Friday, July 10, 2015

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Crafton Wins UNOH 225 as Kennedy Hits Catchfence

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Jul. 10, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXVI
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What to Watch: Friday

- Today, the Sprint Cup teams are scheduled for two practice sessions in addition to Qualifying for the Quaker State 400.  Meanwhile, the XFINITY Series is scheduled to race tonight, weather permitting of course.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN KENTUCKY FROM OUR COLLEAGUE:
Aaron Bearden (@AaronBearden93)
 
and our own Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!

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This weekend's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
 
Top News
by The Frontstretch Staff


Practice Delayed By Rain In Kentucky

Mother Nature has struck again in Kentucky. 49 minutes after the first practice for Sprint Cup cars, a test that was already delayed two days by rain a downpour has brought cars to a halt again at the 1.5-mile oval. At the moment, Kyle Larson has the fastest time in practice, clocking in at 182.537 miles an hour followed by Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr. The hope is that practice can get restarted; it was scheduled to run until 2:00 p.m. ET. Check out our Twitter for updates from the track throughout the day.

Kyle Busch "100 Percent" In The Car After February Incident

Kyle Busch, over four months removed from his crash at Daytona says that he's "100%" in the car following the Daytona incident. Busch has completely recovered physically from two leg injuries that threatened to derail his entire season. Read more

Matt Crafton Wins UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway

Points leader Matt Crafton took the lead on a lap 145 restart at Kentucky and was in perfect position when Ben Kennedy had a huge crash (see below) that damaged the catchfence entering turn 1.  With so few laps to go and a long fence repair required, NASCAR flagged the race complete, giving Crafton his fourth win of the year.  Erik Jones finished second, followed by Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez and Timothy Peters.  Read more

Ben Kennedy Goes Airborne, Into Catch Fence During Truck Series Crash

Thursday night's UNOH 225 was declared complete five laps early due to a late crash that resulted in Ben Kennedy's No. 11 ricocheting into the catchfence entering turn 1 following contact with David Gilliland and John Wes Townley.  The catchfence was repaired overnight and will be ready for action on Friday.  Matt Crafton was declared the race winner.  Read more

Two-For-Two: Rain Postpones Activities at Kentucky Speedway

For the second day in a row, rain washed out the scheduled Sprint Cup open test for the new rules package that will be used this weekend.  As a result, the regularly scheduled practice sessions Friday will be the first chance the teams will get to try the package on-track.  In addition, the Camping World Truck Series race was run with no practice or qualifying.  Read more

Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle Weigh In on New High Drag Rule Package

While waiting out the rain on Thursday, Jamie McMurary and Greg Biffle took some time to talk about the new rule packages that will be used at Indianapolis and Michigan later this year.  McMurray looked forward to the changes, while Biffle was a bit more cautious.  Read more

Brendan Gaughan, Premium Motorsports Part Ways

Turns out, the move to put Reed Sorenson in the No. 62 this week is not necessarily temporary.  On Thursday, Gaughan announced in a press conference at Kentucky Speedway that he has parted ways from Premium Motorsports.  Read more

JJ Yeley Paces Field in Lone XFINITY Series Practice

When the rains finally cleared and the weepers were taken care of, XFINITY Series teams took to the 1.5-mile tri-oval for one hour of practice. While Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski paced practice early on, it was JJ Yeley in the No. 28 Toyota for JGL Racing who was fastest with a lap of 30.863 seconds (174.967 mph).  Ty Dillon was second fastest, followed by Brendan Gaughan, Keselowski and Paul Menard.  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: Quaker State 400
by Phil Allaway

The Sprint Cup Series returns to the very bumpy Kentucky Speedway this weekend for an interesting race with a new aerodynamic package.  Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN; the race can also be heard on your local PRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 267 laps (400.5 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

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: 1.5-mile tri-oval, 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Banking: 14 degrees in turns

Frontstretch: 1,662 ft. banked 10 degrees

Backstretch: 1,600 ft., banked 4 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 107,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 2000

Website: http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kentuckyspeedway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kyspeedway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Friday, July 10, 10:30 - 11:55 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Happy Hour: Friday, July 10, 1 - 2:25 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Qualifying: Friday, July 10 at 5:45 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Say What?!

"I'm excited to have KFC on the car. It's going to be fun, having them at their home track for their home race, and doing a lot of promotion around it. I've got an awesome new firesuit. It's going to look like Colonel Sanders' suit. All white, so I'll have to try not to get it dirty by the end of the weekend. I don't think we're going to see a huge change with this new rules package. As drivers, we push our cars to the limit lap after lap after lap. So, the fact that they're going to take a little bit of downforce away isn't going to change how we drive our cars. We might have to focus more on the mechanical side of things instead of aero, but we're still going to be driving as hard as we can." - Cole Whitt

"It's one of those tracks where I have experience but, obviously, not a lot of it in a stock car. I've been there a lot, but I've only run four stock-car races there. I ran a lot of IndyCar races at Kentucky but, obviously, those aren't really going to benefit me this weekend. The track definitely has character to it with the bumps, and we mainly practice during the day and then race at night on Saturday, so the track conditions can change a lot during the race. When you add all that up, it's a challenging place." - Danica Patrick

"I really like Kentucky [Speedway]. The track is so unique because of its bumps, which makes it very challenging to drive. You set your car up to be good in the corners, and then the bumps that affect the handling so much. The slicker the track is, the more I like it. We have some extra track time on Wednesday to try different packages for NASCAR. They're trying to improve the racing so that it's better for the fans. Hopefully, everything goes well at the test and NASCAR likes what they see. I'm glad to have Fraternal Order of Eagles back on the car this weekend. I'm going to see a bunch of the members at their convention in a few days, so hopefully I put on a good show for them Saturday night." - Justin Allgaier

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
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IndyCar In Brief: ABC Supply Co. Inc. Wisconsin 250

by Toni Montgomery

This Week's Race: ABC Supply Co. Inc. Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest

Track: The Milwaukee Mile, 1.015-mile oval in West Allis, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest operating motor speedway in the world, hosting auto races since 1903.

Last year's P1: Will Power, 43.1757 seconds, 169.262 mph, two laps

Last year's winner: Will Power

Track record: Patrick Carpentier, 20.028 seconds, 185.500 mph set on May 30, 1998 for the one-lap qualifying record; Dario Franchitti, 42.7766 seconds, 170.841 mph, set on June 18, 2011 for the two-lap qualifying record.

Distance: 250 laps for 253.75 miles

Who Ya Got?

Toni Montgomery is going with Tony Kanaan to top the podium at Milwaukee and Aaron Bearden seconds that thought. Matt Stallknecht likes Juan Pablo Montoya for the win. Scott Dixon gets the nod from Huston Ladner. Going for the surprise winner, Matt Weaver is picking Simon Pagenaud.

Where to Watch: NBC Sports Network will air qualifying on a tape-delayed basis at 4 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, July 12. The live race broadcast will follow, also on NBCSN, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

On Social Media: Follow in the land of Twitter with @MKE_IndyFest, @IndyCar, #IndyFest, #IndyCar

Quotable:

Will Power (No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "Milwaukee could not be coming at a better time for the Verizon Chevy team. We need a race to really jumpstart the rest of our season and Milwaukee did that for us last year. The win there kind of cemented our spot as the championship frontrunner, even though we still had to take care of business the rest of the year."

Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): "I have never been more upset with a second-place finish than I was last year at Milwaukee. We had such a good car that it was a shame that we couldn't win the race, but Will (Power) was just that dominant that day."

Ryan Briscoe (No. 5 Arrow/Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda): "It's always great to race at The Milwaukee Mile. It's where I got my first Indy car win and it's also my 'home' race. My wife, Nicole, is from Wisconsin so I always have a ton of family at the race. It makes for an extra fun weekend. We're aiming to get the No. 5 Arrow Electronics car up front again like we did in Fontana, but with a much different finish."

Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): "Milwaukee might be the only place that is older than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Nothing has really changed over those hundred-plus years it's been in existence. It has a lot of character and the track is definitely the toughest short track we go to - maybe even one of the toughest tracks that we've ever been to as a series, in my opinion. I was fortunate enough to win there in 2009 and had some great battles there with some podiums. But I've also had some dreadful days there, crashing two cars in four laps once in practice and qualifying and then going home before the race."

Takuma Sato (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda): "I like Milwaukee because you really have to 'drive' the car. It demands a lot of mechanical grip, as does everywhere, but it is important to have a stable car and good drivability. The driver has to (have) a lot of control with the throttle pedal and the steering wheel because this flat oval doesn't have banking support. So the car is always very grip limited and it's easy to slide or snap around."

Toni Montgomery is an Editor at Frontstretch, specializing in NHRA.  She can be reached via e-mail at toni.montgomery@frontstretch.com.

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TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:
by Matt Stallknecht

by Amy Henderson

as told to Mike Neff

by Kevin Rutherford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: Parker Johnstone's time in CART was a struggle, to say the least.  The 1997 Miller 200 at the Milwaukee Mile was looking to be a bright spot as he had qualified sixth.  However, it wasn't meant to be.  What took him out of the race?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q: In the 2001 Bluegrass Quality Meats 200 at Kentucky Speedway for the ARCA Re/MAX Series, Jerry Glanville was having a pretty good night.  He led 13 laps and was running inside the top 10 when his night came to an end.  What happened?

A: Glanville was battling for position with Willie Green when the two Ford drivers collided.  Both drivers then spun and backed into the wall in turn 1.  The crash can be seen and especially heard here.

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COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have a recap of Saturday night's Quaker State 400, plus an update on the points and any other news that breaks this weekend.

On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a series of post-race commentaries breaking down the action from Kentucky.
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