The Frontstretch Newsletter : March 7th, 2009
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March 7th, 2009
Volume III, Edition XXX
SPECIAL EDITOR'S NOTE: The Frontstretch LIVE BLOG is back! Join us this Sunday at Frontstretch.com as Doug Turnbull and Bryan Davis Keith lead the discussion LIVE from the race track! Get inside information from pit road, chat with other fans, answer reader polls during commercials, and more! Just go to the main page and look for the link for an all new type of racing experience. Stop listening to the same old coverage and start a new season off right with Frontstretch.com!
EDITOR'S NOTE II: Check out another special edition of the newsletter on Sunday with reporters Doug Turnbull and Bryan Davis Keith LIVE at the race track!
Mark Martin "Feels Like a Rookie," On Pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway
by Bryan Davis Keith
Prior to the start of Cup practice Friday, Ryan Newman was peppered with questions about his opportunity to become the all-time leader in poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway should he take the first position that night.
Newman qualified 12th, leaving him tied with Buddy Baker’s record seven poles at the track.
But while that record remained intact, another long standing streak was broken in Cup qualifying Friday night, as Mark Martin backed up his first place speeds in practice by scoring his first Cup pole since Richmond in 2001. Martin posted a blazing fast lap of 29.64 seconds, the only driver of the 47 who took time to eclipse 187 mph. Even more impressive; Martin scored the pole run even without holding his car wide open (the amount of speed he carried in Turn 2 forced him to feather the throttle to keep off the wall).
“I feel like a rookie,” said Martin of his scorching time trial. Martin was complimentary of his crew and crew chief Alan Gustafson for their perseverance through what has been an extremely disappointing start to 2009 for both Martin and the No. 5 team.
While the attitude was jovial in the No. 5 camp, handling woes were prevalent throughout the rest of the field. A vast majority of the drivers who took time on Friday reported tight handling race cars, which was hardly surprising given the track’s transition from a daylight practice to an evening qualifying session.
Knockout qualifying provided a heartbreaking weekend once again for the two feel-good stories of the Daytona 500. Scott Riggs reported being wicked loose during his time trial run and ran a woefully slow lap, erasing what had been a promising practice for the Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 36, while Jeremy Mayfield never got his No. 41 up to speed in practice and missed the field convincingly for the second week in a row. The drivers who raced their way into the field Friday night were Joe Nemechek in 8th, Tony Stewart in 11th, Dave Blaney in 27th, David Gilliland in 31st, Bill Elliott in 35th, AJ Allmendinger in 38th an Mike Bliss in 43rd.
There were no incidents during the qualifying session, though Geoffrey Bodine nearly spun out the Gunselman Motorsports’ No. 64 coming out of Turn 4 to the green flag for his attempt.
by Doug Turnbull
Did You Notice? ... During the opening laps of the first practice for the Kobalt Tools 500, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was 43rd quickest and PO'd to say the least. The driver of the No. 88 was actually seen under the AMP Energy Chevy helping the team try and fix the car. They ended the practice 13th, so he most have done something right.
Did You Notice? ... What's Lori Hamilton up to these days? Former matriarch of Bobby Hamilton Racing, which morphed into BHR-VA a couple of years after the 2004 Truck Series Champ's death, is not hibernating after the closure of the race team. Hamilton is now the PR Representative for the No. 25 HT Motorsports Toyota Tundra and driver Terry Cook. Hamilton was in the garage today keeping a watchful eye on the team, which -- like BHR-VA -- will not continue to run without a sponsor, according to Cook. Unlike in past years, Cook said the trucking industry is hurting to the point where the owner's company can no longer co-exist as the sponsor of the team. However, the team's No. 24 Toyota driven by David Starr is secure with funding from Zachry Construction.
Hamilton, a former member of the Atlanta Motor Speedway Media Relations Team, is also an active spokesperson for head and neck cancer screenings. That type of cancer is what killed her husband Bobby in January 2007.
Did You Notice? ... Kasey Kahne is happy with RPM's ability to turn RPMs on the older Dodge engines. Despite Penske Championship Racing switching to the new, updated Dodge motors this season, RPM has chosen to further develop the new power plants until they are confident they will not break. Kahne says that the engines for his No. 9 team, depsite being older, have kept up with the rest of the pack just fine.
RPM engines are 12 for 12 so far this season, making them virtually the only multi-car giant to avoid the mechanical failure bug in 2009.
Did You Notice? ... The weather may be light years better at Atlanta Motor Speedway this March compared to last year, but the tires are just the same. None other than current Sprint Cup point leader Jeff Gordon came out and said during his Friday press conference, "We're going to have issues." That appears to be the company line of nearly the entire garage this weekend. Despite Goodyear conducting three tire tests at the track since March 2008, almost every driver has complained about the compound being used. Kyle Busch says that he told Goodyear in the first of the tests that the improved tires were wrong -- but nothing was done to change it. Mark Martin and others say the culprit for the handling issues is a combination of warm temperatures and an aging racing surface. That should have been something Goodyear addressed with tests that occurred in a variety of cold and warm weather conditions.
The mood is a stark contrast to the tire test in February that I attended, where both Greg Biffle and Juan Pablo Montoya expressed satisfaction with Goodyear's progress. The weather conditions may have been different, but both men agreed their tests had paid dividends in ensuring a better race this Sunday. Only time will tell, but that optimism seems to have disappeared in the last 24 hours at this speedway.
Sprint Cup teams have just two practices Saturday to get their act together for the 500-miler.
Did You Notice? ... NASCAR's Chases are rideless this weekend. Chase Austin, driver of the No. 32 Trail Motorsport truck, is sitting on the sidelines for Atlanta and possibly beyond. The team has decided to skip the race because they're moving into the old "new" Petty Enterprises shop just outside Charlotte, NC. But published reports on ESPN have Austin upset about the move, and sources have left the financial security of the team in question for Martinsville and beyond. The Trail Motorsport team is an offshoot of what was Fitz Motorsports in the Nationwide Series, a team that had acquired a large amount of debt prior to its "merger" with new Trail owner Art Shelton at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
Meanwhile, Chase Miller was roaming around the garage today knocking on the doors of owners and was frustrated he was without a ride. Miller tells me he is now a free agent since Verizon and other sponsors departed the Gillett Evernham Motorsports (now RPM) No. 9 Nationwide team, forcing its closure. Miller ran 14 races for the team in 2008, with a best finish of 6th at Memphis in October. Hailing from Canton, GA, he hopes the hometown charm will allow him to leave this track with a long-term deal.
Did You Notice? ... Jamie McMurray was a bit saucy after qualifying today, to say the least. It's clear the veteran has more of a bounce in his step after seeing his No. 26 Roush Fenway team run precipitously better than last year. Despite qualifying third, the normally squeaky-clean sponsor darling actually used profanity when describing his miraculous sliding save last week at Las Vegas. He also said that the drivers were going to be very "bitchy" about their cars on Sunday.
Doug Turnbull is a Website Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached at doug.t...@frontstretch.com.
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Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Kobalt Tools 500: Race Recap by Phil Allaway
-- Big Six: Kobalt Tools 500 by Amy Henderson
-- Secret Star of the Race AND Stat Of The Week by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, Stat of the Week, and more!
Monday on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud : Kobalt Tools 500 by Matt McLaughlin
Before you take that first break mid-morning on Monday, be sure you check out Matt for the best in NASCAR water cooler fodder.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom gives his views on the weekend events on SI.com. Want to know what he really thinks? You get that only on the Frontstretch.
Bubble Breakdown: Kobalt Tools 500 by Mike Ravesi
Mike sorts out the owner point standings, letting you know who's got it made after the first five races of this season -- and who faces an uphill battle simply to qualify each week.
Points To Ponder by Mike Lovecchio
Mike's Points after covering the Kobalt Tools 500 are guaranteed to get you thinking.
Tony takes a look at the exciting rookie race between Joey Logano and Scott Speed following the Kobalt Tools 500.
Tracking The Trucks : Atlanta by Beth Lunkenheimer
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