THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 22nd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition LXIV
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 22nd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition LXIV
~~~~~~~~~~
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
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Correction: During a practice update on Kansas, yesterday we inadvertently listed Matt Kenseth as fastest during final practice in Texas. We apologize for the error.
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kenseth Dominates in the Heartland, Wins at Kansas
by Justin Tucker
Sometimes, where you start is where you finish. Matt Kenseth, fresh off a track qualifying record of 191.864 MPH in earning the pole for Sunday's STP 400 didn't want to give up the top spot once the green flag fell at Kansas Speedway.
Turns out he rarely would. Kenseth would prove to be dominant, leading 163 of 267 laps en route to his second victory of the season, a second straight win at Kansas and his second driving the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth, who led 110 out of the first 111 laps, would take advantage of track position and outstanding pit stops from his crew to set the tone for the day, holding off Kasey Kahne in the closing laps to score his 26th NSCS win. Kenseth became the third straight pole sitter to win a race, the first time that has happened since August/September of 1985.
"It was kind of like musical chairs," Kenseth said about staying in front of the field for the advantage. "You had to be out front when the music stopped. Our car was very fast in clean air. It was reasonable in dirty air, but it wasn't quite good enough to catch all them guys and pass 'em (in traffic). Thankfully, I had a couple of really crazy-good restarts for some reason and made up some ground and got us back in position."
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kenseth Dominates in the Heartland, Wins at Kansas
by Justin Tucker
Sometimes, where you start is where you finish. Matt Kenseth, fresh off a track qualifying record of 191.864 MPH in earning the pole for Sunday's STP 400 didn't want to give up the top spot once the green flag fell at Kansas Speedway.
Turns out he rarely would. Kenseth would prove to be dominant, leading 163 of 267 laps en route to his second victory of the season, a second straight win at Kansas and his second driving the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth, who led 110 out of the first 111 laps, would take advantage of track position and outstanding pit stops from his crew to set the tone for the day, holding off Kasey Kahne in the closing laps to score his 26th NSCS win. Kenseth became the third straight pole sitter to win a race, the first time that has happened since August/September of 1985.
"It was kind of like musical chairs," Kenseth said about staying in front of the field for the advantage. "You had to be out front when the music stopped. Our car was very fast in clean air. It was reasonable in dirty air, but it wasn't quite good enough to catch all them guys and pass 'em (in traffic). Thankfully, I had a couple of really crazy-good restarts for some reason and made up some ground and got us back in position."
Kenseth's final on-track pass for the lead came at the expense of his old team, Roush Fenway Racing. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. used pit strategy to get out front, his Roush Fenway team off sequence from the rest as the rookie appeared to run significantly faster in clean air. But once the No. 17 had to pit, on Lap 215 a caution flew shortly thereafter for debris from Brad Keselowski's rear bumper; that trapped Stenhouse, and several others at the back of the pack to give Kenseth clear sailing on the final restart.
Kasey Kahne continued his stellar 2013 with a second-place finish at Kansas on Sunday. Rallying from a 27th-place starting spot, he climbed himself inside the top 5 shortly after halfway. With the fastest car down the stretch, he took second from Jimmie Johnson following the final restart and slowly began chasing down Kenseth, cutting down a one-second deficit in the closing laps as lapped traffic gave the leader a whole lot of trouble. Getting to Kenseth's back bumper, entering the final lap it looked like the No. 5 car might have something but Kahne never got any closer, winding up two-tenths of a second behind.
"Felt like Vegas all over again, just kind of felt like really similar to that in how I could catch him but couldn't really do anything once I got close," said Kahne, running second to Kenseth for the second time this year on an intermediate. "[Getting close] made my car a little bit looser. So, [I] tried a few things there, and he kind of blocked those spots and went those directions and gained the speed that I was, and then we were even again. It was tough, but we still had a great race."
The event was marked by eight cautions, far less than the wreck-filled Fall event but side-by-side competition, at times was hard to come by on long, green-flag runs. While the restarts were wild, marked by four-wide and several near-wrecks in the first few laps a rock hard tire compound, combined with record speeds left drivers on edge, simply trying to keep control from spinning out. Even the veteran Mark Martin, responsible for three near-misses on major wrecks throughout the day had difficulty keeping things all straightened out.
"The hard tires make the track really fast," said Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who wound up 16th. "Everybody runs about the same speed. You can't really charge on people and get close to people because when the tires are hard, you just start slipping around in dirty air. But as the track ages, they'll soften the tire up a little bit and we'll be able to race a little bit closer and the racing will get a little bit better. This place has got a great future."
"The hard tires make the track really fast," said Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who wound up 16th. "Everybody runs about the same speed. You can't really charge on people and get close to people because when the tires are hard, you just start slipping around in dirty air. But as the track ages, they'll soften the tire up a little bit and we'll be able to race a little bit closer and the racing will get a little bit better. This place has got a great future."
For Hendrick Motorsports shopmate, Jimmie Johnson, that great future is now. He continued his championship form in 2013 on Sunday with a strong third-place result. Johnson overcame a suspect qualifying effort, in 21st by methodically marching his way through the field and running in the top 5 for much of the afternoon.
"A strong performance, solid on pit road," said Johnson. "I think Chad's strategy today was flawless. About two stops from the end we started to get a little tight, and it was the first time I was tight so we probably didn't react as much as we should have, just trying to be cautious because the car was so loose at other times in the race - just lacked a little bit there at the end."
Martin Truex, Jr. backed up his second-place run from Texas with a fourth-place finish at Kansas on Sunday. Truex led 46 laps and moved up to 14th in the NSCS standings. Hometown boy Clint Bowyer, also from Michael Waltrip Racing rounded out the top 5, running strong at his hometown track. The fifth-place finish moved Bowyer to ninth in the standings, 64 behind Johnson.
Kyle Busch had a weekend he would like to forget. After crashing out of Saturday's Truck Series race, his focus turned to Sunday's Cup event and a chance to record his first win at Kansas Speedway. On lap 5, Busch spun, relegating him back to the back of the field. Busch would slowly make his way through until he spun again off of Turn 4 and collected Joey Logano in the incident. Busch would finish 38th.
Rounding out the top 10 on Sunday in the STP 400 were Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Aric Almirola, Martin and Paul Menard. The Sprint Cup Series heads to Richmond International Raceway next week for the Toyota Owners 400 on Saturday night. Green flag is scheduled for 7:44 PM ET.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
Chasing the Chase: Johnson's Lead Continues To Expand
by Phil Allaway
Jimmie Johnson had a relatively quiet day at Kansas, charging forward from his 21st-place starting spot and then hanging comfortably within the top 5. In the end, that "quiet day" was good enough for a third-place finish. With the big point penalties for Brad Keselowski in effect, despite the upcoming appeal, Johnson now has a massive 37-point lead over teammate Kasey Kahne. Kahne moved up five places to second, this week after getting beat once again by Matt Kenseth at an intermediate. It's the second time this year (Las Vegas) the duo has come home 1-2. Keselowski, now third in points did very well to overcome a 33rd-place starting spot, first-lap contact that caused a fuel filler issue (and cost him a lap early) in order to finish sixth. This effort allowed him to claw back one of the positions he lost due to the Penske violations suffered at Texas.
Greg Biffle dropped down to fourth spot in the standings. The last caution burned Biffle, leaving him off sequence and forcing him to take a wave around to finish on the lead lap. Stuck in traffic, he'd do no better than 19th. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was in a similar situation. However, he was able to pick up a couple of more places and gain one position in the points. Running 16th, he bested Carl Edwards by one position as the trio all suffered from that untimely yellow, ironically from rival Brad Keselowski's rear bumper falling off.
Kyle Busch was the big loser on Sunday, dropping five places to seventh after a terrible day. Busch retired from the event after crashing with Joey Logano on Lap 103 and finishing 38th; that was his third wrecked car on the weekend. Matt Kenseth's victory moved him up three places to eighth, putting him comfortably inside the top 10. Even though it is still early, Kenseth's two wins would put him at the top of the standings if the Chase started today. Clint Bowyer now sits ninth in points, dropping a spot despite finishing in fifth position at his hometown track.
Paul Menard, rounding out the top 10 in points does so because of finishes like Sunday: an invisible but important 10th at Kansas. His margin over the current first Wild Card, Jamie McMurray, is 13 points. Kevin Harvick, 12th without a win rounds out the "if the Chase started now" field of competitors.
Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 311, 2) Kasey Kahne -37, 3) Brad Keselowski -38, 4) Greg Biffle -47, 5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -48, 6) Carl Edwards -49, 7) Kyle Busch -54, 8) Matt Kenseth -59, 9) Clint Bowyer -64, 10) Paul Menard -71, 11) Jamie McMurray -84, 12) Kevin Harvick -87.
Best of the Rest: 13) Aric Almirola -89, 14) Martin Truex, Jr. -107, 15) Jeff Gordon -109, 16) Mark Martin -110, 17) Ryan Newman -111, 18) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -115.
Wild Cards: 1) Jamie McMurray (11th in points), 2) Kevin Harvick (12th in points, no wins)
Race Winners: Jimmie Johnson (Daytona, Martinsville), Carl Edwards (Phoenix), Matt Kenseth (Las Vegas, Kansas), Kasey Kahne (Bristol), Kyle Busch (Fontana, Texas).
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here: Kansas-1 Edition
by Amy Henderson
Editor's Note: This year, we're going to switch things up a little bit. Instead of just focusing upon one underdog (or underreported) car in the Secret Star section, we will point out three smaller teams that put up good finishes each week.
Underdog Selection No. 1: Regan Smith for Phoenix Racing; started 41st, finished 22nd
Smith was the best of the true underdogs this week with his 22nd-place finish (Kurt Busch ran 15th for Furniture Row Racing, but that team has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, so calling them a true "small team" is getting more difficult with each passing week). While this run alone isn't particularly noteworthy, especially considering Phoenix's earlier success in 2013 what makes Smith's Kansas run so impressive is where he started.
Smith began the day at the back of the pack, in 41st, but was able to pick off a bunch of cars and outlast others to gain 19 spots between the flags. Phoenix has dropped off a bit since a torrid start to the season, but they're running solidly where they should be, and the No. 51 is still a plenty respectable 16th in owner points. A top 20 for the year would be a major coup, given the level of competition but this team could maintain it with a little luck on their side.
Underdog Selection No. 2: Landon Cassill for Circle Sport; started 39th, finished 29th
While on the one hand, Cassill finished 29th, lower than a handful of small teams, Circle Sport's run was impressive for a couple of reasons. One, they gained ten spots from start to finish. That's the hallmark of a team who can improve a car throughout a run, and the No. 33 bunch is doing that this year; their average finish is five sports better than their average start.
Cassill's 29th-place result was also his best of the year. It was also a high for Circle Sport since a 26th-place run at Watkins Glen last summer, with Stephen Leicht driving, and the third-best result since the team's inception in early 2012. For these underfunded organizations, a small step is an important one, and Circle Sport is taking them, one at a time.
Underdog Selection No. 3: Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports; started 36th, finished 26th
Wise is another oft-overlooked driver who had a solid day at Kansas, gaining ten spots from start to finish and ending the day in 26th place, tying his best finish of the year. While Front Row teammate David Gilliland had a better result, he also wrecked one car and ran into another one — not his best day. Wise's average finish, like Cassill is better than his average start, the mark of a driver making the most of what his equipment has to offer.
Also, consider that in 2012, Wise was running at the end of just one race, Sonoma in June. He was forced to start and park, nearly all season long and failed to qualify for six races. This year, Wise has two DNFs, but one was due to a crash at Daytona and the other was past halfway - a legitimate parts failure. No matter how you slice it, 2013 has to be a whole lot more fun for Wise than 2012.
Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during the race broadcasts? Amy has all the small teams covered each and every week in The Big Six. Be sure to check it out to see how your favorites fared!
Amy Henderson is a Co-Managing Editor and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Writer_Amy.
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's STP 400 was brought to you by the Letter U for Unstable. It is arguable that it could apply more to Saturday's SFP 250 for the Camping World Truck Series than Sunday's Cup race, but the cars seemed to be jittery in the turns when they were racing side-by-side. Multiple drivers got loose underneath other cars and went up the track, nearly ending their days. Luckily, these incidents did not lead to any wrecks on Sunday but the number of "almosts" give you pause for the Fall. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Kansas Stories
by Summer Bedgood
Following a week of harsh penalties due to an illegal rear end housing in Texas, 2012 Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski was already starting from behind over the weekend in Kansas Speedway. A tough day began when the green flag flew for the first time in the STP 400.
At the start, Keselowski was rear-ended and had to spend extensive time on pit road to fix the damage. It took several lengthy pit stops to get the car to a place where it was raceable; Keselowski lost a lap at one point because of it, the crew struggling to put fuel in the car.
"Something happened where there was a check-up in front," he said afterwards. "I think somebody was wrecking and I slowed down and the guy behind me didn't. He just drove through the quarterpanel and tore it all up and eventually, the dirty air of cars being around me just sucked it apart."
At another point in the race, Keselowski's rear quarterpanel was hanging off the car due to some contact he sustained with another, which was separate from the first incident. The quarterpanel eventually brought out the final caution when it ripped off the No. 2 Ford.
"I could feel something was wrong, but I couldn't see it so you don't know what the magnitude of it is," Keselowski added. "Obviously, it must have been pretty severe."
While the day was rough for the reigning Cup champion, he eventually rallied back to finish sixth. It's the third week in a row the No. 2 team has had to battle through extenuating circumstances; Martinsville, they had a pit road penalty for pitting outside their box and then Texas came paired with the infamous NASCAR violations. In each of those races, the team struggled early but rallied for a top-10 finish by the checkered flag.
"Usually, you're not happy unless you win," Keselowski exclaimed, "But a day where you can fight through adversity, like we did today and get a solid finish, that kind of is a win."
Without the penalty, Kes would be second in the standings, just 13 behind point leader Jimmie Johnson.
Early Contenders Bitten by Final Caution
Several early frontrunners were unable to maintain a good finishing position after Keselowski's left rear quarterpanel caused a debris caution. Carl Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Greg Biffle were all drivers either caught on pit road or just after their green-flag pit stop when the yellow flew. All of them, gambling to get up front late through pit strategy went off sequence to try and use clean air to their advantage down the stretch.
It didn't work. Although Stenhouse was in position to take the Lucky Dog, and all of them got back on the lead lap (through the wave around) none of them were able to make it back inside the top 10. Stenhouse, climbing back to 11th was the best of the bunch.
"That caution came out at a bad time, but we weren't very good all day either," said Biffle, a former Kansas winner. "We're just missing it a little bit."
Earnhardt Jr. ran 16th, Edwards 17th, and Biffle 19th.
Kyle Busch, Joey Logano Crash Early
It was a rough weekend for Kyle Busch, who had to start in a backup car in Sunday's race and crashed out early in Saturday's Truck Series event. It didn't start much better on Sunday. While it initially looked like Busch might salvage a good day, he brought out the first caution after spinning on the backstretch on the fifth lap of the race.
It was all downhill from there. After working his way up to as high as third, Busch again spun by himself in Turn 4 and this time collected former teammate Joey Logano in the process. The two made heavy contact and were unable to repair the cars to return to the racetrack.
"Spun twice on our own," said Busch. "Just don't know what to do with Kansas."
Busch has yet to score a top-5 finish at this racetrack, running no better than 10th since David Reutimann spun him out in retribution for a Bristol incident in the Fall of 2010. His loss was Logano's... well, loss, as the No. 22 Ford was an innocent victim in all this mess.
"I watched the 18," said Logano. "He was spinning out and I saw it the whole time. I saw he got loose and thought, 'OK, he's gonna come back across,' and he didn't. It looked like he was gonna stay up there because he kind of slapped the wall with the right side after he hit it the first time, so I'm like, 'All right, I'm gonna gun it and get by him here,' and as soon as I committed to that, I saw him start coming back down. At that point, you're just lined up to him and I hit him a ton."
Busch finished 38th and Logano finished 39th. Neither car returned to the race after the wreck.
Summer Bedgood is an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SummerBedgood.
Quotes to Remember: STP 400
"We tightened up a little bit on that final run and putting two on, and zero, I knew we were going to be a little loose but didn't think it would be quite that bad. Matt (Kenseth) was fast and I just did everything I could and he would go to those spots and I couldn't make any ground. It was still a good race and I want to thank Farmers Insurance and 85 years of Farmers Insurance, Chevrolet, Time Warner Cable, Quaker State and everybody on my team. The team has done an awesome job and we fought back after a little bit of a disappointment last week (11th) and came back [strong]." - Kasey Kahne, finished second
"Friday and Saturday weren't fun. There wasn't a lot of smiles around our group but everybody worked real hard to get the cars right and we had a great race car today. At times, I felt like I had a shot to win with my Kobalt Tools Chevrolet and we just didn't have enough for Matt and Kasey there at the end, but a very solid performance for our Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS." - Jimmie Johnson, finished third
"The guys on this NAPA team did such a good job this weekend. Everybody at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing)... the 15 (Clint Bowyer) was fifth, too so it was a good day for us as a whole. Happy with that. We fought the car all day long - had to go to the back once for a pit road penalty and fight our way through there. All in all, I'm very happy with fourth place. It was a great day, we overcame a lot and the guys did a great job bouncing back after that pit road problem." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished fourth
"We needed a turnaround after last week. Certainly, you want to win it at home, but a good top-5 finish is a great way to get things bounced back with our 5-Hour Energy Toyota. Proud of (Brian) Pattie (crew chief) -- we weren't very good in practice. The guys dug deep, leaned on all their tools and got us better. It looked like a wild race right there at the end -- wish we had been a part of it. Nonetheless, it's exciting to see good racing here." - Clint Bowyer, finished fifth
"Something happened where there was a check-up in front. I think somebody was wrecking and I slowed down and the guy behind me didn't. He just drove through the quarterpanel and tore it all up and eventually, the dirty air of cars being around me just sucked it apart. It's kind of weird. I think that's probably a really good aero lesson for everybody how dirty the air is that when another car gets beside us... it literally blew the quarterpanel off of it, so it's just part of the deal." - Brad Keselowski, finished sixth
"We just started off way too loose. I honestly thought we had one of the better cars in Happy Hour. From the drop of the green flag, it was just extremely loose. We had to actually come in twice and lower the track bar and make some adjustments. Then, I thought we finally had some track position and I got turned sideways on the restart and went all the way to the back again, but it was a good recovery. We just had a fast car all weekend, so really happy with that. Good job by our team." - Jamie McMurray, finished seventh
"It was a good day for us. We thought we had a great car at the beginning of the race, but then the track changed on us and we lost our track position. And then, the handling drastically changed on our car, so we had to battle back from that and made a lot of adjustments. Todd Parrott did a great job rallying our guys, making good adjustments, making great pit calls to get some track position and right there at the end, our guys gave us a great pit stop when it counted and we got another top 10. That's two top 10s, two weeks in a row and I'm proud of that." - Aric Almirola, finished eighth
"Rodney (Childers, crew chief) just did a great job on the pit box, adjusting the car. We missed it pretty good but our best run of the day was the last run of the day. That's the way you do it. I'm really proud of the guys and how hard they fought. We've got a little work to do to get a little better." - Mark Martin, finished ninth
"It was really hard to pass. We've got some of the best pit stops in the business. My guys do a really good job on pit road. So, we gained a lot there. The pace slowed down, which really caught us off guard from yesterday a lot more than we thought. So, we missed it a little bit but you've just got to look back and utilize the tools and do a better job of starting the race because we always end pretty good." - Paul Menard, finished tenth
"It was fun. We started up front, ran up front, lost our track position and then got it back and was able to lead some laps. We pitted under green and it really got us when the caution came out, but, all in all, I think we can take a lot of positives from this weekend. We were fast in practice, fast in qualifying and made the car better through the race and that's what it's all about, is making your car better throughout the race and I think we did that today. The Zest Ford Fusion was the one to beat there at the end, but we didn't have the track position to finish it off." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished 11th
"I'm just disappointed. We had a good car and were running around the top 10 all day and when the sun came out, it changed. I didn't expect it and spun out off of two and got some damage. We were able to stay on the lead lap, but that's not the day we wanted." - Marcos Ambrose, finished 20th
"I was pretty happy with the car. Right before the accident on the run before that, we were at our worst because we got a little too loose, but the guys did a good job and we were back on the lead lap and could run lap times within the top 15. I was rolling the top there and the 9 got loose. He was loose for a long time and I slowly, slowly checked up and the 38 never did and tagged the back of me. We probably would have just spun off, into the infield, but we collected whoever spun with us and tore the car up really bad. It's just a bad day." - Casey Mears, finished 34th
"Spun twice on our own. Just don't know what to do with Kansas. Absolutely no grip for me. But, you know, you're running third and doing fine, car a little tight and you spin out. I don't know what to do with that and then we're back in traffic all day. Traffic is way worse. Just trying to get back up to the front and making some gains, but the car just snaps out from you every corner." - Kyle Busch, finished 38th
"We just got a little loose getting into turn three. The car was kind of darting around a little bit and I was just kind fighting the steering of it some. Just came around on me too quick — [the day] just ended a lot shorter than I wanted to. Need to thank all the guys for their hard work and ALERT for coming on board. Not the day that they wanted to have here today." - Elliott Sadler, finished 40th
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
by Mike Neff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the STP 400
by Amy Henderson
Kasey Kahne ... The Most Underrated Driver In NASCAR?
by Summer Bedgood
Kenseth's Sweet Success: When A Change Really Does Do You Good
by Beth Lunkenheimer
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In February, 1988, Neil Bonnett won the Pontiac Excitement 400. This was the final race run on the old Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway before the current D-shaped oval was built. However, there was some controversy regarding the result. Why?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: Later this season, Kansas Speedway will host their first-ever major sports car event with a night race for the Rolex Sports Car Series on August 17. Which race does this event effectively replace?
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In February, 1988, Neil Bonnett won the Pontiac Excitement 400. This was the final race run on the old Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway before the current D-shaped oval was built. However, there was some controversy regarding the result. Why?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: Later this season, Kansas Speedway will host their first-ever major sports car event with a night race for the Rolex Sports Car Series on August 17. Which race does this event effectively replace?
A: Effectively, the new Kansas race replaces the April event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, another ISC track. It was the only "roval" on the Rolex Sports Car Series schedule other than Daytona.
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: STP 400 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder by Danny Peters/P. Huston Ladner
Danny returns for his weekly edition of talking points, which will wrap up the action at Kansas and get us ready for Richmond.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series were in action at Kansas Speedway. Meanwhile, the Izod IndyCar Series made their annual visit to the streets of Long Beach. Were the telecasts of these events "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
Brad gets us set for our third short track race of the year while tracking the trends of the past few weeks to see which drivers are on a tear... or tearing their hair out.
Speedy Discoveries by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think. This week, it's all about NASCAR's "gray area," what defines it and whether the best crew chiefs should shy away from it - or be pushing the envelope.
Going By The Numbers by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin enlightens us with his weekly statistics column based on trends we've been seeing in the Cup Series so far this season.
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