THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 7th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXXVII
~~~~~~~~~
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.
Entering Kansas, many observers already considered the championship to be a three man Chase. After Sunday, we probably cannot say that anymore.
Matt Kenseth, despite having won the last two races at Kansas Speedway, had an up-and-down day, finishing 11th. Jimmie Johnson was going to finish in the top-5, but engine problems in the last five miles of the race resulted in him dropping to a sixth-place result. As a result, the margin between the two drivers is down to just three points. Kevin Harvick, fresh off his victory on Sunday, has gained a spot in the standings. He is now 25 points back.
Jeff Gordon is also up one place in the standings to fourth after a third-place finish. He is now 32 points out of the lead. For Kyle Busch, Kansas was nothing less than a mess. On Saturday, Kyle crashed on the first lap of practice and had to go to a backup car. Sunday wasn't any better. Kyle spun out on the first lap of the race while trying to avoid Danica Patrick's crash, then spun again while trying to block Juan Pablo Montoya. Finally, Kyle crashed out on a restart after contact from Carl Edwards. The 34th-place finish dropped Kyle to fifth, 35 points back.
Greg Biffle held on to the sixth spot in points after finishing 13th. Three points behind Biffle is Kurt Busch in seventh. Another second-place finish just shows that Kurt is trying like heck to get a win before leaving Furniture Row Racing for Stewart-Haas. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is up two more places to eighth after finishing eighth on Sunday. Clint Bowyer is down one place to ninth after a miserable weekend in the handling department. He ran a disappointing 14th in his hometown race.
Joey Logano is up two places to tenth after running competitively all day and finishing in fourth. That is just one point in front of Edwards, who finished right behind Logano on-track in fifth. Ryan Newman was the big loser on the day, dropping five places to 12th after getting caught up in a crash with Justin Allgaier. Kasey Kahne continues to round out the top 13.
Chase Point Standings: 1) Matt Kenseth 2183, 2) Jimmie Johnson -3, 3) Kevin Harvick -25, 4) Jeff Gordon -32, 5) Kyle Busch -35, 6) Greg Biffle -44, 7) Kurt Busch -47, 8) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -54, 9) Clint Bowyer -55, 10) Joey Logano -59, 11) Carl Edwards -60, 12) Ryan Newman -73, 13) Kasey Kahne -83.
Best of the Rest (14-23): 14) Jamie McMurray 847, 15) Brad Keselowski -20, 16) Martin Truex, Jr. -41, 17) Paul Menard -42, 18) Aric Almirola -72, 19) Jeff Burton -90, 20) Marcos Ambrose -91, 21) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -106, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -107, 23) Casey Mears -226.
Non-Chase Point Standings (top-23): 1) Jimmie Johnson 1009, 2) Kevin Harvick -29, 3) Matt Kenseth -34, 4) Carl Edwards -50, 5) Kyle Busch -62, 6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -99, 7) Clint Bowyer -102, 8) Jeff Gordon -108, 9) Kurt Busch -111, 10) Greg Biffle -114, 11) Joey Logano -137, 12) Ryan Newman -158, 13) Jamie McMurray -163, 14) Kasey Kahne -170, 15) Brad Keselowski -182, 16) Martin Truex, Jr. -203, 17) Paul Menard -204, 18) Aric Almirola -234, 19) Jeff Burton -252, 20) Marcos Ambrose -253, 21) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -268, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -269, 23) Casey Mears -388.
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).
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: Kansas-2 Edition
by Amy Henderson
Editor's Note: The weekly Underdogs feature will return next week.
After Saturday's Nationwide Series race saw 11 cautions, many wondered if it would be much of the same type of story on Sunday. That, combined with the new multi-zone tire from Goodyear, raised several questions leading up to the Hollywood Casino 400. As it turned out, Sunday's race was slowed by a record 15 cautions, for 71 laps for issues ranging from debris to hard crashes and even smoke billowing across the track. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what caused all of the cautions; however, a substantial number likely could have been avoided without so many wild restarts. You know the saying that cautions breed cautions? Well that turned out to be the case more often than not on Sunday.
Kyle Busch Takes Himself Out of the Race, Maybe Out of Chase
Kansas Speedway has never been too kind to Kyle Busch, and this weekend was no different. It all began with the first practice session on Saturday morning when he spun the No. 18 Toyota straight into the wall on his first lap on the track. Having gone to a backup car, Busch had to work his way through from the back of the field, but Sunday started off bad for him after getting caught up in a first lap wreck. It only got worse for Busch from there when he ran Juan Pablo Montoya down the track and spun himself off the bumper of the No. 42 Chevrolet. That damage wasn't terminal and he was able to continue on for another handful of laps before suffering a similar issue off of the front end of Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford. The resulting impact tore the front end off of his car and forced him to retire for the day to a 34th-place result that dropped him two spots to fifth in the standings, 35 markers behind teammate Matt Kenseth.
Johnson Suffers Late-Race Engine Issues
Jimmie Johnson, who was one of the fastest cars on the track all day on Sunday, was caught by a debris caution for a piece of brake hose that several drivers reported had been in place for a while and was well out of the racing groove. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet hadn't made it to the commitment cone and was trapped deep in the field before making his way toward the front once again. But that wasn't the end of Johnson's troubles. With just two laps remaining, he slowed considerably on the track, despite reports that fuel mileage wasn't going to be an issue. Johnson reported that his engine started shaking pretty badly and he had to coast back to the garage area after the checkered flag flew. The good news for the No. 48 team is that Johnson likely saved the engine from completely blowing and should allow his engineers to look at what went wrong in an effort to prevent the same thing from happening later on in the Chase.
Beth Lunkenheimer is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at beth.lunkenheimer@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Beth_Frntstrtch.
Quotes to Remember: Hollywood Casino 400
compiled by Beth Lunkenheimer
"First off I just want to thank everybody from Sprint. This is a huge race for everybody in this town, Budweiser, Rheem, Jimmy John's, Chevrolet, Bad Boy Buggies, Realtree, everybody that helps this Chevrolet. These guys just did a great job all weekend. To have a car fast enough for me to qualify it on the pole says a lot to how fast this thing is. We are just really excited to be here in front of everybody from Sprint and going to St. Louis (Missouri) tomorrow just really excited. I want to say hi to DeLana (Harvick, wife) and Keelan (son) at home. We are just having fun. Everybody wrote us off at the beginning of the year especially from a media standpoint. We are just going to go do our thing and hopefully keep doing it quietly and have fun at it." Kevin Harvick
"We we finished second. I think that is the most important thing. The way that our Furniture Row team has found speed at the mile-and-a-halfs, wish we could have cashed in. (Kevin) Harvick, out teammate with RCR, they won; congratulations to them. I feel like it's just like this five percent we are missing. Restarts were treacherous today, and that is where the No. 24 and I raced really hard today. He was on the outside, hooked his nose right on our rear spoiler and I was just sliding. The important thing about us (Busch and Gordon) finishing second and third, is when it's good racing. There doesn't need the media to blow it out of proportion and to say two guys are fighting. We need to put on a better show. We need to have better tickets for our fans to buy, and I hope we put that on back there." Kurt Busch
"It was a great effort by this Axalta Chevrolet team. I'm so proud of them. We had many things that didn't go our way and there at the end the pit strategy worked out in our favor. We had a good race car. A little bit too tight to race with Kevin (Harvick) and get going on those restarts. Man, I couldn't be happier the way this Chase is going for us and this No. 24 team." Jeff Gordon, finished third
"It was pretty crazy out there. Every restart you had to be so aggressive to pass people because that was your best shot to pass them and everyone realized it. There wasn't much grip out there and everyone was doing that and you are going to have a crash. We proved that fact multiple times today. Todd did a good job calling the race and trying to figure out the strategy. I couldn't imaging trying to call a race like this. It is nuts because one minute you are first and the next you are 15th and you hope you cycle out to the lead at the end." Joey Logano, finished fourth
"Well, I don't know if we actually deserved to finish that well as much as I wanted to finish better than that. We struggled. I think Greg made it back up there pretty high so a decent day as far as finishes go. Holy moly that track is tough. It was treacherous, I mean death-defying every time you went into the corner on a run. [The restarts] were insane. Look up insane and that is the definition right there. Kyle and I ended up wrecking over there and I kept it going straight but just because you fan out and then the car goes into the corner and all of a sudden the grip level changes. I don't know if he knew I was under him or not but he just turned down. His car bit or he turned and drove across the front of mine. It is just crazy. It is tough to be racing for points when you have those kind of restarts." Carl Edwards, finished fifth
"What a day! We had so many things happen to us and still salvaged a very strong sixth-place finish. I really feel like we had the fastest car today, but just couldn't get there with issues and track position and cautions at weird times. Restarts were kind of an issue and there was a lot of craziness there. And then coming with two (laps) to go, we had something go wrong with either the ignition or the engine there, and I have to give up a spot and limped it home. I feel kind of bummed out that we left some points on the table, but at the same time I'm happy I made it to the finish line under power and I got a nice finish." Jimmie Johnson
"That's the worst conditions I've raced in I don't know how long — probably since they paved Charlotte probably and had that hard tire. This right side tire was obviously not the answer. I'm sure Kevin's (Harvick) happy, but other than that I think everybody kind of struggled with it. Congratulations to Kevin. It was just a tough day. We had to battle back all day — I'd get us behind. Our car was just so loose — we'd get behind on restarts. It was a good comeback — 11th isn't what we need to be doing every week. But, you know, it couldn't be worse." Matt Kenseth
"We weren't very good all weekend. I am really happy with a 13th place finish to be honest with you. We fought hard to get that. I drove hard and we had about a 30th place car and finished 13th with it so I am pretty happy with that." Greg Biffle
"We had a pretty crazy day today with a lot of cautions. The number 15 team battled some handling issues early, but once we got some track position I thought we were pretty good. The 5-hour ENERGY Toyota had speed and we did a great job getting up toward the front, but as the weather and track conditions changed we struggled a little bit getting the car to turn in the center of the corner. I thought for sure we were going to come out of there with a top-five. That would have really helped us gain some ground in the points. It didn't turn out that way, but we'll take what we got and move on to Charlotte." Clint Bowyer, finished 14th
"We actually had a pretty good racecar, but we never really had a chance to show it. Grip was really tough to come by out there, and we saw a lot of people struggle with that. Our Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy had pretty good balance, even after we got it all fixed after the wreck. This is a hard-working group of guys here at Stewart-Haas Racing. Today and, really, this whole weekend showed that. We improved the car significantly from our test on Thursday to the end of the race. It's just a shame we don't have as much to show for those efforts." Mark Martin, finished 22nd
I'm okay. Thanks. Yeah, I just hate it for this Aaron's Toyota team. These guys did a good job. We had a really fast car and we were good at the beginning, but once we got it right we were really strong. We just lost our track position with the pit cycles. The 99 (Carl Edwards) and the 18 (Kyle Busch) got together, took us out. After that, I think the splitter just got knocked down too much. We were still handling okay, but we were on the splitter really hard. Going through (turns) one and two, I just thought we had too much gas and it was on the splitter and then as soon as it came up off the splitter it just came around — that or a tire went down — but it happened so quick I'm not sure. I don't think it was a tire, but we had so much damage it was possible. More than likely, it was just on the splitter and once it popped up it just got away from me." Brian Vickers, finished 32nd
"This race track is the worst race track I've ever driven on. The tires are the worst tires I've ever driven on and track position is everything. You can't do anything unless you're out front. You get back in traffic--Kevin Harvick couldn't pass me--he led the first 80 laps of the race, so I'd say that's pretty pathetic." Kyle Busch, finished 34th
"There's not much to say other than we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in an accident not of our making. It's definitely a disappointing day for all of us on the Code 3 Associates team." Ryan Newman, finished 35th
"Just got a little too high off of turn two and just got loose. It's very hard to find where the edge is and I just crossed it and spun out. [The new tires] have been a struggle. Every time you have a newly paved surface, it's very hard to get a good tire. So it takes a few years and until that you have to drive 70-80 percent and be a little careful, and I wasn't careful enough." David Ragan, finished 36th
"I wish I had a good answer for you. We were minding our own there just trying to ride. The car was actually pretty strong and we were running up inside the top 15 at some points and it just turned right. I got a little bit loose over the seam and everything seemed to be okay. It turned right and hit the fence really hard. I hate it for Ryan Newman. I didn't mean to ruin their day. I hate it for the Phoenix Racing guys, the No. 51 guys. I guess this is my wife's worst fear. She doesn't come to the race track and she's always afraid I'm going to wreck while she is not here. I'm alright. We are all good and hopefully we can come back and have another strong run." Justin Allgaier, finished 39th
"I'm really sorry. I'm really bummed. I just was looking forward to having a good day and now it's over with in a matter of feet. It's just a shame because it always seems to be the case (on) those weekends when things start to be going better and I've had lots of people say, 'You looked good in practice yesterday,' and felt a lot better and (crew chief, Tony) Gibson did a great job and the crew did a good job. And days when you're not fast, it seems like those aren't the days that you get the bad luck. I don't know. If I did something wrong, I apologize to everybody on my team and GoDaddy. It's a shame." Danica Patrick, finished 43rd
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Kansas II Sprint Cup Race Recap
The Big Six: Questions Answered Following The Hollywood Casino 400
by Phil Allaway
IndyCar Recap: Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
October 7th, 2013
Volume VII, Edition CLXXXVII
~~~~~~~~~
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Harvick Wins Wild Hollywood 400 At Kansas
by Justin Tucker
Kevin Harvick needed a statement race coming into this weekend's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Harvick came into this weekend 39 points behind Matt Kenseth in the championship standings and was in danger of losing contact with Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch after just three races in the 2013 chase. The Bakersfield, California native set the tone on Friday, earning his first pole in 254 races, and carried that momentum throughout the weekend. He won his third race of the 2013 season, holding off Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon in the closing laps to win a wreck-filled Hollywood Casino 400.
Harvick dominated much of the afternoon, leading 138 of 267 laps on a very demanding 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway but found trouble early in the race when he was caught a lap down while pitting when a caution came out for debris. Harvick flew through the field using pit strategy and an ultra fast Budweiser Chevrolet to work his way back into contention. He also had to deal with a record number of cautions (fifteen) throughout the afternoon which often jumbled the running order off of pit road.
"For me, it was like driving two different cars," he explained. "We got that debris caution right as we pitted there early, we got back in traffic and the car was just really tight. Then, we got better as the cloud cover came over and we kind of found that middle line down there in (Turns) one and two. [But] the crew kept me calm. I was starting to get a little wound up because I knew we had a really fast car out front, but it was just a matter of getting there because track position was so important. It was a good day. I'm just happy as heck for everybody on this team."
The combination of Goodyear's new multi-zone tread tires, cold temperatures, and relatively new track surface wreaked havoc on teams throughout much of the day. Kurt Busch turned in one of the most impressive drives, finishing second after starting from the rear of the field after a practice crash.
"Wow, what an unbelievable drive," said Busch. "Kansas Speedway has been a great track over the years and for us to finally knock off a small little check box, (with) a top five, is a small victory in my own mind. I don't know how much it counts for anybody else, but this is the last track that I needed to get a top-five finish on and now, I have a top five at all the tracks. So a small little feather in the cap."
Joining Harvick and Busch in the top 5 were: Jeff Gordon in third, with his second consecutive top 5 finish, Joey Logano in fourth, and Carl Edwards, with his best finish in the 2013 chase coming home fifth.
Jimmie Johnson, who came into Sunday's race second in points, had a car that contended for the win much of the race. He was running comfortably in the top 5 at the white flag lap when something in the engine went amiss of his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Johnson would still manage to finish sixth, though and shave five points off Kenseth's lead in the championship.
"Lots of weird restarts, wacky restarts, a lot of chaos," he said afterwards. "Then, caution after caution for who knows what. Cautions kept coming out. We rebounded from all of that, passed a bunch of race cars. Then, with two laps to go coming down the backstretch, it started shaking real bad and I thought it was over. I limped it around and got it to the finish line."
Rounding out the top 10 Sunday at Kansas were: Paul Menard in 7th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. after last week's strong run at Dover in 8th, and Richard Petty Motorsports teammates Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose.
Points leader Matt Kenseth would survive the afternoon finishing 11th and would maintain a three-point lead over Johnson in the season standings. "It was a struggle all day," Kenseth said. "I've been so incredibly spoiled this year, I haven't had to drive a car like that in a long time. It was incredibly treacherous. I was so loose, about to crash pretty much at all times in the race. We drove back to 11th, which definitely isn't what we wanted or need to contend for this thing. But it was a good day for as bad as we were."
Kyle Busch's bad luck at Kansas Speedway would continue on Sunday. After wrecking his primary car in a practice crash, Busch would be caught up in another wreck on lap 199, ending his day and putting him fifth in points 35 behind Kenseth with just six races to go in the chase.
Here's a look at Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 behind the numbers. There were 24 lead changes among 12 different drivers, plus a track record 15 cautions for 71 laps that dramatically slowed the race pace to 114.884 MPH.
Round 5 of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the only Saturday night race in the playoffs. The Bank of America 500 goes green at 7:46 P.M. ET next Saturday.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Harvick Wins Wild Hollywood 400 At Kansas
by Justin Tucker
Kevin Harvick needed a statement race coming into this weekend's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Harvick came into this weekend 39 points behind Matt Kenseth in the championship standings and was in danger of losing contact with Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch after just three races in the 2013 chase. The Bakersfield, California native set the tone on Friday, earning his first pole in 254 races, and carried that momentum throughout the weekend. He won his third race of the 2013 season, holding off Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon in the closing laps to win a wreck-filled Hollywood Casino 400.
Harvick dominated much of the afternoon, leading 138 of 267 laps on a very demanding 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway but found trouble early in the race when he was caught a lap down while pitting when a caution came out for debris. Harvick flew through the field using pit strategy and an ultra fast Budweiser Chevrolet to work his way back into contention. He also had to deal with a record number of cautions (fifteen) throughout the afternoon which often jumbled the running order off of pit road.
"For me, it was like driving two different cars," he explained. "We got that debris caution right as we pitted there early, we got back in traffic and the car was just really tight. Then, we got better as the cloud cover came over and we kind of found that middle line down there in (Turns) one and two. [But] the crew kept me calm. I was starting to get a little wound up because I knew we had a really fast car out front, but it was just a matter of getting there because track position was so important. It was a good day. I'm just happy as heck for everybody on this team."
The combination of Goodyear's new multi-zone tread tires, cold temperatures, and relatively new track surface wreaked havoc on teams throughout much of the day. Kurt Busch turned in one of the most impressive drives, finishing second after starting from the rear of the field after a practice crash.
"Wow, what an unbelievable drive," said Busch. "Kansas Speedway has been a great track over the years and for us to finally knock off a small little check box, (with) a top five, is a small victory in my own mind. I don't know how much it counts for anybody else, but this is the last track that I needed to get a top-five finish on and now, I have a top five at all the tracks. So a small little feather in the cap."
Joining Harvick and Busch in the top 5 were: Jeff Gordon in third, with his second consecutive top 5 finish, Joey Logano in fourth, and Carl Edwards, with his best finish in the 2013 chase coming home fifth.
Jimmie Johnson, who came into Sunday's race second in points, had a car that contended for the win much of the race. He was running comfortably in the top 5 at the white flag lap when something in the engine went amiss of his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Johnson would still manage to finish sixth, though and shave five points off Kenseth's lead in the championship.
"Lots of weird restarts, wacky restarts, a lot of chaos," he said afterwards. "Then, caution after caution for who knows what. Cautions kept coming out. We rebounded from all of that, passed a bunch of race cars. Then, with two laps to go coming down the backstretch, it started shaking real bad and I thought it was over. I limped it around and got it to the finish line."
Rounding out the top 10 Sunday at Kansas were: Paul Menard in 7th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. after last week's strong run at Dover in 8th, and Richard Petty Motorsports teammates Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose.
Points leader Matt Kenseth would survive the afternoon finishing 11th and would maintain a three-point lead over Johnson in the season standings. "It was a struggle all day," Kenseth said. "I've been so incredibly spoiled this year, I haven't had to drive a car like that in a long time. It was incredibly treacherous. I was so loose, about to crash pretty much at all times in the race. We drove back to 11th, which definitely isn't what we wanted or need to contend for this thing. But it was a good day for as bad as we were."
Kyle Busch's bad luck at Kansas Speedway would continue on Sunday. After wrecking his primary car in a practice crash, Busch would be caught up in another wreck on lap 199, ending his day and putting him fifth in points 35 behind Kenseth with just six races to go in the chase.
Here's a look at Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 behind the numbers. There were 24 lead changes among 12 different drivers, plus a track record 15 cautions for 71 laps that dramatically slowed the race pace to 114.884 MPH.
Round 5 of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the only Saturday night race in the playoffs. The Bank of America 500 goes green at 7:46 P.M. ET next Saturday.
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: Kansas Craziness Results In Closer Standings
by Phil Allaway
by Phil Allaway
Entering Kansas, many observers already considered the championship to be a three man Chase. After Sunday, we probably cannot say that anymore.
Matt Kenseth, despite having won the last two races at Kansas Speedway, had an up-and-down day, finishing 11th. Jimmie Johnson was going to finish in the top-5, but engine problems in the last five miles of the race resulted in him dropping to a sixth-place result. As a result, the margin between the two drivers is down to just three points. Kevin Harvick, fresh off his victory on Sunday, has gained a spot in the standings. He is now 25 points back.
Jeff Gordon is also up one place in the standings to fourth after a third-place finish. He is now 32 points out of the lead. For Kyle Busch, Kansas was nothing less than a mess. On Saturday, Kyle crashed on the first lap of practice and had to go to a backup car. Sunday wasn't any better. Kyle spun out on the first lap of the race while trying to avoid Danica Patrick's crash, then spun again while trying to block Juan Pablo Montoya. Finally, Kyle crashed out on a restart after contact from Carl Edwards. The 34th-place finish dropped Kyle to fifth, 35 points back.
Greg Biffle held on to the sixth spot in points after finishing 13th. Three points behind Biffle is Kurt Busch in seventh. Another second-place finish just shows that Kurt is trying like heck to get a win before leaving Furniture Row Racing for Stewart-Haas. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is up two more places to eighth after finishing eighth on Sunday. Clint Bowyer is down one place to ninth after a miserable weekend in the handling department. He ran a disappointing 14th in his hometown race.
Joey Logano is up two places to tenth after running competitively all day and finishing in fourth. That is just one point in front of Edwards, who finished right behind Logano on-track in fifth. Ryan Newman was the big loser on the day, dropping five places to 12th after getting caught up in a crash with Justin Allgaier. Kasey Kahne continues to round out the top 13.
Chase Point Standings: 1) Matt Kenseth 2183, 2) Jimmie Johnson -3, 3) Kevin Harvick -25, 4) Jeff Gordon -32, 5) Kyle Busch -35, 6) Greg Biffle -44, 7) Kurt Busch -47, 8) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -54, 9) Clint Bowyer -55, 10) Joey Logano -59, 11) Carl Edwards -60, 12) Ryan Newman -73, 13) Kasey Kahne -83.
Best of the Rest (14-23): 14) Jamie McMurray 847, 15) Brad Keselowski -20, 16) Martin Truex, Jr. -41, 17) Paul Menard -42, 18) Aric Almirola -72, 19) Jeff Burton -90, 20) Marcos Ambrose -91, 21) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -106, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -107, 23) Casey Mears -226.
Non-Chase Point Standings (top-23): 1) Jimmie Johnson 1009, 2) Kevin Harvick -29, 3) Matt Kenseth -34, 4) Carl Edwards -50, 5) Kyle Busch -62, 6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -99, 7) Clint Bowyer -102, 8) Jeff Gordon -108, 9) Kurt Busch -111, 10) Greg Biffle -114, 11) Joey Logano -137, 12) Ryan Newman -158, 13) Jamie McMurray -163, 14) Kasey Kahne -170, 15) Brad Keselowski -182, 16) Martin Truex, Jr. -203, 17) Paul Menard -204, 18) Aric Almirola -234, 19) Jeff Burton -252, 20) Marcos Ambrose -253, 21) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. -268, 22) Juan Pablo Montoya -269, 23) Casey Mears -388.
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).
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: Kansas-2 Edition
by Amy Henderson
Editor's Note: The weekly Underdogs feature will return next week.
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Hollywood Casino was brought to you by the letter "R," for Roulette. With a record-setting 15 cautions, for 71 laps there was a constant shuffling of strategies and track position. Pit road was a busy place, leading to restarts where the two drivers on the front row, dictating the pace changed consistently. It was hard to gauge, until the final 40 laps who actually had a shot at the win because the "comers and goers" would change every time the yellow flag flew. Good for the sport, or bad for the sport? Ultimately, the fans will be the judge. - Tom Bowles
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Sidebar Stories: Kansas
by Beth Lunkenheimer
Record Number of Cautions Slow Hollywood Casino 400Letter of the Race: Sunday's Hollywood Casino was brought to you by the letter "R," for Roulette. With a record-setting 15 cautions, for 71 laps there was a constant shuffling of strategies and track position. Pit road was a busy place, leading to restarts where the two drivers on the front row, dictating the pace changed consistently. It was hard to gauge, until the final 40 laps who actually had a shot at the win because the "comers and goers" would change every time the yellow flag flew. Good for the sport, or bad for the sport? Ultimately, the fans will be the judge. - Tom Bowles
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Sidebar Stories: Kansas
by Beth Lunkenheimer
After Saturday's Nationwide Series race saw 11 cautions, many wondered if it would be much of the same type of story on Sunday. That, combined with the new multi-zone tire from Goodyear, raised several questions leading up to the Hollywood Casino 400. As it turned out, Sunday's race was slowed by a record 15 cautions, for 71 laps for issues ranging from debris to hard crashes and even smoke billowing across the track. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what caused all of the cautions; however, a substantial number likely could have been avoided without so many wild restarts. You know the saying that cautions breed cautions? Well that turned out to be the case more often than not on Sunday.
(The previous mark for cautions at Kansas was 14... set in this race last Fall.)
Kyle Busch Takes Himself Out of the Race, Maybe Out of Chase
Kansas Speedway has never been too kind to Kyle Busch, and this weekend was no different. It all began with the first practice session on Saturday morning when he spun the No. 18 Toyota straight into the wall on his first lap on the track. Having gone to a backup car, Busch had to work his way through from the back of the field, but Sunday started off bad for him after getting caught up in a first lap wreck. It only got worse for Busch from there when he ran Juan Pablo Montoya down the track and spun himself off the bumper of the No. 42 Chevrolet. That damage wasn't terminal and he was able to continue on for another handful of laps before suffering a similar issue off of the front end of Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford. The resulting impact tore the front end off of his car and forced him to retire for the day to a 34th-place result that dropped him two spots to fifth in the standings, 35 markers behind teammate Matt Kenseth.
Johnson Suffers Late-Race Engine Issues
Jimmie Johnson, who was one of the fastest cars on the track all day on Sunday, was caught by a debris caution for a piece of brake hose that several drivers reported had been in place for a while and was well out of the racing groove. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet hadn't made it to the commitment cone and was trapped deep in the field before making his way toward the front once again. But that wasn't the end of Johnson's troubles. With just two laps remaining, he slowed considerably on the track, despite reports that fuel mileage wasn't going to be an issue. Johnson reported that his engine started shaking pretty badly and he had to coast back to the garage area after the checkered flag flew. The good news for the No. 48 team is that Johnson likely saved the engine from completely blowing and should allow his engineers to look at what went wrong in an effort to prevent the same thing from happening later on in the Chase.
Beth Lunkenheimer is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at beth.lunkenheimer@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Beth_Frntstrtch.
Quotes to Remember: Hollywood Casino 400
compiled by Beth Lunkenheimer
"First off I just want to thank everybody from Sprint. This is a huge race for everybody in this town, Budweiser, Rheem, Jimmy John's, Chevrolet, Bad Boy Buggies, Realtree, everybody that helps this Chevrolet. These guys just did a great job all weekend. To have a car fast enough for me to qualify it on the pole says a lot to how fast this thing is. We are just really excited to be here in front of everybody from Sprint and going to St. Louis (Missouri) tomorrow just really excited. I want to say hi to DeLana (Harvick, wife) and Keelan (son) at home. We are just having fun. Everybody wrote us off at the beginning of the year especially from a media standpoint. We are just going to go do our thing and hopefully keep doing it quietly and have fun at it." Kevin Harvick
"We we finished second. I think that is the most important thing. The way that our Furniture Row team has found speed at the mile-and-a-halfs, wish we could have cashed in. (Kevin) Harvick, out teammate with RCR, they won; congratulations to them. I feel like it's just like this five percent we are missing. Restarts were treacherous today, and that is where the No. 24 and I raced really hard today. He was on the outside, hooked his nose right on our rear spoiler and I was just sliding. The important thing about us (Busch and Gordon) finishing second and third, is when it's good racing. There doesn't need the media to blow it out of proportion and to say two guys are fighting. We need to put on a better show. We need to have better tickets for our fans to buy, and I hope we put that on back there." Kurt Busch
"It was a great effort by this Axalta Chevrolet team. I'm so proud of them. We had many things that didn't go our way and there at the end the pit strategy worked out in our favor. We had a good race car. A little bit too tight to race with Kevin (Harvick) and get going on those restarts. Man, I couldn't be happier the way this Chase is going for us and this No. 24 team." Jeff Gordon, finished third
"It was pretty crazy out there. Every restart you had to be so aggressive to pass people because that was your best shot to pass them and everyone realized it. There wasn't much grip out there and everyone was doing that and you are going to have a crash. We proved that fact multiple times today. Todd did a good job calling the race and trying to figure out the strategy. I couldn't imaging trying to call a race like this. It is nuts because one minute you are first and the next you are 15th and you hope you cycle out to the lead at the end." Joey Logano, finished fourth
"Well, I don't know if we actually deserved to finish that well as much as I wanted to finish better than that. We struggled. I think Greg made it back up there pretty high so a decent day as far as finishes go. Holy moly that track is tough. It was treacherous, I mean death-defying every time you went into the corner on a run. [The restarts] were insane. Look up insane and that is the definition right there. Kyle and I ended up wrecking over there and I kept it going straight but just because you fan out and then the car goes into the corner and all of a sudden the grip level changes. I don't know if he knew I was under him or not but he just turned down. His car bit or he turned and drove across the front of mine. It is just crazy. It is tough to be racing for points when you have those kind of restarts." Carl Edwards, finished fifth
"What a day! We had so many things happen to us and still salvaged a very strong sixth-place finish. I really feel like we had the fastest car today, but just couldn't get there with issues and track position and cautions at weird times. Restarts were kind of an issue and there was a lot of craziness there. And then coming with two (laps) to go, we had something go wrong with either the ignition or the engine there, and I have to give up a spot and limped it home. I feel kind of bummed out that we left some points on the table, but at the same time I'm happy I made it to the finish line under power and I got a nice finish." Jimmie Johnson
"That's the worst conditions I've raced in I don't know how long — probably since they paved Charlotte probably and had that hard tire. This right side tire was obviously not the answer. I'm sure Kevin's (Harvick) happy, but other than that I think everybody kind of struggled with it. Congratulations to Kevin. It was just a tough day. We had to battle back all day — I'd get us behind. Our car was just so loose — we'd get behind on restarts. It was a good comeback — 11th isn't what we need to be doing every week. But, you know, it couldn't be worse." Matt Kenseth
"We weren't very good all weekend. I am really happy with a 13th place finish to be honest with you. We fought hard to get that. I drove hard and we had about a 30th place car and finished 13th with it so I am pretty happy with that." Greg Biffle
"We had a pretty crazy day today with a lot of cautions. The number 15 team battled some handling issues early, but once we got some track position I thought we were pretty good. The 5-hour ENERGY Toyota had speed and we did a great job getting up toward the front, but as the weather and track conditions changed we struggled a little bit getting the car to turn in the center of the corner. I thought for sure we were going to come out of there with a top-five. That would have really helped us gain some ground in the points. It didn't turn out that way, but we'll take what we got and move on to Charlotte." Clint Bowyer, finished 14th
"We actually had a pretty good racecar, but we never really had a chance to show it. Grip was really tough to come by out there, and we saw a lot of people struggle with that. Our Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy had pretty good balance, even after we got it all fixed after the wreck. This is a hard-working group of guys here at Stewart-Haas Racing. Today and, really, this whole weekend showed that. We improved the car significantly from our test on Thursday to the end of the race. It's just a shame we don't have as much to show for those efforts." Mark Martin, finished 22nd
I'm okay. Thanks. Yeah, I just hate it for this Aaron's Toyota team. These guys did a good job. We had a really fast car and we were good at the beginning, but once we got it right we were really strong. We just lost our track position with the pit cycles. The 99 (Carl Edwards) and the 18 (Kyle Busch) got together, took us out. After that, I think the splitter just got knocked down too much. We were still handling okay, but we were on the splitter really hard. Going through (turns) one and two, I just thought we had too much gas and it was on the splitter and then as soon as it came up off the splitter it just came around — that or a tire went down — but it happened so quick I'm not sure. I don't think it was a tire, but we had so much damage it was possible. More than likely, it was just on the splitter and once it popped up it just got away from me." Brian Vickers, finished 32nd
"This race track is the worst race track I've ever driven on. The tires are the worst tires I've ever driven on and track position is everything. You can't do anything unless you're out front. You get back in traffic--Kevin Harvick couldn't pass me--he led the first 80 laps of the race, so I'd say that's pretty pathetic." Kyle Busch, finished 34th
"There's not much to say other than we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in an accident not of our making. It's definitely a disappointing day for all of us on the Code 3 Associates team." Ryan Newman, finished 35th
"Just got a little too high off of turn two and just got loose. It's very hard to find where the edge is and I just crossed it and spun out. [The new tires] have been a struggle. Every time you have a newly paved surface, it's very hard to get a good tire. So it takes a few years and until that you have to drive 70-80 percent and be a little careful, and I wasn't careful enough." David Ragan, finished 36th
"I wish I had a good answer for you. We were minding our own there just trying to ride. The car was actually pretty strong and we were running up inside the top 15 at some points and it just turned right. I got a little bit loose over the seam and everything seemed to be okay. It turned right and hit the fence really hard. I hate it for Ryan Newman. I didn't mean to ruin their day. I hate it for the Phoenix Racing guys, the No. 51 guys. I guess this is my wife's worst fear. She doesn't come to the race track and she's always afraid I'm going to wreck while she is not here. I'm alright. We are all good and hopefully we can come back and have another strong run." Justin Allgaier, finished 39th
"I'm really sorry. I'm really bummed. I just was looking forward to having a good day and now it's over with in a matter of feet. It's just a shame because it always seems to be the case (on) those weekends when things start to be going better and I've had lots of people say, 'You looked good in practice yesterday,' and felt a lot better and (crew chief, Tony) Gibson did a great job and the crew did a good job. And days when you're not fast, it seems like those aren't the days that you get the bad luck. I don't know. If I did something wrong, I apologize to everybody on my team and GoDaddy. It's a shame." Danica Patrick, finished 43rd
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Kansas II Sprint Cup Race Recap
by Beth Lunkenheimer and Tom Bowles
by Phil Allaway
IndyCar Recap: Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston
by Matt Stallknecht
Kyle Busch's Constant Chase Obstacle: Himself
by Summer Bedgood
There's No Time Like The Present... Especially With Impending NASCAR Divorces
by Tom Bowles
Pace Laps: A Devastating Wreck, Tire Treading And Weekend Sideshows
by the Frontstretch Staff
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1994 Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is probably best known for Dale Jarrett winning the race after failing to qualify the previous week at North Wilkesboro. In the race, Bobby Labonte didn't last very long before going down in a blaze of glory. How did this happen?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Thursday's Answer:
Q: The 2004 Banquet 400 is best known for the race for the victory between Joe Nemechek and Ricky Rudd (both non-Chasers). For Chaser Ryan Newman, he ran well during the race, but his day ended early. What happened?
A: Newman was running fourth on Lap 208 when he slapped the wall exiting Turn 4, then spun into the infield grass. Then, just to make things worse, he ripped the driveshaft right out of the car while trying to leave pit road. The crash can be seen here.
Newman was OK, but had to spend time behind the wall for repairs. He did eventually get back on the track, only to pull off again and get credited with a 33rd-place finish.
Newman was OK, but had to spend time behind the wall for repairs. He did eventually get back on the track, only to pull off again and get credited with a 33rd-place finish.
All the drivers involved were eventually able to continue. Earnhardt Jr. 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 road 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:
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 Kansas and get us ready for Charlotte.
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 Charlotte. 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.
Brad gives up something to look forward to going into Charlotte. 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 Kansas Speedway, while the IndyCar Series had a doubleheader in Houston. How did ESPN and NBCSN do last weekend? Find out in our weekly TV critique.
-----------------------------Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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