Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 8th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition LXXVI
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by Tom Bowles
Penske Has Suspensions Reduced On Appeal
Roger Penske's team got some relief Tuesday from NASCAR's Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, as he chose to reduce penalties assessed to that organization at Texas Motor Speedway in early April. Middlebrook, after hearing the evidence from both sides Tuesday chose to reduce all suspensions in the case from six to two weeks, plus NASCAR's All-Star Race on May 18th. That means the final consequences for both teams are the following:
No. 2 car
Brad Keselowski – loss of 25 driver points
Roger Penske – loss of 25 owner points
$100,000 fine (assessed to crew chief Paul Wolfe)
Two-race suspensions (plus the All-Star Race) for Wolfe, car chief Jerry Kelley and engineer Brian Wilson
No. 22 car
Joey Logano – loss of 25 driver points
Roger Penske/Walt Czarnecki (listed owner) – loss of 25 owner points
$100,000 fine (assessed to crew chief Todd Gordon)
Two-race suspensions (plus the All-Star Race) for Gordon, car chief Raymond Fox, and team engineer Samuel Stanley
Other
Two-race suspension (plus the All-Star Race) for team manager Travis Geisler (services both cars)
Middlebrook's official statement was short, simply stating, "After looking at all the facts, data, and interpretations from the rule book, I have decided to uphold the original fines and points penalties. However, I have decided to reduce the suspensions of the seven team members involved from six points races and the All-Star race to two points races and the All-Star Race." However, it seemed both sides, after presenting their cases were far more pleased with how the case was handled during this portion of the appeal.
"We were able to talk about areas we worked in," said Roger Penske, referring to the "gray area" of the NASCAR rulebook officials ultimately felt stepped over the line. "I'm very happy with the outcome. This sport has been built on innovation. All of us have tried to innovate in areas not defined in the rulebook. We were in that area."
In conversations with the parties involved, it was clear the controversy surrounded parts designed to increase the rear-end angle at the back of both cars. In past years, with innovation limited through the Car of Tomorrow templates teams have played around with suspension systems designed to make the rear end of the car easier to "move." The more the car skews in the corner, the easier it can be to handle and gain extra speed.
However, NASCAR had made rules designed to curb those types of innovations this year and made the determination Penske parts to build the rear suspension were unapproved. Why they had gone undetected in previous inspections was never addressed, along with claims someone else in the garage had alerted officials to possible inappropriate car construction. One thing Penske did admit, though is had this decision been issued by the initial appeals panel, he would not have pressed his luck with Middlebrook.
"All of us," he said. "Have lost points for certain infractions over the years. The key thing is to have people back at the racetrack operating in full control."
The end results leave Logano 18th in points, 146 behind championship leader Jimmie Johnson and 43 outside a Chase position. Keselowski is far more stable; fifth in points, he's 69 behind and 45 _ahead_ of 11th-place Matt Kenseth. Neither of the Penske cars have won a race this season.
"Moved on from last few weeks," Keselowski tweeted Wednesday morning. "And ready to focus on @TooToughToTame (Darlington Raceway)."
The next round of NASCAR penalty appeals, focusing on Joe Gibbs Racing and Matt Kenseth will be heard on Wednesday morning.
Keselowski Apologizes To Ragan
Brad Keselowski's hard feelings towards Talladega winner David Ragan are no more. The reigning NASCAR champion issued an official apology Tuesday, two days after accusing the driver of slotting in the wrong line on a restart in a move he said cost the No. 2 car a potential shot at victory. In an apology letter initially listed on his own racing site, the driver was honest and open in his assessment that, in hindsight he made a mistake.
"I placed blame on David Ragan for the restart lineup confusion when it wasn't his fault," he said. "I was very passionate about the finish because I thought we had a chance to win the race if I restarted in 10th position instead of ninth. David executed that positioning perfectly for the win."
"I know first-hand what it's like to take a lower-budget team to Victory Lane. My comments were never [meant] to detract from their victory. They were only to express my opinion that I thought we had been wronged."
Keselowski, whose first win came with the low-budget Phoenix Racing operation at Talladega in '09, went on to blame NASCAR for the mistake, claiming they still misaligned him, Scott Speed, and Ragan heading to the final restart. While congratulating FRM, he maintained his opinion on the error and claimed his passion, as a race car driver is something no one should ever have to apologize for.
"Good to hear from @keselowski today," David Ragan responded through Twitter, more than satisfied with the driver's reaction. "He didn't have to correct the wrong, but he did and that was pretty cool. #respect #NASCAR"
Newman Will Not Be Fined By NASCAR
One day after looking into the matter, NASCAR said Tuesday Ryan Newman will not be fined for his comments criticizing the ending to Sunday's race at Talladega. Newman questioned the sport's decision to go back racing with impending darkness, along with restrictor plate competition in heated comments following a multi-car incident with less than six laps remaining. In that crash, Kurt Busch's car landed on top of Newman's hood in a scary moment where both drivers were lucky to avoid serious injury.
The sanctioning body maintained Brian France's policy that only criticisms geared toward the on-track product will result in a fine. They felt, in this case the quote didn't cross the line.
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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Today's Featured Commentary
WTF Wednesdays
This weekend, both series will travel to another very exciting track, Darlington Raceway. The track "Lady In Black" has had an extensive history of real door-to-door racing. As many fans may remember, this 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval has played host to some of the best racing that NASCAR competition has ever seen.
I don't think that race fans will ever forget the closest finish in NASCAR history, in March 2003, where Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch for the Cup win by only .002 seconds. This track also played host to the first win for Saturday's Aaron's 312 winner, Regan Smith in a race that brought out the tempers of both Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch on pit road for NASCAR Illustrated Magazine's Best Feud.
While I am looking forward to this weekend's racing, I continue to question NASCAR's decision to eliminate a second race at the 'The Track Too Tough To Tame.' Despite the supercharged racing that has continued at the sport's first superspeedway twice a year since 1960, NASCAR decided to eliminate a race on the schedule in 2005 so that Phoenix International Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway could pick up additional races.
While I am the first to admit that I have enjoyed some of the racing at Texas and Phoenix, this weekend's battle at Talladega was reminiscent of the type of David and Goliath battles that were once witnessed at Darlington.
With NASCAR's eyes continuing to focus on the cash prize, I am afraid that many of the wrong decisions are being made , and that will take away what both competitors and fans are hoping to see: true competition. As Kevin Rutherford so poignantly made clear in Tuesday's Going By The Numbers, both fans and competitors seemed disappointed and frustrated that many historically competitive tracks, like Darlington and Atlanta, have been stripped of a race. Lest we also forget Rockingham, whom may never be in the running for a Nationwide or Cup Series race again?
I have to agree with Rutherford, who brings up a good point, "Imagine if some of these tracks were visited more than once (Darlington and Atlanta once were, of course). Could we have seen better championship finishes?" I believe not only better championship finishes, but increased fan excitement.
As this has been on the top of my mind this week, I decided to take a number from today's young drivers who cling to social media for fan input. I took to Facebook to ask a few friends and fans their thoughts on adding a second Darlington race to the future top series schedules.
Chase O'Brien, a long time NASCAR fan who also spends a lot of his Saturday night's at several local NASCAR Home Tracks, said it is time to bring tracks like Darlington back to their past glory.
"The races are great at this drivers track," said O'Brien. "One groove tracks always put on a show and while some drivers may not like this fans do. Why do you think fan attendance at tracks like Bowman Gray Stadium are consistently high?"
Paul Heath, Motorsports Social Media Consultant, said that he was disappointed when Darlington's Labor Day race was taken away in the past and would like to see this return.
"Tracks that are a part of when and where NASCAR got its roots are now basically being disrespected and forgotten," said Heath. "Darlington deserves to have two races a year and never should have lost one. I think you would be hard pressed to find a driver in the Sprint Cup series that wouldn't like to see Darlington get its two races back."
So as NASCAR continues to try to drive its way into the future, let's hope that some of these continuously perplexing changes don't take away the kind of excitement that us long-time fans have all come to know and love.
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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Tweet 'N' Greet
by Kevin Rutherford
Editor's Note: With the NASCAR Twitter community expanding by leaps and bounds, it remains a place for instantaneous news, reactions, and a whole lot of inside jokes. We understand if you don't want to join the Twitter community - but as a fan, it's important to know the news and info you're missing out on! That's why, every week, Kevin Rutherford will sort through the thousands of messages and give us a little taste of what's going on each Wednesday.
So, without further ado, here's a look at what those in NASCAR were thinking over the past seven days...
@DavidGilliland: What a day. I'm so happy for FRM! God is great!!! Finally the front row!!!
@keselowski (Brad Keselowski): mad as hell about that finish. We were suppose to line up 10th when the 34 switched lanes entering 3 before green. That lane won. BS
@keselowski: I'm happy as hell a small team won. Doesn't change the fact that the restart was blatantly wrong.
@keselowski: Got all the details from Sunday night figured out and spoke with @DavidRagan Working on a fan update. Thanks for your patience. #staytuned
@ReganSmith: Wow what a day! Thanks for all the messages. Very happy for and proud of @JRMotorsports and @TaxSlayer @TaxSlayerRacing
@mw55 (Michael Waltrip): My first race as a 50 year old. I went all @55MarkMartin on them!
@landoncassill: A wild rain shower appears! Engage Air Titan! It's super effective
@KevinHarvick: And that's what @NASCAR is all about!!! What a win for that team and @Davidragan!!
@scottspeed: Top 10 baby!!!!!! Whaaaaaat
@BlakeKochRacing: great time spotting today, @LeavineFamily95 and @scottspeed did great! P9 was hard earned! Learned a lot for the day I get to race cup here!
@JimmieJohnson: Congrats @TravisPastrana, I bet @andybell wishes he could cut his mop now.
@RCR31JeffBurton: When cars have to drive through the wreck isn't it clear that the caution should be thrown
@TimGeorgeJr: Wow glad I didn't hit the @KentuckyDerby this year! High "Slop" conditions & rain is no fun. It would be the entire time in the #turfClub
@Kenny_Wallace: Does tweeting create Negative and unecessary DRAMA in #NASCAR?
@AndyLally: Nooooooooooo!!! This is horrible! pic.twitter.com/djhaqbx5KS
@JakeSnakeCrum: We will be in Charlotte to race in the NC Education Lottery 200. This will be our first race for 2013. Who will be there?
@JamesBuescher: We are having a BABY BOY! We could not be more excited!! @Kayla_Hulsey did an awesome job with the reveal party! pic.twitter.com/14qekYJymr
@TheKevinConway: It's official...I will be driving for @ChangeRacingUSA full time in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series World Championship
@KurtBusch: A rainy day here in MD. Sitting in carpool to pick up Houston & headed to karate. Can't believe it's been 10yrs since that Darlington finish
Kevin Rutherford is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at kevin.rutherford@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at@Surfwax83.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: We'll make this one relatively simple. Davey Allison led 72 laps and was in position to win the 1992 Mountain Dew Southern 500, and by extension, the Winston Million. What caused him to lose the big bucks?
Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: The 1990 TranSouth 400 saw the end of Neil Bonnett's full-time career in the Winston Cup Series (he did make two part-time starts after this race) after he was involved in a crash. What happened, and what injuries did he suffer?
In the crash, Bonnett suffered a head injury that resulted in a bout of amnesia. Once healthy, Bonnett started a TV career with TNN, TBS and CBS, while also hosting Winners, a show that aired at 5:30 PM Saturdays on TNN. Despite being very successful, he wanted to return to driving. The car Kurt Busch drove in Saturday's Aaron's 312 commemorates what was supposed to be the first step towards returning to full-time action, a part-time deal with Phoenix Racing in a relatively gaudy-looking car with Country Time sponsorship. Unfortunately, Bonnett never got to enjoy that ride, killed during testing for the 1994 Daytona 500.
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 Phil Allaway
-- What's Vexing Vito by Vito Pugliese
-- Critic's Annex by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, the Line of the Week and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different subjects. Things are sure to get entertaining as they debate the latest and greatest in NASCAR!
Frontstretch Fan Q&A by Summer Bedgood
Summer takes on your NASCAR questions and answers them to the best of her ability. Be sure to send your questions in if there's something that's been nagging at you and you might see your name in print.
Tech Talk by Mike Neff
Mike has a Sprint Cup Series crew chief stop by to talk about the technical side of NASCAR. This week, Slugger Labbe stops by with a few thoughts on his way to Darlington Raceway.
Fantasy Racing by Jeff Wolfe
Jeff brings fantasy racing back to Frontstretch this season. This week, he takes a look at your best bets for picking your roster out for Darlington.
Truckin' Thursdays by Beth Lunkenheimer
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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