Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Frontstretch Newsletter: NEW WEBSITE REVEAL!

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com

The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!

June 11th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition XC

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Editor's Note: Today is one of the biggest days in the 16-year history of Frontstretch.  Overnight, we have launched the new Frontstretch.com, built on WordPress.  It will provide a brand-new layout, logo and color scheme, better connectivity for articles, bigger pictures (including headshots of our staff!), and more. Coming soon will be extended bios, a much better search function, and yes, the ability to comment once again on articles (we know... we want you to comment, and we're working on a fix!).  We sincerely hope that you like it.

Most importantly... we want to hear what you think! Any comments or questions, as always can be directed to the editing and management team at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com.

                                                                                                                        Phil Allaway
                                                                                                   Newsletter Manager, Frontstretch.com

What to Watch: Wednesday

- Today's big story is that the indefinitely suspended Jeremy Mayfield will sit down today with Sporting News' Bob Pockrass for a one-on-one, no-holds-barred interview.  In order to defeat creative editing, and to allow Mayfield to get his full side of the story out, the interview will be streamed live on YouTube starting at 1:00 PM EDT.  All indications point to it being a can't miss interview.  We'll have an interview recap in Thursday's edition of the Frontstretch Newsletter!


Today's TV Listings

Time                                Telecast                                                                                                                      Network
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM       NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                                     FOX Sports 1*# (from June 10)
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM         Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino and Resort 400k                      FOX Sports 1*/# (from June 7)
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#
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM           World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars Texas Outlaw Shootout, Night No. 1                  CBS Sports Network*/ (from April 19)
7:30 PM - 8:00 PM           Empty Cup: Quest for the 1992 NASCAR Championship                                         FOX Sports 2#
11:30 PM - 12:00 AM        NASCAR America                                                                                                    NBC Sports Network*#

DVR Theater
12:00 AM - 12:30 AM        Kurt Busch: 36                                                                                                           NBC Sports Network#
2:00 AM - 2:30 AM            Kurt Busch: 36                                                                                                           NBC Sports Network#

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

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Top News
by Ashley McCubbin

Editor's Note: With the new website, at times we'll provide only a PARTIAL read of the news in the Newsletter with a link to the top story on our website. With the "new" Frontstretch, there will be far more times the website is updated 24/7 so be sure to check the website for all the latest news and information on NASCAR!

Panasonic To Sponsor Jeff Gordon?

Jayski is reporting Panasonic as a potential primary sponsorship for Jeff Gordon in the Spring Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway and/or New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. An anonymous source submitted an image of what the car may look like to Jayski, which can be viewed here.

Panasonic is currently an associate sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports...

For the full article, click here.

Piquet To Step In For John Wes Townley In Truck Series Event

As announced pre-season, John Wes Townley is running both the full ARCA Racing Series schedule for Venturini Motorsports and the full NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule for Wauters Motorsports. With an ARCA race scheduled for Friday at Michigan, Townley will miss Friday's practice for the Saturday's truck race at Gateway...

For the full article, click here.

Carcoons Storage Solutions To Sponsor Justin Allgaier At Michigan

HScott Motorsports announced today that Carcoons Storage Solutions will sponsor Justin Allgaier's No. 55 Chevrolet SS this weekend in the Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.

Allgaier will make his first career Sprint Cup Series start at Michigan this weekend as he continues to contend for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. In five Nationwide Series events at MIS, he has one top-five and two top-10s...

For the full article, click here.

Have news for Ashley and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

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Today's Featured Commentary
Trash Or Treasure?
Professor Of Speed
by Mark Howell

Spring cleaning, like physical examinations and other annual rituals, is something that's both necessary and dreaded. Purging the basement of accumulated debris from a year (or more) of hectic living means forcing yourself to make tough decisions regarding what's worthwhile and what's waste. For some items, like paid bills, old financial statements, ancient tax returns, and the like, the choice is pretty simple. For other things, however, like swag gathered during years working around motorsports, the choice is anything but clear.

Collecting racing memorabilia was never my primary goal; my basement full of boxes evolved through the efforts of both family and friends who assumed I wanted artifacts reflecting the world of motorsports. As someone trained in the study of material culture, working with tangible objects was never unusual, nor was it ever seen as frivolous. Certainly, some of the pieces gathered over the decades have become more special over time. Example? The Richard Petty "Farewell Tour" Pepsi bottles I was given back in 1992 – the glass was from Mexico and shattered easily. (The series was pulled from store shelves and suddenly became more valuable than their domestically-produced replacements!) In the grand scheme of things, though what I had amassed typically had more intrinsic than extrinsic value to me. 

Being something of a habitual packrat (another name for the hobbyist collector or the professional archivist/curator), I have always strived to keep my wreckage both neat and organized. A friend from my graduate school days gave me nearly twenty years' worth of musty issues of National Speed Sport News. These are like classic scrolls to me – dusty manuscripts where tales of heroes and their accomplishments have been etched for the sake of history, kept in file boxes and labeled according to year.

Whereas I am totally fine about tossing a ream of my son's first-grade worksheets into the recycling bin, I shudder at the idea of doing the same thing to copies of NSSN heralding Al Unser's 1971 win in the Indianapolis 500 or David Pearson's "limp-across-the-line" victory in the 1976 Daytona 500.  Are not some things truly sacred?

The same goes with the assorted goodies collected at various racing events. Sure, many of those things – like souvenir programs and hero cards – are rather run-of-the-mill, but what about the more unusual items that rarely see the light of day except for when spring cleaning occurs? The brother of a dear friend of mine used to work at Indy as a yellow shirt, which usually meant a pit road "seat" for events at the Brickyard. Back in 2000, while at the speedway for the inaugural running of the recently-relocated United States Grand Prix, said friend brought me a "gift" he picked up while running an errand to a VIP suite: a brand new/never-used ceramic USGP/Indy ashtray. "I know you don't smoke," the Man in the Yellow Shirt said, "but you can always use it for keys or spare change."

I went him one better, although it required storage and shelf space: the ashtray was interred within my racing memorabilia collection, never to be used or removed. It's still there if I ever need to see/show/display it, and it's forever safe from the trash man's truck. Demon tobacco will never tarnish the ashtray's porcelain finish, a glaze bright enough to reflect the light in Bernie Ecclestone's eyes. 

Not to say that all pieces of my collection have been preserved forever. Several items have found their way into the hands of others, or at least I hope they have.

Back in 2002, I felt compelled to part with two of those life-sized cardboard cutouts you often see in grocery stores and mini-marts. One was of Bill Elliott back when he was sponsored by McDonald's, and the other was of Ernie Irvan during his Kodak/Larry McClure days. The standup of "Swervin' Irvan" was especially unique in that Ernie autographed it for me one day while we chatted in North Carolina. Desperate at the time for cash, I took the cutouts to a NASCAR memorabilia store in Northern Michigan and asked them to sell the two pieces on consignment. Nothing ever came of the deal, since the fortunes of NASCAR's popularity turned, alongside mine and the shop went out of business shortly thereafter.

Needless to say, I'm always fascinated when word goes out Dale Earnhardt, Jr. regularly trolls around on eBay in search of racing artifacts. Not that I'm about to put a bunch of my assorted mementos on the site in hopes of making Junior a deal he can't refuse, but the thought of what the driver might be interested in always leaves me scratching my head. Here's a guy who rounds up wrecked race cars and puts them on display around his property, so what might John Q. Racefan have to rival that kind of stuff?

One such artifact I'll never part with, for any reason is a 30-year-old open-face helmet with a ballcap-style visor. It's a cheap white helmet, but it's emblazoned with my name in dark green paint. I used the helmet back during my "local-SCCA-racing-as-a-road-to-NASCAR" days when I was a university student. I know the color green is considered unlucky when seen around race cars, but I drove a dark green Ford with white trim back then and the matching helmet looked, well, really sharp when competing in autocrosses around Northeastern Pennsylvania. I don't care how much Junior might offer for my old skull bucket; it will never, ever be up for sale.

But if he's ever interested in a USGP/Indy ashtray from 2000 in mint condition, maybe we can talk. It'll be one less thing to move around in my basement every spring…

Dr. Mark Howell is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at mark.howell@frontstretch.com.

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Tweet 'N' Greet
by Allen Bedgood

Editor's Note: With the NASCAR Twitter community expanding by leaps and bounds, it remains a place for instantaneous news, reactions, and a whole lot of inside jokes. We understand if you don't want to join the Twitter community - but as a fan, it's important to know the news and info you're missing out on! That's why, every week, Allen Bedgood will sort through the thousands of messages and give us a little taste of what's going on each Wednesday.

@KevinHamlin (Kasey Kahne's spotter): I wore a shirt with Santa Claus on it all day, and nobody said a word. What a crock. #itsjune

@DaleJr: Catching up on @DeadliestCatch and @FargoFX

@KyleLarsonRacin: Good turnout here @MSPocono. Having fun meeting the fans. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. pic.twitter.com/QOFXtXkmWl

@mikejoy500: Possibly IF they are televised live. Not if tape-delayed. RT "@RConville: Will you be calling any K&N or Modified races this year?"

@MISroger: @MISpeedway team hard at work decorating the walls #NASCAR #QL400 pic.twitter.com/5eDpI3tICB

@EldoraSpeedway: VIDEO: the finish everyone is talking about - Birkhofer edges Eckert on Friday night http://buff.ly/1hF8LMg  #DLMDream20

@EarnhardtKelley: Hitching a ride to PA country with Uncle Jr. pic.twitter.com/8TDK0t2pVu

@BubbaWallace: When ya hop in bed and have yet to fall asleep...2 hours later...

@SteveLetarte: Sooooo I was heading to bed. Then a good group of friends called. Now I'm not. I think you can fill in the rest... #enjoylife #winnerwinner

@SteveLetarte: This is my biggest fan club. They never turn their back when I mess up. I'm so happy they were there… http://instagram.com/p/pAhWfMgmrR/

@joeycoulter: Thank you all for the birthday wishes today! Had a great day with friends and family!

@tannerberryhill: Some dreams are meant to be, others aren't.

@mw55: Tomorrow we start @NASCARs equal of the Voice. The 'Foot' I like to call it.  Who will win the #PEAKscd 2014? @peakauto @MWRteam #upearly

@TheAlexHayden: OK, getting on my soap box for a sec...guys, it's not difficult to hit effing pisser!!! OK, I'm finished. Thank you. ~Alex H.

@TonyStewart: One of my cats, Wyatt, is happy I'm home! pic.twitter.com/yaBpz7MWqT

@DavidCaraviello: Drivers walk onto the introduction stage all the time with their kids. So why can't @TonyStewart walk out with Wyatt and Porkchop?

@DaleJr: Damn. I was looking forward to working on my old 65 impala tonight. But there's beer to be drank and music to be played. #TurnDownForWhat

@DaleJr: Good friends will buy ya a beer. @keselowski left one on the plane. @kaseykahne left one at the hanger. pic.twitter.com/OrxCDHbS0k

@jpmontoya: In the plane with @conniemontoya heading to Iowa and Milwaukee for some testing then heading to @MISpeedway for the @NASCAR race. @SKFUSAInc

@GilMartinRCR: Busy week ahead.. Getting ready for Michigan, and then my son, Ford, graduating Saturday... Big day in our family! #classof2014

@MikeDavis88: Still basking in @DaleJr's victory? Relive it w/ highlights from the 88 Team radio communications, transcribed here: http://bit.ly/1igAJsc

@MISRoger: Visiting @MISpeedway campgrounds this week.  Thanks 2 new partner, @oreillyauto, some things 2 spruce up ur site pic.twitter.com/7dLdAfqiGM

@MattYocum: Hard to believe it's been a year. I thought of Mini-Me while in Pocono #LittleWheelMan @JasonLeffler pic.twitter.com/arHvcOFW0i

@DaleJr: Superman returns this weekend @MISpeedway. @DCComics #gold88s pic.twitter.com/Ho6kS1n3We

@TheOrangeCone
: Race in peace, Junie pic.twitter.com/BYW3Gh9LvJ

@KevinHarvick: Yup we are getting kicked out.... She is getting out of hand! Leave the refs alone!  #superfan https://vine.co/v/Mj7EznQjrqA

@kaitlynvincie: Good to chat w/@Brett_Moffitt today for @FOXSports1 @MWRteam -- looking forward to seeing what he can do in #66 car this wknd @MISpeedway

@KBMteam: 'Cheese' wanted to make sure we included @erik_jones Late Model win in our lunch photos today. pic.twitter.com/LxELrd60oP

@nascarcasm: We need app that alerts you when your fly is unzipped. Or at least tracks how long its been down. You'd think I'd have felt a draft…

@bobpockrass: Country artist Lee Brice to perform an hour-long concert prior to Cup race at Daytona in July. #nascar

@TonyStewart: Having fun today shooting video for Tony Stewart Foundation. Lots of kids and animals today :) pic.twitter.com/vGWMoP70IF

@Team_Penske: Thanks to @channingtatum & @JonahHill for being a part of the #22Crew @poconoraceway. Good luck with #22JumpStreet! pic.twitter.com/z2TN0FO9wJ

Allen Bedgood is a Photographer and Newsletter Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via email at allen.bedgood@frontstretch.com. Follow him on Twitter @AllenBedgood.

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GOT A NASCAR QUESTION OR COMMENT? WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
That's right; our Fan Q & A column is back once again in 2014. Send your question Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print on Thursday when she does her weekly column. It's all part of our daily mission to give back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat!

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
by Amy Henderson
as compiled by Mike Mehedin
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA
 
Q:  In the 2003 Sirius 400, Geoff Bodine made his one and only start of the season in his brother's No. 11 Hooters Ford.  What happened to result in Geoff getting the call to drive?

Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Tuesday's Answer:

Q: Michigan International Speedway is a traditional home race for Jack Roush.  However, back in 2001, rookie Kurt Busch was unable to give his boss a good run the first time out at Michigan due to an early incident.  What happened?

A: Busch simply got loose exiting Turn 2 and grazed the outside wall.  Busch then overcorrected and turned his Sharpie Ford right front first into the outside wall.  Behind Busch, Bobby Labonte got loose after stomping on the brakes and spun, just missing Dale Jarrett.  The crash can be seen here.

Busch was out on the spot and finished 43rd.  Labonte continued without damage and finished 13th.  Jarrett was also undamaged and eventually finished a lap down in 18th.


Frontstretch Trivia GuaranteeIf we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to triviaanswer@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!

Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
-- Critic's Annex by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

Voice of Vito by Vito Pugliese
Vito returns to the website this year with his unique views on everything racing. 

Going by the Numbers by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin returns with a look at the statistical side of NASCAR.

Tech Talk by Mike Neff
Mike is back with your look at the technical side of NASCAR. This week, it's Jason Ratcliff of Joe Gibbs Racing stopping by to give us a checkup on Matt Kenseth, Sprint Cup's intermediate package, and so much more.

Fantasy Insider
 by Jeff Wolfe
Jeff is back with your look at the best bets to fill your fantasy roster. This week, he preps you for your best bets as we head into Michigan.

Truckin' Thursdays by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth returns with your weekly look at the state of the Camping World Truck Series as the series makes their first visit to Gateway Motorsports Park since 2010.

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