Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Nov. 14, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CCII
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What to Watch: Friday
compiled by Phil Allaway
Time Telecast Network
Top News
by Justin Tucker
Brad Keselowski Fastest in Sprint Cup Practice
Gene Haas didn't have to go very far to find a very key individual for his Formula 1 team, which is set to hit the track in 2016. All Haas had to do was walk down the hall from his office to find veteran NASCAR crew chief Matt Borland, who will be the vice president of special projects for Haas F1. Read more
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Frontstretch Folio: Ford Ecoboost 400
by Brad Morgan
Records and Facts
Denny Hamlin won this event last season for his only victory of 2013. A repeat would assure Hamlin his first NSCS championship.
The only driver to win the Homestead-Miami race and championship in the same season was Tony Stewart in 2011. Stewart beat Carl Edwards in that race and claimed his third title via tiebreaker over Edwards.
The driver to lift the Cup has finished inside the top 5 in four of the last 10 Homestead-Miami races.
Track Facts
Track Length: 1.5-mile oval
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Degree of Banking: Variable 18, 19, 20 degrees
Frontstretch: 1760 ft., 4 degrees of banking
Backstretch: 1760 ft., 4 degrees of banking
Grandstand Seating: 65,000
Website: http://www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomesteadMiamiSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HomesteadMiami
Pre-race Schedule
Practices: Friday, Nov. 14, 12:30 - 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
Saturday, Nov. 15, noon - 12:50 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
Happy Hour: Saturday, Nov. 15, 3 - 3:50 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2
Qualifying: Friday, Nov. 14 at 6:15 p.m. ET on ESPN2
VIPs
Honorary Race Chairman: Edsel B. Ford II, Member Board of Directors, Ford
Grand Marshal/Command: Joe Hinrichs, executive vp & president of the Americas, Ford
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: Raj Nair, group vp & CTO, global product development, Ford
Honorary Pace Car Driver: Mark Fields, president and CEO, Ford
Color Guard: 482nd Honor Guard - Homestead Air Reserve Base
God Bless America: Arabella Jones, 18-year-old country music artist
America the Beautiful: Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Carson of Max Impact, The USAF Band
Pledge of Allegiance: Brigadier General Kurt Sonntag, Commander, Special Operations Command South
Driver Introduction Announcer: Bruce Buffer, UFC announcer
Invocation: Pastor Sammy Flores, Christ Fellowship
National Anthem: Caleb Johnson, 2014 American Idol winner
Flyover: Two F-16 Fighting Falcons, 93rd Fighter Squadron, Homestead Air Reserve Base
Race Day Forecast
Sunday: Chance of Storms
Precipitation: 40 percent
High: 81
Low: 72
They Said It:
"I feel pretty optimistic. I thought we had a great test there, and obviously no one saw that win coming last year in 2013. We were a lot less competitive at the end of last year, and we popped up and won that race. It's just a track that suits me for some reason. It's wide, tires wear out, and if your car is working well you can make up positions there. Track position is not crazy critical (at Homestead). Love the opportunity — we're on house money now, so let's go have fun." - Denny Hamlin
"I think for me and my confidence, when I climb into the car every week, I know that thing is going to be fast, and if it's not, I know we can figure out what we need to do to make it better. I'm just really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing and particularly my team for everything that we've built this year and been a part of." - Kevin Harvick
"It is exactly how you would think it feels – it's the accumulation of a whole season of hard work. This No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford team has been strong all year, and I think we deserve to be in the final four competing for this Championship. I think it would have been a shame not to race for the title after the year we have had. Thankfully, we were able to make it through the Chase and make it to the final round. All of the teams in the Chase will say the same thing, but we deserve it. This team has worked its butt off all year long. We've been through a lot and we've come a long way to get where we are. (Crew chief) Todd (Gordon) has led this team, and we are all very close. This is the type of team you win Championships with." - Joey Logano
"I am so proud of my guys and all the effort they have put into this. I want to thank Luke Lambert, everyone at RCR, ECR Engines, Caterpillar, Chevrolet, Quicken Loans, WIX Filters and Kwikset for giving me the opportunity to race for the championship. We've been fighting very hard all year long. We did what we had to do to get to this position. We flew under the radar and turned in the solid performances to earn one of the four positions. There's been so much on the line week in and week out during this new Chase format. We've been able to dig in and move on. It's no different with the Homestead-Miami Speedway race. We are going to keep digging and hope it will be good enough to win a Sprint Cup Series championship." - Ryan Newman
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Keepin' It Short: Time for Some Back-to-Back Fun
by Mike Neff
The racing calendar is winding down to the final few weeks of the 2014 season. The Cup Series wraps up this weekend, and the Snowball Derby isn't too far away. PASS is crowning its Southern Division champion this weekend and there are two big weekends of racing about to take the green flag on opposite sides of the country.
The 22nd Annual Myrtle Beach 400 kicks off this weekend with the Southeast Limited Late Model portion, while the 14th Annual Hall of Fame Classic will put a period on the USAC National Sprint season and the 47th Western World Championship will all but draw the curtain on the USAC Midget National title hunt.
The Myrtle Beach 400 is the traditional end to the Late Model season. The Martinsville race is in the books, the Fall Brawl at Hickory is over and the Autumn Classic trophy was handed out last weekend at Southern National Motorsports Park. Everyone who runs perimeter Late Models in the Southeast will make the pilgrimage to the Redneck Riviera for a combination vacation and racing weekend. Myrtle Beach isn't just about the race, it is also about the party. A long season of racing is behind everyone and they enjoy unwinding and bench racing as much as they enjoy hitting the track.
Out West the folks at Canyon Speedway Park prepare to wind down their season with the Hall of Fame Classic and the Western World Championship. Canyon kicks off the season with the Winter Classic every January, some of the earliest racing of the season. They put an end to the season over the two weekends in the middle of November with a big Sprint Car show followed by a big Midget show. Brady Bacon looks to hold off Bryan Clauson for the Sprint Car title while Damion Gardner puts the bow on his great CRA Sprint Car title. Next weekend Rico Abreu will try and seal up the Midget title to put the cherry on top of an outstanding racing season for the St. Helena, Calif., driver.
The 400 at Myrtle Beach is split over two weekends this season. Traditionally the Southeast Limited Late Models ran on Saturday with the Late Models running on Sunday. This season the Southeast drivers get their own weekend, with the Challenger division running a 50-lap feature on Saturday night this weekend and the Limiteds taking to the track for 100 laps on Sunday along with a Mini Stock feature. Next weekend the Late Models will highlight a full schedule with qualifying races on Saturday and a 200-lap feature on Sunday along with a 100-lap Truck and 125-lap Modified features.
The weather is getting colder and the racing action is beginning to head indoors across the northern clime but you can still see some outstanding racing action this weekend if you head south and west. If you are in Arizona or South Carolina, head to the race track and take in some of the final racing action of the season.
This Weekend's Racing Schedule
Mike Neff is a senior writer for Frontstretch. Feedback can be sent to mike.neff@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:
| | No Special Treatment Necessary During Expanded Championship Battle |
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA
Q: If you look at the results of the 1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami at the then-Homestead Motorsports Complex, you'll notice that Dennis Vitolo dropped out of the race after 90 laps due to "driver injury." What was this driver injury, and when did it occur?
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Thursday's Answer:
Q: The 1999 HotWheels.com 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the first race in the then-Busch Series to ever air on NBC. That race got off to a rather rough start. What happened?
A: On the first lap of the race, Stanton Barrett made a rather ill-advised move. Barrett, who qualified 11th, made a move to the inside of eventual race winner Joe Nemechek entering turn 3. The inside was essentially the only line on the second version of Homestead-Miami Speedway, so Nemechek dove down there and essentially cut Barrett off. The two cars had contact and Barrett spun in front of much of the field. The result was a multi-car pileup involving Barrett, Shane Hall, Jason Keller, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Lyndon Amick, Matt Kenseth and others. The crash can be seen here.
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 Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Ford EcoBoost 400 Race Recap by Justin Tucker
-- Never Fear, The Underdogs Are Here by Amy Henderson
-- Sidebar Stories: Homestead by Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch columns and More!
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This Weekend on Frontstretch:
Four Burning Questions: Homestead by Matt Stallknecht
Matt covers all the big stories and questions heading into the final race of the season.
Tracking the Trucks: Homestead by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth has all the post-race analysis you need following Friday's Truck Series race from Homestead.
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Monday on Frontstretch:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Ford EcoBoost 400 by Mike Neff
Mike covers all the details and post-race analysis from Homestead.
Big Six: Ford EcoBoost 400 by Amy Henderson
Amy tackles the who, what, when, where, how and why from Homestead.
Pace Laps: All Racing Series by the Frontstretch Staff
Our staff keeps you posted on all the racing action that occurred over the weekend.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom returns to tackle one of the most important storylines post-Homestead.
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