THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 25, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXXXII
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 25, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXXXII
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What to Watch: Monday- It's Memorial Day. Keep those who made that sacrifice in mind today. For NASCAR and INDYCAR teams, it's not necessarily a holiday today. They're already back at the shops preparing for this week's races in Dover and Detroit.
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Monday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Monday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Carl Edwards Uses Fuel Mileage to Earn Coca-Cola 600
While Carl Edwards led early on in the race, he dropped back due to handling issues and a rather bizarre instance in which he stepped in a pit box prior to the race covered in soda that made his right foot stick to the accelerator. However, his team made the call to pit under the final caution with 61 laps to go. From there, Edwards made the fuel hold out to claim his first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing. Greg Biffle was second, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex, Jr. Read more
Austin Dillon Dominates to Win Hisense 4K TV 300
In the XFINITY Series, Austin Dillon was in near complete control from start to finish. After winning the pole, Dillon dominated the race, leading 163 laps on his way to the win. Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith and Darrell Wallace, Jr. Read more
Montoya Wins Second Indianapolis 500
Early on, Juan Pablo Montoya's Indianapolis 500 looked sunk. He'd qualified mid-pack, then got hit under yellow by Simona de Silvestro and had to pit for a new rear wing, dropping to 30th. From there, he ran all the way up to the front and took the lead with four laps to go from teammate Will Power. From there, Montoya pulled away to take his second Bog Warner trophy, 15 years after his first. Power was second, followed by Ganassi teammates Charlie Kimball and Scott Dixon. Graham Rahal was the best Honda driver in fifth. Read more
Dash 4 Cash Offers Chance for Success Heading to Dover
Dash 4 Cash Offers Chance for Success Heading to Dover
Saturday's Hisense 4K TV 300 was the qualifying race for the XFINTIY Dash 4 Cash, a program that gives XFINITY regulars the chance to race for a $100,000 bonus in a series of four races. Potentially $1,000,000 could be on the line. By finishing fourth on Saturday, Regan Smith qualified for the first Dash race at Dover, along with Darrell Wallace, Jr., Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon. 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.
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Chasing the Chase: Small Gains Are Made
by Phil Allaway
Ultimately, not all that much changed in the point standings Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Points leader Kevin Harvick led laps, but dropped back due to handling and pit strategy. Martin Truex, Jr. led the most laps once again, but was on the wrong strategy at the end, finishing fifth. The net result was that Truex was able to gain a few points on Harvick. The margin is still 41 points through 12 of 36 races. Joey Logano moved up one place to third with his 13th-place finish, but the team has still been unable to properly adjust the car as the race continues on.by Phil Allaway
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s successful fuel gamble moved him up to fourth in the standings after finishing third Sunday. Logano and Earnhardt Jr.'s gains came at the expense of Jimmie Johnson, who spun on lap 274 and hit the SAFER Barrier entering pit road. After repairs, Johnson returned to finish 40th, 30 laps down. Brad Keselowski is still sixth following his seventh-place finish. He was able to gain a miniscule two points on Harvick.
Matt Kenseth maintains the seventh spot in points after leading early on and finishing fourth. He also gained a small number of points on Harvick. Jamie McMurray stays in eighth after having a relatively quiet 600 mile run to 19th. Jeff Gordon is still ninth, but closed the margin slightly on McMurray. Despite an up-and-down night, Kasey Kahne stayed in tenth after getting a Lucky Dog and finishing 12th.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 473, 2) Martin Truex, Jr. -41, 3) Joey Logano -66, 4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -72, 5) Brad Keselowski -80, 6) Brad Keselowski -92, 7) Matt Kenseth -101, 8) Jamie McMurray -120, 9) Jeff Gordon -127, 10) Kasey Kahne -128, 11) Ryan Newman -130, 12) Aric Almirola -134, 13) Paul Menard -137, 14) Kurt Busch -146, 15) Denny Hamlin -152, 16) Carl Edwards -161.
Race Winners: Joey Logano (Daytona), Jimmie Johnson (Atlanta, Texas, Kansas), Kevin Harvick (Las Vegas, Phoenix), Brad Keselowski (Fontana), Denny Hamlin (Martinsville), Matt Kenseth (Bristol), Kurt Busch (Richmond), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Talladega), Carl Edwards (Charlotte)
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 was brought to you by the letter "D," for Drab. The 600 was another typical intermediate race with the 2015 rules. A mad scramble in and around the restarts, but outside of those times, it wasn't really all that exciting. Yes, the tires drop off, but some of the drivers and crewmembers wish that NASCAR and Goodyear dropped the DualZone tires in favor of softer regular tires with more drop off. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Coca-Cola 600
compiled by Phil Allaway
"JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) is back and these Toyotas are great. I was the slowest of the group tonight and I just had the best guys on the pit box here and did a great job. Subway – I will be having a Coke along with my sub sandwich this week and guacamole on that. ARRIS came on in a huge way to start this fourth team. Toyota took a chance on me – I went to Kentucky the other week and saw where these Camrys are built. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has been behind me 100 percent. Sport Clips, Comcast, Sprint, all the fans – what a big day of racing. I can't believe we won this race." - Carl Edwards, race winner
"I'm really excited for the team and the organization. We've been working really, really hard on our cars. It's been well documented how bad we've been running, so it feels good. It's kind of funny because I decided if I finished in the top 10 tonight I was gonna stand on the door top and be all excited and cheer and I finished second and I'm not happy. The thing is we ran in the top 10 all night. The car was good and had a lot of speed. That was a huge improvement. We haven't done that in probably a year, so I'm super-excited about that, and then because of that run and where we were running it gave us the opportunity to try and stretch the fuel window and make it. I was putting a lot of pressure on Carl. I started going with about 10 laps to go. The crew chief told me to save all I could and just stay in front of the 88 and I made the decision that I was gonna try to beat Carl. I got pretty close to him there and then with two to go the fuel light came on that the fuel pressure was low, so I came around and had to start pushing the clutch in and shutting it off and coasting and try and preserve what fuel I had to make it back. I was excited to see the checkered flag. I wasn't sure I was gonna stretch two laps of gas out, but it was probably on the straightaway it sucked some air and started flashing the fuel pressure, so I was able to run it around the corners and didn't have any more issues, but I stayed in front of the 88 and finished second and it's a big boost for the team, but probably a bigger boost for the team was how we ran tonight on the race track." - Greg Biffle, finished second
"We've got a win so it doesn't really matter. I was just hoping that the guys in front of me would run too hard and run out of gas. We had to try to go for a win, there. We didn't have a fast enough car to beat the No. 41 (Kurt Busch) or the No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.), so we had to do something different and I like to gamble. We had a pretty good car. I'm a little disappointed. Those guys have a little bit more speed than us. We'll work on it and get better and try to get more wins." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished third
"I don't know. I don't know what to do about fuel mileage races. I've never ever, ever, ever, ever. One time in my whole career I came out on the right end of them, so I don't know. I guess I don't get good fuel mileage. What can I say about my guys? The Furniture Row team and everybody back in Denver and ECR engines and RCR chassis. The guys just give me an awesome race car. I'm so proud of them. It hurts to come home fifth and run that hard. But at the same time, it's pretty awesome to run like that, too. So, we've just got to keep plugging away and sooner or later we're going to get a little bit of luck on our side. Right now, we can't get anything to go our way." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished fifth
"A lot better now. I knew when my knee was sore afterwards that it was probably fluids. My off-day was 36 holes of golf and a full tennis match. Probably over did it a little bit this weekend. I think the dehydration led to a migraine and just felt nauseous the last 100 laps or so. Thank goodness, that didn't cost us the win. Just the bad end of that strategy and what not, but still proud of our FedEx Office team for really giving me a car that could contend for a win. This is a good sign and congrats to Carl (Edwards), this is an awesome two weeks really for our organization." - Denny Hamlin, finished eighth, on getting sick during the race
"I feel pretty good. All in all, I felt like that was a great race for us. We ran really strong. We ran up front, and we showed we had some speed. You know, it certainly is frustrating to finish where we did. That's disappointing. But sometimes you do win these things by fuel‑mileage races, so congratulations to our teammates, Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth). They finished up front there. But all in all, I can't say enough about everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, everyone pulling for me and cheering for me and helping me get back into this race car, and to get out there and have a strong run means a lot. Real proud of my guys. Adam Stevens (crew chief) made some great calls tonight and got ourselves in some really good spots and up towards the front. We raced up towards the front. We battled side-by-side, door-to-door with guys for a little while. Felt good. I feel good, and I admit I've probably got a little left foot soreness, but other than that, everything is pretty hunky‑dory." - Kyle Busch, finished 11th
"The sun started going down and our car was not good. Nothing got better. We went one way with something and went back the other way and nothing. There's only so much you can do when the race starts. We were good on the bottom for a couple laps and then we tried to move up and we were junk, and then you've got to adjust to that lane. There was never one good thing about the car. Usually you at least get a good exit or a good center and I was just fighting way too much stuff.
"You don't chalk it up to anything, you've got to fix it. This is a Chase race when we come back and we're awful here. We've just got to figure out how to go faster. I don't really know. It used to be one of my best race tracks and now I think it's one of my worst race tracks. I don't know what's changed or what we're doing differently, but I need a night to think about it and try to figure out something different." - Joey Logano, finished 13th
"For us the car was just really loose. It was fast, but as soon as I would get close to somebody else, my car would bug out and get so edgy. Lost it twice, about had it saved both times. Once we would get in clean air and get strung out I could fly up through the field and went from last to fifth there. Then I had a lap car on the outside and a car I had been stalking on the bottom and then I tried to roll into the top behind the lap car. The thing just bugged out in the dirty air and around it went again. A tough day to try to get the balance right in the car.
"We came in here tonight swinging for the fences. We are locked in the Chase. It doesn't matter. Chad (Knaus, crew chief) told me he either wanted it on a hook or the trophy. Unfortunately we got the hook." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 40th
"Really, really happy with our Aaron's Dream Machine Camry when we started the race. I felt like the first 100 laps we really had a top-10 to 12 car. We got behind a little bit on pit sequence and lost some track position. Really just made a bad judgement call about halfway through the race and went the wrong way on an adjustment when the track was cooling down. Really took us two or three runs to get that adjustment back out of the race car. Feel like at the end we were back to decent lap times and we just needed to get back on the lead lap. We were fighting hard to get back on the lead lap and looks like something happened engine related – we got really, really hot and something happened internally. Disappointed that we had a lot better race car, but saw some encouraging signs that we had some speed in qualifying and the race as well, but we just need to put a race all together." - David Ragan, finished 41st (Engine Failure)
"We unfortunately had an engine problem. It was really unfortunate. I thought our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion was pretty good. Jeremy Bullins and everyone on the team did a great job of working on it all night and getting us better, and it really took off on that one restart and I thought we were gonna be pretty good. We had great take-off speed all night, but we just struggled for grip late in runs. I thought we made a good change to help that for this run and unfortunately, the motor let go on us. That's just unfortunate. You come out here and I don't know how many laps we ran, but it felt close to 300 and to almost be there and have that issue is just unfortunate. I hate it for these guys. They work so hard and they gave me a good piece and we were getting it better all night. I would have really liked to see where we ended up, but I'm excited for our next outing in this thing and we can always look at the positives and say we had a good run going. Everyone is working really well together on this team, so we just need to get running a little bit more and I think we'll be OK." - Ryan Blaney, finished 42nd (Engine Failure)
"I'm really excited for the team and the organization. We've been working really, really hard on our cars. It's been well documented how bad we've been running, so it feels good. It's kind of funny because I decided if I finished in the top 10 tonight I was gonna stand on the door top and be all excited and cheer and I finished second and I'm not happy. The thing is we ran in the top 10 all night. The car was good and had a lot of speed. That was a huge improvement. We haven't done that in probably a year, so I'm super-excited about that, and then because of that run and where we were running it gave us the opportunity to try and stretch the fuel window and make it. I was putting a lot of pressure on Carl. I started going with about 10 laps to go. The crew chief told me to save all I could and just stay in front of the 88 and I made the decision that I was gonna try to beat Carl. I got pretty close to him there and then with two to go the fuel light came on that the fuel pressure was low, so I came around and had to start pushing the clutch in and shutting it off and coasting and try and preserve what fuel I had to make it back. I was excited to see the checkered flag. I wasn't sure I was gonna stretch two laps of gas out, but it was probably on the straightaway it sucked some air and started flashing the fuel pressure, so I was able to run it around the corners and didn't have any more issues, but I stayed in front of the 88 and finished second and it's a big boost for the team, but probably a bigger boost for the team was how we ran tonight on the race track." - Greg Biffle, finished second
"We've got a win so it doesn't really matter. I was just hoping that the guys in front of me would run too hard and run out of gas. We had to try to go for a win, there. We didn't have a fast enough car to beat the No. 41 (Kurt Busch) or the No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.), so we had to do something different and I like to gamble. We had a pretty good car. I'm a little disappointed. Those guys have a little bit more speed than us. We'll work on it and get better and try to get more wins." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished third
"I don't know. I don't know what to do about fuel mileage races. I've never ever, ever, ever, ever. One time in my whole career I came out on the right end of them, so I don't know. I guess I don't get good fuel mileage. What can I say about my guys? The Furniture Row team and everybody back in Denver and ECR engines and RCR chassis. The guys just give me an awesome race car. I'm so proud of them. It hurts to come home fifth and run that hard. But at the same time, it's pretty awesome to run like that, too. So, we've just got to keep plugging away and sooner or later we're going to get a little bit of luck on our side. Right now, we can't get anything to go our way." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished fifth
"I feel pretty good. All in all, I felt like that was a great race for us. We ran really strong. We ran up front, and we showed we had some speed. You know, it certainly is frustrating to finish where we did. That's disappointing. But sometimes you do win these things by fuel‑mileage races, so congratulations to our teammates, Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth). They finished up front there. But all in all, I can't say enough about everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, everyone pulling for me and cheering for me and helping me get back into this race car, and to get out there and have a strong run means a lot. Real proud of my guys. Adam Stevens (crew chief) made some great calls tonight and got ourselves in some really good spots and up towards the front. We raced up towards the front. We battled side-by-side, door-to-door with guys for a little while. Felt good. I feel good, and I admit I've probably got a little left foot soreness, but other than that, everything is pretty hunky‑dory." - Kyle Busch, finished 11th
"The sun started going down and our car was not good. Nothing got better. We went one way with something and went back the other way and nothing. There's only so much you can do when the race starts. We were good on the bottom for a couple laps and then we tried to move up and we were junk, and then you've got to adjust to that lane. There was never one good thing about the car. Usually you at least get a good exit or a good center and I was just fighting way too much stuff.
"You don't chalk it up to anything, you've got to fix it. This is a Chase race when we come back and we're awful here. We've just got to figure out how to go faster. I don't really know. It used to be one of my best race tracks and now I think it's one of my worst race tracks. I don't know what's changed or what we're doing differently, but I need a night to think about it and try to figure out something different." - Joey Logano, finished 13th
"For us the car was just really loose. It was fast, but as soon as I would get close to somebody else, my car would bug out and get so edgy. Lost it twice, about had it saved both times. Once we would get in clean air and get strung out I could fly up through the field and went from last to fifth there. Then I had a lap car on the outside and a car I had been stalking on the bottom and then I tried to roll into the top behind the lap car. The thing just bugged out in the dirty air and around it went again. A tough day to try to get the balance right in the car.
"We came in here tonight swinging for the fences. We are locked in the Chase. It doesn't matter. Chad (Knaus, crew chief) told me he either wanted it on a hook or the trophy. Unfortunately we got the hook." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 40th
"Really, really happy with our Aaron's Dream Machine Camry when we started the race. I felt like the first 100 laps we really had a top-10 to 12 car. We got behind a little bit on pit sequence and lost some track position. Really just made a bad judgement call about halfway through the race and went the wrong way on an adjustment when the track was cooling down. Really took us two or three runs to get that adjustment back out of the race car. Feel like at the end we were back to decent lap times and we just needed to get back on the lead lap. We were fighting hard to get back on the lead lap and looks like something happened engine related – we got really, really hot and something happened internally. Disappointed that we had a lot better race car, but saw some encouraging signs that we had some speed in qualifying and the race as well, but we just need to put a race all together." - David Ragan, finished 41st (Engine Failure)
"We unfortunately had an engine problem. It was really unfortunate. I thought our Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion was pretty good. Jeremy Bullins and everyone on the team did a great job of working on it all night and getting us better, and it really took off on that one restart and I thought we were gonna be pretty good. We had great take-off speed all night, but we just struggled for grip late in runs. I thought we made a good change to help that for this run and unfortunately, the motor let go on us. That's just unfortunate. You come out here and I don't know how many laps we ran, but it felt close to 300 and to almost be there and have that issue is just unfortunate. I hate it for these guys. They work so hard and they gave me a good piece and we were getting it better all night. I would have really liked to see where we ended up, but I'm excited for our next outing in this thing and we can always look at the positives and say we had a good run going. Everyone is working really well together on this team, so we just need to get running a little bit more and I think we'll be OK." - Ryan Blaney, finished 42nd (Engine Failure)
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Amy Henderson
by Summer Bedgood
by Jerry Jordan
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Amy Henderson
by Matt Weaver
What Will Power Would Have Done Differently
What Will Power Would Have Done Differently
by Matt Weaver
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1990 Budweiser 500 at Dover is best remembered as Derrike Cope's second and final victory in Cup. It was definitely not a fluky win as he had the best car. However, he made winning significantly harder than it should have been. What happened that forced him to rebound?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 2005 Coca-Cola 600 is in the record books as having the most cautions in any one race in the history of the Sprint Cup Series (22). It also had two red flags. One was for a late crash (the 22nd and final yellow). What caused the other one?
A: The first red flag was thrown briefly when a rather large piece of sealer came up and punched a hole in in the nose of Jeff Gordon's car. The piece was removed and repairs were made before the race resumed.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have breaking news from Monday and S.D. Grady's Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View commentary.
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have Five Points To Ponder after Sprint All-Star Weekend in Charlotte. We'll also take a look at FOX Sports' broadcasts from Charlotte and ESPN (on ABC)'s broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 in Couch Potato Tuesday.-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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