The Frontstretch Newsletter: Slugger Labbe Takes Over as Austin Dillon's Crew Chief
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What to Watch: Tuesday
by the Frontstretch Staff
Richard Childress Racing Installs Labbe as Crew Chief to End Austin Dillon’s Woes
Entry List: XFINITY Series Field Prepares for Standalone Weekend in Chicago
Entry List: Truck Series Prepares for Short Track Racing in Iowa
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Martin Truex, Jr. Worried?
Sitting in the Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady
We all love an underdog, and the No. 78 has been shining in 2015 as
no other underdog has this year. Already, the Furniture Row Racing team has a win under its
belt. Pair that stat with Martin Truex, Jr.'s astounding fourteen top
10s for the season - a modern-era record - and you have a car on its way to the head table in
Las Vegas. There's just one more fact to add to the pile... they are a single-car effort.
There's no corporate racing high-rise headquarters, nor garages that
build one car while across the street more engineers craft another. FRR is lighting up the Sprint Cup Series on their own.
Well, almost.
Once Truex parked their Chevy in Victory Lane at Pocono, the heat cranked up for a whole bunch of people behind the scenes. The driver is on the back end of his two-year contract with the team. He likes what they're doing and would stay -- if the right contract can come together. FRR is ecstatic! They won! They're performing like other multi-car teams with a lengthy list of championship trophies on their shelves. Yes, they'd love to keep the kid from New Jersey.
But money is where the small team that operates outside of the Charlotte NASCAR bubble starts to struggle. They will have to fight a little harder to put together sponsor packages needed to keep Truex in the seat. It can't be denied their reputation has been built on performance, not a snazzy paint job. However, a little bit of pizzazz never hurts when courting more money. Even their driver does better behind the wheel than in front of a camera. We've come to know Truex as an affable guy, just not necessarily the best salesman. Did you really believe he had the NAPA Know-How, or were you just laughing at the absurdity of those spots?
Also, while RCR's chassis and engines deal has worked wonderfully the last two years, consistently awesome appearances by the No. 78 has Toyota eying them as well. Would it be a good idea for FRR to switch manufacturers when nine of the last ten Cups were awarded to Chevrolet? On the other side, it's beginning to become imperative for Toyota to attain the highest accolade for NASCAR. Can adding a single-car team to their stable make that happen any faster than the track Joe Gibbs and Co. are on?
The last time there was this much buzz for an underdog team's decision process, we were welcoming Gene Haas into the NASCAR ranks. From our sofas we determine what can and cannot happen, right? Well, it's pretty much a given that no single-car team can expect to be sitting second in the points fifteen races into the regular season. Wrong. What we are seeing is absolutely the kind of performance that often heralds the start of a new era.
Will Furniture Row snag some big money sponsorships for 2016? Probably. Will Martin Truex, Jr. re-sign with the No. 78? Most likely. But will Toyota manage to sway the team from Chevrolet? Don't you believe it. Even though the carrot dangled before FRR's eyes will be mighty big, the proven performance of their current packages should not be cast aside in hopes of finding a higher spot on the manufacturer support map.
Martin Truex, Jr. and Co. only know one thing right now -- their machine ain't broke. It don't need fixing. They just gotta keep doing what they are doing so well. If they do, the unthinkable just might happen. A single-car team -- a true underdog -- could win the 2015 Sprint Cup Championship. Then, all worries will be over -- theirs and NASCAR's.
Sonya's Scrapbook
We were all kids at
some point. While wandering the flea markets of Maine this past weekend,
I fished through a giant bowl of Hot Wheels and assorted diecasts.
There at the bottom, I found it; no nicks or scratches. In front of me was a No. 6 winged
sprint car with Jeff Gordon's name on the side. When did he drive it?
Where? Well, all I know is Racing Champions put it out in '97. I'll have to do some more
research to determine what series he drove in. Meanwhile, my inner
child is content for a mere dollar....
If you have any information on Jeff Gordon's "mysterious" ride, let Sonya know and we'll credit you in the Newsletter next week!
S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch and runs a NASCAR blog called the S-Curves. She can be reached via email at sonya...@frontstretch.com. Follow her on Twitter at @laregna and on her Facebook page (she's an author, too!) at https://www.facebook.com/Author.SDGrady.
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Numbers Game: Quicken Loans 400
by Tom Bowles
0
Laps led this season by Aric Almirola (22nd at Michigan). He would be in the current Chase field if the season ended today.
1
Lap led this season by Paul Menard (eighth at Michigan). He would be in the current Chase field if the season ended today.
2
DNFs in four races for Kyle Busch since his Sprint Cup return. Busch was dead last Sunday after crashing out of the race on Lap 53.
2
Laps led by Danica Patrick while stretching fuel during a Michigan green-flag pit cycle. It's the first two laps she's led all season.
3
Green-flag, on-track passes for the lead at Michigan during the first three laps. There were zero green-flag, on-track passes for the lead at Michigan the rest of the race.
3
Straight seventh-place
finishes by Jamie McMurray. He is now 76 points ahead of Clint Bowyer,
the first driver outside of the Chase on points with just 11 races
remaining in NASCAR's "regular season." (McMurray has never made the Chase in 11 tries.)
4
Red flags for rain at Michigan Sunday, a modern-era record. All were for precipitation.
5 for 38
Number of cautions and caution laps at Michigan. Four of those were for debris or rain. 28% of Sunday's race (38 of 136 laps) was run under the yellow flag. Pocono, by comparison was run under yellow for 19% of the time last week.
6
Laps led all day for race winner Kurt Busch at Michigan - the final six.
14th
Finish Sunday by Ty Dillon at Michigan, a career best in six Sprint Cup starts. Dillon is seeking sponsorship to move up to Cup full-time in 2016.
14
Top-10 finishes for Martin Truex, Jr. in the first 15 races this season (third at Michigan). That's a new modern-era record and the most since Richard Petty did it in 1969.
15
Positions lost by Jeff Gordon from his Michigan qualifying spot. Gordon, who wound up 21st after starting sixth is without a top-5 finish in four straight races.
34.0
Average finish for Greg Biffle at Fontana and Michigan this season, both former Roush Fenway Racing strongholds. At Michigan, Biffle has four career victories and an average finish of 12.5.
$97,065
Money won by Danica Patrick for finishing 16th at Michigan.
$101,561
Money won by Kyle Busch for crashing out and finishing dead last.
Tom Bowles is the Editor-in-Chief of Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.b...@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
Investigating A Historic NASCAR Season... Wasted?
by Tom Bowles
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
Q: With the Cup Series off and not a whole lot of history at Chicagoland Speedway, we're going to have some varied questions this week. In 1995, Andy Hillenburg won the season-opening ARCA 200 for Ken Schrader Racing. However, the race ended under caution due to a wreck exiting turn 2 with five laps to go. What happened?
A: Andy Belmont and Bobby Bowsher were fighting for ninth with four laps to go when Bowsher got into Belmont's left rear exiting turn 2. Belmont spun, got airborne and balanced his car on the roof of Bowsher's before barrel-rolling on the newly paved skidpad. The crash can be seen here.~~~~~~~~~~
COMING TOMORROW
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