Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Haas Formula Delayed to 2016?

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

May 29th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXXI
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What to Watch: Thursday

- Today is the official start of on-track activities from Dover International Speedway.  The Camping World Truck Series teams will be out on the track for two practice sessions.  They are from 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM and 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM.  Neither of these practice sessions will be televised.  Meanwhile, Nationwide and Sprint Cup teams will be loading into Dover's garages and (in the case of the Nationwide Series) going through the inspection process.

Today's TV Schedule

Time                               Telecast                                                                                   Network
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM         NASCAR America                                                                    NBC Sports Network
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM         NASCAR RaceHub                                                                  FOX Sports 1
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM         NASCAR RaceHub                                                                 FOX Sports 1
11:00 PM - 12:00 AM     Road to Ferrari                                                                        NBC Sports Network

DVR Theater (Late Thursday Night / Early Friday Morning)
12:00 AM - 1:00 AM       Red Bull Global RallyCross TopGear Festival Barbados       NBC Sports Network*/ (from May 24)
3:00 AM - 6:00 AM         Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600                                         FOX Sports 1*/# (from May 25)

* - Tape-Delayed
/ - Highlighted Coverage
# - Repeat Telecast

Top News
by Phil Allaway

Gene Haas to Delay Formula One Entry to 2016

Motorsport.com's Lee Spencer is reporting that Gene Haas has decided to delay the debut of his Formula One team, Haas Formula, to 2016.  The reasoning for the move is purely objective.  The team wants the extra time in order to put everything in order that needs to be there in order to properly enter the World Championship.

Haas is simply being realistic with the move.

"[Bringing the team together] just seems [to be] taking longer…than we thought," Haas said on Sunday in an interview with Spencer.  "It's already June, so it's just seven months away and the timing issues are starting to get real crazy.  We have a list of names [of people we want to hire], but the problem is a lot of times they're already working for somebody and they can't get out of their contracts for three to six months so there's a lot of those contractual issues that have to be resolved before someone can come over."

As of now, Haas Formula has a Team Principal in place already.  However, they do not have a designer, technical partners or drivers.  Haas claims that he is "leaning towards Ferrari" as his engine supplier.

JR Motorsports Announces eBay as Partner

On Wednesday, JR Motorsports announced a new partnership with eBay.  As part of the deal, eBay is starting the eBay Garage for Good Sweepstakes.  Anyone who opens an eBay Garage profile between now and June 30 will be entered to win a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will present the keys to the winner.  However, the centerpiece of the deal will be a primary sponsorship on the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the Nationwide Series Michigan 250 on June 14.

Representatives of eBay are very happy to be on board with Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports.

"We believe fans will relate to the excitement Dale Jr. feels toward the sport on and off the track," said Bryan Murphy, Head of eBay Motors.  "We are looking forward to helping auto enthusiasts connect with the things they need and love on eBay the same way Dale Jr. does."

Earnhardt Jr. is very happy to be affiliated with a company that he uses on a regular basis.

"As most people are aware, I've been obsessed with eBay for the past few years because I do a lot of shopping for vintage racing stuff," Earnhardt Jr. said.  "It's a great place to find all the things you need and love. And eBay Garage is especially cool because it's an online community for car enthusiasts. I have a profile set up already so you can see what's in my garage. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people have in theirs."

As Murphy stated, Earnhardt Jr. is a bit of an eBay addict.  Earnhardt Jr. has used the auction site to expand his substantial collection of NASCAR magazines, newspapers and memorabilia.  As a result of the deal, Earnhardt Jr. will showcase his own personal car collection on eBay Garage.

For eBay, the announcement actually marks their second entry into NASCAR.  Back in 2010, eBay Motors served as the co-primary sponsor of Mark Martin's No. 5 (along with GoDaddy) in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.  Despite crash damage, Martin drove the eBay colors to a second-place finish.

Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night.  However, they are still subject to change.


Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks: 43 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 32
- Blake Koch for Go FAS Racing
No. 40 - Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing
No. 44 - JJ Yeley for Swan Racing/Xxxtreme Motorsports

Driver Change:
No. 66
- Brett Moffitt is in the seat, replacing Joe Nemechek.  Moffitt will be making his Sprint Cup Series debut.

Since there are only 43 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify.

Not Entered:
No. 21
- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
No. 95 - Michael McDowell for Leavine Family Racing

Nationwide Series Buckle Up 200 presented by Click It or Ticket: 40 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 20
- Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22 - Joey Logano for Team Penske
No. 23 - Timmy Hill for R3 Motorsports / Rick Ware Racing
No. 33 - Cale Conley for Richard Childress Racing
No. 40 - Josh Wise for The Motorsports Group
No. 42 - Kyle Larson for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 54 - Kyle Busch for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 55 - Todd Bodine for Viva Motorsports with Frank Cicci/SS-Green Light Racing
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek for Identity Ventures Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 13
- Matt Carter returns to the seat, replacing Derek White. Carter is typically the driver when the team doesn't have enough funding to go the distance.
No. 14 - Jeff Green returns to the seat, replacing Eric McClure. Green is starting a five-race deal to drive for McClure with Hefty backing.
No. 22 - Joey Logano returns to the seat, replacing Brad Keselowski. Logano is part of a rotation of drivers sharing one of the top Penske seats.
No. 23 - Timmy Hill returns to the seat, replacing Carlos Contreras. Hill is part of a rotation of drivers sharing the seat.
No. 44 - Paulie Harraka is in the seat, replacing David Starr. Harraka brought funding to the ride in a one-race deal.
No. 55 - Todd Bodine returns to the seat, replacing Ross Chastain. Bodine is driving when there's no funding available for other drivers; he used to be Frank Cicci's full-time Nationwide Series guy in the 1990s (when it was the Busch Series).
No. 74 - Mike Harmon returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Lepage. Harmon owns the team.
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing Chris Cockrum. Nemechek owns the team.
No. 93 - Josh Reaume is in the seat, replacing Harrison Rhodes. Reaume brings funding to the ride.

Since there are only 40 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify.  However, these drivers still need to qualify on speed:
No. 10
- Blake Koch for TriStar Motorsports*
No. 13 - Matt Carter for Carl Long Racing*
No. 15 - Ryan Ellis for Rick Ware Racing
No. 17 - Tanner Berryhill for Vision Racing
No. 33 - Cale Conley for Richard Childress Racing
No. 46 - Matt DiBenedetto for The Motorsports Group*
No. 70 - Derrike Cope for Creation-Cope Racing
No. 74 - Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 76 - Tommy Joe Martins for Martins Motorsports
No. 89 - Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures

Not Entered:
No. 5
- Kevin Harvick for JR Motorsports
No. 25 - John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports
No. 80 - Johnny Sauter for HRE Motorsports
No. 84 - Chad Boat for Billy Boat Motorsports
No. 86 - Kyle Fowler for DRG Motorsports
No. 98 - Jeb Burton for Biagi-DenBeste Racing

Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 200: 34 trucks entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 0
- Ryan Ellis for JJC Racing
No. 36 - Blake Koch for MB Motorsports
No. 51 - Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports

Driver Changes:
No. 07
- Jimmy Weller returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch. Weller is the full-time driver for SS Green Light.
No. 08 - Jake Crum is in the seat, replacing Jimmy Weller. Crum is still eligible to drive here as his NASCAR license only restricts you to less than a mile-and-a-half ovals.
No. 0 - Ryan Ellis returns to the seat, replacing Willie Allen. Ellis is running the start-and-park ride.
No. 8 - John Hunter Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing his father Joe Nemechek. The younger Nemechek is driving on less than mile-and-a-half tracks until he turns age 18 and is eligible to compete.
No. 9 - Brennan Newberry returns to the seat, replacing Justin Lofton. Newberry is running a limited schedule this season as the primary driver within the NTS Motorsports' No. 9 team.
No. 19 - Tyler Reddick returns to the seat, replacing Brad Keselowski. Reddick is running the majority of races for BKR this season.
No. 20 - Gray Gaulding returns to the seat, replacing Austin Dillon. Gaulding is running a limited schedule for NTS.
No. 32 - Ben Rhodes returns to the seat, replacing Tayler Malsam. Rhodes is running a limited schedule for Turner Scott.
No. 36 - Blake Koch is in the seat, replacing Scott Stenzel. This ride is the start-and-park truck for MB Motorsports.
 
Since there are only 34 trucks entered, no one will fail to qualify.  However, these drivers must still qualify on speed:
No. 00
- Cole Custer for Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 02 - Tyler Young for Young's Motorsports
No. 0 - Ryan Ellis for JJC Racing*
No. 33 - Brandon Jones for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 36 - Blake Koch for MB Motorsports*
No. 40 - Todd Peck for Peck Motorsports
No. 42 - Charles Lewandoski for Young's Motorsports*
No. 56 - Raymond Terczak, Jr.
No. 92 - Scott Riggs for RBR Enterprises
*- Expected to Start-and-Park

Not Entered:
No. 7
- Brian Ickler for Red Horse Racing
No. 23 - Max Gresham for GMS Racing
No. 28 - FDNY Racing
No. 82 - Empire Racing

Verizon IndyCar Series Chevrolet Duals at Detroit: 22 cars entered

Driver Changes:
No. 20
- Mike Conway returns to the seat, replacing Ed Carpenter.

Entries:
No. 2
- Juan Pablo Montoya for Team Penske
No. 3 - Helio Castroneves for Team Penske
No. 7 - Mikhail Aleshin for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
No. 8 - Ryan Briscoe for NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 9 - Scott Dixon for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 10 - Tony Kanaan for Target Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 11 - Sebastien Bourdais for KVSH Racing
No. 12 - Will Power for Team Penske
No. 14 - Takuma Sato for A.J. Foyt Enterprises
No. 15 - Graham Rahal for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 17 - Sebastian Saavedra for KVAFS Racing
No. 18 - Carlos Huertas for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 19 - Justin Wilson for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 20 - Mike Conway for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 25 - Marco Andretti for Andretti Autosport
No. 27 - James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport
No. 28 - Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport
No. 34 - Carlos Munoz for Andretti Autosport/HVM Racing
No. 67 - Josef Newgarden for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 77 - Simon Pagenaud for Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports
No. 83 - Charlie Kimball for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing
No. 98 - Jack Hawksworth for Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian

Not Entered:
No. 5
- Jacques Villeneuve for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
No. 6 - Townsend Bell for KV Racing Technology
No. 16 - Oriol Servia for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No. 21 - JR Hildebrand for Ed Carpenter Racing
No. 22 - Sage Karam for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Kingdom Racing
No. 26 - Kurt Busch for Andretti Autosport
No. 33 - James Davison for KVRT/Always Evolving Racing
No. 41 - Martin Plowman for A.J. Foyt Enterprises
No. 63 - Pippa Mann for Dale Coyne Racing
No. 68 - Alex Tagliani for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
No. 91 - Buddy Lazier for Lazier Partners Racing

TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Sports Car Classic: 32 cars entered in 2 classes:

Prototype (P) Entries: 11
No. 01
- Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
No. 07 - Tristan Nunez/Joel Miller for SpeedSource
No. 1 - Ryan Dalziel/Scott Sharp for Extreme Speed Motorsports
No. 2 - Ed Brown/Johannes van Overbeek for Extreme Speed Motorsports
No. 5 - João Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi for Action Express Racing
No. 10 - Jordan Taylor/Ricky Taylor for Wayne Taylor Racing
No. 31 - Eric Curran/Boris Said for Marsh Racing
No. 42 - Olivier Pla/Gustavo Yacaman for OAK Racing
No. 60 - Oswaldo Negri, Jr./John Pew for Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian
No. 70 - Tom Long/Sylvain Tremblay for SpeedSource
No. 90 - Michael Valiante/Richard Westbrook for Spirit of Daytona Racing

Grand Touring Daytona (GT-D) Entries: 21
No. 007
- Al Carter/James Davison for TRG-AMR
No. 18 - Sebastian Asch/Tomy Drissi for Muehlner Motorsports America
No. 19 - Unknown drivers for Muehlner Motorsports America
No. 22 - Leh Keen/Cooper MacNeil for Alex Job Racing
No. 23 - Mario Farnbacher/Ian James for Alex Job Racing/Team Seattle
No. 27 - Andrew Davis/Brett Sandberg for Dempsey Racing
No. 30 - Henrique Cisneros/Kuba Giermaziak for NGT Motorsport
No. 33 - Jeroen Bleekemolen/Ben Keating for Riley Motorsports
No. 35 - Seth Neiman/Dion von Moltke for Flying Lizard Motorsports
No. 44 - Andy Lally/John Potter for Magnus Racing
No. 45 - Nelson Canache/Spencer Pumpelly for Flying Lizard Motorsports
No. 46 - Charles Espenlaub/Charles Putman for Fall-Line Motorsports
No. 48 - Christopher Haase/Bryce Miller for Paul Miller Racing
No. 58 - Jan Heylen/Madison Snow for Snow Racing/Wright Motorsports
No. 63 - Alessandro Balzan/Jeff Westphal for Scuderia Corsa
No. 64 - Chris Cumming/Kyle Marcelli for Scuderia Corsa
No. 71 - Dr. Jim Norman/Craig Stanton for Park Place Motorsports
No. 73 - Kevin Estre/Patrick Lindsey for Park Place Motorsports
No. 81 - Ben Barker/Damien Faulkner for GB Autosport
No. 94 - Dane Cameron/Markus Palttala for Turner Motorsport
No. 555 - Townsend Bell/Bill Sweedler for AIM Autosport

Not Entered:
No. 51
- Eddie Cheever, III/Jack Gerber for Spirit of Race

ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Great Railing 150 presented by Barbera's Autoland: 23 cars entered

Driver Changes:
No. 48
- Darrell Basham returns to the seat, replacing Brad Smith.
No. 52 - Matt Tifft returns to the seat, replacing Ken Schrader.
No. 55 - Brian Wong is in the seat, replacing Cody Coughlin.
No. 66 - Michael Self is in the seat, replacing J.J. Haley.
No. 69 - Raul Orlandini is in the seat, replacing Chris Bailey, Jr.  Orlandini will be making his ARCA Racing Series debut.
No. 99 - An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Dave Savicki.

Notable Entries:
No. 6
- Josh Williams for Williams Racing
No. 15 - John Wes Townley for Venturini Motorsports
No. 17 - Kyle Benjamin for Roulo Brothers Racing
No. 22 - Austin Wayne Self for Cunningham Motorsports
No. 23 - Spencer Gallagher for GMS Racing
No. 25 - Justin Boston for Venturini Motorsports
No. 44 - Frank Kimmel for Win-Tron Racing
No. 52 - Matt Tifft for Ken Schrader Racing
No. 53 - Andrew Ranger for NDS Motorsports
No. 66 - Michael Self for Venturini Motorsports
No. 90 - Grant Enfinger for Team BCR
No. 98 - Mason Mitchell for Mason Mitchell Motorsports

Not Entered:
No. 10
- Fast Track Racing/Ken Schrader Racing
No. 18 - Bill Catania for Catania Racing
No. 28 - Mike Buckley for Buckley Motorsports
No. 29 - Wayne Edwards for Brown Motorsports
No. 40 - Jay Curry for Carter 2 Racing
No. 88 - Justin Allison for Team BCR
No. 92 - Chris Brown for Brown Motorsports

News n' Notes:

- Delaware's Click It or Ticket campaign openly targets the race weekends at Dover International Speedway to push their agenda.  2014 sees their biggest push yet to get their message out during the race weekend.  Previously, it was announced that Saturday's Nationwide race will be known as the Buckle Up 200 presented by Click It or Ticket.  In addition to the race sponsorship, Click It or Ticket will serve as the primary sponsor of three separate teams.  Those teams will be the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet of Reed Sorenson in Sprint Cup, the No. 44 TriStar Motorsports Toyota Camry of Paulie Harraka in the Nationwide Series, and the No. 31 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado of Ben Kennedy.

- IndyCar announced a number of points penalties on Wednesday stemming from engine changes at Indianapolis.  Honda has been penalized 60 engine championship points for the manufacturer initiating engine swaps in five of their cars while underneath the allowable mileage threshold.  Those teams were: the No. 14 for A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Takuma Sato), No. 15 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (Graham Rahal), No. 19 for Dale Coyne Racing (Justin Wilson), and Nos. 27 (James Hinchcliffe) and 34 (Carlos Munoz) for Andretti Autosport.  A second bulletin added Andretti Autosport's No. 25 (Marco Andretti) to the mix as well. 

- Additionally, the No. 5 for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (Jacques Villeneuve), No. 41 for A.J. Foyt Enterprises (Martin Plowman) and No. 68 for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (Alex Tagliani) teams were found to have initiated their own unapproved engine changes.  As a result, those three teams have been penalized ten driver and entrant points.

- Finally, Chevrolet teams were not immune from the penalties, either.  Chevrolet was found to have initiated an engine change for the Ed Carpenter Racing No. 20 driven by Ed Carpenter.  As a result, Chevrolet has been fined ten manufacturer points.

Have news for Phil, Summer and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip. Comments can also be sent to frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com.
 
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Potts' Thoughts About the Indianapolis 500
Potts' Shots
by John Potts

Well, like I said last week, I think the buzz is coming back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway…

With the race over and done, and nearly all the competition angles having been dissected and reported upon, maybe I'd best do my normal thing and talk about the little things I noticed as the day was unfolding.

Once again, I'd like to give my little dissertation on those people who say they should change the name of "Carb Day" to something else. They already have. It used to be "Carburetion Day," and that's what it should remain.  What's the new name supposed to represent, eating a lot of carbohydrates?

Sure enough, somebody spouted off in the Media Center on Friday with the old line, "They haven't used carburetors since the '50s."  That's true, but the definition of "carburetion" is the insertion of a fuel and air mixture into an engine.  Doesn't matter whether you're using carburetors, fuel injectors, superchargers, or turbochargers.  Name still fits.  Dissertation over.

Friday was a blast.  Ran into my old friend Chuck Lofton, the weatherman from WTHR in Indianapolis, who I hadn't seen for 13 years.  Chuck used to always come out to Indianapolis Raceway Park before a big race and do the noon weather from there.

He was getting ready to do an interview, I didn't know who it was going to be until this familiar voice behind me said, "We ready to git 'er done?"  Sure enough, turned out to be Larry the Cable Guy, who shook my hand and said he was proud to meet me.  I'll bet he tells that to everybody, but it still gave me a little charge.  Twenty minutes later, I met Jim Nabors.  Another down-to-earth guy.

The Tag Heuer Pit Stop Challenge was pretty interesting, and might have been more so if the left lane hadn't been against the pit wall and having a concrete surface to pull away.  It was like an NHRA event – best time in the round before got lane choice.
   
Target Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon beat out rookie Sage Karam with the best time of the day, an 11.737, while Karam posted the second best time at 12.084.  Dixon's time was the only run under 12 seconds in the contest.  Personally, I thought they dragged it out a little too long, having a big commercial break between runs.  And watch out for this kid Karam.  He's going to be something.  Chip Ganassi already has him on a development contract.
   
As all you NASCAR fans know by now, Kurt Busch got the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award, and I'm not knocking his performance at all.  He did a great job all the time he was there.  He finished sixth, but Karam was ninth, and gained more positions than Kurt did.  I personally thought it might be a good call for co-Rookies of the Year.  After all, there are precedents.  It's happened five times: 1961 – Parnelli Jones and Bobby Marshman; 1978 – Rick Mears and Larry Rice; 1984 – Michael Andretti and Roberto Guerrero; 1989 - Bernard Jourdain and Scott Pruett; 2002 – Alex Barron and Tomas Scheckter.

The Freedom 100 for the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires on Friday saw just 11 cars start, and ten finish.
   
Chase Austin lost control in Turn 2 and hit the inside tire wall a ton. He suffered a broken wrist.  What was interesting was that nothing was said about the photographer who got smacked in the face by one of the tires from the wall that slipped through a gap in the wheel fence. He also went to Methodist Hospital, but as I understand was treated and released and came back to the track on Sunday.  If you look at the replay on Youtube, you can see other photographers checking on him, and later rescue workers are going over the wall to take care of him. Never heard it mentioned at the track.

As expected on Sunday, one of the most emotional times was Gomer (Nabors) doing "Back Home Again in Indiana" for the last time.  And then Mari Hulman George asked him to give the command to start engines with her.
   
When things got started, everybody in the Media Center was impressed with the first 149 laps going green.  Then, everything broke loose, apparently because the drivers realized they had gone three-quarters of the way and felt like it was time to make things happen.
   
A lot of the talk centered around the fact that Juan Pablo Montoya seemed to be getting several laps more on a tank of fuel than everybody else, and odds were being given that he was going to win the thing for the second time.
   
Unfortunately, a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road partly knocked that strategy into a cocked hat, but a guy sitting next to me said, "He'll be back up there, he's got a fast car and he's still on the same fuel strategy."  The fuel strategy thing didn't play out for the same reason it so often doesn't play out in NASCAR.  People started spinning out, bouncing off walls, and bouncing off each other.  That put everybody in the same boat.
   
During the accident involving Ed Carpenter and James Hinchcliffe, I happened to be listening to Ed's radio channel.  His description of the mishap was liberally sprinkled with adjectives I can't use in print. (I give myself one of those a column, and I'm saving that one for something that happened later – stay tuned.)  In his radio interview, he said Hinchcliffe must have thought he was still driving an Indy Lights car.

I was happy to see them stop the race after Townsend Bell spun after 192 laps, setting up a real shootout. It was obviously going to be a long cleanup.  I don't think they would have red-flagged it if it had happened with just a couple of laps to go.  Oh yeah, when the red flag came out something interesting came out of my scanner headphones.  I spent three years in Japan some time back, but I'd never heard anybody say "What the f*** is this?" with a Japanese accent.
   
Ryan Hunter-Reay, leading at the time, commented on his radio that they had turned him into a "sitting duck."  Somebody said you would never have heard Jimmy Bryan or A.J. Foyt say that.

When they restarted with 194 complete, the battle between Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves was on.  Helio did manage to get past, but RHR made a banzai move on the inside of Turn 3, almost going into the grass, to take it back.  Helio made another charge, but RHR held on to win by the second closest margin in 500 history.
   
An American driver in Victory Lane! Imagine that. One of the biggest roars heard from the crowd came when he held up the Stars and Stripes.  All in all, a great day.  The purse was up substantially, and I heard estimates of the crowd from 210,000 to 230,000.  The place seats over 230,000, and there were some empty spots, but the infield was crowded.  Pay your money and take your choice.  At any rate, it was the best crowd in years, and with this kind of racing next year should be even better.

Next up for yours truly will be a big Vintage Sports Car Association event June 5-8, and we're looking forward to seeing that.  Lots of old friends will be there.  They're even having some "oval only" events which will no doubt see a lot of vintage open-wheel race cars. Until next week...

John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
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The Critic's Annex: Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship
by Phil Allaway

Hello, race fans.  Welcome back to another edition of the Critic's Annex, where we take a look at additional racing related programming.  Last weekend brought viewers an incredible amount of motorsports programming.  Much more than just the 14.75 hours of race coverage on Sunday.  We also had some feature shows premiere as well.

One of those shows was a look back at the 1992 season called Empty Cup: The Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship.  Going into the show, I thought that it was going to be an overall look back at the season.  And I was wrong.  Instead, the show followed one driver and one team, Davey Allison and Robert Yates Racing's No. 28 team.

During the time period in which the show covers, Allison was already a star in the Winston Cup Series.  The sky was the limit.  He was only in his fifth full season (1987 doesn't count because he had to skip a number of races due to a lack of sponsorship), but already had over a dozen wins.  The No. 28 team was young and hungry.  For a number of viewers, the show would serve as an introduction to Allison.  He's not exactly a forgotten man in the 20 years since he died as a result of injuries suffered in a helicopter crash, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the viewers had never heard of him.

As a result, there were some anecdotes about what Allison was like.  Turns out that he was quite a bit like his father, Bobby.  Joey Knuckles talked about how Allison would drive around town in a car with the windows up and the heat on in the dead of summer in order to prepare himself for what he was going to have to face in the race car.  Davey's father, Bobby Allison, was known to do that as well.

The show uses file footage from 1992 in order to set the mood within Robert Yates Racing at the time, interspersed with current interviews with people who were relatively close to the effort.  These people included car owner Robert Yates, crew chief Larry McReynolds, Ryan Pemberton and Joey Knuckles.  In addition, journalist Ben White, who covered Winston Cup full-time at the time and interviewed Allison multiple times during the year, pitched in as well.

From there, the show walks viewers through the highlights and lowlights of the 1992 season, starting with the victory in the Daytona 500 to start the season.   Note that 1992 was a quirky season.  Winston Cup ran 29 races per season from 1986-92.  1992 saw the least number of points required (4,078) for the title over that seven-year stretch by nearly 100.  Most of the time, 4,300 points or more were necessary.

Probably the one moment prior to the stretch run that got a certain amount of emphasis was the infamous Pocono crash in July.  While Davey found multiple ways to get beat up physically during the 1992 season, the Pocono crash was the absolute worst.  There was footage shown of Allison on a stretcher after being pulled from the wreck, and footage from the Media Center in Talladega of him giving a press conference the next week while wearing the same type of sunglasses that Dale Earnhardt would normally wear in order to mask his bloodshot eyes.

Less than three weeks after that press conference, Davey's younger brother Clifford, who was racing the No. 9 Chevrolet at the time in the Busch Grand National Series, died after crashing in practice for the inaugural Detroit Gasket 200.  Footage is shown of Davey rallying the troops behind him and Davey mentioned to Yates that he had to race.  However, the show did not mention a couple of things here.  In Peter Golenbock's Miracle: Bobby Allison and the Saga of the Alabama Gang, it is mentioned that Davey bought Clifford the then-new radial tires that were on Clifford's car when he crashed.  Clifford had all but never driven on radial tires prior to that due to the high cost (radial tires are by nature less forgiving than the bias-ply tires that Clifford was used to).  As a result, Davey seemed to actually blame himself for Clifford's death.  Maybe it's just because of the fact that Empty Cup is only a 30-minute program, but the Clifford situation was not explored as much as it probably should have been.

The show concluded with a look back at the infamous Hooters 500 that decided the title, and the aftermath of Davey's death eight months later.  After all the insanity Allison endured in 1992, it was a crash with 75 laps to go in the last race of the year that wasn't even his doing that officially took the title away.  It was a shame.  Allison's death prevented him from having another chance at a title (or multiple titles).  1993 was not likely to be that season as he was 323 points out of the lead, in fifth when he died, but there would have been more chances.

The show was actually pretty good in bringing fans back to 1992 and immersing them in Robert Yates Racing and what they did that year.  However, there were some things that were left out or glossed over.  For instance, there was no mention of the (slightly) revised body style for the Ford Thunderbird in 1992.  Ford teams were decent prior to 1992, but not in the same league as they ultimately became.  The Kulwicki team had never been championship contenders.  Outside of their championship year, they were never better than eighth in points.  By 1994, there were over 20 full-time teams in Winston Cup running Fords, something that would have been considered insane just a few years before.

There was no real input from the Allison family in the show.  Granted, Bobby Allison was heavily involved in his own Winston Cup team at the time (the No. 12 Raybestos Brakes Chevrolet/Ford), but he still played a role in his son's life.  Yet viewers didn't hear from anyone in the Allison family, which means that we got a one-sided representation of the season.

I'll admit that much like Jirard Kahlil on YouTube, I am a completionist.  While Kahlil completes video games and has a shaggy beard while doing it, I like to complete racing stories.  My history background does play into my thoughts as well.  FOX Sports 1 gave viewers a somewhat incomplete story.  The 30-minute run time was a killer.  I'd actually like a director's cut of the show in order to get the full story.

That's all for this week.  Next week, I'll be back with a critique of ABC's handling of the Chevrolet Duals at Detroit, which will be the final Verizon IndyCar Series races of the year to air on ABC.  The June 12 Annex will cover Kurt Busch: 36, a special that is scheduled to premiere after the Grand Prix of Canada on NBC Sports Network on June 8.  If you've seen any of the IndyCar 36 shows in the past, you have a general idea of what it will be like.  The only difference is that Kurt Busch's episode follows him while he was doing the Indy-Charlotte double.  Should be a good one.  Until then, enjoy this weekend's action in Dover and Detroit.

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer at Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
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Frontstretch Line of the Week


From Beyond the Cockpit: Ryan Truex on Bad Luck, Homeschooling and Getting Kicked Out


"
I started doing homeschool when I was 16 and started racing Late Models. I was still living at home and then moved down. [My dad] pretty much said, 'if you want to do this then show me'. He basically kicked me out and sent me down packing. He wanted me to earn it. He owned my Late Model with my brother. They were doing a lot, financially, to help me and wanted to make sure that my heart was really in it and that I was really focused on that one thing."

"
I didn't finish it until I was 20. I was a little lazy with it but I did graduate and I do have a diploma. I did it all on my own. I held off on it for like a year and a half and totally put it to the side, like an idiot. Over like a two month period I decided to just finish it. I did like three years worth of work in two and a half months." - Ryan Truex, on homeschooling himself.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

as told to Mike Neff

by Beth Lunkenheimer

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  Today, Jimmie Johnson is considered to be the King of Dover.  In 2003, he was already considered quite good there, having swept both races in his rookie year.  However, Johnson's Dover ran out during the MBNA Armed Forces Family 400.  What happened?

Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Wednesday's Answer:

Q:  The 2004 MBNA America 400: A Salute to Heroes is the only Cup Series race at Dover to average less than 100 mph for the full distance.  The race was marred by a 19-car crash right after a restart, but what else added substantially to the race's length?

A:  During a round of green flag pit stops, Ryan Newman (who was leading at the time) spun while trying to traverse Dover's tricky pit entry and hit the tractor tires protecting the blunt end of the pit wall, drawing a caution.  The incident can be seen here.  That particular scenario is a perfect storm situation.  As a result of the incident, the caution was out for 25 laps in order to get the running order set.  In real time, that caution lasted nearly 40 minutes.  Unfortunately, the order they created with lots of drivers in front of leader Jeremy Mayfield led to the aforementioned Big One right after the restart.

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 Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Staff
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!


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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
A collection of your favorite writers are back to discuss a number of pertinent issues in NASCAR.  Topics include drivers that could be in trouble for making the Chase, whether Kurt Busch should have attempted the double knowing the issues that Stewart-Haas Racing is having, Chase Elliott's future and more.

IndyCar Preview: Detroit by P. Huston Ladner
Huston previews the season's first split weeekend, the Chevrolet Duals in Detroit from Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan.

Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns this week with another intriguing Friday commentary.

Frontstretch Foto Funnies by the Frontstretch Staff
Pictures can lead to a thousand laughs; join us in our weekly dose of humor that comes from those candid moments at the track.

Nuts For Nationwide by Kelly Crandall
Kelly returns to bring us up-to-date on NASCAR's second-tier series as they return to Dover for their first visit of the season

Happiness Is... by P. Huston Ladner
Don't let your life sink into the pits. Huston takes a look at the racing stories from the last seven days that should leave you smiling.
-----------------------------
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©2014 Frontstretch.com

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