THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 8th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CXXIII
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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.
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 8th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CXXIII
~~~~~~~~~
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.
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Editor's Note: Frontstretch's own Tom Bowles is hosting The Morning Drive on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio all this week in place of Mike Bagley, who is dealing with some family issues. Tune in to The Morning Drive on SiriusXM Channel 90 from 7-11 am EDT!
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Johnson Dominates To Win Coke Zero 400, Completes Daytona Sweep
by Justin Tucker
Coming into Saturday night's Coke Zero 400, Jimmie Johnson had the chance to do what hadn't been done in 31 years. No driver since Bobby Allison in 1982 had swept the Daytona 500 and the July race at Daytona in the same season. Johnson would add his name to that list becoming the fifth driver overall to sweep Daytona with a dominating performance on Saturday night, leading 94 of 161 laps in capturing the Coke Zero 400.
"I don't think I made a bad move tonight. I'm pretty proud of that," Johnson said. "Gosh, growing up in Southern California and watching Bobby Allison ... to do anything Bobby has done is pretty special."
Johnson held off Kevin Harvick on a late race restart with two laps to go, and then pulled out front to a sizeable lead. Tony Stewart moved into second but could never challenge Johnson for the win as Johnson would hold on by .107 seconds. Johnson, Stewart, and Harvick would complete a 1-2-3 sweep for Chevrolet on Saturday night, Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip would finish fourth and fifth in a pair of Toyotas, while Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would finish in positions six through eighth.
Chevrolet would be the big winner on the night by claiming 6 of the top 8 finishing positions and seven of the top 10 finishes overall. Casey Mears and Ryan Newman would round out the top 10 in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400.
The race was red flagged for about nine minutes for a six-car incident with about 11 laps to go. Denny Hamlin took another vicious hit as his No. 11 FedEx Toyota unexpectedly spun hard into the frontstretch wall, setting off a chain reaction that collected AJ Allmendinger, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon. Hamlin's car was hit hard by Allmendinger's No. 51, causing it to lift off the ground. Both Hamlin and Allmendinger were shaken after the wreck and were treated and released from the Infield Care Center. This was the second hard hit for Hamlin in as many weeks as he also took a hard impact at Kentucky last Sunday.
"I saw the wreck and tried to slow down and miss it, but just not much I could do," Kenseth said.
The race resumed with seven laps to go. While leading, Johnson made an unexpected move to the high side to block Marcos Ambrose, leaving Kasey Kahne on the bottom to race Johnson for the lead. As Kahne and Johnson would battle for the lead, Ambrose clipped the side of Johnson's No. 48 as he attempted to change lanes. The result was that Ambrose hip checked Kahne, causing the No. 5 to spin and hit the inside wall to bring out another caution with four laps to go. Kahne showed obvious frustration after the wreck by tossing his HANS device back in the car after climbing out.
"Jimmie got a little loose or he just didn't see my move coming, and I split him coming off of turn two," Ambrose said. "He came down to check the spot and I was already there and he just bounced us straight into Kahne."
The race resumed with a Green-White-Checker finish with Johnson leading Harvick and Bowyer on the restart. No one could make a move on Johnson, allowing him to drive to his fourth victory of the 2013 season.
"Jimmie just was good," Stewart said. "Jimmie was just really, really good. We were just a little bit off of him."
A look at the Coke Zero 400 inside the numbers. There were 18 lead changes among ten different drivers, there were six cautions for 27 laps, and the average race speed was 154.313 MPH. The time of the race was 2 hours and 36 minutes. Jimmie Johnson led all drivers with 94 laps led.
Next week the Sprint Cup Series heads to the "Magic Mile" New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Camping World RV 301. The green flag is scheduled for 1:15 P.M. ET on TNT.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
Chasing the Chase: Another Perfect 48 Gives Johnson a Full Race Lead Again
by Phil Allaway
Jimmie Johnson was just one tough cookie on Saturday night. Johnson essentially played with the rest of the field for much of the night. Johnson's third 48 Special of the season has given him a 49 point lead in the standings, just slightly more than one full race. That margin is over new second-place driver Clint Bowyer. Bowyer's fourth-place finish vaulted him over Carl Edwards, who was spun out in Turn 1 on the final lap by Scott Speed and finished 29th.Sprint Cup Race Recap: Johnson Dominates To Win Coke Zero 400, Completes Daytona Sweep
by Justin Tucker
Coming into Saturday night's Coke Zero 400, Jimmie Johnson had the chance to do what hadn't been done in 31 years. No driver since Bobby Allison in 1982 had swept the Daytona 500 and the July race at Daytona in the same season. Johnson would add his name to that list becoming the fifth driver overall to sweep Daytona with a dominating performance on Saturday night, leading 94 of 161 laps in capturing the Coke Zero 400.
"I don't think I made a bad move tonight. I'm pretty proud of that," Johnson said. "Gosh, growing up in Southern California and watching Bobby Allison ... to do anything Bobby has done is pretty special."
Johnson held off Kevin Harvick on a late race restart with two laps to go, and then pulled out front to a sizeable lead. Tony Stewart moved into second but could never challenge Johnson for the win as Johnson would hold on by .107 seconds. Johnson, Stewart, and Harvick would complete a 1-2-3 sweep for Chevrolet on Saturday night, Clint Bowyer and Michael Waltrip would finish fourth and fifth in a pair of Toyotas, while Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would finish in positions six through eighth.
Chevrolet would be the big winner on the night by claiming 6 of the top 8 finishing positions and seven of the top 10 finishes overall. Casey Mears and Ryan Newman would round out the top 10 in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400.
The race was red flagged for about nine minutes for a six-car incident with about 11 laps to go. Denny Hamlin took another vicious hit as his No. 11 FedEx Toyota unexpectedly spun hard into the frontstretch wall, setting off a chain reaction that collected AJ Allmendinger, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon. Hamlin's car was hit hard by Allmendinger's No. 51, causing it to lift off the ground. Both Hamlin and Allmendinger were shaken after the wreck and were treated and released from the Infield Care Center. This was the second hard hit for Hamlin in as many weeks as he also took a hard impact at Kentucky last Sunday.
"I saw the wreck and tried to slow down and miss it, but just not much I could do," Kenseth said.
The race resumed with seven laps to go. While leading, Johnson made an unexpected move to the high side to block Marcos Ambrose, leaving Kasey Kahne on the bottom to race Johnson for the lead. As Kahne and Johnson would battle for the lead, Ambrose clipped the side of Johnson's No. 48 as he attempted to change lanes. The result was that Ambrose hip checked Kahne, causing the No. 5 to spin and hit the inside wall to bring out another caution with four laps to go. Kahne showed obvious frustration after the wreck by tossing his HANS device back in the car after climbing out.
"Jimmie got a little loose or he just didn't see my move coming, and I split him coming off of turn two," Ambrose said. "He came down to check the spot and I was already there and he just bounced us straight into Kahne."
The race resumed with a Green-White-Checker finish with Johnson leading Harvick and Bowyer on the restart. No one could make a move on Johnson, allowing him to drive to his fourth victory of the 2013 season.
"Jimmie just was good," Stewart said. "Jimmie was just really, really good. We were just a little bit off of him."
A look at the Coke Zero 400 inside the numbers. There were 18 lead changes among ten different drivers, there were six cautions for 27 laps, and the average race speed was 154.313 MPH. The time of the race was 2 hours and 36 minutes. Jimmie Johnson led all drivers with 94 laps led.
Next week the Sprint Cup Series heads to the "Magic Mile" New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Camping World RV 301. The green flag is scheduled for 1:15 P.M. ET on TNT.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
Chasing the Chase: Another Perfect 48 Gives Johnson a Full Race Lead Again
by Phil Allaway
Kevin Harvick remains in fourth after finishing a strong third. He is only two points behind Edwards for third. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. just avoided the crash at the finish and claimed eighth, which was enough for him to move up one place to fifth in points. Earnhardt Jr. jumped over Matt Kenseth, who was eliminated from the race in the big crash in the tri-oval with ten laps to go and finished a disappointing 33rd after starting on the outside pole.
Kyle Busch remains in seventh despite going into the wall hard at the finish. Since he spun across the line, Kyle was credited with a 12th-place finish. Greg Biffle gained one place to eighth in the standings despite getting caught up in a crash with 30 laps to go. He would eventually finish 17th. Kurt Busch made a big move this week, using his sixth-place finish to advance five places all the way to ninth in points. Kurt continues to put up great results with the Denver-based Furniture Row team, making himself a very attractive option for the future.
Tony Stewart's runner-up finish was good enough to advance him six positions, all the way back into the top-10. Stewart may not like restrictor plate racing, but he definitely knows how to do it. Martin Truex, Jr.'s run of great finishes came to a screeching halt Saturday night when he spun and hit the inside wall on Lap 98. The 41st-place finish dropped him three places to 11th in points. However, thanks to his win at Sonoma, he is now the first Wild Card. Kasey Kahne dropped one place to 12th after crashing hard into the inside wall on Lap 156 and finishing 32nd.
Point Standings (Top 10): 1) Jimmie Johnson 658, 2) Clint Bowyer -49, 3) Carl Edwards -71, 4) Kevin Harvick -73, 5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -110, 6) Matt Kenseth -118, 7) Kyle Busch -125, 8) Greg Biffle -142, 9) Kurt Busch -157, 10) Tony Stewart -159.
Best of the Rest: 11) Martin Truex, Jr. -165, 12) Kasey Kahne -168, 13) Brad Keselowski -170, 14) Jeff Gordon -171, 15) Joey Logano -175, 16) Ryan Newman -176, 17) Jamie McMurray -183, 18) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -192, 19) Aric Almirola -195, 20) Paul Menard -198.
Wild Cards: 1) Martin Truex, Jr. (11th in points, one win), 2) Kasey Kahne (12th in points, one win)
Currently Ineligible for Wild Card: 1) David Ragan (28th in points, one win)
Race Winners: Jimmie Johnson (Daytona-1, Martinsville, Pocono, Daytona-2), Carl Edwards (Phoenix), Matt Kenseth (Las Vegas, Kansas, Darlington, Kentucky), Kasey Kahne (Bristol), Kyle Busch (Auto Club, Texas), Kevin Harvick (Richmond, Charlotte), David Ragan (Talladega), Tony Stewart (Dover), Greg Biffle (Michigan), Martin Truex, Jr. (Sonoma)
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: Kentucky 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 19th, finished 9th
Mears has proved time and again he can get this team up front in a restrictor plate race, and this week, he was able to get the finish he deserved. It was a wild ride; Mears went sliding coming to the checkers, not quite making it through unscathed, but finally putting the bad luck that has plagued him at Daytona and Talladega behind him. His ninth-place finish was the team's first top 10 in four years and second ever; Max Papis grabbed an eighth-place finish at Watkins Glen in 2009. But while Papis may have the team's first top 10, it's Mears who has brought this team so far in the last three years.
How far have they come together? Mears was disappointed with his finish this week. "It was OK, but we should have been better," Mears said after the race. "That second-to-last restart we restarted eighth and the 15 laid way back on the restart and had a huge run. There were three lanes open. The bottom lane moved to the bottom and I had like three lanes to try to block and he had a run and got to the inside of us and we dropped all the way to the back. But, we had a really big run there at the end and picked the right lane and got through a bunch of guys, so that's not the way we wanted to finish because we were sitting in the catbird's seat there, where I thought we could have had a chance to win this thing, but we rallied back for a decent day."
If Mears had made it to the front on Saturday? He might have found a little help. Jimmie Johnson owes him one; it was Mears who pushed Johnson to his first Daytona 500 win in 2006.
Underdog Selection No. 2: JJ Yeley for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 32nd, finished 13th
There aren't many teams in the garage who needed a good finish more than Tommy Baldwin Racing, so Daytona couldn't have come at a better time for this team, another group who performs admirably on the plate tracks when they can find a little luck. Usually, it's Dave Blaney who's TBR's plate ace, but Blaney was involved in a late-race crash, leaving Yeley to try to bring home a fat check. And Yeley rose to the occasion, finishing 13th and delivering a six-figure payday in the process.
This team is one that could, with the right backing, improve in a similar manner to Germain Racing. Tommy Baldwin knows the business and how to build a top race car. He has four Sprint Cup wins as a crew chief, including the 2002 Daytona 500. Blaney and Yeley are journeyman drivers but both are capable of better finishes that their equipment usually allows for. The ingredients for success are there.
Underdog Selection No. 3: David Gilliland for Front Row Motorsports; started 28th, finished 15th
My pick among the underdogs for Daytona, Gilliland came home a respectable 15th, the best of the FRM drivers. He ran a clean race and avoided trouble..right up until the last lap, where he was caught up in a multicar incident, but he was able to get the strong result to show for his troubles. Gilliland, who finished second at Talladega this spring, is a respectable plate racer—he doesn't quite have the talent of teammate David Ragan on the superspeedways, but he's solid. The team still needs to find handling; it's not horsepower that many small teams lack, but setups, because they don't have the resources that the larger ones do, including wind tunnel time, shop equipment and simulators, etc. Horsepower isn't useful if the car doesn't handle well, and that's what bit FRM at Daytona, which is more of a handling track than Talladega. Still, it was another solid plate race for them thanks to Gilliland.
Underdog Pick of the Week-New Hampshire: David Reutimann for BK Racing
In this section, I'll give you my pick among the small teams to have a strong run in the upcoming race.
This week's pick is David Reutimann. Among the small teams, only Bobby Labonte has a better average finish at Loudon than Reutimann, and with Labonte's future in flux, Reutimann is a solid pick for a good day at a track that doesn't favor underdogs. It's a paperclip-shaped flat mile, hard to pass on without a good-handling car…and as mentioned above, that's the area where small teams struggle the most.
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: Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 was brought to you by the Letter J for "Junioresque." Jimmie Johnson simply dominated Saturday night's race to a level that we have not seen in a Sprint Cup restrictor plate race in ten years. Johnson played the pack like a violin. The performance reminded me a lot of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s win in the 2002 Aaron's 499, where he lead over half the race and basically told the field where to race. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Daytona Stories
by Summer Bedgood
Tony Stewart Rebounds in Daytona
Following two consecutive finishes of 20th or worse in the last two weeks, Tony Stewart finally stopped the bleeding with a runner-up finish in Daytona. Poor runs consecutive weeks at Sonoma Raceway and Kentucky Speedway had the three-time champion losing six spots in the points over the course of two weeks.
He was able to gain most of it back this weekend in Daytona, leapfrogging from 16th to 10th in points. He is now 159 points out of first.
"With these things being as crazy as they are, if you can end up with a top 2 you're pretty happy when you leave here because normally if you leave here in the top 2 you've got a straight race car, too," said Stewart post-race. "One out of three isn't bad in the organization there."
Stewart has one win, four top fives, and six top 10s this season.
Kurt Busch Jumps Into Top 10
Kurt Busch may be driving for an underdog team, but they aren't racing like it. Following a string of four top 10s in the last five races, Busch has ridden the wave of momentum all the way into the top 10 in points, giving the team real reason to consider the possibility of making a run at the Chase.
"That's awesome to have a good run like that and stay out of trouble and post a nice Top-10," said Busch. "These Furniture Row guys have been working hard. We've made little mistakes here, there, and everywhere. When we start putting it together, it's now starting to bear the fruit and we've moved our way into the Top 10 in points. So that's pretty cool."
Busch is currently ninth in points, though sits a staggering 157 points out of the lead. However, with the points reset happening in only eight races, the deficit doesn't matter near as much as the position.
However, Busch has little cushion if he falls outside of the top 10. Busch has yet to win a race, and would need to in order to make the Chase should he fail to stay inside the top 10. Currently, Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne hold the wild card spots, with one win apiece.
Denny Hamlin Endures Hard Hit in Daytona
Denny Hamlin has been cleared by a doctor to continue racing in the Sprint Cup Series, but the racing gods seem to be trying to kick him to the curb. For the second week in a row, Denny Hamlin suffered a massive hit, this time going airborne after hard contact from Jeff Gordon during a big crash in the closing laps of the race in Daytona.
Hamlin, who missed four races this season due to a fractured vertebra sustained in a crash early this season in Fontana, had to visit the Infield Care Center last weekend in Kentucky due to symptoms he was enduring after a tire failure sent him into the wall.
"It's tough," said Hamlin's crew chief Darian Grubb. "I know he's really tired of hitting the wall. We're doing it every week, whether it's his fault or not. So it's tough, and it's hard to keep him motivated with all that, but he's still coming in with his game face on, and he drove his butt off tonight. He wanted to go to the front, and we ran to the front two or three times. Wish we could finish there."
Hamlin's 36th-place finish all but ended his Chase chances. He is now a dismal 26th in points, 122 points out of 20th with zero wins.
Letter of the Race: Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 was brought to you by the Letter J for "Junioresque." Jimmie Johnson simply dominated Saturday night's race to a level that we have not seen in a Sprint Cup restrictor plate race in ten years. Johnson played the pack like a violin. The performance reminded me a lot of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s win in the 2002 Aaron's 499, where he lead over half the race and basically told the field where to race. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Daytona Stories
by Summer Bedgood
Tony Stewart Rebounds in Daytona
Following two consecutive finishes of 20th or worse in the last two weeks, Tony Stewart finally stopped the bleeding with a runner-up finish in Daytona. Poor runs consecutive weeks at Sonoma Raceway and Kentucky Speedway had the three-time champion losing six spots in the points over the course of two weeks.
He was able to gain most of it back this weekend in Daytona, leapfrogging from 16th to 10th in points. He is now 159 points out of first.
"With these things being as crazy as they are, if you can end up with a top 2 you're pretty happy when you leave here because normally if you leave here in the top 2 you've got a straight race car, too," said Stewart post-race. "One out of three isn't bad in the organization there."
Stewart has one win, four top fives, and six top 10s this season.
Kurt Busch Jumps Into Top 10
Kurt Busch may be driving for an underdog team, but they aren't racing like it. Following a string of four top 10s in the last five races, Busch has ridden the wave of momentum all the way into the top 10 in points, giving the team real reason to consider the possibility of making a run at the Chase.
"That's awesome to have a good run like that and stay out of trouble and post a nice Top-10," said Busch. "These Furniture Row guys have been working hard. We've made little mistakes here, there, and everywhere. When we start putting it together, it's now starting to bear the fruit and we've moved our way into the Top 10 in points. So that's pretty cool."
Busch is currently ninth in points, though sits a staggering 157 points out of the lead. However, with the points reset happening in only eight races, the deficit doesn't matter near as much as the position.
However, Busch has little cushion if he falls outside of the top 10. Busch has yet to win a race, and would need to in order to make the Chase should he fail to stay inside the top 10. Currently, Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne hold the wild card spots, with one win apiece.
Denny Hamlin Endures Hard Hit in Daytona
Denny Hamlin has been cleared by a doctor to continue racing in the Sprint Cup Series, but the racing gods seem to be trying to kick him to the curb. For the second week in a row, Denny Hamlin suffered a massive hit, this time going airborne after hard contact from Jeff Gordon during a big crash in the closing laps of the race in Daytona.
Hamlin, who missed four races this season due to a fractured vertebra sustained in a crash early this season in Fontana, had to visit the Infield Care Center last weekend in Kentucky due to symptoms he was enduring after a tire failure sent him into the wall.
"It's tough," said Hamlin's crew chief Darian Grubb. "I know he's really tired of hitting the wall. We're doing it every week, whether it's his fault or not. So it's tough, and it's hard to keep him motivated with all that, but he's still coming in with his game face on, and he drove his butt off tonight. He wanted to go to the front, and we ran to the front two or three times. Wish we could finish there."
Hamlin's 36th-place finish all but ended his Chase chances. He is now a dismal 26th in points, 122 points out of 20th with zero wins.
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: Coke Zero 400
compiled by Summer Bedgood
"That is tough to do at a plate track. Especially with how tight the rules are. I think I showed strength early and a lot of the guys knew that and were willing to work with me, and kind of help me through situations, which is great. I don't know if I really made a bad move tonight. I'm pretty proud of that. Had a great horse to ride got 'white lightning' to Victory Lane, which I'm very proud of. I want to thank Lowe's and all the employees at Lowe's for their dedication and support of our race team. Chevrolet, KOBALT Tools, Gatorade, Sprint for their support of our series as well and I want to give my daughter an early birthday wish. Her birthday is tomorrow, three already. Time is flying, but just an awesome night tonight." - Jimmie Johnson, race winner
"I mean I can't remember everything that happened. I didn't get as good a restart as I wanted. I think it kind of worked to our favor there. It got Clint (Bowyer) a little bit ahead of me and it got Kevin (Harvick) a little bit ahead of Jimmie (Johnson)." - Tony Stewart, finished second
"I thought we were in a good spot. The whole thing on the restarts is just getting your line to form. Everybody on our Budweiser Chevrolet did a great job. We were able to hold Jimmie (Johnson) door to door until the exit of turn two, but both of those restarts the No. 14 and No. 15 and whoever was behind them just couldn't get our line formed up. All night it seemed like the top line would form up pretty quick and those guys were able to get going a lot quicker." - Kevin Harvick, finished third
"Well, I just saw all that stuff in the mirror. But, I mean I was pushing Michael (Waltrip) and I got an opportunity to get to the bottom of him and got him passed. And, I was looking in the mirror and all hell broke loose. Man, that's Daytona. I made a rule with myself at these restrictor-plate tracks to be easy you know — ride around. It's boring. You hate to do that for your sponsors — for your team. You want to be up there racing for every lap led. It's just kind of been working for me. We got a run up there in the middle with the 9 (Marcos Ambrose). I really didn't need that caution to come out. Unfortunately, it did and we restarted on the bottom. I knew I was going to be in trouble cause I wouldn't be able to use that middle. They came through the middle — I was like, 'Oh no.' I was lucky to get back up there. I'll take a top-five in one of these things any day." - Clint Bowyer, finished fourth
"I had a ball. I asked my crew when the checkered fell to remind me why I do this. What's fun about it? Because when you're doing it, it's so intense and heck, me and my teammate (Clint Bowyer) got together on pit road and he just gave me a heck of a push on that last lap and got me clear of a couple guys. I'm really thankful for Aaron's and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and this whole team because I crashed and they made the adjustments to the car. I love NASCAR and I love being in Daytona." - Michael Waltrip, finished fifth
"That's awesome to have a good run like that and stay out of trouble and post a nice Top-10. These Furniture Row guys have been working hard. We've made little mistakes here, there, and everywhere. When we start putting it together, it's now starting to bear the fruit and we've moved our way into the Top 10 in points. So that's pretty cool. We have a long way to go, and yet we still are getting better. I'm just real proud of these guys and the effort that we've put forth and just a big thanks to Barney Visser and Furniture Row and Chevy and everybody that's on board. It's great. We're there, but we've still got a bit of work to do." - Kurt Busch, finished sixth
"It was OK, but we should have been better. That second-to-last restart we restarted eighth and the 15 laid way back on the restart and had a huge run. There were three lanes open. The bottom lane moved to the bottom and I had like three lanes to try to block and he had a run and got to the inside of us and we dropped all the way to the back. But we had a really big run there at the end and picked the right lane and got through a bunch of guys, so that's not the way we wanted to finish because we were sitting in the catbird's seat there, where I thought we could have had a chance to win this thing, but we rallied back for a decent day." - Casey Mears, finished ninth
"Well, a green-white-checkered finish is always exciting. (Dale Earnhardt) Junior and I had a good run through the middle and then up high around (Turn) 4. And I just watched the replay. It felt like I ran just along the wall but it could have been me that came down in front of the No. 38 (David Gilliland). It definitely wasn't what I was trying to do at all. I was just following the No. 88 (Earnhardt, Jr.). So, if that's what happened, then I definitely apologize. I lost spots doing it." - Danica Patrick, finished 14th
"We're happy, but a little disappointed. We were there. We were definitely in contention there at the end and had a good run on the last lap coming off turn two, so I felt like we were in contention to win right there, for sure. Kurt and I had a good run on the outside and came up a little short because we ran out of help. But I'm proud of my guys and proud of our effort. I'm happy and overall it was a good day for us." - David Gilliland, finished 15th
"Crazy. I tell you, it was wild out there. We had really good track position running up front and then that caution came out on that pit cycle and got us to the back and we were just stuck back there. So I decided to stay back there for a little bit while I was there and then we started working our way up and got hit off of turn four and knocked the toe out. We struggled with speed a little bit the rest of the night, but we kept digging and got up there. I think we finished 16th, but didn't get hurt bad in the points and made it through Daytona. We didn't end up hitting the wall or anything like that, so we're good." - Greg Biffle, finished 17th
"Up to the white flag, I thought we had shot at that thing with the 2 car pushing us. We had the top with open track ahead of us and the 17 got in there somehow to our left-rear and got us completely sideways. I thought we were crashed, so luckily we didn't tear it up and finish that one early, but it wasn't the finish we were looking for with that strong of a car. We ran in the top 10 all day and could drive to the front, but we just didn't get a good finish. I had fun today. It was actually a fun restrictor plate race, but I wish we could have kept that momentum on the top with the 2 car and got to the front." - Trevor Bayne, finished 20th
"Jimmie got a little loose or he just didn't see my move coming, and I split him coming off of two. He came down to check the spot and I was already there and he just bounced us straight into the 5. That's plate racing. We're all trying to win." - Marcos Ambrose, finished 26th
"Yeah we were… Jimmie (Johnson) moved up to block the outside row coming so I kind of at that point had the lead. I had followed Jimmie a lot throughout the race. I felt really good with our Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet. Next thing I know I got slammed and shot left. It was the end of our night. It's kind of how these races go. You don't have a lot of control over some of the things that happen here. I'm happy our car was fast and we put a good showing out. We ran up front the whole race." - Kasey Kahne, finished 32nd
"Really not much. I saw the side of the 11 (Denny Hamlin) car get turned and I tried — I was already around the top so I slowed down as much as I could and just got hit and was just kind of a ping pong ball. So, I'm not sure what started it, or really what hit me and got it. I just saw the wreck and tried to slow down and miss it. But there's just not much I could do." - Matt Kenseth, finished 33rd
"Yeah, we lost some track position there. Had a really strong car, really good handling Axalta Chevrolet tonight so I was happy about that. Great to have Finish Master and the 50 years that Axalta has been with them on board tonight too. Just sitting there kind of riding along hoping that outside lane, I can't say we were riding it was pretty aggressive. Just nowhere to go and just riding that outside lane hoping they were starting to make progress. I don't know I just saw somebody spin in front of me. We all tried to avoid it. I guess it was the No. 11 and we all tried to avoid them and Matt (Kenseth) got sideways and then I didn't have anywhere to go either. Got the right-front and that just sent the car into the wall." - Jeff Gordon, finished 34th (Crashed Out)
"They started to crash there in front of me and I was clear, but a couple of cars came from the top of the race track down in front of me and I got in a wreck. I was actually being really patient back there and was kind of minding my own business riding around right on the yellow line kind of expecting a crash, but hoping that I'd be out of harm's way where I was at, but, unfortunately, I wasn't." - Aric Almirola, finished 38th (Crashed Out)
"We all went to the bottom to create a second groove because they were really checking up on the top. For some reason they decided to try to blend when there was no room. For a change, somebody made the mistake and we ended up paying for the mistake. Kind of sucks because everybody on this Target team has been working really hard we've got a great car. We had really good speed in practice, qualified well and we were just taking our time. It just sucks." - Juan Pablo Montoya, finished 39th
"It was a right-front [tire]. I don't really know what it was. I really don't think I ran anything over and in looking it over it looks like a shoulder failure to me. I don't know why. I haven't seen any tire issues out here. It was a big hit, but a bigger hit in the points, really. We'll have to fix this thing up and put a new right-front suspension on and get back out there to try and gain a couple more spots if we can. It's just a bummer. The Shell/Pennzoil team has done a great job all year gaining up some points. We'll lose a lot here, but we're not out of it by any means." - Joey Logano, finished 40th
"I'm not real sure to be honest with you. I watched the replay — I couldn't really even tell if he (Denny Hamlin) hit us or not, or if it was just an error. It was strange. It felt like my left rear tire blew out — it happened so fast. So, I'm not sure exactly if I was just in the worst position possible when the 11 (Denny Hamlin) came up on us. You can see before he even touched us I was turning sideways and totally unexpected because our car had been really good all night. It definitely never showed any signs of being loose. I think it was just that situation we were in it just spun it around. I hate it for our guys. We had a good race car. We were just trying to take it easy and bide our time. Obviously, riding there and trying to stay in line and take it easy. We definitely needed the finish tonight. This is going to hurt us pretty bad." - Martin Truex Jr., finished 41st (Crashed Out)
"Absolutely no warning, the water was 225 and we were just kind of riding there. The car was really good, handled great. Kind of biding our time for the first pit stop came off Turn 4 and something just let go. It wasn't smoking, it broke and I could hear it. I felt the heat come up. I didn't know if I was on fire or not. I couldn't feel it right away. Just unfortunate we needed a good run and had a really good car today a good Rheem/Menards Chevy." - Paul Menard, finished 43rd (Blown Engine)
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
The Big Six: Questions Answered After The Coke Zero 400
by Amy Henderson
The Stats Don't Lie: Jimmie Johnson Keeps Racking Them Up
by Summer Bedgood
by Amy Henderson
The Stats Don't Lie: Jimmie Johnson Keeps Racking Them Up
by Summer Bedgood
by P. Huston Ladner
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1994 New England Chevy Dealers 250, Derrike Cope picked up his first and only career win in the Busch Grand National (now Nationwide) Series, despite seemingly being out of the hunt in the last ten laps. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In 1987, Bobby Allison won the Pepsi Firecracker 400, passing Ken Schrader with less than two laps to go. However, there were a couple of notable people that didn't even realize that Allison had taken the lead. Who were those people?
A: Unfortunately, those two people just so happened to be ABC's commentators on Wide World of Sports. They missed Allison getting his lap back from leader Dave Marcis with a few laps to go. As a result, when Allison took the lead, they were convinced that he was getting his lap back (at the time, there wouldn't have been anything preventing that from happening since there were double-file restarts with lapped cars on the inside all race long). Since the race was highlighted and tape-delayed at the time, ABC was able to redo the commentary in post-production.
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: Coke Zero 400 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Coke Zero 400 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder by P. Huston Ladner
Huston returns for his weekly edition of talking points, which will wrap up the action at Kentucky and get us ready for the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Huston returns for his weekly edition of talking points, which will wrap up the action at Kentucky and get us ready for the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Daytona-New Hampshire Edition by Brad Morgan
Brad gets us set for New Hampshire 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.
Brad gets us set for New Hampshire 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.
-----------------------------
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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