THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 9, 2016
Volume X, Edition LXVIII
- Today, teams are back at work preparing for this weekend's action in Dover. If anything of note breaks, we will have it for you at Frontstretch.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Kyle Busch Snags His First Career Win at Kansas Speedway
Saturday night, Kyle Busch took the lead with 36 laps to go and held on to take his third win of the season at Kansas Speedway. Kevin Harvick was second followed by Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Blaney. Busch's three wins in 2016 lead all Cup drivers as Joe Gibbs Racing has now won six of the season's first eleven events. Read more
William Byron Wins Hectic NCWTS Kansas Race
William Byron took the lead late in Friday night's Kansas race and ran off to a four-second advantage. Then, a late yellow flew and caused a green-white-checkered finish. Byron was blown away on said restart, falling back through the pack but benefitted when Ben Rhodes and Johnny Sauter made contact while battling for the top spot. From there, Byron sliced through the wreckage to take his first career victory as a Truck Series rookie. Read more
Johnny Sauter, Ben Rhodes Collide on Last Lap in Kansas Speedway
On the final restart, Johnny Sauter swept past William Byron and looked to be well on the way to victory. However, contact from Ben Rhodes spun Sauter into the wall, denying him a chance at the checkered flag and causing Sauter to temporarily lose his cool. 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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Chasing the Chase: Harvick Regains Lead after Wreck-Strewn Race
by Phil Allaway
Kevin Harvick may not have qualified well Friday but he recovered big time in the race, racing up from 26th to finish second. That was enough for him to keep the points lead but just barely over Kyle Busch. The advantage is down to just four points. Carl Edwards had a much calmer race on Saturday night than in Talladega, bringing his No. 19 home in 11th. That was good enough to keep him third, followed by Jimmie Johnson, who had an off night in 17th.
Kurt Busch finished third on Saturday night, moving him up one place to fifth, just three points behind Johnson. Brad Keselowski is also up one place to sixth after finishing tenth. Joey Logano lost two places in the standings simply due to being in the wrong place when all heck went down late. Getting caught up in the crash dropped Logano to a 38th-place finish. Austin Dillon is up to eighth after another good run to a sixth-place result.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dropped down one place to ninth after running 15th, part of a disappointing performance overall by most of Hendrick Motorsports. Two points back are Martin Truex, Jr. and Chase Elliott. Truex dominated the race, leading 172 laps before a pit miscue dropped him to 14th. Elliott finished a solid ninth, the one highlight within the HMS bunch to push into a tie for tenth in the standings.
Further back, Jamie McMurray is up one place to 12th despite a pit road penalty that dropped him well off the pace at Kansas. Denny Hamlin is back to 13th after his late crash, followed by Matt Kenseth after the veteran earned his first top-5 finish of the year. AJ Allmendinger is 15th and Ryan Blaney rounds out the current 16 Chase contenders.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 390, 2) Kyle Busch -4, 3) Carl Edwards -23, 4) Jimmie Johnson -37, 5) Kurt Busch -40, 6) Brad Keselowski -58, 7) Joey Logano -70, 8) Austin Dillon -83, 9) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -85, t-10) Martin Truex, Jr. -87, t-10) Chase Elliott -87, 12) Jamie McMurray -114, 13) Denny Hamlin -117, 14) Matt Kenseth -121, 15) AJ Allmendinger -125, 16) Ryan Blaney -135.
Race Winners: Denny Hamlin (Daytona), Jimmie Johnson (Atlanta, Auto Club), Brad Keselowski (Las Vegas, Talladega), Kevin Harvick (Phoenix), Kyle Busch (Martinsville, Texas, Kansas), Carl Edwards (Bristol, Richmond)
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.
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Letter of the Race: Saturday night's GoBowling.com 400 was brought to you by the letter "M," for Mistakes. Martin Truex, Jr. was absolutely dominant Saturday night. However, his pit crew failed to get the lug nuts tight, necessitating an extra pit stop which ruined his shot at victory. That has to be crushing to the team's morale but Furniture Row Racing definitely showed that they are a threat moving forward in the 2016 season. - Phil Allaway
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Letter of the Race: Saturday night's GoBowling.com 400 was brought to you by the letter "M," for Mistakes. Martin Truex, Jr. was absolutely dominant Saturday night. However, his pit crew failed to get the lug nuts tight, necessitating an extra pit stop which ruined his shot at victory. That has to be crushing to the team's morale but Furniture Row Racing definitely showed that they are a threat moving forward in the 2016 season. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: GoBowling.com 400
compiled by Phil Allaway
"This is pretty big – man, there's been a lot of rough days here at Kansas, that's for sure. A lot of good ones too, but I just can't say enough about this team and everyone on this M&M's Camry, this thing was awesome tonight. At the beginning and middle part of the race we weren't great, but Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the guys, they just kept working on it. The No. 78 (Martin Truex, Jr.) was probably the fastest car, but we kept ourselves in the game. It was pretty impressive. Everybody can help celebrate with us with Red Nose Day and have some fun. We appreciate everyone supporting Red Nose Day." - Kyle Busch, race winner
"For whatever reason I got tight, I hit a big piece of debris down there about six or seven laps into the run. From that point on I just got really tight. I've just got to thank everybody from this Stewart-Haas team, Jimmy John's, Outback, Busch, Mobil 1, ditech, everybody from Chevrolet for everything that they do. We overhauled this thing this morning to try to get it close. They did a great job. Just have to thank Hunt Brothers, Morton Buildings, Bad Boy, everybody on this team, it's going to be a long week we are going to go do some testing this week and have fun with it." - Kevin Harvick, finished second
"It's our best finish of the year so that's the bright side. I'm sort of happy for Kyle (Busch) and Adam (Stevens, 18 crew chief), but seriously happy for everyone at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). Martin [Truex Jr.] had them covered and I don't know what happened to him in the pits or whatever. We were about a second to fourth-place car most of the day. I thought we were as good as the 18 (Busch) if we could have had the position but it was tough to stick on that bottom. I tried something different there to try to lay back and get the pass, but once they were single file I couldn't go get them. We were just a little off, but these guys had great pit stops and great adjustments and we seem to be getting closer." - Matt Kenseth, finished fourth
"It went smooth all day, really. I thought we were really good early in the race and as the night fell I felt like we lost a little bit of speed comparable to other cars that we were better than in the beginning of the race. They got a little bit better and we got better at the end there, but just needed a little bit more. That last run I thought we were sitting in a good spot. We started fifth and the top two were on old tires and I'm like, 'We might be able to be all right,' but we just couldn't get by those guys and held on. It was definitely a solid day for us and something to build off of." - Ryan Blaney, finished fifth
"It was a solid run for us. We didn't have the speed earlier in the race and we just kept working on it. We had some good lap times. We just needed to get the track position. It was really hard to pass out there tonight. I want to thank all these guys on our American Ethanol team. It was a solid day in the points for us; another good one. So, we'll keep working on it. We get days like that and we're going to have a shot to win before too long." - Austin Dillon, finished sixth
"A little fortunate with [the] eighth-place finish with what happened there at the end. We just kept digging. I caught the wall and we had the fender rubbing the tire. We thought we had it off and it flattened the tire. The guys did a good job; we got lucky it kind of cycled back around and got back on the lead lap. The yellow came out, but overall just a hard-fought night to get a top 10 out of it from where we were yesterday and kind of where we ran throughout the course of the night. The guys had good pit stops. We maximized the day and that is what we can do." - AJ Allmendinger, finished eighth
"Kyle did what he had to do. He put a little block on and I still got underneath him, but the little block kind of opened up a run for the No. 11 car from behind and he put it in there and it just spun all of us out. I'm disappointed, but I don't think there was anything malicious. We're just all racing for wins and that was everybody's shot to win the race." - Brad Keselowski, finished tenth
"I couldn't believe it. Went around [turns] one and two and I was like, 'Wheel's loose.' I kept telling myself that maybe it's not me, maybe it's just shaking because it has tape on it or something stupid. It was loose and I knew it right away. Frustrating, but that's how it goes. We're going to win races for sure – if we keep bringing cars like that, we're going to win some. It's frustrating when you've had it happen so many times in your career. I swear, you watch guys win races that don't have the fastest car or on fuel mileage and all this stuff and it's like, damn. Someday, I'm going to get on one of those or on the other side of one of them. Usually you can dominate and win, but it's tough and it happens. It's part of racing." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished 14th
"I was going in there three-wide. I wasn't letting off and the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) was just too close up there. It wasn't his fault by any means, but we were both trying to drive in there to clear each other and I just got loose and I mean that's crazy there was no contact, but both me and the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) got loose there. Shame – I just screwed us on pit road twice. Our car was a fast car today. Just didn't show it. We were just in the back because I sped twice. I've got to get better on pit lane to give us a chance and then I was just going for it there because I knew our car had some speed. I was on two tires and the guys in front of me were on none or two. I was just going for it. I've got the win and that's part of this format is going for it and that's what we did." - Denny Hamlin, finished 37th (crashed out)
"It just looked like the No. 2 got loose and then the No. 11 got loose. I was hoping the No. 11 would come down the hill and when you're in the smoke you can't see anything. I hit the wall, so I knew where that was and I just kept riding and riding and hoping the No. 11 would come down the hill because I couldn't see and he stayed up there and I got him right in the door. It's unfortunate. Our AAA Fusion was good. We made some good changes on it and actually made it to where I thought it was a possible winning car with all the circumstances going right and with those restarts the way they were, maybe we would have been able to capitalize. It's just racing. Things happen sometimes." - Joey Logano, finished 38th (crashed out)
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 AT FRONTSTRETCH:
Thinkin' Out Loud: Kyle Busch Kills His Kansas Curse
by Mike Neff
The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 GoBowling.com 400
by Amy Henderson
Denny Hamlin's Crash Shows the Best, Worst of Modern Chase Format
Thinkin' Out Loud: Kyle Busch Kills His Kansas Curse
by Mike Neff
The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 GoBowling.com 400
by Amy Henderson
Denny Hamlin's Crash Shows the Best, Worst of Modern Chase Format
by Aaron Bearden
Up to Speed: Kyle Busch's Kansas Victory Puts Him One Step Closer to History
by Summer Bedgood
Pace Laps: Blaney Heats Up, Tiny Truck Teams Totaled & Red Bull Rocked
by the Frontstretch Staff
by Beth Lunkenheimer
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In 1987, Davey Allison won the Budweiser 500 at Dover for his second win in three races. He earned that victory through good pace, but also due to the misfortune of his father. What happened to Bobby Allison's No. 22?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Friday's Answer:
Q: Today, the Circuit de Spa-Francochamps is a completely closed course. However, that wasn't always the case. Prior to 1971, it was comprised solely of public roads. When Formula 1 returned in 1983 after running at Nivelles-Baulers and Zolder since 1972, the track was a mix of public roads and a closed-course section. Name the sections of the course at Formula One's return that were comprised of public roads.
A: At Formula One's return to Spa-Francochamps, the section from just after Stavelot, through Blanchimont, the Bus Stop chicane (apparently, an actual bus stop), the pits, La Source, the charge down the hill, through Eau Rouge and Radillon, then up the Kemmel Straight to Les Combes were comprised of public roads. Those sections, with the exception of La Source and the Bus Stop, were blisteringly fast.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
-----------------------------COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have breaking news from Monday, Tom Bowles gives you a stats breakdown of Kansas in Numbers Game and S.D. Grady returns with Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View.
On Frontstretch.com:
Danny Peters returns with Five Points to Ponder following Saturday night's action in Kansas.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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