THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 26th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXVIII
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 26th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXVIII
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Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Empty Cup: Quest For the 1992 NASCAR Championship FOX Sports 1# (from May 23)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM The 600: History of NASCAR's Toughest Race FOX Sports 1# (from May 23)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM K&N Pro Series Casey's General Store 150 FOX Sports 1*/# (from May 17)
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 FOX Sports 1*/# (from May 25)
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM NASCAR America NBC Sports Network
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 1
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 2*#
DVR Theater (Late Monday night/Early Tuesday morning)
2:30 AM - 3:00 AM NASCAR Now ESPN2
*- Tape Delayed
/- Highlighted Coverage
#- Repeat Coverage
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Happy Memorial Day, from our little Frontstretch family to yours! Special thanks to the men and women in uniform who serve our country.
Happy Memorial Day, from our little Frontstretch family to yours! Special thanks to the men and women in uniform who serve our country.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: For our Indy 500 Recap, please check out Toni Montgomery's open-wheel column here.
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Johnson Cruises To Fourth Coca-Cola 600 Victory
by Justin Tucker
Coming into Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, about the only person not concerned about Jimmie Johnson's winless start to the 2014 season was Jimmie Johnson himself. After Sunday, Jimmie Johnson gave his competitors plenty to be concerned about.
The six-time champion capped off a dominating weekend, leading a race-high 165 laps from the pole, Johnson powered past Matt Kenseth with nine laps to go and from there was never seriously challenged for the lead, holding off Kevin Harvick by 1.2 seconds for his fourth Coca-Cola 600 win and record seventh career victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, breaking a tie with Bobby Allison for most wins all-time at Charlotte.
"There are more people fretting about things than myself," said Johnson post-race. "I mean what 12 races? Give me a break. Obviously, it's great to win and we are very happy to win here especially in the backyard of Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's headquarters is just up the road as well."
Johnson's win on Sunday marked his 13th consecutive season with at least one victory and most importantly all but guarantees him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in September. Johnson hopes this win gives the competition something a little extra to think about as the season progresses.
''They know we are awake,'' Johnson said. ''Hopefully, the 48 is heading that way and we can give other people something to think about.''
Kevin Harvick proved to be Johnson's strongest competition on Sunday. Harvick who led 100 laps, appeared to be in position to challenge Johnson for the race win until he had to pit for a loose wheel on Lap 264. From there, Harvick rallied to work his way back up through the field only to fall short at the finish to come home second. Harvick's frustration post-race was evident.
"Yeah. We had a fast car all night," said Harvick. "Just kind of fumbled again on pit road. Got behind, got a lap down. We needed a 700 mile race to get back to where we needed to be."
"All in all, they're doing a great job of putting cars up on the track, we just have to clean up on pit road."
Kenseth held on for third, while Carl Edwards used pit strategy to come home fourth. Sprint All-Star Race winner Jamie McMurray was fifth. Brian Vickers was sixth, followed by Jeff Gordon, who overcame back spasms Saturday and Sunday to finish seventh. Paul Menard was eighth, Kyle Busch ninth after starting last in a backup car, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.
Much of the pre-race hype was centered around Kurt Busch, who was attempting the Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 double on Sunday. After a brilliant sixth-place performance in his Indianapolis 500 debut, Busch arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway to a loud ovation of many cheers and high fives from fans as he made his way to driver introductions. Unfortunately for Busch, that was about the only highlight of the race as his No. 41 Chevrolet lost an engine on lap 271, leaving him with another disappointing finish of 40th. Although Busch didn't complete all 1,100 miles, he was very pleased with his effort.
"It was a tough break," Busch said. "It takes a team to run 1,100 miles, not just one individual. We just came up short. All in all, I'm very satisfied. I gave it my all."
Danica Patrick, who qualified a strong fourth for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 also suffered engine failure just shortly after Busch did, leaving her with a 39th-place finish off the momentum of her great run at Kansas two weeks ago. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also experienced a vibration late in the race and made an unscheduled pit stop to lift the hood. Despite the vibration never actually going away over the final 100 miles, Earnhardt Jr. was able to move back up from the mid-20's to a 19th-place finish.
Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 by the numbers. There were 34 lead changes among nine different drivers, and eight cautions for 44 laps slowed the race pace to 145.485 MPH.
Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the Monster Mile, Dover International Speedway for the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks. The green flag s scheduled for 1:15 PM EDT.
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 Still Strong, But Loses Small Chunk Of Lead
by Phil Allaway
Had the final caution not flown, Jeff Gordon was in pretty good position to claim his 90th career win, 20 years after his first. However, when that yellow flew, the field closed up and a good chunk of his opposition took four tires. As a result, he was a sitting duck on the restart. Gordon held on to finish seventh, which was more than enough to keep the points lead. His margin is 11 over Matt Kenseth, who finished a strong second on Sunday night.Despite having to start at the rear of the field due to a crash in practice on Saturday, Kyle Busch moved up through the pack to finish in ninth. Carl Edwards' fuel gamble may not have played out to its conclusion, but he still managed a fourth-place finish after spending a good chunk of the race a lap down.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Jeff Gordon 432, 2) Matt Kenseth -11, t-3) Kyle Busch -24, t-3) Carl Edwards -24, 5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -38, 6) Jimmie Johnson -44, 7) Joey Logano -54, 8) Brian Vickers -67, t-9) Brad Keselowski -71, t-9) Ryan Newman -71, 11) Greg Biffle -81, 12) Kevin Harvick -87, 13) Kyle Larson -88, 14) Denny Hamlin -92, 15) Austin Dillon -98, 16) Paul Menard -104.
Outside of the top-16, but in Chase Contention: 28) Kurt Busch -217.
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), Jeff Gordon (Kansas), Jimmie Johnson (Charlotte).
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.
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: Coca-Cola 600 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: Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing; started 14th, finished 20th
A day after Trevor Bayne announced that he'll leave the Wood Brothers part-time effort for a fulltime ride with Roush Fenway Racing in 2015, he showed that he's not mailing it in for his current team. Bayne was the best qualifier among the small teams with his 14th-place start, and while he lost a few spots to finish 20th, that result was good enough for the top spot—and the sole top 10—among his direct peers. Bayne, who says he got emotional telling his team he's be moving on, clearly holds a special place with the No. 21 team as well; Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in the car.
"Trevor Bayne will always be part of our family. And we will always share that great Daytona 500 moment together. It's something that will always be so special for all of us," said Eddie Wood, co-owner of the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. "We will always be Trevor Bayne fans, so we are happy he is getting his shot to race for the Sprint Cup Championship. We are going to do everything in our power to get him to victory lane one more time in the #21 Fusion."
Underdog Selection No. 2: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 20th, finished 23rd
The intermediate tracks are typically the most difficult for a small team to master, and Charlotte was no different. Allmendinger improved on his Kansas finish to come home 23rd at Charlotte after posting back-to-back top-10 runs at Richmond and Talladega. Allmendinger started 20th on Sunday and ran in the 20's for most of the night before finishing 23rd. The team was able to maintain its position for most of the race, something that some others could not do
Underdog Selection No. 3: Casey Mears for Germain Racing; started 34th, finished 24th
Mears and his team would have found a 24th-place run to be a solid day at an intermediate a year ago, but in 2014, with improved equipment and shared information with Richard Childress Racing and its other satellite organizations, the team has set its sights higher, despite the fact that they gained ten spots throughout the night. "I didn't think it went very well, to be honest," Mears said afterwards. "We've improved over where we've been, but we've got to run better than we are right now," Mears said after the race. "It was a long night…we've got to get better." That's actually a good thing—the team isn't satisfied with a finish that a year ago was right on their average run, because this year, it's four spots below average. That's progress for a team that was parking early in many races just two seasons ago.
Underdog Pick of the Week-Dover I: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing
Dover is a difficult, demanding track, and it's not kind to anyone. Among the small-team group, Allmendinger and Casey Mears have the same average finish of 22.9, best of the bunch, and both have three top-10 finishes at the one-mile oval. I'm giving the nod to Allmendinger, who's been outpacing Mears in 2014 by an average of just over two spots. It could be close between the two, and Mears does have more experience at Dover, but Allmendinger's season to date gives him the edge this time.
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: Coca-Cola 600 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: Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing; started 14th, finished 20th
A day after Trevor Bayne announced that he'll leave the Wood Brothers part-time effort for a fulltime ride with Roush Fenway Racing in 2015, he showed that he's not mailing it in for his current team. Bayne was the best qualifier among the small teams with his 14th-place start, and while he lost a few spots to finish 20th, that result was good enough for the top spot—and the sole top 10—among his direct peers. Bayne, who says he got emotional telling his team he's be moving on, clearly holds a special place with the No. 21 team as well; Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in the car.
"Trevor Bayne will always be part of our family. And we will always share that great Daytona 500 moment together. It's something that will always be so special for all of us," said Eddie Wood, co-owner of the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. "We will always be Trevor Bayne fans, so we are happy he is getting his shot to race for the Sprint Cup Championship. We are going to do everything in our power to get him to victory lane one more time in the #21 Fusion."
Underdog Selection No. 2: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 20th, finished 23rd
The intermediate tracks are typically the most difficult for a small team to master, and Charlotte was no different. Allmendinger improved on his Kansas finish to come home 23rd at Charlotte after posting back-to-back top-10 runs at Richmond and Talladega. Allmendinger started 20th on Sunday and ran in the 20's for most of the night before finishing 23rd. The team was able to maintain its position for most of the race, something that some others could not do
Underdog Selection No. 3: Casey Mears for Germain Racing; started 34th, finished 24th
Mears and his team would have found a 24th-place run to be a solid day at an intermediate a year ago, but in 2014, with improved equipment and shared information with Richard Childress Racing and its other satellite organizations, the team has set its sights higher, despite the fact that they gained ten spots throughout the night. "I didn't think it went very well, to be honest," Mears said afterwards. "We've improved over where we've been, but we've got to run better than we are right now," Mears said after the race. "It was a long night…we've got to get better." That's actually a good thing—the team isn't satisfied with a finish that a year ago was right on their average run, because this year, it's four spots below average. That's progress for a team that was parking early in many races just two seasons ago.
Underdog Pick of the Week-Dover I: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing
Dover is a difficult, demanding track, and it's not kind to anyone. Among the small-team group, Allmendinger and Casey Mears have the same average finish of 22.9, best of the bunch, and both have three top-10 finishes at the one-mile oval. I'm giving the nod to Allmendinger, who's been outpacing Mears in 2014 by an average of just over two spots. It could be close between the two, and Mears does have more experience at Dover, but Allmendinger's season to date gives him the edge this time.
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 night's Coca-Cola 600 was brought to you by the letter "F" for Fresh Tires. The pavement at Charlotte Motor Speedway is now eight years old. In that time, the surface has aged to the point that the dropoff means that anyone who chooses not to pit late in the race could be a sitting duck. Jeff Gordon found that out the hard way. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Coca-Cola 600
by Phil Allaway and Tom Bowles
Kurt Busch Fails to Complete the DoubleLetter of the Race: Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600 was brought to you by the letter "F" for Fresh Tires. The pavement at Charlotte Motor Speedway is now eight years old. In that time, the surface has aged to the point that the dropoff means that anyone who chooses not to pit late in the race could be a sitting duck. Jeff Gordon found that out the hard way. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Coca-Cola 600
by Phil Allaway and Tom Bowles
Kurt Busch had high hopes for the NASCAR portion of his Sunday following an impressive sixth-place finish in the Indianapolis 500. The top rookie in the race, Busch moved forward in the final stretch, advancing from midpack to weave through wrecks, traffic, and pit strategy straight into the top 10. After landing in Charlotte with plenty of time, Busch started from the rear but had high hopes the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet would move forward and complete all 1,100 miles.
Instead? It all came apart. Busch's day, after advancing into the top 15 was cut short by engine failure that ruined a potentially record-setting day doing the double.
"The motor blew," said Busch, keeping disappointment in check after his NASCAR night ended in 40th place. "It acted like it swallowed three cylinders all at once, so it was real slow. It's kind of a shame. It almost symbolizes how tough it's been on the Haas Automation team. We give it our all, and the way we were clawing our way up there and got a lucky break with the caution one time… I thought we were making good gains on the car. It was great to race in traffic, and to feel the stock car right after driving an IndyCar was a day I'll never forget. I can't let the mood here with the car dampen what happened up in Indy today."
Busch remains 28th in series points, the lowest of any Cup driver with at least one victory this season. Tony Stewart remains the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles at Charlotte and Indianapolis, finishing third and sixth, respectively in 2001.
Hendrick Engines Encounter Issues
The Coca-Cola 600 is considered to be one of the toughest tests in all of Sprint Cup. The engines are stressed more than in any other races. For Hendrick Motorsports powerplants, they seemed to come up a little short. Kurt Busch climbed all the wall up to 11th from the rear of the field before losing a cylinder just shy of the 400-mile mark. After losing the cylinder, the engine lasted only a little longer before it well and truly blew on Lap 273.
Before Busch's engine went sour, Danica Patrick lost a cylinder in her GoDaddy Chevrolet. What could have been another great night turned miserable after handling woes dropped Patrick off the lead lap. Losing a cylinder cost Patrick her top end speed, but she was still running somewhat competitively until she was collected from behind by Brian Scott while trying to avoid Marcos Ambrose's spin.
50 laps after the crash, the engine decided to let go once and for all, dooming Patrick to a 39th-place finish. Afterwards, Patrick stated that the team finally had a plan to fix the handling issues before the engine trouble hit.
"We had a good plan for the next yellow, then dropped a cylinder and lost power, then got rear-ended," Patrick said. "That was our day. We'll just remember the good stuff that happened here at Charlotte and at Kansas last race and build on that for Dover."
"We had a good plan for the next yellow, then dropped a cylinder and lost power, then got rear-ended," Patrick said. "That was our day. We'll just remember the good stuff that happened here at Charlotte and at Kansas last race and build on that for Dover."
Finally, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suffered from an incessant vibration for the last quarter of the race. The sensation was bad enough that Earnhardt Jr. made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 311. The crew lifted the hood, made some adjustments, and sent the No. 88 back out. Earnhardt Jr. would eventually finish in 19th.
Following the race, Earnhardt Jr. described the issue, which was still a bit of a mystery at the time.
"We had a little bit of an engine issue or something cropping up. We had a lot of water pressure and a lot of vibration; a real bad vibration," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We came in and relieved the water pressure and the vibration got better, but it didn't completely go away. They'll take it back and see what's wrong with it. I'm glad we tried to keep going. I don't know what's wrong with it but we've got a little problem with that car. But it was very fast. I'm very happy with the speed."
"We had a little bit of an engine issue or something cropping up. We had a lot of water pressure and a lot of vibration; a real bad vibration," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We came in and relieved the water pressure and the vibration got better, but it didn't completely go away. They'll take it back and see what's wrong with it. I'm glad we tried to keep going. I don't know what's wrong with it but we've got a little problem with that car. But it was very fast. I'm very happy with the speed."
Harvick Suffers Pit Woes... Again
For what seems like the tenth time this season, Stewart-Haas Racing provided Kevin Harvick with an excellent No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet that he could have easily won the race with. However, the pit crew seemed to let Harvick down.
Harvick had to make unscheduled pit stops on two separate occasions due to loose wheels. The loose wheels knocked Harvick off the lead lap, forcing him to charge just to get a decent finish.
After the race, Harvick was in quite a surly mood.
"We had a fast car all night. Just kind of fumbled again on pit road. Got behind, got a lap down. We needed a 700‑mile race to get back to where we needed to be."
Harvick later described Jimmie Johnson's victory as simply his team "...shooting ourselves in the foot." Sunday night likely won't be the last that we hear about this issue on the No. 4 team. Changes on the pit crew may be on the horizon.
Quotes to Remember: Coca-Cola 600
compiled by Phil Allaway
"There are more people fretting about things than myself. I mean what 12 races? Give me a break. Obviously it's great to win and we are very happy to win here especially in the backyard of Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's headquarters is just up the road as well. It was such a long race and so many things going on. The track went in a little bit different direction than I thought it would from a handling setup. Once we got on top of that, we were real competitive. I really think clean air on those restarts were key. I was happy to get by the No. 24 and then the No. 20. I wasn't sure I was going to get by both of them, but I did and brought this baby home." - Jimmie Johnson, race winner
"We had a fast car all night. Just kind of fumbled again on pit road. Got behind, got a lap down. We needed a 700‑mile race to get back to where we needed to be. All in all, they're doing a great job of putting cars up on the track, we just have to clean up on pit road. I look at it as we let them slip one in front of us by shooting ourselves in the foot. You knew that was going to come. They've won championships and done a great job through the years. They were solid all weekend, didn't make any mistakes, kept themselves up front all night and won the race. In the end you're going to have to beat them in all ways, shapes or forms, just not on speed." - Kevin Harvick, finished second
"Everything kind of fell into place [for] us with that caution, people being under fuel strategy. Our tire problem, all that, getting off sequence. Everything fell into our lap. Got a good restart, got out front. Unfortunately didn't have enough speed to hold off Jimmie and Kevin and hang on to win. Overall I thought it was a step in the right direction. I thought we had a top‑five car all night. Great pit stops, great adjustments. Just couldn't hang on to it at the end." - Matt Kenseth, finished third
"Our car finished fourth and that was probably as good as we deserved to finish, but Jimmy made that call and I thought we were gonna win it. That would have been great for right here on the hood where it says Fastenal, that's 630 Fastenal members who also serve our Armed Forces, so I would have loved to have won for those guys, but we did have a good run. I had a lot of fun with Jamie. He's really good. I pushed him right to the limit and he pushed my bumper and just slid me down the front straightaway at 180 miles an hour as perfect as he could, so it was pretty awesome." - Carl Edwards, finished fourth
"We had the strategy and very close to having the speed to win the race and then on that late-race pit stop we left the right-front wheel loose and that ended our chance to win. We rebounded to finish 10th, which I guess isn't bad all things considered. The crew gave me a great car. I drove my butt off, but we just didn't get it done on pit road." - Jamie McMurray, finished fifth
"Our Camry was good all night. The guys on the Aaron's team did a great job making great calls -- Billy (Scott, crew chief) on the adjustments and the pit crew did a really good job tonight. Just all night -- so solid and so proud of the team. It was a good run for us and it was solid. We were really close to top-five and probably close to a win, we just needed a little more speed, but not bad. I think if we would have had the track position then maybe we could run with them. I had to run so hard on that restart on the top for so long that I just cooked my right rear (tire) and then I started trying to run the 1 (Jamie McMurray) down and then it started getting really loose. We weren't going to get him so the last couple laps I just said, 'You know what guys, let's just bring it home at this point -- there's no reason to stick it in the fence.' I had a couple really close calls running too hard. The guys did a great job and just really proud of them. Pleased but not satisfied." - Brian Vickers, finished sixth
"The extra 100 miles definitely helped us tonight. We got a lap down early, finally put ourselves in position to get back on the lead lap, but it was just a challenge with the M&M's Camry tonight. We want to win and it's hard to be disappointed with a top-10 after the weekend we've had." - Kyle Busch, finished ninth
"We had the strategy and very close to having the speed to win the race and then on that late-race pit stop we left the right-front wheel loose and that ended our chance to win. We rebounded to finish 10th, which I guess isn't bad all things considered. The crew gave me a great car. I drove my butt off, but we just didn't get it done on pit road." - Brad Keselowski, finished tenth
"We don't know. We have to find out. We had a little bit of an engine issue or something cropping up. We had a lot of water pressure and a lot of vibration; a real bad vibration. We came in and relieved the water pressure and the vibration got better, but it didn't completely go away. They'll take it back and see what's wrong with it. I'm glad we tried to keep going. I don't know what's wrong with it but we've got a little problem with that car. But it was very fast. I'm very happy with the speed." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished 19th, on his potential engine issues
"We had a fast car all night. Just kind of fumbled again on pit road. Got behind, got a lap down. We needed a 700‑mile race to get back to where we needed to be. All in all, they're doing a great job of putting cars up on the track, we just have to clean up on pit road. I look at it as we let them slip one in front of us by shooting ourselves in the foot. You knew that was going to come. They've won championships and done a great job through the years. They were solid all weekend, didn't make any mistakes, kept themselves up front all night and won the race. In the end you're going to have to beat them in all ways, shapes or forms, just not on speed." - Kevin Harvick, finished second
"Everything kind of fell into place [for] us with that caution, people being under fuel strategy. Our tire problem, all that, getting off sequence. Everything fell into our lap. Got a good restart, got out front. Unfortunately didn't have enough speed to hold off Jimmie and Kevin and hang on to win. Overall I thought it was a step in the right direction. I thought we had a top‑five car all night. Great pit stops, great adjustments. Just couldn't hang on to it at the end." - Matt Kenseth, finished third
"Our car finished fourth and that was probably as good as we deserved to finish, but Jimmy made that call and I thought we were gonna win it. That would have been great for right here on the hood where it says Fastenal, that's 630 Fastenal members who also serve our Armed Forces, so I would have loved to have won for those guys, but we did have a good run. I had a lot of fun with Jamie. He's really good. I pushed him right to the limit and he pushed my bumper and just slid me down the front straightaway at 180 miles an hour as perfect as he could, so it was pretty awesome." - Carl Edwards, finished fourth
"We had the strategy and very close to having the speed to win the race and then on that late-race pit stop we left the right-front wheel loose and that ended our chance to win. We rebounded to finish 10th, which I guess isn't bad all things considered. The crew gave me a great car. I drove my butt off, but we just didn't get it done on pit road." - Jamie McMurray, finished fifth
"Our Camry was good all night. The guys on the Aaron's team did a great job making great calls -- Billy (Scott, crew chief) on the adjustments and the pit crew did a really good job tonight. Just all night -- so solid and so proud of the team. It was a good run for us and it was solid. We were really close to top-five and probably close to a win, we just needed a little more speed, but not bad. I think if we would have had the track position then maybe we could run with them. I had to run so hard on that restart on the top for so long that I just cooked my right rear (tire) and then I started trying to run the 1 (Jamie McMurray) down and then it started getting really loose. We weren't going to get him so the last couple laps I just said, 'You know what guys, let's just bring it home at this point -- there's no reason to stick it in the fence.' I had a couple really close calls running too hard. The guys did a great job and just really proud of them. Pleased but not satisfied." - Brian Vickers, finished sixth
"The extra 100 miles definitely helped us tonight. We got a lap down early, finally put ourselves in position to get back on the lead lap, but it was just a challenge with the M&M's Camry tonight. We want to win and it's hard to be disappointed with a top-10 after the weekend we've had." - Kyle Busch, finished ninth
"We had the strategy and very close to having the speed to win the race and then on that late-race pit stop we left the right-front wheel loose and that ended our chance to win. We rebounded to finish 10th, which I guess isn't bad all things considered. The crew gave me a great car. I drove my butt off, but we just didn't get it done on pit road." - Brad Keselowski, finished tenth
"We don't know. We have to find out. We had a little bit of an engine issue or something cropping up. We had a lot of water pressure and a lot of vibration; a real bad vibration. We came in and relieved the water pressure and the vibration got better, but it didn't completely go away. They'll take it back and see what's wrong with it. I'm glad we tried to keep going. I don't know what's wrong with it but we've got a little problem with that car. But it was very fast. I'm very happy with the speed." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished 19th, on his potential engine issues
"We started off great and started to get tighter and tighter. We couldn't really figure out how to fix it. We had a good plan for the next yellow, then dropped a cylinder and lost power, then got rear-ended. That was our day. We'll just remember the good stuff that happened here at Charlotte and at Kansas last race and build on that for Dover." - Danica Patrick, finished 39th (Engine Failure)
"It was really a lot of fun. A lot of preparation, a lot of hard work and a lot of team involvement on the Andretti side and the Stewart-Haas side. It was a dream come true to run at Indy and post a really good finish there. I can't let what happened down here dampen the mood. I'm still really in awe of how well we ran at Indy. Those Andretti guys gave me a good car to do it with. Tonight, we were clawing our way up. We got a lucky break with one of the yellows. It was nice to run in the packs and side-by-side and feel that NASCAR on the same day as an IndyCar. The motor just expired. It's a tough break. It takes a team if you're going to do 1,100 miles. It's not just one individual. We came up just short. It really means a lot." - Kurt Busch, finished 40th (Engine Failure)
"We blew a right-front tire there. We did the wave-around trying to make up some track position, but just blew a right-front. It got real tight the lap before and just blew a right-front. It's a tough way for this to end. We were looking forward to finishing it off, but we're not gonna do it tonight." - David Gilliland, finished 43rd (Crashed Out)
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Coca-Cola 600
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Johnson & Harvick Rise, Magical 500 and NHRA Milestones
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Coca-Cola 600
by Amy Henderson
The One Where Everybody Plays the Fool
by Tom Bowles
by Summer Bedgood
by Aaron Creed
Indy 500 Breakdown: High Speeds, Close Finishes, Double Duty Make It One for the Ages
by Toni Montgomery
by Toni Montgomery
Four Burning Questions at the Coke 600: Busch's Big Day and Changing Track Conditions
by Matt Stallknecht
by Matt Stallknecht
by Kelly Crandall
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1993 Budweiser 500, there were a number of on-track incidents. But none of them caused as much anger as the one that brought out the 13th caution on Lap 417. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In 2011, Simona de Silvestro was attempting her second Indianapolis 500 with HVM Racing. After racing for much of her first season with "Pork Chop," the oldest chassis in the field, de Silvestro had a much newer and lighter car for the 500. Unfortunately, she was unable to race it. Why?
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1993 Budweiser 500, there were a number of on-track incidents. But none of them caused as much anger as the one that brought out the 13th caution on Lap 417. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In 2011, Simona de Silvestro was attempting her second Indianapolis 500 with HVM Racing. After racing for much of her first season with "Pork Chop," the oldest chassis in the field, de Silvestro had a much newer and lighter car for the 500. Unfortunately, she was unable to race it. Why?
A: During a pre-qualifying practice session, de Silvestro appeared to suffer a suspension failure at speed in Turn 3. The car spun, lifted off the ground front first, then backed into the wall. The car then blew over, hit the wall in Turn 4 and came to rest upside down and on fire. The crash can be seen in this clip.
De Silvestro suffered second degree burns to her hands in the crash, but was otherwise fine. She was forced to return to Pork Chop for the remainder of 2011. With the eight-year-old chassis, de Silvestro qualified a respectable 23rd, but ended up retiring in the race.
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: Coca-Cola 600 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder: Charlotte by Greg Davis
Greg wraps up storylines that are settling this Tuesday while getting us prepped for the Sprint All-Star Race this weekend.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series were in action at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, the Verizon IndyCar Series was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for their crown jewel, the Indianapolis 500. Was the TV coverage "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
We'll take a look at which drivers are sitting pretty at the one-third mark of the season -- and who is looking forward to some time at home.
The Frontstretch Five by Amy Henderson
On a special day, Amy's column explores some Silly Season news you might want to "tune in" for.
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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©2014 Frontstretch.com
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2014 Frontstretch.com
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