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 16, 2016
Volume X, Edition LXXIII
- Today, practice officially begins for the Indianapolis 500. The track will be open until 6 p.m. Qualifying is this weekend.
- In NASCAR, Denny Hamlin is NASCAR's weekly teleconference guest this afternoon at 3 p.m. If anything of note comes out of that, we will report on it for you at Frontstretch.
- Finally, Jimmie Johnson, Landon Cassill and Josh Wise are competing in the Assault on Mt. Mitchell, a 102.7 mile ride from Spartansburg, S.C. to the top of Mt. Mitchell, the highest point in North Carolina.
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff
Matt Kenseth Holds off Kyle Larson for Dover Victory
Matt Kenseth claimed the victory late after Jimmie Johnson's car refused to shift. From there, he held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson to take his first win of 2016. Larson was second, then Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch. Read more
NASCAR Tweaks All-Star Race Aero Package
On Monday morning, NASCAR announced new rule changes for this weekend's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Cooling fans that generate downforce are now banned. Skew has also been addressed. Read more
Kyle Larson Emerges as a Contender at Dover, Comes up Shy of First Sprint Cup Series Win
While Matt Kenseth ended up winning Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism, the story of the day was Kyle Larson leading laps and giving Kenseth all he could handle for the win. Larson came so close to getting his first win and it seems that it isn't that far away. Read more
Austin Dillon Experiences Brake Issues Once Again, Wrecks at Dover
Austin Dillon had a decent race going on Sunday, but a broken brake rotor put Dillon hard into the turn 3 wall, ruining his day. Additional wall contact and getting hit by Brad Keselowski put an exclamation point on what turned out to be a miserable day. Read more
O'Reilly Auto Parts Moves Title Sponsorship from XFINITY Series to Sprint Cup at Texas
On Monday, Texas Motor Speedway announced that O'Reilly Auto Parts will serve as the new sponsor of the Spring Sprint Cup race at TMS starting in 2017. They will replace Duck Commander, whose three-year deal was completed earlier this season. Read more
Erik Jones Grabs Monster XFINITY Victory at Dover
On Saturday, Erik Jones earned his second victory of the year, and his second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus. Darrell Wallace, Jr. finished a career-best second, followed by Alex Bowman in his debut with JR Motorsports. Justin Allgaier and Ty Dillon rounded out the top 5. Read more
Alex Bowman Impresses in Debut with JR Motorsports
For Alex Bowman, Saturday was a big day. He needed to impress in his first start of 2016 with JR Motorsports. Driving some of the best equipment he's ever had, Bowman produced. After qualifying fifth, Bowman was able to bring the Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet home in third. Read more
Matt Crafton Grabs First Victory at Monster Mile
On Friday, Matt Crafton led 76 of the 200 laps and held off a charging Daniel Suarez to take his first career win at Dover. Behind Crafton and Suarez was Christopher Bell in third, followed by Johnny Sauter and Cole Custer. Read more
Simon Pagenaud Shines Bright in IMS Road Course Win
INDYCAR Announces Labor Day Return to Watkins Glen International
On Friday, INDYCAR announced that a new race at Watkins Glen International on Labor Day weekend will replace the now-cancelled Grand Prix of Boston. Teams will race 60 laps on the 3.37 mile long course. Indy Lights will serve as primary support. The race will still air live on NBCSN. Read more
Graham Rahal Salvages Fourth-Place Result After Post-Quali Penalty
Graham Rahal brought home a fourth-place finish on Saturday, but he had to battle to get it. He had to start in the rear due to a technical infraction in qualifying and had to come through the field with limited interruptions due to yellows. Read more
Conor Daly Pushes Car to the Brink, Scores Sixth-Place at IMS
Saturday ended up being by far Conor Daly's best run of 2016, taking the Dale Coyne entry to a sixth-place finish. That finish came with a balky gearbox and an engine past the mileage limit. Read more
Tony Kanaan, Sebastien Bourdais See Early Exit in Grand Prix of Indianapolis
For Tony Kanaan and Sebastien Bourdais, Saturday's race was over almost as soon as it began. Scott Dixon squeezed Kanaan into Sebastien Bourdais on the run to turn 1, damaging both cars and ending Kanaan's day immediately. Read more
Dean Stoneman Finds First U.S. Victory in Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis
In the primary support at Indianapolis, Andretti Autosport's Dean Stoneman claimed his first-ever Indy Lights victory by less than a second over Santiago Urrutia. Kyle Kaiser was third, followed by Ed Jones and Felix Serralles. Read more
Parker Thompson Holds Serve for USF2000 Indianapolis Victory
Parker Thompson spent most of the USF2000 race at Indianapolis riding behind the pace car. When the green was out, he was never threatened on the way to the win. Victor Franzoni was second, followed by Luke Gabin, Anthony Martin and Jordan Lloyd. 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 Adds to Lead After Rough Dover Race
by Phil Allaway
Kevin Harvick did get some damage in the big crash on Saturday, but it was relatively minor. Harvick was able to trudge home a lap down in 15th. That was enough to expand his point lead to 21 points over Kyle Busch, who was eliminated in the crash and was credited with 30th. Kurt Busch moved up two places to third after avoiding the wreck altogether and finishing fifth. Carl Edwards dropped back one spot to fourth after being eliminated in a crash on the backstretch.
Jimmie Johnson had the lead with less than 50 laps to go, looking for his 11th Dover win. Then, his transmission decided not to shift. The result was the big wreck. Despite the carnage, Johnson's car was minimally damaged. He returned and finished 13 laps down in 24th. Brad Keselowski is now sixth in points despite being in the Big One and hitting a wounded Austin Dillon. Chase Elliott is up to seventh after finishing a strong third on Sunday. Joey Logano, who was also eliminated in the Big One, drops down to eighth.
Martin Truex, Jr. was one of the strongest contenders before hitting Johnson on lap 354. Repairs were made and Truex was able to salvage a ninth-place finish, allowing him to move up to ninth in points. Austin Dillon dropped down to tenth after a tough day with multiple meetings with the wall. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dropped to 11th after crashing out of the race, while Matt Kenseth's win boosted him into the top 12.
Denny Hamlin is up to 13th after finishing a decent seventh on Sunday. Jamie McMurray dropped back to 14th after finishing 21st with a wounded McDonald's Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney and Kasey Kahne, both of whom came home with great finishes on Sunday, round out the top 16.
Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 418, 2) Kyle Busch -21, 3) Kurt Busch -32, 4) Carl Edwards -37, 5) Jimmie Johnson -48, 6) Brad Keselowski -50, 7) Chase Elliott -77, 8) Joey Logano -78, 9) Martin Truex, Jr. -82, 10) Austin Dillon -103, 11) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -104, 12) Matt Kenseth -105, 13) Denny Hamlin -110, 14) Jamie McMurray -122, 15) Ryan Blaney -130, 16) Kasey Kahne -132.
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), Matt Kenseth (Dover)
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: Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism was brought to you by the letter "R" for Rough. We're not even talking about the track surface, which saw its' 43rd Sprint Cup race Sunday. While Matt Kenseth won the race with a relatively clean car, the race probably saw the most bent sheetmetal at Dover in a decade or more. There were some badly banged up cars circulating at the end of the day. - Phil Allaway
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Letter of the Race: Sunday's AAA 400 Drive for Autism was brought to you by the letter "R" for Rough. We're not even talking about the track surface, which saw its' 43rd Sprint Cup race Sunday. While Matt Kenseth won the race with a relatively clean car, the race probably saw the most bent sheetmetal at Dover in a decade or more. There were some badly banged up cars circulating at the end of the day. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: AAA 400 Drive for Autism
compiled by Phil Allaway
"We got real loose that last run and haven't been that loose most of the day. We were quite tight most of the day. I watched Carl (Edwards) earlier in the race use some grip off of turn four in the middle of the track and a few other guys I kind of saw that as they were going by me. Kyle Larson is extremely talented and I knew if I was on the bottom, he was going to be on the top. We got so free, I started working that middle groove and I was able to get just far enough ahead. If he would have snuck outside of me, it would have been over. I had just enough momentum to stay in front of him." - Matt Kenseth, race winner
"We were really good. We were better than Matt (Kenseth) there. A lot of good cars got wrecked which was nice and I knew I was going to be the car to probably beat. I got to second there on the restart and just tried to be patient. I could see Matt was pretty loose in front of me. I was just waiting for him to make a mistake and he did make a couple of mistakes, but it's so hard to pass somebody on the bottom here because they can suck down on your door on exit and slow you down. I was probably a little too patient in the beginning and allowed Chase (Elliott) to get close to us and actually get by me. I don't remember how I got back by him, but I did get back by him and we raced pretty hard there for a few laps and Matt got out a good bit. I didn't think I would catch him, but I got another shot at him at the end and was trying to do all I could to pass him without getting into him. Matt, except for a couple of instances last year, he is probably the cleanest driver out here. I wanted to race him with all that respect and felt like I did a good job. I probably could have got into him in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2 there once and maybe got by him, but I didn't want to do that. Looking back maybe I should have because I could be in the Chase right now, but we will just keep working hard. We are getting some really good cars built at our shop now. We struggled to start the season, but Jamie (McMurray) and I both have been pretty fast here the last few weeks. Hopefully, we can keep it rolling. I know we have a new car for next week and the (Coca-Cola) 600. Try and put it all together and get into Victory Lane." - Kyle Larson, finished second
"It was definitely wild from my view. If the fans didn't get what they wanted to see today then they need to go do something else. That was a heck of a race in my opinion. Obviously, wish we could have come out on top. Matt (Kenseth) and Kyle (Larson) were racing really hard for the lead. I tried to steal one from them. They were a little better than we were, but we worked hard and tried to stay in the ball game today and fortunately came out with a decent finish, just not close enough." - Chase Elliott, finished third
"This was one of those Dover races I don't think anybody will forget any time soon. There was a lot of chaos and we ran really well. Unfortunately we got caught up running second and leading a lot of laps and tore up the car. I guess the car in front of me had a flat tire and it just happened all too quick for me to do anything. It knocked a lot of speed out of our Wurth Ford Fusion but we were still very competitive. I am proud of my guys to recover to finish sixth at the end." - Brad Keselowski, finished sixth
"It was a long day. We got better throughout the day. I don't know what happened to us in that last run, we weren't nearly as good as we were the runs before that. I was confident we would finish better than that but we will have to look back and see what we changed and what happened. Not a bad day for us. It was a good solid run and hopefully we can start stringing together some of these good finishes." - Ryan Blaney, finished eighth
"Our guys did a really good job today. I thought really all weekend, we had a new package, science project kind of deal Friday and yesterday and went with what we know for Happy Hour. At the beginning of the race we were a fifth, sixth-place car and just kept working on it, kept working on it and when we needed to be the best car, I think we were. Just one of those deals, wrong place, wrong time. Frustrating, but we got a top-10 out of it so not too bad. The guys on pit road did a great job fixing it. Just hate that it happened. I wanted to be fourth on that restart, but I didn't want to be fourth that bad. I should have been third so maybe I should have not let the 19 beat us off pit road. I don't know how you can see those things coming. All in all good day, just bad finish." - Martin Truex, Jr., finished ninth
"Sometimes we haven't felt like this season we got the finished we deserved and today we didn't get a finish we deserved but we will take it. The shoe was on the right foot today. It is nice to get a finish like that after not having a great weekend. We were really tight all day. That last run we were pretty fast at the end of it. We will learn from it, come back next time and count our blessings here and take a top-10 happily. I was on the edge of my seat out there for sure. It is a really grueling race track. You can't let your guard down for a second or it will bite you. We saw that in practice and saw that in the race. I am just glad to get out of here without any wounds." - Trevor Bayne, finished tenth
"Yeah, just crazy. It is what it is. I'm happy with the finish. We have got to get better. Definitely we just keep gaining. We've got to keep doing what we are doing and keep persevering here and hopefully we will be where we need to be and meet our goals at the end of the year." - Clint Bowyer, finished 12th
"That was the problem, we couldn't see. When you are stacked up on the restart like that there isn't much to be able to see at all. Unfortunately it looked like the 48 had trouble getting going and it stacked us up. I tried checking up and going to the bottom like we were going to miss it and got hit from behind and that sent me into it more. Now we need a new radiator. We have been the victim of circumstances the last few weeks. It is what it is. I am not going to say it was bad luck. We put ourselves in position to be back there on our pit stop. It is our fault. We have to smarten up and get a little better at every little area. We had a decent car. We weren't the fastest car but we were a top-five car for sure. Things happen." - Joey Logano, finished 22nd
"As soon as I went from second and tried to go to third, I kind of got up into the neutral gate of the transmission and didn't even go to third. It stopped before it ever went to third. And then I tried fourth and third and fourth and eventually I got hit from behind. There was a long pause there where I was trying to, I thought maybe I missed a shift; but it wouldn't go in gear. Martin (Truex, Jr.) was good and patient with me. He gave me a couple of opportunities to try to find a gear and it just locked out and wouldn't go into gear for some reason. It was still that way at the end and I couldn't drive the car and I don't think I'm all that damaged, but unfortunately I lost a shot at winning and I hate to see all those cars tore up." - Jimmie Johnson, finished 24th
"I didn't see much. I was trying to give Kurt (Busch) a little room, it looked like he got choked up and as I looked at the replay it looked like I moved down a little and (Kyle) Larson got underneath me. I don't think he meant to do it, but it surprised me. I didn't know he was that close. We'll just chalk it up to racing, but the hard part is we felt like we were going to win that million bucks for those kids and I felt like we could win this race. It's tough not to be out there." - Carl Edwards, finished 28th (Crashed out)
"I didn't see anything. I just saw cars stopped in front of me and there was just no way we could stop. The spotter was telling me to go low, which I am not sure if that was the right move either. I don't know if there is anything I could have done. I just tried to stop as quickly as I could. There was just no time to stop I guess." - Greg Biffle, finished 29th (Crashed out)
"We either missed something today or we had something break – just something wasn't right. Got really, really, really evil there about lap 230 or lap 250, something like that and I was having a real hard time holding onto it and even making laps. Just trying to check everything out and see if there was anything that was broke, but obviously now there's a lot of things broke and hard to decipher what we can figure out and learn about what we might have had happen there today. Just a tough break. I have no idea what happened. It was just a may lay in front of me and everybody was going every which way. There were a couple games on restarts today from a few people that I saw and guys get hit and get squirrely and as soon as they get hit and get squirrely, it's pretty much everybody piles in after that because you can't checkup that fast and you get run over from behind because everybody is so tight." - Kyle Busch, finished 30th (Crashed out)
"It just stinks we all got stacked up like that. I banged up my hand. I think I may have a broken finger, it is pretty sore and swollen. We worked really hard to get back on the lead lap and we were actually making a lot of progress it just took us all race to get back up on that lead lap. I hate that our day is going to turn out like that. That is a shame. Then to make matters worse I think I have a broken pinky finger. That isn't very many is it?" - Aric Almirola, finished 31st (Crashed out)
"I think it was the brakes. I was complaining about them before that, having to pump them up. I am just frustrated. Had the same issue at Bristol and we come here and we have another issue with the brakes. I'm frustrated, but we had a good car. Our Chevrolet was fast and we had good shot of running top 10, top 5 depending on track position. We will just have to get them next week." - Austin Dillon, finished 33rd
"We know exactly what happened. Something broke on the rear-end; on the rear-end side of it, not the chassis side. So, when it did that, somehow it punctured the oil tank. So that's the oil you smell. You can see coming down pit road just going back and forth, left and right. We just broke a track bar." - Tony Stewart, finished 34th (Broke Track Bar Mount)
"No, not really. It kind of came out of the blue. We had a decent car and were running okay and then it drove off into (turn) one. Either something broke or it blew a right front – we're not really sure. I hate it for my guys – they worked hard. We changed everything going into the race, it's unfortunate. Thank you to Cosmo Motors, the whole team at BK Racing. I'm always grateful for the opportunity and we'll go get them next week." - Matt DiBenedetto, finished 40th (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: A Monstrous Matt Kenseth Comeback
by Mike Neff
The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism
by Amy Henderson
Simon Pagenaud Sits on the Precipice of All-Time IndyCar Moment
Thinkin' Out Loud: A Monstrous Matt Kenseth Comeback
by Mike Neff
The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism
by Amy Henderson
Simon Pagenaud Sits on the Precipice of All-Time IndyCar Moment
by Aaron Bearden
by Tom Bowles
by Bryan Gable
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The first All-Star Race (then simply The Winston) occurred in 1985 during the Coca-Cola 600 weekend. It was a 70-lap sprint, no segmentation necessary at the time, with a mandatory (for multiple reasons) green-flag stop. What did the race have in 1985 that NASCAR failed to institute when they re-introduced a mandatory green-flag stop into the segmented race years later?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Friday's Answer:
Q: Sunday's Cup race will be the 43rd Cup race at Dover since the track was concreted. Prior to that, the track was asphalt. What would be done to the track every year?
A: Cup cars had the knack of tearing up the asphalt at Dover. As a result, the track would lay down sealer on a near yearly basis to help keep the pavement in check. Doing that made the track very slick. The concreting of Dover occurred after four consecutive races with 12 or more cautions, including one race (fall 1993) that had 16 yellows and lasted nearly five hours.
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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 Dover 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 Sunday's action in Dover.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!
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