THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 2nd, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition XL
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
April 2nd, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition XL
~~~~~~~~~~
by Summer Bedgood
Three Truck Series Teams Penalized After Martinsville
Following Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, three teams failed post-race inspection and have received a P3 level penalty.
The No. 31 of Ben Kennedy, the No. 54 of Darrell Wallace Jr., and the No. 98 of Johnny Sauter were each penalized for offset front hubs discovered in post-race inspection. The violations came from Section 20B-12.5 (D) of the 2014 NASCAR Rule Book.
Following Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, three teams failed post-race inspection and have received a P3 level penalty.
The No. 31 of Ben Kennedy, the No. 54 of Darrell Wallace Jr., and the No. 98 of Johnny Sauter were each penalized for offset front hubs discovered in post-race inspection. The violations came from Section 20B-12.5 (D) of the 2014 NASCAR Rule Book.
The crew chiefs for all three teams have been penalized $10,000 and placed on probation until December 31st. Michael Shelton is Kennedy's crew chief while Jerry Baxter serves as Wallace's crew chief. Gene Watchel is the crew chief for the No. 98 team.
Under Armour Enters Agreement with Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing
While it is rare for a company to sponsor two separate teams from two different manufacturers, Under Armour has decided to go against the grain. On Tuesday, they announced a rare partnership with both Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing.
Under Armour, a sporting goods company, will become the official apparel provider for both teams as employees from various departments will begin wearing Under Armour-branded apparel. While no firesuits will be provided, most other basic clothing items will be part of the deal as both sides increase their branding exposure.
While it is rare for a company to sponsor two separate teams from two different manufacturers, Under Armour has decided to go against the grain. On Tuesday, they announced a rare partnership with both Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing.
Under Armour, a sporting goods company, will become the official apparel provider for both teams as employees from various departments will begin wearing Under Armour-branded apparel. While no firesuits will be provided, most other basic clothing items will be part of the deal as both sides increase their branding exposure.
The partnership is an extension that Under Armour had in place with Hendrick Motorsports last season. A one-year, trial sponsorship was put in place with the pit crew members and will now expand to include all of Hendrick Motorsports' employees.
Additionally, Under Armour is aligning itself with MWR because they are both relatively new companies both trying to achieve some of the same goals. The partnership extends beyond even that, however, as Under Armour will act as the sponsor of a gym that MWR has at its shop. The new name of the gym will be the "MWR Performance Center Presented by Under Armour."
Both MWR and HMS head to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Duck Commander 500. The race will air this Sunday on FOX at 3:15 PM ET.
TV Ratings for Martinsville Down
Ratings for last Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway were down 5% from last year, as the STP 500 earned a 3.8 in the Nielsens. The ratings were the lowest of all six races this season, and the lowest ever for the spring race at Martinsville (excluding rainouts).
TV Ratings for Martinsville Down
Ratings for last Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway were down 5% from last year, as the STP 500 earned a 3.8 in the Nielsens. The ratings were the lowest of all six races this season, and the lowest ever for the spring race at Martinsville (excluding rainouts).
All six races this season have seen a decline in ratings in comparison to last year, but the Martinsville race was below even Fontana's 4.0 rating, the former season low.
However, news isn't all bad for NASCAR. The race earned the highest rating of any broadcast over the weekend that wasn't a part of the NCAA Tournament. And it could always be worse. The IndyCar Series opener at St. Petersburg earned a bleak 0.6 rating, an event that aired on ABC.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. Last year, the spring Texas race earned a 3.8.
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Today's Featured Commentary
The Merits of Martinsville
by Mark Howell
by Mark Howell
The marketing slogan might read “Virginia Is For Lovers”, but that feeling seemed to be in short supply at Martinsville Speedway Sunday afternoon. And I’m not only referring to the Brad Keselowski / Kurt Busch, passive-aggressive love fest that cost both drivers their fair share of emotions and sheet metal. The lack of love of which I write concerns the large number of empty seats seen throughout the fabled track’s grandstands.
Blame it on the potential for bad weather, which has been a hallmark of the 2014 racing season, but the seemingly low number of fans in the stands maybe speaks more to the uphill struggle faced by NASCAR.
Don’t misunderstand me here: Martinsville is one of the best facilities on the tour. There’s not a bad seat in the house and the track has hosted some truly great races throughout NASCAR’s history. From the railroad running behind its backstretch grandstands, to the legendary grandfather clock “trophies” given to winning drivers, to its famous hot dogs, Martinsville Speedway is one of those unique stops on the racing calendar. Even more reason to wonder why there seemed to be visibly so few spectators at the track last Sunday.
It wasn’t because the racing was lackluster. Martinsville, more often than not, hosts some of the most competitive events we see all year. It’s a place where managing your temper means as much as managing your tires and your brakes (see the aforementioned Keselowski/Busch situation) and that – to me – is the mark of a fine racetrack. It’s one of those facilities where underdogs can become overlords in just a handful of smartly-driven laps.
Martinsville Speedway comes to mind whenever I think of classic, “old school” NASCAR Nation. For me, personally, it’s the track where I remember sharing a lunch counter with Morgan Shepherd and sharing a stopwatch with Bill Elliott. It’s also one of the first speedways, I recall, to achieve any level of popular culture significance as an example of what makes NASCAR such an exciting and fiercely-competitive sport.
Every now and then you can catch the movie “The Last American Hero” on cable television. The film’s plot is taken from “The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!”, the famous essay by Tom Wolfe published in “Esquire” magazine in March of 1965. Wolfe’s article provided a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the life-and-times of Johnson, who was then one of the most recognized stock car drivers in the business.
In the 1973 movie treatment of Wolfe’s essay, Junior Johnson is renamed “Junior Jackson”, but the overall notion of a young moonshine hauler’s rise to racing greatness stays pretty much the same (give or take a few changes to keep the plot moving steadily from bootlegging to NASCAR). Jeff Bridges played the lead character and portrayed the legendary driver as a brash-yet-talented competitor who drove by his own rules and believed in little else than his own abilities with a throttle.
This is where Martinsville Speedway enters the picture. The film’s climactic scene is when Junior Jackson gets his first real chance at big-time NASCAR. He lands a Grand National ride with a well-funded and successful (the two always go hand-in-hand) car owner, and his “try-out” is a 500-lapper at Martinsville. Apart from the fact that this event is critical to Jackson’s driving future, it also provides the audience with a good look at how races unfold on the half-mile “paperclip” in Southern Virginia.
What’s always struck me as a feather in Martinsville’s cap is the fact that of all the glamorous tracks the filmmakers could have selected from NASCAR’s schedule back in those days (like Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, or Darlington), the one they seemed to believe best reflected the aggressive nature of NASCAR racing was little old Martinsville.
Footage from Martinsville was collected during the 1972 season and it gave viewers the opportunity to see the No. 12 Coca-Cola Chevrolet of Junior Jackson (in reality, it was the car of Bobby Allison) run nose-to-tail and door-to-door with the famed No. 43 STP Plymouth of “King” Richard Petty (ironically, the name of the character driving the STP car is “Kyle Kingman”). Even though Allison did not win any races at Martinsville that year, the magic of Hollywood gave the No. 12 Chevy a first-place finish over Petty’s Plymouth in dramatic (and neatly-edited) fashion. Junior Jackson defeats the big boys on the grueling Martinsville asphalt before a huge crowd as he begins his march toward NASCAR fame and fortune.
What’s always struck me as a feather in Martinsville’s cap is the fact that of all the glamorous tracks the filmmakers could have selected from NASCAR’s schedule back in those days (like Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, or Darlington), the one they seemed to believe best reflected the aggressive nature of NASCAR racing was little old Martinsville.
Footage from Martinsville was collected during the 1972 season and it gave viewers the opportunity to see the No. 12 Coca-Cola Chevrolet of Junior Jackson (in reality, it was the car of Bobby Allison) run nose-to-tail and door-to-door with the famed No. 43 STP Plymouth of “King” Richard Petty (ironically, the name of the character driving the STP car is “Kyle Kingman”). Even though Allison did not win any races at Martinsville that year, the magic of Hollywood gave the No. 12 Chevy a first-place finish over Petty’s Plymouth in dramatic (and neatly-edited) fashion. Junior Jackson defeats the big boys on the grueling Martinsville asphalt before a huge crowd as he begins his march toward NASCAR fame and fortune.
And the same seemed to be true at Martinsville on Sunday, even if the names and makes and sponsors were obviously different, as Kurt Busch version 2.0 made his way to Victory Lane. Another difference was all-too-sadly-obvious, as well: Unlike the grandstands in “The Last American Hero”, the seats at Martinsville this past weekend were tragically short on paying customers.
The ones who made the effort saw yet another great race, complete with another Stewart-Haas Racing victory, a third place by points leader Dale Junior, and another dual top-10 finish for the Fords of Richard Petty Motorsports. But regardless of Sunday’s excitement, it appears NASCAR has to still win back more of its missing fan base.
~~~~~~~~~~
by Allen Bedgood
Editor's Note: With the NASCAR Twitter community expanding by leaps and bounds, it remains a place for instantaneous news, reactions, and a whole lot of inside jokes. We understand if you don't want to join the Twitter community - but as a fan, it's important to know the news and info you're missing out on! That's why, every week, Allen Bedgood will sort through the thousands of messages and give us a little taste of what's going on each Wednesday.
So, without further ado, here's a look at what those in NASCAR were thinking over the past seven days...
Editor's Note: With the NASCAR Twitter community expanding by leaps and bounds, it remains a place for instantaneous news, reactions, and a whole lot of inside jokes. We understand if you don't want to join the Twitter community - but as a fan, it's important to know the news and info you're missing out on! That's why, every week, Allen Bedgood will sort through the thousands of messages and give us a little taste of what's going on each Wednesday.
So, without further ado, here's a look at what those in NASCAR were thinking over the past seven days...
@DeLanaHarvick -- @KevinHarvick: "Keelan the bus is gonna be rockin' tonight." Me: "EXCUSE ME???" KH: "There's a wind advisory dummy!"
@bobpockrass -- Had to laugh when I brought in my car for service and they told me the air pressures they set my tires at. Appropriate for the week #nascar
@bobpockrass -- Had to laugh when I brought in my car for service and they told me the air pressures they set my tires at. Appropriate for the week #nascar
@nascarcasm -- Denny will return at Martinsville with a glimmer in his eye that, thanks to doctors will not be sunlight reflecting off the metal. #nascar
@Kenny_Wallace -- Wedgie is nothing I went to fart and shit my pants before .... RT @moosecar7: when driving in a race, how do you get rid of a WEDGIE?
@DaleJr -- Niece Kennedy ran 2nd tonight at the dirt track. Proud uncle here gettin' his picture with the superstar. pic.twitter.com/TLLuEtabia
@isakatrd -- My last day at @toyotaracing Love working for/with them. #NASCAR #Letsgoplaces pic.twitter.com/UXIpghGL5i
@AllWaltrip -- The Waltrip kids. pic.twitter.com/Fp1E2WVosg
@erik_jones -- Look what we found @NASCARHall! The winning suit from PIR is on display! #ejr51 pic.twitter.com/Dn2xpMS3Ig
@MISpeedway -- Heck yeah! @GoodyearRacing tire test is open to the public April 8-9. Details here ---> http://bit.ly/NL5AE1
@NASCAR_Wonka -- Hey, Charlotte, NC. Need a mayor? pic.twitter.com/XGYvjbb8g3
@DGodfatherMoody -- Harvick Honors Firefighters Who Saved His Home http://motorsports-soapbox.blogspot.com/2014/03/harvick-honors-firefighters-who-saved.html … #NASCAR
@ESPNMcGee (Ryan McGee) -- Listening to @dennyhamlin describe the feeling of rusted metal in his eyeball is giving me the heebie jeebies. #NASCAR
@NASCARONFOX -- #NASCAR teams honor the life of Lynda Petty at @MartinsvilleSwy» http://foxs.pt/Qo59BG #NASCAR @RPMotorsports pic.twitter.com/BWkuZSfN4J
@nateryan -- Denny Hamlin says he first felt eye irritation on Friday night. Believes it came through the car, possibly A/C unit, in practice. #nascar
@3__BILLYO (Spotter for Austin/Ty Dillon) -- Good job today all cup spotters. Don't think I seen anyone mess up another teams run at a difficult track #Nascar
@nateryan -- Joey Logano broke the 100-mph barrier at Martinsville Speedway today with a track-record 100.201. But didn't win the pole. #nascar
@NASCARIllustr8d -- Sorry, Team Penske. This week it's Joe Gibbs Racing that sweeps the front row
@nascarcasm -- Was leaving work downtown and saw that a-hole that was in Denny's eye. Kicked him in the junk. #nascar pic.twitter.com/zog9U1ZYfP
@TonyOldman10 (Tony Gibson, Danica Patrick's crew chief) -- Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife of 23 years today. Love you @gibson_beth
@RCRacing -- Air Titan 2 makes its debut @MartinsvilleSwy this morning...so far, so good drying the track. pic.twitter.com/ZrYFfuVv2Q
@KevinHamlin (Spotter for Kasey Kahne) -- Foggy. #martinsville pic.twitter.com/63T7pAEVVr
@KevinHarvick-- Nice to be able to sleep in my own bed and drive back and forth to the track! Hope we get a few laps of practice in. #4thewin
@NASCARGreen -- A cool look at the track-drying process from inside the Eco-infused Elgin Sweeper #NASCARGreen #AirTitan pic.twitter.com/XwcLmEoOTk
@MikeDavis88 -- I'd pay money to watch a @KevinHarvick vs @JimmieJohnson PPV fight before paying to keep my own water turned on. And I have kids.
@EddieDHondt -- Hey donut boy @graygaulding u might wanna start learning how 2 actually race people in lieu of cleaning their clock. U got what u had coming.
@graygaulding -- @EddieDHondt thank you MR. EDDIE I am going to take your advice and by the way thank u for your professionalism #rolemodel #Class
@EddieDHondt -- @graygaulding #rolemodel #professionalism, my butt. Race people clean & pass them with skill. Other people work very hard on these cars u punt.
@KurtBusch -- I've won in a @FordRacing in a @Dodge and now in a @TeamChevy & to battle w/ @JimmieJohnson like that was incredible. #humbled
@DavidRagan -- Being at home on Sunday nights makes me miss Wind Tunnel with @DaveDespain One the the all time great racing shows.
@BobPockrass -- Norm Benning not done working after last lap. #nascar #whyfanslikehim pic.twitter.com/S5h1ex676E
@JimmieJohnson -- http://bit.ly/JordanJanway (Jimmie tweeted this on Monday regarding the sudden & tragic death of his brother-in-law.)
@3__BILLYO -- How cold was it at @MartinsvilleSwy? My man @jasonajarrett looked like he was going to a heist pic.twitter.com/iffEiEBNAX
@ClintBowyer -- Hard to beat camo! pic.twitter.com/ggrJRuExvD
@jeff_gluck -- .@Ourand_SBJ reports NASCAR qualifying was Fox Sports 1's top show last week with 771k viewers. Seems like a lot just for qualifying.
@TonyOldman10 -- 21 years ago we lost a true racer and one of my best friends! God chose to take him home but memories live forever. #underbird #AlanKulwicki
@heymartysnider -- @KurtBusch winning car from Martinsville on display for fans to see at SHR. Champagne and door dings all over it. pic.twitter.com/clpc4xQ1pl
@Kenny_Wallace -- Wedgie is nothing I went to fart and shit my pants before .... RT @moosecar7: when driving in a race, how do you get rid of a WEDGIE?
@DaleJr -- Niece Kennedy ran 2nd tonight at the dirt track. Proud uncle here gettin' his picture with the superstar. pic.twitter.com/TLLuEtabia
@isakatrd -- My last day at @toyotaracing Love working for/with them. #NASCAR #Letsgoplaces pic.twitter.com/UXIpghGL5i
@AllWaltrip -- The Waltrip kids. pic.twitter.com/Fp1E2WVosg
@erik_jones -- Look what we found @NASCARHall! The winning suit from PIR is on display! #ejr51 pic.twitter.com/Dn2xpMS3Ig
@MISpeedway -- Heck yeah! @GoodyearRacing tire test is open to the public April 8-9. Details here ---> http://bit.ly/NL5AE1
@NASCAR_Wonka -- Hey, Charlotte, NC. Need a mayor? pic.twitter.com/XGYvjbb8g3
@DGodfatherMoody -- Harvick Honors Firefighters Who Saved His Home http://motorsports-soapbox.blogspot.com/2014/03/harvick-honors-firefighters-who-saved.html … #NASCAR
@ESPNMcGee (Ryan McGee) -- Listening to @dennyhamlin describe the feeling of rusted metal in his eyeball is giving me the heebie jeebies. #NASCAR
@NASCARONFOX -- #NASCAR teams honor the life of Lynda Petty at @MartinsvilleSwy» http://foxs.pt/Qo59BG #NASCAR @RPMotorsports pic.twitter.com/BWkuZSfN4J
@nateryan -- Denny Hamlin says he first felt eye irritation on Friday night. Believes it came through the car, possibly A/C unit, in practice. #nascar
@3__BILLYO (Spotter for Austin/Ty Dillon) -- Good job today all cup spotters. Don't think I seen anyone mess up another teams run at a difficult track #Nascar
@nateryan -- Joey Logano broke the 100-mph barrier at Martinsville Speedway today with a track-record 100.201. But didn't win the pole. #nascar
@NASCARIllustr8d -- Sorry, Team Penske. This week it's Joe Gibbs Racing that sweeps the front row
@nascarcasm -- Was leaving work downtown and saw that a-hole that was in Denny's eye. Kicked him in the junk. #nascar pic.twitter.com/zog9U1ZYfP
@TonyOldman10 (Tony Gibson, Danica Patrick's crew chief) -- Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife of 23 years today. Love you @gibson_beth
@RCRacing -- Air Titan 2 makes its debut @MartinsvilleSwy this morning...so far, so good drying the track. pic.twitter.com/ZrYFfuVv2Q
@KevinHamlin (Spotter for Kasey Kahne) -- Foggy. #martinsville pic.twitter.com/63T7pAEVVr
@KevinHarvick-- Nice to be able to sleep in my own bed and drive back and forth to the track! Hope we get a few laps of practice in. #4thewin
@NASCARGreen -- A cool look at the track-drying process from inside the Eco-infused Elgin Sweeper #NASCARGreen #AirTitan pic.twitter.com/XwcLmEoOTk
@MikeDavis88 -- I'd pay money to watch a @KevinHarvick vs @JimmieJohnson PPV fight before paying to keep my own water turned on. And I have kids.
@EddieDHondt -- Hey donut boy @graygaulding u might wanna start learning how 2 actually race people in lieu of cleaning their clock. U got what u had coming.
@graygaulding -- @EddieDHondt thank you MR. EDDIE I am going to take your advice and by the way thank u for your professionalism #rolemodel #Class
@EddieDHondt -- @graygaulding #rolemodel #professionalism, my butt. Race people clean & pass them with skill. Other people work very hard on these cars u punt.
@KurtBusch -- I've won in a @FordRacing in a @Dodge and now in a @TeamChevy & to battle w/ @JimmieJohnson like that was incredible. #humbled
@DavidRagan -- Being at home on Sunday nights makes me miss Wind Tunnel with @DaveDespain One the the all time great racing shows.
@BobPockrass -- Norm Benning not done working after last lap. #nascar #whyfanslikehim pic.twitter.com/S5h1ex676E
@JimmieJohnson -- http://bit.ly/JordanJanway (Jimmie tweeted this on Monday regarding the sudden & tragic death of his brother-in-law.)
@3__BILLYO -- How cold was it at @MartinsvilleSwy? My man @jasonajarrett looked like he was going to a heist pic.twitter.com/iffEiEBNAX
@ClintBowyer -- Hard to beat camo! pic.twitter.com/ggrJRuExvD
@jeff_gluck -- .@Ourand_SBJ reports NASCAR qualifying was Fox Sports 1's top show last week with 771k viewers. Seems like a lot just for qualifying.
@TonyOldman10 -- 21 years ago we lost a true racer and one of my best friends! God chose to take him home but memories live forever. #underbird #AlanKulwicki
@heymartysnider -- @KurtBusch winning car from Martinsville on display for fans to see at SHR. Champagne and door dings all over it. pic.twitter.com/clpc4xQ1pl
Allen Bedgood is a Newsletter Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via email at allen.bedgood@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter @AllenBedgood.
~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~
by Amy Henderson
Beyond the Cockpit: Matt Kenseth on Qualifying and Coming Up Through the Ranks
by Mike Neff
NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Martinsville
as told to Beth Lunkenheimer
by Summer Bedgood
by Toni Montgomery, Huston Ladner and Matt Stallknecht
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA
Q: In the 1999 Coca-Cola 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, Adam Petty earned his very first top-5 starting position. Unfortunately, that was the peak of his weekend. How did his day come to an end?
Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Tuesday's Answer:
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?
A: Goodyear was leading the race when he hit a bump in Turn 4. The bump completely unsettled the car, resulting in Goodyear spinning and going into the wall hard. The crash can be seen here.
Goodyear was sent to the aforementioned Parkland Hospital for X-rays, but he was ultimately OK. Also of note, the track surface at Texas Motor Speedway at the time was only a year old, yet had already developed such a bump.
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 Phil Allaway
-- Critic's Annex by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Voice of Vito by Vito Pugliese
Vito returns to the website this year with his unique views on everything racing.
Going by the Numbers by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin returns with a look at the statistical side of NASCAR.
Tech Talk by Mike Neff
Mike is back with your look at the technical side of NASCAR. This week, Greg Biffle's crew chief, Matt Puccia, checks in just in time for the series to head off to Texas Motor Speedway.
Fantasy Insider by Jeff Wolfe
Jeff is back with your look at the best bets to fill your fantasy roster. This week, he's got the inside take on who to choose for Texas.
Truckin' Thursdays by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth is back with your weekly look at the state of the Camping World Truck Series. This week, she's got her observations from Martinsville as the second race of the season is now in the books.
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