THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Nov. 6, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXCVI
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What to Watch: Thursday
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Nov. 6, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXCVI
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Thursday
- Today, we've got plenty of on-track action at Phoenix International Raceway. Camping World Truck Series teams will participate in two practice sessions from 1 p.m - 1:55 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. MT. Neither session will be televised.
- Tonight, the K&N Pro Series West will hold their season finale, the Casino Arizona 100, at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Pursley is in a great spot to earn his second championship. The race is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT. The race will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on November 16th at Noon.
Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
Time Telecast Network
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 1
6:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. The 10: NASCAR's Wildest Throw-Downs FOX Sports 2#
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 2*#
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 2*#
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
by Phil Allaway
Hendrick Motorsports to Pay Fines for Penalized Crew Members
On Wednesday, Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt went on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and announced that the race team will cover all of the monetary fines handed out to crewmembers in the wake of the fight after Sunday's AAA Texas 500. In addition, the team will not appeal the fines or suspensions that NASCAR levied on Tuesday. Read more
Ogata to Make Camping World Truck Series Debut at Phoenix
Win-Tron Racing announced on Wednesday that part-time K&N Pro Series East racer Akinori Ogata will drive the No. 35 Toyota in Friday night's Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. Sponsorship will be provided by ENEOS. Read more
Watkins Glen International to Resurface Track in 2015
On Wednesday, Watkins Glen International announced a complete track repaving that will commence in multiple steps during the 2015 season. The resurfacing will be the track's first since 1998. Read more
Entry List Update:
Note: These entries are accurate as of Wednesday night. However, the entries are still subject to change.
Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race For Heroes: 44 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 32- Joey Gase for Go FAS Racing
No. 33- Ty Dillon for Circle Sport/Richard Childress Racing
No. 37- Mike Bliss for Tommy Baldwin Racing
No. 40- Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing
No. 66- Mike Wallace for Michael Waltrip Racing/Identity Ventures Racing
No. 83- JJ Yeley for BK Racing
Driver Changes:
No. 33- Ty Dillon returns to the seat, replacing Timmy Hill.
No. 66- Mike Wallace returns to the seat, replacing Brett Moffitt.
Driver who must qualify on speed (top-36):
No. 75- Clay Rogers for Beard Motorsports (54th in points, 1 attempt)
Drivers who have provisionals, but could fail to qualify:
No. 7- Michael Annett for Tommy Baldwin Racing (32nd in points, 34 attempts)
No. 10- Danica Patrick for Stewart-Haas Racing (28th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 17- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. for Roush Fenway Racing (27th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 23- Alex Bowman for BK Racing (37th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 26- Cole Whitt for BK Racing (31st in points, 34 attempts)
No. 32- Joey Gase for Go FAS Racing (38th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 33- Ty Dillon for Circle Sport/Richard Childress Racing (40th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 34- David Ragan for Front Row Motorsports (33rd in points, 34 attempts)
No. 36- Reed Sorenson for Tommy Baldwin Racing (35th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 37- Mike Bliss for Tommy Baldwin Racing (46th in points, 9 attempts)*
No. 38- David Gilliland for Front Row Motorsports (30th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 40- Landon Cassill for Hillman Racing (34th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 51- Justin Allgaier for HScott Motorsports (29th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 66- Mike Wallace for Michael Waltrip Racing/Identity Ventures Racing (39th in points, 34 attempts)
No. 83- JJ Yeley for BK Racing (41st in points, 34 attempts)
No. 95- Michael McDowell for Leavine Family Racing (42nd in points, 20 attempts)
No. 98- Josh Wise for Phil Parsons Racing (36th in points, 34 attempts)
Not Entered:
No. 21- Trevor Bayne for Wood Brothers Racing
Nationwide Series DAV 200 – Honoring America's Veterans: 40 cars entered
Drivers Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 5- Alex Bowman for JR Motorsports
No. 20- Erik Jones for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 22- Brad Keselowski for Team Penske
No. 25- John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports
No. 42- Kyle Larson for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 54- Kyle Busch for Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 77- Brennan Newberry for Viva Motorsports with Frank Cicci
Driver Changes:
No. 5- Alex Bowman returns to the seat, replacing Kevin Harvick.
No. 10- Jeff Green returns to the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 20- Erik Jones returns to the seat, replacing Matt Kenseth.
No. 22- Brad Keselowski returns to the seat, replacing Joey Logano.
No. 23- Mackena Bell is in the seat, replacing Robert Richardson, Jr. Bell, a regular in the K&N Pro Series East, will be making her Nationwide Series debut.
No. 29- Kelly Admiraal returns to the seat, replacing Milka Duno.
No. 44- Blake Koch returns to the seat, replacing David Starr.
No. 77- Brennan Newberry is in the seat, replacing Jimmy Weller.
No. 87- Carl Long returns to the seat, replacing Carlos Contreras.
Since there are only 40 cars entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these drivers still have to qualify on speed:
No. 5- Alex Bowman for JR Motorsports
No. 10- Jeff Green for TriStar Motorsports*
No. 17- Tanner Berryhill for Vision Racing
No. 25- John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports
No. 29- Kelly Admiraal for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard
No. 46- Ryan Ellis for The Motorsports Group*
No. 70- Derrike Cope for Derrike Cope Racing
No. 74- Mike Harmon for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 77- Brennan Newberry for Viva Motorsports with Frank Cicci
No. 84- Chad Boat for Billy Boat Motorsports
Not Entered:
No. 12- Ryan Blaney for Team Penske
No. 89- Morgan Shepherd for Shepherd Motor Ventures
No. 90- Martin Roy for DGR Motorsports
No. 98- Corey LaJoie for Biagi-DenBeste Racing
Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150: 35 trucks entered
Driver Ineligible to Earn Points:
No. 14- Austin Dillon for NTS Motorsports
Driver Changes:
No. 07- BJ McLeod returns to the seat, replacing Ryan Lynch.
No. 08- Jimmy Weller returns to the seat, replacing Ray Black, Jr.
No. 9- Brennan Newberry returns to the seat, replacing Ron Hornaday.
No. 14- Austin Dillon is in the seat, replacing Michael Annett.
No. 20- Gray Gaulding returns to the seat, replacing Brennan Newberry.
No. 23- Spencer Gallagher returns to the seat, replacing Max Gresham.
No. 32- Ben Rhodes returns to the seat, replacing Tayler Malsam.
No. 35- Akinori Ogata is in the seat, replacing Ryan Ellis. Ogata will be making his Camping World Truck Series debut. Ross Chastain was originally entered in the truck.
No. 36- Tyler Tanner is in the seat, replacing Blake Koch.
No. 45- Matt Tifft is in the seat, replacing BJ McLeod.
No. 51- Erik Jones returns to the seat, replacing Kyle Busch.
No. 74- Wendell Chavous returns to the seat, replacing Mike Harmon.
Since there are only 35 trucks entered, no one will fail to qualify. However, these drivers must still qualify on speed:
No. 00- Cole Custer for Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 05- John Wes Townley for Athenian Motorsports
No. 0- Caleb Roark for JJC Racing*
No. 14- Austin Dillon for NTS Motorsports
No. 15- Mason Mingus for Billy Boat Motorsports
No. 23- Spencer Gallagher for GMS Racing
No. 33- Brandon Jones for Turner Scott Motorsports/GMS Racing
No. 36- Tyler Tanner for MB Motorsports*
No. 45- Matt Tifft for McLeod Racing
No. 74- Wendell Chavous for Mike Harmon Racing
No. 80- Jody Knowles
*- Expected to Start-and-Park
Not Entered:
No. 30- Cameron Hayley for Turner Scott Motorsports
No. 57- Adam Edwards for Norm Benning Racing
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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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Today's Featured Commentary
Potts' Shots for the Week of November 3
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
by John Potts
Photo Credit: John Potts
Lost another dear friend late last week. Hadn't seen him for a while, but I have some great memories of Jim Sauter.
As the news stories said, he was the patriarch of the Sauter racing family, and was at the top of the game on the tracks in the Midwest and his native Wisconsin for years. He got his start sometime around 1967 in Minnesota, driving a 1932 Ford coupe with a Chevy 409 in it.
He passed away last Friday night after a brief illness, according to his family. 'Patriarch' is a good word. Jim had four sons, all of whom (Tim, Jay, Johnny, and Jim Jr.) went into racing and had successful careers. Johnny, of course, is still going. He's even got a grandson racing. Tim's son, Travis, is having some success on the short tracks.
We had one of his daughters (I forget which one, there were only seven) sing the National Anthem for an ASA race at Indianapolis Raceway Park once. Did a good job, too.
Jim was a tough driver in ASA and ARTGO, and was a guy I had a lot of respect for. Probably one of my best friends in ASA, along with Dick Trickle, Butch Miller, and several others.
He won two ARTGO championships and had 20 wins, sixteen of them coming in his championship years with seven in 1981 and nine in 1982.
There were seven wins in the ASA national series, and although he never won the title, Tim did it in 1999 and Johnny in 2001.
Two of his big wins were the Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100 at Illiana and the National Short Track Championship 200 at Rockford in 1980. Oh yeah, he also drove a Dave Marcis-prepared Dodge Charger to a win in the ARCA 200 at Daytona in 1978.
Like Dick Trickle, I liked him because he was genuine. What you saw was what you got.
I recall his win in the 1983 All-American 400 at Nashville. We had a late caution while Jim and Bob Senneker (another friend) were battling for the lead. When I could, I made it a habit to look for the leader while throwing the yellow. Apparently nobody else got the chance to do it this time, because Rex Robbins asked me on the radio who was leading.
I told him I thought Jim had about half a car on Bob going into the third turn when I brought it out. He said to pick up Sauter as the leader.
Jim managed to hold Bob off as we finished the race, including our usual last five laps under green.
As I was packing my flags in the car, Senneker came up and asked if I made the call. I told him I did, and told him what I saw.
Bob, like Jim, was always a gentleman, and he said he didn't see it that way. But he added, "You've always called it the way you saw it and been honest about it," and shook my hand.
I told him there may have been a slight delay between turning on the yellow light and throwing the flag, which wasn't unusual in those days when the flagman (or flagmen – Dan Spence of All-Pro and I were in the stand together) had control of the lights as well as the flags.
He accepted that, and we parted on a friendly basis.
Last time I ran into Sauter, he was testing IROC cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with Trickle and Marcis in the early 90s, before they brought the Winston Cup cars in for tests. Phil Holmer of Goodyear saw me sitting on the pit wall and asked what I was doing there.
I told him I came to watch the Wisconsin Grand Prix. That tradition continued, as I understand Jay Sauter got involved in the testing later.
Jim made a total of 76 starts in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with four top 10 finishes (Editor's Note: Sauter's best career finishes were a pair of ninths, one in the 1987 Coca-Cola 600 for the Mueller Brothers, and at Watkins Glen in 1989 for Group 44, a team best known for IMSA exploits). There were also several starts in the Nationwide and Truck series.
His final start in the Nationwide Series came in 2002 on the Milwaukee Mile, and he was competing in the same race with Tim, Jay, and Johnny.
One of my favorite Jim Sauter stories involved his large family.
Seems they were tearing down an old elementary school in his home town of Necedah, Wis., so Jim went over their and took the bicycle rack to put in front of his own house. Eleven kids – I guess he needed it.
RIP old friend…
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Folks, we're going to take a week and maybe two off before writing again. As most of you know, we moved back to Indianapolis from Kentucky early this year. Well, the new apartment hasn't worked out very well, so we're pulling up stakes again. We're staying in Indy, and we plan to attend as many events as we can in 2015. We don't have any excuse not to go. Took my granddaughter to the Brickyard as a photographer this year and now she's hooked on racing. Guess it runs in the blood somehow.
However, we're going to be pretty busy, and maybe without a computer for at least a week. And the weather isn't good enough to go to the library.
Thanks to Tom Bowles and his staff for letting us write, and thank you fans for reading. We'll be back.
As the news stories said, he was the patriarch of the Sauter racing family, and was at the top of the game on the tracks in the Midwest and his native Wisconsin for years. He got his start sometime around 1967 in Minnesota, driving a 1932 Ford coupe with a Chevy 409 in it.
He passed away last Friday night after a brief illness, according to his family. 'Patriarch' is a good word. Jim had four sons, all of whom (Tim, Jay, Johnny, and Jim Jr.) went into racing and had successful careers. Johnny, of course, is still going. He's even got a grandson racing. Tim's son, Travis, is having some success on the short tracks.
We had one of his daughters (I forget which one, there were only seven) sing the National Anthem for an ASA race at Indianapolis Raceway Park once. Did a good job, too.
Jim was a tough driver in ASA and ARTGO, and was a guy I had a lot of respect for. Probably one of my best friends in ASA, along with Dick Trickle, Butch Miller, and several others.
He won two ARTGO championships and had 20 wins, sixteen of them coming in his championship years with seven in 1981 and nine in 1982.
There were seven wins in the ASA national series, and although he never won the title, Tim did it in 1999 and Johnny in 2001.
Two of his big wins were the Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100 at Illiana and the National Short Track Championship 200 at Rockford in 1980. Oh yeah, he also drove a Dave Marcis-prepared Dodge Charger to a win in the ARCA 200 at Daytona in 1978.
Like Dick Trickle, I liked him because he was genuine. What you saw was what you got.
I recall his win in the 1983 All-American 400 at Nashville. We had a late caution while Jim and Bob Senneker (another friend) were battling for the lead. When I could, I made it a habit to look for the leader while throwing the yellow. Apparently nobody else got the chance to do it this time, because Rex Robbins asked me on the radio who was leading.
I told him I thought Jim had about half a car on Bob going into the third turn when I brought it out. He said to pick up Sauter as the leader.
Jim managed to hold Bob off as we finished the race, including our usual last five laps under green.
As I was packing my flags in the car, Senneker came up and asked if I made the call. I told him I did, and told him what I saw.
Bob, like Jim, was always a gentleman, and he said he didn't see it that way. But he added, "You've always called it the way you saw it and been honest about it," and shook my hand.
I told him there may have been a slight delay between turning on the yellow light and throwing the flag, which wasn't unusual in those days when the flagman (or flagmen – Dan Spence of All-Pro and I were in the stand together) had control of the lights as well as the flags.
He accepted that, and we parted on a friendly basis.
Last time I ran into Sauter, he was testing IROC cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway along with Trickle and Marcis in the early 90s, before they brought the Winston Cup cars in for tests. Phil Holmer of Goodyear saw me sitting on the pit wall and asked what I was doing there.
I told him I came to watch the Wisconsin Grand Prix. That tradition continued, as I understand Jay Sauter got involved in the testing later.
Jim made a total of 76 starts in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with four top 10 finishes (Editor's Note: Sauter's best career finishes were a pair of ninths, one in the 1987 Coca-Cola 600 for the Mueller Brothers, and at Watkins Glen in 1989 for Group 44, a team best known for IMSA exploits). There were also several starts in the Nationwide and Truck series.
His final start in the Nationwide Series came in 2002 on the Milwaukee Mile, and he was competing in the same race with Tim, Jay, and Johnny.
One of my favorite Jim Sauter stories involved his large family.
Seems they were tearing down an old elementary school in his home town of Necedah, Wis., so Jim went over their and took the bicycle rack to put in front of his own house. Eleven kids – I guess he needed it.
RIP old friend…
-----------
Folks, we're going to take a week and maybe two off before writing again. As most of you know, we moved back to Indianapolis from Kentucky early this year. Well, the new apartment hasn't worked out very well, so we're pulling up stakes again. We're staying in Indy, and we plan to attend as many events as we can in 2015. We don't have any excuse not to go. Took my granddaughter to the Brickyard as a photographer this year and now she's hooked on racing. Guess it runs in the blood somehow.
However, we're going to be pretty busy, and maybe without a computer for at least a week. And the weather isn't good enough to go to the library.
Thanks to Tom Bowles and his staff for letting us write, and thank you fans for reading. We'll be back.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
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by Phil Allaway
Welcome back, race fans. Originally, I was planning only to cover the Whelen Modified Tour season finale from Thompson this week. However, since Kevin Harvick just had to channel former Calgary Flames defenseman Neil Sheehy Sunday night, I had to give a substantial amount of Couch Potato Tuesday over to the brawl that followed. Note: Sheehy is said to have created the behavior that led the NHL to institute the fight instigator penalty in 1992. He spent much of the 1980's agitating Wayne Gretzky on the air, then refusing to fight the Oilers' enforcers, who would then execute cheap shots on him.Friday night saw the Camping World Truck Series return to action at Texas Motor Speedway for yet another Kyle Busch coronation. It happens way too often. How did FOX Sports handle the butt-kicking? Decently, I guess.
During the Setup, despite the network plugging a piece where Johnny Sauter and former Dallas Cowboy Randy White traded sports for a little bit, the most notable part of the show was a piece about Ron Hornaday. Lost in the internal spat between Steve Turner and Harry Scott, Jr. that cost Hornaday his full-time ride (Note that Hornaday's former ride returned to the track Saturday night with Cameron Hayley driving, despite the team saying that it would not return) is the fact that no one really knows if Hornaday even has a future in racing at age 56.
Once upon a time, Hornaday was a chassis builder on the west coast, much like Greg Biffle was before Benny Parsons pitched Biffle to Jack Roush as a result of Biffle's performances in the Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park (which we should note is probably one of, if not the best idea ever allowed to blossom by Brian France, who ran the short track for a chunk of the 1990's). However, unlike Biffle, he only built cars for others, not himself. It took Hornaday's own wife, Lindy, to convince him that he had what it takes. The rest is history as Hornaday has been a known quantity in NASCAR's National series before the creation of the Truck Series (Hornaday, while full-time in Winston West, made his Winston Cup debut at Sonoma in 1992 by qualifying in an excellent 17th).
The whole point of the piece, which covered some new material for me, is that no one really knows what Hornaday's future is. Nothing official has been announced, but they made it sound like Friday night was Hornaday's last race. If that's true, then it's a shame that he went out the way he did this season. None of it was his fault. Hornaday should have been treated better.
During the race, the continuing dominance of Kyle Busch Motorsports was once again in the spotlight as Busch and Darrell Wallace, Jr. traded the lead, while the rest of the field is playing catchup. Someone needs to explain to me why that team can't get full-time sponsorship for the Nos. 51 and 54 (and no, putting ToyotaCare logos doesn't count because that's manufacturer support, not sponsorship). Has the 20 percent decline in viewership since SPEED became FOX Sports 1 hurt exposure to the point where companies don't feel that it's worth it? Or does KBM charge too much?
Another story seemed to be the fact that Tyler Reddick tried to crash for 152 laps and failed, finishing fourth in the process. Much of the race saw the booth in awe of his truck control. It seems evident more and more these days that experience in dirt late models (or some other form of high-powered dirt racing) may eventually be a prerequisite to be able to race in NASCAR's National series by some car owners. Makes me wish that FOX Sports 1 had an in-truck camera in Reddick's No. 19 like they did at Eldora. As you might remember, Reddick displayed a one-handed driving style there reminiscent of someone cruising down the street. The "Big Stig" with his "relaxed driving style" from the TopGear U.S. Special in 2007 is another decent comparison.
To be honest, the race telecast and the race itself just wasn't the same after Wallace blew his engine. After that, it became the Busch show even more than it already was. Woof.
There was a good amount of racing for position, especially early on in the race. Reddick always seemed to be nearby, hanging his rear end out for all to see. There was a decent amount of enthusiasm from the booth when this was going on, but it was lacking whenever Reddick wasn't around.
As seems to be the norm for night races these days, post-race coverage was part of FOX Sports Live. In this case, the telecast had actually gone long, mainly due to the long red flag that resulted from Wallace dumping a bunch of oil on-track when he blew an engine. With Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole twiddling their thumbs in Los Angeles, viewers got a relatively quick post-race before FOX Sports 1 cut back to the Canadian duo.
Perhaps looking up the results of the race on Racing-Reference prior to watching the race on TV isn't the greatest idea on earth. Instead, you should watch the telecast in a vacuum and pretend that it hadn't already happened two weeks earlier. That way, you won't notice the aspects of the race that went unexplained.
There were multiple drivers that were eliminated in crashes that drew cautions where viewers would have no clue what happened. The drivers eliminated in mystery crashes were Dave Salzarulo, Derek Ramstrom and Troy Talman. Ramstrom, who ran decently in the race, was eliminated in the same wreck that took out James Civali. How? Your guess is as good as mine. We saw the replays of what took out Civali (for the record, that was a ridiculous three-wide move that Christopher attempted on Civali), but nothing on Ramstrom and Talman, who was also involved. Whatever happened, Ramstrom suffered right front damage to his No. 35, as shown on his website. Talman continued after that incident.
Finally, there were a number of drivers that dropped out of the event with no explanation as to what happened. These drivers included Bobby Santos, III, and Keith Rocco, both of whom started in the top 10, amongst others. No explanation was given for the vast majority of the DNF's, outside of those DNF's that were blatantly obvious.
I feel like FOX Sports could definitely had done a better job keeping the viewers better informed during the broadcast. Yes, I understand that I'm talking about a race that lasted 75 minutes that is running in a 60 minute timeslot, but I felt a little lost at times. There is no such thing as giving viewers too much information. Since the race is tape delayed, there is a good chance that teams probably don't have access to the live feed of the broadcast like National series teams do. As a result, talking to someone like Vincie on camera won't give away secrets.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the Camping World Truck Series and Whelen Modified Tour. Next week, I'll be back with a look at the Baku World Challenge, the season finale for the Blancpain Sprint Series held on a street course in Baku, Azerbaijan. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action from Phoenix and Sao Paolo.
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 Voices from the Cheap Seats: Defending the Indefensible
"I like to state for the record that NASCAR itself is solely to blame for providing the environment for such extracurricular activities we all witnessed Sunday evening at Texas Motor Speedway. It is, after all, exactly what it wanted when it set this whole cockamamie elimination crap up. The powers that be should be happy and not act at all surprised about any melee that should occur, let alone stand by and later chastise all those involved as NASCAR's senior vice president of competition was quick to do yesterday in a statement to the media." - Jeff Meyer's opening treatise, in which he blames NASCAR for Sunday's fight, and accuses them of being hypocritical in their response.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Voices from the Cheap Seats: Defending the Indefensible
"I like to state for the record that NASCAR itself is solely to blame for providing the environment for such extracurricular activities we all witnessed Sunday evening at Texas Motor Speedway. It is, after all, exactly what it wanted when it set this whole cockamamie elimination crap up. The powers that be should be happy and not act at all surprised about any melee that should occur, let alone stand by and later chastise all those involved as NASCAR's senior vice president of competition was quick to do yesterday in a statement to the media." - Jeff Meyer's opening treatise, in which he blames NASCAR for Sunday's fight, and accuses them of being hypocritical in their response.
~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Kevin Rutherford
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: For many years, Phoenix International Raceway hosted sports car races on its 1.51-mile infield road course. In 2005, the Rolex Sports Car Series held split races, one for GT cars and one for Daytona Prototypes, at PIR. During the DP race, the Chip Ganassi-owned No. 01 Lexus-powered Riley driven by Luis Diaz and Scott Pruett dominated early on, leading 58 laps. However, it wasn't meant to be. What took the No. 01 out of the race?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In the 2007 Arizona Travel 200 for the then-Busch Series at PIR, Greg Biffle was an early threat to win, leading 21 laps. However, he fell victim to one of PIR's environmental hazards. What happened?
A: Phoenix International Raceway is one of the worst tracks in the Nationwide Series (and Sprint Cup, for that matter) for sun glare. While it has gotten a little better in recent years thanks to the grandstand that has been constructed in turns 1 and 2, the late afternoon sun during the fall race weekend in particular is still brutal.Biffle fell victim to both sun glare and a chain reaction. On a restart, it appeared that the outside line began stacking up behind David Reutimann. JJ Yeley had contact with Jamie McMurray and turned the No. 26 in front of traffic. Biffle, who was a little further back, was hit from behind by Jason Keller and spun head-on into the inside wall. Steve Wallace was also involved, pancaking the side of his No. 66 Dodge. The crash can be seen live here.
Biffle, Keller and Wallace were all out on the spot. McMurray's car was undamaged and continued. He would eventually finish ninth.
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
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Justin Tucker
-- In Case You Missed It by Staff
-- Frontstretch Folio: Phoenix 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:
-- 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.
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 return for the stretch run.
Creed's Corner by Aaron Creed
On a new day, Aaron returns to talk NASCAR at Phoenix.
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2014 Frontstretch.com
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