THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Top News
Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, is mourning the loss of his brother-in-law, 27-year old Jordan Janway. Janway, was killed tragically in a skydiving accident on Sunday after a mid-air collision with another skydiver in San Diego, CA.
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 1st, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition XXXIX
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 1st, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition XXXIX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What To Watch: Tuesday- Tuesday is teleconference day and NASCAR has arranged something different this week. Instead of a driver or crew chief, NASCAR will have representatives from all three manufacturers in the Sprint Cup Series at 2pm. Ford will be represented by Jamie Allison, Director of Ford Racing. Chevrolet's representative will be Jim Campbell, General Motors' U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. Finally, Toyota will be represented by David Wilson, President and General Manager of Toyota Racing Development, U.S.A.
Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 1
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM NASCAR America NBC Sports Network
DVR Theater (Late Tuesday Night/Early Wednesday Morning)
2:30 AM - 3:00 AM NASCAR Now ESPN 2
3:00 AM - 6:00 AM Sprint Cup Series STP 500 FOX Sports 1*/ (from March 30)
Top News
by Greg Davis
Jimmie Johnson Mourns Loss of Brother-in-LawJimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, is mourning the loss of his brother-in-law, 27-year old Jordan Janway. Janway, was killed tragically in a skydiving accident on Sunday after a mid-air collision with another skydiver in San Diego, CA.
Janway was a highly experienced skydiver, having recorded over 1000 previous jumps. He was working as an employee trainer at Skydive San Diego when the collision occurred.
According to Buzz Fink, owner of Skydive San Diego, Janway was practicing a maneuver known as tracking at the time of the collision. This involves assuming a position that allows a skydiver to move horizontally. It is considered to be a relatively basic skill in skydiving. Fink believes that the mid-air collision knocked Janway unconscious, rendering him unable to open his own parachute.
According to Buzz Fink, owner of Skydive San Diego, Janway was practicing a maneuver known as tracking at the time of the collision. This involves assuming a position that allows a skydiver to move horizontally. It is considered to be a relatively basic skill in skydiving. Fink believes that the mid-air collision knocked Janway unconscious, rendering him unable to open his own parachute.
Normally, a chip embedded in the parachute would automatically trigger the parachute's release if a certain speed is reached. However, according to Fink, Janway's chip was being fixed at the time. With his experience, Janway was not required to have a chip on his parachute and chose to go without in order to teach. As a result, Janway fell to the ground unconscious without his parachute deploying.
According to a statement on Johnson's website, "The Johnsons are saddened by the tragic passing of Chandra's brother, Jordan Janway, 27. Jordan was an incredible son, brother, uncle and friend and will be dearly missed. Please keep the Janway family in your thoughts and prayers. The family asks for privacy at this time."
Dale Jr. and Chevrolet Have Not Talked about IndyCar Ride Swap
As reported Sunday by the Associated Press, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has not yet officially submitted a request with the manufacturer to undertake the much publicized ride swap with IndyCar driver Graham Rahal.
Rahal, an American driver, who drives a Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series, is also sponsored by the Army National Guard, making a potential car swap between Rahal and Earnhardt Jr. an interesting feat. Rahal sent a Tweet to Earnhardt Jr. after the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway two weeks ago proposing the possibility for an exhibition race.
Late last week, Dale Jr. was asked about a potential swap at an event at Charlotte Motor Speedway where he told reporters he wasn't sure that a car swap could happen, "Well, he drives a Honda, which is more than just a speed bump," Earnhardt said. "If I wanted to drive an Indy car, I'm sure I could get with Penske or somebody who owned a Chevy and take a couple laps somewhere. But it would have been fun to do that with Graham because of the relationship with our sponsor and the history of our families. I look forward to meeting him one day, but I think the fact he has a relationship with a different manufacturer is going to make it challenging - if not impossible - for me to drive that particular car."
In a statement to the AP from Chevy U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Jim Campbell said, "If we get a proposal, we'll take a look at it and we'll look at it with an open set of eyes. The rest is hypothetical. Broadly speaking about any Chevy driver that is currently on our roster, if they decided to go race in another category or series, of course we'd love to see them in Chevys. There's no doubt about that. In some cases it works out like that, and in some cases it doesn't."
Similarly, in 2011, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart traded cars at Walkins Glen for an exhibition race with Formula One standout, Lewis Hamilton, swapping Stewart's Chevy Impala SS for Hamilton's McLaren Mercedes MP4-23. The two also had a mutual sponsor in Mobil 1 who heavily promoted the ride swap. The swap was televised on SPEED as "Seat Swap."
Unidentified NASCAR Team Tests at Kennedy Space Center
According to a recent report from Fox Sports, an unidentified NASCAR race team tested at the 3.2 mile long NASA Shuttle Landing Strip at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test, which occurred on March 11th, also included testing Morpheus, an experimental space lander, "modified jet fighters through their afterburner evaluations, and medical evacuation helicopters conducting safety checks and procedure tests," according to a statement from NASA released about the test.
The fairly unique day for the NASCAR team that tested alongside the other space projects was not unique for NASA's Kennedy Space Center where cars have tested in the past. However, it is unclear whether or not any NASCAR race cars have tested at the landing strip.
Back in February, Kennedy Space Center was also the site of a recent speed test for the Hennesey Venom GT, which is a heavily modified Lotus Exige powered by a seven liter V8 putting out 1244 horsepower (there are only 11 Venom GT's, and Guinness Book of Records' minimum production requirement is 30 units). However, according to Road & Track, NASA would not allow the tuner to run the Venom GT in both directions, thus nullifying any record attempts. Regardless, in the single pass allotted by NASA, the Venom GT reached a speed of 270.49 mph, faster than any production car ever.
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
Close Up and Personal: NASCAR Covers Martinsville Like No Other Track
~~~~~~~~~~
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
Close Up and Personal: NASCAR Covers Martinsville Like No Other Track
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
The pretty little paperclip track nestled in the hills of Virginia always brings us a great show. Some say it's because Martinsville is a short track, and all short tracks are awesome. Others declare it's the unique shape that presents us with racing unlike anywhere else. I offer up an alternative theory for those of us who see Martinsville only through the eyes of the camera: we get different coverage on the flat half-miler. We do!
Whenever NASCAR visits the cookie cutters and superspeedways, FOX and ESPN will roll out just about every camera they can provide cable for at the track. We get sweeping shots of three wide racing all down the back straightaway and are treated to side-by-side action in the pits. The cameras can follow the cars for long periods as the field sweeps through the turns. The grandeur of the competition is conveyed to us through massive wide angle shots.
But what to do when you pull up to a track where there isn't even room to park the production truck? Cameras placed on top of the SAFER barriers only have coverage of a few hundred feet of racing surface before cars disappear around the sharp bend, hidden by the haulers crowding the infield. If you can't even follow a single car around the entire circuit, what do you show America?
Body parts! I know, you're chuckling. But it's true! Martinsville is not only home to the little red hot dog, but also to the "glowing brake" shot. I think we actually had to wait for the truck race on Sunday to see it, but it was there for its obligatory comment from the booth. Wow! Look at those red brakes!
There's also the "bumper cam." Oh, yes, these are commonly installed in the headlights of several cars every week. However, it's a whole lot more interesting when you get to see the lens eat the bumper of the guy in front. Over and over again. If you doubted the physicality of short track racing, you only need to follow the bumper cams for 50 laps to embrace the beatin' and bangin' short track fans are so fond of.
Another Martinsville specialty is the "curb cam." Located at the base of the yellow curbing at the entrance to a turn, I always giggle when the field runs over the tiny piece of technology. I marvel at its durability and the accuracy of the drivers who manage to nail it every lap.
The FOX crew stayed busy all day scrambling to add to the excitement with the "marble cam," "pit road carnage cam," "Ricky Stenhouse cam," and even the "Angry BK cam." We should also give props to the Hollywood Hammond parts and pieces shot, along with the "shredded tire cam." Or maybe you thought you had been transported to your local short track when the "modified cam" appeared long enough to try to eat Kurt Busch's No. 41.
Good stuff. Plain good stuff.
Did you miss the two-footed action of Almirola's pedal cam? Perhaps one of the busiest angles was the "debris cam." For once I wasn't really wondering why they dropped the yellow--there was enough rubber, wrappers, drive shafts and random car parts strewn across the racing surface to trip up an elephant.
All-in-all, it was a fine race day. There were fights, lots of bent sheet metal, a good run to the finish and our sixth different winner of the season took home the clock. But come the highlight reels in November, you will never be struggling to figure out at which white walled track Keselowski was missing his hood. One glimpse at the virtual overhead shot from the crane cam of the white No. 2 hunting down the No. 41 will remind you, that was Martinsville; the track with its own unique angle on the world.
2014 Sonya Strictly by the Stats
Top Three Rookies for 2014 Auto Club 400
1) No. 3 - Austin Dillon Started 34th, Finished 15th
2) No. 51 - Justin Allgaier Started 25th, Finished 23rd
3) No. 42 - Kyle Larson Started 28th, Finished 27th
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: STP 500
by Tom Bowles
0
Laps led by Jeff Gordon Sunday. It's just the third time in the last 16 Martinsville races he's failed to run up front, struggling most of the day en route to 12th.
0
Top-5 finishes for Marcos Ambrose in 36 races last season.
2
Top-5 finishes for Marcos Ambrose in six races this season, driving the same No. 9 car for Richard Petty Motorsports.
2
Wins for Stewart-Haas Racing this season, Sunday at Martinsville (Kurt Busch) and last month at Phoenix (Kevin Harvick). It's the only organization to score two victories in 2014.
2
Lead-lap finishes for Kurt Busch all season. It ties him with Reed Sorenson and Landon Cassill on the Cup circuit.
3
Lead changes in the last 40 laps between Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson.
3
Drivers to finish on the lead lap in all six races this season: Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Carl Edwards.
3
Crashes in six races for Edwards, who sits an incredible third in points despite the spinouts. He's run 10th and 13th in two of those races with spins.
7
Rookies to finish outside the top 20 at Martinsville. Only Austin Dillon (15th) broke their slump.
12
Years between Martinsville victories for Kurt Busch. He last won at the track back in the Fall of 2002.
25
Cars on the lead lap at Martinsville, the most for this track since October 2006.
26.5
Average finish for Martin Truex, Jr. with Furniture Row Racing through six starts. He's 28th in points, without a top-10 result and has failed to lead a lap this season.
33
Lead changes Sunday, a new track record for Martinsville.
296
Laps led by Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville. His 497 laps led this season is tops in the Cup Series.
$115,710
Money won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for finishing third.
$118,508
Money won by Brad Keselowski for finishing 38th, spending half his day trying to run into the right side of Kurt Busch. In case you missed it, that's more than the driver who made it to the "podium" … and Keselowski qualified 14th, so there were no bonuses there. What's the deal with NASCAR's payment system again?
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:
The pretty little paperclip track nestled in the hills of Virginia always brings us a great show. Some say it's because Martinsville is a short track, and all short tracks are awesome. Others declare it's the unique shape that presents us with racing unlike anywhere else. I offer up an alternative theory for those of us who see Martinsville only through the eyes of the camera: we get different coverage on the flat half-miler. We do!
Whenever NASCAR visits the cookie cutters and superspeedways, FOX and ESPN will roll out just about every camera they can provide cable for at the track. We get sweeping shots of three wide racing all down the back straightaway and are treated to side-by-side action in the pits. The cameras can follow the cars for long periods as the field sweeps through the turns. The grandeur of the competition is conveyed to us through massive wide angle shots.
But what to do when you pull up to a track where there isn't even room to park the production truck? Cameras placed on top of the SAFER barriers only have coverage of a few hundred feet of racing surface before cars disappear around the sharp bend, hidden by the haulers crowding the infield. If you can't even follow a single car around the entire circuit, what do you show America?
Body parts! I know, you're chuckling. But it's true! Martinsville is not only home to the little red hot dog, but also to the "glowing brake" shot. I think we actually had to wait for the truck race on Sunday to see it, but it was there for its obligatory comment from the booth. Wow! Look at those red brakes!
There's also the "bumper cam." Oh, yes, these are commonly installed in the headlights of several cars every week. However, it's a whole lot more interesting when you get to see the lens eat the bumper of the guy in front. Over and over again. If you doubted the physicality of short track racing, you only need to follow the bumper cams for 50 laps to embrace the beatin' and bangin' short track fans are so fond of.
Another Martinsville specialty is the "curb cam." Located at the base of the yellow curbing at the entrance to a turn, I always giggle when the field runs over the tiny piece of technology. I marvel at its durability and the accuracy of the drivers who manage to nail it every lap.
The FOX crew stayed busy all day scrambling to add to the excitement with the "marble cam," "pit road carnage cam," "Ricky Stenhouse cam," and even the "Angry BK cam." We should also give props to the Hollywood Hammond parts and pieces shot, along with the "shredded tire cam." Or maybe you thought you had been transported to your local short track when the "modified cam" appeared long enough to try to eat Kurt Busch's No. 41.
Good stuff. Plain good stuff.
Did you miss the two-footed action of Almirola's pedal cam? Perhaps one of the busiest angles was the "debris cam." For once I wasn't really wondering why they dropped the yellow--there was enough rubber, wrappers, drive shafts and random car parts strewn across the racing surface to trip up an elephant.
All-in-all, it was a fine race day. There were fights, lots of bent sheet metal, a good run to the finish and our sixth different winner of the season took home the clock. But come the highlight reels in November, you will never be struggling to figure out at which white walled track Keselowski was missing his hood. One glimpse at the virtual overhead shot from the crane cam of the white No. 2 hunting down the No. 41 will remind you, that was Martinsville; the track with its own unique angle on the world.
2014 Sonya Strictly by the Stats
Top Three Rookies for 2014 Auto Club 400
1) No. 3 - Austin Dillon Started 34th, Finished 15th
2) No. 51 - Justin Allgaier Started 25th, Finished 23rd
3) No. 42 - Kyle Larson Started 28th, Finished 27th
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: STP 500
by Tom Bowles
0
Laps led by Jeff Gordon Sunday. It's just the third time in the last 16 Martinsville races he's failed to run up front, struggling most of the day en route to 12th.
0
Top-5 finishes for Marcos Ambrose in 36 races last season.
2
Top-5 finishes for Marcos Ambrose in six races this season, driving the same No. 9 car for Richard Petty Motorsports.
2
Wins for Stewart-Haas Racing this season, Sunday at Martinsville (Kurt Busch) and last month at Phoenix (Kevin Harvick). It's the only organization to score two victories in 2014.
2
Lead-lap finishes for Kurt Busch all season. It ties him with Reed Sorenson and Landon Cassill on the Cup circuit.
3
Lead changes in the last 40 laps between Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson.
3
Drivers to finish on the lead lap in all six races this season: Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Carl Edwards.
3
Crashes in six races for Edwards, who sits an incredible third in points despite the spinouts. He's run 10th and 13th in two of those races with spins.
7
Rookies to finish outside the top 20 at Martinsville. Only Austin Dillon (15th) broke their slump.
12
Years between Martinsville victories for Kurt Busch. He last won at the track back in the Fall of 2002.
25
Cars on the lead lap at Martinsville, the most for this track since October 2006.
26.5
Average finish for Martin Truex, Jr. with Furniture Row Racing through six starts. He's 28th in points, without a top-10 result and has failed to lead a lap this season.
33
Lead changes Sunday, a new track record for Martinsville.
296
Laps led by Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville. His 497 laps led this season is tops in the Cup Series.
$115,710
Money won by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for finishing third.
$118,508
Money won by Brad Keselowski for finishing 38th, spending half his day trying to run into the right side of Kurt Busch. In case you missed it, that's more than the driver who made it to the "podium" … and Keselowski qualified 14th, so there were no bonuses there. What's the deal with NASCAR's payment system again?
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:
by Danny Peters
by Brad Morgan
by Jeff Meyer
by Phil Allaway
Partner Link from Athlon Sports:
by Tom Bowles
~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1999 Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, current ESPN analyst Scott Goodyear was one of the dominant cars, leading 65 laps. However, his race ended at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. What happened?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: The 1998 True Value 500 for the Indy Racing League had a lot of trouble getting started. Billy Roe spun on the initial start of the race, causing a caution. Right after the restart, another incident took a number of drivers out of the race. What happened?
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1999 Mall.com 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, current ESPN analyst Scott Goodyear was one of the dominant cars, leading 65 laps. However, his race ended at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. What happened?
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Monday's Answer:
Q: The 1998 True Value 500 for the Indy Racing League had a lot of trouble getting started. Billy Roe spun on the initial start of the race, causing a caution. Right after the restart, another incident took a number of drivers out of the race. What happened?
A: Some of the drivers were checking up on the backstretch due to an incident involving Raul Boesel and Roberto Guerrero. Donnie Beechler failed to slow enough and ran into the back of Stephan Gregoire. Gregoire spun into Eddie Cheever, who was fresh off his Indianapolis 500 victory. Beechler then ran over Gregoire's No. 77 and rolled onto his side. The crash can be seen here.
All five drivers were ok after the crash, but all were eliminated from the 500 kilometer race.
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
Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Tom Bowles
-- Marketing Guru Greg Davis stops by
-- Tweet 'N' Greet by Allen Bedgood
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Open-Wheel Wednesday by the Frontstretch Staff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Open-Wheel Wednesday by the Frontstretch Staff
Our open-wheel staff returns for 2014 with their weekly column! This week, a writer roundtable addresses a number of issues stemming from St. Petersburg.
Last year's runner-up in the Sprint Cup points makes a special appearance here at Frontstretch.
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Are teams that think they're in the Chase already changing their approach? Tom explains how, tackles the importance of starting off strong and more in his list of small but important observations about the sport.
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 Martinsville compiled by Mike Mehedin
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. claimed the points lead on Sunday, 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
No comments:
Post a Comment