THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Feb. 20, 2016
Volume X, Edition X
It's a little hard to tell. Sure, there's some racing imagery in the one-minute piece, but not a whole lot (and even less in the shorter versions). As much as us race fans might not want to admit it, not everyone equates Daytona with racing. Many people simply equate it with the Beach.
-- Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Feb. 20, 2016
Volume X, Edition X
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What to Watch: Saturday- Today is the season opener for the XFINITY Series, the PowerShares QQQ 300. The green flag is scheduled for around 3:50 p.m.
- Right now, Sprint Cup teams are holding their final practice session up until 1:55 p.m. before the Daytona 500. Currently, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is on top of the time sheets.
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This week's TV Schedule can be found here.
This week's TV Schedule can be found here.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Johnny Sauter Takes Win, Christopher Bell Takes Flight in Daytona
Friday night's season opener for the Camping World Truck Series came down to a two-lap sprint. Just after the white flag, Johnny Sauter was able to get past Ryan Truex for the lead. Shortly afterwards, a stack-up occurred that resulted in a spectacular crash which sent Christopher Bell into a series of barrel rolls. Bell was checked out and released from a local hospital late Friday night. The crash gave Sauter the win in his debut for GMS Racing. Truex was second, followed by Parker Kligerman, Brandon Brown and Tyler Young. Read more
Ty Dillon Grabs XFINITY Pole at Daytona
Ty Dillon continues to show that his practice form (see below) is no fluke. Dillon turned in a lap of 49.493 seconds (181.844 mph) to claim the pole for this afternoon's PowerShares QQQ 300, the season opener for the XFINITY Series. Read more
Jimmie Johnson Tops Opening Friday Sprint Cup Practice
In the first Sprint Cup practice session on Friday, most teams decided not to participate. All of the 13 drivers who ventured onto the track did so only in single-car runs. Jimmie Johnson was the fastest of those drivers with a lap of 46.372 seconds (194.089 mph). Read more
Denny Hamlin Leads Toyota Pack in Second Friday Daytona 500 Practice
The second Sprint Cup practice session on Friday saw 30 teams participate in a mix of single-car runs and small packs. The fastest times were grouped by manufacturer. Denny Hamlin turned in the fastest lap at 45.077 seconds (199.658 mph) in a Toyota draft with all three of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and Furniture Row Racing's Martin Truex, Jr. Read more
Ty Dillon Leads 1st Practice of XFINITY Season
Friday morning saw the XFINITY Series teams take to the track for their first official practice session of the season. The session saw a mix of pack racing and single-car runs. In a pack, Ty Dillon turned in the fastest lap of the session with a lap of 46.747 seconds (192.526 mph). During the session, Darrell Wallace, Jr. spun entering turn 3 and hit the wall, forcing the No. 6 team to a backup car. Read more
David Starr, Ty Dillon Top Final XFINITY Practices
Friday afternoon saw the XFINITY Series teams return to the track for two 50-minute practice sessions. Following Darrell Wallace, Jr.'s crash in the first session, racing was mainly limited to single-car runs or small packs. TriStar Motorsports' David Starr was fastest in a small pack in session No. 2 while Daniel Suarez was quickest in single-car runs. In final practice, Ty Dillon was fastest overall in a single-car run with a lap of 49.420 seconds (182.113 mph), faster than any two cars running together. 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.
~~~~~~~~~~The Critic's Annex: "Daytona Day"
by Phil Allaway
Welcome back, race fans. I sincerely hope you're enjoying Speedweeks from Daytona so far.
With today's special edition of the Frontsretch Newsletter, I'd figured that I'd write a short, but sweet piece.
A couple of weeks ago, FOX Sports released their "Daytona Day" ad in an attempt to promote their coverage of the Daytona 500. The ad depicts the day of the Daytona 500 as some kind of holiday where people get together and have fun while (I guess) watching the race.
It's a little hard to tell. Sure, there's some racing imagery in the one-minute piece, but not a whole lot (and even less in the shorter versions). As much as us race fans might not want to admit it, not everyone equates Daytona with racing. Many people simply equate it with the Beach.
The ad appears to be an attempt by FOX Sports to try to make NASCAR appeal to a younger audience. For much of the country, the actions depicted in the commercial are not possible in February. Only the warmest parts of the country can have an open swimming pool this time of year, and a number of those places frown upon having swimming pools at all because of ongoing droughts.
The main gripe is that this commercial, with a few minor changes, could be used for nearly anything. If you weren't a NASCAR fan, you might be a bit hard-pressed to tell that they were advertising the Daytona 500, especially if you saw one of the shorter versions of the ad. It just looks like a party full of twenty-somethings and random images until you see the Daytona 500 logo at the end.
The strange fact of it all is that yes, the Daytona 500 can be considered a big party. Anyone who's camped out at a NASCAR race would probably agree. Unfortunately, you probably won't get the younger crowd that you want in the ad.
Yes, FOX needs to advertise the bejesus out of the Daytona 500. Yes, they need to try to draw in a younger audience. That's obvious. However, the Daytona Day ad wasn't exactly the best way to do it. Heck, I think NBC's ad previewing their return to NASCAR that debuted right after Super Bowl XLIX last year did a better job at drawing in that particular audience. Replacing Kurt and Kyle Busch with actual bushes still cracks me up. It even led to a ridiculous controversy over the gluten passage.
With FOX's ad, you barely even see the cars. A new fan that had little or no knowledge of NASCAR would have next to no idea what the Daytona 500 was. That is not going to help things out.
Thank you for checking out my thoughts on FOX's Daytona Day ad. In the next edition of The Critic's Annex on Thursday, I'll be writing about ESPN's broadcast of the 2000 Marlboro 500 from then-California Speedway. The week after that will see a critique of the K&N Pro Series East Jet Tools 150, which had a very controversial ending that you've likely read about in the past week. It doesn't make much sense to me, but hopefully having the moving pictures will help. Until then, I hope you enjoy the remaining action from Speedweeks.
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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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
by Tom Bowles
by Mike Neff
by Tom Bowles
as told to Zach Catanzareti
~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 2000 Daytona 250, the very first Truck race at Daytona International Speedway, had a number of things in its favor, including a snowstorm socking in part of the Northeast, freeing those viewers up to watch the Friday afternoon race on ESPN. The rule package was a lot different back then compared to today. What did NASCAR do to control speeds?
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
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COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have recaps of the Sprint Cup and XFINITY season openers from Daytona. There will also be an update on the points and any other news that breaks this weekend.
On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a series of post-race analysis pieces, commentaries and features breaking down this weekend's action in Daytona. -----------------------------
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!
©2016 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!
©2016 Frontstretch.com
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