THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Sep. 3, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CLV
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Sep. 3, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CLV
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What to Watch: Thursday
- Today is pull-in day at Darlington Raceway for Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series teams. If anything of note breaks, we will bring it to you at Frontstretch.
- Also, we have a new Frontstretch VIP for a Day contest situated around the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway (adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway). Two winners will receive tickets to the Carolina Nationals, parking and a meet and greet. Details are here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
by the Frontstretch Staff
NASCAR: If You Lose Wheel or Weight, Expect 4-Race Suspension
On Wednesday, NASCAR announced a crack down on losing ballast and/or wheels on track. Previously, that was considered to be a P3 penalty punishable by a fine and probation. Now, they will involve four-race suspensions for the crew chief, car chief and the tire changer or engineer if it's proven that it wasn't an outright failure that caused the issue. Read more
Ryan Truex Set to Return to XFINITY Series for 3 Races
Ryan Truex Set to Return to XFINITY Series for 3 Races
Richard Petty Motorsports announced on Wednesday that Ryan Truex will drive the No. 98 Ford for Biagi-DenBeste Racing in three races starting next week in Richmond. 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 Chick Hale
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
This week we're going to bring back another one of those stories from the past about a true area racing standout. Out subject this time is the late Chick Hale, who was a legendary standout driver in just about any class that ever ran in the south central Ohio area. I didn't meet Chick until a year or so before he passed away, but I saw him race at the old Dayton Speedway several times.
Our story comes from Roger Zellner, a friend of mine who, like a lot of us, reveres the way racing was back in the day.
It seems that a few years back, Roger was invited by a good racing buddy attend a "Dayton Lives" get-together. I've been to one of these, and they are a terrific time to hear some terrific stories.
This time, among those being honored along with Chick were Earl Baltes, and sprint car owner/mechanic Mutt Anderson. You can imagine the tales that lit up the hall that night.
Dayton Speedway, along with Salem and Winchester. was one of the triumvirate of banks that produced a lot of action and were, to put it mildly, dangerous as can be. Salem and Winchester are still with us, of course. Salem is roughly .525 mile, Winchester a true half, and Dayton was 970 yards, which made it about 9/16, I suppose.
I was privileged to flag several times at Dayton, and the racing always amazed me.
It seems that this particular night, after receiving his award, Chick was asked to share any stories he may have about running at Dayton.
His recollection was from one of those situations which really weren't funny because he suffered some pretty bad injuries, but which when they're related by a good storyteller can be hilarious.
Suffice it to say that Chick's presentation of the event had everybody laughing.
After being involved in an accident on the backstretch, his stock car burst into flames. He was badly burned, but managed to bail out of the car.
Like a lost wheel sometimes follows the track and continues around, Chick's car chugged around without hitting anything and came to a stop on the front straightaway. Thinking he was still in there, several people, including his crews, swarmed to the scene. The car was engulfed in flames, and nobody was able to get near it.
During all this chaos, people are yelling and screaming, "Oh my God, he's dead!"
Despite being so badly burned, Chick had made his way through the infield and walked up behind them, announcing, "No I'm not." He recalled that they were startled, as if they'd just seen a ghost.
That's funny enough, but he added that there was more humor to the story, which of course had to be a serious and painful ordeal.
Back in those days, hospital visitation rules were pretty strict, particularly if the injuries were serious. Little children weren't often allowed to visit and see all the damage that was done to a loved one.
Chick's granddaughter was very badly wanting to see her grandpa, so he came up with the plan. He told them to bring the granddaughter up to the window near the bed and said, "I'll sit off to the side and then appear in the window and wave to her.
Wasn't as good a plan as everybody thought, it turned out.
In accordance with old school treatment, Chick had been coated with burn salve and extensively wrapped in surgical gause. When the granddaughter was in place in front of the window, Chick sprang into view, waving at her.
The end result was granddaughter bolting for the door screaming, "They turned him into a mummy!"
I'm sure she was happy to see him after he recovered completely.
True to form, Chick had found a lighter side to a dark situation, and had the entire crowd at the gathering in stitches.
R.I.P, Chick. Thanks, Roger.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com. Potts also provided the above picture of Chick Hale racing at Eldora Speedway.
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The Critic's Annex: BEING: Stewart-Haas Racing
by Phil Allaway
Welcome back. Last week was a relaxing time for most of the Cup drivers. As a result, I was finally able to take a look at a show I've been meaning to critique for months now. The original airing of the show was cancelled due to a live race that ran long, but now, we can watch it in full.
Admittedly, when I first heard about the show, one of the primary ways in which it was promoted was by showing clips of a roundtable. I figured that it would be the overall focus of the show. That wasn't really the case, possibly to the show's detriment.
Danielle Trotta serves as the host for an overall look into the four-car Sprint Cup team. Before getting into the current drivers, an overview of the team's history was recalled. The team did struggle prior to Stewart coming onboard. There was no mention made of what it took to get Stewart to come to the team. Yes, he formed a partnership with Gene Haas that gave him an ownership share, but that came as a result of a "Godfather offer." As far as I know, Stewart did not pay for his ownership share.
The roundtable was really quite interesting. Here, we find out that Stewart is apparently really low-key. To me, that's a little surprising since we're talking about someone who likes playing with flame throwers (see recent Periscope streams for proof). Gene Haas is fiery as heck. The atmosphere at the team must have been toxic prior to Stewart showing up.
Stewart believes that the team has achieved beyond he could have ever predicted since he joined up in 2009. He admits to being an owner-driver adding a degree of stress to his life. Also, he's pretty content off the track. He's got enough ventures that he will be plenty occupied for years once he retires from racing.
Danica Patrick talked about being a role model in NASCAR, while Kurt Busch talked about being himself. In all honesty, the team is probably the perfect place for Busch to be himself. He's in a similar spot to where Robby Gordon was when he joined Richard Childress Racing in 2001.
Kevin Harvick talked to Matt Yocum about the stresses of racing for a championship. He came to the team from RCR solely to win a title and the focus was on that from day one. Harvick also talked about his "streamlining" of life prior to making the move. That included shutting down Kevin Harvick, Inc. and selling property.
The show wrapped up with a random discussion between the four drivers at the roundtable. Random questions are the name of the game here. Here, we find that everyone is a jokester. Don't leave your stuff unattended around these characters. Heck might go down.
The roundtable was really quite interesting. Here, we find out that Stewart is apparently really low-key. To me, that's a little surprising since we're talking about someone who likes playing with flame throwers (see recent Periscope streams for proof). Gene Haas is fiery as heck. The atmosphere at the team must have been toxic prior to Stewart showing up.
Stewart believes that the team has achieved beyond he could have ever predicted since he joined up in 2009. He admits to being an owner-driver adding a degree of stress to his life. Also, he's pretty content off the track. He's got enough ventures that he will be plenty occupied for years once he retires from racing.
Danica Patrick talked about being a role model in NASCAR, while Kurt Busch talked about being himself. In all honesty, the team is probably the perfect place for Busch to be himself. He's in a similar spot to where Robby Gordon was when he joined Richard Childress Racing in 2001.
Kevin Harvick talked to Matt Yocum about the stresses of racing for a championship. He came to the team from RCR solely to win a title and the focus was on that from day one. Harvick also talked about his "streamlining" of life prior to making the move. That included shutting down Kevin Harvick, Inc. and selling property.
The show wrapped up with a random discussion between the four drivers at the roundtable. Random questions are the name of the game here. Here, we find that everyone is a jokester. Don't leave your stuff unattended around these characters. Heck might go down.
Ultimately, the show left me wanting more. Anyone watching the show likely would have already been familiar with most of what the individual drivers had to say about themselves. I feel like the show might have been more enjoyable (to me, at least) had it just been a half-hour roundtable discussion of various issues between the drivers with Yocum still moderating. The brief roundtable discussion at the end of the show was the most enjoyable part of the show for me. I'm generally an informal guy and seeing the SHR drivers unwind and bust chops was pretty cool.
I hope you enjoyed this look at BEING: Stewart-Haas Racing. Next week, we'll be back with more motorsports broadcast opinion, perhaps some BTCC action from Knockhill in Scotland. If the 1.5 mile Lime Rock Park circuit is considered to be the Bristol of road racing, what is a 1.3 mile circuit with elevation change that's narrower than Lime Rock considered? I don't know. You'll have to find out. Until then, enjoy this weekend's Throwback weekend in Darlington.
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
"It is tough. I mainly focus on the racing when I am at the racetrack. When I'm not at the racetrack, I'll work as hard as I can and get all of my school work done so I don't have to worry about it. You have to balance the two out. You can't be worried about both at once. You have to worry about one over the other, and that really helps me." - Dalton Sargeant on juggling racing and school.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by P. Huston Ladner
by Toni Montgomery
by Beth Lunkenheimer
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1996, Dale Jarrett had a chance to become the second driver to win the Winston Million at Darlington Raceway. He qualified on the pole and was leading early on when he stuffed it in the wall. What caused Jarrett to crash?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: In 1997, Darlington switched the frontstretch and the backstretch, resulting in the current track setup. Why was this move made?
A: The move was made because Darlington Raceway wanted to expand seating and expansion was not really possible on what is now the backstretch because it runs right up against South Carolina Highways 34 and 151. While there is the minnow pond exiting turn 4, there is much more room behind the current frontstretch.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll preview this weekend's racing at Darlington Raceway, 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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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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