THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 5th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXIII
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 5th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXIII
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Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 FOX Sports 1*#/ (from May 4)
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 1
6:00 PM - 6:30 PM NASCAR America NBC Sports Network
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 2*#
DVR Theater (Late Monday night/Early Tuesday morning)
2:30 AM - 3:00 AM NASCAR Now ESPN2
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Hamlin Survives and Wins A Wreck Filled Talladega
by Justin Tucker
Talladega Superspeedway is usually not the track you think of where a driver wins to break out of a slump. For Denny Hamlin, it would be the last place he would envision of winning at period.
Coming into Sunday's Aaron's 499, Hamlin in his 16 previous starts on the 2.66 mile speedway had only recorded three top 5 finishes and 5 top 10 finishes with a career best finish of third coming in 2008. In three of his last four Talladega starts, Hamlin had finished outside the top 20 with a best finish of 14th. Hamlin did have two career plate victories entering Sunday, but none in a Cup points race (he does have wins in the Budweiser Shootout from 2006, and the July Nationwide race from 2008).
Hamlin's luck would change on Sunday as he would beat leader Kevin Harvick in a drag race on what proved to be the final restart of the race with just two laps to go. Coming to the white flag, Alex Bowman spun in the tri-oval and hit the wall. At the same time, Justin Allgaier spun through the grass. A piece of bodywork ended up right in the middle of the track. NASCAR threw the caution halfway through the final lap due to that debris. As per rules, NASCAR froze the field and Hamlin had secured his first points paying win on a restrictor plate track.
Hamlin let out a deep sigh when the yellow flag waved.
"Superspeedway win," he said on his radio. "With points! With points!"
Hamlin became the eighth different winner in 2014 and almost assures him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Joe Gibbs Racing as an organization now has Kyle Busch along with Hamlin as Chase locks come Chicago in September.
Kevin Harvick appeared to have the victory in hand until the restart with two to go, but didn't get the drafting help needed to get away on the restart and was hung out without help and faded to seventh in the final running order.
Greg Biffle finished second after leading the most laps on the day. Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers finished third and fourth, while AJ Allmendinger scored his first top 5 of the season for JTG Daugherty Racing.
Paul Menard finished sixth, followed by Harvick, and Kasey Kahne. Kyle Larson was the highest-finishing rookie in ninth while Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. rounded out the top 10.
As always at Talladega there are surprises, comers, goers, and the inevitable big one. Perhaps the brightest spot of the afternoon was Danica Patrick, who led six laps on the day in her GoDaddy Chevrolet much to the delight and approval of the capacity crowd in attendance. However, Patrick would have water pressure issues and would drop back in order to keep her engine cool. Afterwards, Patrick could never make another charge back to the front and eventually had to settle for a 22nd-place finish..
Brad Keselowski had a day that he would like to forget. The Las Vegas winner would encounter trouble early as on lap 14, he made a move on Patrick for the lead. Keselowski would nose ahead of Patrick, but caught her right front corner while trying to move down in front of the No. 10. The result was that Keselowski spun to the inside of the track and damaged the splitter upon coming back up the track. Repairs put Keselowski seven laps down. Keselowski's day would get much worse on Lap 137 when he spun in the middle of the pack, collecting Trevor Bayne, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart among others in a 12 car wreck.
Keselowski eventually finished 38th on the afternoon and drew the ire of Kenseth and Gordon post-race.
"Brad made a pretty bold move early, a mind-boggling move, in going in front of Danica and spun out in front of the field and got away with it," Kenseth said. "This time we weren't so lucky. He was driving really, really, really aggressively to try to get back up there. I'm not sure what the strategy was."
"If it was the other way around and it was anybody else except for him, we'd all be getting lectured."
"I had seen him for several laps driving over his head being pretty aggressive," Gordon said. "I knew he was laps down, but he wasn't doing anybody any favors, nor himself. Then, ultimately, that was a wreck."
Keselowski ultimately took the blame for the late incident and was unsure of what happened on the incident with Patrick.
"I just spun out in front of the whole field," he said. "I don't know why, if I just busted my butt on my own or lost a tire, but I feel bad for everyone that got torn up."
"Made a really aggressive move to take the lead and then it all just kind of bottle necked from there. I don't know if I cut somebody off or got ran over, but just enough to get spun out and tear the car up."
A look at the Aaron's 499 by the numbers: There were 48 lead changes among 23 different drivers and eight cautions for 31 laps slowed the race pace to 152.103 MPH.
Next Saturday night, the Sprint Cup Series will be at Kansas Speedway for the first night Cup race held at the track. The 5 Hour Energy 400 is set to get underway at 7:46 P.M. ET.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
Chasing the Chase: Gordon Keeps Lead Despite Crash, But Just Barely
by Phil Allaway
At Talladega, anything can happy and few point leads are safe. Jeff Gordon found that out the hard way, getting caught up in the big crash on Lap 137. However, his two closest rivals also crashed. Matt Kenseth was in the same wreck with Gordon, while Carl Edwards cut a tire and crashed with a few laps to go. As a result, Gordon's 39th-place finish was enough to allow him to keep the points lead. His advantage is three points over Kenseth. However, just one point behind Kenseth is Kyle Busch, who managed to make it to the finish in 12th.In a tie for fourth are Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Edwards. Earnhardt Jr. had a legitimate chance to take the points lead, but had his charge stifled by Josh Wise on the final restart, forcing him to settle for 26th. Edwards' crash resulted in a 30th-place finish. Joey Logano remains in sixth after being eliminated in the Lap 175 crash in Turn 4.
One point behind Logano is Jimmie Johnson. Despite triggering the big crash on Lap 175 and being damaged in the Lap 137 crash that Brad Keselowski triggered, Johnson still managed to finish 23rd and gain a spot in the standings. Greg Biffle, who led a race-high 58 laps, is up three places to eighth. Ryan Newman remains in ninth after an 18th-place finish. That finish came despite hitting Edwards when he crashed quite hard. Brian Vickers rounds out the top-10 after a fourth-place finish.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Jeff Gordon 347, 2) Matt Kenseth -3, 3) Kyle Busch -4, t-4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -19, t-4) Carl Edwards -19, 6) Joey Logano -42, 7) Jimmie Johnson -43, 8) Greg Biffle -47, 9) Ryan Newman -48, 10) Brian Vickers -50, 11) Brad Keselowski -53, 12) Denny Hamlin -55, 13) Kyle Larson -61, 14) Austin Dillon -66, 15) AJ Allmendinger -68, 16) Marcos Ambrose -79.
Outside of the top-16, but in Chase Contention: 19) Kevin Harvick -89, 27) Kurt Busch -151.
Race Winners: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Daytona), Kevin Harvick (Phoenix, Darlington), Brad Keselowski (Las Vegas), Carl Edwards (Bristol), Kyle Busch (Fontana), Kurt Busch (Martinsville), Joey Logano (Texas, Richmond), Denny Hamlin (Talladega).
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis is very happy to continue his relationship with NASCAR.
"Camping World and NASCAR are mutually invested in the growth of a national series that is celebrated for its exciting brand of racing and the most loyal fan base in the country," Lemonis said. "Six years ago we felt strongly that the sponsorship would dramatically increase our customer base and it's delivered. We expect to see continued success in the coming years."
Since Camping World took over from Sears (via the Craftsman brand) as title sponsor at the beginning of 2009, the Camping World brand has expanded quite a bit. There are 35 percent more Camping World locations now than in 2009.
Steve Phelps, NASCAR's Chief Marketing Officer, says that today's announcement shows the strength of the Camping World Truck Series.
"The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has one of the most consistent and durable audiences in all of sports, averaging approximately 800,000 or more television viewers per event over the past six years," Phelps said. "Camping World's seven-year continued commitment to our sport demonstrates its confidence in our on-track product and strength of our brand loyal fan base."
In addition to Camping World re-upping their title sponsorship, NASCAR gains three official sponsors out of the deal as well (all of which are affiliated with Lemonis). Good Sam Roadside Assistance, a sister company to Camping World, is now the Official Roadside Assistance of NASCAR. CarCash, which serves as the title sponsor of the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway, is now the Official Auto Buying Service of NASCAR. Finally, AutoMatch USA, which was featured on the recently-completed second season of the The Profit on CNBC, is now the Official Pre-Owned Automobile Retailer of NASCAR.
No. 5 Team Looking At Potential Fines
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via email at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.
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Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here: Talladega Edition
by Amy Henderson
Are you a fan of a driver from a smaller team? Do you ever see one of these guys on the race results and wonder how he got there? NASCAR's small teams may not get much airtime during the race broadcast, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about. Each week, Amy Henderson takes a peek into how the little guys fared in the race.
Underdog Selection No. 1: Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing; started 41st, finished 11th
Sure, AJ Allmendinger had a better finish, but he's driving Richard Childress Racing equipment, while Cassill's No. 40, unsponsored this weekend, struggles to get by, often running with used parts cast aside by the bigger teams. He's had some good runs this year, all things considered, but this week, he didn't just run well among his small-team peers, he ran well against the entire field. Cassill finished 11th, but ran inside the top 10 at times and once again was able to grab a finish better than his equipment should be capable of, something he does quite often. Cassill and his team are often overlooked, and this week they made sure that everyone was looking. It's a mystery why Cassill hasn't landed a job with a bigger team in either the Cup or Nationwide Series…but it's a good thing for this team that he hasn't, because they've been pretty stellar together.
Underdog Selection No. 2: Michael Annett for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 17th, finished 16th
Again, Annett finished behind Casey Mears, but his run was impressive because of Annett's relative inexperience and the equipment his team is able to give him. Baldwin's team is trying to stretch a tight budget to cover two race teams, though Annett's is funded with sponsorship. This was only Annett's tenth start in the Cup Series, and he was solid all day long. So was teammate Reed Sorenson, who ran inside the top 20 as well before getting collected in a crash when Jimmie Johnson spun in traffic on lap 175.
Underdog Selection No. 3: Josh Wise for Phil Parsons Racing; started 36th, finished 20th
For small teams, improvement generally comes in baby steps, and this team took one Sunday, grabbing a top-20 finish, something which this team can be proud of, especially considering that a year ago, they were a start-and-park organization. They've completed every race they've started in 2014 (Wise did fail to qualify in Phoenix, but has run every race since). That in itself deserves the respect of fans and media, and this week's top-20 run is another small step in the right direction for Wise & Co.
Underdog Pick of the Week-Kansas I: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing
My pick for Talladega was Casey Mears, who was head for a top-10 finish until he chose the wrong line on the final restart and faded to 14th, third among the small teams. His finish was a disappointment; this team should have been capable of at least a top-10 run and failed to deliver.
This week, the Cup Series visits the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, I'm going to take Allmendinger, who has been running very well lately and who has the highest average finish of this group at Kansas. With two top 10's in eight races, Allmendinger could well bring home number three this weekend if he runs as well as he has recently.
Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during race broadcasts? Amy has all the small teams covered each and every week in The Big Six. Be sure to check it out to see how your favorites fared!
Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here: Talladega Edition
by Amy Henderson
Are you a fan of a driver from a smaller team? Do you ever see one of these guys on the race results and wonder how he got there? NASCAR's small teams may not get much airtime during the race broadcast, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about. Each week, Amy Henderson takes a peek into how the little guys fared in the race.
Underdog Selection No. 1: Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing; started 41st, finished 11th
Sure, AJ Allmendinger had a better finish, but he's driving Richard Childress Racing equipment, while Cassill's No. 40, unsponsored this weekend, struggles to get by, often running with used parts cast aside by the bigger teams. He's had some good runs this year, all things considered, but this week, he didn't just run well among his small-team peers, he ran well against the entire field. Cassill finished 11th, but ran inside the top 10 at times and once again was able to grab a finish better than his equipment should be capable of, something he does quite often. Cassill and his team are often overlooked, and this week they made sure that everyone was looking. It's a mystery why Cassill hasn't landed a job with a bigger team in either the Cup or Nationwide Series…but it's a good thing for this team that he hasn't, because they've been pretty stellar together.
Underdog Selection No. 2: Michael Annett for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 17th, finished 16th
Again, Annett finished behind Casey Mears, but his run was impressive because of Annett's relative inexperience and the equipment his team is able to give him. Baldwin's team is trying to stretch a tight budget to cover two race teams, though Annett's is funded with sponsorship. This was only Annett's tenth start in the Cup Series, and he was solid all day long. So was teammate Reed Sorenson, who ran inside the top 20 as well before getting collected in a crash when Jimmie Johnson spun in traffic on lap 175.
Underdog Selection No. 3: Josh Wise for Phil Parsons Racing; started 36th, finished 20th
For small teams, improvement generally comes in baby steps, and this team took one Sunday, grabbing a top-20 finish, something which this team can be proud of, especially considering that a year ago, they were a start-and-park organization. They've completed every race they've started in 2014 (Wise did fail to qualify in Phoenix, but has run every race since). That in itself deserves the respect of fans and media, and this week's top-20 run is another small step in the right direction for Wise & Co.
Underdog Pick of the Week-Kansas I: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing
My pick for Talladega was Casey Mears, who was head for a top-10 finish until he chose the wrong line on the final restart and faded to 14th, third among the small teams. His finish was a disappointment; this team should have been capable of at least a top-10 run and failed to deliver.
This week, the Cup Series visits the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, I'm going to take Allmendinger, who has been running very well lately and who has the highest average finish of this group at Kansas. With two top 10's in eight races, Allmendinger could well bring home number three this weekend if he runs as well as he has recently.
Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during race broadcasts? Amy has all the small teams covered each and every week in The Big Six. Be sure to check it out to see how your favorites fared!
Amy Henderson is a Co-Managing Editor and a Senior Writer at Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com.
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Aaron's 499 was brought to you by the letter "S," for staid. Stuart Scott's opinion on SportsCenter notwithstanding, I felt that Sunday's race was not exactly all that crazy. There was a good chunk of the race where not a whole lot was going on. Restrictor plate races normally give me stomach aches, but Sunday's really did not, despite the 48 lead changes. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Talladega
by Phil Allaway
Letter of the Race: Sunday's Aaron's 499 was brought to you by the letter "S," for staid. Stuart Scott's opinion on SportsCenter notwithstanding, I felt that Sunday's race was not exactly all that crazy. There was a good chunk of the race where not a whole lot was going on. Restrictor plate races normally give me stomach aches, but Sunday's really did not, despite the 48 lead changes. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Talladega
by Phil Allaway
Keselowski Has Nightmare Day
For Brad Keselowski, Sunday's Aaron's 499 was setting up to be a pretty decent day . He qualified a decent 13th and looked to have a very competitive car in the draft. However, everything went downhill the minute he got the lead. Replays showed that Patrick appeared to move up the track slightly after Keselowski passed her, leading to the contact when Keselowski tried to swoop down in front of her. The result was that Keselowski was turned into the infield, where he saved the car. Where the damage was done was when Keselowski drove up the transition from the apron to the 33 degree banking in Turn 1. That cut water lines and damaged the splitter, forcing Keselowsi to spend multiple laps on pit road. By the time the water lines were fixed, Keselowski's day was essentially ruined despite still having a fast car.
Keselowski was still in position to potentially earn Lucky Dogs, but never got in front of Jamie McMurray. McMurray ended up getting six Lucky Dogs and finishing 29th. Keselowski was left to toil in 43rd for most of the afternoon. Despite that fact, he was still very competitive. After losing the draft and another lap, Keselowski chose to stay up in the lead pack. Despite angering his fellow drivers, everything was fine until Keselowski lost control on Lap 137, causing the biggest crash of the race.
Afterwards, Keselowski was unsure as to what happened.
"I just spun out in front of the whole field," Keselowski said after the incident. "I don't know why, if I just busted my butt on my own or lost a tire, but I feel bad for everyone that got torn up. We had a really fast Team Penske Ford, but I just feel bad for the whole Miller Lite team."
"I just spun out in front of the whole field," Keselowski said after the incident. "I don't know why, if I just busted my butt on my own or lost a tire, but I feel bad for everyone that got torn up. We had a really fast Team Penske Ford, but I just feel bad for the whole Miller Lite team."
Keselowski's peers were not very happy at his actions.
"Well, I will say one thing if it was the other way around and it was anybody else except for him we'd all be getting lectured," Matt Kenseth said after crashing. "I didn't know he was that many laps down honestly. He came down in front of the 10 car (Danica Patrick) and spun out and then was racing pretty aggressively there to try to get it back."
"I just saw the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) get turned. I had seen him for several laps driving over his head being pretty aggressive I guess trying to get his lap back. I knew he was laps down, but he wasn't doing anybody any favors, nor himself. Then ultimately that was a wreck."
"Well, I will say one thing if it was the other way around and it was anybody else except for him we'd all be getting lectured," Matt Kenseth said after crashing. "I didn't know he was that many laps down honestly. He came down in front of the 10 car (Danica Patrick) and spun out and then was racing pretty aggressively there to try to get it back."
"I just saw the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) get turned. I had seen him for several laps driving over his head being pretty aggressive I guess trying to get his lap back. I knew he was laps down, but he wasn't doing anybody any favors, nor himself. Then ultimately that was a wreck."
After more repairs, Keselowski came back out and finished 38th, 28 laps down.
Camping World Renews Title Sponsorship of Truck Series
On Monday morning, NASCAR and Camping World announced that an agreement has been reached that will see Camping World remain as the title sponsor of the Camping World Truck Series through 2022. The current seven year title sponsorship deal, which began in 2009, runs through the end of 2015. The new one will begin once the current one ends.Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises Chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis is very happy to continue his relationship with NASCAR.
"Camping World and NASCAR are mutually invested in the growth of a national series that is celebrated for its exciting brand of racing and the most loyal fan base in the country," Lemonis said. "Six years ago we felt strongly that the sponsorship would dramatically increase our customer base and it's delivered. We expect to see continued success in the coming years."
Since Camping World took over from Sears (via the Craftsman brand) as title sponsor at the beginning of 2009, the Camping World brand has expanded quite a bit. There are 35 percent more Camping World locations now than in 2009.
Steve Phelps, NASCAR's Chief Marketing Officer, says that today's announcement shows the strength of the Camping World Truck Series.
"The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has one of the most consistent and durable audiences in all of sports, averaging approximately 800,000 or more television viewers per event over the past six years," Phelps said. "Camping World's seven-year continued commitment to our sport demonstrates its confidence in our on-track product and strength of our brand loyal fan base."
In addition to Camping World re-upping their title sponsorship, NASCAR gains three official sponsors out of the deal as well (all of which are affiliated with Lemonis). Good Sam Roadside Assistance, a sister company to Camping World, is now the Official Roadside Assistance of NASCAR. CarCash, which serves as the title sponsor of the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway, is now the Official Auto Buying Service of NASCAR. Finally, AutoMatch USA, which was featured on the recently-completed second season of the The Profit on CNBC, is now the Official Pre-Owned Automobile Retailer of NASCAR.
No. 5 Team Looking At Potential Fines
On Saturday afternoon, Kasey Kahne had his times disallowed in qualifying due to coming up light on the scales. At the time, it was thought that losing his times and having to start at the rear of the field would be the end of Kahne's problems. Not so much.
NASCAR is said to be investigating the No .5 team for improper installation of ballast. Kahne's car had the ballast installed prior to qualifying, but lost it during the session. Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, explained what happened afterwards.
"Basically we had a malfunction with a ballast container," Francis said to a Chevrolet PR representative. "The cap that holds the ballast in came out. It could be mechanical or human error; we are not really sure what happened. At the end of the day, 25 pounds of ballast came out and we were 25 pounds light at the scales. The time was disallowed and we will have to start at the back."
At the bare minimum, that would be a P2-level violation of NASCAR's Deterrence System. Tuesday is normally penalty day in NASCAR, so stay tuned.
NASCAR is said to be investigating the No .5 team for improper installation of ballast. Kahne's car had the ballast installed prior to qualifying, but lost it during the session. Kahne's crew chief, Kenny Francis, explained what happened afterwards.
"Basically we had a malfunction with a ballast container," Francis said to a Chevrolet PR representative. "The cap that holds the ballast in came out. It could be mechanical or human error; we are not really sure what happened. At the end of the day, 25 pounds of ballast came out and we were 25 pounds light at the scales. The time was disallowed and we will have to start at the back."
At the bare minimum, that would be a P2-level violation of NASCAR's Deterrence System. Tuesday is normally penalty day in NASCAR, so stay tuned.
Unexpected Tire Issues Creep Up at Talladega
Even before Talladega Superspeedway was repaved in 2006, the track was not necessarily well-known for tire wear, or any kind of tire issues. However, especially during Saturday's Aaron's 312, some teams were suffering from wear issues. NASCAR's rule that teams run all three rounds of qualifying on the same set of tires, then (due to impound rules) start the race on those tires as well led to teams having cords showing on their tires on Lap 30 of the race.
Ultimately, that works out to approximately 50 laps on the tires before the cords show. Granted, this is more than a current fuel run, but it's still worth looking at. Many teams, in an attempt to not spend much time in the pits, were trying to take on two tires at a time. With high tire wear, that was not always possible.
Sunday's race saw some tire failures, but it was very difficult to tell who had the issues. Carl Edwards cut a tire on Lap 183, leading to his crash in Turn 1. Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson may have had rear tire issues as well that caused them to spin all by themselves. Neither driver was touched before causing the big wrecks.
Quotes to Remember: Aaron's 499
Ultimately, that works out to approximately 50 laps on the tires before the cords show. Granted, this is more than a current fuel run, but it's still worth looking at. Many teams, in an attempt to not spend much time in the pits, were trying to take on two tires at a time. With high tire wear, that was not always possible.
Sunday's race saw some tire failures, but it was very difficult to tell who had the issues. Carl Edwards cut a tire on Lap 183, leading to his crash in Turn 1. Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson may have had rear tire issues as well that caused them to spin all by themselves. Neither driver was touched before causing the big wrecks.
Quotes to Remember: Aaron's 499
compiled by Phil Allaway
"We really just want to win races -- regardless of what implications this means for the Chase, it feels good to be back in victory lane in a points paying event anyway. Couldn't do it without this FedEx team -- my pit crew has done an awesome job. They picked me up no less than 10 spots every single week and they did it again today. It just strategically saw that things were getting a little heavy there in the middle part of the race and those guys got in a wreck and we were able to avoid that and just play our cards right there and make the right strategy. Proud of this whole FedEx team -- can't thank FedEx enough and Coke, Sprint, the Jordan brand, Toyota and the fans. This was the biggest crowd I've seen here in many, many years so proud of the whole fan turnout and just proud of our day today." - Denny Hamlin, race winner
"Long day, long race, but it's all about being there at the end. The only way I know to guarantee myself and my team that I can at least give them a chance is to be patient and be boring, lead a boring race there for a while and then go for broke at the end. We did that, we got up in position and everything was going right, and it's just like Greg said, you're kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I liked the situation that I was in for sure. I knew Greg was going to try something, you know, and we did have a big push at him, and you see those guys crashing in the rear view mirror, and you're like, history has shown usually if they're straightened up not sitting in the middle of the racetrack we're going to finish this thing under green, and if you pull out right there and win the race right there, you might be 15th by the time you get two miles back over here to the start finish line." - Clint Bowyer, finished third
"The guys did a great job and we just had a little mishap -- obviously you hate to have those. Everyone on the Aaron's Dream team did a great job for the Aaron's Dream Weekend. We were so close to winning this thing. The Camry was strong. Once we got our track position back we were able to hang in there. I thought me and Clint (Bowyer) were going to jump to the outside and the 47 (AJ Allmendinger) got me sideways and we lost momentum, but it was still a good day when you're disappointed with fourth." - Brian Vickers, finished fourth
"Yeah first off I have to thank everybody at RCR and ECR motors. Just so much speed in the race car. I've got to thank everybody at the No. 47 shop for doing such hard work and preparing this car so well. The previous restart the outside lane had such a run. I kept inching, inching and then I just waited too late and I got shuffled. I really thought I had messed us up there and that last restart I've got to thank Paul Menard. He just kept shoving me all the way up through the inside of guys. Just proud of everybody on this team. I've got to thank Bush's Bean and Clorox and Kingsford, Charter, House Autry, Shore lunch, Scott products everybody that helps us get to this race track and all the great sponsors we have on this team. We are slowly getting there each step day by day. I'm just proud to be on this team right now." - AJ Allmendinger, finished fifth
"We had a really fast Richmond/Menards/Jack Link's Beef Jerky Chevrolet all weekend. All the RCR/ECR motors qualified up front and we tried to stay up there as long as we could. Kind of got shuffled back and I just played the game when to go/when not to go. I got some damage, maybe 50 laps to go and we were trying to get back up there. We had a good run. Got a little bit of damage, but my boys worked really hard, fixed it. I think we pitted like five or six times to get all the fenders knocked out on it. It was really good at the end. On the last restart just pushed the hell out of AJ (Allmendinger) and wound up being okay." - Paul Menard, finished sixth
"Yeah, it was good. I think we were actually a little bit better than 10th. I think the finish was when we crossed the stripe. But I was really hoping for a top 20 just to stay out of trouble, and to get a top 10 is really nice.
I spent most of the day just ‑‑ well, pretty much all day just trying not to make any spectacular moves to put myself in a bad spot to get in a wreck, because like I said, the 42 hasn't had much luck on superspeedways with Juan and myself at Daytona. Just wanted to stay out of trouble. We've been making up a lot of points throughout the year after Daytona, and to come back to another superspeedway, I was really nervous. Glad to get a good finish and stay up there in points." - Kyle Larson, finished ninth
"I expected a few of the big wrecks and tried to avoid those and did exactly that. I don't know. At the end with so few laps the track position is really tough to go anywhere because they fan out three and four-wide, but all in all it was a solid day. We didn't end up on our roof or anything and back there where we're at in points we certainly want to win a race, but we can't afford to have 43rd-place finishes like we've already had this year, so it was a solid day and we'll go on."- Aric Almirola, finished 13th
"It was good out front. I wish I could have stayed there. I was just talking about heating issues I was getting hot a lot. I think you saw that from a lot of cars. It was a hot day here in Talladega. When you get back a little bit in the field it gets even worse. I think I was the second lane like second car back real early on and it just felt like it kind of died a little bit. Then I started getting passed. So I dropped back to get some clean air. Got some track position, a couple of times and got up there a little bit, but heating was definitely an issue. It really limited me to the bottom lane. Because as soon as I jumped up it went there. It was a good car to lead which is something that as a team we struggled with as a car that could lead. I felt good about that. It was good to get the GoDaddy car to lead some laps because it had been awhile and we missed a lot of accidents. The good news is this car is going to get to go to Daytona. That is a positive. The result was not necessarily too much of a positive, but it's going to get rolled up on the truck so that is more than a lot of people can say coming from a speedway." - Danica Patrick, finished 22nd
"We all did a nice job of being patient out there and managing the race itself until it was time to go. I got caught-up in the first wreck and that did some damage; and I don't know what happened when I spun out. I just went out in front of everybody. The car just got real loose going into Turn 3 and turned around and collected a bunch of guys, unfortunately. And then after that, I think I got in two more wrecks and somehow still came home in the twenties. So, we definitely have a beat-up race car which was unfortunate because we had a very fast Lowe's/Valspar Chevrolet today." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 23rd
"I lost a tire. I tried my best to get out of the way, but I couldn't hang on to it. I couldn't keep the speed up and hang on to it, but all those guys did a really good job of avoiding me. The car just got too wide and too sideways and Ryan got me, but overall we were having a pretty good day. We didn't get caught up in any wrecks and that got us. I think that would have got us no matter what we were trying." - Carl Edwards, finished 30th (Crashed Out)
"Brad (Keselowski) made a pretty bold move early -- mind-boggling move I guess you could say in going in front of Danica (Patrick) early and spun out in front of the field and got away with it. Then I thought he was a bunch of laps down, but maybe he was trying to get back on the lead lap and just spun out in front of all of us and tore up a bunch of good race cars. Really unfortunate -- everyone on this Dollar General team did a great job this week. I thought we had a pretty fast car, we just couldn't get going there on restarts. Just trying to get that lane moving and Brad was getting that lane up towards the front and we were trying to get up there and get back to safety and we just didn't make it." - Matt Kenseth, finished 37th
"We were just racing really hard towards the front half of the field. I was trying to get my lap back and those guys are trying to lead laps. There's obviously a long way to go and I just had to get to the front and try to stay up there to try and get my lap back. I was racing really hard for that, but for some reason the car took off on me and I spun out. I don't know why, but I feel bad that we tore up a bunch of cars." - Brad Keselowski, finished 38th
"I thought my car was good. We got in that accident and I don't know if the motor got a little warm when we opened up the duct work, but it just wasn't our day. We felt really good. I think our car was good. We were just kind of playing it out and seeing what lane I could make moves in and what we needed to do to adjust on the car to be able to run in the lane I wanted to run at the end. I felt really good about it, but unfortunately our day has ended a little bit early. All in all, it was a good day. We had good speed here all weekend and I'm proud of the guys. We'll come back ready for Daytona." - David Gilliland, finished 40th (Blown Engine)
"I don't know what happened. That is the part about Talladega, they start wrecking in front of you and if you are behind it you really can't do anything. You don't have any time to react. I just noticed that the No. 78 in front of me he slowed down real bad. So I got on it then I saw smoke and we were still kind of straight. Then it was kind of just a pinball effect. I ended up going into the inside wall me and (Tony) Stewart took a pretty good shot there, but everybody is alright." - Brian Scott, finished 42nd (Crashed Out)
~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud - Talladega
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Pace Laps: Eight In, Sadler Success, and Laguna Seca
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Aaron's 499
by Amy Henderson
On Restrictor Plate Tracks, Check Your Ego at the Door
by Michael Mehedin
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Greg Davis
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Aaron's 499 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
We'll take a look at which drivers are sitting pretty after ten races -- and who is looking forward to Mother's Day.
Racing to the Point by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think.
Voices From The Heartland by Jeff Meyer
"We really just want to win races -- regardless of what implications this means for the Chase, it feels good to be back in victory lane in a points paying event anyway. Couldn't do it without this FedEx team -- my pit crew has done an awesome job. They picked me up no less than 10 spots every single week and they did it again today. It just strategically saw that things were getting a little heavy there in the middle part of the race and those guys got in a wreck and we were able to avoid that and just play our cards right there and make the right strategy. Proud of this whole FedEx team -- can't thank FedEx enough and Coke, Sprint, the Jordan brand, Toyota and the fans. This was the biggest crowd I've seen here in many, many years so proud of the whole fan turnout and just proud of our day today." - Denny Hamlin, race winner
"Long day, long race, but it's all about being there at the end. The only way I know to guarantee myself and my team that I can at least give them a chance is to be patient and be boring, lead a boring race there for a while and then go for broke at the end. We did that, we got up in position and everything was going right, and it's just like Greg said, you're kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I liked the situation that I was in for sure. I knew Greg was going to try something, you know, and we did have a big push at him, and you see those guys crashing in the rear view mirror, and you're like, history has shown usually if they're straightened up not sitting in the middle of the racetrack we're going to finish this thing under green, and if you pull out right there and win the race right there, you might be 15th by the time you get two miles back over here to the start finish line." - Clint Bowyer, finished third
"The guys did a great job and we just had a little mishap -- obviously you hate to have those. Everyone on the Aaron's Dream team did a great job for the Aaron's Dream Weekend. We were so close to winning this thing. The Camry was strong. Once we got our track position back we were able to hang in there. I thought me and Clint (Bowyer) were going to jump to the outside and the 47 (AJ Allmendinger) got me sideways and we lost momentum, but it was still a good day when you're disappointed with fourth." - Brian Vickers, finished fourth
"Yeah first off I have to thank everybody at RCR and ECR motors. Just so much speed in the race car. I've got to thank everybody at the No. 47 shop for doing such hard work and preparing this car so well. The previous restart the outside lane had such a run. I kept inching, inching and then I just waited too late and I got shuffled. I really thought I had messed us up there and that last restart I've got to thank Paul Menard. He just kept shoving me all the way up through the inside of guys. Just proud of everybody on this team. I've got to thank Bush's Bean and Clorox and Kingsford, Charter, House Autry, Shore lunch, Scott products everybody that helps us get to this race track and all the great sponsors we have on this team. We are slowly getting there each step day by day. I'm just proud to be on this team right now." - AJ Allmendinger, finished fifth
"We had a really fast Richmond/Menards/Jack Link's Beef Jerky Chevrolet all weekend. All the RCR/ECR motors qualified up front and we tried to stay up there as long as we could. Kind of got shuffled back and I just played the game when to go/when not to go. I got some damage, maybe 50 laps to go and we were trying to get back up there. We had a good run. Got a little bit of damage, but my boys worked really hard, fixed it. I think we pitted like five or six times to get all the fenders knocked out on it. It was really good at the end. On the last restart just pushed the hell out of AJ (Allmendinger) and wound up being okay." - Paul Menard, finished sixth
"Yeah, it was good. I think we were actually a little bit better than 10th. I think the finish was when we crossed the stripe. But I was really hoping for a top 20 just to stay out of trouble, and to get a top 10 is really nice.
I spent most of the day just ‑‑ well, pretty much all day just trying not to make any spectacular moves to put myself in a bad spot to get in a wreck, because like I said, the 42 hasn't had much luck on superspeedways with Juan and myself at Daytona. Just wanted to stay out of trouble. We've been making up a lot of points throughout the year after Daytona, and to come back to another superspeedway, I was really nervous. Glad to get a good finish and stay up there in points." - Kyle Larson, finished ninth
"I expected a few of the big wrecks and tried to avoid those and did exactly that. I don't know. At the end with so few laps the track position is really tough to go anywhere because they fan out three and four-wide, but all in all it was a solid day. We didn't end up on our roof or anything and back there where we're at in points we certainly want to win a race, but we can't afford to have 43rd-place finishes like we've already had this year, so it was a solid day and we'll go on."- Aric Almirola, finished 13th
"It was good out front. I wish I could have stayed there. I was just talking about heating issues I was getting hot a lot. I think you saw that from a lot of cars. It was a hot day here in Talladega. When you get back a little bit in the field it gets even worse. I think I was the second lane like second car back real early on and it just felt like it kind of died a little bit. Then I started getting passed. So I dropped back to get some clean air. Got some track position, a couple of times and got up there a little bit, but heating was definitely an issue. It really limited me to the bottom lane. Because as soon as I jumped up it went there. It was a good car to lead which is something that as a team we struggled with as a car that could lead. I felt good about that. It was good to get the GoDaddy car to lead some laps because it had been awhile and we missed a lot of accidents. The good news is this car is going to get to go to Daytona. That is a positive. The result was not necessarily too much of a positive, but it's going to get rolled up on the truck so that is more than a lot of people can say coming from a speedway." - Danica Patrick, finished 22nd
"We all did a nice job of being patient out there and managing the race itself until it was time to go. I got caught-up in the first wreck and that did some damage; and I don't know what happened when I spun out. I just went out in front of everybody. The car just got real loose going into Turn 3 and turned around and collected a bunch of guys, unfortunately. And then after that, I think I got in two more wrecks and somehow still came home in the twenties. So, we definitely have a beat-up race car which was unfortunate because we had a very fast Lowe's/Valspar Chevrolet today." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 23rd
"I lost a tire. I tried my best to get out of the way, but I couldn't hang on to it. I couldn't keep the speed up and hang on to it, but all those guys did a really good job of avoiding me. The car just got too wide and too sideways and Ryan got me, but overall we were having a pretty good day. We didn't get caught up in any wrecks and that got us. I think that would have got us no matter what we were trying." - Carl Edwards, finished 30th (Crashed Out)
"Brad (Keselowski) made a pretty bold move early -- mind-boggling move I guess you could say in going in front of Danica (Patrick) early and spun out in front of the field and got away with it. Then I thought he was a bunch of laps down, but maybe he was trying to get back on the lead lap and just spun out in front of all of us and tore up a bunch of good race cars. Really unfortunate -- everyone on this Dollar General team did a great job this week. I thought we had a pretty fast car, we just couldn't get going there on restarts. Just trying to get that lane moving and Brad was getting that lane up towards the front and we were trying to get up there and get back to safety and we just didn't make it." - Matt Kenseth, finished 37th
"We were just racing really hard towards the front half of the field. I was trying to get my lap back and those guys are trying to lead laps. There's obviously a long way to go and I just had to get to the front and try to stay up there to try and get my lap back. I was racing really hard for that, but for some reason the car took off on me and I spun out. I don't know why, but I feel bad that we tore up a bunch of cars." - Brad Keselowski, finished 38th
"I thought my car was good. We got in that accident and I don't know if the motor got a little warm when we opened up the duct work, but it just wasn't our day. We felt really good. I think our car was good. We were just kind of playing it out and seeing what lane I could make moves in and what we needed to do to adjust on the car to be able to run in the lane I wanted to run at the end. I felt really good about it, but unfortunately our day has ended a little bit early. All in all, it was a good day. We had good speed here all weekend and I'm proud of the guys. We'll come back ready for Daytona." - David Gilliland, finished 40th (Blown Engine)
"I don't know what happened. That is the part about Talladega, they start wrecking in front of you and if you are behind it you really can't do anything. You don't have any time to react. I just noticed that the No. 78 in front of me he slowed down real bad. So I got on it then I saw smoke and we were still kind of straight. Then it was kind of just a pinball effect. I ended up going into the inside wall me and (Tony) Stewart took a pretty good shot there, but everybody is alright." - Brian Scott, finished 42nd (Crashed Out)
~~~~~~~~~~
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 tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud - Talladega
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Pace Laps: Eight In, Sadler Success, and Laguna Seca
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Aaron's 499
by Amy Henderson
On Restrictor Plate Tracks, Check Your Ego at the Door
by Michael Mehedin
by Tom Bowles
by Brendan Gaughan
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 2003 Mr. Goodcents 300, Michael Waltrip dominated the proceedings, leading 140 of the 200 laps. However, he ended the day in the garage. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: At Talladega, huge wrecks do not discriminate between series. ARCA is prone to big wrecks on the 2.66 mile tri-oval. The 2000 Winn-Dixie 300 is no exception to the rule as a number of drivers were eliminated right after halfway. What happened?
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 2003 Mr. Goodcents 300, Michael Waltrip dominated the proceedings, leading 140 of the 200 laps. However, he ended the day in the garage. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: At Talladega, huge wrecks do not discriminate between series. ARCA is prone to big wrecks on the 2.66 mile tri-oval. The 2000 Winn-Dixie 300 is no exception to the rule as a number of drivers were eliminated right after halfway. What happened?
A: It appeared that Bobby Gerhart slowed suddenly in Turn 4. Rich Woodland, Jr. ran up on Gerhart and slammed on the brakes. Brad Baker couldn't slow down enough and got into Woodland, spinning the No. 7 Chevrolet. Baker then brushed into Brian Ross, who also spun and hit the wall. Mark Gibson piled in as well. Woodland was then hit hard by Cavin Councilor. Councilor then took another hit from Randal Ritter. Bob Strait was also involved, which handed the championship to Frank Kimmel. The crash can be seen here.
Everyone walked away from the crash, but Councilor appeared to get his "bell rung." As a result, he was slow to exit his EarthLink Chevrolet. Everyone in the crash was out on the spot. Gerhart, whose sudden slow down was partially responsible for the wreck, continued and finished fifth.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Greg Davis
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Aaron's 499 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder: Talladega by Danny Peters
Danny wraps up storylines that are settling this Tuesday while getting us prepped for the first Kansas night race this weekend.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, along with the ARCA Racing Series raced at Talladega Superspeedway. Were the 1000+ miles of TV coverage "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
We'll take a look at which drivers are sitting pretty after ten races -- and who is looking forward to Mother's Day.
Racing to the Point by Brett Poirier
Brett is back with another commentary to make you think.
Voices From The Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Jeff returns with his typical blend of sarcastic humor tilted towards one of NASCAR's controversial issues.
-----------------------------
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