The Frontstretch Newsletter: Brad Keselowski Leads First Cup Practice

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 16, 2015

Volume IX, Edition CLXXXVI

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What to Watch: Friday

- Today, the Sprint Cup Series has practice and qualifying while the XFINITY Series has both of its practice sessions at Kansas Speedway.  All that is topped off by the ARCA Racing Series season finale, the Full Throttle S'loonshine 98.9.  All NASCAR sessions will be aired on NBCSN, while the ARCA race will be live on FOX Sports 1.

 

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN KANSAS FROM OUR COLLEAGUES:

Summer Bedgood (@SummerBedgood)

Beth Lunkenheimer (@Beth_Frntstrtch)

and 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

Brad Keselowski Fastest in First Kansas Speedway Practice Session

Brad Keselowski topped the first practice session from Kansas Speedway Friday afternoon. Under clear, sunny skies, the driver of the No. 2 Ford posted a lap of 194.349 mph to top the charts ahead of non-Chaser Austin Dillon. Read more.

Martin Truex, Jr. Not Worried About Being "Underdog"

Martin Truex, Jr. often finds himself left out of the championship conversation, despite sitting third in points. But he doesn't let that phase him and enjoys not having to answer anyone but his own team. Read more

 

Brian Keselowski To Drive for Brad Keselowski Racing at Talladega

 

On Thursday night, Brad Keselowski announced on his official blog that his race team has hired 34-year old Brian Keselowski, his own older brother, to drive the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford in next weekend's Fred's 250 Powered by Coca-Cola at Talladega Superspeedway.  It will be the elder Keselowski's first career Camping World Truck Series start.  Read more

 

Johnny Sauter Joins GMS Racing for 2016

On Thursday, GMS Racing announced the signing of Johnny Sauter to drive for the multi-truck operation full-time in 2016, with Sauter making it official on FOX Sports 1's NASCAR RaceHub.  He will race as a teammate to Spencer Gallagher.  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: Hollywood Casino 400

by Phil Allaway

The Sprint Cup Series makes their second visit of the year to Kansas Speedway, a track known for rather caution-filled races since it was reconfigured.  The Hollywood Casino 400 can be seen at 2 p.m. Sunday on NBC; the event can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate or SiriusXM Channel 90. Drivers will compete for 267 laps (400.5 miles) en route to the checkered flag.

Records and facts

Last year, Joey Logano was able to get past Ryan Newman on the final restart and was able to hold off a charging Kyle Larson to claim the victory and automatically advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase.  Logano led a race-high 122 laps en route to the win.  Kyle Busch finished third, followed by Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards.

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are the winningest drivers at Kansas with three career victories each.  Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth each have two wins in Kansas

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1.5-mile oval, 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Banking: 17-20 degrees in turns

Frontstretch: 2,721 ft., banked 10 degrees

Backstretch: 2,207 ft., banked 5.5 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 74,000
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
Opened: 2001

Website: http://www.kansasspeedway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kansasspeedway

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice No. 1: Friday, October 16, 1 - 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN

Practice No. 2: Saturday, October 17, 11:30 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. on CNBC

Happy Hour: Saturday, October 17, 2:30 - 3:20 p.m. ET on NBCSN

Qualifying: Friday, October 16, 6:05 p.m. on NBCSN

Say What?!

"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." - Kevin Harvick

"Kansas is the race that I keep on saying that we're due to strike gold.  It's been one of my better tracks over the years with a couple runner-up finishes. I felt we had the car to beat in this year's spring race at Kansas -- we led the most laps but fuel mileage strategy bit us at the end.

"A victory at Kansas would mean automatic advancement into the next round of the Chase, and no sleepless nights worrying about the wildcard race at Talladega.  There's something about Kansas Speedway that makes me feel comfortable. Any time you have confidence in a track it's a huge advantage, especially in high-pressure situations as we are right now in the middle of the Chase." - Martin Truex, Jr.

"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." - Danica Patrick

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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The Critic's Annex: 6 Hours of Fuji

by Phil Allaway

Welcome back, race fans.  We have some road racing in sketchy conditions to cover this week.

Before we get started, Gary Gerould, currently of ESPN's NHRA coverage, announced earlier this week that he will be retiring from motorsports TV at the end of the season, ending a 37 year career that has had the California-based broadcaster covering drag racing and open wheel racing for ESPN/ABC, TNN (via Diamond P Sports) and NBC.  The fact that the NHRA is moving to FOX Sports in 2016 is likely part of the reason for the move. 

Gerould will not be completely retired as a result of the move.  He has done radio play-by-play for the Sacramento Kings since the team first arrived in Sacramento in 1985.  He intends to continue that role.  Congrats on your retirement, Gary.

Now, back to Japan.  FOX Sports' TV deal with the FIA allows for live coverage of WEC races, but Japan and China's races are the toughest draws to watch.  Fuji started at 10 p.m. EDT and ran to 4 a.m.  A couple of years ago, I might have been able to stay up and watch live, but now, I can't.  Shanghai next weekend is worse with start time of 11 p.m.

The broadcast started off with a highlight package showing the qualifying sessions that took place Friday and Saturday (Japan time) before going to the race coverage.  The coverage started off roughly nine minutes behind real time and stayed there for the entire six hours.

The race started behind the safety car due to very wet conditions and stayed like that for 16 laps.  I suppose that was a good move due to the fact that two different drivers spun out on the first lap of the race while at a reduced pace.

 

 

The feed actually froze on the third lap, forcing FOX Sports 2 to take an unplanned commercial.  Calvin Fish cut in and took the coverage to commercial, then apologized for the issue.  Having a FOX Sports on-air personality on standby is normal for the WEC broadcasts.  Usually, it's Bob Varsha, but he was unavailable.  I don't think the freeze-up was FOX Sports 2's fault.  It seemed like it was the World Feed screwing up.  FOX Sports 2's bottom scroll was still working like normal despite the frozen picture.

Once the 40 minute safety car period (run at a quite rapid pace, only 40 seconds off of race pace in the dry, believe or not) was over, the action was fast and furious.  Lots of side-by-side action for position, regardless of the conditions.  The chaps that hauled themselves out to Fuji Speedway got a pretty good show, despite the rain.  Such a race is right in play-by-play commentator John Hindhaugh's wheelhouse.  Hindhaugh normally brings a spirited commentary to races and Saturday night was no exception.  He's generally a joy to listen to.

Here, instead of usual compatriot Jeremy Shaw, Hindhaugh is joined by Graham Goodwin, the editor of dailysportscar.com.  In Europe, dailysportscar.com is likely the top website for sports car racing news on the continent.  In short, Goodwin knows what he's talking about.  He's far more low-key than the excitable Hindhaugh and provides decent analysis in a "get in and get out" fashion.  Essentially, he's the opposite of what Darrell and/or Michael Waltrip can do in the booth.

In the pits, we get one pit reporter in Louise Beckett.  She's not on-air all that much, but her interviews are tipped off on the broadcasts.  Viewers see on-air indications that Beckett's about to interview someone, then we get the interviews.  European racing has always come off to me as being a more "stuffy" experience, but Beckett gets some good stuff out of the drivers and team members she interviews.

Aside from the treacherous conditions, the race will probably be best remembered for the hard battling in LMP2 late in the race.  I covered some of the happenings in Pace Laps on Monday, so I won't rehash it here.  At first, the battles were at first enthusiastically received by the booth.  However, as it continued on, the actions of Gustavo Yacaman clearly wore on Hindhaugh's patience.

For his excitability, Hindhaugh generally keeps his cool in the booth, but late Saturday night was an exception.  The way Yacaman described the situation afterwards made it sound like his issue with Richard Bradley was a one time thing.  It wasn't.  He spun out Bradley with 28 minutes to go right after a full course yellow, which ruined Bradley's race.  He then tried to nerf him off the road on at least one occasion.  Hindhaugh was actually calling for some sort of penalty to be levied on Yacaman before the crash.  A production man in a helicopter, identified on-air as Irving, reportedly told Hindhaugh via radio that the FIA needed to park Yacaman prior to the wreck as well due to overly aggressive driving.

When the crash happened, Hindhaugh stated on-air that Yacaman and G-Drive Racing should "...hang your head in shame" for the display of driving witnessed.  Boothmate Graham Goodwin was mostly in agreement with Hindhaugh, but nowhere near as expressively.

 

Yacaman's explanation seemed to completely discount everything other than the crash itself, which he claimed was either a racing incident, or Bradley's fault.  The stewards actually agreed with Yacaman and blamed Bradley at first.  Additional data was brought to the stewards' attention by KCMG, which led to the stewards' decision being suspended.  I was hoping that the FIA would have made a final ruling by now so I could fully explain it here, but they chose to pass the buck.  A final ruling will not be issued until the series gets to Shanghai next week. I'm pretty sure this stupidity is keeping Hindhaugh up at night.

 

 

There is a post-race show for the WEC.  Unfortunately, FOX Sports has made the decision to make that exclusive to FOX Sports GO, despite the fact that this race ended at 4 a.m. EDT.  I have detailed in this column previously that FOX Sports GO is incredibly fickle at times.  Unlike WatchESPN and NBC Sports Live Extra, FOX Sports GO on a Windows computer is only accessible through an app, no regular web access.  It requires Windows 8.1, which I cannot load onto my laptop because it would brick it (believe me, this has happened before) and require six hours of work to undo the bricking.  I cannot get any broadcasts to load on the FOX Sports GO app for my Nook and the app's really temperamental on my iPhone as well.  As a result, I cannot give you an honest critique of post-race coverage because I can't see it.

 

On the broadcast itself, the post-race coverage is the absolute bare minimum.  Typically, the telecast here is over before the cool-down lap is complete.  Pretty ludicrous for 4 a.m.  What are you bumping at that hour?

 

Generally, I enjoyed the broadcast.  There is a strong focus on the LMP1 class since WEC is the only place those particular prototypes race and they're the big draw.  The factories fight each other like there's no tomorrow because they want to win.  The rain made it a little closer than normal.  My opinion is that the FIA could make the World Feed a little more inclusive.  By that, I mean making the broadcast more equitable between the four classes.  FOX Sports' IMSA coverage here in the United States has the same issue.  I generally liked the commentary and having race control radio transmissions (along with in-race stewards' decisions) on the broadcast is highly beneficial.  IMSA should consider being able to put race control transmissions on broadcasts in 2016.

 

I hope you liked today's look at the 6 Hours of Fuji.  Next week, we'll be back with a look at NBCSN's NASCAR Victory Lap.  Until then, enjoy this weekend's action in Kansas.

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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TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:

Four Burning Questions in Kansas: Can Busch Brothers Bring It Home In Kansas?

by Zach Catanzareti

Friday Faceoff: Revamping Rules and Racetracks

by the Frontstretch Staff

Tech Talk – Tony Gibson Talks Spring Rates, Rock Hard Tires and Somewhere Over the Rainbow

as told to Mike Neff

NASCAR 101: Which Chaser Can Win Kansas?

by Kevin Rutherford

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: In 2012, current part-time XFINITY Series competitior Chad Boat did a one-off appearance at Kansas Speedway with Ken Schrader Racing in their No. 52.  It didn't last long.  What put Boat out?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q:  In 2003, David Green took his third win of the season in the Mr. Goodcents 300 at Kansas Speedway.  However, it was Michael Waltrip that was the dominant driver that day.  What took Waltrip out of the race?

A: Waltrip was leading with five laps to go when he blew a right front tire and went hard into the wall just past the start-finish line in the tri-oval.  The crash can be seen here.

Waltrip was out on the spot as a result of the crash.  Bobby Hamilton, Jr. claimed the lead as a result of the crash, but Green was able to take it away on the ensuing sprint to the finish.

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COMING MONDAY

In The Frontstretch Newsletter:

We'll have recaps of the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races from Kansas  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 Kansas and looking forward to Talladega, the dreaded sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
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