Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: June 11th, 2013

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!

June 11th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CII
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What to Watch For: Tuesday
- Tuesday is traditionally penalty day in NASCAR.  This week, Brad Keselowski Racing's No. 29 for driver Ryan Blaney is likely to be hit with a points deduction, as well as a fine after measuring too low in post-race technical inspection.  Six points may be deducted from Blaney's total later today.
 
- Tuesday is also a national media day for NASCAR.  This week, Ryan Newman talks to reporters over the telephone about his season for Stewart-Haas Racing. To date, Newman is 19th in points with two top-5 finishes and seven top 10s.
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Top News
by Tom Bowles

New Sponsor For Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?

The No. 88 car, according to the Charlotte Observer should have a new primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. locked up later this summer. Owner Rick Hendrick, who has been searching for a partial replacement since PepsiCo/AMP Energy scaled back their involvement this season said he expects the deal to be for multiple years (Earnhardt is signed with the organization through 2017).

"We don't want to get into [sponsor partnerships] where you see somebody one time and you don't see them anymore," he said, explaining why it's taken so long to get a deal done. "I am very confident that in the next couple of weeks we should not only this year [covered] but we should have a lot done for next year, too."

This season, Earnhardt has about 20 races of sponsorship from the National Guard along with five from a scaled-back AMP Energy agreement. The funding from those will run out midsummer, causing HendrickCars.com (owner Rick's business) to become the primary supporter if there's no additional backer that steps up. It's a surprising development for NASCAR's reigning Most Popular Driver to be in this position; along with the name value, Earnhardt has had a respectable season, sitting fourth in points and is on track for his third consecutive Chase appearance.
Danica Patrick Leads Celebrities In Social Media Branding

Danica Patrick may be struggling on-track in 2013, but off it GoDaddy continues to get the most bang for their buck. A social marketing analysis, conducted by synthesio.com concluded the race driver produces the highest percentage of her sponsor's "social media buzz" compared to any other celebrity/company relationship. Patrick, whose GoDaddy mentions produce about 13% of the company's presence on social media was almost four times higher than the next "duo" on the list, Rihanna/Cover Girl.

There's no mention in the survey about how much business is created by that type of additional branding presence. Patrick, who now has over 916,000 followers on Twitter is running for Rookie of the Year in Sprint Cup but has been struggling. She's without a top-10 finish since winning the pole and coming home eighth in this year's Daytona 500.

News 'N' Notes

- Cole Whitt has earned himself a sponsor for this weekend at Michigan ... and beyond. The young driver, who took over the No. 44 car a few weeks ago for TriStar Motorsports in the Nationwide Series has partnered with Takagi for a five-race deal that also includes Indy, Atlanta, Texas, and the Homestead season finale. The company, which produces tankless water heaters has never been a primary sponsor in NASCAR before, now providing much-needed funding to an organization in need of cash since the sponsored Hal Martin left the team after May's 300-mile race at Charlotte. Since taking over the ride, Whitt has been solid, giving the organization season-best 16th-place finishes for two consecutive weeks.

- Joey Logano will be spending his Tuesday giving back to local fans in North Carolina. From 11 AM to 1 PM, he'll be pumping gas for customers in Mooresville as part of a special Shell WINSDays promotion. Logano will also take pictures and autographs with fans while helping promote the one-time, special 22 cents a gallon rate for the gas company.

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
The Perfect Storm: Racing In Cup And Nationwide On The Same Day
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

They called it a frog swallower.  The rain in Iowa Saturday was not only persistent, but the sort you simply try to hide from.  The Nationwide Series packed up shop and declared they would try again on Sunday.
 
You mean, Sprint Cup Sunday?
 
Yep.  At 11 AM, I was able to tune into the rumble of race engines without enduring the hours of SPEED's usual RaceDay hogwash.  It was truly a pleasant way to start my Sunday, enjoying eggs and ham and Nationwide.

And then, it got better.
 
At 1PM, TNT came on air with their inaugural race of the 2013 Summer Series.  No Boogity, Boogity or talk of "'sperience."  I switched over from the now stalled Nationwide race (the rain was again rather spectacular) and settled in for the usual parade around the roval. 
 
When Walmart's ads got out of control, I hit the remote again and was able to check up on Austin Dillon and Travis Pastrana.  Once Jacques DeBris made his usual appearance, I returned to Pocono, where Jimmie Johnson was leaving the current zip code.  I started to nod -- seriously, what did you expect?  But all was not lost.  High octane excitement still continued over on ESPN.
 
And so it went.  Back and forth, the channel surfing managed to maintain my interest in both races without the irritation of Wally, Walmart or Johnson really taking hold.  Not only did having multiple NASCAR options provide a better racing experience overall, it also offered the added benefit of seeing the Nationwide drivers -- and only the Nationwide drivers -- run against each other in an honest battle of one-upmanship versus the usual weekly version of Kyle and Joey Domination.
 
This experience is how Sunday should be.  Two different series competing for the same audience.  Different teams. Different announcers.  Variety...  how many races would it take before the networks would have to step up their game and start catering to the viewing audience, instead of the too powerful sponsors?  They'd be obliged to work on their wide-shot angles, rather than zooming in on Dale Jr.'s tires while providing smarter, not sillier commentary.  We, the NASCAR fan, would get a better product overall.
 
When we're happier, we stay tuned to the television, a natural connection which would translate into supporting NASCAR sponsors.  It might even improve attendance at the track, helping the sport revive its lagging enthusiasm.
 
Variety is the spice of life, and ever since the Cup boys have wholly taken over the Nationwide Series, neither broadcast has been worthy of a lengthy time investment.  It's most likely because the execs made the decision that money makes the cars go round, not a race fan's DV-R.  Whether we watched ESPN, FOX, or TNT somehow it all translated into the same beige sports drivel.
 
That's why Saturday's deluge created the Perfect Storm for NASCAR on Sunday: two networks, two series, one happy fan.  Perhaps the flaws we complain of were all present, and some new ones (like that massive half-screen Walmart ad -- sheesh!) but by having the option of finding my speed, on a different channel, I was able to see more of what I love.
 
Competition: It's what makes America and NASCAR great.  It's time that the networks realized that and made some serious changes, because Mother Nature won't be able to bail them out every week.
 
Kyle Larson Stat
 
Series: Nationwide Series
Track: Iowa
Car: No. 32 Vizio/Hulu Plus Chevrolet
Qualified: 10th
Finished: 5th (lead lap)
Points Standings: 10th

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 her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
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Numbers Game: Party In The Poconos 400 presented by Walmart 
by Tom Bowles

0
Laps led by Toyota at Pocono the first week they chose to "dial it back" in the engine department. (Obviously, it's a season low).

1
Lap led by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the last dozen races. He failed to get out front Sunday despite a respectable third-place result.

2
Top-5 finishes by Roush Fenway Racing in the last seven races. Greg Biffle was runner-up at Pocono, his best result of the season while Carl Edwards was third at Talladega in May. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. by comparison has yet to score a top-10 finish on the Cup level.

3
Years since Denny Hamlin won a race at Pocono. The veteran, who has visited Victory Lane four times there has run no better than fifth place since the track was repaved after the 2011 season.

8
Top-10 finishes for Kurt Busch with Furniture Row Racing after his seventh-place performance at Pocono. That was done in just 20 starts. By comparison, Regan Smith had eight top 10s with the team -- their only such finishes -- in 120 starts.

8.1
Average finish for Jimmie Johnson this season after his Pocono victory. No one else is in single digits. (Carl Edwards, second in points has an average  of 11.1).

9
The number of years since Jimmie Johnson last won at Pocono. He swept both races in 2004; in between, he had finished no better than third (2008) but led a total of 287 laps.

12
Top-15 finishes by Kevin Harvick this season; he's batting 1.000 at that department at tracks without a restrictor plate. The only runs outside that range for Harvick this year were 42nd (Daytona) and 40th (Talladega).

16
Points lost by Paul Menard in the last ten laps. A tire failure relegated him to 30th, and those points may relegate him to outside the Chase looking in come Richmond in September.

19
Laps led by Ryan Newman Sunday, the most for him in one race since Martinsville in the Fall of 2011.

20
The finishing position for Travis Kvapil at Pocono, his best of the season for struggling BK Racing.

57.7
Percentage of laps this season led by drivers Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Jimmie Johnson after Johnson paced the field for 128 circuits at Pocono. Combined, they've won eight of 14 races.

63
Career laps led for Kyle Busch at Pocono, the fewest for him at any Sprint Cup track other than Indianapolis (zero of those came on Sunday). Busch, whose average finish at the triangular-shaped track is 18.4 had to feel like his sixth-place performance felt like a win.

103
Laps led by Brad Keselowski before his first NASCAR penalty of the season at Texas (the first seven races), ultimately resulting in a two-race suspension for head wrench Paul Wolfe and several other key members of his crew.

10
Laps led by Brad Keselowski in the seven races since Texas. He also has just one top-5 finish, along with one DNF.

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: Busch Lets On-Track Performance Do Talking In 2013
by Brett Poirier

Who's Hot / Who's Not In Sprint Cup: Pocono-Michigan Edition
by Brad Morgan


Going By The Numbers: 2013 A No-Go For First-Time Winners
by Kevin Rutherford

Five Points to Ponder: JJ, SHR, KuBu, Canada, And Thursday Nights
by P. Huston Ladner

Couch Potato Tuesday: TNT Drops Ball On Debut
by Phil Allaway


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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: 
The 1989 Miller High Life 400 saw ARCA veteran Bill Venturini make his Winston Cup debut.  Unfortunately, it was a very painful one for the Midwestern racer.  What happened?

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

Monday's Answer:


Q:  The 1982 Gabriel 400 was supposed to be aired live, flag-to-flag on CBS. However, less than one-quarter of the race was ultimately televised at all. Why?

A:  Early in the race, a severe thunderstorm descended upon the Irish Hills of Michigan, necessitating a long red flag.  CBS stated after a certain amount of time that if the race was postponed to Monday, there would be no more coverage.  Otherwise, a brief recap would be shown after the late news.  As it stands, the race was red for over five hours before restarting.  The race eventually did finish at 9:30pm in near darkness.

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!

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:


Did You Notice? by Tom Bowles
Did You Notice... the difficulty of getting rookies into top-tier competition? Tom takes a look at some first-year struggles in 2013 while looking ahead to Michigan in his list of small but important observations about the sport.

Side By Side: The Gen-6 Car by TBA
This week, the race car itself is the topic of discussion.  After 14 races in 2013, is the Gen-6 Sprint Cup car better or worse than the COT?  We'll have both sides of the issue available for your pleasure.

Frontstretch Top 10 by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite writers are back with their Wednesday dose of NASCAR humor that leaves you laughing. Don't miss out!

Open-Wheel Wednesday by Matt Stallknecht
Matt takes a look at the Izod IndyCar Series ahead of this week's visit to The Milwaukee Mile for the Milwaukee IndyFest.

NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After Pocono compiled by Michael Mehedin
Jimmie Johnson opened up a can of you-know-what on the field in Pocono.  However, Did he maintain number one on our power rankings list? Experts you love from across the web, not just Frontstretch rank the drivers heading into Michigan as our weekly top 15 poll comes up for a vote once again.

Happiness Is... by P. Huston Ladner
Don't let your life sink into the pits. Huston looks at the bright side of racing stories we've seen in the past seven days.
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