Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Volume IX, Edition LXXXIII
What to Watch: Tuesday
by the Frontstretch Staff
Small XFINITY Series Field Prepares for Dover International Speedway
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Choosing to Honor Our Military - The Right Thing to Do
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
Carl Edwards' win at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night was a result of choices. Crew chief Darian Grubb elected to keep the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 out and stretch their fuel mileage past its expected 55-lap pit window. Over the closing laps, Edwards lifted off the gas just enough to stay out in front of his former teammate, Greg Biffle, and when all was said and done their gamble paid off. Cousin Carl executed his signature backflip, chose to share the moment in the grandstands and did not forget that one other person was part of their team for this day: Seaman Lynn A. Thrasher, who served during World War II defending the free world from evils running rampant in both Germany and Japan.
So we place the names of young men like Seaman Thrasher on the windshield of a Sprint Cup car. But have we considered that, although his body and mind was harmed during the war, whether his participation was one of choice?
It is this crucial part of service that is often dismissed during ceremonies. Throughout history, nations have pressed the youth of their country into the military, taking their young adulthood from them and, in some cases, their lives. We like to speak of heroic deeds where the soldier chose to jump in front of a machine gun emplacement, saving his comrades in arms at the cost of his personal welfare. But arriving at that moment may not have been his choice. It was a true reflection of the ultimate measure of the man, even if the circumstances were not of his making.
It is the lack of choice that Memorial Day is truly for. Not whether the sailor volunteered to stand for his nation in times of strife, but what their actions were when final decisions had to be made. We must never forget that as a nation, as the free people who remained behind secure in their houses, we sent the hearts of our homes across the seas to stand before those that would do us harm. We gave soldiers the physical means to stop the evil and then asked them to use weaponry, whatever the cost to their livelihoods might be. And they did.
Even in the present day of the unending war against terror, in our safe white-washed world, we call it service. Ultimately, it is sacrifice. Just about every day our alarm clocks go off, we climb in a silver sedan and report to work where we complain of stress if a memo is not completed on time. Meanwhile, a soldier is standing in a distant land. His personal armor and weapon are all that remains between him and somebody who is bent on changing our way of life back in the USA. He will have choices placed before him - should he pull the trigger?
Back at home, we stare into the freezer and wonder if we ought to have hamburgers or spaghetti tonight. What a simple freedom that is, and so precious.
Memorial Day has come and gone, but the service we silently rely upon to keep us safe has not. The American men and women of the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and National Guard remain on duty. They arrived at their posts through a wide array of choices. It is now your responsibility as a U.S. Citizen to support everything they gave up in order to provide you with your way of life. It's a responsibility that requires you to choose to accept it.
I hope you will.
Find out about all the servicemen and women that rode along on the windshields of your NASCAR heroes by clicking here.
Sonya's Scrapbook
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.
0
Top-5 finishes for Carl Edwards this season prior to Sunday night's race. The best he'd accomplished was a 10th at Texas with his new No. 19 Toyota team before coasting to a fuel mileage victory at Charlotte.
1
Top-3 finish for Roush Fenway Racing during the 2015 season to date. Greg Biffle's second-place result Sunday night was their best, by far since Edwards won with the No. 99 Ford at Sonoma last June.
2
Straight Cup races in which Martin Truex, Jr. has led the most laps and failed to win. He paced the field for 95 circuits at Charlotte before fuel mileage strategy bit him down the stretch.
3
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers who have "clinched" a Chase berth with at least one victory this season: Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Kyle Busch, who made his first points-paying start of the year Sunday is now listed as the lone man out.
4
Drivers who failed to finish Sunday, the fewest for a Coca-Cola 600 since 2009 (when the race was rain-shortened).
4.785
Carl Edwards' margin of victory (in seconds), the largest for any Cup race this season. That beat the previous high of 1.802 seconds set in Atlanta.
5
Chevrolets in the top 10 Sunday, more than any other manufacturer despite their inability to reach victory lane.
6
Straight finishes outside the top 15 for single-car Germain Racing and Casey Mears. Mears, who had three such finishes in the first six races of the season is in the final year of his contract with the team.
9
Straight races that AJ Allmendinger has finished outside the top 10 for JTG-Daugherty Racing. The 'Dinger, during that stretch signed a contract extension that keeps him behind the wheel of the No. 47 Chevrolet through the 2020 season.
15th
The lowest finishing position of Kurt Busch in any of his nine Cup starts this season. He was 10th at Charlotte.
40
Points between winless Clint Bowyer, 17th in the standings and the next driver he can knock out of the Chase on points alone -- Paul Menard in 13th.
$128,685
Money won by Kasey Kahne for finishing 12th.
$129,286
Money won by Kahne's teammate, Jimmie Johnson for crashing twice and finishing 30 laps down in 40th place.
4:03:34
Official time it took to run NASCAR's longest race of the season. (Four hours, three minutes, 34 seconds)
TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
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, Cope made winning significantly harder than it should have been. What happened that forced him to rebound?
A: Cope ended up stretching his fuel too far under green and running out, as can be seen here. He lost a substantial amount of time, coasting nearly a full lap then having to be push-started. However, by the end of the 500-lap race, Cope was right where he needed to be.~~~~~~~~~~
COMING TOMORROW
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