THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Nov. 20, 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. 20, 2014
Volume VIII, Edition CXCVI
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Thursday
- In the midst of the banquets and big announcements this week, there is still the subject of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.'s car flunking opening inspection in Homestead. NASCAR is still looking into it and expect penalties to be announced very soon, possibly today.
Today's TV Schedule
Time Telecast Network
Time Telecast Network
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. NASCAR RaceHub FOX Sports 1
7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Road to Ferrari NBC Sports Network
8 p.m. - 9 p.m. Road to Mercedes NBC Sports Network
10 p.m. - 11 p.m. Road to Ferrari NBC Sports Network
11 p.m. - 12 a.m. Road to Mercedes NBC Sports Network
DVR Theater (Late Thursday Night/Early Friday Morning)
12:30 a.m. - 1:30 a.m. Speed Energy Formula Off-Road: Las Vegas NBC Sports Network*/ (from November 6)1:30 a.m. - 3 a.m. Red Bull Global RallyCross: Las Vegas NBC Sports Network*/# (from November 5)
4 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. Formula One Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi Free Practice No. 1 NBC Sports Live Xtra$
7 a.m. - 8 a.m. NASCAR America (two repeats) NBC Sports Network*# (from November 20)
8 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Formula One Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi Free Practice No. 2 NBC Sports Network
* - Tape Delayed
/ - Highlighted Coverage
# - Repeat Coverage
$ - Available via password-protected online streaming. Check with your internet and/or programming provider for availability.
BREAKING: Kasey Kahne Signs 3-Year Extension, Will Stay At Hendrick Motorsports
by Tom Bowles
Kasey Kahne's racing future, after a difficult 2014 season is now secure. The driver Thursday signed a three-year contract extension to remain at Hendrick Motorsports, choosing to remain with the team he's been with since 2012; terms of the deal were not disclosed. The signing was also paired with the announcement of a new primary sponsor, LiftMaster, which will grace the hood of the No. 5 car for three races beginning in 2015. Read more
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Top News
by Phil Allaway
Jules Bianchi, hospitalized with a severe head injury after a crash in the Grand Prix of Japan in early October, is returning to his native France. The family announced the move in a statement Wednesday morning. Since his near-fatal incident, Bianchi was in a hospital in Yokkaichi, Japan, near the Suzuka Circuit where the wreck occurred. He remains in critical but stable condition. Read more
The Associated Press is reporting that Kurt Busch, along with two of his lawyers, spoke to investigators with the Dover Police Department this week as the investigation into allegations levied against Busch by ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll continue. Read more
Stewart-Haas Racing Hires Rex Stump as Technical Director
Wednesday, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that they have hired Rex Stump, formerly of Hendrick Motorsports, to serve as the team's Technical Director. Stump is best known for developing "T-Rex," a car that exploited every grey area in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series rulebook at the time and allowed Jeff Gordon to easily win The Winston in 1997. Read more
Wednesday, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that they have hired Rex Stump, formerly of Hendrick Motorsports, to serve as the team's Technical Director. Stump is best known for developing "T-Rex," a car that exploited every grey area in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series rulebook at the time and allowed Jeff Gordon to easily win The Winston in 1997. Read more
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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 CommentaryPotts' Shots For the Week of November 17
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
Something like 14 years ago, I was sitting in a golf cart behind the old office at Indianapolis Raceway Park a couple of hours after the Kroger 200 Busch Series race. I had stayed around to give Richard Childress, along with Kevin and DeLana Harvick (who weren't married at the time) a ride back up to the helicopter LZ after Kevin got through with the hat dance and interviews, etc. following his first win in that event.
After Kevin and DeLana had hopped off the cart, I remarked to Richard that I was impressed with the way they had worked the bottom of the track to win that thing. My son and I had always said if you got a car to work with on the inside there, you'd be ahead of everybody. (If I'm not mistaken, Kevin repeated that trick a year or two later.)
Richard kind of smiled and said, "Yeah, we worked on that in practice. I'm not sure he was convinced it was the thing to do at first, but I figured he was good enough to make it work."
He then told me, "Harvick's got more natural talent than anybody I've seen lately. He was Dale's choice to put in the [No.] 3 if anything happened. He'll get a championship one of these years."
Well, he didn't get it for Richard, but he got it for a friend of mine. (You also have to remember that when Richard said that, his two grandsons weren't ready to race just yet.)
----
Well, the new Chase format produced some outstanding racing toward the end of the final event of the season for NASCAR. I'll say that for them, and the ESPN crew certainly kept us up on where each of the four finalists were and what they were doing.
Like most traditionalists, I prefer the old point system where a driver's consistency over the entire season decides who becomes the champion. However, on the plus side this format took all of the math out of the situation. You weren't constantly trying to figure out who had to lead another lap, or how many positions one guy had to finish over another. It was all cut and dried.
It was cool watching one of "my" old midget-sprint car drivers charge after Harvick in the final laps, and I was impressed with Ryan Newman's comment. He said he thought about driving all the way down into the turn on the last lap and letting the chips fall where they may, but added that he wouldn't want Kevin to race him that way.
---
Checking the chat boards Monday morning, I saw a couple of conspiracy theorists sounding off. One particular opinion was that Jeff Gordon made his last pit stop because NASCAR wanted him to get out of the way and let the four finalists race for it.
How would that have made any difference? The first one of those four to finish was going to be the champion, no matter who won. I think this guy's inference was that NASCAR wanted the attention to be on those guys in the running for the Cup.
First, I don't think Gordon would have gone for that at all. He wants that fifth title too much. Second, as I've written before, it's very difficult to pull off a fix in auto racing because there are too many variables and, more important, too many people involved. Sooner or later, somebody who has changed teams or retired is going to talk.
Once again, one of my favorite quotes: Harry Truman (although he was talking about Washington and politics) said, "Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead."
---
So the Saturday and Sunday races were the last NASCAR events for ESPN, at least for a few years. They may be back sometime in the future when new contracts are negotiated, you never know.
In relation to this subject, I'd like to say that there was something that bugged me a lot about the events this last weekend. I firmly believe NASCAR should have done something to acknowledge the contribution ESPN and its people have made to their organization over these decades. Let's face it: the 1979 Daytona 500 notwithstanding, ESPN brought NASCAR racing to the attention of the entire country on a regular basis, and did it in an extremely professional manner.
Their on-air personalities were the best, from the days of Bob Jenkins and Larry Nuber through the days when we enjoyed Benny Parsons and many others up to Sunday's booth team of Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree (although I'll admit sometimes I can't tell if it's Dale or Andy talking). Nicole Briscoe, Rusty Wallace, and Brad Daugherty, in my opinion, have also done a good job. Some guys rant about Brad, but bear in mind that he's been a car owner and was very much involved in the sport long before going to work for the TV people. He's also doing his job practically sitting on the floor so his head is level with Rusty and Nicole.
Behind the scenes I know they've got quality people, because I've worked with guys like Terry Lingner and Greg Oldham and the rest of their crew. They don't come any better. Andy Hall's been with them for some time now, and I hope he stays. I worked with Andy when I was at IRP and he was handling PR for the Busch Series. No one is more professional in doing that job. I was very happy to connect with him again at Indianapolis this year for the 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Thanks for all the memories, ESPN.
Something like 14 years ago, I was sitting in a golf cart behind the old office at Indianapolis Raceway Park a couple of hours after the Kroger 200 Busch Series race. I had stayed around to give Richard Childress, along with Kevin and DeLana Harvick (who weren't married at the time) a ride back up to the helicopter LZ after Kevin got through with the hat dance and interviews, etc. following his first win in that event.
After Kevin and DeLana had hopped off the cart, I remarked to Richard that I was impressed with the way they had worked the bottom of the track to win that thing. My son and I had always said if you got a car to work with on the inside there, you'd be ahead of everybody. (If I'm not mistaken, Kevin repeated that trick a year or two later.)
Richard kind of smiled and said, "Yeah, we worked on that in practice. I'm not sure he was convinced it was the thing to do at first, but I figured he was good enough to make it work."
He then told me, "Harvick's got more natural talent than anybody I've seen lately. He was Dale's choice to put in the [No.] 3 if anything happened. He'll get a championship one of these years."
Well, he didn't get it for Richard, but he got it for a friend of mine. (You also have to remember that when Richard said that, his two grandsons weren't ready to race just yet.)
----
Well, the new Chase format produced some outstanding racing toward the end of the final event of the season for NASCAR. I'll say that for them, and the ESPN crew certainly kept us up on where each of the four finalists were and what they were doing.
Like most traditionalists, I prefer the old point system where a driver's consistency over the entire season decides who becomes the champion. However, on the plus side this format took all of the math out of the situation. You weren't constantly trying to figure out who had to lead another lap, or how many positions one guy had to finish over another. It was all cut and dried.
It was cool watching one of "my" old midget-sprint car drivers charge after Harvick in the final laps, and I was impressed with Ryan Newman's comment. He said he thought about driving all the way down into the turn on the last lap and letting the chips fall where they may, but added that he wouldn't want Kevin to race him that way.
---
Checking the chat boards Monday morning, I saw a couple of conspiracy theorists sounding off. One particular opinion was that Jeff Gordon made his last pit stop because NASCAR wanted him to get out of the way and let the four finalists race for it.
How would that have made any difference? The first one of those four to finish was going to be the champion, no matter who won. I think this guy's inference was that NASCAR wanted the attention to be on those guys in the running for the Cup.
First, I don't think Gordon would have gone for that at all. He wants that fifth title too much. Second, as I've written before, it's very difficult to pull off a fix in auto racing because there are too many variables and, more important, too many people involved. Sooner or later, somebody who has changed teams or retired is going to talk.
Once again, one of my favorite quotes: Harry Truman (although he was talking about Washington and politics) said, "Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead."
---
So the Saturday and Sunday races were the last NASCAR events for ESPN, at least for a few years. They may be back sometime in the future when new contracts are negotiated, you never know.
In relation to this subject, I'd like to say that there was something that bugged me a lot about the events this last weekend. I firmly believe NASCAR should have done something to acknowledge the contribution ESPN and its people have made to their organization over these decades. Let's face it: the 1979 Daytona 500 notwithstanding, ESPN brought NASCAR racing to the attention of the entire country on a regular basis, and did it in an extremely professional manner.
Their on-air personalities were the best, from the days of Bob Jenkins and Larry Nuber through the days when we enjoyed Benny Parsons and many others up to Sunday's booth team of Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree (although I'll admit sometimes I can't tell if it's Dale or Andy talking). Nicole Briscoe, Rusty Wallace, and Brad Daugherty, in my opinion, have also done a good job. Some guys rant about Brad, but bear in mind that he's been a car owner and was very much involved in the sport long before going to work for the TV people. He's also doing his job practically sitting on the floor so his head is level with Rusty and Nicole.
Behind the scenes I know they've got quality people, because I've worked with guys like Terry Lingner and Greg Oldham and the rest of their crew. They don't come any better. Andy Hall's been with them for some time now, and I hope he stays. I worked with Andy when I was at IRP and he was handling PR for the Busch Series. No one is more professional in doing that job. I was very happy to connect with him again at Indianapolis this year for the 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Thanks for all the memories, ESPN.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Critic's Annex: Casino Arizona 100by Phil Allaway
For the K&N Pro Series, likely the biggest races of the year are the two combination races at Iowa Speedway that bring the K&N East and West Series together for 150-lap duels. Those races have 43-car grids, but the drivers race for points in their own series. You can earn a win without actually winning. For a new fan, it's probably a little bit confusing.Outside of those, each series does have their marquee races. For the K&N Pro Series East, their biggest events are Bristol and Dover, held as support to the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series. For the K&N Pro Series West, their high points are the Carneros 200 at Sonoma Raceway, where they are the primary support to the Sprint Cup Series, and the two events at Phoenix International Raceway that bookend the season.
Why are the Phoenix races so important? You have the Cup teams there watching (although that's arguably more so for Sonoma than either Phoenix race), and you have larger, more competitive grids. Doing well in the Casino Arizona 100 can do wonders for a driver's career. Last year, the event was a 50-lap sprint race that Cole Custer dominated before Gray Gaulding spun Custer out on the last lap and took the win. Custer has since avenged that defeat and gone on to win in the Camping World Truck Series.
Since Phoenix races for the K&N Pro Series West are so important for the development of future stars, the TV coverage of said event should be important as well, leading to this event manned by Ray Dunlap and Phil Parsons in the booth. Overall, I found the commentary from Dunlap and Parsons to be quite good. The two of them have worked together as far back as 1997 (Proof: This Goody's Dash Series race from Bristol) and are very comfortable with each other. Having two pit reporters instead of one was also helpful with the larger field. However, the contributions to the telecast were really no greater than on a regular K&N Pro Series race with one.
With the Casino Arizona 100 marking the season finale for the K&N Pro Series West, naturally, there would be a fair amount of time given to the battle for the championship. However, Greg Pursley entered the race with a large enough lead that it really wasn't that big a story (in fact, the gap was so high that if the season ended at a track like Kern County Speedway, he wouldn't have been far away from clinching by starting the race). The telecast checked in on the two championship contenders (Pursley and Dylan Lupton) periodically during the event, but the coverage did not get in the way of covering the on-track action.
The telecast instead tended to focus in on a number of on-track battles. That's great. Yes, Nick Drake led flag-to-flag and greatly elevated his profile as a result, but most of the action wasn't around Drake until the very end. It was further back in the field, and viewers were able to see those battles.
Unfortunately, the editing of the race led to more questions about what happened than was really necessary. The first big wreck of the evening occurred when Jack Sellers spun in turn 1 and got piled into by Jay Beasley and James Bickford. I have no idea how the heck Sellers spun, and there was no video evidence of what caused the wreck. When it happened "live," the broadcast was showing Custer battling. By the time it cut back, Beasley had spun after bouncing off Lupton and hit Sellers, damaging all involved. The booth inferred that Rich DeLong III may have forced Sellers into the inside wall, but there's no video evidence to prove that. We also didn't get any interviews after the crash. Weak.
The editing also resulted in a scenario in which viewers had no idea what knocked the outside polesitter and one of the strongest runners early on (Kyle Benjamin) out of the race. According to the results, he dropped out at the halfway point due to overheating. Not a word was said about it. Viewers also missed the spin by Kelly Admiraal that set up the restart with 12 laps to go, one that resulted in Brandon McReynolds smacking the wall in turn 1. How did that crash happen? Apparently, McReynolds cut a tire. Seems like there might have been a little more to the Admiraal incident than FOX Sports made it out to be (a simple spin). Whatever it was, Admiraal got lapped as a result. Something was probably out there that NASCAR failed to pick up and McReynolds hit it to cause that crash.
An interesting fact noted just before the incident is the fact that Lupton and Bickford (teammates, mind you) are not on speaking terms due to on-track contact. That contact occurred at All-American Speedway back in October, when Bickford took out Lupton with 60 laps to go. Lupton finished ninth while Bickford finished second that night. Also of note, Lupton is being replaced for next year while Bickford gets to stay with the Bob Bruncati-owned team. Sounds like Lupton believes that the 16-year-old Bickford comes off entitled as heck. If Lupton's back in the series next year (and I hope he is because Lupton's shown that he has a lot of talent), we could be looking at quite the rivalry between the 20-year-old Lupton and Bickford. Much like Dan LeBatard's father Gonzalo on Dan LeBatard is Highly Questionable, I'm very intrigued.
Post-race coverage included replays of two of the three incidents that occurred during the green-white-checkered restart (Austin Hill hitting the wall in turn 3 and Jesse Little hitting the wall exiting turn 2). There was no replay of whoever ended up spinning out on the actual restart in turn 1. You could just make that out in the background, but no reference was made to it at all. Otherwise, you got interviews with only the winner (Drake) and champion (Pursley), results, points...and that was a wrap.
Ultimately, the post-race coverage described above is more or less typical of K&N Pro Series West telecasts, but I felt that a little more coverage was necessary. A couple of more interviews would have filled it out nicely.
Some races fit into the standard one-hour timeslots for K&N Pro Series and Whelen Modified Tour races better than others. Events like Stockton work fairly well, while the Iowa races clearly don't. At a 100-mile distance (extended to 103 miles due to the green-white-checkered), Phoenix is closer to Iowa than Stockton.
The downer for the broadcast was the editing. I cannot attest to how difficult editing a broadcast is, but FOX Sports cut out footage that ultimately affected the race significantly. Granted, it didn't affect the outcome, since Drake led flag-to-flag, but it definitely left me lost at times.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Tech Talk With Bono Manion: NASCAR Offseason Prep Begins
"Yeah, that has obviously gotten way out of hand. WAY out of hand. On TV, watching the cars come down the straightaway, it just didn't look right. I'm surprised it wasn't addressed earlier. It always had been. I guess it is something they thought they couldn't police and be fair with so they kind of made it OK to do. I just don't see that happening beyond Homestead. With the cameras that they're going to use next year I think, maybe, they'll watch you do that and call you in and show you that they have it on tape. Kind of putting the fear into people. I don't want to be the first one to come down pit road because they have us on camera pulling fenders out. You could see that people were modifying their fenders and their skirts, putting no welds or breakaway welds on them just to make it happen easily." - "Bono" Manion on the side skirt pullouts that have become all the rage
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ADVERTISEMENT
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~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Tech Talk With Bono Manion: NASCAR Offseason Prep Begins
"Yeah, that has obviously gotten way out of hand. WAY out of hand. On TV, watching the cars come down the straightaway, it just didn't look right. I'm surprised it wasn't addressed earlier. It always had been. I guess it is something they thought they couldn't police and be fair with so they kind of made it OK to do. I just don't see that happening beyond Homestead. With the cameras that they're going to use next year I think, maybe, they'll watch you do that and call you in and show you that they have it on tape. Kind of putting the fear into people. I don't want to be the first one to come down pit road because they have us on camera pulling fenders out. You could see that people were modifying their fenders and their skirts, putting no welds or breakaway welds on them just to make it happen easily." - "Bono" Manion on the side skirt pullouts that have become all the rage
~~~~~~~~~~
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.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Kevin Rutherford
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In addition to the controversy surrounding the championship, the 1994 Grand Prix of Australia also marked the last race for the Larrousse team and the Grand Prix debut of Jean-Denis Deletraz. Let's just say that it wasn't the greatest debut for the Frenchman. How long did it take for Michael Schumacher to lap Deletraz?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In Monday's question, we asked about the infamous Michael Schumacher-Damon Hill incident at Adelaide in 1994. Nigel Mansell earned his final Grand Prix victory as a result. During that season, Mansell raced full-time in CART. How did his ride with Williams come about?
A: After Ayrton Senna was killed during the Grand Prix of San Marino at Imola, Williams parked the No. 2 for the next race at Monaco and only entered Damon Hill in the No. 0. Once the No. 2 returned, they put their test driver, David Coulthard, in the seat.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
~~~~~~~~~~
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:
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, trivia, and more!
~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Holding A Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy returns with a new commentary. This week, she'll have instant analysis on the Kasey Kahne re-signing and what it means for the sport.
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 dive into the offseason
Creed's Corner by Aaron Creed
On a new day, Aaron returns to talk the offseason.
Four Burning Questions: Offseason by Matt Stallknecht
Matt signs off with four burning questions to look at as we head into NASCAR's offseason.
-----------------------------
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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