THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
May 7, 2015
Volume IX, Edition LXX
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What to Watch: Thursday
- Today is the beginning of the Kansas race weekend. Camping World Truck Series teams will hold their practice sessions today from 3 - 4 p.m. and 4:30 - 6 p.m. ET. These sessions will not be televised. In addition, practice for this weekend's Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis is scheduled to begin this afternoon as well. That action will be streamed live at indycar.com.
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Thursday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Richard Childress Racing Loses Final Appeal, Luke Lambert Suspended
by the Frontstretch Staff
Richard Childress Racing Loses Final Appeal, Luke Lambert Suspended
On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing had their final appeal heard by NASCAR Chief Appellate Officer Bryan Moss in regards to the tire bleeding controversy at Auto Club Speedway. A previous appeal had already reduced some post-race penalties, but RCR wanted them erased completely. They failed. Moss upheld the findings of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel, causing the suspension of Ryan Newman's crew chief Luke Lambert and other consequences effective immediately. Read more
NAPA to Move to Cup with Chase Elliott in 2016
NAPA to Move to Cup with Chase Elliott in 2016
On Wednesday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that NAPA Auto Parts, currently serving as the full-time sponsor for Chase Elliott in the XFINITY Series, will follow Elliott to Sprint Cup. The chain of auto parts stores will return to Sprint Cup on a regular basis after an absence of a couple of years as the primary sponsor of Elliott's No. 24 Chevrolet for 24 races in 2016. Read more
Chase Elliott Set to Run Sprint Showdown
Chase Elliott Set to Run Sprint Showdown
In addition to the announcement for 2016, Hendrick Motorsports revealed that Chase Elliott will run in next Friday's Sprint Showdown. As Elliott will also run in the Coca-Cola 600, the Showdown will serve as additional practice on the relatively narrow 1.5-mile quad-oval. Read more
Richard Childress Racing Strengthens Pit Road Safety Guidelines Following Fires
Richard Childress Racing Strengthens Pit Road Safety Guidelines Following Fires
Richard Childress Racing has made some new safety rules for their over-the-wall crews in the wake of two pit fires in consecutive weeks. From now on, all over-the-wall crew members must wear head socks in addition to their helmets. In addition, the team is researching additional technology to help protect their pit crews. Read more
NASCAR Penalizes Derek White's No. 40 Post-Talladega
NASCAR Penalizes Derek White's No. 40 Post-Talladega
Prior to the RCR appeal announcement, NASCAR announced that the No. 40 team in the XFINITY Series has been judged guilty of a P3 violation for having an improperly secured ballast. As a result, team owner/driver Derek White was docked 15 driver points and owner points. Read more
Kevin Harvick Running Throwback Budweiser Scheme at Southern 500
Kevin Harvick Running Throwback Budweiser Scheme at Southern 500
On Wednesday, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that Kevin Harvick will be running a special throwback paint scheme to commemorate the original Budweiser beer can design at the Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend. The car is gold and black with original Budweiser logos. 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 JOB: WEBMASTER
Frontstretch.com is looking for a talented and motivated individual to fulfill the role of the site's webmaster. The ideal candidate must be highly proficient in WordPress, as the site recently converted from Textpattern to WordPress as its content management system. The webmaster will assist with leftover conversion tasks, work with the management team to implement site enhancements and help troubleshoot problems as they arise. The candidate must also have a working knowledge of search engine optimization strategies to help improve search rankings for the site. Motorsports knowledge is preferred but not required. The candidate should have on average at least 1-2 hours per week to devote to Fronstretch initiatives. If you are interested, please contact our Business Manager, Tony Lumbis at Tony.Lumbis@gmail.com.
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FRONTSTRETCH JOB: WEBMASTER
Frontstretch.com is looking for a talented and motivated individual to fulfill the role of the site's webmaster. The ideal candidate must be highly proficient in WordPress, as the site recently converted from Textpattern to WordPress as its content management system. The webmaster will assist with leftover conversion tasks, work with the management team to implement site enhancements and help troubleshoot problems as they arise. The candidate must also have a working knowledge of search engine optimization strategies to help improve search rankings for the site. Motorsports knowledge is preferred but not required. The candidate should have on average at least 1-2 hours per week to devote to Fronstretch initiatives. If you are interested, please contact our Business Manager, Tony Lumbis at Tony.Lumbis@gmail.com.
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Today's Featured Commentary
Thoughts on Kurt Busch's Win, IRP and Terminology Differences
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
First off, got to apologize for last week's goof, saying it was good to see Kurt Busch win "last weekend" at Talladega. A very good friend who I love dearly pointed out that "last week" at the time was Richmond. Duh. I guess CRS is starting to set in. Thanks, Doll.
One of the problems with having your column appear on Thursday each week is the fact that Frontstretch has so many really sharp writers. You think of a good subject and make notes, but by the time you get around to writing it, somebody else has already done it.
I'm not going to complain too loudly, though. My days early in the week are pretty well full, compiling results for another website and helping out another old friend with his newspaper. Some retirement, huh? But I'm still doing what I love to do.
Earlier this week, S.D. Grady had some comments about how dangerous it is to be in the pits, even with all of today's safety improvements. Couldn't agree more. I concur with the danger for those fans who may have been "lucky" enough to score a Hot Pass and are hanging around in their favorite team's pit area. Pardon me, but that ain't no place for somebody in civvies.
And I speak from the experience of one who went through that back in the '60s, when the only requirement was that the clothes you were going to wear on race day be dipped in a boric acid solution by NASCAR and tagged. Also, this time was when there was no speed limit on pit road, where we didn't have those big long poles with the number on them to use as a stopping point for the driver.
No, the practice at the time was to have a pit crewman go to the right front corner of the pit box and hold the blackboard (no radios, either).
My first experience in 1966 with the K&K team at Daytona is still etched firmly in my mind, as I have explained before in this column and in the book that resulted from some of those columns.
Harry Hyde told me to take the blackboard out there and give Gordon Johncock a place to aim for.
OK….
After getting out there, my first thought was that this experience wasn't exactly the one I was looking for. That came when Richard Petty, who was pitted way down at the end of pit road, went sailing by at maybe 120 mph a few feet away. Other cars followed at similar speeds and at similar distances.
Then, the red Dodge came down pit road, and my second thought was that whoever had adjusted the brakes should be out there holding that board. I was fully aware that the brake pedal probably hadn't been tapped for the last 30 laps or so.
Funny, but one of my first thoughts was, "Who's gonna clean the windshield if I get run over?" Yeah, we didn't have one of those squeegee things on a long pole, either, back in those days.
Well, suffice it to say that Gordie got the car stopped, I tossed the blackboard back over the wall, and the pit stop was accomplished without any problems.
The accompanying fuzzy photo is from Sports Illustrated's issue promoting the Daytona 500 the following season. That's me in the red hat and red shirt putting the blackboard back over the wall. Harry Hyde is checking the right front, and Harlan Cox is about to check the right rear.
Steve Peterson, who later worked for NASCAR, is one of those guys doing the refueling. You'll notice the filler neck was in the rear in those days. We didn't need any tires, and it turned out we didn't need any more pit stops. At just over 100 laps, I noticed on the stopwatch that Gordie was overdue. He eventually came coasting down the pit road with what looked like milk running out of the exhaust pipes.
That was the story of the K&K Insurance team's first experience in NASCAR.
My only other weird pit road story comes from an ARCA race at Talladega, when Bobby Watson asked me to handle the stopwatches and charts for him when he was driving one of the Rainier Dodge Daytonas.
Bobby blew the engine coming through turn 4, then tried to make it onto pit road. It had rained almost all week, and there was this huge water puddle in the tri-oval.
He didn't quite make pit road, and I could see he was headed right for that puddle at maybe 100 miles an hour. I hit the deck behind the pit wall, and never got wet.
The Rainiers and others hanging out behind the pit got soaked, and I think they may have had a sudden shower as far away as Birmingham.
First off, got to apologize for last week's goof, saying it was good to see Kurt Busch win "last weekend" at Talladega. A very good friend who I love dearly pointed out that "last week" at the time was Richmond. Duh. I guess CRS is starting to set in. Thanks, Doll.
One of the problems with having your column appear on Thursday each week is the fact that Frontstretch has so many really sharp writers. You think of a good subject and make notes, but by the time you get around to writing it, somebody else has already done it.
I'm not going to complain too loudly, though. My days early in the week are pretty well full, compiling results for another website and helping out another old friend with his newspaper. Some retirement, huh? But I'm still doing what I love to do.
Earlier this week, S.D. Grady had some comments about how dangerous it is to be in the pits, even with all of today's safety improvements. Couldn't agree more. I concur with the danger for those fans who may have been "lucky" enough to score a Hot Pass and are hanging around in their favorite team's pit area. Pardon me, but that ain't no place for somebody in civvies.
And I speak from the experience of one who went through that back in the '60s, when the only requirement was that the clothes you were going to wear on race day be dipped in a boric acid solution by NASCAR and tagged. Also, this time was when there was no speed limit on pit road, where we didn't have those big long poles with the number on them to use as a stopping point for the driver.
No, the practice at the time was to have a pit crewman go to the right front corner of the pit box and hold the blackboard (no radios, either).
My first experience in 1966 with the K&K team at Daytona is still etched firmly in my mind, as I have explained before in this column and in the book that resulted from some of those columns.
Harry Hyde told me to take the blackboard out there and give Gordon Johncock a place to aim for.
OK….
After getting out there, my first thought was that this experience wasn't exactly the one I was looking for. That came when Richard Petty, who was pitted way down at the end of pit road, went sailing by at maybe 120 mph a few feet away. Other cars followed at similar speeds and at similar distances.
Then, the red Dodge came down pit road, and my second thought was that whoever had adjusted the brakes should be out there holding that board. I was fully aware that the brake pedal probably hadn't been tapped for the last 30 laps or so.
Funny, but one of my first thoughts was, "Who's gonna clean the windshield if I get run over?" Yeah, we didn't have one of those squeegee things on a long pole, either, back in those days.
Well, suffice it to say that Gordie got the car stopped, I tossed the blackboard back over the wall, and the pit stop was accomplished without any problems.
The accompanying fuzzy photo is from Sports Illustrated's issue promoting the Daytona 500 the following season. That's me in the red hat and red shirt putting the blackboard back over the wall. Harry Hyde is checking the right front, and Harlan Cox is about to check the right rear.
Steve Peterson, who later worked for NASCAR, is one of those guys doing the refueling. You'll notice the filler neck was in the rear in those days. We didn't need any tires, and it turned out we didn't need any more pit stops. At just over 100 laps, I noticed on the stopwatch that Gordie was overdue. He eventually came coasting down the pit road with what looked like milk running out of the exhaust pipes.
That was the story of the K&K Insurance team's first experience in NASCAR.
My only other weird pit road story comes from an ARCA race at Talladega, when Bobby Watson asked me to handle the stopwatches and charts for him when he was driving one of the Rainier Dodge Daytonas.
Bobby blew the engine coming through turn 4, then tried to make it onto pit road. It had rained almost all week, and there was this huge water puddle in the tri-oval.
He didn't quite make pit road, and I could see he was headed right for that puddle at maybe 100 miles an hour. I hit the deck behind the pit wall, and never got wet.
The Rainiers and others hanging out behind the pit got soaked, and I think they may have had a sudden shower as far away as Birmingham.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
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Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
The Critic's Annex: Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown
by Phil Allaway
Welcome back to another edition of the Annex. This week, we venture back into the tape-delayed theater provided by the NBC Sports Network to take a look at the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, a charity event that is back on television for the first time since it left Richmond International Raceway. This year, the race was held at South Boston Speedway, a 2/5ths of a mile oval that formerly hosted XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series races.
Pre-race coverage saw the invited big drivers (Chase Elliott, Timothy Peters, Denny Hamlin, Jeb Burton, etc.) talk about what the event means to them. The event is clearly fun for everyone involved, but it's a serious race. Later on, we also heard from the late model regulars (C.E. Falk, Matt Bowling, Myatt Snider, Dalton Sergeant) about racing with the big guys on their turf.
Watching this broadcast and looking at the results pretty much convinced me that one hour just wasn't enough for this race. The event itself was over two hours long. As a result, the race was cut up to heck and back, much more than the typical K&N Pro Series telecast. Maybe 35 percent of the laps completed, if that actually made it onto the broadcast. In the future, it would be a good idea to get a bigger time slot. As it is, it was somewhat difficult to even follow the race since so much of it was cut out for time.
As much as I'd like the see the race covered live like it was at Richmond a couple of years ago, I can't see that happening. As long as the event's still on NBC Sports Network this time of year, it'll never get a live broadcast because of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that have played havoc on everything lately. For example, last night, the K&N Pro Series West race from Tucson was supposed to air at 11 p.m. ET. Rangers-Capitals went long and pushed the whole postgame schedule back.
As much as I'd like the see the race covered live like it was at Richmond a couple of years ago, I can't see that happening. As long as the event's still on NBC Sports Network this time of year, it'll never get a live broadcast because of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that have played havoc on everything lately. For example, last night, the K&N Pro Series West race from Tucson was supposed to air at 11 p.m. ET. Rangers-Capitals went long and pushed the whole postgame schedule back.
Ideally, the race would be best situated if it went back to FOX Sports 1. They would have the space to do it right. However, as per the TV deal that went into effect at the beginning of the year, NBC Sports Network is now the place to go for short track racing that's even slightly affiliated with NASCAR and will continue to be through 2024. Even if FOX Sports could get the rights to the race, I don't know if they would be willing to bring a crew to South Boston (or wherever this race is run next year).
I got an email from a fan earlier this week talking about how this telecast was a refreshing watch with only a two-man booth. Problem is, it was not a two-man booth. It was a three-man booth with Rick Allen, Jeff Burton (the hometown representative) and Steve Letarte. That's how difficult it still is to distinguish between Burton and Letarte on-air. It's one thing if you can see them, but it's another if you only hear voices. That's going to take some getting used to once the NBC portion of the NASCAR season begins in July.
With that said, the actual on-track action that we got to see was actually pretty good. The track was crowded with 36 starters (more than any XFINITY Series race at the track prior to the current pit road setup being created in 1999) so no one could hide. Viewers did get to see some decent racing for position, in addition to a good amount of bumping and banging.
Post-race coverage was about average for a delayed short track race on NBC Sports Network. There were a couple of interviews and a check of the results before they left the air. The night the race actually ran, I was reading tweets about post-race fighting and stupidity. None of that made the broadcast. I'm sure there were some F-bombs exchanged after the race, though. We did see a clip of a not exactly pleased Lee Pulliam walking toward the frontstretch flanked by a bearded dude. There was an insinuation that all heck was about to go down, but viewers never saw anything that would lead you to believe there was a confrontation. I just have no idea what Berry was thinking there. In his post-race interview with Kelli Stavast, he didn't mention anything about a confrontation or argument. Berry just admitted that he wanted more than he was willing to settle for.
That's all for this week. Next week, I'll be back with another look at motorsports programming. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action in Kansas, Indianapolis and Spain.
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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"The handing out of Chase waivers like candy is ridiculous. Either give anyone with a win in the top 30 a Chase bid regardless of the number of races, or come up with actual rules governing who gets a waiver. That should include both the reason for the driver's absence and the number of races he can miss. And for goodness sake, don't give waivers to drivers who are suspended, no matter how many races it's for or if the suspension was given prematurely and probably should not have happened. For that matter, a suspension should negate the other requirements as well." - Amy Henderson, on tweaking the Chase
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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 The Frontstretch 5: Rules NASCAR Needs"The handing out of Chase waivers like candy is ridiculous. Either give anyone with a win in the top 30 a Chase bid regardless of the number of races, or come up with actual rules governing who gets a waiver. That should include both the reason for the driver's absence and the number of races he can miss. And for goodness sake, don't give waivers to drivers who are suspended, no matter how many races it's for or if the suspension was given prematurely and probably should not have happened. For that matter, a suspension should negate the other requirements as well." - Amy Henderson, on tweaking the Chase
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Beth Lunkenheimer
by P. Huston Ladner
by Toni Montgomery
by Joseph Wolkin
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
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?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In the 2007 Yellow Transportation 300, Carl Edwards had a miserable day. Engine problems killed his afternoon, then it only got worse for the then-dominant points leader. What happened?
A: Edwards was running by himself when something appeared to break on his No. 60 Ford. The Fusion broke loose in turn 4 on its own. Edwards tried to catch it, but overcorrected and turned head-on into the wall. The crash can be seen here. Edwards was OK, but done for the day.
COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have a recap of Thursday's breaking news for you.
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have some burning questions to consider heading into 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
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