Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Mar. 17, 2015
Volume IX, Edition XXXIII
What to Watch: Tuesday
Tuesday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
by the Frontstretch Staff
Sage Karam Injures Wrist at Barber
40 Teams on Drive4Clots.com 300 Entry List
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FRONTSTRETCH JOB: WEBMASTER
Frontstretch is looking for a talented and motivated individual to fulfill the role of the site's webmaster. The ideal candidate must be highly proficient in WordPress, as the site recently converted from Textpattern to WordPress as the content management system. The webmaster will assist with leftover conversion tasks, work with the management team to implement site enhancements and help troubleshoot problems as they arise. The candidate must also have a working knowledge of search engine optimization strategies to help improve search rankings for the site. Motorsports knowledge is preferred, but not required. The candidate should have on average at least 1-2 hours per week to devote to Fronstretch initiatives. If you are interested, please contact our Business Manager, Tony Lumbis at Tony.Lumbis@gmail.com.
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Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
If there's a single team in NASCAR Sprint Cup that can embody everything soap opera, it's Stewart-Haas Racing. How awkward it must be right now in this racing family...
Interior: Comfortable mansion living room. Two trophy cases: one in the corner -- Cups are dusty and ill lit, one in the front window -- spotlight illuminates the shiny, new Cup. Calendar reads: Monday, March 16th. TONY sits in worn leather chair, his leg propped, nursing a beer and watching reruns of Sunday's race. He sighs, resting his head in his hand. Enter KURT, a big smile on his face.
Kurt:
Hey, Boss! How's it going?
KURT walks to mini-bar and opens a bottle of water.
Tony: forced smile
We had a pretty good weekend. It was good to have you back behind the wheel.
KURT nods before taking a swig.
Kurt:
Thanks!
KURT's smile fades, replaced by worry.
Kurt:
Do you think they will finally give me a break? You know, the fans? Will I always be the bad guy?
TONY ignores the question, returns to watching TV, a scowl on his face. TV shows the No. 14 smash against Hornish and the wall. He groans again. Enter DANICA from kitchen, her hair in a pony tail, wearing a T-shirt and talking on her cell phone.
Danica:
Ricky, I know! You did such a great job yesterday. Yeah, it was awesome. No, I know my car kind of sucked again, but that's OK. My agent called this morning, I'm supposed to appear in Paris next month for a fashion show. You wanna go? It would be an awesome date.
KURT and TONY exchange pained glances at her chatter.
Danica:
You wanna do what? Oh, let me ask. (covers phone with hand) Hey Tony, is it okay if I skip the Monday meeting? Ricky wants to go fishing.
Tony:
Whatever, as long as you make the appearance at the dentist office at 2pm.
DANICA smiles and then skips upstairs. KURT looks askance at his boss.
Tony:
It's not like it would matter if she came to the meeting. It doesn't seem to change what happens on the track when we make changes in the shop.
TONY returns to glaring at the TV. KURT shrugs, as if he can see the bossman's point. Silence settles between the two. Kurt shifts uncomfortably.
Kurt:
How's the leg?
Tony:
How's the lawyer and ex-girlfriend?
KURT retreats to the kitchen. KEVIN, Keelan and Delana enter all wearing Camping World winning hats.
Kevin:
Howdy! Hey, want a hat?
KEVIN tosses a hat to TONY, who spins it around, looking at it wistfully. Delana kisses KEVIN then carries Keelan upstairs.
Kevin:
We just got in. What a party last night. You missed it again! How's your leg?
Tony:
My leg is just fine.
KEVIN stops to watch the highlight reel, which shows Tony's struggles one more time.
Kevin:
Bad luck, that. It's like you can't catch a break.
Tony:
Tell me about it.
Kevin:
Kurt did good.
Tony:
(through a clenched jaw) Yes, he did.
Kevin:
How about Danica?
Tony:
(seems to lighten up) About the same.
KEVIN nods, goes to mini-bar to grab a water. He sips, looks around the living room. Walks over to his Cup.
Kevin:
This looks good here.
KEVIN flicks an invisible speck of dust from it.
Kevin:
Looks like we're going to have a great year!
TONY rearranges himself in the chair, glances at Kevin's Cup, turns off the TV and then gets up, stretches.
Tony:
Happy, I am thrilled for you and your family. It's more than I could ever imagine. It's just...
KEVIN claps his hand on TONY's shoulder.
Kevin:
I know, Boss, I know.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "How the Wheel Turns."
Sonya's Scrapbook
1997 California 500 Presented by NAPA
This event was one of Gordon's inaugural race wins. In many ways, the fans were treated to a typical Fontana race, hinting at all the years to come: wildly fast speeds, cars driving three-wide and virtually no competition up front. Gordon -- while running out of gas -- coasted across the finish line with still more than a second separating him from second place Terry Labonte, his teammate driving the Hendrick No. 5 Chevy. You'll also get to see the beginning of the massive pit boxes we see today behind the wall. Ray Evernham had two comfy chairs on top of the Rainbow Warrior box, but Jack Roush lacked any kind of chair on the Valvoline box.
S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
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Laps led by Toyota Sunday at Phoenix. They've led just 36 all season, dead last among the three manufacturers.
1
Toyota driver inside the top 10 in points four races into 2014. (Matt Kenseth)
1.5
Average finish for Kevin Harvick this season.
2
Races won out of the first four by Kevin Harvick, locking him into the Chase as long as he's healthy.
3
Wins at Phoenix in three starts for Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 car.
4
Straight top-2 finishes for Kevin Harvick to start the season, the first time that's happened since Richard Petty in 1974. Petty went on to win the championship.
4
Straight top-10 finishes by Martin Truex, Jr., the best streak he's had in his career since 2012.
5
Drivers to complete every lap so far this season: Harvick, Truex, Joey Logano, Paul Menard and AJ Allmendinger.
6
Top-5 finishes for Hendrick Motorsports this season, more than any other program.
7
Cautions for crashes at Phoenix out of ten thrown, a season high.
32
Points scored by Tony Stewart in four races this season.
39
Points scored by Kurt Busch in one race this season. He's only 17 behind the 30th-place Chase cutoff in Sprint Cup points.
$116,438
Money won by Kyle Larson for finishing inside the top 10.
$118,755
Money won by Trevor Bayne for finishing 28th.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
Q: In 1997, CART Champion Alex Zanardi was injured in practice, forcing him to sit out the inaugural Marlboro 500 at then-California Speedway. Chip Ganassi tapped former driver Arie Luyendyk to substitute. However, Luyendyk ended up laid up after the race as well. What happened?
A: Luyendyk was just a victim here. Arnd Meier spun his No. 64 out right in front of him, leaving Arie with nowhere to go. He tried to go high, but still hit Meier, sending him hard into the turn 4 wall. The track was littered with debris. The crash can be seen here.~~~~~~~~~~
COMING TOMORROW
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