The Frontstretch Newsletter: Ford Championship Weekend Begins

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Nov. 13, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXCVI

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What to Watch: Thursday

- Today, Ford Championship Weekend officially gets underway with two practice sessions for the Camping World Truck Series ahead of Friday night's Ford 200.  The 36 trucks entered will be on-track from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.  Neither session will be televised.  However, we will have a write-up of Camping World Truck Series practice tomorrow here in the Newsletter.

- ESPN will feature the four championship contenders live at 3:00 p.m. from Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Today's TV Schedule

Time                                            Telecast                                                                                               Network

5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m                   NASCAR America                                                                                  NBC Sports Network

5 p.m. - 6 p.m.                       NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                FOX Sports 1

6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.                  The 10: Biggest Bonehead Moves                                                         FOX Sports 2#
7 p.m. - 8 p.m.                       NASCAR RaceHub                                                                                FOX Sports 2*#

8 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.                  The 10: NASCAR's Greatest Finishes                                                   FOX Sports 2#

8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.              NASCAR RaceHub                                                                               FOX Sports 1*#

                              

DVR Theater (Late Thursday Night/Early Friday Morning)

2 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.                   NASCAR America: The List                                                                   NBC Sports Network#

2:30 a.m. - 3 a.m.                   The Grid                                                                                                 NBC Sports Network

7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.                   Formula One Grand Prix of Brazil Free Practice No. 1                          NBC Sports Live Xtra$

7 a.m. - 9 a.m.                        NASCAR America (four repeats)                                                           NBC Sports Network#

* - Tape Delayed

# - Repeat Coverage

$ - Available via password-protected online streaming.  Check with your internet and/or programming provider for availability.

Top News
by Phil Allaway

Championship Contenders Meet the Media

Wednesday, the four Sprint Cup Championship contenders gathered at Trump National Doral Miami to talk about the upcoming race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  All four drivers are very happy to be in position to claim their first title, but they all want to win it the right way.  Read more

Foyt Undergoes Triple Bypass Surgery

79-year-old retired racer and current Verizon IndyCar Series owner A.J. Foyt is stable after undergoing coronary artery surgery in order to free up blockages.  The arteries that were blocked had already been stented previously.  Read more

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

Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400: 43 cars entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 21 - Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing

No. 32 - Blake Koch for Go FAS Racing

No. 33 - Brian Scott for Circle Sport/Richard Childress Racing

No. 40 - Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing

No. 83 - JJ Yeley for BK Racing

Driver Changes:
No. 32 - Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing Joey Gase. Koch is finishing off his limited schedule with the team based on funding.1
No. 33 - Brian Scott returns to the seat, replacing Ty Dillon. Scott is running a limited schedule with Richard Childress Racing support.

No. 66 - Brett Moffitt returns to the seat, replacing Mike Wallace. Moffitt, a development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing will finish off the season with this team.

 

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

 

Not Entered:
No. 37 - Mike Bliss for Tommy Baldwin Racing

 

Nationwide Series Ford EcoBoost 300: 45 cars entered

 

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 10 - Ross Chastain for TriStar Motorsports

No. 12 - Ryan Blaney for Team Penske

No. 20 - Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing

No. 22 - Brad Keselowski for Team Penske

No. 25 - John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports

No. 26  - Jake Crum for Browning Motorsports

No. 42 - Kyle Larson for Turner Scott Motorsports

No. 54 - Kyle Busch for Joe Gibbs Racing

No. 98 - Corey LaJoie for Biagi-DenBeste Racing

 

Driver Changes:
No. 5 - Josh Berry returns to the seat, replacing Alex Bowman. Berry is running a limited schedule with JR Motorsports based on funding.

No. 10 - Ross Chastain is in the seat, replacing Jeff Green. Chastain is running a one-race deal with sponsorship from local watermelon companies.

No. 20 - Matt Kenseth returns to the seat, replacing Erik Jones. Kenseth finishes off the merry-go-round of drivers running this car.
No. 23 - Robert Richardson, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Mackena Bell. Richardson runs the car when no funded drivers are available.
No. 33 - Scott Lagasse, Jr. is in the seat, replacing Austin Dillon. Lagasse brings funding to the table and is hoping to expand this opportunity next year.

No. 55 - David Starr returns to the seat, replacing Jamie Dick. Starr brings funding to the table and is running a limited schedule with the team.

No. 72 - John Jackson returns to the seat, replacing Matt Carter. This car is expected to start-and-park.
No. 74 - Kevin Lepage returns to the seat, replacing Mike Wallace. Lepage runs the car and start-and-parks it when no funding is available.
No. 87 - Milka Duno is in the seat, replacing Carl Long. Duno brings funding to the seat in this one-race deal.

No. 93 - Kevin Swindell returns to the seat, replacing T.J. Bell. Swindell hopes to go the distance in this car Saturday while working on funding for 2015.

 

Drivers who must qualify on speed:

No. 5 - Josh Berry for JR Motorsports
No. 10 - Ross Chastain for TriStar Motorsports

No. 12 - Ryan Blaney for Team Penske

No. 17 - Tanner Berryhill for Vision Racing

No. 25 - John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports

No. 26 - Jake Crum for Browning Motorsports

No. 33 - Scott Lagasse, Jr. for Richard Childress Racing

No. 36 - Ryan Preece for Tommy Baldwin Racing

No. 46 - Ryan Ellis for The Motorsports Group*
No. 70 - Derrike Cope for Derrike Cope Racing
No. 72 - John Jackson for Carter Motorsports*
No. 74 - Kevin Lepage for Mike Harmon Racing*

No. 90 - Martin Roy for DGR Motorsports

No. 91 - Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports (Guaranteed to start via the Past Champions' Provisional)*
No. 98 - Corey LaJoie for Biagi-DenBeste Racing

 

Not Entered:

No. 29 - Kelly Admiraal for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 77 - Brennan Newberry for SS-Green Light Racing

No. 84 - Chad Boat for Billy Boat Motorsports

No. 89 - Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures

 

Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200: 36 trucks entered

Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:

No. 36 - Blake Koch for MB Motorsports

No. 42 - Kyle Larson for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 51 - Kyle Busch for Kyle Busch Motorsports

 

Driver Changes:
No. 07 - An unknown driver will be in the seat, replacing BJ McLeod. This driver will likely start-and-park.

No. 08 - Ray Black, Jr. returns to the seat, replacing Korbin Forrester. Black runs a limited schedule based on funding.
No. 8 - Joe Nemechek returns to the seat, replacing his son, John Hunter Nemechek. Joe runs the larger tracks as his son is too young to participate.

No. 9 - Austin Dillon is in the seat, replacing Brennan Newberry. Dillon finishes off his limited schedule with the team.

No. 20 - Daniel Hemric is in the seat, replacing Gray Gaulding. Hemric is making his first start of the season after running a limited schedule last year.

No. 32 - Tayler Malsam returns to the seat, replacing Ben Rhodes. Malsam ends his limited schedule with the team based on funding.
No. 35 - Ross Chastain is in the seat, replacing Akinori Ogata. Chastain has a one-race deal with sponsorship from local watermelon companies.

No. 36 - Scott Stenzel returns to the seat, replacing Tyler Tanner.  Blake Koch was originally entered in the truck, which is typically a start-and-park effort.

No. 50 - Wendell Chavous is in the seat, replacing Jordan Anderson.  TJ Bell was originally entered in the truck, but Chavous brought funding.
No. 51 - Kyle Busch returns to the seat, replacing Erik Jones. Busch winds up his limited schedule with this self-owned operation.

No. 74 - Jordan Anderson is in the seat, replacing Wendell Chavous. Anderson brought funding to the seat.

 

Since there are only 36 trucks entered, no one will fail to qualify.  However, these drivers must still qualify on speed:
No. 05 - John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports

No. 0 - Caleb Roark for JJC Racing*

No. 15 - Mason Mingus for Billy Boat Motorsports

No. 23 - Spencer Gallagher for GMS Racing
No. 36 - Scott Stenzel for MB Motorsports*
No. 40 - Todd Peck for Peck Motorsports
No. 42 - Kyle Larson for Turner Scott Motorsports

No. 45 - Matt Tifft for McLeod Racing
No. 48 - Mason Mitchell for Mason Mitchell Motorsports.  Mitchell is the reigning ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards champion.  He will be making his Camping World Truck Series debut.

No. 59 - Kyle Martel for Martel Motorsports

No. 74 - Jordan Anderson for Mike Harmon Racing

No. 92 - Austin Hill for Ricky Benton Racing

*- Expected to Start-and-Park

Not Entered:

No. 00 - Cole Custer for Stewart-Haas Racing

No. 33 - Brandon Jones for Turner Scott Motorsports/GMS Racing

No. 80 - Jody Knowles

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 runs on Wednesdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

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Editor's Note: Potts' Shots Will Return Next Week.

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The Critic's Annex: Baku World Challenge

by Phil Allaway

As the 2014 season begins to wind down, it becomes harder to find content.  Last weekend had no major racing on television other than the three NASCAR National Series in Phoenix.  The fourth race from there, the Casino Arizona 100 that served as the season finale for the K&N Pro Series West on Thursday night, will not be aired on television until Sunday morning.  So, I was forced to go through the schedules and pick something recent that would work for the piece.

We haven't covered the Blancpain Sprint Series since last season's opener at Nogaro, so why not.  Last year, I covered the Nogaro race via FOX Sports' SPEED2.com service.  Unfortunately for viewers, no arrangements were made to continue SPEED2 after the end of last season.  FOX Sports had contracts that required them to continue SPEED2.com to the end of the year after SPEED became Fox Sports 1, but after their commitments were complete, the service was cut off.  It was a great shame.  I liked watching races on SPEED2.com.  It was a better solution to watch live IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge races than IMSA.com was this past season.  At least with SPEED2.com, you knew that the race telecast was going to start on time.  You never could be sure with IMSA.  Also, the quality on SPEED2.com was better.

When SPEED2.com was cut off, a number of the series that aired on there migrated to other networks, or disappeared from American television.  DTM and the Blancpain Sprint Series migrated to the CBS Sports Network, where the fledgling cable sports network gave the two series (and the Blancpain Endurance Series) a much bigger profile than nearly any other network, airing the races on same-day delay.  Even with the SPEED2.com telecasts last year, the aforementioned three series were part of FOX Sports' auto racing programming for the offseason, airing along with the British Touring Car Championship.  That meant that the Nogaro broadcast I critiqued in April last year didn't air on regular TV here in the United States until November.

The Baku World Challenge was the first major race for an international series to be held in Azerbaijan.  Originally planned as part of a winter series of "City Challenge" events on street courses, the Baku event has grown into a fairly notable one, now in its third year.  The event has raised the profile of motorsports in Azerbaijan and is probably at least slightly responsible for Baku landing the Formula One European Grand Prix starting in 2016 (Note: While the Baku World Challenge is held on a street course in Baku, the Formula One race will be on another street course in the Azeri capital).

The telecast that aired on CBS Sports Network started with a recap of the Zolder round, held in October.  Naturally, since it was the final race of the season, the championship battle was at the forefront.  Despite the sprint race format (each weekend has two one-hour races) one single driver (Maxmilian Götz) and the duo of TUSC regular Jeroen Bleekemolen and Hari Proczyk were fighting for the championship.  Götz's teammate, Maxmilian Buhk, was not eligible because he did not race at the Slovakia Ring in August.  (Götz raced alone in both races.)  Normally, two drivers share each car, but single drivers can participate in rare circumstances.  Alex Zanardi's recent participation in the series in a BMW Z4 GT3 is an example of a rare circumstance, in that case due to his need to race with hand controls.

The cars of the Blancpain Sprint Series are full GT3-spec racers.  They are very similar to a number of the cars that race in Pirelli World Challenge here in North America.  GT3 cars are legal in TUSC's GT-Daytona class, but with a series of required modifications to slow the cars down.  Full GT3-spec racers have rear wings especially designed for the car, free choice of tire manufacturers and traction control.  There's a decent amount of car and engine variety.  Manufacturers include Aston Martin (Vantage GT3), Audi (R8 LMS Ultra), Chevrolet (Corvette Z06.R GT3), Lamborghini (Gallardo FL2), Mercedes-Benz (SLS AMG GT3), BMW (Z4 GT3), McLaren (MP4-12C GT3) and Porsche (911 (997) GT3).

In the booth for the world feed, we have Jack Nicholls on play-by-play.  As you may remember, Nicholls does play-by-play for the FIA Formula E Championship.  I generally liked Nicholls in the booth in Beijing and he's pretty good here as well.  However, I think he can be an acquired taste.  Nicholls is a little shouty at times, which irritates some viewers.  He's joined by former Formula One driver John Watson, a man with 25 years of TV experience as an analyst.  Watson doesn't get to do all that much (it's clearly a Nicholls-dominated broadcast) but when he gets to chip in, he's quite solid.

The Baku Street Circuit, despite being very fast, is very tight.  The first lap of race No. 1 saw a big wreck that pushed the concrete wall back and caused a safety car period.  Another spin nearly blocked the track further up.

Now, when I noted this race on the schedule in Couch Potato Tuesday, I did not note that it was highlighted coverage.  Well, it was.  In fact, it was cut to heck and back.  No replays were shown of that first crash.  I suppose if we got the live telecast here in North America, maybe we would have gotten it.  But that's not all; after that safety car period began, 25 minutes were cut out.  By the time the race returned from commercial, it was nearly half-distance and Buhk was bringing the HTP Motorsport No. 84 Mercedes-Benz so Götz could get in to replace Buhk (Note: There are mandatory pit stops in a ten-minute window in the Blancpain Sprint Series.  Those stops typically see the teams take tires and a change of driver).  The one-hour qualifying race was complete 18 minutes into the broadcast.

The championship battle, out of production's control turned out to be a complete anti-climax.  Götz failed to score points in both races, as did Bleekemolen and Proczyk.  The championship was decided when Proczyk was forced to pit for damage repairs with five minutes to go, dropping the No. 28 Lamborghini from fourth to 15th.  Based on the telecast, I'm a little unclear as to what happened to cause the damage.  In an interview, Bleekemolen claimed that being aggressive on the curbs caused parts to fall off the car.  Later, an issue with ABS (anti-lock brakes) was mentioned.  It's crazy to imagine a race car falling apart around you at this level of motorsport, but that is apparently what went down.

What wasn't exactly made clear was the fact that there was still another championship up for grabs.  In addition to the Blancpain Sprint Series Championship, there was also the Blancpain GT Series Championship on the line.  That championship is one that spans both the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series.  Similar equipment is run in both series and many teams and drivers double up since the series do not conflict with each other.  That championship had Buhk leading over Laurens Vanthoor, who had co-driven the winning car in the qualifying race.  For viewers who don't watch the races religiously, they likely wouldn't have known that at the beginning of the telecast; they would have been especially confused.

The main race saw some pre-race coverage on the grid.  Viewers saw interviews with series founder Stephane Ratel, former Formula One racer/co-owner of Boutsen Ginion Racing Thierry Boutsen and driver Stephane Ortelli prior to the start.  Once the green flag flew, we saw a good amount of racing for position broadcast here.

The GT Series title also ended in anti-climax, much like the Blancpain Sprint Series championship.  11 minutes into the race, Götz had contact with the No. 2 Audi driven by Rene Rast and crashed, putting himself out.  Vanthoor, who clearly had the best car all weekend, drove to another victory with teammate César Ramos.

Post-race coverage saw interviews with the top-3 finishers, along with checks of the unofficial results and point standings for the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain GT Series.  Overall, I thought the broadcast was too cut up for my taste.  Because of the editing, some of the aspects of the races didn't make any sense, especially in the qualifying race.  That's not good if your goal is to draw in new fans.

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer at Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @Critic84.

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Frontstretch Line of the Week

From Tech Talk: Matt Puccia Sizes Up Homestead, NASCAR Finale, Biffle

"They're bolted in, screwed in, whatever you can do to attach them securely. I think I was the one who lost the grille at one of them (laughs). I don't remember which one it was but I know one of the races it came out. It is something that happens. It is just screwed in, fastened in, it is just the front bezel... it doesn't hurt us that bad when it comes out but you don't want to lose it (laughs). There's no advantage to losing it." - Matt Puccia, on the Ford Fusion grilles that have a propensity to pop out with contact and cause debris cautions

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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:

Happiness Is... The End, A Mirror, and the Trucks
by P. Huston Ladner

Fantasy Insider: Prepping For Your Own NASCAR Title Bout
by Jeff Wolfe

Truckin' Thursdays: Three Champions to Be Crowned at Homestead

by Beth Lunkenheimer

Tech Talk: Matt Puccia Sizes Up Homestead, NASCAR Finale, Biffle

as told to Mike Neff

Going By the Numbers: Sizing Up NASCAR's Chase Final Four

by Kevin Rutherford

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

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?

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

Q:  The 1999 Florida Dodge Dealers 400k at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a very competitive race that served as the season opener for the then-Craftsman Truck Series.  Late in the race, a mix of the usual suspects and a couple of unheralded drivers (Ron Barfield, Jr., Mike Stefanik) were fighting it out for the win when contact was made.  What happened?

A:  With 20 laps to go, Jack Sprague attempted to make a move on the Icehouse Beer-sponsored No. 55 of Ron Barfield, Jr. for third place.  Sprague tried to go to the outside of Barfield and had contact exiting turn 4.  As a result, Sprague spun and hit the inside wall hard while Barfield smacked the outside wall and slowed.  The crash can be seen here.

Sprague was out on the spot, but walked away under his own power.  He would be credited with a 22nd-place finish.  Barfield continued, but dropped out a couple of laps short of the finish and was credited with a 15th-place result.

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

-- Frontstretch Folio: Homestead by Brad Morgan

-- Keepin' It Short by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson

Amy returns with a new commentary.

Friday Faceoff by the Frontstretch Staff

Our new feature returns, a shorter, easier-flowing version of Mirror Driving with answers from a greater number of the staff you know and love.

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 Joseph Wolkin

Joseph returns to bring us up-to-date on NASCAR's second-tier series as they wrap up the season.

Creed's Corner by Aaron Creed

On a new day, Aaron returns to talk NASCAR at Homestead.

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