THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 2nd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition XLVIII
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What To Watch: Tuesday
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 2nd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition XLVIII
~~~~~~~~~~
What To Watch: Tuesday
- In addition to it being penalty day in NASCAR - none are expected - Tuesday is also when drivers typically have national teleconferences from the media. Today, two Sprint Cup drivers will be made available: Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be speaking with reporters.
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Top News
by Tom Bowles
Teams Using Off Week To Test
Coming off one of just two off weeks, in 2013 several teams used Monday to take advantage of the sport's new testing policy. Richmond International Raceway was active, with four cars and two organizations conducting a Gen-6 test at the 3/4-mile short track. Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Aric Almirola, and Marcos Ambrose turned laps at the facility, driving for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports, respectively.
While no official speeds were released, the drivers reportedly were close and/or above the track record of 129.983 miles an hour, set by Brian Vickers in 2004. "The track is extremely fast," said Almirola Monday. "When we rolled out on the track at 9:00 this morning, it was still kinda cool and the track had a lot of grip. Really surprised at how fast the track was and how fast our cars were."
While no official speeds were released, the drivers reportedly were close and/or above the track record of 129.983 miles an hour, set by Brian Vickers in 2004. "The track is extremely fast," said Almirola Monday. "When we rolled out on the track at 9:00 this morning, it was still kinda cool and the track had a lot of grip. Really surprised at how fast the track was and how fast our cars were."
Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports was testing for JR Motorsports' Nationwide Series team at Texas Motor Speedway. Kahne is scheduled to run the No. 5 car in that 300-miler April 12th.
Alan Kulwicki Museum Opening
On the 20th anniversary week of his death, an exhibit is getting set to honor one of the sport's former Cup Series champions in his home state. The Milwaukee County Historical Society has put together a multi-faceted display about Alan Kulwicki, the engineering guru behind the wheel who died in a plane crash heading to Bristol on April 1st, 1993. Called Alan Kulwicki: A Champion's Story, it highlights his career from the early days, racing ASA in the late 1970s and early 1980s to his meteoric rise as an independent Cup Series owner, one that peaked with the Cup title in 1992.
Among those items fan can see are driving suits, helmets, trophies, souvenirs, along with plenty of archival interview and video footage. Supported by the Kulwicki family, the museum will trigger the start with an opening reception for the public on Friday, April 5th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM and 910 Old World 3rd Street in Milwaukee. $5.00 admission will be charged for adults beginning this Saturday, April 6th.
News 'N' Notes
- Homestead-Miami Speedway supporter Ralph "Rafael" Sanchez has died. Sanchez, 64, was the former promoter of the Grand Prix of Miami and widely credited with convincing local officials to support a racetrack in the area. The groundbreaking for the facility, in 1993 was the pinnacle of a career for him that included land development, real estate sales and race promotion... Clay Rogers will return to the Truck Series beginning next weekend at Rockingham. Rogers will run the No. 92 Truck, fielded by Ricky Benton while primary driver Scott Riggs drives in the Cup Series, at Texas and beyond for Xxxtreme Motorsports... Todd Bodine will drive at least the next three races, with Sealmaster sponsorship for Thorsport Racing in a third car. The team would like to run Bodine for a full schedule and is amenable should sponsorship be found...
Have news for Tom and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
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GOT A NASCAR QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
That's right; our Fan Q & A column is back once again in 2013. Send your question Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print on Thursday when she does her weekly column. It's all part of our daily mission to give back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat!
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Editor's Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, S.D. Grady's weekly Sitting in The Stands: A Fan's View column will be not be seen this week. In it's place, we have a special edition of Turning Back the Clock for you that gets you pumped for Martinsville while looking back at Petty Enterprises' last victory.
Turning Back the Clock: 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans, and welcome back to Turning Back the Clock, where I look back at past races from the track that the Sprint Cup Series will be racing at. This edition, we revisit a classic from Martinsville Speedway, the infamous little "paper clip" shaped .526-mile oval and the lone remaining track on the circuit from the very first season of what is now Sprint Cup in 1949.
I'll admit that I may have pre-empted myself with one of the Trivia questions here in the Newsletter, but this week's selection for Turning Back the Clock is the 1999 Goody's Body Pain 500. This race, looking back at history was filled with plenty of firsts and lasts. In regards to "firsts," Martinsville Speedway underwent some renovations following the 1998 NAPA AutoCare 500. These renovations resulted in Martinsville having one pit road instead of two, on the front and backstretch. We'll get to the "lasts" a little later.
The race started under cloudy skies, although no rain would fall during the event. Rookie pole sitter Tony Stewart, who hasn't yet won a Cup race quickly fell back through the field, never to contend on this day. Later in the event, he ran into the back of John Andretti and spun (along with Michael Waltrip) on the backstretch. Outside pole sitter Mark Martin assumed command briefly before Rusty Wallace took over. This change set a tone, as Wallace was one of the premier short track racers of his day. The vast majority of the event was dominated by Wallace, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, with Martin tagging along as well. Those four drivers combined to lead all but 13 laps of the 500 run.
Early on, there was a typical Martinsville-style wreck involving Kenny Wallace, Steve Park and Jeremy Mayfield that caused the first yellow flag. The incident can be seen off in the distance here. Everyone continued, but Mayfield lost a lap in the pits. He never contended.
On Lap 48, a seemingly minor incident took place that, under most circumstances, would barely register a blip on the radar. John Andretti and Ward Burton were battling for the 20th position when Burton tapped the rear of Andretti's STP Pontiac exiting turn 2. Andretti spun onto the apron in front of the new pit out. Today, there is a good sporting chance that this relatively harmless spin would draw the caution. However, NASCAR decided not to throw it. As a result, Andretti dropped a lap to leader Jeff Burton while trying to get back going.
There were a couple of fairly quick cautions right after this one that provided Andretti a chance to get back onto the lead lap, but he was unable to do so. On Lap 62, Ward Burton spun out in turns 3 and 4, drawing the third yellow. Andretti ran over the curb in a failed attempt to get back on the lead lap here. Then, the fourth caution came out for a multi-car crash on the backstretch involving the aforementioned Mayfield and the No. 98 of the then-unsponsored Rick Mast (six weeks or so before Universal took up primary sponsorship in June), among others.
After this wreck, there was a 100-lap green flag run. It was here that Andretti began to make his move. On Lap 134, Andretti, then in 26th, ran down leader Jeff Gordon and overtook him on the backstretch to get back on the lead lap. Gordon admittedly didn't put up much of a fight, but that is not super important. From there, Andretti, who had a very quick Pontiac at this time, began picking off cars in front of him. By the time the next caution flew, Andretti was up to the Top 15. It was here where he stayed until the tenth and final yellow flew for a spin in Turn 1, on Lap 381 involving the No. 97 of Chad Little, who was spun out by the No. 30 Jimmy Dean Pontiac of Derrike Cope.
That sent everyone to pit road for final stops. It was at this point that a two-tire strategy was chosen for the No. 43, moving him up from 11th to fourth for the final run to the finish. After a brief setback right after the restart, Andretti's car came to life, dispatching the aforementioned Big Four slowly, but surely. With less than ten laps to go, Andretti reached leader Jeff Burton. What ensued was an excellent duel for the victory in and amongst lapped vehicles who hurriedly got out of the way. Andretti took the lead for good with just four laps to go and held on to take the victory.
Jeff Burton finished second, just a shade over a second behind Andretti. Jeff Gordon was third, followed by Mike Skinner in a strong fourth for Richard Childress Racing. Mark Martin rounded out the top 5. Kenny Wallace, always strong at the time on short tracks, finished sixth in his Square D-sponsored No. 55, followed by his older brother Rusty, who faded a little late in the going. Dale Jarrett was eighth, followed by Ken Schrader and Andretti's teammate Kyle Petty who rounded out the Top 10. The only other lead lap finishers were Rich Bickle in the No. 45 10-10-345 Lucky Dog Pontiac in 11th (For those of you wondering, 10-10-345 was a service operated by AT&T at the time that, when dialed before the number, would save money on long distance phone calls. They used a bulldog in commercials, hence the "Lucky Dog."). Darrell Waltrip, driving the No. 66 Big K/Route 66 Jeans Ford, rounded out the lead lap in 12th.
After the race, Andretti was all smiles. In subsequent post-Victory Lane interviews, he gave thanks to those drivers that moved out of the way of him and Burton. He also pledged that if he had the chance, he would help them in the draft at Talladega the next week. Unfortunately, as it turned out, quite a few of those drivers simply weren't competitive in the DieHard 500.
This win was Petty Enterprises' 268th and final victory in what is now known as the Sprint Cup Series. In addition, it was the second, and most recent Cup Series victory for John Andretti. After this race, Andretti continued on to earn one more top-5 finish that season (third at Sears Point in June) and finished the year with ten top-10 results. However, ten DNF's effectively derailed Andretti's year and held him to 17th in points.
This race was effectively the peak of Andretti's career in the Cup Series. After 1999, he dropped off to 23rd in points the next season with only two top-10 performances. By 2001, Andretti and the No. 43 team had dropped all the way to 31st in points, failing to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600. Granted, the team was more or less not the best internally by this point due to the fallout from Adam Petty's death, but it was still a substantial falloff in a short time.
1999 was also the last full season for STP as a primary sponsor. For 2000, the team started out the season with a dual deal between STP and Cheerios, which had moved over from the former No. 26 for Roush Racing. This resulted in a scheme with "Petty Blue" on the front and a darker shade of blue towards the back with a yellow rear bumper. At the Pepsi 400 in Daytona, STP stickers came off the No. 43 for the first time since the beginning of 1972, to be replaced by the full colors of Cheerios (although General Mills did agree to keep Petty Blue as a color on the car, in addition to Cheerios yellow).
Where Are They Today?
John Andretti - Andretti has taken a step back from driving in the past year or so in order to help his son Jarret's burgeoning career. Both Andrettis drove for Yellow Dragon Racing in last year's Rolex 24 at Daytona. For 2013, Jarret is focusing on USAC competition.
Jeff Burton - Still full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 31. He's currently 24th in points.
Jeff Gordon - Still full-time in the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports. At the time of this race, he had 44 career wins and three championships. Now, Gordon has 87, along with four titles.
Mike Skinner - Skinner hasn't raced full-time in the Cup Series since he was fired from Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2003. Since then, he's spent most of his time in the Camping World Truck Series. Most recently, he has been driving for low-dollar start-and-park Cup teams (Germain Racing's No. 60, Hamilton-Means Racing's No. 52).
Mark Martin - Currently driving a part-time schedule for Michael Waltrip Racing in their No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota. He'll drive at Martinsville in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota in place of the injured Denny Hamlin.
Kenny Wallace - Hasn't raced full-time in Cup since 2007 with Furniture Row Racing. Will race a limited schedule in the Nationwide Series in a second entry for RAB Racing. In addition, Wallace is an on-air personality for SPEED (soon to become FOX Sports 1) and races dirt late models in his spare time.
Rusty Wallace - Retired from the Cup Series in 2005 with 55 career victories and the 1989 championship. Currently serves as an on-air analyst (typically in the Pit Studio) for NASCAR on ESPN. 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee.
Dale Jarrett - Retired from the Cup Series in 2008 with 32 career victories and the 1999 Championship. Currently serves as a booth analyst for NASCAR on ESPN.
Ken Schrader - Currently competes part-time in the Cup Series for FAS Lane Racing. Owns Ken Schrader Racing, which fields cars in multiple series (ARCA, K&N Pro Series East, etc.). Also races all over the country on various short tracks.
Kyle Petty - Effectively forced into retirement following the merger of Petty Enterprises and Gillett-Evernham Motorsports at the end of 2008, which formed Richard Petty Motorsports. Currently serves as an on-air analyst for SPEED and TNT.
Rich Bickle - Was fired out of the No. 45 that year after the Southern 500 at Darlington and only made ten more starts in the Cup Series afterwards for four different teams. Eventually returned to the short tracks of the Midwest, where he races late models.
Darrell Waltrip - This race was one of the few bright spots for Hall of Famer Waltrip driving the No. 66 for Travis Carter; he never scored a top-10 result in two seasons with the team. Shortly after his retirement from this ride and the Cup Series, in 2000 he joined NASCAR on FOX as a booth analyst, where he is now in his 13th season.
I hope you enjoyed this look back to the past. We're sure to have a great race this weekend at Martinsville.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Numbers Game is off due to no racing last weekend. Look for the column to return next Tuesday after Martinsville.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Race fans, do you love Frontstretch.com's coverage of NASCAR's top 3 series, IndyCar, Formula One and Short Track Racing? Do you want to read even more about your favorite sport? Then check out the industry's newest racing publication, Motorsport Illustrated News!, which is available both in print and in digital format! As one of our loyal readers, you'll receive 15% off any subscription when you use the coupon code fs2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Numbers Game is off due to no racing last weekend. Look for the column to return next Tuesday after Martinsville.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Racing To The Point: NASCAR Penalizing Itself For Inconsistent Rulings
by Brett Poirier
Who's Hot / Who's Not To Start 2013: NASCAR's Nationwide and Truck Series
by Brad Morgan
Going By The Numbers: NASCAR's Sub Story - Do They Win When Filling In?
by Kevin Rutherford
Five Points to Ponder: Anger Management, NASCAR Ads And Martinsville Mayhem
by Danny Peters
Couch Potato Tuesday: Rating The Top 3 Active NASCAR TV Analysts
by Phil Allaway
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1991 Hanes 500 at Martinsville, Sterling Marlin was forced to take relief during the event. Why did Marlin need relief, and who did Junior Johnson's team get to temporarily replace Marlin?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: In the 1994 Hanes 500, like many other races that season, Geoff Bodine was a threat to potentially win, pacing the field for 71 laps. However, he failed to reach the finish, unfortunately a common theme for that race team in those days. What happened this time to knock him out?
A: It appears that the elimination at Martinsville was not self-inflicted, but sheer bad luck. According to Bodine, he ran over a piece of debris on the track. Eventually, the right-front tire on his Exide Batteries Ford blew and put the No. 7 hard into the outside wall in Turn 1. Bodine was able to drive the car back to his pit, but he was done for the day. Bodine's crash can be seen here. Unfortunately, ESPN did not show a replay of the crash.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Tom Bowles
-- Tweet 'N' Greet by Kevin Rutherford
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Did You Notice?... how one once famous partnership, and its inability to revive itself has now left a team spiraling towards a difficult year? Tom Bowles reveals who, takes a look at other rough starts to the season and more with his list of small but thought-provoking observations on the NASCAR circuit.
Side by Side: IndyCar vs. NASCAR? by the Frontstretch Staff
An old standby column returns, our weekly staff debate on a major NASCAR topic facing the sport. This week's edition takes a look at fandom. Which type of racing is it better to be a fan of these days, IndyCar or stock cars?
Sprint Cup Top 15 Power Rankings compiled by Michael Mehedin
With the Power Rankings for the Cup Series taking a week off, Michael looks at the best 15 up-and-coming drivers who are in position to make it there (or earn their second chance).
Beyond The Cockpit: Johnny Sauter as told to Beth Lunkenheimer
Can February's surprise Daytona winner, putting the demons behind him turn into a 2013 championship contender? Beth sits down with Johnny Sauter to check out his mindset now, having conquered one of his "bad luck" tracks and discover how a difficult 2012 has changed his approach to the coming year.
Frontstretch Top Ten by the Frontstretch Staff
This Week's Topic: Top Ten Ways NASCAR Could Make Drivers Settle Their Differences Off the Track. The answers will tickle your funny bone, guaranteed.
Open-Wheel Wednesday by Toni Montgomery
Toni returns with another commentary about the Izod IndyCar Series ahead of this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of Alabama.
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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
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Did You Notice?... how one once famous partnership, and its inability to revive itself has now left a team spiraling towards a difficult year? Tom Bowles reveals who, takes a look at other rough starts to the season and more with his list of small but thought-provoking observations on the NASCAR circuit.
Side by Side: IndyCar vs. NASCAR? by the Frontstretch Staff
An old standby column returns, our weekly staff debate on a major NASCAR topic facing the sport. This week's edition takes a look at fandom. Which type of racing is it better to be a fan of these days, IndyCar or stock cars?
Sprint Cup Top 15 Power Rankings compiled by Michael Mehedin
With the Power Rankings for the Cup Series taking a week off, Michael looks at the best 15 up-and-coming drivers who are in position to make it there (or earn their second chance).
Beyond The Cockpit: Johnny Sauter as told to Beth Lunkenheimer
Can February's surprise Daytona winner, putting the demons behind him turn into a 2013 championship contender? Beth sits down with Johnny Sauter to check out his mindset now, having conquered one of his "bad luck" tracks and discover how a difficult 2012 has changed his approach to the coming year.
Frontstretch Top Ten by the Frontstretch Staff
This Week's Topic: Top Ten Ways NASCAR Could Make Drivers Settle Their Differences Off the Track. The answers will tickle your funny bone, guaranteed.
Open-Wheel Wednesday by Toni Montgomery
Toni returns with another commentary about the Izod IndyCar Series ahead of this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of Alabama.
-----------------------------
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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