THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
May 28, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXXXV
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What to Watch: Thursday
- Today, the Camping World Truck Series opens up their race weekend with the only practice session for tomorrow's Lucas Oil 200. We'll have a recap of the 2.5-hour session at Frontstretch later today. It will not be televised.
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Thursday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
James Hinchcliffe Released from Hospital
by the Frontstretch Staff
James Hinchcliffe Released from Hospital
Wednesday, Verizon IndyCar Series regular James Hinchcliffe was released from IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis after suffering significant blood loss in a May 18th crash. Hinchcliffe, wheeled out by good friend Will Power will continue his recovery at home. Read more
Jimmie Johnson's Team Among Three Penalized Following Coca-Cola 600
On Wednesday, NASCAR announced penalties against three different organizations. First, Jamie McMurray's team was found guilty of a P2-level violation for an illegal modification to the right rear quarterpanel after pre-qualifying inspection. As a result, crew chief Matt McCall has been placed on probation through the end of the year.
In addition, both the Nos. 48 and 51 teams earned warnings in multiple weeks. Under the NASCAR deterrence system, multiple warnings can equate to a P1-level penalty. Both teams will have last pick of their pit stalls this weekend in Dover. Read more
Justin Marks Snags Ride for 2 XFINITY Road Course Races
HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi announced Wednesday that former sports car racer Justin Marks, who just so happens to be the co-owner of HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks and Larson Marks Racing, will drive the No. 42 Chevrolet in the XFINITY Series road races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America. No sponsorship was announced for these events. 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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Today's Featured Commentary~~~~~~~~~~
Last Sunday, I think I watched the most exciting Indianapolis 500-mile race that I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing in person.
I missed the 1960 duel between Rodger Ward and Jim Rathmann because I was stuck on the left coast dealing with paperwork concerning my discharge from the U.S. Air Force. I did get to see a pretty good CRA sprint car race on a 1.25-mile oval at Vacaville, Ca. but that's another story.
Gordon Johncock's 1982 win in a late battle with Rick Mears comes to mind, but my son and I weren't in seats where we could see the action in turn 1.
Being The Frontstretch's official representative at Indy, I was in the Media Center along with a couple hundred other ink-stained wretches (does that description still apply). It was a place where we could watch the pit action and front straightaway through the windows, see the action on a few dozen screens and a similar number of scoring monitors. The real fun of it, for me, was being seated next to a couple of younger guys who professed to know just about all there is to know about IndyCar racing. As you might expect, this belief led to several differences of opinion.
When Juan Pablo Montoya had part of one wheel cover knocked loose during the first caution period, they both opined that he was done as a viable threat.
I disagreed, informing those two that this part was easily replaced by a well-prepared team (and we're talking about Roger Penske's bunch here). Since we were under yellow, pitting to fix it wouldn't be a problem.
Then, we heard the announcement that Montoya would be put at the end of the lead-lap field because he entered the pits before they were opened.
"That ought to do it," one of them said, noting that with 31 cars running at the time he was in 30th place, ahead of Takuma Sato, who was three laps down after his kamikaze move on the first lap.
About that incident - it doesn't seem to matter whether you're talking to a group of weekly short track racers or those purported to be the 33 best in the sport. When you say you can't win the race on the first lap, there's always some fool who doesn't believe you. Then, there's a person who learns that you can sure lose it on the first lap.
"Let's wait until the monitors tell us what kind of laps he's turning," I said. "If he's as fast as the leaders, we'll see him work his way back up."
I was pulling for Montoya to win this thing, and was figuring he still had a shot if a jet dryer didn't get in the way. Sure enough, he steadily came through the field, with three pit stops more than everybody else up front, until he was again a contender.
All this time, Scott Dixon seemed to have the strongest car on the track, with Will Power a close second and maybe Tony Kanaan able to mix it up with them.
At one point just before halfway, the IMS PA crew announced that Montoya was "off sequence" with everybody else, but apparently somebody in that booth wasn't paying attention. He had just pitted on the last caution along with everybody else, and was very definitely back "on" sequence.
All this time, Montoya and his crew had been doing a pretty good imitation of Jimmie Johnson and his bunch in a recent NASCAR race. They were working on the car after a rough start and seeming to get it better with every adjustment.
Then came crunch time, with Montoya, Power, Dixon, and Charlie Kimball appearing to break away, intent on settling things themselves.
On lap 175, however, there came a crash involving Jack Hawksworth, Sebastian Saavedra, and Stefano Coletti which brought out the yellow again.
That cleanup took ten laps, setting up an old-fashioned shootout. The lead changed hands several times, the last coming on an outside move on Power by Montoya with just three laps to go. I wasn't sure that was a good move at the time, seeing as how everybody seemed to be able to slingshot past going into turn 1 if they were close, but obviously he felt he could keep IndyCar's 2014 champion behind him.
In the meantime, Kimball managed to get past Dixon for third. I'm not sure that Dixon was still remembering the fact that Montoya had just very nearly stuck a wheel in his sidepod in a pass for second, but for whatever reason, he had to settle for fourth.
Power was definitely on the gas and charging, everybody waiting for another pass, but his front end drifted up coming off turn 2 on the last lap. A loud "I've got this!!!" overheard on the scanner from Montoya meant he had seen Power's slip in his mirrors.
An old friend of mine in North Carolina said Tuesday that we should award Montoya two ears and a tail, and then barbecue the bull.
He also said, "I think that league has seven or eight people who really can race, and the rest would be hard-pressed to hold an SCCA Regional license for Formula Ford."
I'm not sure if that's true, but I'm sure Montoya is in that mix very solidly. This guy is a real racer.
Like some coach once said about a football player, I don't know if he's in a class by himself, but whatever class he's in it doesn't take long to call the roll.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
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Editor's Note: The Critic's Annex will return next week.
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"It's a totally different operation. Some fans don't know that, and that's not their fault, but it's just that we probably run on ten to 20 percent of the budget of the big teams. I'd say ten percent is probably more realistic. The amount of resources we have – people, engineers, race cars, technology – everything [for the big teams] is far superior. For what we deal with, it takes the guys grouping together and working a lot more when you're a lower-budget team. We've really got to work together well and make the most of what we've got. When you can take equipment that is much lesser than those guys and be running with them and running in the middle of the pack, those are wins for us. Wins for teams like us are a lot different than wins for the big teams. When we run competitive in the middle of the pack and we're beating teams that run on ten times the budget of us, that's a success." - Matt DiBenedetto, on driving for a smaller Cup operation in BK Racing
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
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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
Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Beyond the Cockpit: Matt DiBenedetto on Growing, Improving & What's Next"It's a totally different operation. Some fans don't know that, and that's not their fault, but it's just that we probably run on ten to 20 percent of the budget of the big teams. I'd say ten percent is probably more realistic. The amount of resources we have – people, engineers, race cars, technology – everything [for the big teams] is far superior. For what we deal with, it takes the guys grouping together and working a lot more when you're a lower-budget team. We've really got to work together well and make the most of what we've got. When you can take equipment that is much lesser than those guys and be running with them and running in the middle of the pack, those are wins for us. Wins for teams like us are a lot different than wins for the big teams. When we run competitive in the middle of the pack and we're beating teams that run on ten times the budget of us, that's a success." - Matt DiBenedetto, on driving for a smaller Cup operation in BK Racing
TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Beth Lunkenheimer
by P. Huston Ladner
by Toni Montgomery
by Joseph Wolkin
by Toni Montgomery
~~~~~~~~~~FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Dick Trickle had a middling day in the 1989 Budweiser 500 at Dover. He brought his No. 84 Miller High Life Buick home 13 laps down in 21st. However, there was an incredibly unusual incident during the race. What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In the 1994 Goodwrench AC Delco Battery 200 at Dover, Harry Gant was one of a number of drivers in contention during the second half of the race for the win. However, the day came apart in the last 60 laps. What happened?
A: Gant was running fifth when he blew a right front tire and went hard into the wall in turn 1. Gant's Manheim Auctions Chevrolet was thrashed in the crash, but Gant was OK. The incident can be seen here.
COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have a recap of Thursday's breaking news for you.
On Frontstretch.com:
Matt Stallknecht will have four burning questions to consider heading into Dover.-----------------------------
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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