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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 18th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXXXVIII
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Gordon Keeps Momentum Rolling, Wins at Michigan
by Justin Tucker
There was a time when Jeff Gordon was on top of the NASCAR world.
From 1995 to 2001, no one compiled a resume quite like Gordon. Four Winston Cup championships and 56 wins in that stretch led many to believe that he would be the one to challenge Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt's record of seven Winston Cup titles. However, after coming tantalizingly close to another Cup in 2004 and then again in 2007, Gordon went through undoubtedly the toughest stretch of his career.
Fast forward to 2014. Coming into Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Gordon had already won two races, but questions still lingered as to whether or not he truly was back and a factor for the championship this season. Well, Gordon answered those questions emphatically starting on Friday, smashing the track qualifying record with a pole-winning run of 206.558 MPH and carried it all the way to race day where on the final restart, he was able to get by Joey Logano with 16 laps to go and pulled away, holding off Kevin Harvick by 1.412 seconds for his third victory of the season and 91st of his legendary career.
"There's got to be some advantages to being forty-three [years old] out there," Gordon joked. "I think that I've always felt that to be a top driver in this series, you've got to balance out with being aggressive and being smart."
"Right now, I've got great restarts. I've got a great crew chief that believes in me and what I'm doing out there and I believe what he's doing. I feel like I'm driving smart, but I'm confident enough in my car that I'm able to put it in places I've not been able to put it in the past."
Joey Logano battled Gordon all day long on Sunday as they had the cars that were the class of the field. Logano led a race high 86 laps, but had to settle for a third-place finish after getting passed by Gordon and Harvick on the final restart. Logano reflected post race on one he thought he let get away.
"Took off at the beginning of the race, pretty fast, leading a lot of laps," said Logano. "Just kept tightening the car up, getting a little bit better. By the end, we were able to get the car pretty much where it needed to be. Then just restart after restart after restart."
"I won every single restart I was on the front row except the last one, so here I am. It's kind of frustrating."
Logano also made mention of the cat and mouse games on restarts with Gordon.
"I had a bunch of good ones," Logano laughed about the final restarts. "The last one wasn't the greatest. I got through the gearbox good and had (Gordon) cleared. I should have pulled down in front of him and got that draft, but he got up next to me and pulled me back so hard that I couldn't get away from him. He was able to get position on me into (Turn) one. Once he got that clean air, I knew I had one more shot. I knew I was really good into (Turn) one and that was his weak point.
"I drove it off there and got him wiggling a little bit ... but he was able to pull me back again off the corner and then I got loose under him trying to maintain what I had and came in third."
Joining Gordon, Harvick, and Logano in the top 5 on Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 were Paul Menard in fourth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in fifth. Clint Bowyer was sixth, while Denny Hamlin was seventh. Brad Keselowski came back from wall contact to finish eighth, while Jimmie Johnson overcame a broken shifter to finish nintth. Greg Biffle rounded out the top 10.
Many Chase contenders' hopes took a hit on Sunday as many would experience issues throughout the race. For Kyle Busch, the problems started on lap 5 after a flat tire sent Busch's No. 18 car into the wall. The hit resulted in Kyle going back to the garage for lengthy repairs. Busch would finish 39th. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth, would fair no better after being caught up in a multi-car incident on lap 25. Kenseth would finish thirty laps down in 38th. Kyle Larson may have taken the biggest blow to his chase hopes after his no. 42 Target Chevrolet blew a tire just before halfway and sent him into the fence. Larson would finish 43rd.
A look at Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 by the numbers. There were 20 lead changes among eight different drivers and eight cautions for 37 laps slowed the race pace to 141.788 MPH. Next weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Thunder Valley and the Bristol Motor Speedway for the Irwin Tools Night Race. Green flag is set for 7:43 PM ET next Saturday night.
Justin Tucker is a Newsletter Contributor at Frontstretch. To reach Justin, please contact Newsletter Manager Phil Allaway at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chasing the Chase: Gordon Regains Points Lead With Win
Kevin Harvick claimed his fourth straight second-place finish at Michigan. That was good enough to move him into sixth in the standings, his best points position since after his victory at Phoenix in March. Jimmie Johnson, after suffering through a broken shifter came back to finish ninth Sunday. That performance allowed him to stay in seventh, just one point behind Harvick. Behind him, Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman are tied for eighth in the standings. Interestingly enough, Newman was tied for eighth last week as well, just with a different driver. Clint Bowyer rounds out the top-10 performers.
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: Michigan-2 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, we take a peek into how the little guys fared in the race.
Underdog Selection No. 1: AJ Allmendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing; started 22nd, finished 13th
Allmendinger backed up his win last week at Watkins Glen with a strong 13th-place finish this week in Michigan. It's his best result on an intermediate track since he finished eighth at Fontana last spring, and his best oval finish since Talladega. Two strong weeks in a row vaulted Allmendinger back into the top spot in points amongst the small teams as well; he's currently 22nd and officially clinched a Chase spot after the Michigan race. The Watkins Glen win clearly translated into momentum with the No. 47 camp.
"I thought the car was really good all day," he said after the event. "It was just track position. The farther we could get up the race track, I felt like the faster we would be."
Underdog Selection No. 2: Casey Mears for Germain Racing; started 26th, finished 17th
Mears has been the best of the small-team drivers over the summer months in terms of overall finishes. Since Sonoma in June, he has a top 5, four top 15s and six top-20 runs driving the No. 13 Chevy, showcasing continued improvement within this one-car team. His average finish over that time is 19th, over four spots better than Allmendinger's in the same eight races driving the same RCR-based chassis and engines. Mears is not likely to make the Chase, but he still has a real chance to win at Talladega this fall, where he excels.
Underdog Selection No. 3: David Gilliland for Front Row Motorsports; started 30th, finished 21st
Gilliland seems to enter the conversation here on a weekly basis lately. This week, he gained eight spots over the course of the race, out-finishing the likes of Carl Edwards and Austin Dillon. More and more often, he's running in the low 20s, with the occasional top 10 thrown in. While his average finish is slightly lower than his 2013 total, he's become the top driver on his team and is heading back in the right direction after a rough start for Front Row Motorsports in 2014.
Underdog Pick of the Week - Bristol-II: David Gilliland for Front Row Motorsports
Teams return to the Bristol bullring this week for a Saturday night showdown, and Gilliland is my pick to carry the small team torch. He was a top finisher among his peers in the Spring (22nd) and his team has been running strong as of late. While a few drivers have a better average finish (including his FRM teammate, David Ragan, Allmendinger, and Mears) I think he's a solid pick to top the charts.
Is your favorite driver among NASCAR's underdogs? Are you frustrated with the lack of coverage they receive during the 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!
Letter of the Race: Sunday's Pure Michigan 400 was brought to you by the Letter P for "Power." Just as some car enthusiasts might say "There's no replacement for displacement," at MIS, there is no replacement for horsepower. Hendrick Motorsports had it, especially in Jeff Gordon's car, so good luck catching him if you don't have the horses. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Michigan
by Phil Allaway
"Oh, it was just normal 'Ryan Newman stuff,'" he said. "Anybody who has watched this sport long enough or has been in a race car out there understands the frustration that comes along with racing Ryan. Just normal Ryan stuff."
"We have a prime rules package and also will be doing a low downforce package, because some of the drivers have been very vocal," Stefanyshyn said. "They think (low downforce) is a solution ... so we're going to try one of those. I think the aero changes (in the prime rules package) that we have are the right ones. We've still got to figure out the power variables ... we'll see which one provides the best racing."
"It wasn't easy. It's never easy to win at any of these tracks, especially when aerodynamics and track position mean so much. I thought we learned a lot the last time we were here on track position. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) just called a perfect race. I kept getting on that inside lane and just not getting very good restarts. I knew it was going to get exciting with Kurt (Busch) and Joey (Logano). Those two are very, very aggressive; and of course Kurt got loose. That last restart was it. We had the car to win. Our car was amazing. But whoever got out in front had such a huge advantage. I got a good restart and Kevin (Harvick) for some reason, wasn't getting good restarts, so Joey was sort of out there by himself and I was able to get to his quarter. When I got to his quarter, I dragged him back and I was able to shoot to the bottom and get by. But he made a heck of an effort. I thought he was going to get back by me; he almost did. And I just needed a couple of laps for my tires to come in and all of a sudden we were out front and setting sail and the checkered flag was waving. This is just unbelievably awesome. I've got to say hi to Ingrid and Ella and Leo back home. They couldn't come today. But we're celebrating your honor here and this is just amazing. This is fantastic." - Jeff Gordon, race winner
"I didn't have any trouble with my car sticking all day and I could be really aggressive with the car through the corners. But, the No. 24 and the No. 22 kind of got jammed up a little bit there and I was able to get a good run. The No. 22 tried to move up, but I was going to stay in the throttle one way or the other. We don't have anything to lose at this point and that was our only chance to have a win." - Kevin Harvick, finished second
"I had a really good Shell Pennzoil Ford. My guys did a good job all weekend. We had a fast car when we unloaded and showed that in qualifying and practice all week. I woke up this morning and felt really good about it. When Todd (Gordon) feels really good about it, I know we will be alright. We took off in the beginning of the race and led a lot of laps. We kept tightening the car up and getting better. By the end we got it right where it needed to be and then just restart after restart after restart. I won every single restart except the last one and here I am. That is kind of frustrating, but I almost had him there and I rode around in fourth hoping for a restart because that is the spot you want to be. Then I realized we weren't going to get another restart and went for third from there." - Joey Logano, finished third
"Our cars are really good. The RCR fab shop, the ECR engine shop they make really good race cars. This track kind of suits my driving style, I guess. Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) and I, Justin and James and everybody on the No. 27 car have a good baseline intermediate track package that seems to work good at these fast tracks. Definitely needed a good run the last three or four weeks have been pretty brutal. We definitely needed this." - Paul Menard, finished fourth
"It was pretty good. We got in some trouble on pit road and ended up moving the steering wheel around and bending some things up. Hurt our car just a little bit and cost us. We had a real fast car, just coming through the field real easy. Great motor and had a good day. We finished about where we should have. I don't know if we had enough to win the race had we not had the trouble on pit road, but the steering wheel moved about a quarter turn so something in there is bent pretty good." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. finished fifth
"We clearly got a lot of work to do. It's unfortunate -- we're behind, there's no question. We just did what we needed to do today. Everybody works as a team all weekend long. It was a long, hard-fought battle. Restarts were very important. Brian (Pattie, crew chief) had good strategy. Right now, everything has to be perfect to get a decent finish and today everything was perfect. This is a tricky part of the season. Everybody is pushing hard. You got a lot of guys coming from behind that are getting their stuff working better. Everybody's working hard. It's that time of year." - Clint Bowyer, finished sixth
"That was a good finish to come home eighth after hitting the wall. We had some pretty good adversity there with the blown tire. I am not sure why that happened. We didn't have any indication of it and there was no real reason to. I was about the least aggressive you could be and did a run before that where I was more aggressive and didn't even come close to showing signs of an issue. I don't know. I think we just got a bad tire. It is hard to say, but the team did a hell of a job to overcome that and get an eighth-place finish out of what should have been probably a 25th or 30th-place finish." - Brad Keselowski, finished eighth
"We were so loose I just couldn't drive it. It looked like Greg (Biffle) had a good run and we had speed in qualifying so that gives us something to look forward to but we were just too loose today to be able to do anything." - Carl Edwards, finished 23rd
"I was going for the win. I think we've finished third four times this year, and I didn't want to make that five - I wanted the win. I knew we were in a good position as far as being locked into the Chase, so I went for it. I'm really proud of the Haas Automation guys and the job they did today. We had a car that I felt was capable of winning, and I went for it." - Kurt Busch, finished 31st
"I felt so good about my car those first few laps running the bottom, but then I was getting hung out on the straightaways. Then I just tried going to the top in (turns) three and four right away and I got loose all the way through (turns) three and four. Every time I touched the gas, it wanted to spin out and finally it was too much gas and not enough save and I wrecked. I just hate it for these Interstate Batteries guys. I was really optimistic about our car there in the opening laps and we didn't get to see what we were capable of." - Kyle Busch, finished 39th
"Just ended up blowing a right-front (tire) there. I thought we had a car capable of winning the race for sure. Before that competition caution we were really fast. I could pass people no problem and was catching the two in front of us. On pit road me and the No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) got together. It messed the toe up and hurt the body too. Had a lot of work to do, but the Target team worked hard to get it back out there. Those right-front's blowing do not feel good." - Kyle Larson, finished 43rd (Crashed Out)
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Pure Michigan 400
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Jimmie Johnson Success, First-Time Nationwide Winners and Power's Power
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Pure Michigan 400
by Amy Henderson
The Hendrick Hierarchy Reestablished
by Tom Bowles
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the past, the summer race at Bristol was one of the most physically demanding races on the schedule. Taking relief at some point during the race was nothing to be ashamed of. When lights were installed in 1979, that changed to a certain degree, but it was still quite taxing. In 1987, Neil Bonnett was forced to take relief from Ken Schrader during the Busch 500. Why?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: In 2004, Travis Kvapil won the Line-X 200 (his own sponsor's race) to give Toyota their first-ever victory in the then-Craftsman Truck Series. For which team did Kvapil achieve this feat?
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 Ashley McCubbin
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Pure Michigan 400 by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Michigan-Bristol Edition by Brad Morgan
We'll take a look at which drivers are looking good as the series shifts from the fastest track in NASCAR to a very fast half-mile.
Racing to the Point by Brett Poirier
Brett returns with another interesting commentary that'll make you think.
Jeff returns with his typical blend of sarcastic humor tilted towards one of NASCAR's controversial issues.
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