The Frontstretch Newsletter: Erik Jones to Spend 1 Year with Furniture Row?

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER

Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Aug. 12, 2016

Volume X, Edition CXXXII

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What to Watch: Friday

- Today, XFINITY Sereis teams take to the 2.258-mile road course at Mid-Ohio for practice and qualifying.  The practice sessions will not be televised, but qualifying will be at 6 p.m. on USA Network.

Don't forget to follow our own Twitter page, @Frontstretch as well for updates!

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This weekend's TV Schedule can be found here.

Top News
by The Frontstretch Staff

Barney Visser Expects to Have Erik Jones for Just 1 Season

Last weekend, Furniture Row Racing announced an expansion to two cars for 2017 and the signing of Erik Jones to drive the new No. 77.  However, team owner Barney Visser is pessimistic.  He thinks Jones won't be sticking around for long.  Read more

Austin Cindric Adds 3 Races to Truck Season Schedule

On Thursday, Brad Keselowski Racing announced that 17-year old Austin Cindric has been tapped to drive in three races in a third entry for the team.  The first race will be Bristol next week.  Cindric will also compete at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Talladega (after he turns 18).  Read more

Alon Day Set for XFINITY Series Debut; Planning Rookie Campaign in 2017

This weekend, Israeli racer Alon Day will make his XFINITY Series debut at Mid-Ohio for MBM Motorsports.  That is only the beginning for Day, who is hoping to do a limited schedule this year in order to get approved to run the full 2017 XFINITY Series schedule.  Read more

James Davison Suspended for PWC GT Round 16

On Thursday, WC Vision officials announced that Always Evolving Racing's James Davison has been suspended for GT Round 16 on Saturday at Utah Motorsports Park.  Davison had been deemed to have responsible for starting a crash on Thursday while already on probation.  Read more

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Frontstretch Folio: Mid-Ohio Challenge

by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series takes the weekend off.  Meanwhile, the XFINITY Series makes their second consecutive trip to a road course when the teams take on Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a 75-lap assault.  Coverage of the Mid-Ohio Challenge begins with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. on USA. The green flag is scheduled to drop around 3:50 p.m. Saturday afternoon, rain or shine (within reason).  The race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year, Regan Smith led 19 laps, but he had to execute a bump-and-run in the Carousel at pit-in on the final lap to get past Team Penske's Alex Tagliani to take the win in the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200.  Ty Dillon was third, followed by 2014 winner Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott.

The previous three races at Mid-Ohio have been won by three drivers.  AJ Allmendinger, who was racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series at the time, won the inaugural race in 2013, while Buescher used fuel mileage to win in 2014.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.258-mile road course, 75 laps (169.35 miles, 272.654 kilometers)

Grandstand Seating: n/a
Pit Road Speed: 35 mph
Pace Car Speed: 40 mph
Opened: 1962 (first XFINITY Series race in 2013)

Website: http://www.midohio.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Mid_Ohio

Remaining Pre-Race Schedule:

Happy Hour: Friday, August 12, 11:35 a.m. - 12:55 p.m.  No Television

Qualifying: Friday, August 12 at 6:15 p.m. on USA Network

Say What?!

"I had a pretty good run at Mid-Ohio last year, and we're looking forward to building on that this year.  Road racing is fun – something very different for us. I can't wait to get there and give it another shot." - Ross Chastain

"I've only raced at Mid-Ohio once, but I'm looking forward to going back. After getting our first road-course race of the season under our belt last weekend at Watkins Glen, I feel really confident in our equipment as well as our strategy. Jason Burdett (crew chief) and the guys have done a great job on our road-course program. I feel like we can head to Mid-Ohio with a solid chance of running up front and competing for the win with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevy." - Justin Allgaier

"Mid-Ohio is a very technical track and one where you can easily get into trouble.  The racing surface is very narrow for the most part and thus passing can be difficult.  Our focus this week is to keep our nose clean and stay on track.

"I think I learned a good amount last week at Watkins Glen that hopefully translates to this week at Mid-Ohio.  We are in a points battle with only a handful of races before the Chase so we need to stay out of trouble and focus on running our race." - Dakoda Armstrong

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 ON FRONTSTRETCH:

 

4 Burning Questions: How Could Mid-Ohio Impact Chase Picture?

by Zach Catanzareti

 

Holding a Pretty Wheel: NASCAR's Alliance-Bred Farm System

by Aaron Bearden

 

Friday Faceoff: Should the Chase Get a Road Course?
by the Frontstretch Staff

 

NASCAR 101: 5 Road Courses That Once Had Cup Races
by Kevin Rutherford

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: In the 1980's, the NASCAR Winston West Series (now the K&N Pro Series West) considered road racing to be a very important discipline.  The 1986 season was comprised of only eight races, six on road courses (two being conjunction races with Winston Cup at Riverside) and two 500 lap oval races.  One of the six road races was in Tacoma, Wash. What was special about the Tacoma race for Winston West?

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

Thursday's Answer:

 

Q: In the same CART race at Mid-Ohio back in 1998 where Michael Andretti had his big wreck, Alex Zanardi finished an uncharacteristic 12th, then had his point stripped away after the race.  Why?

A: During the race, Zanardi struggled with handling woes and failed to advance from his 13th starting spot.  In the closing laps, Zanardi was battling with rookie Helio Castroneves for 12th.  Zanardi took a very aggressive move at the end of the backstretch.  Contact was made and Castroneves ended up in the wall.  The crash can be seen here.  Note that Castroneves was still going by Helio Castro-Neves with a dash at the time.

Zanardi got the position and finished 12th.  Castroneves was done for the day.  He was classified 17th.

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COMING MONDAY

In The Frontstretch Newsletter:

We'll have a recap of the XFINITY Series race from Mid-Ohio, in addition to any news that breaks from over the weekend.

On Frontstretch.com:

We'll have a series of commentaries for you to enjoy.

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