Friday, September 30, 2016

The Frontstretch Newsletter: Dover Tries to Get Underway

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Sep. 30, 2016
Volume X, Edition CLXXII
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What to Watch: Friday


- Today, practice gets underway at Dover International Speedway.  Meanwhile, the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge holds their season finale this afternoon at Road Atlanta.  We'll have updates from both Dover and Road Atlanta at Frontstretch.

FOLLOW THE FRONTSTRETCH THIS WEEKEND AT ROAD ATLANTA THROUGH OUR COLLEAGUES:

Phil Allaway (@Critic84)
 
Also, don't forget to follow our 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
 
John Hunter Nemechek Penalized 10 Points

On Thursday, NASCAR released their weekly penalty report.  In it, John Hunter Nemechek was penalized ten points for failing the height sticks after last Saturday's UNOH 175 in Loudon.  He drops to seventh in points as a result.  Read more

Michael Shank Racing Takes First 2 Road Atlanta IWSC Sessions

The Michael Shank Racing team, bidding the Prototype class farewell at Road Atlanta, has dominated so far.  Olivier Pla was fastest overall in the first session, while teammate Oswaldo Negri, Jr. was fastest in the second session.  Read more

Michael Shank Racing Completes Practice Sweep at Road Atlanta

During nighttime practice, Michael Shank Racing kept up their form with the fastest lap of the whole weekend.  Olivier Pla turned in a lap at 73.541 seconds (124.339 mph) to top the charts.  Read more

Scott Maxwell Wins Road Atlanta 150 Pole in Wild Session

Thursday afternoon saw Scott Maxwell win the overall pole for the Road Atlanta 150 in a shortened session.  Both the GS and ST sessions were cut short due to crashes.  Read more

 
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Frontstretch Folio: Citizen Solider 400
by Phil Allaway

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series returns to Dover for the last race of the Round of 16.  Coverage of the Citizen Solider 400 begins with Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. The green should fly around 2:16 p.m.  Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

In last year's AAA 400, Kevin Harvick needed to win to advance in the Chase.  He did that and more, leading 355 of the 400 laps to take a dominant win.  Kyle Busch finished second, followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jamie McMurray and Aric Almirola.

All-time, Jimmie Johnson is the winningest driver at Dover International Speedway, claiming ten victories on the concrete high banks.  Richard Petty and Bobby Allison each have seven wins at Dover, tied for the most on the asphalt version of Dover (the track was converted to a concrete surface for 1995).  David Pearson and Jeff Gordon each have five wins at Dover.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 1 mile oval, 400 laps (400 miles)
Banking: 24 degrees

Straightaways: 1,076 ft., banked 2 degrees

Grandstand Seating: 95,500

Pit Road Speed: 35 mph
Pace Car Speed: 45 mph
Opened: 1969

Website: http://www.doverspeedway.com

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/MonsterMile

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice No. 1: Friday, September 30, 10 - 11:25 a.m. on NBCSN

Qualifying: Friday, September 30 at 3:45 p.m. on NBCSN

Practice No. 2: Saturday, October 1, 10:30 - 11:25 a.m. on CNBC

Happy Hour: Saturday, October 1, 1:30  - 2:20 p.m. on NBCSN

Say What?!

"There is no doubt Dover is my favorite track. I wish we raced there every single weekend. It suits my driving style. I anticipate it to be a tough race since it's a cutoff race and there will be guys driving their hearts out to stay in the Chase. This Lowe's team is due for a win. I would love to get number 11 at Dover this weekend." - Jimmie Johnson

"I think, when I started running Dover, it was quite a bit different than it is now. What I like about it now is that it seems we race all over the racetrack. When we started, you were pretty much stuck around the bottom. The winner was the guy who could get his car working around the bottom. Now, guys are moving around. The guys who are still fastest are still on the bottom but, if your car is a little bit off, you can move around and not be stuck in that one spot.

"I didn't like it in an Indy car at all. It was like driving across a washboard. I remember the first race we ran there, the PI-dash breaking off in the front of the tub and laying in my lap. When you came in and did your pit stop, you have to reset the fuel on that gauge. I had to pick it up off my right leg, hold it with my left hand, hold the steering wheel with my right hand to keep it from turning while the guys were doing the pit stop, then use my other hand to reset the fuel gauge. It wasn't my favorite track in an Indy car, by any means." - Tony Stewart

"A roller coaster is about the best way to describe Dover. That's the feeling you get driving down into the corner. Kind of like Baja 500 when you launch it down into the corner and land. It's one of the very few racetracks where we do talk about the landing. That's pretty unique. I do like Dover. We got a win there on the XFINITY side. It's a fun racetrack and it widens out a lot.

"There was a wild race there earlier this season where it took out a ton of cars on a restart. So, we've got to make sure we stay out of that kind of mess but maybe be able to benefit from it. We had a good finish there earlier this season, so we'll go there and see what we can do to get a win with our CSX 'Play It Safe' team and try to move on to the second round of the Chase." - Chris Buescher

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:

by Zach Catanzareti

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q: IMSA's 1995 visit to Road Atlanta is best known for the crash that ended the careers of Jeremy Dale and Fabrizio Barbazza.  However, their careers weren't the only ones that ended that day.  What else led to a retirement during that race?

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

Thursday's Answer:
 
Q:  Road Atlanta, the site of this weekend's Petit Le Mans, has pit lanes on both sides of the pit straight.  Why is this so?

A: When Dr. Don Panoz acquired Road Atlanta back in the 1990's, the facility was not in top condition. The current support pit lane was the original pit lane, but it was no longer up to scratch in order to hold major events.  A major renovation to the facility was undertaken.  In addition to terracing for seating, the current chicane was created at the end of the backstretch and the new pit road was created on the inside of the pit straight.  It is more modern, wider and flatter.

There is actually a rule that if a certain number of cars are entered in Petit Le Mans, both pit lanes will be utilized.  However, that has yet to come into play.

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COMING MONDAY
In The Frontstretch Newsletter:
We'll have recaps of the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series races from Dover, the Camping World Truck Series' DC Solar 350k from Las Vegas and Petit Le Mans in Georgia.  In addition, we'll also cover other news that breaks.

On Frontstretch.com:
We'll have a series of post-race commentaries analyzing this weekend's action at Dover International Speedway.
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