Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Gene Haas Officially Announces Haas Formula

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

April 15th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition XLIX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What To Watch: Tuesday

- Tuesday is teleconference day and NASCAR has arranged conversations with three rising stars in NASCAR's National Series.  The Nationwide Series' Dylan Kwasniewski, along with Darrell Wallace, Jr. and Ben Kennedy from the Camping World Truck Series will be available for questions today at 2pm.

- Also today, Goodyear is holding another tire test, this time at Kansas Speedway ahead of Sprint Cup's first-ever night race there on May 10th.  According to MRN's Dustin Long, the teams that will participate will be:

Chevrolet: 3 - Austin Dillon, 4 - Kevin Harvick, 5 - Kasey Kahne, 7 - Michael Annett, 42 - Kyle Larson, 51 - Justin Allgaier, 78 - Martin Truex, Jr.
Ford: 2 - Brad Keselowski, 17 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., 43 - Aric Almirola
Toyota: 11 - Denny Hamlin, 23 - Alex Bowman, 55 - Brian Vickers

13- Casey Mears and 87- Joe Nemechek are also listed as "Maybes" for the test.

Today's TV Schedule
Time                                         Telecast                                                                                                                     Network
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM                  NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                                  FOX Sports 1
6:00 PM - 6:30 PM                  NASCAR America                                                                                                    NBC Sports Network

DVR Theater (Late Tuesday Night/Early Wednesday Morning)

1:00 AM - 3:00 AM                  Verizon IndyCar Series Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach                                 NBC Sports Network*/# (from April 13)
2:30 AM - 3:00 AM                  NASCAR Now                                                                                                            ESPN 2
3:00 AM - 6:00 AM                  Sprint Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500                                                        FOX Sports 1*/# (from April 12)

Top News
by Greg Davis

Gene Haas Unveils F1 Team Plans in Monday Press Conference

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, Gene Haas, alongside veteran F1 team executive, Guenther Steiner expanded on his company's plans to field an American-based Formula One race team for the 2015 season yesterday at the Concord Convention Center in North Carolina.

What will be dubbed, "Haas Formula" will be sponsored by machine tool manufacturer, Haas Automation, and will be headquartered in Kannapolis, NC on the same campus as Haas' four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams (Stewart- No. 14, Harvick- No. 4, Kurt Busch- No. 41, and Patrick- No. 10). Haas and his team are still searching for drivers for the F1 machine, as well as a chassis and engine partner. Currently, Formula One has just three engine manufacturers – Mercedes, Ferrari, and Renault. Starting in 2015, Honda will be re-entering the sport as an engine supplier as well.

Haas, 61, made it clear in his remarks that he's setting out a goal that an American run F1 team can win and thrive in the sport that has for decades been dominated by European teams, running on budgets upwards of $1 Billion per season.

In addition to fielding a competitive F1 team that can race for the start of the 2015 season, Haas sees entering Formula One as a means to expand his company's presence and reaffirm the Haas Automation brand globally, mentioning regions like Asia and South America where manufacturing and the need for machine tool systems growth exists, as well as where F1 fans are abundant.

Chip Ganassi Racing and Oscar Mayer Partner to Promote P3 product

Announced by the team on Saturday, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates recently has formed a partnership with Oscar Mayer to promote the brand's new P3 Portable Protein Pack with the No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS driven by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie Kyle Larson.

The new snack product from Oscar Mayer, designed for those who are on the go and live an active lifestyle, contains meats, cheese, and nuts. There is no word from CGR if P3 brand will be on the car in races in the future past last weekend's appearance onboard the No. 42 at Darlington.

Larson, who currently leads in the points for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, finished 8th at his first trip in a Cup car to Darlington Raceway for the Bojangles Southern 500 over the weekend. He currently sits 14th in the Sprint Cup points standings. 

College Football National Champs Will Be on Hood of NSCS No. 55 for Daytona

In a cross-sport mash-up, Michael Waltrip Racing, along with partner, Aaron's announced that the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry driven by Brian Vickers will be adorned with a special paint scheme to honor and celebrate the Florida State Seminoles winning the 2013 BCS National Championship in College Football. The special paint scheme will feature a large Florida State Championship logo on the hood of the car, as well as garnet and gold all across the body of the 55 machine.

"Everyone in America knows about Florida State's tradition of success especially in athletics… Aaron's and I really want to continue that tradition at Daytona in July and give Seminole fans a chance to see their car and colors celebrate in victory lane. I'm excited to be representing my home state on the car for Daytona. We're hoping it will give us a 'home field' advantage we need," Vickers said in the statement from MWR.

MWR and Aaron's have run various college sports championship-related paint schemes in the past, including one honoring the University of Louisville Cardinals on winning their NCAA Men's Basketball title last season at Kentucky Speedway, as well as paint schemes honoring both the Auburn and Alabama Football teams championships at Talladega Superspeedway.

Vickers, 30, finished 26th at Darlington on Saturday night, he currently sits 13th in the Sprint Cup Series points standings. His last win for MWR came in last season's July race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Have news for Greg and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

~~~~~~~~~~

GOT A NASCAR QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
That's right; our Fan Q & A column is back once again in 2013. Send your question Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print on Thursday when she does her weekly column. It's all part of our daily mission to give back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat!

~~~~~~~~~~

Today's Featured Commentary
Great Racing in the Nationwide Series? Chase Elliott Saves the Day
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

People are talking.  For the first time in what feels like a decade, I'm not tuning into  the Nationwide race on Saturday in hopes of passing a couple hours while the Cup boys stomp all over the field.  Nope, for three weeks now not only was there damn good racing, but the star of the show wasn't somebody I already owned a t-shirt and die-cast for.  And I'm intrigued.  I am looking forward to the next Saturday show, because I have every hope that the entertainment will continue.

Who is the new kid on the block?  Chase Elliott is his name; a high school senior, who writes his own tardy slips when Dale Jr. wins on Sunday.  He also comes with a NASCAR pedigree, being the son of Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.  But he has also shown us he knows how to win, and will do so by executing passes as only a fearless driver can.  It's thrilling, and intoxicating.  I am a convert.

What's so different about Elliott's story?  We've had other young guns come up through Nationwide recently.  They've won a few races, come with a glittering past and even sport important numbers on their door panels.  What is it about Chase that makes the guys in the booth chatter away like excited monkeys at feeding time?

Honestly, we didn't expect this kind of performance from the kid.  While we've been hearing about Chase since he first sat in a car, it's been more like a casual, "Hey, did you know Bill Elliot's kid is racing?"  Even as he stepped up to compete in the Camping World Series last year, he didn't run a full season.  I know, and you know, that even if you're showing well in the nine races you entered, it's not the kind of experience that will usually translate into a consistent, competitive edge when you start beating sheet metal with the best in the business.  We simply weren't looking for Chase to be hoisting multiple trophies already.  After all, our despondency with the development series known as the Nationwide show has been well ingrained. 

It began with our eventual disappointment with the choreographed love affair with Sliced Bread.  In 2008, NASCAR fans were promised the next Jeff Gordon. He arrived with the blessings of all the best in the sport.  Broadcasters swore up and down that Logano would be the one to watch, and if not this year, maybe next.  Or the next.  Or perhaps the next.  Meanwhile, Joey earned himself an on-air reputation of childish rants when tempers heated up.  It just didn't sit well with the fans of the sport.  So, we turned away and hoped for somebody else to come along.

That's when the Nationwide Series devolved into nothing more than a practice session for Sunday's race.  Years passed with no other competitive drivers rising out of the major "development" series.  And we just stopped looking for something hot and new to happen.   

Things started to improve a couple years ago.  Expectations surrounding the Dillon boys have benefited by a massive media onslaught, multiple years of coverage as they climbed through the lower ranks and yes, by cultivating their on-air branding with cowboy hats, and borrowing the legendary black No. 3.  The fact they've got enough talent to back up the attention just smoothed the already paved path straight to Cup. Our disbelief in new blood started to erode.

Joining the brothers was another recent shooting star, Kyle Larson, the young Californian who is currently looking to snare the Sprint Cup RoTY trophy from Austin Dillon.  He got lots of mentions last year as he figured out how stock cars worked vs. his usual cockpit in a sprint car.  His learning curve has been astounding and exciting, but it's been more like working up to a slow boil.  We're just waiting for the pot to start rolling.  It's coming.  Thus when he stands with the rest of the top guns in the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup, none of us will be sitting down in stunned silence.

But you know, it really felt like between Larson and Dillon our cup for fresh blood is already overflowing.  There couldn't possibly be another starlet worth watching.  Even with the murmurs that Chase Elliott is the driver Hendrick is looking to eventually replace Jeff Gordon with upon the veteran's retirement.  Yeah, sure. It's just not possible.

Well, that's the beauty of racing.  Sometimes the unexpected does happen when you're not looking. Chase Elliott not only rode a rocket to victory in Texas, he stole the win at Darlington with four tires and sheer bravado.  I know now that when we head to Richmond in a couple weeks I won't simply be watching Harvick and Busch school the little boys on how to win.  Nope, there's a new kid in town willing and able to reopen the classroom for those cocky, too successful intruders.

And that's what Friday Night Fights is all about, isn't it?  Fresh faces standing toe to toe with the grizzled veteran and the end result of the round completely unpredictable.  Ring that bell!

2014 Sonya Strictly by the Stats

Top Three Rookies for 2014 Auto Club 400

1
) No. 42 - Kyle Larson Started 17th, Finished 8th
2) No. 3 - Austin Dillon Started 20th, Finished 11th
3) No. 51 - Justin Allgaier Started 24th, Finished 23rd

S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via e-mail at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Numbers Game: Bojangles' Southern 500
by Tom Bowles

0
Laps led by Kyle Busch Saturday night, en route to a sixth-place finish. He led a race-high 265 laps in the Southern 500 a year ago.

1

Lead-lap finish for Phil Parsons Racing in the last three years at an unrestricted track. Josh Wise ran 21st at Darlington, the first time they've run with the leaders outside of Daytona and Talladega.

2
Victories by Harvick this season, a number which "locks him" into the Chase assuming he can stay inside the top 30 in series points.

3
Straight second-place finishes by Hendrick Motorsports. Jimmie Johnson was runner-up at Martinsville, followed by Gordon's second place at Texas and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. filling the bridesmaid role at the Lady In Black.

4
Of the final five cautions at Darlington were for "debris" or "fluid on the track." Only Kurt Busch's crash, in the first green-white-checkered finish broke the trend.

5
Top-15 finishes by rookie Austin Dillon in the first eight races of 2014. He's finished all but two laps so far, to lead all freshmen and was a respectable 11th in his first Sprint Cup trip to the Lady in Black.

7
Chevrolets inside the top 10 Saturday night, the most of any manufacturer. Chevy has also won a league-leading four of eight races so far in 2014.

26
Drivers with at least one top-10 finish in the Cup Series so far this season. Everyone with at least one top 10 is ranked inside the top 26 in Sprint Cup points. Among those drivers not on that list: Martin Truex, Jr., Danica Patrick, and Trevor Bayne (running a limited schedule for the Wood Brothers).

63
Career laps led by Kevin Harvick, in 17 Darlington starts before Saturday night. In the 2014 Southern 500, he led the field for 238 of 374 laps en route to victory.

515

Laps led by Kevin Harvick this season, leading all Sprint Cup drivers.

$109,665
Money Ryan Newman won for finishing tenth.

$123,471
Money Joey Logano won after a broken left-front hub left him ending the night in the garage (35th).


Tom Bowles is the Editor-In-Chief of Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.bowles@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~

TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

as told to Toni Montgomery
by Brad Morgan
by Jeff Meyer
by Phil Allaway

by Phil Allaway

Partner Link from Athlon Sports:

by Tom Bowles

~~~~~~~~~~

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  In 1991, Michael Andretti won the pole at Long Beach and ran at the front for most of the race.  However, his race ended under bizarre circumstances.  What happened?

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

Monday's Answer:


Q:  Towards the end of Formula One's tenure in Long Beach, there was a chicane installed on Shoreline Drive near the current pit-in on the course.  Why?

A:  The chicane was installed to slow the cars at the end of Shoreline Drive in reaction to a terrible crash that occurred in 1980.  Clay Regazzoni lost his brakes during the U.S Grand Prix West and flew into the runoff at what was then known as "Queen's Hairpin."  Once there, he plowed into the disabled car of Ricardo Zunino, who had already retired from the race.  Aftermath footage of the crash can be seen here.

Regazzoni suffered leg injuries that ended his Formula One career and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.  He did continue to race using hand controls after that point, though.

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!

Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:

-- Top News from Tom Bowles
-- Professor of Speed by Dr. Mark Howell
-- Tweet 'N' Greet by Allen Bedgood
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


Open-Wheel Wednesday
by Toni Montgomery
Our open-wheel staff returns for 2014 with their weekly column! This week, Toni takes a look inside the Verizon IndyCar Series after Long Beach.

Beyond The Cockpit: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. as told to Mike Neff
The 2013 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year joins us to talk about the start of his 2014 season, amongst other topics.

Did You Notice?...
by Tom Bowles
Tom is back with his array of quick hits of small observations around the world of NASCAR.

The Frontstretch Five
by Amy Henderson
Amy steps up with 1,2,3,4,5 reasons you should be concerned about something going on in NASCAR this week.

Frontstretch Fan Q&A
by Summer Bedgood
Summer returns for her weekly session of answering questions from you, our loyal fans. Do you have a question or comment for Summer? Don't be shy. Just send her an email (summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com) and you might just see your name in print!

NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After Darlington
compiled by Mike Mehedin
Jeff Gordon held on to the points lead by the slimmest of margins, but did the bumping and banging scramble our power rankings? Find out how your favorite national experts voted, laughing along with their one-liners in the latest update of our weekly NASCAR poll.
-----------------------------
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!
©2014 Frontstretch.com

--
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
 
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

No comments:

Post a Comment