THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 11, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXXVII
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 11, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXXVII
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What to Watch: Monday- Today is a prep day for the teams ahead of this weekend's Sprint All-Star Race. In addition, today is the first day of practice for the Indianapolis 500. Rookie Orientation begins at 12 p.m., followed by outright practice from 3-7 p.m. If anything major breaks news-wise, we will have it for you at Frontstretch.
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Monday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Jimmie Johnson Steals Third Win of the Season at Kansas
Monday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Jimmie Johnson Steals Third Win of the Season at Kansas
Saturday night's SpongeBob SquarePants 400 was dominated by a group of drivers including Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. However, it was Jimmie Johnson who stayed out on the final caution when others pitted, then held off Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for his third win of the year and 73rd of his career. Read more
Matt Crafton Saves Fuel to Win at Kansas Speedway
Matt Crafton Saves Fuel to Win at Kansas Speedway
Erik Jones dominated on Friday night at Kansas Speedway. However, he ran out of fuel in his No. 4 Toyota with six laps to go, giving the lead and victory in the Toyota Tundra 250 to Matt Crafton after Tyler Reddick also ran out of gas. Ryan Newman was second, followed by Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters and Cameron Hayley. Read more
AJ Allmendinger Secures 5-Year Deal with JTG-Daugherty Racing
AJ Allmendinger Secures 5-Year Deal with JTG-Daugherty Racing
Prior to the start of Saturday night's race at Kansas Speedway, JTG-Daugherty Racing announced that the team has reached a five-year contract extension with driver AJ Allmendinger. The former open-wheel racer will be under contract with the team through the end of the 2020 season. 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: Harvick Increases Lead to Nearly a Full Race
by Phil Allaway
Races at Kansas Speedway since the reconfiguration have been rather crash prone. Saturday night's race was a little less so. As a result, the points weren't shaken up as much as they could have been. Kevin Harvick's second-place finish allowed him to once again expand his lead, now up to 46 points over Martin Truex, Jr. Truex led a race-high 95 laps, but got caught behind Kurt Busch on the final restart and finished ninth. Jimmie Johnson's win did not move him up any positions, but did gain him some points on Harvick and Truex.by Phil Allaway
Joey Logano was the man to beat early, but pit road issues dropped him back in the pack. He remains fourth in points, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s third-place finish allowed him to gain ground on Logano. Brad Keselowski's seventh-place result allowed him to hold station in sixth.
Matt Kenseth is up one place to seventh after recovering from a spin to finish sixth. That spot comes at the expense of Jamie McMurray, who was a ho-hum 13th after some stronger runs as of late. Jeff Gordon is up four spots to ninth after finishing fourth, while Kasey Kahne rounds out the top 10 in series points.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 437, 2) Martin Truex, Jr. -46, 3) Jimmie Johnson -48, 4) Joey Logano -62, 5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -77, 6) Brad Keselowski -94, 7) Matt Kenseth -106, 8) Jamie McMurray -109, 9) Jeff Gordon -120, 10) Kasey Kahne -124, 11) Aric Almirola -125, 12) Paul Menard -131, 13) Ryan Newman -132, 14) Kurt Busch -145, 15) Denny Hamlin -153, 16) Clint Bowyer -165.
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)
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Letter of the Race: Saturday night's SpongeBob SquarePants 400 was brought to you by the letter "M," for Marathon. While the racing was ultimately pretty good on Saturday night, these rain delays are just plain exhausting these days. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: SpongeBob SquarePants 400
compiled by Phil Allaway
"Tonight, I felt like we had a good car. As we got to the front and got out of the turbulent air and traffic our car just got faster and faster. I felt like we were a top 2 or 3 car but I didn't have enough time up there in the top 2 or 3 to know where I stood against the 78 and the 4. We gambled with our pit call and had just enough time to get to the finish line before the 4 on his new tires could get to us. Just well played." - Jimmie Johnson, race winner
"I'm just really proud of our Jimmy John's/Budweiser guys; they did a great job tonight. We made some huge adjustments on this thing under that last green-flag pit stop, and we were able to make the car a lot better. We were just in a bad spot leading the race there. I mean the No. 48 (Johnson) and No. 88 (Earnhardt), those guys didn't have anything for us on speed. They were just doing what they had to do on track, position-wise, and then move all over the racetrack to try to get the air off your car. The good news is we have a lot of speed in our car. We took an ill-handling racecar and made it into a good car. I'm just really proud of all my guys." - Kevin Harvick, finished second
"The Haas Automation Chevy had its fast moments and then it had its loose moments. We hung onto it most of the night with making her pretty wide on the front straightaway and in the corners. Eighth place is good. It's something to build on. When we come back here in the Chase, it's great to have these notes and to go from this point forward. We could contend early, and then when the pace picked up, we got too loose. So we've got to work on that." - Kurt Busch, finished eighth
"Yeah, it is disappointing to run that good all night and finish wherever we did. But at the same time, it's nice to run like that. Cole (Pearn, crew chief) got kind of put in a bad spot there at the end. I told him to keep his confidence up because he has done a good job all year long. We are going to get one. We just have to keep digging. We were strong from the get go. Tonight we had a brand new Furniture Row Chevy and it definitely showed what we have in store for the future. The finish was awfully disappointing, but the future has never looked brighter for our race team." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished ninth
"I'm not sure what happened to our right front. After our contact with the No. 15 machine, something was amiss in the right front and caused our Zest Ford to be really tight. I definitely think we had a top-15 car tonight. We will go to Charlotte next weekend and hopefully race our way into the All-Star race." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished 24th
"There was no caution there (on the first incident) and then we cut a left rear, blew it off of turn four and spun out, hit the wall at the start/finish line. I keep spinning out, I keep hitting the wall and I can't figure out why everyone is still coming at 200 (miles per hour) and I look and the green light is still on. They didn't throw a caution until seven seconds after I wrecked. Luckily, nobody hit us. They'll continue to monitor the situation, I'm guessing is what they'll say." - Denny Hamlin, finished 41st
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Amy Henderson
by Summer Bedgood
by Jerry Jordan
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Matt Weaver
by Summer Bedgood
~~~~~~~~~~FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: 1992 was the first year that The Winston was held at night. During the Winston Open earlier that night, TNN experimented with something rarely used in American race broadcasts. What was it?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Friday's Answer:
Q: Months after the fact, a race at Kansas Speedway for TUSC's Prototype Challenge class mixed with IMSA Prototype Lites was added to the schedule for last season. The PC teams were up in arms almost immediately. What was the sentiment at the time about the event?
A: The sentiment was that it was a glorified club race. The lack of TV coverage meant that the event didn't make much sense for sponsors, either. This issue was also mentioned by competitors in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, which served as support in Kansas. For that series, it was their second consecutive untelevised race after Lime Rock.
Some of the PC teams threatened not to make the trip to Kansas in protest, but everyone ultimately entered the twin 45-minute races on the course that comprises the tri-oval and an infield section.
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 an action packed weekend of racing in Kansas. We'll also take a look at FOX Sports' broadcasts from Kansas in Couch Potato Tuesday.-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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