Monday, October 21, 2013

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Lunchtime Weekend Recap

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 21st, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CXCVI
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What to Watch: Monday

- This week, a number of teams will return to Texas Motor Speedway for a test session, in preparation for the Chase race held there in early November.  This three-day event was originally scheduled to run concurrently to the test last Monday, at Charlotte Motor Speedway where new packages for 2014 were tested.  However, rain wiped out the entire session.

Sprint Cup Race Recap: McMurray Breaks Winless Streak At Tame Talladega
by Justin Tucker

For Jamie McMurray, it has been a long, winding road since October 16th, 2010, the date of his last Sprint Cup Series win 108 races ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  After a career year in '10 that saw McMurray win three races, including the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, the Joplin, Missouri native had been mostly invisible on the Cup circuit ever since.  But with the sunny Alabama sky as a backdrop Sunday, McMurray ended three years of frustration by winning the Camping World RV Sales 500, holding off a surging Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the final laps.

"Winning, it's not just about me, it's about everybody within our whole group," he said after the race.  "You know, probably more so the 1 guys because they're the ones that are in victory lane."

It was also cool for the driver to see his kids there, for the first time as little Carter got some on-camera time with ESPN. The driver was clearly emotional after holding off the former restrictor plate king, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. during a last lap cut short by a caution flag.   Earnhardt Jr., the crowd favorite every time the Cup Series heads to Talladega, led 38 laps on Sunday and appeared to be close to making a race-winning pass on McMurray. But he never got the opportunity as Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made contact, causing Dillon's No. 14 car to spin, right into Casey Mears causing a wild flip that ended the race.

"Our car was a rocket," Earnhardt Jr. said.  "I was moving around a little bit to see where I thought the 1 (McMurray) might be going.  You've got to sort of fake him out. But I looked in the rear-view mirror and I saw guys all over the place.  I guess if we're in that situation next time, we'll try to go a lap sooner."

In a race known for wild three and four-wide racing, along with massive wrecks, Sunday's race at Talladega was anything but the wild affair that many had expected.  There was a minor incident between Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya, early in the race but from that point on, 103 consecutive green-flag laps were run. Two dozen lead-lap cars remained in contention, throughout multiple pit stops and continued some wild jockeying for position, all of which appeared to be setting the stage for another classic Talladega finish. But once McMurray hit the point, with around 15 laps remaining the rest of the field slowly formed a single-file line. With the bottom groove struggling, it stayed that way until the last-lap flipping debacle ended it.

"It was one of those deals today. Nobody really wanted to race there at the end when we needed everybody to race," said Brad Keselowski, who ran 29th. "Any time you would go to make a move, when it is all single file like that you just go right to the back and it just doesn't work. That is what it was. I can only drive my car though."

Joining McMurray and Earnhardt Jr. in the top 5 of Sunday's race at Talladega were Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in a career-best third, Paul Menard in fourth, and Kyle Busch in fifth.  Rounding out the top 10 were David Ragan in sixth, David Gilliland seventh, Martin Truex, Jr. eighth, Ryan Newman in ninth, and Clint Bowyer in tenth.

Further back, point leader Matt Kenseth tried hard to get something going on the inside line, late in the event. But a lack of support left the No. 20 Toyota simply dropping back through the field.

"I just still for the life of me figure out — I need to watch it," he said after the race.   "From third on back to 14th, I think everybody was running half-throttle and me, Joey (Logano) and Carl (Edwards) and I thought Greg (Biffle) was going to go with us too [to the bottom] and he must have decided not to.  A couple of other guys tried to make it happen and I figured we'd mix it up and somebody would go up and try to be the leader... but nobody wanted to go."

Kenseth's loss was Johnson's gain, as the No. 48 car used teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as a buffer to chalk up the most laps led in the race. Dominating the middle section, his 13th-place finish, while disappointing was enough to take over the lead in the standings. Five drivers remain within 34 points of the lead heading to Martinsville (see Phil Allaway's Chase section below).

A look at Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 500 by the numbers.  There were 52 lead changes among 20 different drivers, and only three cautions for 10 laps kept the race pace at a speedy 178.795 MPH average. It's the fewest number of yellows, in any Talladega Cup event since the 2002 Spring race went caution free. Marcos Ambrose, whose early wreck claimed Juan Pablo Montoya was the only on-track incident before Dillon's last-lap turnaround. Tony Raines, with an early blown engine caused the only other yellow of the race.

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to historic Martinsville Speedway for the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.  The green flag out in Virginia is scheduled for 1:43 PM ET on ESPN.

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 Back On Top At Tame Talladega
by Phil Allaway

Talladega is continually referred to as a Chase "wild card."  However, the lack of a large-scale crash meant that the racetrack really didn't hurt any of the championship contenders substantially.

Jimmie Johnson finished 13th and led the most laps Sunday.  With Matt Kenseth's 20th-place result, that was enough for the two drivers to trade places.  Johnson trailed Kenseth by four going into Talladega.  Now, he leads Kenseth by four.  Kyle Busch's fifth-place finish after losing a lap early in the race moved him up into a tie for third with Kevin Harvick, 26 points back.  Busch overcame some early problems, where missing his pit stall led to a second green-flag stop, one that cost him the draft and briefly dropped him off the lead lap. Harvick, meanwhile was five seconds out of the lead draft with less than 20 laps remaining. Pulling back towards the leaders was a Herculean effort, done almost all by himself to make the 13 points he gained down the stretch in that race a potential championship-saving effort.

Jeff Gordon dropped one place, to fifth in points with his 14th-place result.  However, Gordon actually gained two points on the top of the standings.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made the big move of the weekend, gaining three places to move up to sixth after finishing second and leading 38 laps on Sunday.  However, he sits 52 points out, with four races left and seems unlikely to work into title contention. Everyone else seems completely out of it. Despite finishing 11th, Greg Biffle actually lost a spot in the points, falling back to seventh and hasn't been in position to win at all this Chase.  Clint Bowyer, typically a restrictor plate expert made the wrong moves down the stretch and wound up 10th. That leaves him eighth in points, with no top-5 finishes throughout the first six races of this postseason.

Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Wonder Bread Chevy ran very well Sunday, but faded late to an 18th-place finish.  That dropped him to ninth in the points.  Carl Edwards remains in tenth, essentially holding pat on the day with his 17th-place result.  Those ten drivers, if the season ended now would be the ones going to the December banquet in Las Vegas.

Ryan Newman and Joey Logano swapped spots on Sunday.  Newman's ninth-place finish places him three points ahead of Logano, who ran 16th.  Both sit within striking distance of the top 10 with four races left.  13th-place Kasey Kahne had a terrible 'Dega day, losing the draft early on and getting lapped on track.  Later, after racing Brad Keselowski hard at the front of the field for the Lucky Dog, he lost the draft again and ended up finishing two laps down in 36th.  It didn't cost him a position, but he is now 26 points out of 12th.

Finally, Jamie McMurray's victory leaves him in perfect position to capture the "Best Of The Rest" title in the point standings. He's 30 points up on Keselowski, the only one in realistic striking distance heading to a favorite track of his in Martinsville.

Chase Point Standings: 1) Jimmie Johnson 2254, 2) Matt Kenseth -4, t-3) Kyle Busch -26, t-3) Kevin Harvick -26, 5) Jeff Gordon -34, 6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -52, 7) Greg Biffle -53, 8) Clint Bowyer -57, 9) Kurt Busch -61, 10) Carl Edwards -68, 11) Ryan Newman -72, 12) Joey Logano -75, 13) Kasey Kahne -101.

Best of the Rest (14-23): 14) Jamie McMurray 919, 15) Brad Keselowski -30, 16) Paul Menard -54, 17) Martin Truex, Jr. -55, 18) Aric Almirola -100, 19) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -105, 20) Jeff Burton -115, 21) Marcos Ambrose -131, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -144, 23) Casey Mears -267.

Non-Chase Point Standings (top-23): 1) Jimmie Johnson 1083, 2) Kevin Harvick -33, 3) Matt Kenseth -41, 4) Kyle Busch -56, 5) Carl Edwards -61, 6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -100, 7) Clint Bowyer -107, 8) Jeff Gordon -113, 9) Greg Biffle -126, 10) Kurt Busch -128, 11) Joey Logano -156, 12) Ryan Newman -160, 13) Jamie McMurray -164, 14) Kasey Kahne -191, 15) Brad Keselowski -194, 16) Paul Menard -218, 17) Martin Truex, Jr. -219, 18) Aric Almirola -264, 19) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -269, 20) Jeff Burton -279, 21) Marcos Ambrose -295, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -308, 23) Casey Mears -431.

Race Winners: Jimmie Johnson (Daytona-1, Martinsville, Pocono-1, Daytona-2, Dover-2), Carl Edwards (Phoenix, Richmond-2), Matt Kenseth (Las Vegas, Kansas-1, Darlington, Kentucky, Bristol-2, Chicagoland, New Hampshire-2), Kasey Kahne (Bristol-1, Pocono-2), Kyle Busch (Fontana, Texas, Watkins Glen, Atlanta), Kevin Harvick (Richmond-1, Charlotte, Kansas-2), David Ragan (Talladega), Tony Stewart (Dover-1), Greg Biffle (Michigan-1), Martin Truex, Jr. (Sonoma), Brian Vickers (New Hampshire-1), Ryan Newman (Indianapolis), Joey Logano (Michigan-2), Brad Keselowski (Charlotte-2), Jamie McMurray (Talladega-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: Talladega-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: David Ragan & David Gilliland for Front Row Motorsports; started 7th & 24th, finished 6th & 7th

One thing about Talladega is that it is the great equalizer.  A good restrictor plate racer can win here in any given race, even in underfunded equipment, and that's simply not the case at other types of tracks anymore.  Both Ragan and Gilliland are good plate racers, and they proved this weekend that their Cinderella story one-two finish in the spring race was anything but a fluke.  Just like in that race, the two ran quietly toward the front when it counted, and although the last-lap caution derailed any possible attempt at a repeat, the two made their point loud and clear on Sunday. FRM has stepped it up a notch this year in the Cup Series, no doubt...

Underdog Selection No. 2: Michael McDowell for Phil Parsons Racing; started 36th, finished 15th

A top-15 finish is a big deal to a small team; for one that hasn't finished a race since Indianapolis in July, it's a really big deal.  McDowell was able to deliver on Sunday, sticking with the lead pack most of the day while making the right moves in the draft.  He's underrated as a driver, mostly because of his start-and-park situation, but writing him off because of that is unfair.  He hasn't had much chance to prove himself in good equipment (his stint with Michael Waltrip Racing was well before that team could be considered close to top-flight). Since then, in the few chances he has been given in Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series cars, McDowell's delivered. In just 12 NNS races with JGR since 2011, McDowell has ten top-10 finishes (and 11 top 12's). That's a stellar record for a part-time driver with little time to create crew chemistry.  It has to make you wonder what he'd do in that JGR Nationwide ride full-time.

Underdog Selection No. 3: Travis Kvapil for BK Racing; started 38th, finished 19th

BK Racing badly needs to get some decent finishes, and Kvapil was able to get them one on Sunday.  It's just his fourth top 20 of 2013, and given Kvapil's recent ugly legal troubles, if he hopes to return to the driver's seat of the No. 93 in 2014, he needs to perform.  His contract with BK is a one-year deal through the end of this season, and even before he was grabbing headlines for the wrong reasons with his recent arrest, it was questionable as to whether this season's performance was enough to warrant a new contract.  This team should be improving more than they have been, and it's possible that a change in the driver's seat of one or both cars could help make that happen -- especially if they could get a veteran like Bobby Labonte or Jeff Burton in the fold.

Underdog Pick of the Week - Martinsville II: Bobby Labonte for JTG-Daugherty Racing

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

I had a good run going with Casey Mears at Talladega until, for the third Talladega race in a row, Mears got swept up in someone else's crash, turning a top-5 car into a crumpled, smoking heap.

As the Cup Series heads from its biggest oval to its smallest this week, Labonte's numbers are clearly better than the rest of the field; even this year, he was a solid 21st at the paperclip-shaped track this Spring.  His salad days in a championship-caliber ride may be well behind him, but the 2000 Cup Series champ still knows how to race a short track. That can make all the difference for a small team looking for an edge over its counterparts.

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!
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Talladega race was brought to you by the letter "S," for Single File. The event was actually quite wild, but the last 13 laps of the race were marked by drivers running single-file on the top of the racetrack, not really making a move on leader Jamie McMurray.  Yes, the moves may have come, shortly after the white flag flew but Austin Dillon spinning out off Turn 2 killed any chance of the finish getting crazy.  The only time prior to the last few laps that we saw this type of racing was around green-flag pit stops. - Phil Allaway

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Sidebar Stories: Talladega
by Summer Bedgood

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Earns Fourth Runner-Up Finish

Once again, in 2013 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the bridesmaid in a Sprint Cup race.  Earnhardt crossed the finish line behind race winner Jamie McMurray last Sunday at Talladega, and wasn't able to make a run at the victory as a caution flag flew before the drivers made it back to the start/finish line.  Per NASCAR rules, the field is frozen if the caution falls on the final lap of the race.

"I wished I was out front, I really did," he said afterwards, "But I knew that I had everything to lose and really one spot to gain by going early. If I waited until the last lap, I could possibly defend off a failed run and get a relatively decent finish."

It's not the first time Earnhardt finished second in a restrictor plate race this season.  He was runner-up in February's Daytona 500 behind race winner Jimmie Johnson, the third time in four years he's finished the sport's Super Bowl in second place. Once the sport's restrictor plate king, he last tasted Sprint Cup Victory Lane at the sport's superspeedways during the Fall 2004 race at Talladega - nine years ago.

Earnhardt's other two second-place runs, for this season came at Fontana in the Spring and Dover a couple of weeks ago. The victory drought means NASCAR's Most Popular Driver hasn't made it to Victory Lane since the first Michigan race in 2012.  Since joining Hendrick Motorsports, he's won only twice during nearly seven full seasons with the team.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Earns First Top Five of the Year

Talladega proved to be beneficial to Stenhouse's Rookie of the Year hopes as he finished in third position.  The accomplishment was Stenhouse's first top-5 result in 32 races this season and third top 10.  Stenhouse, racing for rookie of the year honors against girlfriend Danica Patrick now has near-complete control atop the charts.  Stenhouse is 19th in points right now, while Patrick is 28th.

"I think our cars are getting better, and everybody at the shop is all hands on, just trying to make our season the best it can be here at the end," Stenhouse said after the race. "We struggled throughout the first half of the season, definitely more than I thought we should or definitely more than we wanted to.  We've learned a lot."

Patrick finished 33rd on Sunday after getting a speeding penalty on pit road late in the event. She had been running in the top 10 before that final stop.

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: Camping World RV Sales 500
compiled by Summer Bedgood

"I knew that our Cessna Chevrolet was good in practice and I just could never get the right line.  At the plate tracks to get the right line, it requires a lot of risk and I felt like I was pretty patient all day and I saw the 17 and the 88 coming on the top.  It just seemed the top was the better place to get hung out than if you got hung out on the bottom.  Fortunately, I was able to get myself in position.  I don't know how the last lap would have played out because I could see the 88 trying to set me up and trying to figure out where he could get a run on me but then I saw the caution come out behind me.  Honestly, I wanted to see it end under green but at the same time, I said if there was a caution I would be okay with that right now, too." - Jamie McMurray, race winner

"Well, I don't know.  And the thing about the package we have right now is that you can get the third guy in line to push the second guy and it's hard to defend.  You just have to make your car as wide as you can.   Quite honestly, I don't know what I was going to do.  With ten laps left to go, I kind of thought that it wasn't reality yet, then with five to go I could tell he was being patient.  Then, when they could never get the bottom line to form, I knew it was going to come down to the first three or four cars.  It's unfortunate that the caution came out, but for me, I don't know how I was going to defend that." - Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished second

"It was kind of sitting around waiting for something to happen really.  We had a really good car all day.  The middle lane, when you are three-wide you could really gain some spots.  Ultimately, the outside won out.  After everything played out, the outside was the way to go.  The last ten laps, it was riding around on the outside waiting for somebody to make a move.  You didn't want to be the guy that made a move and nobody went with you.  So, there really wasn't a whole lot we could have done there at the end." - Paul Menard, finished fourth

"Well, you're supposed to come to pit road single-file and I didn't.  I would have ran into the back of the 1 car (Jamie McMurray), so I had to go to the outside of him and not hit him.  When I did that, it essentially blocked me out of my stall, so just had to go through the pits and try to come back around the next time and I think that's two or three years in a row we've done that here.  It's not a surprise, but it'd be nice if we could not come down when everybody else is coming down and be so 'combobulated' and then have a clean pit road to enter on." - Kyle Busch, finished fifth

"It was a crazy last lap.  We set out what we wanted to do with our SaferCar.gov Ford.  We had a chance to win the race, took the white flag in seventh or eighth and kind of had a good plan.  But the caution came out.  So, we got a top-10 finish and that's a good thing for our Front Row Motorsports team.  Everybody go check SaferCar.gov to see how safe your car is.  Mine was pretty good today." - David Ragan, finished sixth

"Our Long John Silver's team did a great job all weekend.  David (Ragan) and I worked together for a good part of the race and definitely toward the end there.  We were in position, we had a plan where we could make a move together, but then the caution came out on the last lap.  Thankfully, we weren't a part of it and we were able to get a top-10 finish and a clean car to take home.  I'm just really proud of my team.  They've been working so hard and days like this show that it pays off.  I think we definitely could've had a chance a win.  We were definitely in the mix for the last 50, 60 laps of the race, we weren't hanging back anymore.  But, it just wasn't meant to be this time.  Next time." - David Gilliland, finished seventh

"This by far has been the best restrictor-plate race I've run this year.  I made the right decisions all day and I am so happy to be able to drive my NAPA Toyota back to the garage in one piece.  It was a good day for us." - Martin Truex, Jr. finished eighth

"Pretty uneventful.  Just tried to keep it straight and finish the race.  We hadn't done a very good job of finishing speedway races this year and kind of fell in line there at the end." - Chad Johnston, Truex's crew chief

"I rode around in the back all day basically just trying to keep my nose clean.  I was waiting for something to happen the whole race, but it never really did except for that wreck on the last lap that unfortunately took out my teammate, Austin Dillon.  I'm happy that we came out of here with a ninth-place finish and a clean WIX Filters Chevrolet.  That wasn't very much fun out there, though.  But, I'm proud of my guys for giving me a good racecar this weekend.  That's another top-10 finish, which we can go home happy about." - Ryan Newman, finished ninth

"Yeah, no big wreck obviously until the last lap and I wouldn't call that too big.  Our 5-Hour Toyota was plenty quick.  It'd go to the front when we wanted to, so just — it's normally how these Chase races go.  It seems like they don't want to mess anybody's Chase chances up, so they kind of pay a little more attention to their driving." - Brian Pattie, Clint Bowyer's crew chief (Bowyer finished tenth)

"We made it through, that is half the battle at this place.  It was typical Talladega, we were up and then in the back and up and then in the back.  At the end of the day, we missed the wreck and that is all I really care about." - Greg Biffle, finished 11th

"We got ourselves in position to be where we needed to be at the end of the race.  Coming to the last pit stop and then lost everything that we gained on the last pit stop again.  So, I just hate it for all our Jimmy John's guys.  We had a strategy that we stuck to and then we were just last off of pit road." - Kevin Harvick, finished 12th

"We had a great race car and led a lot of the race.  At the end there the No. 1 decided to run the top and took the bulk of cars with him.  As that happened, the middle lane that I was in quickly became the bottom lane and then quickly didn't exist.  I dropped like a rock for a while and was able to get in the outside lane and start making some spots back and fortunately missed the big pileup on the backstretch.  Obviously, was paying attention to where the No. 20 was.  I was in and around and ahead I think of most of those guys [running for the title].  13th isn't the best finish, but with what we are trying to do and win a championship we beat the competition today and that is good." - Jimmie Johnson

"It was a good day.  I thought that the car was fantastic.  I thought the team did an awesome job of executing our plan and we were in perfect position.  And it just didn't work out.  I got kind of shoved on the back straightaway and was trying not to wreck and that got me out of a really good position and then we were kind of a sitting duck at that point and just went to the back and wanted to see what we could do with them on that final lap.  And of course you know, a wreck is going to happen.  I hope Austin (Dillon) and Casey (Mears) are okay.  That looked pretty nasty." - Jeff Gordon, finished 14th

"That was a lot more conservative race than I think anyone ever thought.  We all were racing pretty hard too.  There were a few times when it looked like there was going to be a big crash and there never was.  In the end, though nobody wanted to go.  I was back there trying to make a move to go forward again but once they all went single-file, up against the wall you are SOL back there.  You try to do anything you can to move up and there were a few guys back there that wanted to go but the bottom lane doesn't work because of these big shark fins on the side that doesn't let any air on the spoiler so it hurts the bottom lane so much.  You aren't able to slow down the guy on the top because the fin blocks the air on the spoiler and you can't slow them down.  That is why the bottom lane doesn't work and it is never going to work until they change that."  - Joey Logano, finished 16th

"I think that wreck at the end, there was a lot of stuff that was going to happen in the last half a lap but we didn't see it because of that wreck.  We should have been a little better.  We were leading with 10 or 15 to go and I thought we were in a really good spot and it just did not work out.  I tried my hardest and that is what we got." - Carl Edwards, finished 17th

"Restrictor plate racing is all about being in the right place at the right time.  We were in the right place for the majority of the race, but when it counts at the end we weren't there.  I tried to make something happen, but couldn't get there.  It's disappointing because our Wonder Bread car was fast and to finish 18th didn't do us justice." - Kurt Busch, finished 18th

"I guess [handling wasn't the issue] because after the last pit stop, it drove good again.  It drove fine that last pit stop.  I was just — after the last one, I was just — I kind of got stuck three-wide on the bottom and then we actually hung in by the lead for a long time.  And then they just — when they got me shuffled back to the very bottom, somebody went outside three-wide to make me on the bottom and just you're no good down there, so I fell back, got back up to 10th or 12th on the outside and then I thought everybody would mix it up at the end and try to make a race out of it, but everybody stayed up on the top and pedaled it.  That was my bad.  I guess I should have just been happy with 10th, but I just have a hard time doing that." - Matt Kenseth, finished 20th

"I was trying to go for the win there.  The No. 17 had a little bit of a run with the No. 27 and I tried to go with him and came back across and hooked me.  I can't say enough about this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team.  That was a lot of fun right there coming to the white flag at Talladega and having a shot to win.  I was going to push (Dale Earnhardt) Junior right there.  He had a pretty good car.  Just trying to wait until the end and they made a move and I tried to block it and it didn't work out.  I've got to say thanks to Bass Pro Shops, Tony Stewart for giving me this opportunity though  --it was fun." - Austin Dillon, finished 26th

"I tried really hard to work with Joey [Logano] there at the end and went down to make some moves to try to get some kind of position on the track and all we did was go backwards.  You are better off to just stay single file." - Brad Keselowski, finished 29th

"It looks like we broke a retainer on the number six cylinder, so it's just tough.  This is kind of the growing pains that you go through when you're testing different stuff.  Hopefully, these are the kind of things we can learn so we don't have these issues in the Daytona 500.  I know us and the 55 (Michael Waltrip) are on an experimental package." - Denny Hamlin, finished 38th (Blown Engine)

"We were riding.  I saw the bottom line moving pretty good.  The Target Chevrolet was pretty good. to be honest.  We were running two-wide so it was comfortable.  We started running three-wide and the spotter told me 'get out' and I backed up going into the tri-oval and the next thing I know.  I just saw out the corner of my eye somebody coming towards me and that was it." - Juan Pablo Montoya, finished 41st (Crashed Out)
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Thinkin' Out Loud: Talladega-2 Sprint Cup Race Recap
by Mike Neff

The Big Six: Questions Answered Following The Camping World RV Sales 500
by Amy Henderson
by Tom Bowles
by Beth Lunkenheimer

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  Geoff Bodine won the 1990 Goody's 500 at Martinsville, holding off Dale Earnhardt.  However, he was not exempt from the typical crunching that comprises a 500-lap race at the paperclip.  What happened to set Bodine back in the second half of the race?

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

Friday's Answer:

Q:  Ricky Rudd is credited with a third-place finish in the 1986 Talladega 500 won by Bobby Hillin, Jr.  However, Rudd wasn't driving the car at the finish.  Who was?

A:  Ricky Rudd was relieved part way through the race by Rusty Wallace, who had retired due to a blown engine.  Rudd wasn't feeling all the great before the race even started and the weather conditions were about as bad as you could get in those circumstances (nearly 100 degrees and incredibly humid).

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: Camping World RV Sales 500 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 Talladega and get us ready for Martinsville.

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Talladega - Martinsville Edition by Brad Morgan
Brad gives up something to look forward to going into Martinsville. 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 Camping World Truck Series both raced at Talladega Superspeedway.  Meanwhile, the IZOD IndyCar Series held their season finale at Auto Club Speedway.  How were these races presented last weekend?  Find out in our weekly TV critique.
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Posted by Curious ... at 9:07 AM

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