The Frontstretch Newsletter: February 5th, 2010

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Feb 5, 2010, 2:34:08 AM2/5/10
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THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER 
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
February 5th, 2010
Volume IV, Edition XIII
 
DON'T FORGET THE FRONTSTRETCH LIVE BLOG THIS SATURDAY!

The long offseason is now over.  The Daytona 500 may not be until Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any good action to cover live at the track this weekend!  Saturday is a very busy day at Daytona International Speedway with Pole Qualifying for the Daytona 500, the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 for the ARCA Series presented by Re/MAX and Menards, and the Budweiser Shootout.
 
Looking to have some company for the action on Saturday?  Come join us for race discussion, polls, up-to-date stats, and even random factoids in the site's Live Blog.  Our own Mike Lovecchio will be at Daytona International Speedway, while additional Frontstretch writers will also be there to discuss happenings at the track.  The action all starts at 12:45 PM EST ... don't miss it! Click on the link from our main page to join in.

Today's Top News
By Mike Lovecchio and Phil Allaway
 
Budweiser Shootout Selection Show Determines Starting Grid for Shootout
 
On Thursday evening, the 24-car starting grid for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout was set.  Like last year, it was done in a bar-like setup.  Drivers would be called up one by one and given a choice of 24 Budweiser aluminum beer bottles to choose from.  Once a bottle was chosen, it was given to a woman, who would then open the bottle with a bottle opener.  She would then give the bottle back to the driver, who would pull out a flag.  The number on the flag determined the drivers' starting spot.
 
Carl Edwards, the fifth driver to draw for his starting spot, drew the Pole Position for his No. 99 Scotts Ford.  He will be joined on the Front Row by Kevin Harvick.  Harvick, who was suffering from flu-like symptoms on Thursday and was not actually in Daytona for practice, had his crew chief, Gil Martin, pull his spot for him.
 
Row 2 will be Brian Vickers in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota and Ryan Newman in the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.
 
Other notables include Mark Martin in sixth, Tony Stewart in 13th, Jimmie Johnson in 16th, Jeff Gordon in 23rd, and Denny Hamlin in 24th.
 
Approximately six drivers will be starting the Budweiser Shootout in backup cars as a result of crashes in practice on Thursday.  Those drivers are:
 
No. 1 - Jamie McMurray
No. 2 - Kurt Busch*
No. 5 - Mark Martin
No. 11 - Denny Hamlin*
No. 16 - Greg Biffle
No. 29 - Kevin Harvick (Car practiced by Clint Bowyer)
 
*These drivers will have to start at the rear of the field because they failed to turn laps on the track with their backup cars after crashing in practice.
 
Miccosukee Gaming out of NASCAR
 
On Thursday, the Miccosukee Tribe held a vote that would determine the future of their marketing endeavors.  Unfortunately, NASCAR was the big loser in this vote.
 
Reports out of South Florda say that the Miccosukee Tribe has officially voted down any further participation in NASCAR.  As a result of this ruling, Phoenix Racing's Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series have lost their sponsorship for the 2010 season, along with the No.18 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series.
 
This vote ends eleven years of NASCAR support from the Miccosukee Tribe.  Their sponsorship debuted in the Busch Grand National Series at Daytona in 1999 on a No. 64 Chevrolet driven by Barry Bodine that failed to qualify for the season opening NAPA 300.  By 2001, they had joined up with Geoffrey Bodine, sponsoring a second car, the No. 09, for Brett Bodine Racing at Homestead.
 
2002 saw Miccosukee migrate over to Phoenix Racing, along with Geoffrey.  Bodine then avoided the big one and give the No. 09 team the best Winston Cup finish up to that point, a third in the Daytona 500.  That was just the beginning of what turned out to be an eight-year relationship between the Miccosukee Tribe and James Finch, topped off by Brad Keselowski's surprise victory in the Aaron's 499 last season at Talladega Superspeedway.
 
NASCAR Media Day held at Daytona International Speedway
 
The last stop on the off-season media tour, the top drivers from NASCAR's three national touring series met at Daytona International Speedway Wednesday to answer questions from local and national radio, television and print media.

In a round table setup, media had the opportunity to interview the sport's brightest stars Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart as well as future standouts Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne and Justin Allgaier.

Undoubtedly the biggest stories of the day, however, surrounded the stock car debut of Danica Patrick, who answered questions from a throng of reporters and news that Jeff Gordon is following in teammate Jimmie Johnson's footsteps with the announcement he and his wife, Ingrid, are expecting their second child.

"It's something we've been hoping for," Gordon said. "Now it's a reality."
 
Entry List for Daytona 500 released:  54 teams entered
 
On Thursday, NASCAR officially released the Entry List for the 52nd running of the Daytona 500.  54 teams have filed entry blanks to attempt to qualify for the race.  As has been the norm since the beginning of 2005, the teams in the Top 35 in owners' points from last year are locked into the field, leaving 19 teams attempting to snatch the remaining eight spots in the race.  They are:
 
No. 09 - Aric Almirola, Phoenix Racing
No. 13 - Max Papis, Germain Racing
No. 21 - Bill Elliott, Wood Brothers Racing (Past Champion, 1988)
No. 27 - Kirk Shelmerdine, Shelmerdine Racing
No. 32 - Reed Sorenson, Braun Racing
No. 36 - Mike Bliss, Tommy Baldwin Racing,
No. 46 - Terry Cook, Whitney Motorsports
No. 49 - David Gilliland, BAM Racing
No. 51 - Michael Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing
No. 55 - Michael McDowell, Prism Motorsports
No. 57 - Norm Benning, Benning Racing
No. 66 - Dave Blaney, Prism Motorsports
No. 71 - Bobby Labonte, TRG Motorsports (Past Champion, 2000)
No. 75 - Derrike Cope, Stratus Racing Group
No. 87 - Joe Nemechek, NEMCO Motorsports
No. 90 - Casey Mears, Keyed-Up Motorsports
No. 92 - Mike Wallace, Whitney Motorsports
No. 97 - Jeff Fuller, NEMCO Motorsports
 
Since Bobby Labonte is the most recent Past Champion not already locked into the field via owners' points, he is guaranteed a starting spot in the race.  However, he is not necessarily locked in with a Past Champions' Provisional.  If he is one of the two fastest "Go or Go Home" qualifiers on Saturday afternoon, or he is one of the top two non-locked in finishers in his Gatorade Duel, he can lock himself and allow Bill Elliott to take the Past Champions' Provisional.
 
Texas Motor Speedway receives permission to Move Race Start Times Back
 
On Thursday, Texas Motor Speedway announced that they have received permission from NASCAR to move the start times of their two Sprint Cup races (the Samsung Mobile 500 on April 18 and the Lone Star 500 on November 7) from 12 Noon Central time to 2:00pm Central time.  To keep themselves in line with NASCAR's new Standardized Start Times for the 2010 season, this is not designed to make Texas an exception to the overall rule.  Instead, Texas Motor Speedway applied for, and received permission to switch regions, from the Eastern/Central region to the Mountain/Pacific region.
 
Track president Eddie Gossage is very pleased that his request has been granted.
 
"On behalf of our fans, we greatly appreciate NASCAR, along with television broadcast partners FOX (Samsung Mobile 500) and ESPN (Lone Star 500), hearing their collective voice and making the time changes to better suit their wishes and needs," Gossage said on Thursday.  "NASCAR has made it clear that they are going to a ‘back to basics’ approach, and accommodating their promoters on behalf of their fans as well as avoiding some potential logistical issues defines that new approach."
 
What these "logistical issues" are is unclear.  The few comments posted on the release point to it either giving fans an extra two hours to tailgate, or it potentially being a money grab for the track itself.  Also, this could set a bad precedent for the future if tracks can simply ask NASCAR to change their time zone region just so they can start their races later.

Have news for Mike, Phil and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashl...@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
 
In Case You Missed It
By Jared Turner
 
SPRINT CUP SERIES
 
Jeff Gordon to be a dad for second time
 
Jeff Gordon announced Thursday morning at Daytona International Speedway that he and his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, are expecting their second child in August.
 
Gordon and Vandebosch have a daughter, Ella Sofia, who was born June 20, 2007.
 
Gordon joins a host of other Cup drivers, including Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler, whose wives are expecting children.
 
“There’s a baby craze going on in this sport,” the four-time Cup series champion said. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
 
NATIONWIDE SERIES
 
JR Motorsports announces schedule for Danica Patrick
 
Danica Patrick will compete in 12 Nationwide Series races with the possibility of 13 in her debut season with JR Motorsports, JRM co-owner and general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced.

The only event uncertain on Patrick’s schedule is the Feb. 13 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.  The No. 7 GoDaddy.com-sponsored Chevrolet is entered in the event, but its driver will not be determined until after Patrick competes in the
Automobile Racing Club of America race at DIS on Feb. 6.
 
If Patrick doesn’t run the Nationwide opener at Daytona, her season will start with the Feb. 20 race at Auto Club Speedway in California, followed by the Feb. 27 race at Las Vegas.  After a four-month break to focus on her IndyCar Series duties, she’ll return to Nationwide competition June 26 at New Hampshire.
 
The 27-year-old’s remaining schedule includes races at Chicagoland Speedway (July 9), Michigan (Aug. 14), Dover (Sept. 25), Auto Club (Oct. 9), Charlotte (Oct. 15), Gateway (Oct. 23), Texas (Nov. 6), Phoenix (Nov. 13), and Homestead-Miami (Nov. 20).

CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
 
Ted Musgrave to drive Billy Ballew Motorsports truck at Daytona
 
Ted Musgrave will drive Billy Ballew Motorsports' No. 15 Toyota in the Camping World Truck Series season opener Feb. 12 at Daytona.
 
Musgrave, the 2005 series champion, made 18 Truck starts in 2008 but sat out the entire 2009 season.
 
A full-time driver has not yet been named for the team owner Billy Ballew’s No. 15 truck, which was occupied by several drivers last season.
 
“How much more can you ask for actually,” said Musgrave, who has 191 Truck starts with 17 wins, 80 top-fives, 119 top-10s and 12 poles. “Billy Ballew’s Toyota Tundras run consistently out front every week, and it is a dream opportunity to step back into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the top equipment in the garage. I’ve really missed driving last year, but kept myself in the loop by being at the track. And racing is like riding a bicycle; you never really forget how to do it.”

Hope for Haiti will be the primary sponsor on the truck, which will carry associate sponsorship from Eco Clear Solutions, MagicJack.com and Bee My Bear.
 
Jared Turner is a Contributor for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via email at jaredmt...@yahoo.com.
 
Turning Back the Clock
By Phil Allaway

Turning Back the Clock is a new feature this year in the Frontstretch Newsletter, born out of...well, reminiscing about classic races in order to come up with difficult trivia questions for you to answer five days a week.  Each Friday, we will discuss one classic previous edition of one of that weekend's races.  Before the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday is the season opener for the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Re/Max and Menards, the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.
 
Now, you might be wondering, why am I profiling a past ARCA race at Daytona instead of a past Busch Clash/Bud Shootout/Budweiser Shootout?  Personally, I tend to forget Shootouts.  I remember the happenings in the ARCA races a little better.  This edition that we're chronicling, the 1999 ARCA 200, is quite memorable.
 
If you simply look at the results of this race on Racing-Reference.info, you'll notice that Bobby Gerhart won and led nearly three-quarters of the race in doing it.  However, there was a lot more to this race.  Viewers of this event on ESPN2 back then would remember this race coming down to a pretty good duel between Gerhart and Shawna Robinson.  However, any chance Robinson had at claiming victory was dashed when Curt Piercy crashed, causing the race to end under caution (there was no Green-White-Checker (GWC) procedure in the then-ARCA Bondo Mar-Hyde Series at the time).  Had Robinson, who was driving a Bob Evans-sponsored No. 1 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing, actually pulled off the victory that day, it could have meant big things for her career.
 
But this was not the most memorable moment of the event - far from it.  During a caution period on lap 55, there was an incident involving, of all vehicles, the pace car.  It's unclear how this happened, but Joe Cooksey, driving his own No. 51 Chevrolet, apparently didn't see the pace car moving slowly on the inside lane of the track and literally ran into the back of it.  The impact was pretty big.  Cooksey's front end was thrashed, putting him out of the race altogether.  The Pace Car, a metallic blue Pontiac Grand Prix being driven by then-NASCAR Pace Car driver Buster Auton, was shortened significantly in the rear end.  However, both occupants of the Pace Car and Cooksey were all ok.
 
ESPN 2 did not catch the impact on camera during their broadcast.  However, they did have aftermath footage with the Grand Prix Pace Car facing towards the outside wall with the trunk shortened by a foot or so, while Cooksey's Monte Carlo was on the apron with fluids leaking out.  Eventually, amateur footage surfaced showing Cooksey running into the back of the Pace Car with no one around him.  Very weird.  Let’s hope we don’t see a repeat of this incident tomorrow.
 
Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager and a Website Contributor for Frontstretch.com.  He can be reached via e-mail at phil.a...@frontstretch.com.

TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
By the Frontstetch Staff
 
By Kurt Smith
 
By Matt Lovecchio
 
By Bryan Davis Keith
 
By Ryan Truex (as told to Bryan Davis Keith)
 
By Bryan Davis Keith

FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:

Q.  The 2005 Advance Discount Auto Parts 200 for the ARCA Re/Max Series is infamous for multiple reasons.  First off, the race was shortened from 80 laps to 65 because of wrecks and running up against the start of the Budweiser Shootout (not rain, as Racing-Reference.info claims).  Two crashes during the race required repair of the catch fencing.  And finally, the rare double-flip was accomplished (two cars flipping over in the same crash) when both Todd Kluever and Dan Shaver went upside down towards the end of the race.
 
However, an extremely unusual moment happened on pit road during the first round of pit stops under caution.  What was this weird incident?
 
Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Thursday's Answer:

Q.  In 1998, the Busch Clash was renamed the Bud Shootout and given a brand new format.  The race was lengthened into one 25-lap segment, with a required pit stop for tires that had to be made at some point after the completion of lap 8.

There was also a Bud Shootout Qualifier added for fastest second round qualifiers not already in the Bud Shootout, a mini-shootout that would run at 11 AM the morning of the big event.  The winner from this "Consi" would be added to the Bud Shootout.  During the years under this format, one driver made it into the main Shootout and managed to walk away victorious.  Who was it, and how did he do it?
 
A:  Dale Jarrett pulled off this feat of strength in 2000, the last year of this format.  In the qualifier, Jarrett literally ran away from his competitors, finishing over 5 seconds in front of second place finisher Jeff Burton.  Of note here, Jarrett's car was strong enough to pull away from two cars drafting together.
 
In the main draw, Jarrett came from the back of the field and led only the last half a lap to claim victory.  Meanwhile, behind Jarrett, a multi-car crash resulted in new teammate Ricky Rudd ending the race on his roof.

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 Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Budweiser Shootout Recap by Dave Exum
-- Big Six:  Budweiser Shootout by TBA
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, Stat of the Week and more!
 
Monday on the Frontstretch:
The Cool Down Lap by Doug Turnbull
We'll have a commentary article on the weekend's biggest story ready to go bright and early Monday morning.
 
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud:  Budweiser Shootout by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action this weekend at Daytona.
 
Holding a Pretty Wheel by Amy Henderson
Amy will be back with another commentary sure to make you sit up and take notice.
 
Running Their Mouth By Summer Dreyer
What's that you heard last weekend at Daytona?  Summer brings you the most interesting, unusual, and downright crazy quotes to come out of the first weekend of Speedweeks.
 
Bubble Breakdown By Brock Beard
Want to know how some of the teams a little bit further down the order did in qualifying this past weekend at Daytona?  Brock's got information and much more in the season's first edition of the Bubble Breakdown.
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