THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 5, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CLXXVII
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 5, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CLXXVII
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Monday- Tonight, IMSA will hold their 2015 season-ending banquet at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Champions from Action Express Racing, Core Autosport, Porsche North America and Scuderia Corsa will be feted.
- Today is a prep day for the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series teams ahead of this weekend's action at Charlotte Motor Speedway. If anything breaks, we will be sure to provide the news for you at Frontstretch.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Kevin Harvick Does It; Advances to Round 2 with Dover Victory
Kevin Harvick Does It; Advances to Round 2 with Dover Victory
Kevin Harvick entered Dover needing a very strong result in order to advance. He responded with perhaps the most dominant run of his entire career, leading 355 laps en route to his third win of the year and a berth in the Contender round of the Chase. Kyle Busch was second, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jamie McMurray and Aric Almirola. Read more
Mechanical Issue Prevents Jimmie Johnson from Advancing to Contender Round
Mechanical Issue Prevents Jimmie Johnson from Advancing to Contender Round
Early on, Jimmie Johnson was looking pretty good at Dover. Then, he got busted for speeding on pit road during the competition caution. Later, a rear axle seal broke on the No. 48, sending Johnson to the garage and preventing him from advancing onward to the next round of the Chase. Read more
Jamie McMurray Ties with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Narrowly Misses Round 2 Cutoff
Jamie McMurray Ties with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Narrowly Misses Round 2 Cutoff
Jamie McMurray entered Sunday's AAA 400 just inside of the Chase but knew he needed a good run to advance. Ultimately, it came down to McMurray and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. racing each other for the final spot in the Contender Round. Earnhardt Jr. claimed it by tying McMurray in points while earning the best finish in the round Sunday. Read more
Regan Smith Charges to Monstrous Victory in Dover
Regan Smith Charges to Monstrous Victory in Dover
XFINITY Series regular Regan Smith was able to hold off charges from Sprint Cup regulars Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch to take his second win of the season, putting himself back in championship contention after conquering the Monster Mile. Ryan Blaney and Cup regular Kyle Larson rounded out the top-5 finishers. Read more
John Wes Townley Scores Maiden Truck Win in Las Vegas
After surprising in Las Vegas qualifying for NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series John Wes Townley kept himself in the hunt all night Saturday. He regained second after Cameron Hayley overshot his pit during his final stop, then took over the lead for good when Matt Crafton was forced to pit for fuel with five laps to go. From there, Townley held on to take his first career Camping World Truck Series victory. Timothy Peters was second, followed by Ben Kennedy, John Hunter Nemechek and Brandon Jones. Read more
Austin Theriault Suffers Compression Fracture in Las Vegas Accident
Saturday night, Austin Theriault suffered a ten percent compression fracture in his back as the result of a head-on hit on the wall exiting turn 4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Theriault was clipped in the right rear by teammate Tyler Reddick once Reddick lost control of his No. 19 Ford. Reddick was airlifted to University Medical Center Sunday but was released. 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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Chasing the Chase: Kenseth Wins the Challenger Round
by Phil Allaway
by Phil Allaway
Carl Edwards struggled late on Sunday, finishing 15th and dropping down to fourth in the standings. Behind him, Martin Truex, Jr. gained four places in points by finishing 11th Sunday. That was despite being pulled off the grid, sent back to inspection and having to start at the rear because of it.
Further back in the standings, the points wound up razor-thin close for the rest of the top-12 drivers. Kurt Busch ended round No. 1 in a three-way tie for sixth with Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. Busch made a packer adjustment that dropped the No. 41 out of the top 5, a dangerous move that really didn't help anything. Gordon kept himself out of trouble all day, finishing 12th with a late fade down the stretch. Keselowski didn't have the car to compete and spent much of the race a lap down before getting a lucky dog and finishing 16th.
One point behind the aforementioned trio were Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman, tied for ninth. Kyle Busch had the second-best car all day Sunday to Kevin Harvick and managed to keep it right there at the finish. Newman, by comparison struggled for much of the race and ended up as the only driver a lap down in 19th. Finally, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. claimed the last spot by outrunning Jamie McMurray to third place.
It's interesting to note Harvick's most dominant run of his career actually only gained him six points on 12th. However, winning Sunday at Dover got him into the next round automatically.
The drivers who qualified for the Contender Round (indicated below as the drivers in green) will all have their points reset to 3000 for Saturday night's Bank of America 500. The drivers in red have been eliminated from the Chase; however, they will keep their points from the Challenger Round and can finish as high as fifth in the final standings.
Chase Point Standings after Dover: 1) Matt Kenseth 2137, 2) Joey Logano -14, 3) Denny Hamlin -18, 4) Carl Edwards -19, 5) Martin Truex, Jr. -33, t-6) Kurt Busch -37, t-6) Jeff Gordon -37, t-6) Brad Keselowski -37, t-9) Kyle Busch -38, t-9) Ryan Newman -38, t-11) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -39, t-11) Jamie McMurray -39, 13) Jimmie Johnson -51, 14) Kevin Harvick -55, 15) Paul Menard -62, 16) Clint Bowyer -89.
Best of the Rest: 17) Kasey Kahne 770, 18) Aric Almirola -3, 19) Kyle Larson -52, 20) Greg Biffle -64, 21) Austin Dillon -123, 22) Casey Mears -147.
Regular Point Standings (1-16): 1) Joey Logano 1062, 2) Kevin Harvick -8, 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -76, 4) Brad Keselowski -92, 5) Matt Kenseth -113, 6) Jimmie Johnson -136, 7) Martin Truex, Jr. -143, 8) Denny Hamlin -153, 9) Kurt Busch -187, 10) Carl Edwards -204, 11) Jamie McMurray -207, t-12) Ryan Newman -225, t-12) Jeff Gordon -225, 14) Paul Menard -277, 15) Kasey Kahne -292, 16) Aric Almirola -295.
Drivers Outside the top 16 in the Chase: 22) Kyle Busch -461.
Race Winners: Joey Logano (Daytona-1, Watkins Glen, Bristol-2), Jimmie Johnson (Atlanta, Texas, Kansas, Dover-1), Kevin Harvick (Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dover-2), Brad Keselowski (Fontana), Denny Hamlin (Martinsville, Chicagoland), Matt Kenseth (Bristol-1, Pocono-2, Michigan-2. Richmond-2, Loudon-2), Kurt Busch (Richmond-1, Michigan-1), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Talladega, Daytona-2), Carl Edwards (Charlotte, Darlington), Martin Truex, Jr. (Pocono-1), Kyle Busch (Sonoma, Kentucky, Loudon-1, Indianapolis)Letter of the Race: Sunday's AAA 400 was brought to you by the letter "O," for "Opening up a Can." That is exactly what Kevin Harvick did to the field. It's hard to pass at Dover, yet Harvick got to the lead from 13th at the start (Truex, who was due to start ninth, dropped to the rear) in 24 laps. From there, essentially no one on equal footing passed him all day. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: AAA 400
compiled by Phil Allaway
"Well, I think when you look at them [victories] they are all special for different reasons, obviously. We are on the verge of being down and out for this one and to be able to pull this off is just one of those moments that you enjoy. I told people before this, this is a lot of fun to be in these situations and succeed. When you don't succeed it's not near as much fun, but it just makes them extra special. I think we're better than we were last year just because of the experiences and things that we've had. I think when we look at everything that's gone on over the last couple of years, it's just been a lot of fun. So, it's just that never quit attitude. That's what Tony Stewart said when we went to Homestead last year. He said, 'Whatever you do, do not quit until they throw that checkered flag.'" - Kevin Harvick, race winner
"It's definitely good. I can't say enough about my team – these guys did an awesome job. They prepared a great race car for me and gave me the piece that I needed in order to go out there and perform and run like we did today. We had a second-place car and we finished second with it. Nothing to hang our heads about there. We just have to get a little bit better or actually a lot better to catch that No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) car. The things that we needed to do today, we did. The first 300 laps, it seemed pretty simple and then the last 100 laps it got a little crazy with tire strategies and restarts and things kind of going on and trying to figure out who and how hard you had to race people and people wanting to race you real hard even though they're just racing for the best finish they can get." - Kyle Busch, finished second
"Yeah, I knew we were a good enough team to get in there. We made some mistakes together last week in New Hampshire and put ourselves in a bad position, but I knew we were a good enough team to make it to the next round. I just feel like our team is a lot better than the guys we are competing with. I just have that good confidence in my guys. They really support me and pump me up and give me the confidence to go out there and work hard. We have been building this team for a long time. A real good day for us. The car did everything we needed. We kind of got lucky to start on the outside of that one restart and just kind of went around them somehow. I just drove it in there and it stuck. I hate some guys don't get to make it and some guys do, but I'm glad we are able to move on to the next round. It kind of resets and hopefully we don't make any more mistakes and make it too hard on ourselves to try to get to that next round." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished third
"Well, it was a great move that Dale, Jr. made on the outside. I was waving at Matt (Kenseth), hoping that he would let me in, and I really didn't feel like the outside was the place to be and he just did a really good job and got a great run on me. I thought we were better than him the run before. I thought I would be able to get back by him. We were driving so hard those last few laps and it's just hard to make up any ground. And it seemed like our car was maybe better on stickers. He was a little bit better on the scuffs. We haven't run this well, honestly all year. We talked earlier today about that. So, I'm thrilled with our performance today. It's frustrating that we weren't able to make it to the next round, but it was a good day for the Nature Made car. We just needed one more point." - Jamie McMurray, finished fourth
"That was a good run for us. I'm really proud of the guys. That's two top 5s in a row here at Dover. It was a really good job. We just struggled with getting the car in the racetrack most of the day and right there at the end, four tires paid off for us. That was some really good adjustments by Trent and the guys and the pit crew did a good job getting me off pit road and just a really solid day for us." - Aric Almirola, finished fifth
"We felt good in practice so we were looking forward to the race even though we didn't have a lot of practice. The first run, we picked some cars off and felt like we were pretty good on the long run again, which has been our strong suit lately. We needed some more short run speed. We got caught behind some wrong cars on the restarts and that shuffled us back a little further than we wanted those last couple restarts. We came in and got tires and got a good restart and were able to drive up through the field and really got the outside working at the end to go from 15th to eighth. I'm really excited about that finish and our performance. The 16 ran well and obviously the 43 did, too. Our cars are getting better. We still have some work to do, but definitely happy to come back here to Dover, where I thought we had a strong car the last time we were here. We had some mechanical issues that caused us not to finish... all in all, it was a good day for us." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished eighth
"Our execution was perfect. We had some really good pit stops and then started on the outside and was able to really run better than what our car was. The last two restarts I started on the bottom and got my butt handed to me; it was really hard to pass. It wasn't that much fun of a race. The cool temperatures probably aren't good for this racetrack but we get to reset now for this next round. We want to be faster and we've got to be faster than that to win this thing." - Joey Logano, finished tenth
"I wouldn't call it 'drama-free'. I was freaking out there at the end. We were pretty solid in the top 10 all day long. I'm really proud of this team and what they've accomplished. We've gone through a lot and it hasn't been pretty. That's kind of the way today was. We knew we needed to be in the top 10/11, or maybe 12th, if we were lucky. We did that. Until the end, when that caution came out and people swapped up their strategy; we just got ate up on that restart and were falling back and I didn't know what was going to happen. So, it wasn't easy. I'm really proud of this AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet. We'll reset and go see what we can do in the next three (races)." - Jeff Gordon, finished 12th
"Our 5-hour ENERGY Toyota was good today – I'd say a top-5 car. We just had some bad luck with that loose wheel early on. We got two laps down but were able to make those up. No one had anything for that No. 4 car (Kevin Harvick) though. Real proud of everyone at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) for all their hard work to get us in the Chase. Just sorry we aren't able to go to the next round." - Clint Bowyer, finished 14th
"We survived kind of ugly today, but I'd rather survive ugly than not survive pretty. We'll take it and move on and realize that everything we've done from this point in the season doesn't really mean anything. Everything is back to scratch and that's probably a good thing for us this year." - Brad Keselowski, finished 16th
"Definitely disappointed. It's tough having a very inexpensive axle seal be the culprit and take your championship hopes away. It's racing, I've had mechanicals take me out of championships growing up that led to some success for myself and I'm sure helped me with a championship or two. It's just part of racing. It just shows how critical everything is on a race team, how important every component is and you can't take anything for granted. Heartbreaking for sure, but I don't know what else we can do about it. We just have to go on, try to win races and close out the season strong." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 41st
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com."It's definitely good. I can't say enough about my team – these guys did an awesome job. They prepared a great race car for me and gave me the piece that I needed in order to go out there and perform and run like we did today. We had a second-place car and we finished second with it. Nothing to hang our heads about there. We just have to get a little bit better or actually a lot better to catch that No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) car. The things that we needed to do today, we did. The first 300 laps, it seemed pretty simple and then the last 100 laps it got a little crazy with tire strategies and restarts and things kind of going on and trying to figure out who and how hard you had to race people and people wanting to race you real hard even though they're just racing for the best finish they can get." - Kyle Busch, finished second
"Yeah, I knew we were a good enough team to get in there. We made some mistakes together last week in New Hampshire and put ourselves in a bad position, but I knew we were a good enough team to make it to the next round. I just feel like our team is a lot better than the guys we are competing with. I just have that good confidence in my guys. They really support me and pump me up and give me the confidence to go out there and work hard. We have been building this team for a long time. A real good day for us. The car did everything we needed. We kind of got lucky to start on the outside of that one restart and just kind of went around them somehow. I just drove it in there and it stuck. I hate some guys don't get to make it and some guys do, but I'm glad we are able to move on to the next round. It kind of resets and hopefully we don't make any more mistakes and make it too hard on ourselves to try to get to that next round." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished third
"Well, it was a great move that Dale, Jr. made on the outside. I was waving at Matt (Kenseth), hoping that he would let me in, and I really didn't feel like the outside was the place to be and he just did a really good job and got a great run on me. I thought we were better than him the run before. I thought I would be able to get back by him. We were driving so hard those last few laps and it's just hard to make up any ground. And it seemed like our car was maybe better on stickers. He was a little bit better on the scuffs. We haven't run this well, honestly all year. We talked earlier today about that. So, I'm thrilled with our performance today. It's frustrating that we weren't able to make it to the next round, but it was a good day for the Nature Made car. We just needed one more point." - Jamie McMurray, finished fourth
"That was a good run for us. I'm really proud of the guys. That's two top 5s in a row here at Dover. It was a really good job. We just struggled with getting the car in the racetrack most of the day and right there at the end, four tires paid off for us. That was some really good adjustments by Trent and the guys and the pit crew did a good job getting me off pit road and just a really solid day for us." - Aric Almirola, finished fifth
"We felt good in practice so we were looking forward to the race even though we didn't have a lot of practice. The first run, we picked some cars off and felt like we were pretty good on the long run again, which has been our strong suit lately. We needed some more short run speed. We got caught behind some wrong cars on the restarts and that shuffled us back a little further than we wanted those last couple restarts. We came in and got tires and got a good restart and were able to drive up through the field and really got the outside working at the end to go from 15th to eighth. I'm really excited about that finish and our performance. The 16 ran well and obviously the 43 did, too. Our cars are getting better. We still have some work to do, but definitely happy to come back here to Dover, where I thought we had a strong car the last time we were here. We had some mechanical issues that caused us not to finish... all in all, it was a good day for us." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., finished eighth
"Our execution was perfect. We had some really good pit stops and then started on the outside and was able to really run better than what our car was. The last two restarts I started on the bottom and got my butt handed to me; it was really hard to pass. It wasn't that much fun of a race. The cool temperatures probably aren't good for this racetrack but we get to reset now for this next round. We want to be faster and we've got to be faster than that to win this thing." - Joey Logano, finished tenth
"I wouldn't call it 'drama-free'. I was freaking out there at the end. We were pretty solid in the top 10 all day long. I'm really proud of this team and what they've accomplished. We've gone through a lot and it hasn't been pretty. That's kind of the way today was. We knew we needed to be in the top 10/11, or maybe 12th, if we were lucky. We did that. Until the end, when that caution came out and people swapped up their strategy; we just got ate up on that restart and were falling back and I didn't know what was going to happen. So, it wasn't easy. I'm really proud of this AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet. We'll reset and go see what we can do in the next three (races)." - Jeff Gordon, finished 12th
"Our 5-hour ENERGY Toyota was good today – I'd say a top-5 car. We just had some bad luck with that loose wheel early on. We got two laps down but were able to make those up. No one had anything for that No. 4 car (Kevin Harvick) though. Real proud of everyone at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) for all their hard work to get us in the Chase. Just sorry we aren't able to go to the next round." - Clint Bowyer, finished 14th
"We survived kind of ugly today, but I'd rather survive ugly than not survive pretty. We'll take it and move on and realize that everything we've done from this point in the season doesn't really mean anything. Everything is back to scratch and that's probably a good thing for us this year." - Brad Keselowski, finished 16th
"Definitely disappointed. It's tough having a very inexpensive axle seal be the culprit and take your championship hopes away. It's racing, I've had mechanicals take me out of championships growing up that led to some success for myself and I'm sure helped me with a championship or two. It's just part of racing. It just shows how critical everything is on a race team, how important every component is and you can't take anything for granted. Heartbreaking for sure, but I don't know what else we can do about it. We just have to go on, try to win races and close out the season strong." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 41st
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud - Kevin Harvick Pushes All In at Dover and Claims the Pot
by Mike Neff
Kickin' the Tires: Many In NASCAR Breathe a Sigh of Relief
by Jerry Jordan
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the 2015 AAA 400
by Amy Henderson
Up To Speed: When "It" Happened To Jimmie Johnson
by Summer Bedgood
Pace Laps: The Closer Does it Again, Safety First & NHRA Keystone Nationals
by the Frontstretch Staff
XFINITY Breakdown: Hisense 200 at Dover
by Joseph Wolkin
Tracking the Trucks: Rhino Linings 350
by Beth Lunkenheimer
Thinkin' Out Loud - Kevin Harvick Pushes All In at Dover and Claims the Pot
by Mike Neff
Kickin' the Tires: Many In NASCAR Breathe a Sigh of Relief
by Jerry Jordan
The Big Six: Questions Answered After the 2015 AAA 400
by Amy Henderson
Up To Speed: When "It" Happened To Jimmie Johnson
by Summer Bedgood
Pace Laps: The Closer Does it Again, Safety First & NHRA Keystone Nationals
by the Frontstretch Staff
XFINITY Breakdown: Hisense 200 at Dover
by Joseph Wolkin
Tracking the Trucks: Rhino Linings 350
by Beth Lunkenheimer
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:Q: Recently, Jeff Gordon described the events of the 1994 Mello Yello 500 as one of the most contentious moments of his entire Sprint Cup Series career. What happened to get Gordon in a lick of trouble?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Friday's Answer:
Q: The 1990 Grand Prix of Japan is best known for a bizarre crash on the first lap between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Senna all but admitted that the crash was intentional. Like every instance that involves the two drivers, there's more to the story. What happened before the race that angered Senna?
A: Prior to the race, Senna requested the pole position be moved to the outside because it was on the normal racing line. At the time, track stewards agreed to Senna's request but FISA President Jean-Marie Balestre overruled the stewards, forcing Senna to start on the dirty side while Prost got the clean side. A further rule strongly discouraging drivers from cutting across the yellow line on the straight also restricted what Senna could do on the start. Regardless, Senna stated that he was going to go for the lead at the start. This was the result.~~~~~~~~~~
COMING TOMORROW
-----------------------------COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have breaking news from Monday and S.D. Grady returns with Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View.
On Frontstretch.com:
Danny Peters returns with Five Points to Ponder after Sunday's race in Dover.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!
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