THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
December 11th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CCXXXVI
Editor's Note: Remember, the Frontstretch Newsletter has scaled back to a weekly edition over the offseason! The next scheduled edition will run on Monday, December 17th.
What to Watch For This Week:
- NASCAR is holding a two-day test session for Sprint Cup Series teams on Tuesday and Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will serve as the first official test session since NASCAR handed down the official rule package for the "Gen 6" race cars that will be racing in 2013. Our own Amy Henderson will be live at the test to bring you updates on Tuesday. According to Charlotte Motor Speedway, fans can also view the testing free of charge on both days. The Ford Grandstand on the frontstretch will be open at 8:30am for fans to observe from. The track only asks that fans enter the facility through Gate 5b near the Main Ticket Office.
- ESPN is also premiering season review programs for the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series on Thursday. The 2012 Nationwide Series Season Review will air at 3:00pm EST, while the 2012 Sprint Cup Season Review will follow at 3:30pm EST
Top News From The Past Week
by Phil Allaway
Brad Keselowski Wins 2012 4th Quarter Driver of the Year; Full Year Award
The National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) announced on Thursday that 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski has won the 2012 Richard Petty Driver of the Year Award on the strength of his first Sprint Cup Championship. In addition, for his performance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Keselowski was also voted the Fourth Quarter Driver of the Year as well.
Keselowski was thrilled when notified of the award.
"To be honored with the 2012 Driver Of The Year is a great way to cap off our championship season," Keselowski said in a press release. "The list is definitely a 'Who's Who' in the history of racing. It gives me great pride to see my name there with the likes of Mark Donohue and Mario Andretti, drivers who have transcended one particular discipline or series, and are considered some of the best to ever sit in a race car."
Keselowski earned 18 of the 19 first-place votes in the year-long vote (Izod IndyCar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay received the other first-place vote) in what amounted to a runaway. The quarterly vote was just about as much of a runaway with Keselowski earning more than double the votes of any other driver. Antron Brown, who became the first African-American to win a championship in Top Fuel, the NHRA's top division, and Jimmie Johnson, finished second and third.
NMPA Announces 2013 NMPA Hall of Fame Inductees
Also on Thursday, the NMPA announced their inductees to the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame, which is located on the grounds of Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The late Jim Hunter, who served NASCAR in an executive role as well as a track president, will be inducted in January. He will be joined by the late Dr. Joseph Mattioli, co-founder of Pocono Raceway, and legendary broadcaster and owner of the Thunder Road Speed Bowl in Barre, Vermont, Ken Squier.
Induction to the NMPA Hall of Fame is conducted by the NMPA membership, which includes writers, TV personalities that cover motorsports, and credentialed photographers that also cover motorsports. Unlike the NASCAR Hall of Fame, where is no minimum amount of votes required for entry, a candidate must receive votes from 65 percent of voters in order to be inducted.
Hunter was the top vote getter, earning 89 percent of the vote, while Dr. Mattioli and Squier just barely reached the minimum 65 percent threshold. Former Sprint Cup Championship-winning crew chief Ray Evernham and former racer Dick Thompson also received votes, but fell short of the required number for induction.
Hunter, Mattioli and Squier will be officially inducted into the NMPA Hall of Fame on January 19, 2013 during a ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina. This induction dinner is held as part of the annual Media Tour that Charlotte Motor Speedway will once again be hosting.
Inception Motorsports Purchased; Hmiel and Eury, Jr. Hired As Crew Chief and Competition Director
For the past season and a half, David Stremme has struggled to be able to race in the Sprint Cup Series. During that time, he has been driving for (and co-owning) the No. 30 Toyotas for Inception Motorsports, a team that was apparently funded by outside investors based out of New England. However, those investors couldn't find the team enough backing to keep them from having to start-and-park in a number of races. Now, the start-and-parking is over.
Last week, it was announced that Inception Motorsports had officially been acquired by Brandon Davis, CEO of Colorado-based oil and gas company Swan Energy, Inc. Davis, himself a dirt modified racer, has stated that Swan Energy will sponsor the No. 30 Toyotas for the 2013 season and will not be starting-and-parking.
Davis is very excited about the former Inception Motorsports' future.
"Swan Racing is here to race competitively every week – the days of starting and parking are over," Davis said. "I am confident that we are putting together the personnel to one day produce a championship contender."
To that end, Davis has already made his first move, signing veteran crew chief and team manager Steve Hmiel to serve as Swan Racing's Director of Competition. To race fans, Hmiel is likely most recognizable from his time in the early-to-mid 1990's at Mark Martin's crew chief at then-Roush Racing. However, Hmiel has over 30 years of experience in Sprint Cup racing. Most recently, Hmiel was the Director of Competition at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.
Hmiel is quite happy to be back in the fold and is optimistic about what Swan Racing can accomplish in 2013.
"This is a great opportunity to build a team from the ground up," Hmiel said last week. "Brandon [Davis] is completely committed to winning; he has a long-term vision. I am excited to be part of it."
Former team co-owner Stremme will stay behind the wheel of the No. 30. With the burden of partial team ownership and a situation similar to that of Rick Crawford at Circle Bar Racing (not necessarily owning the team in full, but running the team's day-to-day operations) off his head, he can now focus on his driving. On that end, Stremme is looking forward to 2013 and what it can bring for him.
"I have spent a lot of time with Brandon this year and I can tell you he is here to win," Stremme said. "I have never been so excited for a new season as I am for 2013. I'm ready to get started now.
"The team has transformed itself virtually overnight," Stremme continued on Monday. "It's hard to believe just how different this team is in such a short period of time. This is how you build success from the ground up; you hire quality people, put their experience to work and execute on race day. Lets go racing."
Finally, in late breaking news, Swan Racing announced that Tony Eury, Jr. has been signed to serve as Stremme's new crew chief. Eury replaces Steve Lane, who will persue new opportunities outside of Swan Racing.
Eury Jr. is happy to be involved with the revamped No. 30 team.
"I am really impressed with the team Swan Racing is building and I am proud to be part of it," Eury said on Monday. "I am looking forward to working with David Stremme behind the wheel and with competition director Steve Hmiel."
Previously, Eury Jr. was heavily involved with JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series. After leaving Hendrick Motorsports' No. 88 team, Eury Jr. served as the crew chief on Danica Patrick's GoDaddy-sponsored No. 7 Chevrolet. However, Eury Jr. was relieved of his duties in favor of Ryan Pemberton back in September.
Davis' purchase of Inception Motorsports also includes Inception Motorsports' points from 2012. The team managed to finish the season 38th in owners points, while only finishing five races all season. The team did have plans to run more races to completion, but were eliminated due to crashes (during the race, and in the case of Watkins Glen, practice, blown engines and mechanical woes). The team's best finish was a 24th at Indianapolis. The provisional system that is probable to return for the 2013 season will likely force Stremme to race into the Daytona 500.
Swan Energy officially joined the team as a sponsor at Talladega in October. There, Stremme was able to race the full distance, finishing two laps down in 33rd. The team planned to go the distance at Martinsville, but an early blown tire put Stremme in the wall and out of the race.
Brian Scott to Drive No. 2 for RCR in Nationwide Series
On Thursday, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) announced that they have signed Brian Scott to a multi-year contract to drive the team's No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro in the Nationwide Series. Scott will replace Elliott Sadler, who left the team at the end of 2012 in order to move over to Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). Since Sadler will be driving the No. 11 at JGR, the move amounts to an effective driver swap between the two teams. Scott will be sponsored by Shore Lodge, a mountain resort located in McCall, Idaho.
Scott is very happy to continue his career in the Nationwide Series at RCR.
"I am thrilled to have this opportunity to drive the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in the Nationwide Series," Scott said in an RCR press release. "RCR has proven over the past 13 years that it can build and prepare winning cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and has for a variety of drivers. I just want to be the next name on that list. Our goals for 2013 are going to be set at a high level and we are going to do everything within our power to achieve those goals. On a personal level I think I am going to fit in really well. Richard Childress and a lot of the people affiliated with RCR are avid outdoorsmen and that matches my background as well."
Team owner Richard Childress is also happy to have Scott onboard.
"Brian is a strong young talent and we look forward to him, Phil [Gould] and the entire No. 2 Shore Lodge team adding their part to RCR's history of success in the NASCAR Nationwide Series," Childress said. "The fact that Brian is an avid outdoorsman only makes it an even better fit. We're also proud to welcome Shore Lodge to our family of partners. The Scott family knows what it takes to create a tradition of excellence so we look forward to making our program a success both on the track and off."
With Sadler behind the wheel, the No. 2 Chevrolet, sponsored by OneMain Financial (which followed Sadler to JGR) visited Victory Lane four times in 2012. Sadler also earned 15 top-5 and 24 top-10 finishes, along with four poles. Only a late season swoon kept Sadler from winning the championship.
For Scott, even though the stats might say otherwise, 2012 was a slightly less competitive season than in 2011. He finished a career-best 11th in points and earned a career-best 11 top-10 finishes. However, his average finish was two positions worse than in 2011, mainly due to two more DNF's and a number of in-race spins.
An added wrinkle in the No. 2 team's plans for 2013 is the promotion of Phil Gould to the crew chief slot. Gould, who served as car chief on the No. 2 team in 2012, replaces Luke Lambert, who returns to Sprint Cup to serve as Jeff Burton's crew chief on the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet.
Have news for Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
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The Eyes Have It!
Congratulations to Harry Colby, the first reader to correctly identify Keselowski in the photo.
Other readers with the correct answer include: Nikki Nash, Mike Jones, Lucia Bush, Gail Bannister, Kristian Aliexo and Betsy Ware.
Other guesses included Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ryan Newman, Jerry Nadeau, Rick Mast, Martin Truex, Jr., Kurt Busch, Joe Nemechek, and Michael Waltrip.
Our second photo last week featured Matt Kenseth.
Tom Bone had the first correct guess, congratulations, Tom! Melissa Johnson, Toni Teel-Hopper, Pam Johnson, Robert Snyder, Eileen Veach-Ginger, Rita McDonald, Frank Lopes, and Rogers Andrea were also correct.
Michael McDowell was also guessed.
We will run a new photo each week (sometimes twice!) throughout the offseason, and list the readers with the correct answer here in our newsletter (Facebook rules prohibit us giving a prize, but hey—at least you'll get your name in lights!). Go to our Facebook page to join the fun!
Help us make our Facebook page more awesome!
Hey race fans! We're looking to make out Facebook page bigger and better in 2013. We'd like to hear from you, our readers, more about what you'd like to see on our page. Would you like to see polls, trivia, and other items? How about Q & A sessions with our writers? More games, a caption contest? Something else? We want to make Frontstretch Race Page the best Facebook destination for race fans!
If there is something you would like to see added to our page? Please either post on our Facebook wall or email Amy at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com and let us know what you want to see in 2013!
Frontstretch LIVE at Charlotte Tuesday
Need your racing fix? Amy Henderson will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Tuesday as teams test the new 2013 race cars. Be sure to follow her (@Writer_Amy) as well as @TheFrontstretch on Twitter and our Facebook page for information, comments, and photos from the test.
TODAY AT THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Driver Reviews will begin again tomorrow and last through the rest of the month.
And check out our articles from last week as well:
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Brad Keselowski
by S.D. Grady
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Clint Bowyer
by Kevin Rutherford
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Jimmie Johnson
by Amy Henderson
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Kasey Kahne
by Brett Poirier
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Denny Hamlin
by Danny Peters
2012 NASCAR Driver Review: Matt Kenseth
by Tony Lumbis
MPM2Nite: The NASCAR Season That Wasn't, Part I -- What To Make Of The Champ
by Matt McLaughlin
MPM2Nite: The NASCAR Season That Wasn't, Part II -- Tying Up Loose Ends
by Matt McLaughlin
Pace Laps: Competitive Concerns and Season Wrap-Ups
by the Frontstretch Staff
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: In the 1986 First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Rick Knoop crashed D.K. Ulrich's No. 6 Chevrolet in Turns 3 and 4 and put himself out of the race. However, no yellow was thrown for the incident despite Knoop's car coming to rest in harm's way. How was the car removed from danger despite being under green?
Check back next Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Last Monday's Answer:
Q. The 1992 Nissan Grand Prix of Atlanta was dominated by the No. 2 Jaguar XJR-14 driven by Davy Jones. However, the race is more well-known for a couple of wrecks. Who were in these crashes and what happened?
A. While Davy Jones drove off to an easy victory, both of the Nissans driven by Chip Robinson and Geoff Brabham had huge crashes. Early in the going, Robinson appeared to blow a left rear tire at roughly 190 mph entering a right kink on the backstretch. The blowout ripped the rear bodywork off the car and sent Robinson into a slip. The Nissan briefly took flight before landing and hitting an earthen bank. The impact threw the car into a couple of rolls, ultimately coming to rest in the middle of the track. Robinson clambered out and walked away uninjured, but the car was destroyed. Robinson's crash can be seen at the 5:55 mark of this clip. Larry Nuber and Bill Adam have the call.
For Brabham, contact on the initial start of the race put him behind the 8-ball. However, the No. 83 Nissan was back up towards the front when another left rear tire failure caused a spin. This occurred at the bottom of a hill at the end of the backstretch called "the hole" (Since then, the hole has been replaced by a chicane). The tire failure spun Brabham into the tires on the uphill run to the bridge corner. The impact flipped Brabham's car onto its roof, where it skidded to rest underneath the bridge. Crash aftermath and replays can be seen in this clip. Like Robinson, Brabham walked away not only thanks to track crews, but also due to the help of his own crewmembers who had run up to the scene to help.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
Coming Monday, December 17th in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Phil Allaway
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more ... including our 2011 Driver Reviews!
Coming this week at Frontstretch:
2012 Driver Reviews by the Frontstretch Staff
Our driver reviews will continue this week with some more driver reviews from competitors in the Sprint Cup Series. Remember, the top-35 drivers in 2012 Sprint Cup points will be reviewed, as well as the top-5 in Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series points.
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!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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