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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 25th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXLIII
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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Logano Rises and Conquers Bristol
by Justin Tucker
There was a time not too long ago where it appeared that Joey Logano's career was heading towards a crossroads.
After being selected to replace Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing prior to the 2009 season, Logano found the transition to NASCAR's premiere level anything but an easy one. After scoring only two wins in one of NASCAR's elite rides over a four year stretch and struggles to find the consistency to be a contender week in and week out, many wondered if Logano was brought up too young and too quick. However, heading into the 2013 season and after departing Joe Gibbs Racing, one organization was ready to give Logano a fresh start. Enter Penske Racing.
While many would consider one win and a chase berth a successful season for any driver with a new team it was far from the case for Logano as he still faced questions as to when he would finally breakout and become a championship contender. At Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night, Logano made a statement that the time was now and 2014 would be the year he would seriously contend for the championship after passing Matt Kenseth with 44 laps to go to score his first career Cup Series win on the half mile bullring and third overall this season. Logano joins Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Brad Keselowski as three-time winners in 2014.
"It's awesome," Logano said in Victory Lane. "I've never won more than one race in a season, and now I've won three."
"I feel like the Bristol night race is maybe the third or fourth biggest race of the year,'' Logano said. "Just the atmosphere before the race, if it doesn't pump you up, nothing does. It's just the baddest mamma jamma race track ever built.''
Matt Kenseth, one of the drivers among the top 16 in points without a win, gambled on pit strategy by electing to stay on track when the leaders pitted with 67 laps to go. It appeared that Kenseth was in the catbird's seat with clean air for the final run to the finish but Logano and his Penske teammate Brad Keselowski ended any notion of that rather quickly by slicing through the field and around Kenseth leaving Kenseth to settle for a third-place finish.
"I just knew that clean air was going to be worth more than new tires,'' Kenseth said. "They cleared everybody way too fast."
Joining Logano and Kenseth in the top five of Saturday's Irwin Tools Night Race were Brad Keselowski in second, Jimmie Johnson, who overcome two pit road speeding penalties to finish fourth, and Kurt Busch would lead the Stewart-Haas effort in fifth. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. who finished second in the Spring race at Bristol finished sixth, Carl Edwards was seventh, and Jamie McMurray, who led a race-high 148 laps finished eighth. Paul Menard had another strong Bristol outing to finish ninth, while Greg Biffle would round out the top 10.
Bristol Motor Speedway provided its usual theme of no quarter given and short temper style of racing on Saturday most notably in an incident involving Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. On lap 161, Harvick slid into the rear of Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota while racing for the lead. Hamlin's car slid to the bottom of the track and into the inside wall before spinning back onto the racing surface. There, Hamlin hit Dale Earnhardt, Jr., tearing the driver's door off of the Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet. Harvick issued an apology after the race, but Hamlin had some strong words for Harvick.
"I just lost the front end, honestly,'' Harvick said after finishing 11th. "That thing would take off on the bottom, and I just misjudged the slide and just ran right into the side of him. Totally my fault.''
"He thinks he knows everything,'' Hamlin said of Harvick. "I wish I had some kind of car left to show him the favor back. We're not even halfway. It's just a misjudgment. He's a good driver. He knows better. He made a mistake.
"I thought for sure after the first couple of runs we were going to win the race. We were really fast. These are the racetracks we have to capitalize on. With what we've got, these are the tracks we can get wins and get the momentum going for the Chase. This is still not going to stop our momentum because we ran strong.''
Earnhardt Jr., who was an innocent victim in the dust-up, was disappointed to see a potential solid Bristol finish slip away.
"I couldn't see what happened to Denny, but he got turned around or something and was coming up the track,'' Earnhardt said. "There was a lot of smoke so I couldn't really judge the speed of his car to know whether I needed to be going up there and go around him on the top. I had to make that choice. I just went ahead and went to the top and ended up getting into him. It wasn't too hard of a hit, just did a lot of damage and tore the lower (control arm) off the left-front."
A look at Saturday's Irwin Tools Night Race by the numbers. There were 16 lead changes among nine different drivers and 9 cautions for 64 laps slowed the race pace to 92.965 MPH.
Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the final Labor Day race weekend at the track. The Oral-B USA 500 goes green at 7:46 P.M. ET next Sunday 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 Expands Lead Following Earnhardt Jr.'s Crash
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: Bristol-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 14th
The No. 47 team has had a resurgence since winning at Watkins Glen three weeks ago, finishing in the top 15 at both Michigan and Bristol. Allmendinger has outpaced some of the other Chase-qualified drivers each and every week recently…can he do that in the Chase and advance beyond the first round? It could definitely happen as this team is gelling at just the right time, while others seem to be running in place.
Underdog Selection No. 2: Michael McDowell for Leavine Family Racing; started 28th, finished 18th
McDowell is one of those drivers who came into the Cup Series at a young age without much experience in an upper-level NASCAR racecar, and like other hot young talents, it's all but killed his career. McDowell is a talented driver, and it showed on Saturday night, where he took his part-time team to a top-20 finish, the only top-20 LFR has ever had outside of a restrictor-plate or road course race. He beat some drivers with much better equipment on Saturday night. McDowell is not yet 30 years old, and had he had a little more time to develop, he could well be a rising star right now instead of labeled damaged goods.
Underdog Selection No. 3: Justin Allgaier for HScott Motorsports; started 19th, finished 19th
With the team under new ownership or 2014 and a rookie in the seat, the learning curve has been steep for the No. 51 bunch. But it's beginning to even out as Allgaier has begun to pick up solid finishes more and more often; he's been inside the top 20 in four of the last five weeks after posting just two top 20's in the first 20 weeks.
Underdog Pick of the Week-Atlanta: AJ Almendinger for JTG-Daugherty Racing
My Bristol pick, David Gilliland was middle-of-the road at seventh among the small-team drivers. This week, teams visit Atlanta for the final time on Labor Day weekend. Look for Allmendinger to shine among his peers this week; not only does Allmendinger have momentum on his side, but he's got an average finish at Atlanta that many drivers for elite teams would love to have. His 14.4 average is sixth among active drivers, better than the average for Atlanta winners Carl Edwards or Kyle Busch. Next on the small team list in average finish is Casey Mears at 22.6, making Allmendinger the clear choice.
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: Saturday night's Irwin Tools Night Race was brought to you by the Letter T for "Temper." Saturday night was not the first time that someone's been wrecked out of the lead during the night race at Bristol. Heck, it happened just two years ago with Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. The only difference now is that NASCAR has mechanisms to penalize for throwing HANS Devices at moving cars. We'll have to see what happens with Hamlin later this week. - Phil Allaway
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Sidebar Stories: Bristol
by Phil Allaway
"[Harvick] thinks he knows everything," Hamlin said to ESPN's Vince Welch outside of the Infield Care Center. "Probably thought he knew everything again. I wish I had some kind of car left to show him the favor back. We're not even halfway. It's just a misjudgment. He's a good driver. He knows better. He made a mistake."
"I just lost the front end, honestly," Harvick stated. "That thing would take off on the bottom, and I just misjudged the slide and just ran right into the side of him. Totally my fault."
Harvick will not see any punitive action come his way from the crash. However, in the aftermath of the tragic incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park that resulted in the death of Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints driver Kevin Ward, Jr., NASCAR instituted Section 9-16 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which requires drivers to remain strapped in their seats after incidents until safety workers arrive at the car. It also stipulates that drivers not approach the racing surface or apron on foot for any reason. While Hamlin did not violate the first part of the rule, he did violate the second portion when he threw his HANS Device at Kevin Harvick Saturday night. Hamlin did not touch the racing surface (the concrete), but did approach the apron in order to thrown his HANS Device at Harvick.
Kyle Busch's Struggles Continue, Devolve Into Radio Spat
Saturday's Irwin Tools Night Race started off well. Busch qualified fourth and led into the Competition Caution. That's just about where his night went downhill. Busch was caught speeding entering the pits, earning him a trip to the back of the line. 60 laps later, Busch was caught up in a crash along with Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson and Brian Vickers that damaged the Wrigley's Doublemint Toyota. Later, Busch broke suspension parts on the No. 18. It is at that point that Busch exploded. He noted on the radio about how he needed to bring the car behind the wall. However, it appeared that crew chief Dave Rogers either did not hear Busch, or misinterpreted what Busch said.
"Kyle was trying to communicate to me what was wrong with the car. I couldn't hear," Rogers told MRN's Dustin Long. "It just led to more frustration. We came back here to the truck and had a great talk. You look at things like this as a negative and negatives create positives if you look at them the right way. We got to air things out and had a great talk. I think we're going to be better going forward."
"You know, I feel like the Bristol night race is maybe the third or fourth biggest race of the year, just the atmosphere before the race. If it doesn't pump you up, nothing does. It's just the baddest, mamma jamma racetrack ever built. You've got to hustle the car so hard. Something we don't typically have. We talked a little bit about it when I was in here the other day about how hard you had to drive the car and wondering if it was going to be like that in the race, and yes, you've got to drive the car that hard in the race to go fast. It just means a lot to be able to get this victory, and obviously Penske with the one‑two finish there and all three of Team Penske drivers being able to get a win with Brad in the truck and Ryan last night and ourselves trying to put the cherry on top in the Cup race. All of us got a win, everyone is happy, so definitely a very special win for Team Penske to be able to do that, and for Ford. Yeah, right now the momentum we have in the cars that we have, we've been fast at every type of racetrack, and I wish we were in Atlanta tomorrow. Well, maybe not tomorrow. I'm going to enjoy tomorrow. But Monday sounds good." - Joey Logano, race winner
"I'll tell you, first off, this place, the race pace is really brutal and aggressive. With the cars having all the extra downforce this year and tires improving and some of the new rules, compounded by grinding the track and the track's high lane having a lot of speed, I swear, this is the most grueling race of the year. It feels good just to complete it and be able to kind of look myself in the eye and know I gave it all I had. It just wasn't enough, but I didn't fall out of the seat, so I'm damned near as proud of not falling out of the seat as anything else," - Brad Keselowski, finished second
"I'm worn out. I gave it all I had and raced hard for all that she would give me. It seemed like after every 50 laps our tires would drop off quite a bit. But man we rallied, rallied, rallied, and the crew chief (Knost) made a change with 130 to go that kept us from going a lap down and turned us into a top-five car. Great job to the team to make that call and to give up the track position and to bring our Haas Automation Chevy in for a top-five finish." - Kurt Busch, finished fifth
"I don't know what happened. Our car got really tight with about 100 laps to go. We freed it up on the last pit stop and it didn't really help. But I'm really proud of everybody on our McDonald's Chevrolet. McDonald's has been in this sport for so long and they've only won a few races and I really thought tonight was going to be our night to put them back in Victory Lane. I thought tonight would be a good night to be able to win. As we were running around there, I thought we had a legitimate chance to win tonight if we did everything right. It's not like we did anything wrong, it's just that as the track rubbered-up more and more. It just didn't suit our car as much as it did for the other guys. In the middle of the race when I was lapping all these guys, I couldn't figure out why they were slowing down so much. And then I was kind of in the same situation." - Jamie McMurray, finished eighth
"This is a big night for all of us at Leavine Family Racing. To get a top-20 at Bristol and be legitimately a top-20 car all night is amazing. We have great people and I feel like we are making big gains. Fun to have a great run for our new partner, Thrivent Financial as well. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going into Atlanta." - Michael McDowell, finished 18th
"I couldn't predict what the car was going to do. It was very inconsistent. The car was tight then it was loose and it plowed through the corners. We had a couple of good runs, but couldn't maintain the performance. It never came together to maintain a top-10 position. The good news tonight was that we avoided a number of wrecks out there. We came close a couple of times, but didn't get collected this time around. We'll see what we can do in Atlanta next week, it ranks right up there as one of my favorite tracks." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished 20th
"It was just a rough night. Our GoDaddy car just wasn't that good from the beginning, and that kind of put us behind. The guys kept working on it with their adjustments, and they got it headed in the right direction, but it was just too late by that point. I think we all just did the best we could to hang in there, make the car better and try to make a good night out of it. It wasn't the finish that we wanted, but we didn't give up." - Danica Patrick, finished 27th
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Irwin Tools Night Race
by Mike Neff
Pace Laps: Kyle Busch's Rough Weekend, Driver Errors and Winding Down
by the Frontstretch Staff
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the Irwin Tools Night Race
by Amy Henderson
NASCAR's Cream "Thunders" to the Top
by Tom Bowles
by Matt Stallknecht
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1994 Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was essentially a coronation of Dale Earnhardt's seventh Winston Cup Championship, which Earnhardt had already clinched two weeks earlier by winning the AC-Delco 500 at Rockingham. However, the race was also the final Winston Cup start for 54-year old Harry Gant. Leo Jackson Motorsports did something special for Gant's final race. What was it?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: The infamous 1995 Goody's 500 is best known for a finish where Dale Earnhardt got in the back of Terry Labonte and spun Labonte directly to paydirt. However, after the race, Earnhardt ended up in an altercation with Rusty Wallace. Why did that happen?
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 TBA
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- Numbers Game: Irwin Tools Night Race by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup: Bristol-Atlanta Edition by Brad Morgan
We'll take a look at which drivers are looking good as the series moves towards a veritable cheese grater in Georgia.
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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