THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
- Today is the official beginning of the race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The XFINITY Series is scheduled to hold two practice sessions this afternoon. Neither of them will be televised, but we will have a recap at Frontstretch.
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Thursday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
NASCAR Announces 2015 All-Star Race Rules Package
Apr. 9, 2015
Volume IX, Edition L
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What to Watch: Thursday- Today is the official beginning of the race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The XFINITY Series is scheduled to hold two practice sessions this afternoon. Neither of them will be televised, but we will have a recap at Frontstretch.
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Thursday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
by the Frontstretch Staff
NASCAR Announces 2015 All-Star Race Rules Package
Wednesday, NASCAR announced changes to the rules for this year's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Examples of the changes include an increase in the race length from 100 to 110 laps and an elimination of the second-place finisher in the Sprint Showdown transferring to the Sprint All-Star Race. Read more
Have news for The Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH JOB: WEBMASTER
Frontstretch.com 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 its 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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Today's Featured Commentary
Thoughts on the Chevrolet Engine Penalties
Potts' Shots
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
Well, last week it was NASCAR lowering the boom on the Richard Childress No. 31 team for tire infractions. This week, it's IndyCar coming down on Chevrolet for "engine regulation infractions" after the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla. The action puts Chevrolet at minus 92 manufacturer points, since they earned 128 at St. Pete, and now they are 162 points behind Honda in the manufacturer point standings.
Since I'm considered Frontstretch's "man on the ground" in Indianapolis, I feel it's my place to comment on this issue. With most of our readership being more NASCAR-oriented, I think an explanation is in order here.
Engine manufacturers earn points according to their finish in a race, with points going to each manufacturer's top three finishing cars. One point goes to the driver who earns the Pole Award and two points to the manufacturer leading the most laps.
Also, a manufacturer can earn ten points for each engine that reaches its 2,500-mile change-out, but 20 points are deducted for an engine failing to complete that life cycle.
Both Honda and Chevrolet are in the first of their four such cycles. Chevy had eleven engines undergo a "non-minor" repair. Such a repair is described as one which requires a component change. That leads to pretty simple math: 11 times 20 equals 220.
According to Jim Campbell, Chevrolet's U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, the problem was valve springs which engineers felt could fail after they inspected the engines.
"We identified a batch of valve springs," Campbell said, "That due to a process change at one of our suppliers may fracture before the full mileage requirement. We notified IndyCar of the issue and obtained approval to change the valve springs."
Presumably, they were also informed of the penalty that would be assessed.
Well, last week it was NASCAR lowering the boom on the Richard Childress No. 31 team for tire infractions. This week, it's IndyCar coming down on Chevrolet for "engine regulation infractions" after the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla. The action puts Chevrolet at minus 92 manufacturer points, since they earned 128 at St. Pete, and now they are 162 points behind Honda in the manufacturer point standings.
Since I'm considered Frontstretch's "man on the ground" in Indianapolis, I feel it's my place to comment on this issue. With most of our readership being more NASCAR-oriented, I think an explanation is in order here.
Engine manufacturers earn points according to their finish in a race, with points going to each manufacturer's top three finishing cars. One point goes to the driver who earns the Pole Award and two points to the manufacturer leading the most laps.
Also, a manufacturer can earn ten points for each engine that reaches its 2,500-mile change-out, but 20 points are deducted for an engine failing to complete that life cycle.
Both Honda and Chevrolet are in the first of their four such cycles. Chevy had eleven engines undergo a "non-minor" repair. Such a repair is described as one which requires a component change. That leads to pretty simple math: 11 times 20 equals 220.
According to Jim Campbell, Chevrolet's U.S. Vice President for Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, the problem was valve springs which engineers felt could fail after they inspected the engines.
"We identified a batch of valve springs," Campbell said, "That due to a process change at one of our suppliers may fracture before the full mileage requirement. We notified IndyCar of the issue and obtained approval to change the valve springs."
Presumably, they were also informed of the penalty that would be assessed.
I only have one question – there were twelve Chevrolet engines involved, but the valve springs were changed in eleven. Were the springs in the twelfth car from a different supplier or a different batch or what? Just asking.
- - - - - - - -
With all the concern about debris from the new aero kits, at least one driver feels like the blame belongs with the drivers and not the kits themselves.
"It was the first race after a very long offseason," Sebastian Bourdais told my friend Curt Cavin at The Indianapolis Star.
He said everybody was too impatient and not focused, along with not being in the rhythm of racing at a high level.
"The aggression level was pretty high," he said. "It was like the season finale and not the season opener."
Bourdais agreed that the debris from car-to-car contact was "significant," but offered the opinion that it's not that the kits are fragile, it's just the way they are designed.
Several vertical pieces on the front wing of Chevrolet-powered cars were knocked off at St. Petersburg, and losing the end plate caused several other pieces to fly off after contact on cars using Honda engines.
There was a spectator struck in the head by a piece of debris, as widely reported. But according to Bourdais, front wings broke just as easily in the previous generation of the component. He said it's not much different now; instead, there are just more pieces to the wings. However, he expects fewer problems at this weekend's race at NOLA Motorsports Park (near New Orleans) as drivers will start to "figure it out" and back their aggression down a notch.
In the same story, Cavin pointed out that NOLA Motorsports Park is a permanent road course rather than a tighter street circuit as with St. Petersburg.
I suppose we'll see…
I suppose we'll see…
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
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The Critic's Annex: NAPA Auto Parts 150 (Kern County)
by Phil Allaway
To me, watching K&N Pro Series East races are a nice way to pass time. The racing is usually pretty good and the venues are quite varied. Overall, teams competing in NASCAR's regional series (with the exception of those in the Canadian Tire Series) are benefiting from more prompt telecasts of their races. When the K&N Pro Series was still on FOX Sports, the races typically aired on FOX Sports 2 (no HD option available for me) as much as a month after the event. Now, the time shift is a week or so (or in the case of Greenville-Pickens, three days). The series is likely in the best position ever to generate not just viewership, but familiarity with the competitors. The same can be said for the Whelen Modified Tour as well once their season starts at Thompson this weekend.
Last week, NBC Sports Network aired delayed coverage of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 from Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, the season opener for the K&N Pro Series West. It turned out to be a dry run of sorts.
The telecast was a dry run because the booth was comprised of Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte. You know, the same three dudes that will be in the broadcast booth for Sprint Cup races starting in July. As a result, we'll have a good idea of how they'll work together.
Similar to when the races were on FOX Sports, pit reporting will be a revolving door. For Kern County, we had Heather DeBeaux in the pits. Anyone who watched K&N Pro Series West races last season on FOX Sports 2 would recognize her since she took over the pit reporting there for Bernadette Sanicola. She's also a radio personality with a fair amount of experience, a good get for NBC Sports.
Prior to the race, a spotlight was shown on 17-year-old sophomore racer James Bickford. Here, Bickford talks about his goals for 2015, his racing idols, and his famous cousin. You know who that is.
I know this next point is going to sound a little weird, but Burton and Letarte actually sound similar. As a result, I spent much of the race trying to figure out who is saying what. That's unusual at best. Mind you, this opinion is coming from someone who's actually sat down and interviewed Burton face-to-face. Did it ultimately affect my enjoyment of the race? No, but it was a little annoying. Burton and Letarte are still trying to find their sea legs as broadcasters and will take a little while to find their booth voice. That's part of the reason why they're doing K&N West races. It's free practice. Why the deuce not?
I do not have those problems with Allen. He has a distinctive voice that stands out. Since the action at Kern County was quite interesting to watch, Allen didn't really need to sell it all that much, but he delivered an enthusiastic performance.
I'm not sure if NBC Sports Network will be using the scroll they have here once Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races come to the network this summer, but it's not a bad setup. That said, I do have a couple of things I need to mention. Most of the drivers' numbers are displayed as white on a black background. However, there are a couple that are shown as white on a black background. I noticed that with the Greenville-Pickens telecast as well. Is there any meaning to that, or is it just a screw-up? I just don't know. My best guess is that it could represent rookies, but I doubt that. It's something that won't be an issue with Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series broadcasts because those will be covered with number graphics, but on the K&N Pro Series level, it's generic.
Post-race coverage was fairly typical. Viewers saw post-race interviews with the top-3 finishers (Dalton Sargeant, David Mayhew and Noah Gregson). There was also a check of the unofficial results and some post-race analysis before leaving Bakersfield.
Overall, Kern County Raceway Park puts on a good race and this particular one was no exception. NBC Sports Network did a pretty good job in bringing us battling for position. The incident replays definitely could have used a little work, though. They pretty much nailed what happened to put Brandon McReynolds out of the race but the other incidents seemed to be a bit of a question mark at times.
The trio of Allen, Burton and Letarte do work well together and seem to have a good relationship with each other. As you may remember, that hasn't always been the case for NBC's NASCAR coverage in the past (see Bill Weber being the butt of discussion multiple times from seemingly everyone on the on-air crew). It bodes well for what we're going to get come July from NBC Sports, but Burton and Letarte should work on their overall presence in the booth between now and then. It shouldn't be hard to tell the difference between your analysts and FOX clearly doesn't have that problem. Neither did ESPN or Turner Sports before they left.
That's all for this week. Next week, we'll be back with more criticism. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action in Texas, Louisiana, Shanghai and Silverstone.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Beyond the Cockpit with Leah Pritchett"For years, I owned my own race team and raced for myself. To be honest with you, I've driven for a lot of people over the years, and getting back into the ownership role has helped me. I always feel like I'm appreciative of what we've got, but at times it really makes me appreciate even more what Bob Jenkins does for all of us here. He gives us the opportunity to be out here and build something, be a part of something. Owning the race team is not quite as much fun as driving, but I have a lot of fun watching my son. He's very talented and he's been racing since he was five. He's done a really good job and I'm really proud of him." - David Gilliland on being a team owner and fielding a car for his son, Todd
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Beth Lunkenheimer
by P. Huston Ladner
by Toni Montgomery
~~~~~~~~~~FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The inaugural race weekend at Texas Motor Speedway marked a career crossroads for Ricky Craven. What happened to ultimately change the direction of the rest of his driving career?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: At the same time that the Busch Series was competing at Richmond International Raceway in support of Cup, the Craftsman Truck Series was at Texas Motor Speedway for the Pronto Auto Parts 400k in support of the IRL. Brewco Motorsports' Scot Walters tied his best career qualifying performance by starting eighth, then immediately moved up to fourth. However, his good fortune ended very early. What happened?
A: Walters was fighting for position with Mike Bliss when Walters' Red Man Chevrolet got loose exiting turn 2. Walters tried to save it, but overcorrected and took both drivers hard into the outside wall. Boris Said then collided with Walters and hit the inside wall as well. Finally, Greg Biffle was hit from behind by Tony Roper and spun as well. The crash can be seen here.
Walters, Bliss and Said were all out on the spot. To make matters worse, Bliss suffered a wrist injury in the crash. Biffle continued with repairs, but was eliminated in a later incident.
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COMING TOMORROW
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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!
©2015 Frontstretch.com
COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have a recap of Thursday's breaking news for you, including today's XFINITY Series practices.
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have some burning questions to consider heading into Texas, while Joseph Wolkin takes another in-depth look at the XFINITY Series.-----------------------------
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!
©2015 Frontstretch.com
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