Friday, May 22, 2015

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Kenseth Grabs Coca-Coca 600 Pole

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 22, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXXXI
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What to Watch: Friday

- Today is dark at Charlotte Motor Speedway and in Monaco.  However, it is Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  There will be final practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series, in addition to a pit stop competition and the Freedom 100.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND!
CHARLOTTE
Amy Henderson (@Writer_Amy)
Mike Neff (@MNeffShortTrack)

INDIANAPOLIS
Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverSBN)

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This weekend's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday
here.

Top News
by The Frontstretch Staff
 
Matt Kenseth Wins the Pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

On Thursday night, Matt Kenseth recovered from a cut tire during the first round of qualifying to win the pole for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.  Kenseth's lap of 27.799 seconds (194.252 mph) was two tenths of a second quicker than Joey Logano in second.  Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-5 qualifiers.  Read more
 
Carl Edwards Fastest in First Cup Practice at Charlotte

When the track opened up for Sprint Cup Practice on Thursday, Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing showed that they hadn't lost anything from All-Star Weekend.  Carl Edwards turned in the fastest lap in practice Thursday with a lap of 192.793 mph.  Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and David Ragan rounded out the top-5 drivers.  Read more

Jeff Gordon to join the Fox Sports Broadcast Booth for 2016

During Thursday's edition of NASCAR RaceHub, FOX Sports announced the signing of Jeff Gordon to a multi-year deal to serve as an analyst for Sprint Cup races in the broadcast booth.  He will take Larry McReynolds' place with Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip.  McReynolds will move down to the Hollywood Hotel and join Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip beginning next season.  Read more

Vautier Replaces Huertas Days Before Indy 500

Dale Coyne Racing announced Thursday that Carlos Huertas will sit out Sunday's Indianapolis 500 due to illness (INDYCAR confirmed this morning that Huertas is not approved to race due to an inner ear condition).  Tristan Vautier, who qualified the team's No. 19 in place of James Davison, will drive in Huertas' place.  The No. 18, which was due to start 18th, will drop to the 11th row and no replacement has been announced.  Read more

IndyCar Adds Boston Shunt to 2016 Schedule

On Thursday, INDYCAR announced that a new street race in the South End of Boston will be added to the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule for the 2016 season.  The race will run on Labor Day weekend.  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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Frontstretch Folio: Coca-Cola 600
by Phil Allaway

The Sprint Cup Series returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway for their longest race of the year. Coverage of the Coca-Cola 600  begins Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX; the race can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate or SiriusXM channel 90. Drivers will compete for 400 laps (600 miles).

Records and facts

Last year, Jimmie Johnson dominated the race, leading 164 laps from the pole to win his fourth Coca-Cola 600 and seventh win at Charlotte Motor Speedway overall.  Kevin Harvick was second, followed by Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray.

Track/Race Length: 1.5-mile quad-oval, 400 laps, 600 miles
Frontstretch: 1,952.8 feet; banked 5 degrees
Backstretch: 1,360 feet; banked 5 degrees
Banking in turns: 24 degrees
Seating: approx. 89,000
Opened: 1960

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice No. 2: Saturday, May 23, 10 - 11 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
Happy Hour: Saturday, May 23,  1 - 2 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Weather Forecast

Sunday: Partly Cloudy

High: 85

Low: 60

Say What?!

"I always like racing at Charlotte [Motor Speedway] for several reasons. I like the track itself. We start the Coke 600 during the day when the track is hot and slick, and then we end the race in the dark. It's almost like an endurance race for us, since it's the longest race of the year. Most of us drivers live in the Charlotte area, so we've been able to spend a lot more time than usual at home. There has been plenty of go-kart and golf events going on in the area to keep me plenty busy. BRANDT Professional Agriculture is on the car this weekend and hopefully I can get them their first top 10." - Justin Allgaier

"I think the biggest challenge about Charlotte is how much the track changes from practice. You practice all during the day and then you go into night racing. You've got to know what kind of adjustments to make to your car and how well you can race at night. Typically, you go back to your night notes. For us, we've run well there in the past and like going there. It's a fun place to race and adds to the excitement of spending some time at home. Just hoping we can have a good run with our Skittles Toyota this weekend." - Kyle Busch

"We will be proud to pay tribute to Sgt. Bouthout on our CSX 'Play It Safe' Ford. It's important to honor all of our fallen military, but it's even more important and special when it's from within your own team's family. Robert is a welder with Front Row and Sgt. Bouthout was his grandfather. We'll try to make the family proud on Sunday." - Brett Moffitt

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:
by the Frontstretch Staff

by Amy Henderson

as told to Mike Neff

by Kevin Rutherford
 
by Phil Allaway
 
by Matt Stallknecht
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1995, after completely stomping the field the previous years, both Team Penske drivers Al Unser, Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi infamously DNQ'd for the Indianapolis 500. How many collective attempts did the two drivers unsuccessfully make to get into the field?

Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!

Thursday's Answer:

Q: In 1994, Phil Parsons used Hoosier tires to run down Mark Martin and win the Champion 300 in his Matchbox Chevrolet. However, this somewhat bizarre race was marred by a huge crash early on. What happened?

A: Stanton Barrett made an ill-advised three-wide move to the inside of Bobby Labonte and Chad Little on a restart, making contact with Labonte.  Labonte was shoved up into Little and both drivers went hard into the wall.  From there, it was on.  Derrike Cope, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Tracy Leslie, Jim Bown, Randy LaJoie and others piled in. The crash can be seen here.

COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have recaps from both Charlotte and Indianapolis to wrap up the weekend for NASCAR and INDYCAR.

On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a series of post-race commentaries breaking down the action from Charlotte, the Indy 500, and Monaco after the biggest race weekend of the year.
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