Monday, June 03, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: June 3rd, 2013

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 3rd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition XCVI

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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Stewart Wins Controversy-Filled Race At Dover
by Justin Tucker

To say 2013 hasn't been a banner year for Tony Stewart is an understatement.  Coming into this weekend's FedEx 400 at Dover, Stewart had only recorded two top 10s in the season's first 12 races and looking at his recent past, Dover didn't look like the place for improvement.  Before Sunday's race, Stewart had recorded five consecutive finishes of 20th or worse at the Monster Mile.

Good thing for him history doesn't always have to be repeated. On Sunday, some strong pit strategy and a controversial call led to Victory Lane for Stewart as he would score his first win in 30 races, dating back to 2012.
 
"Our guys at our shop have been digging," Stewart said.  "None of these guys get down.  We have been down, but they haven't gotten down.  That is what carries you to days like today."
 
To win it, Smoke needed a little dose of good fortune that came in the form of the race's final caution. Until then, Jimmie Johnson appeared to be heading for a record eighth Dover win until controversy arose, following a final round of stops where the No. 48 dropped to second, behind Juan Pablo Montoya.  On lap 382, which proved to be the race's final restart, Johnson got a major advantage over Montoya, who appeared to spin his tires.  NASCAR quickly waved the black flag at Johnson for jumping the start, forcing him to serve a pass through penalty.  That resulted in Johnson leaving Dover with a 17th-place finish, his worst at the track in nine years and angrily stewing over what might have been.
 
"We certainly had the winning car," Johnson said. "We'll have to come back and do it in the Fall."
 
Debates reigned supreme over the call, but NASCAR Vice President Robin Pemberton made it clear after the race: Johnson was in front of the leader at the start/finish line, which is against the NASCAR Rulebook and chose not to give the spot back to the No. 42. So with Johnson out of the picture for the win, it was down to Montoya and Stewart, who was surging with fresher tires after a series of pit strategy calls by crew chief Steve Addington got him "off sequence" from what the rest of the drivers were doing and earned him all-important track position.  With three laps to go, Stewart powered past Montoya on the outside of Turn 3 and never looked back, recording his 48th NSCS win after spending much of the day running around 15th place.  The shocking turnaround moved him to 16th in points and, more importantly, put him in possession of one of the two "wild card" positions for the Chase.  Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the top 10.

Engines proved to be one huge story of the FedEx 400 at Dover as Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex, Jr. both of whom were in the top 10 in points entering the day, would make early exits from the event due to blown engines.  For Truex, the ailing powerplant dropped him to 14th in points, erasing all the gains from Charlotte the week before. Both were strong contenders in-race, running inside the top 5 all day until horsepower dealt them a bad hand.
 
Tough luck also came in a different form for Brad Keselowski, who had his crew chief Paul Wolfe back on the pit box for Sunday's race and brought home a fifth-place finish.  Unofficially, Keselowski moved up to eighth in points.  However, during post-race inspection, Keselowski's No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion was found to be too low.  Any penalties for the No. 2 team will likely be announced on Tuesday.
 
Up until Johnson's late surge, the race was all about the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Kyle Busch, Kenseth, and polesitter Denny Hamlin, who came into Sunday's race needing a huge day.  On Friday, Hamlin would win his second pole in as many weeks and would prove to be a contender, overcoming missing pit road during a green-flag stop to work his way back into the top 5 runners.  Unfortunately, a blown right front tire with about 20 laps to go ended all hopes of a much-needed win and would relegate him to a 34th-place finish.  The DNF is damaging to Hamlin's Chase hopes, as he now sits 122 points out of 10th and 74 points out of 20th.  It appears as if Hamlin absolutely has to win two races and stay out of trouble in order for him to have any hopes of a "wild card" at the end of the 26-race regular season.

As for Busch, he outright dominated the race at times, swapping the lead with Kenseth for almost all of the race's first 200 laps. In total, the No. 18 Toyota was out in front for 150 of them but, as has been the case so often in recent weeks the handling deteriorated on the car in the second half. A frustrated Busch, who struggled to give feedback to his crew at times was forced to settle for fourth and watched helplessly, late in the race as Johnson surged past him to the front. The No. 48 car, which nearly fell a lap down early after starting 24th was saved by a timely debris caution, on Lap 79 and then slowly worked his car into shape the rest of the day. When Kyle and brother Kurt Busch fell behind, due to handling or poor pit strategy calls that cleared the way for Johnson to go on cruise control until the controversial ending that became the postrace talk of the garage.

"I feel bad for Jimmie because I don't think that's what he deserved," said winner Stewart. "You know, you work hard all day to put yourself in a position to try to win the race at the end.  You don't want it coming down to a decision that NASCAR has to make.  But there can be some adjustments made to the restart zone. My opinion, if you lengthen that restart zone and give the leader more flexibility of where they pick the restart up at, it takes away that opportunity for the second-place guy to take advantage of the restarts."
 
The race had seven cautions for 32 laps, resulting in an average speed of 123.172 miles an hour for the 400-mile event. Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to its most unique oval, Pocono Raceway, for the Party in the Poconos 400.  Green flag is scheduled for 1:18 P.M. EDT on TNT.

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.

Chasing the Chase: Johnson's Jump Start Renders Race A Near Push For Edwards
by Phil Allaway

After a tough start to the race, Jimmie Johnson was actually in position to not only win, but waltz out of Dover with another perfect day for the 48.  However, a black flag for jumping the final restart relegated Johnson to a 17th-place finish.  The result doesn't hurt Johnson all that much in the standings, as Carl Edwards had an off day, finishing in 14th with a Roush Fenway group that usually shines at Dover.  As a result, Johnson lost only two points of his lead.  Despite what he described as a bad weekend, Clint Bowyer survived that crazy ending to climb to sixth; he moved up one place in the points to third as a reward.
 
Matt Kenseth looked like an early favorite to win on Sunday.  He was one of the only drivers that could run with Kyle Busch until the engine blew on the Dollar General Toyota, putting him out for the day.  Kenseth dropped from third to a tie for fourth in points with Kevin Harvick, who had another good run to finish eighth.  Just one point behind Kenseth and Harvick is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in sixth; NASCAR's Most Popular Driver was angry about his car's handling all day but was still able to sneak home in 10th place.
 
Kasey Kahne ran well on Sunday, but just plain lost control of his Farmers' Insurance Chevrolet late in the going and backed into the Turn 2 wall.  The damage was moderate, but more than enough to render Kahne uncompetitive.  Limping home to a 23rd-place finish, that cost him two places in the standings.  Brad Keselowski scratched his way up to fifth, by comparison which allows him to move up to eighth in points.  However, Keselowski's car measured too low in the front end in post-race inspection.  Potential penalties could be coming as soon as Tuesday.
 
Kyle Busch had the car to beat early in the race, but faded in the second half of the event to a fourth-place finish.  However, that was still enough to slot Busch back inside the top 10 in points; he's up to ninth.  Paul Menard, who finished 20th, but spent much of the day hovering around 25th, rounds out your top 10 in the championship Chase.

Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 473, 2) Carl Edwards -30, 3) Clint Bowyer -50, t-4) Matt Kenseth -74, t-4) Kevin Harvick -74, 6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -75, 7) Kasey Kahne -81, 8) Brad Keselowski -98, 9) Kyle Busch -99, 10) Paul Menard -102.

Best of the Rest: 11) Jeff Gordon -112, 12) Aric Almirola -119, 13) Greg Biffle -120, t-14) Martin Truex, Jr. -130, t-14) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -130, 16) Tony Stewart -135, 17) Kurt Busch -136, 18) Joey Logano -138, 19) Jamie McMurray -141, t-20) Ryan Newman -150, t-20) Jeff Burton -150.

Wild Cards: 1) Tony Stewart (16th in points, one win), 2) Jeff Gordon (11th in points)
Currently Ineligible for Wild Card: 1) David Ragan (27th in points, one win)

Race Winners: Jimmie Johnson (Daytona, Martinsville), Carl Edwards (Phoenix), Matt Kenseth (Las Vegas, Kansas, Darlington), Kasey Kahne (Bristol), Kyle Busch (Fontana, Texas), Kevin Harvick (Richmond, Charlotte), David Ragan (Talladega), Tony Stewart (Dover)

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: Dover 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: Casey Mears for Germain Racing; started 17th, finished 16th
 
The good thing about Mears' finish on Sunday is that it's where this team is capable of finishing—they're a 15th-to-20th place team just about everywhere, save the cookie cutters, and even there, they're capable of it sometimes.  Mears and Company have had absolutely terrible luck since they finished 16th at Martinsville in April -- they've been wrecked or had mechanical gremlins just about every week — but Dover was indicative of how they can run.
 
Many small teams look at their standing amongst their peers rather than the overall points as an indication of how their season is going, and despite the rash of bad luck, this team is strong.  Mears leads all small-team drivers in Sprint Cup points this year, sitting 25th overall.  Considering that there are richer organizations behind the No. 13, it's been a good year thus far.  A few more runs like this week and it could be a great one for this bunch.
 
Underdog Selection No. 2: Bobby Labonte for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 26th, finished 21st
 
Labonte is perhaps the quietest threat among the small team group each week.  You rarely hear about him in a broadcast, because he's neither doing nothing above expectations nor causing on-track issues.  Yet Labonte was the best among all small team drivers in points in 2012, finishing the year a quiet 23rd.  He's lost a few spots this year, sitting 28th overall and behind Mears and David Ragan among his immediate peers; however, Labonte is still an asset to a growing program.
 
Why?  Simple—he finishes in one piece unless it's someone else's fault and he provides solid feedback.  Labonte's best years might be behind him, but he's still a Cup champion, something that the rest of the underdogs can't claim.
 
Underdog Selection No. 3: Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports; started 41st, finished 25th
 
A year ago, Wise's team was parking early each week, and the best finish Wise could muster in 2012 was a 30th place. That means he's really learning to go the distance in a long race for the first time this year.  His 25th-place result at Dover was the second-best of his career (his best finish was 19th at Talladega) and he seems to be learning how to race at this level fairly well.  He hasn't caused very many problems on the track, and he's been steady.  Because Wise isn't eligible for Sprint Cup points (he declared his eligibility in the Nationwide Series) his standing is a moot point.  Wise isn't at the level of his FRM teammates yet, but he's showing some talent to one day get there.

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 FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks was brought to you by the Letter R, for "Rare."  Jimmie Johnson qualifying back in 24th and getting lapped prior to his first pit stop is very rare at Dover.  Getting black-flagged for jumping the restart is also incredibly unusual for the multiple-time Sprint Cup Champion.  He's unhappy with NASCAR's decision, but you can bet he'll definitely bounce back pretty soon.  - Phil Allaway

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Sidebar Dover Stories
by Summer Bedgood

Final Restart Causes Controversy
 
Jimmie Johnson was in prime position to win Sunday's race, starting second alongside Juan Pablo Montoya on the final restart after just getting beat out of the pits. With a faster car and a stronger running position most of the day, it was almost a given.
 
However, a penalty from NASCAR for a restart violation would leave Johnson wanting more.  As the pace car headed onto pit road, Montoya and Johnson entered the restart zone.  Suddenly, Johnson accelerated, seemingly leaving Montoya and the rest of the pack behind.  NASCAR said that Johnson jumped the restart and forced him to serve a pass through penalty.
 
Johnson, however, disagreed with the call. 
 
"I was half-throttle for the whole frontstretch," said Johnson.  "And at some point, I gotta go.  In this situation, NASCAR has the judgment to decide if you jumped it or not.  But I'm like, he's (Juan Pablo Montoya) is not even going.  So I'm not sure if his car broke or if [it was] off power or spun the tires.  I don't know.  So I'm running half-throttle down the frontstretch waiting for him and he never comes.  So at that point, we got back going.  Chad (Knaus, crew chief) even told me on the radio that something had happened and that I should just take off and not worry about it.  And then, we were called on it.  So, a bummer way to lose a race.  We certainly had the winning car."
 
Montoya, who went on to finish second, claims he did nothing wrong and that it was Johnson who mistimed the restart.
 
"Jimmie was laying off about just nearly a car length from me, and I knew he was trying to jump the start," said Montoya.  "And I backed off a little bit for us to line up, and he didn't want to do it." The Colombian also complained immediately after the green flag, on the radio pre-penalty Johnson was at fault for what happened.
 
The five-time Sprint Cup champion ultimately finished in the 17th position, one lap down, and lost an opportunity for what would have been a record-setting eighth Dover victory.
 
David Gilliland, Ryan Newman Butt Heads in Dover
 
A long day for both drivers came to an end on lap 301 on Sunday when Ryan Newman tapped the left rear of David Gilliland, sending them both crashing onto the inside wall on the backstretch.
 
Newman, who was already frustrated with the day after dealing with power steering issues inside his No. 39 Chevrolet, had made contact with Gilliland a couple of laps before and the two of them had been racing aggressively for several laps leading up to the incident.
 
Both drivers were racing for position at the time, leading to tempers boiling over after the contact. While Newman declined comment, Gilliland offered up his side of the story, claiming he leaned into Newman's window and shouted, "What were you thinking?"
 
"We just got wrecked," Gilliland said.  "It is a shame.  I am real proud of Front Row Motorsports and Frank Kerr, my crew chief.  We had a fast race car and a great run going and unfortunately someone lost their patience a little bit and we got wrecked.  It is too bad but that is just the way it goes, I guess."
 
Newman and Gilliland finished 36th and 37th, respectively.  Both drivers were treated and released from the infield care center after the incident.
 
Engine Issues Surface, Again, For TRD
 
Once again, the Toyota Racing Development engines put a hamper on a few of the teams competing in Sunday's FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.  Both Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex, Jr., who led laps, were forced to retire from the race early due to motor issues. Kenseth's engine expired after 159 laps while Truex's lasted 279.
 
"Something broke in the engine," said Kenseth in the garage.  "Man, it's disappointing.  I mean I feel like JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has three of the strongest teams in the garage.  It seems like we got the best cars out there — or equal to the best cars.  But, you know you have to finish these things.  Obviously, there's been some issues in that department.  Got a lot of faith in them guys.  They'll get it figured out.  I want to thank Dollar General and Toyota and the Home Depot.  I had a great car today.  Pretty disappointed to be standing here."
 
Truex, who is still searching for his second career win and felt like he had a good shot this weekend in Dover, was equally disappointed.
 
"Something let go in the motor," said Truex.  "Just dropped a cylinder and started smoking all at once.  Same thing happened to the 20 (Matt Kenseth), it looked like.  Obviously, we both have the same engine manufacturer.  Pretty disappointing.  We had a great race car today.  The NAPA Toyota was really good.  We were one or two adjustments away there from having something for them.  We were really good on long runs.  Little too tight on the short runs.  Damn, I wish we could have made it to the end."
 
Kenseth finished 40th, while Truex wound up 38th.

Summer Bedgood is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SummerBedgood.

Quotes to Remember: FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks
compiled by Summer Bedgood

"We must have broken a right front bump stop or something.  To finish fourth with that shows you what kind of piece we had.  I think we had something.  As soon as Jimmie (Johnson) got to me there about — just past halfway — that's when it took a dump on us.  I hate it.  It's just everything every week." - Kyle Busch, finished fourth
 
"We drove hard all day, we just didn't have the speed needed to go win the race but we had the speed we needed to have a solid day.  The guys did a great job executing today.  It is cool to see Tony (Stewart) win, he did a hell of a job driving that thing and it was a good race.  I was having fun watching them, but I wish I could have gotten up there.  It was another solid day, but we want to win too so we will keep working to find a little more speed and get up there." - Brad Keselowski, finished fifth
 
"Not very good, we got a pretty decent finish but we just didn't run very good all weekend long.  Definitely need to go back and do our homework and figure some things out for our 5-Hour ENERGY Toyota." - Clint Bowyer, finished sixth
 
"We fought all day basically trying to get a Lucky Dog after that flat tire. We would get one back and then go down two and then get one back. We were basically trying to get three laps back, for the most part. I was just proud of the effort of my guys today. This weekend, I thought we were going to finish about 15 laps down today. We weren't any good in practice and Todd and all the guys did a good job making it better for me. By the end, it was a top-five car and we just ran out of time. We were trying to pass as many as I could during the restart but it was so aero tight behind these cars. I feel like that we could have finished in the top-five but considering where we were, we will take that day." - Joey Logano, finished seventh
 
"Our Jimmy John's Chevy was good one run, really loose one run and really tight the next run.  At the end, we were just loose and tight.  Then, the run before on two tires really loose.  We hung in there and got a solid top 10." - Kevin Harvick, finished eighth
 
"It was a really great effort by our team.  Our Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota had more potential at the end than we were able to show.  We didn't quite get it adjusted for the changing track conditions, but it was awesome even as it was.  It would have been even better if we could have got it adjusted out.  Great, great team effort today and I'm really proud of the guys — we're making progress." - Mark Martin, finished ninth
 
"Yeah, it was real hot, but we knew that going into the race.  We made our car better.  I felt like we had a real strong car the last half of the race.  We just couldn't get track position, couldn't pass.  We were faster than the guys in front of us at the end, but just couldn't pass." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished tenth
 
"We just all struggled and I think there is some systemic problem with our car.  It is good that we all went the same speed so that at least we know.  When three different groups run the same speed and it is not fast enough, it means that we are doing a good job making the car as fast as it can go, but it is up to all of us now to identify exactly where we are missing it.  We will address it.  We have time before the Chase starts.  Now, it is just time to buckle down and work." - Carl Edwards, finished 14th
 
"We just struggled all day long. We were loose and we need to figure out a way to find more grip. I was proud of the guys, they never gave up all day. We kept trying to get it dialed in, we just couldn't get the grip that we needed. Our whole problem today was not having the grip that we needed to keep up with some of those other guys out there, but we will go to work on it and get ready for Pocono." - Aric Almirola, finished 18th

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  The 1993 Champion Spark Plug 500 marked Jeff Gordon's very first trip to Pocono Raceway.  However, it was not a happy journey.  What happened to Gordon early on in the race that ruined his day?

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

Friday's Answer:

Q:  Jimmie Johnson picked up his first of seven Dover victories in the 2002 MBNA Platinum 400, just holding off Bill Elliott in the process. However, Mark Martin, who was one of the early favorites, ended up on the hook. What happened?

A: Martin was enjoying a comfortable lead over Johnson when Ryan Newman and Steve Park collided in front of him.  Park spun up and backed into the Turn 2 wall, while Newman spun and blocked the groove.  Martin went below Newman and locked up his tires, leaving him unable to avoid hitting Park.

That crash bent Martin's Viagra Ford, but it was only just the beginning.  The damage from the crash rendered the No. 6 a complete handful.  Martin eventually took the car to the garage for additional repairs.  He returned to the race, then pulled out once again.  He was credited with a 41st-place finish.

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: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
 
Five Points To Ponder by Danny Peters
Danny returns for his weekly edition of talking points, which will wrap up the action at Charlotte and get us ready for the Party In The Poconos 400 presented by Walmart at Pocono Raceway.

Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series were in action at Dover International Speedway.  FOX marked the end of their 13th season in Sprint Cup.  How were the telecasts of these races? Find out tomorrow.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Dover-Pocono Edition by Brad Morgan
Brad gets us set for Pocono while tracking the trends of the past few weeks to see which drivers are on a tear... or tearing their hair out.

Racing To The Point by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think.

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.

Special Column TBA
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