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Best seat at the track, best view on the net!
Oct. 29, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXC
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Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Texas Motor Speedway announced on Tuesday the featured dignitaries for the AAA Texas 500 this weekend, including the Harlem Globetrotters, Texas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott. Read more.
SS Green Light Racing announced on Tuesday that Ryan Lynch will drive for the No. 07 IDLifeRacing.com/BlankHood.com Chevrolet SS in this weekend's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Read more.
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by Tom Bowles
0
Career victories by Brad Keselowski at Texas and Phoenix, the next two races on the Cup Series schedule. Keselowski is in Chase trouble after a broken transmission left him 31st at Martinsville – 26 points behind fourth-place Matt Kenseth.
1
Top-5 finish for Tony Stewart since returning to the track after the Kevin Ward tragedy. Stewart was fourth at Martinsville, his first top-5 result since Fontana back in March.
2
Times this season Jeff Gordon has led over 100 laps in a race: Richmond and Martinsville. Gordon failed to win both those events (second in each).
2
Straight top-10 finishes for Clint Bowyer. That's the first time he's accomplished the feat since Loudon in July.
4
Straight Chase finishes outside the top 15 for Jimmie Johnson. It's the first time that's happened in his Sprint Cup career.
4
Wins this season for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the most for NASCAR's Most Popular Driver since 2004. Earnhardt had three wins total in the last nine seasons before this one.
5
Straight races led for Jamie McMurray, along with a pole he earned at Martinsville. He's finished inside the top 15 just once in those events (16th on Sunday).
5.1
Average finish by Joey Logano during the Chase, best among all Sprint Cup drivers.
7
Points separating the top 5 with two races left until the final reset. Only four, max will transfer to NASCAR's first ever Final Four at Homestead.
10th
Finish by David Ragan Sunday, a career best. It's the first time in a decade of competition Front Row Motorsports has run inside the top 10 outside the restrictor plate tracks.
17
Laps led by Ryan Newman this Chase. Newman, who is winless on the year is still in contention to win the Sprint Cup championship.
972
Laps led by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at Martinsville, a career high for him at any Sprint Cup track. Earnhardt had never won at the .533-mile oval until Sunday.
$97,140
Money won by Denny Hamlin for finishing eighth at Martinsville.
$118,173
Money won by Kevin Harvick for finishing 33rd at Martinsville.
Today's Featured Commentary
No "I" in "Team"
Professor of Speed
by Mark Howell
To see greatness in professional sports, all one needs to do is watch NASCAR's "Chase for the Championship" as the 2014 season winds down and teams set their sights on making the "Final Four" for the race at Homestead.
I'm not writing about particular drivers here. While names like Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Denny Hamlin reside near the top of the Sprint Cup point standings, my attention has been caught by the efforts of pit crews addressing challenges typically above-and-beyond the norm. Seeing fourteen-second pit stops give way to extended repair sessions behind the wall is a reminder of just how deep excellence can run within a race team.
Maybe I'm watching such activity because I've spent time with Sprint Cup racing teams during my career in motorsports. A three-year part-time stint hanging around with Brett Bodine Racing more than a decade ago showed me just how much work crewing a big time stock car can be. Granted, Bodine's No. 11 Ford was severely underfunded and seriously understaffed, but that only compounded the work load of getting a car ready to race every week.
I'd be remiss here to present my years with BBR as anything more than limited in responsibility. The only reason I even had a crew license was because I was conducting research for a book about the Bodine family. Syracuse University Press asked me if I could write something for their New York and Sports History collections, and the press knew that I knew Brett because of his involvement in my first NASCAR book back in 1997 (he wrote the foreword).
My relationship with Brett extended back to his NASCAR Modified days in the Northeast when he drove a car based in my hometown. Tagging along with his crew during the very early 1980's, I had the chance to experience both the highs and lows of short track competition. This, oddly enough, is what intrigues me about racing: the fact that teams lose far more often than they win. Learning to accept weeks (or years) of defeat and yet racing another day seems like a valuable life lesson to embrace.
And here's where pit crews, to me, earn their money; suffering losses through any variety of reasons (wrecks, blown motors, blown tires, blown egos) and still being ready to pack their bags, kiss their families good-bye, and head off into the great competitive unknown the following week.
Toss in the Draconian nature of this year's Chase format with its three-races-and-four-teams-out system of advancement, and suddenly the efforts of crews took on added emphasis.
The added pressure is what caught my attention these past two weeks, when the championship fortunes of experienced drivers like Kyle Busch (at Talladega) and Kevin Harvick (at Martinsville) received severe blows in the wake of on-track incidents. For Busch, struggles during the Geico 500 meant the end of his 2014 title hopes. For Harvick, struggles during the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 meant a very serious threat to his making it through the Eliminator Round.
For both drivers, any chance at salvaging a decent finish came down to the skills and energies of their respective pit crews.
Now, I'm a sad example of pit crew skill. I knew my way around a race car, and I knew my way around the ins-and-outs of a race weekend, but most of that revolved around knowing enough to 1) stay out of the way, 2) not do anything stupid, and 3) not get hurt. Most of my time was as a go-fer, running between the transporter and the car with various items needed by either driver or mechanics. On race days, my job expanded to catching tires (albeit rather clumsily) during pit stops.
When duty called, I could grab jackstands and tools or hand strips of duct tape to people doing the real repair work. I was also gifted at staying out of the way when crew members from other teams jumped in to lend a needed hand, as was the case at Pocono in 2001 when Brett damaged his car after making contact with someone in the Tunnel Turn. Maybe it was the fact that Brett was considered a good person, or maybe it was because other teams knew we ran on a shoestring budget, but we had lots of help from other crew members once Brett stopped behind the wall.
I helped however I could, but mainly I marveled at the outpouring of talent and kindness shown by not only the No. 11 crew, but from the other crewmen who lent a hand (or a back, or a suspension part, or an air chisel). Such acts of generosity are not often seen in other professional sports. In NASCAR, helping teams in need seems to be an immediate response to trouble or other hardships.
So to watch Kyle Busch's crew swarm all over his broken Toyota at Talladega was to see panic give way to precision as crew members (of all skill levels) did their best to keep their team's championship hopes alive. My guess is that other JGR team members showed up to help. Their efforts fell short, but at least they tried their best. They even made the trip to Martinsville the following week to race yet again after being eliminated from title contention.
And who will easily forget the shared efforts across Stewart-Haas Racing as crew members from all SHR teams helped to salvage the afternoon for a very frustrated Kevin Harvick. While his title hopes are still alive, Harvick will need consistent performance from both his car and his crew come next weekend's race at Fort Worth. As a former Sprint Cup crew member, I know how such competitive pressure feels. A team can never give up, no matter how bleak a situation looks.
Another tip worth remembering: the sticky side of the tape goes against the car….
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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.
@jeff_gluck: #NASCAR cuts Truck field size from 36 to 32 starting next season.
@DaleJr: Just created a new baseline score with the ImPact test today. Great tool for diagnosing and treatment .@UPMCSportsMed pic.twitter.com/GM7J5LUB4O
@FoxSports: Dale Earnhardt Jr. helps medical center raise concussion awareness. #NASCAR cards.twitter.com/cards/d7syt/6i…
@NASCARonFOX: Greg Biffle adds Cheez-It as a primary sponsor for the 2015 season.# NASCAR cards.twitter.com/cards/d7syt/6h…
@KarenByrnes: Chemo day for @SteveByrnes12. pic.twitter.com/beouPeeIIF
@NASCARonNBC: Wurth extends partnership with @Team_Penske NASCAR program wp.me/p36IVn-2vrG
@jeff_gluck: Well, that sucks. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/2QrRpx7DhA
@CandiceSpencer: I really wanted to hear @FlavorFlav tell @DaleJr "Come get your clock!"#NASCAR
@MartinsvilleSwy: Rick Hendrick congratulates @DaleJr on his #Goodys500 win!p ic.twitter.com/YN2sQfl3Vx
@TeamHendrick: Always. pic.twitter.com/5inzy4LPIf
@MartySmithESPN: pic.twitter.com/56PH5iAhCg
@jeff_gluck: Why did Jeff Gordon speed? He's embarrassed to admit he ran the wrong gear for his lights. He knew it and thought, "Uh oh."
@DaleJr: TIC TOC We got that clock!!!! Enjoy this yall. @MartinsvilleSwy is very special. I personally am in disbelief!!! What an amazing team.
@MikeDavis88: I love working for a company that 'gets it.' pic.twitter.com/No7IDPs9GL
@RIRInsider: Happy 73rd birthday to the one and only Dick Trickle. We miss you buddy #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Jqv1x0v7RC
@RossChastain: Been working on getting back behind the wheel this year. Got some big things coming. Hope to see y'all at Homestead Friday AND Saturday!
@ESPNMcGee: Got to @ESPNU & had a package waiting. Now I'm driving everyone in the newsroom nuts. #DaleCall pic.twitter.com/PFnI8ppKR2
@RodneyChilders4: Wheels up for @HomesteadMiami .. Looking fwd to 2 days of testing with @KevinHarvick and all of the guys!
@mw55: Thank you Mr @CharlieDaniels for the golden fiddle. Johnny's gonna win again! @EmmaSlaterDance #TheDevilWentDownToGA pic.twitter.com/YjNJ5eC5oP
@JDMotorsports01: Getting this ole girl ready for recertification #NASCAR #AlwaysWorkToDo pic.twitter.com/dJv0P632kg
@JebBurtonRacing: Big boy is down! instagram.com/p/urS2hYnLUp/
@HaasAutomation: .@HaasF1Team names former @AnheuserBusch marketer Adam Jacobs chief marketing officer: bit.ly/HaasF1Team_Nam…
@F1 #F1 pic.twitter.com/asL0qZqZFX
@NASCARInformer: Kevin Harvick will be making his 500th Sprint Cup start Sunday at@TXMotorSpeedway.
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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 Wednesday 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:
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Frontstretch.com is pleased to announce that American Muscle, our longest running marketing partner, has renewed for another year! Help us celebrate our partnership by checking out the highlights from their 2014 American Muscle Car show by clicking here.
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA
Q: Texas Motor Speedway getting their second Cup weekend in 2005 spelled the end of the track's second Indy Racing League weekend (in which the then-Craftsman Truck Series served as the primary support). In the final Chevy 500, Dario Franchitti was part of a ten-car pack duking it out for the lead in the final 20 laps when it all went wrong. What happened?
Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Tuesday's Answer:
Q: Texas Motor Speedway has only had their fall Sprint Cup race since 2005. How did the track actually get that race?
Acquiring the date for Texas Motor Speedway meant that the track successfully headed off a lawsuit, filed by Francis Ferko. Ferko claimed that the track had made promises of a second Cup date and up until 2005, hadn't delivered.
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Phil Allaway
-- Critic's Annex by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Happiness Is... by P. Huston Ladner
Huston's weekly column pops up on a new day as he runs through what's good in the world of racing.
Going by the Numbers by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin takes a look at the statistical side of NASCAR heading to Texas.
Tech Talk by Mike Neff
Mike is back with your look at the technical side of NASCAR.
Fantasy Insider by Jeff Wolfe
Jeff is back with your look at the best bets to fill your fantasy roster. This week, he sets you up for success as we head into Texas.
Truckin' Thursdays by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth returns with your weekly look at the state of the Camping World Truck Series.
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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