The Frontstretch Newsletter: June 20th, 2011

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 20th, 2011
Volume V, Edition CXVII

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Sprint Cup Race Recap: Hamlin Claims Michigan Victory
by Vito Pugliese - (Written Matt McLaughlin-style)

 

The Key Moment

The caution flag on Lap 192 for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s "blowed out" right front tire brought the leaders to pit road, where Denny Hamlin's No. 11 FedEx Ground team beat leader Carl Edwards out of the pits, as well as Edwards' Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth. Kenseth not taking off on the ensuing lap 196 restart didn't help matters any for the No. 99 Aflac Ford driver – who had all but checked out leading up that. That left Hamlin out in front, fending off a challenge from the No. 17 and heading to victory.

 

In A Nutshell

Unless it's raining, don't expect a lot of cautions at Michigan International Speedway.  The final yellow brought Junior Nation to its knees, and ultimately the Blue Oval in their own backyard.

 

Dramatic Moment

Friday morning, when all three Joe Gibbs Racing entries had their oil pans seized by NASCAR.  The granite crankcase covers were the talk of the town all weekend, citing Toyota's desperate attempt to find a way to match Ford's FR9 firebrand on the big two-mile oval.  It would prove to be irrelevant in the end, though; Hamlin won and teammate Kyle Busch finishing third in their JGR Camrys.

 

What They'll Be Talking About Round the Water Cooler This Week

Has last year's title bridesmaid and preseason prognosticator pick Denny Hamlin and company finally come full circle?  With the first win of the 2011 season at MIS, Hamlin and Crew Chief Mike Ford have served notice that they have picked up where things left off last season.  A total turnaround has been realized from the team, who just a few short months ago was rumored to be swapping pit boss Mike Ford with No. 20 Home Depot leader Greg Zipadelli.

 

As Hamlin told me on Friday, "You switch us and we'd run worse for a long time.  So I feel like he's the guy that can win me a championship – and multiple championships in the future – and I have that team with me right now.  There's no way it would even get past me.  It would never happen."

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Michigan International Speedway is slated for a repaving following the August race later this summer.  Pit road is the first to go, which will begin being unearthed by the time you are reading this.  Yes, Michigan winters are cruel, unusual, and perform unspeakable acts of horror against asphalt; however, this is one track that seems to be fine the way it is.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on Friday, upon hearing the news, seemed taken aback by the prospect.  "They oughta take all that extra asphalt and send it up to... Pocono!," he said in response.

 

But with all of the talk about aero tightness, difficulty in passing, and tires that lay down rubber and slime the track up, I am a little concerned how adding grip and an estimated 2 mph faster lap times by track engineers will "benefit" the speedway. Chicagoland is bad enough; a second one-groove wide, auto-Ambien is not what needs to be done to a track we go to twice a year. 
--

As wide as MIS is, sometimes drivers still find a way to run out of room.  Such was the case with less than 30 laps remaining when Hendrick Motorsports Teammates Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. tangled on the exit of Turn 2, sending Dale Earnhardt, Jr. into the wall.  The resulting damage led to a blown right front tire and a terse reaction from Earnhardt, Jr. following the race.

 

On the TNT Broadcast, Junior said, "I don't like putting up with carelessness" and "that just really pissed me off what happened out there."

As I made my way to Martin's hauler, he was explaining that the car picked up a push off of the turn, and he made every effort to keep from washing up into his teammate.

 

"I had my front wheels cut and I let off the gas, and that's all I could do at that point," he said.  "It was my mistake."

 

Martin, long respected as just about the cleanest and most fair driver in the series, reiterated it was in no way deliberate, intentional, or premeditated.

 

"I don't have a history of having problems," he said.  "I think we'll get it sorted out.  I feel like I give everybody on the racetrack plenty of respect.  I made a mistake."

 

As he walked away from his car and stack of tires next to his trailer, Martin quickly darted over to the No. 88 hauler, crawling under the AMP Energy Chevrolet as it was barely four feet off the ground, being loaded into the top of the transporter to gain entry to clear up any misunderstandings with his teammate.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was leaning against a counter in the trailer as crew chief Steve Letarte looked on.  Martin was explaining what happened in the incident, while Junior was receptive; nodding and smiling while discussing the situation.

The conversation lasted for little more than minute, with Martin exiting and leaving the track.

 

It was later reported on SBNation.com  that Earnhardt, Jr., had accepted Martin's apology.

 

"Absolutely, yeah," he said.  "Mark wouldn't lie to me."

 

"I was just pissed off at the end of the race – just mad," he said.  "Cause I want to finish where I'm supposed to finish, and that didn't happen today, so I was real PO'd about it.  But Mark came [and] gave me a good explanation.  I believe it, and that's the end of it."

The on-track accident was just that – an accident.  It was reminiscent to a similar incident at Daytona in July of 2009 when Martin collected former protege Matt Kenseth exiting Turn 2; in that case, the car pushed and took off on him.  Whatever it was, don't expect ill feelings to linger; it's a far cry from the Denny Hamlin/Kyle Busch dust up at the 2010 All-Star race with Kyle threatening to, "kill that mother******" after Hamlin squeezed him into the wall in the closing laps.
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For all of the fear of a Ford weekend at MIS, it didn't exactly come to pass.  With all the talk of how Ford has the baddest piece in town, the Toyotas were not exactly hurting for power on Sunday, either.

 

From my vantage point atop pit road, the Camrys were seemingly packing a little something extra this weekend.  I routinely saw the No. 18, 4, 11, and even the 00 pull out and execute passes down the front straight that no other make/model/or driver was able to muster all day long.  It wasn't just drafting, side drafting or getting a run off of Turn 4.  They were making some steam in a straight line.

 

Granted, Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards combined to lead for a total of 115 laps; but as we have seen in many races this year, he who gets out front first, wins in the battle of track position.

 

The Hindenburg Award for Foul Fortune

 

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?  That would be an easy one.  How about David Ragan?  His car was damaged on pit stops on lap 29 by – wait for it – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who seemed rather nonplussed about the crumpled fender of the UPS Ford.  Many had picked David Ragan to break through this weekend and win his first Sprint Cup race, which may not prove to be needed for him to keep his seat in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Ford.

 

It could be worse – Michigan native Brad Keselowski had a rough go in front of the hometown faithful (well, an hour away…close enough), having multiple encounters with the walls of MIS en route to a 25th-place finish.

 

Greg Biffle and the No. 16 team once again found a way to take the fastest car in the field, lead the most laps, and still finish outside of the Top-10 with it.  In baseball for relief pitchers, Blown Saves is a statistic field; if there was one for auto racing, Biffle and the No. 16 team would be the resident gas can of NASCAR.  Which is cruelly coincidental, seeing as they also have had a propensity this year to not fully fill the fuel cell.

 

Another week, another mishap at the end of the race.  Jeff Burton lost a gear on a restart on lap 164 - I actually heard it digest itself coming up to speed.  Things got off to a rough start on Friday as well in Happy Hour when Burton's car slowed exiting Turn 4, and was tagged by David Ragan.  Burton watched as his team scrambled to repair the lower quarter panels and rear fascia with his hands on his hips, able only to shake his head in disbelief and seek refuge in his transporter.

 

Kasey Kahne had a top-5 run in hand until his team calculated fuel a little too closely and the car stalled on pit road.  Starved of fuel, the team lost a lap in the process of trying to get it to refire.  Still, whoever ends up in the No. 4 car next year has a stout piece to work with – that is, a team and car that is capable of winning on any given weekend.

 

The Seven Come Fore Eleven Award for Fine Fortune

 

The best run you probably never saw or will hear about – rookie Landon Cassill's 12th-place effort in the No. 51 James Finch-owned Chevrolet.  Cassill finished where he started, running as high as tenth in the early going.  Cassill's previous best showings were a pair of 24th-place finishes this season at Auto Club Speedway and last weekend at Pocono.

 

Carl Edwards might feel like he had the ladder kicked off the side off the house as he was climbing onto the roof with the lead he had in the late going, but with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s troubles today, coupled with Kevin Harvick brushing the wall with a handful of laps remaining, he extended his points lead to 20 over Harvick and 27 over Earnhardt, Jr.  Granted, the points lead doesn't mean a whole lot until the Chase starts, but it puts all others on notice as to who they will have to contend with for the title this fall.

 

Forget Halon Systems and kill switches; Kyle Busch's No. 18 Snickers Toyota apparently needs a defibrillator as well.  Busch was complaining of chest pains and having shortness of breath during the race, and felt like he was running a marathon.  Busch gutted it out, though, and drove through the field up to a third-place finish.  His only lament was not being able to run those trick oil pans that were confiscated on Friday.

 

So What's My Points?

With all the Wild Card talk that has sprung up anytime anybody wins a race, let's take a look at the points to see who really has a chance at putting something together.

 

The gap from Carl Edwards to Kurt Busch in seventh is 41 points.  I am of the opinion that the drivers in those positions in between are safe – Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt Kenseth.

 

Ryan Newman in eighth trails by 76 points, with less than 40 points separating him from Mark Martin in 14th. Things are wide open from seventh to 14th, with Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin the most likely to make it based on pure performance potential.  Jeff Gordon has two wins, but has been wildly inconsistent looking like the "Wonderboy" of the late 1990s one weekend, then mid-pack the next.

 

Clint Bowyer has shown flashes of brilliance but has also had some bum Burton-esque luck.  Tony Stewart has been at best a seventh-place car, but usually follows that up a week later with a mid-pack result.  Mark Martin has been snakebit with either good cars that, like a tornado to a trailer park, are sucked up into wrecks not of his doing, or pit strategy that seems him stuck in traffic at the end of an event and unable to advance.

 

This group of drivers from seventh to 14th is where the movement in the points is going to come from down the summer stretch – as it has been virtually every year we've had a Chase format, or whatever points systems is being ran up the flag pole at a given time.  I still fail to see how the one-point-per-position system changes anything, other than appease those who can't count by five.

Vito Pugliese is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at vito.pugliese@frontstretch.com.
 
Tracking The Chasers:  Edwards Expands His Advantage as his Adversaries Falter

by Garrett Horton
 
Carl Edwards was able to rebound from a season worst 37th-place finish at Pocono last week by coming home in fifth.  Edwards looked poised to win his second race of 2011, leading with under 15 laps to go when a caution sent everyone to pit road.  The No. 99 crew lost Edwards two spots, and would lose two more on the final restart.  Still, with his two closest competitors in Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson having problems, Edwards' point lead went from six to 20 points over the new second-place driver Kevin Harvick.

 

Harvick, who won the most recent race at Michigan, was a top-10 car all day until he scrapped the wall late in the going.  The damage was minimal, but it was enough to send him outside the top-10.  While his 14th-place finish was surely disappointing, it was good enough to move him up to second in the standings.

 

Much like Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made a solid charge to the front, but ended up hitting the wall in the late stages.  Teammate Mark Martin didn't give Junior any room coming off Turn 2, sending him into the wall.  Laps later, Earnhardt would cut down a tire, ruining what had been a decent day until then.  He ended the day in 21st, but remains third in the standings.

 

Kyle Busch finished third for the second consecutive week.  Busch was the car to beat in the second half, but had an uncharacterisic poor jump on the second to last restart.  Busch was never able to get back to the lead, but he did move up one spot in the standings to fourth.

Five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson brought out the first caution of the race after spinning out off of Turn 2 on Lap 8.  While it looked harmless, Johnson ground his front sway bar off the car while trying to get back to the pits.  Replacing the piece under caution cost the team two laps.  They were never able to make up the laps, and finished 27th.  It cost them in the points as well; Johnson fell three spots to fifth overall.

 

Matt Kenseth nearly picked up his third win of the year despite once again having to overcome fuel issues.  His second-place effort was his fifth top-5 in 2011 and leapfrogged Kurt Busch to sixth in the points.  For Busch, after starting on the pole for the third straight week, he had a top-5 car for the majority of the event.  Unfortunately for him, the handle went away on the Shell Pennzoil Dodge, and finished just outside the top-10 in 11th.  He is tied with Kenseth in points, but Kenseth owns the tiebreaker because of his two wins.

 

By finishing sixth, Ryan Newman jumped up two spots to eighth in the standings.  It was Newman's seventh top-10 effort for the year, but is just two points ahead of 11th-place Tony Stewart, who fell out of the top 10.

 

Denny Hamlin not only picked up a victory that likely will be good enough for a wild card spot, but he moved in to the top-10 in points as well.  His first victory of the year moved him three positions to ninth overall.

 

Clint Bowyer rounds out the top-10 after finishing eighth.  Bowyer was nowhere to be seen all day, running outside the top-20 for a large portion of the contest.  Timely cautions and good pit stops at the end allowed the Richard Childress driver rally for a top-10 result.

 

Point Standings: 1) Carl Edwards 532; 2) Kevin Harvick -20; 3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr -27; t-4) Kyle Busch -29; t-4) Jimmie Johnson -29; t-6) Matt Kenseth -41; t-6) Kurt Busch -41; 8) Ryan Newman -76; t-9) Denny Hamlin -77; t-9) Clint Bowyer -77.

 

Wildcards:  Tony Stewart (11th in points, zero wins), Jeff Gordon (12th in points, two wins).

 

Note:  While Brad Keselowski and Regan Smith both have victories this year, neither would make the Chase because they are not in the top-20 in points.  In order to qualify as a wildcard driver, you must be 20th or higher in the standings.  Keselowski is currently 22nd, while Smith is 29th.  Also, Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne is not eligible for the Chase because he is not running for Sprint Cup points.

 

Tracking The Top 35:  Wood Brothers Give Themselves A Cushion

 
Trevor Bayne made his first Sprint Cup start since Talladega in April, returning to the Wood Brothers No. 21 ride.  It was the team's first start since Charlotte, and it came at a good time - going into Michigan, the organization had just two points over 36th-place in owner points.  However, thanks to a very strong outing by Bayne, who finished 16th, the Wood Brothers are now 23 markers ahead of Robby Gordon Motorsports, who had yet another poor outing and parked after lap 80 with "vibration" issues.

 

However, Robby Gordon Motorsports does have an ace up their sleeve for next week; Gordon has always been fast at Infineon Raceway, winning for RCR in 2003 and plans to run the distance there this Sunday.  Gordon also put up strong runs in 2001, where he nearly won for Ultra Motorsports before getting caught up with a lapped Kevin Harvick and losing out to Tony Stewart.  Gordon also finished second last year after Marcos Ambrose infamously stalled under yellow.

 

Top 35 Summary:

 

31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Gilliland), +76 ahead of 36th place.
32) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), +53 ahead of 36th place.
33) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Mike Bliss), +45 ahead of 36th place.
34) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), +41 ahead of 36th place.
35) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 – Trevor Bayne), +23 ahead of 36th place.
36) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 – Robby Gordon), -23 behind 35th place.
37) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 – Andy Lally), -25 behind 35th place.
38) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 – Travis Kvapil), -28 behind 35th place.
39) Front Row/MaxQ Hybrid Team (No. 37 – Tony Raines), -78 behind 35th place.

 
Garrett Horton is a Contributor to Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.
 
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments about 2011? John's got answers!
A new year means a new columnist to answer all your pressing questions about the sport! Our legendary flagman John Potts is taking over our Fan Q & A, so be sure to stack his inbox with plenty of queries and comments for the New Year! Send them his way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans!
 
Secret Star of the Race:  The Race You Never Saw
 
Landon Cassill's surprising 12th-place performance Sunday, behind the wheel of a James Finch-owned Chevrolet has been well-documented... but considering the circumstances, we have to give credit where credit's due. Remember, this guy is someone allowed to finish just one of his first 19 Cup Series starts before sliding behind the wheel of the No. 09; start-and-parking was a forced career choice. And even since he made the transition to running full-time, the youngster has finished inside the top 25 only twice, struggling to gain the handle of this type of car going the full distance. Add in the single-car, underdog label and what this former Nationwide Series rookie did Sunday was nothing short of spectacular. - Tom Bowles

STAT OF THE WEEK: 321. That's the number of laps led by Kurt Busch this season, good for fifth-best on the circuit but also the most of any driver who has yet to win a Cup race in 2011. No wonder this guy's so ticked off all the time behind the wheel of the No. 22...  - Tom Bowles

Mouthing Off Behind The Wheel At Michigan

by Brody Jones
 
Best Quote:

"I was going to go all the way to the top of the grandstands today.  I just appreciate all the fans coming out here.  This is a great race track and track position is so important.  Sadly, downforce is such a big factor in these cars and I am really hoping that NASCAR will take the opportunity in 2013 to take down force away so the fans can see the guys race race cars and not race downforce.  That would be cool." - Carl Edwards, fifth, on his day.

Even in defeat, the sunny optimism of Carl Edwards seems to always shine through.  Hidden in the optimism, however, was some insight on what he hopes NASCAR will do in 2013 with the new COT's.  A common complaint with the cars has been the lack of brand identity; as Tony Stewart was once quoted as saying, the cars look like "station wagons with 'Star Wars' wings" (To be fair, that line was made when the cars had the ungodly abomination known as the wing on the back of the cars).  Many fans share the same thought process as Edwards and can only hope that in 2013, the cars return to at least some hollow shell of the now ancient brand identity of the past.

Worst Quote:

"I'm glad we didn't have too many restarts because everybody drove like idiots today.  I lost a lot of respect for a lot of drivers out there." - Tony Stewart, seventh, on how crazy the last restart was.

Tony Stewart has always been one to give an honest answer to an honest question, sometimes being brutally honest.  While the last restart was somewhat chaotic, there have been far worse restarts this year in the closing races (Charlotte and Daytona come to mind in terms of utter chaos), so Stewart's remark just sounded like sour grapes over a potential top-5 finish being reduced to a still respectable seventh.  In all fairness, Stewart's frustration could partially stem from being outside the top-10 in points looking into the Chase at the moment, but to criticize other drivers for the final restart seems a bit short-sighted.

Funniest Quote:

"That run was a credit to the Ford team in general.  We struggled really bad.  We were okay Friday and started struggling at the end of the day and we were really bad in qualifying.  We looked at some notes and went off the other Ford cars, a different direction than we had been before and the car was great all day.  I am going to blame Dale Inman, I think he did something in his past life to give us all this bad luck on this team (laughter)." - A.J. Allmendinger, 13th

For NASCAR drivers, it can be hard to maintain humor about a ho-hum 13th-place finish.  But for A.J. Allmendinger, to have a humorous take on the day and make a reference to longtime Petty Enterprises employee Dale Inman in the process, one has to give him credit for his line about the team's recent rough luck.  Allmendinger, for much of the day, was a top-5 to top-10 caliber driver and despite a frustrating end to the day, at least he was able to take solace in finding some humor to the situation.

Most Controversial Quote:

"I mean, I don't know.  I don't know.  I just do a better job; I take better care of people than that.  Hopefully, now that I know what to expect in a situation like that.  I will still drive on the outside of him and hopefully he won't run me in the wall." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 21st, on whether he was surprised by Mark Martin inadvertently running him into the wall.

The big controversy of the afternoon was between Hendrick Motorsports team-mates Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. following a late-race incident where Martin inadvertently ran Earnhardt, Jr. into the wall, derailing what had been a solid, if not spectacular, finish down to a disappointing 21st-place result.  Martin tried to defuse the whole controversy, and odds are the two teammates will talk things over and cooler heads will prevail.  Still, Junior Nation can't be too happy with Mark Martin at the moment, whether his contact was intentional or not.

Crew Chief Quote Of The Week:

"We showed up to Michigan and started off kind of grim, but we made sure we put everything (from last week) behind us and didn't let things affect us.  This group did an awesome job.  Pit stops today were incredible — that's what won us the race.  I can't say enough about this team.  Even the start of the race we were off — we were a half second off and once we got some track position we kept tightening the car up and it just came around.  Denny [Hamlin] did a good job.  His car wasn't that good at the end either, so he did a really good job.  I can't say enough.  Its a big win for us." - Mike Ford, Crew Chief of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, on how he was able to get his car into Victory Lane.

For a team that just a mere six weeks ago appeared to be in a free-fall, and was coming off a disappointing finish at Pocono after dominating much of the race, this victory at Michigan has to be sweet vindication for Mike Ford.  To go from struggling early in the season and fearing for job security to back inside the top-10 and Chase contention says a lot about this team's character to bounce back from adversity.  It seems as if Mike Ford and company are hell-bent on making the 2011 Chase and getting their vengeance on the championship that got away last year.  Don't count out Denny Hamlin in the Chase for the Cup this year, as he's determined to give this year's top dogs a run for their money in the final ten races.

Owner Quote Of The Week:

"It was real encouraging.  The way the day played out, kind of struggled at the start, worked hard, it paid off at the end.  Overall, the No. 11 [Denny Hamlin] car, each year that it's been in existence, has been a strong performing car.  You kind of start the year off not as quickly and successfully as we would like.  To watch them kind of come together and lift each other up, be a team, that was kind of for me I get a lot of satisfaction watching those guys rally around each other and look for some great momentum for the rest of the year." - J.D. Gibbs, team president of Joe Gibbs Racing, on how encouraging this win was for the No.11 team.

 

J.D. Gibbs must have a bit of his illustrious father Joe Gibbs' genetic make-up in terms of motivational skills and pulling a team together in the face of adversity.  His vote of confidence in Mike Ford could very well have been interpreted as saying that he was good as gone.  But, a funny thing happened on the way to the potential unemployment line; the No. 11 FedEx team pulled themselves up like a phoenix rising from the ashes to blaze back into Chase contention and give their rivals a strong run for their money.

Best Of The Rest:

"We finished — that's the thing.  We got it done.  Happy for all this team.  They all got sons or daughters and everything, so it's a big Father's Day for all them and my dad, Dennis.  He paved the way for me to get here, so I can't thank them enough and all the fathers out there.  Can't thank this whole FedEx team enough, everyone at FedEx, all the employees.  Glad to get the win for all of them.  Just got to thank them, Toyota, Sprint, Coke, Gillette, Wiley X, the fans — it's been an amazing fan base here in Michigan — everyone from Nike and the Jordan brand, I can't thank them enough." - Denny Hamlin, race winner, on the importance of Sunday's win.

"I just couldn't quite get Denny.  After restarts we were kind of slow and tight in the middle which isn't a good thing to be in a short shootout.  We had a great car in the long run though.  I tried what I could to get around him but I slipped on the restart.  I just needed more laps to get it going." - Matt Kenseth, runner-up.

"We've had a rough month, no doubt about that.  My guys needed a good run.  We've had a fast car for the most part, just been struggling to put together a full race.  Wasn't really sure what we had in practice.  The car drove good, it seemed like we lacked a little bit of speed.  Qualified in the top-10 and that's so important at these intermediate tracks, track position.  Slugger made a good call to take two tires at the end.  Kind of went back and forth, two verses four.  A lot of people took two, we did.  A little too tight at the end but the Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevy was just a really solid weekend and that's what we needed." - Paul Menard, fourth, on what has been making the difference for his team.

"I don't have a history of having problems.  I don't think I have one now.  I think we will get it sorted out.  I feel like I give everybody on the racetrack respect.  I made a mistake." - Mark Martin, ninth, on his conflict with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the late stages of the race.

"The race was long.  We lost the track there a little bit at the beginning — the third run we got too loose and we didn't keep up with the race track as it freed up.  Then, when we pitted and that caution came out we beat the No. 18 [Kyle Busch] to the line and per the rule we were supposed to go back around the field before everybody pitted, which we would've been able to pit with the leaders, fuel the car and race with the leaders like we were supposed to.  But, NASCAR didn't let us go back around.  I don't understand.  I want some clarification on that because they even admitted that we beat them to the line which says we should've had to go around before the pit stops.  That pretty much screwed us the rest of the race.  We were racing at the back of the field, trying to get track position again when we should've been racing the leaders." - Brian Vickers, tenth

"It was great and we were really fast at some parts of the race and we kept getting the balance on one side or the other and we had a little bit of racer luck there that put us in position to put us on four tires there at the end and that is what made it for us and that was awesome.  Great call on Nick Harris's part." - Landon Cassill, 12th, on his best career finish.

"Yeah, tough day.  We got turned around early and ground the sway bar off the right front and we lost a couple laps from that and we were just kind of in a hole at that point and couldn't get caught back up.  Its just part of it." - Jimmie Johnson, 27th, on his tough points day.

Brody Jones is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at brody.jones@frontstretch.com.
 
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
  
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud:  2011 Michigan-1 Race Recap

by Matt McLaughlin
 
Monday Morning Teardown:  Just Say No To Downforce

by Ron Lemasters, Jr.
 
Bubble Breakdown:  Big-Time Engine Deals Pay Off For Cassill, Others In Motor City

by Bryan Davis Keith
  
The Big Six:  Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

by Amy Henderson
 
Nationwide Series Breakdown:  Alliance Truck Parts 250

by Bryan Davis Keith

 
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:  In 1998, Tommy Kendall finished 16th in the Save Mart/Kragen 350k, the first Winston Cup race held on a shortened 1.95 mile circuit.  Kendall was driving the No. 91 for LJ Racing, but did not start the weekend in the car.  How did he get the ride?

 
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Friday's Answer:
Q:  Throughout the mid to late 1990's, CART attempted to slow speeds at Michigan and California Speedways with the usage of the Hanford Device, a special rear wing that cut off airflow beneath the rear wing.  However, there was an unintended side effect of the new wing.  What was it?

 
A:  That side effect was that drafting became a very important aspect of racing on superspeedways.  In fact, the draft effect was very similar to that of the roof spoilers at Daytona and Talladega that NASCAR instituted in late 2000.  Paul Tracy was once clocked in the draft at Michigan at over 256 mph.  For 2002, a new generation of Hanford Device was implemented.  That version slowed the speeds more, but made the race that much more of a toss-up, resulting in a 440 mile race (shortened due to darkness) in Fontana that had 73 lead changes.

 

The curbing of speeds was only temporary.  At California Speedway (now Auto Club Speedway), it took only three years for the speeds to exceed where they were before the device was implemented.  Regardless, the device usage was spread out to all of the ovals on CART's schedule within a year of its 1998 introduction.

 
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Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from TBA
-- Sitting In The Stands:  A Fans' View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

 

The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another captivating commentary.

 
What's Hot / What's Not in Sprint Cup: Michigan-Sonoma Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer takes a look at post-Michigan numbers to see who's got the most momentum heading into Sonoma... and beyond.

Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan's back with his weekly edition of talking points to get you set for the Toyota/Save Mart 350k at Infineon Raceway.
 
Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
Last weekend, the Sprint Cup Series traveled to Michigan International Speedway for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, with the Nationwide Series serving as main support.  Meanwhile, the Izod IndyCar Series was back in action at The Milwaukee Mile.  Were these telecasts up to snuff, or did they leave something to be desired?  Check out our weekly TV critique to find out.

Fact or Fiction by Tom Bowles
Tom looks at some conclusions that could be made after Michigan and determines whether they're true or not.
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