The Frontstretch Newsletter: NASCAR Unveils Charter System for Sprint Cup; Vickers to the No. 14?

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Feb. 11, 2015
Volume X, Edition V
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What to Watch: February 11-14

- It's time to go racing.  Thursday will see the ARCA Racing Series teams (all 46 of them) take to the 2.5 mile tri-oval for two hours of practice ahead of their 200-mile season opener on Saturday.  Sprint Cup teams will be loading into the garage later today.

 

- Tony Stewart is on the mend from injuries suffered out in the deserts of Southern California.  Stewart-Haas Racing has scheduled a press conference for Friday morning in the Media Center at Daytona International Speedway to announce Stewart's substitute.  However, as you can see below, there are some reports on who that might be.

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Editor's Note: Over the past few days, Frontstretch.com has transitioned to a new hosting company.  As a result, we could not post to the site for most of the last week.  Access for posting was just restored (for me, at least) last night.  As a result, we were unable to post information about Tony Stewart's injury last week to the website.  In addition, we could not send out a Newsletter due to being unable to post news.

 

This will be the final weekly newsletter of the winter.  At the absolute latest, daily newsletters will begin being sent Monday morning as the NASCAR season is back underway.  - Phil Allaway, Newsletter Manager

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This week's TV Schedule can be found here.

 

Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff

NASCAR Announces Charter System for Sprint Cup Series

On Tuesday during a major press conference, NASCAR announced that the Sprint Cup Series will have a charter system in 2016.  36 teams will receive the charters, which lock them into races.  Four additional spots will be "open spots."  Read more

Brian Vickers Expected to Replace Tony Stewart in Daytona 500

Last week, Tony Stewart suffered injuries in a recreational vehicle crash near Glamis in Southern California.  Stewart-Haas Racing is set to announce Stewart's replacement for Daytona Friday afternoon.  However, according to the AP, Brian Vickers will likely be the man in the No. 14 starting this weekend.  Read more

David Gilliland Lands Daytona 500 Ride

Front Row Motorsports announced on their Facebook page Wednesday that David Gilliland will attempt the Daytona 500 in the team's No. 35 Ford, most recently driven by Cole Whitt.  A later clarification from the team indicated that they will not field a car for the Sprint Unlimited for Gilliland, who is eligible for the race based on his Daytona 500 pole.  Read more

Bobby Labonte Reunites with Joe Gibbs Racing for Daytona XFINITY Race

Next week, 2003 Champion Bobby Labonte will make a brief return to Joe Gibbs Racing.  Labonte, who drove for JGR for 11 years in Cup, will drive the No. 18 Toyota in the PowerShares QQQ 300, the season opener for the XFINITY Series in Daytona.  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: The Critic's Annex will return next week.

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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:

Frontstretch 5: Things You Need to Know About the NASCAR Charter System
by Amy Henderson

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

 

Q:  In the early 1990's, Phoenix Racing had a close relationship with Morgan-McClure Motorsports.  That allowed the South Carolina-based team access to great chassis.  In 1993, Jeff Purvis won the ARCA 200 at Daytona going away.  What pedigree did the Chevrolet Lumina that Purvis drove have?

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

Friday's Answer:

Q:  Back in 1997, Joe Nemechek raced the Daytona 500 in a No. 73 Chevrolet with Bellsouth sponsorship.  Why did this occur?

A: In 1997, Nemechek had just sold his Winston Cup operation to Felix Sabates.  Once merged into SabCo Racing, it was re-numbered from No. 87 to 42.  Nemechek had a rather miserable 1996, finishing 34th in points.   Qualifying was worse, as Nemechek only put up the 47th fastest time, meaning that he had to race his way in.  He was unable to, finishing 22nd in his Gatorade Twin 125.

Phil Barkdoll, on the other hand, surprised some onlookers by qualifying 25th quickest.  He was unable to back that up in his Gatorade Twin 125 (the same one Nemechek was in), where he finished 24th.  The qualifying time was good enough to give Barkdoll the 38th starting spot in the Daytona 500 (the last spot in the race on speed).

Sabates made Barkdoll a substantial offer to give his car and starting spot to Nemechek, which Barkdoll ended up accepting.  In the race, Nemechek kept the No. 73 on the lead lap until getting caught up in the final crash of the day with a few laps to go.

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COMING THIS WEEK AT FRONTSTRETCH:

We'll have some more news if and when it breaks.  We will also have recaps of the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 Qualifying.  The offseason is over.  Next week, Frontstretch returns to a regular schedule of articles.

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