The Frontstretch Newsletter: June 29th, 2009

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Jun 29, 2009, 11:01:26 AM6/29/09
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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
June 29th, 2009
Volume III, Edition CXVII

Sprint Cup Race Recap
Strategy Pays Off Big For Logano in New Hampshire
by Phil Allaway
 
In NASCAR, anything can happen during races.
 
On lap 180, Joey Logano blew out a left rear tire in turn 3, causing a spinout and a yellow flag.  He had to make multiple pit stops under the caution (during one stop, the crew had to remove part of the tire that had wrapped itself around the left rear hub) and lost a lap.
 
But when Scott Speed crashed in Turn 1 on lap 189, Logano received the free pass, putting him back on the lead lap in the 32nd position.  During that caution, he was one of a handful of drivers who pitted, essentially hoping and praying for rain.

In the end, Logano got his wish ... and with it came one of the most surprising upsets in the sport's history.
 
The leaders drove away after the restart, but having pitted back on Lap 153, they each had to make their final stops under green before long.  Tony Stewart went first, pitting from the top spot on Lap 235.  Mark Martin and Greg Biffle then each led a single lap before diving down pit road.  That left Bobby Labonte up front for nine laps, hoping for the kindness of Mother Nature before he pitted the Ask.com Ford on lap 246.  Ryan Newman then took over the point, with rain rapidly approaching the outskirts of the speedway.  Things looked good for Newman, for he was actually leading when it started to sprinkle outside.  But in the end, the downpour came too late for the No. 39 car; he ran out of fuel with 37 laps to go, forcing him to pit road and handing the lead to rookie Joey Logano.
 
A couple of laps later, NASCAR threw the yellow flag for rain on Lap 268.  Crew chief Greg Zipadelli told Logano over the radio that he had “…three to five laps of fuel left under green,” more than enough to hold on at reduced speed.  Logano led the field under yellow before NASCAR finally brought the cars onto pit road and threw the red flag on lap 273.  Twenty minutes later, the race was called, giving the rookie his first career Sprint Cup victory in just his 20th career start. At 19 years, 1 month, and 4 days old, Logano shattered the record as the youngest Cup driver ever to visit Victory Lane, breaking Kyle Busch's mark set at California in September of 2005.
 
Afterwards, the teenager was just as shocked as the 100,000 fans in the stands.
 
“When [the blown left rear tire] happened, I thought we were done,” Logano said after the race.  “However, [Crew chief Greg Zipadelli decided to go for the fuel mileage strategy] and I was just lucky enough to be in the seat.”
 
Jeff Gordon, who led 64 laps on Sunday and won the race off pit road amongst the leaders on lap 235, finished second. It was easily the best performance for Gordon up front since his back problems became public in April; he fought tooth-and-nail to keep the lead on several restarts, actually getting aggravated with Kurt Busch on occasion for running him up the track while the two battled up front.
 
“I was so proud of the team, I didn't feel like we were that good yesterday,” Gordon said in the post-race press conference.  “We were not very good on the restarts.  So we had to fight real hard or give up two spots, but man, our car was so strong after we got ten laps on the tires.”
 
Gordon actually proved really good on the restarts -- the problem was, he just was not as good as the other leaders through turns 1 and 2.  This is why he had to fight off drivers like Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart at the beginning of a run.
 
Behind Logano and Jeff Gordon was Kurt Busch in third.  David Reutimann, who also gambled on fuel, finished fourth while point leader Tony Stewart rounded out the top 5.  Another gas mileage gambler, Brad Keselowski in the No. 09 Miccosukee Chevrolet, finished sixth, followed by Kyle Busch.  Sam Hornish, Jr. had a strong run and came home eighth, followed by Jimmie Johnson.  Kasey Kahne rounded out the top 10.

The race was marred by a red flag on Lap 176 when Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. made contact on a restart, resulting in a wreck that wiped out half-a-dozen cars on the lead lap. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spun his tires in front of Truex to cause the backup that led to the No. 1 car being spun. Among those involved were Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Brian Vickers, and David Ragan.

"I guess Kyle (Busch) just decided he didn't want to lift, so I was just an innocent victim today," complained Truex after being wrecked at his home track. "Someone spun the tires and our lane didn't go. Kyle just lost his head like he usually does when something bad happens."
 
This is the second consecutive year that the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 has been rain-shortened.

The Race To The Chase (Top 12 In Points)

Point leader Tony Stewart, running in his backup car after a practice crash on Friday, wound up leading 40 laps on Sunday and finished fifth.  But despite the solid performance, since Jeff Gordon charged to second at Loudon Stewart's lead was cut from 84 to 69 points going into Daytona on Saturday night.  Jimmie Johnson, who led the most laps on Sunday, is still third in the standings, 169 off the pace.  Kurt Busch, after his best finish since Phoenix in April (3rd), remains fourth but finds himself an additional 101 points in arrears. Carl Edwards holds steady to round out the top 5, but lost quite a bit of ground Sunday due to a 19th place finish.  An early problem on a pit stop again cost Edwards, dropping him from the top 5 to 14th and costing him track position he never seemed to make up throughout the rest of the race.

In the second half of the top 10, Denny Hamlin moved up to 6th, just 25 points behind Edwards after a 15th place finish on Sunday.  That was just barely enough to jump over Ryan Newman in the standings, as the gas mileage gamble gone wrong for the No. 39 left him languishing in 29th when the race was called.  After the engine died on pit road, the team lost three laps desperately trying to restart the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet -- a move which dropped Newman to a 29th place finish.  Kyle Busch, after a seventh place run on Sunday (his first Top 10 since Charlotte Memorial Day weekend), moved up one place to eighth in the points... just 19 behind Newman.

Two points behind Kyle Busch is Greg Biffle in ninth.  Biffle ran well at New Hampshire, but a meeting with the wall late set him back to an 18th place finish.  Rounding out the top 10 is Matt Kenseth, who remained tenth in points despite dropping to 22nd on Sunday due to the rain and a rough final pit stop. Mark Martin is now two points behind Kenseth in 11th, while Juan Pablo Montoya holds steady in the final slot in the Chase on the heels of a 12th place finish in New Hampshire.  Kasey Kahne climbed to within one point of the top 12 following a top 10 finish Sunday, while David Reutimann climbed to within 12 markers of the Chase cutoff after his top 5 performance on fuel.  Overall, the difference between 10th and 14th in the standings is now just a miniscule 17 points with nine races remaining.

Tracking The Top 35

There was no movement into, or out of, the Top 35 as a result of this week’s race.  However, the results have actually significantly widened the margin between 35th and 36th place.  John Andretti, driving the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 (sponsored by Taco Bell), brought his Chevrolet home in the 16th position.  This is the best ever finish by a Front Row car in the Sprint Cup Series, made possible because Andretti’s team decided to get off sequence with their pit stops -- just like Logano, Reutimann, and Keselowski.

Scott Speed, whose No. 82 Red Bull team was still within striking distance of the Top 35 going into Loudon, crashed out of the event after contact with Marcos Ambrose on Lap 189.  Speed wound up classified 36th at the end of the race, increasing the difference between the No. 34 and No. 82 cars to 155 points going into Daytona.  This means that the No. 34 has almost a full race's worth of points between him and the No. 82 (provided that both cars qualify for an event).

The highest finishing team outside the Top 25 in owner points on Sunday was the No. 09 for Phoenix Racing.  Like Joey Logano and David Reutimann’s cars in front of him, Brad Keselowski’s team decided to press their luck and try a fuel mileage strategy late in the race.  Keselowski was one of a few teams to make it to the final caution when the rains came; and when the dust settled, he was credited with a sixth place finish -- his third Top 10 finish of the season in just five Cup Series starts.

Have news from the Frontstretch? Contact us at ashl...@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

Secret Star of the Race: The Best Run You Never Saw

It hasn't been the best of weeks for Richard Childress Racing, with rumors swirling about sponsorship woes and a possible court battle looming in order to get money from ailing automaker GM. Add in the recent slumps of Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer outside the top 12, and it's easily the worst season for the organization since Kevin Harvick's suspension-riddled year in 2002. And while the four-car outfit struggles to right its ship, Casey Mears has been left most vulnerable of all -- making New Hampshire a critical step in the right direction to start saving his career. With Jack Daniel's the most likely of RCR's four sponsors to bail, the veteran came through with a steady, solid weekend in New Hampshire, climbing from his 21st starting spot to wind up 11th at the finish. The key for Mears was using a timely caution on Lap 153 to get his lap back, choosing to stay on the race track while the rest of the leaders dove down pit road.  That left him one of nine cars "waved around" to the front of the pack, in perfect position to get his lap back just a short time later when Paul Menard spun exiting turn 4 on Lap 171.

But the success proved short-lived, as Mears was involved in the day's multi-car melee on the restart just a handful of laps later. Needing several stops to fix the problem, that dropped the No. 07 to the back of the lead lap, a position he'd stay until some crafty fuel mileage strategy left him in position to capitalize while others faltered.

"The teams' hard work and never quit attitude kept us on the lead lap as they made repairs on pit road," explained Mears. "Then, we got lucky when the rain came and were able to score an 11th-place finish."

With the year RCR has had, you better believe they'll take any amount of racing luck they can get. - Tom Bowles

STAT OF THE WEEK: 25. That's the number of career laps led for Jeoy Logano prior to Sunday's upset win. Yet to score a top 5 finish in the Cup Series in nineteen previous starts, the teenager nicknamed Sliced Bread hadn't finished better than ninth before coming home the upset winner on Sunday. - Tom Bowles

Big Six: Lenox industrial Tools 301
by Amy Henderson
 
Who…gets my shoutout of the race?
 
There were a lot of candidates for the shoutout after Sunday’s race, with a variety of strategies that played out -- but coming back to finish eleventh after getting taken out on a restart trumps gambling on Mother Nature any day.  As Tom Bowles mentioned above, Casey Mears looked to be finished after the eight-car fiasco on lap 176 that brought out the red flag so the carnage could be cleared -- but it was a combination of strategy and perseverance that allowed the No. 07 team to claw their way back for a decent finish.  Mears was good in practice, faded early, but got it back when it counted ... making him shoutout-worthy, to be sure.
 
What... was that?

I’ll admit I’ve been pleasantly surprised by SMI’s takeover of NHMS. I feared the worst (and am still braced for the very undeserved loss of a race date in the next few years); however, the new owners have done a nice job at the Magic Mile. There is one notable exception to the long list of improvements, though: Milo, the Moose Mascot.  Nothing against him personally -- although he’s a little short for a moose -- and as far as moose go, he’s both pretty benevolent and not in the middle of the road (New Hampshire readers will know why that’s a good thing).  So, why am I put off by his existence? I’m just not one for this kind of gimmick... because it’s not necessary.  NASCAR tracks are about good racing, and NHMS provided that in spades all weekend long.  If anyone says the Cup race was boring, they weren’t watching the same race I was. 
 
And I don’t need a moose to tell me that.
 
Where…did the polesitter wind up?
 
Watching his old car win. Still, Tony Stewart had plenty to smile about after taking his backup car to a fifth place finish.  The No. 14 Chevrolet was off the pace early, but once again Stewart teamed up with crew chief Darien Grubb to make the right changes capable of bringing the Old Spice Chevy back to the front; and just before the final round of pit stops on Lap 235, Stewart had put himself both in the lead and in position to win. In the end, the two-time champ lost a handful of points to Jeff Gordon in the standings, but easily retained his lead over Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, and Carl Edwards.
 
When…will I be loved?
 
If Kyle Busch asked many fans this question, the answer might be “never.”  Busch wasn’t much loved by Martin Truex, Jr., either, after the two touched off the lap 176 incident that damaged eight cars.  In fact, an angry Truex nearly tossed his helmet at Busch after the wreck that kept him from contending.  But although Busch is the one feeling the wrath, he’s only partly at fault and shares the blame with his polar opposite on the popularity scale, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  Earnhardt slowed on the restart, possibly missing a shift, causing Truex to check up and Busch to run into Truex.  Busch shares the blame on this one, though, because had he moved to the inside of Truex instead of trying the outside -- where there was simply no real estate to be had -- the incident might have been avoided.  He also gets some dubious extra credit for hitting a crewman on pit road; luckily, the tire changer from the No. 98 ended up OK after the scary incident.
 
Why…does this race start so late?
 
Late afternoon showers are a fact of summer life in New England; but unlike the South, where the showers tend to come earlier in the afternoon, these usually come when a well-planned race could be over before the skies open.  I remember when the races here started at 1:00, and there was sound reason for that - they finished dry.  And with rain not dropping back until well after 5:00 EST, the past two years’ worth of summer races could likely have been completed had they simply started an hour earlier.  Kurt Busch said after the race that a consistent 1 PM start time for east coast races would be good for the sport.   “If we had a consistent time for our day races and a consistent time for our night races, that would be better for our fans,” said Busch.  “I think that would create more viewership, knowing that they knew when to find the race.  If we did go back to those one o’clock starts, how many laps would we have gotten in today?  We probably could have finished the race; I remember starting the engine at 2:07.”  It’s not often that I see eye-to-eye with Busch, but he nailed it this time.
 
How…cool was being a part of a pit crew?
 
It was very cool.  The sun was back out, the Sprint Cup champion was on top of the pit box, and there is just something about being a small part of it all.  The “it” in question was my experience on Friday, helping to pit the No. 74 car for Jarit Johnson in the Camping World East Series race.  If any team in NASCAR deserves a sponsor, it’s this all-volunteer operation that Johnson runs out-of-pocket, hoping to one day match his brother's success on the Sprint Cup level. For more on Johnson's grassroots operation and how it did during the race itself, read my column on the website today.

Amy is a senior columnist and Assistant Editor for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached at writ...@gmail.com.

Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Matt Taliaferro's way at matt.ta...@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 that keep Frontstretch afloat. Fanning The Flames returns Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: Who was the last driver to start the season sweeping the first three restrictor plate races -- the Daytona 500, the Spring Race at Talladega, and the Pepsi 400?

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

Friday's Answer:
Q: Of the four drivers that have competed in every Cup race held at New Hampshire, only one has not won an event there.  Name him.
A: In 29 career starts at the track, Bobby Labonte has yet to visit Victory Lane at the Magic Mile. His best performance was a runner-up finish to Jeff Burton in the Fall race during his 2000 championship season.
 
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 tri...@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!

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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Cami Starr
-- Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View by S.D. Grady
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Weekly NASCAR commentary from the Frontstretch's sensational sophomore columnist.

Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
It was another tripleheader weekend for the TV networks, as SPEED, ESPN, and TNT all were repsonsible for covering one of NASCAR's top three divisions. But could any of them get this week's coverage right? Phil lets us know in his latest TV critique.

Who's Hot / Who's Not In Sprint Cup by Doug Turnbull
Did the Magic Mile sprinkle a little extra fuel in your driver's gas tank of momentum for the 2009 Sprint Cup season, or did his racing luck run dry just before the rains came at New Hampshire? Doug takes a look at who's charging full speed ahead to Daytona -- and who needs a little extra time at the shop before they go -- in his weekly look at driver trends in the Cup Series.

Running Their Mouth: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 by Beth Lunkenheimer
The ups and downs of a rain-shortened Sunday at New Hampshire left plenty of teams talking both before, during, and after the big race. Beth has the best of what they had to say.

Beyond The Cockpit: Bobby Labonte as told to Amy Henderson
The 2000 Sprint Cup champion stops by to talk about adjusting to life with a new team this season, the No. 96 Ask.com Ford run as a joint effort between Hall of Fame and Yates Racing. He looks back on his accomplishments, looks forward to the future, and talks about ... shooting trucks?
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