The Frontstretch Newsletter: Fellow Racers Stand With Boston

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 16th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition LVIII
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A Marathon Massacre: Our Thoughts Are With You, Boston

All NASCAR news has been overshadowed this Tuesday by racing relatives dealing with unspeakable tragedy out in Boston. We here at Frontstretch would like to send our heartfelt condolences to all involved with this horrific attack, one that's claimed at least three lives and injured well over 150 more. Massachusetts, like the rest of America we stand as one with you.

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What To Watch: Tuesday

- Tuesday is typically Penalty Day in NASCAR, and we expect the wires to be active.  There is a good sporting chance that the hammer could get dropped on Penske Racing for "bad" rear-end housings that were confiscated from the team on Saturday night in Texas.

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Top News
by Tom Bowles

Brad Keselowski Won't Be Fined For Postrace Tirade

Just weeks after fining Denny Hamlin, based on off-track criticism NASCAR confirmed Monday it will pursue a different course for reigning Cup champ Brad Keselowski. The Penske Racing driver, who claimed NASCAR was targeting his team in a scathing series of comments Saturday night apparently did not do enough to tip the scales, according to NASCAR CEO Brian France in an interview with FOX Business Monday morning.

"No, we're not because that's the beauty of NASCAR," France said when asked directly if they'll punish the reigning champ. "We do allow drivers to express themselves in that way. Even if there's things we would disagree with – and certainly, I would disagree with everything that he said. But look … this is the most intense racing in the world. And it's not surprising that every once in awhile, when things don't go your way, you just blow off a lot of steam." 

The FOX reporter, in this case asked France what made this incident different than a $25,000 fine given to Hamlin for open criticism on the sport's Gen-6 chassis. Turns out the answer, in France's head is simpler than most may believe. 

"The line that we draw is you can't criticize the racing product," he said. "You can criticize our decisions, you can criticize everything else … but just don't go talking about our racing product isn't the best in the world because it is."

Keselowski's No. 2 team still faces possible stiff penalties Tuesday after the rear end housing for both he and Joey Logano's No. 22 car were confiscated. It's the latest in a long string of problems for the 2012 Chase champ, whose season started in the NASCAR hauler after a wide-ranging, controversial interview for USA Today in February. However, at least in public France is still showering his latest titlist with compliments.

"I think he's a great champion. I love the way he races," France said. "He's been very supportive of things we've wanted him to do. I really think he had a moment where he just blew off some steam. He was probably highly frustrated at the weekend, how it went and I understand that."

Penske Parts Tipoff?

The Associated Press is reporting Monday a rival team may have tipped NASCAR off to Penske Racing's rear end debacle. The article insinuates "garage gossip" claims Hendrick Motorsports, whose teams were stationed next to Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski over the course of the weekend eavesdropped on team chatter and discovered certain parts they were using to push NASCAR rules. Nothing, however, has been confirmed by sources on both sides other than officials were all over the Penske cars Saturday, clearly looking for a major infraction.

None of the parts, as of yet that were confiscated have been deemed illegal, a point expected to be clarified in penalties handed down on Tuesday. 

NRA Protest Takes Its Toll At Texas 

Based on early statistics, it looks like fans that threatened to boycott an NRA-sponsored race at Texas weren't kidding around. Saturday night's 500-miler pulled just a 3.5 overnight in the Nielsens, the lowest for the event since it was moved to a night race and the smallest audience ever to watch a Texas race on FOX. A sharp deviation from recent trends, where four of the first six Cup races had an increase in viewership this season the event had a three percent decline from 2012 and was half a ratings point worse than any overnight rating from any NASCAR race in 2013. Add all those numbers up and it's clear the NRA controversy, while stirring up passionate opinions on both sides had an effect on who was watching from the couch.

The numbers for Texas, though are more troubling when you consider the race pulled in double the audience – a 7.0 Nielsen number – just eleven years ago, in 2002. While other tracks have rebounded, tilting upwards Texas has remained a step behind. Crowds have also gone down at the 1.5-mile facility, although NASCAR no longer releasing attendance figures which made it impossible to judge Saturday night's grandstand total.

News 'N' Notes

- Nationwide's Sam Hornish, Jr. participated in a test Monday at Mid-Ohio Raceway. The newest track on the series schedule will host an event later this summer.

- Dish Network is the latest bidder to join in on the purchasing war for Sprint Nextel. With an offer reportedly of $2.5 billion, the satellite provider is competing with Japan's SoftBank to acquire one of the nation's top cellular network companies. There's no word on how either one getting involved would effect the brand's long-term association with NASCAR.

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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Today's Featured Commentary

Oh, Go Fish! Tony Stewart's Advice to NASCAR Fans

Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View

by S.D. Grady

 

Author's Note: Written mere hours before the explosions rocked the Boston Marathon, I penned this with a much lighter heart.  However, the message is now even more timely.  Live your life, my friends.  Live it with joy and abandon, for we never know what tomorrow may bring.

 

Hornaday bumped Bubba Wallace into the wall.  NASCAR may have it out for the Penske boys (at least, according to Mr. Keselowski).  We had skewed cars, scathing critiques and possible points and suspensions coming down.  Championship caliber teams stumbled.  Rookies continued to struggle, and our best bad boy in the sport swept the weekend in Texas.

 

It was a big weekend in NASCAR.  There were hours of entertainment to be had, all from the comfort of my sofa.   You know, that overly familiar friend of every fan, one where the remote is at hand and the fridge isn't very far away.  But can it be too comfortable?

 

While at Martinsville, I enjoyed the hospitality of the FanZone, which included appearances by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.  And you know how these Q&A sessions go.

 

"So, Tony.  What did you do during the off week?"

 

He answered fishing.  I thought fine and awesome and all that. 

 

Then he turned the tables on the gathered fans. "How many of you fish?"

 

Three people raised their hands.  We all laughed. 

 

But something got in Tony's craw just then.  "What do you people do? It's called a hobby!" 

 

More chuckling was heard throughout the tent. Then, a nice lady in the front row answered how NASCAR filled that hobby slot, which I'm sure is true for many of those gathered for race day.

 

Tony shook his head.  "No.  No. There's got to be something else.  Racing is only three days a week.  What else fills up your time?"  He then finished off this philosophical departure from the usual "How's your car?" questions with a typical Smoke comment.  "It's called getting up off your ass, getting out of the house and doing something.  That's a hobby."

 

The inference and lesson for the day was clear: watching others compete vicariously through a 50" screen is not living.  It's not a hobby.  It's not really much of anything, even if you've got a fantasy league.

 

The more I've thought about it, the honest truth of Tony's admonition has seeped into my brain.  Guilt has been building.  Do I spend too much time on that couch, checking Jayski and staying up to date with the Twitterverse?  Is my resistance to leaving the cushioned living room causing more stress than it ought?

 

The answer has to be yes.  Do I have hobbies?  Yes, but...  My garden needs far more attention than I've been giving it.  Perennials permit me to slack off, because I've got auto-blooming flowers years round.  All the extra time I've got allotted for handicrafts and other home projects seem to get eaten up by qualifying, testing, and more racing.  Heading out to a concert?  There's no time!

 

NASCAR isn't a hobby.  It's an obsession--one that has unbalanced my world.

Obviously, Tony uses fishing to decompress from his job.  But at the same time, he recognized that obsessions like the ones us fans have are equally capable of disconnecting us from the things that make each of us unique.  Do we take the time to walk away and actually talk to our friends about...anything?  Is it always about the Great Race?  Does it have to be?

 

It's not often that I make the trek to the track and walk away from it wondering if I should reconsider how my life is unfolding.  What am I missing?

 

It's not about jamming more into the seemingly ever shrinking free time, it's getting the most out of the time we have.  There's no question about it.  My flower garden needs me.  And I need it.  I've simply forgotten the joy it can bring to me. Digging in the earth lets me release the stress of the work week in a way the television never does.  I'm going to do it.  Get out the rake, gloves, shovel and get dirty!

 

However, I do believe I've got a wireless speaker that lets me feed the race broadcast into the yard...

 

Thus endeth the lesson today.  Cheer for your team, but don't forget that it's actively participating in the world around us that truly makes us who we are.

Who would've thought Tony Stewart was a philosopher?

 

Kyle Larson Stats:

 

Series: Nationwide
Track: Texas
Car: No. 32 Cessna/Bell Helicopter Chevrolet Camaro
Qualified: 12th
Finished: 32nd
Points Standings: 11th

 

Series: Camping World Truck Series
Track: Rockingham Speedway
Truck: No. 30 Autism Speaks Chevrolet Silverado
Qualified: 3rd
Finished: 1st
Points Standings: n/a (Ineligible to earn points)

Want to follow Kyle Larson yourself?

Twitter: @KyleLarsonRacin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KyleLarsonRacing
Website (under construction): http://kylelarsonracing.com/
Looking for a little history? Try... http://kylelarsonracing.net/

S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @laregna.
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Numbers Game: NRA 500

by Tom Bowles

 

0
Laps led by Roush Fenway Racing, the defending champion of the race (with driver Greg Biffle). Since Carl Edwards' win at Phoenix, the three teams have combined to lead a grand total of one lap – and that was from Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (Las Vegas).

1
Lap led by Kevin Harvick all season. At this time last year, he had totaled up 113. Harvick, who has yet to finish higher than ninth this season was an all-but-invisible 13th Saturday night.
 
2
Straight races Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has finished behind his girlfriend Danica Patrick in the rookie race. That, combined with Patrick's top-10 finish at Daytona makes that battle closer than one may have thought seven races in. (Patrick actually leads, 76-73).

3
Top-11 finishes by Brian Vickers in three Sprint Cup races so far in 2013 – with two different teams. By comparison, Joey Logano, who is inside the top 10 in points this season only has two.

4
Cautions, out of seven that were not for actual on-track incidents. That includes the last yellow, on Lap 315 for "debris" from what looked like to be a Mark Martin scrape of the Turn 4 wall, well outside the groove.

5.4
Kyle Busch's average start this season; it's a stat that leads all drivers and includes two pole positions. That first pit stall at Texas, earned by a first-place starting spot was crucial in earning him the victory Saturday night.

6
Runner-up finishes for Martin Truex, Jr. since his last Sprint Cup Series victory in 2007. One of those was Kansas, in the Spring of 2012 which is next up on the schedule.

25
Races since a podium finish in the Sprint Cup Series for Tony Stewart. He won the Daytona 400-miler back in July.

37
Finish of Kurt Busch, in the last two races following back-to-back top-5 results. The mechanical failures, leading to time behind the wall in both cases have dropped him 11 spots in the standings, from 13th to 24th.

$550,858
Money collected by Texas winner Kyle Busch, easily the most for any first-place finisher since the Daytona 500.

$2,612,961
Money won by Jimmie Johnson so far this season through seven races, leading all drivers.
 

Tom Bowles is the Editor-In-Chief of Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at tom.bowles@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Racing To The Point: NASCAR Kept Its Head In The Sand on NRA
by Brett Poirier

Who's Hot / Who's Not To Start 2013: Texas-Kansas Edition
by Brad Morgan

Kansas: A Potential Turning Point For Struggling (Or Winning) Drivers
by Kevin Rutherford

Five Points To Ponder: Ranting About Fines, Kyle's Win And Vickers' Vigor
by Danny Peters

Couch Potato Tuesday: Edwards Improves; Still Work In Progress
by Phil Allaway

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  The 2002 Protection One 400 saw Jeff Gordon claim his second consecutive win at the new 1.5 mile tri-oval.  However, it also saw the end of Sterling Marlin's season.  What happened?

Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Monday's Answer:

Q:  Roughly 60 miles away from Kansas Speedway is Heartland Park Topeka, a facility that hosts NHRA Drag Racing and a number of road races. In 1995, the track hosted the first road course event for the then-NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman. However, the race all but ended the career of Kerry Teague. What happened?

A:  On Lap 8, Teague appeared to either lose his brakes exiting Turn 1, or the throttle hung.  Regardless, when it came time to slow down for Turn 2, Teague simply could not do it.  Teague drove his Chevrolet off-course to avoid Bob Jones.  The No. 51 then spun and went hard into a concrete wall, drivers' side first.  A small fire started as well.  The crash can be seen in this clip.

Teague was knocked unconscious in the crash and suffered head injuries that resulted in a lengthy hospital stay.  However, he did make a full recovery.

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
-- WTF Wednesday by Ellen Richardson

-- Tweet 'N' Greet by Kevin Rutherford
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

Beyond The Cockpit: Matt Crafton by Mike Neff

The new Truck Series leader in consecutive starts, almost all of them with Thorsport talks with our Mike Neff about settling down in the Truck Series, his thoughts on breaking the record and why 2013 has been such a turnaround year for his team.

Life At The 55 by Tony Lumbis
In a new, recurring column we look at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series through a different lens: the eyes of a crew member. Tony sits down with one of the integral members of Michael Waltrip Racing and discovers a "day in the life" of what it's like to work behind the scenes in this sport.

Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Did You Notice? ... the dangers of spying and inconsistency? Tom has all the insider's analysis on the Brad Keselowski incident, the latest reaction on Tuesday's expected penalty announcement on Penske Racing and so much more with his list of small but important weekly observations on the sport.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Texas by Michael Mehedin
Jimmie Johnson had a solid race in the Lone Star State. But Kyle Busch? Let's just say he was a little better. With both drivers having two wins to their credit, which one do our experts think is No. 1 these days? Find out as writers across the country vote in the latest, weekly edition of our Top 15 drivers on the Sprint Cup circuit.

Frontstretch Top Ten by the Frontstretch Staff
Our Wednesday humor column will bring a little NASCAR laughter to your week.
 

Side By Side by TBA
Once again, two of your favorite experts duke it out in a column that rips open debate. This week's question focuses around the future of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Will NASCAR's favorite son ever win the Cup Series title he so badly covets?

Open-Wheel Wednesday by Toni Montgomery, Matt Stallknecht and P. Huston Ladner
With the Long Beach race next on the agenda, our trio of experts sit down at the roundtable and hash out the major storylines IndyCar has generated over a hectic first month of 2013.
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