The Frontstretch Newsletter: Pocono Tire Test Gets Underway
Frontstretch.com
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Volume IX, Edition LIV
~~~~~~~~~~
– Engaging new partners and taking the lead in brokering agreements for sales & advertising across all Frontstretch outlets: Website, Newsletter, Podcast, and video content
– Responding to exposure inquiries from potential advertisers
– Working with our social media team to enhance the marketing and branding experience for our advertising clients
The position will be a direct report to our Business and Financial Manager, a position that also will work closely with the Majority Owner and Social Media team. A fast-growing website whose writers have won multiple NMPA Awards, the Frontstretch is well-positioned for success in 2016 and has a healthy audience of over seven figures per year. The role, while initially commission-based offers a generous percentage and perks down the road for this startup company. Frontstretch management has, in many cases been in place for nearly a decade before becoming a for-profit website and we’re excited to welcome the right person into this family atmosphere.
What to Watch: Tuesday
~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, hey! Cousin Carl executed a backflip Sunday afternoon at Bristol. Woo hoo! Many fans celebrated how Kyle Busch did not continue on his stampede through every available NASCAR track. But, you did notice how it was still a Gibbs team that dominated the afternoon, didn’t you? That Gibbs also has a stranglehold on the XFINITY Series, as well?
We complain when it’s the same driver winning every single week. This trend has occurred since before most of us have been cheering for NASCAR. Even legendary Richard Petty had a fair share of fans grumbling that he was just stinking up the show for everyone else. Follow The King’s dominance with another seven-time champion in Dale Earnhardt Sr., then segue into Jeff Gordon’s career and the chant in the stands remained the same. No matter what number adorned the door of the current always-winner NASCAR fandom bitterly complained that nobody else had a chance with [insert current Dominator here] on the track.
However, since the 1990s, the mantra hasn’t only been bitching about the particular person and their overly genial personality. There has been another underlying complaint—the stable is too strong. The baton passes from one multi-car team to another about every five years. Roush Fenway, Penske, Hendrick, Childress, and Stewart-Haas have all traded off the unbeatable moniker over the past two decades. JGR has now taken up the crown, putting their vehicles in Victory Lane often enough to have the remainder of the garage scratching their heads while swearing under their breath.
While most NASCAR fans choose a single driver to put on a pedestal, you are sometimes left wondering — just for a moment or two — if the stable put a monkey behind the wheel of the current indomitable machine, would they still win? It kind of seems like Gibbs has achieved this level of perfection lately.
I’m not taking anything away from Carl Edwards. I believe prior to Kyle Larson, Carl was my last true heartthrob among the Sprint Cup rookies. His big grin, backflip, and on-track talent turned my head when he joined the ranks in 2004. However, Roush Fenway Racing has been struggling for a few years now to put any of its cars in Victory Lane. As the years have passed, Edwards went from being a promising part of Sprint Cup Champions to an "also ran." We forgot just how very good he could be.
So, now Edwards has switched allegiances the last two years and joined Joe Gibbs -- the same team that skyrocketed to the pinnacle of our sport in the 2015 season and seems to have only improved in 2016. It doesn’t appear to matter who is behind the wheel; if your car was built in the Gibbs shop, you’ve got a darn good shot at winning come the weekend. As Carl led 276 of the 500 available laps on Sunday, did you wonder? Was he somehow awarded Kyle Busch’s machine this week? Did the office decide to booby-trap the M&M car? We have these thoughts because we can’t remember Edwards having a stellar 2015 season, or ’14, or ’13. He didn’t. Last year he ended the year with a 14.0 average finish. Edwards had days of brilliance but not the kind of consistency that wins Cups.
However, did you notice? Edwards' average finish for 2016 thus far is 6.4. He has never had that kind of stat before. Ever. It’s like he’s a new driver.
Or perhaps after taking a year to settle in with the No. 19 crew, and combining thoughts with the reigning Cup champ, Cousin Carl may have found the magic combination needed to…dare we say it? Win a Sprint Cup.
Granted, it is early days. We have plenty of time for this Gibbs driver to drop down to his usual top-15 world. However, wouldn’t it be awesome for Edwards to give Busch a run for his money? Maybe we won’t be complaining about the No. 18 taking a bow one more time. And I don’t think we’ll be calling Carl a monkey, either.
Still…he is driving a seemingly infallible Gibbs machine. At least it isn’t Hendrick…again.
Something Shiny
They call Bristol Motor Speedway the “Coliseum.” A battlefield for motorsports built on the scale of the Roman Coliseum. You sit right on top of the action, no matter what section your seats are in. Now, they’ve added the “Colossus,” a massive video screen suspended over the infield by a cable system usually reserved for bridges. It is awesome. Check out some of the videos while it was built. You just don’t get the scale of the thing until you see somebody standing next to it.
~~~~~~~~~~
Numbers Game: Food City 500
by Tom Bowles
Tom Bowles is the Editor-in-Chief of Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at tom.b...@frontstretch.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Monday's Answer:
Q: Today, there is a steady protocol for setting the field if qualifying is cancelled (current points (races 4-36) or previous year's points (races 1-3) for positions 1-35 based on practice speeds (if any), Past Champions (if any remaining), then provisionals based on number of attempts). In 1986, the very memorable Miller High Life 400 at Richmond (second race of the year at the time) had both rounds of qualifying rained out. How was the field set?
A: According to TBS Sports' Ken Squier at the time, the top 18 starting positions went to the top 18 in current points, meaning the top 18 teams in the Daytona 500 the week before that also entered Richmond. Back then, a number of teams were part-time, so that rule locked in the full-time teams back to Mach 1 Racing's No. 33 for Harry Gant, who finished 30th in the Daytona 500. Also, Phil Parsons benefitted from Doug Heveron finishing 15th in the Hamby Racing No. 17. That allowed Phil to start 11th (brother Benny finished fifth in Daytona for the Jackson Brothers, but spent the race in the broadcast booth). Behind them were 1985 winners that weren't already in the field (Neil Bonnett and Greg Sacks). Positions 21-30 were set by a combination of postmarks for the entry blank and when the teams signed in at the track, while Eddie Bierschwale got a provisional to start.
COMING TOMORROW
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 edi...@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2016 Frontstretch.com