THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 27, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CL
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 27, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CL
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What to Watch: Thursday
- NASCAR wraps up an open test today at Homestead-Miami Speedway, weather permitting. Just getting onto the track so far this week has been a challenge due to persistent rain showers in South Florida.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
by the Frontstretch Staff
Kyle Busch Motorsports Suing Former Driver Justin Boston, Sponsor
ESPN.com is reporting that earlier this week Kyle Busch Motorsports filed a lawsuit against former driver Justin Boston and his sponsor, ZLOOP for default of payment. Earlier this year, the company missed $650,000 worth of payments due to the team. 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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Today's Featured Commentary~~~~~~~~~~
Potts on Justin Wilson and the Cockpit Question
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
We lost another race driver last weekend, and this one has stirred up a hornet's nest of comments.
I didn't know Justin Wilson as a friend. I only talked to him once, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Came upon a friend of mine talking to him about the risks of racing.
He impressed me as a man with some pretty good ideas about safety and expressed a desire to discuss them with the people in charge. Wilson was genuinely a nice guy, and he was in street clothes at the time. I didn't know who the driver was until he had walked away and my friend told me.
Brant James of USA Today described him as "a consummate professional and true decent soul in a sport where projected selfishness is a skill and a necessity." From what I've read and heard so far, that's a pretty good assessment. Wilson never landed a job with a top team until Andretti Autosport took him on part-time this season, despite being extremely successful without the best equipment out there.
On Sunday, I was worried about how serious the accident was when I saw how they blocked off the view of the car with safety trucks while extricating Wilson from the cockpit. That's pretty much accepted procedure with a serious wreck.
This one at Pocono has been called a "freak accident," and considering how everything came together, that's probably correct. However, can we just pass this off as such and not try to do anything about it? Can we just assume that it won't happen again soon?
Safety has always been, and always will be, a moving target. Many of the steps taken in the past ten years or so have been taken in response to a tragic situation, or one that was seen as potentially tragic.
One of the websites on which I participate has had a discussion going all week about the need for canopies on IndyCars.
Traditionalists say that would change the sport completely, as it should be open cockpit cars. Personally, I disagree.I didn't know Justin Wilson as a friend. I only talked to him once, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Came upon a friend of mine talking to him about the risks of racing.
He impressed me as a man with some pretty good ideas about safety and expressed a desire to discuss them with the people in charge. Wilson was genuinely a nice guy, and he was in street clothes at the time. I didn't know who the driver was until he had walked away and my friend told me.
Brant James of USA Today described him as "a consummate professional and true decent soul in a sport where projected selfishness is a skill and a necessity." From what I've read and heard so far, that's a pretty good assessment. Wilson never landed a job with a top team until Andretti Autosport took him on part-time this season, despite being extremely successful without the best equipment out there.
On Sunday, I was worried about how serious the accident was when I saw how they blocked off the view of the car with safety trucks while extricating Wilson from the cockpit. That's pretty much accepted procedure with a serious wreck.
This one at Pocono has been called a "freak accident," and considering how everything came together, that's probably correct. However, can we just pass this off as such and not try to do anything about it? Can we just assume that it won't happen again soon?
Safety has always been, and always will be, a moving target. Many of the steps taken in the past ten years or so have been taken in response to a tragic situation, or one that was seen as potentially tragic.
One of the websites on which I participate has had a discussion going all week about the need for canopies on IndyCars.
To me, the appeal of the open cockpit was watching the driver actually work. That's been gone for years in just about everything from midgets (unless they'd rather be called "little cars" now) up to Formula One. All you've been able to see is the top of the driver's helmet.
Four years ago, after Dan Wheldon was killed when he suffered a head injury, I suggested they might consider going to a roll cage similar to that used in Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars. Those guys sit back under a double roll bar system. On the Top Fuelers with regular windshields, there's just enough room for the driver to climb out.
Now, the Don Schumacher team has come up with a full canopy for their TF cars and some other teams are using it. Graham Rahal noted that his fiancé, Courtney Force, uses it too.
I think the possible problems with a full canopy can be licked. There are too many smart people involved in the sport for it not to be.
The best argument I've heard so far came from Trevor Carlin, an English team owner on several formula levels. "While motorsport is as 'safe' as it has ever been and will never be without risks due to its very nature," he said, "If there are obvious solutions we should pursue them and we should do so quickly and with serious intent."
Let's face it; no matter what some folks may think, no real race fan wants to see anyone hurt. But we must face the fact that if it wasn't a risky proposition, hardly anyone would care to watch.
Race drivers push the envelope as far as they can. That's what they do. That's why we admire them so much.
While on the subject of Justin Wilson, let's don't forget how Tony Stewart immediately made his airplane available to the family so they could rush from Colorado to be at the driver's side in Pennsylvania.
Tony, of course, has roots in the open-wheel community, is a former IndyCar champion, and obviously maintains his contacts in that area. And he doesn't do this kind of thing for publicity. In fact, he'd rather nobody knew about him doing this kind of thing (sorry about this one, Smoke). His involvement wouldn't have been known if not for several IndyCar drivers tweeting their thanks.
It's another example of how racers are a family, even though dysfunctional at times. When the chips are down and one of their own needs help, they come through.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
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The Critic's Annex: SuperChevyStores.com/Allen Crowe 100
by Phil Allaway
Last Sunday, while the Verizon IndyCar Series was dealing with seven-wide restarts and foxes on the track, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards was dealing with pesky morning showers and somewhat limited practice on the dirt. You never know what's going to happen in a 100-mile dirt race. Well, Sunday's event had nearly everything.
For CBS Sports Network, Rick Benjamin was in a three-man booth, a rarity for ARCA broadcasts. He was joined by Spencer Gallagher and Jim Tretow while ARCA expert Charles Krall was in the pits. I didn't think that having three men in the booth really changed all that much. Benjamin is the consummate pro with over 30 years seniority. Remember, he was calling Cup races as far back as 1982 for Mizlou. Gallagher is interesting in the booth, a natural extrovert. Here, he's not quite as loquacious, but still gets the job done. Gallagher's informative, opinionated and just a pleasure to listen to. A rookie in Camping World Trucks, he's perhaps a little young to do it full-time but I wouldn't mind seeing Gallagher do some more TV in the future.
Pre-race coverage was fairly limited. Viewers saw an interview with points leader (and pole sitter, since qualifying was canceled) Grant Enfinger. Given the day Enfinger had, that was about the extent of coverage that Enfinger received. Also, Krall talked viewers through the various changes made to the cars for the race. Compared to what they could do, it's fairly minimal. Also, screen-wise, there appeared to be multiple solutions in play, even within teams. Krall used Frank Kimmel's car for the demonstration, but the team used a different, more minimalist screen setup for the race.
The broadcast had some limitations. Some were technical, while others were due to the location. For example, the infield stage blocks the pits for fans in the stands. Admittedly, that's less than ideal for a racetrack. DuQuoin, if it were being televised (it's not) doesn't have that issue. Pit stops were covered by Krall on the ground, and via two cameras, one at the entrance to pit road and another on the back of the stage. It's probably the best that the Carolinas Broadcast Group could do given the circumstances, but viewers couldn't see pit stops for all the frontrunners. Of course, having said that, the race winner (A.J. Fike) didn't stop at all.
One of the stars of the race turned out to be Tyler Dippel of Wallkill, NY making his ARCA Racing Series debut with Lira Motorsports. Dippel ran very well, nearly snatching the lead at one point before the tires went away on him. I had the opportunity to talk to Dippel Tuesday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway and he was very happy with his performance...up until he wrecked on the last lap. Oh well. He'll get another chance on Labor Day in DuQuoin.
Also of note, I'm pretty dang sure Dippel's not 15. I just can't prove it. Dippel is a past champion at Lebanon Valley (a track that I've covered since 2010) and I've covered his racing for the last three years. When he started, he was billed as a 14-year old racer...in 2012. Yeah, something's up there. Either they were lying and making him older back then, or they're lying and making him younger now. Remembering just how much like a little kid Dippel looked in 2012, either option is on the table. He's probably not as young as viewers are being led to believe. However, that's not the fault of Carolinas Broadcast Group. They were simply reporting on the information that they (and ARCA) were given. That's the fault of whomever's perpetrating the lie.
It was noted on the broadcast that Dippel's a regular at Lebanon Valley this year. That was the plan, but it didn't come to pass. There was a freak accident with his hauler back in May where the trailer door malfunctioned, then fell on Dippel and one of his crew members. Dippel didn't break anything but he was banged up pretty good and had to sit out for awhile, not racing full-time anywhere since. Instead, Dippel's spent the summer cherry-picking races while healing. His crew member fared quite a bit worse, suffering a broken nose and broken leg.
It was noted on the broadcast that Dippel's a regular at Lebanon Valley this year. That was the plan, but it didn't come to pass. There was a freak accident with his hauler back in May where the trailer door malfunctioned, then fell on Dippel and one of his crew members. Dippel didn't break anything but he was banged up pretty good and had to sit out for awhile, not racing full-time anywhere since. Instead, Dippel's spent the summer cherry-picking races while healing. His crew member fared quite a bit worse, suffering a broken nose and broken leg.
Frank Kimmel's engine situation was truly bizarre. With 19 to go, the caution was thrown when a large plume of smoke came out of his No. 25. Fluid was put down on track. Naturally, the booth thought he blew an engine. Then, he didn't pit. What the deuce? This situation is one in which viewers are dependent on pit reporters for guidance. Krall gave viewers bupkis at first. I wouldn't be shocked if the Venturinis actually didn't know.
Later on, Krall gave an update that indicated the team believed that they lost a cylinder. The confusion continued even after the race. Kimmel thought it was either a piston or a broken valve.
Post-race coverage seemed a little less substantial than it could have been, given the time that was available. Viewers saw interviews with the top-3 finishers (Fike, Kyle Weatherman and Kelly Kovski) and the unofficial results. There was also some post-race analysis, but that was it. Then again, Krall was the only (on-air) man in the pits. He can only do so much by himself. It doesn't appear that the Illinois State Fairgrounds has an underpass for pedestrian or vehicle access so they couldn't have just sent Tretow to the infield with a few laps to go like what they often do on the Pirelli World Challenge livestream broadcasts.
Overall, I enjoyed watching the broadcast for the most part. It's pretty rare that you can hear the fans on these broadcasts, but you could Sunday. They were clearly into the on-track action. The action on-track that we saw was pretty good and so was the commentary. Unfortunately, the production was somewhat limited. Because of that, it was difficult to figure out what happened in a number of the incidents.
Something that wasn't referenced: Who was that random dude that jumped onto the track during the yellow to retrieve Thomas Praytor's left rear tire? The guy was wearing a button-down shirt and jeans. Didn't look like he was with one of the teams, but he didn't look like a track maintenance guy either. That dude probably shouldn't have been out there.
I hope you liked this look at the SuperChevyStores.com/Allen Crowe 100 from the Springfield Mile. Next week, we'll be back with more motorsports television opinion. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action at Road America, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Sonoma.
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
"[The announcement] took away my security blanket is the best way I have to word it. I had that to kind of fall back on, at least. For me, the biggest thing is just finding a job to support myself, really. That took away some of my security, but hopefully everything will work out for the best." - Brett Moffitt on how the closure of Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the season personally affects him
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
Truckin' Thursdays: Lawsuit Against Justin Boston Highlights Problems With Pay-to-Play
Truckin' Thursdays: Lawsuit Against Justin Boston Highlights Problems With Pay-to-Play
by Beth Lunkenheimer
by P. Huston Ladner
by Toni Montgomery
by Joseph Wolkin
ATHLON PARTNER ARTICLE
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Instead of taking the off week to spend time relaxing, Paul Menard is entered in Saturday's Road America 180 Fired Up by Johnsonville. Look for him to be a contender for the win, not just because he's driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing but because he has quite a bit of road racing experience. Where did that experience come from?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: For many road racing fans, having oval-style catchfences on road courses is a rather controversial topic. At Road America, the presence of fences is necessary not so much because of the race cars (although they do help in that regard) but because of something else. What is this other element of surprise?
A: Road America is located in rural Wisconsin, where wild animals are common sights. Deer often hang around the property and have caused serious problems in the past. For instance, Cristiano da Matta hit a deer while testing at Road America in 2006. The crash all but ended his career.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll preview this weekend's racing at Road America and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, in addition to bringing you Thursday's news.
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a suite of great columns to prep you for this weekend's action..
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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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