THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 3rd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXXIV
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 3rd, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXXIV
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Thursday
- Since Goodyear has brought their new dual-zone tire to Kansas this weekend, there is a four hour open test starting at Noon today. There will be no TV coverage of the testing.
Top Newsby Phil Allaway
MillerCoors Re-signs with Penske Racing; Keselowski Extended Through 2017
The relationship between MillerCoors and Penske Racing, currently in their 23rd season in Sprint Cup, is one of the longest in the history of NASCAR. On Wednesday, Penske announced that the relationship would continue.
Penske Racing announced two contract extensions on Wednesday afternoon. First, driver Brad Keselowski had been re-signed and will remain the driver of the No. 2 Ford through 2017. Secondly, MillerCoors has agreed to stay on the No. 2 through the end of 2017 as well. However, there is a catch. Previously, MillerCoors was a full season primary sponsor. Under the new deal, MillerCoors will sponsor the No. 2 for only 24 races a year. In the remaining races, MillerCoors will serve as an associate sponsor.
Keselowski was already signed to a deal through the end of 2014, with 2015 as an option year. He is very happy to stay on at Penske Racing.
"I am fully committed to Penske Racing and Miller Lite," Keselowski said. "This will allow us to further grow our program and contend for championships on a consistent basis. It's an exciting time to be a part of this organization and I look forward to a successful future."
MillerCoors is committed to Keselowski as well.
"The Miller Lite sponsorship of Penske Racing continues to deliver value to stakeholders throughout our system," said Andy England, MillerCoors' Chief Marketing Officer. "Our NASCAR beer drinkers identify well with Brad Keselowski and we are proud to have him as the face of the program."
As for the cutback to 24 races from 36? That was actually Penske's own idea. Penske Racing believes that they can sell those races to other entities.
"You start to look across the Cup Series with the major sponsors and we need to keep them in the business across the long run," Penske told the Associated Press' Jenna Fryer. "We looked at going into markets twice, in fact, it was my idea, let us have those markets we got into a second time and give us a chance to bring in another world-class company. We have a number of people very interested in getting on with Brad."
Even though MillerCoors is cutting back the number of races in which they serve as a primary sponsor, they will still be paying approximately the same amount of money. More of those funds will go towards the activation of their sponsorship, though.
Harrison Leaving Phoenix Racing After Kansas
FOXSports.com's Lee Spencer is reporting that longtime Phoenix Racing crew chief Nick Harrison will be leaving Phoenix Racing after this weekend's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. His destination will be Richard Childress Racing, where he will take over as crew chief of the No. 33 Chevrolet (and their revolving door of drivers) in the Nationwide Series.
Harrison will replace Ernie Cope atop the pit box. It is currently unclear as to what Cope's future role will be with the team. Phoenix Racing has tapped Jimmy Elledge to come out of retirement to serve as crew chief of the No. 51 starting at Charlotte.
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, they are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400: 43 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 30- Cole Whitt for Swan Racing
No. 33- Landon Cassill for Circle Sport, LLC
No. 35- Josh Wise for Front Row Motorsports
No. 40- Tony Raines for Hillman Racing/Circle Sport, LLC
No. 51- Justin Allgaier 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. 51- Justin Allgaier returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Truex.
Since there are only 43 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify.
Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300: 42 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 18- Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21- Dakoda Armstrong for Richard Childress Racing
No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Penske Racing
No. 23- Jennifer Jo Cobb for R3 Motorsports/Rick Ware Racing
No. 33- Paul Menard for Richard Childress Racing
No. 34- James Buescher for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 39- Ryan Sieg for RSS Racing
No. 46- JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports/Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 79- Bryan Silas for Go Green Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 16- Chris Buescher returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Reed.
No. 22- Brad Keselowski returns to the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 23- Jennifer Jo Cobb is in the seat, replacing Donnie Neuenberger.
No. 24- Ken Butler, III returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Ellis.
No. 33- Paul Menard returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Harvick.
No. 34- James Buescher returns to the seat, replacing Jeb Burton.
No. 40- Reed Sorenson returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell.
No. 44- Hal Martin returns to the seat, replacing Cole Whitt.
No. 70- Johanna Long returns to the seat, replacing Brad Teague.
No. 74- Mike Harmon returns to the seat, replacing Carl Long.
No. 79- Bryan Silas returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Duke.
Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 00- Blake Koch for SR2 Motorsports*
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 15- Chase Miller for Rick Ware Racing*
No. 16- Chris Buescher for Roush Fenway Racing
No. 18- Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21- Dakoda Armstrong for Richard Childress Racing
No. 34- James Buescher for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 39- Ryan Sieg for RSS Racing
No. 42- Josh Wise for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 46- JJ Yeley for The Motorsports Group, LLC*
No. 52- Joey Gase for Jimmy Means Racing
No. 70- Johanna Long for ML Motorsports
Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 50- Danny Efland for MAKE Motorsports
Not Entered:
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Kansas Lottery 98.9: 31 cars entered
Driver Changes:
No. 15- John Wes Townley returns to the seat, replacing Erik Jones.
No. 22- Scott Lagasse, Jr. is in the seat, replacing Will Kimmel.
No. 55- Dylan Kwasniewski is in the seat, replacing Taylor Ferns.
No. 68- Chris Bailey, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Austin Rettig.
No. 69- Will Kimmel returns to the seat, replacing Chris Bailey, Jr.
No. 88- Justin Allison is in the seat, replacing Buster Graham. Allison, who will be making his ARCA debut, is the grandson of Donnie Allison.
Notable Entries:
No. 02- Josh Williams for Williams Motorsports/Gallagher Motorsports
No. 5- Bobby Gerhart for Bobby Gerhart Racing
No. 15- John Wes Townley for Venturini Motorsports
No. 17- Corey LaJoie for Roulo Brothers Racing
No. 22- Scott Lagasse, Jr. for Cunningham Motorsports
No. 23- Spencer Gallagher for Gallagher Motorsports
No. 25- Justin Boston for Venturini Motorsports
No. 32- Mason Mingus for Win-Tron Racing
No. 44- Frank Kimmel for ThorSport Racing
No. 48- James Hylton for Hylton Racing (Final career start)
No. 55- Dylan Kwasniewski for Venturini Motorsports
No. 69- Will Kimmel for Kimmel Racing
No. 77- Tom Hessert for Cunningham Motorsports
No. 82- Mason Mitchell for Empire Racing
No. 84- Chad Boat for Billy Boat Racing
No. 90- Grant Enfinger for BCR Racing
Izod IndyCar Series Shell Grand Prix of Houston (Doubleheader Weekend): 24 cars entered
Driver Change:
No. 18- Mike Conway returns to the seat, replacing Stefan Wilson.
Entries:
No. 1- Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 3- Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 4- Oriol Servia for Panther Racing
No. 5- EJ Viso for Andretti Autosport/Team Venezuela
No. 6- Sebastian Saavedra for Dragon Racing
No. 7- Sebastien Bourdais for Dragon Racing
No. 9- Scott Dixon for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10- Dario Franchitti for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 11- Tony Kanaan for KV Racing Technologies
No. 12- Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14- Takuma Sato for AJ Foyt Enterprises
No. 15- Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 16- James Jakes for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 18- Mike Conway for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19- Justin Wilson for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 20- Ed Carpenter for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 25- Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27- James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport
No. 55- Tristan Vautier for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
No. 67- Josef Newgarden for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 77- Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
No. 78- Simona de Silvestro for KV Racing Technologies
No. 83- Charlie Kimball for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 98- Luca Filippi for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian
American Le Mans Series Oak Tree Grand Prix: 34 cars entered in 5 classes
Prototype 1 (P1) Entries: 3
No. 0- Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick for DeltaWing Racing Cars
No. 6- Klaus Graf/Lucas Luhr for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
No. 16- Johnny Mowlem/Guy Smith for Dyson Racing
Prototype 2 (P2) Entries: 4
No. 01- Anthony Lazzaro/Scott Sharp for Extreme Speed Motorsports
No. 02- Ed Brown/Johannes van Overbeek for Extreme Speed Motorsports
No. 551- Ryan Briscoe/Scott Tucker for Level 5 Motorsports
No. 552- Guy Cosmo/Marino Franchitti/Scott Tucker for Level 5 Motorsports
Prototype Challenge (PC) Entries: 8
No. 05- Jon Bennett/Tom Kimber-Smith for CORE Autosport
No. 7- James French/Rusty Mitchell for BAR1 Motorsports
No. 8- Chris Cumming/Kyle Marcelli for BAR1 Motorsports
No. 9- Duncan Ende/Bruno Junqueira for RSR Racing
No. 18- Ryan Booth/Tristan Nunez for Performance Tech Motorsports
No. 52- David Cheng/Mike Guasch for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports
No. 81- Mirco Schultis/Renger van der Zande for DragonSpeed
Grand Touring (GT) Entries: 11
No. 06- Colin Braun/Patrick Long for CORE Autosport
No. 3- Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen for Corvette Racing
No. 4- Oliver Gavin/Tom Milner for Corvette Racing
No. 17- Wolf Henzler/Bryan Sellers for Team Falken Tire
No. 23- Townsend Bell/Leh Keen for Team West/AJR/Boardwalk Ferrari
No. 48- Marco Holzer/Bryce Miller for Paul Miller Racing
No. 55- Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin for BMW Team RLL
No. 56- Joey Hand/Dirk Muller for BMW Team RLL
No. 62- Olivier Beretta/Matteo Malucelli for Risi Competizione
No. 91- Dominik Farnbacher/Marc Goossens for SRT Motorsports
No. 93- Jonathan Bomarito/Kuno Wittmer for SRT Motorsports
Grand Touring Challenge (GTC) Entries: 9
No. 11- Mike Hedlund/Jan Heylen for JDX Racing
No. 22- Jeroen Bleekemolen/Cooper MacNeil for Alex Job Racing
No. 27- Patrick Dempsey/Andy Lally for Dempsey Del Piero Racing
No. 30- Henrique Cisneros/Sean Edwards for NGT Motorsport
No. 31- Eduardo Cisneros/Jakub Giermaziak for NGT Motorsport
No. 44- Seth Neiman/Dion von Moltke for Flying Lizard Motorsports
No. 45- Nelson Canache/Spencer Pumpelly for Flying Lizard Motorsports
No. 66- Damien Faulkner/Ben Keating for TRG
No. 68- Unknown drivers for TRG
Entered, but Already Withdrawn:
No. 5- Ryan Dalziel/Alex Popow for Starworks Motorsport
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!
~~~~~~~~~~
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today's Featured Commentary
Schedule Shenanigans, Reid Replaced, and Cussing Comeback
Schedule Shenanigans, Reid Replaced, and Cussing Comeback
What's Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
Well looks like my big mouth got absolutely nothing accomplished with regards to the 2014 Sprint Cup Schedule. No-go for Road America, and Bruton Smith seemed to shoot down any notion of The Southern 500 moving back to Labor Day weekend, trading with Atlanta. I mean why would you want to do that, anyway? Next thing you know we'll be telling surviving WWII Veterans they cannot attend their own memorial, in the autumn of their years. Might still end up with a road course Chase race – I just fear it will be the wrong one.
I'm the biggest road racing honk for NASCAR you'll find in print (or radio – they won't let me on TV yet), but I'm just going to throw it out there – if you don't like it, send it right back: Sonoma sucks in its current configuration. The Chute layout used since 1998 eliminated three passing zones, in an effort to create a "turn" and stick some grandstands in. Yah, great, it's garbage. Use the standard carrousel course and the proper esses the way God intended, or run Watkins Glen for the Chase. Yeah, I know, "it might rain in October" in October. The cars weigh less now, it's 2013, use rain tires, Rain-X, and a defogger. You don't think people would tune in to see that? They've paved over all of the places a car used to get stuck, so I don't really see why not.
If it's ratings, actions, and a show you're after, by all means -- this is the answer.
****************************************
Marty Reid was let go as ESPN's Nationwide Series analyst, following a gaffe at Kentucky Speedway where he called the race for Ryan Blaney a lap before it was over. Two things here: was anybody still watching or cared, and if they're going to bail after next year what difference does it make? Current racing coverage has issues that extend well beyond Marty's penchant for gaffes, guffaws, and complete dark-tunnel moments when all thought and synapses just come to a grinding halt. Kind of reminds of watching old Formula One races with Murray Walker of the BBC or Ken Squier in his later years. I'd listen to what they were saying, and desperately wished I was able to see the race they were watching – because it sounded far more entertaining. At least Marty didn't point out the mile of empty seats lining the frontstretch, that now has the camera operator looking like The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
*******************************************
I predict by the end of the season, we will have witnessed a comeback special that will rival that of Elvis in 1968. It will be the joy of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and social media sights, everywhere. The show that will capture the attention of the racing world might just end up being Kurt Busch, completely losing his $#!+ on the radio after yet another botched pit stop or broken right rear hub on the No. 78. At this point, it's kind of hard to fault him if he does. He takes what is basically a 15th-place, single-car team to The Chase, and when they get there….they run like a 15th-place team, making the same mistakes that nearly cost them the Chase - and likely convinced Busch this wasn't where he needed to make his home long-term.
When he had his well-documented Hiroshima hemorrhoid flare up at Richmond in 2011, he was taken to task publicly for going off on the team over the radio. Okay, fine. But what was the result of that? Suddenly, the No. 22 found some speed, was going door to door with the 48, and won the championship a year later. Sure, he wasn't there to be a part of it, but sometimes you have to cut lunch to get things changed. While is on the way out, I have to think holding it in for the past eight months is going to spill over at some point. I just hope my NASCAR.com app doesn't crash in the middle of it.
******************************
Tony Stewart who is recovering from a badly broken leg in a sprint car crash two months ago, said he will not be getting back into the car until late January or early February of 2014. While his rehab is ahead of schedule, it highlights two things: one, it wasn't 'just a broken leg' – if you're stuck in the hospital for a week and in bed at home for two more, something pretty violent happened. While not exactly the most disciplined in the form of physical preparation, the enhanced inactivity of his convalescence is going to take a toll strength-wise on Stewart as well. Having secured the services of Mark Martin for the balance of 2013, keeping him on stand-by for the first part of 2014 might prove to be smart move for SHR if Smoke has a set back or isn't ready by the time Daytona rolls around.
Well looks like my big mouth got absolutely nothing accomplished with regards to the 2014 Sprint Cup Schedule. No-go for Road America, and Bruton Smith seemed to shoot down any notion of The Southern 500 moving back to Labor Day weekend, trading with Atlanta. I mean why would you want to do that, anyway? Next thing you know we'll be telling surviving WWII Veterans they cannot attend their own memorial, in the autumn of their years. Might still end up with a road course Chase race – I just fear it will be the wrong one.
I'm the biggest road racing honk for NASCAR you'll find in print (or radio – they won't let me on TV yet), but I'm just going to throw it out there – if you don't like it, send it right back: Sonoma sucks in its current configuration. The Chute layout used since 1998 eliminated three passing zones, in an effort to create a "turn" and stick some grandstands in. Yah, great, it's garbage. Use the standard carrousel course and the proper esses the way God intended, or run Watkins Glen for the Chase. Yeah, I know, "it might rain in October" in October. The cars weigh less now, it's 2013, use rain tires, Rain-X, and a defogger. You don't think people would tune in to see that? They've paved over all of the places a car used to get stuck, so I don't really see why not.
If it's ratings, actions, and a show you're after, by all means -- this is the answer.
****************************************
Marty Reid was let go as ESPN's Nationwide Series analyst, following a gaffe at Kentucky Speedway where he called the race for Ryan Blaney a lap before it was over. Two things here: was anybody still watching or cared, and if they're going to bail after next year what difference does it make? Current racing coverage has issues that extend well beyond Marty's penchant for gaffes, guffaws, and complete dark-tunnel moments when all thought and synapses just come to a grinding halt. Kind of reminds of watching old Formula One races with Murray Walker of the BBC or Ken Squier in his later years. I'd listen to what they were saying, and desperately wished I was able to see the race they were watching – because it sounded far more entertaining. At least Marty didn't point out the mile of empty seats lining the frontstretch, that now has the camera operator looking like The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
*******************************************
I predict by the end of the season, we will have witnessed a comeback special that will rival that of Elvis in 1968. It will be the joy of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and social media sights, everywhere. The show that will capture the attention of the racing world might just end up being Kurt Busch, completely losing his $#!+ on the radio after yet another botched pit stop or broken right rear hub on the No. 78. At this point, it's kind of hard to fault him if he does. He takes what is basically a 15th-place, single-car team to The Chase, and when they get there….they run like a 15th-place team, making the same mistakes that nearly cost them the Chase - and likely convinced Busch this wasn't where he needed to make his home long-term.
When he had his well-documented Hiroshima hemorrhoid flare up at Richmond in 2011, he was taken to task publicly for going off on the team over the radio. Okay, fine. But what was the result of that? Suddenly, the No. 22 found some speed, was going door to door with the 48, and won the championship a year later. Sure, he wasn't there to be a part of it, but sometimes you have to cut lunch to get things changed. While is on the way out, I have to think holding it in for the past eight months is going to spill over at some point. I just hope my NASCAR.com app doesn't crash in the middle of it.
******************************
Tony Stewart who is recovering from a badly broken leg in a sprint car crash two months ago, said he will not be getting back into the car until late January or early February of 2014. While his rehab is ahead of schedule, it highlights two things: one, it wasn't 'just a broken leg' – if you're stuck in the hospital for a week and in bed at home for two more, something pretty violent happened. While not exactly the most disciplined in the form of physical preparation, the enhanced inactivity of his convalescence is going to take a toll strength-wise on Stewart as well. Having secured the services of Mark Martin for the balance of 2013, keeping him on stand-by for the first part of 2014 might prove to be smart move for SHR if Smoke has a set back or isn't ready by the time Daytona rolls around.
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 the Critic's Annex, where we take an additional look at motorsports-related programming. This past weekend, while Joey Logano was spanking the field at Dover, the Rolex Sports Car Series was holding their final race at Lime Rock Park before the full merger with the American Le Mans Series goes down. It was an interesting race. How did FOX Sports 2 do with the broadcast? Let's take a look.
Before I start, it should be noted that the race actually started later last year. FOX Sports 2 requested the earlier start time, which was granted. It actually made for a very condensed Saturday schedule. The Rolex Series race actually started barely 45 minutes after post-race celebrations for the Grand Sport race ended.
When FOX Sports 2 came on the air, the field was already out on the track for their pace laps. We never actually see Brian Till, Dorsey Schroeder and Calvin Fish in the broadcast booth. We just hear their voices. Note that Till was subbing for Bob Varsha, who was in Las Vegas covering the Barrett-Jackson auction. Pre-race consisted of the booth commentators talking about the championship chases and a brief qualifying recap. There was no reference to the fact that Bob Doyle crashed the No. 18 Porsche for Muehlner Motorsports America in qualifying. The team was unable to race because of the incident, despite Doyle pulling away from the scene.
The first couple of laps were an absolute scramble, not just on TV, but in the Media Center as well. It was looney tunes. FOX Sports 2 all but missed what happened with the No. 46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8. It appears that the car spun in the chicane and backed into the tires, hurting the new diffuser. Viewers saw the No. 46 pointing the wrong way from a roof cam, then the car slowly putting back to the pits before the big wreck exiting Big Bend.
Speaking of the big wreck, here's where I made an unexpected guest appearance on the telecast. As I mentioned on Tuesday, it's a blink-and-you-missed it moment. When the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche is behind the wall, you can see a man in an orange shirt and khakis on the right. That's me. I went out to the garage to take a look at the thrash. I was also right behind Potter when he walked away and threw a bottle against a nearby hauler.
I will admit that with so much stuff going on early, it was tough for me to see what happened. I knew that the Aston Martin was to blame, but when I saw the replay at the track, I didn't see the Aston Martin get off course. When I saw the replay Sunday on FOX Sports 1, I saw it then.
Christian Fittipaldi's No. 5 for Action Express Racing was one of the best cars early on. Then, he missed the chicane and went through the grass. That stuffed up his grille and forced an early stop. FOX Sports 2 did not catch this live, but did show a replay. It should be noted that the grass he kicked up stayed there for the rest of the race. Five laps later, he was out due to engine issues.
I thought that FOX Sports 2 did a decent job showing the action for position. There was quite a bit of passing out there and they generally did a good job in showing the action. Since Lime Rock was the final race of the season, there was a lot of focus on the championship, but that's to be expected. However, it didn't completely drive the broadcast like the Chase does for ESPN.
The telecast was also punctuated with clips from past Rolex Series races (Ex: The bashing match between Max Papis and Jan Magnussen at Homestead in 2004 that gave the duo of Andy Wallace and Milka Duno their first win together).
In the Media Center at Lime Rock, we had access to both the FOX Sports 2 and MRN Radio audio feeds (Note: Brian Nelson was there reporting this past weekend, a neophyte). It seemed like there was some confusion on FOX Sports 2 in regards to the pit strategy on the No. 6 DP for Michael Shank Racing (Gustavo Yacaman/Justin Wilson). The telecast seemed to think Yacaman's stop with 1:07 to go was unscheduled. In reality, it was scheduled. The caution that came shortly afterwards greatly benefitted them.
In the Media Center at Lime Rock, we had access to both the FOX Sports 2 and MRN Radio audio feeds (Note: Brian Nelson was there reporting this past weekend, a neophyte). It seemed like there was some confusion on FOX Sports 2 in regards to the pit strategy on the No. 6 DP for Michael Shank Racing (Gustavo Yacaman/Justin Wilson). The telecast seemed to think Yacaman's stop with 1:07 to go was unscheduled. In reality, it was scheduled. The caution that came shortly afterwards greatly benefitted them.
Post-race coverage was fairly typical for the Rolex Series. There were post-race interviews with the class winners in each class (Max Angelelli and Jordan Taylor in DP (champions), Lawson Aschenbach and Eric Curran in GT and Tom Long and Sylvain Tremblay in GX). There were also interviews with GT champion Alessandro Balzan and Scott Pruett before FOX Sports 2 left the air. Till did a nice touch here by thanking everyone that had ever worked on a Rolex Series telecast, including a number of on-air personalities that weren't at Lime Rock.
Had I not been at the race, I would have greatly enjoyed just watching the event. Aside from a couple of moments, I felt that FOX Sports 2 did a proper job covering the final Grand-Am event. There was some good action here, and the broadcast crew came prepared to show as much as possible and be excited for it..
That's all for this week. Next week, I'll be back with either more Lime Rock footage with Super Duper Bonus Coverage (I should trademark that), or (if I can get to the local theater), a review of "Rush." Until then, enjoy this weekend's action in Kansas, Houston, South Korea and Afton, Virginia.
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
ADVERTISEMENT
Race fans, do you love Frontstretch.com's coverage of NASCAR's top 3 series, IndyCar, Formula One and Short Track Racing? Do you want to read even more about your favorite sport? Then check out the industry's newest racing publication, Motorsport Illustrated News!, which is available both in print and in digital format! As one of our loyal readers, you'll receive 15% off any subscription when you use the coupon code fs2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
"[Dave] Blaney was an underdog on that day in 2001 because he had never competed for a Cup win before. In his rookie season in 2000, he didn't miss one show and finished 31st in points. His run that day really came out of nowhere. That used to be the definition of underdog — someone who really isn't expected to win. That term has broadened since. How many cars did you count as underdogs at Dover last weekend? I counted 40 — everyone except the Nos. 20, 48 and 18. If 40 of the 43 cars that started Sunday's race went to Victory Lane, we could've labeled them "surprise winners." - Brett Poirier, on the broadening of "underdogs" in recent years.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
by Jeff Wolfe
NASCAR Mailbox: Rough Week For the Reids, FOX Sports None, and KyBu V2
by Summer Bedgood
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: During the race weekend at Kansas Speedway in 2002, there were two big stories. One was the neck injury that ended Sterling Marlin's season. The other was a shocking admission that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made, and NASCAR's response to it. What was it?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In the 2005 United Way 300 at Kansas Speedway, Reed Sorenson finished in sixth position. However, it wasn't exactly the cleanest run. What happened with Sorenson early in the race?
A:Very early in the race, Sorenson had contact with David Stremme, who was driving the No. 14 Navy Dodge for FitzBradshaw Racing. Stremme spun out and went hard into the wall. Elliott Sadler spun out trying to avoid Stremme and hit the wall himself. Sadler was then clipped by Justin Labonte, who also crashed. Sadler then proceeded to blame Stremme for coming down on Sorenson (yes, blaming Stremme preceded the hashtag on Twitter). The crash can be seen here.
Sadler and Stremme were out on the spot. Labonte was able to continue after repairs on pit road and finished three laps down in 25th.
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:
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 Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas 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: Justin Allgaier as told to Mike Neff
The driver of the No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series returns to talk about the past month, on and off the track.
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!
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