THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 29, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXCV
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 29, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CXCV
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Editor's Note: Wednesday afternoon, our website went down completely for a couple of hours due to a Server issue. The site returned in a simpler form a few hours later but did not get back to full capacity until around 9:30 a.m. this morning. Needless to say, the technical issues delayed getting today's articles up onto the website, along with today's Newsletter. We apologize for the inconvenience.
What to Watch: Thursday
- Today is pull-in day for the Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway. No on-track activity is scheduled but the anticipation is likely building.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
by the Frontstretch Staff
Brandon Jones' Truck Team Hit with P4 Penalty
Wednesday, NASCAR announced that GMS Racing's No. 33 team has been assessed a P4 penalty for unapproved brackets found on Brandon Jones' Chevrolet during pre-qualifying inspection at Talladega Saturday. The P4 penalty results in Jones losing 25 points and team owner Maury Gallagher losing 25 points along with crew chief Shane Huffman being suspended for three races and fined $10,000. GMS Racing will appeal. Read more
Justin Allgaier to Join JR Motorsports in 2016
JR Motorsports announced Wednesday that Justin Allgaier, currrently driving the No. 51 Chevrolet for HScott Motorsports in Sprint Cup, will return to the XFINITY Series to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet full-time in 2016, replacing Regan Smith. Sponsor BRANDT will follow Allgaier and serve as primary sponsor for 18 races. Read more
Cale Conley Out at TriStar Motorsports
Wednesday, Godfather Motorsports reported that Cale Conley will sit out the final three races of the XFINITY Series season due to an overall lack of funds. It is unclear who (if anyone) would replace the West Virginia native in the No. 14. 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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Editor's Note: Potts' Shots will return in the near future.~~~~~~~~~~
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The Critic's Annex: The Soup Invades Talladega
by Phil Allaway
One of the problems with NASCAR's sagging popularity in recent years is that we've seen less of it transition into national pop culture. Back in the day, stock car superstars would make appearances on several TV shows; it was a natural fit for The Dukes of Hazzard, who had Cale Yarborough on the comedy at least twice. There was a NASCAR-themed episode of Walker, Texas Ranger around 1998 and even a NASCAR-themed MTV Cribs with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. More recently, drivers like Brad Keselowski have made guest appearances on shows like Sullivan & Son on TBS but those appearances have been fewer and farther between.Younger, hipper outlets rarely come to NASCAR since it sadly doesn't do well in a lot of the core demographics. It's better than baseball, but not by much. So, when I saw the ads on E! stating that The Soup was coming to Talladega, I was intrigued. How did they do?
Under normal circumstances, The Soup is a clip show, played up for laughs but they filmed this episode live from the Talladega infield. After introductions, some classic NASCAR clips were weaved into the mix, starting with the infamous pace car theft from back in 1986.
Under normal circumstances, The Soup is a clip show, played up for laughs but they filmed this episode live from the Talladega infield. After introductions, some classic NASCAR clips were weaved into the mix, starting with the infamous pace car theft from back in 1986.
Eventually, the show's typical, non-NASCAR clips started coming into play. Unlike Talk Soup, which this show is based on, the clips come from all over the place in TV. The show went right from NASCAR to Party Down South to The Amazing Race within a couple of minutes.
Five drivers (Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Danica Patrick and Joey Logano) appeared on the broadcast. However, only Patrick stuck around the whole time while the rest of them just came and went. I find that strange since E! promoted the show with host Joel McHale ("Jeff Winger" on Community) and Earnhardt Jr. I expected more out of Earnhardt Jr. then spending a few minutes on-set, for the first segment only and then exiting stage left.
Logano's appearance was limited to when the show took what is starting to become a traditional tour of Talladega Boulevard to find some resident crazies. Gordon's only cameo was during an interview/pace car ride in a Chevrolet Camaro. Apparently, Gordon got the Camaro up to 152 mph... one-handed. The segment was pitched as a mini-interview, but with only two laps on the 2.66-mile tri-oval, McHale couldn't ask much beyond "Why are you retiring?" and "Can I drive?"
Also, while McHale crawling out of the car afterwards was clearly played for laughs, I can understand it. Back in 2010, I did my first pace car ride at Daytona before the track was repaved. After two laps in the back of a Mustang, I also fell flat on my face too. That day, my legs felt like jelly after those laps. It's not that much of a thing now, though.
The only really inappropriate clip on the show was from Real Housewives of New Jersey when Joe Giudice was discussing how he was handling his wife Teresa's non-kayfabe incarceration (remember, he's next once she gets out). While yes, you could make the argument that Real Housewives of New Jersey and the whole Real Housewives franchise is inappropriate for human consumption I really, really do not want to hear about Joe pleasuring himself. That's really gauche.
Overall, other than Patrick, the other drivers were just there as essentially eye candy. It's an interesting reversal of fortune when you really think about it. Also, the show didn't seem to be all that knowledgeable about NASCAR in general. They really only paid some lip service to the sport. I'd argue they were there more because of the craziness that usually occurs in the infield ("Talladega Tire Man" got significant airtime coming out of a commercial, for example).
There were instances where McHale had to explain some things about NASCAR to the show's TV audience. By comparison, McHale was going to explain Botched to the NASCAR crowd gather around the set but chose not to (he claimed it was better if they did not know). I'm knowledgeable about Botched. It's a show about people, often minor celebrities or not, seeking plastic surgery to fix previous failed (or "botched") procedures. For example, one episode featured Tiffany Patterson ("New York" from Flavor of Love) getting her breasts fixed after a previous unsatisfactory surgery. I know all about it, but I don't watch that stuff. Same with Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which is ridiculous.
There were instances where McHale had to explain some things about NASCAR to the show's TV audience. By comparison, McHale was going to explain Botched to the NASCAR crowd gather around the set but chose not to (he claimed it was better if they did not know). I'm knowledgeable about Botched. It's a show about people, often minor celebrities or not, seeking plastic surgery to fix previous failed (or "botched") procedures. For example, one episode featured Tiffany Patterson ("New York" from Flavor of Love) getting her breasts fixed after a previous unsatisfactory surgery. I know all about it, but I don't watch that stuff. Same with Keeping Up With The Kardashians, which is ridiculous.
Also, there were some errors on the show. For example, The Soup was going to show the logo of Sunday's race (the CampingWorld.com 500) at the end but instead showed an old logo for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I think that's the old logo from about seven years ago for what is now the K&N Pro Series.
I found Patrick to be quite a bit more engaging here than normal. Normally, she comes off as boring to me and has for years, long before she came to NASCAR. Here, she got to put her hair down and have fun. Patrick was actually a little funny and I think the blanket portion was her best part of the show. I also wish Bowyer would have stayed around for more than 15 minutes since he's naturally quirky and someone that I think would go over fairly well with a younger audience.
The Soup in Talladega was a little tough to watch at times. Keep in mind the show aired live in the infield at Talladega. As far as I know, The Soup is not normally done live. That creates problems. The audio was atrocious for much of the episode although thankfully, that got better. At least I didn't feel like it catered to stereotypes of NASCAR too much, as given the setting, it easily could have devolved in that direction. I'm neutral at best on the show overall.
I hope you liked this look at The Soup Invades Talladega. Next week, we'll be back with another critique. Until then, enjoy this weekend's action in Martinsville, Shanghai and Mexico City.
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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"I spent my last year of high school home schooled just because of all of the traveling we did with sprint cars. I missed way too many days my junior year and way too many days my sophomore year. That is why we decided to pull me out and do school on the road. Looking back at high school, I have a lot of regrets. I missed so much and I wish I would have put more focus into it. Especially when it came to stuff I look at today. Simple math or reading (laughs), if I had only paid attention a little more. The number one thing I really regret is typing. I'm a poker, not a typer. I really need to get adjusted with my hands on the keyboard. That is just a crucial part of any childhood advancement to adulthood. It is a given and I think many adults look back and wish they'd given it 100% more effort at school when they had that opportunity instead of just using it as a hangout session. I went to a big high school in West Virginia. It was a lot of fun. It seems like yesterday and I miss those days." - Cale Conley, on being home schooled and the downside of doing so
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Frontstretch Line of the Week
From Beyond the Cockpit: Cale Conley on Home Schooling, Aerodynamics & Hairstyle
From Beyond the Cockpit: Cale Conley on Home Schooling, Aerodynamics & Hairstyle
"I spent my last year of high school home schooled just because of all of the traveling we did with sprint cars. I missed way too many days my junior year and way too many days my sophomore year. That is why we decided to pull me out and do school on the road. Looking back at high school, I have a lot of regrets. I missed so much and I wish I would have put more focus into it. Especially when it came to stuff I look at today. Simple math or reading (laughs), if I had only paid attention a little more. The number one thing I really regret is typing. I'm a poker, not a typer. I really need to get adjusted with my hands on the keyboard. That is just a crucial part of any childhood advancement to adulthood. It is a given and I think many adults look back and wish they'd given it 100% more effort at school when they had that opportunity instead of just using it as a hangout session. I went to a big high school in West Virginia. It was a lot of fun. It seems like yesterday and I miss those days." - Cale Conley, on being home schooled and the downside of doing so
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by P. Huston Ladner
by Tom Bowles
by Aaron Bearden and Sean Fesko
by Toni Montgomery
by Beth Lunkenheimer
AT ATHLON SPORTS:
by Tom Bowles
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1997, Jeff Burton won the rain-delayed Hanes 500 at Martinsville (it was pushed back to Monday due to rain). Despite Burton running very well all day it was a bit of unusual luck that gave him the win. What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: Ricky Rudd won the 1998 NAPA AutoCare 500 at Martinsville Speedway despite his air conditioning failing after a couple of laps. Driving that day in 95-degree weather must have been pure agony for Rudd, but he refused to get out of the car. Had Rudd changed his mind, who would have gotten into the oven that was the Tide Ford?
A: Had Rudd decided to exit his No. 10 due to personal overheating he would have been replaced by Hut Stricklin, who was on standby for much of the race. Stricklin being in Rudd's pit all day also kept him from getting into someone else's car. Jerry Nadeau actually had to park at one point because he was exhausted and no one was available to relieve him.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll cover breaking news from Martinsville and preview this weekend's action.
On Frontstretch.com:
Zach Catanzareti answers Four Burning Questions heading into this weekend's Cup race at Martinsville.
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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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