THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 2nd, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXXIII
~~~~~~~~~~
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 2nd, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition LXXXIII
~~~~~~~~~~
Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Sprint Cup Series FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks FOX Sports 1*/# (from June 1)
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
~~~~~~~~~~
Special Editor's Note: The FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks runs for more than just 400 laps of NASCAR competition. It helps push a cause near and dear to the hearts of so many. Please join NASCAR On FOX Coordinating Director Artie Kempner in his continual fight to raise money for Autism Awareness and Support by donating to TEAM ETHAN: A Walk For Autism and show your support! Details can be found by clicking here.~~~~~~~~~~
Special Editor's Note: The FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks runs for more than just 400 laps of NASCAR competition. It helps push a cause near and dear to the hearts of so many. Please join NASCAR On FOX Coordinating Director Artie Kempner in his continual fight to raise money for Autism Awareness and Support by donating to TEAM ETHAN: A Walk For Autism and show your support! Details can be found by clicking here.~~~~~~~~~~
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Johnson Conquers The Monster For Ninth Dover Win
by Justin Tucker
Slump? What slump? Jimmie Johnson, who two weeks ago was winless on the Cup circuit turned Sunday's FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks into another dominating Dover romp.
Johnson came into the event carrying the momentum of his fourth Coca-Cola 600 win at Charlotte last Sunday and, most importantly, up next was this Delaware track where he already owned a record eight wins. But despite the recent success, along with past history many observers were still questioning whether or not Johnson was back in championship form. Could Charlotte be just a one-hit wonder?
Not at all, as the six-time champ would quickly make all doubters look silly. Leaving little doubt of the race outcome, he led a race high 272 of 400 laps en route to scoring a record ninth career win at the track and 68th career NSCS win. Johnson held off Brad Keselowski after a late-race restart by .885 seconds for his second victory of 2014 that, barring injury or some sort of catastrophic incident guaranteed him a spot in the 2014 Chase.
"It's amazing that we can stay on top of things here with the different generation car, different rules, different tires," Johnson said. "This place just fits my style and (crew chief) Chad Knaus' style."
To top off Johnson's dominant weekend, he also became the all time lap leader at Dover with 2,976 laps led, a number the driver was very proud of.
"It's incredible," Johnson said. "So much to be thankful for."
Keselowski, after overcoming handling issues that plagued him for much of the first half of the race rebounded to finish second. At one point, the driver appeared to be closing in on Johnson until a debris caution with 40 laps to go bunched up the field. Keselowski, whose pit road crew has been reshuffled in recent weeks dropped to fifth after the caution flag came out and never was able to gain track position back until it was too late.
"We just had an up and down day," the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said. "We started up front and went to the back early in the race. Then, we took back off and had some strong runs. We were probably going to get a crack at Jimmie and then that last caution came out and we just whiffed on pit road. We drove back up to second with the help of the restart and we were pretty even with Jimmie, but it was just a matter of being out front."
Matt Kenseth would finish third and take over the points lead despite being winless in the season's first 13 races. While pleased with the effort, Kenseth still believes his team is a step or two behind Hendrick Motorsports, especially at this one-mile oval.
"For sure, when you come to Dover, it's always the 48," Kenseth said. "We've got to figure out how to get ahead of him."
Clint Bowyer would finish fourth and Denny Hamlin would finish fifth after recovering from an early race pit road speeding penalty to round out Sunday's top-5 finishers. Martin Truex, Jr. would wind up a season-best sixth, followed by last year's winner, Tony Stewart, in seventh. Joey Logano finished eighth while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Paul Menard rounded out the top 10.
Kyle Busch, after winning both the Truck and Nationwide Series races at Dover this past weekend had his eyes on a sweep of the Monster Mile. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed just 124 laps into the race after Clint Bowyer moved up into Busch's line exiting Turn 4 once being cleared by his spotter. Both Busch and Bowyer slammed the outside wall, ending the hopes for a rare "triple" by the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Busch had led 81 of the 124 laps up to that point and had become the 15th driver in history to lead 10,000 laps in the Sprint Cup Series. However, that was little consolation as the Peanut Butter M&M's Toyota was not repairable after the crash. Busch refused to speak to the media, nor Toyota PR before being led away to his motorcoach by crew chief Dave Rogers.
The only drama on the afternoon happened on lap 159, as Jamie McMurray's No. 1 Chevrolet hit a chunk of concrete that was pulled up from the track by Ryan Newman. McMurray's team pleaded with NASCAR to let them work on the car during the red flag but NASCAR denied their request. Other pieces of the concrete cracked a window on the pedestrian crossover bridge, causing a 22-minute red flag for repairs. The epoxy material worked smoothly and there were no other interruptions for the track breaking up after that initial incident.
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's Vice President for Competition, addressed the media after the race regarding the track issue.
"We do a track walk after every race and in the morning and at the time, that had been a previous patch, but our staff did not see anything wrong with it," Pemberton said. "The hole was two or three inches deep and six or eight inches by ten inches, so it was pretty substantial."
"Our team has equipment and product at every facility in case there is a need for it. It's an epoxy type filler that we use and is the same material we use whether it be asphalt or concrete."
Drivers, despite seeing the breakup of the track earlier in the day never alerted NASCAR of the problem. That cost Kevin Harvick, one of the few drivers keeping up with Johnson who may have suffered from the mess. He cut a right front tire while leading just after the red flag, a broken valve stem some speculated was from leftover broken concrete. Harvick would be forced to pit, going two laps down under green and never recovered, winding up 17th.
A look at Sunday's FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks by the numbers. There were 18 lead changes among six different drivers and eight cautions for 41 laps slowed the race pace to 117.724 MPH.
Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 400. The green flag is scheduled for 1:20 PM ET, becoming the first event of TNT's final NASCAR Summer Series.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Miss any of the Monster Mile action Sunday? Don't make the same mistake twice. Download the all-new Dover International Speedway Mobile App!
Control your race weekend right in the palm of your hand with the brand new mobile app from Dover International Speedway, available on all iPhone, iPad and Android devices. This new app gives you the ability to purchase race tickets, helps you find your grandstand seats, features a comprehensive listing of race weekend activities and allows you to build your own, customized race weekend calendar, plus much more. Get it now at iTunes or the Google Play Store, and your race weekend will never be the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chasing the Chase: Kenseth Claims Point Lead After Gordon Suffers Handling Woes
by Phil Allaway
For much of Sunday's race, Jeff Gordon was sitting pretty in the top 5 with a great race car. However, as the race continued on, the handling just went further and further away. By the finish, Gordon was 15th, just about as far back as he'd been all day. Matt Kenseth, meanwhile finished a strong third to Jimmie Johnson and that was enough for Kenseth to take a two-point lead in the standings heading to Pocono. Carl Edwards, despite struggling once again to stay on the lead lap, finished 14th Sunday. That was enough to move him up one place to third.Jimmie Johnson's second win in a row boosted him up to fourth, the highest he's been in points since Las Vegas in March. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. remains in the fifth spot, within striking distance of Johnson after another solid top-10 result. Joey Logano, continuing his career-best season is up one place to sixth after finishing eighth on Sunday.
Kyle Busch took a big hit on Lap 125 Sunday, then took a bigger hit in the points, dropping four places to seventh after finishing 42nd. Brad Keselowski is eighth after a second-place finish to Johnson, while Denny Hamlin made the biggest gain of the week, jumping five places to ninth. Hamlin is holding down a spot inside the top 10 in points despite missing a race. Rookie Kyle Larson, meanwhile peeks into the top 10 after finishing 11th despite changing an engine and starting at the rear of the field.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Matt Kenseth 463, 2) Jeff Gordon -2, 3) Carl Edwards -25, 4) Jimmie Johnson -27, 5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -34, 6) Joey Logano -49, 7) Kyle Busch -52, 8) Brad Keselowski -59, 9) Denny Hamlin -84, 10) Kyle Larson -86, 11) Ryan Newman -89, 12) Kevin Harvick -90, 13) Brian Vickers -97, 14) Paul Menard -101, 15) Austin Dillon -105, 16) Greg Biffle -106.
Outside of the top-16, but in Chase Contention: 27) Kurt Busch -222.
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, 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.
~~~~~~~~~~
Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here: Dover 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: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 11th, finished 21st
It wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day, Allmendinger was tops among the small team group with a 21st-place finish. Earlier in the weekend, it looked like Allmendinger might be headed for another top-10 run as he qualified 11th, but a tangle with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Greg Biffle left the No. 47 with some damage. The Monster Mile was on Allmendinger's side, though; as other teams suffered through tire issues and wrecks, Allmendinger was able to move up through a consistent performance. It could have been better, but that's a sign of how much the team has grown in 2014.
Underdog Selection No. 2: Brett Moffitt for Jay Robinson Racing; started 18th, finished 22nd
22nd might not seem like a great finish, but it's not bad for a driver in his first Sprint Cup race ever, especially when it's nine spots better than the team has done all year with full-timer Joe Nemechek. Moffitt was surprisingly strong in his debut, scoring a top-20 start as well as his 22nd-place finish. Moffitt showed some talent, but his run also illustrated a possible need for change on this team. Nemechek is a former winner, but is past his prime, and after driving underfunded equipment for the past few years may well have fallen too far behind with the current car to be able to give relevant information. Perhaps it's time to consider a new driver in the seat.
Underdog Selection No. 3: Reed Sorenson for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 38th, finished 24th
Sorenson didn't have a brilliant day, but he did have a solid one, and at this point, that's what his team needs to improve. Sorenson scored his best result since Fontana this weekend, gaining 14 positions from start to finish. How sorely was that needed? Sorenson hadn't had a run better than 33rd since he came in 21st at Auto Club Speedway in March. Sometimes, simply avoiding trouble and having a decent performance is the first step toward improvement for a small team, and TBR has made some steps in the right direction this year.
Underdog Pick of the Week - Pocono I: Casey Mears for Germain Racing
Last week, my pick AJ Allmendinger was tops among the underdogs, posting the only top-20 finish from among the small teams. This week, the Cup Series is off to Pocono, and the Tricky Triangle is another difficult place for the underfunded.
My pick for this weekend is Casey Mears, whose 24.1 average at Pocono would be a decent day for many underdogs. His numbers just slightly edge David Ragan and AJ Allmendinger, plus he's got a top-5 Cup finish at Pocono along with a pair of ARCA wins at the track. After having a good run at Dover derailed by a tire issue, Mears and Company will be eager to post a better result this week.
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: Dover 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: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 11th, finished 21st
It wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day, Allmendinger was tops among the small team group with a 21st-place finish. Earlier in the weekend, it looked like Allmendinger might be headed for another top-10 run as he qualified 11th, but a tangle with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Greg Biffle left the No. 47 with some damage. The Monster Mile was on Allmendinger's side, though; as other teams suffered through tire issues and wrecks, Allmendinger was able to move up through a consistent performance. It could have been better, but that's a sign of how much the team has grown in 2014.
Underdog Selection No. 2: Brett Moffitt for Jay Robinson Racing; started 18th, finished 22nd
22nd might not seem like a great finish, but it's not bad for a driver in his first Sprint Cup race ever, especially when it's nine spots better than the team has done all year with full-timer Joe Nemechek. Moffitt was surprisingly strong in his debut, scoring a top-20 start as well as his 22nd-place finish. Moffitt showed some talent, but his run also illustrated a possible need for change on this team. Nemechek is a former winner, but is past his prime, and after driving underfunded equipment for the past few years may well have fallen too far behind with the current car to be able to give relevant information. Perhaps it's time to consider a new driver in the seat.
Underdog Selection No. 3: Reed Sorenson for Tommy Baldwin Racing; started 38th, finished 24th
Sorenson didn't have a brilliant day, but he did have a solid one, and at this point, that's what his team needs to improve. Sorenson scored his best result since Fontana this weekend, gaining 14 positions from start to finish. How sorely was that needed? Sorenson hadn't had a run better than 33rd since he came in 21st at Auto Club Speedway in March. Sometimes, simply avoiding trouble and having a decent performance is the first step toward improvement for a small team, and TBR has made some steps in the right direction this year.
Underdog Pick of the Week - Pocono I: Casey Mears for Germain Racing
Last week, my pick AJ Allmendinger was tops among the underdogs, posting the only top-20 finish from among the small teams. This week, the Cup Series is off to Pocono, and the Tricky Triangle is another difficult place for the underfunded.
My pick for this weekend is Casey Mears, whose 24.1 average at Pocono would be a decent day for many underdogs. His numbers just slightly edge David Ragan and AJ Allmendinger, plus he's got a top-5 Cup finish at Pocono along with a pair of ARCA wins at the track. After having a good run at Dover derailed by a tire issue, Mears and Company will be eager to post a better result this week.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~
Letter of the Race: Sunday's FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks was brought to you by the letter "C" for Crumbling Concrete. The concrete racing surface was dubbed "White Lightning" at Dover International Raceway when it was first laid down; however, it is now 19 years old. It's really starting to show its age as a broken piece caused a 22-minute red flag on Sunday. While the epoxy filler did its job, it may be time for Dover Motorsports, Inc. to consider whether it may be time to repave or replace the surface. - Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~
Sidebar Stories: Dover
by Phil Allaway
Letter of the Race: Sunday's FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks was brought to you by the letter "C" for Crumbling Concrete. The concrete racing surface was dubbed "White Lightning" at Dover International Raceway when it was first laid down; however, it is now 19 years old. It's really starting to show its age as a broken piece caused a 22-minute red flag on Sunday. While the epoxy filler did its job, it may be time for Dover Motorsports, Inc. to consider whether it may be time to repave or replace the surface. - Phil Allaway
~~~~~~~~~~
Sidebar Stories: Dover
by Phil Allaway
Pothole Causes Delay During FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks
Sunday was the 39th Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway since the track was converted over from asphalt to concrete. In that time, the track surface has never really been much of a problem for the teams... that is, until Sunday.
Teams had been keeping watch on the track situation all weekend. Early on, a crack formed in Turn 2. Overnight maintenance attempted to cure the issue, but it was unsuccessful. On Lap 158 of Sunday's race, Ryan Newman kicked up a small piece of concrete exiting Turn 2 after bottoming out right near the junction of two expansion joints. The piece was standing straight up in the groove in the perfect place to be hit. Jamie McMurray, the next driver to come along, nailed the piece of concrete with his front splitter, creating a small cloud of dust. The impact put McMurray into the outside wall and cut a tire, bringing out a caution.
McMurray described hitting the concrete as simply "heavy."
"I'm not 100% sure [what happened]. I guess that the race track came up," McMurray said after the event. "When I came off the corner, it just felt like I hit something, obviously, heavy. Initially, I thought I'd blown a tire out. When I hit it, it actually pushed the car to the right and I got into the fence a little bit. And as I slowed down, I couldn't figure out first off, why I didn't hit the fence harder, and then what happened. I didn't see anything. It just hit the front end and ripped the splitter off and it pushed the car to the right. So, I'm not real sure."
"I'm not 100% sure [what happened]. I guess that the race track came up," McMurray said after the event. "When I came off the corner, it just felt like I hit something, obviously, heavy. Initially, I thought I'd blown a tire out. When I hit it, it actually pushed the car to the right and I got into the fence a little bit. And as I slowed down, I couldn't figure out first off, why I didn't hit the fence harder, and then what happened. I didn't see anything. It just hit the front end and ripped the splitter off and it pushed the car to the right. So, I'm not real sure."
Once NASCAR was alerted to the issue, the race was red flagged for 22 minutes in order to enact repairs. A quick-setting epoxy filler was used to fill in the small hole that was created. According to NASCAR Vice President of Competition and Racing Operations Robin Pemberton, the hole was two to three inches in depth and roughly ten inches across.
Like most normal red flags, teams were not allowed to work on their race cars, despite the track breaking up. It was a contentious decision, but one made with precedence.
"We've had issues of things like this in the past, and Martinsville comes to mind, some other things similar to that, and our policy is not to let them work on the car," Pemberton said during an impromptu press conference. "You may remember when we had an equipment failure, broadcast equipment failure [in last year's Coca-Cola 600], and that affected the entire field of race cars, and at that time we did red flag and we did allow the teams to fix the damage that was caused by that equipment failure. But that is our normal policy, to not allow teams to work on their cars."
"We've had issues of things like this in the past, and Martinsville comes to mind, some other things similar to that, and our policy is not to let them work on the car," Pemberton said during an impromptu press conference. "You may remember when we had an equipment failure, broadcast equipment failure [in last year's Coca-Cola 600], and that affected the entire field of race cars, and at that time we did red flag and we did allow the teams to fix the damage that was caused by that equipment failure. But that is our normal policy, to not allow teams to work on their cars."
In addition, pieces of concrete flew up into the crossover bridge, cracking the glass there after McMurray hit the piece of the track. A maintenance crew was sent to the bridge to check it out, and determined that it was safe to continue. Duct tape was used to cover up some of the cracks. However, as you can see in this picture posted to Twitter by our own Tom Bowles, the cracks are still quite visible.
McMurray's team was able to make repairs to the Cessna/Dixie Chopper Chevrolet and eventually came back to finish on the lead lap in 13th.
Darrell Waltrip Spills the Beans on Greg Biffle's Future Plans?
Sunday was FOX's final Sprint Cup broadcast of 2014. Every week during FOX's Pre-Race show, Chris Myers asks Darrell and Michael Waltrip to answer rapid fire questions. The first of these was about potential free agents. Darrell started off by claiming that Carl Edwards might leave Roush Fenway Racing, but stay somewhere within the Ford camp. However, when it came to Greg Biffle, things got interesting.
Darrell put his right hand on his brother Michael's left shoulder, then said "Greg Biffle will go to some two-car team that at one time had a third car." The idea here is that Darrell is strongly insinuating Biffle would go to the current No. 66 at Michael Waltrip Racing. If true, it would give credence to our own Amy Henderson's report from Tuesday. Michael, clearly put on the spot, countered that he believed Edwards would leave, but that Biffle would stay with Roush Fenway Racing as the veteran to mentor Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and incoming full-time driver Trevor Bayne.
Johnson Reveals Offseason Hernia Surgery
During a one-on-one interview with FOX's Darrell Waltrip that aired on NASCAR RaceDay Sunday, Jimmie Johnson revealed for the first time that he had surgery in December due to hernias. During the interview, Waltrip seemed legitimately surprised at the admission. Following the race, Johnson talked about the "injury."
"The hernia surgery was literally right after the banquet," Johnson said in the Media Center. "Got home Sunday and then went in Monday morning following the banquet. Surprised nobody knew about this thing sooner. It wasn't a secret by any stretch of the imagination, but I had bilateral hernias, one on each side, and then a third one in my belly button, so I was very lucky to go in and have all three fixed. It wasn't a sports hernia. It was something over time and getting older that something like 60 percent of men near the age of 40 have these and don't know, but I saw one midseason, a little protrusion in my skin and went and had it checked out, and they're like, you've got a couple years to get it fixed, so I figured I'd get it fixed sooner rather than later and went in right after the banquet. That kind of led to us missing out on some of the test sessions that went on during the winter months, but we felt like it was time to shut things down and let the team kind of recoup and then just got back after it after that."
"The hernia surgery was literally right after the banquet," Johnson said in the Media Center. "Got home Sunday and then went in Monday morning following the banquet. Surprised nobody knew about this thing sooner. It wasn't a secret by any stretch of the imagination, but I had bilateral hernias, one on each side, and then a third one in my belly button, so I was very lucky to go in and have all three fixed. It wasn't a sports hernia. It was something over time and getting older that something like 60 percent of men near the age of 40 have these and don't know, but I saw one midseason, a little protrusion in my skin and went and had it checked out, and they're like, you've got a couple years to get it fixed, so I figured I'd get it fixed sooner rather than later and went in right after the banquet. That kind of led to us missing out on some of the test sessions that went on during the winter months, but we felt like it was time to shut things down and let the team kind of recoup and then just got back after it after that."
The surgery forced Johnson to sit out the December open test at Charlotte Motor Speedway that helped to determine this year's rules package for intermediate tracks. No substitute driver was named at the time, so Hendrick Motorsports relied on Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Regan Smith (testing in place of Jeff Gordon) for data.
Quotes to Remember: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks
compiled by Phil Allaway
"It was an awesome race car. The first run I wasn't sure we were really going to have the normal Dover magic here. Once the track 'rubbered' in our car came to life and it was so good." - Jimmie Johnson, race winner"We started in the middle [of the pack]. I did a poor job qualifying, and we were able to just slowly work our way to the front. We had good stops, good strategy, good adjustments. The 48, the 4, a few other guys, Brad got going the last couple runs, they just were better than us, couldn't quite get the balance. There was that one group of cars that were just a couple tenths off and we couldn't quite run with them. But overall it was a solid day -- just need to get just a little bit faster." - Matt Kenseth, finished third
"It was a day — alright. It's just kind of the way everything goes. I hated to be in that situation with the 18 (Kyle Busch). It's one of those deals where I thought I was clear obviously and wasn't and ruined his day and certainly didn't help mine. But, nonetheless the guys kept digging and working hard and kept fixing it up — and man, I tell you if it wasn't for debris cautions and stuff like that that keep coming out I think we can be in contention to win one of these things. We certainly had the fuel mileage and everything else. Did our homework with the facts that were given, and unfortunately those facts changed." - Clint Bowyer, finished fourth
"We just didn't have enough laps and the balance of the car was way off. We had a third to fifth-place car all day and that's kind of where we ended up. It was at least good to have a finish where we could actually finish where we were capable of running. We haven't had that in about three months. This is the first top-five I think at a non-restrictor plate track, which is a little late in the season for that for us." - Denny Hamlin, finished fifth
"All-in-all it was good day. We battled from the beginning, lost the handling of the car for a while but Todd Berrier made some great calls throughout the race and we were able to finish strong. You can just feel it that we're heading in the right direction. We also had a top-10 car last week in Charlotte, but had a freak breakage occur with nine laps to go. We're a new team and it takes a while to get all the pieces of the puzzle in place. We're learning about this car and how to be competitive with it. We're getting closer and closer to finding that sweet spot. One constant we have had all year is excellent pit stops and today was a continuation of how good these over-the wall guys are. You know when you come into the pits there's a good chance you're going to gain spots. And all the dumb luck we've had didn't bite us today. It almost bit us on Friday when a bird hit our car during practice and caused some damage to the left headlight area. We still have a ways to go but the feeling is upbeat knowing that we have more speed and can be more competitive. Dover has been good to me over the years and it was also a great feeling to bring home a strong effort at what I consider my home track." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished sixth
"That was a decent day. We ran probably seventh to 15th all day and we finished 12th, so it is kind of what we have been doing the last few weeks. We did that at Kansas, running sixth to 11th there all day and Charlotte we ran 8th to 12th all day and now here the same thing again. I am proud of that from where we were at the beginning of the year when we were racing for 20th to 25th, so we have made a lot of improvements to be racing the way we are now. We just have to figure out what we need to go that next step and get in to the top-10 regularly and run in the top-five so we can compete for wins. I am really proud of Trent Owens and the guys on this team. We were a 27th-place car at best in practice yesterday, so they made a lot of changes overnight and the car was a lot better today." - Aric Almirola, finished 12th
"It'd be interesting to see where we would have finished had we not had that [pit road speeding] penalty. It didn't kill us, but it'd be interesting to see. We were pretty rough at the beginning of the race, but we got it better in the later going. Actually, we're running really good laps. We'd just lost a few laps by that point and couldn't get them back. But we battled through and did OK. It's our best finish here, and I think we're getting better." - Danica Patrick, finished 23rd
"Inside of the car, I didn't really know what happened. I just knew that the No. 47 got into us pretty hard and turned us into the fence. After watching the replay, I see what happened. They were racing hard back there and he stuck it into a hole that maybe there wasn't room for. There definitely wasn't room to come three-quarters of the way around the corner, I guess and he slid off the bottom and got his right-rear caught by the No. 17 and up into us. It was a chain reaction. This place is tight and fast and when you get racing that hard back there on a restart, stuff like that is going to happen." - Greg Biffle, finished 38th
"We were really loose. The 47 jumped to the inside of us there and I tried to stay out of his way and he got me. We met right-rear to left-front and it got him sideways and everything else happened after that. Our Nationwide Insurance Ford was really, really loose all race long and we were trying to hang on with it. We didn't want it to end that way and we got our teammate caught up in it and tore up a lot of cars. That is not what we wanted to do. It is a tough end to our day. It is a bummer. We started the race so loose and we were hoping we could get it tightened up and be able to make some ground up but we were just really, really loose." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished 41st (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: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Dissecting Dover, A Tight Championship Battle in Trucks and Bowman-Gray's Sparks
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the FedEx 400
by Amy Henderson
Why Is The Monster Out Of Dover's Mile?
by Tom Bowles
by Aaron Creed
by Kelly Crandall
~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1990 Miller Genuine Draft 500 at then-Pocono International Raceway set a Winston Cup record at the time. What was this record?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: Geoff Bodine had a very good first couple of days of the 1994 Budweiser 500 race weekend. Bodine qualified on the outside pole, had a fast car in race trim and managed to lead 14 laps in the race. However, he didn't even make it to the one-quarter mark before he was eliminated. What caused his early exit?
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1990 Miller Genuine Draft 500 at then-Pocono International Raceway set a Winston Cup record at the time. What was this record?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: Geoff Bodine had a very good first couple of days of the 1994 Budweiser 500 race weekend. Bodine qualified on the outside pole, had a fast car in race trim and managed to lead 14 laps in the race. However, he didn't even make it to the one-quarter mark before he was eliminated. What caused his early exit?
A: Technically, Bodine caused his own exit. Geoff ran into the back of rookie Jeff Burton, spinning out the Raybestos Ford. Burton came up the track and hit Geoff right on the left rear tire. The contact spun Bodine out and put him hard into the wall, left front first. The left-rear wheel came off and went flying across the track, contributing to a secondary crash involving Todd Bodine, Dale Jarrett, and Greg Sacks.
Geoff Bodine was out on the spot. Burton went behind the wall for extensive repairs, but returned and finished 135 laps down in 33rd. Jarrett also spent time in the garage, but returned to finish 76 laps down in 29th. Sacks and Todd Bodine continued without incident.
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: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks 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 Pocono this weekend.
Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
This past weekend, the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series were all in action at Dover International Speedway. 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 end of the FOX portion of the season -- and who needs to make some quick improvement.
Racing to the Point by Brett Poirier
Brett returns with another interesting commentary. This week, the focus is on Roush Fenway Racing and what the future might hold during a season of slow, steady decline.
Voices From The Heartland by Jeff Meyer
Jeff returns with his typical blend of sarcastic humor tilted towards one of NASCAR's controversial issues.
-----------------------------
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
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
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment