Friday, October 23, 2015

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Biffle and Keselowski Pace Talladega Practice

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 23, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXCI

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What to Watch: Friday


- Practice is complete at Talladega.  We have a recap below.  Also, The Soup on E! invades Talladega tonight at 10 p.m.  We will be critiquing that for next week's edition of the Critic's Annex here in the Newsletter.

Also, don't forget to follow 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

Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski Lead Talladega Practice Sessions

On Friday, the Sprint Cup Series teams took to the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway to tune in their cars for Saturday's qualifying session and Sunday's 500-mile race.  Greg Biffle was fastest in the fully attended first session, while Brad Keselowski was quickest in a less attended second session.  Read more

BK Racing Adds Talladega Sponsor in Adirondack Tree Surgeons
 
On Thursday, BK Racing announced a one-race sponsorship deal that will see New York-based Adirondack Tree Surgeons serve as the primary sponsor of JJ Yeley's No. 26 Toyota at Talladega.  Read more
 
Ty Dillon Plans Start in Homestead Cup Finale
 
Richard Childress Racing has announced that they will field a fourth entry, the No. 33 normally run by Circle Sport, for Ty Dillon in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Sponsorship will be provided by NexiumRead more
 
Lira Motorsports to Attempt Homestead Truck Race
 
FOX Sports' Ray Dunlap announced on Thursday's edition of NASCAR RaceHub that ARCA Racing Series team Lira Motorsports will attempt their first Camping World Truck Series event at Homestead.  The team will field two trucks for Kyle Weatherman and David Levine.  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: CampingWorld.com 500
by Phil Allaway

The Sprint Cup Series makes their second visit of the year to Talladega Superspeedway, a track that makes drivers shake in their shoes.  Ok, it makes teams nervous like the "dreaded" temple guards made contestants nervous on Legends of the Hidden Temple back in the 1990's.  The CampingWorld.com 500 can be seen at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN; the event can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 188 laps (500.08 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Last year, Brad Keselowski claimed the lead right before a caution flew to set up a Green-White-Checker.  On the GWC, Ryan Newman was able to sweep by and lead the next to last lap.  However, Keselowski used a sweeping move to take away Newman's help, plus help from teammate Joey Logano to hold on and take the win.

The late Dale Earnhardt is the winningest driver at Talladega with ten career victories, the last of which coming in 2000.  He also swept both races in 1990 and 1999.  Amongst active drivers, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. each have six Talladega victories

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.66 mile tri-oval, 188 laps (500.08 miles)
Banking: 33 degrees in turns

Frontstretch: 4,300 ft., banked 16.5 degrees

Backstretch: 4,000 ft., banked 2 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 78,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Opened: 1969

Website: http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/talladegasupers

Remaining Pre-Race Schedule:

Qualifying: Saturday, October 23, 4:15 p.m. on NBCSN

Say What?!

"The success that I've had at Talladega has come from trying to run up front every single lap. As far as I'm concerned, there's going to be one of those guys behind me (in points) ‑‑ if I'm going to ride in the back -- that I'm going to assume is going to win the race. That moves my points position down even further. I don't think 18 points is enough to just go out there and ride around. I just don't think that's safe. I remember last year, I think I was 18th going into the final race, and I crossed the line on the white flag in 22nd, out, and had to battle my way up there on the final lap to advance. I just don't know the proper way to do it. You always think that there's going to be a big wreck there that takes out a lot of cars, but there wasn't last year, so I don't know. We'll think about it, but my gut feeling is we'll probably have to go there and race hard." - Denny Hamlin

"I view Kansas as an opportunity, just for the fact of how well we've run there over the last two years. We had a great test at Kansas and we felt like we learned a bunch of things that we could immediately apply to a lot of the different racetracks. I think that test has shown up in the performance of the cars. As you look at Kansas, I think the test has applied to what we did at Charlotte and should give us a great starting point for when we get to Kansas to take care of a lot of the characteristics that we already worked through during the test. I'm definitely looking forward to Kansas, for sure." - Greg Biffle

"Kansas is a good memory for me, for sure. While I'd love to tell you what the trick is, it's not that simple. I think that the car needs to be good. Downforce is critical because it's a very fast track, so the closer to flat-out you can be, the better. These cars are finicky. It's about focusing on the small things and getting the most out of the car itself instead of trying to throw the kitchen sink at it if you're a little off. It's all in the little details. I think that's the most important thing." - Justin Allgaier

"We've been running really well lately and are working hard to keep the momentum through the end of the season. Talladega is such a crapshoot. You have to make sure you stay out of trouble and be in the right place at the end of the race. We've shown that we have speed on superspeedways, so we'll be cautiously aggressive to make sure we make it to the end and have a shot at going for the win. As we have said since Richmond, our goal this season is to spoil the Chase with a win. There will be a lot of drivers fighting for that this weekend, and we plan to be in the mix." - Aric Almirola

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 Zach Catanzareti

by the Frontstretch Staff

as told to Mike Neff

by Kevin Rutherford

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q:
In 1987, NASCAR was essentially forced to slow the cars down at Talladega after Bobby Allison's infamous crash into the catchfence in the Winston 500.  The plates didn't come around until 1988.  What was first on the list of moves to slow cars?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q:  In the first few years after Cup cars were downsized in the early 1980s to the current 110-inch wheelbase spectacular crashes at Daytona and Talladega were a common occurrence.  The 1984 Talladega 500 was no exception.  What happened to put Trevor Boys out of the race?

A: Boys was battling for tenth when he had contact coming out of turn 4 with Tommy Ellis.  The No. 48 spun and air proceeded to get underneath the Monte Carlo, which blew the car over onto its roof.  After sliding across pit road upside-down, Boys' car rolled 1.5 times in the tri-oval grass before coming to rest on the wheels.  Boys walked away from the crash uninjured.  The crash can be seen here.  Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Benny Parsons have the call for CBS.

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COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have recaps of the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series races from Talladega.  There will also be 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 this weekend's action in Talladega and looking forward to Martinsville, the dreaded sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
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