The collective decision to line the grid up by when each driver won their first pole last season. That would have put Carl Edwards on pole with Mark Martin alongside. However, both drivers were in the big crash in practice on Friday and had to go to backup cars. As a result, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle led the field to green.
Early on, it appeared that the Toyotas would be dominant. Martin Truex, Jr. made a run to the lead, disposing of Biffle in the process. However, Matt Kenseth was strongest in the first segment. Kenseth took the lead from Truex on Lap 5 and proceeded to do almost anything he wanted. It was clear that he was very quick.
Tony Stewart had the best car next to Kenseth and tried to make his move to get to the front. However, he misjudged where he was in relation to Marcos Ambrose on Lap 15. Stewart clipped Ambrose's right-front corner and nearly wrecked in front of the field in Turn 1. He was able to save it, but the chain reaction that resulted saw Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson collide. The resulting wreck involved Hamlin, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt and Kyle Busch, and Mark Martin. All six drivers were eliminated.
The wreck left just 12 cars still running. From that point on, the race was a little more conservative. Stewart was still very strong despite his skid, winning the first segment by passing Kenseth on the last lap. The fan-mandated four-tire pit stop under the yellow saw Kevin Harvick come out first and take the lead.
From here on in, Harvick and Stewart controlled the race. Stewart got by Harvick for the lead shortly after the green came back out, but Harvick was able to get him back shortly afterwards.
In the final segment, Harvick was out front and controlled the action fairly easily. The field, which had run much of the evening in two lines, side-by-side, stretched out into one line of drivers. Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya were dropped by the main draft and left to fend for themselves. Kenseth was mired back in eighth and ended up nearly losing the draft while trying to gain spots.
On the final lap, Biffle attempted a move on the backstretch for the lead, but Harvick blocked it. From there, Harvick was able to keep the field at bay to win his third Sprint Unlimited.
Afterwards, Harvick was very pleased with his performance, but wasn't really sure if he learned anything in the race.
"I think [that with] 19 cars, you knew it was going to be a smaller race than normal anyway," Harvick said. "But when you saw [seven] cars get eliminated, you knew you were going to have to be pretty precise to make a good move."
Biffle held on for second, while Joey Logano finished third in his racing debut with Penske Racing. Stewart was fourth and Kenseth was able to come back up to finish fifth.
Voting resulted in no one being eliminated from the race after the second segment. Finally, in a move that had absolutely no bearing on the race, the fans selected fire suit design No. 1 for Miss Sprint Cup to wear in Victory Lane.
Daytona 500 Qualifying Recap: Danica Patrick Makes History, Wins Pole
At Daytona International Speedway, the driver doesn't really play all that much of a role when it comes to actually qualifying the car. All they have to do is keep the car pointed in the correct direction and keep the pedal to the metal. As a result, qualifying is more of a setup exercise, along with the luck of the draw. Normally, teams that are fast off of the truck will contend for the pole.
Sunday afternoon was no different. However, having the top runners more or less hold station in qualifying created history.
Danica Patrick was fastest overall in the practice sessions on Saturday, turning the only lap that exceeded 196 mph. On Sunday, she drew an early number and took full advantage of it. Patrick turned in a lap of 45.817 seconds (196.434 mph) to win the pole for the 55th running of the Daytona 500. It is her very first pole in the Sprint Cup Series in her 11th attempt. It is also the very first pole won by a woman in Sprint Cup Series history.
Following her lap, Patrick was very happy, and gave her team the appropriate credit.
"I appreciate the recognition, but it really falls...90 percent on Tony [Gibson] and his guys, everybody that gives me the car to go out there and be fast, and maybe ten percent on me," Patrick said in her press conference. "All I have to do is think about going out there, being smooth, not letting the car bind up, [and] running on the yellow line."
Second quickest on Sunday was Jeff Gordon, just three hundredths of a second slower than Patrick. Gordon was very happy with his run and predicts greatness for the rest of Speedweeks.
"This is big, to be on the front row at Daytona," Gordon said. "It's an accomplishment in itself just because of how many people put so much hard work into it, not just from our team but all the teams that are out there.
Trevor Bayne qualified third quickest, while Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-5. Kasey Kahne was sixth quickest, the final driver guaranteed a place in the Daytona 500 by qualifying speed at least. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin were seventh and eighth, then Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10.
From Sunday's round of qualifying, only the front row is officially set in stone for the Daytona 500. The qualifying order from Sunday set the starting lineups for the two Budweiser Duels scheduled for Thursday afternoon. They are listed below.
Budweiser Duel No. 1 Starting Grid
Row 1: 10 Danica Patrick 21 Trevor Bayne
Row 2: 14 Tony Stewart 11 Denny Hamlin
Row 3: 22 Joey Logano 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Row 4: 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 13 Casey Mears
Row 5: 99 Carl Edwards 56 Martin Truex, Jr.
Row 6: 48 Jimmie Johnson 2 Brad Keselowski
Row 7: 29 Kevin Harvick 16 Greg Biffle
Row 8: 38 David Gilliland 26 Michael Waltrip
Row 9: 78 Kurt Busch 95 Scott Speed
Row 10: 51 Regan Smith 47 Bobby Labonte
Row 11: 83 David Reutimann 87 Joe Nemechek
Row 12: 52 Brian Keselowski
Budweiser Duel No. 2 Starting Lineup
Row 1: 24 Jeff Gordon 39 Ryan Newman
Row 2: 5 Kasey Kahne 18 Kyle Busch
Row 3: 20 Matt Kenseth 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Row 4: 27 Paul Menard 33 Austin Dillon
Row 5: 15 Clint Bowyer 31 Jeff Burton
Row 6: 1 Jamie McMurray 9 Marcos Ambrose
Row 7: 43 Aric Almirola 55 Mark Martin
Row 8: 34 David Ragan 35 Josh Wise
Row 9: 98 Michael McDowell 32 Terry Labonte
Row 10: 7 Dave Blaney 36 J.J. Yeley
Row 11: 93 Travis Kvapil 19 Mike Bliss
The top-15 finishers in each race (not including the pole sitters) will earn starting spots in Rows 2-16 in the Daytona 500. The finishing order of Duel No. 1 will set the inside lane, while Duel No. 2 will set the outside lane. Positions 33-36 (Rows 17-18) will be the four fastest drivers in qualifying (excluding Danica Patrick and Jeff Gordon) that failed to race in through the Budweiser Duels. Positions 37-42 (Rows 19-21) will be provisionals based on 2012 owner points, while Position 43 will be either the most recent past champion not already in the field, or a seventh regular provisional.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
ARCA Race Recap: Townley Takes Advantage of Gerhart's Fuel Woes to Win
by Mike Neff
John Wes Townley has been the brunt of many a joke in racing during his career. However, the joke on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway was on the rest of the competitors in the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona presented by MavTV American Real. Townley sat on the pole, had a good pit stop when the field came down the pit lane for the one stop in the race, and then pounced when Bobby Gerhart, Mr. Restrictor Plate in ARCA, had a fuel issue late in the event. As a result, Townley gave Venturini Motorsports their very first victory at Daytona International Speedway.
Townley started the race next to Milka Duno and had a poor start, which gave Duno the chance to take the top spot at the drop of the rag. Duno led until the first caution flag of the race flew for a blown engine for Julien Jousse. The field came down the pit road and Gerhart was the first car out of the pits on lap 12. Matt Kurzejewski had the lead for two laps, followed by Josh Williams. Gerhart muscled his way to the outside and grabbed the lead on lap 18. Just as Gerhart took over the top spot, there was a melee in the middle of the pack that collected six cars. As the races of Darrell Wallace, Jr., Brett Hudson, Steve Kemp, Drew Charlson and Caleb Armstrong came to a finish, Gerhart assumed control.
On the restart, Gerhart was able to put Chris Buescher, who was six laps down due to various issues (including stalling under a yellow after apparently hitting the kill switch), between himself and Townley in second. Buescher may have been six laps down, but he was at pace with the leaders. He rode in the second position on track for the 54 laps that Gerhart led before ARCA put out the blue flag, effectively forcing him out of line to allow the leaders to settle the battle with eight laps to go.
As Buescher pulled out of line, Gerhart's car coughed due to low fuel and slowed. The lead pack scrambled with Townley having contact with Gerhart, sending the eight-time Daytona winner down pit road at speed. Townley inherited the lead, while Kyle Larson snatched the second spot with Ricky Ehrgott in third. Gerhart rejoined the field in fourth, but his Lucas Oil/MavTV Chevrolet ran out of gas a couple of laps later. Gerhart would pull off on the backstretch, out of harm's way. He would be credited with a 29th-place finish.
Townley held onto the top spot and took the white flag as the top cars closed rapidly on some of the backmarkers. Townley and Larson took it three-wide on the outside to overtake the slower cars, which made it impossible for Larson to mount a charge as Townley led the field back to the finish line to score his first ever ARCA series win. Larson, working on being certified to run next week's Nationwide race, did what he had to do, finished all of the laps, and ended up in the runner-up spot. Ricky Ehrgott crossed the line in third ahead of Frank Kimmel and Sean Corr.
The next event for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will be the ARCA Mobile 200 at Mobile International Speedway on March 9th.
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer and the Short Track Reporter for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at mike.neff@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MNeffShortTrack.
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Sprint Unlimited
by Amy Henderson
Wild Card No More: Why NASCAR Will Never Win at Restrictor Plate Races
by Summer Bedgood
Daytona Brought To You By The Letter "L:" Lame Duck, Lucky Lady, Lots To Prove
by Tom Bowles
-- Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
February 18th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition XV
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Monday
- Today, the UNOH Battle at the Beach gets underway with the Whelen All-American Series on the temporary 2/5ths of a mile oval that has been constructed on the Superstretch. Practice starts at 9am sharp and will be streamed online at NASCARHomeTracks.com. Ken Squier will provide commentary. Coverage of the race will be at 7:00pm ET on SPEED.
- Also, today is the 12th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death. There will be a candlelight vigil tonight at Dale Earnhardt Inc. starting at 6pm ET that will celebrate the memory of the seven-time champion.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Harvick Holds Off Pace to Win Sprint Unlimited
by Phil Allaway
Coming into the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night, no one really knew what to expect. Every time a group of drivers had gotten on track together to practice drafting, a wreck brought the festivities to a halt. With spare parts and equipment at a premium, Saturday night's race was a toss-up.
Fans were likely expecting a wild race with everything in doubt up to the start-finish line on the final lap. Instead, they got a race that was a little similar to last year's restrictor plate races.
The fans' role was ultimately muted by the actions in the event, and during Friday practice. The collective decision to line the grid up by when each driver won their first pole last season. That would have put Carl Edwards on pole with Mark Martin alongside. However, both drivers were in the big crash in practice on Friday and had to go to backup cars. As a result, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle led the field to green.
Early on, it appeared that the Toyotas would be dominant. Martin Truex, Jr. made a run to the lead, disposing of Biffle in the process. However, Matt Kenseth was strongest in the first segment. Kenseth took the lead from Truex on Lap 5 and proceeded to do almost anything he wanted. It was clear that he was very quick.
Tony Stewart had the best car next to Kenseth and tried to make his move to get to the front. However, he misjudged where he was in relation to Marcos Ambrose on Lap 15. Stewart clipped Ambrose's right-front corner and nearly wrecked in front of the field in Turn 1. He was able to save it, but the chain reaction that resulted saw Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson collide. The resulting wreck involved Hamlin, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt and Kyle Busch, and Mark Martin. All six drivers were eliminated.
The wreck left just 12 cars still running. From that point on, the race was a little more conservative. Stewart was still very strong despite his skid, winning the first segment by passing Kenseth on the last lap. The fan-mandated four-tire pit stop under the yellow saw Kevin Harvick come out first and take the lead.
From here on in, Harvick and Stewart controlled the race. Stewart got by Harvick for the lead shortly after the green came back out, but Harvick was able to get him back shortly afterwards.
In the final segment, Harvick was out front and controlled the action fairly easily. The field, which had run much of the evening in two lines, side-by-side, stretched out into one line of drivers. Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya were dropped by the main draft and left to fend for themselves. Kenseth was mired back in eighth and ended up nearly losing the draft while trying to gain spots.
On the final lap, Biffle attempted a move on the backstretch for the lead, but Harvick blocked it. From there, Harvick was able to keep the field at bay to win his third Sprint Unlimited.
Afterwards, Harvick was very pleased with his performance, but wasn't really sure if he learned anything in the race.
"I think [that with] 19 cars, you knew it was going to be a smaller race than normal anyway," Harvick said. "But when you saw [seven] cars get eliminated, you knew you were going to have to be pretty precise to make a good move."
Biffle held on for second, while Joey Logano finished third in his racing debut with Penske Racing. Stewart was fourth and Kenseth was able to come back up to finish fifth.
Voting resulted in no one being eliminated from the race after the second segment. Finally, in a move that had absolutely no bearing on the race, the fans selected fire suit design No. 1 for Miss Sprint Cup to wear in Victory Lane.
Daytona 500 Qualifying Recap: Danica Patrick Makes History, Wins Pole
At Daytona International Speedway, the driver doesn't really play all that much of a role when it comes to actually qualifying the car. All they have to do is keep the car pointed in the correct direction and keep the pedal to the metal. As a result, qualifying is more of a setup exercise, along with the luck of the draw. Normally, teams that are fast off of the truck will contend for the pole.
Sunday afternoon was no different. However, having the top runners more or less hold station in qualifying created history.
Danica Patrick was fastest overall in the practice sessions on Saturday, turning the only lap that exceeded 196 mph. On Sunday, she drew an early number and took full advantage of it. Patrick turned in a lap of 45.817 seconds (196.434 mph) to win the pole for the 55th running of the Daytona 500. It is her very first pole in the Sprint Cup Series in her 11th attempt. It is also the very first pole won by a woman in Sprint Cup Series history.
Following her lap, Patrick was very happy, and gave her team the appropriate credit.
"I appreciate the recognition, but it really falls...90 percent on Tony [Gibson] and his guys, everybody that gives me the car to go out there and be fast, and maybe ten percent on me," Patrick said in her press conference. "All I have to do is think about going out there, being smooth, not letting the car bind up, [and] running on the yellow line."
Second quickest on Sunday was Jeff Gordon, just three hundredths of a second slower than Patrick. Gordon was very happy with his run and predicts greatness for the rest of Speedweeks.
"This is big, to be on the front row at Daytona," Gordon said. "It's an accomplishment in itself just because of how many people put so much hard work into it, not just from our team but all the teams that are out there.
Trevor Bayne qualified third quickest, while Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-5. Kasey Kahne was sixth quickest, the final driver guaranteed a place in the Daytona 500 by qualifying speed at least. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin were seventh and eighth, then Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10.
From Sunday's round of qualifying, only the front row is officially set in stone for the Daytona 500. The qualifying order from Sunday set the starting lineups for the two Budweiser Duels scheduled for Thursday afternoon. They are listed below.
Budweiser Duel No. 1 Starting Grid
Row 1: 10 Danica Patrick 21 Trevor Bayne
Row 2: 14 Tony Stewart 11 Denny Hamlin
Row 3: 22 Joey Logano 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Row 4: 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 13 Casey Mears
Row 5: 99 Carl Edwards 56 Martin Truex, Jr.
Row 6: 48 Jimmie Johnson 2 Brad Keselowski
Row 7: 29 Kevin Harvick 16 Greg Biffle
Row 8: 38 David Gilliland 26 Michael Waltrip
Row 9: 78 Kurt Busch 95 Scott Speed
Row 10: 51 Regan Smith 47 Bobby Labonte
Row 11: 83 David Reutimann 87 Joe Nemechek
Row 12: 52 Brian Keselowski
Budweiser Duel No. 2 Starting Lineup
Row 1: 24 Jeff Gordon 39 Ryan Newman
Row 2: 5 Kasey Kahne 18 Kyle Busch
Row 3: 20 Matt Kenseth 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Row 4: 27 Paul Menard 33 Austin Dillon
Row 5: 15 Clint Bowyer 31 Jeff Burton
Row 6: 1 Jamie McMurray 9 Marcos Ambrose
Row 7: 43 Aric Almirola 55 Mark Martin
Row 8: 34 David Ragan 35 Josh Wise
Row 9: 98 Michael McDowell 32 Terry Labonte
Row 10: 7 Dave Blaney 36 J.J. Yeley
Row 11: 93 Travis Kvapil 19 Mike Bliss
The top-15 finishers in each race (not including the pole sitters) will earn starting spots in Rows 2-16 in the Daytona 500. The finishing order of Duel No. 1 will set the inside lane, while Duel No. 2 will set the outside lane. Positions 33-36 (Rows 17-18) will be the four fastest drivers in qualifying (excluding Danica Patrick and Jeff Gordon) that failed to race in through the Budweiser Duels. Positions 37-42 (Rows 19-21) will be provisionals based on 2012 owner points, while Position 43 will be either the most recent past champion not already in the field, or a seventh regular provisional.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
ARCA Race Recap: Townley Takes Advantage of Gerhart's Fuel Woes to Win
by Mike Neff
John Wes Townley has been the brunt of many a joke in racing during his career. However, the joke on Saturday at Daytona International Speedway was on the rest of the competitors in the Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona presented by MavTV American Real. Townley sat on the pole, had a good pit stop when the field came down the pit lane for the one stop in the race, and then pounced when Bobby Gerhart, Mr. Restrictor Plate in ARCA, had a fuel issue late in the event. As a result, Townley gave Venturini Motorsports their very first victory at Daytona International Speedway.
Townley started the race next to Milka Duno and had a poor start, which gave Duno the chance to take the top spot at the drop of the rag. Duno led until the first caution flag of the race flew for a blown engine for Julien Jousse. The field came down the pit road and Gerhart was the first car out of the pits on lap 12. Matt Kurzejewski had the lead for two laps, followed by Josh Williams. Gerhart muscled his way to the outside and grabbed the lead on lap 18. Just as Gerhart took over the top spot, there was a melee in the middle of the pack that collected six cars. As the races of Darrell Wallace, Jr., Brett Hudson, Steve Kemp, Drew Charlson and Caleb Armstrong came to a finish, Gerhart assumed control.
On the restart, Gerhart was able to put Chris Buescher, who was six laps down due to various issues (including stalling under a yellow after apparently hitting the kill switch), between himself and Townley in second. Buescher may have been six laps down, but he was at pace with the leaders. He rode in the second position on track for the 54 laps that Gerhart led before ARCA put out the blue flag, effectively forcing him out of line to allow the leaders to settle the battle with eight laps to go.
As Buescher pulled out of line, Gerhart's car coughed due to low fuel and slowed. The lead pack scrambled with Townley having contact with Gerhart, sending the eight-time Daytona winner down pit road at speed. Townley inherited the lead, while Kyle Larson snatched the second spot with Ricky Ehrgott in third. Gerhart rejoined the field in fourth, but his Lucas Oil/MavTV Chevrolet ran out of gas a couple of laps later. Gerhart would pull off on the backstretch, out of harm's way. He would be credited with a 29th-place finish.
Townley held onto the top spot and took the white flag as the top cars closed rapidly on some of the backmarkers. Townley and Larson took it three-wide on the outside to overtake the slower cars, which made it impossible for Larson to mount a charge as Townley led the field back to the finish line to score his first ever ARCA series win. Larson, working on being certified to run next week's Nationwide race, did what he had to do, finished all of the laps, and ended up in the runner-up spot. Ricky Ehrgott crossed the line in third ahead of Frank Kimmel and Sean Corr.
The next event for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will be the ARCA Mobile 200 at Mobile International Speedway on March 9th.
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer and the Short Track Reporter for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at mike.neff@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MNeffShortTrack.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Win A Free FanVision Rental!
This week, we're tying a new contest into our weekly Foto Funnies! Check out this week's Foto Funnies on Wednesday and come up with the funniest possible caption for the photo provided. The winner, as judged by the editors at Frontstretch.com, will receive a free FanVision rental at any Sprint Cup race during the 2013 season, courtesy of the folks at Sprint FanVision!
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STAT OF THE WEEK: 9. In his post-race press conference Saturday night, Sprint Unlimited winner Kevin Harvick said that the racing we'll see in the Daytona 500 will be similar to restrictor plate racing at Daytona in 2000. The number of lead changes in Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited was equal to the number of lead changes in the Daytona 500 that year. - Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes to Remember: Sprint Unlimited/ Daytona 500 Qualifying
"We will take that. I learned some stuff. We weren't in a very good position there those first two segments. I was a little disappointed but Todd (Parrott) made quite a few adjustments that last segment and we got our car a lot better. Track position meant a lot tonight and for whatever reason the top was the place to be and it was hard to make anything happen on the bottom. I tried to be real patient and stay in line and not do anything stupid." - Aric Almirola, finished sixth in Sprint Unlimited.
"We didn't wreck the car which is big. We dodged that first wreck. We had a couple things that were bugs and it was good to work them out in this race. We had a problem with the jack on the left side on our pit stop and we had the right side window come out of the car. We learned a little bit and there was some strategy going on out there tonight and I learned a little for the 500. It was a good day." - Carl Edwards, finished 12th in Sprint Unlimited.
"I don't really feel like we learned much. There was a couple laps where I was back in traffic and feeling the car move around and seeing some things that were happening handling wise. I think that the conditions are going to be so much different. There is not going to be a night race and it's going to be warmer. I think the handling is going to be a bit more of a factor for Thursday and for Sunday." - Jeff Gordon, finished 17th in Sprint Unlimited.
"The 3M Ford Fusion really was strong all night. It seemed like some cars were better than we were and we will work on our stuff for the 500. I had a run on [Harvick] at the top there and he closed the door. Kevin did what he had to do to win that race. I didn't think there was room to stick it in there. I thought we would end up wrecked. I looked in the mirror but didn't have any help. I was against his bumper but couldn't do anything. I am happy to come home second. I have been so close so many times here at Daytona. It would feel nice to win one." - Greg Biffle, finished second in Sprint Unlimited.
"I knew I was going to have to block one way or the other. I didn't know which way it was going to be. In the middle segment, I could tell Biffle was backing up, trying to time what his move was going to be as we got further into the segment. I was working on my timing to back up and block that. Everything was happening a little bit slower at that particular point then. The cars we had in the past, you wouldn't have been able to move up and make that happen. Everything slowed down enough to where you could look and be able to block. They're just not coming 20 miles an hour faster than they used to." - Kevin Harvick, Sprint Unlimited winner, on the final lap.
"This is very much a moment to talk about being proud of the guys who prepare the car. For us drivers, it's very important for us to hit your shifts, and be smooth, and all that out there. But, there is a certain amount of speed that the car has as potential, and that is what you are getting to. As far the GoDaddy crew, Hendrick for the power and Chevy with the car, those are the elements that are really important. The driver plays a part, but a small part." - Danica Patrick, Daytona 500 pole winner.
"I'm excited about seeing all of those Chevys up front there, certainly those Hendrick engines as well. This is a bit of a surprise we have not been as good as I was hoping in practice. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our team they work so hard and they know how to qualify here at Daytona and on these restrictor plate tracks and they proved it again today." - Jeff Gordon, qualified second.
"Very appreciative of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, the Hendrick engine and chassis department for all the work that they have put forth to get ready for Daytona.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 Qualifying
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Sandbagging Central?, The NASCAR Week Ahead And Beach Battles
by the Frontstretch Staff
ADVERTISEMENT
Win A Free FanVision Rental!
This week, we're tying a new contest into our weekly Foto Funnies! Check out this week's Foto Funnies on Wednesday and come up with the funniest possible caption for the photo provided. The winner, as judged by the editors at Frontstretch.com, will receive a free FanVision rental at any Sprint Cup race during the 2013 season, courtesy of the folks at Sprint FanVision!
~~~~~~~~~~
STAT OF THE WEEK: 9. In his post-race press conference Saturday night, Sprint Unlimited winner Kevin Harvick said that the racing we'll see in the Daytona 500 will be similar to restrictor plate racing at Daytona in 2000. The number of lead changes in Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited was equal to the number of lead changes in the Daytona 500 that year. - Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~
Quotes to Remember: Sprint Unlimited/ Daytona 500 Qualifying
"We will take that. I learned some stuff. We weren't in a very good position there those first two segments. I was a little disappointed but Todd (Parrott) made quite a few adjustments that last segment and we got our car a lot better. Track position meant a lot tonight and for whatever reason the top was the place to be and it was hard to make anything happen on the bottom. I tried to be real patient and stay in line and not do anything stupid." - Aric Almirola, finished sixth in Sprint Unlimited.
"We didn't wreck the car which is big. We dodged that first wreck. We had a couple things that were bugs and it was good to work them out in this race. We had a problem with the jack on the left side on our pit stop and we had the right side window come out of the car. We learned a little bit and there was some strategy going on out there tonight and I learned a little for the 500. It was a good day." - Carl Edwards, finished 12th in Sprint Unlimited.
"I don't really feel like we learned much. There was a couple laps where I was back in traffic and feeling the car move around and seeing some things that were happening handling wise. I think that the conditions are going to be so much different. There is not going to be a night race and it's going to be warmer. I think the handling is going to be a bit more of a factor for Thursday and for Sunday." - Jeff Gordon, finished 17th in Sprint Unlimited.
"The 3M Ford Fusion really was strong all night. It seemed like some cars were better than we were and we will work on our stuff for the 500. I had a run on [Harvick] at the top there and he closed the door. Kevin did what he had to do to win that race. I didn't think there was room to stick it in there. I thought we would end up wrecked. I looked in the mirror but didn't have any help. I was against his bumper but couldn't do anything. I am happy to come home second. I have been so close so many times here at Daytona. It would feel nice to win one." - Greg Biffle, finished second in Sprint Unlimited.
"I knew I was going to have to block one way or the other. I didn't know which way it was going to be. In the middle segment, I could tell Biffle was backing up, trying to time what his move was going to be as we got further into the segment. I was working on my timing to back up and block that. Everything was happening a little bit slower at that particular point then. The cars we had in the past, you wouldn't have been able to move up and make that happen. Everything slowed down enough to where you could look and be able to block. They're just not coming 20 miles an hour faster than they used to." - Kevin Harvick, Sprint Unlimited winner, on the final lap.
"This is very much a moment to talk about being proud of the guys who prepare the car. For us drivers, it's very important for us to hit your shifts, and be smooth, and all that out there. But, there is a certain amount of speed that the car has as potential, and that is what you are getting to. As far the GoDaddy crew, Hendrick for the power and Chevy with the car, those are the elements that are really important. The driver plays a part, but a small part." - Danica Patrick, Daytona 500 pole winner.
"I'm excited about seeing all of those Chevys up front there, certainly those Hendrick engines as well. This is a bit of a surprise we have not been as good as I was hoping in practice. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and our team they work so hard and they know how to qualify here at Daytona and on these restrictor plate tracks and they proved it again today." - Jeff Gordon, qualified second.
"Very appreciative of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, the Hendrick engine and chassis department for all the work that they have put forth to get ready for Daytona.
This was, not only for our organization, but for all the organizations and teams, this was probably one of the most difficult winters that I can remember from my 15 years of going through off-seasons here for teams to actually get prepared to come down here to Daytona.
And to have three cars in the top five like that, just really, really appreciative and excited that we were able to bring three consistent cars down like this." - Tony Stewart, qualified fifth.
"The Wood Brothers know how to do it, that is for sure. That is what is so cool about qualifying here. It shows all the hard work that they put into these cars. Once you get in the race and get beat up a little bit, it doesn't matter quite as much, but qualifying shows all the hard work they put into it." - Trevor Bayne, qualified third.
""It was definitely better than what we expected. We were consistently about a tenth off of our teammate so we're pretty happy running right there where Kyle's (Busch) at. Good run for our FedEx Camry team. Obviously the overnight adjustments worked and obviously it gained three tenths. A good leap for us." - Denny Hamlin, qualified seventh.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 Qualifying
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Sandbagging Central?, The NASCAR Week Ahead And Beach Battles
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Sprint Unlimited
by Amy Henderson
Wild Card No More: Why NASCAR Will Never Win at Restrictor Plate Races
by Summer Bedgood
Daytona Brought To You By The Letter "L:" Lame Duck, Lucky Lady, Lots To Prove
by Tom Bowles
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1989, Neil Bonnett returned to the Wood Brothers to replace Kyle Petty in the CITGO Ford No. 21. However, his return to the car did not last long. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: NASCAR gave ARCA an ultimatum in 2005 at Daytona. Simply put, they said the next yellow would end the Advance Discount Auto Parts 200, regardless of the number of laps run. Why was this decree made?
A: The decree was made because the ARCA race had run more than a hour over the scheduled conclusion due to a number of wrecks and a red flag due to Clair Zimmerman's impact with the catchfence in the tri-oval. The race did end under caution after a multi-car crash on the backstretch, but it did run to the scheduled 80-lap distance.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Sprint Unlimited by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
With the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 Qualifying already done with, we'll take a look at which drivers are in position to do well this weekend, and who just wants to get a result and get out of Volusia County.
Commentary by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think.
5th Column TBA
-----------------------------
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!
©2013 Frontstretch.com
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1989, Neil Bonnett returned to the Wood Brothers to replace Kyle Petty in the CITGO Ford No. 21. However, his return to the car did not last long. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: NASCAR gave ARCA an ultimatum in 2005 at Daytona. Simply put, they said the next yellow would end the Advance Discount Auto Parts 200, regardless of the number of laps run. Why was this decree made?
A: The decree was made because the ARCA race had run more than a hour over the scheduled conclusion due to a number of wrecks and a red flag due to Clair Zimmerman's impact with the catchfence in the tri-oval. The race did end under caution after a multi-car crash on the backstretch, but it did run to the scheduled 80-lap distance.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take 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 Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Sprint Unlimited by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder by Danny Peters
Danny takes over the Five Points column on a full-time basis in 2013. His weekly edition of talking points will wrap up the Sprint Unlimited and get us ready for the the Budweiser Duels and Daytona 500.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and ARCA Racing Series were all in action at Daytona Internaional Speedway for their season finales. Were the telecasts of these events "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
With the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 Qualifying already done with, we'll take a look at which drivers are in position to do well this weekend, and who just wants to get a result and get out of Volusia County.
Commentary by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think.
5th Column TBA
-----------------------------
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!
©2013 Frontstretch.com
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