THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 9th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXXVIII
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Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 9th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXXVIII
~~~~~~~~~~
Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ARCA Racing Series Pocono ARCA 200 FOX Sports 1*# (from June 7)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM K&N Pro Series East NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 FOX Sports 1*/# (from May 31)
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM NASCAR America NBC Sports Network
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 1
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 2*#
7:30 PM - 8:00 PM Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship FOX Sports 2#
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM The 600: History of NASCAR's Toughest Race FOX Sports 2#
DVR Theater (Late Monday night/Early Tuesday morning)
2:00 AM - 2:30 AM NASCAR Now ESPN2
* - Tape Delayed
/ - Highlighted Coverage
# - Repeat Coverage
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Earnhardt Jr. Takes Advantage of Paper Debris To Win at Pocono
by Justin Tucker
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. found himself in Victory Lane Sunday for the second time in 2014, earning himself multiple wins in Sprint Cup for the first time in over a decade.
The funny part? The winner was just as surprised as anyone else. Earnhardt, seemingly resigned to second place surged after passing a struggling Brad Keselowski down the stretch to win a thrilling and unpredictable Pocono 400.
Earnhardt Jr. only led 11 of the race's 160 laps, but his No. 88 Chevrolet was in position to capitalize when the leader made a costly mistake. Out front, Keselowski's No. 2 Ford, which was the race's dominant car began to overheat and lose power due to debris on the grille. With five laps left, Keselowski approached the slower car of Danica Patrick. In an attempt to cool his engine, Keselowski tried to get behind Patrick and remove the paper. Instead, the driver lost his momentum, allowing Earnhardt Jr. to blow by and take control. From there, he was basically unchallenged for the race win.
Earnhardt's victory at Pocono marked the fourth consecutive win in a points race for Hendrick Motorsports and it also marked the first time since 2004 that NASCAR's Most Popular Driver has recorded two or more wins in a season. It's also the first victory for Earnhardt at a track aside from Michigan or Daytona since 2006.
Understandably, Earnhardt was giddy in Victory Lane after scoring his elusive first Pocono win.
"I don't have much to do tomorrow," the grinning driver said. "Tonight's going to be a long one."
Through the joy, there was also an admission of luck. Everyone on the No. 88 team felt, while the car was capable of contending it was Keselowski who ultimately gave them a chance at first place.
"That's unfortunate for him," Earnhardt said of the final few laps. "He had me beat. I couldn't get to him. It's real hard to pass here. I've lost some in strange ways. It feels good to win one like that. Brad definitely had the better car. I'll own up to that, but we won the race."
"I think we had a little luck on our side at the end," added crew chief Steve Letarte. "But you have to put yourself in position to have that luck fall your way. We've had some races fall the opposite, where we thought we could have won... we'll take it."
That seesaw includes Las Vegas, this March in which a fuel mileage gamble failure for Earnhardt gave the win away to ... Brad Keselowski. For Keselowski, his Pocono afternoon could be best described as evening the score on the craps table. The 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion and 2011 winner at Pocono led a race-high 95 of 160 laps only to stub his toe through that self-induced mistake. After his failed attempt to use the bumper of Patrick's No. 10, Keselowski tried to get the debris off his grille using air off the back of Earnhardt's No. 88 but soon realized it was a mistake, as he could never get to Earnhardt's rear bumper to make a charge.
Keselowski, while disappointed on giving up a second win, felt he made the best decision in the big picture.
"[It was] running really hot, the motor was going to blow up," he explained. "I had to do something. We had a really fast car, but had a piece of debris and had to do something. I had to do some kind of move or it wasn't going to make it. I should have just run it. I didn't think it would make it, but maybe it would have."
Teammate Joey Logano's engine blew down the stretch, a fact the driver of the No. 2 Ford did not know until after the race but an odd coincidence that supports his engine concerns. Either way, with the runner-up finish, Keselowski now has back-to-back second-place results and has jumped three spots in the Sprint Cup standings from eighth to fifth heading to his home track, Michigan, next weekend.
Kurt Busch had a strong run to finish third, carrying the flag for Stewart-Haas Racing while four-time Pocono winner Denny Hamlin was fourth. Unfortunately, most of the racing at Pocono was single-file and strung out, a point Hamlin supported in his post-race comments after fading from the pole and never making a serious challenge up front.
"Uneventful," he said of the race, blaming aerodynamics and Pocono's narrow groove. "You end up wherever you end up on the racetrack [after restarts] and try and do your best, hold off the guys behind you. It's what the drivers expected, for sure… but we're running so fast, passing is very, very tough. You've got to deal with the cards that you're dealt."
Rookie Kyle Larson was fifth in his first career Sprint Cup start on the 2.5-mile triangle, capitalizing from experience running the ARCA race a day earlier. Jimmie Johnson would overcome a pit road incident with Marcos Ambrose to finish sixth, while Ryan Newman ran seventh. Jeff Gordon, who took over the point lead was eighth, while Martin Truex, Jr. had his second straight top-10 result in ninth. Jamie McMurray would round out the top 10. Tony Stewart, who seemed to have one of the few cars that could challenge Keselowski was 13th after a pit road speeding incident wiped out track position during a mid-race caution.
A look at Sunday's Pocono 400 by the numbers. There were 21 lead changes among among 10 different drivers, while seven cautions for 26 laps slowed the race pace to 139.44 MPH. 30 green-flag passes for the lead, through pit stops and other instances became a new record high for the track since NASCAR loop data statistics started being kept in the past decade.
Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the Irish hills of Michigan and the Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400. The green flag is scheduled for 1:16 PM ET on TNT.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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Chasing the Chase: Gordon Back Out In Front Of Sprint Cup Standings
by Phil Allaway
Jeff Gordon's day was somewhat disappointing. His Achilles' Heel over the past couple of years, restarts, came back to haunt him again, pushing a potential top-5 car back to eighth by the checkered flag. However, that was more than enough to take back the points lead back over Matt Kenseth, who had a miserable day. Early on, Kenseth ran in the back of Jamie McMurray, damaging his Dollar General Toyota and eventually dropping him off the lead lap. Even though Kenseth eventually earned a Lucky Dog, he was generally uncompetitive en route to a 25th-place finish. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., by virtue of his second win of the season, moved up two places to third in the standings behind them. Just one point behind Earnhardt Jr. is Jimmie Johnson, who had his own adversity to overcome. Johnson spun on pit road during a round of stops under caution after hitting Marcos Ambrose leaving his stall, which damaged the Lowe's Chevrolet. The team made repairs to the right-front fender, though and Johnson came back to finish sixth. Further back, Brad Keselowski is up three places to fifth after his second-place result, although he likely wishes he could have gotten four more points on the day.
Kyle Busch gained one spot, to sixth in points after Pocono, but he spent nearly the entire race complaining about his car's handling. Winding up 12th, he got involved in a wreck with Kasey Kahne (see Sidebar stories below) and had one of his worst performances, speed-wise all year. Carl Edwards, meanwhile is down four spots to seventh after getting caught up in Kahne's crash on Lap 143, resulting in a 41st-place finish. Denny Hamlin is up a spot to eighth after a top-5 performance from the pole, while Joey Logano is down to ninth after losing oil pressure on the final restart, one of just three cars to drop out. Pulling in for the day with ten laps left dropped Logano all the way to 40th. Finally, Kyle Larson keeps tenth in the standings after finishing a strong fifth, remaining the best Sprint Cup Series rookie performer in 2014.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Jeff Gordon 498, 2) Matt Kenseth -16, 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -22, 4) Jimmie Johnson -23, 5) Brad Keselowski -50, 6) Kyle Busch -55, 7) Carl Edwards -57, 8) Denny Hamlin -78, 9) Joey Logano -80, 10) Kyle Larson -81, 11) Ryan Newman -87, 12) Kevin Harvick -95, 13) Brian Vickers -106, t-14) Greg Biffle -113, t-14) Austin Dillon -113, 16) Clint Bowyer -115.
Outside of the top-16, but in Chase Contention: 27) Kurt Busch -215.
Race Winners: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Daytona, Pocono), 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, Dover).
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: Pocono Edition
by Tom Bowles
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, we take a peek into how the little guys fared in the race.
Underdog Selection No. 1: David Ragan for Front Row Motorsports; started 32nd, finished 18th
How's that for a new baby gift? David, whose wife Jacquelyn is expecting the couple's first child wasn't even sure if he would run the race should that life-changing "labor" call come through. Mike Bliss, who runs the Nationwide Series full-time was hired on standby and even ran some laps behind the wheel of the No. 34 in practice. But with distractions looming, Ragan instead put together the best performance of the season for a team that's largely struggled in 2014 after their shocking 2013 upset at Talladega.
Starting 32nd, Ragan's team was a mid-20s car for most of the long, 400-mile trek at Pocono. But they gambled on the last caution, staying out and bumping themselves up to the fringes of the top 10. Their driver took it from there, fighting hard to maintain what became the best finish ever for the Front Row Motorsports organization at Pocono.
"That was fun to be racing up there with those guys," said Ragan afterwards. "Our Taco Bell Ford was pretty decent today. Jay (Guy) made some good calls on adjustments to help make it better where we needed it, and the pit crew did a good job on pit road, too."
At least the wife approved. Mrs. Ragan tweeted, tongue-in-cheek after the race: "So excited right now! We needed that so bad. That's huge for our hard-working little team. Now... let's go have a baby :)"
Underdog Selection No. 2: Michael Annett for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 30th, finished 20th
This rookie's crew chief, Kevin "Bono" Manion, stopped by Frontstretch earlier this week and lauded the freshman's efforts on the racetrack. At Dover, they appeared to be on track for a top-15 finish until a broken shock, late in the race thwarted their efforts on what could have been a season best.
Some might have taken that disappointment, let it get to their heads and suffered over the next few weeks. Annett? He turned around, shook it off and scored his third top-20 effort for Tommy Baldwin Racing Sunday at Pocono. It was an uneventful day for the team, picking off rivals one by one before comfortably positioning themselves after the final caution in midpack. About a 16th-place car, at times over the final 100 miles the ending could have been even better if a few breaks over the final restart had fallen the rookie's way.
So far, so good for the freshman as he continues to make laps and get experience at NASCAR's top level. It's part of a slow, steady effort to stay consistent that leaves Annett 30th in points, the fourth-best in the rookie class and just 29 behind Justin Allgaier for third. Even more impressive, though is the next target for the team that sits ensconced in 28th, just 34 points and a few bad runs from falling within their grasp.
"We're almost right behind Danica," Annett's radio chirped after the race as to where the rookie driver stands in the points. "Keep doing what we're doing and they'll be next [to fall behind us]."
Underdog Selection No. 3: Justin Allgaier for HScott Motorsports; started 24th, finished 27th
It wasn't the finish Allgaier wanted, towards the back end of Pocono's lead-lap finishers. In the end, a wrinkled fender combined with poor track position late doomed this effort. But he stands out in a weak race for underdogs because pit positioning actually put the No. 51 car at the front of the field for a bit. The rookie led six laps, a career high and seemed in position for a better run, depending on how quickly his last pit stop could be until some late cautions turned the single-car team's "stretching" strategy on fuel mileage a little sour.
"We had a really good car," Allgaier said after the race. "We showed we can run up front."
One of these days, they'll cash in on the top-10 result this team has been knocking on the door to snatch for over a month.
Underdog Pick of the Week - Michigan I: AJ Allmendinger for JTG Daugherty Racing
Amy's pick for last week, Casey Mears, never showed well during the race at Pocono, running midpack for most of the day until settling in a disappointing 23rd. Mears never lived up to expectations, ones that are honestly a bit higher now that the team is running Richard Childress Racing chassis and equipment.
Now, the series heads to Michigan, where I'll be looking towards another RCR-supported driver and team to cash in. AJ Allmendinger, who's lifted the No. 47 car to its best season yet scored one of his top-10 finishes, an eighth place earlier this season at Fontana. Since it's Michigan's sister track, with many of the same characteristics you'd expect this organization to unload well off the truck. They've had an up-and-down last few weeks, for sure, but the 'Dinger is well-positioned to return to some success from earlier this season with a trip to the Irish Hills dead ahead.
Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during race broadcasts? Kevin has all the small teams covered this week in The Big Six. Be sure to check it out to see how your favorites fared!
Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here: Pocono Edition
by Tom Bowles
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, we take a peek into how the little guys fared in the race.
Underdog Selection No. 1: David Ragan for Front Row Motorsports; started 32nd, finished 18th
How's that for a new baby gift? David, whose wife Jacquelyn is expecting the couple's first child wasn't even sure if he would run the race should that life-changing "labor" call come through. Mike Bliss, who runs the Nationwide Series full-time was hired on standby and even ran some laps behind the wheel of the No. 34 in practice. But with distractions looming, Ragan instead put together the best performance of the season for a team that's largely struggled in 2014 after their shocking 2013 upset at Talladega.
Starting 32nd, Ragan's team was a mid-20s car for most of the long, 400-mile trek at Pocono. But they gambled on the last caution, staying out and bumping themselves up to the fringes of the top 10. Their driver took it from there, fighting hard to maintain what became the best finish ever for the Front Row Motorsports organization at Pocono.
"That was fun to be racing up there with those guys," said Ragan afterwards. "Our Taco Bell Ford was pretty decent today. Jay (Guy) made some good calls on adjustments to help make it better where we needed it, and the pit crew did a good job on pit road, too."
At least the wife approved. Mrs. Ragan tweeted, tongue-in-cheek after the race: "So excited right now! We needed that so bad. That's huge for our hard-working little team. Now... let's go have a baby :)"
Underdog Selection No. 2: Michael Annett for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 30th, finished 20th
This rookie's crew chief, Kevin "Bono" Manion, stopped by Frontstretch earlier this week and lauded the freshman's efforts on the racetrack. At Dover, they appeared to be on track for a top-15 finish until a broken shock, late in the race thwarted their efforts on what could have been a season best.
Some might have taken that disappointment, let it get to their heads and suffered over the next few weeks. Annett? He turned around, shook it off and scored his third top-20 effort for Tommy Baldwin Racing Sunday at Pocono. It was an uneventful day for the team, picking off rivals one by one before comfortably positioning themselves after the final caution in midpack. About a 16th-place car, at times over the final 100 miles the ending could have been even better if a few breaks over the final restart had fallen the rookie's way.
So far, so good for the freshman as he continues to make laps and get experience at NASCAR's top level. It's part of a slow, steady effort to stay consistent that leaves Annett 30th in points, the fourth-best in the rookie class and just 29 behind Justin Allgaier for third. Even more impressive, though is the next target for the team that sits ensconced in 28th, just 34 points and a few bad runs from falling within their grasp.
"We're almost right behind Danica," Annett's radio chirped after the race as to where the rookie driver stands in the points. "Keep doing what we're doing and they'll be next [to fall behind us]."
Underdog Selection No. 3: Justin Allgaier for HScott Motorsports; started 24th, finished 27th
It wasn't the finish Allgaier wanted, towards the back end of Pocono's lead-lap finishers. In the end, a wrinkled fender combined with poor track position late doomed this effort. But he stands out in a weak race for underdogs because pit positioning actually put the No. 51 car at the front of the field for a bit. The rookie led six laps, a career high and seemed in position for a better run, depending on how quickly his last pit stop could be until some late cautions turned the single-car team's "stretching" strategy on fuel mileage a little sour.
"We had a really good car," Allgaier said after the race. "We showed we can run up front."
One of these days, they'll cash in on the top-10 result this team has been knocking on the door to snatch for over a month.
Underdog Pick of the Week - Michigan I: AJ Allmendinger for JTG Daugherty Racing
Amy's pick for last week, Casey Mears, never showed well during the race at Pocono, running midpack for most of the day until settling in a disappointing 23rd. Mears never lived up to expectations, ones that are honestly a bit higher now that the team is running Richard Childress Racing chassis and equipment.
Now, the series heads to Michigan, where I'll be looking towards another RCR-supported driver and team to cash in. AJ Allmendinger, who's lifted the No. 47 car to its best season yet scored one of his top-10 finishes, an eighth place earlier this season at Fontana. Since it's Michigan's sister track, with many of the same characteristics you'd expect this organization to unload well off the truck. They've had an up-and-down last few weeks, for sure, but the 'Dinger is well-positioned to return to some success from earlier this season with a trip to the Irish Hills dead ahead.
Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during race broadcasts? Kevin has all the small teams covered this week in The Big Six. Be sure to check it out to see how your favorites fared!
Tom Bowles is the Majority Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.bowles@frontstretch.com.
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Pocono 400 was brought to you by the letter "T," for Trash. Brad Keselowski wasn't the only driver that hit paper debris on Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Throughout the race, paper debris blew all over the frontstretch, causing issues for several cars throughout the event. No driver picked up the garbage bag on the frontstretch early on, but plenty of other paper played a role. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Pocono
by Phil Allaway
Letter of the Race: Sunday's Pocono 400 was brought to you by the letter "T," for Trash. Brad Keselowski wasn't the only driver that hit paper debris on Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Throughout the race, paper debris blew all over the frontstretch, causing issues for several cars throughout the event. No driver picked up the garbage bag on the frontstretch early on, but plenty of other paper played a role. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Pocono
by Phil Allaway
Kahne Upset After Late Race Crash
Entering Sunday's Pocono 400, Kasey Kahne was 18th in points with one top-5 and four top-10 finishes. It was a far cry from his three teammates at Hendrick Motorsports, who have each won races this season and are virtual locks to make the Chase.
Sunday's race didn't do Kahne any favors. After a fairly miserable weekend, Kahne was running decently during the race when contact with Kyle Busch exiting Turn 1 put Kahne hard into the outside wall on Lap 143. After hitting the wall, Kahne's Great Clips Chevrolet ran the length of the Long Pond Straightaway before hitting the wall again in Turn 2. Kahne was out on the spot, but not very happy about his predicament.
"Well, I had just passed Kyle (Busch) and I caught (Ryan) Newman I was passing him off Turn 3," Kahne said after exiting the Infield Care Center. "We were side-by-side, so Kyle was able to get a good draft down the straightaway. We got to Turn 1 and I was on the outside and then he knew if he didn't clear me there, then I would pass him back because I just had. He just floored it and didn't care there was someone out there and ran me right in the wall."
Sunday's race didn't do Kahne any favors. After a fairly miserable weekend, Kahne was running decently during the race when contact with Kyle Busch exiting Turn 1 put Kahne hard into the outside wall on Lap 143. After hitting the wall, Kahne's Great Clips Chevrolet ran the length of the Long Pond Straightaway before hitting the wall again in Turn 2. Kahne was out on the spot, but not very happy about his predicament.
"Well, I had just passed Kyle (Busch) and I caught (Ryan) Newman I was passing him off Turn 3," Kahne said after exiting the Infield Care Center. "We were side-by-side, so Kyle was able to get a good draft down the straightaway. We got to Turn 1 and I was on the outside and then he knew if he didn't clear me there, then I would pass him back because I just had. He just floored it and didn't care there was someone out there and ran me right in the wall."
Sunday was not the first time that Kahne and Kyle Busch have collided on track. Kahne wrecked three separate times in 2013 after contact with Busch. However, it seems the driver simply accepts that incidents like Sunday are commonplace when racing Busch.
Johnson Recovers From Pit Road Incident
Looking at the box score of Sunday's race, Jimmie Johnson had a decent day to come up from 20th on the grid to finish sixth and gain ground in the points. However, his day was anything but routine.
On Lap 73, Johnson pitted for a routine two-tire pit stop. Johnson's crew made a lightning stop, and sent Johnson on his way. However, Marcos Ambrose was coming into his pit just ahead at the time and Johnson plowed right into him. Johnson then slid into Ambrose's pit, keeping him from making a stop. As other drivers pulled out, Johnson backed up to his stall, where the Lowe's crew put left side tires on the No. 48 and fixed the right front fender. The incident put Johnson off-sequence for much of the rest of the race as additional pit stops were required for repairs.
Johnson was fairly descriptive when asked about the incident after the race.
"We took two (tires) and we were leaving pretty quick and Chad (Knaus) was spotting me out of the pit and took full responsibility for it," Johnson said. "He didn't know the No. 9 (Marcos Ambrose) was ahead of us pulling in. He thought the No. 9 had left his pit box. So it was just confusion on pit road. I feel terrible for the No. 9 guys and hurting their race car and taking them out of a good day. It hurt our race car, too. But most of all, there was a tire changer and tire carrier on the right front of the No. 51 car and how I didn't hit those guys is beyond me. And I am so thankful I didn't hit those guys. It wouldn't have been good."
Johnson was fairly descriptive when asked about the incident after the race.
"We took two (tires) and we were leaving pretty quick and Chad (Knaus) was spotting me out of the pit and took full responsibility for it," Johnson said. "He didn't know the No. 9 (Marcos Ambrose) was ahead of us pulling in. He thought the No. 9 had left his pit box. So it was just confusion on pit road. I feel terrible for the No. 9 guys and hurting their race car and taking them out of a good day. It hurt our race car, too. But most of all, there was a tire changer and tire carrier on the right front of the No. 51 car and how I didn't hit those guys is beyond me. And I am so thankful I didn't hit those guys. It wouldn't have been good."
Ultimately, Johnson had to take two tires on his final pit stop in order to put himself in position to earn a top-10 finish Sunday. The move resulted in a much tighter car towards the end of the race.
Quotes to Remember: Pocono 400
compiled by Phil Allaway
"We had a real good car in practice yesterday, felt pretty comfortable. Throughout the race, we had a pretty fast car. We were mired in fifth or sixth place for most of the day, but I knew that our speed was good, and it just really come down to who was going to be leading on that last restart. That guy was going to be the guy that was going to be hard to beat. It's real hard to pass here, and I knew that dirty air was going to be a big challenge for anybody, so if you can get that clean air like Brad did, that was what was going to win the race." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., race winner
"Well, first off, I am really proud of the speed we had today. The guys did a great job. I feel like this one is kind of on me and the circumstances. I was trying to do something to help my car out and I knew it was going to break and I was going to get passed so I was trying to make whatever move I could do to help clean it off, and I'm not sure I did enough to make a difference. I made enough of a difference to lose the lead in the process. I thought I had enough of a cushion, and when I got down in the corner and the car in front of me got sideways, I realized I had made a mistake. But it was too little, too late... still proud of the speed, good execution today on probably all ends but mine, and something to look forward to as we move forward and come back here in a month or so." - Brad Keselowski, finished second
"It was a great top-five run. Thanks to Daniel (Knost, crew chief) for leading us in a new direction today. I feel like we shed some new team skin today and ran up front. Haas Automation has been great, State Water Heaters, Chevrolet and Monster, everybody has been wonderful. We just need to start building this chemistry as a team if we want to be a championship contender. Today is a perfect type of day. Starting second, we were able to hold the track position early. Daniel was smooth on what pit calls to make, and the crew guys had sufficient pit stops. It was solid execution, a nice turn of the page so to speak, and congratulations to our team and ourselves for shedding that 'new team' skin and moving into the second part of the year with a solid finish like this. This is what we need to start building our consistency on. I'm real proud of the change we made on the car to find some speed, and now we'll just try to develop it week in and week out." - Kurt Busch, finished third
"We had great strategy, great pit stops. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and the guys really put a great FedEx Ground Toyota underneath me this evening. It's a good run for us -- two top-fives in a row for us this year all year and that's not bad." - Denny Hamlin, finished fourth
"That was a lot better finish than I thought we were going to have today. I thought after Happy Hour we would have a 15th-place car. I knew from the drop of the green we had a really good Target Chevy. Especially throughout the race... got better and better. There on that last run. I was really good. I thought I was better than Denny (Hamlin), but he was just doing a really good job of keeping his car in the right spot to get me tight behind him. A top-five here at the 'Tricky Triangle', a win yesterday in the ARCA series... I guess you could only ask for a little bit of a better weekend." - Kyle Larson, finished fifth
"I guess there were a couple of things. Mainly, we just couldn't catch any breaks on the restarts. I had I don't know whatever happened to the No. 22, something happened to the No. 27 it was just kind of chaos. But our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet was actually really quick. I thought that it was consistent all day long, and the pit stops were fantastic. When guys got out of sequence there, it just really got our track position off. Once we lost that track position, it was so hard to regain it. It was a great effort, great race car again. Ultimately, the restarts even when I got a good one something would happen -- somebody would about wreck in front of me or dive in there four-wide and just cause a mess. We just couldn't come out on the good end of that side of it. That is what you have got to do to be good. Congrats to Junior, that is awesome to see him win here at Pocono. He had a strong car all day. Those guys played the pit strategy perfectly and it really paid off. That is great to see." - Jeff Gordon, finished eighth
"We had a decent car all day. I made a mistake on one of the restarts and lost a bunch of track position. But on the last restart (went from 13th to 8th) I was in the right line and got a little lucky. Earlier in the race, we were unlucky on the restarts. What goes around comes around. We got the car going really good at one point of the race but I hit the wall, which made the car really tight and we had to fix it on the next pit stop. That incident put us behind, but we battled back, and our pit crew did another great job. Overall, it was a tough day. But all-in-all, we're gaining on it. Finishing with a top 10 after a tough weekend is a good sign for our Furniture Row Racing team. We learned a lot here and hopefully that will help us in the future. It was our second straight top 10, but we had top-10 cars all year and we were not able to finish races. The last two weeks, we finished the races and got some decent results. We're gaining but still have a ways to get to where we want to be." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished ninth
"Obviously, it's been a tough year for us, so hopefully this can be a turning point for our Front Row Motorsports team. Everybody works so hard to get better and sometimes, we just have some bad luck or a broken part or something. So, it was nice to have things go in our favor today and do what we know we're capable of doing." - David Ragan, finished 18th
"I've never had that happen under caution before. I swerved my tires getting ready to go and we were rolling around turn three to take the green and all of a sudden, it started sounding weird and we lost some power somewhere and lost oil pressure once I noticed it was done. I didn't want to lay any oil out on the track and ruin Brad's chances for a win there. Unfortunately, we didn't get to have any fun there at the end because I feel like we could easily have had both our cars in the top 5." - Joey Logano, finished 40th (Lost Oil Pressure)
"I saw Kasey hit the wall really hard, I think it was Kasey in the 5 car and I tried to avoid it but there was oil all over the track and I plowed into the back of him. Everyone did a good job of missing me but man, Kasey hit hard. I hope he is alright. We will go get some Cheez-Its now and go watch the end of the race I guess." - Carl Edwards, finished 41st (Crashed Out)
"We had a real good car in practice yesterday, felt pretty comfortable. Throughout the race, we had a pretty fast car. We were mired in fifth or sixth place for most of the day, but I knew that our speed was good, and it just really come down to who was going to be leading on that last restart. That guy was going to be the guy that was going to be hard to beat. It's real hard to pass here, and I knew that dirty air was going to be a big challenge for anybody, so if you can get that clean air like Brad did, that was what was going to win the race." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., race winner
"Well, first off, I am really proud of the speed we had today. The guys did a great job. I feel like this one is kind of on me and the circumstances. I was trying to do something to help my car out and I knew it was going to break and I was going to get passed so I was trying to make whatever move I could do to help clean it off, and I'm not sure I did enough to make a difference. I made enough of a difference to lose the lead in the process. I thought I had enough of a cushion, and when I got down in the corner and the car in front of me got sideways, I realized I had made a mistake. But it was too little, too late... still proud of the speed, good execution today on probably all ends but mine, and something to look forward to as we move forward and come back here in a month or so." - Brad Keselowski, finished second
"It was a great top-five run. Thanks to Daniel (Knost, crew chief) for leading us in a new direction today. I feel like we shed some new team skin today and ran up front. Haas Automation has been great, State Water Heaters, Chevrolet and Monster, everybody has been wonderful. We just need to start building this chemistry as a team if we want to be a championship contender. Today is a perfect type of day. Starting second, we were able to hold the track position early. Daniel was smooth on what pit calls to make, and the crew guys had sufficient pit stops. It was solid execution, a nice turn of the page so to speak, and congratulations to our team and ourselves for shedding that 'new team' skin and moving into the second part of the year with a solid finish like this. This is what we need to start building our consistency on. I'm real proud of the change we made on the car to find some speed, and now we'll just try to develop it week in and week out." - Kurt Busch, finished third
"We had great strategy, great pit stops. Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and the guys really put a great FedEx Ground Toyota underneath me this evening. It's a good run for us -- two top-fives in a row for us this year all year and that's not bad." - Denny Hamlin, finished fourth
"That was a lot better finish than I thought we were going to have today. I thought after Happy Hour we would have a 15th-place car. I knew from the drop of the green we had a really good Target Chevy. Especially throughout the race... got better and better. There on that last run. I was really good. I thought I was better than Denny (Hamlin), but he was just doing a really good job of keeping his car in the right spot to get me tight behind him. A top-five here at the 'Tricky Triangle', a win yesterday in the ARCA series... I guess you could only ask for a little bit of a better weekend." - Kyle Larson, finished fifth
"I guess there were a couple of things. Mainly, we just couldn't catch any breaks on the restarts. I had I don't know whatever happened to the No. 22, something happened to the No. 27 it was just kind of chaos. But our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet was actually really quick. I thought that it was consistent all day long, and the pit stops were fantastic. When guys got out of sequence there, it just really got our track position off. Once we lost that track position, it was so hard to regain it. It was a great effort, great race car again. Ultimately, the restarts even when I got a good one something would happen -- somebody would about wreck in front of me or dive in there four-wide and just cause a mess. We just couldn't come out on the good end of that side of it. That is what you have got to do to be good. Congrats to Junior, that is awesome to see him win here at Pocono. He had a strong car all day. Those guys played the pit strategy perfectly and it really paid off. That is great to see." - Jeff Gordon, finished eighth
"We had a decent car all day. I made a mistake on one of the restarts and lost a bunch of track position. But on the last restart (went from 13th to 8th) I was in the right line and got a little lucky. Earlier in the race, we were unlucky on the restarts. What goes around comes around. We got the car going really good at one point of the race but I hit the wall, which made the car really tight and we had to fix it on the next pit stop. That incident put us behind, but we battled back, and our pit crew did another great job. Overall, it was a tough day. But all-in-all, we're gaining on it. Finishing with a top 10 after a tough weekend is a good sign for our Furniture Row Racing team. We learned a lot here and hopefully that will help us in the future. It was our second straight top 10, but we had top-10 cars all year and we were not able to finish races. The last two weeks, we finished the races and got some decent results. We're gaining but still have a ways to get to where we want to be." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished ninth
"Obviously, it's been a tough year for us, so hopefully this can be a turning point for our Front Row Motorsports team. Everybody works so hard to get better and sometimes, we just have some bad luck or a broken part or something. So, it was nice to have things go in our favor today and do what we know we're capable of doing." - David Ragan, finished 18th
"I've never had that happen under caution before. I swerved my tires getting ready to go and we were rolling around turn three to take the green and all of a sudden, it started sounding weird and we lost some power somewhere and lost oil pressure once I noticed it was done. I didn't want to lay any oil out on the track and ruin Brad's chances for a win there. Unfortunately, we didn't get to have any fun there at the end because I feel like we could easily have had both our cars in the top 5." - Joey Logano, finished 40th (Lost Oil Pressure)
"I saw Kasey hit the wall really hard, I think it was Kasey in the 5 car and I tried to avoid it but there was oil all over the track and I plowed into the back of him. Everyone did a good job of missing me but man, Kasey hit hard. I hope he is alright. We will go get some Cheez-Its now and go watch the end of the race I guess." - Carl Edwards, finished 41st (Crashed Out)
"Well, I had just passed Kyle (Busch) and I caught (Ryan) Newman -- I was passing him off Turn 3. We were side-by-side, so Kyle was able to get a good draft down the straightaway. We got to Turn 1 and I was on the outside and then he knew if he didn't clear me there, then I would pass him back because I just had. He just floored it and didn't care [if] there was someone out there and ran me right in the wall. We both ended up wrecking. I think he wrecked a little bit, but I hit a good bit harder. Once we hit, my car just went hard right." - Kasey Kahne, finished 42nd (Crashed Out)
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud - Pocono 400
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Consistent Mediocrity in Cup, Truck Championships and IndyCar Falls Flat at Texas
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Pocono 400
by Kevin Rutherford
NASCAR 101: Putting Yourself In Position To Win
by Tom Bowles
by Aaron Creed
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Bobby Labonte won a quite competitive Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway back in 1995. However, things got interesting after the checkers flew. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2004 Pocono 500 ended up being a catalyst for NASCAR introducing green-white-checkered finishes to the then-NEXTEL Cup Series. What happened that forced the race to finish under yellow?
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Bobby Labonte won a quite competitive Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Michigan International Speedway back in 1995. However, things got interesting after the checkers flew. What happened?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2004 Pocono 500 ended up being a catalyst for NASCAR introducing green-white-checkered finishes to the then-NEXTEL Cup Series. What happened that forced the race to finish under yellow?
A: The whole situation started when Dale Jarrett blew an engine while running fourth with just a few laps to go. Jeff Burton proceeded to also blow his engine, bringing out the yellow with four laps left. The yellow came out just after NASCAR's self-imposed point where they would not red flag the race. They did make an effort to clean the track, but the drivers weren't helping. Before the yellow, Matt Kenseth gave Kevin Harvick a bump 'n' run for 12th that Harvick didn't like much. Once the yellow came out, Harvick dumped Kenseth. Kenseth then dumped Harvick under caution and spread dirt all over the track. Once the fans knew that the race would end under yellow, the throwing of objects began in earnest. One fan struck the assistant flagman with a small cooler. Everything of note can be seen here.
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 triviaanswers@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Beth Lunkenheimer
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Pocono 400 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Five Points To Ponder: Dover by Danny Peters
Danny returns, wrapping up storylines that are settling this Tuesday while getting us prepped for Michigan this weekend.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup Series was in action at Pocono Raceway, TNT's 2014 debut. Meanwhile, the Camping World Truck and Verizon IndyCar Series were both in action at Texas Motor Speedway. Was the television coverage "up to snuff?" Find out in this week's TV Critique.
We'll take a look at which drivers are looking good as the summer stretch begins, along with who needs some help.
Racing to the Point by Brett Poirier
Brett returns with another interesting commentary. This week, it's about the changing fortunes at Hendrick Motorsports with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kasey Kahne.
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!
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©2014 Frontstretch.com
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