Thursday, August 07, 2014

The Frontstretch Newsletter: National Guard to Leave Motorsports

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!

August 7th, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXXXI
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What to Watch: Thursday

- Today is load-in day at Watkins Glen International for Sprint Cup, Nationwide and K&N Pro Series East teams.  No on-track action is scheduled.

Today's TV Schedule

Time                               Telecast                                                                                                                                         Network
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM        NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                                                      FOX Sports 1*#
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM        ARCA Racing Series ModSpace 125                                                                                       FOX Sports 1*/# (from August 1)
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM        Camping World Truck Series Pocono Mountains 150                                                         FOX Sports 1*/# (from August 2)
5:00 PM - 5:30 PM        NASCAR America                                                                                                                        NBC Sports Network
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM        NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                                                      FOX Sports 1
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM        NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                                                      FOX Sports 2*#
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM        K&N Pro Series East JEGS 150                                                                                               FOX Sports 2*/# (from July 19)
9:00 PM - 10:00 PM      K&N Pro Series West NAPA Auto Parts/Toyota 150 (Colorado National Speedway)     FOX Sports 2*/# (from July 26)
10:00 PM - 12:00 AM    IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Brickyard Sports Car Challenge                FOX Sports 2*/# (from July 25)
 
*- Tape Delayed
/- Highlighted Coverage
#- Repeat Coverage

Top News
by Phil Allaway

National Guard to Leave Motorsports at End of Season

On Wednesday, the National Guard announced that they are making "substantial changes" in their approach to recruiting through sports sponsorships. The most visible change that will result from the move is the end of the National Guard's sponsorships of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s No. 88 team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Graham Rahal's No. 15 team in the Verizon IndyCar Series.  Read more at Frontstretch

Chase Elliott May Run Selected Sprint Cup Races in 2015

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick was a guest on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's Tradin' Paint with Jim Noble and Chocolate Myers on Wednesday morning. While there, the question of whether or not there was a plan for current Nationwide Series points leader Chase Elliott to run Sprint Cup races in the near future was posed.  Hendrick's response to the query was essentially "not yet, but it's likely."  Read more at Frontstretch

Bully Hill Vineyards to Sponsor Whitt, BK Racing, at Watkins Glen

BK Racing announced on Wednesday that Bully Hill Vineyards, a Hammondsport, NY producer of wine, will serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 26 Toyota Camry driven by Cole Whitt. It will be a one-race deal.  Read more at Frontstretch

Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night.  However, they are still subject to change.


Sprint Cup Series Cheez-It 355 at the Glen: 43 cars entered

 

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:

No. 40- Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing

No. 66- Joe Nemechek for Michael Waltrip Racing/Identity Ventures Racing

No. 77- Nelson Piquet, Jr. for Randy Humphrey Racing


Driver Changes:
No. 32
- Boris Said returns to the seat, replacing Travis Kvapil.

No. 77- Nelson Piquet, Jr. is in the seat, replacing Dave Blaney.  Piquet will be making his Sprint Cup Series debut.


Since there are only 43 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify.

 

Not Entered:

No. 37- Dave Blaney for Tommy Baldwin Racing

No. 93- Johnny Sauter for BK Racing

 

Nationwide Series Zippo 200: 41 cars entered

 

Number Change:

- Richard Petty Motorsports' No. 9 (from 2013) changes to No. 09.

 

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 09
- Marcos Ambrose for Richard Petty Motorsports

No. 12- Joey Logano for Team Penske

No. 20- Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing

No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Team Penske

No. 33- Paul Menard for Richard Childress Racing

No. 42- Kyle Larson for Turner Scott Motorsports

No. 54- Kyle Busch for Joe Gibbs Racing

No. 55- Brennan Newberry for Viva Motorsports with Frank Cicci/SS-Green Light Racing

No. 87- Joe Nemechek for Identity Ventures Racing

No. 93- Tomy Drissi for JGL Racing

 

Driver Changes:

No. 09- Marcos Ambrose returns to the seat, replacing Corey LaJoie.
No. 12- Joey Logano is in the seat, replacing Ryan Blaney.
No. 23- Kevin O'Connell returns to the seat, replacing Carl Long.
No. 24- Chris Cook is in the seat, replacing Jason White.

No. 31- Dylan Kwasniewski returns to the seat, replacing Chase Pistone.
No. 42- Kyle Larson returns to the seat, replacing Dylan Kwasniewski.
No. 44- Carlos Contreras returns to the seat, replacing Hal Martin.

No. 46- An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing Matt Frahm.  Matt DiBenedetto announced on his Twitter feed Wednesday that he will be driving (and racing) the No. 40 for the remainder of the season.

No. 54- Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing Sam Hornish, Jr.

No. 55- Brennan Newberry returns to the seat, replacing Jamie Dick.

No. 74- Roger Reuse is in the seat, replacing Mike Harmon.  If Reuse qualifies, he will make his Nationwide Series debut.

No. 87- Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing Josh Reaume.

No. 93- Tomy Drissi is in the seat, replacing Kevin Swindell.


Drivers who must qualify on speed:
No. 09
- Marcos Ambrose for Richard Petty Motorsports

No. 10- Blake Koch for TriStar Motorsports*

No. 12- Joey Logano for Team Penske

No. 17- Tanner Berryhill for Vision Racing

No. 24- Chris Cook for SR² Motorsports/JGL Racing

No. 33- Paul Menard for Richard Childress Racing

No. 46- Unknown driver for The Motorsports Group*

No. 70- Derrike Cope for Derrike Cope Racing

No. 74- Roger Reuse for Mike Harmon Racing

No. 75- Kenny Habul for SunEnergy1 Racing

No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures

 

Not Entered:

No. 5- Josh Berry for JR Motorsports

No. 29- Kenny Wallace for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

No. 72- John Jackson for Carter Racing

No. 84- Chad Boat for Billy Boat Motorsports


TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Continental Tire Road Race Showcase: 52 cars in 4 classes

 

Prototype (P) Entries: 13

No. 01- Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates

No. 07- Joel Miller/Tristan Nunez for SpeedSource

No. 0- Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick for DeltaWing Racing Cars

No. 1- Ryan Dalziel/Scott Sharp for Extreme Speed Motorsports

No. 2- Ed Brown/Johannes van Overbeek for Extreme Speed Motorsports

No. 5- Joao Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi for Action Express Racing

No. 10- Jordan Taylor/Ricky Taylor for Wayne Taylor Racing

No. 31- Eric Curran/Burt Frisselle for Marsh Racing

No. 42- Olivier Pla/Gustavo Yacaman for OAK Racing

No. 60- Oswaldo Negri, Jr./John Pew for Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian

No. 70- Tom Long/Sylvain Tremblay for SpeedSource

No. 78- Scott Mayer/Unknown driver for Starworks Motorsport

No. 90- Michael Valiante/Richard Westbrook for Spirit of Daytona Racing

 

Prototype Challenge (PC) Entries: 10

No. 08- Chris Cumming/Jack Hawksworth for RSR Racing

No. 09- Duncan Ende/Bruno Junqueira for RSR Racing

No. 7- Martin Fuentes/John Martin for Starworks Motorsport

No. 8- Mirco Schultis/Renger van der Zande for Starworks Motorsport

No. 25- Luis Diaz/Sean Rayhall for 8Star Motorsports

No. 38- James French/David Ostella for Performance Tech Motorsports

No. 52- Gunnar Jeannette/Frankie Montecalvo for PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports

No. 54- Jon Bennett/Colin Braun for core Autosport

No. 85- Chris Miller/Stephen Simpson for JDC/Miller MotorSports

No. 88- Unknown drivers for BAR1 Motorsports

 

Grand Touring Le Mans (GTLM) Entries: 10

No. 3- Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen for Corvette Racing

No. 4- Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner for Corvette Racing

No. 17- Wolf Henzler/Bryan Sellers for Team Falken Tire

No. 55- Bill Auberlen/Andy Priaulx for BMW Team RLL

No. 56- John Edwards/Dirk Müller for BMW Team RLL

No. 62- Giancarlo Fisichella/Pierre Kaffer for Risi Competizione

No. 91- Jonathan Bomarito/Dominik Farnbacher/Marc Goossens for SRT Motorsports

No. 93- Jonathan Bomarito/Marc Goossens/Kuno Wittmer for SRT Motorsports

No. 911- Richard Lietz/Nick Tandy for Porsche North America (core Autosport)

No. 912- Michael Christensen/Patrick Long for Porsche North America (core Autosport)

 

Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) Entries: 19
No. 007
- Al Carter/James Davison for TRG-AMR

No. 18- David Calvert-Jones/Alex Davison for Muehlner Motorsports America

No. 19- Mark Klenin/Christian Szymczak for Muehlner Motorsports America

No. 22- Leh Keen/Cooper MacNeil for Alex Job Racing

No. 23- Mario Farnbacher/Ian James for Alex Job Racing/Team Seattle

No. 27- Andrew Davis/Patrick Dempsey for Dempsey Racing

No. 33- Jeroen Bleekemolen/Ben Keating for Riley Motorsports

No. 35- Seth Neiman/Dion von Moltke for Flying Lizard Motorsports

No. 44- Andy Lally/John Potter for Magnus Racing

No. 45- Nelson Canache/Spencer Pumpelly for Flying Lizard Motorsports

No. 46- Marino Franchitti/Charles Putman for Fall-Line Motorsports

No. 48- Christopher Haase/Bryce Miller for Paul Miller Racing

No. 58- Jan Heylen/Madison Snow for Snow Racing/Dempsey Racing

No. 63- Alessandro Balzan/Jeff Westphal for Scuderia Corsa

No. 71- Unknown drivers for Park Place Motorsports

No. 73- Kevin Estre/Patrick Lindsay for Park Place Motorsports

No. 81- Ben Barker/Damien Faulkner for GB Autosport

No. 94- Dane Cameron/Markus Palttala for Turner Motorsport

No. 555- Townsend Bell/Bill Sweedler for AIM Autosport


Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip. Comments can also be sent to frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Summer Bedgood's way at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com; and, if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when she does her weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Frontstretch Fan Q & A will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Today's Featured Commentary
Potts' Shots for August 7

by John Potts

Veeery interesting, as Arte Johnson used to say on the old "Laugh In" show.

A lot of talk on chatboards, Facebook, and I'm sure Twitter, about the penalties heaped on Joe Gibbs' No. 11 team after the Brickyard 400.  A total of $125,000 in fines for the crew chief, six-event suspension, and also punishment for the car chief.

However, what struck me as interesting were comments made by ESPN's team of announcers prior to the Sprint Cup event at Pocono on Sunday.

These guys gave me the impression that they considered the total amount of the fines to be insignificant.  "Chump change" was the term that came to mind.  Maybe it is like that for somebody whose annual income amounts to seven figures, but it hit a different nerve for me.

NASCAR wants to know why they're having trouble maintaining contract with the average fan, and the attitude of these guys provided (for me, anyway) a perfect example of why that is happening.

What is "chump change" to these people is two and sometimes three times the annual income of an average working man. That's right, the guy who saves to buy tickets for his family to attend a race and finds the rising ticket prices, hotel rates, and concession prices cutting into the number of races he can attend each year.

What was particularly interesting was that one of the most vocal was a guy who came up the hard way – building his own cars, clawing and scratching for every nickel and dime, until he made it big with NASCAR.

These people are obviously like our politicians. They've completely lost touch with the average American.

And, again, they wonder why they're losing contact with the average fan.  As someone else observed recently and I repeated, the fans are voting with their wallets.

John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.

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Editor's Note: The Critic's Annex will return next week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frontstretch Line of the Week


From Did You Notice? … NASCAR Talent: Then And Now


"
These drivers coming up through the ranks have fewer opportunities to succeed against established competitors with better equipment. Patience for owners they're driving for are razor thin, as one of two scenarios come into play. It's either A) the team is running race-to-race, with patchwork funding in order to survive or B) it's a well-funded group, with Cup connections where anything less than multiple wins and a championship is a disappointment. That environment, with no "in between" allowing for multiple years of development, has killed off several potential superstars." - Tom Bowles, on the state of driver development in NASCAR.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
 
as told to Mike Neff
 
by Beth Lunkenheimer

 
by Kevin Rutherford

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:  In 1991, Tommy Kendall was a fairly well-known road racing personality to NASCAR fans.  He had competed part-time in Winston Cup for Marc Reno in 1990 and was the man to go to if you needed a ringer.  Kendall nearly won at Sonoma while subbing for the injured Kyle Petty.  However, Kendall's career was put on hold after the Camel Continental at Watkins Glen that summer.  What happened?

Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Wednesday's Answer:

Q:  The 1988 Budweiser at the Glen is best known for the infamous race to the finish between Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd. However, had that not happened, the main story of the day would have been substantially different. What would that have been?

A:  During the race, there were a series of blown and/or blistered tires.  The issue was so bad that NASCAR was forced to consider throwing a competition caution past the halfway point of the race.  However, the event was run in such a start and stop fashion (there were eight cautions for 36 laps and no green flag run lasted longer than 12 laps) that such a move was ultimately unnecessary.

Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee:  If 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 trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE! 

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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Staff
-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!


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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a number of pertinent issues including how the new Chase has affected the on-track action so far, prospects to look out for in the future, disappointments in Sprint Cup, and more.

Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns this week with another intriguing Friday commentary.

Frontstretch Foto Funnies by the Frontstretch Staff
Pictures can lead to a thousand laughs; join us in our weekly dose of humor that comes from those candid moments at the track.

Nuts For Nationwide by Kelly Crandall
Kelly returns to bring us up-to-date on NASCAR's second-tier series as they return to the track this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

Happiness Is... by P. Huston Ladner
Don't let your life sink into the pits. Huston takes a look at the racing stories from the last seven days that should leave you smiling.
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