Tuesday, June 07, 2016

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Inside The Keselowski-Gordon Squabble

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Jun. 7, 2016
Volume X, Edition LXXXIX

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What to Watch: Tuesday

- We have a shortened week of preparations after Monday's rain-delayed Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400. Teams are back at the shop making preparations to their Michigan cars.  If anything breaks, we'll have it for you at Frontstretch.

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Tuesday's TV Schedule can be found here.
 
Top News
by the Frontstretch Staff

Kurt Busch Relishes First Triumph of 2016 at Pocono Raceway

Monday, Kurt Busch took advantage of a bad move from Chase Elliott to get a boost that not only allowed him to hold off Elliott but also get past Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for the lead with 34 laps to go.  From there, Busch held on and made fuel mileage last to take his first win of 2016.  Earnhardt Jr. was second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Elliott and Joey Logano.  Read more

Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Greg Anderson Win Rain-Delayed New England Nationals

The NHRA, like NASCAR had itself a rainout up in Epping, N.H. for its New England Nationals. Elimination Rounds were postponed to Monday and eventually won by Brown, Ron Capps, and Greg Anderson in the sport's top three classes. Read more

Busch Relishes Pocono Victory

For Kurt Busch, the 2016 season has been defined by consistency. His 12 top-10 finishes have him tops among all Sprint Cup drivers but a lack of wins left him off most critic's lists of top title contenders. Monday, after a stirring victory at Pocono that gave the team confidence perhaps their minds may start to change. Read more

Keselowski Frustrated After Body Modification Penalty

During the early portion of Monday's race, NASCAR forced the No. 2 team of Brad Keselowski to come back down pit road for what they felt was an illegal body modification to the Team Penske Ford. The team was also assessed a green-flag, pass-through penalty in coordination with the NASCAR rulebook. Keselowski, frustrated after the incident was critical of both NASCAR and the FOX broadcasting crew which had incorrectly assumed officials had penalized the team earlier this season (Las Vegas) for the same infraction. Read more

Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick Wreck

The biggest incident of Monday's Pocono event occurred when Tony Stewart simply lost control of his No. 14 Chevrolet exiting Turn 1. The resulting wreck took out teammate Danica Patrick among several other drivers; Stewart, cleared of injury at the media center ducked out the back door and refused to speak with reporters. Read more

Entry List: FireKeepers Casino 400

During Monday's Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400, NASCAR released the entry list for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan.  40 cars are entered; it's all the usual teams that have been competing each week.  The only changes of note see Michael McDowell return to the No. 95, replacing Ty Dillon while Jeffrey Earnhardt returns to the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford after a one-race break to put Jeb Burton in the seat.  Read more

Entry List: Menards 250

Monday, NASCAR released the entry list for Saturday's XFINITY Series race at Michigan International Speedway. A short field of 39 teams are currently entered.  The biggest change in the field sees Justin Marks return to the No. 42 in place of Saturday's winner Kyle Larson for Chip Ganassi Racing.  Read more

Entry List: Rattlesnake 400

Monday, the entry list for Friday night's 400-kilometer race for the Camping World Truck Series at Texas Motor Speedway was released.  34 trucks are currently entered, meaning that only two drivers will fail to qualify. Among the changes is Timothy Viens behind the wheel of the No. 86 truck normally driven by Brandon Brown.  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 Continues to Lead, Loses Part of Advantage to Teammate
by Phil Allaway

Kevin Harvick had an up-and-down day at Pocono.  He chose an alternate pit strategy and stopped to top off under the final caution.  However, everyone else that stayed out except Jamie McMurray made it to the finish.  As a result, he had to charge just to finish ninth.  That cost him part of the points lead to teammate Kurt Busch, who emerged victorious; the margin closed to just 25 points.  Brad Keselowski, meanwhile is up three positions to third after his top-3 finish Monday.  Carl Edwards ran eighth and is exactly where he was in reference to Harvick prior to Pocono.  However, Edwards' eighth-place finish was enough to move him up one position to fourth in points.

Average finish-wise, Pocono is one of Kyle Busch's worst tracks, although his performance Monday didn't necessarily show it.  However, Busch's crash late dropped him to a 31st-place finish, dropping him another spot in the standings to fifth. It would have been more if Jimmie Johnson didn't crash late in the race.  Johnson's 35th-place result dropped him three places from third to sixth, one point behind Kyle Busch.  Chase Elliott's fourth-place performance, part of a streak of 11 straight top-20 results moved him up one place in the standings to seventh.  The rookie has climbed within two points of Johnson in the battle for best Hendrick Motorsports team in the standings. Joey Logano also gained one position and sits eighth after finishing fifth on Monday.

After dominating Charlotte, Martin Truex, Jr. came back to earth Monday.  The defending Pocono champ had contact with Matt DiBenedetto on pit road, then had a valve stem get knocked off during a stop.  Truex's 19th-place finish dropped him two places back down to ninth.  Matt Kenseth rounds out the top 10, the July 2015 Pocono winner running a quiet seventh during the race.  

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gained two places to move into 11th on the strength of his runner-up finish.  He is now just one point from entering the top 10.  Denny Hamlin fell back late in the race and finished 14th, dropping a place to 12th in points.  Austin Dillon dropped as well, down to 13th after having a brake rotor fail entering turn 1.  Given the circumstances, crashing out of the race is the best you could hope for but the second crash in the last three races now leaves the third-year driver more vulnerable to missing the Chase.  

McMurray, also squarely on the Chase bubble ran out of fuel on the last lap at Pocono and ended up finishing 17th.  It kept him from making any more gains on Dillon.  By virtue of his tenth-place finish, Ryan Blaney broke the tie with Ryan Newman (who wound up 12th) and has sole possession of 15th in the standings; that duo rounds out the current field.

Point Standings (1-16): 1) Kevin Harvick 490, 2) Kurt Busch -25, 3) Brad Keselowski -48, 4) Carl Edwards -53, 5) Kyle Busch -74, 6) Jimmie Johnson -75, 7) Chase Elliott -77, 8) Joey Logano -80, 9) Martin Truex, Jr. -87, 10) Matt Kenseth -108, 11) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -109, 12) Denny Hamlin -118, 13) Austin Dillon -142, 14) Jamie McMurray -148, 15) Ryan Blaney -150, 16) Ryan Newman -152.

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), Martin Truex, Jr. (Charlotte), Kurt Busch (Pocono)
 
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at ashland10@mail.com.
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Letter of the Race: Monday's Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400 was brought to you by the letter "F," for Fuel Mileage. Despite all the on-track incidents out there, yet another Pocono race came down to fuel mileage.  Everyone was forced to pit outside of the pit window for their final stops of the day.  Seems to happen in at least one of the Pocono races each year. - Phil Allaway
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Quotes to Remember: Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400
compiled by Phil Allaway

"It was a tough call.  I didn't think we would get the race in yesterday evening, but the track really would have been fast.  Today, the sun came out kind of like a typical Sunday here in Pocono.  We had to have the short run speed.  I mean, I had a restart that I executed perfectly to get the No. 24 and the No. 88.  It is amazing how the team put me in position.  I had to do my job to save fuel. Heck, there is still more Sunoco in the tank.  Let's keep going until we run out." - Kurt Busch, race winner

"Yeah, it was a good run for us.  I should have been able to hold that No. 41 (Kurt Busch) off on that final restart.  Me and the No. 24 (Chase Elliott) were racing pretty hard and it gave the No. 41 the opportunity to get a run on us.  I should have been able to defend that a little bit better.  If I could have got in front of him I don't think he would have got by us.  The car wasn't all we hoped it would be, but it was good.  They worked on it and improved it.  We were real tight starting the day and we just kept freeing it up.  We got it pretty decent at the end, but still not where we want to be.  We will work on it and come back and try to do a little better job the next race here." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished second

"It was a long day, but overall a decent weekend for the Miller Lite Ford. It wasn't really two pit penalties, it was two NASCAR penalties and I'm not sure I really know what happened there. The team guys can probably give you a better answer, but we fought back really well. At the end I think we were capable of winning the race with a really fast car, even with the right side door torn up. I guess we had a little contact there when the 48 was spinning, so it shows how fast we were today. We had great pit stops, but just didn't bring home the win. But we're really close and been really strong and consistent lately, which is something we're proud of." - Brad Keselowski, finished third

"They need to get some people that aren't inbred to the sport and own teams and have internal knowledge, because that is pretty crappy. It is what it is. It's not that I don't like Jeff Gordon in the booth, it's just that you need to have people in the booth that don't own teams or have commercial interests to the sport because they say things that are very biased." - Keselowski, on Jeff Gordon's commentary

"I don't know; I feel like we had a car that could do it today.  I wish I had been just a little more patient behind Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.).  I felt like I made a big mistake there in the Tunnel (Turn) and it gave Kurt (Busch) a big run.  Biggest thing is just learn and just be really proud that we had a super-fast car, a car that could lead all day and a group of guys that are willing to fight to try to get to Victory Lane." - Chase Elliott, finished fourth

"We had a great race car. Just had really, really poor restarts and if I did have a good restart, then there was like somebody getting checked up in front of me and I'd lose more spots. I just gave them all up on restarts. Honestly, I think we had a car that could challenge for the win. I just couldn't figure out how to get to Turn 1." - Matt Kenseth, finished seventh

"I knew we were going to be close on fuel, so I just started saving a lot and hoping the other guys would run out and we'd have enough to make it to the end. So, I only gave up one spot there to the No. 21 (Ryan Blaney). We would have run 10th if I didn't save as much. But, I had it in the top 10 and could have been better than what I thought we'd finish; I think we were 11th and that's still not bad. We were pretty tight off (Turn) 1 and especially off (Turn 3). So, my runs on the frontstretch were terrible. Oh well, we kind of fought that in practice and we made it a little bit better for Turns 1 and 2; but in (Turn) 3 we were still bad. We'll go to Michigan next week with a different package." - Kyle Larson, finished 11th

"They just started wrecking in front of me so I went low to miss them and it looked like the No. 10 shot down the racetrack and clipped my right rear and just hooked me into the fence. I didn't really see what started the wreck but it is just a shame when you don't get through them." - Landon Cassill, finished 36th

"Our brakes failed.  We knew it was going to happen.  We sat it happen to the No. 27 (teammate, Paul Menard); we knew it was a problem after Dover.  That is the third time. Hopefully, we figure out how to fix it." - Austin Dillon, finished 37th (crashed out)

"We had a really rough start to the race in the first place. (Martin) Truex (Jr.) was pulling out of his pit stall and we were coming in and there was some sort of miscommunication there and I feel bad for him. We tore our car up there and tried to fix it – got it where it was driveable and going into one something broke or not sure what happened. It was probably something damage related and we went and killed the wall. It's been a rough streak here, but we're still appreciative of Toyota and E.J. Wade Construction on the car here – newer sponsor. I hate that we can't get any luck. Hopefully, we'll get on track soon." - 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 ashland10@mail.com
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Today's Featured Commentary
Jacking Around the Rulebook in NASCAR
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

Every once in awhile, it seems that the head office of NASCAR gets a little something stuck in their craw, and they decide to make a federal case out of a particular violation of the ever-changing rules book.  This past week, they suspended three crew chiefs in the Sprint Cup Series.  Brian Pattie of the No. 16 team was suspended for two races and fined $50,000 for unapproved body design found during post-race inspection.  Randall Burnett from the No. 47 team and Tony Gibson out of the No. 41 garage were both issued P3 penalties which included missing yesterday's Pocono race.  Both teams violated the rule which involves having five lug nuts secured at the end of the race.

What strikes me as odd about the suspension of crew chiefs when lug nuts are missing or inappropriately attached to the vehicle is that six months ago, NASCAR couldn't care less if the lugs were even present.  Now, teams are being materially penalized in a manner that could very well negatively affect their overall performance over an issue that the sanctioning body didn't think mattered in the least before some drivers started squawking.

That age old consistency issue continues to lurk in the background of our sport, doesn't it?

On Monday, when Brad Keselowski brought his No. 2 Team Penske machine down pit road for some tires during the Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400, he was shown the black flag.  Why?  The quick answer is his jackman made some "unapproved body modifications" to his Ford.  During the replay, you could clearly see the pit crew member slam his body into the sheet metal panel directly in front of the right rear wheel well. The result was a sizable ding in the door, which could improve the performance of the car.

So, they had to bring the Miller machine back down pit road and pop out the dent as best they could.  Once the panel was more in keeping with its original shape, the team was gestured to return to the track.

My problem here is that clearly the No. 2 car no longer met the specs of the inspection bay, and got into that shape through tampering by a crew member.  Somehow taking more hammers, pop rivets and power tools to a highly technical design didn't seem like it was actually restoring the shape of the car to be competition ready.  In fact, the pit road penalty ultimately resulted in Keselowski crossing the checkers in third place. No...not much of a penalty at all.

Upon further reflection, both door panels on the No. 2 machine were crushed in a similar manner at the conclusion of the Las Vegas race where Bad Brad actually won.

So, let's put these two penalty stories into perspective:

1.) Miss a lug nut that nobody was missing at the beginning of the season and lose your competitive advantage on top of the pit box for a race.

2.) Actively sculpt your car into a shape during the race that side-steps the inspection process, wave a magic wand over it with a NASCAR official watching you and finish third -- or possibly win.

I am usually struggling to keep up with the masters of the NASCAR series, but I am truly baffled by their latest decisions.  While the current progressive penalty system appears to be crafted in a manner that is fairer to the competitors than the old whimsical manner of the good ol' days, what is considered worthy of a penalty in the first place remains as elusive in explanation as ever.

How long do you think it will take before a jackman carving holes in the side of the car will result in a real penalty?  Years? Minutes? One just never knows these days.

S.D. Grady is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
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Numbers Game: Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400
by Tom Bowles

0
Laps led by pole sitter Brad Keselowski at Pocono. He was passed on the first lap by teammate Joey Logano, wound up with those two pit penalties early and never climbed back up to lead the race. 

1
Top-15 finish for Danica Patrick this season in 14 races. She was involved in a crash Monday at Pocono that involved teammate Tony Stewart and finished 32nd.

2
Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolets that occupy the top 2 in Sprint Cup points: Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch.

4
Second-place finishes by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the most of any driver this season.

4
DNFs this season by Matt DiBenedetto and Cole Whitt, both of whom failed to finish Monday at Pocono. That's tied for the most for any driver in the Sprint Cup Series this season.

7th
The current position in the point standings of Chase Elliott. That's the highest of any driver this season who has yet to win a race.

7th
The highest finishing position of any Toyota at Pocono (Matt Kenseth) -- the worst performance for the manufacturer in any 2016 Sprint Cup race. 

10
Cautions Monday at Pocono, the most for this event since 2008 (when it was 500 miles).

12
Top-10 finishes by Kurt Busch in 14 races to lead the series. At this time last season Busch had only competed in 11 of 14 events after a domestic violence incident resulted in a three-race suspension to start the season.

14
Lead changes at Pocono, the fourth straight Cup race in which there's been less than 20.

Tom Bowles is the Editor-in-Chief of Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at tbowles81@yahoo.com.
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by Tom Bowles

by Sean Fesko

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: The 1989 Miller High Life 400 at Michigan International Speedway was a very tough race for ARCA veteran Bill Venturini.  What happened to put the owner/driver out for the day and in serious pain?

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

Friday's Answer:

Q:  In 1994, Michigan International Speedway hosted their typical three NASCAR races (two for Winston Cup and one Busch Grand National race) in addition to the Marlboro 500 for CART.  However, there was one more race that was on the docket on a fourth race weekend.  What was it?

A: The fourth race weekend at Michigan featured the GM Teamwork 300, a 150-lap race for the ASA AC-Delco Challenge Series, won from the pole by Bob Senneker.  This event was the final appearance at Michigan for the Midwestern short track series.  Most of the race can be seen here.
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COMING TOMORROW
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have more NASCAR news to report.  Meanwhile, Mark Howell returns with the Professor of Speed column.

On Frontstretch.com:
NASCAR experts from around the country weigh in on the best drivers in the series right now as our weekly power rankings feature, The 10 takes center stage.
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