Friday, July 24, 2015

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Denny Hamlin Leads Indy Practice: FULL RESULTS

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Jul. 24, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXXVI
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What to Watch: Friday

- Today, Sprint Cup teams are scheduled for two practice sessions for Sunday's Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400.  The XFINITY Series will also be in action on the 2.5-mile oval as well.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN INDIANAPOLIS AND LIME ROCK FROM OUR COLLEAGUES:
INDIANAPOLIS:
Aaron Bearden
(@AaronBearden93)
Mike Neff (@MNeffShortTrack)

LIME ROCK:
Phil Allaway (@Critic84)
 
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

Denny Hamlin Leads First Practice at Indianapolis

Joe Gibbs Racing continues to flex its muscle on the Sprint Cup circuit. Denny Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota paced the first practice for Sunday's 400-mile Cup race at Indianapolis, edging out Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports. Keep in mind a Toyota has never won at Indianapolis (Chevrolet has won the last 12 Brickyard 400s). HMS chassis and engines rounded out the top 5 with Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and a surprising Tony Stewart. Read more

Kevin Harvick to Drive for JR Motorsports at Pocono

JR Motorsports announced Thursday Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet in the Camping World Truck Series Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono Raceway next weekend.  Harvick will be the third driver to drive the No. 00 this season, in addition to regular driver Cole Custer (still too young to drive on superspeedways) and Kasey Kahne, who won at Charlotte back in May.  Read more

Alex Bowman to Drive XFINITY Race at Indianapolis

Athenian Motorsports announced Thursday John Wes Townley reaggravated a previous injury during Wednesday night's running of the 1-800 CarCash Mud Summer Classic at Eldora Speedway.  As a result, he has chosen to take Saturday's Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway off.  Alex Bowman, who finished 14th at Michigan for the team last month, will drive in Townley's place.  Read more

Tanner Swanson Outlasts Brother Kody, Ryan Newman to Win Rich Vogler Classic

Thursday night at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis saw the USAC Silver Crown racers take to the 0.686-mile oval for a 100-lap duel in honor of the late Rich Vogler.  Despite Sprint Cup racer Ryan Newman coming back to take on the best, the race came down to the Swanson brothers.  Tanner was able to hold off his brother Kody for the win with Newman in third.  Whelen Modified Tour regular Bobby Santos III was fourth while Chris Windom was fifth.  Read more

Ryan Newman Returns to His Roots at Lucas Oil Raceway, Doesn't Seek NASCAR Return to the Track

As noted above, Ryan Newman made his presence known at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis Thursday night.  Newman finished third in the Rich Vogler Classic and noted that he was racing against the best Silver Crown has to offer.  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: Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400
by Phil Allaway

The Sprint Cup Series returns to Indiana for the 22nd running of the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400.  The race can be seen at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon on NBCSN; the race can also be heard on your local IMS affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 160 laps (400 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Last year, Jeff Gordon took the lead from teammate Kasey Kahne on lap 144 and pulled away to take his fifth victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tying him with Michael Schumacher as the winningest driver in the 106-year history of the 2.5-mile oval.  Kyle Busch was second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano.

Behind Gordon, teammate Jimmie Johnson has four career victories at the Brickyard.  Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett have two each.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.5-mile oval, 160 laps (400 miles)
Banking: 9.25 degrees in turns

Frontstretch/Backstretch: 3,300 ft., flat

Short Chutes: 660 ft., flat

Grandstand Seating: 235,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Opened: 1909 (first Cup race in 1994)

Website: http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/IndyTalk

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice 1: Friday, July 24, 9 - 10:25 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Live Extra

Practice 2: Friday, July 24 ,1 - 2:25 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Happy Hour: Friday, July 24, 4 - 5:55 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Qualifying: Saturday, July 24 at 1:10 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Say What?!

"Indianapolis is a very unique track. For me, it's kind of a cool place to go to as I grew up always wanting to race Indy cars. With Rick Mears being from Bakersfield (California), he was a hometown, childhood hero as we were all racing go-karts. So, to win there back in 2003 and be able to kind of achieve your childhood dream in a sense, but in a stock car, was a great moment. Going back to Indy is just a very historic racetrack where it's a lot of fun to be a part of the event. It's always a place where you want to win, but it's fun to just go there and race to be a part of the next era of its history." - Kevin Harvick

"I really enjoy being in Indy. I lived not too far from there for about a year when I raced sprint cars and I always enjoy going back. I have never tested this package that we are running this weekend but from what we've heard, it is a lot tighter so we are looking at our setups to make sure that we aren't too tight. I have talked to some of the drivers who have tested this package and they said that you are on the throttle a lot so it will be interesting to see how the cars draft. We've had some solid finishes lately, so hopefully we can carry that momentum into this weekend and leave the historical Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a solid finish." -  Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

"Every driver has a home race and you're always excited to race at home. I'm always excited to be at the Brickyard. If you can only win one race a year, I'm still going to pick the Daytona 500. But if you can't win Daytona as that one race a year, I want to win the Brickyard. It's just a special place to me. The only disheartening thing is we haven't been running well going into the weekend. I guess it would be a ton worse if we were running really well and all of a sudden we got to the Brickyard and didn't run well. That would be a worse scenario. But we will still work as hard as we can to get the best result we can."- Tony Stewart

"Indianapolis [Motor Speedway] is one of the most prestigious tracks we race on. Winning the Brickyard is right up there with the Daytona 500. I think the new aero package we are running this weekend should make for good racing. The most challenging part is that no one really has a lot of experience with the taller spoiler and the other changes NASCAR has made, but that's also a good thing because it brings all of the competition closer together. Indy is close to home, so a lot of family and friends make the drive over. It's also Rick Brandt's 50th birthday on Sunday, so hopefully we can give him a really nice birthday gift."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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TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:
by Sean Fesko

by the Frontstretch Staff

by Amy Henderson

as told to Mike Neff

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

Q:
The 1997 Brickyard 400 marked the one and only time that Darrell Waltrip fielded two cars in Winston Cup.  Rich Bickle qualified tenth and ran well in his KFC Chevrolet.  However, his day ended early.  What happened?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q:  In 1980, Johnny Rutherford won his third Indianapolis 500 in the ground-effect, Pennzoil-sponsored Chapparal.  However, when he got back to the pits following his cool-down lap, he had a passenger.  Who was this passenger?

A: When Rutherford was exiting turn 4 on his cool-down lap, he came across the stalled No. 21 of Tim Richmond.  It was Richmond (pre-Winston Cup career) that hitched the ride.  Richmond was officially credited with a ninth-place finish.  He had stalled because he had run out of fuel and stopped a half-mile shy of the finish.

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COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have a recap of Sunday's Crown Royal presents the Jeff Kyle 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 Indianapolis.
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