Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Bowyer, Waltrip, Kauffman All Parting Ways

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 19, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXLIV
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What to Watch: Wednesday

- We've got some racing tonight at Bristol as the Whelen Modifieds and the Camping World Truck Series will both be in action.  While the Modified race will air next week on NBCSN the Trucks will race live tonight on FOX Sports 1.

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

Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff

Michael Waltrip Racing Will Not Field Any Full-Time Cars In 2016

Michael Waltrip Racing has officially lost its biggest investor, its most successful driver and its full-time future in the sport. In a trio of statements Wednesday Waltrip, co-owner Rob Kauffman and driver Clint Bowyer confirmed they will all be heading in different directions following the 2015 season. Kauffman, who Waltrip said Wednesday morning would officially invest in Chip Ganassi Racing claimed he would no longer work with the MWR organization following the Homestead season finale in November. Bowyer, in a mild surprise said he would not follow Kauffman to CGR, pursuing other opportunities for 2016 while Waltrip himself said he would no longer field any full-time teams next season. MWR, running full-time with Toyota since the start of the 2007 season will now try and sell its shop and employees to anyone interested in owning a race team as part of a package deal. Read more


Brandon Jones Fastest in First Bristol Truck Practice

Tuesday, the Camping World Truck Series dodged rain showers during a nearly three-hour long practice session at Bristol Motor Speedway.  GMS Racing's Brandon Jones was fastest, edging out Matt Crafton by four-thousandths of a second.  Erik Jones was third, followed by Johnny Sauter and Ryan Blaney.  Read more

CashCash Joins Front Row Motorsports, David Gilliland at Bristol

Tuesday morning, Front Row Motorsports announced that a new sponsor, CashCash, will serve as the primary sponsor of David Gilliland's No. 38 Ford this weekend at Bristol.  Read more

Blue-Emu Joins Richard Petty Motorsports and Sam Hornish Jr. at Bristol

Tuesday, Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Blue-Emu, a brand of balm, will serve as the primary sponsor of Sam Hornish, Jr.'s No. 9 this weekend at Bristol.  While Saturday night will be their first race the company has featured team co-owner Richard Petty in commercials for their product this season.  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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Editor's Note: Professor of Speed will not be seen this week.  Our professor has some duties to take care of before the Fall semester begins.  In his place, we have a short commentary this week from Summer Bedgood.

Today's Featured Commentary
Harvick The Bridesmaid Yet Again
by Summer Bedgood

For a driver, there is no further distance than between first and second place. No position leaves a more bitter taste; no result leaves as cruel a mark. For a competitor, second may as well be dead last.

It's not that finishing second means you've had a bad day. On the contrary, to finish second in a field of 43 cars is not an easy task. Rather, to finish second and be so close to the victory you can taste it is what makes the position such a bitter pill to swallow. In a sport that is all about winning, finishing second is just one step away. It's awful.

If that's the case, it must suck to be Kevin Harvick these days.

Now, wait a minute. Harvick is the defending champion! He's won twice this year and is currently leading the championship standings. Not that it means too much, since the points reset after Richmond, but all the same, he's accrued the most points so far this season! Why would it suck to be Harvick?

Well, I'm sure you are aware that Matt Kenseth won the race last Sunday in Michigan. But did you notice who finished second? That's right. Harvick.

OK, OK, so he finished second once. Big deal. He still had a fantastic season last year and is having a great season this year. It still doesn't suck to be Harvick … right?

Except that second-place finish was Harvick's ninth runner-up result this season. His ninth.

Last year, Harvick finished second a total of six times.

Now, granted, it's Harvick's ability to finish in the top 5 that allowed him to win the championship last season, a talent that has put him at the top of the standings so far this year. But … ugh. Nine times! That's the kind of ridiculous statistic you see in movies, the hero coming up just short time and time again before finally breaking through.

Of course, that's not the case for Harvick. His 16 top 5s this season are the best in the series and his two victories are bested only by Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. No one would be surprised to see him win the championship again and it doesn't take a lot of imagination to think that Harvick will make it back to Victory Lane a time again or two this season.

Even so, finishing second so many times this season has to grate on Harvick after a while. How many times did he need just another lap, just another gallon of fuel, or just a little more rubber on the tires? Harvick is a competitor who has been around long enough to know that you can't win them all, but to be the bridesmaid and not the bride all the time has to be annoying as heck. Among those runner-up results this year? NASCAR's biggest crown jewel of all, the Daytona 500. So many times we've seen Harvick strong enough to win only to come up just short. The "what ifs" at night have to be there despite....

Two wins. 16 top 5s. 20 top 10s. Defending Sprint Cup Series champion. Maybe things aren't so bad for Harvick after all.

But still … Second sucks.

Summer Bedgood is the News Manager and a Senior Writer at Frontstretch. She can be reached via e-mail at summer.bedgood@frontstretch.com.

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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:

by Tom Bowles
as told to Joseph Wolkin

by Greg Davis

by Amy Henderson
by Matt Stallknecht

compiled by Brett Winningham
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: The 2002 Sharpie 500 is best known for Jeff Gordon executing his second bump 'n' run on Rusty Wallace to win at Bristol.  But earlier in the race, Ward Burton's night ended after a race for 12th went wrong.  What happened?

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

Tuesday's Answer:

Q:  In the 2001 Sharpie 500, Jeff Green started from the pole in RCR's part-time No. 30 Chevrolet and led 71 laps.  However, he was eliminated early from the race in a rather unique fashion.  What happened?

A:  Shortly after a round of pit stops under caution, Johnny Benson (who had stayed out and was running second) spun on the backstretch after contact from the lapped car of Brett Bodine.  Kurt Busch and John Andretti spun as well.  The crash can be seen here.

All three drivers continued and Benson ended up having more run-ins with Bodine that evening.  The crash also caused a stack-up that resulted in Green running into the back of Joe Nemechek, contact that busted both his radiator and front end.  Ron Hornaday busted his as well after running into Tony Stewart.  Both drivers were forced behind the wall for repairs.  Hornaday, who started third, returned to the race and finished 29th.  Green returned for a couple of laps, then pulled out and retired, finishing 42nd.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have any news that breaks in the world of NASCAR. In addition, Phil Allaway gives his own thoughts on the telecast of tonight's UNOH 200 Presented by ZLOOP from Bristol.

On Frontstretch.com:
Toni Montgomery returns with another edition of Nitro Shots while Beth Lunkenheimer provides Bristol post-race analysis.
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