Monday, September 30, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: September 30th, 2013

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
September 23th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXXI

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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Johnson Wins At Dover For Record-Breaking Eighth Time

by Justin Tucker

Jimmie Johnson's career has been defined by milestones.  Coming into Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, Johnson was looking to cement his name in the history books once more by becoming the all time wins leader at Dover.  Winning would break a tie he shared with Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison.

However, on top of the record, Johnson was looking for redemption.  In June, Johnson jumped a late race restart and was penalized, costing him a shot a certain history and relegating him to a 17th-place finish.  With June fresh in his mind, Johnson would have a near flawless performance, holding off his teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. after a late race restart to win a historic eighth race at Dover.

Johnson dominated much of the afternoon, leading a race high 243 of 400 laps to claim his fifth victory of 2013 and most importantly, move up to second-place in the standings, just eight points behind Matt Kenseth.

Johnson spoke of the record breaking win and the importance of closing ground on Kenseth in Victory Lane.

"You've got to win when you're at your best track," Johnson said.  "We had to win here today.  I think any points on the 18 or 20 would have been a very good day.  Max points, it's an awesome day.

'Truthfully, [the record] was the first thought that went through my mind when I crossed the finish line," Johnson continued.  "It wasn't long after [that that] I thought about the impact of winning in the Chase."

Johnson's teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would enjoy a successful afternoon on Sunday.  Running in the top 5 for much of the afternoon, Earnhardt Jr. would lead 80 laps on the day to finish second just .446 seconds behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.  However, Earnhardt Jr. showed obvious frustration over a race he thought let slip away.

"The mistake I made coming on to pit road and missing pit road completely (cost us)," Earnhardt Jr. said.  "If I had not given up that track position and had a smart enough race to keep the lead when it counted, right at the end we might have won the race.  It would have been hard to get by us just like it was hard to get by Jimmie.  We left everybody in the mirror.  We were clicking off some laps.  But, [we] just [were] not fast enough to get to Jimmie."

Chasers would dominate the day at Dover, sweeping the top 10 in the finishing order. Joining Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. in the top 5 were Joey Logano in third-place, Jeff Gordon coming home in fourth, and Kyle Busch scoring a top 5 finish after handling problems much of the race.

Positions six through ten at Dover were led by Kevin Harvick in sixth, Matt Kenseth in seventh, Ryan Newman in eighth, Greg Biffle would bring his RFR No. 16 home ninth, and rounding out the top 10 on Sunday was Clint Bowyer.

By the numbers in Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover.  There was 19 lead changes among eight different drivers, and only four cautions for 21 laps kept the race pace at 130.909 MPH.

Next week the Sprint Cup Series heads to the lightning fast 1.5 mile Kansas Speedway for round No. 4 of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup.  The Hollywood Casino 400 will get underway at 2:16 P.M. ET.

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: Johnson Closes The Gap On Kenseth
by Phil Allaway

Jimmie Johnson's eighth career victory at Dover allowed him to close the gap a little bit on Matt Kenseth.  However, Kenseth still brought his Toyota, displaying Home Depot's orange colors for the first time all season, home in the seventh position.  As Johnson claimed the most laps led (thus giving himself another "48 Special"), the margin is now eight points with seven races to go.  Kyle Busch finished a Chase-worst fifth on Sunday and lost a spot in the points, dropping to third.

Kevin Harvick is up two places to fourth in the standings after finishing sixth.  Despite gaining the spots, he did not gain a single point on Kenseth.  Harvick is tied with Jeff Gordon, who earned a strong fourth-place finish.  Two points behind Harvick and Gordon is Greg Biffle, who dropped a place despite finishing ninth.

Ryan Newman is up two places to seventh in points after finishing eighth, while Clint Bowyer is back up to eighth after finishing tenth.  Kurt Busch is down two places to ninth after a miserable day at Dover.  Early on, Kurt dealt with a very tight race car, then his new pit crew left lugnuts loose on his first green flag pit stop.  The loose lugnuts created a bad vibration, forced Kurt to make an unscheduled pit stop under green and trapped him three laps down.  He would eventually finish 21st.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is up one place to tenth in points after his run to second on Sunday.  However, he's still in a deep hole from his problems in Joliet.  Carl Edwards was the big loser on Sunday, dropping seven places to 11th due to a hub failure late in the race.  Edwards' crew got the hub fixed, but he lost 15 laps in the process.  Edwards finished 35th.  Despite finishing third, Joey Logano didn't really gain any ground on anyone.  Kasey Kahne rounds out the top-13, having suffered from engine problems late in the race that dropped him to a 13th-place finish.
 
Chase Point Standings: 1) Matt Kenseth 2149, 2) Jimmie Johnson -8, 3) Kyle Busch -12, t-4) Kevin Harvick -39, t-4) Jeff Gordon -39, 6) Greg Biffle -41, 7) Ryan Newman -48, 8) Clint Bowyer -51, 9) Kurt Busch -55, 10) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -57, 11) Carl Edwards -65, 12) Joey Logano -66, 13) Kasey Kahne -78.

Best of the Rest Points (14-23): 14) Jamie McMurrray 819, 15) Brad Keselowski -20, 16) Martin Truex, Jr. -38, 17) Paul Menard -51, 18) Aric Almirola -78, 19) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -92, 20) Jeff Burton -95, 21) Marcos Ambrose -98, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -105, 23) Casey Mears -222.

Non-Chase Point Standings (Top 23): 1)
Jimmie Johnson 970, 2) Matt Kenseth -29, 3) Kyle Busch -34, 4) Kevin Harvick -38, 5) Carl Edwards -50, 6) Clint Bowyer -93, 7) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -97, 8) Greg Biffle -106, 9) Jeff Gordon -110, 10) Kurt Busch -114, 11) Ryan Newman -128, 12) Joey Logano -139, 13) Jamie McMurray -151, 14) Kasey Kahne -160, 15) Brad Keselowski -171, 16) Martin Truex, Jr. -189, 17) Paul Menard -202, 18) Aric Almirola -229, 19) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -243, 20) Jeff Burton -246, 21) Marcos Ambrose -249, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -256, 23) Casey Mears -373.

Race Winners: Jimmie Johnson (Daytona-1, Martinsville, Pocono, Daytona-2, Dover-2), Carl Edwards (Phoenix, Richmond-2), Matt Kenseth (Las Vegas, Kansas, Darlington, Kentucky, Bristol-2, Chicagoland, Loudon-2), Kasey Kahne (Bristol, Pocono-2), Kyle Busch (Auto Club, Texas, Watkins Glen, Atlanta), Kevin Harvick (Richmond-1, Charlotte), David Ragan (Talladega), Tony Stewart (Dover), Greg Biffle (Michigan), Martin Truex, Jr. (Sonoma), Brian Vickers (Loudon-1), Ryan Newman (Indianapolis), Joey Logano (Michigan-2)

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-2 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 26th, finished 24th

For the second week in a row, Mears and the No. 13 team topped the small teams on the scoreboard but didn't show the strength they should have in doing so.  Mears finished 16th at Dover in June, and this week, the team struggled to a 24th-place result.  Part of that is the big teams getting a foothold with the Gen-6 cars and pulling away from what was a more level playing field in June.  But this team doesn't seem to have the spark they did in the spring, when Mears was as high as 17th in driver points and it looked like this team could end the year with a handful of top-15 runs.  They're still the best of the small teams, but they haven't quite lived up to the potential they showed early in the season.

Underdog Selection No. 2: David Ragan for Front Row Motorsports; started 27th, finished 25th

This team has also made huge strides in 2013, even packing home a win at Talladega, but they still need to show that they can put together some runs in the top-20 range on a more regular basis.  Ragan has been solidly in the 20's most weeks, including this one.  With a major aerodynamic change rumored to be in the works for 2014, that will bring the smaller teams closer to the big ones similar to the way the Gen-6 did early this year, and these teams will again need to capitalize.  Ragan is also on the radar to repeat at Talladega next month.

Underdog Selection No. 3: Cole Whitt for Swan Racing; started 33rd, finished 27th

While Whitt finished fourth among the underdogs this week (AJ Allmendinger finished one spot better), his run was impressive because of his relative inexperience in a Cup car.  At just 22 years old, Whitt made his Dover debut Sunday and finished respectably for this little team that has exceeded expectations all year.  While their late-season driver changes have been a bit of a mystery, it hasn't seemed to slow them down.

Underdog Pick of the Week-Kansas II: Casey Mears for Germain Racing

In this section, I'll give you my pick among the small teams to have a strong run in the upcoming race.

My pick for Dover was David Reutimann, who was just okay with his 28th place, fifth among the underdogs.

The Cup Series heads to Kansas this week, not exactly a track where the little guys typically sneak home with a great finish.  Mears has a fairly respectable 22.9 average at Kansas, among the best of the drivers in this group and was working his way toward a top-20 finish in the spring before getting collected in a crash.  If he can avoid trouble this time around, he should have a solid day.

Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage NASCAR's underdogs 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 AAA 400 was brought to you by the Letter L for "Long Runs."  With few exceptions, races at Dover ever since the track was converted to concrete for 1995 have been far calmer than the early 1990's crash fests that Dover hosted.  Races at Dover are not necessarily the most exciting these days, but the introduction of the Chase into the equation actually makes it less exciting than it could be. - Phil Allaway

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Sidebar Stories: Dover
by Summer Bedgood

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Falls Short in Dover

Though Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Chase hopes are slimming every week, a chance at Victory Lane seemed to be in the works as the laps wound down at Dover International Speedway.  Earnhardt, who led a total of 80 laps in the race, wound up second after a four tire call fell short of the victory to eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson's two tire call.

However, Earnhardt may have been able to pull out the win had he not had a couple of pit road miscues earlier on in the race.  As Earnhardt, who was leading at the time, attempted to head to pit road for a green flag pit stop at lap 117, he was not able to slow down enough to make the commitment line, and was forced to run around the track another lap.  He returned to the track in eighth.

During a second miscue, Earnhardt had to slow up behind Mark Martin at the entrance to pit road, which made Earnhardt's time on pit road much lengthier.

Still, Earnhardt got within a half second of Johnson's bumper as the laps wound down and was only .446 seconds behind him when they crossed the finish line.

"Two weeks in a row, we've had two fantastic race cars," Earnhardt said.  "(I'm) proud of all the guys for bringing such good cars to the race track. It certainly makes my job easier, gives us opportunities to win like this.  Trying to look on the bright side, I'm a little disappointed we didn't pull off the win.  Felt like we had the perfect strategy.  Had maybe the best car, arguably the best car, today.  With those four tires, I thought we could get it done.  We left everybody in the mirror.  We were clicking off some laps, but just not fast enough to get to Jimmie."

Earnhardt gained one spot in the standings and is now 10th in points.  He is 57 points out of the championship lead.

Carl Edwards Falls in Chase Standings

Carl Edwards entered Dover fourth in the standings, within a one race gap from the lead.

He would leave 11th in the points, 65 points out of the lead.

The culprit?  A broken hub sustained at a racetrack that had generally been good to Edwards. A 35th-place finish may have dashed Edwards' hopes at reigning in the series leaders.

"I used to really like Dover -- I really looked forward to this place," said Edwards.  "This was tough.  We needed the other guys to have problems.  We didn't need to have problems.  Something broke on the left rear.  I don't think it was a mistake by any of my guys."

Edwards had already struggled in the race, who was one lap down with less than 40 laps to go.  This weekend, he heads to Kansas Speedway, where he has an average finish of 11th.

Brad Keselowski Struggles in Dover

Defending series champion Brad Keselowski continues to add insult to injury after missing the Chase at Richmond a few weeks ago.

Keselowski looked like he might be able to pull out a top 10 finish at Dover, until oil starting trickling out of the rear end of his No. 2 car.  He would pull into the garage on lap 226.

"Something in the rear-end housing went out and burned itself up," Keselowski said while his crewmen worked on the car. "We leaked oil on the track, so (we) figured we would come in before we ruined everybody else's day."

Keselowski would eventually return to the track and finish 37th.

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: AAA 400
compiled by Summer Bedgood

"Two (tires) worked good for us in practice.  And believe me; I wanted to see four tires line up in the fourth or fifth row.  When they lined up right behind me, I thought I was going to have my hands full.  And I really did.  Junior drove a whale of a race and track position really gave me the advantage I needed to hold him off.  It's good to get this KOBALT Tools Chevrolet in Victory Lane.  I'm very excited.  I'm very happy to have Mr. Hendrick here.  I wish that I had my family here.  I want to say hi to my girls at home.  Thank you to all the fans and to Sprint.  This is just an awesome day and awfully timely in the scheme of things." - Jimmie Johnson, race winner

"Well, Jimmie (Johnson) was just that good.  I thought that four tires were going to be enough to get to him and get him out of the way, but he is just that fast around here.  That track position is really important and I gave that up early in the race with that mistake coming onto pit road.  And it cost us a shot at the win there.  We still had it.  My crew gave me a good enough car to get us back into it, so I've got to thank them, National Guard, Diet Mountain Dew, Time Warner Cable and all of our partners." - Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished second

"We are concerned about points because we're in the Chase and we're not out of it yet.  I just saw we're 66 points back now so we gained a couple, which isn't many, but these are the days we've got to have.  We're back on track.  The last three weeks have been a little tougher for us and coming here to Dover, my favorite race track, this Shell/Pennzoil team did everything they had to do to get that Ford up front and get closer.  Our biggest issue is we didn't take off with really good speed, but after 15-16-17 laps it came to me and it was really fast.  It just took a little bit too long there on the last restart.  I was able to get up to third, I was in the right lane, but by the time my car came to me I was too late.  We were the fastest car the last six laps, but it doesn't really matter when you can barely see the leaders.  Unfortunately, that was our day, but, overall, we can't be too disappointed with a third-place finish.  It's just that you always want to be a little better." - Joey Logano, finished third

"It was definitely tough.  Our Axalta Cromax Pro Chevrolet was very good.  We had moments where I felt like we had the best car and there were moments where I felt like we were one of the worst cars.  Man, I did not want to see that last caution. I felt like we were really in the perfect position fuel mileage wise, tires, speed of the car, we were just sitting there riding trying to get to the end.  Then we had to make a decision on two tires, four tires.  I felt like two was going to be the right thing.  It worked out for Jimmie (Johnson) to win it.  Congrats to him, but just didn't work out for us.  Our car just didn't take off very good there." - Jeff Gordon, finished fourth

"We were about a fifth to seventh-place car much of the day and we ended up fifth.  The Interstate Batteries Camry got what it could out of it.  Certainly, I wish we definitely could've gotten more.  We probably could've if I could've got the outside lane on the final restart I probably could've finished third, but we didn't get that.  We had to fight through it and pass a couple cars the hard way and we ended up fifth.  It's certainly the finish that our car was today.  It's frustrating to be fifth, but yet you look at the grand scheme of things and it's three straight top-fives to start the Chase so not bad." - Kyle Busch, finished fifth

"It says we've got a Chase contending team, but it's one week at a time.  We've got seven more to go.  The first three were good, but we've got to back that up for seven more weeks and we've got to put this 18 car — this M&M's, Interstate Batteries Camry — we've got to put it in Victory Lane here sooner or later." - Dave Rogers, crew chief for Kyle Busch

"That was a long day.  All in all, all the guys on our Budweiser Chevy did a good job of just kind of keep pounding away.  That is what you have to do here at Dover as you get towards halfway it just kind of seems like you can make up positions by just staying in the game.  We just kept ourself in the game today.  We didn't have a great car, but we still have some work to do to get the performance a little bit better.  We have got to fix pit road." - Kevin Harvick, finished sixth

"When you look up, it's everybody that finished in front of you — it's all cars that you're racing for points.  Overall, for how bad I felt like we struggled with the car, that was a decent finish." - Matt Kenseth, finished seventh

"Our day started out really well, the car was great for the first 100 laps or so.  It got tight after that and we never could make the right adjustment to get it handling like I needed it to.  I think we finished eighth, but I know a lot of the guys we're in the chase with finished ahead of us.  All in all, it wasn't a bad day for the State Water Heaters Chevrolet.  We got another top-10 finish, which means everyone can go to Outback Steakhouse and get a free Bloomin' Onion, and we paid ten mortgages with Quicken Loans' "Bring it Home" promotion." - Ryan Newman, finished eighth

"We've just got to keep working at it.  We're learning stuff as we go, so we'll just keep trying to get better every week.  We went back and forth between being too loose and too tight, but I think we learned something today as to why we've run so bad here the last two or three years.  That's good for later on, but not good for today.  Now we know.  We stumbled on to a little bit of grip, so maybe that will help us at other places." - Greg Biffle, finished ninth

"I'm proud of everyone on our 5-hour ENERGY team.  We've had a rough start to the Chase, but we worked hard and put ourselves in a good position to go for the win today.  Unfortunately, that caution there at the end ruined our plan, but we were good enough and smart enough to get a win today.  That is a tough one to swallow, but I'm ready to go to Kansas next week. It's my home track and I'm looking forward to racing in front of my home crowd." - Clint Bowyer, finished tenth

"We don't know yet.  Something was wrong and we lost a lot of power.  Didn't seem like the engine, maybe it was something else like tail pipes or something. We are not real sure.  We just salvaged a good finish and we didn't pit there and got a top-15.  So that was good for what we had and what we were dealt with." - Kasey Kahne, finished 13th

"Chad (Johnston, crew chief) took a real chance today with our setup and I am proud of him for it.  We had nothing to lose and everything to gain.  Sometimes you have to think outside the box.  Unfortunately, it wasn't quite right and a long green-flag run cost us a lap.  But we fought back with some really big changes and got us in position for two chances to get our lap back, but it just didn't happen for us.  It's a shame because we were turning top-five, top-10 times.  Chad did a great job adjusting on our NAPA Shocks Toyota.  It was a top-10 car from halfway on.  We made a lot of progress.  If we would have gotten our lap back, we would have had something for them." - Martin Truex Jr., finished 15th

"A loose wheel did us in.  We were way off at the start, but after the first pit stop we made some good changes and started to make a move.  But once again, we had an issue with a loose wheel (right rear, Lap 156) and that put us a couple of laps down.  And with the lack of cautions, we couldn't make it up.  This is the Chase and you can't afford to have these problems.  We need to regroup and get it together for Kansas next week." - Kurt Busch, finished 21st

"It was a long, hard-fought day for our Taco Bell team.  We threw a lot of changes at it from yesterday and the guys kept working on it the whole race.  We had a good day on pit road, too.  So, we would've liked a little bit better finish, but we'll take it and get ready for the short week before heading to Kansas." - David Ragan, finished 25th

"Overall, we gave it the best effort we could.  Greg hung on and got a decent finish, but we've really got to step it up now to have a chance.  We did not need to have that trouble, but there's a lot of racing left.  We don't quit.  We just have to keep moving." - Carl Edwards, finished 35th

"I'm not exactly sure, but something in the rear end housing went out and burned itself up.  I'm sure everything is screaming hot down there.  We leaked oil on the track, so figured we would come in before we ruined everybody else's day.  We definitely weren't gonna finish it off, so it's just one of those deals."  - Brad Keselowski, finished 37th
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

by the Frontstretch Staff

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:
  This weekend, the Izod IndyCar Series travels to Reliant Park in Houston for the revival of an older street festival event that ChampCar held.  What was notable about the first race in 2006?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q: 
Dale Earnhardt's 1992 season was tied for the worst full season of his Winston Cup career.  It was one of only two seasons in his career that he failed to finish in the top-10 in points.  The Peak AntiFreeze 500 at Dover could have been a great day for him, but it just wasn't meant to be.  What knocked him down the order?

A:  Earnhardt was in contention with a little more than 200 laps to go when Rusty Wallace got overzealous on a restart and hit Brett Bodine and Ernie Irvan (the leader at the time) in Turn 1.  Bodine went up and smacked the outside wall, while Wallace and Irvan spun.  Earnhardt and others went to the apron to avoid the incident and Earnhardt was unable to avoid Wallace.  The incident can be seen here.

All the drivers involved were eventually able to continue.  Earnhardt pulled away on his own and made it to pit road with damage that by today's standards would not be considered all that bad.  However, he punctured the oil cooler when he hit Wallace.  As a result, he sat on pit for nearly 20 minutes as his crew replaced the cooler and eventually finished 30 laps down.

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: AAA 400 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 Dover and get us ready for Kansas.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Dover-Kansas Edition by Brad Morgan
Brad gives up something to look forward to going into Kansas. He's 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.

Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series both raced at Dover International Speedway.  Meanwhile, the Camping World Truck Series was in action out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. How did ESPN and FOX Sports 1 do last weekend?  Find out in our weekly TV critique.
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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

Friday, September 27, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Weekend Racing Preview

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

September 27th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXX

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What's On Tap This Weekend: Racing On Television
by Phil Allaway

Friday, September 27
Time    Telecast    Network
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM    Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 1    FOX Sports 1
12:30 PM - 3:00 PM    Nationwide Series Practice    FOX Sports 1
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM    Sprint Cup Series Qualifying    ESPN2

Saturday, September 28
Time    Telecast    Network
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM    Sprint Cup Series Practice No. 2    FOX Sports 2
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM    Nationwide Series Qualifying    FOX Sports 2
1:30 PM - 4:30 PM    Rolex Sports Car Series Championship Weekend presented by BMW    FOX Sports 2
3:30 PM - 6:00 PM    Nationwide Series OneMain Financial 200    ESPN
8:00 PM - 8:30 PM    NCWTS Setup    FOX Sports 1
8:30 PM -11:00 PM    Camping World Truck Series Smith's 350k    FOX Sports 1

Sunday, September 29
Time    Telecast    Network
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM    NASCAR RaceDay Fueled by Sunoco    FOX Sports 1
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM    NASCAR Countdown    ESPN
2:00 PM - 6:00 PM    Sprint Cup Series AAA 400    ESPN
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM    NASCAR Victory Lane    FOX Sports 1
11:30 PM - 12:30 AM    NASCAR Now, Post-Race    ESPN2


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Top News
by Justin Tucker

Hamlin Honored By March of Dimes

Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin was honored by the March of Dimes with one of its highest honors, the prestigious "Champions for Babies" award on Thursday night at the March of Dimes Volunteer Leadership Conference gala in Washington,D.C. Hamlin was recognized for his work raising awareness for the foundation's signature fundraiser.

The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota is the fourth recipient of the award, joining the likes of Arnold Palmer, Joe Namath, and Greg Gumbel. Hamlin's involvement with the March of Dimes began in 2006 when he was signed on to drive the No. 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

"I'm in huge elite company, but the others who received it obviously were huge advocates for the March of Dimes," Hamlin said. "They are recognizing me for the efforts that we've put in over these last six years for the March of Babies and the donations we try to raise, and the work we do through FedEx. It's a huge honor because there are millions of people who watch our NASCAR races each week, and see our car, and at statistics show at least 25 percent have had a premature baby and they recognize it and understand."

Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx team are active each Spring supporting the March for Babies fundraising walk. They also host March of Dimes National Ambassador families at many Sprint Cup Series races and Hamlin has also raced with a special March of Dimes paint scheme over the last six seasons.

KBM Adds Late Model Races to Jones' Schedule

Kyle Busch Motorsports announced on Thursday that 17-year-old phenom Erik Jones will drive the team's No. 51 Toyota Camry in three upcoming Super Late Model events highlighted by the prestigious 46th annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL on December 8th, 2013. Jones, the defending champion of the Snowball Derby will also compete in the Winchester 400 on October 11th and the All American 400 on November 2nd.

Jones, who has been turning heads in the Camping World Truck Series in 2013 has one start remaining in KBM's No. 51 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 8th. Jones has scored four consecutive top-10 finishes in the Truck Series this year, highlighted by a career best second-place result at Iowa Speedway in July.
 
"It's really an honor to be able to drive KBM's Super Late Model." Jones said. "They have shown that they are one of the leaders in the Super Late Model world the last few years. I know from having raced against them, as a driver when you see that #51 Camry entered for a race you know that is the car you have to beat. These are the three biggest late model races of the year and I can't wait to have a chance to compete in them and hopefully defend the derby title."

Jones' success hasn't been limited to the Truck Series and Late Models, Jones has made 4 ARCA Series starts for Venturini Motorsports. Jones claimed his 1st career ARCA Series win at Berlin Raceway in August leading 154 of 200 laps en route to winning at his home state track. Jones has scored two top 5's and 3 top 10's in his 4 ARCA starts in 2013.

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

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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.

~~~~~~~~~~

In Case You Missed It
by Beth Lunkenheimer

CMS Releases Better Half Dash Entry List

Earlier this week, Charlotte Motor Speedway announced the current entry list for the Third Annual Better Half Dash on Bojangles' Pole Night Thursday, October 10th. The ladies of NASCAR will race U.S. Legend Cars International Bandoleros on the quarter-mile oval located on the frontstretch.

The following drivers are currently on the entry list:

- Wendy Venturini, motorsports analyst for Fox Sports 1

- Lyn-z Pastrana, wife of NASCAR driver Travis Pastrana

- Kristen Yeley, wife of NASCAR driver J.J. Yeley

- Michelle Gilliland, wife of NASCAR driver David Gilliland

- Ashley Stremme, wife of NASCAR driver David Stremme

- Heidi Stoddard, wife of NASCAR team owner Frank Stoddard

- Jessica Park, wife of NASCAR driver Steve Park

- Gina Cope, wife of NASCAR crew chief Ernie Cope

- Amy Gordon, wife of NASCAR crew chief Todd Gordon

- Melanie Self, representing Motor Racing Outreach

The Better Half Dash will be a 25 lap sprint with a competition caution scheduled for lap 15. If needed, the ladies will have two green-white-checkered finish attempts. The winning driver will receive a total of $10,000 that will be donated to different charities. Speedway Children's Charities and Motor Racing Outreach will $2,500 apiece, and the winner will choose the other charities they wish to help. Fans interested in making donations to support any of the ladies can click here for more information.

"Drive Sober, Arrive Alive" Featured on Yeley's Car at Dover

The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (DOHS) will once again be one board JJ Yeley's No. 36 Chevrolet. The "Drive Sober, Arrive Alive" campaign joins Tommy Baldwin Racing to highlight the importance of not drinking and driving. Additionally, the DOHS will allow fan to make the pledge to only drive sober. Fans can also sign the No. 36 show car.

"It is great to be heading back to Dover International Speedway and teaming up with the Delaware Office of Highway Safety once again. I have been involved with the DOHS for the past couple years and really enjoy getting to help promote driver safety throughout the weekend," Yeley said. "We have a lot of really neat stuff planned for the fans, I can't wait to see everyone out at the track this weekend."

Yeley isn't the only driver highlighting the dangers of drinking and driving at Dover this weekend. Regan Smith's No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will feature the DOHS campaign in Saturday's Nationwide Series race.

~~~~~~~~~~

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!

~~~~~~~~~~

Frontstretch Folio: AAA 400
by Beth Lunkenheimer

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Dover this weekend for the third race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The AAA 400 is the 29th race of the 2013 season and will be broadcast live on ESPN at 2:00 PM ET. The race can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate or SiriusXM Radio Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 400 laps (400 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and Facts:

Jeremy Mayfield holds the track qualifying record with a lap of 161.522 mph for the 2004 MBNA America 400 "A Salute To Heroes." Mayfield led 78 laps before settling in for an eighth-place finish behind winner Mark Martin. Tony Stewart, who led a race-high 234 laps, finished second, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Jeff Burton and Scott Riggs rounded out the top 5.

Brad Keselowski is the defending winner of this race. After starting tenth, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge led just 14 laps, including the final 10, en route to his fifth and final victory in 2012. Jeff Gordon finished more than one second behind, followed by Mark Martin in third. Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards rounded out the top 5.

Track Facts:

Track / Race Length:
1.0-mile oval, 400 laps, 400 miles
Degree of Banking: Turns: 24 degrees; Straights: 9 degrees
Frontstretch: 1076 feet
Backstretch: 1076 feet
Grandstand Seating: 135,000
Pit Road Speed: 35 mph
Opened: 1969
Website: http://www.doverspeedway.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DoverInternationalSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MonsterMile

Pre-Race Schedule

Practices: Friday, September 27, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM ET on FS1
Saturday, September 28, 11:00 - 11:55 AM ET on FS2
Happy Hour: Saturday, September 28, 2:00 - 2:50 PM ET; Airs on FS2 same day delay at 12:00 AM ET
Qualifying: Friday, September 27 at 3:10 PM ET on ESPN2

VIPs

Grand Marshal / Command:
Diane Remy, executive vice president of products, services and distribution for AAA Mid-Atlantic
Honorary Starter / Wave Green Flag: Marke Dickinson, Ex VP of membership and insurance, and CMO of AAA Mid-Atlantic
Invocation: Pastor Dan Schafer, Calvary Assembly of God, Heightstown, NJ
Honor Guard: Dover Air Force Base Color Guard
National Anthem: Thompson Square
Flyover: B-25 Bomber, Rag Wings and Radials Aircraft Leasing

Race Day Forecast

Sunday:
Partly Cloudy; Chance of Rain 20%
High: 71
Low: 53

They Said It:

"I can't wait to get back in the seat of the No. 51 Shooters Sporting Center Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing at Dover. I am grateful to Harry Scott Jr. for the opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. I'm going to make the most out of this opportunity. I love racing at Dover. It is my home track in the national series. The Monster Mile's high banks are fun to drive, I've had a lot of success competing there." Ryan Truex

"We've had a pretty solid start to our Chase and we are hoping for great things at Dover. We've had a lot of success there as a team. Our group has worked very hard and we feel like both Greg and I made a pretty big breakthrough last week at New Hampshire with the way we ran there. This is grueling track, it's a tough place, it's very fast, it's hard on equipment, it's hard on the driver and hopefully we can run as well as we have historically here. We'd love to get in victory lane and close that gap on Matt Kenseth and those guys in the top three positions; they've done a great job so far. Eight races to go, a lot of racing left." Carl Edwards

"I like my chances. Last week we persevered through a challenging time as a team to bring the best NAPA Toyota I have ever had to New Hampshire. We led a third of the race. If we can do that, I really like my chances at Dover where we have always run well. We were in the running in the spring before I experienced an engine issue. A tremendous potential is there to get us a second win this year. I am just so proud of what Chad, the NAPA team and the 300 employees at MWR have accomplished together. Nothing would help us more than a win at this point and time. It's nice to see our hard work paying off. It goes a long way." Martin Truex, Jr.

~~~~~~~~~~

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:

Four Burning Questions in Dover: Monster Mile Mayhem and Johnson's Return to Prominence
by Matt Stallknecht

Voices From the Cheap Seats: Seriously? Another NASCAR movie?

~~~~~~~~~~

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: Dale Earnhardt's 1992 season was tied for the worst full season of his Winston Cup career.  It was one of only two seasons in his career that he failed to finish in the top-10 in points.  The Peak AntiFreeze 500 at Dover could have been a great day for him, but it just wasn't meant to be.  What knocked him down the order?

Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Thursday's Answer:

Q: In the same 1993 SplitFire Spark Plugs 500, Brett Bodine was a notable absentee from the race.  Dick Trickle, then in between rides, drove Bodine's Quaker State Ford to a 25th-place finish.  Why did Bodine sit out?

A: Bodine crashed his primary car in practice hard and suffered undisclosed injuries.  Rather then gut out a race that lasted just shy of five hours, Bodine decided to take the week off and let Trickle drive.

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! 

~~~~~~~~~~

Monday on the Frontstretch:

Thinkin' Out Loud: AAA 400 by Mike Neff
Mike is back with his overall thoughts from Sunday afternoon's race from Dover.

Commentary by Summer Bedgood
Summer takes a look at one of the biggest stories to come out of Dover.

Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom gives his thoughts on how the third race of the Chase unfolded out at Dover.

Big Six: AAA 400 by Amy Henderson
Amy has your weekly look at the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How from a weekend of racing at Dover.

Pace Laps: Dover / Las Vegas
Weekend by the Frontstretch Staff
It's back again this season! The staff gets together to help you catch up on the latest and greatest going on in each series coming out of a weekend of racing from Dover and Las Vegas.

Nationwide Series Breakdown: One Main Financial 200 by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin has all the post-race analysis you need following Saturday afternoon's Nationwide Series race from Dover.

Tracking the Trucks: Smith's 350 by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth has all the post-race analysis you need following Saturday night's Camping World Truck Series race from Las Vegas.

-----------------------------
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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Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: September 26th, 2013

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

September 26th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXIX
~~~~~~~~~~


Top News
by Phil Allaway

NASCAR Expands Preseason Thunder For 2014

On Wednesday, NASCAR officially announced the dates for Preseason Thunder, the yearly test session for the Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway.  There are some additions as well.

NASCAR Preseason Thunder will be held from January 9-14, 2014 in Daytona, an increase of three days from this year.  The Sprint Cup Series teams will be on track on January 9-10.  The Nationwide Series will then move in and test on January 11-12.  Finally, Camping World Truck Series teams will test on January 13-14.  For the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, it will be their first official January test in Daytona since the testing ban was instituted after the end of the 2008 season.

In addition to the on-track action, there will also be fan-friendly activities available.  The Preseason Thunder Fan Fest will be back for another year.  Sprint Cup's fan fest will be held on January 9th, while the Nationwide Series fan fest will be on January 11th.  There is currently no fan fest scheduled for the Camping World Truck Series.

NASCAR is happy to have Preseason Thunder back in Daytona for another year.

"Preseason Thunder at Daytona offers teams an opportunity to prepare for one of the most important race weekends of the season," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's Vice President of Competition.  "Races at Daytona International Speedway are unique to NASCAR competition, and Preseason Thunder will not only give all three of our national series an opportunity to test, but will allow us to settle upon a rules package that will benefit our teams and provide the best on-track action for our fans."

Track President Joie Chitwood, III is also excited about the upcoming open tests.

"We're looking forward to hosting all three of NASCAR's national touring series for Preseason Thunder," Chitwood said.  "Having the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series teams join the stars of the Sprint Cup Series in testing the high banks will ignite plenty of excitement for the start of the new NASCAR season."

Tickets for Preseason Thunder are not available as of yet.  However, they will be made available starting on November 18th by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.  Tickets will include wristbands required for admittance to autograph sessions.  For the testing itself, fans will be able to watch from a portion of the Oldfield Grandstand (exit of Turn 4) free of charge.

Cold Stone Creamery to Sponsor Piquet at Dover

Wednesday afternoon, Turner Scott Motorsports announced that Cold Stone Creamery, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based chain of premium soft serve ice cream, will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 30 Chevrolet driven by Nelson Piquet, Jr. in Saturday's OneMain Financial 200.  It is the first entry into NASCAR for Cold Stone.

Piquet is very happy to have Cold Stone Creamery aboard for Dover.

"I am thrilled to have Cold Stone on the car this weekend at Dover," Piquet said.  "It's a great company, and I really enjoy getting their ice cream and shakes when I am craving something sweet. It's great to have a new company like Cold Stone in the sport of NASCAR, and I am looking forward to getting them a great finish this weekend at Dover."

Cold Stone Creamery President Dan Beem is happy to be in business with Piquet.

"Piquet Jr.'s competitiveness, leadership and confidence, both in his keen racing acumen and in his team, is without a doubt something to admire," Beem said.  "Jumping into the racing world with Turner Scott Motorsports is an incredible opportunity for our brand to be a part of and is going to be a great ride. Nelson has thrilled race fans the continents over with his mature, controlled, yet aggressive brand of racing. We look forward to being a part of this winning car and team."

Piquet is currently 12th in Nationwide Series points with four top-10 finishes.  At Dover, he has only one Nationwide start, which resulted in a 20th-place finish back in June.  Piquet also has a top-5 finish in the Camping World Truck Series on the high banks.

Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night.  However, they are still subject to change.

Sprint Cup Series AAA 400: 43 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 30-
Cole Whitt for Swan Racing
No. 33-
Tony Raines for Circle Point, LLC
No. 35-
Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports
No. 40-
Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing/Circle Point, LLC
No. 51-
Ryan Truex for Phoenix Racing
No. 55-
Brian Vickers for Michael Waltrip Racing
No. 87-
Joe Nemechek for NEMCO Motorsports/JRR
No. 95-
Reed Sorenson for Leavine Family Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 30-
Cole Whitt returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Swindell.
No. 47-
AJ Allmendinger returns to the seat, replacing Bobby Labonte.
No. 51-
Ryan Truex returns to the seat, replacing Michael McDowell.
No. 98-
Michael McDowell returns to the seat, replacing Johnny Sauter.

Since there are only 43 entries, no one will fail to qualify.

Nationwide Series 5-Hour Energy 200: 39 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 22-
Joey Logano for Penske Racing
No. 33-
Kevin Harvick for Richard Childress Racing
No. 46-
JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 54-
Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports/Joe Gibbs Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 4-
Landon Cassill returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Lepage.
No. 15-
Chase Miller is in the seat, replacing Carl Long.
No. 22-
Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Blaney.
No. 23-
Donnie Neuenberger is in the seat, replacing Harrison Rhodes.
No. 24-
Ken Butler, III returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Ellis.
No. 33-
Kevin Harvick returns to the seat, replacing Matt Crafton.
No. 40-
T.J. Bell returns to the seat, replacing Reed Sorenson.
No. 42-
Josh Wise returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 46-
JJ Yeley returns to the seat, replacing Matt DiBenedetto.
No. 54-
Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing Drew Herring.
No. 70-
Tony Raines returns to the seat, replacing Johanna Long.
No. 79-
T.J. Duke is in the seat, replacing Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Since there are only 39 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify.  However, these teams must still qualify on speed:
No. 00-
Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports*
No. 10-
Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports*
No. 15-
Chase Miller for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 42-
Josh Wise for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 46-
JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 50-
Danny Efland for MAKE Motorsports*
No. 52-
Joey Gase for Jimmy Means Racing
No. 74-
Carl Long for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 89-
Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures

Not Entered:
No. 18-
Joey Coulter for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21-
Dakoda Armstrong for Richard Childress Racing
No. 34-
Jeb Burton for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 55-
Jamie Dick for Viva Motorsports

Camping World Truck Series Smith's 350: 29 trucks entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 84-
Mike Harmon for Chris Fontaine, Inc./Mike Harmon Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 07-
Caleb Roark returns to the seat, replacing Jimmy Weller.  Chris Cockrum was originally entered in the truck.
No. 19-
Ross Chastain returns to the seat, replacing Brad Keselowski.
No. 24-
Brennan Newberry returns to the seat, replacing Austin Dillon.
No. 51-
Chad Hackenbracht returns to the seat, replacing Kyle Busch.
No. 81-
Matt Kurzejewski returns to the seat, replacing Kenny Wallace.  David Starr was originally entered in the truck.

Since there are only 29 trucks entered, no one will fail to qualify.  However, these drivers must still qualify on speed:
No. 0-
Chris Lafferty for JJC Racing*
No. 6-
Justin Lofton for Sharp Gallaher Racing
No. 10-
Jennifer Jo Cobb for JJC Racing
No. 93-
Chris Jones for RSS Racing*

Not Entered:
No. 02-
Tyler Young for Young's Motorsports
No. 27-
Jeff Agnew for Hillman Racing/Team 7 Motorsports
No. 30-
Ben Kennedy for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 38-
RSS Racing
No. 50-
Danny Efland for MAKE Motorsports
No. 63-
Justin Jennings for MB Motorsports
No. 92-
Scott Riggs for RBR Enterprises

Rolex Sports Car Series Championship Weekend presented by BMW: 33 cars entered in 3 classes

Daytona Prototype (DP) Entries: 14
No. 01-
Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
No. 2-
Ryan Dalziel/Alex Popow for Starworks Motorsport
No. 3-
Enzo Potolicchio/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-
Justin Wilson/Gustavo Yacaman for Michael Shank Racing
No. 8-
Brendon Hartley/Scott Mayer for Starworks Motorsports
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-
Oswaldo (Ozz) Negri, Jr./John Pew for Michael Shank Racing
No. 90-
Ricky Taylor/Richard Westbrook for Spirit of Daytona Racing
No. 99-
Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney for GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing

Grand Touring (GT) Entries: 15
No. 18-
Bob Doyle/Kyle Marcelli for Muehlner Motorsports America
No. 19-
Mark Greenberg/Unknown Driver for Muehlner Motorsports America
No. 31-
Eric Curran/Boris Said for Marsh Racing
No. 44-
Andy Lally/John Potter for Magnus Racing
No. 46-
Al Carter/Eric Lux for Fall-Line Motorsports
No. 57-
John Edwards/Robin Liddell for Stevenson Motorsports
No. 61-
Jeff Segal/Alex Tagliani for R. Ferri/Aim Autosport
No. 63-
Alessandro Balzan/Leh Keen for Scuderia Corsa
No. 64-
Johannes van Overbeek/Paul Westphal for Scuderia Corsa
No. 66-
Damien Faulkner/Richard Stanaway for TRG-Aston Martin Racing
No. 69-
Emil Assentato/Anthony Lazzaro for AIM Autosport Team FXDD
No. 73-
Patrick Lindsey/Patrick Long for Park Place Motorsports
No. 75-
Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen for Stevenson Motorsports
No. 93-
Tom Kimber-Smith/Michael Marsal for Turner Motorsport
No. 94-
Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana for Turner Motorsport

Grand Touring Experimental (GX) Entries: 4
No. 00-
Joel Miller/Tristan Nunez for SpeedSource
No. 11-
Bill and Scott Dollahite for SDR/Lotus Racing
No. 38-
Dr. Jim Norman/Spencer Pumpelly/John Tecce for BGB Motorsports
No. 70-
Tom Long/Sylvain Tremblay for SpeedSource

Not Entered:
No. 02-
Scott Dixon/Dario Franchitti for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
No. 03-
Mike Hedlund/Johannes van Overbeek for Extreme Speed Motorsports
No. 50-
Byron Dafoor/Jim Pace for Alegra Motorsports
No. 71-
Charles Espenlaub/Charles Putnam for Park Place Motorsports

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Championship Weekend: 50 entries in 2 classes

Grand Sport (GS) Entries: 22
No. 01-
Lawson Aschenbach/Ashley McCalmont for CKS Autosport
No. 03-
Joe Varde/Unknown driver for Rum Bum Racing
No. 05-
Unknown drivers for Racers Edge Motorsports
No. 7- Damien Faulkner/Richard Stanaway? for TRG-Aston Martin Racing
No. 9-
Matt Bell/John Edwards for Stevenson Motorsports
No. 13-
Nick Longhi/Matt Plumb for Rum Bum Racing
No. 14-
Brad Jaeger/BJ Zacharias for Doran Racing
No. 15-
Archie Hamilton/Nick Mancuso for Multimatic Motorsports
No. 35-
Andrew Aquilante/Preston Calvert for Phoenix Performance Racing
No. 38-
Dr. Jim Norman/Spencer Pumpelly for BGB Motorsports
No. 45-
Al Carter/Hugh Plumb for Fall-Line Motorsports
No. 46-
Mark Boden/Bryan Sellers for Fall-Line Motorsports
No. 48-
Charles Espenlaub/Trent Hindman for Fall-Line Motorsports
No. 51-
Joey Atterbury/Shelby Blackstock for Roush Performance
No. 55-
Jade Buford/Scott Maxwell for Multimatic Motorsports
No. 61-
Billy Johnson/Jack Roush, Jr. for Roush Performance
No. 71-
Tonis Kasemets/Michael Marsal for Multimatic Motorsports
No. 78-
Richard Golinello/David Levine for Racers Edge Motorsports
No. 96-
Bill Auberlen/Paul Dalla Lana for Turner Motorsport
No. 97-
Don Salama/Will Turner for Turner Motorsport
No. 99-
Rob Ecklin, Jr./Unknown driver for Automatic Racing
No. 158-
Joe Foster/Ian James for Dempsey/Miller Racing

Street Tuner (ST) Entries: 32
No. 3-
Chad McCumbee/Tyler McQuarrie for CJ Wilson Racing
No. 4-
Juan and Jorge Leroux for LRT Racing
No. 5-
Stevan McAleer/Marc Miller for CJ Wilson Racing
No. 22-
Joe Koenig/Mike LaMarra for Burton Racing
No. 23-
Terry Borcheller/Mike LaMarra for Burton Racing
No. 25-
Tom Long/Derek Whitis for Freedom Autosport
No. 26-
Andrew Carbonell/Rhett O'Doski for Freedom Autosport
No. 27-
Joel Miller/Tristan Nunez for Freedom Autosport
No. 30- Mat and Mark Pombo for i-Moto
No. 31-
Jayson Clunie/Pierre Kleinubing for i-Moto
No. 32-
Taylor Hacquard/Pat Heptig for i-Moto
No. 33-
Vesko Kozarov/Andy Lee for Skullcandy Team Nissan
No. 34-
Patricio Jourdain/Izzy Sanchez for Skullcandy Team Nissan
No. 40-
Charlie Belluardo/John Weisberg for Berg Racing
No. 50-
Timmy Megenbier/David Quinlan for Berg Racing
No. 56-
Jesse Combs/Jeff Mosing for RACE EPIC/Murillo Racing
No. 62-
Gian Franco and Romulo Pisanni for Mitchum Motorsports
No. 63-
Matthew Fassnacht/Dylan Murcott for Mitchum Motorsports
No. 65-
Brent Mosing/Tim Probert for RACE EPIC/Murillo Racing
No. 74-
Karl Thomson/Ryan Winchester for Compass360 Racing
No. 75-
Ryan Eversley/Kyle Gimple for Compass360 Racing
No. 76-
Adam Burrows/Ray Mason for Compass360 Racing
No. 77-
David Thilenius/Robert Thorne for Compass360 Racing
No. 80- Connor Bloom/Greg Strelzoff for BimmerWorld Racing
No. 81-
Tyler Cooke/Greg Liefooghe for BimmerWorld Racing
No. 82-
Daniel Rogers/Seth Thomas for BimmerWorld Racing
No. 84-
John Capestro-Dubets/James Clay for BimmerWorld Racing
No. 171-
Ian Baas/Kevin Gleason for APR Motorsport
No. 181-
Aleks Altsberg/Nate Norenberg for APR Motorsport
No. 196-
Tom Dyer/Andrew Novich for RSR Motorsports
No. 197-
Corey Fergus/Owen Trinkler for RSR Motorsports
No. 198-
Sarah Cattaneo/Chris Puskar for RSR Motorsports

Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 28-
Sergio Musacchio

Not Entered:
No. 00-
CKS Autosport
No. 2-
Jim Click/Mike McGovern for Jim Click Racing
No. 54-
Jim Click/Mike McGovern for Jim Click Racing (backup car to the No. 2)
No. 64-
Ted Giovanis/David Murry for Team TGM
No. 67-
Mickey Miller/Brett Strom for Bullet Performance
No. 92-
Steve Eich/Luke Wilwert for HART
No. 93-
Chad Gilsinger/Michael Valiente for HART

Ed Carpenter Racing Hauler Catches Fire

On Wednesday, the transporter for Ed Carpenter Racing's Izod IndyCar Series team caught fire on Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, AZ.  The team was returning from a test session held at Auto Club Speedway in advance of next month's MavTV American Real 500, the Izod IndyCar Series season finale.  There were no injuries.

Shortly after the fire, Carpenter released a statement.

"Our ECR/Fuzzy's Vodka trailer caught fire early this morning in Arizona, on I-40 near Flagstaff, after Tuesday's test session at Fontana.  Our truck drivers, Matt Giese and Jeff Hughes, are okay. The No. 20 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet race car and some equipment are also okay. We are still evaluating the damage at this time.  We would like to thank the Andretti Autosport teams and their truck drivers who stopped to assist Matt and Jeff with the incident.  We hope to have additional information on the trailer and equipment as soon as it is available."

The team continues to sort out the damage as of press time. It is unclear whether the fire will force Ed Carpenter Racing to miss the doubleheader weekend in Houston starting on October 4th.
 
Have news for Phil, Summer and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.

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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

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Today's Featured Commentary
Nationwide No-Shows, Chase for Change, and Spacey Kasey
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese

A few topics have been making the rounds the last few weeks, and have otherwise dominated the discussion of NASCAR's not too distant future, instead of the 2013 Chase -- which we're now already 20% through.

First of which, is the notion of Cup drivers competing in the Nationwide Series.  Yes, NASCAR needs a feeder Series.  The Nationwide Series was traditionally seen as that venue, where aspiring drivers would be able to learn how to handle NASCAR-style cars, speeds, tracks, rules, and learn from the few veterans who would be sprinkled throughout the field in companion events.  That changed around the 2004-2005 seasons, when suddenly it was all Cup, all the time, with drivers flying cross-country to make it in time for what was once something to watch before Happy Hour practice.

Second-tier series my foot.

Back then, the idea was to get some extra track time on Saturday, and acclimate to the tire NASCAR was running that weekend.  Cup teams with Cup technology were hard to handle, and was a great way for a driver to make some extra cash, sell some die-casts and t-shirts.  Attendance was never an issue those days, with the remark often being, "quite a crowd for a Busch (Nationwide) race."  Times have changed, and so has the taste for the product when there are no Cup drivers in the field.  Rookie Ryan Blaney won in only his second start at Kentucky Speedway this weekend, but if a tire blows in the forest, does anyone hear it?

The attendance figures for the latest lackluster lap logger at Kentucky are shown as "not available" – which is appropriate since there didn't really appear to be anyone there in the stands.

While the Nationwide Series has begun to build its own identity by running Camaros, Mustangs, and the late lamented Challenger (seriously Dodge…nothing?), going north of the border, and running more road courses, it still can be a tough sell if there's not Cup drivers in the field.  The Nationwide Series has also become the new Truck Series, as it has become a bastion for former Cup drivers who couldn't cut it the first time, and are hanging around, staying relevant and biding their time until they can possibly land another ride in the Sprint Cup Series.  The Truck Series was once the Seniors Tour for NASCAR, but now it is the showcase for up and coming young talent - - which may be starting a new identity crisis for the Nationwide Series.

Which after 2014, will no longer be called the Nationwide Series. Rumor has it that Anheuser Busch may return as the title sponsor, which would make sense; most of the fans who regularly watch and show up still call it the Busch Series anyway.

There have been rumblings that there may be a shake-up in the Sprint Cup schedule for 2014.  Bruton Smith squashed most the popular ones last week, when he didn't seem to enthused about trading dates with Darlington to give the Southern 500 its Labor Day spot back.  His main mission in life still seems to be ending the season in Las Vegas, which while attractive for media exposure and the local economy, isn't exactly the action track that one would associate with a facility built behind where the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds are based.

What is needed is to rotate new tracks in and out of the Chase – as well as the regular season schedule.  Many tracks are getting a little long in the tooth, much the same way that The Price Is Right models should be subbed in every decade or two. There was a time when NASCAR would visit a track twice a year – because there weren't that many places that could hold a Cup Series event.  The day of the 1.5-mile track as the fan favorite have long passed with the advent of aero-depedency and 210mph corner entry speeds.

Fans used to revile road courses as some sort of Eastern European communist conspiracy, but since they have become the new short track of stockcar racing, are among the most anticipated events of the year now.  Nobody is going to build a racetrack for stockcars in this economy – The Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX could host a NASCAR event, as it was purpose built to bring Formula One back to the United States.  Time to start traveling to different tracks, expose the Series to new fans and parts of the country that don't get the luxury of two dates a year.

A track no longer needs to seat 150,000 comfortably anymore – if you can sell out the place with 60-70,000 people, that looks a heck of a lot more compelling on TV than a bunch of aluminum glistening in the sun.

As for The Chase – starting off in Chicago sounds good on paper being a major market, except for one thing: it's Chicago.  It's week two for the NFL, NCAA football is in full swing, and if the White Sox are making a run down the stretch (God forbid…), NASCAR is going to take backseat to all three there – rain or no rain.  What's wrong with kicking things off at Charlotte or even Martinsville? The deer aren't moving yet at Road America this time of year either – toss a road course in the mix why don't we? It was bad enough the owner of the Series was arbitrarily throwing teams in and out of the playoffs  to kick things off, to follow it up with two snoozer races was not the way to usher in the much ballyhooed playoffs.

Speaking of which, if there was a time to axe the Chase with what went on at Richmond and the events thereafter, now might be the time to do it.  If we were still using a season-long cumulative points system rather than the Mario Kart points payout we have now, here's how things would break down:


1.  Jimmie Johnson       922        
2.  Carl Edwards           911          -11  
3.  Matt Kenseth           903         -19  
4.  Kyle Busch              896         -26  
5.  Kevin Harvick            894         -28


Three of the first four drivers have won the most races this year, with Edwards and Harvick there on a pair of wins each, and consistent finishes.  I've never understood how being 12th or 13th in points qualified a team as Championship Material; all it means is that 30% of the field has done better than you for half a year.

The NFL Players Association is investigating why Oakland Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor was allowed back into the game this week, after suffering a concussion Monday against the Denver Broncos.  Perhaps they can take a look at Kasey Kahne, after he smacked the inside not-a-soft wall at Loudon last weekend -- and then was back in the car and on track shortly after it had been repaired.  He has since said his mannerisms during the awkward post-accident interview were the result of just being frustrated and upset about being out of the race.

After seeing how he got out of the car and stared at the ground, he must've been pretty mad at his Nomex footies too.  "Toto, I don't think we're in Enumclaw anymore…"

Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @VitoPugliese.

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The Critic's Annex: F.W. Webb 100
by Phil Allaway

Hello, race fans.  Welcome back to another edition of the Critic's Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming.  Last weekend, the Sprint Cup Series was at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for 317 miles of racing.  As is the norm, the Whelen Modified Tour was there as well, serving as what amounted to the primary support for the Cup Series.  The K&N Pro Series East teams were there as well, but that particular 100-lap race will not air on television until next Friday.

Pre-race coverage was quite brief.  There was a brief introduction montage for the broadcast, then straight to the opening ceremonies.  After the National Anthem, they went straight to the command, then the pace laps.  Only then did the booth officially introduce themselves.

For the FOX Sports 2 telecast, FOX had Mike Joy and Bob Dillner in the broadcast booth.  Both men are avid fans of Modified racing, and it shows.  You get somewhat random anecdotes that drive that point home.  They will reference the different venues that host the series, their history and such.

As you expect, having two avid fans of Modified racing in the booth means that you would have an enthusiastic call of the race.  You would not be wrong here.

During the race, there was a strong focus towards the front of the field.  Joy stated at the beginning of the race that the big stars had qualified at the front of the field.  They proceeded to fight amongst themselves for the entire 100-mile distance.  I will say this.  You got constant fights for position, something that I cannot say about ESPN's telecast on Sunday.  However, if you weren't in the top-4 or so, you were pretty much invisible.

I did have a gripe with the telecast.  Namely, I have no clue what caused the incident involving Richie Pallai, Jr. and Cole Powell in Turn 3 (this was the one that caused the second yellow).  It seemed like none of the cameras caught any of the incident other than aftermath.  However, Joy saw the wreck happen in real time and explained (perhaps with a little hyperbole) what happened.  Unfortunately, this was not a radio broadcast that I was listening to.  The broadcast needs to compliment the commentary and FOX Sports failed to do it here.

Post-race coverage was fairly brief as well.  There was a Victory Lane interview with winner Todd Szegedy and checks of the unofficial results and point standings before FOX Sports 2 left to get to the Zloop 150 from Kentucky that I covered on Tuesday. 

Overall, FOX Sports 2 delivered a telecast that could be described as "fine."  Dillner and Joy (mainly Joy when I really think about it) definitely increased my enjoyment of the race.  However, I'd argue that it's actually quite difficult to cover all the battles for position in a Modified race at Loudon.  Not so much in a Cup race with long runs.  You know, if ESPN actually tried to cover as many battles as they could instead of running everything through the Chase prism.

I hope you enjoyed this look at the F.W. Webb 100.  Next week, I'll have a look at Championship Weekend presented by BMW, the last-ever race for the Rolex Sports Car Series before the full merger with ALMS goes down.  Until then, enjoy this weekend's action at Dover, Las Vegas and Lime Rock.

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

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Frontstretch Line of the Week


"We'll never know if the Air Titan would have sped up the drying process and helped to get the race started closer to on time, or helped it to resume faster because International Speedway Corporation and the tracks continue to play a game of keep away in the their sandbox."  - P. Huston Ladner, on the Air Titan situation

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
by Jeff Wolfe

NASCAR Mailbox: Days of NASCAR Thunder and the MWR NAPA Blunder
by Summer Bedgood

by the Frontstretch Staff

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  In the same 1993 SplitFire Spark Plugs 500, Brett Bodine was a notable absentee from the race.  Dick Trickle, then in between rides, drove Bodine's Quaker State Ford to a 25th-place finish.  Why did Bodine sit out?
 
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Wednesday's Answer:

Q:  The 1993 SplitFire Spark Plugs 500 at Dover was an absolutely crucial race for Rusty Wallace if he wanted to stay in the championship hunt.  Wallace did his part, leading 215 laps and taking the win.  For Dale Earnhardt, the day wasn't all that great by comparison.  What happened?

A: It appears that Hut Stricklin may have missed a shift on the restart on Lap 370.  As a result, he got run over from behind by Rusty Wallace.  Stricklin spun and clipped Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd.  Stricklin and Earnhardt then spun into the inside wall, while Rudd caught a little air, but continued on with a badly damaged Tide Chevrolet.  Behind the first crash, Jeff Gordon and Rick Mast spun and hit the inside wall as well.  The crashes can be seen here.

Everyone was ok after the crash.  Stricklin was out on the spot.  Earnhardt, Rudd, Gordon and Mast all spent time behind the wall getting repairs.  Mast had the least damage and finished the best of those involved, 17th, 23 laps down.  Earnhardt also finished the race 27th, 96 laps down.  Rudd and Gordon returned to the race, but pulled off when they could not gain any more places.  However, both were still in front of Earnhardt when they retired.

Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


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 this weekend's 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover International 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.

Driver Diary: Jeb Burton as told to Beth Lunkenheimer
The driver of the No. 4 Arrowhead Chevrolet in the Camping World Truck Series returns to talk about the past month, on and off the track.
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