THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 13, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXL
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 13, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXL
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What to Watch: Thursday
- Today is load-in day for Sprint Cup Series teams at Michigan International Speedway while the XFINITY Series is parking their haulers at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. No on-track activity is scheduled at Michigan but Trans-Am (running as support to the XFINITY Series) is holding optional test sessions at Mid-Ohio today.
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Thursday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
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Thursday's TV Schedule can be found in Couch Potato Tuesday here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
by the Frontstretch Staff
Hot Topic High Drag Package Amended for Michigan Weekend
This weekend's Sprint Cup action at Michigan International Speedway will feature the high drag rules package that debuted at Indianapolis last month. One of the side effects of the package has been increased cabin temperatures due to the cars being sealed off more. On Wednesday, NASCAR hoped to change that by mandating a dual outlet duct on the side window for driver cooling to compensate. 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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MIS Aero Package NASCAR's Next Attempt At Increasing Competition~~~~~~~~~~
Vexing Vito
by Vito Pugliese
Editor's Note: Potts' Shots will return next week. In his place this week we have Vito Pugliese reprising his former role in the Thursday Newsletter.
- A 9-inch rear spoiler with 1-inch wicker bill
- Lower rear fascia panel similar to what is run at Daytona and Talladega
- 2-inch leading edge on the front splitter
- 43-inch splitter panel
The common refrain among drivers leaving Indy was that while the cars appeared to suck up a little bit better on the straightaway, once they got to the turn there was nothing they could do. The existing problem of no air on the nose and being unable to turn under somebody was exacerbated as this package increases downforce in the rear of the car. Coupled with a lack of horsepower to execute any run that might be gained down the backstretch, the package was further compromised with the fact that Indy is a one-groove around-the-bottom racetrack – at best.
MIS, on the other hand is well-known for offering multiple racing grooves; virtually half of the track is a high-banked turn. A push will kill a car at Michigan, and if a driver doesn't have the ponies to make it up down the frontstretch or the back, they will find themselves being passed in a hurry. This difference presents a couple of potential scenarios we might see Sunday:
- Cars get spread out in the corners and line up single-file down the front and backstretch to maintain position, executing passes going into the corner, using multiple lanes in the five-wide turns.
- The field gets really strung out, as cars just end up running where they will handle without much lifting. Due to a lack of cautions, it turns into a gas mileage race like at Pocono two weeks ago or a typical 1990s MIS race. (Or, some might say every XFINITY Series race we see today.)
The forecast for Sunday looks to be mostly sunny with a high of 86 degrees. The track will be hot and slick, with handling at a premium even with the recently repaved surface maintaining its grip despite Michigan's soul-crushing winters. While I think scenario B above is the most likely, I don't think it will turn into a gas mileage race – not for the third week in a row. I'm sure there will be an errant piece of tape, Gatorade bottle, or rollbar pad that gets sucked out of a car due to – uh – turbulence – created by the new aero configuration…..
I also do not believe it will engender any of the pack racing that appears to the hope for what brought about this particular rules package as well. Michigan isn't Talladega, and these aren't IROC cars despite how equal they are being made to be. What this package really needs to excel here are specific tires and the horsepower that was removed for 2015. While the cars are making roughly the power they were 15 years ago, they will have much more drag and downforce than they did then. Horsepower is needed to overcome drag, making those runs down the front and backstretch more pronounced and effective if they had the extra momentum to complete a pass – or prevent a driver getting clear exiting turn 2 as things tighten up off the corner.
With two more tests pending at Darlington and Richmond next month, NASCAR Executive Vice President & Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O'Donnell said during The Morning Drive on Sirius XM that teams would know by the end of this week or soon after the Michigan race what rules package would ultimately be in place for the Chase in 2015. "Not lost on us is how much work has been done by all our teams to prepare to even get us to Michigan and then Darlington," he said. "We're really appreciative of the hard work, and we owe it to them to get the word out now and let them prepare for the Chase."
I think how the cars perform on Sunday will give them their answer. The Pure Michigan 400 airs on NBC Sports Network at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday with live qualifying Friday afternoon, also on NBCSN at 4:45 p.m. ET.
Vito Pugliese is a longtime contributor to the Frontstretch. He can be reached at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com.
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The Critic's Annex: Strutmasters.com 199
by Phil Allaway
Welcome back, race fans. While the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series were roughing it in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, the Whelen Southern Modified Tour made a trip to one of the tightest racetracks in the United States: Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina. The race was only scheduled for 49.75 miles but there was more than enough action to go around.
Ralph Sheheen and Ray Evernham anchored the coverage in the booth. As you may know, Evernham is a former Modified racer in his own right. So is pit reporter Derek Pernesiglio. Before the race started, Evernham and Pernesiglio walked viewers through exactly what you need out of a Modified to be able to run well at Bowman Gray. For a number of new fans to races at Bowman Gray, you'd figure that it would be a little like racing at the old version of Bristol. Having a good setup would always help, but you would be at the mercy of a bumper. While that can happen, getting a car to turn is more important. Evernham was fairly detailed with his setup explanation as well. Granted, I'm not going to race there (or even watch a race there, since it's nearly 700 miles away from where I live) but it definitely gives fans an idea of what's necessary in order to run well at Bowman Gray.
During the race itself, rough and tumble action ruled the day. With only 21 cars starting the race, there was a fair amount of action. However, the fact that the race took 77 minutes to run in real time meant that there was a lot of cutting that went on in order to fit the race into a 60-minute timeslot with commercials. Enough footage was omitted that some aspects of the race were a little hard to follow.
For example, Eric Goodale was running fairly well on Saturday night. However, while running inside the top 5, his car started smoking intermittently. It looked a little like he was locking up one of his tires. Sheheen and Evernham said that it didn't look all that great. That's a good explanation, it just didn't have a follow-up; we didn't see Goodale for the rest of the night. A look at the unofficial results shows that Goodale retired due to overheating issues. Plausible, but that really isn't what the coverage showed.
There was a fair amount of racing throughout the field and I thought that NBCSN did a pretty good job showing a lot of it to viewers. It wasn't completely centered on the top 3 drivers all night. However, they were working with the constraints of a limited number of cameras. I'm unsure of the number but throwing the number ten out might be generous. As a result, it was a little difficult to catch some of the action. Also, many of the replays left something to be desired because they just couldn't get a good view. Depending on how many cameras they decided to use Friday evening, that probably won't be an issue with tonight's airing of the K&N Pro Series East Bully Hill Vineyards 125 (7 p.m. on NBCSN). Having the Cup Series at the same place for these smaller divisions certainly helps in terms of cameras, equipment, and support.
Danny Bohn may have won the race but Ryan Preece probably had the best car. He won the pole and led early before running into the back of Gary Putnam while trying to avoid a spin and cut a left front tire. Had that not happened, I don't know if he would led all 199 laps like Preece wanted to but he would have been a tough out.
The booth was quite enthusiastic and the crowd did really get into the race. The battle for the lead between Bohn and George Brunnhoelzl III got people up on their feet and you could hear the crowd in the background, which is pretty rare for this type of telecast that might not have much in the way of sound amplification in the stands.
Post-race coverage was pretty decent. Viewers got interviews with the top-2 finishers (Bohn and Preece, soon to make his Sprint Cup Series debut). In addition, we heard from George Brunnhoelzl III who got wrecked and ended up finishing 15th. My takeaway from that interview is that he didn't seem that upset about getting wrecked after contact with Burt Myers. He was more upset with Bohn not giving him room, which had nothing to do with the wreck. I'm unsure if he's just upset over losing the lead or if he just misspoke.
That's all for this week. I hope you enjoyed this look at the Whelen Southern Modified Tour's Strutmasters.com 199. Next week, we'll be back with more action to look at. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action at Michigan and Mid-Ohio.
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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Frontstretch Line of the Week
"He was kind of like one of the first young young guns. He was really young for his time, and he had a swagger to him and a confidence to him that was really likable. He had that bright Texaco paint scheme which I remember. That Texaco paint scheme was pretty cool." - Regan Smith, on Davey Allison, his favorite driver as a youngster.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Beth Lunkenheimer
by P. Huston Ladner
as told to Zach Catanzareti
by Joseph Wolkin
by Matt McLaughlin
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1993 Detroit Gasket 200 is probably best known for the blowover crash that ended Johnny Benson's series debut in the opening laps. Dale Earnhardt finished the race in second, but he won't show up there if you look at the results. What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In 1999, Ward Burton won the pole for the Pepsi 400 presented by Meijer at then-Michigan Speedway. Burton was very quick, but his day ended early on. What put him out?
A: Burton was racing Bobby Labonte side-by-side for second on lap 53 when, much like you see these days in the Camping World Truck Series, Burton got loose underneath Labonte and spun. The Caterpillar Pontiac turned, stayed out of control and hit the wall on the drivers' side. The crash can be seen here. Burton was ok, but done for the day.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll preview this weekend's racing at Michigan and Mid-Ohio, in addition to bringing you Thursday's news.
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have another edition of Four Burning Questions to get you ready for Michigan this weekend.
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Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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©2015 Frontstretch.com
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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
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