Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Eldora Recap And Analysis!

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

July 25th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CXXXV
~~~~~~~~~~


What to Watch For: Thursday

- The Sprint Cup and Nationwide teams don't get out onto the oval at Indianapolis until tomorrow.  However, Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge will be on track all day today for Practice and Qualifying for their races, which will take place tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Top News
by Phil Allaway

Austin Dillon Outlasts Larson, Wins Inaugural Mudsummer Classic at Eldora

Austin Dillon was able to take advantage of lapped traffic to slip past Kyle Larson on Lap 89.  From there, he was able to hold off the hard-charging Nationwide Series regular to claim the victory in the inaugural CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime's The Profit.  Larson held on for second, followed by Ryan Newman.  Joey Coulter was fourth, while Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top-5.  Check out today's Truckin' Thursdays at Frontstretch for a complete recap of Wednesday night's action, along with Mike Neff's recap below from the track.

Neff's Recap: Dillon Takes Control Of Eldora

You've heard all of the Field of Dreams cliches and corny corn references thanks to Eldora Speedway being in the middle of Nowhere, or at least the middle of west central Ohio. One thing is for sure, though; the place is a very special race track, and it showed it Wednesday night when the Camping World Truck Series raced on its famous dirt surface, marking the first time a national NASCAR touring series had made that transition since 1970. At the end of the night, Austin Dillon held off the hard-charging Ryan Newman and Kyle Larson to score the victory. Larson and Newman waged a very heated battle for the runner-up spot, with Larson ultimately prevailing. Following Newman to the line was Joey Coulter, who spent much of the race in the teens and didn't break into the top five until lap 140. Rounding out the top 5 was Brendan Gaughan.

The green flag flew over the field and the drivers immediately were running from the top to the bottom and trading paint, bouncing off of walls and treating each other with total disdain. The track was already hard-packed and slick, but trucks throughout the pack were able to pass and work their way through traffic. Kyle Larson started the race in 13th and was in the lead by lap 39. He held the top spot at the end of the first 60-lap segment. When the green flew for the middle, 50-lap segment, Larson pulled away but much more slowly than he did when he assumed the lead initially. When he caught lapped traffic on lap 88, he had to check up which opened the door for Austin Dillon, who had come from 19th starting position himself to wrest the lead away. Dillon led the rest of the race, through five restarts except for lap 122, when Larson was able to have a nose ahead at the start/finish line.

The evening started with qualifying which saw Ken Schrader set the fast time for the event. He took full advantage of an early draw when the track still had some moisture and laid down a 91.329 mph lap. He was followed in time trials by Jared Landers, Timothy Peters, Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton. The five drivers started on the pole for each of their respective heat races.

The subsequent heat races saw very limited passing with eight laps on a slippery track, featuring primarily single-groove racing around the top of the track. As a result, all five pole sitters were victorious in their heats and started in the first five positions in the feature event. With the top 20 drivers in the point standings locked into the field, there were five drivers who were not locked (one from each heat) who transferred into the main from the heats. The five drivers were, Schrader, Landers, Larson, Gresham and Newman.

The Last Chance Qualifier provided one final opportunity for ten drivers to take a shot at filling one of the final five positions in the starting lineup. Brennan Newberry started the LCQ, also known as a Hooligan race, in the fourth position but was leading by the end of the first lap. He held onto that spot for all 15 laps of the race. Jeff Babcock started second and finished the single caution race in the runner-up spot. Jason Bowles hit the wall during his qualifying lap, damaging it badly enough that the team had to repair it once the time trial laps were finished. As a result he did not advance out of his heat and had to start third in the LCQ. He finished in the same spot to advance to the feature. Justin Jennings started the race in fifth and was able to gain one spot during the 15 laps of competition to finish fourth. The most exciting battle of the Hooligan race was between Norm Benning and Clay Greenfield over the final handful of laps. Benning had the spot and Greenfield wanted it. Benning bounced his car off of the fence more than once and off of Greenfield's car at least three times. In the end, Benning secured the final spot but his car was severely damaged, including exhaust that had been knocked loose from the car. Crew members from at least five teams swarmed over Benning's car to affect the repairs necessary for him to answer the green.

The feature race was slowed six times by caution flags. Four of them were for debris with one of those turning into the caution to end segment one. A fifth caution was to end segment two while the lone wreck involved the No. 6 of Jared Landers, Ty Dillon, Johnny Sauter, Jeb Burton and Dakoda Armstrong.

There were four leaders who were involved in six lead changes. Austin Dillon led the most laps in the race at 64. Larson, Peters and Schrader were the other drivers to spend time at the front, but in the end, Dillon took control. His win was his fifth in 53 Camping World Truck Series races, a throwback to when he once took the series by storm as its champion. This is his first victory in the only Truck race he has competed in this season. Larson's runner-up finish was his second top 2 of the season, having scored the win at Rockingham back in April. Newman's third-place finish is his only one this season since, this event was his only Truck race this year.

Further back, Darrell Wallace Jr. finished the race in seventh place and won the Rookie of the Race award. Matt Crafton, who ran a spot behind in eighth is now leading the points by 48 over Jeb Burton in the championship. With a dozen races left to go, he's got a firm grip on the top spot as only two other drivers (James Buescher, Ty Dillon) are withing 60 points of the lead.

Allgaier to Run Leffler Tribute Scheme at Indianapolis

On Wednesday, Turner Scott Motorsports officially unveiled a special paint scheme that Justin Allgaier will run in honor of the late Jason Leffler, who was killed last month in a Sprint Car crash at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey.  The scheme is reminiscent of a past Great Clips paint scheme with Leffler's LefTurn logo on the quarterpanel and the Charles Dean Leffler Discretionary Trust on the hood.

Team co-owner Harry Scott, Jr. is very happy to run the special scheme at Indianapolis.

"Jason was a big part of the Turner Scott Motorsports family.  Not only did he race for our team, but we also all considered him to be a close friend," Scott said.  "We're very honored to be able to run this tribute car and remember Jason, but we also wanted to highlight the trust that has been established for Charlie.  Everyone knows how much Charlie meant to Jason, and how much he loved being a dad, so I'm especially honored to be a trustee on the Charles Dean Leffler Discretionary Trust."

Regular primary sponsor Brandt has given the team their blessing for the tribute, and will still have their logos on the tribute car.

Entry List Update:

Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night.  However, these entries are still subject to change.

Sprint Cup Series Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 powered by BigMachineRecords.com: 45 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, LLC/Richard Childress Racing
No. 35 - Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports
No. 40 - Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing/Circle Sport, LLC
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports/JRR

Driver Changes:

No. 32 - Timmy Hill returns to the seat, replacing Ken Schrader.
No. 33 - Austin Dillon returns to the seat, replacing Landon Cassill.
No. 40 - Landon Cassill is in the seat for this team, which is trying to make its first Sprint Cup race since the 2012 Daytona 500 (Michael Waltrip)
.
No. 55 - Mark Martin returns to the seat, replacing Brian Vickers.

Drivers who must qualify in the top 36:

No. 19 - Mike Bliss for Humphrey-Smith Racing
No. 40 - Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing/Circle Sport, LLC

Drivers eligible for a provisional, but still at threat of failing to qualify:
No. 21 - Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing (41st in owners' points, 7 attempts)
No. 32 - Timmy Hill for FAS Lane Racing (37th in owners' points, 19 attempts)
No. 33
- Austin Dillon for Circle Sport, LLC/Richard Childress Racing (36th in owners' points, 19 attempts)
No. 35 - Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports (39th in owners' points, 19 attempts)
No. 83 - David Reutimann for BK Racing (35th in owners' points, 19 attempts)
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports/JRR (40th in owners' points, 19 attempts)
No. 93 - Travis Kvapil for BK Racing (38th in owners' points, 19 attempts)
No. 95 - Scott Speed for Leavine Family Racing (43rd in owners' points, 10 attempts)
No. 98 - Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing (42nd in owners' points, 17 attempts)

Not Entered:

No. 52 - Morgan Shepherd for BK Motorsports

Nationwide Series Indiana 250: 42 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:

No. 5 - Kasey Kahne for JR Motorsports
No. 18 - Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21 - Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 22 - Joey Logano for Penske Racing
No. 33 - Paul Menard for Richard Childress Racing
No. 46 - JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 54 - Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports/Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 55 - David Starr for Viva Motorsports

Driver Changes:

No. 00 - David Green is in the seat, replacing Ken Butler, III.
No. 5 - Kasey Kahne returns to the seat, replacing Brad Sweet.
No. 21 - Kevin Harvick is in the seat, replacing Dakoda Armstrong.
No. 23 - Robert Richardson, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Harrison Rhodes.
No. 24 - Ken Butler, III returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 33 - Paul Menard returns to the seat, replacing Matt Crafton.
No. 42 - Josh Wise returns to the seat, replacing TJ Bell.
No. 44 - Cole Whitt returns to the seat, replacing Chad Hackenbracht.
No. 46 - JJ Yeley returns to the seat, replacing Tim Schendel.
No. 54 - Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing Joey Coulter.
No. 55 - David Starr is in the seat, replacing Jamie Dick.
No. 74 - Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Lepage.

Drivers who must qualify on speed:

No. 00 - David Green for SR2 Motorsports (Has second crack at the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 10 - Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 18 - Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21 - Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 42 - Josh Wise for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 46 - JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 52 - Joey Gase for Jimmy Means Motorsports
No. 55 - David Starr for Viva Motorsports
No. 74 - Unknown driver for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 89 - Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
No. 92 - Dexter Stacey for KH Motorsports
No. 98 - Kevin Swindell for Biagi-DenBeste Racing

Not Entered:

No. 15 - Carl Long for Rick Ware Racing
No. 17 - Tanner Berryhill for Vision Racing
No. 37 - Matt DiBenedetto for Vision Racing

Rolex Sports Car Series Brickyard Grand Prix: 35 entries in 3 classes

Daytona Prototype (DP) Entries: 16

No. 01 - Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
No. 02 - Joey Hand/Tony Kanaan for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
No. 2 - Ryan Dalziel/Alex Popow for Starworks Motorsport
No. 3 - Enzo Potolicchio/Stephane Sarrazin/Michael Valiante for 8 Star Motorsports
No. 4 - Sebastien Bourdais/Emilio DiGuida for 8 Star Motorsports
No. 5 - Joao Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi for Action Express Racing
No. 6 - AJ Allmendinger/Gustavo Yacaman for Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
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 for Team Sahlen
No. 60 - Ozz Negri/John Pew for Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian
No. 77 - Rubens Barrichello/Doug Peterson for Doran 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 (GT) Entries: 16
No. 18 - Unknown drivers for Muehlner Motorsports America
No. 24 - Filipe Albuquerque/Edoardo Mortara for Audi Sport Customer Racing
No. 31 - Eric Curran/Boris Said for Marsh Racing
No. 44 - Andy Lally/John Potter for Magnus Racing
No. 46 - Al Carter/Charles Espenlaub/Brett Sandberg for Fall-Line Motorsports
No. 56 - Rui Aguas/Robert Kauffman for AF-Waltrip
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/Leh Keen for Scuderia Corsa
No. 64 - Rod Randall/Kenny Wilden for Scuderia Corsa
No. 69 - Emil Assentato/Anthony Lazzaro for AIM Autosport Team FXDD
No. 71 - Jason Hart/Jason McCutchen for Park Place Motorsports
No. 73 - Patrick Lindsey/Patrick Long for Park Place Motorsports
No. 93 - Michael Marsal/Gunter Schaldach for Turner Motorsport
No. 94 - Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana/Billy Johnson for Turner Motorsport

Grand Touring Experimental (GX) Entries: 3

No. 00
- Joel Miller/Tristan Nunez for Yellow Dragon Motorsports/SpeedSource
No. 38 - Dr. Jim Norman/Spencer Pumpelly for BGB Motorsports
No. 70 - Tom Long/Sylvain Tremblay for SpeedSource

News and Notes:

- Ryan Newman's No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet will be carrying a special paint scheme this weekend at Indianapolis to promote the upcoming movie Smurfs 2.

- RAB Racing with Brack Maggard's No. 99 will carry sponsorship from the Nationwide Children's Hospital at Indianapolis.  The Nationwide Children's Hospital is a facility in Columbus, OH (home of Nationwide Insurance) focused on pediatric care.  Health care is provided to families regardless of their ability to pay.

Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.

~~~~~~~~~~
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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Featured Commentary
Mudsummer Review, TV Talk, and Classic Brickyard Broadcasts
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese

The Camping World Truck Series' first rendition of the Mudsummer Classic by all accounts has been a success. The race sold out in about an hour, has drowned out any talk about the Cup cars going to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, and provided something different than what we've become accustomed to. No 9,500rpm screeching, no mention of aero tight, no collapsed suspension or "gittin' on the splitter."

We saw real bumpers, contact with the wall and other vehicles, caution periods that lasted two laps, and generally a great race that was fun to watch – even in its four-hour entirety.

However, one thing I don't believe it has done is showed that we need to have major televised races in the middle of the week during the summer. This night was the first time NASCAR had been on dirt in 43 years, was something special and unique, but not the call to arms that some are suggesting.

You know how I know this fact? Because we already have midweek action in the Truck Series, at Charlotte and Bristol, and the results are middling at best. Half the time people forget that the race is on that early (despite our efforts in shouting it from the rooftops), and people are either working or have to work in the morning, so at-track attendance would be left wanting.

Does this mean then that we need more NASCAR races on dirt? No.

If you want to see more racing on dirt, there are likely a couple of tracks within 50 miles of you to help support and go watch at, or get involved with. What it does mean is that NASCAR should look at going to smaller tracks with some of the lower to mid-tier series. With the latest trend being scrapping grandstands that go unused, why not visit some tracks that would pack them in and create a demand for the tickets, generate legitimate interest, and display on television that NASCAR actually still is a popular sport, and people still do attend races?

That was part of the original formula with the Truck Series, and since the sport is in need of a ground up restoration anyway, why not go back to what worked in the first place?

If you think I'm wrong, then you probably didn't like what you watched Wednesday night.

**********

Hot on the heels of the success that was Eldora was the announcement that NBC will be returning to NASCAR in 2015, replacing both ESPN and TNT. NBC will also be using its NBC Sports Network station, which also began carrying Formula One this year. With this move, NBC is positioning itself as the premier motorsports provider, much as ESPN did in the 1980s and early 1990s. It has yet to be seen how FOX Sports 1 will fare with NASCAR coverage, as it is going to be doing quite a bit of sharing between Soccer and MMA programming. We had all become a bit spoiled in recent years having SPEED all to ourselves (albeit sharing with the likes of quality programming like Unique Whips and Pass Time…) Everyone may be in for a reality check in a couple of weeks when SPEED fades away and FOX Sports 1 comes on the scene.

**********

ESPN Classic will be airing past Brickyard 400 races beginning Thursday night, and the complete schedule for programing can be found here.

Of note are the races from 1994, 1995, and 1998. Cue up the DVR and watch how those races were treated and covered then – as if they were an extension of the Indianapolis 500, as were the crowds they attracted. I remember when qualifying on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning was a big deal for the Brickyard 400, and it had its own sense of reverence about it. That has waned in recent years either from over-saturation, too much boogity-ing, a different championship format every couple years, or the novelty simply wearing off.

Did The Chase ruin it, by reducing the importance of individual races, by making being in the top 10 more important than actually winning the biggest races in the series? Before you answer know that the same can be said for the month of May, once the lynchpin of the IndyCar Series as well. Qualifying and Carburation Day, which you likely stumbled across by accident while flipping channels the past couple of years, doesn't hold the same mystique or importance about it for the Indy 500 that it once did.

Either way, I'm a nostalgia dork, and these will be added to the Do Not Erase section of my DV-R, along with the 1975, 1977, and 1981 Indianapolis 500s that I recorded on ESPN Classic back in May leading up to the 500.

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Critic's Annex: Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix
by Phil Allaway

Hello, race fans.  Welcome back to the Critic's Annex, where we provide you with additional motorsports programming-related critique.  This past weekend was a little light on actual action on television with the Sprint Cup Series off.  However, while the Nationwide and ARCA Racing Series raced at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, the American Le Mans Series was in action at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

The broadcast was a joint venture between ESPN2 and ESPN3.com.  When I saw that setup on the schedule, I thought that it meant we would see highlighted coverage.  Under that setup, we would see the start of the race, and eventually, through editing, we'd end up live for the last few segments of the event.  A setup similar to that was used a few years ago when ALMS races would air on CBS. That was not the case.  Instead, the start and most of the first hour aired exclusively on ESPN3.com.  Following an introduction to the broadcast, ESPN2 joined the race in progress, 56 minutes in at 1:00 PM ET.

Since this was a combined effort, ESPN employed a combined booth for the race.  Brian Till and Greg Creamer from the TV broadcast were joined in the booth by John Hindhaugh, the excitable chap who normally heads up the ESPN3.com broadcasts.  In addition, Jeremy West also did standups prior to the race and contributed to commentary.  That created a bit of a mess.  Even though ESPN had four booth personalities, only two of them really played a role during the race.  Those two were Creamer and Hindhaugh. 

Admittedly, this result is not a bad pairing.  Even though Hindhaugh is usually the play-by-play man on broadcasts (both on TV and radio), here, he serves as the expert analyst.  Basically, he's a less technical Steve Matchett that does a solid job.  He's a known and respected quantity in the ALMS garage and can bring a lot of knowledge to telecasts thanks to his connections, much like Andy Petree on ESPN's Cup telecasts.  Creamer, meanwhile is also experienced with play-by-play and seems to know what he's doing.  I've always seen him as more of a motorcycle guy than sports cars, though.

As for Till and Shaw, they were kind of just there.  Till introduced the broadcast, but I noticed that he was sans suit.  This style is very unusual for ESPN, known as one of the strictest in sports broadcasting when it comes to dress codes.  Ultimately, Till served as an analyst on the broadcast, but didn't say much.  Shaw never really showed up more than a couple of times on the broadcast, period.

Pre-race coverage (exclusive to ESPN3) saw a fair amount of time given to the controversial incident at Lime Rock Park between Guy Cosmo and Ryan Briscoe that left Nicole Briscoe completely gutted in Daytona, and the penalties that resulted from it.  Replays were shown, Chief Steward Paul Walter explained how they came up with the penalties, and explained why they weren't assessed before the race ended (For lack of better words, they were distracted with the incident involving Matteo Malucelli and Jeroen Bleekemolen that occurred one lap later). Ultimately, they let Briscoe keep the win, but gave him fourth-place points, which is what he would have gotten had they given him the typical stop +60 second hold that the incident would have qualified for.

In addition to the penalty explanation, there were quite a few pre-race interviews, more than what we normally get for ESPN's NASCAR telecasts.  That's always good to see.

During the race, I noticed a strange effect with the audio.  It's as if I was sitting in a theater awaiting the race telecast.  There was lots of reverberation with the commentators, like they were talking into a megaphone.  Very weird.  It didn't take away from my enjoyment of the event, but it needed to be noted here.

ESPN did a pretty good job properly covering the five different classes.  The on-air crew that is used is very experienced with the sport.  Most of them (with the exception of Hindhaugh) previously covered the series when it was on SPEED, and I believe the same production company produces the broadcasts.  There was a lot of good racing for position in all of the classes and ESPN did a good job in bringing that action to the viewers.

In preparation for the upcoming Camping World Truck Series Chevy Silverado 250 that is scheduled for September, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park has made a number of improvements, both to the track and to the facilities.  ESPN took some time during a lull in the action to describe the new Media Center that has been built and the new paved runoff.  Of course, that runoff has not exactly been embraced by the purists.  A brief clip was aired that showed Bryan Sellers (one of the GT drivers) talking about the advantages of having the new paved runoff as opposed to the uneven grassy runoff that it replaced.

Post-race coverage was a little light for ALMS.  They only showed unofficial results of three of the five classes (the two challenge classes were left out, despite both classes being quite good during the race itself).  There were four post-race interviews (Lucas Luhr for P1, Marino Franchitti for P2, and two for GT winner Jon Milner and runner-up Dominik Farnbacher) before Shaw signed ESPN off.

Honestly, I have no clue why Shaw was on the broadcast.  It was almost like he was just taking up space.  If ESPN were running separate broadcasts for ESPN2 and ESPN3, it would have made sense because Shaw would have been partnering with Hindhaugh.  That is the normal pairing when the races are tape delayed.  Brian Till didn't really do much either, other than introduce the broadcast and chip in every now and then.

As a result, we effectively had a Creamer-Hindhaugh pairing in the booth, which I generally liked.  The action on track was pretty good as well.  Also, if you continued to watch on ESPN3 once the live ESPN2 telecast began, you got limited commercial interruption, which is always a good thing.  I previously mentioned the audio issues above. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's look at the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix.  Next week, we'll be back with a look at tomorrow's Brickyard Grand Prix from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Until then, I hope you enjoyed last night's CarCash Mudsummer Classic presented by CNBC Prime's The Profit from Eldora Speedway, and I hope you enjoy the upcoming action in Indianapolis and Budapest.

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

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


"In his first full Nationwide season, Pastrana has been a magnet to the outside wall. Even on his better days — 15th-place runs — he seems to enjoy rubbing the 37 different colors on his No. 60 against the white of the SAFER Barrier. He's not just a performer, but also an artist as well — a painter. "  - Brett Poirier, on Travis Pastrana's Nationwide season up to this point.
~~~~~~~~~~

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:

NASCAR Mailbox: Television, Their Equipment, And Team Dream
by Summer Bedgood

Truckin' Thursdays: An Eldora Recap
by Beth Lunkenheimer

by the Frontstretch Staff
 ~~~~~~~~~~

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  Jeremy Mayfield was one of the early contenders to win the 1998 Brickyard 400.  However, Mayfield ended the day in the garage and in some pain.  What happened?
 
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Wednesday's Answer:

Q:  For a period of time in the 1970s, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ditched the pace car during cautions in favor of a different format to keep the field in check. What was this system, and how did it work?

A: Instead of using a pace car, pace lights were used.  Small fixtures were installed on the catchfence that would show a number.  The goal would be for drivers to see the same number on every board.

Such a system was actually designed to maintain physical gaps on the track during race neutralizations.  However, it also made it harder for safety crews to operate.  As a result, it was eventually ditched.

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 Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!

~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


Four Burning Questions: Indianapolis by Matt Stallknecht
Matt will get your engines revved up for 2013 with a preview of this weekend's Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 powered by BigMachineRecords.com at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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 prior to Saturday's Indiana 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Voices From the Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Our Tennessee transplant returns with another interesting take on recent events.

Frontstretch Foto Funnies 
by the Frontstretch Staff
Pictures can lead to a thousand laughs; join us in our weekly dose of humor that comes from those candid moments at the track.

Formula 1 Fridays by Andy Hollis
Andy returns with a look at the Formula One World Championship ahead of this weekend's sweltering Hungarian Grand Prix.
-----------------------------
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

--
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
 
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.
 
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment