Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
by The Frontstretch Staff
NASCAR Tracks Ask Fans Not to Display Confederate Flag
Kenny Wallace to Drive for Joe Gibbs Racing at Iowa
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Records and facts
Aric Almirola earned his one and only Sprint Cup victory in last year's Coke Zero 400. After a huge crash eliminated a number of contenders, Almirola swept past Kurt Busch and into the lead lap following the restart under threatening skies. A few laps later, it began to rain, forcing a red flag. Once the track was nearly dry, another thunderstorm soaked the track again, leading to the race being called.
Tony Stewart has the most victories among active drivers in the Coke Zero 400 with three. The most recent of these wins came in 2012.
Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.5-mile tri-oval, 160 laps (400 miles)
Banking: 31 degrees in turns, 18 degrees in the tri-oval, 6 degrees on the straights surrounding the tri-oval, 3 degrees on the backstretch
Grandstand Seating: 50,000 (many seats are closed as part of the ongoing Daytona Rising project)
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Opened: 1959
Website: http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DISUpdates
Pre-Race Schedule:
Practice: Friday, July 3, 2 - 2:55 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Happy Hour: Friday, July 3, 4 - 4:55 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Qualifying: Saturday, July 4 at 4:45 p.m. ET on NBCSN
Say What?!
"This will be my first superspeedway race, so I'm pretty excited about it. Obviously, I've watched a lot of the Daytona and Talladega races on TV; they're always exciting to watch, full of action and lots of strategy involved. So, I can't wait to get in the CSX 'Play It Safe' Ford and be a part of it. Front Row Motorsports always brings some pretty stout cars to these races, so a win is definitely within reach for this team. David Gilliland and Cole Whitt have proven to be good restrictor plate racers, so I'll have some good teammates to work with." - Brett Moffitt
"After what happened to us in Sonoma, we can't wait to get back on track. But Daytona is a lot like Sonoma – trouble can find you anytime and at any point of the track. We just need to stay focused, run up front and take care of our equipment. We had solid runs this year at the two superspeedway races, finishing eighth at Daytona and fifth at Talladega. I am confident that we'll have another fast car this weekend." - Martin Truex, Jr.
"I like racing at Daytona [International Speedway], especially under the lights. This weekend's race will feel a little bit different since it's on a Sunday night. We have a red, white and blue TradeMark Nitrogen paint scheme to go with this weekend's holiday. I haven't had the best luck in the Sprint Cup car at Daytona, but it's not from a lack of effort from the guys. We have great cars from Hendrick and my guys do a great job at the shop getting them prepared for the weekend. Most of all, I want us to get the best finish that we can and for the fans to enjoy the race. Daytona is making a lot of changes to the facility and it's neat to watch the transformation." - Justin Allgaier
Potts on the MavTV 500
Potts' Shots
Yep, I watched the MAVTV 500 from Auto Club Speedway last Saturday afternoon.
I thought it was one of the wildest open wheel races I've seen in ages. Reminded me of midgets and sprint cars on the banks at Salem, Winchester, and even Dayton. There were times I left those places wondering just how brave those men could be. Midgets and sprints at Salem and Winchester still provide that kind of breathtaking action.
I know there's a debate going on about whether it's too dangerous or not, with all kinds of comments being tossed around.
I find myself of two minds about this subject. As I said, it was wild, and it was also exciting and fantastic racing. Looked like a NASCAR plate race.
I'm not sure I want to go back to those days when it seemed like we were losing a driver every week or so.
Will Power called it "Vegas racing," alluding to the event in which Dan Wheldon was killed. "As exciting as it is," he said, "It's insane. That's crazy racing – crazy, crazy racing."
Inches between open wheels at over 200 miles an hour does seem crazy, but at least some drivers enjoyed it.
Ed Carpenter said, "I love close racing. I hate to see drivers bad-mouthing a series. If you want to race, race. If not, retire."
It's worth remembering that Ed came up the old-fashioned way – through midgets, sprint cars, and Silver Crowns. I'm sure he feels a kinship with his co-team owner, Sarah Fisher. I believe at one time she held the track record for midgets at Winchester. Some pretty good drivers have called that the scariest place they ever raced. I can believe it. I lost two good friends there.
Two weeks before he was killed, the second one told me it was the only place that his ride felt comfortable. I told him that was scary. He said, "Yeah, I guess it is."
During the race, TV commentator Paul Tracy frequently called it "adrenaline overload." Tony Kanaan agreed they had to put close racing out there, but added, "To have 5,000 people out there, it's stupid."
(Just a note; lots of people are still trying to figure out why this race was scheduled for the afternoon in late June in southern California rather than in the evening. Would you want to sit on one of those aluminum bleachers?)
I'm not sure if it would have been any smarter with a full grandstand, but a reporter apparently crossed the line and accused TK of being "disingenuous." That fired him up, and he responded, "Are you risking your life out there? You're not. You're sitting in a chair and writing about it."
The winner, Graham Rahal, commented, "I think it's pretty entertaining and yeah, for sure from a driver's perspective it was pretty nerve-wracking at times." He later added, "We have taken ourselves to a place over the last few years where we've reduced the downforce so far that we couldn't even race, to where it became single-file, sort of follow-the leader fast. I don't think it needs to be as close as it was, but some of these guys that sit and say it was easy should have beat me then, because it wasn't easy for me."
In Racer Magazine, Robin Miller said, "Of course it's because midgets, sprints, IndyCars and F1 cars were beyond dangerous that people became loyal fans of those disciplines in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. They didn't watch to see anyone lose his life, but they couldn't look away because they were in awe of the bravery and ability it required to survive."
Perhaps the most succinct comment from the past came from A.J. Foyt: "It's SUPPOSED to be dangerous." This comment was right after he told a TV reporter, "It was fun when I was racing."
I can recall A.J. telling someone that back in the '50s, you earned a championship ride by proving yourself in sprint cars. I think he said, "I guess they figured if you survived that you were ready." A friend on one of those message boards I frequent added, "There are at least a thousand sprint car drivers ready to step in and take the place of one of these guys in a New York minute."
Those aren't the only ones ready to jump in, either. Yet another driver I respect said, "I woke up today still thinking about this. I did it for about ten years…I knew the risks of driving IndyCar on an oval…and still do. Yet I would still give my left (insert a male body part here)…or more, to still be racing Indy cars on ovals. So to see these guys whining and bitching about being lucky enough to be doing what I still dream about…yeah…still pisses me off. You stay home and watch [Real] Housewives of Atlanta next year…and me and some friends will hop in your cars…and RACE."
Again, we're at a couple of extremes here. IndyCar has to face the safety issue, yet also continue to provide exciting racing.
Marco Andretti wasn't particularly happy with it, but he pointed out that it's all part of the risks and rewards of racing, "…and that's what we sign up for."
I'm sure his grandfather, like Foyt, thought it was pretty good competition.
Friday Faceoff: How Can NBC Improve NASCAR Coverage?
Q: Joey Logano is going for a season sweep at Daytona this weekend. Who was the last driver to accomplish this feat in the Cup Series?
Thursday's Answer:
Q: As you may remember, the 1998 Pepsi 400 at Daytona was postponed to October due to wildfires. How late did NASCAR wait before making the move to postpone?
A: NASCAR officially postponed the weekend on Thursday, Jul. 2, which was the day that practice and first round qualifying was scheduled to be held. By that point, the skies were full of smoke from the fires, which were burning only a couple of miles away from the track. The teams had already made the trip to Daytona and parked before they had to pack up and leave.
-----------------------------
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment