Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
~~~~~~~~~~
by the Frontstretch Staff
NASCAR Announces Five-Year Track Agreement, Unveils 2016 Schedules
Monday, NASCAR announced 2016 schedules for both the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series. Changes on each schedule are minor in scope. In addition, a new track agreement deal was announced, locking each facility onto the schedule for the next five years. Read more
Entry List: Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500
Entry List: Kroger 200
The Camping World Truck Series returns to Martinsville for a mere 105 miles of racing. 37 trucks are currently entered for the 200-lap event, a number that will likely increase once the MAKE Motorsports entries are added into the mix. Read more
~~~~~~~~~~
Talladega Sucked. What Else Did You Expect?
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
OK, let's get it out of our system so we can move forward. Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500 sucked. Well, to be honest, the finish sucked. It goes up there with the "I told you so" list of Talladega bashing. Since Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s loss is the talk of the town, we are obliged to rehash what was said before the circus even pulled into town. The fiasco of the last race of the Contender Round wasn't really any particular driver's fault — even if you really want to hate Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick at this moment. The disaster was a direct result of an inability to race on the 2.66-mile monstrosity.
For the first 184 laps we had a perfect day at the track. No, really! The stands were packed, the Chamber of Commerce got the weather they ordered, and the cars spun round in a high-speed version of chess. I really enjoyed the stressful two-by-two parade. Drivers kept their machines inches away from competitors, the odd roof hatch detached, mechanical problems cropped up here and there, and the pits threatened everyone's sanity.
With about 30 laps to go, I realized my hands had become glued to my cheeks. Of course I was hoping beyond hope that the No. 24 might steal a win. The tease of having Earnhardt win his way into the next segment of the Chase ignited those at the track and in their living rooms. Meanwhile, the Penske boys were driving another near-perfect race. Like Jaws, they just kept creeping up closer to the front until Logano was in position to snatch the lead away.
The lure of a wreck-free Talladega race taunted me, but I knew better. It meant I wrapped my arms around my knees ready to hide my head when the inevitable would happen. The mantra of "I love this, I hate this" hummed through the afternoon.
Then Jamie McMurray blew up and the fairy tale vanished in a puff of blue smoke. I moaned. There would be no magical ending today. That's when it all hit the fan.
There is not a way to appease anybody with that mess of a finish. A restart that never got going, another that didn't do much better, officials that waited an extra ten seconds to throw that caution the second time and a driver with a dying car standing in the middle of it all combined to create the Big One without all the flying sheet metal — just shredding emotions and the Chase lineup in the process.
So, the caution flew with Logano inches in front of Junior's No. 88. Crap. Somehow, the No. 6 was not notified that the No. 4 would go to the outside when the green dropped. And while David Hoots couldn't wait to scream, "Put it out," the first time they tried to go, he struggled to release those words the second time.
Drivers climbed from their cars and blinked at the microphones thrust in their faces. Lots of "ummm" and "huh" were heard up and down pit road. A few even scratched their heads. Meanwhile, the conspiracy theorists blew up social media with more than a few colorful metaphors in regards to NASCAR, the apparently indestructible No. 22 and the heedless/hapless No. 4.
Nobody cares which eight drivers moved forward, simply because the ONE has been left behind in the mists of convoluted rules made up just for a track that is unable to deliver a worthwhile afternoon.
It sucked. The bulldozers can't get moving soon enough.
Sonya's Scrapbook
Part of the magic of Jeff Gordon's early career came from the pairing with crew chief Ray Evernham. In 1999, Evernham made the announcement he was leaving Hendrick and the now fabled No. 24 to start his own team with Dodge. Gordon fans shook in their shoes, convinced that the Rainbow Warrior would never win again without his mentor on top of the pit box. Silly us... the first race after Ray's departure Gordon beat out Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in the October Martinsville race. Life continued, as did the winning and storied career.
S.D. Grady is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
10
$108,790
$121,911
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beside the Rising Tide: Now I Try To Be Amused
by Matt McLaughlin
Who's Hot and Who's Not in NASCAR: Martinsville Edition
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
Q: In 1989, Jimmy Hensley won the pole for the Goody's 500 at Martinsville while qualifying Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet. Why was Hensley in Earnhardt's car?
A: Just prior to the race weekend Hurricane Hugo made landfall in South Carolina, making it very difficult for many of the drivers to travel to Martinsville (four drivers, including Earnhardt, got subs to qualify their cars in First Round Qualifying). Hensley is a longtime resident of Ridgeway, where Martinsville Speedway just so happens to be located. He was running full-time in the Busch Grand National Series at the time and had plenty of experience on the flat half-mile, where there were multiple Busch races at Martinsville per year in the past. Here's some footage from the race where ESPN talks about the scenario and footage of Hensley after winning the pole.
COMING TOMORROW
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
--
Feel free to forward this newsletter if you have any friends who loves
NASCAR and great NASCAR commentary. They can subscribe to the Frontstetch by visiting http://www.frontstretch.com/notice/9557/.
If you want to stop your Frontstretch Newsletter subscription, we're sorry
to see you go. Just send an email to
TheFrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com from the address that you
recieve the Frontstretch Newsletter.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Frontstretch" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to thefrontstretch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment