The Frontstretch Newsletter: Rain Threatens as Kansas Weekend Gets Underway

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!

May 8, 2015

Volume IX, Edition LXXI

~~~~~~~~~~

What to Watch: Friday

- Today, we've got racing, provided that the weather cooperates.  The Camping World Truck Series returns from their six week break in tonight's Toyota Tundra 250 .  Prior to that, there will be practice for Sprint Cup team and qualifying for both series.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Top News
by The Frontstretch Staff

Cameron Hayley Fastest in Truck Series Practice

After rains condensed Thursday's schedule to just one practice session at Kansas Speedway, Cameron Hayley turned in the fastest lap of the day at 30.717 seconds (175.798 mph), followed by Daniel Hemric and Daniel Suarez.  Read more

Go Green Racing Picks Up Sponsorship For Kansas

On the heels of his feel-good fifth-place finish in last weekend's XFINITY Series Winn-Dixie 300, Joey Gase returns to Sprint Cup with Go FAS Racing for his sixth Cup start.  He also returns with additional sponsorship from Tri-State Power as the primary sponsor.  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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frontstretch Folio: SpongeBob SquarePants 400

by Rick Lunkenheimer

The Sprint Cup Series heads off to Kansas Speedway for a Saturday night showdown, weather permitting. Coverage for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on FoxSports 1; the race can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate or SiriusXM channel 90. Drivers will compete for 267 laps (400.5 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Jeff Gordon is the defending winner of this race. After starting 13th, Gordon led just nine laps en rouute to the victory over Kevin Harvick. Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. rounded out the top 5.

Track Facts
Track/Race Length: 1.5-mile D-shaped oval, 267 laps, 400.5 miles
Frontstretch: 2,721 feet; banked 10 degrees
Backstretch: 2,207 feet; banked 5.5 degrees
Banking in turns: variable (17-20 degrees)
Seating: approx. 74,000
Opened: 2001

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Friday, May 8, 12 - 1:25 p.m. ET on FoxSports 1
Happy Hour: Friday, May 8, 2:30 - 3:25 p.m. ET on FoxSports 1
Qualifying: Friday, May 8 at 6:45 p.m. ET on FoxSports 1

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Thunderstorms, 80 percent chance of rain

High: 81

Low: 67

Sunday: Cloudy with Thunderstorms, 80 percent chance of rain

High : 79

Low: 52

Say What?!

"Fast race cars, You know, on any of these mile and a halves, especially mile and halves that have been repaved, you've got to have good equipment. The guys have worked really hard at MWR to find some things and I think we're headed in the right direction. I'm looking forward to getting out there and seeing all my family and friends of course, and putting on a good show." - Clint Bowyer

"We have been pretty fast unloading on all the mile-and-half tracks so far this year," McMurray said. "Hopefully Kansas is no exception, where we can unload fast on Friday and focus on our race plan. We were really good there in the fall, but cut a tire late in the race that ended our day. Kansas is a great trip for us, being that it is close to where I grew up racing, and I always get a chance to go fishing with my dad leading into the race weekend." - Jamie McMurray

"We haven't had the type of racing luck we're accustomed to at start of this season, but when we haven't been involved in on-track incidents, our cars have definitely been stronger compared last year and we're seeing that improvement on the race track," said Cassill, who put together a three-race string of lead-lap finishes beginning at Phoenix earlier this season. "We're looking to start another streak of lead-lap finishes this weekend at Kansas with our Carsforsale.com Chevrolet and look to carry momentum into the two-week homestand at Charlotte as we focus on our mile-and-half program for the month of May." - Landon Cassill

Rick Lunkenheimer is a Contributor and Photographer for Frontstretch. He can be reached at rick.lunkenheimer@frontstretch.com.

~~~~~~~~~~

TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:

Four Burning Questions at Kansas: Wet, Wild, & Unpredictable

by Aaron Bearden

Holding A Pretty Wheel: It's All About Winning...Until It Isn't

by Amy Henderson

Beyond the Cockpit: Mason Mitchell Adjusting to Life as a Team Owner

as told to Joseph Wolkin

NASCAR 101: 5 Drivers We Want to See in Cup Before the end of 2015

by Kevin Rutherford

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

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?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q: The 2006 Grand Prix of the United States at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the last Grand Prix start for Juan Pablo Montoya.  It ended after about two corners.  What happened?

A: By the standards of Formula One, this was one of the bigger first lap messes of recent years.  After an incident in the first turn took out Christian Klien and Franck Montagny, Montoya managed to run into the back of his own teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, in turn 2.  That started a chain reaction that resulted in both McLarens, Jenson Button's BAR-Honda, Nick Heidfeld's BMW-Sauber and Scott Speed's Scuderia Toro Rosso crashing out.  Heidfeld's exit was the most spectacular as he rolled his car through the gravel trap.  The crash can be seen here.

COMING MONDAY

In The Frontstretch Newsletter:

We'll have recaps of both NASCAR races this weekend from Kansas, along with any notable news that breaks.

On Frontstretch.com:

We'll have a series of post-race commentaries breaking down the action from Kansas.
 -----------------------------

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

--
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
 
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.