Friday, April 29, 2016

The Frontstretch Newsletter: McMurray Fastest in Opening Cup Practice

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Apr. 29, 2016
Volume X, Edition LXII

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

What to Watch: Friday


- Today, the race weekend officially gets underway.  Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series teams have taken to Talladega Superspeedway's high .  Meanwhile, the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards has a one-day show.  They've already practiced and qualified today.  The General Tire 200 at Talladega starts at 6 p.m. EDT and airs live on FOX Sports 1.  Be cautious, chaps.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND IN TALLADEGA FROM OUR COLLEAGUE:
 
Aaron Bearden (@AaronBearden93)
 
and our own Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!
~~~~~~~~~~

This weekend's TV Schedule can be found
here.

Top News
by The Frontstretch Staff
 
Jamie McMurray Tops Quiet Talladega Practice
 
During the first of two scheduled Sprint Cup practice sessions at Talladega, there were large packs of cars drafting, but not too many chances were taken.  Jamie McMurray was fastest with a lap of 47.943 seconds (199.737 mph).  Chase Elliott was second fastest, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch.  Read more
Wallace, Tifft Fastest In Talladega XFINITY Practice Sessions
 
The XFINITY Series took to the track for two 55-minute practice sessions.  The first was focused on drafting, while the second was comprised of single-car runs.  Darrell Wallace, Jr. was fastest in the draft, while Matt Tifft was fastest by himself.  Read more
 
Eldora Truck Race Adds Aspen Dental as Presenting Sponsor

On Friday morning, Eldora Speedway track owner Tony Stewart announced that Aspen Dental, a part-time sponsor on Danica Patrick's No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, will serve as a presenting sponsor of the Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora formerly known as the Mudsummer Classic in July.  Read more
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Frontstretch Folio: GEICO 500
by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series travels to Alabama for the second restrictor plate race of the year.  Coverage of the GEICO 500 can be seen on FOX starting at 12:30 p.m. ET while the green flag will fly around 1:20.  It can be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race off pit road during the final caution of the race.  From there, the choo-choo train started chugging.  Earnhardt Jr. led the final 27 laps to take the win. 

Earnhardt Jr.'s win last year was his sixth career win at the 2.66-mile tri-oval, and the first since 2004.  He is the winningest active driver at Talladega.  Brad Keselowski has three career wins, including his first back in 2009.  Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray have two wins each.

All-time, Dale Earnhardt had the most success at Talladega, winning ten times.  The last of his 76 career wins came in the 2000 Winston 500 with his infamous charge from 18th in the final three laps.  Earnhardt Jr. is second all-time, followed by Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with four.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.66-mile tri-oval, 188 laps (500.08 miles
Banking: 33 degrees

Frontstretch: 4,300 feet, banked 18 degrees in tri-oval

Backstretch: 4,000 feet, banked minimal

Grandstand Seating: 78,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 65 mph
Opened: 1969

Website: http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talladegasuperspeedway

Twitter: http://twitter.com/talladegasupers

Remaining Pre-Race Schedule:

Qualifying: Saturday, April 30, 12:30 p.m. on FOX

Say What?!

"Talladega is always known for close finishes and I'm excited to get back. The racing there, you can't really compare it to anything else. Talladega is a special place because it's a historic racetrack for our sport. I remember watching a lot of races there. My dad still has that qualifying record and it's obviously very impressive. It says a lot of him, Uncle Ernie and Uncle Dan, and really everybody who worked on those cars back then. They all went the extra mile to make things like that happen. So, when I think about that, it just takes the respect level that I already have for all that they did with what they had back then, and makes it even greater." - Chase Elliott

"It's cool to get to race some more in the No. 14 and, this weekend, to share it with Tony is going to be great for me. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity. I'm very excited. Talladega is a track that I've been going to for a very long time. I remember watching races there as a kid. It's a place I've always wanted to race. I love superspeedway racing and have had some success there in other series, but I've always wanted to run in a Sprint Cup race there

"[The goal for Sunday is] easy. We want to win. Tony's going to start and then get out of the car at some point and I'll get in. You can make up a lot of ground quickly at Talladega, so I'm not worried about being behind. Of course, I want to get as much experience as I can and learn as much as I can but, at the end of the day, we'll be trying to win the race just like everyone else." - Ty Dillon

"After seeing the speed in our Fords at Daytona, I'm really looking forward to racing at Talladega this weekend. The last couple of weeks have been frustrating because our finishes definitely don't reflect how we've ran for a majority of the race. Anything can happen at Talladega so hopefully we can keep our Fifth Third Ford damage free and be there at the end to contend for the win." - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON FRONTSTRETCH:
by Zach Catanzareti
 
by Mike Neff
 
by Sean Fesko
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: Here's an easy one.  In 1994, Mark Martin ended up in a place that is realistically no longer possible to put yourself in after a crash at Talladega unless something insane occurs.  What happened?

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

Thursday's Answer:

Q: In 2000, Jeremy Mayfield won the pole for the DieHard 500 at Talladega with a lap of 186.969 mph, the slowest Cup pole speed at Talladega since 1974.  What rule change put into effect for that weekend caused that? 

A: After the Daytona 500 in 2002, NASCAR instituted a rule change dropping the plate hole size to 7/8ths of an inch.  In exchange, they allowed the teams free reign on front shocks (NASCAR mandated the shocks for all four corners of the car at Daytona).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have recaps of the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series events from Talladega Superspeedway.  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 commentaries breaking down this weekend's action in Talladega.

-----------------------------
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

--
--
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