THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 13th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CIV
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 13th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CIV
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Thursday
- The race weekend in Michigan officially gets underway today as the ARCA Racing Series gets on track for their one and only practice session. ARCA cars will be on track from 1:05-3:30pm. The session will not be televised.
- In Milwaukee, the Firestone Indy Lights teams will have two open test sessions from 11:00am-1:00pm EDT and 3:00-5:00pm EDT.
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Jason Leffler Dies in Sprint Car Crash
The New Jersey State Police has announced that Jason Leffler, 37, has died as a result of injuries suffered in a Sprint Car crash at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, New Jersey. Leffler was in New Jersey for a "Night of Wings" with 410 Sprint Cars headlining the program.
According to reports, Leffler crashed his sprint car during a heat race. The car overturned multiple times and landed right-side up with the wing crushed substantially. Leffler was extracted from the car, placed on a backboard and airlifted to The Trauma Center at Cooper University Hospital in nearby Camden before being declared dead shortly after 9:00pm.
Leffler made 73 career starts in the Sprint Cup Series. He earned one top-10 finish, a tenth, at Homestead in 2001. The last of those 73 starts came on Sunday for Humphrey-Smith Racing at Pocono. However, he was far more successful in the Nationwide Series. There, he made 294 career starts and earned two career victories in standalone races (Nashville, June 2004 and Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, 2007), while also earning 42 top-5 and 107 top-10 finishes. His best points finish was a third in 2007.
NASCAR released a statement following the announcement of Leffler's death.
"NASCAR extends its thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to the family of Jason Leffler who passed away earlier this evening," the statement read. "For more than a decade, Jason was a fierce competitor in our sport and he will be missed."
Leffler was unmarried, but he leaves behind a son named Charlie. We at Frontstretch extend our deepest condolences to the Leffler family.
TRD Engines to have More Power for Michigan
MRN's Dustin Long is reporting that Toyota Racing Development (TRD) have decided to give the teams running their engines some more power for this weekend's Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The boost in power comes in reaction to TRD failing to get one of their cars into the top-5 at Pocono on Sunday.
David Wilson, Acting President and General Manager of TRD, acknowledges that the de-tuning of the engines might have been a little too good.
"We may have been a bit too conservative at Pocono," Wilson said. "We still need to look at some parts and pieces before we pull the trigger, but we certainly don't anticipate stepping back any further. Our target is to start clawing back one weekend at a time."
In a reaction to a number of engine failures in recent weeks, TRD made the decision to pull back on power for Pocono in an attempt to allow the engines to reach the finish of the race. While all the TRD engines did finish the race, none of them were in the hunt towards the end of the race. Kyle Busch in sixth was the highest finishing Toyota.
Paulie Harraka to Attempt Sonoma for Go Green Racing
FOX Sports' Lee Spencer is reporting that Paulie Harraka will attempt to make his Sprint Cup Series debut at Sonoma Raceway in a joint venture entry fielded by BK Motorsports and Go Green Racing. The entry will use BK Motorsports' No. 52. Sponsorship will be provided by HASA Pool Products, while Ben Leslie will serve as crew chief.
Harraka believes that making his Sprint Cup debut with Go Green Racing and owner Archie St. Hilaire will be beneficial to him.
"Archie St. Hilaire and I have worked together in three Nationwide races already, and it's there that we built the platform to run this Cup race," Harraka said. "I feel like it's a great opportunity for both of us - me and the team - to make the step into the Sprint Cup Series and start learning what that's like together. We've built a lot of respect for each other. I'm really grateful for the effort the guys are putting in and the opportunity they're giving me to race."
Officially, Harraka has only driven in one race for Go Green Racing, that being in Fontana back in March. The other two races were with Randy HilL Racing last season, a team that hSt. Hilaire says that he would be pleased if Harraka can bring the No. 52 Ford home somewhere between 25th and 28th in the race. If all goes well in Sonoma, a likely schedule of additional races would include New Hampshire in July and Watkins Glen in August.
Despite Harraka's lack of experience in Sprint Cup, he does have three previous starts at Sonoma in the 200 kilometer K&N Pro Series West race that serves as the primary support event. His best finish was a second in 2010.
Brad Keselowski Racing Penalized for Height Violation
On Wednesday, NASCAR announced penalties against Brad Keselowski Racing's No. 29 team after the truck measured too low in post-race inspection at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night.
Ryan Blaney has been penalized six driver points, while owner Brad Keselowski has been penalized six owner points. Crew chief Doug Randolph has been fined $5,000. No probation was issued.
In NASCAR's press release, they indicated that the truck violated multiple sections of the 2013 Camping World Truck Series Rule Book. Those sections were 12-1 (Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing), 12-4J (Any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in an event does not conform to NASCAR rules) and 20B-12.8.1A (Roof failed to meet the minimum height requirement).
Brad Keselowski Racing put out a very brief statement on their Twitter page in response. It stated that they accept the penalty and will not appeal.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans 400: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 33- Austin Dillon for Circle Sport, Inc./Richard Childress Racing
No. 35- Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports
No. 44- Scott Riggs for Xxxtreme Motorsports
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports/JRR
Driver Changes:
No. 19- Mike Bliss returns to the seat, replacing Jason Leffler.
No. 32- Ken Schrader returns to the seat, replacing Timmy Hill.
No. 33- Austin Dillon returns to the seat, replacing Landon Cassill.
No. 47- AJ Allmendinger is in the seat, replacing Bobby Labonte.
No. 51- Bobby Labonte is in the seat, replacing AJ Allmendinger.
Driver who has to qualify on speed (top-36):
No. 44- Scott Riggs for Xxxtreme Motorsports
Drivers who are at risk of failing to qualify:
No. 19- Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing (44th in owners points, 13 attempts)
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing (41st in owners points, five attempts)
No. 32- Ken Schrader for FAS Lane Racing (38th in owners points, 14 attempts)
No. 33- Austin Dillon for Circle Sport, Inc./Richard Childress Racing (37th in owners points, 14 attempts)
No. 87- Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports/JRR (40th in owners points, 14 attempts)
No. 93- Travis Kvapil for BK Racing (39th in owners points, 14 attempts)
No. 98- Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing (42nd in owners points, 13 attempts)
Nationwide Series Alliance Truck Parts 250: 38 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 22- Joey Logano for Penske Racing
No. 33- Paul Menard for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42- JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports/Joe Gibbs Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 00- Jason White returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 22- Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Blaney. Logano was scheduled to race in Iowa, but could not due to the rain out.
No. 23- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Harrison Rhodes.
No. 24- Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing Ken Butler, III.
No. 33- Paul Menard returns to the seat, replacing Max Papis.
No. 42- JJ Yeley returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 52- Joey Gase returns to the seat, replacing Tim Schendel.
No. 54- Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing Drew Herring.
No. 79- Jeffrey Earnhardt returns to the seat, replacing Joey Gase.
No. 87- Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Lepage. Nemechek was scheduled to race in Iowa, but could not due to the rain out.
Since there are only 38 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these teams must still qualify on speed:
No. 00- Jason White for SR2 Motorsports
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)
No. 15- Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 16- Chris Buescher for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 42- JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 52- Joey Gase for Jimmy Means Motorsports
No. 74- Juan Carlos Blum for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 92- Dexter Stacey for KH Motorsports
*- Expected to Start-And-Park
Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 34?- James Buescher for Turner Scott Motorsports
Not Entered:
No. 29- Kenny Wallace for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 46- Jason Bowles for The Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
No. 98- Kevin Swindell for Biagi-DenBeste Racing
Izod IndyCar Series Milwaukee IndyFest: 24 cars entered
Driver Changes:
No. 4- Ryan Briscoe returns to the seat, replacing Oriol Servia.
No. 18- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Pippa Mann.
Entries:
No. 1- Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 3- Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 4- Ryan Briscoe for Panther Racing
No. 5- E.J. Viso for Andretti Autosport
No. 6- Sebastian Saavedra for Dragon Racing
No. 7- Sebastien Bourdais for Dragon Racing
No. 9- Scott Dixon for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10- Dario Franchitti for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 11- Tony Kanaan for KV Racing Technologies
No. 12- Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14- Takuma Sato for A.J. Foyt Enterprises
No. 15- Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 16- James Jakes for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 18- Unknown driver for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19- Justin Wilson for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 20- Ed Carpenter for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 25- Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27- James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport
No. 55- Tristan Vautier for Schmidt Peterson Racing
No. 67- Josef Newgarden for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 77- Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt Hamilton Racing
No. 78- Simona de Silvestro for KV Racing Technologies
No. 83- Charlie Kimball for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 98- Alex Tagliani for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Patriot Pumps 200: 30 cars entered
Driver Changes:
No. 0- Wayne Peterson is in the seat, replacing Don Thompson.
No. 3- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Steve Fox.
No. 7- Kent Schenkel returns to the seat, replacing Brent Cross.
No. 10- Rick Clifton returns to the seat, replacing Ed Pompa.
No. 15- Brennan Poole is in the seat, replacing Erik Jones.
No. 17- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Dave Savicki.
No. 22- Ryan Blaney is in the seat, replacing Will Kimmel.
No. 40- Korbin Forrester is in the seat, replacing Dominick Casola.
No. 55- Chad Boat is in the seat, replacing A.J. Henriksen.
No. 68- Mark Gibson is in the seat, replacing John Ferrier.
No. 69- Will Kimmel returns to the seat, replacing Chris Bailey, Jr.
Notable Entries:
No. 15- Brennan Poole for Venturini Motorsports
No. 22- Ryan Blaney for Cunningham Motorsports
No. 23- Spencer Gallagher for Gallagher Motorsports
No. 25- Justin Boston for Venturini Motorsports
No. 32- Mason Mingus for Win-Tron Racing
No. 44- Frank Kimmel for ThorSport Racing
No. 55- Chad Boat for Venturini Motorsports
No. 69- Will Kimmel for Kimmel Racing
No. 77- Tom Hessert for Cunningham Motorsports
No. 90- Grant Enfinger for Team BCR
No. 99- Mason Mitchell for Roulo Brothers Racing
Not Entered:
No. 07- Brian Kaltreider for Kaltreider Racing
No. 5- Bobby Gerhart for Bobby Gerhart Racing
No. 9- Chase Elliott for Hendrick Motorsports
No. 13- George Cushman for Cushman Racing
No. 20- Tom Berte for Berte Motorsports
No. 43- Kyle Martel for Martel Motorsports
No. 74- Garrett Smithey for Derrike Cope Racing
No. 82- Sean Corr for Empire Racing
No. 86- Nick Igdalsky
Rolex Sports Car Series Diamond Cellar Classic: 27 cars entered (13 DP, 11 GT, 3 GX)
Daytona Prototype Entries:
No. 01- Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
No. 2- Ryan Dalziel/Alex Popow for Starworks Motorsport
No. 3- Enzo Potolicchio/Michael Valiante for 8 Star Motorsports
No. 5- Joao Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi for Action Express Racing
No. 6- Antonio Pizzonia/Gustavo Yacaman for Michael Shank Racing
No. 8- Brendon Hartley/Scott Mayer for Starworks Motorsport
No. 9- Brian and Burt Frisselle for Action Express Racing
No. 10- Max Angelelli/Jordan Taylor for Wayne Taylor Racing
No. 42- Dane Cameron/Wayne Nonnamaker for Team Sahlen
No. 43- Joe and Will Nonnamaker/Joe Sahlen for Team Sahlen
No. 60- Ozz Negri/John Pew for Michael Shank Racing
No. 90- Ricky Taylor/Richard Westbrook for Spirit of Daytona Racing
No. 99- Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney for GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing
Grand Touring Entries:
No. 18- Unknown drivers for Muehlner Motorsports America
No. 31- Eric Curran/Boris Said for Marsh Racing
No. 44- Andy Lally/John Potter for Magnus Racing
No. 57- John Edwards/Robin Liddell for Stevenson Motorsports
No. 61- Max Papis/Jeff Segal for R. Ferri/AIM Autosport
No. 62- Andrew Davis/Madison Snow for Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports
No. 63- Alessandro Balzan/Jeff Westphal for Scuderia Corsa
No. 69- Emil Assentato/Anthony Lazzaro for AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari
No. 73- Patrick Lindsey/Patrick Long for Park Place Motorsports
No. 93- Billy Johnson/Michael Marsal for Turner Motorsport
No. 94- Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana for Turner Motorsport
Grand Touring Experimental Entries:
No. 00- Joel Miller/Tristan Nunez for Yellow Dragon Racing/SpeedSource
No. 38- Dr. Jim Norman/Spencer Pumpelly for BGB Motorsports
No. 70- Tom Long/Sylvain Tremblay for SpeedSource
Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us atphil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Restart Redux, TRD IEDs, and Effed-Up Fords
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Restart Redux, TRD IEDs, and Effed-Up Fords
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
While the action at Pocono may have left some wanting last weekend, there is literally nothing more entertaining right now than the unbridled shit show, that is the saga of Mike Harmon and Jennifer Jo Cobb. Google it, follow them on Twitter (@hrmn8ter, @JenJoCobb), and let the mind race with possibilities for a crappy NASCAR movie. Stolen trailers, confiscated cars….I can picture the first scene now. A hauler pulls up, while random clouds of smoke and/or fog waft by in the wee morning hours. The driver's door opens slowly, and a pair of boots make their way down the steps. As they reach the ground, the sound of a Zippo are heard lighting up a cigarette…or some other smoke-able substance. As the camera climbs upwards, the driver of the truck is revealed to be none other than … Jeremy Mayfield.
And yes, FYI, I am about halfway through writing the screenplay.
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After getting their headlight stickers sucked off on the straights at Pocono last weekend, TRD announced Wednesday that there will be additional gerbils in the wheel between the fenders this weekend at MIS.
"We may have been a bit too conservative at Pocono," as told to MRN by David Wilson, TRD's acting president and general manager. "We still need to look at some parts and pieces before we pull the trigger, but we certainly don't anticipate stepping back any further. Our target is to start clawing back one weekend at a time."
Toyota's current strategy of living like Rambo – day by day – at MIS is no surprise. After all, Toyota is behind enemy lines in the Big Two's backyard, and swept both events in 2011. In 2012, a Chevrolet and a Ford each one an event in Brooklyn, MI, with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Greg Biffle posting convincing victories.
Michigan is not as steeply banked as one would think, however with its resurfacing last year and sweeping front stretch, it is a big HP track, and with speeds approaching 215 mph this weekend, RPMs will be at a premium Sunday. However, unlike Pocono, there is no shifting, which should reduce some stress on the vulnerable valve train parts which have proven to be the undoing of many a JGR and MWR run this season.
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A pair of heroin dealers were arrested leaving the aptly named Party in the Poconos 400 last Sunday. After making a turn into an oncoming lane, police stopped the vehicle and performed a search when drug paraphernalia was spotted in the back. The last time H and NASCAR were mentioned in the same sentence, former Truck Series driver Aaron Fike was caught in the parking lot of Kings Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati, OH, cooking up a concoction in their car. Fike later admitted to using the worst of the worst of illicit drugs on race days, and was under the influence in competition. Kind of puts AJ Allmendinger's past peccadilloes in perspective.
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While putting together a weekly slideshow for another site I contribute to, AthlonSports.com, I was looking back at old races at my home state track of Michigan International Speedway and was reminded of how things have changed at the speedway over the years. Michigan was the first race I ever attended; 8mm film exists of me hot lapping my Super Cobra Jet Big Wheel around the infield in Turn 1, while Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, and Richard Petty streaked by.
In the mid 1990's, I remember going to races and sitting idle in the parking lot for two hours after the race before traffic even began moving. In 1998, a buddy and my cousin headed down sans tickets, expecting to just scalp a couple on the way in.
There were literally none to be found. I remember my friend Ryan, after walking a mile down and back, declaring, "I just walked down that whole row….nothin'."
The last resort was just buying a general admission infield pass, and walking back and forth…back and forth...around the track and between the turns, waiting for the halfway point so we could cross the pedestrian bridge and catch glimpses of the action as we walked along the fence and down the frontstretch.
This continued on for a couple of more years, until things reached a crescendo of grossness when in 2005, on one particularly sickly humid 90 degree day, two of us were sandwiched in with 130,000 of our closest friends; me essentially sharing a seat with the 350lbs gentleman next to me with no shirt on, and excessive amounts of body hair. Needless to say, I quickly consumed a case of The King of Beers to erase all memory of the even, less my psyche be forever scarred.
Then a not so funny thing happened – the economy took a turn for the worse, the Big Three about bailed on motorsports competition, and NASCAR took a dive in attendance, popularity, and relevance. Blame the lack of disposable income, questionable coverage, over-saturation of anything related to stock car racing, or cars that looked comparatively cartoonish and bore absolutely zero resemblance to anything that might wear a nameplate other than Matchbox. Wide open expanses of empty grandstands gave the look of a Marlins baseball game, and an event that had grown to the point of dwarfing the crowds at The Big House in Ann Arbor, began trailing off when announcing "official" attendance figures.
During this time, Roger Curtis and his team at Michigan International Speedway did not throw in the towel. Quite the contrary, they upped the ante, went all in, and revamped the track, traffic patterns, and working with local and state law enforcement, helped develop traffic patterns that got people home before dark, as well as parked and in their seats before the field was rolling off for the pace laps.
Further enhancements included fan areas, improved access to vendors and manufacturer midways, as well as reducing ticket prices to help those within a state who had suffered perhaps more than anyone else in the nation during this downturn, providing an experience that would not bankrupt a family of four. They also made the decision to remove some of the grandstands that were in Turns 3 and 4, shipping them to Watkins Glen International. The seating area in the grandstand was also expanded, so you wouldn't have to share a chair with that one big fat hairy guy who had a No. 3 shaved into his back at Bristol years ago.
Michigan sometimes gets a rap for getting strung out, not being competitive, and perhaps a bit boring. Sure, during the middle stages, that can happen – as it does at virtually every other track on the circuit. Most of this is due to the nature of the cars today, and the incredible speeds that we are seeing. Last year in practice speeds were approaching 220 mph into Turn 1; that's late 80's Talladega type numbers, at a track with 15 degrees less banking, and 2/3 of a mile shorter in length. That sort of speed doesn't always make for the best racing, however the finishes of the past few years have lined up to be quite memorable.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won his last two races here, one a fuel mileage nail bitter in 2008, as well as his "redemption" win in 2012. In 2009, we saw Mark Martin outlast teammate Jimmie Johnson and former Roush teammate Greg Biffle with an extra thimble-full of fuel on the final lap. Biffle narrowly held off home state hero Brad Keselowski last year by less than half a second, while Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson went into OT in 2011.
While this may sound like a PR plug, it isn't. It's simply a sincere thank you to track president Roger Curtis and his team at Michigan International Speedway. I've long said the oldest tracks provide the best racing and experience on the circuit, and MIS is no exception.
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While the focus of these Vexing columns is to offer a light-hearted and satirical rant on racing, it's times like this that making any sort of jokes about this sport feels completely inappropriate. Jason Leffler, three time USAC Midget Champion, and veteran of Sprint Cup, Nationwide, and Truck Series competition, died from injuries sustained during a heat race in a 410 Sprint Car at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, NJ on Wednesday night. He had just competed a few days before at Pocono, in the No. 19 Mark Smith owned entry.
I remember covering my first race at Michigan back in 2008, and one of the first photos I took that day was one of Jason Leffler and Tony Stewart together. The year before I watched him grab Toyota's first win in the Nationwide Series at IRP, the night before the Brickyard 400. As we were walking out, they had a few of the tires off of his car offered as souvenirs for whoever would take one. I wanted to grab one, but my buddy who drove his Dad's new Grand Cherokee wasn't having it, and didn't want to dirty up the inside of the Jeep with a used Goodyear Eagle.
It's times like this I wish I would have grabbed it anyway, to have something to help honor and remember him with. A genuinely good guy, with that typical laid-back SoCal demeanor -- Jason "LEFturn" Leffler will be missed by his family, friends, fans, teammates, and competitors -- as well as those who cover these events as well.
Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer/Assistant Editor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @VitoPugliese.
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The Critic's Annex: IndyCar Tripleheader
by Phil Allaway
Hello, race fans. Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming available to fans. Due to my critique from Dover going way over it's acceptable length, I was unable to bring you my critique of ABC's coverage of the doubleheader from Belle Isle Park. Since ABC televised both races from Detroit and Saturday night's action from Texas Motor Speedway, I figured why not combine them into one critique. Here you go.
Chevrolet Duals in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans
Due to the doubleheader format that debuted at Belle Isle, I'm going to set this critique up a little bit different. I will talk about pre-race coverage for both events, then race coverage for both, then post-race for both. I plan on keeping that format for the other doubleheaders later on this season.
For both races, pre-race coverage was fairly limited. ESPN talked to three drivers prior to the opening ceremonies on Saturday, and five more prior to Sunday's race. Also on Sunday, there was a short feature that aired. Unfortunately, this coincided with severe weather in the Albany, NY area that I previously talked about here. As a result, that feature was excised from the broadcast in favor of weather coverage. Understandable, but it still bites.
Both race telecasts also included a description of the "new" 2.35 mile track configuration at Belle Isle Park. New is in quotation marks because it really isn't new. It is the same configuration that CART created back in the late 1990's, for the same exact reasons that IndyCar trotted it out. The old configuration, created for 1992 when the race moved from Downtown Detroit, just wasn't all that competitive.
During Race No. 1, I thought that ESPN actually did quite a good job at showing battles throughout the field, something that they have struggled with in the past. Marty Reid, along with Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear definitely seemed to be into the action that was on offer. I don't really know if anyone expected what we ultimately got from IndyCar at Belle Isle. I'll just consider it a pleasant surprise at this point.
Dual No. 2 didn't quite have the same amount of battling for position, but ESPN can be excused for not showing as much racing for position. There was a lot more crashing in the second dual. By the time the wrecking stopped, a number of drivers had been eliminated from the race.
There were also quite a few interviews with drivers who had gotten themselves into difficulties. That was a serious gripe that I had from the Indianapolis 500 telecast.
Having said that, I do have some thoughts. I feel that some of ESPN's pit reporters didn't necessarily have all their facts straight. For example, Rick DeBruhl stated that James Jakes had completed every lap so far in the season. When I heard that, I thought, "Wait a minute, that's not right." I remembered Jakes finishing multiple laps down at Barber Park. Another issue I had was that ESPN neglected to tell viewers about Dario Franchitti's grid penalty until well after the race started. That is the kind of information that race fans want to know from the broadcasters.
Finally, ESPN kept up the wholly educational feel that the Indianapolis 500 telecast had. I know that ESPN was figuring that they'd get some viewers that don't necessarily watch the Izod IndyCar Series that often, but these were normal races, not the Indianapolis 500. Believe me, it was annoying enough at Indianapolis, but to hear Day One-type stuff again at Belle Isle was borderline insulting. I would be hard-pressed to believe that people are really that dense that they would forget everything that they might have heard six days earlier.
Post-race coverage was dependent on which dual you were watching. Dual No. 1 had four driver interviews, plus checks of the unofficial results and point standings. Dual No. 2 had interviews with the top two finishers (Simon Pagenaud and Jakes), along with the winning car owner (Sam Schmidt). There were checks of the unofficial results and points as well.
Aside from the irritating teaching of basic terminology from the broadcast booth, ESPN did a decent job of covering the Duals. There was a lot of action on-track and ESPN did a great job in showing it to us.
Firestone 550k
Last weekend brought the very first broadcast of an Izod IndyCar Series night race on network television. Texas Motor Speedway, long considered to be the series' second biggest draw after Indianapolis, was the host for 342 miles of action. How did ABC do? Let's take a look.
Pre-race coverage was relatively brief. There were three pre-race interviews with who ESPN figured could be favorites on the night (Graham Rahal, who nearly won last year, Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti). In addition, there was a SportScience feature on Texas Motor Speedway itself and how it affects the drivers and the cars. Honestly, watching that piece made me think about the one time that CART attempted to race at Texas in 2001. Let's just say that it didn't work out.
The piece mentioned the possibility of drivers suffering from "Gray Out" in the cockpit. Honestly, I haven't heard that term referenced in regards to open-wheel racing since the aforementioned incident in 2001. No reference to the CART race was made in the piece. Compared to other SportScience pieces, I found this one to be a little light on information. Very ho hum.
As you may already know, the race ended with a 107-lap run to the finish under green (nearly two complete fuel runs). The field stretched out substantially in that time. However, there were still some relatively close battles for position. ESPN chose not to show them. Instead, they became enamored with the technical strategies and lap times. I was not really a fan of this coverage strategy. It meant that for large chunks of the race, all we saw on-screen were single cars that weren't really competing against anyone else.
Since the race ended relatively quick, ESPN had a good amount of time for post-race coverage. They obliged by providing viewers with five post-race interviews, checks of the unofficial results and point standings, and a little post-race analysis before going to the late local news.
There was also an update on Scott Dixon's crew. Three members of Dixon's crew suffered burns after grease from Dixon's gearbox exploded (for lack of better words). The explosion occurred at roughly the one-third mark of the race, yet we didn't get any updates for hours. The explosion was shown live via side-by-side, but not really elaborated on except to say "yeah, that happened while we were side-by-side." As far as I'm concerned, that's serious stuff right there. It was scary to look at the first time and it seemed like ESPN wrote it off like it was nothing. The fire that followed said explosion was glossed over completely. I didn't even know that it happened until Jamie Little gave her update.
Saturday night was viewed as a potential coup for the Izod IndyCar Series. Network television in prime time without much in the way of competition. And, they failed to capitalize. ESPN brought viewers a relatively boring telecast that made an event that maybe wasn't the most exciting that much worse to watch. Whatever happened to trying to find battles for your audience. It's like ESPN got to halfway on Saturday night and stopped.
I hope you enjoyed this look at ABC's Izod IndyCar Series telecasts from Detroit and Justin, Texas. Next week, we'll be back with another look at a race telecast, either the Izod IndyCar Series from Milwaukee, or the ARCA Racing Series from Michigan. Either way, enjoy this weekend's action from Michigan, Milwaukee and Mid-Ohio.
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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Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Happiness Is... Closing In On The Midpoint
"If it were possible to bottle Helio power much of the world's energy concerns could be solved. At one point his enthusiasm seemed like a shtick but at it's clear that this is how the guy is – almost all the time. Can you imagine going to do simple things with him, like going to a restaurant – he might just jump up on the table and shout out his order!" - Huston Ladner, on Helio Castroneves' personality and celebration of his victory in Saturday night's Firestone 550k
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Happiness Is... Closing In On The Midpoint
"If it were possible to bottle Helio power much of the world's energy concerns could be solved. At one point his enthusiasm seemed like a shtick but at it's clear that this is how the guy is – almost all the time. Can you imagine going to do simple things with him, like going to a restaurant – he might just jump up on the table and shout out his order!" - Huston Ladner, on Helio Castroneves' personality and celebration of his victory in Saturday night's Firestone 550k
~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
by Jeff Wolfe
NASCAR Mailbox: Horsepower, Haters ... and Heartbreak
by Summer Bedgood
Truckin' Thursdays: Miguel Paludo Manages Competitiveness, Diabetes Misconceptions
by Beth Lunkenheimer
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1994 Miller Genuine Draft 400 race weekend was plagued by a number of crashes in Turn 3 in both the Winston Cup and ARCA races. Why?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Probably the most notable thing that Jimmy Horton did in 1993 was flip out of the track at Talladega. However, Horton had a spectacular exit from the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan as well. What happened?
A: It appeared that Horton was the recipient of tap from behind by Phil Parsons. This contact spun Horton around, backing his Active Trucking Chevrolet into the Turn 1 wall. Since it was only the third lap of the race, Horton still had a full tank of gas. A rather substantial fire erupted after the wall contact. The crash can be seen here. Horton was ok, but the rear end of his Chevrolet was roasted, toasted and burnt to a crisp.
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 Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Frontstretch Folio: Michigan by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Michigan by Matt Stallknecht
Matt will get your engines revved up for 2013 with a preview of this weekend's Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
IndyCar InDepth by Matt Stallknecht
Coming off of a strategy-filled 550 kilometer race in Texas, Matt previews Saturday afternoon's battle at The Milwaukee Mile.
Coming off of a strategy-filled 550 kilometer race in Texas, Matt previews Saturday afternoon's battle at The Milwaukee Mile.
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns this week with another intriguing Friday commentary.
Nuts For Nationwide by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin has another interesting look at the Nationwide Series as they take a week off prior to the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway.
Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.
Driver Diary: Jeb Burton as told to Beth Lunkenheimer
The driver of the No. 4 Arrowhead Chevrolet Silverado in the Camping World Truck Series returns to talk about the last few weeks, including his maiden victory at Texas.
-----------------------------
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
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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