THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 1, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CLXXV
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Oct. 1, 2015
Volume IX, Edition CLXXV
~~~~~~~~~~
What to Watch: Thursday
- Today is pull-in day for the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series at Dover International Speedway. No on-track activity is scheduled.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
by the Frontstretch Staff
Tony Stewart Retiring After 2016, Clint Bowyer Will Replace
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Tony Stewart announced that the 2016 season will be his last as a driver in the Sprint Cup Series. He did leave the door open to drive elsewhere, though including NASCAR's Whelen Modified Tour. Clint Bowyer will replace Stewart in the No. 14 starting in 2017. Read more
Clint Bowyer Appeal: Penalties Upheld
Clint Bowyer Appeal: Penalties Upheld
Just before the Stewart press conference began, the National Motorsports Appeals Panel heard Michael Waltrip Racing's appeal of the penalties handed down to Clint Bowyer's No.15 team following the race at Chicagoland. The panel of Paul Brooks, Bill Lester and Bill Mullis voted to uphold the fines, point penalties, and the suspension of Billy Scott for three races. MWR has chosen to not appeal the ruling. 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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Today's Featured Commentary~~~~~~~~~~
Reflecting On Tony Stewart
Potts' Shots
by John Potts
On Wednesday, one of the worst kept secrets in the NASCAR garage area was confirmed: Tony Stewart announced his retirement from driving in the Sprint Cup Series effective the end of the 2016 season. Also confirmed was the fact that Clint Bowyer would take over the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing ride in 2017.
So, over the space of two seasons, a couple of drivers I saw as very young participants in this sport are going to be gone from behind the wheel.
The first, of course, is Jeff Gordon. I watched him come into Indianapolis Raceway Park and hop into Rollie Helmling's car for his first USAC Midget ride, set a new track record, and win one of the most prestigious events in the sport – the Night Before the 500. Keep in mind that happened the weekend before he graduated from high school.
The story's been told over and over about how Gordon's family moved from California to Indiana so he could drive sprint cars at a young age. He was getting to be well-known but that night at IRP was our first time to actually see him drive. His talent was apparent, and over the next couple of years, Gordon impressed just about everyone who saw him. He won just about everywhere, including on his first trip to the Belleville Nationals.
Gordon's career change came after a trip to the Buck Baker Racing School, I believe. The account I heard was that after the first day, he called John Bickford, his stepfather, and said, "Sell everything, I know what I want to do."
His experience in NASCAR began with Bill Davis' Ford in the Busch Series, and of course he caught the eye of Rick Hendrick. Turned out he didn't have a signed contract with anybody in the Ford camp, and the rest is history.
There's another footnote I heard about recently; turns out Mr. Hendrick wasn't the only NASCAR owner who noticed Gordon. Seems Jack Roush was interested and contacted Bickford. According to the way it was told to me, Mr. Bickford informed Roush that Jeff and Ray Evernham, his crew chief were a "package" deal. Take one, you "take 'em both."
Also according to what I was told, Mr. Roush explained that his drivers didn't pick their crew chiefs, but that they were assigned by him. That was presumably the end of that conversation.
We were all glad to see Gordon move up, and I'll never forget the end of his first lap in the Daytona 500. That was back when five points were awarded for leading a lap, and when they crossed the start/finish line the late Mike Flynn, a longtime Winston representative and an old friend, said, "Well, Jeff's leading the standings by five points, boys."
I'd say Gordon had quite a career, but everybody knows that. I'm just proud to have known him.
I'm no less proud to have seen Tony Stewart at a very young age.
The late Crocky Wright, who became one of Tony's closest friends, told me at a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans board meeting that there was this kid from Columbus who was going to be one of the best we'd ever seen.
I took a look, and ol' Crocky was right as well as Wright on this one. Here was another kid who obviously had loads of talent and had the desire to get to the top.
Stewart also came up through the open-wheel ranks in the United States Auto Club and accomplished something nobody had ever done before. He won their midget, sprint car, and Silver Crown championships. Pancho Carter had done that, but Stewart got them all in the same year – 1995.
It's interesting that Tony's rides in the midget series that year were Steve Lewis' Performance Racing Industry Beast cars wrenched by Bob East. It's interesting because it was also Bob East who recommended to Rollie Helmling that he put Jeff Gordon in his Diet Pepsi Beast.
Stewart also became a friend and we joked a lot with each other. I always said, "Hello there, almost a race driver." He'd reply, "Hello, almost a promoter."
After Tony made it to NASCAR, I promised him I'd never refer to him that way again. I'll never forget the night we were running our weeknight street legal drags and Stewart had just finished practicing with his Busch Series Pontiac on the oval. It was actually before he drove in the series, just after Joe Gibbs had purchased Bobby Labonte's operation (those would be the cars assigned to Stewart).
I was sitting at the drag strip starting line when he came over, wondering what all the noise on the other side of the hill was about. I introduced him to some of our regular drag racers, who always took advantage of those nights to do some tuning and testing, and they immediately hit it off. The racers showed Stewart their cars, and he enjoyed watching them. Even brought his Corvette out and did some drag racing himself later on.
My respect for Tony Stewart knows no bounds. He can and will drive anything on wheels and also can and will take it to the front of the pack. He's proven that in road racing, in IndyCars as well as midgets, sprint cars, and Silver Crowns, as well as in stock cars. He even hopped into an IMCA modified one night on the IRP oval and simply blistered the whole field. Didn't get the trophy because, if I remember right, his car owner refused the claim on the engine.
It's appropriate that Stewart's idol is A.J. Foyt and that he wanted No. 14 on his own stock cars for that reason. He's probably the last of that breed to be active. Remember when A.J. and Mario Andretti drove anything, anywhere?
Another reason to respect this man is all that he has done for others after making it big. I won't elaborate because Stewart, much like Dale Earnhardt Sr., likes to remain anonymous in this regard. Suffice it to say that he's been very active in this way.
I know Stewart hasn't been the same since he suffered a bad injury and since that accident up in New York, and I wouldn't expect him to be. But that doesn't lessen my feelings. Let's also remember that he's the only driver with a Winston Cup, a Nextel Cup, and a Sprint Cup. That's a feat no one else will ever match.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
On Wednesday, one of the worst kept secrets in the NASCAR garage area was confirmed: Tony Stewart announced his retirement from driving in the Sprint Cup Series effective the end of the 2016 season. Also confirmed was the fact that Clint Bowyer would take over the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing ride in 2017.
So, over the space of two seasons, a couple of drivers I saw as very young participants in this sport are going to be gone from behind the wheel.
The first, of course, is Jeff Gordon. I watched him come into Indianapolis Raceway Park and hop into Rollie Helmling's car for his first USAC Midget ride, set a new track record, and win one of the most prestigious events in the sport – the Night Before the 500. Keep in mind that happened the weekend before he graduated from high school.
The story's been told over and over about how Gordon's family moved from California to Indiana so he could drive sprint cars at a young age. He was getting to be well-known but that night at IRP was our first time to actually see him drive. His talent was apparent, and over the next couple of years, Gordon impressed just about everyone who saw him. He won just about everywhere, including on his first trip to the Belleville Nationals.
Gordon's career change came after a trip to the Buck Baker Racing School, I believe. The account I heard was that after the first day, he called John Bickford, his stepfather, and said, "Sell everything, I know what I want to do."
His experience in NASCAR began with Bill Davis' Ford in the Busch Series, and of course he caught the eye of Rick Hendrick. Turned out he didn't have a signed contract with anybody in the Ford camp, and the rest is history.
There's another footnote I heard about recently; turns out Mr. Hendrick wasn't the only NASCAR owner who noticed Gordon. Seems Jack Roush was interested and contacted Bickford. According to the way it was told to me, Mr. Bickford informed Roush that Jeff and Ray Evernham, his crew chief were a "package" deal. Take one, you "take 'em both."
Also according to what I was told, Mr. Roush explained that his drivers didn't pick their crew chiefs, but that they were assigned by him. That was presumably the end of that conversation.
We were all glad to see Gordon move up, and I'll never forget the end of his first lap in the Daytona 500. That was back when five points were awarded for leading a lap, and when they crossed the start/finish line the late Mike Flynn, a longtime Winston representative and an old friend, said, "Well, Jeff's leading the standings by five points, boys."
I'd say Gordon had quite a career, but everybody knows that. I'm just proud to have known him.
I'm no less proud to have seen Tony Stewart at a very young age.
The late Crocky Wright, who became one of Tony's closest friends, told me at a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans board meeting that there was this kid from Columbus who was going to be one of the best we'd ever seen.
I took a look, and ol' Crocky was right as well as Wright on this one. Here was another kid who obviously had loads of talent and had the desire to get to the top.
Stewart also came up through the open-wheel ranks in the United States Auto Club and accomplished something nobody had ever done before. He won their midget, sprint car, and Silver Crown championships. Pancho Carter had done that, but Stewart got them all in the same year – 1995.
It's interesting that Tony's rides in the midget series that year were Steve Lewis' Performance Racing Industry Beast cars wrenched by Bob East. It's interesting because it was also Bob East who recommended to Rollie Helmling that he put Jeff Gordon in his Diet Pepsi Beast.
Stewart also became a friend and we joked a lot with each other. I always said, "Hello there, almost a race driver." He'd reply, "Hello, almost a promoter."
After Tony made it to NASCAR, I promised him I'd never refer to him that way again. I'll never forget the night we were running our weeknight street legal drags and Stewart had just finished practicing with his Busch Series Pontiac on the oval. It was actually before he drove in the series, just after Joe Gibbs had purchased Bobby Labonte's operation (those would be the cars assigned to Stewart).
I was sitting at the drag strip starting line when he came over, wondering what all the noise on the other side of the hill was about. I introduced him to some of our regular drag racers, who always took advantage of those nights to do some tuning and testing, and they immediately hit it off. The racers showed Stewart their cars, and he enjoyed watching them. Even brought his Corvette out and did some drag racing himself later on.
My respect for Tony Stewart knows no bounds. He can and will drive anything on wheels and also can and will take it to the front of the pack. He's proven that in road racing, in IndyCars as well as midgets, sprint cars, and Silver Crowns, as well as in stock cars. He even hopped into an IMCA modified one night on the IRP oval and simply blistered the whole field. Didn't get the trophy because, if I remember right, his car owner refused the claim on the engine.
It's appropriate that Stewart's idol is A.J. Foyt and that he wanted No. 14 on his own stock cars for that reason. He's probably the last of that breed to be active. Remember when A.J. and Mario Andretti drove anything, anywhere?
Another reason to respect this man is all that he has done for others after making it big. I won't elaborate because Stewart, much like Dale Earnhardt Sr., likes to remain anonymous in this regard. Suffice it to say that he's been very active in this way.
I know Stewart hasn't been the same since he suffered a bad injury and since that accident up in New York, and I wouldn't expect him to be. But that doesn't lessen my feelings. Let's also remember that he's the only driver with a Winston Cup, a Nextel Cup, and a Sprint Cup. That's a feat no one else will ever match.
John Potts is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at john.potts@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Critic's Annex: Crosley Brands 150
by Phil Allaway
Welcome back to more broadcast opinion and criticism. This week, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is once again in the spotlight as they traveled to Kentucky Speedway for the Crosley Brands 150. Rain played havoc with the event and even forced an on-air change.
The original plan was to air the race live at 8 p.m. Friday night. Heavy rains made sure that didn't happen. Prior to leaving the track, FOX Sports interviewed seven drivers and ran a piece on Crosley Brands, the race sponsor and the company that racer Bo LeMastus runs (the piece was re-run prior to the command to start engines). It's a really interesting company that's jumped headlong into the series at LeMastus' insistence. I see their products when I go to Target and they do stand out; that much is clear.
The cancellation caused a couple of problems. The rescheduled time for the race (Saturday, 1 p.m.) conflicted with a couple of live sporting events on FOX Sports' family of networks, most notably a Bundesliga game between Hamburger SV and FC Schalke 04 on FOX Sports 2. I was a little nervous that the race would either be tape delayed or not broadcast at all. However, FOX Sports moved the schedule around, placed the Hamburger SV - FC Schalke 04 match on FOX Soccer 2 Go and aired the race live on FOX Sports 2. Yes, it's a downgrade from FOX Sports 1, but they were lucky to get it on TV under the circumstances.
Secondly, Todd Bodine was originally scheduled to do the color commentary on the broadcast alongside Ray Dunlap. However, the race now conflicted with Bodine's duties as co-host of NCWTS Setup with John Roberts. Since Saturday was the 500th race for the Camping World Truck Series, that was a fairly big deal. A sub was needed and FOX Sports ended up going into the XFINITY Series garage and tapped Brendan Gaughan. Interesting choice.
Prior to the command, we heard from pole sitter William Byron, who talked about a tire rub on his qualifying run and decided to drop to the rear. That will be known as mistake No. 1 for the young K&N Pro Series East points leader. Mistake No. 2 was brushing LeMastus on the start, which could have cut a tire. We'll never know if that was so because he plowed into the lap 1 crash that took out Tom Hessert and Sarah Cornett-Ching. Three strikes and you're out; Byron finished dead last.
Having Gaughan in the booth made for a bit of a different feel. He doesn't really have all that much experience on TV but is incredibly enthusiastic. Having said that, I don't think he had very much time to prepare for the broadcast, and it showed. Gaughan flubbed names a bunch of times and was a bit unfamiliar with a number of the competitors.
Despite TV inexperience the XFINITY veteran made some interesting points. One was about Daniel Suarez and the ongoing transition of living and working in a country where English is the primary language. Gaughan pitched the idea of Suarez having a Spanish-speaking spotter at one point, which is interesting. Such a spotter would make it a little easier for Suarez to pick up on terminology and allow him to potentially make quicker moves. I cannot recall any analyst making this argument on a broadcast in the past. It's intriguing, but I'm not sure if Suarez would be in favor of it.
I found the telecast to have a decent amount of racing for position up front. Dunlap and Gaughan were very energetic about the action being presented. They seemed to have a lot of support for the up-and-coming young racers (Travis Braden, Austin Cindric, Suarez, etc.).
Later in the race, though the broadcast wasn't all that great in showing how some of the drivers got to their finishing positions. For example, David Levine finished a close third for his career-best result. He seemed to come out of nowhere in the final laps. Instead, what we saw late in the race was the battle between Ryan Reed and Travis Braden, in addition to another side-by-side contest for what turned out to be sixth between Suarez and Kyle Weatherman. That was about it. You're missing out on some stuff that would be beneficial to the overall telecast when you focus on a few select cars instead of the entire field.
Post-race coverage was about average for an ARCA race for FOX Sports. Viewers saw interviews with race winner Reed and runner-up Braden. There were also checks of the unofficial results and point standings. Finally, there was also a post-race crash involving Cindric. I have no idea what happened there. It looked like Cindric suffered a second tire issue that put him in the wall, but I'm not sure. All that was mentioned is that they didn't know what happened and that was it. Weak. When Cindric had his first problem (he lost the carcass off the left-front tire, which somehow didn't draw a caution), FOX Sports was able to track down a replay to show viewers what happened. The only difference here is that Cindric was leading at the time compared to the finish of the race.
Overall, while just having the broadcast in general was good, it could have been better. I enjoyed having Gaughan. He brings a different style to the broadcast booth. I guess I would describe it as a "conversationalist" type, one that I think he would need to adjust were he to do more races because it did trend towards the cheerleader style at times (in particular toward Braden). However, it's a start. If you didn't DVR the broadcast, there is a replay of the race tonight on FOX Sports 2 at 9 p.m. (according to ARCA, who e-mailed me the information just this morning). Gaughan definitely should because he can use Saturday's race as a learning experience.
From what I could see on Twitter, fans responded positively to Gaughan in the booth. There will be more opportunities for Gaughan to commentate on races in the future (if he wants to) and my desire is for him to be as good as he can possibly be. I think there's great potential here.
I hope you enjoyed this look at the rain-delayed Crosley Brands 150 at Kentucky Speedway. Next week, we'll be back with more motorsports programming. However, given a combination of a cold front and Joaquin, I couldn't tell you what it's going to be right now. Regardless, the truck race in Las Vegas is definitely a go, and so is Petit Le Mans from a soggy Road Atlanta. We should get some enjoyment out of those races despite the odd start times.
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~
"We're going to stay by ourselves, which I think is the best thing we can do. Everybody at TBR works really well together. At times, it might be better to have a second car I feel, but four cars would be like the opposite of Hendrick Motorsports. I think we just need to keep getting better on our own. Maybe at some point, Tommy will want to run a second car. I know they did last year, and if we got the funding and got the people together, that would help us. I'm just glad we're sticking with what we have." - Alex Bowman, on why Tommy Baldwin Racing chose not to merge with BK Racing
Frontstretch Line of the Week
"We're going to stay by ourselves, which I think is the best thing we can do. Everybody at TBR works really well together. At times, it might be better to have a second car I feel, but four cars would be like the opposite of Hendrick Motorsports. I think we just need to keep getting better on our own. Maybe at some point, Tommy will want to run a second car. I know they did last year, and if we got the funding and got the people together, that would help us. I'm just glad we're sticking with what we have." - Alex Bowman, on why Tommy Baldwin Racing chose not to merge with BK Racing
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Beth Lunkenheimer
by Aaron Bearden and Sean Fesko
by Toni Montgomery
by Beth Lunkenheimer
ATHLON SPORTS:
by Tom Bowles
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1993 SplitFire Spark Plugs 500 at Dover was a wreckfest that was slightly out of line with the pre-concrete era at the one-mile oval (the race took 4 hours, 59 minutes to run, roughly a half-hour longer than normal). A quick look on the results on Racing-Reference.info shows that Dick Trickle drove the No. 26 Quaker State Ford for King Racing in place of Brett Bodine. What happened?
Check back Friday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Wednesday's Answer:
Wednesday's Answer:
Q: The 1994 SplitFire Spark Plugs 500 was the last race run at Dover prior to the track being concreted. Mark Martin dominated the latter stages of the race but snatched a defeat with victory in sight. What happened?
A: Martin had dominated the latter stages of the race, but had contact with Ricky Rudd with 25 laps to go that damaged the left front fender. That made Martin's car very tight and allowed Rusty Wallace to run him down from six seconds behind. Coming to six laps to go, Martin understeered exiting turn 4 and went hard into the wall. The Valvoline Ford slid the length of the frontstretch before coming to a halt against the inside wall. The crash can be seen here.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll cover any breaking Sprint Cup news and take a closer look at Sunday's scheduled elimination race at Dover International Speedway (weather permitting).
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a suite of great columns to prep you for this weekend's action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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©2015 Frontstretch.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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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